Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - Read Mod Warning in OP 7/1/15

bangkok wrote: »

not a chance, the amount of times even against Southampton that blind took a touch before passing compared to carrick who used his first touch to pass the ball. it was fairly obvious in the last game

When he was straight back in the team after two months injured?

Blind as a midfielder is a not alot more than a squad player or back up, he is not top quality for the level needed to be first 11 in center midfield.

says alot when LVG still wants to sign a DM and the fact that we waited until the last day of the transfer window to sign him i.e. - our primary midfield targets were missed.

the thing that gets me is that we have signed 3 midfielders totally over £70million in the space of 10 months, yet none of them were selected to start there last sunday and being honest, apart from Herrera potentially, dont solve our main problem - creativity through the middle.

Pro. F wrote: »

Blind is the new Michael Carrick. A disciplined but technically limited midfielder who gets far more praise than he deserves.

odd thing to say about Carrick as he clearly isnt.

Blatter wrote: »

I think there's a bit of shiny new toy syndrome involved. I think his ratings will fade as time goes on.

I also don't think van Gaal sees him as a long term starter, the fact that the deal only happened on deadline day for ~£14m would indicate to me that van Gaal wasn't fully sold despite working with him for a couple of years.

Dare I say that if Carrick wasn't out for 3 months at the time he may never have signed. The way in which the transfer was conducted screamed stop gap/back up choice to me.

Well I certainly hope so. I'd be happy to have him as a squad player, or as a LB, or maybe even a CB. Hopefully LVG is looking to upgrade on both him and Carrick for the DM.

Pro. F wrote: »

This is just the start of it. He's exactly the type of DM that Van Gaal often has, a hard working defensively sound player who is relatively poor on the ball. So if Van Gaal keeps his job, then Blind is heir apparent for the DM position as Carrick declines (which I don't believe has started yet). As you say, he hasn't been tearing up the league, but people are still heaping praise on his performances. It's shaping up to be just like the Carrick story all over again.

And you only have to look at Chelsea to see a DM that is tearing up the Premier league, thats the sort of standard we should be aiming for, not just a solid performer like Blind.

Pro. F wrote: »

Crossing is not important for a central midfielder. I don't know about his striking of the ball, but even if that's good it wouldn't overcome his weak touch and control.

I would include crossing and shooting in the technique umbrella, they may not be priorities for a CM but still.

bucketybuck wrote: »

He's no Leon Britton thats for sure.

Yeah, as a DM, Matic now is not as good as Britton was over the last few years imo. Although to be fair to Matic, he has a lot of attributes of a box-to-box CM that Britton wouldn't have.

Pro. F wrote: »

But he's not as good at taking up the exact right defensive position and he doesn't have the passing discipline that Carrick has. So they both have strengths that the other lacks.

Chelsea need to shift formation in my opinion. Matic needs someone beside him to help out with the running, Fabregas will be exposed against good teams if he's alongside him and it's nearly impossible to cover the width of the pitch by yourself.

i think the problem with carrick is at times we need the play to be fast and i feel he can be a bit too measured with who he finds in some games that theres not too much space given which is why i like blind in dm more as he quickens up the pace of the play a bit. i understand that you need the pace slowed if the team is winning which is why carrick could be great as a late substitute in tight games.

I don't think I'll ever get used to Pro F. comparing some of the best midfielders in the world to Leon Britton. Although to be fair you didn't bring it up this time.

As regards Matic, he's everything you want in a holding midfielder. And its not as if he isn't technically proficient either, he can be excellent in going forward and ball retention.

Edit: you have a point on the Carrick and Matic type of DM though. Carrick was never or will never be a Gattuso type DM and Matic will never be the type who intercepts everything through his positioning. But they perform the same function all the same in a different manner. What's important is who is beside them.

beno619 wrote: »

I would include crossing and shooting in the technique umbrella, they may not be priorities for a CM but still.

Good crossing and shooting doesn't make up for a lack of control for a central midfielder, just like good control doesn't make up for a lack of shooting ability from a striker. I think it is unnecessarily awkward to insist on giving credit for all technical abilities when pointing out that a player is lacking in the important ones for their position.