[acnumber9]

He’s just a remarkably average player. If he had come through the system or signed from a Championship club nobody would calling for him to play based on what he’s shown so far.

 

[VP89]

He’s just a remarkably average player. If he had come through the system to signed from a Championship club nobody would calling for him to play based on what he’s shown so far.

Honestly he showed no less than his peers and his quality doesn't stick out as Championship level so this is extremely harsh.

 

[acnumber9]

Honestly he showed no less than his peers and his quality doesn't stick out as Championship level so this is extremely harsh.

I didn’t mean he was Championship level, I mean if he had signed from that kind of club nobody would bat an eye at the fact he’s not playing based on how he’s played when he has. He may have showed no less, but given we played mostly a reserve side it is telling that he didn’t stand out from them either.

 

[Illyriann]

No not doin it for me! Big disappointment. Knew something wasn't quite right. Obviously he's not impressed Ole on the training ground. Never did understand all the talk about him being bought to replace Pogba or it's too early to judge him, bla bla bla. At present he's not good enough. That's it!

Not good enough , big disappointment . Really , seriously what game did you watch tonight ! DVB has only played 256 minutes and is only 23 years old. Some comments about him here are very weird no idea what they been watching.

 

[Borys]

Him not doing much, even if he played alright and almost had a beautiful assist, probably means Ole will bench him for a long long time again.

Which was probably Ole strategy - get the press of his back about not playing Donny. At least OGS played vdB in midfield though.

 

[Champagne Football]

He’s just a remarkably average player. If he had come through the system to signed from a Championship club nobody would calling for him to play based on what he’s shown so far.

The same kind of comments have been made about so many Man Utd legends or first teamers down the years before they finally found their feet - G. Neville, Fletcher, Vidic, Evra, Fred, Rashford, Andy Cole, Cristiano, Zaha(matured at Palace) etc.

I think VDB will show what he's about starting from next season, but in the meantime I'm happy he's gaining more and more needed experience.

 

[Gary_Walsh_Nou_Camp_Hell]

Same as everyone else in the line up, perform.

Which he did fine.

 

[VP89]

I didn’t mean he was Championship level, I mean if he had signed from that kind of club nobody would bat an eye at the fact he’s not playing based on how he’s played when he has. He may have showed no less, but given we played mostly a reserve side it is telling that he didn’t stand out from them either.

No, I mean he's shown no less in his time here. So in the Leipzig, Istanbul games, or even vs Southampton. In fact for me, he was in top 3 for performers vs Southampton particularly and played a very good role in beating their press.

A game where I was disappointed in him was West Ham, but I think that's alongside 7 other players that day.

 

[kirk buttercup]

He had some very nice touches. He will get there as I said he needs Quality around him I would be interested to see him play with Bruno and Pogba And McT all together

 

[lex talionis]

Donny had only one quality attacking player to work with tonight: Mata, and Mata hasn’t been elite for a long time. Donny did put Mata through but the shot was tame. But oh lord James and Lingard were horrific. Greenwood stuck in first gear.

He’s caught in a tough bind. Donny is not in Bruno’s or Pogba’s class, but he’s light years superior to James, Mata, Fred and McTominay, all players who have their uses Ole needs in certain situations. So he sits on the bench, waiting and waiting.

 

[acnumber9]

The same kind of comments have been made about so many Man Utd legends or first teamers down the years before they finally found their feet - G. Neville, Fletcher, Vidic, Evra, Fred, Rashford, Andy Cole, Cristiano, Zaha(matured at Palace) etc.

I think VDB will show what he's about starting from next season, but in the meantime I'm happy he's gaining more and more needed experience.

It was said about Kieran Richardson, Darron Gibson etc before too. There are as many failures as there successes. Not everybody turns it’s around. It’s not really relevant to what he’s showing at the moment either.

 

[Adnan]

I've been a bit hesitant on him but I thought he looked good tonight, he recycles possession well and his movement is very intelligent. He's definitely not as good as Pogba or Fernandes but I think he's a genuinely good squad option.

I thought he was our best player and his ability to evade pressure and get his pass off is a excellent trait which I believe he's the best at in the team.

 

[acnumber9]

No, I mean he's shown no less in his time here. So in the Leipzig, Istanbul games, or even vs Southampton. In fact for me, he was in top 3 for performers vs Southampton particularly and played a very good role in beating their press.

A game where I was disappointed in him was West Ham, but I think that's alongside 7 other players that day.

In the Leipzig game, Bruno came on for him and instantly showed the vast gap between the two. He’s shown plenty less.

 

[TheGame]

 

[RedDevilzFox]

Definitely a systems player rather than 'hollywood'. Good ball recycler ... not sure if that's how Man Utd play though.

 

[DickDastardly]

I like him.

I like smart players, team players, players that always know where the ball is.

Players who don't invite needless pressure.

Ajax has a wonderful system, it's imbedded in their style of play.

It's not excatly our style of play, but it's a useful style of play to have.

 

[rooney2009]

He will be better suited to a Team like Arsenal

 

[VP89]

In the Leipzig game, Bruno came on for him and instantly showed the vast gap between the two. He’s shown plenty less.

That's to be expected because Bruno has been the best 10 arguably in the world for about a year now. But having Bruno being comfortably better in a 10 than VDB doesn't point to VDB not showing enough to start games nor not being good enough in a box to box role for us. As I said he was good enough today, he was very good vs Southampton too.

I'm not trying to argue he should feature in a 10 over Bruno - I'm saying he's shown to have quality in his locker when he's played for us, and I'd personally want to see him either instead of McTominay-Fred as a combination, or even on the right hand side in (if the alternative is Greenwood/James), who aren't showing enough.

We just haven't seen enough of him yet but when he's played he's broadly performed well. Bruno being better than him doesn't mean he's shite or not good enough to feature on the XI more than he has. For me he can play in different roles across midfield so it's surprising to see him feature as less as he has.

 

[tjb]

People really need to open their eyes to the fact that a few good touches doesn't make a good player. At United, we play with three forwards, this means that we can't afford to have another player that doesn't get involved often in play. VDB waits for others to find him and doesn't provide incision himself. People need to stop acting like others need to adapt to his wavelength, VDB has to do more himself. Do you really believe that he would fly by with that play at any other top team?

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

He will be better suited to a Team like Arsenal

a mid table team?

 

[thebelfastboy]

Felt sorry for him before the game kicked off. He finally gets his start in the middle and he has mata, dan James and lingard playing in front.... Thought he played well considering this but had been nothing special so far

 

[AltiUn]

Felt sorry for him before the game kicked off. He finally gets his start in the middle and he has mata, dan James and lingard playing in front.... Thought he played well considering this but had been nothing special so far

That trio must be the least inspiring front 3 in football history.

 

[Devil may care]

Mostly neat and tidy, picked the right pass consistently and had some creative moments in the final 3rd.

 

[432JuanMata]

My auntie lives in Amsterdam band her husband(Dutch) is a big Ajax fan. Every time I seen VDB I thought he was great and he said when we signed him that he was great in a system and will only be a decent player for us. Didn’t believe him but I can see it now. Thought he was decent to good tonight but I thought we were getting a better player. I don’t mind as he makes the squad better but I had higher hopes

 

[Baneofthegame]

Great opportunity to play him as a 10 and we play Lingard, super.

Should of had an assist to Mata, was outrageous.

 

[DRM]

Youse a fecking idiots, he's a great player. Go and support chelsea

 

[Dominos]

Current narrative always dictates how a player's performance is rated on here. If he was on a good run and he was riding a positive wave of momentum then fans would focus on the positives of the performance - the stats indicate he was our best player.

Because there's been so much negativity around him since the West Ham game then it's open season for criticism because he didn't do anything amazing.

 

[acnumber9]

We just haven't seen enough of him yet but when he's played he's broadly performed well.

The people who have seen most of him aren’t picking him. He’s been average at best.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Current narrative always dictates how a player's performance is rated on here. If he was on a good run and he was riding a positive wave of momentum then fans would focus on the positives of the performance - the stats indicate he was our best player.

Because there's been so much negativity around him since the West Ham game then it's open season for criticism because he didn't do anything amazing.

Come on, what's being said about him right now are the same things that have been said since his first game for us.

 

[shamans]

He's a top top player. You guys must be expecting every attacking player to be full of the neymar youtube tricks. It's his first season in the Prem. Ffs..

 

[Jericho]

I doubt it's helped him that he's been benched for the whole season so far. Must have killed any momentum he had coming in.

 

[Dominos]

Come on, what's being said about him right now are the same things that have been said since his first game for us.

If this was his first game then I very much doubt there would be so much negativity. People hadn't had chance to make up their minds on whether they love him or hate him yet, so they'd just go on the merits of the performance.

 

[Giggsyking]

I like him, he is very smart and always take the right decision.

 

[VP89]

The people who have seen most of him aren’t picking him. He’s been average at best.

Those same people start Dan James vs Newcastle or Chelsea, and those same people have an odd fascination for Mctominay and Fred in big games, or constant partnerships of Lindelof and Maguire.

That's a very soft point to rely on when you consider the above.

 

[tjb]

of course he has 90+ passing accuracy, he wasn't incisive at all. That 90+ percent accuracy was also not him dictating the tempo nor recycling possession. He was making simply passes. I am happy about him recovering the ball, I would still prefer to give him a run with Fred and see how that works. However, people acting like this was a good performance are trying to find scraps. For all the criticism, James and Lingard were trying to make things happen, every united player should be expected to make things happen, not simply waiting for others to elevate his play. No doubt he would look better with a better xi, but we need players that bring the best out of the team, not supplementary players who rely on others.

 

[acnumber9]

Those same people start Dan James vs Newcastle or Chelsea, and those same people have an odd fascination for Mctominay and Fred in big games, or constant partnerships of Lindelof and Maguire.

That's a very soft point to rely on when you consider the above.

Ultimately they’re the only ones that matter. He isn’t doing enough when he gets chances.

 

[VP89]

Ultimately they’re the only ones that matter. He isn’t doing enough when he gets chances.

This is what we are debating, yes. And as from my original post, he's done no less than his peers when given chances, so I disagree.

 

[rooney2009]

a mid table team?

That’s probably his level atm

 

[buckooo1978]

he's in that no win situation that Rashford/Martial were in under Mourinho

under used, not match sharp but expected to be fantastic when he does get an odd chance

We saw enough of his quality for Ajax and Ole should be using him more in a more active rotation role

 

[Member 105568]

Good interview with Peter Bosz in The Athletic who says Donny is only really suited to playing in very compact teams, when the pitch is small. I think that’s always going to be his issue as that’s not what United are very good at, even the best players at United are a bit loose and make the pitch open up. I think he’s a good player but Ole doesn’t really get him.

Different player but similar issue to Kagawa and Mkhi who had come through in very systems-based teams and are not as good when they have to take more responsibility. I’m surprised Ole isn’t using him more, even as a sub. When you were winning against Villa last week he would be useful for keeping the ball in the last 10-15.