[Jaxa]

I cant believe he isn't being spoken about and/or tried as Carrick's replacement, he is one of the best passer's we have right now and with space could cause some real damage plus he has (from experience now) the attributes too put in a good defensive shift, i would love to see this

___________De Gea_________
__Valencia__Bailly__Jones___Shaw__
____________ Blind __________
____Herrera_________Pogba_____
__Mikhytarian________Martial___
__________Ibrahimovic___________


I honestly think that team is well balanced with a mean attack too, im obviously taking into account all players are in form here

EDIT: didnt mean too include Mata haha

 

[Dante]

I cant believe he isn't being spoken about and/or tried as Carrick's replacement, he is one of the best passer's we have right now and with space could cause some real damage plus he has (from experience now) the attributes too put in a good defensive shift, i would love to see this

___________De Gea_________
__Valencia__Bailly__Jones___Shaw__
____________ Blind __________
____Herrera_________Pogba_____
__Mikhytarian__Mata_____Martial___
__________Ibrahimovic___________


I honestly think that team is well balanced with a mean attack too, im obviously taking into account all players are in form here

I've always favoured a 4-4-3 as well.

 

[TheSweeper]

Crazy thing is Carrick & blind have the same mindset - very calm on the ball.

I don't see why Jose shouldn't actually try it out in a cup game.

 

[Lawman]

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.

Are you saying Gary and Heinze were not strong or quick?

 

[Siddharth]

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.

Yeah, I don't know more than professionals. Just a fan. But the same applies to everyone, even though they may not admit it. And, I appreciate Blind's efforts because everyone thinks he'd be a disaster at CB but he's always acquitted himself well in that position. Is he our best CB? No, he is not. Is he a competent CB? Very much. Is he good enough to nail down one single position? I don't know. Probably not in Mourinho regime. Is he a very intelligent footballer and a great asset in our squad? Absolutely.

 

[Lawman]

Yeah, I don't know more than professionals. Just a fan. But the same applies to everyone, even though they may not admit it. And, I appreciate Blind's efforts because everyone thinks he'd be a disaster at CB but he's always acquitted himself well in that position. Is he our best CB? No, he is not. Is he a competent CB? Very much. Is he good enough to nail down one single position? I don't know. Probably not in Mourinho regime. Is he a very intelligent footballer and a great asset in our squad? Absolutely.

Hard to disagree with this its a shame he lacks so much speed.

 

[TwoSheds]

Are you saying Gary and Heinze were not strong or quick?

Are you saying they were? They won plenty of physical battles but by being tough and occasionally a bit naughty, not by being physical beasts. Think back to Vieira vs Neville, Gary was a warrior but he's never winning a fight against someone much bigger and stronger, even if Vieira was a pussy.

 

[Sammyjunn]

Some posters are so biased when it comes to Blind, about Blind needing Fellaini when he held his own without for a whole season last year? He maybe isnt a starter for the long term and we do have better CB's at the moment, but he's miles better than Shaw and Darmian, Darmian who is just useless and Shaw who has zero attacking threat and has even been shaky defensively as well this season (or have we forgotten the Navas horrorshow already)?

 

[Dante]

Some posters are so biased when it comes to Blind, about Blind needing Fellaini when he held his own without for a whole season last year? He maybe isnt a starter for the long term and we do have better CB's at the moment, but he's miles better than Shaw and Darmian, Darmian who is just useless and Shaw who has zero attacking threat and has even been shaky defensively as well this season (or have we forgotten the Navas horrorshow already)?

Biased? I really like Blind, but I can see his limitations and so can his manager.

That's why he's equal second choice with Darmian for LB (whom you described as 'useless') and dropped down to fifth choice at CB having initially been first choice. He's also never played at CB under Mourinho without Fellaini in front of him. That's undeniable.

Your bias is Blinding you to the objective facts. This forum is so full of people who either hate or love players it's ridiculous. Football hipsterism at its worst.

 

[Lawman]

Are you saying they were? They won plenty of physical battles but by being tough and occasionally a bit naughty, not by being physical beasts. Think back to Vieira vs Neville, Gary was a warrior but he's never winning a fight against someone much bigger and stronger, even if Vieira was a pussy.

Can't remember Gary and certainly not Heinze getting bullied or targeted. Plus they were never caught out for pace like Blind does. Blind is Laren Blanc slow.

 

[prath92]

Can't remember Gary and certainly not Heinze getting bullied or targeted. Plus they were never caught out for pace like Blind does. Blind is Laren Blanc slow.

He got caught maybe a handful of times last season and this. No more than every other fullback in the league.

 

[Dante]

Biased? I really like Blind, but I can see his limitations and so can his manager.

That's why he's equal second choice with Darmian for LB (whom you described as 'useless') and dropped down to fifth choice at CB having initially been first choice. He's also never played at CB under Mourinho without Fellaini in front of him. That's undeniable.

Your bias is Blinding you to the objective facts. This forum is so full of people who either hate or love players it's ridiculous. Football hipsterism at its worst.

Nice one, Dante!

 

[IBleedRed]

Nice one, Dante!

Nice one, congratulating yourself

 

[Lawman]

He got caught maybe a handful of times last season and this. No more than every other fullback in the league.

He is a week link in our team but not a bad back up. He is prone to an error virtually every game. Plays well for 89 mins but has a concentration lapse.

 

[MadDogg]

The CAF suffers from amnesia! He was very good last season. I'll never forget how he handled Aguero and Lukaku.

To be fair though, he really only 'handled' Lukaku in one of the three times we faced Everton last season. In the first match Lukaku stupidly spent pretty much the entire match trying to beat Smalling, and unsurprisingly Smalling destroyed him. The second match was when Lukaku spent most of it targeting Blind, and Blind did amazingly well and didn't give him a sniff. In the third match Lukaku once again targeted Blind, and this time got the better of him a number of times.

 

[The United]

To be fair though, he really only 'handled' Lukaku in one of the three times we faced Everton last season. In the first match Lukaku stupidly spent pretty much the entire match trying to beat Smalling, and unsurprisingly Smalling destroyed him. The second match was when Lukaku spent most of it targeting Blind, and Blind did amazingly well and didn't give him a sniff. In the third match Lukaku once again targeted Blind, and this time got the better of him a number of times.

The third match being FA semi? I thought he did very well against him.

 

[prath92]

The third match being FA semi? I thought he did very well against him.

He did well. And additionally the first game he didn't even feature. The 3-0 win at goodison he was not in the squad.

He is a week link in our team but not a bad back up. He is prone to an error virtually every game. Plays well for 89 mins but has a concentration lapse.

That's not true at all. And the way you say it makes it seem like he does it every game. Which again is completely false. Concentration wise he is one of the better players in our squad.

 

[The United]

He did well. And additionally the first game he didn't even feature. The 3-0 win at goodison he was not in the squad.



That's not true at all. And the way you say it makes it seem like he does it every game. Which again is completely false. Concentration wise he is one of the better players in our squad.

So people bsing and making shits up to say shits?

Well, I am not surprised then!

 

[Yagami]

I honestly can't remember any player constantly getting the better of Blind. He's made mistakes, sure, but I haven't seen any player that's set out to target him constantly get the better of him ala Navas vs Shaw a few months ago or Darmian vs anybody. That's not to say he's been perfect and nobodys got the better of him at all, but it's by no means a common occurrence.

The only time I've thought he was out of his depth and/or worried about him playing was in his first season (14/15) where he started out in midfield for a bit. I can't remember his performances that well to be honest but, out of all our signings that year, he was the one I was least excited about as I didn't know anything about his as a player really and, from what I did see, I wasn't sure his technique would make up for his physique, but he won me over going from the one I was least excited in seeing to becoming my favourite out of said signings that summer due to his impressive showings.

I saw a lot of opposition fans relishing their wide players going up against him during our end of season run in the 14/15 season in which he came out on top. I saw (including myself) a lot of United fans worried about him being our starting CB alongside Smalling last year, fearing he wouldn't cope; only for him to come out of that year with a good season under his belt. With him exceeding expectations and proving myself and others wrong, I think, now that he's adjusted to the league and England, he could become a really good midfielder for us. I know his performances in midfield weren't that impressive when he first arrived but coming from the Dutch league to the Premier League is a tough ask for any player to perform to their previous standard right away. I don't 100% think he'd be a success in midfield as there are glaring flaws in his game, and I understand where those who have a completely different opinion to mine on Blind are coming from, but I do hope he gets a shot there even though I know it's highly unlikely just to see if he can.

 

[carlosp]

So people bsing and making shits up to say shits?

Well, I am not surprised then!

Yep. Even on the week we had people saying Anichebe was all over Blind yet Anichebe wasn't. As a fact Blind fouled Anichebe thus putting him in his place. After the foul, Anichebe didn't get a sniff through Blind. Blind was excellent in the game too, defending and attacking wise.

 

[Lawman]

He did well. And additionally the first game he didn't even feature. The 3-0 win at goodison he was not in the squad.



That's not true at all. And the way you say it makes it seem like he does it every game. Which again is completely false. Concentration wise he is one of the better players in our squad.

Prath I realise youvare a fully fledged Blind fan so I will leave it here. What I have said I have said before some agree some don't but for me he switches off in games and is a mistake waiting to happen. Yes he generally cruises through games then boom we have conceded a goal and its because of him.

 

[VP89]

Prath I realise youvare a fully fledged Blind fan so I will leave it here. What I have said I have said before some agree some don't but for me he switches off in games and is a mistake waiting to happen. Yes he generally cruises through games then boom we have conceded a goal and its because of him.

Shaw switches off quite a few times too tbh. So does Smalling. Valencia used to be caught out of position many times at RB last year. Should we sell them all?

I'm not saying Blind is flawless, far from it. But your posts are terribly over the top. Suggesting he's weak (which he isn't) and "Laurent Blanc slow" (which he isn't).

 

[prath92]

Prath I realise youvare a fully fledged Blind fan so I will leave it here. What I have said I have said before some agree some don't but for me he switches off in games and is a mistake waiting to happen. Yes he generally cruises through games then boom we have conceded a goal and its because of him.

more like you are a full fledged fan of spouting nonsense but fair enough if you want to believe it. He has been responsible for maybe a handful of goals over the last 2 seasons. Nowhere near what you suggest (a mistake every game. Laughable that people actually still believe that )

Edit - basically what @VP89 said

 

[red4ever 79]

Love Blind. Never lets us down, can fill a number of positions, is one of the best passers at the club and is an all round nice guy.

 

[Brightonian]

Not positionally, but in many other ways he reminds me of Carrick before his post-Scholes flourishing. Not a star player but a reliable fixture with a good brain on his shoulders, an outlet for the manager's plans on the pitch, and a player who will be important if we're going to win trophies.

 

[carlosp]

Prath I realise youvare a fully fledged Blind fan so I will leave it here. What I have said I have said before some agree some don't but for me he switches off in games and is a mistake waiting to happen. Yes he generally cruises through games then boom we have conceded a goal and its because of him.

I haven't seen him switch off but I have seen him do mistakes. But then I have seen Carrick and a number of other players make mistakes that concede the team a goal. Yet I don't see a number of people like yourself go on about those players. Blind gets unfairly judged just because he is 'weak', 'small', 'not fast', 'cannot jump' etc. yet I've seen him do all of those or defend against players who apparently excel at those and come out with flying colours. I've seen people also judge him at doing something wrong yet when you analyse that same problem, you see he actually excelled. He has done mistakes and conceded goals, but so have a number of our other players. I do however see Blind do more like run a big amount of distance to cover a positions, hassling opposition players and a number of other things when a number other players who are closer don't.

This weekend against Sunderland was such an example. For the goal of Borini's, watch the replay. Carrick is closest to Borini, yet Blind runs some distance to try and block the shot while Carrick who was near, turns his back and allows Borini to shoot. That was poor from Carrick and excellent from Blind yet I don't see anyone praise Blind for it.

He ran some distance to hassle a Sunderland player that resulted in a bad pass which Valencia intercepted and eventually resulted in Mkhitaryan's glorious goal. Something Martial should have done as he was initally much closer to the Sunderland player and he should've hassled the player.

Blind provides so much yet most of his work is overlooked or ignored.

Watch what Blind does in all four goals.

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/manchester-united-vs-sunderland.424671/page-41#post-20235054

 

[MadDogg]

The third match being FA semi? I thought he did very well against him.

Don't get me wrong, he didn't do badly. But I also wouldn't say he did particularly well, certainly not to the same extent as he did in the previous match (where he did completely destroy Lukaku to such an extent that it was hilarious). Lukaku got in behind him a couple of times, or won physical battles against him too easily to hold up the ball.

I'm not pointing to that match as a match in which Blind struggled. Certainly not. But when people point to him comfortably getting the better of Lukaku, I tend to think they forget that in the semi-final it was more of an even battle rather than Blind winning.

 

[dichinero]

then boom we have conceded a goal and its because of him.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say you only watch highlights. Blind has made the least amount of individual defensive errors. The whole lazy, weak and slow thing is just some nonsense really, the same way they said the same about Mata who has been our most productive player of 2016

 

[diarm]

People have been saying he'd be found out, was too small/weak/slow and his mistakes would lead to goals since the beginning of last season.

When it never happened, they began to fall back on those old predictions as confirmation of his failings in a sort of "oh I know he's been good recently but remember when he was totally out of his depth before?" nonsense.

Yes he has had a poor game here and there, but Shaw, Darmian, Smalling, Rojo and Jones have all made more defensive errors than Blind has over the past two seasons. I'd love to see him eased into the Carrick role over the next 12-18 months because looking around Europe, other than maybe Strootman, I don't see a whole range of better options than him.

Blind is clever, intuitive, calm on the ball and can pick an excellent pass. His reading of the game is better than anyone else in our squad bar Carrick and given time to focus on that deep lying midfielder role, learning from a master of the role as he goes, I think he could flourish.

He was named Dutch player of the year in that exact position before he joined us and since then, has performed well at CB and LB. I don't see why we wouldn't look to him as Carricks replacement?

 

[rollingstoned1]

Yes he has had a poor game here and there, but Shaw, Darmian, Smalling, Rojo and Jones have all made more defensive errors than Blind has over the past two seasons. I'd love to see him eased into the Carrick role over the next 12-18 months because looking around Europe, other than maybe Strootman, I don't see a whole range of better options than him.

This, this and this. I've said it so often. His intelligence is tailor made for that DLP role and he needs to learn from Carrick and Basti on how to play that role so as to exert maximum influence on our game. Blind is the sort of player who would look decent even playing as a winger/CF/GK so it's not a shock he played well as a CB for a whole season but I think he deserves another chance in CM.

 

[coolredwine]

Blind did well in that deep lying midfielder role when he first started here under LvG. It was only in the 2nd second season that he was shifted further back given our defensive options. And we actually also played good football with Blind at the foot of the midfield. Whether Mourinho wants to try him there or not now, that's another question.

 

[TheSweeper]

I dont know if anyone notices this- When carrick plays; he drops very deep inbetween the two defenders.

The two defenders split very wide allowing our fullbacks more freedom to push forward. This is usually how we start attacks.

Blind having that experience at CB could play this position easily as a CDM shifting in and out of a tertiary CB role.

 

[Dolf]

Completely agree with what's been said about Blind playing CDM. It's strange that jose hasn't atleast tried it out in a cup game but maybe we will see it in the coming weeks considering carrick won't be able to play every game.
If he doesn't even try it then it's a serious let down from jose.

 

[December_16]

I dont know if anyone notices this- When carrick plays; he drops very deep inbetween the two defenders.

The two defenders split very wide allowing our fullbacks more freedom to push forward. This is usually how we start attacks.

Blind having that experience at CB could play this position easily as a CDM shifting in and out of a tertiary CB role.

Yeah I totally agree. If one thing that I really want to see tested this season, it's Blind playing in Carrick's role for a number of games. I don't think he played there much recently, or at all if I could recall, because we're so stacked with CMs/DMs right now, but if he does as well there as he did playing CB last season, maybe we have a potential solution for Carrick's replacement already made.

I love Blind. I hope we never sell him.

 

[TheSweeper]

Yeah I totally agree. If one thing that I really want to see tested this season, it's Blind playing in Carrick's role for a number of games. I don't think he played there much recently, or at all if I could recall, because we're so stacked with CMs/DMs right now, but if he does as well there as he did playing CB last season, maybe we have a potential solution for Carrick's replacement already made.

I love Blind. I hope we never sell him.

Same Ever Since he played at CB he has become my favourite player but have decided not to buy his shirt until he settles down to be atleast a vital cog in the team.

I reckon this is where alot of the doubts come in from the supporters because he has been the 'jack of all trades- master of none'

In my opinion there are very few differences between Carrick & Blind. Id argue that even though Carrick is a better passer; blind is the better passer of the ball forward. Some of the passes he makes from CB to the strikers are unbelievable.
In theory he has a very good reading of the game, possibly superior tackling ability.

As some supporters say - he may have an occasional lapse ( i dont agree with this) but him being placed higher up as a CDM negates the problems he would face for 90 mins at CB and being the literally the last line of defence.
Furthermore- we have seen that he has a unique ability to bring the best out of other defenders - I attribute smalling's form last season largely down to blind's composure. Him playing as a CB/CDM gives us alot of positives on paper atleast.

 

[GDaly95]

He's a very good player and an excellent player to have in the squad. Versatile, reliable, calming, consistent. My favourite thing about Blind is that he's quite slow but almost never gets taken advantage of by speedy wingers. It's actually quite remarkable.

When he arrived, my opinion was that he isn't a player that I think will be in the starting XI when we build a great side, but he'll be an important member of the squad. My opinion is pretty much the same now although he is better than I expected and I think he should be given a chance to replace Carrick.

 

[TheSweeper]

He's a very good player and an excellent player to have in the squad. Versatile, reliable, calming, consistent. My favourite thing about Blind is that he's quite slow but almost never gets taken advantage of by speedy wingers. It's actually quite remarkable.

When he arrived, my opinion was that he isn't a player that I think will be in the starting XI when we build a great side, but he'll be an important member of the squad. My opinion is pretty much the same now although he is better than I expected and I think he should be given a chance to replace Carrick.

I'm not sure if you agree- I find blind and carrick share the same playstyle. Initially I assumed that maybe we would look for a destroyer at the CDM role; however seeing how carrick has made the midfield stable with herrera becoming our destroyer - its come to the situation that very few players if any share the same play style to Carrick's. Literally only verrati comes close & I doubt that happening until we need to step up from PL winners to CL winners.

 

[ivaldo]

Unfortunately he's permanently branded with the 'prone' tag based on preconceived misconceptions. How many goals have we actually conceded since he's played at the back for us because he's been out-muscled out-jumped or outpaced?

In many peoples eyes he needs to be infallible when it comes to his physicality. He is unable to make any mistake in those areas, and when he does make mistakes we get the 'told you so' posts. There's plenty of instances where players have run past Shaw or Valencia, out muscled Bailly or beaten Smalling in the air. But they aren't under the microscope.

Sqawka has him at 0 mistakes leading to goals last season btw.

 

[GDaly95]

I'm not sure if you agree- I find blind and carrick share the same playstyle. Initially I assumed that maybe we would look for a destroyer at the CDM role; however seeing how carrick has made the midfield stable with herrera becoming our destroyer - its come to the situation that very few players if any share the same play style to Carrick's. Literally only verrati comes close & I doubt that happening until we need to step up from PL winners to CL winners.

I think some aspects of their games are the same, but as you say, there aren't exactly many players out there who are similar to Carrick. Blind and Carrick both impact the game strongly but often in a subtle way, through clever positioning and basically by blocking lines that the opposition try to play through. It's an art within itself and I think they are both very gifted at it. Blind however doesn't have the vision or the passing range that Carrick possesses, but maybe over time that can change. As you say, Herrera is the mobile one and I think a player like him is essential alongside Blind or Carrick, but I think that Blind ticks enough boxes to be given a chance in Carrick's role.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Fullback is for me the toughest position to play in any 4 at the back system. A lot of the pressing is done by the fullbacks and they are expected to produce a lot in attack while being absolutely flawless in defence. I mean the amount of shit fullbacks get from fans for not contributing much in attack or getting beaten by the winger a couple of times is a bit crazy. Most opposition teams have their fastest and most skillful players playing on the wings so obviously a Fullback who is trying his best to join in attacks will get beaten a few times by the opposition wingers.