Van Piorsing
Lost his light sabre
Did he just sacrificed his grunge band career for United ? Though not looking even remotely stoned as Shaw.
He did play very well especially as it was his debut. The thing that stood out for me was he seemed to instantly know what was expected of him in that role probably because he's an intelligent footballer but also understands Van Gaals philosophy. Whilst others are still in the process of learning it you can tell Blind was just very comfortable in moving into the team. He is a very mature player for his age as wellBased on yesterdays game I thought he was uncomplicated and did the simple thing very well. In fact he played so well, he would have been my MoM had it not been for Di Maria's superb performance. On first impression he seems a very good reader of the game, and as we don't really have a ball playing centre-back he is ideally suited to take the pressure of the defence. Bought back much needed serenity in the final third. We finally have someone who can compete with Carrick or take up a similar role.
I'd like to wait until he plays with teams and forwards who will pressure a lot more to really start raving on the back of this performance.
He's great on the ball, but he'll have to bulk up a bit in that role where he's going to need to be a ball winner as well as a ball playing midfielder.Good on the ball but I'm intrigued to see how good he is defensively against much better opposition.
He's nimble and mobile on the ball, something I've been crying out for in years. Can he cover ground defensively though and win balls in the air in that middle of the park etc.. we shall see.He's great on the ball, but he'll have to bulk up a bit in that role where he's going to need to be a ball winner as well as a ball playing midfielder.
You could be right here. Of course Falcao and ADM will grab the headlines but in order for our attacking players to flourish you need exactly a calm tidy "non-flashy" player like Blind. Plus, thanks to his awareness, reading of the game and tactical understanding / intelligence, he could become a big game player over timeLVG said himself that Blind has terrific ability to read a game and that's exactly what we all witnessed yesterday, vs QPR or not. He could prove one of our most important summer signings.
all dutch speak englishHe speaks English? Nice.
This. We had someone who wanted to take responsibility and take the ball off the defenders, unlike Cleverly and Fletcher who were constantly hiding from the ball. This has a knock on effect on our defence which looked al ot better.Not so many long balls by the centre backs. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but it probably helps when you've got somebody at the base of midfield giving you options to pass to.
Better than most Scousers speak English, too.all dutch speak english
Embarassing from me, but I didn't know that.all dutch speak english
He was the only defensive midfielder. Ajax played a 3 midfield with 1 DM and 2 attacking midfielders. And they played possession football, Blind was pivotal as far as ball circulation goes. If their central defenders were under pressure and struggling with build up play then they'd push out wide to the flanks and Blind would drop deep inbetween them to become the first station to improve build up and ball circulation from there.How was he deployed at Ajax? Did he play with a pure defensive midfielder or he was the main one? Carrick's been a defensive rock for us for so many years, I hope Blind can replicate that contribution.