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2020-21 Performances


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Red00012

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I don't want to see this guy play 10 for us ever again. No better than Pereira or Lingard.

He either focuses on developing as a CM (8 or 6) or we should sell him in the summer. One of the most useless signings and we've wasted even more millions of pounds on unsuitable players. :mad:
This post is exactly the reason why decent posters stay away from the football forum.
 

Nou_Camp99

what would Souness do?
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It's got nothing to do with not knowing how to use him. He's got a player that just isn't very good, it is that simple.
I don't agree with this. He proved in the CL he's a good player. He is very popular with Dutch fans too for the national side.

He's a good player but just not right for us and I don't think he was Ole's preferred target. Feels like he was the back up or even the back up to the back up in the market.
 

elnorte

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I don't agree with this. He proved in the CL he's a good player. He is very popular with Dutch fans too for the national side.

He's a good player but just not right for us and I don't think he was Ole's preferred target. Feels like he was the back up or even the back up to the back up in the market.
Who do you think was first choice and original backup?
 

Poborsky's hair

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That's exactly what he is and the player I was expecting Donny to be.

I don't really understand the calls for him to play in centre midfield. He played there last season but that was mostly to compensate for Ajax losing De Jong. Also the way in which he uses the ball, tidy, neat, that's not really what we need in the midfield position.

He's clearly a superior on the ball players to the likes of Fred and Matic but he has nowhere near their physicality. Against a lot of Premier League midfields he'd just get bullied in a deeper role. Also taking him away from the opposition box takes away his greatest strength, which is finding space in the penalty area to get shots off.
He played only once for us ain a deeper role if I am not mistaken and it was one of his better games. Some players coming form smaller teams might find a big competition ofr their spot so they need to adapt their game. Same way Ander managed to switch from no10 to no8, and few times as a 6. So there´s hope. VdB just lacks any drive to me now which is worrying. If it´s not going for you you should at least work as hard as you can. and he´s usually invisible. Even his shooting is terrible, he had few good chances in and around box but looked so uncomposed and the opposite of what we were looking for.

Looks like a bad move I am afraid. If he was good enough he would feature way more and you know while Mata and lingard will be sold there is Mejbri coming out of the academy soon and potentially Grealish/Sancho on the table too and Matic will be soon replaced as well. He doesn´t have much time to impress, and it would certainly sadden me if he was the replacement of Pogba.
 

Mcking

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I don't agree with this. He proved in the CL he's a good player. He is very popular with Dutch fans too for the national side.

He's a good player but just not right for us and I don't think he was Ole's preferred target. Feels like he was the back up or even the back up to the back up in the market.
I don't think he has proven anything. Always thought he was one of the least influential in that Ajax side. Schone was also decent in that side.

I have never seen any player with more excuses made for him. So far I've seen:

  • He is not Solskjaer's signing
  • He needs time to adapt to the League
  • We are not playing to his strengths
  • The players are not passing to him
  • He is lacking in confidence
  • He needs to play at attacking midfield
  • He needs to play as a central midfielder
  • He needs to play as a shadow striker
  • He needs a run of games
  • The other players are not on his wavelength
  • He can only play with players like Mata
When is everyone going to come to terms with the possibility that he just isn't very good, and that his underwhelming performances probably has do with his quality, and not with everyone else?
 

Nou_Camp99

what would Souness do?
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I don't think he has proven anything. Always thought he was one of the least influential in that Ajax side. Schone was also decent in that side.

I have never seen any player with more excuses made for him. So far I've seen:

  • He is not Solskjaer's signing
  • He needs time to adapt to the League
  • We are not playing to his strengths
  • The players are not passing to him
  • He is lacking in confidence
  • He needs to play at attacking midfield
  • He needs to play as a central midfielder
  • He needs to play as a shadow striker
  • He needs a run of games
  • The other players are not on his wavelength
  • He can only play with players like Mata
When is everyone going to come to terms with the possibility that he just isn't very good, and that his underwhelming performances probably has do with his quality, and not with everyone else?
I don't think he's as good as Bruno even playing at his best don't get me wrong but he is a good player.

Sometimes players just don't gel well when they move. It happens.

Thiago is struggling big time at Liverpool. 6 months ago people were calling him the best deep playmaker in the world.
 

Threesus

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I don't think he has proven anything. Always thought he was one of the least influential in that Ajax side. Schone was also decent in that side.

I have never seen any player with more excuses made for him. So far I've seen:

  • He is not Solskjaer's signing
  • He needs time to adapt to the League
  • We are not playing to his strengths
  • The players are not passing to him
  • He is lacking in confidence
  • He needs to play at attacking midfield
  • He needs to play as a central midfielder
  • He needs to play as a shadow striker
  • He needs a run of games
  • The other players are not on his wavelength
  • He can only play with players like Mata
When is everyone going to come to terms with the possibility that he just isn't very good, and that his underwhelming performances probably has do with his quality, and not with everyone else?
I think we are expecting him to demand the ball like Bruno and make something happen. I don't think he is that kind of player. And he is forever looking to play one twos outside/inside the box. Like just shoot it man.

In the end, I think he is a decent player but nothing more. Come to think of it, ziyech has kinda been disappointing for chelsea as well. I thought he was supposed to this wing wizard based on how people were raving about him. He is just spamming crosses from the right wing. Maybe we should do more research before buying from the dutch league.
 

RedDevilCanuck

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VDB, Mata and Diallo will be the front 3 for all europa games.

Sink or swim.

Rashford, Cavani and Bruno will be rested and will only be subs for Euopa with the exception of the finals and semi if we get there.

This will be VDB's opportunity.
 

Idxomer

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When is everyone going to come to terms with the possibility that he just isn't very good, and that his underwhelming performances probably has do with his quality, and not with everyone else?
You know the situation is dire when posters keep mentioning this one game against one of the worst teams in Turkey this season.
 

Tony247

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His on the ball technique is not an issue, physically he is at par and doesn't get bullied. I think it is just his position that is creating all the mess. It seems he, his teammates and the coaches are not on the same page. If they sort that out there is a very good player united has.
 

V.O.

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Not been a strong start for him at all, but he's by no means a write-off. Fred, for example, looked like an absolute fecking competition winner for multiple games in the not very distant past. Now after a run in the team and some confidence, I worry for our midfield when he's not in there.

Van de Beek comes to us much more highly regarded than Fred was, from a stronger league, and off the back of being a key performer in a very creditable Champions League run. He's earned the kind of faith, time, and chances that Fred was eventually given.
 

Polar

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I don´t care if he Donny himself says nr. 10 is his best position. He can´t play that role for us. His best games have been as one of the two sitting together with McTominay, and that´s the only hope I can see for him in this team.
I’m not very impressed by Donny so fare, but we
haven’t seen his potential yet. He’s been very careful and have played very very safe. I think we should wait with the conclusion until we have seen him play more freely and confident without being to careful, nervous or tied up.
 

LovelyLittlePanda

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This is actually not true at all. He has received plenty of critisism for his performance in the national team. Most don't want to see him in the starting line up.
Nonsense and a very misleading statement to boot.

Link me 2 of such criticisms. Only thing i can vaguely recall is Sneijder fawning all over him after highlighting his performance in the nations league.

Everyone and their grandma were calling for a midfield of De Jong, Gini and Donny during the last international break in November (and the previous ones). Many thought De Roon's inclusion was overly defensive, especially against weaker sides.

It made perfect sense as well considering Donnie scored more goals (9) in one season (2019-20) than De Jong (2) and VDB's competition of De Roon/Propper/Strootman (+2+2+2) combined.

Frenkie upping his attacking game in the last month or two and Donnie loss of form have obviously changed the equation, but this does not change the fact that fans of the orange were very vocal about wanting to see VDB rather than De Roon.
 

Frasbul

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He just isn't very good. That's why I was against the transfer in the first place. This is what I posted in August and I still stand by it:

"This is such a Fred type of signing. I can't believe that people are excited. In two years, we're gonna ask ourselves how we could ever spend 40M on a player that isn't better than our other options."

People got excited because they thought we were getting a player that was wanted by Real Madrid. Newsflash: That was probably just the papers talking. He isn't a bad player and he will go on to have a decent career, but I doubt that he will reach Lingard's top level. And yes, I went there.
 

NoneBmStore

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He just isn't very good. That's why I was against the transfer in the first place. This is what I posted in August and I still stand by it:

"This is such a Fred type of signing. I can't believe that people are excited. In two years, we're gonna ask ourselves how we could ever spend 40M on a player that isn't better than our other options."

People got excited because they thought we were getting a player that was wanted by Real Madrid. Newsflash: That was probably just the papers talking. He isn't a bad player and he will go on to have a decent career, but I doubt that he will reach Lingard's top level. And yes, I went there.
So like a 2020 version of Andy Van Der Meyde
 

Olecurls99

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He'll get the EL games to show something. That West Ham game was pretty bad and he needs to come out fighting if he wants any chance at this club.
He has the ability to play 8 or 10 which is where we've been playing him. He just needs to get the finger out.
 
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He just isn't very good. That's why I was against the transfer in the first place. This is what I posted in August and I still stand by it:

"This is such a Fred type of signing. I can't believe that people are excited. In two years, we're gonna ask ourselves how we could ever spend 40M on a player that isn't better than our other options."

People got excited because they thought we were getting a player that was wanted by Real Madrid. Newsflash: That was probably just the papers talking. He isn't a bad player and he will go on to have a decent career, but I doubt that he will reach Lingard's top level. And yes, I went there.
It was far more than paper talk to Madrid.

but just because Madrid wanted a player doesn’t mean that he’s right for United.
 

Terranova

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Vd Meyde was far more talented. He was just a boozing layabout. Donny works hard, but he's not that talented. A poor man's Dirk Kuyt if you will.

Ok that's harsh maybe.
That's totally not true, i get that Kuyt is your favorite player. But his only skills were working hard and sucking up to the manager.
The only reason he had a career was due to those skills and picking clubs where working hard is preferred over actually beign able to kick/pass a ball
 

Dve

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I’m not very impressed by Donny so fare, but we
haven’t seen his potential yet. He’s been very careful and have played very very safe. I think we should wait with the conclusion until we have seen him play more freely and confident without being to careful, nervous or tied up.
Yes, maybe, and I was thinking the same watching him in his first few games. But it´s been a while now, and I think we soon must demand more from him. But he´s still young, so he could of course improve. I think he´s been fine in a deeper role though, where his tidiness makes it easier to play out from the back.
 

LovelyLittlePanda

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That's totally not true, i get that Kuyt is your favorite player. But his only skills were working hard and sucking up to the manager.
The only reason he had a career was due to those skills and picking clubs where working hard is preferred over actually beign able to kick/pass a ball
Kuyt was a poor player compared to Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, etc, but let's not forget he scored 66 goals for an EPL team and did a serviceable job playing both fullback positions in the same world cup knock-out stage game. His technical ability was better than half of the players in that 2014 squad.

I think highly of Donnie, but I'd consider him to have had a good career if he reaches similar heights.
 

KirkDuyt

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That's totally not true, i get that Kuyt is your favorite player. But his only skills were working hard and sucking up to the manager.
The only reason he had a career was due to those skills and picking clubs where working hard is preferred over actually beign able to kick/pass a ball
God no he's not. I fecking hate Kuyt :lol:

I'd be carefull with talking up Donny over him though. Kuyt did far more in the Eredivisie, had a very good international career and was a respected if unremarkable player at Liverpool.

Donny so far made that yammy goal in Oranje and has been present on a football pitch in a United shirt. Of course he had the great CL campaign with Ajax, but Kuyt actually made (and scored in) the final.

Donny could actually stand to learn something from Kuyt's to versatility. He was a bit shit, sure, but he adepted and transformed his game from striker, to winger, to fullback and back to striker. Donny on the other hand can only play 1 extremely specific (and apparently unknown) role where everyone has to be in sync with him and the wind has to come from just the right direction to do well. If any of these conditions arent met, Donny does nothing through no fault of his own, because only Ajax actually knows how to play football and his team mates here are too daft to see the value of his brilliant runs into tiny pockets of space where another striker is already standing.

Sorry, bit of a rant.
 
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Mcking

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I don't think he's as good as Bruno even playing at his best don't get me wrong but he is a good player.

Sometimes players just don't gel well when they move. It happens.

Thiago is struggling big time at Liverpool. 6 months ago people were calling him the best deep playmaker in the world.
There's no comparison there. Thiago has had a reputation as one of the best midfielders around since he was young based on his performances. With Van de Beek, it's difficult to figure out where he's got his reputation from.

Even though Thiago's quality hasn't translated into positive results for Liverpool since he joined, I'd say he has shown glimpses of what made him one of the best midfielders around for years.

With Van de Beek there's no single quality he has shown that I'd consider above the average Premier League level and I don't think he has the performances at former clubs to give him the benefit of doubt. I categorically think that his underwhelming performances so far has been an issue of a relative lack of quality.
 

Chesterlestreet

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With Van de Beek there's no single quality he has shown that I'd consider above the average Premier League level and I don't think he has the performances at former clubs to give him the benefit of doubt. I categorically think that his underwhelming performances so far has been an issue of a relative lack of quality.
I hope you're wrong - but I don't disagree with the part in bold.
 

el3mel

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"Oh look, we have a player we bought for 45m and haven't used him that much, we're drawing, might as well throw him in last 15 minutes or so."

This entire transfer business has been an absolute farce.
 

OrcaFat

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Today he appeared to be brought on to keep possession in midfield, instead he keeps running up to their defensive line and standing in a marked position between three opponents. Ole kept directing him back into CM but he runs about aimlessly.

Harsh to blame him as we had totally lost our cool by the time he came on, but he is supposed to be neat and tidy and good at recycling possession which we needed so that Bruno could get forward and draw defenders out into the 10 position. What a mess.

I don’t think he is near ready for this team. Not sure how he’s going to get there either.
 

acnumber9

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He’s been poor so far but he should’ve been on at halftime with Greenwood for Fred and Martial. At least try something different.
 

Zoo

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Ole needs to start trusting him now with Pogba injured. This can’t go on.
 

tomaldinho1

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Today he appeared to be brought on to keep possession in midfield, instead he keeps running up to their defensive line and standing in a marked position between three opponents. Ole kept directing him back into CM but he runs about aimlessly.

Harsh to blame him as we had totally lost our cool by the time he came on, but he is supposed to be neat and tidy and good at recycling possession which we needed so that Bruno could get forward and draw defenders out into the 10 position. What a mess.

I don’t think he is near ready for this team. Not sure how he’s going to get there either.
Please tell me you have some proof and this isn't just a throwaway comment?
 

arnie_ni

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Today he appeared to be brought on to keep possession in midfield, instead he keeps running up to their defensive line and standing in a marked position between three opponents. Ole kept directing him back into CM but he runs about aimlessly.

Harsh to blame him as we had totally lost our cool by the time he came on, but he is supposed to be neat and tidy and good at recycling possession which we needed so that Bruno could get forward and draw defenders out into the 10 position. What a mess.

I don’t think he is near ready for this team. Not sure how he’s going to get there either.
I thought the opposite. Bruno dropped deep and dvb was pushed on. Looked tactical tbh
 

OrcaFat

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Please tell me you have some proof and this isn't just a throwaway comment?
Why would anyone make that up? Was clear on the tv footage. Ole was on the touch line shouting Donny at least twice and motioning with his arms to drop into the centre.
 

LovelyLittlePanda

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Ole needs to start trusting him now with Pogba injured. This can’t go on.
Donny won't change anything. OGS keeps persisting with our most out of form striker and our defense is awful. McFred didn't lose us that game, so why put Donny in other than to rest someone?
 

tomaldinho1

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Why would anyone make that up? Was clear on the tv footage. Ole was on the touch line shouting Donny at least twice and motioning with his arms to drop into the centre.
We'll need some proof of this - I saw Ole shouting and couldn't hear what he was saying. To suggest it was what you say is very specific and we'll need some evidence, like with the Lingard one where Ole threatened to sub him.
 

Holters

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Terrible cameo. Van De Beek is nothing like Pogba and he has just about zero attributes to make him a fit for United's double pivot. In the number 10 role he doesn't press enough. And we play with inverted wingers, so there is no room for him there either. Van De Beek doesn't fit our playstyle. I have no idea what we were thinking when we signed him. It's just fan fiction when people are calling for Van De Beek to play. Some people seems to believe he is a world beater just because there were some loose links to Real Madrid. I honestly believe most of these fans have never seen him play.
 

OrcaFat

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I thought the opposite. Bruno dropped deep and dvb was pushed on. Looked tactical tbh
That’s what happened, yes. Perhaps it was intentional but looking at footage of Ole shouting from the touch line Donny was being ushered back, I thought.

If deliberate it was not a very clever idea. Should have put James on and pushed Greenwood centre instead.
 

Bobski

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A 4-3-3 with a creative passer and, an all round 9 who can drop off and create and top class ball winning midfielder and he might be useful as a continuity/goal-scoring midfielder type.

The thing is, if we were not going to change formation to give Pogba that type of role, they sure as hell aren't going to for VDB. Tippy tappy nothingness.
 
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