Ronaldo was just as fast as Bale and quicker off the line.
Salah, Neymar and Messi are very different pace wise. Strange comparisons. Firmino isn't even close to being fast though.
Jadon Sancho| Staying at Dortmund for now
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Salah, Neymar and Messi are very different pace wise. Strange comparisons. Firmino isn't even close to being fast though.
Erm...
It's always been 'in bad taste'. In 2015 10% of the world's population lived on less than $1.90 a day. For some reason market economics doesn't seem to care that much.
As in you think they are far quicker?
IMO Bale until his injuries was much quicker than Ronaldo. How often did you see Ronaldo knock the ball passed the full-back and leave them for dead like Bale did countless times?
Bale was definitely much faster
Plenty of times.When he stopped doing step overs and realised he was faster than pretty much any fullback, he used his pace much more:
Bale was plenty fast in a straight line, but not as quick off the mark and not as agile. In a 60m sprint, I think they would be close. In a 100m sprint, Bale might edge it, but in a 40m dash, I'm pretty sure Ronaldo would be faster.
Erm? I stand by it - Ronaldo was in football terms faster. Bale might edge it for pure top speed, but for acceleration and a normal football run of 10-40 yards, I would argue Ronaldo was faster. Especially when you factor in his superior agility. Bale was never the fastest off the mark, even in his prime.
Either way, our own James is faster than both.
I love these - definitely much faster. What do you mean by definitely and what do you mean by much? If you look at their top speeds clocked, they are quite similar, and both are regarded as some of the fastest players in the top league in their primes. It's close no matter how you look at it.
I think that Salah and Messi are, in both primes, quite similar for speed - great acceleration but lacking a little in top speed. I'd say Messi had even greater acceleration and moreso agility, but Salah a little faster in terms of top speed. I see Neymar below both, especially in terms of acceleration. Neymar has a different build than Salah and Messi - he has longer strides and doesn't change direction as fast. I never really considered him in the top bracket for speed. Great agility and dribbling though.
Without the ball I imagine James is faster but with the ball I imagine the likes of Ronaldo and Sancho would shit all over him
Which RW alternative is better than him? And for what reasons?
Probably nobody. The RW market is absolutely bereft of proven players, and even the ‘talents’ aren’t that great. That’s one of the reasons why Arsenal ended up paying £72m for the player who was probably the best one on the market last season, and even he had a huge question mark over.
The one we really missed out on was Riyad Mahrez.
Agree with this. Now there are plenty of good lw options, but very few rw. Funny how that changes.
Mahrez was a missed opportunity. He has qualities missing in our team.
James may be quicker over the first 10 yards but there is no chance his top speed is faster than Bale's top speed.
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That price is much better than I expected if true
About £98m?
Yep, would still be a British transfer record but nowhere near the 130m some have been mentioning.
On the one hand, there's so much to love with Sancho. English, best numbers for a teenager in any top 5 league, plays in a position where there is a huge lack of quality not only at United but in world football, incredibly young and huge room for improvement.
On the other hand, if we signed him I'd be so nervous. #7 shirt, transfer record, probably extremely high wages from the go, outperforming his xA, coming from a league that tends to inflate numbers anyways. I know it's so negative to think this way but i'd be terrified of him flopping.
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If we've got an agreement with the player, if that's true, done dealio, we'll find an agreement with Dortmund eventually. I will be over the bloody moon if we can pull this off, don't care about the price.
No way? James beat Walker for top speed, who has bested Bale a couple of times for top speed, so I struggle with the no way argument here.
Those welsh are quick eh?
Why are we discussing pace exactly? Is it a Caf past time to always discuss flaws (and he is not slow at all just not Bale/James fast) in excruciating detail, rather than talking about the strengths?
Sancho is one of the best one on one dribblers in world football. Some people use pace, some use extravagant skills and some just do the good ol' fashioned dribble (or a mix of these).
The point is to beat your man and be productive in the final third. Does he do that? Feck yea. His stats speak for themselves. That's enough. Also he is bound to improve more.
It'll get done
Please. It will be an amazing signing for both United and Sancho. We are building a future here. I think soon we'll be quite the attractive option for young players. Haaland? you watching this??
A poster asked if he lacked speed and was concerned that he would struggle against PL fullbacks. It's not a silly question. People were raving about Mhikitaryan when he arrived saying he had everything in his locker and had great stats. Ultimately, he was a little bit faster than Mata, but couldn't dribble or run past a defender to save his life. There are great players who are not Bale fast, but it can be a great asset. He's 20? He can improve his explosiveness quite a bit - Ronaldo improved his speed a great deal in his early twenties.
Trying to run away from the English?
But yeah, there are a surprising amount of really fast Welsh players.
James
Giggs
Bale
Bellamy
On the top of my head, probably plenty more
Does seem like it has been discussed way more times than his actual abilities. That's all. Also pace is not more important than say, explosiveness (or acceleration) which he seems to have in good measure considering the body feints and quick changes of direction.
Just to stress this he is fast (unlike Mata/Mkhi). I believe his best attribute is his decision making which will serve him well in English football.
This all relates to when a player has the ball though. Bernardo Silva is a genius one the ball, and can play wide with some strengths, but also some obvious weaknesses.
What about Sancho’s speed when his teammates have the ball? What about the ball over the top or the ball down the side where we want him to win a 20-25 yard race with the fullback? I’m a bigger Sancho advocate than most on here, and have been since the beginning, but it’s something to discuss. The threat in behind is a great asset for a wide player.
Considering United seem intent on breaking on the counter with speed, what you discuss here is important. Then again, you also need someone to make those passes. Will he play as a ten down the line, or is he a proper rw?
If he is Hazard-esque I have no problems with his speed/pace acceleration. I have hardly seen him play, but it seems some are concerned that he isn’t fast enough.
I think the question is about speed vs. acceleration. The word 'faster' gets thrown around pretty loosely. Not all players who have a high top speed also have top acceleration.
I've not seen either of those things happen and while I don't have imperial evidence myself, just watching James this season I feel his pace isn't quite as fast as it's made out on here. Seen plenty of times that he's got away from a defender but not had that extra gear that puts daylight between him and the chasing defender. He's still absolutely rapid but it'd be surprised if he's much quicker than Rashford at top speed and a notch below someone like prime Bale or Mbappe.
I don't think James would be capable of the type of pace that Bale showed against Inter. Smaller players look quicker and have better acceleration (which is more important than top speed for the most part anyway) but there is a reason that the average WR sprinter over the last 120 years is 6ft4. When it comes to top speed, I'd always back the taller speed merchant to reach a higher speed beyond the first 20 yards.
But it relates to his off-ball movement as well. His acceleration is tremendously useful in beating defenders without the ball. The reason I bought up decision making was precisely this. He doesn't need pure pace to beat them (he can though) because his tactical awareness and decisions allow him leeway.
I went over his heat map for this season as well as seeing a lot of his games. He likes to keep width when on the right (playing as a traditional winger and not an inverted forward which is in vogue these days). The reason for this is not to use pace to beat defs but to better position himself to outdribble them and allow his team to join in. Once they do he cuts back and looks for overlapping runs/teammates.
He is smart enough to not just use vertical runs but lateral ones to outwit defenders. Also critical as mentioned above is his ability to know when to give the ball to his teammate rather than run into a defender. This allows him time to mull over where he can run into space or give others the chance to do so.
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He is fast enough. Probably not enough to beat defenders using only pace but when combined with his decision making and tactical awareness he doesn't need to. Hence why I believe the concerns are unwarranted.
To get back on topic, Sancho is plenty quick enough plus his mind and feet are quicker than any defender he will be facing. We have raw pace in Rashford and James from the bench, what we need is a creative player who can commit defenders 1 on 1 and link up play. What impresses me most about Sancho is the speed and timing in which he passes in the final third, he often catches defenses by surprise with how quickly and accurately he releases the ball and is always a step ahead of the defenders he faces. It's a unique skill which when combined with his dribbling and consistent technique makes for a perfect foil for our other attackers in my opinion.
There's been plenty of counter attacking goals for Dortmund where Sancho has travelled 60+ yards, he definitely never slows the play down and is very direct in a counter attacking position (if anything he isn't direct enough when playing against a low block) and when he skins a defender he is rarely ever caught up with. Any worries about his pace are silly really, a front 3 of Rashford, Martial and Sancho will have every defence worried about holding a high line.
There's been plenty of counter attacking goals for Dortmund where Sancho has travelled 60+ yards, he definitely never slows the play down and is very direct in a counter attacking position (if anything he isn't direct enough when playing against a low block) and when he skins a defender he is rarely ever caught up with. Any worries about his pace are silly really, a front 3 of Rashford, Martial and Sancho will have every defence worried about holding a high line.
Precisely. Good post.
Either a RW or an inside forward on the left. Maybe can transition to a 10 later in his career considering his mastery of close spaces.
He need stay at one more season because his current club are very excited team at the current moment
I hope we get CL next season & can genuinely compete for this kid.
Forward options: Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, Ighalo, Sancho, James, Mata
Midfield: Matic, Fred, Scott, Fernandes, Pogba/Saul
Forward options: Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, Ighalo, Sancho, James, Mata
Midfield: Matic, Fred, Scott, Fernandes, Pogba/Saul
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