If only... Vidic had stayed

[Cheech Wizard]

He's been bad for Inter so far, just made a terrible mistake against Palermo.

 

[|Neo|x]

 

[Santos J]

God knows what he was trying to do there.

 

[devilish]

Vidic's and Evra's time was up. Our only mistake is to stick to the present defense which is made up of overrated and injury prone players. The signing of Silvestr erm Rojo won't help.

 

[jem]

The Vidic of the last few seasons would hardly be the cure to what ails us. Both he and Rio are clearly past it. It's our flawed succession planning that has hurt us.

 

[DWelbz19]

As I said before in this thread, he simply wasn't good enough. He's having a terrible season thus far.

 

[Kounan]

... this would not have happened.

A bit of experience (and physicality!) was very much needed today to prevent a total collapse like that.

It would as he was NEVER able to play a high line, we have seen what have fast players done against him while playing high line.

 

[crappycraperson]

The Vidic of the last few seasons would hardly be the cure to what ails us. Both he and Rio are clearly past it. It's our flawed succession planning that has hurt us.

Easy to call it flawed now. Both Smalling and Jones were highly rated English youngsters with plenty of top PL clubs after them. Both can still come good as well. What we needed was someone like Evans stepping up as he is pretty much entering his prime. His failure to do so has been critical.

 

[::sonny::]

He has been a disaster there

 

[NoLogo]

Yeah seriously the Vida of last season wouldn't have helped us at all in our current situation.

 

[footballgirl07]

Every time we let in goals or a poor defensive display, the commentators roll at the same line...if only they had Ferdinand or Vidic. As a leader, yeah but not they are not at that level of quality anymore.

 

[ThanksBoss26]

For leadership and organisation, yes.

For his actual play, no. Him, Evra and Ferdinand, legends though they are, are all way past their best.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

He's having a horrible time over in Italy.

Red card on his debut, gifted a goal last week and gives a stupid pen away today. For me, I thought it was the right time for him to go and it's looking like that is the case. I hope he picks his form up because he is one of my favourite players ever, but on current evidence it seems like he's really struggling.

 

[HabeasC]

He's having a horrible time over in Italy.

Red card on his debut, gifted a goal last week and gives a stupid pen away today. For me, I thought it was the right time for him to go and it's looking like that is the case. I hope he picks his form up because he is one of my favourite players ever, but on current evidence it seems like he's really struggling.

Reading the inter forums about him is pretty saddening. I don't think I have ever seen someone called a brainfarter so much, let alone expected it to be Vidic.

 

[Acole9]

Judging from what I've seen and heard of how he's done at Inter so far maybe it was the right decision to let him leave.

 

[KM]

I'm glad he's left. We need to give one season to Jones/Evans/Smalling to establish themselves in the center back position. If they don't do it then bin them but they need to be given the opportunity.

Said this two weeks ago and still stand by this.

I'm glad him and Evra left. Both of them have been terrific servants but it was the right time for them to go.

 

[Raoul]

His leadership and experience would've been helpful, even though he is a couple of years off his prime.

 

[Get In Scholesy]

I love Vida, but honestly if he had stayed, I wouldn't want him partaking in much matches rather than the odd cup game or so. He seems to be so past it unfortunately, so if he stayed his main purpose would be to groom our younger centre halves and mentor them as they grow into first team regulars themselves. That would be his most ideal roll at this stage, but I don't think the Club wanted to pay first team wages to someone who wasn't going to play week in and week out. United are known (mainly in Fergie's first 20 years at the club) for letting go of players at the right time. Although he has vast amounts of experience, physically he seems gone and it also seems it was the right time to let him go.

Still one of my favourite defenders of all time and a club legend.

 

[Will Singh]

What part of we're rebuilding our team don't people understand? Yes we are looking weak at the the back but we have 3 of our main centre backs injured!! We can't start saying "if only" when we haven't had a run of games with our strongest side together.


Once we get everyone back and deal with the injury situation, we can only then say right we need this that and the other, agree we're lacking a leader but we have to give our defenders a chance other wise you might as well start cricising Falcao as he hasn't scored yet and start saying if only we kept Welbz!!

Come on lads lets give them all a fair chance....

 

[Hojoon]

I watched two Inter games this season and he was a disaster in both of them. He's a club legend, but it was the right time to leave.

 

[Sam]

It was the right decision to let Vida, Rio and Evra go, they are all well past their best.

The issue is that we failed to replace the former two sufficiently.

 

[Woodzy]

I watched two Inter games this season and he was a disaster in both of them. He's a club legend, but it was the right time to leave.

Yep. Letting Vidic leave was the right decision. The real mistake was not having a replacement lined up.

 

[itso 7]

Vidic would have struggled with this high backline and building from the back lark that LVG sees as the cornerstones of his 'philosophy'. It was the right time to let him go and it's never a pretty sight to see a living legend on his last legs having online analysts sticking the boot into him.

 

[itso 7]

It was the right decision to let Vida, Rio and Evra go, they are all well past their best.

The issue is that we failed to replace the former two sufficiently.

I'd say Luke Shaw is an upgrade on the Evra we saw in his last two seasons, defensively. Whilst I think we had to give the three of Smalling, Evans and Jones the chance to stake a claim as heirs to Rio and Vidic, having spent years justifying relatively huge transfer fees on the pretext of succession management, we simply had to see if either had it in them to assume leadership of that defense for this season. Now they seem to be too injury prone I'm sure steps are being taken to resolve the situation. LVG will not feck around and let a couple of glass defenders cost him his swan song, he will swing the axe.

 

[Cletus]

I think he would have been ok marshalling a back 3, but in truth I'm glad he's not here to do a Gary Neville. Also it doesn't look like he'll do a Jaap Stam the way he's going.

 

[Loublaze]

Vidic's and Evra's time was up. Our only mistake is to stick to the present defense which is made up of overrated and injury prone players. The signing of Silvestr erm Rojo won't help.

SMDH

 

[::sonny::]

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[dev1l]

gem of a thread...

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Yep. Letting Vidic leave was the right decision. The real mistake was not having a replacement lined up.

I honestly think that Fergie expected Phil Jones to replace Vidic. It's just annoying that Jones has been played everywhere but centre back in the last 3 years prior to this season, and it's even more annoying that he's constantly injured. I still have faith he will step up though.

 

[Gannicus]

Letting Vidic go when we did was the right decision.

The more dubious decision was to believe Jonny Evans could raise his game from his dire level of the past three seasons.

 

[Robbie Boy]

He was the only one I really had an issue with leaving. I thought his experience could have really helped us. But watching him look a shell of his former self at Inter, maybe it was right to let him go.

Our biggest mistake was not investing properly in CB. Relying on the erratic and injury prone trio of Jones, Smalling and Evans was just criminal. Rojo looks ok so far and Blackett and McNair have done well; but we badly needed a strong leader in there. I would hate to think what a team like Chelsea would be capable of doing to our defence. There is a massive lack of organisation in there and we literally capitulate when we are on the back foot. It's not good.

 

[red_7]

He is exactly the character we need and even if way past his best still at least of equal quality to what we have.

He have to move on but, before the West Ham goal we lost 3 headers in the box. Unimaginable with Vidic on the field!

 

[marlowe78]

I honestly think that Fergie expected Phil Jones to replace Vidic. It's just annoying that Jones has been played everywhere but centre back in the last 3 years prior to this season, and it's even more annoying that he's constantly injured. I still have faith he will step up though.

I don't see him ever really doing that. Jones can be a very good defender but Vidic is one of those few who can intimidate attackers who want to challenge him. I just don't see Jones being that kind of defender.

 

[Kag]

It was the right decision to let Vida, Rio and Evra go, they are all well past their best.

The issue is that we failed to replace the former two sufficiently.

We could have. We bought the raw material. Ferguson's management of that, however, was simply laughable.

Phil Jones is starting his fourth season at the club and has yet to start more than 5 consecutive league games at centre half. Experience, eh? Geriatrics held us back for far too long.

 

[Sampy93]

There's a time for a player to leave. Time for jones and co to step up, we desperately need them.
From an attribute standpoint alone, the only thing we will truly miss is that warrior role he played for us. Yes, Jones puts his body on the line and Rojo seems a feisty so and so, but it's that mentality that vida had which might be truly missed.
Now whether one of our centre backs develops that mentality is another question.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

We miss the Vidic from 2006-2011.

He was never the same after he did his knee in Basel.

 

[RedMilo]

It was the right time for him & Rio to go, ust wish we had bought others in over the last few seasons to bed in replacements.

 

[MTR]

I believe he was worse than Rio during last season.

 

[bugmat]

Vidic has given away 3 penalties in the slow Serie A so far in about 5 games - no it was time for him to go..the problem is just that we didn't get in a suitable replacement.