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Donny van de Beek Netherlands flag

2021-22 Performances


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5.7 Season Average Rating
Appearances
14
Goals
1
Assists
0
Yellow cards
1
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I'd still like to see him given a proper chance in the first Xl and a run of a few games. Hardly fair to fully judge him until then.

Think he and Fred would make a good pair.


I don’t think he has it to play in a two, not in the Premier League at least. In a three, possibly, but it’s starting to look difficult for him. I think Rangnick will give him a couple more chances though.
 
Is it at all possible that he’s just not that good?

He needs more minutes but at some point he’s going to need to really stamp his mark on a game or two. “Probably better than McTominay” isn’t the quality we should be aiming for.
 
Just to give some context, this is an OptaJoe post from September (latest I can find):

Donny Van De Beek has made 38 appearances for Man Utd but has played just 1510 minutes for the club across those matches, averaging just 40 minutes per appearance.
 
For someone who has played so little for whatever reasons, Donnie is either some pinata for some to beat up on or some mythical creature that will come save United.

He is basically Ole 2.0.

#alwayspolemic
 
I agree with all of you that are intelligent and in touch with modern football, nay, not just modern football but the sport in general. I can’t believe that a player brought into this wonderful club and plucked gracefully from the shackles that is Ajax after fluking their way to a Champions League semi final would be so arrogant.

I mean he’s played every game for us since that transfer and has been absolutely shite. Not only that but he has kept such fan favourites as Fred and McTominay out of the team while doing so. I know that the rest of the real intellectual football supporters know that midfield is the strongest part of our team.

Now onto tonight. I simply can’t believe that he lost us a place in the Champions League while managed by our new coach that can improve a team in 2 hours, and while playing with our strongest starting 11 in such a big game. He kept making this terrible midfield mistake of showing for the ball and trying to dictate the game. This lead him to make a mistake leading to their goal. Any proper football fan knows that midfielders should never be available for a pass.

Like you I understand football to a huge extent and know already that DVB has been given the exact platform that he needs to be able to prove himself. Also I know that his failure has moved the smartest of our supporters on from Eric Ten Haag. How can he manage United when he can’t manage to see that Donny is such a shit player.

Oh and like you I think all of our young players that play in their first proper senior match are terrible too.

I only wish to find a time when the club board is smart enough to appoint the top RedCafe posters to run the team, then we will be surely certain of glory.

I’m so grateful that the match day threads exist on Recafe and a little bird told me that Pep himself often looks there for knowledge.

You are all a bunch of knee-jerk pricks and to the guy that is asking why the crowd still sings Ole’s name then maybe go back and watch the 99 CL final. Seriously during a match this place is like an audition for who is the dumbest person that ever lived. Well done you all tied for first place.

Apparently Rome wasn't built in a day but now I realise that all they were lacking was this forum.
IMO sarcastic posts work better when they're not mini essays. I lost the will to live after paragraph two.
 
He has always played in 5 min cameos with the first team. Whenever he's played more or started is when the b side is out.

Today whenever he had the ball he had either mata or lingard nearby to pass to, mata is passed it and got regularly out muscled while lingard was flat footed and couldn't be arsed.

Donny will only be fairly judged when he plays consecutive games with the strongest xi.
What has he ever done to deserve that though? We can only judge him on his performances whoever he plays with and he's been poor.
 
Terrible today. If McTominay had performed like that he’d be slaughtered.

that’s true but I’m not going in on any players tonight. We never learn anything from these rotated squads. We always end up sucking by the end. Minutes for a few, shop window for others (not that we ever sell anyone :wenger:) and vital experience for the young lads. Hopefully doesn’t turn Rangnick into Ole 2.0 from a rotation standpoint. A draw was always going to be a credible result tonight.
 
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No glaring weaknesses, has already proven himself capable of functioning in a setup which suits him, all very well and very nice...But on the flip side he doesn't seem to have many - if any - standout traits.

I'll be surprised if he turns out to be a genuine asset for us. Could turn out to be a useful player, mind - and I'd take that, by all means.

He's a bit bland, all things said and done.

(That said, I largely agree with those saying this wasn't exactly an ideal match to judge him on).
 
I'm simply going off the general feeling of this forum that I interpret. To be honest I love Fred and I think Scott is an important squad player but I think the gerneral feeling on here is that central midfield is our problem. And the stats will show that VDB has nowhere near the chances that the other 2 have.
Well, there are silent majorities. But, I don’t think it wise to just write off VDB due to that error or his overall performance in this game. Everything has to be analyzed based on the circumstances. Let’s see how Ralf integrates VDB into the team.
 
Why are people saying this? McTominay has put these kinds of performances every game and he's not taken even the least amount of criticism for it. Fred is the one that generally gets the stick even though he is far more useful than McTominay.
Have you seen McT's thread ?
He gets crucified regardless of how he performed.
 
What has he ever done to deserve that though? We can only judge him on his performances whoever he plays with and he's been poor.
No you can only judge him on the idea he’s not good enough based on the opportunities he’s been given. You can’t judge him on 5 minute cameos or playing with the B team. And I don’t trust Ole at all. Donny is used to systems. Rangnick will provide that and assess him in training. If he then deems him not good enough, I will listen.
 
He was not great tonight. The forcing passes didn't really work and he was peripheral when we really needed to get a grip of things.

Obviously there is an asterisk attached in that Mata is nobody's ideal partner and he had a lot to do in midfield given the composition of the side. But I don't think he did the basics particularly well, the technique he supposedly has was not really on show. I'm not sure it would have impressed RR and given him pause to drop McTominay.
 
Making it easier for an under performing McTomminay to walk back into the side.
 
He adds nothing to the team.

Fred and Mctominay aren't great but at least their strengths can be identified. They offer far more to the team than VDB.
 
He misplaced 12 passes which was more than anyone else in the team. One of those led to us conceding.

Rangnick also just spoke in his post match interview about how he told the players before the game not to pass into the oppositions first line of pressing which is exactly what VDB was doing.

I caught that too. He didn't name names, but it was in response to the goal conceded and it was quite clearly aimed at Donny's habitual pass choice in that position.
 
Love the Ole was vindicated comments thou, like we signed VDB under someone else.
 
Love the Ole was vindicated comments thou, like we signed VDB under someone else.
If Ole actually wanted VDB, he made a terrible case to show that he did. I fully believe that VDB was a club signing. If Ole really wanted him, he would have played him for more than he did. Unless the belief is we spent £40m on Bruno's backup. Even for us, that sounds insane.
 
I'm with you, a cock up for the goal but lots of positives, tenacious, strong tackling, wish he hadn't mouthed off to the manager though, dont think that will do him any favours.

@GifLord I think this was when he got subbed?

74 passes, 83.8% accuracy, 92 touches

Most passes, most touches, our biggest ball winner by far

Basically a Fred performance. All pretty good without being very impactful going forward and made a mistake

This sort of confirms my judgement of his game, which was generally a decent to good performance for a team that needed some central stability. He did everything I expected from him in that position.

Don't understand what people were expecting with Mata next to him and 4 roaming attackers ahead.
 
@GifLord I think this was when he got subbed?



This sort of confirms my judgement of his game, which was generally a decent to good performance for a team that needed some central stability. He did everything I expected from him in that position.

Don't understand what people were expecting with Mata next to him and 4 roaming attackers ahead.
this?
 
I was pleasantly surprised by his tackling. I still prefer to see him in CM for a while before judging him. He played with Lingard and Mata and that's hardly the time to judge him.
 

I am in the concept if a coach gave you a bollocking he sees you in his plan and has big hope on you. On the other hand RR didnt give a feck about AWB, Matic, Mata and Lingard who all played like dross
 
Cannot take too much stock in a match where your central midfield partner, closest to the two CBs (one of which should have been your partner, an actual CM and CDM too boot), is Juan Mata.

Time and again, it has been proven that VDB is best as an 8 or advanced 10/SS.

Rangnick did a disservice to VDB by playing Mata next to him, in addition to letting Lingard play a more advanced role.
 
So many excuses for this guy whenever he doesn't play well.

He cost us a goal against West Ham and he cost us another last night. Was also clear from the post match interview that Ralf felt the pass he made for the goal was the opposite of what the team was instructed to do.
 
He's not a DM. Non of our midfielders would look good paired with Mata and Lingard.
I was hoping Ralf would bring Mengi on at CB and put Matic next to Donny.

IMO he is not worse than McTominay. He is a bit weaker but his passing is better.

Anyway we need new midfielder in January otherwise we will struggle in second half of the season.
 
If you play Greenwood in an under-21 game, you'd expect him to dominate and score 2 or 3. If he doesn't, you'd be disappointed.

If you play Donny in an under-21 game and his highlight is an assist to the opposition:

- He needs more minutes.
- He did not know the other players.
- He is not used to play for under 21.
- His partner was Bebe.
- He is better than Bebe.
- It was raining.
- He did not play in his favorite position.
- He did not play at his favorite time of the day.
- That team is not build around him.
- He needs more minutes.
 
If you play Greenwood in an under-21 game, you'd expect him to dominate and score 2 or 3. If he doesn't, you'd be disappointed.

If you play Donny in an under-21 game and his highlight is an assist to the opposition:

- He needs more minutes.
- He did not know the other players.
- He is not used to play for under 21.
- His partner was Bebe.
- He is better than Bebe.
- It was raining.
- He did not play in his favorite position.
- He did not play at his favorite time of the day.
- That team is not build around him.
- He needs more minutes.

Seems legit.
 
If you play Greenwood in an under-21 game, you'd expect him to dominate and score 2 or 3. If he doesn't, you'd be disappointed.

If you play Donny in an under-21 game and his highlight is an assist to the opposition:

- He needs more minutes.
- He did not know the other players.
- He is not used to play for under 21.
- His partner was Bebe.
- He is better than Bebe.
- It was raining.
- He did not play in his favorite position.
- He did not play at his favorite time of the day.
- That team is not build around him.
- He needs more minutes.

In fairness it would be easier for Greenwood to score a couple in an U-21 game than for DVB to play brilliantly in a deep midfield role with Mata as his designated "partner". And not just because Greenwood is a better player who has certain qualities to his game that are likely to shine through regardless of the circumstances.

However, it seems obvious enough that if DVB did have something close to those qualities, he'd find a way to demonstrate them.

His performance yesterday can be summed up thus: fairly tidy if unremarkable except for a very untidy feck-up which led to a goal against us. It goes without saying that if this was Fred or McTominay, they'd be absolutely slaughtered on here by a number of vocal posters.
 
Seems like the Ole supporters are holding a grudge against VdB because their legend was a sh*t football coach. VdB wil come good; he finished the game yesterday for a reason, the mistake notwithstanding, whereas both his midfield parterns were hauled off.
 
What has he ever done to deserve that though? We can only judge him on his performances whoever he plays with and he's been poor.
What has McT ever done over months and years to be allowed to start games? I am not going to argue that VdB will be our Keane, but he deserves a run of games.
 
Anyone putting massive emphasis on last night is having a laugh.

The pass for the goal wasn't great, but AWB literally turned his back on play and was having his customary nap. VDB would likely have made the pass assuming the basic competence of AWB being alert.

He also played in a double pivot with Juan Mata FFS. In a team with an average age of 12.

I will judge VDB on performances in games that matter, when he has our best players around him. That goal doesnt get scored today if he passes to anyone but AWB as they would be facing the ball and alert to the pass. With that said, he should know better than to pass to that waste of space in the first place.
 
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I fully believe that VDB was a club signing.

I don't think so if by "club signing" you mean someone who was forced on Ole in any shape or form.

When Ole was made permanent manager United (and that would obviously include Ole himself) had a short list of candidates for an attacking midfielder/No 10-ish/playmaker-ish type of player. And DVB was apparently on that list - but behind the likes of Grealish, Maddison and, eventually, Bruno.

In other words, United were in for DVB well before we picked him up - but he was never targeted as a deeper midfielder or even as an allrounder: he was intended for the same general role as Bruno. And then we bought him - on top of Bruno, as it were. Which simply looks like an odd/poor/unnecessary move in hindsight. It has to be on Ole, though, ultimately - since there is no reason to think that VDB would've ever arrived if Ole had been positively against the move.
 
Donny van de Beek is no better than Davy Klaassen, Siem de Jong or Guus Til. He will never really succeed anywhere outside the Dutch league.

Never.
 
Seems like the Ole supporters are holding a grudge against VdB because their legend was a sh*t football coach. VdB wil come good; he finished the game yesterday for a reason, the mistake notwithstanding, whereas both his midfield parterns were hauled off.
There may be a good player in there somewhere. He probably needs a lot of game time to get more confidence, saying that, so do others and he has no special right to play. It's all down to whether or not he gets picked and can actually turn up and not make mistakes when he does get picked.

When they were preparing to walk out of the tunnel. Donny was well up for it, jumping up and down and clapping and shouting 'come on'. What was more interesting was that all the other players just ignored him (and I am talking about kids coming through). Its almost like no-one believes in him because he doesn't really believe in himself.
 
Making it easier for an under performing McTomminay to walk back into the side.

I appreciate I’m probably one of only a handful on here that thinks this, but I think Scott was MOTM against Spurs, decent against Chelsea and Arsenal - I don’t agree with this shocking all season narrative (I know they’re not your words).
 
There may be a good player in there somewhere. He probably needs a lot of game time to get more confidence, saying that, so do others and he has no special right to play. It's all down to whether or not he gets picked and can actually turn up and not make mistakes when he does get picked.

When they were preparing to walk out of the tunnel. Donny was well up for it, jumping up and down and clapping and shouting 'come on'. What was more interesting was that all the other players just ignored him (and I am talking about kids coming through). Its almost like no-one believes in him because he doesn't really believe in himself.
I agree, he has no special right to play. But I want players like McT and Fred (he was good this weekend of course) to be held to the same standards.

Let's not forget this: VdB has NEVER got a run of games in his time at United. Never. People talking about him as Dutch league quality are ignorant of how brilliant he was for Ajax in the champions league.
 
Thought he was alright personally - was given a hospital pass by Matic for their goal, although he could have played it safer (sometimes you need to get rid), but other than that was tenacious and energetic. One great moment was his calmness under pressure in the box, backheeling a ball for Bailly to clear.
 
Some good bits, and some bad bits of play from him, which is not good imo. Guilty for the goal and tried to hold the midfield alongside Mata and Lingard, that I think even Makelele would have a hard time.
 
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