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Matthijs de Ligt Netherlands flag

2024-25 Performances


View full 2024-25 profile

5.9 Season Average Rating
Appearances
24
Clean sheets
7
Goals
1
Assists
0
Yellow cards
4
For a 40m-45m outlay and more than 200k in wages you want a top defender not someone who is "just okay" or "can be a solid player". The wages he is on are obscene and would be in the top bracket for central defenders in the world, and yet we have this big club journeyman who is only "not top of our issues"
I agree with this. The other thing to mention about high wages is that they make players extremely difficult to sell if things don't work out. For >200k/week you want someone who's going to be a sure bet.
 
How often do you see Van Dijk tackle? A tackle cant always be prevented ofcourse, but good central defenders van minimize the amount of situations where they need a tackle as a last resort to save a tight situation.. You can prevents needing a lot of tackles with proper positioning...

Same as goalkeepers and saves where they need large dive and stretch themselves completely.. vd Sar has done that a lot less than other keepers of way lower quality.. Ofcourse there are always scenario's where a keeper needs to strech himself to get the ball from a corner, but with good positioning good keepers minimize the amount of times they need it..

Tackles arent unimportant, but they are more important for lower quality central defenders than for higher quality central defenders.
They play a different role though? VVD plays as the dropper in a two man CB pair. Konate or Gomez will be more front foot. in the same Rio/Vidic worked, by your logic Vidic was a low quality CB because he would always go for the ball and, therefore, would have had worse stats in any kind of duel than Rio because he's entering way more of them.

You've lost me on the GK point, if it's a finish in the corner any keeper is full stretch, it's not like they risk predicting a side.
 
For a 40m-45m outlay and more than 200k in wages you want a top defender not someone who is "just okay" or "can be a solid player". The wages he is on are obscene and would be in the top bracket for central defenders in the world, and yet we have this big club journeyman who is only "not top of our issues"

This has been a general problem with our recruitment. In our state we are not able to attract top top talent and for some reason instead of filling those positions with highly touted young prospects simply go for big club rejects, who then fail to really impress and deadwood a season or two down the line.

Yoro is a good start towards that but I rather we went for another young prospect at a higher fees and decent wages than a player whose limitations we already know. There isn't one area where he really excels. Doesn't have pace, isn't very good on the ball, doesn't have immaculate positioning, isn't top class in the air...'Decent' is his middle name when we should have gone for someone more than decent.

Do you guys see him as a regular starter in a top PL team?
Firstly I suspect you are basing your wage idea off capology, sportrac etc. which are scrapers and not precise - I would think his wages are much more incentive structured as is club policy nowadays. But for his age and price he is solid buy who will likely simply replace Maguire long term, I just think on the side of a 3 he is a bit lost in terms of what he is good at which people say is reading the game and organising the back line. My problem with him there, as explained above, is at least with Martinez he offers something offensively whereas De Ligt on the RCB isn't really doing much on the ball, I'd rather they just play Maz there and De Ligt central (especially if the plan is to sell Maguire). I think he could play in other top PL teams, especially the better ones because his real issue is a lack of pace in my opinion and other teams actually screen their defenders and press + they score goals so when their defenders make errors everyone forgets/forgives. United's issue is we don't score enough and we don't protect our CBs at all, so when one them or more has a bad game people act like they are the most at fault players, when the reality is you have guys who simply are not good enough allowing wave after wave of attack through against them. I like De Ligt, I just think on the sides of the 3 he is sub optimal.

Yoro looks great, we will see how he develops but he brings pace to the back line which is incredibly vital given how slow the core of our team is.
 
no i'm not. If you need to tackle it means the attacker is out of your normal reach. If your man marking or positioning is on point, you should be able to intercept/block instead of tackling. Unless of course you need to clean up the mess of someone elses mistake.
ok, so last game. Isak drops off a lot, you can't follow him every time because he's often hoping to drag you with him to make space. He gets the ball and then runs at you. Good luck not tackling.
 
ok, so last game. Isak drops off a lot, you can't follow him every time because he's often hoping to drag you with him to make space. He gets the ball and then runs at you. Good luck not tackling.
Tackling really is a secondary option, the main focus should be slowing the player down and shepherding them away from danger, only when this isn't an option should a tackle be made, this is the reason tackle stats are so low during an average professional football game.
 
ok, so last game. Isak drops off a lot, you can't follow him every time because he's often hoping to drag you with him to make space. He gets the ball and then runs at you. Good luck not tackling.
You're probably someone who even tackles at the kickoff in FIFA
Tackling really is a secondary option, the main focus should be slowing the player down and shepherding them away from danger, only when this isn't an option should a tackle be made, this is the reason tackle stats are so low during an average professional football game.
Exactly! Also recovering from a missed tackle is waaaaaaaay harder, so it should always be your last option unless you're very certain it's going to work.
 
Tackling really is a secondary option, the main focus should be slowing the player down and shepherding them away from danger, only when this isn't an option should a tackle be made, this is the reason tackle stats are so low during an average professional football game.
Yeah of course, but at some point you will need to tackle if you get close to your goal/no support arrives in time. Low compared to what? Sunday league, most likely yes.
 
You're probably someone who even tackles at the kickoff in FIFA

Exactly! Also recovering from a missed tackle is waaaaaaaay harder, so it should always be your last option unless you're very certain it's going to work.
I have no idea what this means, don't play it and don't understand even how you would do it?
Also why would anyone be recovering from a missed tackle, you tackle when you need to - realistically if you get skinned whether trying to intercept, tackle however you want to define it, you aren't recovering. That doesn't mean, however, that tackling means you have made a mistake.
 
Yeah of course, but at some point you will need to tackle if you get close to your goal/no support arrives in time. Low compared to what? Sunday league, most likely yes.
No, just low on general for how many passes/touches the players get.
Tackles are not that prevalent in football, even with high pressing teams.
Traps are usually set to force turnovers via mistakes rather than tackles, which tend to be made defensively as a last option.
 
Couldn’t disagree more, he’s been by far our best CB this season and can hold his head high, whereas players like Martinez, who’ve previously been hyped as amongst the best, have failed catastrophically.

He’d comfortably slot in at CB for any big side.

He's been uncomfortable at two big clubs prior to dropping down to us. This guy had his pick of the best clubs 6 seasons ago and he's not that in-demand center back anymore. United is his last chance at a so called big club on top player wages
 
ok, so last game. Isak drops off a lot, you can't follow him every time because he's often hoping to drag you with him to make space. He gets the ball and then runs at you. Good luck not tackling.




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For me he’s been one of only a handful of players that come out of this season so far with any sort of respect. He’s been decent, especially considering what he works next to a lot of the time
 
He's been uncomfortable at two big clubs prior to dropping down to us.

Won Serie A as an ever present, and Juve were gutted to lose him when he told then he wouldn’t sign a new deal.
Then, in his one injury free year in the Bundesliga, he won the league, was twice named Bundesliga player of the month, and was named in the Bundesliga team of the year.

”Uncomfortable”.

I guess he was uncomfortable last season, when he kept injuring the same knee, missing too many games and his team were utter shite mind.
 
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Won Serie A as an ever present, and Juve were gutted to lose him.
Then, in his one injury free year in the Bundesliga, he won the league, was twice named Bundesliga player of the month, and was named in the Bundesliga team of the year.

”Uncomfortable”.

They weren't gutted, they preserved his value by playing the game. The continued perception in Europe that he was still a young player with tons of potential allowed Juventus to command and receive a hefty transfer fee. They quickly figured out De Ligt was unlikely to meet his early promise and wouldn't develop into a top class player worthy of top wages, which they were already paying. Bayern bailed them out

The Juventus fans were split over him and towards the end many turned against him. Take a peek at the Juventuz forum and their main subreddit for reference. Bayern Munich used the same playbook when they decided to part ways. The excuse for his exit was the high salary he was on. He was surplus to requirements. Again, not a bad player, but not a top player worthy of top wages.

Bayern fans thought he was 'leadership material' but you'd be pressed to find many descriptions of any actual outstanding footballing attributes attached to him. Kim and Upamecano were more mobile and also much better passers of the ball. Tuchel didn't think De Ligt played enough vertical passes to his liking. On top of better passing and technical ability, Kim and Upamalecano fitted playing further up the field better as they had more recovery pace than De Ligt. De lIgt was statistically Bayern's slowest CB in 23/24, even behind Eric fecking Dier. His top speed is not much faster than Pete Matersacker's.

Tuchel wasn't impressed with De Ligt's lack of vertical passes and we've witnessed that at United as well. De Ligt is nowhere as good on the ball as previously claimed/hyped to be

He's not a top center back in my eyes and I doubt he has the potential to be one. He was over hyped as a kid and hasn't met those lofty expectations since he left Ajax. If things had worked as hoped, he'd be leading one of the top clubs fighting for league and CL glory, while also being a regular for the Dutch NT. Too many coaches have benched him.
 
Just to add, Im filled with dread when both De Ligt and Maguire start at the back. We need more athleticism and speed at the back for this system to work
 
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Weird they offered him a new deal then, one at the same wage.

Strange plan, cunning feckers.

I feel it will take better quality starting players than De Ligt to move us forward and out of this seemingly perpetual rut.

De Ligt hasn't been outstanding anywhere outside Ajax. Don't you agree? He's failed to consistently impress at two prominent and more recently successful and better run clubs than United. He's also been benched by two different national team managers. What makes you so optimistic about his chances of success here?
 
For me he’s been one of only a handful of players that come out of this season so far with any sort of respect. He’s been decent, especially considering what he works next to a lot of the time
It's also his first season in the EPL, where he first played in Ten Hag's disjointed system and now has to learn a new with Amorim, while the entire team seems shot of confidence.

As for many United players, right now is a really poor moment to try and assess what they are truly capable of, both in general and in an Amorim team.
 
I feel it will take better quality starting players than De Ligt to move us forward and out of this seemingly perpetual rut.

De Ligt hasn't been outstanding anywhere outside Ajax. Don't you agree? He's failed to consistently impress at two prominent and more recently successful and better run clubs than United. He's also been benched by two different national team managers. What makes you so optimistic about his chances of success here?
Surely the optimism comes from actually watching him play at United, rather than reading about how he got on at Juve and Bayern. He’s had a solid 1st half season with us, he might not be the best centre back in the world but he’s clearly a defender with a lot of ability.
 
He's been by far our best defender this season. In saying that, he hasn't been particularly great. Playing alongside Maguire and Martinez isn't going to help, though. In a settled back 3, I can see him becoming a good, reliable player for us.
 
There’s a pervading theme of “he’s far from our problems” “he’s our best defender” — but I still maintain that Maguire is a better CCB and Mazraoui (and probably Yoro) will be better as RCB.
 
This is just him now it seems.

Best teenage defender I've ever seen, but he just makes so many of these facepalm worthy mistakes. He has concedes this exact penalty about 15 times in his career.
 
2 big mistakes that are super costly which is very bad indeed.

Weird thing is, he played well overall besides that.
Came to say the same thing. Generally I thought he was good. For their first goal, I understand why he's done that but it was rash, second goal is a bit unfortunate given the distance but you can't have your hands their.
 
It's a handball of course, but it's also a bit unlucky with how it happened. Shit happens. Thought he had a good game apart from the 5 minute spell, got done by Gakpo but he had 2 guys on him and he had to run out to stop Gakpo who had gotten in behind the RWB which is what the main issue there was. It already became panic stations at that point.
 
He's like a shite Harry Maguire. Boggles the mind how he's played for arguably the three biggest teams in 3 out of the 4 best leagues. I wonder if we can get Madrid to sign him.
 
It's a handball of course, but it's also a bit unlucky with how it happened. Shit happens. Thought he had a good game apart from the 5 minute spell, got done by Gakpo but he had 2 guys on him and he had to run out to stop Gakpo who had gotten in behind the RWB which is what the main issue there was. It already became panic stations at that point.
At this point it's not bad luck with him though. He makes these handballs too often for that. Maybe he just flails about too much.
 
2 big mistakes that are super costly which is very bad indeed.

Weird thing is, he played well overall besides that.
The handball isn't really a mistake, it's a penalty but it's just unfortunate.
1st goal he's trying to make up for Ugarte's error and dives in trying to block a cross. I think most defenders do that there.
 
There’s a pervading theme of “he’s far from our problems” “he’s our best defender” — but I still maintain that Maguire is a better CCB and Mazraoui (and probably Yoro) will be better as RCB.
It's a fair take, people are just very reluctant to admit it.