Sorry Douglas, you were wrong. 42 is not the answer.
42
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 12
- Clean sheets
- 3
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 3
- Red cards
- 1
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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He's been our best CB despite his inexperience and his young age. Shows how desperate we are at the back.
How the feck does Blackett have 3% of the CAF's Man of the Match vote putting him as the 3rd highest vote getter? Gotta be opposition fans, no? Thought he was quite poor and not sure how anyone but di Maria wins it tbh.
I thought first half he was our best defender, he was making loads of interceptions and tackles. Of course though when the team shape went and the tempo increased, he seemed to get nervous and suffered with the pace.
It'll be a lesson for him that's for sure. Letting a player bump him with the ball mid-flight won't happen again hopefully. He need's to be tougher than that as a CB.
It'll be a lesson for him that's for sure. Letting a player bump him with the ball mid-flight won't happen again hopefully. He need's to be tougher than that as a CB.
He was pretty good up untill that 4-3 goal, so probably untill 3-3 when everything went to shambles anyway.
Bar that hoofball naturally, I think that 'spending hours with Rio after training' didn't do him any good. Hope he's not as deluded.
He is quite prone to error to be honest. It seem he made some notable mistake everytime I watched him play, fortunately our opponents aren't that strong so most of the time it didn't look that bad.
I could be well off the mark. I know he is young. But he is not ready and would not make any other defence in the league right now. Championship at best. Will he be good enough? I am not sure. He is very strong but his reading of the game is poor, and gets caught out of position. In my opinion, he seems quite slow too. I think we need to shield him and give him more games in the reserves.
How was he at fault for our first goal and when was he bailed out by Blackett?
I agree with people here saying that if there are two defenders in the box - CB and a RB - and just one Leicester's striker, he should've been Evans' man, not Rafaels, given the height, physicality and fact that Evans would've been doing feck all anyway.
Yep, I’m not saying Evans is completely blame free however he clearly isn’t solely responsible for the goal, in fact, he was hardly to blame at all yet many are pointing the blame straight at him.
I’ve no idea what Rojo was doing, Blackett followed the ball instead of getting into a stronger position and Rafael let his man go wherever he wanted, the only thing you can blame Evans for is his positional awareness and even that can be questioned.
I’m getting sick of defending Evans on here, I don’t believe he is going to be the solution to our defence, not because he isn’t good enough but because of his injuries. We looked a lot stronger at the back yesterday when he was on the pitch, but God forbid that might be because of Evans.
How come Ulloa is pronounced Uzhoa? It's just weird.
Bit of a clanger from Tyler in that game - hardly unexpected for a young defender though.
Bit of a clanger from Tyler in that game - hardly unexpected for a young defender though.
Completely different. Januzaj may have been used a lot due to crap players, but his play was at a much higher level than Blackett's. He was also promoted for being outstanding for the u21s, while Blackett wasn't close to that at youth level.
Yeah Januzaj was played because his talent made it hard not to pick him. Blackett is playing because we have failed to recruit better defenders and because LVG has developed a soft spot for him, which I predict will evaporate, like the player's confidence, as it emerges that he is not really ready yet.
He's clearly not ready and is only playing due to injuries, he might make the bench if we ever have a fully fit defence 
but he most certainley wont make the starting 11, not yet anyway.
but he most certainley wont make the starting 11, not yet anyway.I suspect this horror show might have done a thing or two to his confidence levels, yeah.
Thorpe is more ready. Keane was more ready. Playing Blackett is actually pretty odd.
Thorpe is nowhere near ready. Keane made far more mistakes that Blackett has (and yet people are ready to get rid of Blackett).
He suits 3 CBs which we can't play now, because our other defenders are made of glass. What is odd is you thinking it is odd.
Who plays there with Smalling is not fit, and Jones and even Carrick are injured?
He is a LB just starting in the Prem at CB. Cut him some slack.
Rojo was far worse, and Blind provided no protection at all.
It's not a question of me cutting him slack. It's just a strange selection. He looked a bit out of his depth for Birmingham (contrast with Michael Keane who has mostly impressed on loan) and although decent on the deck, has not shown either for the reserves or for anyone else that he is strong enough at the major stuff a CB has to do.
You can debate the case with Thorpe, but certainly he has looked more impressive in the reserves. And Keane may have taken a step back recently but has quite a few good games under his belt and is clearly stronger.
You can debate the case with Thorpe, but certainly he has looked more impressive in the reserves. And Keane may have taken a step back recently but has quite a few good games under his belt and is clearly stronger.
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I don't get the "strange selection" bit.
If you know an alternative then please share it.
If you mean who he kept out of Tyler or Keane, Keane was very poor for LVG, and that is why he made that choice.
Thorpe looking decent for the reserves is a whole different ball game to first team football (as Tyler is showing, after excelling against better opposition on tour.)
I personally think Tyler has a lot to learn (maybe too much) to play in a CB pair ( Left in a 3 suits him better, as it ask him almost to be FB, which is his position. Not that I think he is great at FB)
The defence is on the bones of its arse at the moment, otherwise, I'm sure LVG would love to take him out of the cauldron we are in, with an under-performing team of new faces.
Ideally, you blood youngsters in a settled side, when the result either doesn't matter, or the game is safe. We don't have that luxury.
If you know an alternative then please share it.
If you mean who he kept out of Tyler or Keane, Keane was very poor for LVG, and that is why he made that choice.
Thorpe looking decent for the reserves is a whole different ball game to first team football (as Tyler is showing, after excelling against better opposition on tour.)
I personally think Tyler has a lot to learn (maybe too much) to play in a CB pair ( Left in a 3 suits him better, as it ask him almost to be FB, which is his position. Not that I think he is great at FB)
The defence is on the bones of its arse at the moment, otherwise, I'm sure LVG would love to take him out of the cauldron we are in, with an under-performing team of new faces.
Ideally, you blood youngsters in a settled side, when the result either doesn't matter, or the game is safe. We don't have that luxury.
You can only beat what is in front of you.Blackett has impressed on tour but Thorpe wasn't even given a chance to go.
Don't think we're in the position to judge between Blackett and Thorpe without watching them in training with the seniors but if you ever watched Thorpe in the U21s you just can't help but feel he should be given a chance.Writing off his excellence and attributes he shown there are just pure ignorance.Vermijl starting in front of him vs. MK Dons is a shocking decision.
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Writing him off??
Are you fecking simple? (How's that for ignorance?)
According to all brum supporters I talked to Thorpe was also very impressive from them despite his short time there due to the injury while Blackett was one of the worst players they'd ever seen. Obviously you can't always go off that as Leicester fans called Lingard shite but it does show that Thorpe has impressed in first team football while at the same club as Blackett who didn't.
Let's be honest, it took many by surprise when he was picked. Although he's done ok, it's clear he has a lot to learn and is far from being 1st choice.
Its not that strange, until this summer it never looked like Blackett would ever even make his debut here at United, the expectations some had of him, turned into reality (not having the right level (yet))
True but then you have to question LVG's choice to play Blackett at CB and Rojo at LB.
If a central defender can't play in a 2, then he's not a central defender.
We could have that luxury if we had recruited in the positions we really needed to.
Agreed, though I suspect he sees the same as me, in that Blackett doesn't cover enough ground for a FB.
In hindsight, I wish he had done that, as then we would have nailed Rojo to his defensive duties, and Blackett would have been less likely than Rojo to be in the Leicester half all the time.
Agreed.
What do you want me to do about it?
He's nowhere near ready to start for us. He has been excellent but will cost us goals. Shaw should be playing as he has tons of PL experience
Forgive me for only just remembering, but Blind is a LB.
LVG could've put him in there and brought Fletcher on.
Maybe that is what he'll do vs West Ham, and put Rojo at CB with Smalling.
Defenders are very thin on the ground.
LVG could've put him in there and brought Fletcher on.
Maybe that is what he'll do vs West Ham, and put Rojo at CB with Smalling.
Defenders are very thin on the ground.
For the Leicester attack when he got nudged in the back and then proceeded to give away a penalty, what should he have done in that situation? Was it a foul, because Vardy wasn't getting the ball without knocking him out the way, or was it Blackett's fault for not positioning himself/ his weight correctly. If he has one foot forward and the other back, positioning his weight slightly on his back foot, Vardy won't knock him forwards, surely and he would have just headed it away?
I'm not a defender and haven't really thought about it before, but I'd have thought this would prevent the situation from occurring, correct me if I'm wrong! If so, then it's just a learning step I think.
I'm not a defender and haven't really thought about it before, but I'd have thought this would prevent the situation from occurring, correct me if I'm wrong! If so, then it's just a learning step I think.
He did well until the game changed. Atmosphere and the rush of panic that swept the team cost him. Needed a calm head to keep his confidence up and to calm him down aswell as Rafa and Rojo but Rooney decided to pump them up/panic them. Great leadership!
Think he was our best defender yesterday. Think once the game changed he was still unlucky and made one rash decision that ended in the sending off. Rooney bollocking him for his own mistake didn't help but hopefully he can reclaim a place in the side after his suspension.
Rafael Smalling Rojo Shaw - Will be the back 4 versus West Ham baring any injury midweek.
Probably. If not, questions will be asked about Shaw's role at the club. I was guessing he wasn't deemed fit enough on Sunday.
Van Gaal certainly seemed to inply that after the game on Sunday.
Saw that red card tackle coming a mile off. But, he really didnt deserve to be in that situation, I thought he was the best defender for us (which aint saying much).
He's got promise. But we should not be depending on him like we are.
He's got promise. But we should not be depending on him like we are.
I am sure LvG would sit him down by now and told him what he needs to do in the same situation the next time. I see something special in this boy that can make him one hell of a defender in years to come.
Funny how one terrible game changes people's opinion.
how is this his fault?
Seeing that gif make his fault even obvious, for let go a player he marked on the center, to chase an opponent miles away from goal.
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