I'd like to see him take more free kicks on the left side, he whipped it in perfectly for Pogba.
17
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 39
- Clean sheets
- 19
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 4
- Status
Better today but he just can't cover ground quick enough, that is all that stops him being a very good lb because he does most aspects very well.
Thought he was very good.
He was very good today. Defended well, passed it well and was always there for Martial. More of that please
Not a fan of him at all but I have to say, he played pretty well.
Would still rather see Luke Shaw play though
Would still rather see Luke Shaw play though
Can't help but to be impressed with this guy. His anticipation is some of the best i've seen...really just reads the game superbly
Some great deliveries into the box too...he was unlucky to not get an assist with Paul's header.
Not saying he should be 1st choice LB or a starter but I think he's a very valuable player to have in the squad
Some great deliveries into the box too...he was unlucky to not get an assist with Paul's header.
Not saying he should be 1st choice LB or a starter but I think he's a very valuable player to have in the squad
Hard to not be impressed with his overall contribution. It must be said that Martial is starting to do a better job of recognizing when he has to get back & help out because Blind's lack of speed is a worry for me.
What he lacks in pace he does (almost) make up for in experience and unlike Darmian, knows when and when not to go forward. Still think Shaw will get another crack but we'll see eh? Failing that Jose will find a solution because there were times today when the overlap was on but old Blind's legs just couldn't keep up with his brain.
What he lacks in pace he does (almost) make up for in experience and unlike Darmian, knows when and when not to go forward. Still think Shaw will get another crack but we'll see eh? Failing that Jose will find a solution because there were times today when the overlap was on but old Blind's legs just couldn't keep up with his brain.
Last edited:
His crossing today was unreal.. he should do that more often. Whipped in with pace and curl, it was Hargreavesesque.
I think hes useful for LB when were going to be on the front foot. His passing really does help for our attacks.
His anticipation and reading of the game makes up more often than not for his lack of pace. He does seem to play when Martials ahead of him.
His anticipation and reading of the game makes up more often than not for his lack of pace. He does seem to play when Martials ahead of him.
Think he was very good tonight, run of games really helped his game reading and anticipation, he was rarely caught off position.
Martial tracking back a lot also helped him.
That free kick he took and whiped it in was great as well.
Overall very good performance.
Martial tracking back a lot also helped him.
That free kick he took and whiped it in was great as well.
Overall very good performance.
I enjoyed his performance tonight. His lack of speed can sometimes leave a gap, but as long as he's covered well we're fine until Shaw finds his feet again. And come to think of our LB situation, I wonder how Borthwick-Jackson's loan is going.
At times in the second half it felt like people were refusing to pass to him. I wondered if he was wearing a Darmian mask or something...
We know he is suspect defensively and has really bad pace but I was most surprised at how bad his corners were. Normally quite decent.
He's our best option at left-back at the moment especially because we struggle to score goals. Contributes more in attack than Darmian, good at set-pieces and interceptions galore.
Anybody who speaks against him is answerable to me
Anybody who speaks against him is answerable to me
Agreed 100%. In an attacking sense, he is very good, so is perfect against those teams who park the bus.
It makes no sense to play Darmian against the park the bus teams, as he is useless as an attacker.
There were also times where he picked up great positions and was either ignored or the others were incapable of completing the pass so it works both ways.
He was wide open one time and smalling couldn't pick him out getting intercepted. Blind put in a challenge to keep them pressed in and we won it back and both ibra and Martial had chances to play him in wide open space. Ended with Martial trying to play back to ibra I think and us losing it and then breaking. They got a shot out of it in behind blind which makes him look out of position but he should have got the ball. And failing that Pogba completely failed to cover. He looked and saw two people coming down the left and instead just slowly jogged centrally.
It's a more positive performance than our usual LB performances so I can't say it a bad one. However, his flaw is still very obvious. Have absolute no recovering pace. Once he's out of position, our left flank is there for taking. He's no worse than Darmian in defensive 1 vs 1 against opponent attacker, but his discipline is definite worse than Darmian. Seems like breaking our own offside trap once per game for the opponent with his careless positioning. The trailing leg incident if happened in domestic game would cost us. I meant those fecking ref could give a penalty against us for nothing shirt pulling. This one is soft but had real bad intention.
Attacking wise, he's our best LB hand down. Good at build up, intelligent to get into good position and play the right passes, know how to cross...
With all that in mind, I believe we're stuck with rotation at LB for the time being, and reactive according to our opponent. In case we want a settled starting XI, either one of ours has to step up big time or we're gonna get one in the next transfer window.
Attacking wise, he's our best LB hand down. Good at build up, intelligent to get into good position and play the right passes, know how to cross...
With all that in mind, I believe we're stuck with rotation at LB for the time being, and reactive according to our opponent. In case we want a settled starting XI, either one of ours has to step up big time or we're gonna get one in the next transfer window.
I think the link is an inverse one between him and Carrick. No Carrick passing from deep = Blind at LB. Darmian usually plays when Carrick plays (which is odd as, having sacrificed a more advanced player for Carrick, you would expect Mourinho to be more inclined to have two fullbacks that contribute to attack).
Hate him as CB, but he is growing in me as a leftback.
Was really good today.
Glad because that means Shaw gonna need to work his socks off to play again.
Ps. Blind looks faster than usual?
Was really good today.
Glad because that means Shaw gonna need to work his socks off to play again.
Ps. Blind looks faster than usual?
He was good with his over all play and some nice interception towards the end.
I have been ever so slightly critical of him, but I thought he was good yesterday. He broke up play a few times with some nice interceptions and even drove towards their goal with the ball at his feet. He still gets found out at times from being too slow and lacking all kinds of agility, but every fullback is skinned from time to time.Good game.
I thought that as well - but if you look closely, he moves his arms a lot and keeps his knees high, but there isn't much propulsion really.
yeah, I noticed that too ... but there were also examples off him busting a gut to get past Martial but just didn't have the legs!
I've noticed in several games where it seems we opt to attack from the right than the left. I don't know whether it's a lack of trust from the CB's and midfield or whether there's just a greater confidence in Mata & Mkhi's side of the park? There have been other games where Martial get's ignored on the left whjen he's open. Then he drifts inside looking for he ball causing congestion. Frustrating but I do think that is happening less and the more they play together hopefully the better it gets?
Have been saying both points for a while.
He has pretty good off ball movements. But, we don't have a carrick type midfielder or blind like CB to pass the ball to the wing fast enough to take advantage of it.
Pogba does it a lot on the right side though but I think it is a bit different to the left side. He did once in the first half which led to zlatan's goal.
About the defending, pogba has improved but you would get caught out a bit at times with pogba himself going forward a lot. And blind is not tony who is a tank with a jet engine.
St. Etienne 0:1 Man Utd
Looked sharp and creative again today, my MOTM.
Agreed. One of a bunch of good performers but I gave him the nod overall.
He and Young both played very well today albeit in a match won before it started. He did seem more lively than usual and may have dine enough to play again on the weekend!
Probably my motm too, made some very good runs and his passing was as penetrative as always.
I hope so. He is better than darmian in every aspect.
I agree with you. I'm not a Darmian hater by any means but I would choose Young pretty much every time. Offers so much more going forward and works so fecking hard!
Much better than Darmian but I mean, come on, that's about as difficult as hating the scousers. Played well tonight and pity that pass didn't get through to Zlatan after some good work.
Our best LB. I don't know why everyone is so obsessed with getting Shaw back on, when we have a player like Blind.
Blind has a higher potential in my opinion. And I think the likes of Barca would be lining up for his signature if we were ever silly enough to sell him on.
He'll be vital for us when we get back in the Champions League. Thats when his true brilliance will show.
Blind has a higher potential in my opinion. And I think the likes of Barca would be lining up for his signature if we were ever silly enough to sell him on.
He'll be vital for us when we get back in the Champions League. Thats when his true brilliance will show.
Currently our best LB. Rojo is not the player he is at CB when played at LB and Darmian is decent but not exceptional at anything.
I'm a massive fan of Blind but Shaw has always been the better leftback. Memories are too short if his performances for Southampton and those the season before his injury are forgotten.
Blind does his best work centrally, it's here his biggest asset - his passing - can be best put to use.
I thought tonight's match was the best I've seen him play for a while. He's a good player but I can't see him at the club next season.
If he wasn't the slowest footballer to ever exist, he'd be incredibly good. His awareness, and passing through the lines is top drawer. As it is, he'd get skinned by Jan Molby.
Id also rather see him play Sunday, especially if Martial is starting ahead of him. It seems to work best for both of them (rather than Darmian behind Martial).
Also think if we do have Tony V bombing hes sensible to stay back at certain times to provide the added protection and ability to pass it from the back under pressure.
Also think if we do have Tony V bombing hes sensible to stay back at certain times to provide the added protection and ability to pass it from the back under pressure.
Why do you think that? I think he's the safest full-back (in terms of staying here) after Valencia. He's a decent left-back and he's versatile enough to make a passable DM or CB in times of great need. Also, he doesn't seem to cause trouble about not being played week, week out.
Shaw is in far more danger of not being here for too long, the way I see it. And Darmian must already have one foot outside the door given his poor performances this season.
Unless he's happy with being a multi functional squad player then I just don't see Mourinho keeping him.
I think this is false. Mourinho sees him as reliable and can play a lot of positions.
- Status