[Valencia Shin Crosses]

This is what happens when you take a system player out of a system. He’s suited for one role, at a certain level, with certain players around him, and take him out of that and he’s just exposed as a mediocre footballer that’s decent at some things and poor at others but might as well be playing with a generic filler player.

 

[Gandalf]

So last game he, in 15 minutes, change the course of the game and was world class... and in this game he's way worse than McT?
Maybe a player can have a bad or good game?

Steady on. He had a decent spell but we were already on top in that game and a couple of decent touches around the box does not make him world class.

 

[Stacks]

If Ten Hag let’s him go then I will have more trust in him as a manager.

I hope he doesn’t hold on to ex players unnecessarily.

Me too. I wish we would just recoup our money from deadwood fc. I actually would have preferred Lingard.

This is the most average player I've ever seen get so much support from our fans. He did absolutely nothing all game. This is no different to how he usually plays. Maybe we will finally see the end of Donny FC when even ETH doesn't play him.

This lad makes McTomminay feel missed. At least with McTom you get some physicality in midfield and winning the ball back, VDB doesn't offer anything. Too lightweight, doesn't show up for the ball, anonymous in midfield and generally non existent performances.

remember they couldn't understand why McFred was persisted with when we have Donny on the bench. I had to explain last year that he doesn't actually out do them in their respective roles but I agree it was maybe hard to believe because they were so very meh. Fact is he simply isn't and hasn't provided an iota of confidence that he could be a better option.

Surely he has to have more in his locker to have been purchased for the gross national product of a small country.

Surely...

Nah. Very limited game he has. think of the current Delle Alli but worse

 

[Kweku Amonoo]

Good one

If somebody claimed after this tour that Donny's never been to Australia, I wouldn't be able to prove them wrong.

 

[Greck]

From what I can see following up a promising performance with a completely invisible one actually seems closer to his norm. I actually feel conned by the hype. Why does the fanbase carry his mantle so much?

 

[NLunited]

This last game he was anonymous. He was playing up high, but showed nothing in the few moments he had. Not sure what Ten Hag‘s plan is with him.

 

[P-Nut]

Me too. I wish we would just recoup our money from deadwood fc. I actually would have preferred Lingard.

I was going to pose this question earlier, but expected it would turn into a toxic thread so avoided it.

I seriously believe Lingard is the better player, he is quicker and their biggest strengths are both the little link up plays, however Lingard adds athleticism and the occasional goal threat that DvB doesn't.

If they were both at similar level clubs I'd expect Lingard to perform better

 

[Bobski]

Does anyone have the stats for how many times he actually touched the ball today? Utd had 60% possession but did he even make 20 passes?

 

[Trex]

I was going to pose this question earlier, but expected it would turn into a toxic thread so avoided it.

I seriously believe Lingard is the better player, he is quicker and their biggest strengths are both the little link up plays, however Lingard adds athleticism and the occasional goal threat that DvB doesn't.

If they were both at similar level clubs I'd expect Lingard to perform better

Clearly Lingard has more tools and is less of a coward.

 

[Bwuk]

It’s annoying because he has more than enough ability, but he just doesn’t impose himself anywhere near enough.

Look at Bruno. He can be playing shite but he’s always trying, showing for the ball. Donny is anonymous far too much.

 

[Lyng]

Clearly Lingard has more tools and is less of a coward.

Surely we are talking TikTok now?

 

[Trex]

Surely we are talking TikTok now?

Lingard can shoot, can carry the ball, presses harder has more pace.
Not a fan of either though.

 

[Champ]

Apparently I don't know my football for speaking about Van de beek
@Terranova

Apparently, Donny only plays poor because of the players around him...

...it's true because Terranova said so.

 

[Trex]

Apparently, Donny only plays poor because of the players around him...

...it's true because Terranova said so.

All our midfieders would have to play the same way Donny plays according to him.

 

[flameinthesun]

It’s annoying because he has more than enough ability, but he just doesn’t impose himself anywhere near enough.

Look at Bruno. He can be playing shite but he’s always trying, showing for the ball. Donny is anonymous far too much.

This is something I disagree with, when you look at donny play its ability that he lacks. He lacks a good passing range, he lacks in dribbling, he lacks in the physical aspect of it, he even lacks in the tight space/close control area. What he is/has been good at is timing runs into the box and has a good finish on him. Outside of that he is a very average player. After his first season I said lingard has more tools in his box than vdb and is a better player, I stand by that. Also for the hate mcfred get they are miles better in their roles than dvb.

 

[Abraxas]

This is something I disagree with, when you look at donny play its ability that he lacks. He lacks a good passing range, he lacks in dribbling, he lacks in the physical aspect of it, he even lacks in the tight space/close control area. What he is/has been good at is timing runs into the box and has a good finish on him. Outside of that he is a very average player. After his first season I said lingard has more tools in his box than vdb and is a better player, I stand by that. Also for the hate mcfred get they are miles better in their roles than dvb.

Yep, Lingard is most certainly the better footballer at this level. The sole evidence of Donny's ability seems to be a handful of CL games a few years ago. That's a rubbish sample size, the rest of it is Dutch league football. He might just lack basic ability, that's the problem. There may well be nothing there to unlock for all the talk about systems, managers, teammates so it's not like ETH can produce magic just because he knows the player. I guess we'll get the conclusion of this saga this season anyway.

 

[Trequarista10]

Ole was wrong from the get-off by signing him.

It was such a weird signing. I remember an interview with Ole after he signed, and when asked what attributes Donny would bring he couldn't list any, just rambled on about how he knows how to play because he came through the Ajax system. Its not clear why we signed him or whose idea it was, what exactly did any of the scouting or management team really see in him. Bruno is a far superior 10, Pogba a superior attacking 8. Fans proclaimed he could play deeper in midfield because they were desperately hoping, but all evidence showed he is nothing more than an distinctly average 10 or second striker. I genuinely think we signed him on a whim because Ajax offered him to us and someone in a suit thought that's a good price, and nobody at the club had the nous or authority to stop the deal.

 

[Donut]

I think we’ve seen enough of him to know he’s not good enough. Give his minutes to the youngsters, they can’t do much worse and at least there’s hope for them.

 

[Kag]

He needs putting out of his misery here. Bruno and Eriksen are going to keep him out of the team and Hannibal is more than good enough to get his minutes.

Ferry him back to Ajax and bring in that winger of theirs.

 

[Champ]

He needs putting out of his misery here. Bruno and Eriksen are going to keep him out of the team and Hannibal is more than good enough to get his minutes.

Ferry him back to Ajax and bring in that winger of theirs.

Hannibal is going out on loan, Donny is back up

 

[mu4c_20le]

It was such a weird signing. I remember an interview with Ole after he signed, and when asked what attributes Donny would bring he couldn't list any, just rambled on about how he knows how to play because he came through the Ajax system. Its not clear why we signed him or whose idea it was, what exactly did any of the scouting or management team really see in him. Bruno is a far superior 10, Pogba a superior attacking 8. Fans proclaimed he could play deeper in midfield because they were desperately hoping, but all evidence showed he is nothing more than an distinctly average 10 or second striker. I genuinely think we signed him on a whim because Ajax offered him to us and someone in a suit thought that's a good price, and nobody at the club had the nous or authority to stop the deal.

I believe he wanted Grealish for the longest time but Villa staying up meant that we had to look at alternatives. He was signed as backup for Bruno because Pereira wasn't up for it.

 

[The Mitcher]

This is what happens when you take a system player out of a system. He’s suited for one role, at a certain level, with certain players around him, and take him out of that and he’s just exposed as a mediocre footballer that’s decent at some things and poor at others but might as well be playing with a generic filler player.

He's literally playing in the system he was "taken out of" and he's STILL terrible.

 

[Eckers99]

He doesn't excel at anything. A nothing player.

 

[flappyjay]

He doesn't excel at anything. A nothing player.

He should be the one shining as we try to implement a system he played in instead he looks as lost as he has over the past 2 years. No change at all.

 

[Trequarista10]

I believe he wanted Grealish for the longest time but Villa staying up meant that we had to look at alternatives. He was signed as backup for Bruno because Pereira wasn't up for it.

It's awful squad building to buy a backup who can only play in one position, a position where we have our best player, and a position that isn't even afforded in a variety of formations. I guess they thought he might be able to play other positions, but I'd question who actually watched him play and came to that conclusion. Its not even like he was a teenager who would be content with a few minutes here and there, and we also had Lingard and Mata as backup 10s who could also start out wide, versatility being important for squad management especially with fringe players. Just a terrible transfer all round, and we'd be considerably better placed now if we'd spent the money on an actual centre midfielder, or even coughed up the money for Grealish (for LW). It supports my theory that it was a transfer decided by someone in a suit though. Hey Ole, sorry we can't agree a price with Villa but Ajax are offering this guy for £35m, he's from their academy and starts so it must be good value! And Ole just thought oh well somethings better than nothing.

Incidentally the Grealish transfer attempt was also a bit strange at the time as Rashford was flying and Martial was an option for the LW. The last two years they both lost form and people would probably have said we should have splurged on Grealish, and today they're both looking like maybe regaining some form and add Sancho to the mix, we're well stocked for LW options again. Even the success of logical transfer decisions can come to luck and happenstance. Brainless transfers like VDB's are doomed to fail.

 

[Ekeke]

Not enough influence on the match. That simple

 

[Eckers99]

He should be the one shining as we try to implement a system he played in instead he looks as lost as he has over the past 2 years. No change at all.

I'm not expecting a change at this point. He's just not good enough.

 

[UnitedFan93]

He has no outstanding qualities; he's just average at everything.

 

[GledTheRed]

Nothing player, like a crap number 10 who just hangs round for tap ins and contributes feck all to the build up.

We need to move him on.

 

[Trequarista10]

Nothing player, like a crap number 10 who just hangs round for tap ins and contributes feck all to the build up.

We need to move him on.

It wouldn't so bad if got himself a tap in every few games, he can't even manage that. Nothing player at this level.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Neville dubbed Rooney's performance once as 'silent domination'

Donny is consistently a silent abomination.

 

[In Rainbows]

He was anonymous. I actually thought he played well as a midfielder by demanding the ball the previous match, so it was worth a shot. Then he reverts to the anonymous Donny again. Once again proving how much we need a FDJ type player.

 

[Galactic]

Let’s jugde players in friendlies. Donny is sh*te and Martial is world class. And Maguire is back baby.

 

[Jules_T]

Does anyone have the stats for how many times he actually touched the ball today? Utd had 60% possession but did he even make 20 passes?

29 touches
16/21 passes (4 forward)
21 short passes
76% accuracy
3/3 tackles won
1 touch in oppo box

 

[JeffFromHK]

There is a reason why 3 different managers (Ole, Rang, Lampard) didn't fancy van de beek, he fails to show up for the ball enough and when he got the ball he just simply pass the ball away to the easiest target 1 touch. No creative passes, no ball carriage, nothing to impress managers and fans

 

[Bobski]

29 touches
16/21 passes (4 forward)
21 short passes
76% accuracy
3/3 tackles won
1 touch in oppo box

Thank you.

A fairly typical Donny showing, surprisingly effective at winning the ball but a lot worse than expected when it comes to on ball work. His pass completion rate in the PL sits at around 84% over the 2 years he has played in the PL, worse than McT and Fred, which for a guy who overwhelmingly plays safe short backwards passes is well below what you would expect. Say it again, Fred and McT have a better passing range than Donny, don't have his cleverness around the box but for a deeper role he is extremely limited in his passing options.

 

[Prodigy24]

Needs to play as a nr 10 or not play at all. He's just not a midfielder.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

I genuinely think we signed him on a whim because Ajax offered him to us and someone in a suit thought that's a good price, and nobody at the club had the nous or authority to stop the deal.

This has been mentioned before - but Donny was apparently on a list of No 10s (more or less) that we considered the summer before Bruno arrived. As in - he was an alternative to Bruno, it would seem, at that point. We then signed nobody in said position, for various reasons - and then, in January, we finally signed Bruno.

And then - yeah - we went ahead and signed Donny too the following window.

One theory is that we had already progressed pretty far in talks with Ajax/Donny/his people at an earlier point (going back to the previous summer, I guess) - and since we couldn't get a deal done with a CM (at least not anyone Ole wanted), we picked up Donny.

So - yeah - makes no sense as a transfer for a serious football club, but for Ed Woodward it's less shocking, I suppose.

 

[Skills]

Now's probably the time let him go tbh. The last thing you want is a player to become a meme and then you're really struggling to sell them.

 

[SER19]

Can't recall a player that seems so anonymous so often