Sergio Romero granted ESPN FC an interview in which he said he hadn't given up reclaiming the goalkeeping position from David De Gea. According to the Argentine: "Nobody is the owner of any position in football". This statement may be very true because of injuries and or loss of form, but let's ask ourselves this question, would anyone start a fit Romero over a fit David De Gea? Most accomplished teams have a settled first eleven, this is very important because it allows the players to build chemistry and complement each other on the field of play. Manchester United's defence has been the best in the league conceding just 8 goals and whilst keeping an impressive 8 clean-sheets in 12 matches but some questions still remain. One of those is about the identity of the player to partner Chris Smalling (who has been the best in the league). Should it be Daley Blind or Phil Jones?
How Daley Blind ended up as first-choice centre-back for Manchester United in the latter part of this summer still remains a mystery for most fans especially despite the spending spree. Even Legends like Rio Ferdinand had doubts about the Dutchman's ability to effectively play in that role. Ferdinand earlier in the season said Blind wasn't bought as a centre-half and that he was the weakest link in the United defence. According to him, although Blind reads the game really well and he is a "natural all-round footballer", he would struggle to deal with pacy and powerful strikers in the league. However, students of Van Gaal philosophy were not so surprised with Blind latest position. In fact, in the book The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax coaches, Van Gaal was quoted as saying "In modern football the two centre-backs have really become the playmakers.The No. 10, behind the strikers, can’t be called a playmaker any more because the space in which he operates is too restricted. Today’s playmakers are to be found in the middle of the back four".
Van Gaal, by giving that role to Blind, apparently sacrificed attributes that are considered vital for Premier League centre-backs —aerial presence, physical strength and pace for the play-making skills of the 25 year old. Things may not go right all the time as we found out in the defeat against Swansea and also against Wolfsburg because at 5-foot-11, there will be times when Blind lack of physique and pace would be apparent. Against Swansea, Blind was outmuscled by both Andre Ayew and Gomis for both of Swansea's goals. Also, In the champions league game against Wolfsburg at Old Trafford, the Dutchman was drawn out of position and couldn't track his man for David Caliguiri's opener for Wolfsburg. Yet, this has not deterred the Dutchman from forming an encouraging partnership with Chris Smalling. The pair have conceded just 8 times in the 10 games they have started next to each other. So far, Blind has done extremely well with the purely defensive side of his game that he has earned the plaudits of other United legends such as Gary Neville and Jaap Stam. Even Liverpool Legend, Jamie Carragher has been impressed.
Much was made in the build-up to the United-Aston Villa clash as a potential battle between Blind and Rudy Gestede. In the end, Blind wasn't troubled aerially despite his small size. Same thing happened with Benteke when United came against Liverpool, but the Dutch international didn't do badly. Against Liverpool, his smart thinking and intelligent positioning allowed him to clear the ball off the line twice preventing Liverpool from equalizing immediately after United had scored.
There was a moment against Club Brugge where Blind looked to have lost his man on the counter-attack. However, just as it appeared to be dangerous for United, the 25 year old used a superb combination of body positioning and strength to unbalance the attacker and recover the ball.
Based on the way we play and the way teams set up their defences against us. Having a defender who can bring the ball out of defence and supply key passes is an added luxury, one that other first team centre-backs, Jones and Smalling, do not possess. Blind's left foot is capable of providing long defence splitting passes, a great illustration being the raking, faded pass that allowed Juan Mata to set up Memphis Depay's goal against Sunderland. Another was his pass for Memphis Depay's second goal against Club Brugge.
Defending has evolved, it's no more about brute strength and how fast a defender is, it's rather the ability of that individual to limit the time, space and options available to the opposing attacker. I also know Van Gaal likes to pick his squad based on the opposing team's strength and weakness, but surely Chris Smalling would benefit from some much needed stability. Jones may be strong and powerful but he is prone to making big mistakes, against Paris Saint Germain we saw glimpses of that. In conclusion, i think Daley Blind should be given the nod over Phil Jones to partner Smalling.
No comments:
Post a Comment