[MadMike]

I don't really understand the signing either. It was probably a signing of convenience more than anything else. We didn't look like getting anyone in last summer for a good while and this one was done in a matter of days.

If we're able to recoup something and facilitate the signing of a proper midfielder I'd be for it, but we're finding it hard to sell anyone in this window. All outgoings have been loans. I would've expected bids for fringe players like Lingard and James who could be useful for teams lower down the league but there's been nothing.

James hasn't been made available and neither has VDB or something would have been leaked to their press by their agents to arouse interest. With Lingard, West Ham just haven't matched our valuation.

 

[R'hllor]

The love for this player on this forum is strange. Never did a fringe player had a cult
so strong

Do you even read their comments?

 

[E-mal]

I'd rather we sell him bringing proper midfielder, pointless having a 40m £ player on the bench and complaining of lack of CMs. I'm pretty sure we'd get a Bissouma for 35-40m range.
Once again we are not ruthless. We have players like Matic and Mata who are well into retirement still on the payroll.

 

[RuudTom83]

The issue with Donny is none of us have seen him enough to give a verdict...that's the problem! We are just left thinking...why spend 40 million on a player and only give him 5mins at the end of a match to prove himself.

It's sooo weird.

 

[GMoore23]

The thing that bugs me with the handling of VDB is that he hasn't had a fair shake.
He literally hasn't been given a run of at least 5 games to show what he can do.
Look at Fred in his first season here. He was a train wreck but was given the chance to come good.
De Geas first season was full of feck ups but Fergie stuck with him and gave him the chance to come good.
Shaw was given the chance
Lindelof was given the chance
How many fecking chances has Martial, James, Lingard had etc.
Give this lad a fecking chance too and stop being a coward Ole.
Playing Matic as a glorified 3rd centre back today against soton for God's sake.

 

[Brophs]

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, if Ole is hearing the word no from the club on transfers, this guy will probably be one fo the big reasons why. His value is going to be through the floor by the time we get rid.

 

[sugar_kane]

Anyone suggesting Ole is being unfair on Donny, can you suggest a reason Ole would do this?

He wants us to win, if Donny having more minutes increased the chance of that happening he would be getting them.

Fact is, Donny at his absolute best in a United shirt has been average. Every other time he’s been shite.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

Who at the club sanctioned this deal because it sure as hell wasn't Ole. Never seen a manager treat a player this way who they wanted to bring in. Managers normally stand by their signings through thick and thin so Donny is clearly not who Ole wanted.

Whoever signed him should be sacked. Not necessarily because he's a bad player but don't buy somebody the manager doesn't want.

Fact he turned to Lingard who is just back from Covid before Donny today says everything.

 

[RUCK4444]

I'm not sure how that explains my confusion about the situation. I take what you say already as a given

But if he's not good enough to play, then sell. What's the point in keeping him? Wasting his time and the club's money (salary and devaluation) even further is pointless.

What are we doing with him? Can you answer that?

It’s hard to cut your losses this early on and sell, by all accounts the player is trying to beef up and make an impact this season.

It doesn’t seem Ole has taken to him, but Donny must try to make an impact, he hasn’t done that.

You have to usually give talented players a season to adjust. If he doesn’t do the business this season I’m sure Ole and the club will be open to selling him.

 

[MadMike]

Anyone suggesting Ole is being unfair on Donny, can you suggest a reason Ole would do this?

He wants us to win, if Donny having more minutes increased the chance of that happening he would be getting them.

Fact is, Donny at his absolute best in a United shirt has been average. Every other time he’s been shite.

Ok fine, agreed. Now can you kindly explain how Matic starts and plays 86 mins in our second league game despite not having had a good game since the 19/20 season? Can you suggest a reason Ole would do this?

Can you also suggest a good reason VDB is not being made available for transfer is he's to be behind players like Matic and Lingard in the pecking order? Like what's the point in keeping him.

Don't act like all of this is rational. That kind of stuff doesn't happen to better functioning clubs.

 

[jem]

Who at the club sanctioned this deal because it sure as hell wasn't Ole. Never seen a manager treat a player this way who they wanted to bring in. Managers normally stand by their signings through thick and thin so Donny is clearly not who Ole wanted.

Whoever signed him should be sacked. Not necessarily because he's a bad player but don't buy somebody the manager doesn't want.

Fact he turned to Lingard who is just back from Covid before Donny today says everything.

I was thinking about this earlier. Can you think of a big-money signing (and DVB just about counts as a big-money signing) who has been so comprehensively ignored by a manager? I'm trying to think of an example (perhaps a Real or Barca signing?)

 

[MadMike]

It’s hard to cut your losses this early on and sell, by all accounts the player is trying to beef up and make an impact this season.

It doesn’t seem Ole has taken to him, but Donny must try to make an impact, he hasn’t done that.

You have to usually give talented players a season to adjust. If he doesn’t do the business this season I’m sure Ole and the club will be open to selling him.

Giving a season to adjust is fine, but players should still play minutes while adjusting. They won't magically adjust watching games from the bench.

Fred's first season under Mourinho was gash, but he still played more than double the minutes in the League and Europe than Donny did last season in order to find his feet.

If he's behind Matic and Lingard in the pecking order how many minutes will he get in meaningful games to adjust? And if he's no gonna get minutes, what's the point in keeping him?

 

[BerryBerryShrew]

I was thinking about this earlier. Can you think of a big-money signing (and DVB just about counts as a big-money signing) who has been so comprehensively ignored by a manager? I'm trying to think of an example (perhaps a Real or Barca signing?)

It's interesting. I seem to remember that Ballack and Shevchenko were Abramovich signings that Mourinho explicitly didn't want. He still used them though.

In fact, parallels could be drawn between Donny's situation and that of Ballack.I suppose the difference is that Ballack had enough quality that he could play in a deeper midfield role when Mourinho was adamant that Lampard was untouchable in Ballack's preferred position. It may be that Donny doesn't have the same adaptability given that Bruno is undroppable in his preferred No. 10 role.

 

[VanDeBank]

You know players usually don't play alone right? Sure he might not dominate on his one and is a bit dependant on his teammates. But when his teammates let him play to his full potential, he's very good. But that's also why it isn't working now.

But people like you seem to think that players are more important than the team. So whenever a player can't perform on his own, it's a bad player.

I share this sentiment. But I also think:

• VDB not getting ahead of McFred/Matic in the pecking order says a lot about limited he is. If Bruno had Maradona ahead of him as the no 10, he could hack it ahead of McFred/Matic.
• We don't know if even if he were to be accommodated he would perform to the required level. (which doesn't excuse him never getting a run of games)

While I personally didn't rate him much at Ajax (think he was a bit better than Klaassen and Ajax's 5th best player overall behind Onana, De Jong, Ziyech, De Ligt), I was happy we were getting a huge upgrade on Lingard/Pereira. It is Ole's fault for approving the transfer and not utilizing him properly.

People always point to some assist or goal he got in Ajax's impressive CL run, but they never look at his performance in general which is KEY for a midfielder.

I mean, this was Donny's performance against Madrid that people praise because he got an assist, but he was as rubbish as he is here:

The only reason they could get away with a clogger like him in midfield is because you had De Jong putting in this performance:

Donny's ability in the build up was always a weak point, which is why he's looked shit every time he receives the ball in Bruno's position and is expected to do what he does. He is a goal scoring no 10. You can compare all touches of Muller to Kimmich and you'd find similar discrepancies. No one is saying De Jong isn't much better than VDB, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't play to VDB's strengths, which are his intelligence around the box and his work rate in pressing and tracking back.

It's possible to acknowledge De Jong is a much better player, and to also acknowledge VDB has a knack for scoring goals:

De Jong: 4.411mins 3G 4A
VDB: 4.116mins 17G 13A

 

[OneUnited24]

After matic and Fred’s performance today it’s amazing how far down the pecking order he is. Granted when I’ve seen him I’ve never thought “amazing” but we haven’t seen him play enough to build a profile of him.

I’d like to see him with Scott next week. Can’t be as bad as we saw today. Hell as long as can pass to a team mate that’s me sorted

 

[Nou_Camp99]

I was thinking about this earlier. Can you think of a big-money signing (and DVB just about counts as a big-money signing) who has been so comprehensively ignored by a manager? I'm trying to think of an example (perhaps a Real or Barca signing?)

Not too many.

Definitely feels like a club signing and Ole is almost taking it out on Donny which is unfair. However the manager clearly doesn't want him so why was he given him?

We've still got clueless morons running the club behind the scenes sadly.

 

[jem]

Not too many.

Definitely feels like a club signing and Ole is almost taking it out on Donny which is unfair. However the manager clearly doesn't want him so why was he given him?

We've still got clueless morons running the club behind the scenes sadly.

That might be so, but I still Ole should make use of the resources at his disposal, something he clearly hasn’t done in the case of Donny.

 

[arthurka]

40m and can't be used when others have been absolutely shocking.

 

[bond19821982]

Not too many.

Definitely feels like a club signing and Ole is almost taking it out on Donny which is unfair. However the manager clearly doesn't want him so why was he given him?

We've still got clueless morons running the club behind the scenes sadly.

I would say , it's Ole who doesn't know how to use a player like Donny. Ole is bit of an old school where he needs 2 defensive midfielders , a pure 10 and a striker. A player like Donny who is all about quick passing and moving won't get a chance under Ole.

Let's not blame the club for it.

 

[Andersonson]

Anyone suggesting Ole is being unfair on Donny, can you suggest a reason Ole would do this?

He wants us to win, if Donny having more minutes increased the chance of that happening he would be getting them.

Fact is, Donny at his absolute best in a United shirt has been average. Every other time he’s been shite.

Don't be reasonable. Doesn't fit the thread.

We all know Ole hates 'DvB'. Every other top team manager would play him and win.

Why can't he start for Netherlands you ask? Ole has ruined him.

Or something

 

[Mainoldo]

Just ask for a transfer request or go out on loan. He tried to win the game and brought on McTominay instead of you. Who came on and pulled a few shirts.

 

[DeGea]

Ole should be interrogated on this directly at a press conference by a sensible journalist.

To an outsider, it does not make any logical sense. He therefore at least owes us some kind of explanation.

 

[Mike Smalling]

At this point we really have to point the finger at Ole. VDB might not be as good as expected or good enough to start, but surely it is the manager's job to get more out of him than this? He is obviously not a bad player, so there has to be a role for him in the team other than playing Championship and League 1 teams in the domestic cups.

 

[VanDeBank]

Don't be reasonable. Doesn't fit the thread.

We all know Ole hates 'DvB'. Every other top team manager would play him and win.

Why can't he start for Netherlands you ask? Ole has ruined him.

Or something

But he did have few starts for the Netherlands, in which he scored against class teams like Italy and Spain.
He also scored goals as an impact sub whenever he didn't start, which was around the time his confidence was completely shot for us.
He was quite good aside from those goals scored as well.

Obviously he's not gonna get a start when he doesn't play for his club. And yes, I get that De Roon was favoured, but VDB still saw play as the 4th midfielder kind of similar to Rabiot's/Tolisso's situation for France.

So it's definitely on Ole, when he comes on and score goals for the Netherlands (and plays decent overall), yet walks around like a punctured balloon for us. Ole being unable/unwilling to figure out how to use him, doesn't mean he "hates" him, it 'just means he's not good doing a good job of managing this particular player or that he should've vetod the transfer.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

The issue with Donny is none of us have seen him enough to give a verdict...that's the problem! We are just left thinking...why spend 40 million on a player and only give him 5mins at the end of a match to prove himself.

It's sooo weird.

He's been woeful everytime he's been played. If you watched that rubbish in training you wouldn't want to play him either.

 

[CloneMC16]

The love for this player on this forum is strange. Never did a fringe player had a cult
so strong

There isn't that much here, but he was trending on Twitter yesterday and was a lot last season. There are many of our fans that think he is great. I never saw him play for Ajax. Maybe he was great there, but I've seen nothing in his games for us that suggest he should start. To the people that think he's great, I want to know what he is actually great at, and what he offers that our other midfielders don't?

I have read some people saying that he was meant to be backup to Bruno. Why did we spend £35m/£40m on a backup player? This isn't an oil club.

 

[MattofManchester]

Not sure what the issue is.

Donny has improved physically, and had a good game against Everton in friendlies. Showed promise.

But it does feel like Ole has his preferences.
His obsession with trying to get the best out of Martial for one has hurt us again and again.
And then Matic and Fred, who both had a mare, and he brings on an injured Mctominay.

Baffling.

I don't care what anyone says. You cannot at all tell me that Donny would have done worse than two midfielders who could not at all progress a ball yesterday as well as Lingard.
I refuse to believe that a CL star has been reduced to this. Ridiculous.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Not sure what the issue is.

Donny has improved physically, and had a good game against Everton in friendlies. Showed promise.

But it does feel like Ole has his preferences.
His obsession with trying to get the best out of Martial for one has hurt us again and again.
And then Matic and Fred, who both had a mare, and he brings on an injured Mctominay.

Baffling.

I don't care what anyone says. You cannot at all tell me that Donny would have done worse than two midfielders who could not at all progress a ball yesterday as well as Lingard.
I refuse to believe that a CL star has been reduced to this. Ridiculous.

What's baffling about us? Nobody really cares about friendlies. The guy has been an absolute joke everytime he's played for us. Like one of those 18 year olds we sometimes give a chance to who obviously will never make it at United. I've actually felt sorry for him a fair few times, he's been that lost.

I don't have that much faith in Ole as a manager but on VDB I will blame him for signing the fellow, but can't for not playing him.

 

[MattofManchester]

What's baffling about us? Nobody really cares about friendlies. The guy has been an absolute joke everytime he's played for us. Like one of those 18 year olds we sometimes give a chance to who obviously will never make it at United. I've actually felt sorry for him a fair few times, he's been that lost.

I don't have that much faith in Ole as a manager but on VDB I will blame him for signing the fellow, but can't for not playing him.

But I cannot believe in any sane mind he'd be a worse choice than Matic.

If he sits in a 2, and it destabilizes us defensively, then fair enough, but at least there'd be someone in midfield who isn't a statue and can pass a fecking football.

 

[BusbyMalone]

The issue with Donny is none of us have seen him enough to give a verdict...that's the problem! We are just left thinking...why spend 40 million on a player and only give him 5mins at the end of a match to prove himself.

It's sooo weird.

I agree to a certain extent. He obviously hasn't been given a run of games to prove himself, but he did play a surprising amount of minutes last season. Granted, most of them were coming off the bench for 10 minutes here and there or playing in games where the whole team has been changed and therefore were a bit disjointed. Coming into these situations it's always going to be difficult to make an impact.

However, he really hasn't done himself any favours. In fact, he's been pretty awful when playing in those games. It may not be fair on him to play in these situations and it is hard to make an impact when your playing time is so sporadic, but you got to show something. Anything, really. But he really hasn't. The game just passes him by and he has a tendency to hide, which is not encouraging.

 

[kopviolator]

If he can't replace Matic the way he was playing yesterday then he doesn't stand a chance here. Ship him out.

 

[Cassidy]

Matic started, Lingard subbed on, half-fit McTominay subbed on... not looking good is it?
So why did we not sell him this summer if we didn't intend to actually use him

 

[SATA]

Think he'll start at Wolves on Sunday. He played well there last season in the final game. Imagine the pressure Ole brings onto himself if he doesn't do this

 

[Abraxas]

I have a feeling he may get a go over the next few games. Admittedly this isn't based on much as Ole has shown no inclination towards DVB, however, he had a reasonable pre season and has clearly put in some physical work.

It wasn't a good afternoon for Matic and Fred. I'm a big fan of the latter but he had a poor day, even his pressing was off. Matic showed what we've seen for a few years now, far too ponderous and off the pace for the PL.

If you throw in a slightly more attacking combination for home fixtures there may just be a converging of circumstances that gets him an important start now. He's going to have to take it. I don't think he's going to get 10 games or even 5, he will have to put in a 7/10 performance.

 

[VanDeBank]

To the people that think he's great, I want to know what he is actually great at, and what he offers that our other midfielders don't?

I saw him play for the Dutch NT during the international breaks last year. He was in the right place at the right time to score against Spain and Italy as a starter. He was good in the box when he came on as an impact sub later in the last international break before the euros.

Guy is smart around the box and has a knack for scoring goals. He also works his socks off when he's not on the ball.

So if he's Holland's top scorer for the 20/21 season pre injury/Euro while putting in a good defensive shift, why can't Ole use him as sub to get a goal and take out an underperforming midfielder at the same time?

And I don't think Ajax's 5th best player is great, I do however think he's better than Pereira/Lingard as a no 10.
He's definitely not good enough in the pivot behind Bruno for United, but neither is McFred and Matic, so he should be given a chance there if his last 2 apps in that position were decent (Wolves & Everton) and the others are stinking it up (Matic & Fred) or injured (McTominay).

He also started out alright when he joined, and his performances only fell off a cliff after he was completely dropped.

 

[Denis Irwinning]

What's baffling about us? Nobody really cares about friendlies. The guy has been an absolute joke everytime he's played for us. Like one of those 18 year olds we sometimes give a chance to who obviously will never make it at United. I've actually felt sorry for him a fair few times, he's been that lost.

I don't have that much faith in Ole as a manager but on VDB I will blame him for signing the fellow, but can't for not playing him.

I find your posts baffling I have to say.

 

[CloneMC16]

I saw him play for the Dutch NT during the international breaks last year. He was in the right place at the right time to score against Spain and Italy as a starter. He was good in the box when he came on as an impact later in the last international break before the euros.

Guy is smart around the box and has a knack for scoring goals. He also works his socks off and when he's not on the ball.

So if he's Holland's top scorer for the 20/21 season pre injury/Euro while putting in a good defensive shift, why can't Ole use him as sub to get a goal and take out an underperforming midfielder at the same time?

And I don't think Ajax's 5th best player is great, I do however think he's better than Pereira/Lingard as a no 10.
He's definitely not good enough in the pivot behind Bruno for United, but neither is McFred and Matic, so he should be given a chance there if his last 2 apps in that position were decent (Wolves & Everton) and the others are stinking it up (Matic & Fred) or injured (McTominay).

He also started out alright when he joined, and his performances only fell off a cliff after he was completely dropped.

This highlighted section is the main issue. Nobody is getting minutes at #10 with Bruno here. He plays every game. If that is VDB's position, the club bought a backup player for £35m/£40m. That makes zero sense to me. We can't afford to spend a good portion of our yearly budget on a player that is going to get very few minutes. He has had some minutes there, but it's been mostly near to the end of games when Bruno was subbed. He didn't have long. He still didn't look that good.

I had never seen VDB play before. I thought we were buying a player to play in the pivot. Based on the cost and the need we had for a player in that position. His only realistic chance of playing is in the pivot. He could get games next to Fred. I doubt Ole will play Matic and VDB in PL games that really matter. Based on the way things were going yesterday, I would have liked to have seen him play instead of Matic.

Ole putting on an injured McTominay instead of VDB is not a good sign for him, though. Ole said yesterday that VDB has an important part to play, but his usage of him isn't showing that at all. After the shitshow yesterday, he might actually get a start.

 

[Giggsy13]

The issue with Donny is none of us have seen him enough to give a verdict...that's the problem! We are just left thinking...why spend 40 million on a player and only give him 5mins at the end of a match to prove himself.

It's sooo weird.

I said it another thread, but it’s borderline negligent from Ole not to give Donny a run of games. People forget how highly regarded he was at Ajax and how integral he was to their champions league run. There is a real player with potential, yet Ole persists with Fred or Matic and shows absolutely no patience for Donny.

 

[Danish Wizard]

Personally I'm a big fan of him and really likes his style of play. He was excellent for Ajax. We bought him, because we apparently saw something we liked. But in my honest opinion, he has never been handed a real opportunity here.
You just can't expect magic from him when he sits on the bench for a few matches, then gets 15 minutes in the end once a while. No match rhythm and lacks the self-confidence you get by playing. I really think he should have played more last season, when either Bruno needed a rest or when Pogba didn't hit topform. Him next to Bruno would be great I think.

I just can't see it happening at United. He will not be sold this summer, but why keep a player we clearly has no intention on playing. Then we could just hand that spot on the bench to one of the young talents from the academy.

 

[Tibs]

Donny ought to get himself a new club.

He doesn't owe shit to anyone at United, it isn't happening, he doesn't need to waste another year of his career on the bench.