He was by far our worst player on the pitch. He lost the ball way too often, his hoofing is frustrated and Matic had to help out as he is so often out of position. Shaw cant come back quick enough
17
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 17
- Clean sheets
- 12
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 2
- Status
Looking at the performance today I think the one area we could have improved was fullback. A few aimless long balls and lots of crossing from deep, which I absolutely hate to see. This was partly down to the way Swansea set-up, Matic and Pogba were outnumbered in midfield, so there wasn't always a pass to them. They had two upfront, so wasn't always a pass back to the centre backs. Most importantly our wingers were playing narrow, so everything was infield for them. Mata made the run in-to-out a few times, but Blind was completely isolated with Rashford almost playing as a second striker. Felt the game was crying out for Rashford to hug the touchline for a bit, and drag out a centre back, or force the wingback to defend deeper.
That said, with both 'wingers' playing so narrow, and our fullbacks providing the width, I would have liked either of them, to try make more forward runs, try and get behind the wingbacks, or even dribble past them. Valencia threatened to do this much more than Blind (with it being more natural for him), but neither had anything better than an average day. Definitely room for improvement.
That said, with both 'wingers' playing so narrow, and our fullbacks providing the width, I would have liked either of them, to try make more forward runs, try and get behind the wingbacks, or even dribble past them. Valencia threatened to do this much more than Blind (with it being more natural for him), but neither had anything better than an average day. Definitely room for improvement.
He defended fine today, worried when narsingh came on but he didn't give him a sniff.
Attacking though he needs to step it up big time. Looked scared to get forward at times today and when he did his delivery kept hitting the first man.
Attacking though he needs to step it up big time. Looked scared to get forward at times today and when he did his delivery kept hitting the first man.
Frustrated me massively both games so far. Good squad player but we need Shaw back asap.
I think people criticising his attacking movement today haven't factored in how Jose likes his full backs to operate. Only 1 has a full license to go forward and for us, that's Valencia. Blind's positioning is more conservative by default. Add in his lack of pace to recover and tactical awareness to step into midfield to provide an additional anchor with Matic too.
That said, his delivery could have been better from deep on the occasions he did cross.
That said, his delivery could have been better from deep on the occasions he did cross.
I think he's been solid the last couple of games, personally. I'll even flat out admit that I don't really think he's a very good defender either. Some of his poor defending one vs one has been masked with positioning and the fact that Matic is a very very intelligent and fast closer of the ball and loves to stick long legs out in the tackle. I think that may be tactical though, going forward he's not setting the world on fire but I don't think it would be harsh for him to organically fall out of the team when another player comes and takes it off him. I think that is important for our hierarchy going forward and a good problem to have.
Two clean sheets in a row and a corner assist today and still not good enough. 
Aye because matic won't help out shaw who hasn't put a step wrong (or right).
I totally get why people are not particularly positive about blind but my lord - two games, zero goals and an assist. As long as the manager deems he is the best LB out of those available then you should try to think a tad open mindedly.
The amount of times this guy has put a good performance for us when we have needed it the most is hardly ever talked about.
Quality player who keeps the standards of LB competitive at least. Shaw won't just walk in and guarantee that spot either.
Right now he's the weak link in our team, it's evident. So of course people criticize him, and rightly so
He is better than Shaw. So don't get the excitement of some thinking Shaw is going make up for what we lack from the LB position. We ideally needed an upgrade for both.
He was surprisingly poor in pre-season - really the first run of poor form of any kind I've seen from him since he joined us. But he looks to be easing back to his old self again, much better yesterday. He does need to remind himself that his ball control is good though - he spooks as soon as an oppo gets anywhere near him when he has the ball in our half, but his technical ability will stand up to much closer scrutiny than that, and he should be willing to test it a bit more.
Thought his performance was better than against West Ham, he won the ball in the air more, looked less shaky defensively, though still offered little going forward. I'm not too sure why he's been starting over Darmian, who at least is pretty solid defensively.
Noticed WhoScored gave him an 8/10, in the top 5 for all our players yesterday.
I wouldn't follow stats blindly anytime with a sport like football but he must be hitting decent metrics to get a high rating. Similar to Miki being quiet all day but delivering when it mattered.
I wouldn't follow stats blindly anytime with a sport like football but he must be hitting decent metrics to get a high rating. Similar to Miki being quiet all day but delivering when it mattered.
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Still believe that we need Shaw at left back, not Blind. His constant hoofing really pissed me off yesterday. I'm just afraid that he will, once again, be ruthlessly exposed for lack of pace as the season goes on.
Agreed. I think he'll eventually end up leaving for a quality but not CL contending team that needs a 7/10 performer at various problems spots.
For example, if AC Milan signed him tomorrow, and they play the Spurs 3-4-2-1 they seem likely to end up playing, he'd probably be their 4th best CB for 3 starting spots (Romanogli, Bonucci, Musacchio), their 2nd best LWB (Rodriguez) and their 2nd best DM (Biglia), so if any one of 5(!) players is out, he's an upgrade for them over their next best option. Same might be true for a club like Sevilla or Monaco.
There are good sides he could get 40-50 starts a year filling in 3-4 roles, and Mourinho openly admits to wanting a fast left wing back to play there when we go 3 at the back, and probably as Shaw insurance anyways.
Love this guy, has his issues but his game intelligence and positioning is excellent. Before the first goal we won the corner because Blind decided to run in from the left flank , something that Valencia is unlikely to do . Having said all that I think Darmian will play against Leicester
I'll probably get some flak for this but I don't really see what he brings to United. He's not good enough to play DM, which is supposed to be his best position. He's not assured enough as a central defender and needs the team or his partner to compensate for his shortcomings. And the position he's most likely to get minutes in (LB) is probably his worst of these three.
If he's deployed against a pacy winger he becomes too afraid to venture forward when we have the ball, because he doesn't have the speed to track back if the ball is lost. That stunts our entire left flank. Even when that's not the case, he can't dribble or hold the ball unless he has oceans of space. That means when he receives the ball it's usually going to be passed backwards. Contrast that to Valencia who's much happier to run with the ball and take his man on, and the closer attention he gets as a result opens up space for other players.
His corners are getting better but if he turns out to be first choice left back this season, we need an upgrade in the summer.
If he's deployed against a pacy winger he becomes too afraid to venture forward when we have the ball, because he doesn't have the speed to track back if the ball is lost. That stunts our entire left flank. Even when that's not the case, he can't dribble or hold the ball unless he has oceans of space. That means when he receives the ball it's usually going to be passed backwards. Contrast that to Valencia who's much happier to run with the ball and take his man on, and the closer attention he gets as a result opens up space for other players.
His corners are getting better but if he turns out to be first choice left back this season, we need an upgrade in the summer.
You pretty share same view of me on Blind except I do appreciate him as squad player. He is not top player, but is good option to have. I believe Mourinho does rate Shaw raw potential and is gambling on him for this season.
Blind can put in good passes, crossing when there is less pressure. It's rare for perfect performance, so there is possibility we can afford him that odd chance to create something. The other available optionfor the time being is Darmian is more suited for a pragmatic approach due to his excellence positional discipline. Darmian is worse attacking and more risk averse in case we need to try to attack.
Yeah I agree he has a role in this current squad just because of how short on options at LB we are, and as we seem to have a defensive injury crisis every season. Just that neither of those are ideal situations in the first place and something that will hopefully change by next season. He's a decent crosser and passer when he has space and time, but it's fairly easy for the opposition to deny him that. Sir Alex said that one of the most important qualities of a full-back is knowing when to get forward, and when to stay back. Blind and Darmian just default to staying back and eschew making that decision.
Jeez, thread is full of whinging, as one of our squad players is doing a decent job and the team as a whole is performing very well.
What are some of you guys going to be like if we dare to drop a few point?
Blind has been fine, he's a very useful utility player.
What are some of you guys going to be like if we dare to drop a few point?
Blind has been fine, he's a very useful utility player.
I don't disagree. Just saying the context of what SAF said is about standard of his starting fullback. After all, SAF was the one use Smalling on many occasion as full back who pretty much risk averse most of the time in possession.
I agree our left back position is upgradable, but as I said, there is hope for Shaw to turn it around. He has the raw talent and still have time due to his age.
Back to Blind, I think he is worse off as LB due to the fact that he doesn't have a proper partner on the wing. I meant a proper winger. In SAF's system, the winger or make shift wide player is very well drill in helping out the full back. As I had a discussion with another poster earlier in this thread, I saw that Rashford had meh game and failed to fulfill his duty to keep width which left Blind more isolated. Blind as I see it, is more dependent/ system player who likes to have some kind of partnership to elevate his game. He was quite good as LB during LVG first season where he partner Young, a more proper winger. He had no problem timing his overlap, helped support Young and running back defending. This we current don't have too. For this reason, I was in the want Perisic camp. It still leaves room for Shaw to come back, but potentially improve our not so ideal left back for the time being.
People who think he's the weakest link or slow would probably hates how Dennis Irwin played in the 90's.
Blind is extremely reliable squad player, you can't find any better for similar prices. So getting rid of him would simply be idiotic. I think he can do better but he has been decent for these two games.
People are talking like Shaw is Marcelo or something, I don't get it. Blind is the more intelligent player of the two and actually manages to stay fit. He should improve his crossing from the first two games though. Not to even mention people who'd actually prefer Darmian.
People are talking like Shaw is Marcelo or something, I don't get it. Blind is the more intelligent player of the two and actually manages to stay fit. He should improve his crossing from the first two games though. Not to even mention people who'd actually prefer Darmian.
Yeah, true that. I think SAF would quite like Blind actually, he'd always have a use for a versatile utility player who was happy to play backup. Doesn't really fit how Mourinho manages a squad though. I very much hope Shaw can be the answer to our left back issues, he's got the potential.
It's an interesting point about him being better with traditional wing support. It makes sense, as the only way he's going to progress up the flank is by interchanging one-twos or the like. Rashford does provide defensive cover and tracking back, but he doesn't stay wide in the offensive phase. Martial doesn't either. However, as those are mercurial talents I'd rather adjust our left back to suit them, than get a winger to get the best out of Blind.
It was a different game back then. Teams didn't play a low block and ten men behind the ball at home, and you didn't need nor expect that level of attacking contribution from the full backs. Despite that, Irwin was more useful at set pieces and a much better defender than Blind too. There's really no comparison.
Exactly my thoughts. Guy kept two clean sheets and assisted with a corner.
Then I read here comments that say; the team has to help him out for his short comings. Well it's a team sport no? Blind helps his team out too for their short comings.
And pacey wingers troubling him, I have yet to see a full back who plays a 100% solid game against a good winger. Every player makes mistakes, because every player is human. I remember last season Blind put in some decent games as a CB, people praising him for it even. Now again I read all the same stuff putting him down.
I've read that comment more often and it's total bs in my opinion. Do you really think Mourinho tells our LB not to go forward, because only one side is allowed to and Valencia is the one getting his permission? Obviously they can't both go forward at the same time, but when there is space on the left there is no reason at all for our LB not to have permission to get up front.
This topic is about rating the performance of Blind and thus people can leave their opinions here. I don't see why some people here defend Blind by telling Valencia was not good last match either. That is absolutely correct, but not the topic on hand here.
I think last game once again showed me why I can not like Blind as a LB. As said a few times here before, based on last season and also the Madrid match, Blind get played against weaker opponents because he is better at the ball but lacks in defensive quality. For me, that means he has to contribute considerably to our attacking game when he gets to play and I just don't see it. He gets to walk up to the front alot as he is playing the weaker sides, but when he gets the ball deep on the pitch, basicly nothing comes from it. When he gets the ball while he is deep on the pitch, he just looks around and then passes it backwards. With 52,2%, more than half of his passes were played backwards and that just does not cut it for me. He never takes on a man, never tries to get into a 1-2 to go deep offensively. I could even live with that if his crossing would be superb and he would be able to just curl it around the defenders, but that is also not the case. Most of his crosses are currently not even beating the first defender.
I just expect more from players when we are playing the weaker sides in the Premier League. With Shaw being a question mark at the time because of his injuries, I just can't believe we have not gotten a new left back and are starting the 2 season with 2 'handicapped' players as our options in that position. Sure, they might do ok and not make to much errors, but ok is not good enough for United.
Hope he will continue playing at LB, as Shaw would still need more time to come back to his full fitness let alone back to his best form. Think Ramsey's own road to recovery and back to form. Took more than a season.
I think some players suffered from lack of continuation in terms of playing certain position. I know players like Blind and others are positionally versatile, but he is one of the best defenders along with Smalling a season before last, dealing with "giants" like Benteke and the Aston Villa forward that I can't recall the name at the moment, pretty well despite being "short".
Hope Mourinho will continue to play this team, bar one or two changes like Rashford for Martial for instance, and/or Mata for Lingard. On nom nom
I think some players suffered from lack of continuation in terms of playing certain position. I know players like Blind and others are positionally versatile, but he is one of the best defenders along with Smalling a season before last, dealing with "giants" like Benteke and the Aston Villa forward that I can't recall the name at the moment, pretty well despite being "short".
Hope Mourinho will continue to play this team, bar one or two changes like Rashford for Martial for instance, and/or Mata for Lingard. On nom nom
He looked a bit lost on the left, usually his touch and passing range is very consistent but for whatever reason it's been off. No disrespect to WHUM or Swansea but he's not really faced any top RW this season so he's had an easy ride (something that concerns me because he has still looked a level below the rest of the squad) and his greatest asset, his passing range and dead ball delivery, has been awol.
I've nothing against him but I feel he might be best at CB, where he's definitely not a starter and a handy sub for CM or LB as injuries/fatigue play a part in the season. As for LB, I would rather see a youngster come in who might not possess the same technical skill but has the raw pace to counter a player like Mahrez who will no doubt be hoping Blind starts on Sat.
I've nothing against him but I feel he might be best at CB, where he's definitely not a starter and a handy sub for CM or LB as injuries/fatigue play a part in the season. As for LB, I would rather see a youngster come in who might not possess the same technical skill but has the raw pace to counter a player like Mahrez who will no doubt be hoping Blind starts on Sat.
The funny thing with him is that, at the beginning of every season, supporters tend to be complaing about him not being good enough. It has been that way the last three seasons at United, it has been that way at Ajax, it has been that way for the national team. Still: all his managers have played him. A lot.
I think a lot of the things supporters don't like about him (not a specialist in any position, not spectacular, too slow) are considered as positives by his managers: he's versatile, solid and intelligent in his positioning. I don't necessary like to see him play, but teams tend to play better with him than without him.
I think a lot of the things supporters don't like about him (not a specialist in any position, not spectacular, too slow) are considered as positives by his managers: he's versatile, solid and intelligent in his positioning. I don't necessary like to see him play, but teams tend to play better with him than without him.
Ironically, another player in our squad, who is perhaps stylistically opposite to Blind, is usually in a similar situation.
My personal views on Fellaini actually help me understand where the Blind critics are coming from. Difference is, I really enjoy the way our Dutchman plays.
I think a poll will do nicely at this point. Question is: What do you think of Blind's current status in the squad?
A) Our best LB
B) Stop-gap for Shaw, who is better (
, the smiley is just me, not to be included in the poll)C) Not good enough for any position but okay, let's keep him.
D) Not good enough for any position. Sell him.
I'm pretty sure the results are going to depress me but at this point, I want to know my fan circle, however limited it may be. So if the mods could oblige? @Akshay @Damien @Invictus (Apologies if I tagged too many, or the wrong ones)
Man Utd 2:0 Leicester
Still prefer him there to Darmian as he at least gives us an option in attack but christ his crossing is so frustrating.
He's looked like Beckham compared to Valencia.
His crossing and set pieces have not been on point today. Decent movement though and I know Jose likes that.
If only he could cross he would actually be a very good left back.
Ok there's definitely an agenda on here haha.
Valencia has been complete shite and messed up countless crosses but no one says a word.
Valencia has been complete shite and messed up countless crosses but no one says a word.
Probably because it's the Blind thread?
I thought he was very good in the first half. Constantly over lapping Martial with some fantastic crosses.
Im just baffled at why people think to come to this thread in particular after that half. Valencia is the full back to complain about - not Blind.
He is our best option on the left by a mile, he is a decent defender as a LB, keeps the ball and passes it well, and helps our left forward more than Darmian.
They've both been poor offensively and there's more comments in Valencia's thread on this game than this one?
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