[ivaldo]

Positioning is seriously off tonight

They are waltzing past Carrick in midfield and as Blind has no pace it's leaving him seriously exposed, I'd bring Schneiderlin on just to protect that back 4.

 

[Snow]

Positioning is seriously off tonight

You've probably only got that chance in mind. I've only seen it replayed once but it looked like Darmian was behind the CBs which he should never be.

 

[kouroux]

Their good passes behind the defense have all come from the space behind him.

 

[FromTheBench]

3 times he has let the runner go reacting late behind him. Problem is he doesn't have any pace to recover either.

 

[entropy]

He seems to be in shock ever since Rooney scored. Should be fine after half time.

 

[Mali_Zeus]

Midfield isn't providing our defense any cover whatsoever.

 

[No.8]

Proving me and lots of others wrong so far. The tests will get harder when he comes up against teams with pace and power and who move the ball around quicker but for now I can have no complaints. He certainly seems to organise the defence said as someone has already mentioned, I really didn't expect him to be so good at LCB but you do fear there's a mistake there waiting to happen.

 

[ivaldo]

Midfield isn't providing our defense any cover whatsoever.

Spot on, players are getting time in midfield to pick passes and with the pace they have up top he's getting exposed.

 

[No.8]

Midfield isn't providing our defense any cover whatsoever.

Carrick is having a off day today, I've barely heard his name mentioned and Herrera definitely is not a holding CM!

 

[Escobar]

3 times he has let the runner go reacting late behind him. Problem is he doesn't have any pace to recover either.

That seems to be the issue. The midfield being not up to it tonight doesn't help either but it was his player that got away too many times

 

[Yorkeontop]

There were a couple of aerial moments where he looked dodgy. I think we'll play him until he comes unstuck and then probably go back to the main CB's.

 

[ZDwyr]

Think he missed that extra protection in midfield in the first half. Still wasn't too bad though.

 

[Devil may care]

Our defensive unit relies on greater cover from midfield in order to let Blind do his best work. I mentioned the other day that teams running through us centrally had ended with Schneiderlin, the job he does was sorely missed in the first half and left Blind's physical shortcomings exposed. Thankfully Bastian bossed the second half and with Herrera further forward we pushed them back. I think if we are to continue getting the good things we've gotten out of Blind atr CB, he needs the Schneiderlin protection.

 

[World Game]

Failed offside trap. lol

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Our defensive unit relies on greater cover from midfield in order to let Blind do his best work. I mentioned the other day that teams running through us centrally had ended with Schneiderlin, the job he does was sorely missed in the first half and left Blind's physical shortcomings exposed. Thankfully Bastian bossed the second half and with Herrera further forward we pushed them back. I think if we are to continue getting the good things we've gotten out of Blind atr CB, he needs the Schneiderlin protection.

Hard to argue with that assessment. He did look exposed at times last night.

 

[Hamadovich86]

We all know he lacks pace so that showed last night but going forward hes excellent at starting movements from the back like with the first goal.

 

[prath92]

Hard to argue with that assessment. He did look exposed at times last night.

So would any defender. Watch Chelsea defenders with and without matic. They get exposed a lot without matic or if he has a bad game.

 

[imperi]

60/61 passes. 98.4% succes rate. Not bad for a wednesday night.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He's having a really good season but there's certain games we need to be weary about starting him. Kane was unable to, but you know Liverpool will target him with Benteke and losing a goal purely down to having a small guy at centre back would be a bit lame.

 

[Riz]

He's having a really good season but there's certain games we need to be weary about starting him. Kane was unable to, but you know Liverpool will target him with Benteke and losing a goal purely down to having a small guy at centre back would be a bit lame.

Any set pieces we'd just stick Mike on him and leave it at that. Most of the aerial balls are attacked by Smalling anyway and Blind sweeps up. Also helps us that he's flanked by Smalling and Shaw so if he's targetted to expose his lack of pace there's plenty of cover either side of him. Starting to convince me he can play there long term..

 

[Sarni]

Mascherano has not had too many issues over his lack of height or the fact that he had been used to playing elsewhere. Blind will be our Mascherano. Love this player.

 

[ottosec]

It looked to me that he had to push up a lot in the 1st half because Herrera and Carrick failed to close the Bruges attackers most of the times.

 

[Flying_Heckfish]

His pace worries me more than his height, but with the way we play we shouldn't be too worried about being caught on the break too often. It could be dangerous if we have to chase a game though, for example in a cup match.

I'm pleasantly surprised so far though.

 

[Ainu]

He's fine defensively as long as he gets some protection from the midfield and can focus on his positioning to cut out passes. When teams run through our midfield or throw in cross after cross this could become a problem. Our possession based approach helps prevent this but I worry that sooner or later it'll cost us.

His passing from the back is fantastic though. He's ultra composed on the ball and always seems to find a passing solution even if strikers are pressing. He never seems to launch a hopeless ball forward (something Smalling is still guilty of). He's key to our possession game.

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

Mascherano has not had too many issues over his lack of height or the fact that he had been used to playing elsewhere. Blind will be our Mascherano. Love this player.

Mascherano is stronger than Blind, and faster, too. And teams are scared of pushing too high against Barca for fear of being overwhelmed at the back with that famed front line. And there is also the fact that the Premier League is more physical than the La Liga.

When teams will play big strong pacey attackers upfront or press our midfield and defence and force mistakes or start putting in crosses for multiple target men, Blind will be exposed. He doesn't belong in central defence in this league for a club like United.

His pace worries me more than his height, but with the way we play we shouldn't be too worried about being caught on the break too often. It could be dangerous if we have to chase a game though, for example in a cup match.

I'm pleasantly surprised so far though.

We rely too much on our full backs to keep opposition wingers quiet and the long balls over defence minimal. Blind's shortcomings are being covered by the form of the other three in defence. I agree with the fact that if our full backs are on the offensive chasing a game and get caught, Blind's lack of pace and height will be a grave issue.

He's fine defensively as long as he gets some protection from the midfield and can focus on his positioning to cut out passes. When teams run through our midfield or throw in cross after cross this could become a problem. Our possession based approach helps prevent this but I worry that sooner or later it'll cost us.

His passing from the back is fantastic though. He's ultra composed on the ball and always seems to find a passing solution even if strikers are pressing. He never seems to launch a hopeless ball forward (something Smalling is still guilty of). He's key to our possession game.

It can't be denied that he does add the extra composure and passing efficiency to the defence. 98.4%, as imperi pointed out. As long as there are other people covering up for his weaknesses, he is doing what he does best - pass the ball around intelligently, make well timed tackles and position himself well. But I'm afraid he's just a tactical trap away from a disaster. The top PL teams will expose him. I'd rather we'd signed a proper ball playing CB in his place.

 

[Geordopolous]

Can anyone disagree with the fact that LVG has got this one spot on? He's passing from the back is immense and so so so important to our play. He is often playing fast and deadly accurate passes to our attackers which creates chances. Also he's very solid on the ground and has wonderful communication and leadership skills. 4/5 clean sheets (one own goal) is pretty impressive too

 

[Sarni]

Mascherano is stronger than Blind, and faster, too. And teams are scared of pushing too high against Barca for fear of being overwhelmed at the back with that famed front line. And there is also the fact that the Premier League is more physical than the La Liga.

When teams will play big strong pacey attackers upfront or press our midfield and defence and force mistakes or start putting in crosses for multiple target men, Blind will be exposed. He doesn't belong in central defence in this league for a club like United.


We rely too much on our full backs to keep opposition wingers quiet and the long balls over defence minimal. Blind's shortcomings are being covered by the form of the other three in defence. I agree with the fact that if our full backs are on the offensive chasing a game and get caught, Blind's lack of pace and height will be a grave issue.


It can't be denied that he does add the extra composure and passing efficiency to the defence. 98.4%, as imperi pointed out. As long as there are other people covering up for his weaknesses, he is doing what he does best - pass the ball around intelligently, make well timed tackles and position himself well. But I'm afraid he's just a tactical trap away from a disaster. The top PL teams will expose him. I'd rather we'd signed a proper ball playing CB in his place.

So the bashing starts, Blind can do no right seemingly. Last season it was the same - ten good games and one bad one and he should be gone.

He's done extremely well so far. Football is not so simple that if you put a strong oar against a small defender he will get eaten alive. Put amazing incredible PL proven Walters against small Cannavaro and he will look like a fool 9 times out of 10. This is exactly why English football is in its current state, being convinced that football is only for huge strong athletes and smaller players do not belong there.

 

[Dr Baltar]

Gomis will be a good test this weekend. He bullied Chelsea's "proper centre-halves" the other week so it will be interesting to see how Blind fares against him as everyone has been waiting for a big, athletic striker to exploit his weaknesses.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

I think a lot of the aerial threat he might face is also cut out because we have two good defensive full backs that will stop a majority of the quality crosses from reaching the box. Still, Monk always has something up his sleeve so it will be interesting to see if he targets Blind.

 

[Geordopolous]

Mascherano is stronger than Blind, and faster, too. And teams are scared of pushing too high against Barca for fear of being overwhelmed at the back with that famed front line. And there is also the fact that the Premier League is more physical than the La Liga.

When teams will play big strong pacey attackers upfront or press our midfield and defence and force mistakes or start putting in crosses for multiple target men, Blind will be exposed. He doesn't belong in central defence in this league for a club like United.



We rely too much on our full backs to keep opposition wingers quiet and the long balls over defence minimal. Blind's shortcomings are being covered by the form of the other three in defence. I agree with the fact that if our full backs are on the offensive chasing a game and get caught, Blind's lack of pace and height will be a grave issue.



It can't be denied that he does add the extra composure and passing efficiency to the defence. 98.4%, as imperi pointed out. As long as there are other people covering up for his weaknesses, he is doing what he does best - pass the ball around intelligently, make well timed tackles and position himself well. But I'm afraid he's just a tactical trap away from a disaster. The top PL teams will expose him. I'd rather we'd signed a proper ball playing CB in his place.

Give it up, be happy for a man who's doing very well and stop trying to predict the future. Especially if you're going to be so pessimistic about it

 

[prath92]

Gomis will be a good test this weekend. He bullied Chelsea's "proper centre-halves" the other week so it will be interesting to see how Blind fares against him as everyone has been waiting for a big, athletic striker to exploit his weaknesses.

To be fair they have only gomis who is tall. Behind him they play sigurdson cork ki or someone who are hardly tall or even fast. Emnes they may play but he is not a very good player other than his strength.

Edit- meaning smelling will handle him

 

[Sam]

Gomis could well be the acid test as to just how good Blind at centre back really is.

 

[Santiago_KinderBueno]

I think hes pretty fast for a CB; i just dont grt how he is slow?

 

[Lawman]

I think hes pretty fast for a CB; i just dont grt how he is slow?

Are we still talking about Blind? Because if so unless he turns into a GK he is painfully slow whatever way you look at it! He's been very good this season though and long may it continue!

 

[SteveW]

Can anyone disagree with the fact that LVG has got this one spot on? He's passing from the back is immense and so so so important to our play. He is often playing fast and deadly accurate passes to our attackers which creates chances. Also he's very solid on the ground and has wonderful communication and leadership skills. 4/5 clean sheets (one own goal) is pretty impressive too

Way too early to make that assessment. He hasn't been tested yet and he's getting a huge amount of protection. The other three defenders are defensive beasts and we have two midfielders screening. Smalling is winning pretty much everything in the air and one the ground. It's not hard to look decent in those circumstances. Playing Blind there is pretty stupid imo and will cause us problems when we come up against better opposition.

 

[ivaldo]

Way too early to make that assessment. He hasn't been tested yet and he's getting a huge amount of protection. The other three defenders are defensive beasts and we have two midfielders screening. Smalling is winning pretty much everything in the air and one the ground. It's not hard to look decent in those circumstances. Playing Blind there is pretty stupid imo and will cause us problems when we come up against better opposition.

So what you're saying is with all these other 'beasts' and protection we can afford to have a rolls Royce of a centre back, someone who can dictate tempo and organise thise other beasts. You're saying he's pretty much the ideal centreback to compliment our other defensive players. I mean we would've want another player in the same mold as Smalling would we? That would be unbalanced. Really, really good point Steve.

 

[TwoSheds]

He made one horrific boob in terms of positioning agin Bruges (was it the one where Diaby or whoever got dispossessed fantastically by Romero just before half time?) but otherwise was pretty decent again.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

As a negative though, and yes this is vital, the beard he was sporting on Wednesday was terrible.

Like one of those Amish folks in America. He needs to sort that out.

 

[Geordopolous]

So what you're saying is with all these other 'beasts' and protection we can afford to have a rolls Royce of a centre back, someone who can dictate tempo and organise thise other beasts. You're saying he's pretty much the ideal centreback to compliment our other defensive players. I mean we would've want another player in the same mold as Smalling would we? That would be unbalanced. Really, really good point Steve.

Spot on haha. If the other 3 are doing such a good job, why not have someone who's a brilliant ball player

 

[Ibi Dreams]

He made one horrific boob in terms of positioning agin Bruges (was it the one where Diaby or whoever got dispossessed fantastically by Romero just before half time?) but otherwise was pretty decent again.

That looked bad, but I think he was pushing up the offside trap and Carrick didn't move up with the rest of them. I don't really know who to blame in that situation, I'd have to see it again. Regardless, that's the one noticeable mistake out of five games, which is pretty good. I'm starting to believe in him as a centre back, and this might only be the start

Also, I don't think it's fair to say the other defenders are making up for him. Blind has been making tons of tackles and interceptions himself