I would like to see he and Mata in a race. Their lack of pace is such a hindrance in the English game.
17
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 29
- Clean sheets
- 9
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 4
Aiming higher than Wanyama should certainly be the goal, I mean if we switched him for Blind we'd create fresh problems, what we gained in speed and power we'd love in passing and technique. Wanyama is a good fit in 4-2-3-1 next to a more proficent passing CM, but in 4-3-3 you need a proper #6. If we buy from Southampton it should be Schneiderlin IMO, he is physically strong, athletic and a good passer.
We lost the initiative in that second half.
We really didn't. We looked a lot more solid and created an excellent chance right before Arsenal scored after some good play by Fellaini.
We lost control after Valencia's back pass when we bizarrely stopped playing and decided to lump the ball up to Fellaini at every opportunity. That had nothing to do with Carrick. We did exactly the same at Swansea as well when Herrera was in the team.
Man Utd 3:0 Tottenham
He's playing that left back role so intelligently at the moment, gives huge amounts away in pace but controlling it completely, along with young and fellaini we are dominating that left side.
So much for getting ripped apart for pace. Andros Townsend 
What were people thinking?
What were people thinking?Yeah just for the record, he's played over 100 matches at left back. Probably the position he has played most in his career. In Champions league games, eredivisie games, also for Dutch national team, always a very solid option there.
He's been good so far.
So much for getting ripped apart for pace. Andros Townsend
To be fair he Townsend barely had the ball.
He's a good LB though with a good cross on him.
I think it's quite amazing how he can look so natural on fullback even though by his abilities you could never imagine him playing there. That's just showing how intelligent he is.
Must say I was worried about him at fullback.
But it turns out he is our best left back. His passing and crossing there is second to none. While Shaw has been good defensively he doesn't contribute as much in the final third.
But it turns out he is our best left back. His passing and crossing there is second to none. While Shaw has been good defensively he doesn't contribute as much in the final third.
Made townsend, dembele, chadli and eventually lamella invisible. Top performance from him today. Linked up ever so well with Young.
Brilliant performance. Excellent crossing and pinpoint accuracy with his passing. Looked excellent at left-back.
He's the best crosser at the club, we need to get him in those positions on the wing more often.
Two thumbs up. Really intelligent player and didn't give Townsend a yard of space. Love his overlapping run outside of Young.
I really think he is better option than Shaw at left back at the moment.
He offers a lot more going forward than what Shaw has done so far due to his crossing and passing accuracy.
Used the ball really well and linked up intelligently with Young.
Better than shaw imo
Blind can cross better, tackle better and just had more positional awareness both in attsck and defence.
Blind can cross better, tackle better and just had more positional awareness both in attsck and defence.
It'll be hard to leave Herrera and Carrick out so, maybe he should keep his place.
Shaw,is so young I'm not worried about him yet. I'm confident he will come good
Shaw,is so young I'm not worried about him yet. I'm confident he will come good
Such a intelligent player. Always looks to keep the ball and find a teammate, but also has enough about him to pick the right forward ball. Take Fellianis goal, it was made by Carrick but such a smart ball by Blind that found Carrick in space.
Hes been a little hit and miss in the middle of the park but as a LB/LWB i'd say hes been better than Shaw
Hes been a little hit and miss in the middle of the park but as a LB/LWB i'd say hes been better than Shaw
He linked up well with Young and Fellaini down the left hand side. If he carries on that way then he'll keep Shaw out the team.
Spot on. You make intelligent players play together and the result is always nice.
Great performance. Looked more comfortable/alive than he has in weeks.
Worked tireless and was running up and down. Good performance and showed he can be a valuable option at LB
I still think that he is a 8, he is so good at organizing the offensive circulation and at delivering the last balls, he is clearly not a DM.
It's been said before but if Blind had more pace and power he'd make for a monstrous full back. His crossing, tackling, awareness and link up play is already at an extremely high level.
Which is why there's so often crossover between deep/defensive CMs and FBs these days. With FBs increasingly having to look a bit like old-fashioned wingers (Alaba and his ilk), the less athletic sorts often find a good home in DM, where they can use that tackling, awareness and link-up without needing to be fast, powerful runners.
Yet people say we can't play them both together.
Chadli skinned him a couple of times, didn't lead to anything however. I was very impressed with him, however, not sure I would want him at LB against the likes of Sterling/Coutinho.
Rather have Shaw against Pool. I think Liverpools pace and movement would expose Blind far more than the likes of Townshend, Dembele or Lamela could.
Still think he's our best signing of the summer.
You'll prob agree after next week....
Defended by being on the front foot today, he forced Townsend back all game and he didn't give him any rest. Chadli Faired a little better, but apart from mistiming 1 tackle which let Chadli skip pass him he did very, very well. If Shaw can get to his level of positioning and tackling, while having his pace he will be a monster. Think Blind will be a good option though against teams who want to sit deep against us at old trafford, as his crossing is very good.
I would still say that, in a midfield sense. Too much attacking impudence, physicality and mobility is lost when they are both played in the middle together, that's why Herrera is such a revelation when played with them, he compliments them entirely.
As Brightonian said, JPRouve, Blind is more suited to that defensive midfield, #6 role with his attributes. He demonstrated great positional awareness and a very good reading of the game from there. He also demonstrated a good passing range and was a threat when going forward with his great crosses.
However, we also saw Blind's weaknesses exposed whenever he tried to follow Spurs' right winger to the middle and try to play aggressively. He doesn't have the physical attributes of a ball winner, so why does he continuously try to play with such an aggression? In no way is he suited to play as aggressively as players like Fernandinho, Alaba, Coquelin, and such defensive midfielders and left backs. Watching the match and seeing him try to quickly close down players, I sometimes felt that he should watch more videos of Carrick, Zanetti, Maldini, Redondo, etc., and watch how they defended without such aggression and tenacity in their game. Blind really needs to cut out that aggression and tenacity from his game. Then, he'll become a world class defensive midfielder/left back.
None of what you said show that he should be a 6, I would even argue that you pointed out why he is a 8, positional awareness, very good reading of the game, good passing range, great stamina, constant threat going forwards.
And in mean time he lacks one great quality for a DM organizing the defense, he is not good at doing that.
Whilst I agree that he doesn't have that quality in him, he doesn't need that as a #6. With the aggression that he has, he's quite poor at winning the ball, and one of the biggest qualities of a #8 is the ability to win the ball, which Blind isn't good at. The fact that he's always at his best when reading the game, taking up good positions, and intercepting passes is why I say that he's at his best as a #6.
As a #8, he's a squad player for me purely because he's poor at winning the ball. As a #6, he should be a starter if he plays more like Carrick does rather than like Schneiderlin.
Tempting to say we don't have to sign an LB or DM this summer, let Blind get lots of games covering Shaw and Carrick at those spots and then replace Carrick with a big signing in 2016. Maybe Blind will improve and be worth starting, maybe not.
What are the qualities needed to be a #6, for you ? For me winning the ball and organizing the defense are the two most important.
A #8 is a all rounder, he is good at defending and attacking and he doesn't have to be your best ball winner, just has to be decent at it.