Is Lindelof good enough for United?

[Ramshock]

We"ve seen him throughout the season now and while he hasn't played loads of games,he's still played about 25 odd games this season,so based on what you"ve seen so far,what have you made of him?

Let's also remember the fact that Lindelof was supposed to be our "ball playing" CB....I think Jose saw him as a good partner for Bailly,and one of the main reasons why we signed him was apparently because of his excellent ball distribution skills.

My honest assessment so far is that he's neither shown the skill nor the self confidence to be a Man United centre back.He still doesn't seem to have the confidence to carry the ball forward and make that decisive pass to switch our play from defence to midfield.He always seems to chose the easy option and having him in the team hasn't really improved our ball distribution from the back.

If we sign another ball playing CB then that will probably end Lindelofs United career,just like the signing of Sanchez will probably push Martial out of the club.So all in all,should we give Lindelof another season or should we sign a new CB this summer.Do you think he's good enough for United?

Basically you think Lindelof is shit and you want us to replace him.

 

[Eckers99]

He's very slight (physically) but still throws himself into the odd tackle. Dunno. He has a reticence about him but is also capable of reading the game well and bringing the ball our from the back. I actually think he's worth persevering with.

 

[Morpheus 7]

I think there is a good footballer in there. Seeing him live is interesting, very cultured player on the ball and isn't afraid to come out with it. I think his mistakes and trouble settling in is there for everyone to see. He's progressed as the season has went on, looks to be adapting better to the pace. I would have liked him and Bailly playing together a bit, maybe next season. As many have said, better to judge at the end of next year. The embedding stage will be over and huge mistakes won't be forgiven.

 

[Paxi]

The player that played yesterday (and was voted MOTM on ManUtd.com) has clearly developed from the one I saw earlier in the season. He showed pace, good anticipation and spatial awareness, covered well for Smalling when he was in trouble and did drive from the back with the ball on more than one occasion.

He's got the ingredients to be a top CB and I'd really like to see him and Bailly partner up next season.

This.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

The problem with Centre Backs is that it seems much more dramatic when they are having a settling in period. Much like when De Gea signed and took his time.

What gives me some hope about Lindelof is that so many of his problems seem to be down to nerves or lacking confidence. He isn't fundamentally a bad football player.

 

[manutddjw]

I think he’s done well so far. It’s his first season and we’ve seen constant improvement from him, so there’s a reason to be optimistic.

Ideally we’d like a Stam, Vidic or Ferdinand but looking at world football right now there’s like 4-5 undisputed world class centre backs and they’re unattainable. We can’t just buy one so developing a Bailly or Lindeloff is the best way forward for now.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Not impressed, but getting better. Will give him another year.

 

[beergod]

The problem with Centre Backs is that it seems much more dramatic when they are having a settling in period. Much like when De Gea signed and took his time.

What gives me some hope about Lindelof is that so many of his problems seem to be down to nerves or lacking confidence. He isn't fundamentally a bad football player.

He reminds me a bit of Pique his final year with us after he returned from Zaragoza. Unsettled by the physicality of PL strikers and taking time to settle into the side, but you can see that there is a good player underneath the issues.

I think Lindelof will be a solid defender for us if he gains confidence and fully settles into the side.

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

Ultimately the players are going to play according to how they are instructed in training and before matches. They have been at this long enough to know that improvising in contradiction to what they have been instructed won't go over well.

Or maybe these lads are just not good passers of the ball,they just don't know how to distribute the ball...We"ve known this about Smalling for a while now,Bailly is a terrific defender but he's not a great passer too...Lindelof was supposed to sort out this problem,but he hasn't really settled in so far...

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

I think he certainly deserves a second season, but, if I was the manager and had a gun to my head I wouldn't think he can make it here.

As a former GK, Lindelof lacks almost every single trait I look for in a top CB. He's not very quick, lacks physicality, has a timid personality with little in the way of leadership skills and is poor in the air. For a CB who's supposed to be good on the ball, we've not seen anything of it - this is probably confidence related I reckon, but comes back to my point about timid personality. If somehow, over the summer, he develops a more outgoing vibe then that would probably help with him being more adventurous on the ball.

I'll reserve full judgement until around halfway through next season, but my hunch is he won't be at OT longer than 3yrs maximum and as a bit-part player.

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

Well I see the famous United fans patience with new players is coming to the fore.

I"m not impatient at all and I obviously don't think that he should be sold in the summer....But I was just asking everyone for their opinion after watching him play 25 odd games this season....

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

Basically you think Lindelof is shit and you want us to replace him.

Nope,absolutely not....How can we sell someone after just 1 season?I think he should/will stay,but my basic point was this-We desperately need a top class ball playing CB who can,along with a couple of new full backs take our game to the next level.Can Lindelof be that man next season,or do we need to sign a new CB....And if we sign a new CB,where would that leave Lindelof?

The reason for this thread is to figure out if Lindelof can be that ball playing CB that we need so badly for next season.I was asking everyone for their assessment of him,and I just gave mine...I"ve honestly not been too impressed with what I"ve seen so far....

 

[Garethw]

Nope,absolutely not....How can we sell someone after just 1 season?I think he should/will stay,but my basic point was this-We desperately need a top class ball playing CB who can,along with a couple of new full backs take our game to the next level.Can Lindelof be that man next season,or do we need to sign a new CB....And if we sign a new CB,where would that leave Lindelof?

The reason for this thread is to figure out if Lindelof can be that ball playing CB that we need so badly for next season.I was asking everyone for their assessment of him,and I just gave mine...I"ve honestly not been too impressed with what I"ve seen so far....

We’ve spent £70 million on two new centre backs since Mourinho took charge and yet our much maligned duo from the SAF era are still first choice when fit.

Bailly and Lindelof both need to step up massively next season.

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

We’ve spent £70 million on two new centre backs since Mourinho took charge and yet our much maligned duo from the SAF era are still first choice when fit.

Bailly and Lindelof both need to step up massively next season.

True,but maybe that also says something about the mentality of the players that SAF assembled...For all their obvious shortcomings,for some reason manager after manager keeps picking Smalling,Jones(when fit),Valencia and Young...

 

[Kag]

I can't remember a more pointless signing. He offers the squad absolutely nothing it didn't already have.

You buy players and sometimes they don't come off. I'm thinking about Di Maria, Depay or Schweinsteiger. All players with individual qualities that could have been of some use to us. Sadly, they just didn't work out.

But this bloke? Not a sausage. He can't head the ball - I'd go as far to say he's horrendous at this. His anticipation and awareness is dreadful (Livermore looked like Thierry Henry with that shuffle in the box that forced the De Gea first half save). In spite of being apparently great on the ball... he does absolutely sod all with it. His passing is no more adventurous than that of Rojo or Jones.

We've got somebody like Daley Blind who's been sat at home picking his arse for months, while this bloke just meanders around the field to the tune of £30 million. Baffling.

I posted that after the West Brom debacle and I'd stick by it. The inherent defensiveness traits just aren't there - or at least not to the level they are when Smalling, Jones and Bailly play.

Those three can cut out a shot quickly, or reposition themselves when faced against a striker to nullify a tricky dribbler. For better or worse, be it brainfarts or bloody injury, they're good at that thing.

Lindelof is just slow to react. He warbles back, is easy to shift from side to side and can't get tight enough to attackers before the trigger is pulled.

I rate our defenders higher than most. But I'm also not daft enough to pass up on the likes of Aldeweireld when they're on the market. Bringing in an experienced player like him, with Bailly or Smalling complimenting his skill set quite nicely, leaves Rojo, Jones and Lindelof in reserve.

Now, Lindelof is not even in the same conversation as Jones. I think Rojo has more about him, too. You work it out and it's then apparent that our worst option is Lindelof, and it's fairly clear, too. I've seen enough to take the hit and flog him.

 

[Brophs]

I don't think he is good enough right now and I'm extremely doubtful that he will be in the future. Obviously I hope that I'm wrong on both counts. I just don't see it with him at all, tbh.

 

[davidmichael]

I don’t think Lindelof is anywhere near as good as Alderweireld is and if right back, left back, right forward and centre midfield weren’t the priority areas to strengthen with world class talent then I’d say sell Rojo, Blind AND Lindelof to sign Alderweireld BUT we’ve gone with quantity over quality at centre back and unless we sign world class players to address to priority areas very quickly I’d much rather we didn’t spend time trying to ship players out over bringing them in.

 

[Henry Gaervell]

He's not been an improvement on what we have so far and that's due to him taking a long time to settle into the club. My observations are:

PROS
-Has clear technical ability on the ball and has shown plenty if instances where he can bring it out of the back
-Seems to have rounded physical attributes. Not a standout in any area, but relatively ok in all
- similar to the last point, he seems fairly rounded in his defensive attributes (marking, positioning)

CONS
- seems very suspectable mentally and seems to suffer from confidence drops that make him go into his shell
- lacks aggression at times, leading to him occasionally getting bullied by attackers

Both the cons are down to his mental outlook. Solve them and we will have a good defender who will deserve to start

 

[Denis79]

He's not been an improvement on what we have so far and that's due to him taking a long time to settle into the club. My observations are:

PROS
-Has clear technical ability on the ball and has shown plenty if instances where he can bring it out of the back
-Seems to have rounded physical attributes. Not a standout in any area, but relatively ok in all
- similar to the last point, he seems fairly rounded in his defensive attributes (marking, positioning)

CONS
- seems very suspectable mentally and seems to suffer from confidence drops that make him go into his shell
- lacks aggression at times, leading to him occasionally getting bullied by attackers

Both the cons are down to his mental outlook. Solve them and we will have a good defender who will deserve to start

Almost seems scared to engage in certain situations.

 

[TheFlagStaysDown]

For United? I don't think so at all, He's one of the worst we've had in the air, don't think he can get much better. Quite overrated on the ball but getting better, think he had a decent game against Arsenal but wouldn't be comfortable with him to do some serious defending, would personally sent him on loan in Premier League, maybe let him play as many games till the end so some teams could consider him for loan next year, needs to play a lot and get used to the tempo of the league, not sure if one or two games in a months will help him.

Saying all this, we should get rid of P. Jones because he's crock and buy some top centre back, give the 5th spot to Tuanzebe. New CB - Smalling - Bailly plus Rojo and Tuanzebe.. would be a good set up ..

 

[Henry Gaervell]

Almost seems scared to engage in certain situations.

Good observation.

He certainly isn't a bruiser, but he looks athletic enough to put himself about a bit. Might be a hang over from the Portuguese league, but he needs to get more of a mean streak into him to be a top prem defender

 

[Denis79]

Good observation.

He certainly isn't a bruiser, but he looks athletic enough to put himself about a bit. Might be a hang over from the Portuguese league, but he needs to get more of a mean streak into him to be a top prem defender

If he toughens up, I think he can become really good for us. The PL has among the best attackers in the world. Being nice requires one to have skills that are absolutely world-class to be able to pull it off as a defender. Could just be first season jitters though but atm he's way to soft vs his opponents and pulls out/loses to many physical duels.

 

[Raoul]

He looks like he should be DJ'ing at Sensation White

 

[Isotope]

Yeh. He's still a bit too nice as a CB. I don't think he'll be ready next season as one of our main CB, but he's shown some potential. If we sell Rojo/Jones and Blind this summer, we have enough room and wage to cover for one top class CB.

 

[Lawman]

He's not been an improvement on what we have so far and that's due to him taking a long time to settle into the club. My observations are:

PROS
-Has clear technical ability on the ball and has shown plenty if instances where he can bring it out of the back
-Seems to have rounded physical attributes. Not a standout in any area, but relatively ok in all
- similar to the last point, he seems fairly rounded in his defensive attributes (marking, positioning)

CONS
- seems very suspectable mentally and seems to suffer from confidence drops that make him go into his shell
- lacks aggression at times, leading to him occasionally getting bullied by attackers

Both the cons are down to his mental outlook. Solve them and we will have a good defender who will deserve to start

Good summary but I disagree with this one as his body shape in defending is poor at this level. He often turns his back on play and never opens up his shoulders early enough for me to see the danger coming in from wide (Madrid game shows this beautifully with him). Hopefully he learns this but looks like a midfielder playing defence for me so far. Has some very good attributes though but not sold on him.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Patience... and give him chance.

 

[SpyLuke10]

Ranking our defenders:

1. Bailly (24) - Has been injured too much this season but he has shown as recently as the Liverpool game that he is our best centre back and has the highest ceiling in terms of potential and the level that he can reach.
2. Smalling (28) - Reliable defender, biggest goalscoring threat out of all of our centre backs. On the ball he is average, but he is nowhere near bad, hes good enough imo. Long-term however I think he should be our backup centre back to Bailly and whoever partners him.
3. Rojo (28) - I've had him at 2nd all year but Smalling's recent goalscoring has elevated him above Rojo to 2nd. Crap left back, but at centre back he was a part of the best partnership I've seen us have since Vidic and Rio is Rojo and Bailly, unfortunately as a result of that serious injury this season has been a write-off for Rojo. Hopefully with a full pre-season he can get back to the level he was at last season next season where he had finally established himself at centre back for his national team. Long-term I reckon Rojo-Smalling should be the backup centre half pair to either Bailly-Lindelof (if Lindelof can actually achieve the potential some deem him to have) or Bailly-Aldeweireld/Umtiti/whoever we may sign. (Maybe Tuanzebe in the slightly longer term)
4. Jones (26) - Often does top class interceptions and tackles, reading the play excellently. Unfortunately he is not very good in the air defensively, remember choupo moting earlier in the season. He is also is too prone to absolute shockers of mistakes like against spurs. Injury wise this season things went well for him at least till around january/early february, but historically he been injured way too much. Personally I'd sell Jones at the next opportunity to do so.
5. Lindelof (23) - Our youngest established centre back. Undeniably quite good on the ball with his passing out of the back although I find that ball-playing centre backs seem to be more mistake prone. He needs to improve a lot defensively, I not confident in him winning 1 on 1s with attackers at all. The majority of our absolute worst performances this season he has played in, including Huddersfield, Basel, Bristol, West Brom, Sevilla away. I have noticed improvement in him though. Hes young for a centre back and he did only just arrive this season, so he needs time and still deserves a chance to prove himself at United. Quoting LVG: "It is a process." Next season is the season where I will judge him more. If he is still having some rubbish performances and not showing enough for me to think he'll ever turn out any good then I might be one who is keen for us to sell him. We need to see more glimpses of his supposedly high potential.

Blind I wasn't sure where to put because its been so long since I saw him play at centre back, his best position imo. I'd sell Blind too.

 

[DancingPanda]

He is just ok for me. His body language for a defender is very subdued. I have grown up seeing the likes of stam, Rio, Vidic who all have been more vocal and lead their backline. Lindelof looks like another blind but just that I like blind more. So for me unless he drastically improves, not sure if he can be that great.

But he is clearly trying to become vocal and leading the team more. He literally does it in every game.

Keep in mind how fast everything went for him. In no time, he went from not even being able to get into the U21 Swedish national team to playing the CL with Benfica. As an attacking player you can perform on a high lever at a young age on pure talent, because you don't have to rely as much on experience. Lindelöf plays in a position where people will expect you to be a leader, and probably no one can be that at his age. Just look when the best center backs in the world has performed at best. Not at this age.

One of Lindelöfs best attributes up until this point in his career is how fast he has adjust to new levels when needed. He got into the U21 national team due to a injury, and was one of the tournaments best player when they won the U21 EC. He then got a change at Benfica and became one of their first choice center backs. The step to play at Manchester United is arguable the biggest step in his career, and it is taking longer probably due to nerves for playing in one of the biggest teams in the world. i'm sure he will grow into it with time, just like he always has.

When you look at the start he had here and where he is now, you'll realize that the kid has the mentality to become good. First that tackle against Real Madrid during pre season followed by a lot of bad performances. A lot of players would fall under the pressure after such a start, but he kept on fighting and has become better and better since. That says something, I think.

 

[Gordon S]

Lindelöf has had his shocking moments this season and he obviously needs to improve his defending to have a long career here.
But hey, at least he keeps himself fit! Not one injury all season? When was the last time one of our cb's managed that?

 

[A-man]

All Centrebacks have “shocking moments”. Yesterday we saw some of the best in the world playing CL semi, and they played excellent, but with some mistakes mixed in.

In United all CB have at some occasions been responsible for conceded goals and losses. Bailly- Sevilla, Lindelof - Huddersfield, Jones - Tottenham, and so on. It simply comes with the job. It is important to remember that a big mistake like Jones own goal is worth exactly the same as when for example Lukaku misses an open goal.

When it comes to Lindelof, I think he has less mistakes the last months and is more proactive and last match he was reading the game very well. Still I am not sure he fits United’s type of football with defensive low midfield, but we’ll see.

 

[Decomposing In Paris]

I'd like to see us sign a leader, and proven performer this season. Lindelöf has gotten better, and he's still young... so I wonder if a loan might not be good for him.

 

[GM K]

Nope,absolutely not....How can we sell someone after just 1 season?I think he should/will stay,but my basic point was this-We desperately need a top class ball playing CB who can,along with a couple of new full backs take our game to the next level.Can Lindelof be that man next season,or do we need to sign a new CB....And if we sign a new CB,where would that leave Lindelof?

The reason for this thread is to figure out if Lindelof can be that ball playing CB that we need so badly for next season.I was asking everyone for their assessment of him,and I just gave mine...I"ve honestly not been too impressed with what I"ve seen so far....

I think there is a top footballer in Lindelof. I see it when he plays. I like his reading of games, spatial awareness and occasional willingness to push forward with the ball. Undoubtedly, he has had a number of poor games but history is full of top players who had less than great first seasons at new clubs. Even United fans forget so quickly how very average De Gea's first season was. Who could have predicted he would one day be discussed in the 'world's best goalkeeper' conversation?

If Lindelof settles in well, plays with better composure and gets more games under his belt, I believe he will be a top CB for United. Whether or not he will be our first choice CB is a different story but in the modern game, every team needs at least three very good CBs.

I worry more about Bailly than Lindelof to be honest. Bailly has spent Phil Jones proportion time in the treatment room in the last one year or so.

 

[Swift Football]

Lindelof was an expensive mistake. He is just too weak physically, and nervous on dealing with air balls. His reading of the game is not good either. And one of his biggest weaknesses is he is too poor in blocking the shots, he always gives a gap and could not prevent the opponent from shooting at our goal even when he is right there, he should be blocking those easily.

For e.g., against Arsenal at 19:30 he just was stationary rather than coming forward to close the gap. And the goal we conceded, yes he was on the move tracking Mkhi, but he should have been little tighter.

If all our defenders are fit, I think he is behind all 4 of Smalling, Bailly, Rojo and Jones. Lindelof will never be a starting XI CB for us next year or in next 5 years. He will always be backup and will probably remain 5th choice CB for us. The problem is we spend way too much for a backup defender like him.

 

[Arthor]

I think it's quite intriguing to see people jump at every opportunity to criticize a young player like Lindelof, especially as he's actually one of ours. Meanwhile alot of you seem to agree that we should keep Martial, who frankly have been quite underwhelming this season. But hey, he's got potential. Oh wait...

The funny thing is that the general theme in the transfer forum is that we should focus on buying more potential. Seems like a good idea when we start laying into young players after a mediocre (not bad) season in a new league.

Young defenders will make mistakes. It's just the way things go. Look at Rio, he could be really frustrating when he first got here but he turned out all right. Not that I necessarily think we should compare the two but it's good for thought.

 

[RedFish]

No idea. He may not be as shit as first thought. Let's see how he fares next season.

 

[baskinginthesun]

He started the season atrociously, but obviously has improved quite a lot since then. He certainly has to improve further if he is going to make it here, but he's done enough to buy himself time to show whether he can or not.

Yup. That game against Huddersfield was not a great start to his season and career at United. Probably wrecked his confidence quite a bit.

Hopefully, he has it in him to improve and become a better player for us. Maybe he will have an incredible World Cup and that will push him forward in his career.

 

[Nickys Butt]

I don't really see a centre back in him. Wouldn't be surprised if in the future he ends up featuring as a back up for Valencia at RB or a back up for Matic as a DM, the two positions Fosu Mensah is also in competition for.

 

[mitchmouse]

I think he will become good enough