EPL 2016-17: Daley Blind – The man proving critics wrong with every passing game
Daley Blind isn’t the most spectacular of players and won’t light up the games with his brilliant dabs or his big ego. Take the hint guys! But, what Blind does exceptionally well is that he makes up for a lot of his ‘poor’ attributes with a very sharp intellect.
Football was a game of brutes when it started out, but as years have gone and so much investment into players and training facilities, people want to beat their opponents even before the game. This requires tactics by the manager and requires intelligent players who can follow them and execute them on the pitch.
All great players are always at least 1-2 steps ahead of their immediate opponent. Lionel Messi is the prime example of this – he is always one pass head and that is why he is able to do what he does. Similar to this style is Daley Blind. He executes the little things so perfectly that it almost goes unnoticed among other glittery stars but since his move to Manchester United, he has become a very important cog in the United system – Be it under Louis van Gaal or under Jose Mourinho (at least till now).
His best position
Daley Blind has played in a number of positions throughout his career for Ajax, Netherlands and Manchester United – LB, CDM, CM, CB, LWB. Now the reason he excels in most of these positions is because of his excellent reading of the game. He reads the game so well and is able to manoeuvre his body with the ball, that his lack of pace is at times not that evident.
Also read: Daley Blind says he has been great in preseason and has proved his critics wrong
He started his Manchester United career under Van Gaal with a CDM role and was expected to replace Michael Carrick in the team. He did it well but due to Van Gaal’s insistence on playing a 3-man defence and then injuries, he found himself loitering around in the LB, LWB and CB roles. He gets his intelligence from his dad and his good upbringing in the Ajax academy.
I still think his best position would be a CDM role but with his current imperious CB performances, he is making me change my mind. Blind is probably the best ball-playing defender in the league at the moment and does his job so well that it almost puts the natural defenders to shame.
I am sure Pep Guardiola would’ve loved to have him on his team. He is the king of interceptions as he not only doesn’t dive in and believes in standing tackles, but he defends space rather than man-mark players completely. This way he knows his limitations which is very important for any football player.
His strengths
Blind is a very smart player who does his job very well by thinking ahead of the opposing player and has an eye for a key pass making the transition from defence to attack very easy. Due to his passing ability, he is able to beat the first line of press very quickly and thus pushes the second and final line of pressing into a lot of chaos as well.
This is why managers who like possession namely, Pep Guardiola and Louis van Gaal, will always want a defender like him in the team. He was converted into a CB throughout the season of 2015/16 and how he has flourished. Blind provides the calm in a calamitous defence of Manchester United where Smalling was good but sometimes clueless as to what to do with the ball. The Dutchman provides the perfect balance with Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly’s tackling and ferocious nature of defending with his intellect.
Also read: Why Daley Blind deserves to be in the starting lineup for Manchester United
He defends also smartly and tries to take a step back while covering one side knowing that 9 times out of 10, the player will try to cut the ball back and he then wins the ball, side steps and takes it forward. The Manchester United man does so with ease. Naturally, being played in the CB position and constant coaching, he has grown vastly into the role.
His main game lies in interceptions and that is why CDM is the best position for him. Due to his vision, he is able to spot the free spaces and then intercepts the opposition’s passes. Then pings the ball forward. His diagonal balls from the defense are a treat to watch. He takes out the entire opposing team out with one pass. He is the type of player that will keep doing that all day long. He is a decent crosser of the ball as was evident with his ball to Robin van Persie during the last World Cup.
His weaknesses
No player is without a weakness. Their ability to show it as little as possible is what separates them from the rest of the pack. Over time Daley Blind has done just that. He isn’t your ideal defender by any means.
His lack of height and relative athleticism and physical structure is sometimes found out against some opponents. While he has done well against most, people like Romelu Lukaku or Eden Hazard have sometimes used physicality or speed to get past him. Now he is a liability while defending set-pieces in the air so he usually takes up the job of defending the post.
As it is with most players, he is sometimes culpable of hanging onto the ball too much or trying for that perfect pass (which he usually makes). Now this with the previous immobile midfield of United used to get them into trouble especially with counter-attacks.
Conclusion
A player which has always been marked to be the weakest point in the United defensive armour is now becoming the knight leading the pack. He was marked to be one of the first few players to be shipped out under Jose Mourinho and yet finds himself starting all 3 Premier League games and bossing the defence in all 3 of them.
His and Bailly’s partnership looks promising and Chris Smalling/Phil Jones will find it hard to break through. Blind is certainly one of the most underrated people in the Premier League and deserves the attention this article wants him to get.