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Eric Bailly Ivory Coast flag

2020-21 Performances

View full 2020-21 profile

6.0 Season Average Rating
Appearances
21
Clean sheets
9
Goals
0
Assists
1
Yellow cards
4
Status
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Pogue Mahone said:
I have seen him play, thanks. Hence I commented on that specific incident. The whole point of jumping in football is to win headers. If he’s not convincing at winning headers then he’s not good at jumping.
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Again winning headers and being a convincing header of the ball are not mutually exclusive. You can have one without the other, as they are plenty who have great leaps and can usually beat the striker for a header, but they head the ball poorly and into danger. Bailly does that on some occasions but he seems to be improving.

Anyway not going to continue over semantics.
 
It's a real shame his injuries keeps coming. He hasn't had a really bad game in a while now, I think his last was the one against PSG, it's just that he can't keep himself from injuring himself.

Comparing him with Lindelof is not really fair. If Lindelof was the one injured and Bailly was not, nobody would even know what Lindelof's game was about. Everyone know the potential with Bailly.
 
A-man said:
You can take whoever you want, as this was about Bailly. 95% of all defenders in PL would deal with that specific situation in a calmer way than throw a last ditch two legged tackle. And just like the majority of PL centrebacks, I prefer the calmer and controlled way.

I know the limits of Lindelof. But this was about something else. My opinion is that AWB was good but very overrated because of his spectacular style. His tackles were hiding the fact that he had many deficiencies like poor ball handling, awareness and positioning. When I wrote that after his “Sterling game” a year ago I got a huge amount of critique and insults. It’s the same now. Bailly has been good in his last games agaisnt Luton and Brighton B team, but it’s not enough to compare with Lindelof and Maguire who played more or less every PL game together last season. Again, he has played well in those games but he is overrated because of his way of playing. People say he is the best defender at the club.He kept two clean sheets against weak teams, just like the other defenders did. Bailly has had his weaknesses with awareness, decision making and positioning. He wants to be where the ball is, not where he should be. He often misses what is happening behind him. Etc. Could be he has fixed that as I haven’t seen any problems with that in the two last matches. Or it was just because it was only 2 matches against weak teams.
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Again the bolded bit is just your confirmation bias. I can give the same ridiculous generalisation. 95% of PL centrebacks are far more aggressive and decisive than Lindelof, which is why also 95% of RedCafe will openly say Lindelof is far too passive.

It was a 50/50 ball to be won and Bailly made a calculated risk and dealt with it. In the Premier League, you will win the ball more for your team and create advantages, if you challenge and are able to engage in those 50/50s. Let's be honest we all know what Lindelof would have done. He'd 'cover' across, hands already behind his back and try to block a shot/cross whilst comfortably being 2 yards away i.e no pressure. In isolated incidences this is not a bad approach but it's pussy footing around a situation and treating all attacks in-or-near our penalty box like the opposition is Messi.

Is Bailly is the answer? No one knows as he hasn't been available or been given a chance; it is what it is. However, don't try to criticise Bailly/AWB's 'risk' and then elevate Lindelof in separate posts.

AWB's and Bailly's 1-on-1 handling of situations are good, full stop. Don't conflate their poorer positional play as being the same thing. You can be good in duels and poor at the latter. It is not overrated. it a skill/quality all defenders should have. Lindelof has (I shudder at the thought of praising this because I don't think he has but for argument's sake, I'd say it here) 'good' positional sense but weak 1-on-1 ability. As someone posted earlier, if we want to be 'impartial' then you would say Bailly's instinctive qualities, which draw him to the ball and Lindelof's approach to be socially distanced from it are both equal 'risks'.

I personally don't have a problem with your critiques of everyone not named Lindelof. It just speaks of double standards that you trot on every other player and then defend/justify without irony or awareness of Lindelof's shortcomings. It's hard to take your analysis seriously when you don't apply it equally or fairly. You choose to focus on the obvious hyperbolic comments like 'Bailly is the best CB' etc and then build a view that supports your partiality, which is basically 'Bailly is overrated and hasn't done enough, Lindelof is still the better option'.
 
Bailly has a long way to go to develop the consistency required but stylistically, he's a far better partner for either Maguire or Lindelof than they are for each other.

Both Lindelof and Maguire like to drop off rather than aggressively challenge high up the pitch. It really doesn't suit a team that wants to play on the front foot.

The most obvious recent example of this issue was Trossard hitting the bar at Brighton. Maguire backed off their forward rather than challenging and he could lift his head and pick out an easy pass to put Trossard clean through.

If you're a defender at a top club you need to hold a high line and challenge to win the ball back high up the pitch. Neither of United's first choice defenders do and it completely relieves the pressure on the opposition.
 
This is simple. He is playing well and not injured. Sell him!
 
criticalanalysis said:
Again the bolded bit is just your confirmation bias. I can give the same ridiculous generalisation. 95% of PL centrebacks are far more aggressive and decisive than Lindelof, which is why also 95% of RedCafe will openly say Lindelof is far too passive.

It was a 50/50 ball to be won and Bailly made a calculated risk and dealt with it. In the Premier League, you will win the ball more for your team and create advantages, if you challenge and are able to engage in those 50/50s. Let's be honest we all know what Lindelof would have done. He'd 'cover' across, hands already behind his back and try to block a shot/cross whilst comfortably being 2 yards away i.e no pressure. In isolated incidences this is not a bad approach but it's pussy footing around a situation and treating all attacks in-or-near our penalty box like the opposition is Messi.

Is Bailly is the answer? No one knows as he hasn't been available or been given a chance; it is what it is. However, don't try to criticise Bailly/AWB's 'risk' and then elevate Lindelof in separate posts.

AWB's and Bailly's 1-on-1 handling of situations are good, full stop. Don't conflate their poorer positional play as being the same thing. You can be good in duels and poor at the latter. It is not overrated. it a skill/quality all defenders should have. Lindelof has (I shudder at the thought of praising this because I don't think he has but for argument's sake, I'd say it here) 'good' positional sense but weak 1-on-1 ability. As someone posted earlier, if we want to be 'impartial' then you would say Bailly's instinctive qualities, which draw him to the ball and Lindelof's approach to be socially distanced from it are both equal 'risks'.

I personally don't have a problem with your critiques of everyone not named Lindelof. It just speaks of double standards that you trot on every other player and then defend/justify without irony or awareness of Lindelof's shortcomings. It's hard to take your analysis seriously when you don't apply it equally or fairly. You choose to focus on the obvious hyperbolic comments like 'Bailly is the best CB' etc and then build a view that supports your partiality, which is basically 'Bailly is overrated and hasn't done enough, Lindelof is still the better option'.
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In the end, 95% of all CBs conceded more goals tha Lindelof/Maguire, you calling him pussy etc doesn’t change that fact. You seemed obsessed with me not being as critical with Lindelof as Bailly/AWB. It started already when I thought AWB was overrated because of his tackles. I know Lindelof has many weak sides and especially that he needs to turn on his aggressive side more often.But, the difference is that Bailly/AWB are/were imo overrated because of their style of playing, and Lindelof underrated. Lindelof is called pussy because he doesn’t do last ditch tackles but he gets the job done, as has been proved (Lindelof actually tackled more than Bailly in the last game but I assume you didn’t notice that).

And your talk about instincts. Som defenders act on instinct and a little more individual approach, others are defenders who make active choices instead of acting on instinct. Most footballers are a bit of both.
 
A-man said:
In the end, 95% of all CBs conceded more goals tha Lindelof/Maguire, you calling him pussy etc doesn’t change that fact. You seemed obsessed with me not being as critical with Lindelof as Bailly/AWB. It started already when I thought AWB was overrated because of his tackles. I know Lindelof has many weak sides and especially that he needs to turn on his aggressive side more often.But, the difference is that Bailly/AWB are/were imo overrated because of their style of playing, and Lindelof underrated. Lindelof is called pussy because he doesn’t do last ditch tackles but he gets the job done, as has been proved (Lindelof actually tackled more than Bailly in the last game but I assume you didn’t notice that).

And your talk about instincts. Som defenders act on instinct and a little more individual approach, others are defenders who make active choices instead of acting on instinct. Most footballers are a bit of both.
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Interfering here, but alas. Awb may not have the beat positional awareness when the ball is played over him, but that can be coached.
His last ditch tackles or going to ground, however is calculated. I think he even said so in an intrrview that he blocked a players path on the inside and showed them on thenoutside because he knows he can get a tackle in. He misjudged Sterling’s acceleration once or twice then had him on roast. That was calculated and great defensive play. Evra did the same and it worked against everyone bar Lennon, as he was just too quick for that tactic.

Lindelof has some issues to his game. He is slow, but not too slow. However, he is too weak! Using a washed up term here, but he needs to bulk up, considerably! He is also too passive, and both him and Maguire share that trait. The defense needs more balance than what Maguire and Lindelof can provide together.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Bailly is many things. A great jumper he is not.
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Pogue Mahone said:
Think how much better he would be at heading the ball if he didn’t crouch down every time he jumps! His heading technique is so weird. I wonder if it will ever change?
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It's possible because that technique is weird as feck but I thought we were talking about his ability as a jumper? He's way above the rim in that photo, so to speak.

Although to be fair you could argue that his weird heading technique is due to bad timing of his jumps.
 
A-man said:
In the end, 95% of all CBs conceded more goals tha Lindelof/Maguire, you calling him pussy etc doesn’t change that fact. You seemed obsessed with me not being as critical with Lindelof as Bailly/AWB. It started already when I thought AWB was overrated because of his tackles. I know Lindelof has many weak sides and especially that he needs to turn on his aggressive side more often.But, the difference is that Bailly/AWB are/were imo overrated because of their style of playing, and Lindelof underrated. Lindelof is called pussy because he doesn’t do last ditch tackles but he gets the job done, as has been proved (Lindelof actually tackled more than Bailly in the last game but I assume you didn’t notice that).

And your talk about instincts. Som defenders act on instinct and a little more individual approach, others are defenders who make active choices instead of acting on instinct. Most footballers are a bit of both.
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95% of teams conceded less goals than Utd due to Maguire, AWB and a rejuvenated Shaw; Lindelof's influence is very easily the least.

AWB/Bailly's 'style' is not the factor being overrated here. It's their ability to actually affect the game and situation.

Lindelof is certainly not underrated. He may be over criticised (let's be honest, which Utd player isn't) but he has not done anything of note (other than being fit) to be underrated by any Utd fan. He's not rated not because he doesn't do last ditch tackles, it's because he doesn't do enough proactive defensive actions or engage enough in plays. Are you really trying to say Lindelof's game against Brighton in the League Cup game was more effective than Bailly because there's a 'made more tackles' statistic? Are you really trying to equate that as 'getting the job done'? The same game where he got turned like an amateur and still deferred his passing options to Bailly and others despite being a 'calm' ball playing defender?

Like I said, Bailly may not be the answer but stop elevating Lindelof like some misunderstood Maldini.
 
criticalanalysis said:
95% of teams conceded less goals than Utd due to Maguire, AWB and a rejuvenated Shaw; Lindelof's influence is very easily the least.

AWB/Bailly's 'style' is not the factor being overrated here. It's their ability to actually affect the game and situation.

Lindelof is certainly not underrated. He may be over criticised (let's be honest, which Utd player isn't) but he has not done anything of note (other than being fit) to be underrated by any Utd fan. He's not rated not because he doesn't do last ditch tackles, it's because he doesn't do enough proactive defensive actions or engage enough in plays. Are you really trying to say Lindelof's game against Brighton in the League Cup game was more effective than Bailly because there's a 'made more tackles' statistic? Are you really trying to equate that as 'getting the job done'? The same game where he got turned like an amateur and still deferred his passing options to Bailly and others despite being a 'calm' ball playing defender?

Like I said, Bailly may not be the answer but stop elevating Lindelof like some misunderstood Maldini.
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You think AWB and Bailly are top defenders and Lindelof is very poor. You even think Shaw, who played 51% of the PL minutes last season contributed more than Lindelof, how that is even theoretically possible I don’t know. But it’s fine with me.
 
Deserves to start. I want him to start, could really do with his pace at the back to help deal with Son if he plays but have a feeling Ole will stick with Lindelof.
 
Can he just be told not to dive in no matter what and then let him play. If he looks like he is tiring, sub Lindelof in.
 
He can be a lot more dominant than Lindelöf, who I think is way too timid in his approach. Trick is to cut out the insanity every other game. Feels like I’ve been here before:wenger:
 
ShinjiNinja26 said:
Deserves to start. I want him to start, could really do with his pace at the back to help deal with Son if he plays but have a feeling Ole will stick with Lindelof.
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This aged well.

Everyone who for the past month or so has been talking about Bailly as if he's way better than Lindelöf should apologize and hang their heads in shame now.

Utter disgrace.
 
Leaving the Maguire disaster class at the door. Our defence nearly always plays worse as a unit when he plays. This isn’t new. It’s been like this since about 3 months after he joined. He’s an awful defender that has pace to bail him out and make flashy tackles.
 
First good team he faced this is what happens. I said after Luton match it was fecking Luton. Wait till he play a proper game.

Disaster and brainless.
 
He has no future at Manchester United. Just spreads panic in the defence and he’ll never learn.
 
It was obvious after 2 seasons he is not good enough. Should have been shipped off 2 years ago but here we are. Very much a part of the massive deadwood we have at the club yet you've got people saying he's the answer to our defensive woes.

Shocking performance. He ranged from poor to downright disgraceful for the first 4 goals. 4 fecking goals. Should be sold ASAP.
 
Rojo is better than him. What a clown he is. Thanks Jose for Bailly and Lindelöf, fecking cnut
 
Always makes the team worse. He's one of those that like David Luiz, are good on the ball but aren't good enough to play any other position, so they get lumped at CB despite having very few defensive instincts.
 
He will always be that though. You can't rely on him.

But, to be fair, he should have played a bit more before starting a game.
 
Don't think he was any worse than Maguire, who hung him out to dry several times
 
It was a worth a shot to play him if only to show there are consequences for playing as poorly as Lindelof did. But, anyone who were pinning their hopes on Bailly fixing the mess was stark raving bonkers.
 
That pass after we went down to 10 men. If he was near me, I would have slapped him mid game.

But Maguire was way worse. He is still fighting with Greek Police it seems
 
And people thought this guy was the answer to our problems. It’s like people have never watched him play.

He has always been a disaster, terrible defender, no game intelligence. Another giant waste of money from the club to add to the ever building list of terrible signings.
 
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