Like others I've only seen him at the WC. He looked the part and if he's really good enough then you can expect LVG to go in for him.
Stefan de Vrij
- Thread starter gooDevil
- Start date
Really interested to know why people scoff at paying a relatively low fee for Blind or de Vrij, two tidy looking players, but would quite happily spunk 30 mil on someone like Mangala, who's done absolutely feck all to justify that fee.
You don't rate Smalling, Jones or Evans.......but you think Nani and Valencia are better than Januzaj
Has anyone seen him during the league season? He looked like a good player at the WC.
You don't rate any of Smalling, Jones or Evans, but you are advocating signing Vermaelen. You are certainly going to be in for a shock if we sign him.
I don't get this experience thing at all. Evans has been in the first team for 6 years now and so is Rafael. What more experience do we need?. And most on here would disagree with how you rate our CB's.
More than just experience we need a capable leader at the back. Vermaelen kind of fits that role but problem is he is injury prone and not been that good for like 2/3 seasons now.
Hopefully one of Smalling or Jones can develop into that as Evans isn't assertive enough.
Hopefully one of Smalling or Jones can develop into that as Evans isn't assertive enough.
This.Big money signings come with added pressure. We made our big money defensive signings in Jones, Shaw and Smalling. We don't need first team players, but just good back ups. And de vrij fits the bill and I would so want this to happen.
All the talk of ball-playing defenders makes me wonder just why we're buying Vermaelen. He is exemplary in moving the ball from defence. He was exceptional for Arsenal just a couple of years ago.
Do we need both De Vrij and Vermaelen? I think so! Adding them both will make our defence a lot stronger. If not with outright world-beating class, but with depth and tactical nous.
Do we need both De Vrij and Vermaelen? I think so! Adding them both will make our defence a lot stronger. If not with outright world-beating class, but with depth and tactical nous.
There's the other tiny detail that defenders need. You know, actually defending. It's all dandy being able to beat a man and move confidently with the ball past your half way line, but you need to be capable defensively. Which, Vermaelen really isn't.
Not too long ago, the man was considered one of the better defenders in the league. Two years ago he was so good that Arsenal fans even nicknamed him the 'Verminator' - terrible name but would only suit a good defender. Unfortunately, he's been injured a lot since. He played well in 12-13, but got injured half way and has been consistently injured since. Most of 13-14 was also spent on the sidelines. He was still Arsenal captain during all that because he's rated as a good defender. He was also the unanimous captain for Belgium, until his injuries forced him to hand it over to Kompany.
If Van Gaal can work his magic on Vermaelen's injury, then we'll have a pretty well rounded CB in my opinion.
Except he really wasn't that good. He always had a mistake in him and was mainly hyped for goal scoring abilities and aerial threat. He was best 5 years ago, in 09/10.
I wouldn't take their opinion as a benchmark for good defending.
True that he was exceptional only back then, but he's was pretty good in 2011-12 IMO. His goal-scoring ability can be a nice option for us I would think. Certainly not a starter for now.
Fair enough. Though his versatility and ability to play LB quite effectively can be an asset. I'm not saying he'd be a cracking signing. Only that he's better player than he seems and that he could add some depth. Though I would question him why he would leave a team on the ascendency (if they sign the likes of Khedira.) only to go on to the bench of a team further back (as of now, at least)
He's never been anything close to exceptional. Always been positionally diabolical.
Experience is irrelevant when you're shit. If you don't rate any of our three then Christ knows how you've come to rate Vermaelen.
I would be happy to have in the squad, but if its a option between him and the fridge, i would choose the later.
Well he was named in the EPL Premier League team of the year for CB over Rio and Vida during the 09-10 season. That's somewhere close to exceptional I'd say (if not "nowhere" as you seem to suggest.)
Van Gaal will know everything about him, so if he deems de Vrij United-quality then who are we to doubt him?
You don't rate Smalling, Jones or Evans.......but you think Nani and Valencia are better than Januzaj
If I'm not mistaken, he actually said he prefers Zaha, who's done feck all at the highest level so far, over Januzaj.
Has anyone actually seen him play in the Eredivisie or is everyone basing there judgement on him from his WC performance? Personally I have only seen him in the WC ad was impressed but from what I have read he did not have a good season at Feyenoord and in fact Martins Indi was rated as a much better defender before the WC
He's been good for Feyenoord this season, up and down loads before that though but yeah, Martins Indi has been more impressive this past year, World Cup aside. De Vrij playing in a 3 man defence has helped him massively, he's not all that.
Cheers
The 3 man defence helps a lot
This is the guy that should fill one of the 2 CB spots this transfer window. Vermaelen? Yeah, no thanks.
Please stop. Please.
Rate Marouanne over Carrick.
Rate Zaha over Adnan.
Don't rate any one out of Evans, Jones, Smalling.
Many keep on talking about the likes of Evans as if they are prospects who need an experienced head to 'protect' them. However they aren't. Evans is 26 years old. To put things in perspective, Jaap Stam signed with us at that age. Smalling is 24, the same age, Rio signed with us sorting the defense nearly by himself and just 1 year younger then Vidic (when he signed for us). At around Jones age, Chiellini was Juventus best defender. None of those players had the CL experience, the mentoring and the quality training Evans/Smalling/Jones had. Please note that I am carefully avoiding any odious comparisons with child prodigies such as Maldini or Baresi who debuted with AC Milan at age 17 and never really lost their first team place.
This season is the perfect season for these players to stand out and be counted. We're out of Europe which means that these players will be against less quality players then if we were in the CL. A mistake could still cost us a game but its still less tragic then getting knocked out of the CL. I do agree that we need a new defender as injuries can and will occur. However I disagree that we need a 29 year old something especially if he's injury prone too
This season is the perfect season for these players to stand out and be counted. We're out of Europe which means that these players will be against less quality players then if we were in the CL. A mistake could still cost us a game but its still less tragic then getting knocked out of the CL. I do agree that we need a new defender as injuries can and will occur. However I disagree that we need a 29 year old something especially if he's injury prone too
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@devilish Maldini actually debuted when he was 16 years old for Milan and played 40 matches his second season when he turned 17.
Ah my mistake. What a player
I think that I am being fair to compare Evans/Vidic/Jones with 3 of their predessors and Chiellini. After all that the standard these players will have to achieve at United to be considered regular first team defenders.
I am carefully avoiding comparisons between them and absolute beasts such as Maldini
It is insane when you think about the fact that they had three of the top 10 left backs of all time follow each other up from 63-77 Facchetti, 78-87 Cabrini, 88-02 Maldini.
So Italy had one of the all time great left backs playing for them for 39 years in a row.
Jammy bastards
Great post, we need one more centre half to balance out the rotation equation and with Keane floating about we'd be done. We need to give the likes of Evans, Smalling and Jones the proverbial long rope .
I find that worrying if we do sign him. Not performing in a Feyenoord shirt in a lesser league is poor.
He was playing with a back three and wing backs at this WC. That is a lot of help and support, especially when De Jong was fit and playing.
We need a leader. None of the back four have shown leadership qualities. They need someone to organise and communicate. It's not about experience either, it's simply about finding a dominating CB.
Would like to see him signed. Yes he's young and we need some experience but from seeing him at the WC he seems comfortable in possession and quite calm under pressure and never really put a foot wrong. Seems okay for the purposed price too at around £10mill.
So is he reportedly close to signing for us OR Lazio? I want him!! Among all the experience talk, you can't get a higher-level experience than performing in a WC and playing almost every minute mostly against quality opposition in 7 games. Exp doesn't always have to do with age. Busquets has been one of the most experienced midfielder since 2010, he also was only 22 back then!
He looked good at the world Cup, I certainly won't complain if we signed him. A CB pairing of de Virj and Evans could compliment each other very well.
This. Experience is overrated in here. Evans and Rafael have played in PL for almost 7 years now. Is that not experience enough??.
If Louis wants De Vrij that's good enough for me. That said, Evans and Smalling are ready to take the next step up.
But I hope that in pursuing a central defender right now we're not jeopardizing our ability to bring in Vidal or another top central midfielder. That has to be our priority over all else right now. As it stands right now we'll either have Jones or Fellaini as our starting holding midfielder, which is an abomination.
But I hope that in pursuing a central defender right now we're not jeopardizing our ability to bring in Vidal or another top central midfielder. That has to be our priority over all else right now. As it stands right now we'll either have Jones or Fellaini as our starting holding midfielder, which is an abomination.
Not to mention being part of the team that won leagues the squad that won the champions league
But Ron Vlaar brings experience... of erm.... the dutch league? Of doing well in the world cup in 2014. I mean, it just doesn't make sense.