[VidaRed]

He was not outstanding, but he was alright.

 

[RedSky]

Thought that was his best game in a United shirt. Doesn't really say much given he's not really had much of a chance here, but he was involved, winning the ball back, playing it quickly. Was impressed, certainly a positive to come out of tonights game.

 

[Posh Red]

Went to the game tonight. Thought he was disappointing to be honest

 

[Ali Dia]

Went to the game tonight. Thought he was disappointing to be honest

Who looked the best in the ground? On the TV It looked like he did ok. Playing with Matic is a one man sport in most matches. Dalot whipped in some decent balls that the likes of Ronaldo and Cavani would enjoy. We were poor though for sure.

 

[CloneMC16]

This is the first time I've watched him play and thought he did well. I'm laughing at the fans that say the goal wasn't his fault, though. I can 100% guarantee if Fred left his man in the box and he scored, he would be getting slaughtered for it. Overall, If he plays like that more often, he will certainly get picked.

 

[Diamond Chap]

I dont think he ran away from him because he was trying to get away from responsibility. He thought there was a threat deeper.

Of course it was the wrong decision, but ive seen Fred and McTominay make similar brain farts often enough.

Any opportunity to criticise Fred and McT.

 

[Adnan]

This is the first time I've watched him play and thought he did well. I'm laughing at the fans that say the goal wasn't his fault, though. I can 100% guarantee if Fred left his man in the box and he scored, he would be getting slaughtered for it. Overall, If he plays like that more often, he will certainly get picked.

It wasn't his fault at all unless you're one of those fans who believes players in defensive transition should only stick to their defensive space when two of their team mates (Telles & Matic) have been comfortably eliminated by 'one' West Ham player.

 

[Highfather_24]

This is the first time I've watched him play

Please provide some context here. Are you a United fan? Have you just coincidentally happened to miss his games? Are you a very busy person who misses matches?

 

[bond19821982]

People are reluctant to appreciate him because we lost. If Mason had scored that , he would be getting raving feedbacks here.

Fact, it was a brilliant game from him. Shame we lost but he deserves to start ahead of Fred on Saturday.

 

[smi11ie]

I thought it was a mixed bag from Donny. He did put himself about a bit though and he did create a great scoring chance. Definitely an improvent.

 

[lex talionis]

Not quite outstanding, but Donny was very good on the ball tonight. Partly at fault for the goal, though blame has to fall primarily on Telles.

 

[Gandalf]

It wasn't his fault at all unless you're one of those fans who believes players in defensive transition should only stick to their defensive space when two of their team mates (Telles & Matic) have been comfortably eliminated by 'one' West Ham player.

Not his fault exactly but he showed zero awareness and left Lanzini free with nobody else there to pick him up. It was a poor goal to concede as a team though and Donny's failure to track the run was just one element of that.

 

[CG1010]

Post 10 minutes where he and the entire team was poor, he showed some good qualities. I was impressed by the number of times he competed for 50:50s and won a few. He also covered passing lanes to opposition runners well a couple times I noticed. Besides that he showed up for the ball a lot more and I bet he has many more touches compared previous 90 minute games. He should definitely be given a shot at the CM position because if he is able to match Fred's defensive output, his reliable passing over Fred would be a massive upgrade. He gave a glimpse of that today with the Greenwood pass and I am sure if he grows in confidence, he can start passing more expansively.

 

[Adnan]

Not his fault exactly but he showed zero awareness and left Lanzini free with nobody else there to pick him up. It was a poor goal to concede as a team though and Donny's failure to track the run was just one element of that.

He showed awareness and read the situation well IMO and realised that Lindelof had to engage the West Ham player which meant he had to vacate his space which VdB went to cover due to a West Ham player loitering on the edge of the six yard box. And Fredericks intended pass was aimed at the West Ham player on the six yard box. But unfortunately for us, Lindelof deflected the ball into the path of Lanzini and you can't compensate for that deflection when the pass was clearly intended for the player on the edge of the six yard box.

Matic was the biggest culprit IMO because he just gave up and realised he couldn't keep up and started jogging casually which is no where near good enough. it's also one of the reasons why our defensive transitions are poor IMO.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

I think that so many people want to see VdB given his chance, so when he has little cameos we tend to look for the good and over rate his performances. Today however, he was fantastic. I'd love to see what he can do if given more chances in that #6/8 role like he was today. Definitely better than Fred...

 

[Kramer]

If Donny can keep up these performance levels, there’s no reason why he can’t displace Fred in the starting lineup.

He is so much better on the ball and a better footballer. Only thing Fred has is more energy.

Hopefully Donny can keep building stamina levels to put himself around like he did last night on a consistent basis.

Pretty sure if he gets a run of games we can expect goals from him as well. He makes some great runs into the box.

 

[tomaldinho1]

I thought he was decent but what annoys me is there are some who don’t rate him who will see this as him being given a ‘chance’. Being thrust into a second string all of whom barely play is never going to be easy.

 

[RPT_Reddevil]

Any gif/clip of his full blooded tackle towards the end? Absolutely loved that.

He was decent enough to warrant more starts in the coming matches. Showed that he can be rotated with McFred.

 

[Berbasbullet]

His short passing is very accurate. I like him.

 

[Sviken]

Should start over Fred. His ball retention is way better and we controlled the midfield well... for once. I haven't felt that United are safe from attacks like this in a long time. Obviously, we lacked the cutting age in front because Martial is a walking pole, but honestly at this point - give Donny a go.

 

[largelyworried]

Ahead of McFred and Pogba? Don't see it. Don't see him getting games ahead of Matic either

tbh I don't know now when his next minutes come, given how the UCL group is now he won't play against Villarreal and given how I expect that game to go he won't play against either leg against Atalanta either. Maybe Young Boys in the last day of the group in December?

I like Fred but his form has been as poor as his first season with us. Pogba is very inconsistent in a double pivot and Matic’s legs have just about gone. So it’s not like we’re blessed with options or tearing up our strongest combination on the pitch. If there’s a chance that VDB might improve we really need to try it out, even if we start off with him as a sub.

 

[Red_Aaron]

I thought it was probably his best performance all told. Not outstanding but promising.

There was a bigger range to his passing which had previously struggled to go beyond 10yrds, he played primarily forward instead of conservatively, he covered loads of ground and perhaps most importantly he was a presence for the whole game. Couple of mistakes didn't see him shrink.

Still improvements to be made but encouraging

 

[ThinkTank@Cafe]

A class player lacking match practice. Ole will rotate Matic/Donny and McFred.

 

[yipthatman]

He was not outstanding, but he was alright.

I agree. I understand that people want him to do well but I have never seen such bias for a player. He did OK and we lost.

 

[CloneMC16]

Please provide some context here. Are you a United fan? Have you just coincidentally happened to miss his games? Are you a very busy person who misses matches?

Yes, I am a United fan. I'd say I watch approximately 80% of our games. Maybe a little bit higher. I have probably missed the odd game he played. I definitely missed the game against Wolves at the end of last season. I have read a lot of people say he played well in that game.

Whenever I've watched him play, I just see an average player that passes sideways and backwards almost every time. I have never understood the insane backing he gets from our fans. I expect more from our midfielders, and I think we saw some of that last night. I liked that he got about quite a bit and made some good tackles. He played some higher quality passes. Especially that fantastic ball to Mason. I rarely ever see him try and play any progressive passes. I hope he does that more often.

 

[VP89]

Any opportunity to criticise Fred and McT.

Eh

 

[KingCavani]

Had a fantastic ball to Greenwood. Needs to be more aggressive like that to play under Ole, he has some quality for sure.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

I thought he was decent last night. Bit worried that he seemed to be developing the thing all our midfielders do which is dally on the ball taking extra touches when there was simple passes right there he could have played first time.
showed fight, willingness to run poor decision on their goal and no idea why he felt like he needed to go in there when Bailly had it covered.

 

[Borys]

That is a good performance at the very least. He's super reliable on the ball (compared to our other midfielders) and what I like about him is how he involves others into play. Plus his defensive game is miles better than an average AM he is supposed to be.
He's definitely a central midfielder.

 

[georgipep]

Who looked the best in the ground? On the TV It looked like he did ok. Playing with Matic is a one man sport in most matches. Dalot whipped in some decent balls that the likes of Ronaldo and Cavani would enjoy. We were poor though for sure.

Matić was by far our best player last night. He was absolutely imperious in his role both in defence and in attack. I agree that sometimes his lack of mobility means that his partner (usually Fred) needs to cover twice the distance but that wasn't the case last night.

It wasn't his fault at all unless you're one of those fans who believes players in defensive transition should only stick to their defensive space when two of their team mates (Telles & Matic) have been comfortably eliminated by 'one' West Ham player.

Donny chased the ball in a situation where the CB already covered the angle. He forgot about his man, left his zone and rushed to cut the pass. It was absolutely a mistake.

People are reluctant to appreciate him because we lost. If Mason had scored that , he would be getting raving feedbacks here.

Fact, it was a brilliant game from him. Shame we lost but he deserves to start ahead of Fred on Saturday.

He did play some lovely football but he definitely doesn't deserve to start ahead of Fred in any important game.

 

[Ted1985]

I was honestly very impressed with him. He always wanted the ball, he looked strong, he pressed, he won the ball back a few times and he tried some risky passes to make something happen. He was absolutely not even trying to hide once during the match, and that I respect!

 

[Adnan]

That is a good performance at the very least. He's super reliable on the ball (compared to our other midfielders) and what I like about him is how he involves others into play. Plus his defensive game is miles better than an average AM he is supposed to be.
He's definitely a central midfielder.

He was good and the most impressive thing about him was that he's technically very strong and and knows what he's gonna do before he's even received the ball.

And even for the West Ham goal his positioning was spot on IMO, because he not only put himself in a position to intercept the pass which was headed towards the six yard box, but he also cut off the passing angle to Lanzini. But unfortunately for us, the ball ricocheted off Lindelof and instead of heading towards the West Ham player on the edge of the six yard box it fell kindly for Lanzini. I've posted the clip of the goal for all to see.

 

[arnie_ni]

Telles got destroyed by a simple kick and run from the West Ham wide player and Matic who was close-by in the defensive half space just gave up and jogged casually towards the evolving situation. VdB then sees that the most advanced West Ham player could be free on the edge of the six yard box due to one of our defenders (Lindelof) having to leave their space to engage the ball carrier, and tries to close the space which obviously leaves Lanzini free. Van de Beek did well in that situation and read the situation well along with Lindelof. But unfortunately The ball ricocheted off Lindelof's boot and into the path of Lanzini but the intended target for the pass was the West Ham player on the edge of the six yard box.

Matic and Telles are to blame for the goal IMO and it meant our central players then had to move out of their defensive zones which opened up space for Lanzini to score.

Bailly MAY have got back to the guy at the 6 yard box but otherwise he has a tap in in dvb doesn't drop in there.

 

[arnie_ni]

Not his fault exactly but he showed zero awareness and left Lanzini free with nobody else there to pick him up. It was a poor goal to concede as a team though and Donny's failure to track the run was just one element of that.

Or you could argue he showed great awareness because he actually tried to get in on the man the pass was intended for and who likely would have had a tap In because lindelof had to leave him.

Don't be results orientated. If there was no deflection the ball goes nowhere near lanzini

 

[Adam-Utd]

Telles got destroyed by a simple kick and run from the West Ham wide player and Matic who was close-by in the defensive half space just gave up and jogged casually towards the evolving situation. VdB then sees that the most advanced West Ham player could be free on the edge of the six yard box due to one of our defenders (Lindelof) having to leave their space to engage the ball carrier, and tries to close the space which obviously leaves Lanzini free. Van de Beek did well in that situation and read the situation well along with Lindelof. But unfortunately The ball ricocheted off Lindelof's boot and into the path of Lanzini but the intended target for the pass was the West Ham player on the edge of the six yard box.

Matic and Telles are to blame for the goal IMO and it meant our central players then had to move out of their defensive zones which opened up space for Lanzini to score.

Agreed.

Pause the video at 6 seconds. He sees Bowen by himself and senses the danger. He moves towards him to cut the obvious pass into his feed, but the ball doesn't quite make it to him and ends up deflecting off of Lindelof's leg instead.

this misleads all the defenders and it ends up falling perfectly to Lanzini. 9/10 that ball reaches Bowen, DVB cuts it out and everyboy applauds him for great defending.

If he just stood there ball watching holding Lanzini's hand everybody would be saying "he doesn't smell the danger, isn't good enough defensively for a CM". The guy can't win it seems, people have made their minds up on him.

 

[Adnan]

Matić was by far our best player last night. He was absolutely imperious in his role both in defence and in attack. I agree that sometimes his lack of mobility means that his partner (usually Fred) needs to cover twice the distance but that wasn't the case last night.

Donny chased the ball in a situation where the CB already covered the angle. He forgot about his man, left his zone and rushed to cut the pass. It was absolutely a mistake.

He did play some lovely football but he definitely doesn't deserve to start ahead of Fred in any important game.

He didn't lose his man at all and my previous post explains why. VdB had cut off the pass angle towards Lanzini, and Fredericks intended to pass to the West Ham player on the edge of the six yard box which is clear to see at the point of release.

At the point of release, Fredericks's only option is to pass the ball to the man on the edge of the six yard box because VdB has cut off the pass to Lanzini and has also put him self in a position to help Bailly. But you can't compensate for the riicochet off Lindelof's shin.

Matic was was as useful as a cone in the scenario in question.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Or you could argue he showed great awareness because he actually tried to get in on the man the pass was intended for and who likely would have had a tap In because lindelof had to leave him.

Don't be results orientated. If there was no deflection the ball goes nowhere near lanzini

It's not being results orientated. It us leaving the man open in the box. The "result" could've easily changed because VDB left Lanzini unmarked, because a better player for West Ham on the wing could've passed it straight to Lanzini without the deflection. Bailly was the man who covered the front post.

Fans defending VDB for that goal baffles me. Although Telles was primary culprit.

Overall though VDB played well and should be played alongside Mctominay next game instead of Fred. To be fair to him, I can justify that one mistake because he will be rusty with the lack of minutes.

 

[arnie_ni]

The time he had the ball and ran from his own box close to the half way line and not one player ahead of him showed for the ball was infuriating.

 

[vanderpants]

But ole doesn't trust him in the bigger games

 

[arnie_ni]

It's not being results orientated. It us leaving the man open in the box. The "result" could've easily changed because VDB left Lanzini unmarked, because a better player for West Ham on the wing could've passed it straight to Lanzini without the deflection. Bailly was the man to cover the front post.

Fans defending VDB for that goal baffles me. Although Telles was primary culprit.

Overall though VDB played well and should be played alongside Mctominay next game instead of Fred. To be fair to him, I can justify that mistake because he will be rusty with the lack of minutes.

I'm not sure how it's baffling? If bowen taps it in its dvb fault for not blocking the nearest threat to goal.

Like a cross in, you don't mark the man at the back post leaving the guy on the pen spot free, you filter in and if the cross goes over your head and the guy at the back taps it in, fair game.

Maybe bailly gets there maybe he doesn't but right in front of dvb at the time he made his move was a man wide open at the 6 yard box. He has to close him