It’s been rare that I’ve been sad to see the back of a player post SAF. They’ve either been top players who have had their day (Rooney, Carrick, De Gea etc.) or not good enough but I’m genuinely disappointed that Varane is going.
I get that with his injury record and wages it’s probably the right call but yesterday showed how good a player he still is.
Ive said it before but i actually think his time at United has been massively underrated and when fit he’s arguably been our most consistent player since signing. I think he goes under the radar because when on form he makes defending look so easy. It amazes me with him is that he can come back from injury. Maguire & Lindelof aren’t fit to lace his boots.
Considering he’s announced his departure it looks unlikely but would love one more year from him on reduced wages but he’ll probably get a huge offer from Saudi.
Varane
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
comment by Don Draper's dandruff (U20155)
posted 1 minute ago
it's incredibly basic to judge the strength of a defence on goals conceded, just as it is to judge the strength of an attack on goals scored.
but i'm going to do it anyway.
and it is a fact that our two worst defensive seasons in the league over the past 45 years have come with varane - his first season, and the one just gone. in fact, if we adjust for goals per game (ie for a 38 game league season vs a 42 game one) this past season was our worst in over 50 years.
if we look at 3 year periods we can see a clear worsening trend, with avg goals per season conceded of 31 (lvg and jose), 45 (ole), and 53 (rangnick and ten hag). and this has all happened alongside our goals drying up, which is why our gd per season has gone from 26, to 27, to 5.
and whilst varane has missed a lot of football, he's still managed to be around for some humiliations - shipping 4 at brentford, brighton, and chelsea, 6 at city, 7 at liverpool.
tl:dr i'm surprised there is such affection for the guy, and there's no actual evidence that he improved the team/was world class/organised the defence etc at all.
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Maybe look at the stats of goals conceded with and without him in those seasons and you may have an argument. I don’t know the answer but from memory I reckon we conceded far less when he has played.
For the games you’ve mentioned he came vs Brentford when we were already 4-0 down and went off injured early vs City & Chelsea.
Part of the problem of course but we are better with him on the field imo.
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
A brilliant defender but we can’t rely on players that will be injured most of the time. Same could probably be said of Shaw.
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
comment by The Process (U20671)
posted 58 minutes ago
comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 4 minutes ago
You have a squad full of big time Charlie’s that only turn up when it suits them. You can sometimes carry a couple such players, but not 20.
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Varane certainly doesn’t strike me as being in that category.
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Well he certainly gave his all yesterday.
I watched the game with a city fan and I pointed out a mistake he made. Then to be fair I mentioned a good play and then another and another......was one of your better players.
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
Here’s a stat that might surprised a few.
Defender apps since Varane joined
Dalot 122
Maguire 99
Lindelof 98
Varane 95
AWB 90
Shaw 89
Martinez 59 (2 seasons)
Malacia 39 (2 seasons)
Other than Dalot the rest have played similar amounts to Varane in that period.
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
comment by The Process (U20671)
posted 5 minutes ago
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Maybe look at the stats of goals conceded with and without him in those seasons and you may have an argument. I don’t know the answer but from memory I reckon we conceded far less when he has played.
For the games you’ve mentioned he came vs Brentford when we were already 4-0 down and went off injured early vs City & Chelsea.
Part of the problem of course but we are better with him on the field imo.
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you are quite right on the brentford game, maybe less so on the city (3-0 down when he went off after 40 mins), or chelsea (2-2 when he went off after 46 mins) games. but your point is valid that goals conceded when he played is an important metric.
but my general theory of footballers and availability is that the further back in the team you go the more important it is that you are available. cb is all about forming a partnership - with the other cb, your fb, the gk - and it is impossible to do that when you are in and out of the team. a gk who misses half a season is a disaster, a cb who plays 30 games a season and looks top class in half of them isn't much use, whereas a striker who plays 30 games a season and scores 15 times is pretty useful.
and varane's appearance record is only a little (c. 10%) better than shaw or martial - though this wasn't all injury-related, people seem to have forgotten the apparent spat with ten hag earlier this season, when he was fit but still on the bench behind evans.
yet he seems to have escaped the "he's only a mercenary here for the cash" accusation happily thrown at other aged footballers who have come here and missed large chunks of the season.
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
People underestimate the importance of a fit Martinez and Verane in the side.
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
Varane featured a lot in Uniteds (easy to qualify) CL group games this season, which was a complete disaster for the players Ten Hag.
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
*and Ten Hag
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
comment by devilsknight101 (U4670)
posted 1 hour, 19 minutes ago
comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 25 minutes ago
You have a squad full of big time Charlie’s that only turn up when it suits them. You can sometimes carry a couple such players, but not 20.
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I have a degree of respect for anyone who wears their stupid so proudly.
Your carers must be proud.
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That was really smart of you chomping like that. Well done.
posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago
I’m not getting involved in the stats as there’s so many variables.
What’s not in question to anyone who has a football brain and knows what they’re watching is that Varane is a superb defender. His inability to stay fit for a full season and form one half of a rock solid CB partnership is a problem, but equally trying to replace his classy, under-the-radar defending will not be easy.
I’d not have been sad to see him retained for another year and his replacement brought in this summer, relegating Varane to backup and easing the transition in that area of the pitch. His experience will also be almost impossible to replace, which I think is important with so many young players coming through.