[sammsky1]

It might look a bit odd considering we could use a fullback more, but let's remember that Jones is always hurt, Smalling can't pass and Rojo had a fine season but is also out for another 4-5 months and before last year he was kind of a goddamn maniac who made a huge error or took an insane risk every second game or so. Blind does provide a lot of what it seems Lindelof would (passing, reading the game well), though, I can't really argue with that.

I thought Lindelof also plays at right back?

 

[Martial]

It was easy to predict after a few games of him struggling badly in pre-season to anyone with half-a-brain, that there was absolutely no chance he was good enough to start the season as first-choice.

Despite the criticism and blind denial anyone who pointed it out got at times.

Hopefully he improves greatly.

 

[Harry190]

He will come good, the talent is there to see and what fills me with confidence is that he has a good mentality. People need to chill, Vidic was shit for 6 months.

The talent is there to see? On the contrary, he has shown nothing since he joined us, nothing, not a single outstanding quality so far.

Vidic was not shit for 6 months.

 

[VP89]

The talent is there to see? On the contrary, he has shown nothing since he joined us, nothing, not a single outstanding quality so far.

Vidic was not shit for 6 months.

Vidic was pretty shit for the first 6 months he joined. As was Evra.

 

[Successful]

I think he will get some minutes later on in the season. He's very nervous atm and with every right. Playing for a club like Manchester United is something totally different.

 

[kdmaka]

This guy will come through,the quality is there just the composure needs to be worked at.

 

[Sarni]

He's been here for three months and we already have people questioning his talent and the signing as a whole. Feck, he's 23, has not played in a big league yet and has only managed a handful of preseason games, he has every right to not be ready yet. He might not even hit his top level for the next 5-6 months, he might not come good this season yet but when we bought a 23-year old defender it was surely with a view of longer term than the first three months and preseason.

 

[Ballache]

The talent is there to see? On the contrary, he has shown nothing since he joined us, nothing, not a single outstanding quality so far.

Vidic was not shit for 6 months.

I've seen him play before he joined us, being Swedish and all.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Glad to see plenty are writing off a 23 year old that signed only a matter of months ago. Proper order, I say. There's still time left in the transfer window to get rid...

 

[JJ12]

The talent is there to see? On the contrary, he has shown nothing since he joined us, nothing, not a single outstanding quality so far.

Vidic was not shit for 6 months.

You don't think he's looked good on the ball and fast? There's 2 decent qualities for him to build on.

Vidic was shocking for a few months whether it was 6 or not.

 

[Obiorahking_]

If it's any consolation he did far better against Real Madrid than "world class" pique did.

 

[Marcelinho87]

Look, i know that. When we bought martial, shaw, depay i knew that it will be the case.
But when you are buying a player for first 11, to solve your specific problem , in this case in defence, in a season when you are going all in for title then you need immediate impact. That is why i am pissed. Imagine that we bought striker that needs to adapt. Caf would explode.

You mean like that striker everybody wanted to sign over Lukaku? Morata I think he is called.

 

[Escobar]

He will get time and be eased in easily by Jose. Nothing to see here imo. I never expected him to become a starter any time soon as Bailly is too good and Rojo, if he finds his last season form, will take over his spot.

 

[Obiorahking_]

You mean like that striker everybody wanted to sign over Lukaku? Morata I think he is called.

You mean that striker that had a goal and an assist in less than 30 minutes of play?

 

[Marcelinho87]

You mean that striker that had a goal and an assist in less than 30 minutes of play?

Francis Jeffers has a cap and goal for England, whats your point?

Regardless of how he performed, he will still need to adapt to the PL.

 

[stygg]

I think Mourinho is right to give him the 'Mkhitaryan treatment' as he's clearly not ready for the Prem yet. If Mourinho was a shit manager he would've started him yesterday and he would be slaughtered by both media and fans, despite a convincing win. He's different from our other CB's (in a good way) and I'm certain he'll prove that when he's ready, both physically and mentally.

 

[11101]

Reminds me a lot of John Stones. Great on the ball but a bit brainless defensively and seems to spend his time catching up with the game.

Still, unlike Stones he has not had 4 years of PL football to adapt. Keep him out of the spotlight and let him work on what he needs to work on.

 

[Green_Red]

I have a feeling he might get introduced the same way Mikhataryan was, slowly. Not sure he'd be ready for the pace of the Premier League just yet.

 

[Obiorahking_]

Francis Jeffers has a cap and goal for England, whats your point?

Regardless of how he performed, he will still need to adapt to the PL.

My point is that for someone who needs adapting to the EPL he seems to be doing great. He can easily have a Diego costa impact in his first season while he is "adapting"

 

[mayonnaise]

Victor is going to be immense when he gets used to everything that comes with a big move like this, i don't think it'll take him long either.

 

[pseudo_canadian]

We got very spoiled last season with Bailly settling in pretty much immediately. It's not always going to be like that.

He's just a kid, needs time to adjust. Not worried in the slightest.

 

[stygg]

Reminds me a lot of John Stones. Great on the ball but a bit brainless defensively and seems to spend his time catching up with the game.

Still, unlike Stones he has not had 4 years of PL football to adapt. Keep him out of the spotlight and let him work on what he needs to work on.

This.

 

[Full bodied red]

Still not sure why we signed him.

Bailly
Jones
Smalling
Rojo
Blind ( if needed )
Fosu-Mensah ( before his loan )
Tuanzebe

Did we really need another CD ??

 

[Raees]

Very hard for anyone to judge him at the moment. I'd say even his videos from his time at Benfica hardly got the pulse rating but he did look solid and competent.

Time will tell on whether he can establish himself here but right now no one should be confident either way as to yes he will definitely make it and be massive for us or he is going to be an unmitigated disaster. It's down to the lad himself and whether he can adapt in the next year or so. Patience is key.

 

[stygg]

Still not sure why we signed him.

Bailly
Jones
Smalling
Rojo
Blind ( if needed )
Fosu-Mensah ( before his loan )
Tuanzebe

Did we really need another CD ??

We don't know shit. Just look at the Matic signing, Mourinho know what he's doing. I bet he also knew when he signed Lindelöf that he would need the 'Mkhitaryan treatment'. He's different than the other CB's, in a good way. Just give him time, if the team continue to play great football there's definitely no rush to give him games.

 

[el3mel]

Still not sure why we signed him.

Bailly
Jones
Smalling
Rojo
Blind ( if needed )
Fosu-Mensah ( before his loan )
Tuanzebe

Did we really need another CD ??

Were you enjoying the defensive injury crisis we get almost every season ?

 

[iamjacks]

Still not sure why we signed him.

Bailly (superb but had fair share of injuries last season)
Jones (mostly broken)
Smalling (mostly broken or brainless)
Rojo (currently broken, long road back)
Blind ( if needed ) (Jose does not seem as cb unless necessity)
Fosu-Mensah ( before his loan ) (loaned, so clearly Jose feels he isn't ready for first team)
Tuanzebe (talent but Jose never putting all his chips on him ahead of critical season)

Did we really need another CD ??

So, a fit Bailly aside, none of the other have or can currently fill a void Jose has identified, and a void as clear as day by his hand being forced in the Europa league final.

Maybe he sees Lindelof (a ball playing CB) as the next piece in his developing United side? We don't know his longterm plans for the first 11.

And with the options you've highlighted, proven to be capable of a job but perhaps not the perfect fit for the job Jose ideally wants them to do, he's brought a player in and can ease him into Manchester United and the Premier League. It's not like we're desperate for him to hit the ground running otherwise our season could be over before it's begun, unlike say with Lukaku.

Give him time, not many CB's in their prime at 23, even less so in the Premier League. We gain nothing from ignoring the managers words and writing him off before he's kicked a ball in the league. TRUST JOSE.

 

[Red_toad]

It was easy to predict after a few games of him struggling badly in pre-season to anyone with half-a-brain, that there was absolutely no chance he was good enough to start the season as first-choice.

Despite the criticism and blind denial anyone who pointed it out got at times.

Hopefully he improves greatly.

Plenty were saying he was a nailed on starter and would be the end of Smalling & Jones. As he cost in excess of £30 million they thought Jose would start him regardless of form as he was his signing.
I've certainly not seen any 'star quality' in him. But it's early days and Jose seems to have a knack of improving defenders.

 

[whatwha]

Still not sure why we signed him.

Bailly
Jones
Smalling
Rojo
Blind ( if needed )
Fosu-Mensah ( before his loan )
Tuanzebe

Did we really need another CD ??

Not really. Not someone who isn't yet good enough to be a clear improvement over Smalling/Jones anyway. Money would have been better spent on a fullback perhaps.

 

[the hea]

I wonder if City fans are loosing their shit to because Bernardo Silva didn't start in the first game of the season?
Young players who are coming to the PL from smaller leagues almost always needs time to settle in and get used to the league. It's a big step up from the Portuguese league to the Premier League and the fact that we can give a 35m signing the time to get ready just shows how strong our squad depth is.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Still not sure why we signed him.

Bailly
Jones
Smalling
Rojo
Blind ( if needed )
Fosu-Mensah ( before his loan )
Tuanzebe

Did we really need another CD ??

Imo we needed instant top quality to partner bailly. Another defender in rojo/jones/smalling level we didn't need. Maybe he will be another rio ferdinand one day but this was position where i thought that we will buy proven quality.

 

[NoPace]

I thought Lindelof also plays at right back?

Mourinho mentioned RB and DM as possible positions for him this week.

 

[Lentwood]

I understand comments from those who say we need to give him time, of course we do a few pre-season games isn't enough to judge any player.

That being said, the fact that Lindelof is 23 but yet so clearly not yet ready to be starting for us plus the fact that CB is actually one position we are well covered in make it a stange signing too prioritise right now

I rarely question Jose since the man is a genius but surely we should only really have signed a CB who could come straight in and improve the XI?

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Before he was signed, the media reports put us under the impression that he is one of the best players for both Sweden and Benfica who is ready for the big time. Maybe we are expecting too much too soon. He should be given time to settle in and justify his big transfer fees for a defender.

Really hope this transfer work out eventually especially when we pass up the chance to sign Michael Keane who is a homegrown United supporter to sign Lindelof.

 

[Full bodied red]

Guys....

Not saying he's not good enough, never going to be good enough, etc.

If JM has signed him, he obviously isn't a duffer....

But just pointing out that when we did sign him, at the time -

It semed ineveitable that DDG was heading for Madrid.....We needed good / reliable cover ( still do ) for Tony V at RB....Until Shaw finally convinces the doubters, our LB position is a revolving door with Shaw / Blind / Darmian / even Young....The whole world and his dog knew we were desperate for a midfielder to replace Carrick - although perhaps the Matic deal was already set up and we all knew bugger all about it....We still don't have any out-and-out wingers, just converted midfielders / 10s / strikers....And we'd already lost Ibrahimovic until at least 2018 even if he resigns and Rooney was already half way to Goodison.

So paying £30 million for yet another central defender as the first signing of the summer given that we had / have the seven I mentioned ( OK - Rojo will be out till 2018, probably ) just seems totally weird, and I wonder if we had to sign him only because we were 'locked into the deal' because we were chasing him during last season's CD injury crisis.

 

[Jaybomb]

Guys....

Not saying he's not good enough, never going to be good enough, etc.

If JM has signed him, he obviously isn't a duffer....

But just pointing out that when we did sign him, at the time -

It semed ineveitable that DDG was heading for Madrid.....We needed good / reliable cover ( still do ) for Tony V at RB....Until Shaw finally convinces the doubters, our LB position is a revolving door with Shaw / Blind / Darmian / even Young....The whole world and his dog knew we were desperate for a midfielder to replace Carrick - although perhaps the Matic deal was already set up and we all knew bugger all about it....We still don't have any out-and-out wingers, just converted midfielders / 10s / strikers....And we'd already lost Ibrahimovic until at least 2018 even if he resigns and Rooney was already half way to Goodison.

So paying £30 million for yet another central defender as the first signing of the summer given that we had / have the seven I mentioned ( OK - Rojo will be out till 2018, probably ) just seems totally weird, and I wonder if we had to sign him only because we were 'locked into the deal' because we were chasing him during last season's CD injury crisis.

Nah we signed him cause he has a higher ceiling than Smalling and Jones. He will be top class for us and will displace those two. Mourinho knows a good defender.

 

[Scorpy]

He'll come good. I know it's against the modern fan mentality, but people need to be patient.

Jose will ease him into the first team. He's allowed to have some time to adapt to his new surroundings.

 

[MadMike]

Were you enjoying the defensive injury crisis we get almost every season ?

Very much so.

We had 4 CBs out and still coped very well defensively, finishing as the 2nd best defence in the league if I recall correctly (despite playing weakened teams further upfield) and winning the EL.

I'm still amazed people use the fact a severe injury crisis left us unaffected as a justification for signing another CB. In itself it was a demonstration of why we didn't need another defender.

 

[el3mel]

Very much so.

We had 4 CBs out and still coped very well defensively, finishing as the 2nd best defence in the league if I recall correctly (despite playing weakened teams further upfield) and winning the EL.

I'm still amazed people use the fact a severe injury crisis left us unaffected as a justification for signing another CB. In itself it was a demonstration of why we didn't need another defender.

It's up to you to enjoy having only 2 or 3 defenders available by the end of the season and forcing to draw the whole team back to support the defense.

I don't. Signing a defender was a priority ever since Rojo got injured.

 

[MadMike]

It's up to you to enjoy having only 2 or 3 defenders available by the end of the season and forcing to draw the whole team back to support the defense.

I don't. Signing a defender was a priority ever since Rojo got injured.

Sorry, but that's entirely your interpretation of events.

After the Swansea game Mourinho patently didn't give a feck about the league and played weakened teams while saving players for the EL. Which obviously forced the team back against strong opposition away from home.

On top of that Mourinho set the team up very defensively in games against the the rest of the top 6 even before our injury crisis. It's a mode that he's reverted to many times in his career and there's little indication that it's correlated to the CB injury crisis.