[MadDogg]

Lingard is in the team because he's more direct than someone like Valencia, who like a robot tries to get to the byline and put in aimless crosses over and over. He's also more direct than a player like Mata who is far too static when he plays on the wing and offers very little goal threat, illustrated by his last PL goal being scored 3 and a half months ago.

I'm not saying he's a regular starter for the club, but the criticism he gets from some is silly considering how much worse some players are performing relative to their standing in the game. It's almost as if people think that dropping Lingard would magically improve Rooney and Mata's form.

Good post.

Lingard gets a bit of leeway for me for how he played when he first started getting regular games this season. Back in November or whenever it was, when we were at our absolute worst in terms of playing boring tumescent crap. He came in and was the only player who actually tried to play positively and trying to force things to happen. There were two or three games where he came off the bench and we instantly starting looking a little more likely to create something because he was running at people and creating space.

Now don't get me wrong, he still wasn't playing amazingly well during that period. But he was the only one in the team who showed the balls to try to make something happen.

Should he be our first choice? No he shouldn't. But at this moment in time I'm happy with him as a squad player

 

[Nighteyes]

Good cross for the goal

 

[Minimalist]

Problem is his all round play is still pretty wank. Assist was good though.

Needs to do more than just have good moments.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Nice assist.

 

[NinjaFletch]

Another nice moment for him today, looks unlucky with that offside at the end of the half as well.

 

[Rado_N]

Great leap to get out of the way of the first goal

 

[Randall Flagg]

He has had a good half I think

 

[drdoityourself]

Good half from him.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Big improvement from that horror show from him on Thursday.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Been very good. I really like this guy. Great to watch.

 

[Lawman]

Been very good. I really like this guy. Great to watch.

You are drunk yes he did well today but he is the definition of average!

 

[Cheesy]

Good to get an assist, but thought he was very quiet mostly apart from that.

 

[dichinero]

Did well today. Quiet but efficient!

 

[Santiago_KinderBueno]

The haters will hate. The guy is doing the best he can in a position that is not his own.

Without him we wouldn't have half the spaces to attack to and thats just by his positioning

 

[Di Maria's angel]

You are drunk yes he did well today but he is the definition of average!

Come on. 5 goals and 4 assists in his debut (sort of) season. He works really hard and has shown himself to be very efficient going forward.

 

[kundalini]

Really good performance today. Didn't look at all out of place.

 

[JawZ]

Quietly performing throughout, came alive when it was needed the most.

 

[Devil may care]

Put lots of work in and got an assist, he's a good steady Eddie.

 

[Nighteyes]

He's not as talented as some of the others but a decent season so far considering he's playing out of position. Good squad player for me

 

[Norris]

Him and Varela kept Sanchez absolutely quiet. And an Assist to boot as well. He's fulfilling SAF prophecy quietly and efficiently.

 

[Norris]

He's not as talented as some of the others but a decent season so far considering he's playing out of position. Good squad player for me

He's not playing out of position. Played on the RW most of the times for U21 and U18 as well (Although, at that level they get shunted about quite a bit).

 

[Lawman]

Come on. 5 goals and 4 assists in his debut (sort of) season. He works really hard and has shown himself to be very efficient going forward.

Can't disagree with what you are saying but he is not good enough to be a starter nowhere near

 

[The_Midfielder]

Performed his defensive duties...Him and Varela kept Sanchez quiet..Had an assist. . What more do peeps here want?

 

[Robbie Boy]

I'm happy enough with that performance.

 

[RedFish]

Come on. 5 goals and 4 assists in his debut (sort of) season. He works really hard and has shown himself to be very efficient going forward.

Agree. I think he's an excellent prospect especially his knack of getting into goal scoring positions.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

He was good today. Done his job, and contributed another assist.

 

[criticalanalysis]

The good parts of his game are very underappreciated. Sure he was trying a bit hard in the second half and lost the ball more than necessary. But if you watch the game back it's hard to find a passing move he wasn't involved in - if you want high-tempo passing, you need players like him who have that knack of getting available for a pass and always knowing who they're going to move it on to so it only takes one touch. And he must have won the ball back more than anyone, it was Welbeck-level harrying from the front.

I'm not claiming he's some superstar or anything, but his performance today is getting harsh reviews. You don't get performances like Memphis's today without performances like Lingard's alongside him.

This post is all you need to know about Lingard's game really, especially the bolded part.

It's a VERY underrated quality.

 

[Nickosaur]

Gets a lot of stick, and I've slated him in the past, but credit where it's due, a good performance today.

 

[ottosec]

He was very good today.

 

[moxdevil]

He's our Pedro (in his Barca days). Not as gifted as those around him but making a useful contribution to the side whilst we wait for something better. He's a good squad player.

 

[limerickcitykid]

He's not playing out of position. Played on the RW most of the times for U21 and U18 as well (Although, at that level they get shunted about quite a bit).

He almost always played on the left for the u21s. Adnan and Larnell Cole usually played on the right.

 

[DrunkenBeaver]

Think he'd be better through the middle.

 

[Nighteyes]

He's not playing out of position. Played on the RW most of the times for U21 and U18 as well (Although, at that level they get shunted about quite a bit).

He's a LW.

Not only is he out of position but this role requires him to beat his full back on the outside which again has never been his main strength.

 

[limerickcitykid]

Are you sure ? I distinctly remember Larnell playing on the left and Jesse on the right.

Yes. Transfermarkt also has him largely playing on the left and he always wore the 11 for left wing.

 

[FromTheBench]

He's the new Ji Sung Park.

 

[The White Pele]

Thought he played with real maturity today and showed good decision making for a relatively young player.

I think he has that streak about him of doing what is needed to get a result in big games e.g buying free kicks to relieve pressure, stopping the opposition from breaking quickly

 

[Bwuk]

I think today was one of his best games for us, and I'm not even one of his biggest fans. Very good today.

 

[Sylar]

From what ive seen, the best thing about him is the simple things. Give and go, good cross on him, movement to get into great positions.

When he tries to take on people like Memphis, more often than not it doesnt work.

Thought he had a good game today.

 

[Brightonian]

From what ive seen, the best thing about him is the simple things. Give and go, good cross on him, movement to get into great positions.

When he tries to take on people like Memphis, more often than not it doesnt work.

Thought he had a good game today.

This pretty much sums him up, yep. His technical basics are all top notch, and he's got the brain and vision to make attacking moves happen. He won't often be the player to beat a man. But you need someone like Lingard on the pitch to work the likes of Martial and Memphis into the positions where they can do the damage, to keep the attack fluid and the tempo high.

 

[entropy]

Would like to see him link up more often with our RBs. He can't do much by himself but with the likes of Darmian or Varela supporting him can lead to a better end product. Both Darmian and Varela are great crossers too.