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2019-20 Performances


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5.7 Season Average Rating
Appearances
47
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19
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1
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Sultan

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Definitely lacks solid physical attributes and heading ability to be a top-class defender. Just have to persevere until a full rebuild is complete or one of the youngsters step up.
 

Adamsk7

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It’s time to give Tuanzebe a chance. Just as good on the ball and faster, more determined and physical. Now we have Maguire, I think he’ll flourish
 

ash_86

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Attackers would stick to him the whole game and get atleast one good chance. We either play tuanzebe instead of him or go 3 at the back.
 

RussellWilson

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What did Rio say about him then?
He passed on responsibility of marking Vestergard instead of picking him up himself. Didn't get close enough, then missed the flight of the ball and then didn't do enough to put off the Vestergard when he didn't get to the ball.

All fair I would say.
 

Classical Mechanic

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He passed on responsibility of marking Vestergard instead of picking him up himself. Didn't get close enough, then missed the flight of the ball and then didn't do enough to put off the Vestergard when he didn't get to the ball.

All fair I would say.
That was my gripe. He didn't lose the duel to a taller guy because he didn't challenge him in the first place. It was a free header.
 

PaulRich

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Let’s be honest the equalizer was on the cards in that second half long before he got out jumped - he needs to man up though because when he’s faced with any kind of physicality he comes up short - City will target him next up after watching the first 4 games
 

Denis79

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That was my gripe. He didn't lose the duel to a taller guy because he didn't challenge him in the first place. It was a free header.
Also said that as a CB you always looked for the "big guy" and made sure you had him covered. Lindelof has a tendency to dish out orders of marking and seldom marks himself. Watch him closely the next game, he knows he gets out-muscled and frequently passes the bucket to someone else. Seen it quite a few times from him since he joined.

What annoyed me the most was that they didn't have many men in the box, Lindelof knew that Maguire was in front of him and he passed the marking duty to AWB? While he had no one himself to mark. Just poor thinking. As Rio said, you have to be there and throw them of balance, make it as hard as possible for them to do anything good with the chance. Lindelof shied away from responsibility like he often does. He only looks good when he has someone to do the physical work for him.
 

andersj

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Not good enough on the goal. But I actually thought AWB was even worse in the way he closed down Danso for the cross. For some reason, very few comment on that.
 

WR10

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The moment he tried to pass his man onto Rashford you knew it would be a goal. Half the skill of winning a header as a defender is not allowing your opponent to challenge you in an aerial duel. Take the springs out of him. You don't have to be a tower.
 

mu4c_20le

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I hope I am wrong, but I dont think he will ever be a world class defender. There are some things you can improve like consistency, but I'm not sure he can learn to be not completely useless in the air.
 

nainaisson

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Yeah send Smalling on loan and play Lindelof instead. What a fecking genius Ole is.
Yeah, because our back line was impenetrable when Smalling was here, right?

If Smalling weren't crap, he wouldn't have been sent out on loan. He probably embarrassed himself in training as much as he would have in an actual game, which is why he was never selected for an actual game. What is that so hard to understand?
 

Mr PG

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Both Smalling and Tuanzebe much better defenders. Victor has made crucial errors with aerial balls every game this season... only now getting noticed as we’ve conceded last 2 games.
 

Ekeke

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That was the one thing Mourinho that i've never been able to grasp. Blind was always good enough to at least be the third defender on the bench. A cb pack of Maguire, Smalling, Blind and Tuanzebe would have been just fine.
Sounds really good compared to what we have now
 

Pogue Mahone

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He’s started the season in pretty crappy form but - as per fecking usual - this place is infested with terrible memories. There’s a reason he was getting loads of plaudits last season. He proved himself to be a very capable central defender, despite frequent clown shows in front of and alongside him. The partnership with Maguire definitely needs work but there’s a solid defensive pairing in their somewhere, despite the obvious teething problems.

That said, I’d have no problem taking him out of the firing line and giving Tuanzebe a crack.
 
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Denis79

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Not good enough on the goal. But I actually thought AWB was even worse in the way he closed down Danso for the cross. For some reason, very few comment on that.
De Gea punches the ball out wide, AWB runs towards him and tries to block, our right back runs to the LB position to block, the ball passes him. Nothing wrong there. You're just looking for excuses for Lindelof. He fecked up, simple as that.
 

Devil81

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Not sure he's going to be good enough I'm afraid, makes far too many errors.
 

Pogue Mahone

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De Gea punches the ball out wide, AWB runs towards him and tries to block, our right back runs to the LB position to block, the ball passes him. Nothing wrong there. You're just looking for excuses for Lindelof. He fecked up, simple as that.
He literally said he wasn’t good enough. How on earth is that making excuses? More than one player can contribute to an avoidable goal, you know. I also have issue with the only United player as tall as Vestergaard, Pogba, deciding he wouldn’t bother competing for the ball by fecking walking away from him as the cross came in. Obviously, this is not “looking for an excuse” for Lindelof getting beaten in the air.
 

andersj

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De Gea punches the ball out wide, AWB runs towards him and tries to block, our right back runs to the LB position to block, the ball passes him. Nothing wrong there. You're just looking for excuses for Lindelof. He fecked up, simple as that.
Hah, no! Regardless it was poor from Lindelof.

But it was very poor from AWB, he went to block. And when he goes to block, he have to do it properly. He was jogging, stopped a few yards from Danso and did some weird try with his foot. It was a lazy effort. Looks like you are trying to make excuses for AWB. :)
 

caid

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Header aside it was a good performance from him. We should, I dont know, try to stop crosses coming in more or something tbh. De Gea doesn't deal with them and finding a 2nd maguire to offset the lack of height and aerial ability in every other position sounds like a tall order.
 

andersj

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He literally said he wasn’t good enough. How on earth is that making excuses? More than one player can contribute to an avoidable goal, you know. I also have issue with the only United player as tall as Vestergaard, Pogba, deciding he wouldn’t bother competing for the ball by fecking walking away from him as the cross came in. Obviously, this is not “looking for an excuse” for Lindelof getting beaten in the air.
Vestergaard is actually 1.99. But I get your point.

Lindelof need to get better at handling situations where he will struggle in the air.
 

Van Piorsing

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If Lindelof won't make it as a defender, it will be even more shocking stat for Jose who had always nose to pillars of defense... and this Victor doesn't even look remote to the one from Benfica.

Where did the aggression go ?
 

Denis79

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He literally said he wasn’t good enough. How on earth is that making excuses? More than one player can contribute to an avoidable goal, you know. I also have issue with the only United player as tall as Vestergaard, Pogba, deciding he wouldn’t bother competing for the ball by fecking walking away from him as the cross came in. Obviously, this is not “looking for an excuse” for Lindelof getting beaten in the air.
That he got beaten is not the problem, it's that he passed the bucket, like he often does. as a CB it's his job to control that area. There weren't any other Soton players near him, he had no one to mark yet all he did was point, look there's a big dude, do my job for me. Knowing Maguire was in front of him. If he was there, tried to throw him off balance and it still developed in to a goal, fine, shit happens. But it's not the first time I see him avoid a marking job and it irks me.
 

Denis79

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Hah, no! Regardless it was poor from Lindelof.

But it was very poor from AWB, he went to block. And when he goes to block, he have to do it properly. He was jogging, stopped a few yards from Danso and did some weird try with his foot. It was a lazy effort. Looks like you are trying to make excuses for AWB. :)
True, I like him a lot. Love how fearless he is. Wish Lindelof had that spunk, he would be a fantastic defender then.
 

A-man

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Since I like the idea of Lindelof/Maguire and think they can grew a great cb couple, I might be overly positive. But this thread needs some positive vibes now as so many are overly negative.

He was poor first five minutes, with a dangerous back pass or what ever that was, and the whole defence was a bit shaken, like they weren't prepared for the intense pressure. Poor communication between Lindelof and Bissaka.
After that they grew in to it and there were not many chances created DDG made one save.

He took more initive than what we have seen the latest matches and played through the line, and dribbled. Failed one dribbling but that is of course the price if we want our CB to take that risk. Have no problems with that.

The goal. Should have disturbed him better but didnt really have much chance. Someone else who is more dominant in the air should have marked him of course and I think someone else was supposed to but that person got lost in the unorganised situation.

Despite the goal coming from a header, his biggest improvement was probably his headers. Won 7 out of 9 aerial duels which is good. It is by far the best on the pitch. Second best was Maguire who won 3 out of 5.

I think this can be good. The defence as a whole looked rather solid, only 2 shots on target (both on the same sequence).
 

Dante

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At this point, I'd like to try Rojo next to Maguire.

I know that Rojo can be rash positionally, but at least he's not weak at defending in duels. And in terms of passing, it's not much of a step down from Lindelof.

Our defence is pretty good man-for-man, but Lindelof has got targetted for aerial balls in every single game since Wolves. Opposition teams see him as a weak link and they're taking advantage. What's worse is that it's costing us points.

For all of Rojo's flaws, I actually trust him to slot into a back 4 of talented individuals and do a good job next to them. He's not as clever as Lindelof when it comes to spotting danger, But with a leader like Maguire beside him, Rojo will be a much trickier opponent to get past.

I'd say the same thing about Jones, but he's clearly 5th choice at the moment.
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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We need an upgrade on him.

Still a good squad option.

He's awful in aerial duels though. I think teams have fully just realized it too.
 

AFC NimbleThumb

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That he got beaten is not the problem, it's that he passed the bucket, like he often does. as a CB it's his job to control that area. There weren't any other Soton players near him, he had no one to mark yet all he did was point, look there's a big dude, do my job for me. Knowing Maguire was in front of him. If he was there, tried to throw him off balance and it still developed in to a goal, fine, shit happens. But it's not the first time I see him avoid a marking job and it irks me.
Lindelof is quintessential front runner, when the game is in front of him he’ll play a safe side ways pass & return to position; he’s one of the best pointers of the finger I have ever seen - appearing like he has authority but I’ve lost count of the missed headers & the way he loses his head once dribbled past.

I’ve never seen a centre back rattled so easily; he can go from composes to rattles in seconds & it spreads through the team so quickly.

He would be an ideal 3rd choice centre back in a good squad, he’s versatile but not overly consistent.
 

Rossa

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He’s started the season in pretty crappy form but - as per fecking usual - this place is infested with terrible memories. There’s a reason he was getting loads of plaudits last season. He proved himself to be a very capable central defender, despite frequent clown shows in front of and alongside him. The partnership with Maguire definitely needs work but there’s a solid defensive pairing in their somewhere, despite the obvious teething problems.

That said, I’d have no problem taking him out of the firing line and giving Tuanzebe a crack.
He was good last year, but not great. He was just as much part of that terrible defensive record as Smalling. My main gripe with him is that there are physical attributes he just doesn't seem capable of improving on. I doubt he will ever be good enough in the air. Does he have one standout attribute?
 

AFC NimbleThumb

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He’s started the season in pretty crappy form but - as per fecking usual - this place is infested with terrible memories. There’s a reason he was getting loads of plaudits last season. He proved himself to be a very capable central defender, despite frequent clown shows in front of and alongside him. The partnership with Maguire definitely needs work but there’s a solid defensive pairing in their somewhere, despite the obvious teething problems.

That said, I’d have no problem taking him out of the firing line and giving Tuanzebe a crack.
Him continually being beaten in the air in all manners isn’t a teething problem.

When the game has been in front of them the partnership has looked promising but it has been undermined by Lindelof on more than one occasion already this season.

He stood out last season in a team that conceded goals at a criminal rate under Jose last season & then again once OgS was permanently appointed.

Agreed, we are in a position where testing out Axel makes the most sense.
 

A-man

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That he got beaten is not the problem, it's that he passed the bucket, like he often does. as a CB it's his job to control that area.
You say he passed the bucket and should control the area. Do you mean he should have followed him out and around Rashford to mark him or what do you mean? Not saying you're wrong, just don't see how he could have controlled the area in front of the goal if he did. See the photo, should Lindelof have left his position and followed him and marked him?
imgur.com/a/XBg7J49
 
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Red71

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Can only echo what others have said here...he doesn’t have the strength, speed, desire, physicality or, most importantly, aerial ability to play CB at a club like ours in such a physically challenging league.

He might have been decent at Benefica, maybe for Sweden too but I’ve not seen enough of those games to know. I’ve certainly seen all of his United games though which is the only thing that’s important to me and at best, he rarely goes above the ordinary in my view which can’t be good enough.

I’ve played with players like that (at a very low level admittedly) and they make you nervous. It feels like he’s got a mistake in him every time he plays. I couldn’t watch this game live but as soon as I saw we’d conceded a goal, my first thought was that it’d be Lindelof heavily involved and probably that it’d revolve around his lack of ability in the air...which sadly was the case.

If he’d come out of our youth system rather than in as an expensive signing, you feel like he would have been dropped by now but surely the time has come for the experiment to come to an end for everyone’s sake. Surely Ole must see it if the likes of Rio are flagging it?

I look at Tuanzebe and he is at least as comfortable with the ball, more physical and quick as you like. The question mark is his heading according to the CAF experts but I cannot believe it could be worse than the standard we’re having to put up with at the moment.....
 

VP89

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You say he passed the bucket and should control the area. Do you mean he should have followed him out and around Rashford to mark him or what do you mean? Noy saying you're wrong, just don't see how he could have controlled the area in front of the goal of he did. See the photo, should Lindelof have left his position and followed him and marked him?
imgur.com/a/XBg7J49
I need to re-watch the goal, but I can't be bothered :lol:

Maguire from that pic looks better placed to take a couple of steps back and deal with it, but perhaps he stepped out and left it to Lindelof. In any case, Lindelof was hard done by I feel, Vestergaard is a very good defender and strong in the air, plus the cross was very very good. It's not really the same as how he dealt with Palace last week. Just unfortunate timing for Lindelof this mistake happened so quickly after that game.
 

fezzerUTD

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Im surprised its taken people so long to see how crap he is. Been the best of a bad bunch for a while until Maguire comes. Too much of a fairy for me. Has good ball play rest is severely lacking for a CB.
 

Red71

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I need to re-watch the goal, but I can't be bothered :lol:

Maguire from that pic looks better placed to take a couple of steps back and deal with it, but perhaps he stepped out and left it to Lindelof. In any case, Lindelof was hard done by I feel, Vestergaard is a very good defender and strong in the air, plus the cross was very very good. It's not really the same as how he dealt with Palace last week. Just unfortunate timing for Lindelof this mistake happened so quickly after that game.
It could just be unfortunate coincidence but he tends to be the common denominator too often. He is going to be targeted more and more as the season goes on unless something changes...and I don’t see that something being his aerial ability or his pace....
 

VP89

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It could just be unfortunate coincidence but he tends to be the common denominator too often. He is going to be targeted more and more as the season goes on unless something changes...and I don’t see that something being his aerial ability or his pace....
I'm not convinced by that. He's made a couple of errors of late, that's not really an argument. But I think he's still a defender with quality skill-sets and he's just been hit with a couple of bad mistakes at a troubling time for us. There are much bigger problems worth discussing than having Lindelof partnering Maguire at the back. I'm quite sure half the posters claiming Tuanzebe is always better barely watched the Championship last season. Some people want change for the sake of change.
 

The Mitcher

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Yeah, because our back line was impenetrable when Smalling was here, right?

If Smalling weren't crap, he wouldn't have been sent out on loan. He probably embarrassed himself in training as much as he would have in an actual game, which is why he was never selected for an actual game. What is that so hard to understand?
We had one of the best defensive records with him and Blind at centreback, Lindelof and Bailly come in and that is gone in two seasons. As much as I don't think blind is a CB and is clearly a DM, he did far better in LVG's last season than Lindelof has done in how many seasons?
 
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