Before I start, because I know how hysterical posters can (will) be :
What I'm about to post are just some facts that show what I mean when I've said that Lindelof is a very passive defender. This is about establishing the type of player he is and comparing it to the other CBs around.
Being a passive defender doesn't
automatically mean that he's not as good as a more active or aggressive CB.
But he is a passive defender and this is what I mean by that :
Lindelof has the 9th least attempted tackles of all CBs at the World Cup who played more than 2 matches (2 matches seems far too little to judge a player on). Doesnt mean a lot on its own, but...
Lindelof also made the 3rd lowest amount of interceptions as a CB who played more than 2 matches at the World Cup. At this point the only other CB on both lists is Varane of France.
He attempted the 9th least headed duels of all CBs in the world cup to have played more than 2 matches. At least he has a higher win percentage of those he tried to win compared to the other CBs who tried to win few headers.
Lindelof made the 2nd least fouls of all CBs in the world cup who played more than 2 matches. Again it doesnt mean anything
on its own, in fact if he had been winning the ball a lot then making so few fouls would be a good thing. But when you look at his lack of ball winning and headed attempts its just another part of the passive pattern.
Now its important to also look at where he doesnt appear in these lists of low actions. Two of note are :
Clearances
Averaging 5.3 per game thats a lot healthier than the rest of this. So when the ball came into the box he did a fine job of trying to get something of the ball, showing that he most likely had good defensive positioning. That would be the 18th most of all CBs in the world cup who played more than 2 matches. Not amazing but definitely closer to the top than the bottom.
Shots Blocked
Averaging 0.5 per game Lindelof comes in at 37th of the 51CBs on the entire list. This time he's a bit closer to the least than the most but its a perfectly healthy number on its own.
Just to mention, Granqvist - Lindelof's CB partner for Sweden was towards the top of a lot of these fields. He's a more aggressive and active CB who had a great World Cup. This shows that there was plenty of opportunities to win the ball in these ways but Granqvist took on the responsibility to do it, while Lindelof was passive and became more active when the ball was in and around his own box.
There are some stats that arent on Whoscored. I'm not sure they are on another site and they may not be. Things like how often a player he's marking wins the ball. Something like that would be useful to help fill out the full picture. But I dont think that stat is available.
I'm not sure theres anywhere to find out how often a CB plays a player onside and they receive the ball. That would be another useful stat to round out the picture. Its something that happened a single time against England as he played Sterling onside. But how often did it happen over the course of all his matches at the world cup? I dont know.
And another useful stat would be how often a CB wins the ball as the last man before the keeper is called into action. This was something Lindelof did once against England where Sterling was running through, he came across and won the ball to cover his defense that time.
These could all be useful stats but I'm not sure if or where they would be available.
So overall Lindelof is a passive defender who tends to only come into action defensively when the ball is in and around his box. He'll block some shots, he'll make some clearances. But until that point he's less aggressive than most CBs.
Going back to the beginning of the post. Being a passive style CB isn't necessarily always a bad thing. So long as the CB is there to always make the clearances and pressure someone trying to take a shot and perhaps block it then you can get by.
However more active and aggressive CBs are likely to stop moves a lot earlier on before they become dangerous and need those box clearances or blocked shots. Personally I value this and I'm not a big fan of a CB who will only be making challenges when 1 mistake leads to a good chance on goal.
So contrary to the childish belief of more than 1 poster, I don't hate Lindelof. I guarantee I pay more attention to him than most. But he is a certain type of defender that I'm not a big fan of. Its not my preference and I do question how good that type of CB is.
Managers will often prefer a certain player over another because they have a preference of a style of player.
It doesnt mean that they hate a player because they pick someone else.
It means they value a different style of player more.
There is no hatred.
Comments that suggest hatred towards a player are a very childish defense mechanism for someone to use when they simply cant be bothered to discuss an alternate opinion because they believe themselves to have such a perfect knowledge of football that they couldnt possibly ever be wrong. Oftentimes however the alternative opinion may involve a lot more research than their own.
2
it was just an observation. I think it is clearly the way to go to use Smalling in the box as he is great in the air. And even though Lindelof is not that fast, he is good at reading the game and could stop counter attacks. That is also how the winning goal against Arsenal came. Lindelof intercepting a counter attack after a setpieces. Ball going to Young who found Fellaini.
Wow
