[stevoc]

But that is clearly where he played last night and has been recently. Why would you feel that having Rafael who also isn't a left back would improve that

Yeah because Van Gaal signed players with the foresight to know his predecessor will need someone to fill in at left back towards the end of next season. Obviously i am talking about the initial decision to replace Rafael at right back with Darmian. At least i would have thought that was obvious, but for some maybe not.

or was it just a chance to have a dig at Van Gaal?

I liked Van Gaal but his squad management and transfer dealings were atrocious.

 

[Garethw]

I'd rather see him used as a centre half (and that's saying something). He's probably the worst fullback for attacking and offering the winger support that I've seen in over 30 years of supporting United.

 

[Sylar]

He does a job out there, right? As hes right footed, it will stop the right sided attacker from cutting in (eg if it was a Robben type). I can see him being kept in the squad for games when we need to keep it tight and disciplined. Hes not very adventurous (although im sure he was for the Italy team in the Euros).

Hes not great going forward at all, which is a shame as were used to seeing overlapping fullbacks as it adds that extra element. But for when we dont do that, I think hes good.

 

[stevoc]

He does a job out there, right? As hes right footed, it will stop the right sided attacker from cutting in (eg if it was a Robben type). I can see him being kept in the squad for games when we need to keep it tight and disciplined. Hes not very adventurous (although im sure he was for the Italy team in the Euros).

Hes not great going forward at all, which is a shame as were used to seeing overlapping fullbacks as it adds that extra element. But for when we dont do that, I think hes good.

Yeah when he's not expected to contribute at all to the attack he can be ok to decent defensively like he has the last few weeks. But i don't see how we can have a player taking up a squad slot who totally neglects half of a fullbacks job and contributes little to the teams attack.

I wonder how many people would want us to keep a winger in the squad who's ok/good going forward (at times) but makes virtually no effort to track back and help the team defend. Not many i would wager.

 

[Sylar]

I wonder how many people would want us to keep a winger in the squad who's ok/good going forward (at times) but makes virtually no effort to track back and help the team defend. Not many i would wager.

Maybe if its Neymar :P

But yeah, I think its because weve seen what the likes of Evra and Irwin have provided us. Heck even Phil Neville at a time and Shaw for a few games before his injury.

 

[MadMike]

He's decent defensively, a big improvement these last couple of months from earlier in the season. That said his lack of ability going forward is extremely evident. Even a half-fit Luke Shaw in the 2 games he played showed a lot more energy and willingness to go forward, helping create a couple of pretty good chances in the process.

We're going to to need a decent starting LWB next season. It's one of the 3 most important positions we need to reinforce along with a CM/DM and a striker.

 

[stevoc]

Maybe if its Neymar :P

Yeah for a special player we could accept it, the same way if it was a top, top fullback who was a rock defensively we could accept him not going forward but that isn't Darmian.

But yeah, I think its because weve seen what the likes of Evra and Irwin have provided us. Heck even Phil Neville at a time and Shaw for a few games before his injury.

Yeah exactly not all those lads were brilliant going forward but they got forward and helped out. Darmian can't even be fecked crossing the half way line most of the time. Look at how many times Martial was double teamed tonight, Darmian could at least make a run on the overlap to draw one of them off him. But most of the time he runs up to the half way line waits for a pass and then passes it back to whoever just gave it to him and then jogs back. It's pointless.

We need and can do much better.

 

[Sylar]

Darmian can't even be fecked crossing the half way line most of the time.

The only reason I dont fully criticise this is because we dont know how much that is down to Darmian, and how much that is down to tactics/Jose.
It seems like Jose likes one fullback going forward, and the other not so much. So RB normally does it, LB doesnt.
but saying that, the times that Darmian does cross the half way line, its not normally helpful.

 

[Cutch]

With the importance of the modern day fullback to get up and down its no wonder we create so little with Darmian playing left back. Another game that i barely remember him crossing the half way line. Another game where he wouldn't have took on a man or put in a cross or made an overlapping run to take a man away from Martial. We have to play Blind in the final in the hope that he'll offer us more on the ball from left back even if it means we have to start Chris Smalling

 

[Marcelinho87]

Yeah when he's not expected to contribute at all to the attack he can be ok to decent defensively like he has the last few weeks. But i don't see how we can have a player taking up a squad slot who totally neglects half of a fullbacks job and contributes little to the teams attack.

I wonder how many people would want us to keep a winger in the squad who's ok/good going forward (at times) but makes virtually no effort to track back and help the team defend. Not many i would wager.

This has been covered though. Mourinho expects one of his fullbacks to stay back the entire game and with Valencia the one bombing forward that falls on Darmian. It is one of the reasons Shaw doesn't play and when he does Valencia is left out.

 

[Cutch]

This has been covered though. Mourinho expects one of his fullbacks to stay back the entire game and with Valencia the one bombing forward that falls on Darmian. It is one of the reasons Shaw doesn't play and when he does Valencia is left out.

Is Daley Blind disobeying orders then when he plays left back and crosses the half way line and sometimes puts crosses into the atttacking box?

 

[stevoc]

The only reason I dont fully criticise this is because we dont know how much that is down to Darmian, and how much that is down to tactics/Jose.
It seems like Jose likes one fullback going forward, and the other not so much. So RB normally does it, LB doesnt.
but saying that, the times that Darmian does cross the half way line, its not normally helpful.

Darmian was the same under Van Gaal, and Blind, Shaw, Rojo and Young don't seem to stay back all the time when they've played LB this season.

This has been covered though. Mourinho expects one of his fullbacks to stay back the entire game and with Valencia the one bombing forward that falls on Darmian. It is one of the reasons Shaw doesn't play and when he does Valencia is left out.

Where does this shit come from? Why are these tactics only in effect when Darmian plays?

As i said above every other player who has played LB this season has got up and put a cross in, including Shaw who actually has played with Valencia this season. I just checked of Shaw's 17 starts this season 11 of them came with Valencia also starting and in a few of the others Young was playing RB. So who was the defensive fullback expected to stay back all game in those matches?

When one of your fullbacks goes up field yeah the other one might hang back in case of a counter. But i seriously doubt Mourinho is telling one of our fullbacks to just play as a 3rd wide central defender.

 

[Nanotron]

This has been covered though. Mourinho expects one of his fullbacks to stay back the entire game and with Valencia the one bombing forward that falls on Darmian. It is one of the reasons Shaw doesn't play and when he does Valencia is left out.

This cannot be true. That is moyesque level of insanity.
I know it looks like that but no, its Darmian I assure you.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

I'm gonna stop commenting his obvious not-so-good attacking ability and will focus on his boons.

He's good in marking, often I notice he sticks to his marks very well.

Also, positionally he's very sound, not just defensively, but more so in keeping posession, he seems to always be available giving an option to pass, having him that way can relieve pressure from the other players.

 

[Devil may care]

He defends well enough most of the time, which is all Jose wants of him.

 

[Kag]

This has been covered though. Mourinho expects one of his fullbacks to stay back the entire game and with Valencia the one bombing forward that falls on Darmian. It is one of the reasons Shaw doesn't play and when he does Valencia is left out.

This theory is rubbish. Mourinho wants both of his full backs to attack and defend. Playing Cesar (who isn't half bad going forward, at least compared to Darmian) at full back for a season isn't some sort of long term strategy.

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by actively telling one of your full backs not to cross the half way line and join in attacks. It's barmy.

 

[beergod]

I rate him as a defender, but I don't think he will stick around unless we switch to 3 at the back. He'll want to head back to Italy with the World Cup coming up next summer, because I don't think he'll be a regular as a fullback going forward.

 

[Womp]

This theory is rubbish. Mourinho wants both of his full backs to attack and defend. Playing Cesar (who isn't half bad going forward, at least compared to Darmian) at full back for a season isn't some sort of long term strategy.

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by actively telling one of your full backs not to cross the half way line and join in attacks. It's barmy.

I agree. Think there's a genuine difference from telling your fullbacks to stay back and your fullbacks genuinely being shite at getting forward. Darmian is shite at getting forward. The few times we saw Young and Valencia both were bombing forward.

Darmian has his uses, but he's never going to be sprinting down the line smacking crosses in. He's not the best technically and he's quite slow, defence is his strong point.

 

[settembrini]

It was amazing how much better Bailly looked going forward than Darmian. He's a centre back and looked far more comfortable attacking than a player who built his reputation as a wing back.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

This theory is rubbish. Mourinho wants both of his full backs to attack and defend. Playing Cesar (who isn't half bad going forward, at least compared to Darmian) at full back for a season isn't some sort of long term strategy.

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by actively telling one of your full backs not to cross the half way line and join in attacks. It's barmy.

Aye it's nonsense. We've seen Young, Shaw and Blind regularly get in the opposition box when playing opposite Valencia. I don't think Darmian even got into the final third at any point last night.

 

[rocks13]

Darmian was the same under Van Gaal, and Blind, Shaw, Rojo and Young don't seem to stay back all the time when they've played LB this season.



Where does this shit come from? Why are these tactics only in effect when Darmian plays?

As i said above every other player who has played LB this season has got up and put a cross in, including Shaw who actually has played with Valencia this season. I just checked of Shaw's 17 starts this season 11 of them came with Valencia also starting and in a few of the others Young was playing RB. So who was the defensive fullback expected to stay back all game in those matches?

When one of your fullbacks goes up field yeah the other one might hang back in case of a counter. But i seriously doubt Mourinho is telling one of our fullbacks to just play as a 3rd wide central defender.

Maybe that's why Darmian plays left-back so often particularly away from home. Perhaps he following the manager's instructions in a way that the others aren't.

 

[Blind]

He's the epitome of this negative, awful football we've been playing for weeks. No ability on the ball, no intelligence, essentially a slightly more energetic training cone.

 

[PlayerOne]

It's honestly easy to forget he's even playing at times, offers next to nothing on the ball. He's a decent defender, but that's also down to the fact he rarely ever leaves his half. But Mou seems to like and trust him

 

[Geekie]

It bothered me how Martial was often provided with no support at all because Darmian did not (or instructed not to) go forward. He was solid defensively but how I miss us doing fast, furious overlapping. About time we added technical or pacey touches to our wing plays.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

It's honestly easy to forget he's even playing at times, offers next to nothing on the ball. He's a decent defender, but that's also down to the fact he rarely ever leaves his half. But Mou seems to like and trust him

I think he gets picked because he is such a good defender and we're very limited in terms of options at LB but no matter how solid he makes us at the back I reckon even Mourinho will be tearing his hair out at how little ambition Darmian has going forwards.

 

[stevoc]

Maybe that's why Darmian plays left-back so often particularly away from home. Perhaps he following the manager's instructions in a way that the others aren't.

Yeah maybe he is or maybe he's just a lazy cnut.

 

[rocks13]

Yeah maybe he is or maybe he's just a lazy cnut.

Possibly but it would seem a little strange if a player who was completely ignoring his manager's instructions was getting picked on such a regular basis. Or at least you'd expect him to come in for the sort of criticism that others have received for not doing what Jose has asked.

Seems rather more plausible that he's following his manager's instructions and Jose is quite happy with his performances.

 

[Ole90+3]

Darmian's lack of attacking really looks like a game plan though, especially last night where he was constantly tucking inside to be an extra CB, with Martial tracking back and acting like like a wing back.

Mourinho could have just come to a stage where he realises Darmian isn't offering him what he wants, so Jose's just instructed him to stay back.

 

[stevoc]

Possibly but it would seem a little strange if a player who was completely ignoring his manager's instructions was getting picked on such a regular basis. Or at least you'd expect him to come in for the sort of criticism that others have received for not doing what Jose has asked.

Seems rather more plausible that he's following his manager's instructions and Jose is quite happy with his performances.

Or Jose just accepts that he offers nothing going forward but still has to use him as we're not exactly flush with options at LB. I would find it stranger if Jose was only instructing Darmian to be ultra defensive at fullback but no one else even Bailly last night attacked more.

Darmian barely got over the half way line under LVG also, so unless he was specifically instructing him and only him to stay back as well. Then it's much, much more likely that this is just how Darmian plays

 

[rocks13]

Or Jose just accepts that he offers nothing going forward but still has to use him as we're not exactly flush with options at LB. I would find it stranger if Jose was only instructing Darmian to be ultra defensive at fullback but no one else even Bailly last night attacked more.

Darmian barely got over the half way line under LVG also, he must have been instructing him to stay back as well.

This is what Mourinho said about Darmian's role earlier in the season:-

Jose Mourinho has explained Matteo Darmian‘s role at Manchester United, noting that the Italian’s more traditional style balances well with Antonio Valencia‘s attacking approach at right back.


The 27-year-old, with Luke Shaw injured, has started at left-back on nine occasions during Man United’s sixteen game unbeaten run.

He featured on the left flank during United’s 1-1 draw and provided some much needed solidity before being replaced for Maroaune Fellaini with 15 minutes remaining.

Mourinho, when asked about the nature of Darmian’s role by an Italian journalist, quipped: “Do you want to buy him? Are you an agent? Do you work for the Italian federation?”

“When you have Antonio Valencia playing as a right winger you cannot defend with two players, you need that third player to give some cover inside and to keep some balances, and he [Darmian] did that well."

Sounds to me like he following his manager's instructions.

 

[PlayerOne]

I think he gets picked because he is such a good defender and we're very limited in terms of options at LB but no matter how solid he makes us at the back I reckon even Mourinho will be tearing his hair out at how little ambition Darmian has going forwards.

Yeah, Darmian is basically a safe option at the moment. It's funny, at the start of the season I thought we were well covered at LB but that position has been a problem for us all season. I'm sure Mou will be eager to get it sorted out in the summer

 

[stevoc]

This is what Mourinho said about Darmian's role earlier in the season:-

Jose Mourinho has explained Matteo Darmian‘s role at Manchester United, noting that the Italian’s more traditional style balances well with Antonio Valencia‘s attacking approach at right back.


The 27-year-old, with Luke Shaw injured, has started at left-back on nine occasions during Man United’s sixteen game unbeaten run.

He featured on the left flank during United’s 1-1 draw and provided some much needed solidity before being replaced for Maroaune Fellaini with 15 minutes remaining.

Mourinho, when asked about the nature of Darmian’s role by an Italian journalist, quipped: “Do you want to buy him? Are you an agent? Do you work for the Italian federation?”

“When you have Antonio Valencia playing as a right winger you cannot defend with two players, you need that third player to give some cover inside and to keep some balances, and he [Darmian] did that well."

Sounds to me like he following his manager's instructions.

Good for you, i don't buy it personally.

No other player sits back as much when playing fullback, and he did the same under Van Gaal. So it's nonsense that Mourinho is instructing him to stay back all the time.

 

[rocks13]

Good for you, i don't buy it personally.

No other player sits back as much when playing fullback, and he did the same under Van Gaal. So it's nonsense that Mourinho is instructing him to stay back all the time.

Well, I guess if a direct quote from our manager praising exactly the type of performance from Darmian that you seem to believe is the opposite of what he wants isn't enough to convince you then I guess you're rather beyond any help.

 

[stevoc]

I think he gets picked because he is such a good defender and we're very limited in terms of options at LB but no matter how solid he makes us at the back I reckon even Mourinho will be tearing his hair out at how little ambition Darmian has going forwards.

Yeah it's possible and likely that Jose is frustrated with him as well, but as you say he's limited in his options at LB so he has to make do with what he has for now. Hopefully he rectifies this problem in the summer and brings in a left back who doesn't get a nose bleed every time he goes up the pitch.

 

[limerickcitykid]

He has had this instructions excuse under Mourinho and van gaal now while no other fullback plays like that. Simple fact is attacking is an important part of a fullbacks game and essential to the team, especially a team who are striving to be at the top. He isn't just bad at it but just completely doesn't offer it. His attacking game doesn't even have flaws because it just doesn't even exist. He isn't even that good at defending either to make up for it nor is Valencia so good that we can use only one side of the field. There is probably more lbs in the the league I'd take over him than not.

 

[rocks13]

Yeah it's possible and likely that Jose is frustrated with him as well, but as you say he's limited in his options at LB so he has to make do with what he has for now. Hopefully he rectifies this problem in the summer and brings in a left back who doesn't get a nose bleed every time he goes up the pitch.

It's possible but since Jose hasn't expressed any frustration that I'm aware of (and I think he's shown that he's not afraid to speak about players who aren't meeting his expectations publically) it's also possible that he's quite happy with Darmian.

 

[SteveW]

This is what Mourinho said about Darmian's role earlier in the season:-

Jose Mourinho has explained Matteo Darmian‘s role at Manchester United, noting that the Italian’s more traditional style balances well with Antonio Valencia‘s attacking approach at right back.


The 27-year-old, with Luke Shaw injured, has started at left-back on nine occasions during Man United’s sixteen game unbeaten run.

He featured on the left flank during United’s 1-1 draw and provided some much needed solidity before being replaced for Maroaune Fellaini with 15 minutes remaining.

Mourinho, when asked about the nature of Darmian’s role by an Italian journalist, quipped: “Do you want to buy him? Are you an agent? Do you work for the Italian federation?”

“When you have Antonio Valencia playing as a right winger you cannot defend with two players, you need that third player to give some cover inside and to keep some balances, and he [Darmian] did that well."

Sounds to me like he following his manager's instructions.

Agreed. I think he'll buy a holding midfielder this summer which should allow us to better more attacking with the full backs. That's the hope anyway. The likes of Martial need some attacking support instead of being double marked every time on that side

 

[Rossa]

People blame Martial for not doing much in attack, but at least Martial runs his socks off covering for Darmian. Wouldn't it be nice, friendly even, for Darmian to offer that same service to Martial in attack?

I've never seen a fullback so scared of crossing the half way line; it's like a monkey coming to a full stop because of a little creek in front of him.

 

[stevoc]

Agreed. I think he'll buy a holding midfielder this summer which should allow us to better more attacking with the full backs. That's the hope anyway. The likes of Martial need some attacking support instead of being double marked every time on that side

Yep definitely Darmian just isn't putting enough effort into helping the winger ahead of him out by making overlapping runs and pulling a defender off them. We've seen Blind, Shaw, Young, Rojo, Valencia and even Bailly all following the managers instructions this season and making an effort to get up and support the attack. Darmian needs to make more of an effort also.

 

[Cloud7]

I think he gets picked because he is such a good defender and we're very limited in terms of options at LB but no matter how solid he makes us at the back I reckon even Mourinho will be tearing his hair out at how little ambition Darmian has going forwards.

I agree, which is why i'm almost certain we're gonna bring in a new LB over the summer, like a left sided Valencia if one exists. That being said, i'm sure Darmian will be kept around the squad. He seems like an ideal player to bring on when you're trying to shut down a game, and I'm sure Mou would want that in his squad. With a new starting LB, i'm sure when the time comes for one of our classic defensive subs, he would feel more secure bringing on Darmian.