28 Nov 2020 12:00:51
It would be sad to see Donny VdB drop back to the bench again on Sunday and a worrying indictment of Ole's vision for Utd moving forward.

Moyes, LvG and Mourinho were all heavily criticised for their pragmatism and unimaginative football.

As Ole desperately attempts to salvage his job his over protection of a porous defence may just prove to be the defining moments of his Utd managerial career.

The intelligent VdB played with a purpose and precision we've scarcely seen from a holding midfielder under Ole. He is a player that knows what he is going to do with the ball before it arrives at his feet and his quick, incisive passes set the tone for a brilliant Utd attacking performance in mid week rarely produced in recent years.

Defending is obviously not his strength but he also provides a mobile, hard working and disciplined presence in midfield. Next to the energetic and industrious Fred it is a midfield partnership that may just offer the necessary balance of attacking flair and defensive stability. (Certainly against less glamorous opposition) .

Southampton will press Utd relentlessly and VdB's vision, technical ability and clarity of thought may just prove to be Utd's best weapon in navigating the press and setting speedsters Martial and Rashford marauding into the open spaces left behind Southampton's high line. If anyone is adept at finding Fernandes in the pockets of space between the lines then surely this role is perfectly suited to VdB's skill set.

If Ole is to prolong his Utd career then he must win these types of games but two years into his reign there must also be evidence of a more progressive style of play.

Maguire and Lindelof must improve to form a solid and reliable partnership and provide the team with the platform and confidence to play. An £80m pound defender cannot be nursed through every game and whilst Southampton are a decent team in good form they are not Liverpool or Bayern Munich. Ole must be more demanding of his defence especially for a back four that cost well in excess of £150m to assemble.

Ole has some very good players at his disposal and it's about time he started to use them.

If Ole's vision is to continue to protect an expensively assembled back 4 by leaving his best players on the bench then the mutinous whispers will only get louder and he will inevitable lose his job.

His team selection should be obvious especially with Pogba and Mctominay injured.

As always another pivotal weekend awaits!

{Ed002's Note - The agent of DvdB is still hawking him around other clubs.}

1.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 12:40:25
Was UTd always a temp over for VDB ED002, or is he fed up if being a bench player already?

{Ed002's Note - There is no plan or direction for him.}

2.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 13:08:34
I thought DVB done ok midweek I wouldn't say he was amazing .
I thought we played ok but again I don't think it was an amazing performance.
Lot of room for improvement around.

If DVB agent is hawking him around maybe not the player for us .
He comes across as a decent lad but I think the ed said he was being hawked round a while back after about 4 games .
Maybe best to let him go if that's the case.

3.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 13:37:07
Not the player for us? Let him go? Ed tells us the issue and it’s a fundamental problem of no plan that we see through the whole club because on the football side, from coaches, manager upwards it is run by amateurs. Ole spoke to him and told him all sweetness and light, he signs, then it appears he finds it was all garbage. Emotion is clouding the judgement of the situation

Very good post DLIB.

4.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 14:03:08
I can only assume he was bought as competition or back up for Fernandes in the eyes of Ole anyway. I think Ole see's him predominantly as a No10 and has been very reluctant to try him in a deeper role.

I remember Ed suggesting he was scouted as an alternative to Pogba before we singed him and judging by midweek he definitely injected some extra quality and an attacking impetus into the team from a deeper midfield position.

I get the impression Ole is worried about his defensive instincts in a deeper role and has become preoccupied in over protecting a very slow and immobile centre back pairing.

Fred and Mctominay have done a fantastic job in protecting the back four and bringing some stability to the team but if Ole wants to implement a more attacking, attractive and progressive style of football he must find a better balance especially against the weaker teams.

With Pogba now injured and looking increasingly likely to leave in the summer and Mctominay also injured maybe now VdB will be afforded more opportunity to show us what he can do!

Jred - I'm not sure I understand your post mate! What point are you making? Come on pal it was night and day from the WBA game from an attacking perspective. We created some very good chances in the first half and at 3-0 up we didn't have to endure yet another nail biting finish. I agree it was far from perfect and defensively we looked vulnerable again but Maguire is captain of the Club, he must take more responsibility, work relentlessly on his positioning, cut out the silly mistakes and lapses in concentration, become a commanding presence and give the team a platform to play. He cannot be nursed through every game for a team that has aspirations to win silverware at the expense of some very good footballers!

Luckily scraping through every game is not good enough two years into his project. We must see a more progressive style of play emerging and I'd like to see Ole go out fighting by stamping his authority on the team than desperately trying to cover for an expensively assembled back four that he predominantly built and keeping very good players on the bench when we sit mid table anyway.

Cheers Red Man a lack of plan or direction does seem to be a reoccurring problem!

5.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 14:42:57
DLIB

Youth players like Gomes leave, Ed tells us there is no path for them, no plan. So far there is no plan to be seen on the pitch.

I would love to know what Ole told DvB to encourage him to sign, I bet it wasn’t that we have heated substitute seats. Whatever it was, it can’t be good that his agent is trying to get him out so soon. That is a damning indictment of Ole’s strategic leadership.

6.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 15:04:19
Dlib it judging on one game again do you think it was night and day compared to the PSG, RB everton or even the Newcastle game?
Why is the westbrom game the bench mark . Its wasn't that long ago we had to play the diamond for example.
It was an ok performance imo mainly down to the front 3 and bruno .
Different combinations in all them games was midweek really to only way to play?

7.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 15:06:25
Redman I bet he never told him you are guaranteed to start everygame .
Did gomes really do enough has he ripped it up since he left?

8.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 15:24:34
Redman I should also say it say a lot about his agent as well.

9.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 16:25:27
Jred

No one would promise a guaranteed start, but there must have been a conversation about how he would fit in, what the plans were for him and now within weeks his agent is trying to move him out. That doesn’t seem normal to me, even in the world of agents.

10.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 17:00:41
Redman
No I agree its probably not normal an agent trying to move his player a few games after signing for a club.

Ole has said he has to be patient which I think is a fair shout .
Thankfully he doesn't represent any of our other players .
What would you do with a player who was hawking himself around other teams because he was on the bench for a few games? I mean don't forget we are only 8 games into a season .

11.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 17:16:09
Southampton deploy a high press, against them we need our most press resistant midfielders. Players who don't give the ball away easily or cheaply, players who keep their calm and keep the ball tight to them.

While Fred has been excellent at pressing and harrying the opposition. His first touch and pass selection can be poor leading to possession being easily overturned.

Personally against Southampton I'd go with Matic and Donny as the holders with Bruno ahead of them. Give us a base that won't lose the ball cheaply, while both have the passing ability to unlock teams with either a quick or clever pass between the lines.

12.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 17:34:21
Jred

I would sit the player down and find out if the agent was acting on his instructions. If so why and welcome open discourse about what the issues are, if there are any misunderstandings. Deal with it from there, but it is clear something isn't right.

13.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 17:42:40
DVB has started 4 out of 3 CL games
And come on as sub in 6 out 8 league games, its early days imo .
I would of thought would be concentrating adapting to a new league, team mates, club etc . Instead of hawking himself around other clubs.
Don't forget his last game for ajax was 2nd of Feb , he had no preseason really .
If the lad is already looking for a move transfer window opens in Jan?
But personally I hope he gets his head down and is here for z couple of years.

14.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 18:04:16
Don’t forget Jred, if there is a systemic problem with what is happening and DvB is just an example, who knows whether others are affected as well. If Bruno’s agent starts agitating would you say the same thing?

15.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 19:45:40
Redman
Why who else has left? If anything we can't get rid of players😂
If brunos agent starts agitating it will be for complete different reason to DVB.
But come on pal is that really relevant in this convo .
If bruno agent doesn't start agitating does mean every thing is great?
Of course not .

16.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 21:40:27
Thanks ED002. Even to the fans, it looks difficult for VDB at UTD.

My question is, why did OGS agree to signing him?

Was it simply to appease the fans?

{Ed002's Note - No idea.}

17.) 28 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 22:31:39
Why did Mourinho agree to sign Fred when he wanted a CB. The club were saying they can't afford a CB but here's a 50m CM you don't need or want.

Did Ole want Pellistri and Amad Diallo for 32m this summer?

Did he want Cavani?

Why did LvG agree to Herrera and Shaw?

Why did Jose agree to Bailly?

There is a recurring theme where managers get very different players to those they want, sometimes even players who play in totally different positions.

In fact I'd say the only manager since Sir Alex who only signed players he actually wanted and didn't get others forced on him was Moyes, and he was sacked after 8 months in charge.

There seems to be something deeply wrong with the recruitment at our club and it has remained no matter how many managers we go through.

While I'm happy for and accept that it's probably not ideal to give a manager 100% control over transfers. The other people involved should have a clear understanding of where the club is going and what sort of players the club needs. I'm not sure we have that at the moment. Until we get a DoF we will continue to have poor recruitment.

18.) 29 Nov 2020
28 Nov 2020 23:09:45
A coach is set the job of managing a set of players.

19.) 29 Nov 2020
29 Nov 2020 01:27:04
Well documented that Moyes did not get who he wanted. And then they panic bought at end of window.

20.) 29 Nov 2020
29 Nov 2020 03:13:13
I think there is no problem about signing players like Amad and Pellistri. Potentially look good and are for the future.

There is a lot of things going behind which we don't know but recently Bailly said rejected Pep for utd after Mou call.

I think the big thing at utd is lack of progressive plans on the pitch and about players.

21.) 29 Nov 2020
29 Nov 2020 10:54:29
Shappy

It is well documented that DvB signed for us after a conversation with Solskjaer. DVB said after he signed about the conversation. Sorry that doesn’t fit in with your “it isn’t Oles fault that he signed and can’t use him” post. The transfer would have been easily avoided if OGS didn’t want him.

22.) 29 Nov 2020
29 Nov 2020 11:04:58
Redman donny also said
"It sounds cliché for me to say this, because of course I would have liked to play more, but I really enjoy being in a nice team. I am simply received very well and helped by everyone"

What does he [Solskjaer] say to me?  That I have to be patient, but also that I just have to continue with what I am doing.  

"And that he's seen that I have a good impact when I come into the field. My time is definitely coming.  And when those opportunities come, I have to be there. "
And yet he his a hawking himself around other clubs after a handful of games so I woukd take it with a pinch of salt.

{Ed002's Note - He is not hawking himself around. His agent has spoken with other clubs - I have explained that.}

23.) 29 Nov 2020
29 Nov 2020 12:41:35
Sad that this is the case ed002. Proper amateur behaviour going on that might lead to a very good player leaving prematurely.

24.) 01 Dec 2020
01 Dec 2020 16:51:25
Been saying since day 1 DvdB being on the bench at all is a bit of a disgrace, a team should be built around Bruno and Donny. Hopefully Ole will realise we are a better, more attacking and creative team with the pair playing together which I belive is and was the United way when Ole played for us so surely the manager sees this, you'd hope anyway. A tough match at Saints, we need to be brave and impose ourselves on them and any team really not set up with x2 DM and show them initiative.

25.) 01 Dec 2020
01 Dec 2020 16:52:46
Gomes has started very well on loan got 3 goals and 2 assists in 5 appearances, including a goal from the halfway line.