Ultimate United
Why Lindelöf Critics should Think Again 10 Aug 2017 22:02
Manchester United’s previous centre-back signings show that early criticism of Victor Lindelöf might be somewhat premature.
By Philip Meese, Chief Editor
Following the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid, both fans and pundits alike have been very critical of Manchester United’s players. New signing Victor Lindelöf has particularly come in for criticism, thanks in part to the fact that he hasn’t looked too convincing in the pre-season friendlies either. A lot of blame has been levelled at the Swedish defender for both of Madrid’s goals in Skopje on Tuesday night.
Lindelöf isn’t the first centre-back to come to Old Trafford with a heavy price tag, and he certainly won’t be the last. In recent years, many have been in the position he currently finds himself, and gone on to flourish, with some even becoming United legends.
Gary Pallister
A British record transfer fee of £2.3 million took Gary Pallister from his hometown club Middlesbrough to Old Trafford in 1989. Classed as a United legend today, things didn’t start off too rosily for him. His debut season saw the Red Devils battling relegation, eventually finishing 13th in the league table.
Despite winning the F.A Cup in 1990, there were some horrific results, such as a 5-1 thrashing by Manchester City at Maine Road. With his expensive price tag, Pallister was one player who bore the majority of the fans’ criticism following some high profile mistakes. His laid back style, plus his proneness to lapses in concentration, didn’t help when trying to justify a record transfer
The big defender turned it around and, along with Steve Bruce, formed the best defensive partnership of the 1990’s in English football. His redemption was complete when he won the 1992 PFA Player of the Year award. He left in 1998 having won 4 Premier League titles and 3 F.A. Cups, as well as the League Cup and European Cup Winners Cup.
David May
In the summer of 1994, it seemed that Manchester United had gotten themselves a snip at £1.25 million. David May was out of contract at Blackburn Rovers, who had finished runners up to United for the Premier League title, and had formed a very impressive partnership with Colin Hendry at Ewood Park. Another plus was that he was English, with UEFA’s “three foreigner” rule a handicap in European competitions back then.
To May’s misfortune, he spent his early months at Old Trafford out of position at right back, deputising for the injured Paul Parker. May was not suited to this position, boasting neither the pace nor the attacking prowess to make an effective full back. While clearly uncomfortable in the role, it didn’t really cost United until they travelled to Gothenburg in the Champions League. May had a nightmare against future club mate Jesper Blomqvist, and was replaced by Gary Neville.
When he did get a decent run of games in his preferred centre back position, he never let the club down. By the end of the 1995-96 season, May had usurped Steve Bruce from the team, and scored the first goal against Middlesbrough on the final day of the campaign, which the Red Devils won 3-0 to regain the title.
Up until 1998, he was a regular in the heart of United’s defence. This was when his injury problems began to surface. He stayed at Old Trafford until 2003, by which time he had fallen down the pecking order. While May’s career might not have propelled him to legendary status, he was a good reliable defender, who overcame a difficult start at United.
Jaap Stam
The big Dutch defender with an equally big reputation, Jaap Stam was signed from PSV Eindhoven ahead of the 1998 World Cup. The £10.7 million fee made him the most expensive defender in world football, and following a tournament where Holland missed the final only on penalties, much was expected.
Within the first two months of the season, serious questions were being asked about whether he would be an expensive flop. During the 3-0 Charity Shield defeat to Arsenal at Wembley, Stam looked all over the place. His miserable afternoon was completed when Nicolas Anelka both out-muscled and outpaced him to slam home the third goal. The following month, Arsenal repeated that scoreline against the Red Devils at Highbury. Despite scoring a lot of goals in the early months of the season, United weren’t keeping many clean sheet.
By the end of the year, the tables had turned and Stam began to consistently play well. His performances, both at home and in Europe, began to receive critical acclaim. The climax to the season saw United win the Treble. This was followed with a further two successive Premier League titles, before Stam was surprisingly sold to Lazio in August 2001.
Few people believed the reports that it was due to comments made in the Dutchman’s autobiography, or Sir Alex Ferguson’s later admission that he believed Stam just wasn’t the same. The fact that he received a six month ban shortly after leaving Old Trafford, after testing positive for Nandrolone, seemed to make much more sense. Whatever the reason, Stam is now regarded as a legend by most United fans, a rare achievement for someone who spent just three seasons at the club.
Rio Ferdinand
In 2002, following Leeds United’s failure to get back into the Champions League, the club began to sell off their best assets. Following spectacular performances at the World Cup, Rio Ferdinand was not only the world’s most expensive defender, but a British transfer record. While it was evident straight away what a quality player he was, it took United fans a few years before they saw the best of him on a consistent basis.
In the first few months of the 2002-03 season, United looked anything but solid at the back, and it looked like Arsenal were going to walk the defence of their Premier League title. The autumn saw away defeats to Manchester City and Leeds, as well as a home loss to Bolton Wanderers. Like Pallister before him, Ferdinand was prone to lapses of concentration, none more evident than when he lost Michael Owen for Liverpool’s second goal in the 2003 League Cup Final.
Although United turned it around and eventually regained the Premier League trophy that season, Ferdinand’s joy was to be short-lived. In September 2003, the defender made front page headlines for missing a routine drug test after a training session. The consequence was that he received an eight month ban, between January and October 2004.
It took him a while to get into his stride following his return, and was famously caught on camera munching on some Jaffa Cakes in the middle of his comeback game against Liverpool. Once Ferdinand regained his match fitness, he began to show exactly why United had invested so much money in him, becoming a leader at the back. Alongside Nemanja Vidi?, he became one half of one of the strongest centre-back pairings in Premier League history. Given all that United achieved in Rio Ferdinand’s twelve year spell at Old Trafford, the £29 million fee now looks a bargain.
Nemanja Vidi?
The Serbian defender is quite rightly classed as a United legend, but endured an uncertain start to his Old Trafford career. Signed from Spartak Moscow in January 2006, Vidi? was a complete unknown prior to joining the Red Devils. His first half season was rather stop-start, with Ferguson seemingly reluctant to put him in so soon after joining. The main reason for this was that he had joined in the Russian close season, so it would take a while to get his match fitness up. It wasn’t really until the end of the 2005-06 season that he began to get a run in the team, and by then it was clear that Chelsea weren’t going to blow the title.
Any hopes that the fans might get a proper look at Vidi? during the 2006 World Cup were dashed when he injured knee ligaments in training. This meant that he did not play in Germany, and would be out of action until September. One popular belief was that United had bought another injury-prone defender, but once Vidi? returned, he made himself one of the first names on the team sheet. He stayed at Old Trafford until 2014, and his legendary status is such that his name is still sung by the fans on match days.
Marcos Rojo
Twelve months ago, nobody would have been surprised, or particularly bothered, if the Argentinian defender had departed Old Trafford. Marcos Rojo didn’t feature in United’s first five games, and during the first two months of José Mourinho’s reign, he was only really used in the cup competitions. The word on the grapevine was that the Portuguese manager didn’t fancy him at all.
In fairness, he hadn’t done much to convince anyone that he was a United player, with his fitness and stamina coming under particular scrutiny. Under Louis van Gaal, who brought him to the club from Sporting Lisbon, Rojo had been used as a left-back and in the centre. He hadn’t shone in either position, and certainly didn’t look anything like a player who had started the last World Cup Final.
The turning point for Rojo was during United’s 3-1 win at Swansea City in November. With Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind all unavailable, Mourinho had no choice but to field a makeshift centre-back pairing of Rojo and Phil Jones. The latter, due to yet another injury problem, was making his first appearance of the season. Although Swansea offered little in attack, the two defenders made a solid partnership, so much so that they were picked for a further eight league games in a row.
There were still concerns, such as Rojo’s willingness to jump into two-footed tackles; it still seems miraculous that he wasn’t shown a red card at Goodison Park. Overall, though, his form had been superb and the settled pairing more than contributed to United winning six games in a row in December. When Bailly returned to the team at the end of the year, he made a strong partnership with the Argentinian.
Rojo was starting to look the part, and a knee ligament injury finished his season against Anderlecht, there were concerns that United would miss the defender more than their top scorer, Zlatan Ibrahimovi?, who suffered a similar injury in the same game. He is expected to return towards the end of the year.
The jury is still out on Rojo, but hopefully he will recapture the form that would have made him an almost certain starter in the Europa League Final in May, had he been fit. If he can do so on a consistent basis, his doubters will have been silenced.
Reaction, and Final Thoughts
The reaction from some on social media to Lindelöf’s performance against Real Madrid was a bit over the top. Comments such as “flop” and “not a United player” have been labelled at all the defenders above in their early days, and all of them came through it to prove themselves worthy of the shirt.
It is possible that he will flop at United, he wouldn’t be the first player to do so. One criticism is his apparent lack of pace, which Talksport presenter and ex-United player Alan Brazil said is crucial in the Premier League. I’m sure Michael Carrick would disagree with that seeing as he plays at the same pace now as he did ten years ago. Rio Ferdinand saw his pace leave him a good four years before he left Old Trafford, but went on to win two league titles after that. If his positional sense is good, as Ferdinand’s was, then pace is merely a bonus.
Coming to the English league is a big step up from most European ones. Jaap Stam found this out the hard way in the early months of his career. It’s faster, more physical and features a higher class of opponent. Just because someone doesn’t look good after a handful of pre-season games is hardly cause to panic.
It might get worse before it gets better for Victor Lindelöf, and if that is the case he can certainly expect a bit more criticism in the near future. But the list above shows that not everybody can be like Steve Bruce, Ronny Johnsen or Eric Bailly, looking the part as soon as they put on the Red shirt. José Mourinho has a proven track record at recruiting defenders, and he has obviously spotted something in the Swedish centre-back.
History shows that we should at least give Lindelöf time to bed in before we start judging him.
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