[Redstain]

He's been fairly decent/good recently, hasn't he? I thought that's generally been the consensus.

I wasn't able to watch yesterdays game but reading on here, seems he had a mare, along with Onana? Odd that it seems the sentiment has changed so much after Forest.

He did have a relatively poor game but I also think overall he's performed relatively well.

I'd put the struggles mostly down to not having enough time to get compatibility with the defensive partners while also having to accommodate to the new league environment.

Generally of all the summer signings I worry less regarding the likes of him, Yoro and Ugarte to some extent.

Mazraoui I can't put in that context as he is the best player in the first team assessing his consistency.

 

[Ish]

He did have a relatively poor game but I also think overall he's performed relatively well.

I'd put the struggles mostly down to not having enough time to get compatibility with the defensive partners while also having to accommodate to the new league environment.

Generally of all the summer signings I worry less regarding the likes of him, Yoro and Ugarte to some extent.

Mazraoui I can't put in that context as he is the best player in the first team assessing his consistency.

Yeah, all seems fair.

 

[rockhopperpenguin21]

I couldn't work out what h he was meant to be doing especially in the first half. He spent a lot of time standing on the ball in the middle of the pitch. Presumably he was looking for a runner or someone in space, yet he never picked out Amad. More often than not he passed to Yoro who then passed to Amad who had been closed down. Not sure who's at fault but Ruben didn't look happy.

 

[Roboc7]

I think it’s too early to start saying how much better or worse he is than Maguire and I think Maguire not playing much is enhancing his reputation which tends to happen with all our players.

But what is very clear is that he is another play lacking pace and mobility, that’s the part of the signing I just can’t understand. We are so slow in central areas, opposition players stroll past our midfielders and defenders yet we keep adding more players with the same flaws.

 

[Uncle Mainoo]

Another player that after 12 months will be considered a flop.

All the time in the world yesterday to play out from the back and each time did nothing. You can’t tell from watching it at home but either the runners weren’t on or he didn’t have the ability to make the pace.

All I know Maguire didn’t have the same problem on Thursday.

 

[rockhopperpenguin21]

Another player that after 12 months will be considered a flop.

All the time in the world yesterday to play out from the back and each time did nothing. You can’t tell from watching it at home but either the runners weren’t on or he didn’t have the ability to make the pace.

All I know Maguire didn’t have the same problem on Thursday.

Amad was always on but he never picked him out. I was in the East stand and in the first half we were all screaming at him to play him the ball. Now he either didn't want to or it was the tactics.

 

[GueRed]

The jury is still out for me.

The way some fans spoke about him shortly after we signed him you'd think he was world class. After one game you had some fans saying he was signing of the summer, the new Vidic etc!

Five/Six months in he has been ok. Some solid performances, a few poor ones.

Like the other CB's in the squad he has some strengths and glaring weaknesses.

I am a bit surprised he isnt as dominant in the air as I thought he'd be. Maguire is much better in that department.
Also so far his passing from the back has been average. Forest on Saturday the perfect example. I dont think he played a decent forward pass all game and once when he tried to spray a simple ball out wide to Dalot the ball went out of play.

But like I've said overall he's been OK so far. Hopefully there's improvement to come over the next few months.

 

[Raven]

We're still getting used to a totally new defensive system and trying to integrate a teenager at the same time. This will take some time. I think De Ligt is more than good enough and will show that as we settle into the system.

 

[SER19]

Funnily enough I actually think our defence is quite good now. The last 5 goals weve conceded sums the team up - 2 set pieces against arsenal, then Forest had 3 shots on target and scored all of them, 2 of which were inexplicable. Set pieces and individual madness are huge problems, but our overall defensive shape and confidence seems far better. Im happy with all of our new defensive signings, especially de ligt

 

[El Jefe]

I’ve had the same thoughts about De Ligt for a while now.

He’s a really good defender but not good enough to make up for his limitations in possession. He’s a player you always feel you can be upgraded and that’s obviously why Bayern let him go.

It’s a bit like Varane all over again. Varane was actually a better defender but you can imagine he’d also be frustrating as the middle man in a back 3.

To play that role you have to have some quality to your passing or at least be able to drive with the ball into midfield. Konate isn’t the best passer but he can progress with the ball up the pitch.

 

[Ludens the Red]

We're still getting used to a totally new defensive system and trying to integrate a teenager at the same time. This will take some time. I think De Ligt is more than good enough and will show that as we settle into the system.

Don’t really get this mode of thinking. Amorims system requires pacey and athletic defenders who are good in one on ones and good in ground duels in the wide areas against pacey forwards. De Ligt and Martinez don’t fit this bill at all. So I’m curious as to know how it’s going to work if those two play ?
I feel if it’s Mazraoui, Yoro and Maguire there’d be a much better chance of success tbh.

Funnily enough I actually think our defence is quite good now. The last 5 goals weve conceded sums the team up - 2 set pieces against arsenal, then Forest had 3 shots on target and scored all of them, 2 of which were inexplicable. Set pieces and individual madness are huge problems, but our overall defensive shape and confidence seems far better. Im happy with all of our new defensive signings, especially de ligt

I think our overall defensive shape and confidence is still below average most games. The difference between this and last season is that we don’t have our midfielders spending the entire game running away from our defenders so there is better protection. You can’t really discount the goals we’ve conceded against Forest and Arsenal because they’re the type of goals this defence will and have conceded routinely. If you have slow, lacking in athleticism defenders and a goalkeeper who concedes bizarre goals you’re going to concede the type of goals we’ve conceded. It won’t suddenly stop. If we get through the rest of the month not conceding a goal from a set piece/cross/keeping error I’ll be amazed.

 

[Ekeke]

He's been fairly decent/good recently, hasn't he? I thought that's generally been the consensus.

I wasn't able to watch yesterdays game but reading on here, seems he had a mare, along with Onana? Odd that it seems the sentiment has changed so much after Forest.

I think the opposite. He had a few good games interspliced with some bad ones when he first went into the team. His recent form has been worse and hes due a good game else its time to pick someone else

 

[Still ill]

I really like most of what I've seen of him. They're all adjusting. Mazraoui is the only one who's been uniformly excellent. I'll certainly be giving him the benefit of the doubt a while longer.

 

[Raven]

Don’t really get this mode of thinking. Amorims system requires pacey and athletic defenders who are good in one on ones and good in ground duels in the wide areas against pacey forwards. De Ligt and Martinez don’t fit this bill at all. So I’m curious as to know how it’s going to work if those two play ?
I feel if it’s Mazraoui, Yoro and Maguire there’d be a much better chance of success tbh.


I think our overall defensive shape and confidence is still below average most games. The difference between this and last season is that we don’t have our midfielders spending the entire game running away from our defenders so there is better protection. You can’t really discount the goals we’ve conceded against Forest and Arsenal because they’re the type of goals this defence will and have conceded routinely. If you have slow, lacking in athleticism defenders and a goalkeeper who concedes bizarre goals you’re going to concede the type of goals we’ve conceded. It won’t suddenly stop. If we get through the rest of the month not conceding a goal from a set piece/cross/keeping error I’ll be amazed.

I agree that Martinez doesn't fit in anywhere in defence really, which is a shame, but I reckon De Ligt is a good shout for the CCB. Maguire is a solid player but De Ligt is superior I feel, in almost every regard barring maybe passing.

Edit: Here's Amorim saying it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/s/RfvIH6DBNd

 

[Ludens the Red]

I agree that Martinez doesn't fit in anywhere in defence really, which is a shame, but I reckon De Ligt is a good shout for the CCB. Maguire is a solid player but De Ligt is superior I feel, in almost every regard barring maybe passing.

Edit: Here's Amorim saying it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/s/RfvIH6DBNd

Yeah naturally De Ligt would seem the better fit but from his short United career I think Maguire had a better start. Maguire for all his faults can be quite aggressive and commanding and I haven’t seen that from De Ligt enough so far and that’s a bit concerning as is of course the lack of athleticism.

 

[SungSam7]

Yeah naturally De Ligt would seem the better fit but from his short United career I think Maguire had a better start. Maguire for all his faults can be quite aggressive and commanding and I haven’t seen that from De Ligt enough so far and that’s a bit concerning as is of course the lack of athleticism.

He seemed like a true leader in his days at Ajax, seems to be less commanding at bigger clubs, maybe it's a mental thing.

 

[Matt851]

He seemed like a true leader in his days at Ajax, seems to be less commanding at bigger clubs, maybe it's a mental thing.

Could also be the fact he isn't good enough defensively to look commanding

 

[Redplane]

He seemed like a true leader in his days at Ajax, seems to be less commanding at bigger clubs, maybe it's a mental thing.

In some ways it very well could be.

Just for shits and giggles I looked up the ages of VVD, Rio and Vidic when they started peaking. VVD was 27-28 in 18/19, Rio was 28-30 during 2006-2009, and Vidic was 27 during 2007-2008. Meanwhile De Ligt turned 25 in August.

Also notable is that save for Stam, none of the aforementioned players peaked in their first year with Pool and United, and in some cases didn't even until several years later (i.e. Rio joined in 2002).

 

[SER19]

Don’t really get this mode of thinking. Amorims system requires pacey and athletic defenders who are good in one on ones and good in ground duels in the wide areas against pacey forwards. De Ligt and Martinez don’t fit this bill at all. So I’m curious as to know how it’s going to work if those two play ?
I feel if it’s Mazraoui, Yoro and Maguire there’d be a much better chance of success tbh.


I think our overall defensive shape and confidence is still below average most games. The difference between this and last season is that we don’t have our midfielders spending the entire game running away from our defenders so there is better protection. You can’t really discount the goals we’ve conceded against Forest and Arsenal because they’re the type of goals this defence will and have conceded routinely. If you have slow, lacking in athleticism defenders and a goalkeeper who concedes bizarre goals you’re going to concede the type of goals we’ve conceded. It won’t suddenly stop. If we get through the rest of the month not conceding a goal from a set piece/cross/keeping error I’ll be amazed.

Ya i don't mean to discount them, I just believe that they can be rectified more easily than a completely haphazard defence that looks like it will collapse under any pressure. Before the forest game i believe we had the most clean sheets in the league and 2nd fewest conceded, which in the context of an abysmal season, means there is at least something positive to build on. Mazraoui, yoro, de ligt, martinez are all good players and even dalot and maguire may be considered decent

 

[always_hoping]

The way some fans spoke about him shortly after we signed him you'd think he was world class. After one game you had some fans saying he was signing of the summer, the new Vidic etc!

Did anyone seriously think he was going to be the new Vidic? Having watched him for Ajax,Juve and Bayern over the years he's nothing like Vidic then again few if any modern day defenders like Vidic nowdays.

He was brought in as direct replacement for Varane with the hope he'd be less injury prone than Varane. English media seem to have taken a dislike to him straight away probably because they wanted no new replacement brought in and instead Maguire made first choice...

 

[Golden Nugget]

In some ways it very well could be.

Just for shits and giggles I looked up the ages of VVD, Rio and Vidic when they started peaking. VVD was 27-28 in 18/19, Rio was 28-30 during 2006-2009, and Vidic was 27 during 2007-2008. Meanwhile De Ligt turned 25 in August.

Also notable is that save for Stam, none of the aforementioned players peaked in their first year with Pool and United, and in some cases didn't even until several years later (i.e. Rio joined in 2002).

People often forget that the United legends had poor matches and poor starts too. In the case of Rio, he didn’t reach his peak and the player we remember him as until we had a stable back line, which was VDS, Vidic, Evra + RB. All this constant changing of defensive partnerships would have made it difficult even for players like Rio.

Martinez and Varane were the ones that looked the closest to achieving that, but both struggled with injuries. I have faith in De Ligt - hope he can form the same sort of partnership with Yoro + Martinez/Maz

 

[tenpoless]

If his name was Henry Liddell we'd be rating him higher.

 

[Acrobat7]

He made 0 progressive passes to Maguire's 6, the stat speaks for itself.

His conservative passing was one of the main reasons (the othe rbeing his sky-high wages) Bayern sold him.

 

[11101]

Another player that after 12 months will be considered a flop.

All the time in the world yesterday to play out from the back and each time did nothing. You can’t tell from watching it at home but either the runners weren’t on or he didn’t have the ability to make the pace.

All I know Maguire didn’t have the same problem on Thursday.

Maguire's got a horrible habit of playing floated passes. Looks good on the stats but kills any chance of forward momentum for the receiver. I don't know if De Ligt is any better but we really need somebody who can shape the ball properly and play it into the path of a run. Martinez was excellent at it before his injury.

We bought De Ligt because he was once destined to become a superstar and we hoped we could rekindle some of that. It's still far too early to write him off.

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

His conservative passing was one of the main reasons (the othe rbeing his sky-high wages) Bayern sold him.

it actually wasn't - It was their belief he was least suited to the high line if you listen to what Bayern officials said.

 

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

Was pretty solid today. I feel more confident in us protecting a lead when he's on the pitch compared to other CBs in recent years.

 

[always_hoping]

Probably United's best defender tonight.

 

[Solius]

Surprised by those two comments. I thought he was pretty average and clunky looking. Starting to think Maguire (though not perfect) would be better there as at least he’s got a quality diagonal ball on him. That option is on a lot but de Ligt doesn’t have the confidence nor technical ability to do that.

 

[Grande]

Yeah, did well today. Maz was a bit up and down, but mostly good. The two of them dud well considerin the defensive shakiness around them though.

 

[#07]

De Ligt strikes me as a player who'd be better in a back two and not a back three, and a player who should not be trusted to play out from the back. Just does not show enough on the ball. This is turning out to be a disappointing signing.

 

[AR87]

Good with his defensive responsibilities but needs to show more confidence spreading the ball wide. He has opportunities to do so.

Could be he needs time to adapt to the new system before we see him playing out with more confidence, which is reasonable.

 

[JezChan]

Defended well today, but he looked like he lacked conviction on the ball - perhaps it's partly due to our midfield not presenting well/finding space for a pass, but it seemed like De Ligt was slow on his feet to find the pass, or open up space for himself to improve passing angles.

 

[Bastian]

I felt he was trying to raise the tempo and find penetrating passes, that simply weren't on. A few times Zirkzee did some good job holding the ball up but his lay-offs were largely sloppy.

The only United player to wear short sleeves and no gloves (like half the other team). He's a fighter.

 

[sillwuka]

I thought this was one of De Ligt's better games where he was trying to force the issue with a more penetrative pass. In previous games I felt he was much more negative and sideways.. somewhat holding back.

 

[rockhopperpenguin21]

Where the opposition are more willing to come forward I'd say that's the case. When a team constantly sits back is where he struggles - as do the rest of them TBF

 

[saivet]

I think he was solid again today. Generally, I think he's been pretty good for us.

 

[DavidDeSchmikes]

I thought he was solid today, A little bit underrated

 

[Stadjer]

Seeing him as a RCB in a back three is still pretty scary to me.... He had some horror shows for our national team at that position. He did well today though

 

[Hugh Jass]

Solid. Maybe his passing could be a tad better. But solid.

 

[jem]

A minor thing I love about him: the way he sprints off when subbed. Total professional.