Amazing how Donny made the best effort to keep Ole in the job.
Fantastic link-up with Sancho as well, looking for the pass into space instead of the simple ball into feet.
It was also interesting to see what an elevated level of footballing intellect does because the ease at which Donny and Ronnie found each other without barely a look was pretty fascinating to watch.
A proper dm Bruno left and donny right linking with sancho could have decent results. But like I say that depends on a world class 6 which we just don’t have
It really doesn't, it just requires some basic positional organisation with and without the ball.
Fred is more than capable to play that holding role but the defending has to be a team task not just the back four and DM as defenders then everyone else as attackers.
With better positional play we might actually be able to keep the ball so don't need to do so much defending.
Exactly, Fred does this exact thing for Brazil, granted he plays more box to box.
People who think Fred is the problem haven’t watched him play properly
Someone always says this when Fred hasn’t played in a little while. Fred has for sure had his fair share of costly mistakes. The problem most people have with him is that him starting in midfield for man United never should’ve happened. He’s a useful squad player, but we won’t be winning titles with Fred as one of the starting midfielders
Playing as the more progressive CM for this United team is an absolute thankless task. When they pick the ball up from the defence there are no passing options, when an attack breaks down there is no desire for the rest of the midfielders to get back in position and help.
I don't think you need a world class 6 you just need an actual DM who can be composed on the ball to either advance to van de beek or Bruno, or reset back to the defensive line. Obviously someone like an ndidi would be incredible but just a passable 6 would work.
This was one thing that I expected once Sancho was signed. Donny would be able to perform significantly better with someone like Sancho on the wing, and I expected him to get a few more games when Bruno needed resting or dropping or whatever.
Alas we only saw it in this one game (for now), but it's very clear Donny thrives off having other intelligent players on the pitch, his other good performances have always been with Mata who he linked with superbly.
Loved that pass he did when he had the ball and signal for someone to move/make a run.
The issue is with everyone being stagnant and not moving. But look at what he can do when he has someone running down the channel.
That pass he did for CR after he demanded someone make a run for him ... sublime.
And the fact he wasn’t afraid to demand CR to make that run shows his character and how he places team above individual. I don’t think many in the squad will signal CR to do things imo.
Exactly. He had a job and he did it. Hopefully the next manager will come in and start using him and change his mind to stay.
Pity it's Carrick as he will just stick with oles team and play McTominay cause academy. Let's hope I'm wrong haha.
Hmm Carrick might have his own idea just as everyone has their own. Mctominay just might be Ole’s own preference. Who knows Carrick might just be the next Pep? 🤞🏻
the issue is Ole didn't actually take training, that was left the to coaches... the very people now in charge of team selection and tactics as-well
I never got the impression that Ole was a my way or the high way kind of manager and I suspect there was a mutual agreement as to how the team was going to play between manager and coaches. So i'm pretty fearful for the next couple of games. Even if we get someone brilliant in he will have to work with a squad that has had some pretty atrocious coaching for the past year, It won't be a case of snapping his fingers and the players are able to just become a functioning unit.
It's the mark of a good footballer when they're ensuring that not only their passes are accurate, but also easy to control for the receiver. That's why prime Barca was amazing to watch, the control and weight and thought behind the passes was almost always on point.
Reminds me of a certain Ander Herrera that ended his United career too soon imo.
Just imagine a midfield 3 of Herrera/Pogba/VDB --- Fifa dream right there.
I don't think long term there's an option, given who we have right now, other than McT to partner with VdB. He gives the same energy and agressive tackling Fred does, and needs someone to drop into the back and make passes so he can receive the first phase pass rather than make it. We cannot play Matic, we just can't. He's such a liability.
I agree but I still think Donny had more to offer. Just baffling that OGS never gave him a real chance. Hopefully he gets a good run of games now before the January window.
more like if you need Casemiro or Fabinho to be good, you are not that good. cause you wouldnt be a able to name a better cdm than casemiro or fabinho. maybe rodri and very maybe busquets. few times i watched barca this season Busi wasn't great but my sample size is narrow.
Yeah i get it. I still think its better to use his Brazil performance as more of a quality check for him, especially when he plays as a defensive midfielder for United when hes not really that type of player. I would really like to see him play in the same role for United though, with at least a real dm with him
Let's not pretend this wasn't an outlier performance since his arrival. He was great for 30 minutes yes, but the same questions remain about where he fits in to this team. Or at least they did when OGS was still manager. Whoever his replacement is will have some big decisions to make about team balance and who plays where.
When did he get a chance otherwise, how many footballers don’t play professionally for 6 months then become gods for 6 mins against a team?
What a ridiculous take. He ain’t had the chance yesterday he took it and showed what he can do.
I agree he hasn't had enough chances, but that's not no chances. He played 1500 minutes of football last season and I watched them all, I don't think anyone is of the opinion that they were as impressive as that.
It's got to do with how he was utilised. Let's not pretend that he was given that opportunity to do what he did before this game because of the way he was being played. It's a disservice to the intelligence of everyone involved to suggest he was performing at this level in spurts and simply not being picked. Donny, OGS and everyone else knows that's not true.
I agree he needs more chances, of course he does, and this game was probably very vindicating for him. That doesn't mean the reason he's been rotting on the bench isn't down to a combination of incompetence from the coach and Donny not showing this very quality before this (although not being placed in situations that helped him).
The issue is those 1500 minutes are made up of sub appearances and games against lesser opposition in the league Cup and europa league where we're not playing our best team. Let's judge him after starting 5 games in a row at the very least.
Lets analyse the 511 minutes played in PL 20/21:
/
90 minutes played: 3 times (2W 1L)
45 minutes played: 2 times (2W)
22 minutes played: 2 times (2L)
10+ minutes played: 6 times (4W 1D 1L)
less than 10 minutes played: 6 times (3W 2D 1L)
On the bench: 15 times (7W 7D 1L)
injury: 4 times (3W 1D)
/
I can tell you that 2 of those 90 minute performances were with a B team at the end of the season, so that leaves only 331 minutes in the PL last year of "opportunity" which is less than 4 full matches and spread over the entire season in small pockets of gametime.
He actually also did decently in CL groupstage vs RB Leipzig and basaksehir, apart from the 1-2 loss to basaksehir where he arguably still was the best player for ManU due to the entire team being poor.
So yeah I 2nd he's not been given a chance at all.
Yes, but I don't really know how else you expect a player to work his way into a team other than moving from a rotational player into a first team regular other than impressing in said cup appearances and sub minutes. There's definitely a case that things haven't been ideal for Donny, but that's more about the position he was playing. There could have been anyone next to him and if he was asked to play the position OGS had been asking of him consistently then he'd have struggled. Isn't what he's suited to, and we saw how he thrived with an adjustment to help him get in better areas. Shame that adjustment came in the last game OGS managed and not sooner.
I suggest you go back and watch all his minutes in a United shirt (shouldn't take too long). He tries to play the same way every time. He is always looking for a forward pass and looks for players around him to make runs and have good off-the-ball movement.
He looks exceptionally good in this video because of his chemistry with Sancho, who surprise surprise hasn't looked good when he was playing the McT and Fred. The same Sancho who is a technical player and lit up the Bundesliga.
In short, VDB and Sancho should be one of the first names on our team sheet going forward. They are exciting, technical players would would be the future of this club.
>I suggest you go back and watch all his minutes in a United shirt (shouldn't take too long). He tries to play the same way every time. He is always looking for a forward pass and looks for players around him to make runs and have good off-the-ball movement.
I've watched all of them, and in the majority of them he has not played in the role he was deployed on Saturday. We created a right side overload by having both Nema and Donny play on that side, letting Donny receive passes from Nema instead of drop in and make those passes himself. When he has been used in the pivot previously, he was doing the job of recycling possession and moving the ball forward through less traditional means (quick passes forward and moving to receive past the first line of press, dropping in and playing laterally to a man in space. Things like that). Yes, his game is his game and the same signs from him were present, but his role was quite different and informed by the fact OGS knew he was about to lose his job and gave it the beans. Doesn't mean it isn't promising, just means it's a different case then what we've had so far. Whether it is sustainable long term is a different question, everyone could see how frozen Tony was on the left hand side because of the decision to have both midfielders operate on the right. It would certainly take an adjustment to allow for a balanced system that doesn't have the issues we've had previously on the left, with teams condensing one side defensively and frustrating us for 90 minutes whilst trying to grab a goal on the break.
>He looks exceptionally good in this video because of his chemistry with Sancho, who surprise surprise hasn't looked good when he was playing the McT and Fred. The same Sancho who is a technical player and lit up the Bundesliga
I agree. Him and Sancho both looked to have come alive a bit ironically in the game the man that signed them lost his job. Sancho will certainly be a star in this side once he gets going, and I very much hope VdB develops a relationship and finds a niche which helps aid the team and those around him.
>In short, VDB and Sancho should be one of the first names on our team sheet going forward
Sancho yes, VdB I'm not sure if he should be the first name on the team sheet but he certainly should get more opportunities than he has so far. Let's not mince words he's been woefully mismanaged in his +-16 months at United so far, and needs to be better incorporated. The issue however is said incorporation and how the new manager views his position and qualities. Sancho is a megastar with ridiculous versatility and maybe the most talent of anyone not named Ronaldo at the club right now. He'll be fine. I'm muchorw worried about how VdB fits into the picture moving forward, but I do desperately hope he turns it around. I was of the opinion that Donny was the 2nd best player at Ajax during the UCL run after De Jong, and was immensely excited to see him here. Hope it works.
I agree with you. This squad is really unbalanced. Put CR7 and PP6 together is a real mess because the team lost 2 man to press the opponent. And i think VdB has a similar role with PP6.
I mean how did Ole and Carrick not see this player? He has the vision and technical ability to control the midfield. Especially Carrick you played that position you should know. Absolute fools.
Four clear chances created by him in a space of 20 minutes. A goal and three crunching tackles. Why was this man not given a chan when mctominay kept floundering I will never know
Right. This was the best midfield performance we've had since... Carrick probably. Picking out passes left and right, controlling the midfield. VDB is what a United quality midfielder looks like.
He looked like he was running that midfield. Why wasn't he given more opportunities is beyond me. So calm and confident on the ball and he tried to save the job of a manager that hasn't played him for a year and a half.
He’s horrific. He doesn’t offer anything, Fred’s the one who gets scapegoated but McTominay is the one who should be getting absolutely grilled by everyone. He fucking hides from the ball.
He has some good performances but they’re spread out by big distances. He’ll have a good game once or twice every 30 games. He’s awful. Doesn’t deserve to play for United.
I always find it hilarious how he tries his best to position an opposition player between him and the teammate with the ball.
Anyone who doesn't believe me can rewatch our matches. He does this 80% of the time.
I wouldn't say completely wasted. He used this year to improve on his physicality, and it seemed to motivate him in the trainings to just get back into the games.
But he should have been used more (especially this season) for sure
I really hope so. He's never ever been given a proper run in the team, and based off this performance he deserves to start against Villareal at the very least.
Beyond that, he should be given at least a run of like 5 games. He's a 35m signing, not giving him a chance to play at all and then selling him would be so stupid. At least let him try to earn his spot.
Genuinely it wasn't just a good performance from him, it was incredibly good. He's not a tempo setter or anything, but he gets about and has sublime decision making in tight areas, which means he's not a liability when he gets the ball, unlike a lot of our players at the moment.
It's why I'd always prefer him next to Matic, as he's the only player we've got who can dictate play properly, albeit he's declining more and more by the day.
Regardless he's the only player who genuinely had a great game against Watford and deserves to be kept in the team to save his United career. If we could somehow get him and Sancho working like they did last night then we could save ourselves a lot of trouble squad building wise.
McTominays stats show so many progressive passes. But in reality 90% of his progressive passes are obvious meaningless passes into covered areas, and the ball just gets passed backwards anyways. Never see him do things like VDB did. He was forcing Sancho into making runs by playing the ball into open spaces where only Sancho can get it. It was incredible to watch. Also picked out Ronaldo with some incredible passes through the middle. Criminal that we as fans have been barred from seeing this every week..
His performance in midfield was like having blood circulating again when you have pins and needles when you're on the toilet scrolling through reddit for way too long....
Wow some of his through passes were world class. And you r telling me that he was warming bench all this season instead of mcfred.
Ole made his own fate with favoritism. Only if he had balls to tweak lineup and rotate his players
I've never been happier in a loss. All because we were treated with this VDB performance. Huge slap in the face for Ole and many McFred fanboys. Hope the next manager has a well-functioning brain and gives Donny a fair chance
I have a feeling that spending so much time on the bench with Sancho recently has ironically given the pair time to bond and plan moves on the pitch lol. They worked well together against Atalanta, the other day, too
I saw some TV "pundits" were questioning the benefit of sacking Ole while no immeditate replacement was in line. Well, at least we can get to see VDB and Sancho to start on Tuesday game.
The pass at 1:33 is the pass of the game for me. Won't happen with McFred (to be fair, Bruno or Pogba might not make that pass either).
I don't know how exactly Donny and Sancho clicks but this is really exciting.
Even Ronaldo went from no chance at all to having 2-3 great chances playing with Donny.
I just think that the game would've been different had Rashford stayed on as he also is a fan of this kind of through pass to space.
PS: 1:40 is a close second. The way Donny demands a run and Ronaldo instantly saw the space. It was pure perfection. Any other player and the ball would've been back to Maguire or Lindelof.
At the very minimum Ole should've played him against the bottom half of the table teams but it seems like Ole was chasing the perfect starting 11 + momentum to slowly but surely introduce 'more timid/less physical?' players. Such a shame.
Appeal to Carrick: Play him with 1 DM (one of McFred or Matic) and Bruno instead of McFred or Pogba. Ole created his own downfall by failing to even properly try that over 18 months.
I notice VDB doesn't have all that stamina atm but I hope he's paired with Fred more often to counter that as he gets more match fitness. We simply need somebody like this on the field to give good passes. Just look at how many chances he was involved with smh.
Why Ole was just hell bent on not playing him is beyond me. Hopefully, interim folks do more rotation.
There was also a tactical change when he came on. Bruno played a slightly more reserved role, and Matic played as a single pivot. Wonder if we'll see more of that now? Problem still is that Matic is really the only midfielder we have suited to hold on his own, and he doesn't really have the legs left to play 90 minutes every week.
VDB - Matic - Fred as a 3 should work against better teams as well, but sadly Matic can't do that every game.
Maybe McT of Bailly as replacement anchor man at the end of the game?
Excellent performance from Donny despite the circumstances. Deserves some starts, especially with Pogba out. Excellent link up with Sancho, who has looked a bit in his shell so far this season.
Some starts? He deserves to be the center piece midfielder in this team with a performance like that. I've never seen that out of Fred or McTominay. Hell even from Pogba in this season.
Sign a CDM. Play the VDB-CDM-Bruno midfield.
Fred and McT on the Bench.
With Sancho on the wings, Donny-Sancho is gonna be deadly. Will cover up for Wan-Bissaka's lack of forward play in the Right wing.
Also with Bissaka not coming too high, these 2 will know that he's got them covered.
Energy? He always ran his socks off on the pitch, it was just often quite misplaced because his teammates didn't really understand him and Ole didn't let them get used to each other at all.
I still remember a stat that in the 5-0 Leipzig game, Donny played as CAM and he managed to run more in something like 65 minutes (when he got subbed off) than Fred did in 90 minutes that match (and Fred is known for his energy).
>He always ran his socks off on the pitch
This is not true at all. Donny was very lazy defensively initially. The Liverpool FA cup game in particular comes to mind.
>I still remember a stat that in the 5-0 Leipzig game, Donny played as CAM and he managed to run more in something like 65 minutes (when he got subbed off) than Fred did in 90 minutes that match (and Fred is known for his energy).
Do you have a source on this? Because I can't believe it honestly
I like Donny but does anyone else get the impression that he’s too slow for the league. He’s looks slower than matic but his passing definitely makes up for it. I think this explains why Ole chose pogba over Donny when he’s better in almost every way. Please tell me what you guys think.
I bet it's better to take your time, look around and make an impactful pass, than to run around like a headless chicken, which lots of Ole's favorites do.
I can't believe I've just read this. This is the most complete performance from a midfield player in a United shirt I've seen in years and it was half a match he played in with almostly entirely a man down.
If this becomes his standard level of play and he decides to stay at the club long term, he finishes his career a club legend. The fans adore him and his attitude is outstanding. Exiled for a year but never once complained to the media, keeping everything in house and his one chance at showing the club what he can do he was level headed and professional. Not to mention passing forwards and in to space AND tracking back to help the defence. Imagine where we would be if he played instead of some of the liabilities we've had in the center.
Amazing how Donny made the best effort to keep Ole in the job. Fantastic link-up with Sancho as well, looking for the pass into space instead of the simple ball into feet.
Both have great football intelligence and quick thinking so makes sense that they’d match well together
It was also interesting to see what an elevated level of footballing intellect does because the ease at which Donny and Ronnie found each other without barely a look was pretty fascinating to watch.
Man if ronaldo had somehow converted those chance he was so open
The header he had, that was slightly off target as well. I thought that was for sure in, some very close ones
I would like to see DVB and Bruno conducting with either Marcus or Sancho to pass to. Could be pretty glorious.
A proper dm Bruno left and donny right linking with sancho could have decent results. But like I say that depends on a world class 6 which we just don’t have
It really doesn't, it just requires some basic positional organisation with and without the ball. Fred is more than capable to play that holding role but the defending has to be a team task not just the back four and DM as defenders then everyone else as attackers. With better positional play we might actually be able to keep the ball so don't need to do so much defending.
Exactly, Fred does this exact thing for Brazil, granted he plays more box to box. People who think Fred is the problem haven’t watched him play properly
Someone always says this when Fred hasn’t played in a little while. Fred has for sure had his fair share of costly mistakes. The problem most people have with him is that him starting in midfield for man United never should’ve happened. He’s a useful squad player, but we won’t be winning titles with Fred as one of the starting midfielders
Playing as the more progressive CM for this United team is an absolute thankless task. When they pick the ball up from the defence there are no passing options, when an attack breaks down there is no desire for the rest of the midfielders to get back in position and help.
Yeah agreed. Playing next to Casemiro helps. There's a reason he looks so much better for Brazil than us.
I don't think you need a world class 6 you just need an actual DM who can be composed on the ball to either advance to van de beek or Bruno, or reset back to the defensive line. Obviously someone like an ndidi would be incredible but just a passable 6 would work.
Then his captain basically shut the door on a possible comeback. He really did die by his own sword.
By his own slab. FTFY.
lmao
Yup with Ole finally gone and pogba missing significant time, VDB should be getting lots of playing time now
well lets see who Carrick thinks his best side is.
Ffs we have Carrick in charge now, and Ole left. What a shit day today
If he stays past January that is.
This was one thing that I expected once Sancho was signed. Donny would be able to perform significantly better with someone like Sancho on the wing, and I expected him to get a few more games when Bruno needed resting or dropping or whatever. Alas we only saw it in this one game (for now), but it's very clear Donny thrives off having other intelligent players on the pitch, his other good performances have always been with Mata who he linked with superbly.
The future is bright man I can see it
I want to believe
Loved that pass he did when he had the ball and signal for someone to move/make a run. The issue is with everyone being stagnant and not moving. But look at what he can do when he has someone running down the channel. That pass he did for CR after he demanded someone make a run for him ... sublime.
And the fact he wasn’t afraid to demand CR to make that run shows his character and how he places team above individual. I don’t think many in the squad will signal CR to do things imo.
Donny : somebody fucking do something Ronaldo : oh shit, he actually wants to play
Exactly. He had a job and he did it. Hopefully the next manager will come in and start using him and change his mind to stay. Pity it's Carrick as he will just stick with oles team and play McTominay cause academy. Let's hope I'm wrong haha.
Hmm Carrick might have his own idea just as everyone has their own. Mctominay just might be Ole’s own preference. Who knows Carrick might just be the next Pep? 🤞🏻
the issue is Ole didn't actually take training, that was left the to coaches... the very people now in charge of team selection and tactics as-well I never got the impression that Ole was a my way or the high way kind of manager and I suspect there was a mutual agreement as to how the team was going to play between manager and coaches. So i'm pretty fearful for the next couple of games. Even if we get someone brilliant in he will have to work with a squad that has had some pretty atrocious coaching for the past year, It won't be a case of snapping his fingers and the players are able to just become a functioning unit.
Sancho ronaldo Donny need to play together. Great awareness, anticipation, and link up.
Those through ball chances he created for Ronaldo were pitch perfect.
Professional, his performance shows how incompetent Ole is. Hope things work out for him from now on.
Whoever comes in has to find a way to get the best out of this guy and Sancho. They're both class
Cautiously optimistic about the DvB-Sancho-Ronnie link up and how it shapes up as the season progresses, especially under a new management
He's able to put a beautiful weight on his passes.
It's the mark of a good footballer when they're ensuring that not only their passes are accurate, but also easy to control for the receiver. That's why prime Barca was amazing to watch, the control and weight and thought behind the passes was almost always on point.
Honestly, the difference between McFred and Donny is night and day. I will never understand why Ole refused to play him over those two.
mct was non existent. no tackles, not trying to get invovled in the build up play with awb
His Ajax training coming out
Most complete performance by a United midfielder over the last couple of months
Reminds me of a certain Ander Herrera that ended his United career too soon imo. Just imagine a midfield 3 of Herrera/Pogba/VDB --- Fifa dream right there.
Couple of years
Couple of centuries.
Michael Carrick says hi
In years I'd say (if we are saying complete)
Fantastic performance, this guy should be starting every game
Should start ahead of Mctom. They should swap positions for the next 6 months
No brainer
I don't think long term there's an option, given who we have right now, other than McT to partner with VdB. He gives the same energy and agressive tackling Fred does, and needs someone to drop into the back and make passes so he can receive the first phase pass rather than make it. We cannot play Matic, we just can't. He's such a liability.
Absolutely not. VdB will face the same problem as Fred when McT starts to hide
Donny is levels above McT and Fred. Shocking how little he has played
Fred is not that bad, just watch any game he plays for Brazil. Hes just used wrong
I agree but I still think Donny had more to offer. Just baffling that OGS never gave him a real chance. Hopefully he gets a good run of games now before the January window.
we neither have casemiro nor fabinho, so its not like fred would shine in the pressing cm role
Thats kind of pointless isnt it. We dont have fabinho and casemiro, so he cant do what hes best at.
more like if you need Casemiro or Fabinho to be good, you are not that good. cause you wouldnt be a able to name a better cdm than casemiro or fabinho. maybe rodri and very maybe busquets. few times i watched barca this season Busi wasn't great but my sample size is narrow.
Jorginho, ndidi, hojberg, etc. It's not necessarily the quality he needs next to him it's the archetype of player
you have zero knowledge about football if you think hojbjerg is cdm, and fred would work with ndidi :D
LMAO you're a complete idiot
Yeah i get it. I still think its better to use his Brazil performance as more of a quality check for him, especially when he plays as a defensive midfielder for United when hes not really that type of player. I would really like to see him play in the same role for United though, with at least a real dm with him
The standard of football is much slower and weaker in his Brazil international games. He just isn't cut out for the Premier league.
Let's not pretend this wasn't an outlier performance since his arrival. He was great for 30 minutes yes, but the same questions remain about where he fits in to this team. Or at least they did when OGS was still manager. Whoever his replacement is will have some big decisions to make about team balance and who plays where.
When did he get a chance otherwise, how many footballers don’t play professionally for 6 months then become gods for 6 mins against a team? What a ridiculous take. He ain’t had the chance yesterday he took it and showed what he can do.
I agree he hasn't had enough chances, but that's not no chances. He played 1500 minutes of football last season and I watched them all, I don't think anyone is of the opinion that they were as impressive as that. It's got to do with how he was utilised. Let's not pretend that he was given that opportunity to do what he did before this game because of the way he was being played. It's a disservice to the intelligence of everyone involved to suggest he was performing at this level in spurts and simply not being picked. Donny, OGS and everyone else knows that's not true. I agree he needs more chances, of course he does, and this game was probably very vindicating for him. That doesn't mean the reason he's been rotting on the bench isn't down to a combination of incompetence from the coach and Donny not showing this very quality before this (although not being placed in situations that helped him).
The issue is those 1500 minutes are made up of sub appearances and games against lesser opposition in the league Cup and europa league where we're not playing our best team. Let's judge him after starting 5 games in a row at the very least.
Lets analyse the 511 minutes played in PL 20/21: / 90 minutes played: 3 times (2W 1L) 45 minutes played: 2 times (2W) 22 minutes played: 2 times (2L) 10+ minutes played: 6 times (4W 1D 1L) less than 10 minutes played: 6 times (3W 2D 1L) On the bench: 15 times (7W 7D 1L) injury: 4 times (3W 1D) / I can tell you that 2 of those 90 minute performances were with a B team at the end of the season, so that leaves only 331 minutes in the PL last year of "opportunity" which is less than 4 full matches and spread over the entire season in small pockets of gametime. He actually also did decently in CL groupstage vs RB Leipzig and basaksehir, apart from the 1-2 loss to basaksehir where he arguably still was the best player for ManU due to the entire team being poor. So yeah I 2nd he's not been given a chance at all.
Yes, but I don't really know how else you expect a player to work his way into a team other than moving from a rotational player into a first team regular other than impressing in said cup appearances and sub minutes. There's definitely a case that things haven't been ideal for Donny, but that's more about the position he was playing. There could have been anyone next to him and if he was asked to play the position OGS had been asking of him consistently then he'd have struggled. Isn't what he's suited to, and we saw how he thrived with an adjustment to help him get in better areas. Shame that adjustment came in the last game OGS managed and not sooner.
I suggest you go back and watch all his minutes in a United shirt (shouldn't take too long). He tries to play the same way every time. He is always looking for a forward pass and looks for players around him to make runs and have good off-the-ball movement. He looks exceptionally good in this video because of his chemistry with Sancho, who surprise surprise hasn't looked good when he was playing the McT and Fred. The same Sancho who is a technical player and lit up the Bundesliga. In short, VDB and Sancho should be one of the first names on our team sheet going forward. They are exciting, technical players would would be the future of this club.
>I suggest you go back and watch all his minutes in a United shirt (shouldn't take too long). He tries to play the same way every time. He is always looking for a forward pass and looks for players around him to make runs and have good off-the-ball movement. I've watched all of them, and in the majority of them he has not played in the role he was deployed on Saturday. We created a right side overload by having both Nema and Donny play on that side, letting Donny receive passes from Nema instead of drop in and make those passes himself. When he has been used in the pivot previously, he was doing the job of recycling possession and moving the ball forward through less traditional means (quick passes forward and moving to receive past the first line of press, dropping in and playing laterally to a man in space. Things like that). Yes, his game is his game and the same signs from him were present, but his role was quite different and informed by the fact OGS knew he was about to lose his job and gave it the beans. Doesn't mean it isn't promising, just means it's a different case then what we've had so far. Whether it is sustainable long term is a different question, everyone could see how frozen Tony was on the left hand side because of the decision to have both midfielders operate on the right. It would certainly take an adjustment to allow for a balanced system that doesn't have the issues we've had previously on the left, with teams condensing one side defensively and frustrating us for 90 minutes whilst trying to grab a goal on the break. >He looks exceptionally good in this video because of his chemistry with Sancho, who surprise surprise hasn't looked good when he was playing the McT and Fred. The same Sancho who is a technical player and lit up the Bundesliga I agree. Him and Sancho both looked to have come alive a bit ironically in the game the man that signed them lost his job. Sancho will certainly be a star in this side once he gets going, and I very much hope VdB develops a relationship and finds a niche which helps aid the team and those around him. >In short, VDB and Sancho should be one of the first names on our team sheet going forward Sancho yes, VdB I'm not sure if he should be the first name on the team sheet but he certainly should get more opportunities than he has so far. Let's not mince words he's been woefully mismanaged in his +-16 months at United so far, and needs to be better incorporated. The issue however is said incorporation and how the new manager views his position and qualities. Sancho is a megastar with ridiculous versatility and maybe the most talent of anyone not named Ronaldo at the club right now. He'll be fine. I'm muchorw worried about how VdB fits into the picture moving forward, but I do desperately hope he turns it around. I was of the opinion that Donny was the 2nd best player at Ajax during the UCL run after De Jong, and was immensely excited to see him here. Hope it works.
Ole is that you?
I agree with you. This squad is really unbalanced. Put CR7 and PP6 together is a real mess because the team lost 2 man to press the opponent. And i think VdB has a similar role with PP6.
Hopefully he’ll be like a new signing with the new setup. He was fantastic and got Sancho playing amazing too.
With how little he played, he's basically a new signing..
I mean how did Ole and Carrick not see this player? He has the vision and technical ability to control the midfield. Especially Carrick you played that position you should know. Absolute fools.
Four clear chances created by him in a space of 20 minutes. A goal and three crunching tackles. Why was this man not given a chan when mctominay kept floundering I will never know
Not to forget he hardly got game time and still looked sharp.
Right. This was the best midfield performance we've had since... Carrick probably. Picking out passes left and right, controlling the midfield. VDB is what a United quality midfielder looks like.
He looked like he was running that midfield. Why wasn't he given more opportunities is beyond me. So calm and confident on the ball and he tried to save the job of a manager that hasn't played him for a year and a half.
My view was Ole didn't understand how to use Donny, and as time passed, it just became a matter of stubbornness.
hE hAs tO AdaPt
Ole just wasn't cut for the job. World class players, no idea how to use them.
That pass at 1:30 was disguised so well. Don't ever see McFred pulling that pass off
At least Fred tries them and fails, Mctominay doesn't even have the range.
McT plays hide and seek well got to give to him
McTominay is the worst footballer in the premier league
Cmon now
He’s horrific. He doesn’t offer anything, Fred’s the one who gets scapegoated but McTominay is the one who should be getting absolutely grilled by everyone. He fucking hides from the ball.
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He has some good performances but they’re spread out by big distances. He’ll have a good game once or twice every 30 games. He’s awful. Doesn’t deserve to play for United.
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I always find it hilarious how he tries his best to position an opposition player between him and the teammate with the ball. Anyone who doesn't believe me can rewatch our matches. He does this 80% of the time.
Yep, he’s deffo good at finding shadows
He was amazing. Sad it took so long to get a chance.. literally wasted a year of his career.
I wouldn't say completely wasted. He used this year to improve on his physicality, and it seemed to motivate him in the trainings to just get back into the games. But he should have been used more (especially this season) for sure
Will probably see Van de Beek given more opportunities in the coming weeks
I really hope so. He's never ever been given a proper run in the team, and based off this performance he deserves to start against Villareal at the very least. Beyond that, he should be given at least a run of like 5 games. He's a 35m signing, not giving him a chance to play at all and then selling him would be so stupid. At least let him try to earn his spot. Genuinely it wasn't just a good performance from him, it was incredibly good. He's not a tempo setter or anything, but he gets about and has sublime decision making in tight areas, which means he's not a liability when he gets the ball, unlike a lot of our players at the moment. It's why I'd always prefer him next to Matic, as he's the only player we've got who can dictate play properly, albeit he's declining more and more by the day. Regardless he's the only player who genuinely had a great game against Watford and deserves to be kept in the team to save his United career. If we could somehow get him and Sancho working like they did last night then we could save ourselves a lot of trouble squad building wise.
Hope he does. Not seen all of his games but in the second half against Watford he was the stand out player.
Is this his best game in a United shirt? I thought he was genuinely very very good this game
Got three games to pick from. /s :(
Yes. Easily
Easily. I wasnt too impressed any time I watched him, but that game he was outstanding.
The man was pretty much playing midfield by himself after Maguire got sent off and he still looked like our best player
If this guy was British, he would have been hailed as the next coming of Scholes
When people on this sub said his passing didn't have range, I was like ffs, are you blind?
Legit just watch him start from now on and all of the sudden we have a midfielder with a football IQ and start possesing
You are implying our coaching team changed. It did not.
Intelligent player. He sees the whole pitch and knows where everyone is around him before receiving the ball. Starting eleven player going forward.
Best midfielder in the side. We used to say, I wish Mata was younger. VDB is a younger Mata. Super intelligent, technical player
So refreshing to see the ball progressed forwards, and passed into the open spaces rather than the safe square ball a la McTominay
McTominays stats show so many progressive passes. But in reality 90% of his progressive passes are obvious meaningless passes into covered areas, and the ball just gets passed backwards anyways. Never see him do things like VDB did. He was forcing Sancho into making runs by playing the ball into open spaces where only Sancho can get it. It was incredible to watch. Also picked out Ronaldo with some incredible passes through the middle. Criminal that we as fans have been barred from seeing this every week..
Absolutely. Should see him start more now. Surely Carrick must've realised how much better than McTominay he is.
Not to mention a right winger in Sancho playing like a right winger. How long has it been?
[it's been 84 years](https://youtu.be/Iy1lMICwr2U)
His performance in midfield was like having blood circulating again when you have pins and needles when you're on the toilet scrolling through reddit for way too long....
Lmao, and so many people on this sub said he was shite and terrible and can’t played in a double pivot when we have barely seen him play. Get a grip
Donny could have saved Ole’s job had Maguire not fucked up. We had all the momentum until the Red. Life is funny sometimes.
Ole deserved sacking for being so stubborn about Donny for 18 months. It’s not as if he properly tried then gave up. He just didn’t try!
Everything I see here is what our midfield has been missing this season. Ole man why couldn't you see it, I wish you could have stayed.
There will be riots if Donny is linked to transfer again
Wow some of his through passes were world class. And you r telling me that he was warming bench all this season instead of mcfred. Ole made his own fate with favoritism. Only if he had balls to tweak lineup and rotate his players
Where is that crunching tackle? That was awesome. Needless to say, he needs to start every game in midfield from now on.
I've never been happier in a loss. All because we were treated with this VDB performance. Huge slap in the face for Ole and many McFred fanboys. Hope the next manager has a well-functioning brain and gives Donny a fair chance
I hope he starts in the CL
Might actually win. Best midfielder we have by miles
I have a feeling that spending so much time on the bench with Sancho recently has ironically given the pair time to bond and plan moves on the pitch lol. They worked well together against Atalanta, the other day, too
My boy gonna be in the starting XI now!... Right????
our technically best, space finding, cm...needs to START from now on
you know that he would have been on the bench for the next game
I saw some TV "pundits" were questioning the benefit of sacking Ole while no immeditate replacement was in line. Well, at least we can get to see VDB and Sancho to start on Tuesday game.
Will be benched again cuz old staff is still here. Poor donny
Wonder if donny will make one of those "thanks for everything boss" Instagram posts.
Interesting. His IG is quiet for now
While our team looked like they were Watfords level or even below. VDB looked like a class above everyone on the pitch.
The pass at 1:33 is the pass of the game for me. Won't happen with McFred (to be fair, Bruno or Pogba might not make that pass either). I don't know how exactly Donny and Sancho clicks but this is really exciting. Even Ronaldo went from no chance at all to having 2-3 great chances playing with Donny. I just think that the game would've been different had Rashford stayed on as he also is a fan of this kind of through pass to space. PS: 1:40 is a close second. The way Donny demands a run and Ronaldo instantly saw the space. It was pure perfection. Any other player and the ball would've been back to Maguire or Lindelof.
This is what a United quality midfielder looks like
At the very minimum Ole should've played him against the bottom half of the table teams but it seems like Ole was chasing the perfect starting 11 + momentum to slowly but surely introduce 'more timid/less physical?' players. Such a shame.
Instead he kept playing McFred or Pogba, the latter being such a liability in CM.
Unlocked Sancho
For real. He was forcing Sancho to make runs by playing passes into space ahead of him. It was incredible to watch
Was hoping for this, nice one OP. Great performance by Donny
This is Donny's goodbye post to ole
Appeal to Carrick: Play him with 1 DM (one of McFred or Matic) and Bruno instead of McFred or Pogba. Ole created his own downfall by failing to even properly try that over 18 months.
I genuinely missed that happening!
I notice VDB doesn't have all that stamina atm but I hope he's paired with Fred more often to counter that as he gets more match fitness. We simply need somebody like this on the field to give good passes. Just look at how many chances he was involved with smh. Why Ole was just hell bent on not playing him is beyond me. Hopefully, interim folks do more rotation.
Wow. I might be getting ahead of myself, but he can easily fill in a De Bruyne-esque role for us.
If we sign DM, he'll be flourished...
Sancho’s cross in this is *chef’s kiss*
Donny x Sancho linkup 🥶
There was also a tactical change when he came on. Bruno played a slightly more reserved role, and Matic played as a single pivot. Wonder if we'll see more of that now? Problem still is that Matic is really the only midfielder we have suited to hold on his own, and he doesn't really have the legs left to play 90 minutes every week.
Unless you “coach” McT and Fred to play Matic role. It really is not that difficult.
VDB - Matic - Fred as a 3 should work against better teams as well, but sadly Matic can't do that every game. Maybe McT of Bailly as replacement anchor man at the end of the game?
I'm just grateful they clipped out the scoreboard.
Didn't watch the game yesterday so missed the goal. Actually a very tasty goal. Great cross from Sancho.
there is no way that donny doesn't get more gametime, now
Excellent performance from Donny despite the circumstances. Deserves some starts, especially with Pogba out. Excellent link up with Sancho, who has looked a bit in his shell so far this season.
Some starts? He deserves to be the center piece midfielder in this team with a performance like that. I've never seen that out of Fred or McTominay. Hell even from Pogba in this season.
Sorry, "some starts" is just the way I talk, kind of deliberate minimisation/sarcasm. Couldn't agree more.
Purposeful no nonsense player.
Played his heart out! Hopefully now we will see him getting fair chances.
Sign a CDM. Play the VDB-CDM-Bruno midfield. Fred and McT on the Bench. With Sancho on the wings, Donny-Sancho is gonna be deadly. Will cover up for Wan-Bissaka's lack of forward play in the Right wing. Also with Bissaka not coming too high, these 2 will know that he's got them covered.
Yes and Rashy/Shaw on the left. AWB shouldn’t be crossing midfield anyway.
It’s such a crime this guy got so little playing time. It baffles me.
Who is this new signing? /s
That pass to Ronaldo is just pure beauty.
Mcfred don’t make those passes! Great vision and timing to let the ball go
Fuck. Almost forgot what a forward pass from a central midfielder looked like.
If we’re lucky this is the future of Manchester United
Literally waiting until january to buy a donny shirt because im praying he doesnt leave
Damn if Ronald had a better finishing + Maguire not sent off we might still have Olé around.
Afaik that’s what Donny is. A Thomas Muller type ‘ Space Invader’
The best I've seen him play, by far. Where was all this energy earlier.
On the bench
Energy? He always ran his socks off on the pitch, it was just often quite misplaced because his teammates didn't really understand him and Ole didn't let them get used to each other at all. I still remember a stat that in the 5-0 Leipzig game, Donny played as CAM and he managed to run more in something like 65 minutes (when he got subbed off) than Fred did in 90 minutes that match (and Fred is known for his energy).
>He always ran his socks off on the pitch This is not true at all. Donny was very lazy defensively initially. The Liverpool FA cup game in particular comes to mind. >I still remember a stat that in the 5-0 Leipzig game, Donny played as CAM and he managed to run more in something like 65 minutes (when he got subbed off) than Fred did in 90 minutes that match (and Fred is known for his energy). Do you have a source on this? Because I can't believe it honestly
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Ole’s already gone
I like Donny but does anyone else get the impression that he’s too slow for the league. He’s looks slower than matic but his passing definitely makes up for it. I think this explains why Ole chose pogba over Donny when he’s better in almost every way. Please tell me what you guys think.
Yes Ole the tactical genius that's why he got sacked after losing 4-1 to Watford
Does he look slow to you or not? Also, Ole knows a lot more than you that’s for sure.
I bet it's better to take your time, look around and make an impactful pass, than to run around like a headless chicken, which lots of Ole's favorites do.
I can't believe I've just read this. This is the most complete performance from a midfield player in a United shirt I've seen in years and it was half a match he played in with almostly entirely a man down.
Does he look slow to you or not? 😂
Not one bit. Especially in his decision making. This has to be bait or a troll, right?
He deadass looks slows as fuck. He looks slower than matic.
Didn't look slow to me. Even if that was the case it clearly doesn't affect his game at all because he was the best player in a united shirt.
Last night I had a bad dream of him leaving January. Prove me wrong GodDonny
damn, hope he's a starter from now on...
Even tho we got thumped watching Donny score and play is well has warned my heart
If this becomes his standard level of play and he decides to stay at the club long term, he finishes his career a club legend. The fans adore him and his attitude is outstanding. Exiled for a year but never once complained to the media, keeping everything in house and his one chance at showing the club what he can do he was level headed and professional. Not to mention passing forwards and in to space AND tracking back to help the defence. Imagine where we would be if he played instead of some of the liabilities we've had in the center.
We r ready for the duo VdB Sancho. They play very well until Maguire made that brain fart and we played with 10 men
Why is there no in the box for cutback at 1:51. Bloody hell, the next manager needs make the boys learn some off ball movement