[Kush]

Honestly think I haven't seen a more cowardly CB play at our club. Evans was a giant pussy and shied away from contesting physical/tricky/pacey player but even he engaged in duels more often than Lindelof does, and actually won few aerial duels.

I have never seen anything in him to think he's worth €40m or whatever we paid for him. The fact we gave him a pay rise and a new 5 year contract last year on basis of absolutely nothing is mind boggling. We'll have same troubles moving him on like we are having with Rojo, Jones and Smalling. Massively overpaid players on lengthy deals which no clubs would touch, also greatly exacerbated by incompetent folks at our club involved in transfer negotiations.

I know folks are clamoring for a superstar signing in form of Sancho, but Greenwoods' emergence, Dortmunds' insistence coupled with our general incompetence makes me feel we should have focused on signing a new CB as our utmost priority this summer. Lindelof alternatives are, let's see:

1.) Bailly, who was once a decent defender, but his injury record (which rivals Phil Jones) along-with his ability of playing like a mongoose on methamphetamine any time he's on the pitch makes it a no go.

2.) Which brings me to Rojo, genuinely can't even recall the last time he played for us. Aggressively mediocre at his peak.

3.) Lastly, it leaves us with Phil Jones, who... do I even need to write anything here other than 'haha'?

We have again backed ourselves into a corner by wasting entire time from April until now fecking about in transfer market, any CB we go for, we'll get rinsed. But, given how critical this position is to our side, I'd say pay the money i.e. assuming we have any.

What a shit-show this club is, seriously. Letting players like Reguilon slip away for a moderate fee in this current market, simply because buffoons at the top can't negotiate to remove those clauses from a contract in lieu of extra money.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He's put me off Ice.

 

[No Love]

It's sad isn't it.

It is, man. Today whilst watching Lindelof I couldn’t help but smile and chuckle. It had finally reached that point. I wasn’t even pissed like I would’ve gotten 10-12 years ago as an angsty teen, raging at my team. It was just... unfolding before my very eyes, the same shit that we’re used to seeing now, unfortunately. The hilarious thing: Victor will be looking forward to his name being on the team sheet for Luton and/or Brighton. In a way you have to commend him, as you have to have big brass balls to dial in some of the shit he has for us and still stick around and unashamedly wear the shirt, week in, week out. Not even his fault, really. Poor recruitment means he can keep a clean sheet, have a stormer, score an own goal, give away a penalty or make glaring errors and none of it matters. His place is still safe and sound for the next one.

 

[MAME DIOUF 32]

Feels like his only defensive strength is pressing high and nicking the ball. As soon as he's facing his own goal he melts. I think he's been to blame for 4 consecutive goals now. Ole has to either go with Bailly and pray for his fitness or give Smalling a chance.

 

[Denis79]

He is stealing a living here.

 

[NinjaZombie]

We offered him a new contract and a pay rise last season? What the feck are the club playing at?

Players like him should be squad options, but are paid like they're multiple league title winners.

This club is doomed as long as Woodward and his buddies are in charge.

 

[World Game]

Smalling was sacrificed for this

 

[Norfolk Enchants]

We'd have more success putting Stevie Wonder and Helen Keller in our defence. The number of times the man watches the ball and not the man, then gets shocked that a player ends up in acres of space and manages to position themselves to get a shot at goal is a joke. He may be able to get away with his shitness with someone half decent alongside him but since he's lumbered with Maguire, he's getting found out big time.

 

[Scholes the maestro]

That was really bad defending from him and almost responsible for all the goals conceded.
In addition to that, I really hated how he took 5 touches to pass the ball. He should be passing much faster and increasing the tempo of the game. In fact throughout the game, our tempo was really slow.
How would TFM play in his place? We should try that in some cup games.

 

[Freak]

Fecking useless centre back. I’ve always maintained that if he plays we will concede goals.

 

[Bobcat]

To be honest both Lindelof and Maguire should be our back up defenders but Lindelof is easily the better of the two. The odd(once or twice) time I have seen incisive passing from the back it has been from Lindy yet somehow both of them are chosen ahead of better defenders for that very reason. Makes little sense just like our formation.


Fernandes should yell at himself. You do not go into a new team and start telling players their job, wait a year or two for that.

Check their stats from last year. Maguire beats Lindelof in every single metric that matters for a defender, including winning twice as many aerial battles. Maguire is not the best CB in the world, but hes miles better than Lindelof

 

[SambaBoy]

The most cowardly player I've ever seen start for United consistently. The first goal, why are you just galloping alongside him, stop the cross, stick a foot in. Embarrasing defending.

The penalty can happen to any player but again backing off constantly like he always does when 1 v 1 with an attacker. Shows some balls and try to defend.

The 3rd goal, wow! How weak and pathetic that bit of defending is. Out-strengthened from a favourable position and just gave up.

If he's our 2nd best CB, then we are in big trouble. Been saying since he was here, we need an upgrade on him and if Tunazebe and Bailly aren't better than him then it's worrying.

 

[Abdullah7]

I resent Mourinho but we have to be fair. I think Jose asked for a defender and our incompetent scouts recommended this flimsy excuse of center back. If you have any doubts Just watch this video. Coincidentally, as Jose start to point out that he's bad in the air. The camera on cue caught Lindelöf misjudging a simple header during the warm up. He lacks the basics and whom ever recommended him needs be sacked on the spot.

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I'm baffled as our recruitment team is clearly rotten to the core. Major changes need to be made regarding that aspect or it'll keep recurring in another spots of the team. Ideally, I'd Promote Ole to a football director, bring Pochettino and reassess the whole scouting network. Simple! However, Woodward isn't the man to take us there and he's been the stumbling block. He's been taking the piss for quite sometime and it's about time he starts to feel the wrath of the fans who love this club dearly.

 

[Bondi77]

He is piss weak and I struggle to think of what Premier League first team he would make; He May be alright on the ball but he is a sh1t defender.

 

[hmchan]

Smalling was sacrificed for this

People have short memory and soon they will again say Lindelof is better than Smalling.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

People have short memory and soon they will again say Lindelof is better than Smalling.

Lots of supporters, myself included have never said that Lindelöf is better than Smalling. It’s not revisionism or short sightedness.

However, he like the rest of the team need to put this game to bed. It’s a big kick up the arse, and let’s see who responds in the right way.

As much as I would far rather see Smalling as Maguire’s partner, yesterday confirmed he will be going back to Roma, or somewhere else, and we need to work with what we have got.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

People have short memory and soon they will again say Lindelof is better than Smalling.

Those people likely aren't the same people with the ones who said the opposite.

 

[NK86]

We gave this clown a new 5 year contract and a pay rise last year? This also has to be on Ole. If he agreed to that, then he needs to feck off as well.
If he wasn't even consulted, then we might as well stop watching this club as it's down a path of total fricking doom as long as those fecktards are in charge. Also, Ole should put in his papers if he was not consulted for a contractual upgrade for Lindelof.

Of the two, the former seems more likely which is scary because that makes our manager as culpable and it's a scary thought that we seem to have no eye for good talent for really critical positions.

 

[izec]

I'd rather see Rojo than him. A two footed tackle on Zaha or Ayew is better than a pussy backing off and getting outmuscled

 

[Carl]

He concedes the same type of goal all the time. He's just way too passive. So whilst he'll have games where he looks classy, he'll always have moments that cost us. We've seen it time and again.

As much as I think Bailly has issues, I'd much rather see him given a run (until he gets injured again..)

 

[mattunited1978]

Scrawny, weak, slow shithouse of a CB. Smallings bang average, but he's miles better than this clown.

 

[M Bison]

I've tried to fight his corner and go against the tide on here with Lindelof but its clear as day that we need something else. If we're not bringing someone in, we should give Mengi a go, especially in a game like Palace.

 

[kerano.]

I've tried to fight his corner and go against the tide on here with Lindelof but its clear as day that we need something else. If we're not bringing someone in, we should give Mengi a go, especially in a game like Palace.

Same here.... As a Swede I really wanted him to be a success.. But to be honest, he is simply not good enough for the Premier League.

 

[Coops73]

Sorry Vic you ain’t good enough.

 

[Red_toad]

Why did we even buy him? He isn't good on ball, plays like a coward. Mengi should be ahead of him

So an untested 18 year old is better? What do you base this on? Before you get all defensive, it’s a genuine question, Mengi looks a genuine prospect, but I’d have suspected Palace would have targeted him just as much and he’d have struggled.

 

[Hoboman]

During his tenure at the club he has improved from catastrophic to average. Hence he is squad player at best, always was and always will be. The problem is Maguire was not better than him since last season's restart.

They both could be useful in a team playing possession based football with a fast defensive transitions, but Ole yet to show that he can install and drill those patterns.

Maguire makes much less runs with the ball than he did for Hull and Leicester and Lindelof passing looks too safe and simple. There is no need to play both of them and suffer from their defensive downsides, while you do not utilise their strengths.

Our fullbecks are often criticized for being too defensive, but it is actually scary to see current starting CBs without heavy protection from both fullbecks and DM. Long gone those days when you could feel any confidence with your centrebecks.

 

[Feed Me]

Those calling Lindelof a coward are spot on. He’s absolutely fecking useless. There is no way the club should be looking to move Smalling on.

 

[Lyng]

So an untested 18 year old is better? What do you base this on? Before you get all defensive, it’s a genuine question, Mengi looks a genuine prospect, but I’d have suspected Palace would have targeted him just as much and he’d have struggled.

While I would love to see Mengi instead of Lindelöf, he would need a better partner than Maguire. Maguire often gives away the ball and is far too quiet. And given Mengi’s reputation of giving away penalties when triggered I would feel safer with a calm experienced defender next to him who doesn’t throw away the ball and exposes his team mates.

 

[Red_toad]

He is no worst than Harry. Only difference is one cost 80m. Why spend 80m on a defender and then need another one to make him seem decent?

Maguire wasn’t great but not accountable for any of the goals and he was as poor as Lindelof?

It’s obvious that Harry is better at every aspect of defending and is a better player, but they do not compliment each other. Smalling was as better partner for Lindelof and would very likely be better with Maguire. So we should be targeting a better version of Smalling as soon as possible.

 

[MadDogg]

That match was brutal. Back to his first season with us where he was so passive and weak. Obviously he's always had those attributes to some extent, but the last two seasons he'd obviously improved them enough that they weren't hurting us too much. This was back to his first season.

He is no worst than Harry. Only difference is one cost 80m. Why spend 80m on a defender and then need another one to make him seem decent?

I'd actually agree that last season they were fairly even on average. The difference is that Maguire's good games are significantly better, and the hope is that with a suitable partner (something that many of us were saying Lindelof was not even before we signed Maguire) we'd see those good games more often. Lindelof is almost the worst possible partner for Maguire as he basically has all the same weaknesses except he's got average speed instead of being downright slow (and then doesn't really have any of Maguire's strengths either).

 

[Ashish Negi]

The bloke that Lindelof managed to catch for stealing an old women’s bag must be looking at himself in his prison cell mirror wondering how he failed this badly in life

 

[PaulRich]

So an untested 18 year old is better? What do you base this on?

based on him being impossible to be any fecking worse

 

[Litch]

Maguire wasn’t great but not accountable for any of the goals and he was as poor as Lindelof?

It’s obvious that Harry is better at every aspect of defending and is a better player, but they do not compliment each other. Smalling was as better partner for Lindelof and would very likely be better with Maguire. So we should be targeting a better version of Smalling as soon as possible.

You buy a Lamborghini and then buy a Ferrari cause it's not fast enough? Maybe it's nothing to do with going fast in the first place?

 

[Litch]

That match was brutal. Back to his first season with us where he was so passive and weak. Obviously he's always had those attributes to some extent, but the last two seasons he'd obviously improved them enough that they weren't hurting us too much. This was back to his first season.


I'd actually agree that last season they were fairly even on average. The difference is that Maguire's good games are significantly better, and the hope is that with a suitable partner (something that many of us were saying Lindelof was not even before we signed Maguire) we'd see those good games more often. Lindelof is almost the worst possible partner for Maguire as he basically has all the same weaknesses except he's got average speed instead of being downright slow (and then doesn't really have any of Maguire's strengths either).

So if you have 80m, would you not buy a player that compliments what you already have rather than have to spend another 60m to then do so? This CB Russian roulette is getting ridiculous. Fecking hate the owners but would you keep writing the cheque for yet another one? Feck me we have a graveyard of them....

 

[Devil81]

Time to say goodbye to that starting birth next to Maguire for me, as bad as Harry has been I think the general consensus is he's a better player than he's showing currently and that's because his partner is so bad.

If we're not buying then Axel and Mengi will never have a better chance to make the step up to the first eleven, Bailly can't keep fit and Lindelof just can't defend.

Personally treat his name on the team sheet the same as I do Dan James, with utter fear.

 

[MadDogg]

So if you have 80m, would you not buy a player that compliments what you already have rather than have to spend another 60m to then do so? This CB Russian roulette is getting ridiculous. Fecking hate the owners but would you keep writing the cheque for yet another one? Feck me we have a graveyard of them....

I do wonder why we went for Maguire (for that price) if the plan was to keep Lindelof as one of the main two. I've liked Maguire since he was at Hull and wish we'd gone for him when he was cheap, but he's very slow and is only, at best, 'good' defensively rather than it being an actual strength. It's why I thought that Smalling would, yet again, quickly establish himself as first choice as he's the best we've got to cover those two aspects which would allow Maguire to focus on what he is good at. Instead in pre-season it was obvious that Maguire and Lindelof were the main two, Tuanzebe seemed to be next in line and then from memory even Jones and Rojo (or maybe it was only one of them) got more minutes. Smalling unsurprisingly saw the writing on the wall and asked to leave.

In saying that, it doesn't really matter who we bought, we still would have had to buy a second as none of our senior defenders are good enough. Smalling isn't good enough on the ball, Bailly, Rojo and Jones are too injury-prone and Lindelof is...well, Lindelof. Unless the entire plan was to hope Tuanzebe would take the step up, but it is appearing increasingly likely that he's going to join the injury-prone club and we may need to rely on Mengi. So ultimately we'd need a second defender no matter who we bought last season, and the fact that it was Maguire just means we know that whoever that second defender is needs to have certain strengths (most noticeably he needs to be fast).

 

[pratyush_utd]

So an untested 18 year old is better? What do you base this on? Before you get all defensive, it’s a genuine question, Mengi looks a genuine prospect, but I’d have suspected Palace would have targeted him just as much and he’d have struggled.

It was just in anger. I wasn't being serious about Mengi.

But point about Lindelof still stands

 

[roonster09]

Very first min he misjudged header and he was not even contested by any player, sums up the player. He is atrocious and we won't be winning anything with players like him as first choice.

Maybe it's not too late, we should play Smalling.

 

[Mcking]

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[2mufc0]

Get this fraud out of the club, seriously pisses me off seeing him in a United shirt.