His tackling technique and the whole defensive prowess is based on isolating a winger near the line. He'll get lost in the middle of the pitch.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
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- Clean sheets
- 18
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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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Exactly this. Was always going to eventually kill us. Just a shame it happened so soon after the keeper howler.
Honestly, that was one of the worst performances I have ever seen from a Man Utd player. Ball retention, positional awareness and rashness...all shockingly bad.
Went to pieces after the penalty incident.
Went to pieces after the penalty incident.
Touche, but not sure it was really worth festering on my post, AWB is the least of our worries just now.
I think Michael owen described him very well.He goes to ground too often and do a lot of tackling than is necessary which is risky.He is also Not too comfortable on the ball or going forward.
Did you watch the match? He saved our arses so many times after the pen. If anything it was impressive how he recovered from the mistake.
That technique where he comes from that side to stab the leg inside is always going to bring trouble if he gets it wrong. Exactly what happened yesterday. That's 1 mistake in 100 for him to be fair. What is the area of concern is that once he crosses the half way line he is, frankly, shite.
Ok ok, so he gave a penalty away, it was bound to happen one day, and I feel it's ok, the style that he has will make him give away a few penalties over the course of career.
He has been immense in tackling, he is young, he will learn.
He has been immense in tackling, he is young, he will learn.
He does not look comfortable on the ball outwide and your solution is chuck him into the thick of things in the middle?
AWB has been the consistent player for us this season. He has a bad match and everyone turns against him and say his defending technique is bad, he is shite in going forward, his ball retention is bad.
The team has been performing badly. A better manager will make the team play better.
I see AWB becoming the best RB in PL when we hire a good manager.
The team has been performing badly. A better manager will make the team play better.
I see AWB becoming the best RB in PL when we hire a good manager.
Different positions. The modern full back needs to be more technical and better with the ball than someone in the middle who is there solely to win the ball and recycle possession.
Look at Trent at Liverpool. He’s a far better footballer than any of Liverpool’s midfield options - but he plays at RB rather in the middle (where he played at youth).
Is his positioning good really? His tacking is great in a one on one sense down the line but he doesn’t really look comfortable when he finds himself defending in central area’s.
Why I find the suggestion of him as. RCB/DM strange.
We just need to hope we can do some coaching with him in regards to his attacking play rather than moving him out of position. Long shot I know.
Why I find the suggestion of him as. RCB/DM strange.
We just need to hope we can do some coaching with him in regards to his attacking play rather than moving him out of position. Long shot I know.
First time I've seen him mistime a tackle like that. Statistically it was always going to happen but it's still a surprise.
His tackling is great and i like it but it was matter of time when it will lead to penalty. He should avoid doing it in 16m that much.
In attack ...well same shit like every game. We need attacking manager who will learn him how to play in attack. He just don't exist in that area
In attack ...well same shit like every game. We need attacking manager who will learn him how to play in attack. He just don't exist in that area
Pound-for-pound, you'd have him as a very good right-back because of his otherworldly defensive ability, but when there's no one to tackle on that flank, he's got to be on the bottom half when ranking the best starting full-backs in the league, left and right.
He is embarrasing in the final third, but my biggest issue with having him as our first choice Rb is his contribution in the build-up. His technique on the ball is all wrong, his passing doesn't quite cut it, and he doesn't carry the ball. Everything his does is telegraphed, his passing, his movements, turn of pace. It is like watching a lanky version of Smalling at Rb. He is more a detriment to the team when we have possession, and comfort and sophistication in possession should never be underestimated as far as big clubs are concerned.
He has his uses, but he's got no business playing consistently at right-back for a top team. We should never have signed him.
He is embarrasing in the final third, but my biggest issue with having him as our first choice Rb is his contribution in the build-up. His technique on the ball is all wrong, his passing doesn't quite cut it, and he doesn't carry the ball. Everything his does is telegraphed, his passing, his movements, turn of pace. It is like watching a lanky version of Smalling at Rb. He is more a detriment to the team when we have possession, and comfort and sophistication in possession should never be underestimated as far as big clubs are concerned.
He has his uses, but he's got no business playing consistently at right-back for a top team. We should never have signed him.
I'm not agreeing with the suggestion to play him as a CDM, but it isn't quite as bizarre as it sounds from a footballing perspective.
Playing at fullback can actually be more difficult in terms of ball retention, as you only have two options - play it back inside or knock it down the line. Whereas in a midfield slot you have the option to turn out, or back, and play the ball in a 360 degree range.
Playing at fullback can actually be more difficult in terms of ball retention, as you only have two options - play it back inside or knock it down the line. Whereas in a midfield slot you have the option to turn out, or back, and play the ball in a 360 degree range.
Yesterday was an off game from him but hes far and away one of our strongest players.
Bum
I like that we have a good RB but he offers nothing going forward.
His talent is immense at defending but do we actually want to settle with a player that only defends?
I can't sit watching utd for another 10 years with a rb that never attacks or crosses the ball. When we eventually get a RM/RW I don't want him to flop and then us to be then moaning about how our RB doesn't help him.
I don't think what I'm suggesting is outrageous as look at Fabinho. He was a full back too. Same with Bale he was moved further forward and then to the opposite side.
I'd love to see one game with Dalot RB and AWB CDM. I feel like he'll be like another Kante. Just give him the task of winning the ball all day and I reckon our overall play will improve having that kind of player because he foils everything on the wing.
Exactly this. He has been phenomenal this season. Some the posts in the topic are absurd when it comes to criticising him for sliding in too much. He does it and should continue to do it because he is the best player in the league at slide tackles.
He did three sliding tackles in the box against Everton and a couple more against Watford. If he keeps doing it constantly players will cop on to that and start playing for penalties by shifting the ball away from him since they know he'll go to ground. I'd prefer it if he didn't do that. To encourage that type of defending inside our own box is madness.
He made a mistake ffs 
usual hyperbolic nonsense in this thread.
Yes it was pretty bad but we forget he's still quite young and inexperienced, it just seemed very out of place considering how composed he's been with us so far.
I'm sure the coaches will be telling him to keep his slide tackles out of the box if at all possible.
usual hyperbolic nonsense in this thread. Yes it was pretty bad but we forget he's still quite young and inexperienced, it just seemed very out of place considering how composed he's been with us so far.
I'm sure the coaches will be telling him to keep his slide tackles out of the box if at all possible.
He has been phenomenal. If I were to vote for player of the season so far, he would probably be my choice. But I still don’t want him to slide tackle in the penalty box unless he really needs to and unless he has got a very very good chance to be successful. In this case he failed both those criteria.
He's great for now, but his type of chase-and-slide defending wont age well at all.
It will, because he's flashy and very good at it. That's how he's made a career at the top level. Without it, he's below average for an EPL footballer.
If he thinks he can get the ball he should continue to do it. 99% of the time he wins the ball because he is so good at it. When he gives away 5 penalties I'll start to agree with you. However, right now this is just a typical football fan overreaction/knee jerk reaction.
I personally don't think it's great to be sliding into tackles all the time. This all means he needs to position himself and read the game better.
A few examples of great players not needing to look aggressive and having to dive to win possession. It's a similar case with goalkeepers - positional sense is the best form of defence.
I don't think a player whose only significant strength as a footballer are blocking and slide tackling should be looking to cut some of them from his game. His slide tackles are the only things that makes him appealing right now and he wouldn't be as effective or convincing to the eye without them. You could see he usually lets the ball go inbehind so he could slide in. I think it's more about style than positional sense. He's usually in the right place.
I agree. That’s his strength so he should play that way. What he should improve is his judgement, to make the right decisions. And develop other parts of his game so he has more weapons in his arsenal. But all this will come with time. It is not realistic to think that a player of his age always would make the best choices in every situation. He must be allowed to make mistakes.
Interesting to see the difference in mindset between the UK and Holland..
It seems like the caf rates him highly for his tendency to tackle.. whereas in Holland this is seen as a flaw. The youth academies teach that tackling should really be your dead last option.
Here we emphasize positional awareness/ball playing skills for defenders in order to avoid dangerous situations.
That's also part of the reason why defenders like VVD as a CB, or Blind, Aké (CB/FB) most often stay on their feet, which is pretty similar to the Spanish school, I would say.
It seems like the caf rates him highly for his tendency to tackle.. whereas in Holland this is seen as a flaw. The youth academies teach that tackling should really be your dead last option.
Here we emphasize positional awareness/ball playing skills for defenders in order to avoid dangerous situations.
That's also part of the reason why defenders like VVD as a CB, or Blind, Aké (CB/FB) most often stay on their feet, which is pretty similar to the Spanish school, I would say.
'Slide tackling in the box should be avoided' is typical football fan overreaction/knee jerk reaction? :
Lots of overreactions in this thread. The guy makes about 100 successful tackles and he made one mistake. People are quick to forget his performance against City.
Yeah this is kinda what I was implying, that its not a sustainable method of defending. I use the word 'great' as it seems to work a high percentage of the time now - bore out by him topping interception etc stats
I don't think this is the English school either, no one else does it- it's just that Wan Bissaka is a very new defender learning the game & whilst I agree with you 100% - it's the fact that he can do it so often & be so accurate with it in a way that many of us have never seen it before.
Part of the reason I assume that many defenders are told to focus on positioning and staying on the feet is because being late and tackling is going to cause more problems, penalties and people getting behind you - this very minimally happens with him atleast to the point it causes problems - usually leading to the opposition completely giving up attacks on the left.
We hope that Wan Bissaka can learn the positioning & staying on his feet more - I actually really look forward to him losing a bit of pace when he has to modulate his game for himself for the better - I think that's when we see the real player come out if he ever does. I really hope so because honestly I've never seen a player like him & I would have preferred a 'normal defender who stays on his feet normally - but wingers genuinely find it hard to get past him because he reads the game' for the tackle'.
That's why some of us want to possibly see him one day at CB if he can work on heading because he can be a pain in **** whilst reading the game 'for the tackle'. He loses the pace, he learns to position him self as well then we may have a top player on our hand.
His positioning is actually pretty good
Man Utd 4:1 Newcastle
His instinct to get forward is actually quite good, and if he can cross like that more often, then we've got a hell of a player on our hands.
Thought he was quite good on the ball today. Lots of one touch two touch.
He really should put more crosses, his quality of crosses is good. Usually puts them in dangerous areas.
He had good game.
He had good game.
Played well, put 2 cracking balls in one of which Rashy scored from.
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