[Eyepopper]

I think he's class, serious case of man love for him.

 

[Rossa]

He lacks a little pace, but a player like Ramires has bags of pace, and I'm not sure I would swap them, other than for my FIFA career, that is. He's great at intercepting and really facilitates play for both defenders, other midfielders and the attack. Great option to have.

 

[freshibal]

I had him as my Man of the match, just oozes calm. Fellaini was great but Blind was sublime.

 

[Litch]

The performance should been seen within the context of the opposition. We were playing one of the best teams currently in Europe which makes the performance even more impressive.

 

[Nighteyes]

I barely noticed him yesterday. Not sure if that's good or bad for a DM.

 

[pseudo_canadian]

An intelligent, sensible player that every team would love to have. Great game by him yesterday, kept things tidy and under control.

 

[pseudo_canadian]

I barely noticed him yesterday. Not sure if that's good or bad for a DM.

Definitely a good thing.

 

[HabeasC]

I thought that he was absolutely class. Chelsea had very little going through the middle, particularly from Oscar and Fabregas, and this was down to Blind (and the imperious Fellaini).

Blind is showing that intelligence can be more effective than pure pace or strength.

 

[ZDwyr]

Just re-watched the match and realised I was probably a little harsh on him earlier. He was quite good. There were a few errors but aside from that he was good.

 

[Jonno]

Blind plays in a very high pressure position coming up against the best players of each team we play, and I think he does the job brilliantly. He has the potential to become a top top player for us.

 

[thegregster]

For a player in his first season in the PL and only his second in CM(According to what i've read so I'm open to correction on that from followers of Ajax/Dutch league) he has done really well.

 

[Roboc7]

Been impressed by him, at times he gets really isolated and exposed but he always wants the ball and never gives up, going to be an important part of the squad for a while I think. He needed more help from Fellaini and Mata yesterday at times as they were both to eager to push forward and didn’t drop back enough to make passing options but until we get a more settled side that sort of thing is going to happen. Yesterday wasn’t his best game but he is a big improvement on what we have been forced to watch in midfield for last few years and the only thing that really holds him back is he lacks a yard or two of pace.

 

[Carl]

I think he's class, serious case of man love for him.

Agreed. I thought we'd bring him in as a utility player given the positions he can cover but he's making the position his own. Recycles the ball well, intelligent out of posesion and has shown he can be a threat at the other end to.

Excellent signing so far. So obviously Dutch.

 

[Rozay]

I came onto the caf last night after the game and I'm pretty sure that at first glance, there was a concsensus of criticism for his performance, which I found odd.

He was excellent yesterday.

 

[Freak]

He covers the spaces brilliantly. Very intelligent. Although his lack of pace was very obvious yesterday.

 

[IwatUwat]

Thought he was good yesterday, another game where hardly any other midfielder is near him, therefore leaving him to cover huge amounts of space and always be available for a pass attacking wise.

Good game, doesnt light up the park, not sure he'll ever dominate games to the extent where he's a clear MoM but strong solid performances are what we've needed from our CM's. Still think he'll do well alongside Carrick allowing him to have some cover next to him. A midfield 3 of Blind-Carrick-Herrera would be good technically and positionally I think, potentially for tough away games (such as city)

 

[Xaviesta]

He only cost 2 million less than Balotelli too - money well spent by United.

 

[Bwuk]

He's slowly becoming one of my favourite players. Very clever little player.

 

[Cheesy]

He's slowly becoming one of my favourite players. Very clever little player.

I'm getting the feeling he's going to be one of those players who is really well-liked by the fans since he seems to be level-headed and is a good player who goes about his business and plays his game effectively.

 

[Walrus]

I think he has done well, wouldn't call any of his performances spectacular though (admittedly as DM "spectacular" isn't really his thing).

I do feel that he is prone to taking a few too many long shots from 30 yards (as is Di Maria) when there are other options, but generally he is a great player to have in the squad.

 

[Walrus]

Also as a chant - how about "Daddy Cool"

Daley, Daley Blind!
Daley, Daley Blind!

And so forth..

 

[Mykey]

I came onto the caf last night after the game and I'm pretty sure that at first glance, there was a concsensus of criticism for his performance, which I found odd.

He was excellent yesterday.

Seems to be the thing to do, I looked at several player ratings and they either had him playing great or playing like crap.

 

[Sarni]

I think he has done well, wouldn't call any of his performances spectacular though (admittedly as DM "spectacular" isn't really his thing).

I do feel that he is prone to taking a few too many long shots from 30 yards (as is Di Maria) when there are other options, but generally he is a great player to have in the squad.

People aren't willing to accept that he's good, they've passed a judgement on him last Summer when we got him instead of precious Vidal and won't change.

 

[Walrus]

People aren't willing to accept that he's good, they've passed a judgement on him last Summer when we got him instead of precious Vidal and won't change.

That could almost word for word be applied to Fellaini as well.

It's early days for Blind anyway, his current level of performance is good (not "decent", not "great" just good) in my opinion, but I rarely notice his defensive contributions. As someone said, you can argue that in his role being invisible is a good thing, but I never notice him making good tackles or interceptions - normally when I see him he is ticking things over, carrying the ball out of defence, protecting the CBs and getting forwards a lot.
It will be interesting at the end of the season to see how he has done.

 

[Cooksen]

He is simple but effective.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

I believe he was very good yesterday and i think he is adjusting rather well to the level of difficulty of the PL games. I don't know what people exactly expect of him but i do get a feeling that he is going to receive the same kind of "treatment" Carrick did by some of our fans, until the 2013 season of course. My opinion is that our back four and Blind, who plays in front of them, are put under a lot of pressure mainly because our first line of defense, in the midfield, is very poor and doesn't do much to slow down the opposition's build up play.

First things first: Blind, in his 6 PL appearances, has made 3 tackles, 3 interceptions and 3.5 clearances per game. These stats make him one of our best defensive players on the pitch. Only Jones has more interceptions per game. Blind is also the midfielder with the most clearances per game for United. And for the record Matic has made 5.7 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.7 clearances per game. Fernandinho's stats are 4 tackles, 1 interception and 2 clearances per game while Flamini has 3.4 tackles, 2.6 interceptions and 1.7 clearances in the PL. Gerrard's stats are close to Blind's (1.3/3/3).

If you compare these numbers and the next thing that comes to your mind is " but we look way worse defensively than our rivals' " you will understand the point i was trying to make in the first paragraph about our inability to press and regain possession in dangerous areas. One could say the same thing about the scousers this season. Gerrard is also doing a sound job but Liverpool, without Suarez and (until now) Sturridge can't press high with the intensity the did last season. As a result their opponents get past their midfield more easily and have more chances to expose their defensive weaknesses.

Anyway, back to Blind. Our midfield is crying out for a ball winning midfielder, a player with the ability to be wherever the ball is and close down opponents. When Falcao, AdM and Rooney learn how to press high as a unit and how to combine well and create traps in order to steal balls in the opponent's third things will get much better. Blind can not operate as some kind of breakwater in front of the defensive line. He's not that type of holding midfielder, he plays the position like Carrick does and he depends on his good positioning to block the central channels. His good distribution of the ball allows us to have our CM and both FBs in more advanced positions when we're setting up attacking plays. These are the things he can offer on the pitch. It's not his fault our opponents find it way too easy to get the ball in our third and he can not turn into some kind of "physical monster" just because we need that physicality and energy in our midfield.

 

[Al-T]

Already you can see an intelligent, technically adept and versatile footballer who is quickly bedding in.

OK, he hasn't got everything right but he is still just 24 and less than two months in to moving to a new team in a new country! And already an improvement on anything I saw in central midfield last season.

Pleased to have him and more to come from him, I think.

 

[TheSamulator]

If he was allowed he'd wear a baseball cap backwards whilst on the pitch.

 

[nemanja nemagic]

He only cost 2 million less than Balotelli too - money well spent by United.

Also has more premier league goals

 

[herokiller84]

Fecking amazing signing.

 

[Adam-Utd]

I believe he was very good yesterday and i think he is adjusting rather well to the level of difficulty of the PL games. I don't know what people exactly expect of him but i do get a feeling that he is going to receive the same kind of "treatment" Carrick did by some of our fans, until the 2013 season of course. My opinion is that our back four and Blind, who plays in front of them, are put under a lot of pressure mainly because our first line of defense, in the midfield, is very poor and doesn't do much to slow down the opposition's build up play.

First things first: Blind, in his 6 PL appearances, has made 3 tackles, 3 interceptions and 3.5 clearances per game. These stats make him one of our best defensive players on the pitch. Only Jones has more interceptions per game. Blind is also the midfielder with the most clearances per game for United. And for the record Matic has made 5.7 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.7 clearances per game. Fernandinho's stats are 4 tackles, 1 interception and 2 clearances per game while Flamini has 3.4 tackles, 2.6 interceptions and 1.7 clearances in the PL. Gerrard's stats are close to Blind's (1.3/3/3).

If you compare these numbers and the next thing that comes to your mind is " but we look way worse defensively than our rivals' " you will understand the point i was trying to make in the first paragraph about our inability to press and regain possession in dangerous areas. One could say the same thing about the scousers this season. Gerrard is also doing a sound job but Liverpool, without Suarez and (until now) Sturridge can't press high with the intensity the did last season. As a result their opponents get past their midfield more easily and have more chances to expose their defensive weaknesses.

Anyway, back to Blind. Our midfield is crying out for a ball winning midfielder, a player with the ability to be wherever the ball is and close down opponents. When Falcao, AdM and Rooney learn how to press high as a unit and how to combine well and create traps in order to steal balls in the opponent's third things will get much better. Blind can not operate as some kind of breakwater in front of the defensive line. He's not that type of holding midfielder, he plays the position like Carrick does and he depends on his good positioning to block the central channels. His good distribution of the ball allows us to have our CM and both FBs in more advanced positions when we're setting up attacking plays. These are the things he can offer on the pitch. It's not his fault our opponents find it way too easy to get the ball in our third and he can not turn into some kind of "physical monster" just because we need that physicality and energy in our midfield.

You've just described Herrera. I think if you look at how he plays, he loves to close down, harass and is a decent tackler.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

You've just described Herrera. I think if you look at how he plays, he loves to close down, harass and is a decent tackler.

We are trying to turn him into a ball winning midfielder. He seems to be adapting rather well in that role but he still needs time and practice. Don't forget that he used to play as a modern #10 at Athletic Bilbao in a 4-2-3-1 formation that demanded a lot of high pressing. Yes, he closes down opponents but he's used to do that more in the final third than the middle of the pitch. Pressing on the whole pitch and tracking back require extra energy levels and different mentality if you're an attacking player. Same thing goes for Di Maria, who played as a box to box midfielder with much more attacking duties at Real Madrid alongside Modric and Alonso. If Herrera becomes comfortable on both sides of the pitch, like Modric, i agree with you that Blind will also find more chances to flourish.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

Turning out to be one of the best signings of the season imo.

 

[Ødegaard]

Completely agree with you, @Rooney in Dublin.

 

[Skywarden]

Truly impressed by his performances. Reads the game very well.

Brilliant signing thus far.

 

[Trizy]

Tidy player and suited perfectly to his role, can't argue with him for the price we paid, good business.

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

Turning out to be one of the best signings of the season imo.

It's easy to look good in his position because our CM was average in the last few seasons

But to be honest he's very good....very very good and i love him already!!!!

I just don't understand why Van Gaal has bought him on the last day of the transfer window

 

[KiD MoYeS]

It's easy to look good in his position because our CM was average in the last few seasons

But to be honest he's very good....very very good and i love him already!!!!

I just don't understand why Van Gaal has bought him on the last day of the transfer window

I think we flirted with Vidal for large parts of the summer. Also, there was talk of Barcelona interest in Blind, perhaps he favored a move to Spain and for whatever reason a move never materialized?

Anyway, I'm delighted. He's brilliant, and a steal at £13.8 million.

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

I think we flirted with Vidal for large parts of the summer. Also, there was talk of Barcelona interest in Blind, perhaps he favored a move to Spain and for whatever reason a move never materialized?

Anyway, I'm delighted. He's brilliant, and a steal at £13.8 million.

Well Vidal is different to Blind. Even if would have signed Vidal in the summer.....i still think we would have needed a player like Blind or Carvalho.
I still would like Vidal for the right price (If Juventus are going out of the CL in December then i hope we're making another move for him).

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

Btw

http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014...dia&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=HITCmanutd

Has the maybe turned down the chance because of Daley's move to us???