Our Defence - Has it actually been fixed?

PlayerOne

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McTominay basically had to sit in front of Lindelof simply because Victor can not be trusted to win physical duels. I have my issues with Maguire but he can't do Lindelof's job as well as his own.

Smalling was also criticised along the same lines while partnering Lindelof, maybe just get rid of the guy who is the obvious target for the opposition and get someone who doesn't need a babysitter. Not as if he provides huge positives to offset his weak areas.
Look, I don't rate Lindelof one bit. I would have sold him long time ago and kept Smalling.

But Maguire is getting away with murder here, he kept dropping deep every time they were on the attack, and if it wasn't for DDG he would get slated too.
 

PlayerOne

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Maguire is an OK squad player but he will never elevate the performances of the defence.

The fact United are linked with Tyrone Mings in the press worries me.
Squad player? No chance of that under Ole. He clearly rates him, he put a lot on him. Made him captain, plays every games. Plays no matter what, he's going nowhere.

We better find a CB in the summer that can do his job and Maguire's job too. If we get Mings, we might as well write the season off.
 

Isotope

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Is he?

Maguire must know that he's the only CB whose good in air. He should stay at the back and he should make sure to mark the main striker himself. That didn't happened. Shaw and Lindelof are being forced to engage in aerial duels that every man and his dog knows that they are going to lose.
That's why we need another CB who's simply good on heading. Not just another midget.
 

MU655

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I'm not convinced by Maguire, but he is better than Lindelof based on actually being able to win a ball in there. He seems to be just as liable to messing up as Lindelof, though. Almost cost us a goal today by being too weak.

We need someone fast; someone you can trust to chase someone down. They need to be strong and preferably tall too, so they can make up for their partner's inadequacies.
 

MattofManchester

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I'm honestly growing into the thought process that we have the worst defence in the top 6.

Well based on goals conceded, it certainly seems that way.
 

TheMitz

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Together they are dire. Maguire looks a interrelated with Bailly alongside him.

They just don't work as a pairing.
 

BusbyMalone

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Keep saying it, but Maguire is a big, big problem for us. Ole has, for some reason, decided that he is our main man. He gave him the captaincy, he starts every game and he will not be dropped despite the fact that he's clearly not good enough. The only thing that will change all that is when a new manager comes in and decides he doesn't like him. But even then it's going to be a huge call due to his fee and captaincy.

We got ourselves into a situation here, fair play.
 

Bobski

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Smalling between 15-18 is still the best defender we have had in the post Fergie years, as ugly as his game may have been.
 

Skills

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Keep saying it, but Maguire is a big, big problem for us. Ole has, for some reason, decided that he is our main man. He gave him the captaincy, he starts every game and he will not be dropped despite the fact that he's clearly not good enough. The only thing that will change all that is when a new manager comes in and decides he doesn't like him. But even then it's going to be a huge call due to his fee and captaincy.

We got ourselves into a situation here, fair play.
He signed him for a WR fee for a defender. Ole has tied his fate to Harry Maguire's - unless they both come good, unfortunately for Ole his managerial career might be defined as the guy who made Harry Maguire the most expensive defender of all time.
 

BusbyMalone

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He signed him for a WR fee for a defender. Ole has tied his fate to Harry Maguire's - unless they both come good, unfortunately for Ole his managerial career might be defined as the guy who made Harry Maguire the most expensive defender of all time.
Yeah, unfortunately, I can't see that happening for either of them. Ultimately, I think they're both going to "fail" I think Ole has done a good job at United in the main, but can't see him taking us to where we need to be. As for Maguire...I just really don't rate him at all. Nowhere near good enough.
 

PlayerOne

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Smalling between 15-18 is still the best defender we have had in the post Fergie years, as ugly as his game may have been.
Didn't make sense at the time, makes even less sense now. The myth of being crap on the ball killed him before he got a fair chance.
 

Bobski

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Didn't make sense at the time, makes even less sense now. The myth of being crap on the ball killed him before he got a fair chance.
He was very limited on the ball, but I think we got to a place in modern football where huge value has been placed on a CB being good on the ball, when ultimately they still need to be a good defender first. I think he has dropped a level physically in the last 2 years, struggles when playing 3 games a week, so maybe it was the right time to move on.
 

PlayerOne

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He was very limited on the ball, but I think we got to a place in modern football where huge value has been placed on a CB being good on the ball, when ultimately they still need to be a good defender first. I think he has dropped a level physically in the last 2 years, struggles when playing 3 games a week, so maybe it was the right time to move on.
Selling a defender due to his limited ball playing skills make no sense to me when we brought a RB who is limited on the ball for £50m
 

Stacks

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The defence is a mess. Our FBs can't cross, our CB lack pace, positioning and leadership and our GK struggles to leave the line. Lindelof is clearly not good enough same as Tuanzebe and Bailly. However you don't spend 80m on a CB only to have to spend another 80m on an adequate partner for him.
Shaw is excellent crosser
 

Bobski

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Selling a defender due to his limited ball playing skills make no sense to me when we brought a RB who is limited on the ball for £50m
True, especially considering the importance of full backs to the attacking game, for me far more crucial than that extra ball playing ability at CB

AWB still has room to develop, occasionally he flashes improvements in that area, but we could absolutely do with an alternative option, the non crocked Rafael to Brown balance.
 

Smores

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Shaw is one of europes on form left backs and then you've got two hugely expensive signings in AWB and Maguire. We shouldn't be defensively suspect, especially playing two defensively sound midfielders in front.

I think we desperately need a new coach who can sort out the defence and help Ole. You'd think a few of his mates would be interested.
 

RedIan

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i genuinely feel one solid center back signing, to replace Victor, a player who has pace and passion and strength Would fix it. the weak link in the team is that Centre back pairing of Harry and Victor. It has to be number one priority in summer Even over RW.
 

AFC NimbleThumb

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I feel sorry for whatever CB we sign in the summer, amyone expecting one man to revolutionise that back line is in for a surprise.

At this point only Shaw should be comfortably assured of his place going forward. Perhaps AWB.
 

criticalanalysis

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Is he?

Maguire must know that he's the only CB whose good in air. He should stay at the back and he should make sure to mark the main striker himself. That didn't happened. Shaw and Lindelof are being forced to engage in aerial duels that every man and his dog knows that they are going to lose.
Lindelof being piss in the air is a given but was Shaw bad? i didn't really notice but Shaw is usually very good in the air. He rarely gets beaten because he has a good leap, is strong (broad shoulders/upper body strength) and good positioning. Even if he doesn't win the header directly, the attacker rarely gets good enough contact.
 

Machine Elements

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Rojo was fecking shit.

So if Lindelof, not saying i'd be keeping him, but Rojo was crap.
No, he wasn't. People said the same about Bailly & Pogba too and now they're class again after a couple of good performances. The rating of our players here changes daily which is absurd. Even though Rojo was not a world beater, he was good enough to be a squad player here. For one thing, he never got bullied by opposition attackers like Lindelöf does constantly. He had quite good periods with us Lindelöf never reached. The only reason we have Lindelöf & Maguire as our main CBs is they're the most recent CB signings and not because of their quality. And we changed our CBs with worse players while spending a fortune.
 

devilish

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Lindelof being piss in the air is a given but was Shaw bad? i didn't really notice but Shaw is usually very good in the air. He rarely gets beaten because he has a good leap, is strong (broad shoulders/upper body strength) and good positioning. Even if he doesn't win the header directly, the attacker rarely gets good enough contact.
Shaw isn't bad in the air but these sort of teams tend to take it to their next level. Thus why Maguire needed to remain at the back.
 

devilish

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Even with Cavani in the middle instead of Martial we arent very good converting from a cross on the left. Cavani has missed several balls coming across too
We lack top quality crossers. Shaw and AWB had improved on that front but they are hardly among the top crossers of the ball. Rashy and Martial are inside strikers.
 

Ekeke

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We lack top quality crossers. Shaw and AWB had improved on that front but they are hardly among the top crossers of the ball. Rashy and Martial are inside strikers.
Again, our striker has not made contact with a cross that he could have done. So how is that their fault?
 

Redlyn

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He had improved as of late but his assist rate is shocking.
This season he has been superb. He has 5 assists and should have had more with better finishing as he created more key chances. He is one of, if not the best LB this season.
 

Djemba-Djemba

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No, he wasn't. People said the same about Bailly & Pogba too and now they're class again after a couple of good performances. The rating of our players here changes daily which is absurd. Even though Rojo was not a world beater, he was good enough to be a squad player here. For one thing, he never got bullied by opposition attackers like Lindelöf does constantly. He had quite good periods with us Lindelöf never reached. The only reason we have Lindelöf & Maguire as our main CBs is they're the most recent CB signings and not because of their quality. And we changed our CBs with worse players while spending a fortune.
Rojo was constantly, constantly injured.

And then on the super rare occasions he was fit to play he was shite.
 

criticalanalysis

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Shaw isn't bad in the air but these sort of teams tend to take it to their next level. Thus why Maguire needed to remain at the back.
Shaw, along with Maguire are arguably our best players dealing with aerial balls :confused:

I'd give you AWB and Lindelof being weak.
 

FrankDrebin

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1 major top class CB signing and then someone in the mould of Dunk.
Just getting tired of Lindelof messing up the basics with Baily constantly on the treatment table.
 

lex talionis

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As crap as our defending is, we still concede one goal to West fukking Brom and have conceded few goals to top six clubs, Spurs being the outlier.

We do need a new CB to partner with Maguire, but the real hole in the squad is at RW. Greenwood gives it his best, but he looks more a CF than a RW and now that the Martial experiment ended a miserable failure and we know Cavani can’t be our go to 9 for an entire season, we need to move Greenwood to 9 and give Diallo his shot this season. If he proves he’s got something, fantastic. But if not, go back to Sancho (we’re never getting Haasland) To fill the hole the Glazers have failed to address since Ronaldo left us a decade ago.

If Bailly can give us three months, we’d still want to find a fifth CB behind Lindelof and Tuanzebe. But if he can’t, then we‘ll need to spend a huge sum for a CB. But the lack of anything on the RW is killing us match after match.