[Lentwood]

I think someone properly aggressive like Bailly would be his best partner. Let's see if he can stay fit through ACON.

Bailly is a write-off. We need to learn much quicker and move on from perenially injured players, regardless of how good they may or may not be.

You need continuity at CB more than any other position on the pitch. Can't have a lad who can't even get through one or two games.

 

[Volumiza]

Is he right or left footed?

Right. Everything about him is right.

The guy is class. Handsome too! He must be scratching his head at the mess he’s walked into.

 

[Ayoba]

Right. Everything about him is right.

The guy is class. Handsome too! He must be scratching his head at the mess he’s walked into.

I was thinking exactly the same thing! Imagine winning multiple CLs and a WC then playing for our shower of shite.

 

[Kostov]

When he plays like this he gives me Rio vibes. Cruising and everything seems doable, every toe race he gets in first and looks like he didn't even break a sweat.

 

[DanNistelrooy]

He was a level above any other player on the pitch for me. Didn't put a foot wrong and also looked a lot more composed in possession than he has done in previous games. Him hitting some form and staying fit would be massive for the second half of the season

 

[Zlatattack]

Where do we get another one of him?

 

[Adam-Utd]

Apart from the 1 mistake in the first half where he misread the bounce, he was a collosus at the back.

Rare to see a defender of ours actually comfortable on both feet too.

 

[Roux]

Thank god he's back - was very good last night.

 

[thebelfastboy]

He did. He jogged very slowly when Lindelof misjudged the long ball and luckily the shot hit the post. There was no urgency at all to cover for his team mate.

I'd need to watch it again, I thought that was just a complete brain fart from lindelof and there wasn't much more that Varane could've done to cover

 

[Lentwood]

I just don't know how you can still say with confidence that Maguire is the best partner for Varane.

Maguire has had a shaky few months playing in a team that has performed dismally across the board, not to mention the fact that the defensive shape and energy from the midfield/forwards has been miles off the standard required.

I'm not going to judge him on that, but I do feel whilst Lindelof is not a bad player, he has shown his weaknesses time and time again over the course of 4/5 seasons at the club. Bailly and Jones would be viable alternatives if they could stay fit...but they can't, so no point even going down that road

 

[SATA]

I hope he becomes more vocal and leads the defence as he plays more. He’s very good especially with the 1 on 1s but he can be a little too passive. Also Madrid didn’t sell us an injury prone dud. This is a top defender in his prime, not a 35 year old washed up Ramos

 

[ForeverRed1]

Manage him wisely and keep him injury free

 

[Satsuma United]

Florentino sold an ex-world class CB to us. No doubt now.

Just a bit of pressure from Villa and this man got so nervous and always out of position.

He is not the answer and next to Lindelof, the problem is even worse.

 

[pocco]

I had concerns with this signing and was shot down. Looks no better than the likes of Lindelof most of the time. In fact Lindelof looks better in many games. When you compare him to the likes of Rio or Vidic, true elite CBs, he doesn't hold a candle.

More wasted money by Ole.

 

[Lay]

He isn’t very commanding is he? I expect a lot more

 

[Leftback99]

I never bought into the hype. Nothing special in the PL.

 

[Andrew7582]

The way he moves when he has the ball looks so awkward, reminds me of Smalling.

 

[M Bison]

Looks anything but a world class defender, we laughed at Arsenal for paying more for Ben White but the jokes on us, very average player.

 

[Amar__]

He is really not better positionally than Smalling was. Pretty similar type of players, he looks more calm in some situations and maybe better with the ball, but that's about it.

Lindelof is having far better season.

 

[golden_blunder]

He’s played what, about 6 games?

 

[VanDeBank]

No idea what the crying is about. He outshone his CB partner like he has done every occassion he's played with the exception of his first game back.

He isn’t very commanding is he? I expect a lot more

Nope, he is a silent type.

The way he moves when he has the ball looks so awkward, reminds me of Smalling.

Yes, he isnt a ball playing CB. I hope you knew this when we bought him.

There's a reason him and Ramos worked so well.

 

[Deery]

I thought he passed the ball really well and it was only when the whole team started running out of steam the goals came but wouldn’t lay the blame solely with Varane.

 

[Rockets Redglare]

feck me this place. So Varane is no improvement over Smalling? The mind boggles.

 

[MUFC OK]

Looks anything but a world class defender, we laughed at Arsenal for paying more for Ben White but the jokes on us, very average player.

Ben White is shit. Definitely not jokes on us. Varane is one of the few who are good enough.

 

[MUFC OK]

feck me this place. So Varane is no improvement over Smalling? The mind boggles.

For some reason our fans like to blame our best players when we don’t win. When in reality, it’s the same deficiencies that let us down (midfield). Anyone who can’t see that after this long knows nothing about football.

 

[Who's Kissing Cameras?]

Varane is a top defender. Some horrible recency bias from these comments. He’s also only played like 7/8 games.

 

[TheReligion]

I had concerns with this signing and was shot down. Looks no better than the likes of Lindelof most of the time. In fact Lindelof looks better in many games. When you compare him to the likes of Rio or Vidic, true elite CBs, he doesn't hold a candle.

More wasted money by Ole.

I never bought into the hype. Nothing special in the PL.

didn’t know we had such knowledgeable football professors on the Caf. We are blessed!

 

[sillwuka]

His positioning when receiving passes seems a little off for me.

He's obviously a quality player, just needs to get used to the league and his teammates.

 

[VanDeBank]

feck me this place. So Varane is no improvement over Smalling? The mind boggles.

I think those people just expected VVD 2.0 because Varane is a big name.

He's not a loudmouth and he doesn't like having a lot of responsibility in the build up play. Everyone that knew the player could've told you that.

I think I posted about it and got ridiculed for suggesting Van Dijk is better on the ball because Varane has more accolades or something.

Anyway he is a brilliant CB. But you need to play him to his strengths, which is something we suck at doing for many players.

He was typically the best player on the pitch in most of the games he's played so I don't get the fuzz either way. Do people expect Varane to will the oppossition players away from his box or something?

 

[Woodenlung]

Varane is suffering a similar problem to Sancho in that he's now playing for a side that is utterly dysfunctional. At his former club he played with a world class midfield that rarely lost the ball; Modric and Kroos. And if they did they had an incredible defensive midfielder in Casemiro who won it back.

At United we can't keep the ball for.more than 3 passes and we don't have a midfielder who can cut out opposition attacks to any sort of adequate level. So rather than the few attacks he's forced to deal with, he has to contend with 10-15 serious opposition threats per game. Of course he's not going to look good in such circumstances. It's the same issue with Maguire.

 

[Vidyoyo]

He's a good defender - positionally strong and smart at cutting out balls - but seems like he needs a more agile player to cover the space. Lindelof is doing a job of it but a better option would arguably be Bailly (discounting the obvious issues). Unfortunately I can't see him and Maguire ever working well together, except maybe in a back 3.

 

[VidaRed]

Even prime vidic, rio, stam etc would concede a goal with the state of our midfield.

All the best defenders had a decent midfield infront of them.

 

[A-man]

It feels weird to say that he was good except he could have done better for both goals, but considering wave after wave swept in… can’t blame him too much really. Thought he was pretty good.

 

[pocco]

didn’t know we had such knowledgeable football professors on the Caf. We are blessed!

United fans have a tendancy to get carried away with players based on previous hype or performances from past it players. I said the same about the likes of Di Maria, Sanchez, Lukaku, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin and many more. You just know what a United player looks like. Basically ask yourself if Fergie would have signed them. The answer is no to many of them because they're mostly past it and have won a lot, so aren't hungry for it anymore, didn't want to be here or were just hype jobs that would never be accepted here because there's a standard of football expected.

Varane has been a good defender in his time, but never a Rio Ferdinand, Rolls Royce defender. Far too many mistakes and lack of leadership at the back from him, which is completely evident now. Ramos and Pepe were that.

 

[lex talionis]

It feels weird to say that he was good except he could have done better for both goals, but considering wave after wave swept in… can’t blame him too much really. Thought he was pretty good.

This.

We would have shipped in more goals had we swapped out Varane for Maguire.

 

[Jackal981]

Do people thought he could defend alone with the shitshow in front of him ? We could stick prime Baresi instead of Varane and still concede these goals

 

[Bebestation]

Also had miss controlled passes/first touches even though he did decent.

Funny how the midfield gets blamed for his performance but not when talking about the other defenders.

 

[Norris]

He was actually pretty decent (Relative to the rest of the back 4). Probably positioning for the two goals could have been better, but pretty much at least 4-5 players are at fault for those two goals. I definitely feel more reassured when he is playing.

 

[united for life]

Varane is suffering a similar problem to Sancho in that he's now playing for a side that is utterly dysfunctional. At his former club he played with a world class midfield that rarely lost the ball; Modric and Kroos. And if they did they had an incredible defensive midfielder in Casemiro who won it back.

At United we can't keep the ball for.more than 3 passes and we don't have a midfielder who can cut out opposition attacks to any sort of adequate level. So rather than the few attacks he's forced to deal with, he has to contend with 10-15 serious opposition threats per game. Of course he's not going to look good in such circumstances. It's the same issue with Maguire.

agree, that’s a good point. But i wouldn’t put him and maguire at the same level. Harry has a lot to improve. I’ve seen the frustration in varane’s face when he was looking for a midfielder to pass to and couldn’t find one. There was a big empty space in front of him - this was very obvious in the villa game (the cup one). Also, the fact that he doesn’t know who his partner is makes it worse. Who is his CB partner? Also, if he plays on the right side of defense, who does he have to deal with? AWB or Dalot? If on the left then Shaw or Telles? Who is he looking for in front of him? Matic? Fred? McTominay?

this united team is a headache…

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

I like him so far, even when playing as LCB which a position that he doesn’t usually play at France and Madrid. Don’t know what people are moaning about, can you please be more specific? Ramos was always the leader so I never expect him to be one anyway.