Excellent. Voted him my MOTM.
33
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 18
- Clean sheets
- 5
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 2
I rate him highly (one of the reasons why I don't want us to buy a new CB is because of him) so I have a high standard for him, especially with bringing the ball out of defence being his forte.
He was great!
he was bloody fantastic, before the game I was little bit worried but after today's performance I am all for him to start next game. He really benefited from ridiculous performance from Herrera who linked all parts of the ptch fantastically well. Shame he wasn't playing further up the pitch but we had no choice and it really helped McNair and Smalling to combina Fabregas, Drogba and co out of the pitch..
I love his offensive outlets. Great we have center back who is not afraid to go forward and have a shot
I love his offensive outlets. Great we have center back who is not afraid to go forward and have a shot
Me too. He was the single best thing about the game.
The one player in our squad who looks a really intelligent defender.
Obviously Smalling, Jones, Rojo etc have their strengths. But I wouldn't call any of them a thinking mans centre back.
McNair has that nous. I'm really confident he'll go on to be a top, top player for us.
Good performance. I like him a lot.
If I'm LVG, when Rio retires I'm on the phone ASAP to get him in the background staff working with the defence but especially McNair.
Reminded me of the way Huddlestone strikes the ball. He just strokes it like he's barely even touched it, and it just arrows in a perfect straight line. Great efforts.
Looks like he has learned a lot from the couple of really ropey performances he's had this season. It's been a mixed bag for him. Hope he can kick on from today and play more like that. Looked cool as feck on the ball.
He likes to shoot
Excellent today, especially with bringing the ball out of defence. However, he was not under any pressure defensively all game. Certainly one for the future. Much more composure to his game than some of our more experienced defenders.
Surprisingly impressive today. Looks very talented. Amazing how last year I hadn't even heard of him.
Unlike Blackett, he doesn't look out of place with the rest of our centre backs. I'd be disappointed if he didn't make it as he's shown as much promise as Evans once did, for us anyway. I hope the next stage in his development is to loan him out to a PL side next season.
McNair was good, really good. I was really worried about him playing today but he proved me wrong. Well done.
And he's not worse at it than Di Maria
He was good today for sure. Don't remember him being so brave and composed on the ball when he played earlier in the season. Perhaps he wasn't, and is now benefiting from playing in a more confident United team.
Did not think he had this kind of performance in him.
This is why you give young players chances to develop !
Always has it in his locker if you watch him in the U21s, it's just a matter of transfer it into the first team which obviously would take times.
Great performance, looks like one who could make it here.. LVG could mould him into something spectacular... Looked not fazed at all..
I unfortunately don't watch the U-21s that much. Good to know though, cheers.
I don't think Blackett is as bad as people make out at CB.
He's young and will make mistakes but I feel he's shown great promise there and himself and McNair could go on to be a great pair.
He's not the 2nd cousin of a left back though.
I really don't see it. You can count his good performances for us on one hand. There's more talented centre backs we could develop than Blackett who has a ceiling that isn't top class. McNair could be brilliant, you can't say the same about Blackett.
I'd rather sell him and focus on developing another one of our youth players in that position as our back up centre back.
Glad he started ahead of Blackett
Very few centre backs are top class at that age.
It's more about looking at his attributes. He's quick and strong, he's technically good on the ball, if a little casual at times.
He has that languid running style that seems to eat up yards and looks a decent tackler.
He reminds me a lot of a young Rio. Another man who could have been accused of casualness once or twice during his career.
The discipline and concentration of defending will come with time and experience. The basic ingredients he has already.
The problem is he's a defender who's pretty poor at actually defending. Rio had occasional lapses in concentration but Blackett regularly makes the wrong decisions, gets over powered by smaller opponents, gets beaten in the air by smaller opponents, pushes up when he should drop back, doesn't track runners well and gives the ball away in dangerous areas. Its no coincidence that he looked good in pre season because opponents were lacking fitness and sharpness as he is good on the ball when he's not pressured but he's looked poor since then. He's a cb who only looks comfortable playing on the left side of a 3 at the back as he gets a lot of cover from the other cb's and from the wing back.
It really says a lot for me when McNair looked the more composed defender when next to Smalling.
Well done Paddy.
Well done Paddy.
I don't think that was ever in doubt. In my eyes McNair has given himself a shot, a long way to go yet though. Blackett, on the other hand, I would be very surprised if he was still a United player in two years time. I expect him to leave this summer.
I take your point but I'm not sure about loaning him out. If we're in the Champions League next season and with the amount of injuries we get, I'd keep him here. Him, a new CB, Smalling, Jones and Rojo will hopefully the pool of centre halves next season for me. Evans to go in the summer and Blackett to go somewhere on loan for the season.
He looked a far better left back coming through, although never looked a real first team prospect. As you say, poor positionally, poor concentration and poor temperament.
I'll have to watch him a few more times I think.
I haven't really seen him be that bad but I haven't seen every game he's played.
I think he was excellent. He hasn't played much in the last couple of months or so but you can see the massive improvement in him.
Makes me wonder if some of the loanees might have benefited more from training with LvG everyday.
Makes me wonder if some of the loanees might have benefited more from training with LvG everyday.
Lingard probably would have stayed if not for the injury. LvG not had much of an effect with Januzaj unfortunately!
That warm fuzzy feeling you get when an academy player does well...
I would like to see him play as a DM in the future
I would like to see him play as a DM in the future
Well maybe we would see the improvement in Januzaj as well if he could just get a rare start.
Not bad for a guy who's still a teenager.
he's a massive talent - way ahead of Blackett.
Is CB his best position though? he's got a great shot on him
Is CB his best position though? he's got a great shot on him
Except for Southampton away, he always seems composed on the ball and when defending. So calm and played well next to Smalling. Hope he gets a chance here because he deserves it.
Good solid game by Paddy but this isnt surprise, Drogba is awful this days so i would be very concerned if he and Smalling had problems with him.
I reckon he'll make cracking players out of Rothwell and Pearson. There's so much to work with with both of those lads.
Some dodgy defending, but looked awesome everything else. I dare to say that given more chance with Smalling, he'll do better than Jones or Rojo.