Gave him some shite, but I actually like the boy. Always love it when we bought players from smaller Clubs, and watching them giving out 100%; always try to prove themselves in every game.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 46
- Clean sheets
- 18
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 4
- Yellow cards
- 9
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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I'm a big fan.
The player does not speak, seems introverted on the ground, he gives off an energy, a power out of the ordinary.
He is already a great defender, I hope like everyone else here that he will improve and develop his offensive game to become one of the best in the world and help our club come back to the top ... one day.
The player does not speak, seems introverted on the ground, he gives off an energy, a power out of the ordinary.
He is already a great defender, I hope like everyone else here that he will improve and develop his offensive game to become one of the best in the world and help our club come back to the top ... one day.
Yes, I was wondering what happened to Sterling in the second half and then noticed he moved centrally a few times just to get a break from AWB. Says a lot, really.
If only he could get this good at attacking...
Quite. It made sense for Sterling to do it given how little change he was getting. Man City lacking a truly consistent performer at left back helped of course. Zinchenko’s their best one I believe, but injured.
I like the guy a lot but also think his spectacular style also makes us overrate him. Many remember him as a wall against City and unbeatable. Some even laugh at Sterling when the fact is Sterling dribbled past him and it was very close City took the lead. All together he got dribbled four times. He is awesome at tackles and I love watching him, but there are also other efficient ways to defend.
He anticipates the play and closes off passing angles very well already, stopping his man from getting the ball without even touching him or the ball. It's his spectacular style of play that distracts you from his other defensive qualities, not vice versa. Even Azpiilicueta at his peak got beaten by Sterling a few times, will still having an excellent game. Some players can't be stopped, just managed, and Sterling has been that in big games for a while now.
On another note, I think all this "hope" for him developing into a strong attacker is setting him up to fail. I'm not sure I can remember a great attacking fullback that became a great defender, or a great defensive fullback that became a great attacker. Azpilicueta and Marcelo are still exactly the same players they were, despite being near retirement. Someone like Neville got better at attacking after years of watching Beckham, but he didn't improve significantly. Wanting perfection just ends in disappointment.
If we have a player that can do that in the big games, we need nothing more. That isn't united fans getting carried away and being blinded by his faults. Keown said he was the best one on one defender because he absolutely established himself as that in that duel. There's a reason he didn't feel the need to say "but he did get best a few times".
Agreed. You dont have to be amazing at attacking to be a good fullback. And AWB is amazing at his own thing
The thing about AWB though is not so much his passing that is his problem but rather his movement when he gets into attacking areas. Hes does well until he gets about 2/3rd's up the pitch and then he just freezes or makes some weird run
Player of Sterling's quality will beat any FB when he gets 1v1 so many times, best part was even when he dribbled past AWB, he was still able to block few crosses and passes. Overall he nullified Sterling's impact on the game.
True. That's one of the things you would expect him to improve upon just with experience of finding himself in those positions, and being directed into that role by his team mates and managers. You can see on the pitch and it's confirmed by his team mates that he's very timid in general, and that comes through most clearly when he has that opportunity to "attack the space" and he shies away from it. But after being United's starting right back for half a decade, you'd expect him to be full of confidence and much more comfortable in those positions.
I just think it's silly to expect him to suddenly become a good crosser, for example. It's one of the most unusual techniques in football and even exceptional technicians like Scholes didn't become good at it over time. Most players naturally strike the ball in a way that doesn't suit crossing, and AWB doesn't naturally strike the ball well in any way. He's not technically poor but very awkward and limited.
Maybe he can figure out how to use his agility better to catch the opposition off balance and skip around them, but I can hardly think of a player that went from being a non-dribbler to a dribbler. Mostly because it's a mindset thing rather than a technical thing. You have to have a bit of arrogance to a) want to take players on and b) shake it off when you've failed to beat your man a couple of times in a row. I'm sure most of us weren't very good at that! It's why the best dribblers are usually the best players around. AWB is the polar opposite of that, at the moment. But he has exceptional qualities and I can't understand why people are so keen to downgrade them as the kind of qualities you used to need. Exceptional one on one defending will always be invaluable, no matter what tactical trends are in fashion at the time.
He backed himself at Palace and completed many dribbles (IIRC he was first or second in dribbles completed for a RB), even at ManUtd he is good in short spaces at times and then he will pass the ball to more creative player instead of backing himself to put the ball in the box. Few times he tries, usually they are good ones. Issue with him is, he doesn't try often.
IMO he is decent attacking threat, provides width, links up play in the attack but only lacks final ball or courage/confidence to try the final ball. I think with time he should improve on that.
That's just the improvement on his game, what he is offering at the moment is very good. Defensively it's like hitting the brick wall.
It's unlikely that he'll ever evolve into a very good crosser of the ball or a great dribbler and its actually not necessary either.
What we need from him is to at least provide an outlet, a distraction against lesser teams. In time, opposition teams will figure James out and sit back more often to counter his pace. That's when we'll need AWB to at least make consistent overlapping runs to open up some space for James to operate.
What we need from him is to at least provide an outlet, a distraction against lesser teams. In time, opposition teams will figure James out and sit back more often to counter his pace. That's when we'll need AWB to at least make consistent overlapping runs to open up some space for James to operate.
He made that good shot a few games ago. Maybe he can develop more on that. Also, Evra wasn't a good dribbler nor crosser but pass and move FB. AWB can definitely go that direction also.
His anticipation is out of the world, not only he uses his good tackling technique to take the ball of the oponent or put it out of play but to block shots and crosses.
I don't think people realise how difficult it is to defend in 1 v 1 situations. The lad was dealing with an elite attacker who has a low center of gravity, rapid as feck and strong on the ball. He not only stopped him from playing, he blocked just about every pass and cross which was just ridiculous.
In coaching sessions they don't even focus on winning the ball back in such situations - slow the player down and show him to the outside. When the attacker has the ball, he has the advantage of moving first and defender is always second guessing the direction. That's the reason why Robben was always able to cut in at will. You don't know when is he going to do it, and when he does he always your reaction time is always slower. When afforded space someone like Sterling will tear any right-back a new one. Thats almost what he is being paid to do when one of their strategy is to isolate the rightback against him.
Just look the Liverpool match. Througout the match TAA was terrified of his pace and allowed extra space inbetween. Sterling just cut inside at will and wrecked havoc. There was one instance he beat him for pace on the outside despite being a yard behind. It was from the exact position where AWB slid in with an excellent tackle. And I don't think AWB is faster than TAA. You need superb judgement of distance and extremely explosive reflexes.
In coaching sessions they don't even focus on winning the ball back in such situations - slow the player down and show him to the outside. When the attacker has the ball, he has the advantage of moving first and defender is always second guessing the direction. That's the reason why Robben was always able to cut in at will. You don't know when is he going to do it, and when he does he always your reaction time is always slower. When afforded space someone like Sterling will tear any right-back a new one. Thats almost what he is being paid to do when one of their strategy is to isolate the rightback against him.
Just look the Liverpool match. Througout the match TAA was terrified of his pace and allowed extra space inbetween. Sterling just cut inside at will and wrecked havoc. There was one instance he beat him for pace on the outside despite being a yard behind. It was from the exact position where AWB slid in with an excellent tackle. And I don't think AWB is faster than TAA. You need superb judgement of distance and extremely explosive reflexes.
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I don’t think I am distracted by his qualities. I believe he had a great match defensively, maybe an 8 out of 10, despite the conceded goal and some poor ball control at times.
He got dribbled 4 times and I agree that easily happens when you face Sterling. He’s a great player. AWB stopped him many times and stopped almost every cross. Again, he was doing great. But it sounds like many people were almost religious about his performance, that it was among the best they have ever seen. Of course I can’t know how much football people have watched, maybe it was the best performance they have ever seen. For me however, it was a great performance, but he still got dribbled 4 times where at least one almost ended up in a goal scoring opportunity, he got run over by Otamendi at the conceded goal, and lost the ball a few times. My hypothesis is that he gets extra cred because the way he plays. It is a very entertaining to watch, compared to someone who just shuts down his flank without the tackles. He is sexier to watch than Shaw, who actually also had a good game but in a more quiet way.
The urge for him to become better in attack is a difficult one. I agree it is not just to train attacking skills. But if we look at the world’s best teams and their FBs, there would be more FBs who are skilled going forward, to hit crosses, etc than skilled at actual defending. Where United are now, I think he is perfect.
Found this gif
Is it exactly a problem to get dribbled past if he pretty much shuts the opposition down 95-100% of the time with his reactive tackles anyway?
I feel like he almost let's the winger make a decision on where to dribble towards first so he has a clear understanding on where and when exactly he should slide tackle - kind of like teasing the opposition in to attacking in a way.
I feel like he almost let's the winger make a decision on where to dribble towards first so he has a clear understanding on where and when exactly he should slide tackle - kind of like teasing the opposition in to attacking in a way.
He got more credit than Shaw because he was dealing with their most dangerous and direct attacking threat. I think Shaw had a relative comfortable game because Silva’s was passive throughout the game and only look to draw him out for KDB to exploit the channel. AWB was many times isolated 1 v 1 situations. We stalemated them in other areas of the pitch but Sterling was the one likely to create chances because he is their most penetrative player. Just look at the heatmap, they absolutely laid siege on our right flank.
I too think AWB has a better match, just think it was a bit exaggerated. In one paper it said that Shaw was dribbled past many times by Silva, while AWB totally shut down. I just don’t agree with that description.
Huh? Evra was an excellent dribbler, his driving runs were what made our left side so threatening, even though his end product was mostly poor.
While he has to improve his offensive game, he is bar none the best defensive full back in the league in my opinion, I would leave him 1vs1 against anybody and be confident he would come out on top.
There aren't many fullbacks who are excellent defenders and attackers. Ashley Cole, Evra, Lahm are a few I recall, but most others are stronger at one or the other. AWB is great defensively and I hope he can be coached to be a better in the attacking aspects of the game (passing, crossing, beating players). As long as he's not utterly terrible, I won't lose any sleep. We can compensate by having a very attacking RW.
Please google "football dribbler", watch the videos, and see if you still think Evra was an excellent dribbler.
Evra was great at running the ball up the pitch but his end product wasn’t great.
I saw that stat on whoscored that said he got dribbled past 4 times and I can only remember one time that Sterling dribbled past him in the first half. I'd like to know what they consider "Drb" because he was an absolute wall
There are not many full backs, who can shut down great wide players when 1) the ball has gone down their channel multiple, multiple times 2) is isolated on those situations 3) playing against a really good team and 4) on a big pitch. So your 'comparison' is already very limited. The cred he gets is from his entertaining but most importantly effective way of handling Sterling.
Sure there was a few tackles that may have been excessive in that he won positioning already and therefore could have retained possession but you're definitely being a picky here.
I've said it in another thread that It's incredible you have this critical outlook on other Utd players yet will blindly accept Lindelof as a god of defending.
With regarding to his crossing the attributes he needs to work on are things like his posture at the moment he crosses. These little mistakes can make the difference in the areas, power and hights the ball get in to after a cross.
He is able to get in to dangerous positions relatively well and actually makes the attempt to attack & cross (something that Shaw doesn't always do).
He dribbles decently well too but I actually think it's him still learning his defensive game that keeps him hestitent on the attacking side - atleast to kind of go on a bit more of a roaming way.
I think he's going to end up quite balanced when he comes to the stage where he can't always rely on things like pace to defend & he has to position him better both defensively and attacking wise.
He is able to get in to dangerous positions relatively well and actually makes the attempt to attack & cross (something that Shaw doesn't always do).
He dribbles decently well too but I actually think it's him still learning his defensive game that keeps him hestitent on the attacking side - atleast to kind of go on a bit more of a roaming way.
I think he's going to end up quite balanced when he comes to the stage where he can't always rely on things like pace to defend & he has to position him better both defensively and attacking wise.
Evra was a rubbish left winger because he couldn't take on two men at a time with limited space, but coming from deep he was at least a very effective dribbler. He was one of the constant sources of creativity on our left wing for half a decade despite not being particularly good at passing or crossing...primarily because he was really good at beating men. In a way that AWB never will be.
Its ridiculous and ironic, because you are doing exactly what you writing yourself. I praised his performance, gave him 8/10 despite the conceded goal and now you say that it is incredible how critical I am. I gave him all the praise, but thought many fans were over excited. It’s like it is forbidden to to even mention something negative about some popular players.
I just re-watched this, to see if my memory betrayed me about Evra and dribbling.
I still disagree that Evra was a good dribbler.
You're saying that everyone except you is being deceived by his playing style, that "many" are overexcited because of this, and you base your critique on the fact he - according to you but not the stats-providers - got dribbled past four times.
The reality is that he has the best defensive stats in Europe, and specifically the best tackling stats. That's why people are loving what he is doing: his performances are amazing. Your criticism falls apart under the simplest scrutiny.
You're accusing everyone else of not seeing as much as you do, yet you appear to not understand what you are watching.
This is a good vid. It displays some of the stuff he is doing offensively that has been ignored by some for various reasons, like downplaying the signing so they can to continue to roast Ole, blame him for our general lack of attacking flair and goals in a tough period despite him showing good signs. I wish people would watch this video in the context of how much he is involved in the game for a fullback, and how much good things he is capable off. He is 22, very consistent. Has barely had a bad game for us, a few mediocre ones but mostly he has been incredible and the proof can be found in that video looking at all his quality involvements in just half a season for us.
It is such a gimmick at this point to say players like him is "bad on the ball" based on just few missed controls and passes, and claim they don't do anything in forwarding the play. He has been very good at forwarding play already. He is very imaginative and has a bit of improvisational flair in his style like flicks and he get past players with body movements like feints and dribbles, even disgused passes etc. He is going to be an absolute quality fullback. I don't get people wanting him to play CB at all, seems like a completely made up opinion.
That's a fecking joke of a stat
. Holy shit.They say he's bad on the ball for the same reason as Fred. It's not that he's incapable of doing nice things, it's not that he has a bad touch or anything, it's because his passing long and short is very inconsistent and he loses the ball more than he should for the position he plays.
Fred is slowly turning this around and I don't see why Wan Bissaka can't either, and there are already aspects of his game that are world class, but he loses possession with his passing far too much as things stand. I don't see the point in Liverpooling this and pretending he's already world class.
I understood before I wrote my post that it is sensitive and almost forbidden to criticise him. You and a handful others have clearly confirmed this. I didn’t even criticise him, but questioned the evaluation some people made.
Actually this is not observation that is only valid for AWB but goes for all players. Spectacular players add value to us who watch. This carries over to our evaluation of how good the performance was, and not only in entertainment, but also other areas such as how effective a defender is, how important a midfielder is etc. You can just take a look at yourself who presents AWB as having the “best tackling stats” and even the best defensive stats in Europe. You don’t talk about his performance, but tackling stats.
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And this is why you are being rightly mocked. I pointed the fact that his stats make your critique invalid and you respond by whining that I’ve confirmed that it is “almost forbidden” to criticize him. You’re not making an argument, you’re just complaining that people disagree with you.
Have you considered that telling people they have been “deceived” by the performances of someone who has the best defensive stats in Europe might make you look a bit foolish?
When you put it like that, I don't really disagree with what you're saying. Don't think he is world class either. However, don't think everyone who regurgitates opinions like "he is terrible offensively/bad on the ball" is as measured/realistic in their approach to criticising him as you were now. Some people actually think he has inherent flaws in his attacking game that will render him obsolete in the future from not being a modern fullback. I mean, he isn't world class but he already literally is a modern fullback. He wouldn't be in the PL right now if he wasn't one.
I suspect many don’t realize that he grew up, trained and became a professional as a winger. He has skills and tricks in his arsenal but he isn’t using them much right now, perhaps because he is still learning his trade as a full-back and so is being conservative.
I think there’s more attacking potential there than currently meets the eye.
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