Sky Sources : Blind and Mata set to leave this summer.

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I can see the rationale behind letting Mata go but selling Blind is insane. Our squad is already thin as it so letting go of one of our most versatile players is stupidly damaging. There's at least half a dozen players that should go before him.

Which is why this is probably BS.
 
Wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Half the squad (and I'm being generous) could be disposed of without anyone really noticing. The thing is though, we can't just buy 15 new players in one summer.
 
I'm not surprised. Mata is very limit player physically weak, no pace, poor work rate.
Blind is just an intelligent player. I would like to see him as a midfield but I understand why Mourinho doesn't want him and to me he's a weak link in back four. I know he's been very good this season but IMO that's due to LVG's control football. Without that system I wonder if Blind would do well as a centre back.
 
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I'm not particularly bothered, but that article seems like a crock of shite.
 
VP89 said:
His positioning, timing of tackles, ball distribution and composure far outweigh the arial point.
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That's why you have midfielders. What is the point of having a midfielder in defense, praising him for his midfield qualities. People seem to ignore the fact that what he is good is not primary to defenders. You want them to defend, first and foremost. You put him in DM and he still struggles, even with his positioning and tackle timing. Faster players just sail around him in the middle. He is a decent squad player, alright. But, please people don't praise a player in defense for his abilities as a midfielder.
 
#07 said:
Doesn't it depend on how Mourinho wants to play? When we sold Van Nistlerooy 10 years ago it was widely assumed it would have an adverse affect on the team. Instead, Sir Alex changed the system to increase the attacking influence of Rooney and Ronaldo and we won the title.

Mata is probably the most technically gifted player at United, and its questionable whether anyone else in our squad can play two touch football as cutely as he can. However, for Mata to be genuinely effective you need to build your attack around him. I don't see Mourinho doing that. He wants pace and power in the line behind his main striker. Mata doesn't offer that.
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I don't particularly rate Mata all that highly but given our attack we should probably keep him for now. But as I said, I'm inclined to trust Jose on this.
 
Bastian said:
What's Lingard done besides waiting patiently for his opportunity and work his socks off for a team lacking quality going forward?
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He doesn't have to have done anything. He's just not of the required quality. I'd not be averse to him staying for another season, before going to find a team more his level, if he's mainly a backup, but my point was that Blind is a good player, great option to have as cover, and if we're selling squad players, then we should start with the lower quality ones.
 
Blind to NOS (Dutch BCC)
Ja, je bent duidelijk op zoek naar een antwoord. Misschien wil je *** ik in negatieve zin een uitspraak doe, maar ik ga gewoon keihard werken en zie ernaar uit om met Mourinho samen te werken", aldus de international van het Nederlands elftal. "Ik ben niet zo groot als Pepe bijvoorbeeld, maar ik denk *** ik heb laten zien *** ik mijn mannetje kan staan in de Premier League, ook verdedigend gezien."
"We hebben afgelopen seizoen de minste goals geïncasseerd in de Premier League en ook de meeste clean sheets behaald. Bovendien heb ik bijna elke wedstrijd gespeeld, *** is toch een lekker gevoel", aldus Blind, die wel zegt te balen van het ontslag van Louis van Gaal: "Het is een lastige en vervelende situatie. Ik heb altijd heel fijn onder Van Gaal gewerkt en ontzettend veel van hem geleerd."

Says he learned a lot under LVG and that he is lookimg forward to play under JoMo. Sky are reporting crap again.
 
walkinhop said:
That's why you have midfielders. What is the point of having a midfielder in defense, praising him for his midfield qualities. People seem to ignore the fact that what he is good is not primary to defenders. You want them to defend, first and foremost. You put him in DM and he still struggles, even with his positioning and tackle timing. Faster players just sail around him in the middle. He is a decent squad player, alright. But, please people don't praise a player in defense for his abilities as a midfielder.
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:lol: These qualities are just as important for centre backs, especially in modern day football.
 
Not that bothered about Mata, but thought that there would be a queue of players to go before Blind. Very decent back up for a few positions. Although I am assuming that its just Sky being Sky.
 
We saw the Mata part coming from a mile away so I'm not fussed. Don't get me wrong, he's a very likable guy but he was surplus to requirement. We'll get a decent fee for him, too. Rumours that Barcelona wants him, that would be best for both parties.

Blind however has surprised me. I don't think he's good enough to be starting in a title winning team as either LB, CB or CDM. But he's well able to do a job in each of those positions as a back up, a utility player, which IMO every title challenging squad needs. He's not on high wages and didn't cost much so I'm very surprised by this. We might make a profit on him, he's quiet useful.

Then again I trust Jose knows what he's doing.
 
We won't be selling either unless we get solid replacements.

Mourinho isn't stupid.

Also wouldn't give a shit if either left. If Mourinho deems them surplus to requirements, then I fully trust his judgement.
 
BennyBlanco said:
Nobody here is saying Blind is a top or elite level player, they're simply saying getting rid of an ever present (an extreme rarity concerning our squad), who has a good attitute, whos been one of our better performing outfield players this year, who can fill in, in a number of positions in a squad, isn't the best decision to start with regarding player departures.
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Don't get me wrong, i don't mind him staying but not as a first choice CB. My view is if he stays as a squad player that's great, if not and we sell him it's no big deal, i'm sure we will get someone else in.
 
I'm not to fussed about Mata. He's had a decent season, but we've all been crying out for more pace on the wings.
Sure we could play him as the #10, but Mourinho clearly isn't a fan.

Blind I'm 50/50 over. Has done well to be fair to him, but he isn't the CB we need going forward.
With his composure and passing though, I really thought he could be the Carrick replacement and would have definitely kept him for his versatility and quality
 
Samid said:
Good. Hopefully we can fetch around £30m for the pair.
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Unless we do our usual shite and completely undersell we should be looking at at least £40 in todays market.

Mata's 28 and in his prime, he should fetch at least £25m. Whereas Blind, 26, should at the very minimum fetch £15m.
 
walkinhop said:
That's why you have midfielders. What is the point of having a midfielder in defense, praising him for his midfield qualities. People seem to ignore the fact that what he is good is not primary to defenders. You want them to defend, first and foremost. You put him in DM and he still struggles, even with his positioning and tackle timing. Faster players just sail around him in the middle. He is a decent squad player, alright. But, please people don't praise a player in defense for his abilities as a midfielder.
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Against shit teams parking the bus, it's incredibly handy having someone like Blind who can hold his own defensively and also pick out incisive forward pass at CB.
 
BS Pie in the Sky to
lead us awry..

These so called 'journos' are like vampires feeding on the young...
 
Not surprised about either, although still disappointed.

Especially with Blind. He's been one of our stand out players this season.

IMHO there is a long list of players who should be out the door before the pair.
 
Von Mistelroum said:
He doesn't have to have done anything. He's just not of the required quality. I'd not be averse to him staying for another season, before going to find a team more his level, if he's mainly a backup, but my point was that Blind is a good player, great option to have as cover, and if we're selling squad players, then we should start with the lower quality ones.
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Yeah, well that's where we disagree. I think Lingard is better quality than Blind, in a way that doesn't need tailoring. He's younger. He's brought up by the club. And he deserves the chance to keep proving himself next season.
 
Going by caf opinions I feel

Blind - Not best in any position.. Sell
Mata - No defensive abilities. Slow... Sell
Lingard - Not at Utd level... Sell
Carrick - Too old... Sell
Rojo - Utter shite... Sell
Darmian - Not at Utd level... Sell
Memphis - Shite.. Fancy cars and party boy.. No drive to succeed... Sell

Apart from filling above positions (remember the problem with small squad of LvG), we need to find a new striker, a new CB and at least a very good midfielder.

Thats a long improbable shopping list
 
Mata would be a loss though it'd hardly be a surprise. He works harder off the ball now than he did at Chelsea, but whether that will be enough for Mourinho I'm not sure. I can't see him playing him on the wing as he's slow and not convinced he does enough centrally to fit the bill there...don't think he'd be happy with a squad role which is what it might come down to.

Blind's the most overated player on here by a mile. He's a useful squad player and I don't see any reason why we need to sell him, but it'd hardly be the massive loss people make out it would be if we did. Especially if it forced us to bring in an actual centreback. There is no position he's good enough in to be a starter, from what I've seen. Most comfortable he's looked is at fullback and even there he's too slow against certain opposition. He isn't particularly physical, is slow in everything he does, and lacks any kind of composure when we're under pressure...I can't really see Mourinho liking him unless he can cut some of that out.

Nothing is reliable until it is from the club or players themselves so there's not much point treating it as anything other than speculation. Wouldn't exactly be surprising if both stayed.
 
soap said:
Against shit teams parking the bus, it's incredibly handy having someone like Blind who can hold his own defensively and also pick out incisive forward pass at CB.
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Those who park the bus usually rely on sets and counters. He is bad in both situations. Look, i get where people are coming from and i don't want to sell him when the squad is thin anyway. My point is that he shouldn't be the way forward in CB.
 
VP89 said:
Positioning and timing of tackles is a bonus for defenders? :wenger:
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I am not sold on the positioning thing and plenty of times he relied on others to do the tackling for him. He needs a lot of cover at the back. My guess is that we have set the standards so low that we thin a decent player is a good player.
 
Kaos said:
I can see the rationale behind letting Mata go but selling Blind is insane. Our squad is already thin as it so letting go of one of our most versatile players is stupidly damaging. There's at least half a dozen players that should go before him.

Which is why this is probably BS.
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But it wouldn't be BS if Blind wants to leave. He is obviously a Van Gaalite. It would be a shame but he is not irreplaceable. So I'm not too fussed.
 
SSN are not as reliable as they used to be 3 or 4 years ago. Didn't their "sources" say that LVG would stay next season ?

I wouldn't be surprised if Mata leaves but Blind should stay as a utility man a la O'Shea, if of course he accepts that role.
 
walkinhop said:
I am not sold on the positioning thing and plenty of times he relied on others to do the tackling for him. He needs a lot of cover at the back. My guess is that we have set the standards so low that we thin a decent player is a good player.
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That's outright false. He's covered for Rojo being out of position countless times and has pounced on attackers countless times before they can hold up the play and bring the other players in.
 
I'd suggest that if Blind is on his way it's because Jose has a good idea of who will be filling his boots.

Either way SSN don't exactly have their finger on the pulse
 
Barca84 said:
I'd suggest that if Blind is on his way it's because Jose has a good idea of who will be filling his boots.

Either way SSN don't exactly have their finger on the pulse
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Wayne in every possible position. :(
 
I think Mata (unfortunately) is expected to go because of past history with Mourinho, but Blind? He's been absolutely brilliant for us this season in CB considering he's a defensive midfielder and he's an excellent squad option.

Although it does make me wonder if he is the Mourinho 'type'. We've been crying out for a new CB for a while now, someone who is rock solid. I can't see Blind being played in that position under Mourinho's management anymore.
 
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elnorte said:
Wayne in every possible position. :(
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Never mind Wayne. I think Jose will have spent the last few months doing a lot of groundwork and wouldn't be at all surprised if he had verbal agreements with more than one or two players to join him when he got the job. I have no concerns about either of Mata or Blind leaving nor several others.
 
Good. Mata's not good enough for the truly top team Mourinho (or any top manager) would be looking to build. And his wages are too high for him to play the squad role. Blind possibly could have stayed as a utility man, but the club will survive.

So not bad news at all.
 
RedDevil@84 said:
Going by caf opinions I feel

Blind - Not best in any position.. Sell
Mata - No defensive abilities. Slow... Sell
Lingard - Not at Utd level... Sell
Carrick - Too old... Sell
Rojo - Utter shite... Sell
Darmian - Not at Utd level... Sell
Memphis - Shite.. Fancy cars and party boy.. No drive to succeed... Sell

Apart from filling above positions (remember the problem with small squad of LvG), we need to find a new striker, a new CB and at least a very good midfielder.

Thats a long improbable shopping list
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You didn't complete the list caf also believe having a DoF will solve all that problem.
 
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