Any Ajax fans who had his name printed on their shirt might get some more use out of it yet.
34
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 36
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 1
- Status
Fred is a bundle of tenacious energy who covers ground quickly, is surprisingly strong and plays with an aggressive mindset. Even off his game technically he is visible and involved. At the moment there is nothing that Donny brings that it essential.
He’s a passenger in games. Every time Bruno comes on for him you see the huge difference that exists between the two.
He was the only disappointment for me today. I know hes not match sharp and his confidence is probably low but i just felt he ambled about too much, compare and contract to Bruno when he came on who sprinted about pressing when not in possession and made things happen with the ball at his feet.
not writing him off yet but He missed an opp today,
not writing him off yet but He missed an opp today,
He's done really well as he's not played in a while, his ball retention and quick passing ability in tight spaces is very unique to the team.
Personally I'd like to see him operate deeper in CM, however getting the game time is more important during his transition in a new team team and league and I really hope Ole will eventually find a role for him.
Personally I'd like to see him operate deeper in CM, however getting the game time is more important during his transition in a new team team and league and I really hope Ole will eventually find a role for him.
I know exactly what Fred is, I rate him highly, but strong he is not. See how Firmino brushed him off the ball today (Salah chance).
What Donny brings to the team is simply not valued by Ole, because we tend to play very direct football. We're top of the league and just beat Liverpool in the Cup so I'm not going to question our manager, but what van de Beek brings is certainly something we don't have in this team.
*newest
*least experienced
he’s potentially a very good player and the same as Fred he’ll most likely go from strength to strength with experience and familiarity.
Do we not say this about a lot of our players? That they are too casual. Not enough intensity. I don’t think any midfielder did enough to stand out. It was a game for graft and getting it forward fast and very few players got their foot on the ball. I know by now not to write players off after a few appearances.
And this is the truth to me.
VDB is constantly moving trying to find free space before he makes a quick short pass or as we saw at Ajax; he finds himself in positions to finish chances off.
The guy seemed like he wasn't in the game at all today because not a single pass would find his runs - that's why people call him a system player.
The only time someone played him through was Rashford where VDB tried to cut back cross the ball to Cavani. Greenwood didnt cross the ball to VDB for him to finish the chance of.
VDB is quite a versatile CM, he can play deep as we saw in the CL against the Turkish team but he can play as further forward almost as a shadow striker sneaking in to the box to finish off chances. The latter is going to be hard when a player fundamental to our central creativity like Bruno is not picking his runs out at the very least.
Just doesn’t suit or hasn’t adjusted to how we play. Personally don’t see where he is going to fit in which is a shame as I think he’s a good player. Hopefully he’ll get more game time in cups and turn it round.
Honestly, looks like he has the same issues as Kagawa, with even more reliance on his teammates. United have always been a team that likes creative, energetic, active players. Even if the player is technically poor, like Valencia, simply having the aggression and activity for consistent pressure on the opposition has always been an ingredient United has, it's what the United DNA actually is. We rely on our attackers to create, something we did with Cantona, Giggs and Kanchelskis; Yorke, Beckham and Giggs; Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs; and even Rooney, Nani and Valencia. All direct, all aggressive, all eager to make things happen individually. It's the thing we lost when we signed Mata and took us years to regain. Now we have Bruno and Rashford, who both showed even in glimpses today, what it takes to be a United attacker. We simply need that third man in attack ( right winger like sancho), who can allow us to be consistent in attack game to game.
For VDB to be successful here, he may have to learn to play in a box to box role and compete with Fred. He would still need to improve his ball progression, but he outlet he provides due to his quick touches can be crucial to us keeping possession high up the pitch.
For VDB to be successful here, he may have to learn to play in a box to box role and compete with Fred. He would still need to improve his ball progression, but he outlet he provides due to his quick touches can be crucial to us keeping possession high up the pitch.
Really bad today. Doesn’t do anything in games.
Lingard's general style of play strikes me as being similar to van de Beek's. They are both good at retaining possession. Both have a tendency to do first time passes back to the player who passed to them. Neither is that ambitious in their passing. Van de Beek perhaps better at manipulating the ball. So far van de Beek's attacking contribution has been fairly minimal, one goal, one assist and the occasional nice flick that creates a chance. Donny probably makes more tackles. Both cover a lot of ground.
Given their respective ages and Lingard's form since the World Cup, I think replacing Jesse with Donny seems a reasonable decision. Having both at the club at the same time is strange.
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I didn’t think he was great today but more than twice he played first time balls during a counter attack that were brilliant passes. His ability to move the ball quickly makes the team faster without necessarily having speed merchants on the pitch.
I think he would be great for city actually.
I am still hopeful for him as he has a footballing brain
I think he would be great for city actually.
I am still hopeful for him as he has a footballing brain
At the moment I have the feeling he is playing within himself, which is a reasonable thing to do as a young player at a new club.
Given more time he'll come out of his shell and I think he'll be a good player for us.
Given more time he'll come out of his shell and I think he'll be a good player for us.
I don’t think anyone can actually judge him with the limited game time
zero minutes of any significance then thrown into a huge match, no surprise really.
im not saying he should be given game time because we have been great, but just that I’m not really sure what people expected.
I think In an ideal word we would be a couple goals up against smaller teams so ole can start giving him minutes
Fred is a poor man's Edgar David's, especially poor comparatively when it comes to regaining the ball ironically. He tries, but something about his standing tackle is not strong enough to make an impact on decent players.
For me it's very clear now why people thing he's bad. They expect him to be a football he's not.
He did absolutely nothing wrong today. But he's being used in the wrong position in this tactical setup. He's great in build-up play, not in the current counterattack tactics. The ball just goes over his head to the attackers, so he won't get many balls to actually build up the play. So he needs to play at 8, not 10.
But yet again people complain that he's not good enough while players like McTominay can't pass a ball to a teammate twice in a row. He should've never been bought if Ole wasn't going to change his tactics from countering to real build up play. Otherwise he's not gonna be good enough.
Btw i keep reading that he's slow, but he's not slower than McTominay and co. So why is that?
He did absolutely nothing wrong today. But he's being used in the wrong position in this tactical setup. He's great in build-up play, not in the current counterattack tactics. The ball just goes over his head to the attackers, so he won't get many balls to actually build up the play. So he needs to play at 8, not 10.
But yet again people complain that he's not good enough while players like McTominay can't pass a ball to a teammate twice in a row. He should've never been bought if Ole wasn't going to change his tactics from countering to real build up play. Otherwise he's not gonna be good enough.
Btw i keep reading that he's slow, but he's not slower than McTominay and co. So why is that?
Donny needs a compact team around him to make the most of his excellent short passing, control and ability to drift into the space others create. We don’t often play that tight compressed football, not in big games anyway. We prefer to create space for our pacy attackers to run into. Spraying long passes into space for sprinting wingers or drifting past players with the ball at his feet is just not his thing. Time will tell, he may adapt, but it just feels like a poor fit.
I dont think our style suits him up. His best characteristics are pass and move, short passes and will be much more better in team with more possesion.
I think he will be more suited against teams who sit back as the one-two can be very affective
He played a nice quick pass to Rashford which lead to our equaliser
But there was one moment where he was on the right on the counter and didn't run with it slowed it down for the defence to get ahead and then played it back
I'm sure ole was shouting to run with it
I also think he will be better deeper for us but I can see why he wasn't as he doesn't have the running power of Pogba
He played a nice quick pass to Rashford which lead to our equaliser
But there was one moment where he was on the right on the counter and didn't run with it slowed it down for the defence to get ahead and then played it back
I'm sure ole was shouting to run with it
I also think he will be better deeper for us but I can see why he wasn't as he doesn't have the running power of Pogba
Quiet.
Lingard is good at retaining possession but Donny is excellent at keeping the ball under pressure. He also never runs with the ball (unlike Lingard), and never shoots. I don't see this comparison to be honest. I thought he was closer to Mata but Donny's defensive side of the game is much better (keep in mind Mata is terrible in that area), so he is quite unique player in our squad.
This. We never seem to play that way though. I thought when he played in midfield we looked a bit different team, with shorter distances between players and more calm on the ball, but I don't think Ole wants us to play that way. Fair enough I guess.
Fair points but it should be noted that Bruno is in midseason form whereas Donny is not, for obvious reasons. And let’s be honest...Bruno is a superior footballer in all aspects of play, arguably the top midfielder on the planet over the last 18 months.
In any event, we shouldn’t be thinking about Donny as Bruno’s cover. He’s better used as an 8 than a 10. We’ll see a more productive Donny when he’s on the pitch with Bruno. But for the time being, there’s no dropping either Bruno or Pogba except for rest.
Was thrown under the bus a little today, I felt. Unfairly.
Lucky the result went the right way, not in the sense that it was undeserved but if we’d lost, a portion of the fanbase would have had their claws out.
For Ole and Donny
Lucky the result went the right way, not in the sense that it was undeserved but if we’d lost, a portion of the fanbase would have had their claws out.
For Ole and Donny
Long long way to go to get up to speed with the Premier League.
It would be even more effective against stretched team, just look how much space there is between opposition attackers and midfielders in most games. This is because we are top-heavy, meaning the defence and midfield has to mark 3/4 attacking players who stay high. Having a player in midfield who could receive ball and pass it under pressure would take us a level up attacking-wise. It would be more dangerous though.
There's no real need to get too far ahead of ourselves with Donny, he'll continue to get minutes and I expect a greater presence next season, especially if pogba moves on.
There was a point with Fred where I genuinely wondered if he was an actual footballer, his game was garbage and he looked a complete stranger to his teammates. He's now an established member of the squad and starts most of our biggest games.
If we're worried about donny at this time next year maybe it'd be a concern but not now. The team is playing well so he's got plenty of time with the pressure off to settle down and step up
Wednesday is another opportunity to play him I reckon, give pogba or Bruno a break for an hour
There was a point with Fred where I genuinely wondered if he was an actual footballer, his game was garbage and he looked a complete stranger to his teammates. He's now an established member of the squad and starts most of our biggest games.
If we're worried about donny at this time next year maybe it'd be a concern but not now. The team is playing well so he's got plenty of time with the pressure off to settle down and step up
Wednesday is another opportunity to play him I reckon, give pogba or Bruno a break for an hour
I can see that but right now I think that's where vdb will get his chances and minutes to impress
He was very poor Today
He is not good enough to change your playing style for
He needs to adapt ASAP or He will be gone
We are not a team that plays slow passing football
I still think there is a place for him but he has to adapt to the Utd way
Good players should be able to play in different teams and styles
He will be suited to having Mata in the Team with him but that ain’t going to happen
He is not good enough to change your playing style for
He needs to adapt ASAP or He will be gone
We are not a team that plays slow passing football
I still think there is a place for him but he has to adapt to the Utd way
Good players should be able to play in different teams and styles
He will be suited to having Mata in the Team with him but that ain’t going to happen
There’s a reason he doesn’t get much game time. People knocking Ole for not playing him should see that now. Slowed us down on a break today which could have been dangerous had he kept moving. Instead he let the defenders catch up and killed the counter.
Perhaps Ole should play him in games that are less critical. Judging him against Liverpool is probably not fair to him.
Perhaps Ole should play him in games that are less critical. Judging him against Liverpool is probably not fair to him.
Not really bought on this. He makes too many sideways, backward passes at key moment when he could shoot.
A couple of nice first-time passes but to put things into perspective, he was on the pitch for 65 minutes, completing 18 passes and 23 touches, whilst Bruno was on for 25 minutes, completing 12 passes and 21 touches.
Now, of course it's not all about passes and touches but every time I watch him I just want him to do more and the stat above suggests he needs to get more involved.
Now, of course it's not all about passes and touches but every time I watch him I just want him to do more and the stat above suggests he needs to get more involved.
Maybe you should look on youtube for his compilations ;-) The reason he plays it safe is because he's afraid that he's gonna get benched for 3 months again if he misses
That means that his teammates are ignoring him. Because otherwise it would be waaaay higher
He may have had a below par game today but what fans are being overly harsh on him, he's barely played this season and is thrown into a high intensity match and is probably also in that terrible mind set of of trying to hard to impress due to worrying if he doesn't put in a man of the match display he may well be back on the bench for the next 10 matches. He deserves at least a second season settling in to be truly judged.
How is he same as Fred? Fred is a work horse and miles better when pressing and defending. Donny is a passenger when we don’t have the ball.
Disappointed for him today. He's just got to keep working and try to make more of the next opportunity.
I think the fans reaction today is directed more to the VDB fans on this forum and in general. There is a certain hype that Ole is nuts to keep him on bench or he is somewhat a super awesome player, being wronged by the club and all.
He's in that awful loop now where he's playing infrequently enough to be unable to build up any sort of rhythm, which means he rarely plays well enough to oust guys who are consistently playing better than him (whatever your view for the reasons that's happening).
Pretty poor. What is the scout department doing. 40m down the drain as Lingard didn't make the bench again. It's a costly replacement but I'm not mad at it. If you can splash that kind of money for cover players then by all means do it
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