Not really tested today on the defensive end, Lindelof showed today exactly what could get him more frequently into the CB rotation and perhaps even a starting place one day, with his ability to handle and play the ball effectively from the back. As mentioned above, I simply don't think anyone among our current CBs can really touch him in that department. If nothing else, it was an important and hopefully confidence building display for him. If he can replicate his last 2 European displays in the Prem, he'll be well on his in putting his slow start behind him.
That's one journo which agrees re Lindelof's performance today. Definitely a step in the right direction. www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/victor-lindelof-repays-jose-mourinhos-11367303
This guy is easily being singled out by opposing teams. Not only he is hesitant but his reading of the game and his positioning are both really, really slow. He's single handedly conceding goals in a very defensive side. If you threw him in the backline of one of the mid level PL teams he would be culpable for multiple goals a game. Not only does he look like he's not MUQ, he doesn't even look PL level.
********ing dogshit today. Was getting utterly exposed time and again. The first goal was bad enough, he had twisted blood but Mata giving the ball away and Matic not picking up the runner was bad too. The second goal was conceded by someone who had no ********ing clue about the basic ABCs of defending. A simple long ball over the top and you could literally see his brain ******** itself as he tried to figure out what to do. That should be instinct. He was shouting at someone after the second goal - DDG should have punched him and told him to shut the ******** up. He needs to spend some time in the Reserves. Bailly will hopefully be back next weekend and I pray the Jones injury isn't long.
he's been babied the entire time and friggin looks worse... even José doesn't trust him and has made this public. he also knew there was an adaptive period and then doesn't play him.whether he thought he wassn't ready and is mentally fragile or thought we had enough cover to ease him in it hasn't worked. spectacularly backfired even. we essentially have a guy that is cup tied for the league. either way just cut the losses now and blood Tuanzebe
Loan him back to Benfica for remainder of his contract in exchange for first choice on one of their attacking academy products. Cut our losses. Promote Tuanzebe, make it work with current CBs. Recruit a LWF and a RWF, play Rashford at 9.
Tuanzebe should feel aggrieved if this twat gets more minutes just because he's a purchase. Send him down and bring Tuan up. I know in the past we've had defenders look like shit and turn into good players - but Evra and Vida didn't look as ********ing hopeless as Lindelof on that 2nd goal. That was truly ********ing pathetic.
If he'd shown some peaks to even out the valleys I wouldn't be too concerned. But he's never shown a glimpse of being good enough in his time here. Hell, he was getting embarrassed by MLS teams in preseason.
With Bailly and Rojo both coming back soon, Lindelof should hardly be considered a factor in our CB rotation for a while. Even if Jones is going to be absent for a while, there are more than enough options between Bailly, Smalling, Rojo and Tuanzebe or even Blind. Certainly don't imagine that Jose will be ready to just give up on him so quickly, especially since he's still so young and not talking about a guy who's 25-27yrs old. If by this time next season, he hasn't shown a marked improvement on his game, then his presence in the squad can be re evaluated then. Our current depth at that position buys him time.
Why? The (supposed) Iceman has been shambolic so far. No one here is calling for the death penalty, but we are calling on Jose to slow down his introduction into a league that's nowhere near being ready for. Use him in domestic cup game and CL dead rubber matches this season, but not in the prem.
I want to give the guy as much of a chance as possible, but its getting harder by the minute. Its almost November and he has made 2 appearances, and has not had a single good performance in comp games or in preaseason. If he was bought as a starting CB then someone screwed up, be it scouts or Jose. If he was bought as a project for the future then Jose screwed up, as we needed a starter. As others has said, he can either be loaned, or get minutes in cup games. He cant play in EPL or CL games because we have no margin for error there.
The weird thing is that players from Benfica had said his inability to be phased was his biggest strength (or one of them). His nickname was Iceman. For that reason I think he’s ********ed. He can’t handle it here, and he’s had too many catastrophic errors to be able to turn it around. He probably can’t even take a dump without doubting his ability not to get shit on the walls. He can become a pretty decent defender somewhere else and try to forget this ever happened, or stay here and become a gibbering wreck, the new byword in defensive calamity.
Given the way that Mou has handled players he didn't care for in the past, I don't see why this guy should continue to get opportunities. Bad signings happen to the best of teams. I hate to say it, but send him out on loan to a place where he might be more comfortable, try to mitigate the damage to his market value as much as possible, then sell him on and try again. With the way things are in football these days, we don't have the time or breathing room to suffer through an individuals inept performances on the off-chance that he learns from them and turns it around. It would be different if these were mere brainfarts and we'd seen significant upside in his play outside those incidents, but we haven't.
We are way overreacting here. He is still settling in. Probably by March is where we'll see him play well.
In what world can we afford to keep giving game time to a player making mistakes of this magnitude until March, and still be competitive? It’s not like he’s a bit shaky but otherwise showing signs of promise. These mistakes are monumental, in a sport where a team’s success is defined by its weak links more than by its best players.
Lindelof needs support while he adapts to life at Manchester United. www.espnfc.com/club/manchester-united/360/blog/post/3240914/victor-lindelof-deserves-support-as-he-adjusts-to-life-at-manchester-united