Shame he's not taller as we lose a lot without another big head in there.
Decent game but some ridiculous passes.
Decent game but some ridiculous passes.
17
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 29
- Clean sheets
- 9
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 4
I think he'll ultimately end up as a squad player here. He's a good player and all but if we get Strootman as expected he's the one going to miss out.
A bit worrying after such a good start to his United career. The system didn't help him with Fellaini and Mata typically elsewhere on the pitch.
gg 100% pass completion 2nd half
He did allot more than most give him credit today. I thought Hazard and Fabregas didnt enjoy the space and Blind had plenty to do with that.
I thought he was really good today. Not sure what he did wrong?
Had a really good game at the base of our midfield. The only worrying thing is his lack of pace.
Goal down I was wanting LVG to take him off as he was essentially playing as a centre back vs only Drogba. Better than Cleverley Fletcher and Anderson we need better to win the league. Great squad player eventually though and good signing overall.
Very quiet game in a very good way. The classic example of keeping things steady and shutting down their options. Toady was never a day for him to be turning up with his crazy shooting on the edge of the box.
I thought he played well, was clearly told to sit deep and at times was dropping between Smalling and Rojo when we brought the ball out.
Agreed.
I appreciate he's an 'intelligent' player, and an improvement on the old guys. But still don't think he's more than a squad player ultimately.
Watching Matic today (and since January) - that puts it into perspective for me.
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Very invisible today, but in a good way. To be honest, I think he was the silent/invisible force behind the squad today. I think he had no chance to shine against Chelsea today, yet still really tried to do so.
I think he did alright. He's a bit slow but you cant have it all.
Like him, but surely long term we need a better (bigger, faster) DM.
I'm with you here. Thought he was more than decent when he had the ball. Shame our attackers couldn't turn and face their defence when he fizzed some of those passes in.
I think he was decent today. Very impressed by him and think that it has been a great signing for us. A very competent and intelligient midfielder.
Was great today. Well very good.
One thing I like about him is he always finds space for a pass to him. He really makes an effort to find space. Carrick can learn from him.
He did well. Tough game but he showed he can perform at this level.
Agreed. I think to a large extent you want the player in that role to go unnoticed. It's a sign they are quietly going about their job. When the back 4 are passing it about round the back he always shows feet and more often than not starts the attack, rather than passing backwards again.
I thought he did really well. In a perfect world we'd have a bigger, faster version of Blind. But that would be if we were trying to progress from say a very good side to a seriously challenging for the Champions League side. We've to get back into the top 4 first and Blind is more than good enough to help with that surely.
Strootman is a box to box CM. If someone is going to replace him in the starting lineup it's going to be a new DM.
But that's the same question again to buy a CM who is good in defense also or a pure DM.
Anyway people already saying he'll be a squad player and all. He had a good start to PL football, let him do the work and see how it goes. I think he can only be better and who knows maybe he's in LVG's long term plans. It is possible.
Surely we need a new CM but I wouldnt write him of so easily, I mean push him to the bench.
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I don't particularly like that "he does a lot of work you never notice" argument as it requires very little proof to make. It become difficult to prove that a performance one person sees as "invisible because he's so intelligent" was actually more "invisible because he's a bit ordinary".
For example, someone like Matic does a lot of these supposedly unnoticeable tasks too yet somehow manages to look excellent every time I see him.
For example, someone like Matic does a lot of these supposedly unnoticeable tasks too yet somehow manages to look excellent every time I see him.
I'd never worry about having him in the team, but he's not someone who can do it all alone in there. To be fair, there aren't many who can.
Kind of how I feel.
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In the excitement of a match it is very difficult to analyse individual players. Plus you are only as good as the players around you, so again it is very difficult.
But overall i felt United coped with Chelsea well in places and it was a far more even contest than most expected. Blind played his part in that and so his contribution must have been comparable to any other Chelsea midfielder, and that is good enough for me.
But overall i felt United coped with Chelsea well in places and it was a far more even contest than most expected. Blind played his part in that and so his contribution must have been comparable to any other Chelsea midfielder, and that is good enough for me.
The stats back it up though. Haven't checked today's game but was getting stick for being ineffective against WBA yet stats revealed he was by far the most influential CM on the pitch.
EDIT: Just checked. More passes, more accurately than any other CM today. By a margin.
I thought he was pretty poor in all honesty. Often second to the ball and got run past like he wasn't there over and over. He'll probably only get found out like this against the better teams, so he will obviously make a good squad option. He's not of the calibre to compete at the top level though.
Passing aside. Equal highest number of succesful tackles of any CM, attempted twice as many tackles as any of them and made 4 interceptions (no other CM made more than one)
He's a really busy, quietly effective player who is obviously doomed to be persistently under-rated. The perfect replacement for Carrick!
He's a really busy, quietly effective player who is obviously doomed to be persistently under-rated. The perfect replacement for Carrick!
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Maybe it's just me, but you only seem to comment negatively on him.
I thought he did very well, his lack of physicality worries me a bit but we knew that about him anyway. He's not disappointed me so far and will only get better. Can see him becoming an excellent squad player in the long run.
Basically this, he's going to be a good signing but right now I'd still take a fit again Carrick over him and Carrick himself obviously needs replacing
I just call it how I see it. Always said he's a squad player and others obviously share the same belief.
Always? He's only played a handful of games. Sounds like you're pre-judging him. Explains the inaccurate assessment of today's performance too.
That's fair enough, but before the transfer you were dead against it, and after we sign him, you only want to speak on him when he (in your opinion) hasn't played well.
If ever there was going to be a game where his lack of pace and physicality was going to be exploited it was this one, yet he held his own in that midfield and played a very solid game. There were one or two times when Hazard skipped past him, but Hazard can do that to anyone.
Heh. As I thought. So annoying when people pre-judge signings.
I like him a lot. Needs a world class CM alongside him if we're really going to push on and start dominating games in midfield, but I think he's been excellent so far.
He just has so much defensive work to do. Fellaini in the side offers-really- no much more defensively than Herrera would. Blind has to do a lot for someone who isn't the biggest nor quickest, which I really find impressive. He's a good player, nothing more than that, but I want to see him play beside Carrick to have someone who is also able to take some of the defensive work off his shoulders.
Well, based on what I saw at the World Cup I didn't really see a top level player in him. I'm of the belief that we'll need a really good player in his position to compete at for the title and in the CL, which is where we want to be.
I'm not alone in thinking he was poor today. He got beat to the ball and dribbled past too much. He's certainly a hard worker and is calm in possession, but I just think he lacks the next bit. The physical side/aggression in defence and the quality on the ball. He's like a hybrid of Fletcher and Carrick, but not as good at either in what they bring.