Hating Lingard

His pressing which caused Arsenal to lose possession, from which he scored our 2nd goal was sensational.

In that short cameo he displayed so many different qualities: lung busting peristance, spatial awareness and deadly finishing. Add that to his goal vs Watford.

Had Messi, Ronaldo, Pogba or Hazard done exactly the same things, the gif retweets would have broken twitter.

I think he is maturing into his full potential: he has shown he can perform at a very high level; last step is to learn how to do that on a consistent basis.

People who have seen him from close like Rio or Scholes are convinced he has talent, so maybe he just might make this final step up.
 
Last edited:
Maybe. Depends on every individual's standard of mediocre. In my eyes, Lingard is mediocre to be starting for us. But, that's just my opinion.

The thing though is you watch our players much more the players from other teams. Players like Delph starting for City aren't that amazing and Sterling can be very average a lot of the time.

You need good squad players though. Players in all teams and leagues go up and down. I think people compare too much with Messi and peak Ronaldo. They are the two best players in the world and quite big freeks.

Standards very easily get very unrealistic. People play too much FIFA when you can have Neymar as backups to Ronaldo and Messi. I think City being so good this season also make us feel and look shit and a lot of people take that out on our players.
 
Iconic celebration for me, but guys let's be honest, this isnt the weekly Lingard performance, there have been times where he looked very subpar (but more players have). If he can show this form for a longer period of time he can really take that right wing spot this season. It is there for the taking. He makes us more balanced.
 
Sir Alex always said he’d be a late bloomer.

He’ll be 25 in two weeks and his performances continue to steadily improve. He’s first choice in that position ahead of £65m worth of talent in Mata and Mkhitaryan at the moment. 15 years at United.

Even as a squad player, I just don’t understand why people shit on him so much. He scores vital goals and has been a big game player scoring some cracking goals along the way.

I don’t like the social media nonsense but that’s the world now. I might not like the way he talks, but is that relevant to anything? I think there’s blind hate that a 5 ft 7 lad from Warrington who could easily be mistaken for that lad working at McDonalds, is quietly becoming a very important player for club and I imagine for country too.
 
how good was lingard for his first game? Some passion, chasing, great finish. He has those finishes in him if he can keep a cool head. Hope his legs hold up for next few years - should do as he made his debut at like 22
 
I defended Lingard on a thread about players stealing a living and in the past 2 games since he has done me proud. I get annoyed how some people never give credit where due for some players and even now after 2 top draw performances people can't admit they're wrong. They probably still give him a rating 1-2 points below what he deserves in the match ratings on here.

What I do have faith in though is that people will come round just like they did with Carrick, Fletcher, Herrera, Park and so on.
 
Sir Alex always said he’d be a late bloomer.

He’ll be 25 in two weeks and his performances continue to steadily improve. He’s first choice in that position ahead of £65m worth of talent in Mata and Mkhitaryan at the moment. 15 years at United.

Even as a squad player, I just don’t understand why people shit on him so much. He scores vital goals and has been a big game player scoring some cracking goals along the way.

I don’t like the social media nonsense but that’s the world now. I might not like the way he talks, but is that relevant to anything? I think there’s blind hate that a 5 ft 7 lad from Warrington who could easily be mistaken for that lad working at McDonalds, is quietly becoming a very important player for club and I imagine for country too.


I always felt Lingard was a better player under Van Gaal, than he has been since Mourinho came in.

And now he's become the hate figure that Fellaini used to be.

Some posters on here almost appear like they want him to fail, which is mind boggling.

He was unbelievable today. Hopefully he will have more of his better games than not.
 
Last edited:
First, Fellaini, then Young, now Lingard, even Martial's coming to the point, Smalling and Jones were going to be sold… Who's the next player Mourinho will improve to make fans swallow their pride? Just not Shaw, really.
 
How would anyone know what a lot of people think? One can only make assumptions.

And I don't mind Lingard being in the squad as a Plan C when we have injuries. I also don't mind him starting for us in the next match based on what he has shown in the last two games.

What I would hope is that consistency of quality and output of a player, in the long run is the deciding factor for how we pick a team.

And Lingard, for the duration of his time as a United player, hasn't displayed either the output or the quality to warrant a regular starting spot when none of our attacking players are injured. If he is still finding his starting spots, it is more of a testament to the state of our squad, more than a testament to his random, one-off good performances.
You do realise that if Lingard produce these kind of performances consistently he'll be one of the best players in the world, therefore not a squad player anymore
 
The thing though is you watch our players much more the players from other teams. Players like Delph starting for City aren't that amazing and Sterling can be very average a lot of the time.

You need good squad players though. Players in all teams and leagues go up and down. I think people compare too much with Messi and peak Ronaldo. They are the two best players in the world and quite big freeks.

Standards very easily get very unrealistic. People play too much FIFA when you can have Neymar as backups to Ronaldo and Messi. I think City being so good this season also make us feel and look shit and a lot of people take that out on our players.
I think we have mostly done well in the league and I agree that the City performances have made all the other teams in the PL look a bit more shite than they actually are.

But, I don't think anyone is comparing Lingard to Messi or Ronaldo or Neymar. I do think there are several players in the league, in the world and in fact in our own team who are levels above Lingard. And, as long as he's doing a good job, I have no problem in him being in the team. Problem is he hasn't really shown consistency, nor has he shown potential to be better than what he is. And what he is, is pretty average.

So, by all means, have him in the squad to play games that don't matter much or as a cover for injured attackers, but having him start for us over our other, fit and "supposedly" better players like Mkhi, Mata, Rashford etc tells me that this squad isn't really a good one. Maybe we need to sell Mkhi, Mata and get better players with consistency and quality to dislodge Lingard from a starter spot.

And I'm talking about the Lingard we have come to know over a long period of time. Not the one who seems to be doing a lot right this week. Which, as per a historical trend, seems like an anomaly rather than a given.
 
I’m under no illusion that he’d have probably been treated just as shabbily in the prime Fergie era, had the Caf been as popular back then, but that doesn’t make the wide spread ill feeling toward a promising home grown talent any less barmy.

He may never be first XI material (and shouldn’t be) but ever since he scored the winner in the FA Cup as a local academy product, he’s deserved a lot more respect than he’s got.

Lou Macari is still lionaised for scuffing a shot in off Jimmy Greenhoff’s back. Jesse should be afforded his own chip shop at the very least.
 
Last edited:
Maybe. Depends on every individual's standard of mediocre. In my eyes, Lingard is mediocre to be starting for us. But, that's just my opinion.

How the feck is he mediocre? Look it up in the dictionary if you don’t understand the meaning
 
That's what I mean, it's like whether he plays well or poorly there are people taking it the extreme and want to get digs in.

I don't follow the players on social media to be honest but I don't know why anyone would dislike Lingard personally in terms of his performances. At this stage of his career, there is a time and a game for him. When it's open and quick like it was today, he's great because there's space and he's one of the best we've got when it comes to finding and creating it. When it's tight and you want players technical players who can play in small space, he probably isn't who you want at this stage.

He's an option for us and he gives us something different. At the moment though, he's slightly too one dimensional and that's what he needs to be addressed I believe.

I disagree, he’s one of our better players at give and go. Watch how he links up with the other forwards.

Everyone has an opinion formed based on the lad doing a job out of position, doing whatever the managers tactics have asked of him. But playing in a more advanced forward role you can see what he’s capable off.
 
Made his competitive debut in lvgs first competitive match for united in 2014-2015 season. Got injured. When he returned lvg tried him at wingback, and then pretty much wherever he needed him when he got a match. Same for Mourinho up till now, he’s been used to gel together more of a defensive tactic. Only in the last couple of games are we seeing him allowed to play his natural game. I hope Jose doesn’t rein it back to put mata or miki back in, because in 2 matches he has shown more heart, quality and dynamism.

Interesting is that he made Fergies bench a few times, went on tour with Moyes team to America where he top scored then sent out on loan to Birmingham where he scored 4 goals on his debut versus sheff Wednesday.

So really he’s only had 2 full seasons for the club, playing bit parts. Could we now be seeing Lingard maturing with support and regular game time? Perhaps we should be judging him from now rather than saying he needs consistency based on the stop-start nature of his united career? Why are people harsher on him than other united youngsters that broke through, it seems to me that others were afforded more time
 
Lingard is very useful for counter-attacking football. Whether he could establish himself as a regular starter against weaker teams that sit deep and leave no spaces is yet to be seen. But for counter attacks he is very good.
 
I think he’s great. Hard-working and he’s got more ability than he gets credit for. The fact that he’s local is just a bonus and he’s in the team on merit now.
 
This may be an unpopular opinion but I think you can compare Lingard to Sterling in terms of their development over the last few seasons. I've not always been convinced by Lingard but after recent performances it's clear to see he can be a very good player for us.
 
Lingard brings balance to the force.
Did Lingard and Pogba play together in games at the academy?
Lingard>Dele Ali
 
Lingard brings balance to the force.
Did Lingard and Pogba play together in games at the academy?
Lingard>Dele Ali

IIRC they were part of FA youth cup winning team.

Edit:Yeah they did.
images
 
Lingard is very useful for counter-attacking football. Whether he could establish himself as a regular starter against weaker teams that sit deep and leave no spaces is yet to be seen. But for counter attacks he is very good.

Was thinking that myself. He’s arguably an away game specialist.
 
Easily one of the most frustrating things about discussing football is when people genuinely believe a good performance means that previous poor performances couldn't have happened. If Lukaku scores 3 against City on Sunday everyone who didn't think he played a 'worldie' vs Watford is presumably a United-hating feckcumber.

Lingard has had two very good games under his belt. It's a positive and everyone hopes he can continue. It doesn't mean that criticism of him to this point hasn't been valid.
 
Easily one of the most frustrating things about discussing football is when people genuinely believe a good performance means that previous poor performances couldn't have happened. If Lukaku scores 3 against City on Sunday everyone who didn't think he played a 'worldie' vs Watford is presumably a United-hating feckcumber.

Lingard has had two very good games under his belt. It's a positive and everyone hopes he can continue. It doesn't mean that criticism of him to this point hasn't been valid.

I refer you to my previous post
 
Easily one of the most frustrating things about discussing football is when people genuinely believe a good performance means that previous poor performances couldn't have happened. If Lukaku scores 3 against City on Sunday everyone who didn't think he played a 'worldie' vs Watford is presumably a United-hating feckcumber.

Lingard has had two very good games under his belt. It's a positive and everyone hopes he can continue. It doesn't mean that criticism of him to this point hasn't been valid.

Criticism is one thing. Stating 'he is stealing a living' is quite another.
 
Easily one of the most frustrating things about discussing football is when people genuinely believe a good performance means that previous poor performances couldn't have happened. If Lukaku scores 3 against City on Sunday everyone who didn't think he played a 'worldie' vs Watford is presumably a United-hating feckcumber.

Lingard has had two very good games under his belt. It's a positive and everyone hopes he can continue. It doesn't mean that criticism of him to this point hasn't been valid.

Not as frustrating as when people blatantly distort reality to fit their own agenda. Lingard has had a number of other games where he’s played as well as his last two.
 
Lingard is a squad player because he is inconsistent not because he is inept. So we should just cut him some slack and appreciate him for what he is.
 
Lingard is a squad player because he is inconsistent not because he is inept. So we should just cut him some slack and appreciate him for what he is.

Exactly. We should also be open to the possibility that young players can improve and consistency is something that comes with age. Which is hopefully happening now.
 
Exactly. We should also be open to the possibility that young players can improve and consistency is something that comes with age. Which is hopefully happening now.

I'm not calling him young because by football standards he isn't, but he is typically the type of player that could have two or three great years between the age of 25-30 years old, like Payet.
 
I think we need to be back off from too good or not good enough. He went through a patch where he missed a few chances and perhaps dented his confidence. He's not really a winger. I still have reservations but that's also because our full backs aren't that great at going down the byline and crossing.

He just needs to build on his goals. Let's see where we are at the end of the season. And end of next season. Whether he can get the goals and assists we need of him or whether he's suited more deeper/central.

He has shown he has the temperament. He's come through the youth and he's looking like becoming a similar type player in the first team for us. It's just that final push because there's no reason he can't get 12+ goals and however many assists. But on days when it might not be clicking, it's good that he can run and give us other things.
 
Last edited:
What Lingard always does is speed up a sluggish looking attack and irritate defenders, including experienced ones. It's not a matter of a couple of good games, he's done it before as a sub as well as a starter.

One of my favorite games from last year was our home match with Chelsea. No Zlatan, Mkhi, Mata - an attack driven by Young, Rashford, and Lingard. He's also linked up well when we've played him with Rashford and Martial. He may not be the best choice as a starter for every match, but he's always a good option to have.
 
I'm not calling him young because by football standards he isn't, but he is typically the type of player that could have two or three great years between the age of 25-30 years old, like Payet.

Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. He’s not young, in the way that Martial or Rashford are, so has more limited scope for improvement. But can definitely get a lot more conservative.
 
Iconic celebration for me, but guys let's be honest, this isnt the weekly Lingard performance, there have been times where he looked very subpar (but more players have). If he can show this form for a longer period of time he can really take that right wing spot this season. It is there for the taking. He makes us more balanced.

Better behind the striker imo.
 
He was amazing yesterday - Kept running and pressing them, good decision making. Must admit, I was not the biggest fan, but he is in terrific form at the moment and definitely deserves spot in starting 11.
 
He has Cinderella's levels of inconsistency. Varying from many disappearing acts when you question whether it was him you've seen in the starting line-up, to world class goals scored in the most important games of the season. The mind boggles.
 
Was yesterday only his second league start of the season? The commentary team said so. Makes the stick he’s been getting on here even more baffling.
 
Was yesterday only his second league start of the season? The commentary team said so. Makes the stick he’s been getting on here even more baffling.

It was his third start in the Premier League this season. Lingard's also played from the beginning twice in League Cup and Champions League games.