[AFC NimbleThumb]

The worst part is we had people openly declaring as far back as summer 2019 that he should be our first choice centre half, which highlights the problem and blindspot some fans have when it comes to youth players. They were in love with the idea more than the player standing in front of them, who I’m sure they hadn’t actually had a decent look at.

People have had a decent look at McTominay & some still rate him as more useful than Pogba.

Bar Greenwood the idea of our young players has been better than the product for some time.

 

[Viral United]

I am not sure what game everyone watched. the comments here feel as if Tuanzebe was at fault for both goals!!!

their 2 goals are: -

- 1st goal from a corner kick where Billy Sharp pushed a jumping De Gea, so we can't blame Tuanzebe on this.

- 2nd goal, Martial lost possession form a terrible pass from Matic, who advanced forward while Martial was receiving the ball with has back to goal and being under pressure, Telles went ahead as well, but Martial was dispossessed, and Sheffield United WALKED into our left flank with virtually no pressure, ball goes to Baldock, who crosses, but De Gea clears the ball poorly into Lundstram, who then again is not pressured and stood off by Martial & Matic who waited with their hands at their back!!! Lundstram took his sweet time to pass to Burke, who was in our box with no one marking him at all, Pogba & Bruno watched him!!!! Burke then a very tame shot that deflected off Tuanzebe and the ball went in.


Overall, he was ok as we dominated the ball a lot and they sat back very deep with 3 at back, he moved the ball as required and used his pace to cover areas when they attempted to counter, not much was required from him unlike who playmakers and attackers who had a horrid time, especially Rashford and Martial, and Bruno to some extent.

for this loss, I lay the blame at Martial & Rashford for their very bad performance.

For 1st goal he completely miss header, now that's happen but as CB its really look awful but I would say DDG should had done better.
For 2nd goal he was ball watching, should have closedown Burke.

Both goals are collective mistake from our players, and he had part in both goals.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

For 1st goal he completely miss header, now that's happen but as CB its really look awful but I would say DDG should had done better.
For 2nd goal he was ball watching, should have closedown Burke.

Both goals are collective mistake from our players, and he had part in both goals.

Not to mention the dumb tackle and yellow card he picked up right at the end of the first half.

The team had two disastrous losses, one at Basaksehir and another yesterday and he's been in defense on both occasions. He looks composed and good when playing in low pressure situations but he's completely out of his depth when put under the slightest bit of pressure.

 

[Hughes35]

Thought he was awful last night. All over the place.

Missed the header for the first goal, not great for the second and had a lot of shaky moments considering we didn't have much defending to do.

 

[Champ]

I could agree to your take to some degree, but the failure in defending started at the fact that Lundstram was stood off by 3 players and he had all the time in world to pass to Burke, poor defending from the group.

Oh yeah, it's not solely on one player but a collective feck up!

 

[Matt851]

People have had a decent look at McTominay & some still rate him as more useful than Pogba.

Bar Greenwood the idea of our young players has been better than the product for some time.

Yep, its like this summer where people were insistent we didnt need a right winger because it would impact on mason

We need a better squad so we send players like williams on loan to good clubs and test whether they are actually good enough

 

[ovoxo]

Some of the abuse and racist comments he’s been getting on Instagram are disgusting. People are sick in the head.

 

[Yorkeontop]

That awful mistimed tackle he got a yellow for was a portend of things to come. That PSG game was a false dawn, very few guys are "plug and play" and he needs more game time to keep him sharp.

 

[Matt851]

That awful mistimed tackle he got a yellow for was a portend of things to come. That PSG game was a false dawn, very few guys are "plug and play" and he needs more game time to keep him sharp.

Yeah he really needs to go on loan again for his development but unfortunately we need him for now

 

[GledTheRed]

feck me and I thought that lad at Liverpool had a mare at the weekend.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Getting a game once every few months is doing him no favours at all.

 

[RkkMan]

Getting a game once every few months is doing him no favours at all.

The CB position is not like attack.When you get your chance you have to take it with both hands as mistakes there are very unforgiving. Bailly/Lindelof despite their flaws rarely if ever drop shocking performances like yesterday when they`re called upon for the first time in a while.

 

[Freak]

Some of the abuse and racist comments he’s been getting on Instagram are disgusting. People are sick in the head.

That’s the problem with social media. It gives idiots a platform to voice their shitty opinions. I feel there should be some regulation that should you want a social media account you have to register for it with your national ID.

 

[Mcking]

Wanted him paired with Maguire at the start of last season, but after watching him get dominated by Joelinton and Colchester City forwards, I wasn't as convinced.

I haven't seen a single attribute that makes me think he is cutout for this level, since his return from Villa. He is very easy to hold off, very poor in the air, little presence and usually on the periphery when we are defending in the box. He looked like the smallest player out there, and his passing is nothing special as well.

I think we should get rid while we could still make some money.

 

[Rozay]

Wanted him paired with Maguire at the start of last season, but after watching him get dominated by Joelinton and Colchester City forwards, I wasn't as convinced.

I haven't seen a single attribute that makes me think he is cutout for this level, since his return from Villa. He is very easy to hold off, very poor in the air, little presence and usually on the periphery when we are defending in the box. He looked like the smallest player out there, and his passing is nothing special as well.

I think we should get rid while we could still make some money.

No disrespect, but it does beg the question of why you wanted him paired with Maguire in the first place. He’s shown nothing.

 

[2 man midfield]

I didn't think he was that bad last night. He could have been quicker closing down their second goal, but that goes for every United player. He's been unlucky enough to deflect 2 goals into his own net in recent weeks which can't be good for the old confidence though. Maybe Ole needs to take him out of the spotlight for a bit?

 

[Matt851]

The CB position is not like attack.When you get your chance you have to take it with both hands as mistakes there are very unforgiving. Bailly/Lindelof despite their flaws rarely if ever drop shocking performances like yesterday when they`re called upon for the first time in a while.

Bailly never drops shocking performances? Hmmm

An obvious one this season is the spurs game where he had been out of the team for a while

 

[RkkMan]

Bailly never drops shocking performances? Hmmm

An obvious one this season is the spurs game where he had been out of the team for a while

I said rarely if ever. That was one time and going down to 10 men did us little favos but generally he`s been very reliable when he`s been called upon. After PSG we called Axel for the game in Istanbul he was poor called upon to see out the Leicester game cost us 2 points now he`s been called up yesterday to the worst team in the league and we lose. Even last season Arsenal at Old Trafford he was shocking the whole game and the goal he kept Auba onside. He`s not as good as people make him out to be if he wasn`t an academy graduate we would be berating him like we did with Smalling/Jones

 

[Devil81]

I'm a big fan of his but at times he looks like he has no personality on the field, like he's going through the motions.

I certainly feel Bailly would have got more in the way of that shot, he would have thrown his body at it, Axel half arsed it in truth.

As for the racist abuse, the knobheads aren't proper fan, absolute pricks.

 

[Mcking]

No disrespect, but it does beg the question of why you wanted him paired with Maguire in the first place. He’s shown nothing.

The performances of Lindelof, Bailly and the other Center backs at the club in 18/19 were not the most impressive, and he was coming off a relatively decent loan at Villa were I admittedly, didn't watch him play as much as I watch our own players.

Just didn't see the likes of Lindelof, Bailly and Jones as the answers, and thought he should be given a chance to stake a claim. Watching him play his first few games in the same team with them though, I realized that he is comfortably worse, and I don't think he is going to get much better.

Think we should move him on quickly, before he becomes another player that we can't shift.

 

[Bristol_Red_87]

I was more miffed at why he dropped so deep for their second goal.

It was like he'd completely lost his bearings?

If he wasn't there, DDG saves it.

I keep watching it back...I've never seen a goal at any level where so many players can be blamed

 

[Ali Dia]

He looks way too passive beside maguire. If you aren’t good enough to create clear chances then you need at least one aggressive player at cb in the midfield and up front that are up for the scrap and we clearly didn’t have that last night. He was crap but he shouldn’t have played. He’s not match fit and his previous outings he has been very poor. It looks like this will probably be his last season here too

 

[yamo123x]

Was he really that bad? He mistimed a tackle in first half and got a yellow and the ball hit and went in, other than that was he that bad?

In comparison to lazy arrogant Martial or arrogant Rashford and his stand still playmaker style. and to an extent Bruno...he wasnt that bad

 

[Rozay]

The performances of Lindelof, Bailly and the other Center backs at the club in 18/19 were not the most impressive, and he was coming off a relatively decent loan at Villa were I admittedly, didn't watch him play as much as I watch our own players.

Just didn't see the likes of Lindelof, Bailly and Jones as the answers, and thought he should be given a chance to stake a claim. Watching him play his first few games in the same team with them though, I realized that he is comfortably worse, and I don't think he is going to get much better.

Think we should move him on quickly, before he becomes another player that we can't shift.

Think that’s a quite fair assessment, and a reasonable thought process at the time tbh. I echo all sentiments. I think he should be sold this summer if we get an offer, and I reckon we could possibly get £15m or so for him.

We are talking about bringing a new centre half in as it is, it’s time to be realistic and say that he isn’t seen as the solution long term. Of all the defenders we’ve been linked with, they are all younger than him too, and if they come in ahead of him, what does that say? All that will happen is even the likes of Mengi or Fish will soon catch up to where he is now.

My suspicion is that we’ll end up letting him go when he has next to no value at all, because we’re afraid to make a decision on players provided their issue isn’t an attitude one. Any player who is a good lad is allowed to hang around and provide little value for way too long.

 

[Mickson]

Was he really that bad? He mistimed a tackle in first half and got a yellow and the ball hit and went in, other than that was he that bad?

In comparison to lazy arrogant Martial or arrogant Rashford and his stand still playmaker style. and to an extent Bruno...he wasnt that bad

Nope. He wasn't great, but I don't think he was particularly bad. He gets most of the blame because he was the "odd one out" in our rotation. Hence, people think we lost because of that.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

In my book Matic should have closed down Burke. Not him. He will get all the blame for 2 goals and a defeat that were never his fault.

 

[Adnan]

In my book Matic should have closed down Burke. Not him. He will get all the blame for 2 goals and a defeat that were never his fault.

He had nothing to do with the defeat. In the past we had Smalling, Evans etc who made bigger errors but under Fergie we would go on to win games so no body cared and such micro-analysis never took place.

We've got people saying that the likes of Konate and Upamecano etc should be the bench mark for Axel but having watched both French CBs regularly for the last 2 years, none of our CBs post Vidic and Ferdinand have the ability to match the two Leipzig CBs when they're on their game, because both Leipzig CBs are strong in a high line in isolation and also in a deeper defensive line. And thats the problem hence why we have to defend with 6 players and resort to playing counter attacking football with people then complaining that there's no patterns of play or a identity.

Harry Maguire for example was only deemed good enough to be a regular starter at Hull City at the age of 23 or 24 when Mike Phelan was manager. Before that he was on loan to Wigan Athletic.

 

[Rozay]

He had nothing to do with the defeat. In the past we had Smalling, Evans etc who made bigger errors but under Fergie we would go on to win games so no body cared and such micro-analysis never took place.

We've got people saying that the likes of Konate and Upamecano etc should be the bench mark for Axel but having watched both French CBs regularly for the last 2 years, none of our CBs post Vidic and Ferdinand have the ability to match the two Leipzig CBs when they're on their game, because both Leipzig CBs are strong in a high line in isolation and also in a deeper defensive line. And thats the problem hence why we have to defend with 6 players and resort to playing counter attacking football with people then complaining that there's no patterns of play or a identity.

Harry Maguire for example was only deemed good enough to be a regular starter at Hull City at the age of 23 or 24 when Mike Phelan was manager. Before that he was on loan to Wigan Athletic.

I listed other defenders other than Konate and Upamecano too. And there are more who are younger and better. We need one of the better defenders in the game given we are United.

This hope for Axel needs to be based on something tangible at the end of the day. And the fact that something something Harry Maguire isn’t amongst those things in my opinion.

I just think that for too long, a future at United has been talked up by some fans based on a parallel version of Tuanzebe, and the real person is showing to not be the same player. It’s like some watched Axel in the academy and thought at the time that he would go on to be a future United player, and nothing that happens on the pitch from then on seems to bear any relevance to their prediction from 5 or 6 years ago. Axel needs to start making his own case, in real life, not just have ardent youth followers do it for him. We don’t need anyone to do that anymore, as he is actually here, in the present, part of our squad. As such, he can easily be assessed, and I don’t think anyone can tell me that what they see is a Manchester United calibre centre half. He only becomes one when an alternative narrative is applied to reality, one that they have probably held on to for years and have committed to.

Similar happens with Angel Gomes. He was talked about from so young and many has been sold on a future and seem to have forgotten that the player is the one who actually needs to go out and walk it. Even playing for Boavista there are some who refuse to accept that he’s not of the right level, and I’m sure the same lot will be saying so until his late 20s when intermittent clips of a skill he did playing in Holland somewhere circulate on Twitter.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

He wasn't as bad as he was good against PSG earlier in the season. Centre-back is not a rotation position so I don't blame him. We saw something similar with Evans - his best performances were when he was consistently picked but when he was in and out of the team his performance dropped.

 

[Rozay]

He wasn't as bad as he was good against PSG earlier in the season. Centre-back is not a rotation position so I don't blame him. We saw something similar with Evans - his best performances were when he was consistently picked but when he was in and out of the team his performance dropped.

So what do you propose? Not just with Axel, but with all young centre halves going forward.

 

[Amir]

The CB position is not like attack.When you get your chance you have to take it with both hands as mistakes there are very unforgiving. Bailly/Lindelof despite their flaws rarely if ever drop shocking performances like yesterday when they`re called upon for the first time in a while.

Bailly has had his shockers. Anyway, Tuanzebe is young and doesn't have many games under his belt. He needs to play and if it can't be with us we should send him out on loan (or sell).

 

[bosnian_red]

I think he's OK but won't ever get the regular game time here to develop into whatever he can be. Nothing to do with yesterday, it deflected off him, happens. But generally needs to be starting somewhere, probably a bottom half prem club. Hes way too old to have as few games as he does.

 

[siw2007]

I think it’s time Axel leaves the club to seek first team football. I like the lad, I think he is a talented young player, he’s done exceptionally well throughout all the age ranges but hasn’t made the step up to our level. I would love him to hang about and develop at the club but he isn’t going to get loads of game time and especially isn’t when he is struggling to impose himself at the back. The club needs to sign someone who is going to be top notch from the start and that will mean less time for him. So he should go elsewhere, even if just a loan to a PL club.

However, no matter how badly he struggled last night, it doesn’t warrant the racist abuse himself and Martial got last night. It’s sickening, I can’t understand if these are fans crossing the line when expressing their frustration or if just malicious targeting. But I guess that’s another debate.

 

[Rozay]

I think it’s time Axel leaves the club to seek first team football. I like the lad, I think he is a talented young player, he’s done exceptionally well throughout all the age ranges but hasn’t made the step up to our level. I would love him to hang about and develop at the club but he isn’t going to get loads of game time and especially isn’t when he is struggling to impose himself at the back. The club needs to sign someone who is going to be top notch from the start and that will mean less time for him. So he should go elsewhere, even if just a loan to a PL club.

However, no matter how badly he struggled last night, it doesn’t warrant the racist abuse himself and Martial got last night. It’s sickening, I can’t understand if these are fans crossing the line when expressing their frustration or if just malicious targeting. But I guess that’s another debate.

I agree with this. Sadly, however, some of our fans will be racist, it is an inevitability, and football is something they care deeply about so a racist person will always be likely to display who they are in this context. It’s not entirely surprising sadly. It cannot be good for him especially as he was likely already feeling down, and has now deleted his accounts from what I hear, so I can’t imagine what state he’s in now.

 

[Blades1889]

I like Tuanzebe and would 100% have him here if it was possible. I saw how good he was for Villa a couple of seasons back but injuries seem to be an issue for his progress.

 

[El-Manos]

He is deservedly 4th choice. Maguire, Bailly and lindelof are much better defenders.

 

[siw2007]

I agree with this. Sadly, however, some of our fans will be racist, it is an inevitability, and football is something they care deeply about so a racist person will always be likely to display who they are in this context. It’s not entirely surprising sadly. It cannot be good for him especially as he was likely already feeling down, and has now deleted his accounts from what I hear, so I can’t imagine what state he’s in now.

It boggles the mind that we can’t sensor these people on social media, or maybe we can and the companies choose not to, which is criminal in itself.

He will feel pretty rubbish right now. I’m sure the club and his team mates will give him the support he needs.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

So what do you propose? Not just with Axel, but with all young centre halves going forward.

Loan him or play him. Probably lean towards loan moreso, we have Lindelof/Bailly as cover and need to buy another centre-back anyway.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Not sure if he will make it. Prone to injuries as well.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

I like Tuanzebe and would 100% have him here if it was possible. I saw how good he was for Villa a couple of seasons back but injuries seem to be an issue for his progress.

Didn’t he struggle to get a game there and wasn’t getting selected?