Daley Blind | Ajax Performances

Blind player of the week in the CL.



Blind played his best match of the season this sunday from the LB position. It was easy for him as AZ played with a winger that drifted into midfield a lot, rather than making Blind eat his dust, so Blind was free on the left side to be used in transition.

Sort of the same thing happened on Tuesday as Dortmund played 442 leaving Blind free to play as extra midfielder.
 
So Christmas is a time of looking back.. And when I - as an Ajax fan - look back to the last year of Ajax one of the first things that still springs to mind is that seeing Daley pass or control the ball is more satisfying than all videos you can find of your favourite genre on pornhub. Not saying he is flawless or never has an offday.. But damn.. What a baller. Hope he stays fit and healthy for a long time to come.
 
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One player that I believe would have done really well under Ralf. Intelligent player.
 
Was our best CB while he was here.
I agree! There seemed to be the notion that he was too weak and poor in the air but I always thought that was just a lazy statement due to his size! Proper baller that I wish we’d kept
 
Was our best CB while he was here.

By far, only in England would people somehow rate Bailly, Smalling and Jones higher. Do anyone think Pep, Klopp, Tuchel or Conte would prefer any of these CBs over Blind?
 
One of my personal favourite players of all time at United. Watching him play was just the style I absolutely adore and crave for.

Would have loved to see him as our LCB in a back 4, a CB/CDM hybrid player in a back 3, a cover back up LB, a CDM that gave us some passing ability from deep.

:(
 
One of my personal favourite players of all time at United. Watching him play was just the style I absolutely adore and crave for.

Would have loved to see him as our LCB in a back 4, a CB/CDM hybrid player in a back 3, a cover back up LB, a CDM that gave us some passing ability from deep.

:(
I was adamant we should have been keeping him whilst 95% here wanted rid, and I called it that whoever got him at the quoted prices was getting an absolute bargain, was by far our best defender at the time and versatile as well.

Cultured footballer, the one thing from LVG that was a positive imo.
 
Flawed midfielder that got pushed back to CB. He fits Ajax, because they're so dominant and possession based.

Seeing him "defending" for the NT disgusts me. I have never seen such poor defending in an orange shirt as Blind's "defending" on the 2-2 against Montenegro recently.
I'm sick of seeing him "sprint" back like he's desperately trying to hold in a shit.
 
By far, only in England would people somehow rate Bailly, Smalling and Jones higher. Do anyone think Pep, Klopp, Tuchel or Conte would prefer any of these CBs over Blind?
Why only in England?
 
I liked him a lot but he was weak as piss, like having Mata at the back

had a decent spell at cb with smalling though
 
Only United fans crave a player who was massively average in his time playing for them!
 
He and Smalling were an excellent pairing.

Yeah. Because unlike Barca, Ajax aren’t broke :)
There was a time between he left United and now.
Blind and Smalling worked well, but Smalling had to do some of Blind’s defending. Blind did much of Smalling’s passing. Preferably you have a pairing where both have fewer deficiencies. Overall, Smalling was the better defender, though.
 
Blind would get absolutely demolished in the Premier league now, even more than when he played there. He might be able to control a ball, but he's been less than impressive this year if you ask me. Though at left back he doesn't do that much damage.
 
I was a big fan of Blind but he had quite obvious and big weaknesses for a centre half.

Would absolutely love playing for Rangnick though I’m sure, he was very good at being proactive and pressing from a high line, and his passes though the lines were :drool:

Wasn’t a huge loss though. Didn’t like him at LB either.
 
Oh he's gotten really really slow. For me he's almost done at Ajax. Really bad season so far.
In the Eredivisie it's mostly fine though. His distribution is still excellent, he just moves like a 60 year old.
 
The problem with Daley is this

As a CB he can only ever function if he's paired with a larger CB otherwise any tall/strong striker will have a field day playing the team.

As a LB and by default also as wing back he's good on attack but way too slow on defense. A fast RW will be his worst nightmare.

DM is is best position
 
The problem with Daley is this

As a CB he can only ever function if he's paired with a larger CB otherwise any tall/strong striker will have a field day playing the team.

As a LB and by default also as wing back he's good on attack but way too slow on defense. A fast RW will be his worst nightmare.

DM is is best position
Does he play as one?
 
Does he play as one?

Not currently. He's LB for Ajax at the moment which is OK because of the ultra offensive nature and lack of skilled teams in the league to profit from his shortcomings.

I think however if he gets to play this role further down the CL route it will be one of Ajax's weaknesses. A player like Mbappe would destroy him. Playing Tagliafico would be the better choice but he's a hot head and gets carded quick. Effectively you are trading one flaw with the other.
 
Not currently. He's LB for Ajax at the moment which is OK because of the ultra offensive nature and lack of skilled teams in the league to profit from his shortcomings.

I think however if he gets to play this role further down the CL route it will be one of Ajax's weaknesses. A player like Mbappe would destroy him. Playing Tagliafico would be the better choice but he's a hot head and gets carded quick. Effectively you are trading one flaw with the other.
Has he ever really played much as a DM? Seems more like a Caf-thought than an actual thing.
 
Has he ever really played much as a DM? Seems more like a Caf-thought than an actual thing.
It's a strange situation where defensive midfield has always been considered his 'natural' position, but he's ended up spending most of his career playing in the defence. He did have probably his best ever season in the defensive midfield role though (his last season at Ajax before we signed him).
 
It's a strange situation where defensive midfield has always been considered his 'natural' position, but he's ended up spending most of his career playing in the defence. He did have probably his best ever season in the defensive midfield role though (his last season at Ajax before we signed him).

He did play in that position in the early days of LVG, I remember thinking our midfield for the season would be primarily Blind-Herrera-Di Maria. Carrick was much better though that season when he was fit.
 
He did play in that position in the early days of LVG, I remember thinking our midfield for the season would be primarily Blind-Herrera-Di Maria. Carrick was much better though that season when he was fit.
Yeah, Blind wasn't very good in midfield for us. From memory he was a bit similar to how VDB often has been, where the game seemed to pass him by without him being able to have much of an impact.
 
It's a strange situation where defensive midfield has always been considered his 'natural' position, but he's ended up spending most of his career playing in the defence. He did have probably his best ever season in the defensive midfield role though (his last season at Ajax before we signed him).
Well, if pretty much every manager deemed him not good enough for the DM spot, then there is probably something in it. Considering how Matic’s lack of mobility is an issue, but he is still strong and combative in the air. Blind is a fair bit slower and much weaker and worse in the air. Not aure hia other qualities can make up for that.
 
Well, if pretty much every manager deemed him not good enough for the DM spot, then there is probably something in it. Considering how Matic’s lack of mobility is an issue, but he is still strong and combative in the air. Blind is a fair bit slower and much weaker and worse in the air. Not aure hia other qualities can make up for that.

That fully depends on the style of play you want to play.. In Mourinho based football it wont make up for it.. In Ten Hag based football his other qualities would far outweigh his physical limitations..

Blind play at 6 the whole year at Ajax before United signed him. Also at Ajax after United he played at 6 quite a bit, in the 18/19 season he was great at Munich away, Benfica away.. last year - after the winterbreak before he got injured with the NT against Gibraltar - he had a fair run of games at 6, including a masterclass away at Lille.

The thing with Blind at Ajax is: he always plays and the form of other decides where he plays. Is Martinez further back in the picking order than Tagliafico Blind plays at 4, otherwise at 5 (like now after a red card of Tagliafico against PSV early season). If we miss Alvarez in midfielf or Alvarez is out form he plays at 6. It doesnt matter where Blind plays cause Ten Hag always sets the team up in a way all players play in their strenght. So wherever Blind plays.. 4 5 or 6, he will have the same added value for the team.. Be the playmaker from behind. His passing stats and key passes stats are the same at every position.
 
Got himself a transfer to Bayern Munich for the rest of the season. Who would have thought...