For some strange reason, most of the fanbase in the last couple of months thought he was a capable defender. He's not. Smalling & Jones (Rojo & Bailly too) got ridiculed, scapegoated for our shitness in general but Lindelöf is easily a worse defender than all of them. Our best CB partnership definitely doesn't include him anyway. All the time and money spent in the last 10 years to defence and our best CB is still the hidden gem from Fulham Sir Alex brought for peanuts. Great management.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 47
- Clean sheets
- 19
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 6
- Status
He is physically aerially weak as per English game, and lacks a bit of aggressiveness, positionally, there is nothing wrong with him.
Though since Fergie is gone i have hardly seen a player improve at united at his weaknesses. And it will be the same with him. I dont expect anything from this club and it's players like they improved in the past.
Reading the game and positional play is easily coached so it shouldn't be used as a strength or a prerequisite if the rest of the individuals game is weak. Koulibaly is levels above Lindelof and his reading of the game and positional play was suspect before being coached by Sarri at 23. But what he did have was physicality and the potential to break lines due to his passing and ability on the ball. Sounds like you're clutching at straws by avoiding the question, no less than twice now too which isn't a surprise. It shouldn't be difficult to point out Lindelof's outstanding quality as a starting CB for a club with aspirations to win the league and compete against the best in Europe?Yeah let's brush by that, it's only a large portion of what makes a great defender. You've got such a myopic view of this it's ridiculous. Let's just look a being good on the ball and the mental aspect of the game as two single traits. But running and jumping and being strong etc, they're all different! Let's not clump that together as athleticism.
Have you not been watching these past 6 months? Lindelof is not a reactive defender. He literally has been playing as the aggressor of the two CBs, challenging far higher up the pitch than his counterpart.
No it doesn't, but if you don't think there is a clear and obvious connection between how much a club is willing to pay and the expectation of those players then you need to give your head a wobble. But, predictably, you've missed the point entirely. The reason why I brought up Maguire's fee is because, quite simply, there are precious few defenders who are worth spending that much, even in today's market. There's a real dearth in quality of CBs and has been for many years, so Lindelof needs to be judged within context, and what managers currently want from their CBs. Whether you like it or not, Lindelof ticks a lot of the boxes, and old fashioned brutes are a think of the past. The reason Lindelof is picked over Smalling isn't purely because of his passing ability but because he's a better all round player.
Maguire costing a record sum for a CB shouldn't excuse Lindelof for his short comings. It sounds like you're making excuses for Lindelof when it's pretty clear he's a above average CB who struggles at the basics of being a CB in England, which is actually being able to defend at a decent level. You describe Lindelof as being 'infinitely' better than Smalling which is a gross exaggeration and and a opinion awash with hyperbole. I'm gonna put that nonsensical statement down to you not understanding the definition of 'infinitely'
I'm not sure why you're assuming I'm asking for a brute to play as CB. Was Vidic a brute? Shouldn't we expect a CB at Manchester United to actually be able to beat Jeffrey Schlupp in the air? Which by the way was a piss poor piece of defending which cost us a goal. He lost several aerial duels against a Palace side that were sporadic in their attacks due to United having the bulk of the ball. And it wasn't like he had to defend for the majority of the game either. His ball playing ability is also exaggerated and believe it or not, there's a dime a dozen CBs around Europe who are easily as good in that regard and Lindelof is so easily upgradeable/replaceable by many CBs around Europe IMO too. Hence I don't see him as the longterm option for us going forward.
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@Adnan I’m in no mood to discuss football. Let’s agree to disagree.
Let’s agree to disagree.Poor today.
lacks the physicality for the premier league. Excellent on the ball but terrible at tackles. Hard to notice because he will always shy away from a tackle, but when he absolutely has to you see clearly how deficient he is as a defender.
He will need to improve as he has got potential to be a good partner with Maguire. Bissaka and Maguire can not clean up every mess. A defender has got to defend sometimes.
He will need to improve as he has got potential to be a good partner with Maguire. Bissaka and Maguire can not clean up every mess. A defender has got to defend sometimes.
Fair enough..@Adnan I’m in no mood to discuss football.
Cannot be losing easy headers like this, if he cannot win it on a physical field, he has to learn how to anticipate/position himself better in regards to either the player he's contesting with or the ball.
Would agree with this. Maguire's shown what an actual ball playing CB looks like. Lindelof has shown that to be fair to him but it's rare in a Utd shirt.
It was such a poor goal, Palace barely were getting beyond the half way line till that moment.
What could push you to improve your weaknesses is the fear of loosing your starter position, but with Smalling, Jones, Rojo and Baily; 4 defenders below the average and each one of them being the reason for a draw or a loss at a time, he won't be forced to work harder to earn his position and that's how we'll be giving a wide berth to the top 2.
Thought he was average at best at Benfica and a bad buy. !st year here he was diabolical and last season he was average at best. I really had doubts about him being a good partner for Maguire too, first couple of games they did well....today....no
Just another example of how poor we have been in the transfer market....yet again. I thought we needed two centre backs, a right back, two central midfielders and a right winger at least this summer, we got two out of six.
Now already, talented as they are, we are calling for KIDS to be given chances. And the worst part is, we are calling for that rightly. Tuanzabe at centre back, Gomes as the number 10 and Greenwood at right wing, hell some are already even calling for Garner...and the truth is, they deserve the chances too. Same problems as last year bar right back. We still have a shakey centre back, we still have no creative influence or right winger and we still have the most over rated player in the world performance wise who doesnt even want to be here.
Talk about clearing out the deadwood on the fringes, we have got deadwood in the first eleven that should be on the bench at best.
Lindelof will never be a top class defender, no part of his game is good enough to make up for the weaknesses. As piss poor as Smalling is on the ball, at least he is a capable player defensively.
Until the owners get a manager that has balls to clear out a lot of players and spend wisely and well, we are going nowhere. Mourinho had the right idea in terms of players he wanted rid of, just poor judgement on what to bring in to our club.
Just another example of how poor we have been in the transfer market....yet again. I thought we needed two centre backs, a right back, two central midfielders and a right winger at least this summer, we got two out of six.
Now already, talented as they are, we are calling for KIDS to be given chances. And the worst part is, we are calling for that rightly. Tuanzabe at centre back, Gomes as the number 10 and Greenwood at right wing, hell some are already even calling for Garner...and the truth is, they deserve the chances too. Same problems as last year bar right back. We still have a shakey centre back, we still have no creative influence or right winger and we still have the most over rated player in the world performance wise who doesnt even want to be here.
Talk about clearing out the deadwood on the fringes, we have got deadwood in the first eleven that should be on the bench at best.
Lindelof will never be a top class defender, no part of his game is good enough to make up for the weaknesses. As piss poor as Smalling is on the ball, at least he is a capable player defensively.
Until the owners get a manager that has balls to clear out a lot of players and spend wisely and well, we are going nowhere. Mourinho had the right idea in terms of players he wanted rid of, just poor judgement on what to bring in to our club.
I think he had 6 defensive aerials and won 4 and lost 2. One of them ended up a goal. It's bad to lose a header like that. And maybe even worse that Maguire was 20 meters away leaving Lindelof alone with both players. But both those things happen. I am far more worried how United will solve the problem with facing teams who play like this.
Was gonna post something about him always looking on the point of costing us a goal the other day but couldn't be fecked dealing with the responses. It is what it is. He's a decent defender who's biggest attribute seems to be not being called Chris Smalling (who's actually a better defender fwiw)
He had to, because Shaw was injured.
Should have just came off.
Goal probably doesn't happen.
I’ve not seen it back yet but I agree, if Shaws injured he shouldn’t be on the park.
Yeah I haven't watched it back either nor did I pay close attention to that side(was mostly fuming at Lindelof).
It was what my commentators were saying.
Either way, a disastrous goal to concede.
Maguire showed the lack of awareness of danger that worried a lot of his doubters about him, Lindelof being weak in the air is hardly a surprise, Maguire not even moving towards a covering position is poor.
Lindelof is weak and passive defensively, fairly composed if not exactly constructive on the ball and he doesn't have the years of being linked with failing teams and regimes that Smalling and Jones have, could very easily turn into their level of scapegoat though. We have 2 passers at the back and are still rancid in building attacks beyond kick and rush and Pogba inspiration.
Hes bang avaerage, sadly we have alot of those players. We should pretty sell of our center backs outside of Smalling, Maguire and Tuanzebe.
I don't think Maguire was helping Shaw. Looks more like he is in no man's land.
Don't know how to embed images but you could follow the link:
m.imgur.com/a/m30i3ZX
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We all know he’s shite in the air. Fundamental of center back defending: your partner goes for a header you drop back to cover the space behind him. It’s an automatic move you learn in football as a defender. Very odd Harry didn’t cover him there. Even Rio used to cover Vidics headers which was redundant but it’s fundamentals.
Defence chemistry mistake.
Otherwise still want Smalling no where near the sport of football
Defence chemistry mistake.
Otherwise still want Smalling no where near the sport of football
I don't even have the brains to share a pic, and you expect me to share a video clip
Powderpuff defending on the first goal, a CB needs to win that header, better in the second half, I still think long term he's not the ideal partner for Maguire.
You are right. I said to myself as soon as the ball was punted up what the hell is Maguire doing? As you can see from the picture if Maguire and AWB just take a step forward before it was headed it would have been offside. I think as soon as it was punted Maguire realised he was in a bad situation. We all blame Lindelof for missing the header and yes he is weak in heading and if it was Smalling or Jones they probably would have won the header but that is not why we did not win the game. There is a chance that Smalling may have missed the header too.
Other teams also have their players winning headers against the CB yet nothing comes out of it. When you have two opposing players vs Lindelof there is no way Maguire should be so far away. No way. It the fault of Maguire for putting Lindelof in a two v one situation.
Classic defending. 1 cb goes for the header, the other drops for cover. Lindelöf got beat for sure, but Maguire should have atleast as much stick for poor reading of the game
Lindelof was backing in to the situation and the opponent coming with speed, plus he is weak in the air. He really should have just wrestled the guy and taken the yellow card.
PREACH.
Looks weak and lacks confidence, which shouldn't really be a thing this early in the season. Worrying. I like the guy, but his defending leaves a lot to be desired. You just can't lose a header like that if there is nobody covering you. Either you drop off and defend or you win the duell there and then, very half assed. High line with those guys aren't going to work against counterattacking teams who sit deep. Much better to use Smalling in those game since he is able to physically dominate the lone striker, and cover for Maguire.
That was exactly the type of goal I predicted we'd concede from the moment we get linked with Maguire and the talk of high pressing - high line etc. Even said in previous threads that'd cause us problems against teams who counters well and it showed earlier than I expected. He shouldn't be our starting defender.
When the ball was launched I think Maguire was closer to the touchline than here.
I'm also surprised AWB didn't sprint back and was merely jogging
could have been a red too. It was too risky to deliberately foul him. I also think Lindelof would have expected Maguire to be covering him. Lucky for Smalling it was not him but he could have lost the header too and no last defender should have been put in that position. The issue to me was not Lindelof losing the header but why did Maguire let him alone with two Palace players? If Lindelof had gone for the header Maguire should have been covering Ayew.
Having seen the clip again Lindelof had to go for the header no matter what. He could not let Schlupp control the ball by backing off as even then Ayew would have been off on his own. It was either win the header or else it was a goal. He lost the header.
Yeah, I don't see it with this guy. I'm all for dropping him for Smalling or Tuanzebe.
You know, defending was supposed to be José's strong point, but between Lindelof, Bailly and Dalot, he didn't half saddle us with some rubbish.
You know, defending was supposed to be José's strong point, but between Lindelof, Bailly and Dalot, he didn't half saddle us with some rubbish.
Barca still interested?
I think Jose's problem was he was trying to replicate his Chelsea team. He thought he could make Lukaku into Drogba. Lindelof into a Cavarlho. Why do they always try to fight the last war? It is the same with Ole. This is not 1999.
Because they dont move on with times, stuck in the past, they stick to what they know and are arrogant/reluctant to changes. Same with Moyes, tried to replicate Everton and van Gaal tried to replicate his Bayern team. The managers that always improve on their philosophy and move with the times are the owns that win.
Proper amateur stuff from all of them. Even as a kid you're taught one goes for the header and the other covers. How the hell did Lindelof end up with 2 attackers coming at him and zero cover. Even Vidic wasn't guaranteed to win those.
Still, we'll learn from it and move on. It's still clear these two are the best we have.
Still, we'll learn from it and move on. It's still clear these two are the best we have.
Just how many defenders we have to sell ?
Guys, you need to chill. He misjudged the trajectory of the ball for the goal. These things happen. He is still a capable defender and has been inproving since he arrived. Even the best defenders get caught out every now and then.
Suggesting Smalling for Lindelof at this stage is going to completely change the dynamics of the team and defence and is frankly ridiculous. Absence makes the heart fonder and this is the case with Smalling for now. He is not a footballer. No footballer should be scared of a football and his body movement and turn when passing or receiving the ball just screams of fear and that can be translated to the entire backline which is not what we need now.
For all of Lindelof's faults, he actually does possess the ability to ensure the defence is calm under pressure and cuts out panic. Him over Smalling for me anyday.
Suggesting Smalling for Lindelof at this stage is going to completely change the dynamics of the team and defence and is frankly ridiculous. Absence makes the heart fonder and this is the case with Smalling for now. He is not a footballer. No footballer should be scared of a football and his body movement and turn when passing or receiving the ball just screams of fear and that can be translated to the entire backline which is not what we need now.
For all of Lindelof's faults, he actually does possess the ability to ensure the defence is calm under pressure and cuts out panic. Him over Smalling for me anyday.
Lindelof lost the header, but Maguire should be covering him. It is one thing Smalling does very well, and that is why he is a very good defender. That ability to quickly read the situation, sense danger, drop or move across to mop up and tidily deal with it..
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