It's as if, other players not playing well absolve him of being utter toilet. So odd.
34
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Unless we move him into the midfield he will be sold in the summer. He is too safe to play in the ten channel. Safe as in he does not take chances. Just plays it backwards all the time.
Someone tell me what are his actual strength, no one should mention movement cause that's absolutely false, I don't see the little movement into pockets you see from Mata or the runs in behind you see from an inform Dele alli, he absolutely looks lost and terrified, looks worst than lingard(am not even referring to the current version of Lingard. There isn't even any little sparks to give any hope. I hope we find an Italian team willing to take him, he won't work out here.
I feel like CAM is completely the wrong position for him, a deeper role suits his qualities a lot more.
Yeah there must be a handful of players we’ve bought in the last two decades that I’d consider an embarrassment tbh. Lots of players have poor starts and it’s not at all surprising that there would be teething issues given how different we play compared to Ajax. This is levels beyond that though, he is demanding so little of himself on the pitch. How many signings do you remember like this? Really struggling to think...
One thing I would say is it’s hard to know how to judge anything given the backdrop of the pandemic. It is kind of ludicrous that we recognise the absurdity in the world around us but expect professional athletes to just carry on as normal. If I was starting a new job I’d be struggling to integrate, I’d find the general environment (e.g. empty stadiums) thoroughly demotivating, etc. And professional sports really need you to be at 100%. So who knows?
Looks to be going the way of Kagawa and Mkhitaryan. This is not the Van de Beek of Ajax. Carefulness in possession has turned to being timid. Tidiness into lack of ambition. Ajax's Van de Beek was never a Riquelme level playmaker. He did run with the ball though, he did look forward with his passing when it was on. Looks a shadow of himself.
I don't think we'll sell him in the summer because it would take a hige loss but in the number 10 spot Lingard is better.
Lingard and Pereira are probably better players in the position he plays.
Lingard is better. Andreas is a nothing player like VdB too. Can't believe we spent 40-50m on this man. Always passing it backward. And then subbed off before Fred (both were crap). He should probably just leave. I just wish we knew who wanted him and sanctioned this. Did Ole want him and now realizes he's crap?
Donny Van de Ghost
There was a moment he played a ball forward to Martial and I was willing him to overlap Martial, nope he just jogged behind him.
This seems to be fair. I am hoping we have been proactive with offering him the opportunity to speak with somebody on his mental approach and wellbeing.
The lack of confidence seems to even be manifesting itself in qualities on the pitch that are not going to get him much leeway with fans. Today he seemed so tentative he could barely muster the freedom to work hard and close the ball down. Then there's the not running forward and taking positions where he's difficult to find. That kind of stuff is going to be far more problematic than missing passes or failing in the final third because the fans do not understand the full reasons, we just see a listless performance that seems inexplicable.
The lack of quality or suitability is one aspect, and perhaps that will never allow him to fully redeem himself on the pitch, but it has to start with him working on his approach and then maybe more will come later. It looked like the wall had fully toppled today and if he's to stay here beyond this season or offer anything for the remainder we need to start building it from scratch. Hopefully the staff are really working to understand the full explanation for the manner of his displays, as they'll have a lot more information than we do.
Van de Beek is more suited to be a #8 and there is a good player in there somewhere, but I doubt it'll be here. He's very much a system player, but also is someone who seems to want to be a support player and not someone who will do something on his own. Just instant pass back into safe space wherever he is. Never attempting anything. Impossible to do that as a 10, but even deeper he would have to grow a pair. In general if he is to come good it'll be as an 8 though.
Yes. We were all shouting at him for not even trying.
That's a very good comparison.
I saw this too - incredibly frustrating. I'm shocked at how often Donny passes backwards. I can fully see why Ole has not been starting him if this is what he is seeing in training.
He really seems to lack basic desire to run and make things happen. He's been so disappointing.
People who watched him at Ajax say he’s really good. Very little evidence of that so far at Utd, even if he hasn’t been given a run of games to play himself in. His confidence looks absolutely shot. It brings me back to VdS asking us to take care of him or whatever last summer. I’m sure it wasn’t meant as anything other than affectionate but it sort of suggested a character who needed looking after.
I agree, there was a moment where Fred wanted it passed forward after he had made a run and nope backwards.
Worrying he’s playing within himself too much, needs to realise who he plays for and attack.
Mr Safe.
Send him on loan to West Ham
Send him on loan to West Ham
I think that's probably it for him. This was a big chance for him. He should have been looking for the ball at every opportunity but instead he was nowhere to be found.
He's absolutely fecking shit. If Ajax want him back I'd bite their hands off.
He deserves another year before judgements are made but it's been a really poor start even allowing for a bit of potential mismanagement.
Confidence is all over the place as shown by the constant looking backwards.
Confidence is all over the place as shown by the constant looking backwards.
I saw that too. Fred was in a good position and you could see that he was upset when Donny chose to pass it backwards.
It's almost like Donny thinks he's troubling the opposition by knocking it backwards all the time, when in reality he's making things really comfortable for them.
Why's he so scared of putting his foot on the ball and actually doing something off his own back? I refuse to believe he's as bad at football as he seems to in his own head.
Too passive, not involved in games. Looks way off for the speed required for English game.
I'm not trying to say anything about him as he hasn't had a proper chance yet IMO, but it amuses me a bit that that is the second time he has played for us where the only really good thing he did was deliberately not play the ball 
He was signed to replace Pereira as back up and been worse.
Hes about the same level as Pereira. Tidy on the ball, but thats about it
He doesn't have the passing range or defensive qualities for a deeper role.
Has he attempted a pass over 20 yards for Utd?
He is a slower, less dynamic version of Dele Ali, makes run into the box from an attacking midfield role but has little in the way of individual creativity in his game. Never going to be a regular starter in an attacking role for a club like Utd, and lacks the range to his game to be useful elsewhere. Lingard is better.
It's not the notes you play, but the notes that you don't play. H from Steps said that and I, for one, agree.I'm not trying to say anything about him as he hasn't had a proper chance yet IMO, but it amuses me a bit that that is the second time he has played for us where the only really good thing he did was deliberately not play the ball
Worst signing since Fred who was dross after the first season, a little less the next but ultimately not good enough to be near the team. My god he's a bottle job
You just know Frank de Boer will give him playing time for Oranje this week for reasons unknown.
He looked better for Ajax than he is. Was not good enough to start in central midfield and got shafted to the 10 position there. Excelled surprisingly, but they also dominate the league and have a good system in place. We are not as functional and he looks average, surprise. If you watched some Ajax games, you would immediately have realised that him and United was never going to work. I never rated him due to him being individually not good enough and 'profiting' from the Ajax system, that made him look better than he is. He is just not going to cut it here, like a fish without water.
So bad today. I'm starting to lose any optimism that he will ever come good for United. Really thought he would be a good player for us and he is a likeable guy, but he is absolutely anonymous on the pitch.
It is OK saying that he hasn't had a run in the team, but he looks to completely lack desire and confidence , its hard to justify selecting him.
It is OK saying that he hasn't had a run in the team, but he looks to completely lack desire and confidence , its hard to justify selecting him.
He didn't necessarily look better there, they just utilized his very limited skillset. Acting as a sort of pinball bumler between creative outlets and running in to space. And even then, Ajax was good that year despite him, not because of him. If they'd had a scoring midfielder with other qualities they would've had a truly world class team and could've won the CL.
He's Dirk Kuyt without the work rate.
At least Pereira had a bit of fight and character, which Donny the friendly ghost certainly doesn't.
He looks like an u11s player playing with the adults in our team. A long pass is on, but he doesn't make it, because he can't kick the ball that far. He could make a run for a through ball, but doesn't do it, because he's slower than everyone else. I don't see how he can function in a team that isn't passing the ball around the other team, rather than moving with the ball.
Hope it works out for him and I think we can only really judge him next year. Certainly struggled to adapt but also if he can only play in Bruno’s role im bit sure why we got him. Hopefully he can fit in midfield but I think he needs to get a lot stronger and braver. There’s reasons he’s not getting much of a look in and it’s on him rather than the manager I think
Spends the game hiding, Lingard is a better player.
He's scared out there. The kind of player Ferguson would never have signed and Roy Keane would have crucified in training. I think he deserves a summer to see if he can get his head right, but then it's time to move him on.
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