[m1y2]

he's not my favourite option as a LB by far but he's done a decent job lately, offers something else than Shaw who needs to overcome those injuries which are annoying and can happen quite easily after the horrible injury he had but once he's back fit and in form, it's gonna be beautiful wingplay to watch, too powerful runners getting balls from pogba/ herrera.. we should try our best to get that semedo guy too, looks real deal or my favourtie cancelo:-) Blind is fine but I'd really like to try him as a DM, can run more than Carrick, has a great pass in hi and good vision even though we all know that there is a much less time in midfield than in defense, still think he could work well there...

he's one of those player who won me over over time, wasn't expecting him being this good, one of the better buys LVG made

 

[Lawman]

The problem we have with Blind is he has a mistake or two in him every game. He's incredibly weak physically for the size of him (some people saying he uses his body well is not something I agree with) and is also painfully slow. I'm not saying he's a bad player as he's definitely not he is very handy to have on the bench. He is great on the ball. Though last game he gave two chances away that Sunderland could have scored from. One the free kick when he got to tight and got rolled, the other when he didn't clear his lines at the back post properly.

 

[Loublaze]

Needs to be first choice at LB in Shaw's absence.

 

[Escobar]

The problem we have with Blind is he has a mistake or two in him every game. He's incredibly weak physically for the size of him (some people saying he uses his body well is not something I agree with) and is also painfully slow. I'm not saying he's a bad player as he's definitely not he is very handy to have on the bench. He is great on the ball. Though last game he gave two chances away that Sunderland could have scored from. One the free kick when he got to tight and got rolled, the other when he didn't clear his lines at the back post properly.

And yet some people want him to be a CB. I agree that he should be a LB. We could also try him out in Carrick's position but I'm not convinced yet that this would work out

 

[The United]

And yet some people want him to be a CB. I agree that he should be a LB. We could also try him out in Carrick's position but I'm not convinced yet that this would work out

Yeah not like he can play cb decently, right?

 

[OldTrevil]

I hope he keeps playing LB as well, he's had his mistakes but less so than all our other LBs so far. I like the guy mainly for his creative aspect, he's got one hell of a pass on him. He took his goal nicely, showed good composure in the box.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

He's such a smart and impactful player that I'd try to get him into the squad in any one of the three positions he is quite comfortable at. I still think he's the best like for like replacement in DM to Carrick.

 

[The United]

Blind played at CB when he had Fellaini there to protect him. Since Fellaini's been dropped, so has Blind from centreback.

Meanwhile, Blind has played at left back 6 times. On only two of those occasions have either Martial/Rashford played in front of him, despite them being the most frequent starters at leftwing. In fact, Blind has played leftback EVERY SINGLE TIME someone other than Rashford/Martial has been on the leftwing (when Lingard, Rooney, Young and Mkhitaryan started there).

It's pretty clear that Mourinho likes Blind at leftback. Indeed, he's first choice depending on who plays at leftwing. But the manager doesn't trust either Martial or Rashford to give him the protection he needs.

That's always the problem with Blind. He needs someone in front of him whether it's in the middle or on the flank. He simply lacks the positioning and pace to go with his great passing and crossing ability.

Funny though what kind of FB does not need someone else to cover the wing?

Left side is a bit problematic for us since Pogba on that side plays a lot more advanced than the right side where Ander plays a bit more conservative and covers for Tony more often.

 

[prath92]

The problem we have with Blind is he has a mistake or two in him every game. He's incredibly weak physically for the size of him (some people saying he uses his body well is not something I agree with) and is also painfully slow. I'm not saying he's a bad player as he's definitely not he is very handy to have on the bench. He is great on the ball. Though last game he gave two chances away that Sunderland could have scored from. One the free kick when he got to tight and got rolled, the other when he didn't clear his lines at the back post properly.

Most of this is wrong. He isn't incredibly weak. He is weaker than the likes of Rojo and Smalling but 7 times out of 10, he will have a good game whichever position he plays

 

[VP89]

Most of this is wrong. He isn't incredibly weak. He is weaker than the likes of Rojo and Smalling but 7 times out of 10, he will have a good game whichever position he plays

How is this exactly? Rojo throws himself in a fair bit but I've seen him outmuscled against the same players Blind has been outmuscled by.

Lukaku turned Rojo a few times in the Everton game and had him beat, whereas say, Anichabe caused Blind similar problems in the last game.

 

[prath92]

How is this exactly? Rojo throws himself in a fair bit but I've seen him outmuscled against the same players Blind has been outmuscled by.

Lukaku turned Rojo a few times in the Everton game and had him beat, whereas say, Anichabe caused Blind similar problems in the last game.

I agree. My point was that Blind is much more stronger than he seems. I wanted to write 'he maybe weaker than Rojo and Smalling' giving the benefit of the doubt to the poster. My mistake. Sorry.

 

[Lawman]

Most of this is wrong. He isn't incredibly weak. He is weaker than the likes of Rojo and Smalling but 7 times out of 10, he will have a good game whichever position he plays

It's not wrong imo it's bang on the money. He is soft for a defender and often gets out muscled. He does generally have a good game but has a couple of brain farts every game that can cost us. He is good on the ball as he is very composed and he reads the game well as he has to due to his severe lack of pace but he should be shelved as soon as Shaw is fit and well.
He is not good enough long term as a starter if we want to dominate again.

 

[VP89]

It's not wrong imo it's bang on the money. He is soft for a defender and often gets out muscled. He does generally have a good game but has a couple of brain farts every game that can cost us. He is good on the ball as he is very composed and he reads the game well as he has to due to his severe lack of pace but he should be shelved as soon as Shaw is fit and well.
He is not good enough long term as a starter if we want to dominate again.

False.

 

[Escobar]

Yeah not like he can play cb decently, right?

He shouldnt play there. Compared to our other CBs he's just too weak. Under LVG it worked due to our general play but he got found out many times. There were endless discussions here too

 

[Dante]

Mourinho gave him a chance at CB the start of the season. Unfortunately for Blind, his fortunes were tied to Fellaini being the starting holding midfielder.

 

[prath92]

It's not wrong imo it's bang on the money. He is soft for a defender and often gets out muscled. He does generally have a good game but has a couple of brain farts every game that can cost us. He is good on the ball as he is very composed and he reads the game well as he has to due to his severe lack of pace but he should be shelved as soon as Shaw is fit and well.
He is not good enough long term as a starter if we want to dominate again.

Not at all. Even his supposed 'brainfart' was him holding strong against anichebe under pressure (when the CB Jones or Rojo failed to deal with the ball themselves). Plus that's the whole point of having a team. Players Cover for others. Blind himself covers for players many times.

Even Shaw himself had more 'brainfarts' when he played than Blind did this season (off the top of my head, Sane toasted him and hit the post against us). This happens often.

Blind is a key member of the team, a reliable player. Whether he is a starter or not is upto the manager but he can play 3 positions very well inspite of his supposed limitations.

 

[prath92]

Mourinho gave him a chance at CB the start of the season. Unfortunately for Blind, his fortunes were tied to Fellaini being the starting holding midfielder.

Both were independent. Plus Fellaini was very good in his first few games. Fellaini's worst game was the Watford game where Smalling played at CB showing blind had nothing to do with Fellaini playing.

 

[Siddharth]

The best thing about him is that he proves so many know-it-alls in this forum wrong. He makes them look stupid. It is clear that fans have no real knowledge of football, certainly not more than managers and professionals.

 

[Dante]

Both were independent. Plus Fellaini was very good in his first few games. Fellaini's worst game was the Watford game where Smalling played at CB showing blind had nothing to do with Fellaini playing.

You've got it back to front. Blind needs Fellaini in front of him. Fellaini doesn't need Blind. The former was dropped simply because he's not quite good enough.

Blind has played 5 games at CB. Fellaini has played as a DM every single time. Mourinho doesn't trust Blind as a CB unless there's height ahead of him. LvG was the same.

 

[Dante]

The best thing about him is that he proves so many know-it-alls in this forum wrong. He makes them look stupid. It is clear that fans have no real knowledge of football, certainly not more than managers and professionals.

He's been dropped from CB for Rojo and from LB (until recently) for Darmian. Blind has hardly proven anything one way or the other.

I think he's a serviceable option at LB, but he still has to show it in a Mourinho system.

 

[dichinero]

You've got it back to front. Blind needs Fellaini in front of him. Fellaini doesn't need Blind. The former was dropped simply because he's not quite good enough.

Blind has played 5 games at CB. Fellaini has played as a DM every single time. Mourinho doesn't trust Blind as a CB unless there's height ahead of him. LvG was the same.

You're kidding right? Blind needs Fellaini before he can be a competent defender? Just because they played at the same period, it does not make it dependent. Did Blind need Fellaini last season? Seems like some made up stuff to underrate Blind's ability at CB given that he's not even a natural CB. He was dropped because the others were more natural CBs, simple as.

 

[Dante]

You're kidding right? Blind needs Fellaini before he can be a competent defender? Just because they played at the same period, it does not make it dependent. Did Blind need Fellaini last season? Seems like some made up stuff to underrate Blind's ability at CB given that he's not even a natural CB. He was dropped because the others were more natural CBs, simple as.

You're calling into question Blind's ability at CB as well.

 

[prath92]

You've got it back to front. Blind needs Fellaini in front of him. Fellaini doesn't need Blind. The former was dropped simply because he's not quite good enough.

Blind has played 5 games at CB. Fellaini has played as a DM every single time. Mourinho doesn't trust Blind as a CB unless there's height ahead of him. LvG was the same.

Nope. Fellaini played because of his merit. Mourinho felt Fellaini is good at DM and started him. Not because of anything else. Same reason why Fellaini also started when Blind didn't play at CB.

LvG wasn't the same either. Blind played close to 50 games mostly at CB whereas Fellaini played about 1000 minutes overall (lowest among all our midfielders I think). And blind had maybe 6 or 7 bad games at worst.

He is right now benched simply because of the form Rojo-Jones is in. The same reason why Bailly was put at RB and Smalling is right now expected to be on the bench. You play your best players. People expected him to not feature at all (even sold) but he has featured quite a lot under Jose even though he was supposedly 'not a Jose kind of player'. He started 17 games out of our 28 games including 11 in the league out of 18.

 

[Esquire]

He's such a smart and impactful player that I'd try to get him into the squad in any one of the three positions he is quite comfortable at. I still think he's the best like for like replacement in DM to Carrick.

Agree with you. If you watch him when he first joined us, and LVG played him in his best position (DM), he was actually quite good. Still think he needs to get stronger physically as all the criticisms of him in this respect are legitimate. That said, he certainly has the footballing intelligence and passing range to be Carrick's successor. Don't think JM likes him there though, otherwise we would have seen him play there at least a couple of times now.

 

[Dante]

Nope. Fellaini played because of his merit. Mourinho felt Fellaini is good at DM and started him. Not because of anything else. Same reason why Fellaini also started when Blind didn't play at CB.

LvG wasn't the same either. Blind played close to 50 games mostly at CB whereas Fellaini played about 1000 minutes overall (lowest among all our midfielders I think). And blind had maybe 6 or 7 bad games at worst.

He is right now benched simply because of the form Rojo-Jones is in. The same reason why Bailly was put at RB and Smalling is right now expected to be on the bench. You play your best players. People expected him to not feature at all (even sold) but he has featured quite a lot under Jose even though he was supposedly 'not a Jose kind of player'. He started 17 games out of our 28 games including 11 in the league out of 18.

In what way is Blind not a Mourinho player? And why do you believe Mourinho keeps bringing on Fellaini at the ends of matches?

 

[prath92]

In what way is Blind not a Mourinho player? And why do you believe Mourinho keeps bringing on Fellaini at the ends of matches?

Because apparently mourinho likes strong fast players. Or something like that.

To protect a lead. To help in defence. He also recently bought Bailly Schneiderlin and Smalling on a couple of games to shore up the defence.

 

[Festive Sandvich]

For those saying that Blind is a backup, and we need better to challenge, which teams above us who we are supposedly challenging with have appreciably better left backs than Blind? As a pure defender, Azpilicueta sure, and possibly Rose for his pace, but the rest? Arsenal left backs - nah, City left backs - nah, Liverpool have Milner and Moreno ffs. Mourinho will improve the athleticism of the side through his signings, make no mistake - sooner or later, we're going to need footballing brains to go to the next level. Blind is top notch, and could really shine in a physical Mourinho side.

 

[Dante]

Because apparently mourinho likes strong fast players. Or something like that.

To protect a lead. To help in defence. He also recently bought Bailly Schneiderlin and Smalling on a couple of games to shore up the defence.

Blind is a hipster favourite. Fellaini isn't.

Sorry for mentioning them in the same post, even though their strengths and weaknesses complement each other, and they both started out as first choice then got dropped at almost the same time.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Martial's ceiling is high too, but he won't start games until he starts proving himself.

Exactly, but because his ceiling is so high, like Shaw, Martial gets tonnes of chances to prove himself and will continue to get them.... which is exactly what I said.

Players like Memphis, Schneiderlin etc are not getting chances because Mou doesn't think their ceiling is high enough.

 

[VP89]

Exactly, but because his ceiling is so high, like Shaw he will get chances to prove himself.... which is exactly what I said.

Players like Memphis, Schneiderlin etc are not getting chances because Mou doesn't think their ceiling is high enough.

Both Shaw and Martial have been given their chances and subsequently been dropped (Shaw in particular criticised for attitude and positioning publically by Mourinho).

Doesn't seem to me that he'd be walking into the first XI when fit, and rightly so.

 

[SoCross]

Very well taken goal. Good footwork! He's our Mr. Reliable, will give you a 7/10 performance a majority of the time at CB or LB. Will probably be the same if moved back into midfield.

 

[carlosp]

Blind played very well on Saturday. People saying he had difficulty with Anichabe are idiots. He held Anichabe back and got a yellow, same as any other defender would have done in the situation. When De Gea saved the poor shot from Anichabe Blind had headed it out just before. He shouldn't have been in that situation to be fair, Jones was actually sitting in no mans land at that point. Once he headed the ball, did you guys spot that he went and defended the goal line. Had Anichabe gotten the ball past De Gea, Blind would most likely have saved the goal bound ball off the line.

Blind's goal was excellent.

For our second goal, who spotted that Blind pressed the Sunderland midfielder into passing the ball back and then after it was intercepted by Pogba after another bad pass. Pogba went on to pass it to Ibra who scored.

For the third goal, Blind had crossed, the Sunderland defence headed the ball out then Blind ran close to 20m and made Sunderland midfield rush pass the ball to Valencia who then passed to Ibra for the cross of Mhki's glorious goal. If you watch carefully, Martial was closer and should have done the pressing but didn't while Blind ran past Martial and forced the error.

Great work rate by Blind and he doesn't get enough credit that he deserves. He had contributed to all the goals on Saturday.

 

[dichinero]

You're calling into question Blind's ability at CB as well.

He's not a natural CB but it will a lot more than a handful of brain farts to question Blinds ability as a CB. We literally would have been screwed last season had Blind not seamlessly cover as a dependable CB cover, with quite possibly the best defensive record in the league when other more natural CBs were in poor form or either crocked.

In the time he has been here, he has had less bad games than any other natural CB or on which is fantastic in that he has been doing a job in a more unaturtal for us. The common excuse is that he is not physical yet he managed to play 50 games last season as CB for the first time in career, with few injuries, undoing the likes of Aguero and Lukaku with ease, and I repeat, a solid defensive record in a poor season.

Physical or not, had United not been direct rivals, Pep at City will bite your hands off to have Blind over a more natural CB in Stones right now, and he will also fit in the Barca team easily. You know why? He is a very intelligent player, a rarity these days. I'd rather have intelligent players than physical players and it's ironic that you keep mentioning Fellaini. The same criticism has been laid at Matas expense, but two of them including DDG have been our most influential player of 2016.

It's a forum of opinions but it feels like you're underrating, underestimating and underappreciating the importance of Blind.

 

[The United]

Sometimes people here find only faults of technically brilliant players instead of seeing the use for them. He is very good at passing, his crossing is good, he has a good footballing brain. But he is not fast and weak. Should ship him out in a year. bla bla

Well, not like the strongest and fastest like tony, smalling, shaw or even bailey hasn't contributed any kind of mistakes to cost us?

It is like some barca team didn't exist with mostly those kind of footballers and dominate the whole planet against every team before.

Very funny.

 

[The United]

He shouldnt play there. Compared to our other CBs he's just too weak. Under LVG it worked due to our general play but he got found out many times. There were endless discussions here too

Well, what CBs never got 'found out'?

Endless discussions could happen among brain dead idiots talking shit you know as happens a lot on football forums. Just saying. Nothing really to prove anything at all.

 

[G-manc]

He has some issues defensively but he offers so much more going forward than Darmian.

 

[Dante]

He's not a natural CB but it will a lot more than a handful of brain farts to question Blinds ability as a CB. We literally would have been screwed last season had Blind not seamlessly cover as a dependable CB cover, with quite possibly the best defensive record in the league when other more natural CBs were in poor form or either crocked.

In the time he has been here, he has had less bad games than any other natural CB or on which is fantastic in that he has been doing a job in a more unaturtal for us. The common excuse is that he is not physical yet he managed to play 50 games last season as CB for the first time in career, with few injuries, undoing the likes of Aguero and Lukaku with ease, and I repeat, a solid defensive record in a poor season.

Physical or not, had United not been direct rivals, Pep at City will bite your hands off to have Blind over a more natural CB in Stones right now, and he will also fit in the Barca team easily. You know why? He is a very intelligent player, a rarity these days. I'd rather have intelligent players than physical players and it's ironic that you keep mentioning Fellaini. The same criticism has been laid at Matas expense, but two of them including DDG have been our most influential player of 2016.

It's a forum of opinions but it feels like you're underrating, underestimating and underappreciating the importance of Blind.

No more than you are, according to the above post.

 

[Lawman]

The best thing about him is that he proves so many know-it-alls in this forum wrong. He makes them look stupid. It is clear that fans have no real knowledge of football, certainly not more than managers and professionals.

And it looks like to me Jose is only using him as he is struggling with options. That would make you on the wrong side of the football manager so would that equate to you having no real knowledge? See i dont see it like that i just see it as a different opinion.

 

[TwoSheds]

It's not wrong imo it's bang on the money. He is soft for a defender and often gets out muscled. He does generally have a good game but has a couple of brain farts every game that can cost us. He is good on the ball as he is very composed and he reads the game well as he has to due to his severe lack of pace but he should be shelved as soon as Shaw is fit and well.
He is not good enough long term as a starter if we want to dominate again.

Personally I don't think he's weak, but I agree he's a bit soft. If you think back to other full backs we've had who weren't particularly strong or quick, I go straight away to Heinze or Gary as models of how to defend. Both of them were capable of being a little bit nasty. For example, even if somebody was outjumping them they'd give him a little push in the back or something to put him off. I think Blind would benefit from being a bit more sneaky like that, he plays a bit too nicely for a defender who isn't big, strong or fast.

 

[JeffBoomTetris]

His technique in the ball is very reliable. He took very very little space to bring Ibra's pass into his stride with the weak foot and to smash the ball into the bottom corner with the left. That's something I still didn't get to see from Shaw or Rojo or Darmian