[criticalanalysis]

In first half today once he just gave up the chase. I have seen this last season too. Worrying from a CB.

Yes, I noticed this too. Several half hearted 'duels' on the halfway line ended with no pressure, tackle and/or slowing down of the attacker.

The only thing missing from his game really is aggression and a desire to win the ball early. He has all the makings of a modern CB but no fight. Hope that changes this season for everyone’s sake.

In some ways yes but it's a massive fundamental flaw. It's an actual ability he does not possess i.e coordination of physical ability to come across, close space, make an interception, reading of the player and in game situation etc. He's just far too happy to take a step back and hope for cover. So so passive.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

What a hopeless coward

 

[sullydnl]

I get the Lindelof criticism but the good news is that we already know Martinez is going to take his place. So not a major worry. I don't expect our fourth best CB to be that good.

Though it does again highlight why we needed that CB signing.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

I get the Lindelof criticism but the good news is that we already know Martinez is going to take his place. So not a major worry. I don't expect our fourth best CB to be that good.

Though it does again highlight why we needed that CB signing.

This is his 6th season and he's still as bad as when he joined - he shouldn't be here at all but he's still normally in the team. How?

 

[Carl]

This is his 6th season and he's still as bad as when he joined - he shouldn't be here at all but he's still normally in the team. How?

Because everyone else is always injured.

 

[Idxomer]

Because everyone else is always injured.

He shouldn't be playing ahead of Bailly.

 

[golden_blunder]

I get the Lindelof criticism but the good news is that we already know Martinez is going to take his place. So not a major worry. I don't expect our fourth best CB to be that good.

Though it does again highlight why we needed that CB signing.

What I don’t get is how it takes 6 years for fans to stop making excuses for him. I’m sick of the sight of him in the lineup. Whoever plays alongside him has to try and pickup his side too as he’s so passive. The other defenders are probably sick of the sight of his errors

 

[golden_blunder]

He shouldn't be playing.

Fixed

 

[El Jefe]

He's awful. As usual someone would say, what could he do he was in a helpless position but in true Lindelof form he does nothing.

As a defender, you will inevitably find yourself in compromising situations, the best centre backs show their worth and nullify these attacks. Lindelof just puts his hands behind his back and almost guides the attacker into the exact position that increases the chances of a goal.

Give me a brave defender anyday over this wet tissue of a defender.

 

[Carl]

He shouldn't be playing ahead of Bailly.

Aye, I forgot that Bailly was on his latest boom cycle at the moment. Won't be long before he's on bust. Hopefully he'll be at another club by then.

 

[3vra]

I bet his wife was the one to initiate they relationship, because i do not believe his is able to make a move towards someone…

 

[Aeryis]

Aye, I forgot that Bailly was on his latest boom cycle at the moment. Won't be long before he's on bust. Hopefully he'll be at another club by then.

The issue with this club is that it spends way too much time on mediocre or worse players expecting them to somehow, magically even, improve the following season. Lindelof was average during his first season and just kept on plummeting since then, and yet he's still here. What the feck is Baily doing here? Phil Jones? What is with this club's inability to sell worthless players? We're also on our 10th or so season of hoping Martial and Rashford "step up." It's never ending. Just sell the fecking duds and move on like a proper club, jesus feck.

 

[Bobski]

He's awful. As usual someone would say, what could he do he was in a helpless position but in true Lindelof form he does nothing.

As a defender, you will inevitably find yourself in compromising situations, the best centre backs show their worth and nullify these attacks. Lindelof just puts his hands behind his back and almost guides the attacker into the exact position that increases the chances of a goal.

Give me a brave defender anyday over this wet tissue of a defender.

And will defend it saying he did not make any clear mistakes, but passive take no reponsibility style of defending ends with another year of a shit defensive record.

I have my concerns with Lisandro but it is pretty clear that he has the opposite mentality, might lead to a few mad moments that get memed but I will take that every time if the overall defensive record improves.

 

[Adam-Utd]

I'd like to say im surprised but i'm not. We've seen him do this MANY times before. He just can't grow a backbone can he?

How does he not know Leon Bailey is going to cut inside onto his strong left foot? does he not know the opposition?

He just stands there allowing the attacker to do whatever they want, hands behind his back. It's so pathetic it's unreal.

 

[Man-United]

He should focus more on pre season training than spending his summers being on party as can be seen on instagram.

 

[Trex]

I knew he'll be getting abuse, way too passive.

 

[AltiUn]

Glad to see the dominating opinion swaying on him, he's just nowhere near good enough and never has been. It's been frustrating as feck seeing him defended so vehemently as he has been over the years when he hasn't got the ability to justify such a vicious circle of defenders. The goal today was just another in his photo album of bad defending.

 

[Ace of Spades]

Such a pathetic CB, absolute coward. No aggression, no impetus, kept passing the ball to Maguire to progress play even when he had plenty of space and players available to him.

 

[VidaRed]

No wonder bailly is always pissed.

 

[Foxbatt]

No wonder bailly is always pissed.

Nothing to do with him hitting the bars too much?

 

[Godfather]

Passive all the time. I prefer someone like Bailly who just throws others to the ground at times. Shame he can't stay fit.

 

[golden_blunder]

Glad to see the dominating opinion swaying on him, he's just nowhere near good enough and never has been. It's been frustrating as feck seeing him defended so vehemently as he has been over the years when he hasn't got the ability to justify such a vicious circle of defenders. The goal today was just another in his photo album of bad defending.

Like you I feel like I’ve been banging my head against a wall for years

 

[AltiUn]

Like you I feel like I’ve been banging my head against a wall for years

I've had to stick his previous threads on ignore for long periods of time to avoid some very catty responses to people saying he'd been good in games where he had not been good

 

[criticalanalysis]

He's awful. As usual someone would say, what could he do he was in a helpless position but in true Lindelof form he does nothing.

As a defender, you will inevitably find yourself in compromising situations, the best centre backs show their worth and nullify these attacks. Lindelof just puts his hands behind his back and almost guides the attacker into the exact position that increases the chances of a goal.

Give me a brave defender anyday over this wet tissue of a defender.

This but I would remove 'the best' caveat; any centre back worth their salt would try to proactively jostle, get tighter, push the attacker away from goal, make them check their run, make them play it back etc.

Lindelof vs Lewandowski
Lindelof vs Troare (against Villa again)
Lindelof vs Bailey

All off the top of my head where's he just passively doing nothing 1 vs 1.

He defends every attacker like they are prime Messi, giving them acres of space and respect.

 

[golden_blunder]

I've had to stick his previous threads on ignore for long periods of time to avoid some very catty responses to people saying he'd been good in games where he had not been good

Know the feeling has to ignore the thread as long as i could last season

 

[Mickeza]

I don’t really mind him backing off that much as Bailey would skin him but he absolutely can’t show him inside. I’m not entirely sure what Shaw is doing either mind - making an incredibly half-hearted effort to get back.

 

[Freak]

He's a shit defender and has been making the same mistakes his entire United career. Keeps giving opposition space and time to get shots/crosses in.

 

[Shane88]

The most passive defender you will ever see. Back off, back off, back off, back off. That's all he does.

"The Iceman" Don't make me fecking laugh.

 

[Gandalf]

Barca were supposedly interested a year or so back, at least according to his agent. If they can't get Kounde over the line do you think we can get them to take Linda? Maybe as an add on for FDJ.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Imagine being a striker for United, you're pressing the defenders and maybe scoring a goal. All that work and the defender who's supposed to be pressing the opponent backs off and then backs off and then backs off and then the striker's in range and they shoot. How is that defending?

If a defender tries and makes a mistake, fair enough but trying not to do anything and hope you can hide is insulting to his teammates and the club.

Maybe a good thing that EtH saw what he does close up today. Finally it might register with someone in charge that this waste of space should never be in the team.

 

[golden_blunder]

@Richter take him back please

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Glad to see the dominating opinion swaying on him, he's just nowhere near good enough and never has been. It's been frustrating as feck seeing him defended so vehemently as he has been over the years when he hasn't got the ability to justify such a vicious circle of defenders. The goal today was just another in his photo album of bad defending.

Him and Bailly are a classic example of how playing it safe can keep people thinking you’re decent. Lindelof basically defends in a manner that he’ll never be put on any Twitter clips for looking like a fool, yet it’s just as ineffective as flying in and whiffing a challenge. Bailly has always defended proactively, sometimes to a fault, so while he’ll win a ton of balls for you he’s occasionally whiffed and looked a fool and that’s what fans remember. Whereas Lindelof defending as he did today will never go viral so fans will forget and still say “at least he doesn’t have a mistake in him like Bailly” but it’s a fecking cowardly way to defend and way more shameful than actually being aggressive and making a mistake.

 

[Davie Moyes]

I think Victor has always looked even worse playing on the left. No excuses from me though as I'm not much of a fan of his passive style of defending. Happy to see him shunted to the left to accommodate Maguire on the right as that means we know Martinez will slot in on the left.

I think a back to his best Maguire and Martinez could work well as an aggressive front foot and good on the ball defensive duo. It's just the lack of pace defending a high line that worries me slightly.

 

[Richter]

@Richter take him back please

Haha I think we won't see much of him this season.

 

[criticalanalysis]

I think Victor has always looked even worse playing on the left. No excuses from me though as I'm not much of a fan of his passive style of defending. Happy to see him shunted to the left to accommodate Maguire on the right as that means we know Martinez will slot in on the left.

It must be easy to not stand out mistake-wise by letting Maguire and AWB do all the tackling, jostling, aerials and then sit furthest back, shepherding opposition players into your own half, hoping for cover and then passing most of the ball playing responsibility on said two players

Now he has Shaw marauding forward, whilst Maguire is busy dealing with aerials and looking out at the space behind Dalot. Lindelof is left to his own devices and as we seen many times, he doesn't have the individual ability or mentality to actually affect anything.

 

[A-man]

Haha I think we won't see much of him this season.

No one can know for sure. ETH seems to think higher of him than the usual experts in this thread do, otherwise he wouldn’t have started every game during pre season. Sure, one reason is that none of the other centre backs can stay fit, but being our least injured CB doesn’t really speak for his disadvantage.
Also, no WC for him which gives him a recovery period in the middle of the season.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Hoping that having moved Maguire to the right and Lindelof to the left, he's waiting for Lisandro to fill the left side.

Last season when Varane was signed I thought finally Lindelof is history but no Varane kept getting injured. Lindelof can't really get injured if he doesn't involve himself in defending, a cunning plan.

Now if EtH and the coaching staff can make Varane and another stay fit along with Maguire and Lisandro, we may be able to play defenders who can defend. A novelty.

 

[PoTMS]

Maybe we did need another defender. The fact Lindelof was our best centre back last season says it all.

 

[golden_blunder]

No one can know for sure. ETH seems to think higher of him than the usual experts in this thread do, otherwise he wouldn’t have started every game during pre season. Sure, one reason is that none of the other centre backs can stay fit, but being our least injured CB doesn’t really speak for his disadvantage.
Also, no WC for him which gives him a recovery period in the middle of the season.

It speaks volumes when his only selling point is that he can fit. Which is clearly disingenuous by the way as he’s carrying a back injury which made the Swedish coach drop him from the squad this summer. Back injuries can go at any time

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Maybe we did need another defender. The fact Lindelof was our best centre back last season says it all.

At the start of last season we won 4 of our first 5 league games, Lindelof only played in one of those 4 victories (Leeds), then he came back into the team.........

I just though I'd check the PL stats for last season. In defence only Maguire played more minutes
Tackles by defenders all season:
Dalot 55, AWB 49, Telles 48, Maguire 34, Varane 28, Shaw 21, Lindelof 16. Sixteen tackles in a whole season! - That. is. a. disgrace.
Even Elanga had 26.

Someone take him away.