[Marwood]

He's just not ready. Mentally and physically. He's too young for this position at a big club. He overachieved in his first season but this is the reality of young CB's.

 

[the hea]

He's still very young and still has every chance to make it but at the moment he should be behind Heaven in the pecking order.

 

[El Jefe]

Dreadful in the first half but much improved after the break. His ability on the ball seriously needs to improve. I actually think he's a really good defender but he's still young so can make the back four a bit uncertain at times but his strength and passing are the biggest things to improve on.

 

[Bobski]

He actually did really well after the red, got through a lot of work, but also too many mistakes.

 

[Monmouthshire Red]

He looks too weak for the PL. Maybe a loan would help him. Massively overrated by some on here.

 

[Lash]

Absolutely battered by DCL. Ref let him get away with a lot, but did get better as the game went on. Damage was done by then.

 

[Bwuk]

Controversial but I agree with Scholes. If we could cash in for a decent fee I would.

 

[Winrar]

Looked completely out of depth. Poor for both goals, possibly even 3 if Licha didn’t bail us out.

Feel like he needs to be loaned out, though at this point I can’t completely argue against outright selling him off either.

 

[Oranges038]

If had to have stayed down and held his face for that first goal, he probably forces them to look at it. Too honest for his own good there, get nothing for it, it's why a lot of players just stay down.

 

[KjaAnd]

Not sure what he's meant to be good at. He did show some promise last season so maybe I'm being too harsh, but his weaknesses were on full display tonight and have been multiple times this season.

 

[Strats]

Was given fair bit of slack in the beginning/middle of the season when criticising him because he’s “young and learning”(or something like that).

Still think he will come good, but feck me he can be bad at times. I hope it’s the case of second season syndrome for both him and Kobbie Mainoo

 

[Red & White]

It was a clear foul on him for the goal. He still plays like a rookie. Did better after the red card but I’m never 100% sure he’s the answer. Still young, I know.

 

[flameinthesun]

Not sure what he's meant to be good at. He did show some promise last season so maybe I'm being too harsh, but his weaknesses were on full display tonight and have been multiple times this season.

Right from the get go he's looked poor on the ball and that is not going to change. I was hoping he'd be like Varane, quick and good at reading despite the basic ball playing ability, but he just hasn't got the tools in my opinion. The truth is if you compare him and Heaven you wouldn't be able to tell who was bought for more, and tbh Heaven looks like he's got more to work with.

 

[Sylar]

It was a clear foul on him for the goal. He still plays like a rookie. Did better after the red card but I’m never 100% sure he’s the answer. Still young, I know.

If he had reacted like Gabriel does, he probably gets a free kick.

Then again he probably gets booked given the inconsistency

 

[Pickle85]

Not good today. We really overpaid for him didn't we.

 

[Lash]

Controversial but I agree with Scholes. If we could cash in for a decent fee I would.

I would too, he doesn't look suited to the league. I bet he'd be world class in La Liga though. I'd swap him for Huijsen at Real.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

I would too, he doesn't look suited to the league. I bet he'd be world class in La Liga though. I'd swap him for Huijsen at Real.

He needs some serious development to be a really good player in the PL. He has potential, but nowhere near the potential that his price tag suggested.

I see nothing at all to suggest he would be world class in another league, that to me is an utterly ridiculous statement. What are his world class attributes?

 

[dinostar77]

Aiden Heaven is very unlucky not to be starting ahead of Yoro. I recall Arsenal sent Saliba out on loan as he was too young and under developed to start for arsenal. When he returned he was a different player

Yoro doesn't look ready. But we paid an fortune for him. If Maguire had been fit, the result may have been different.

 

[Red & White]

If he had reacted like Gabriel does, he probably gets a free kick.

Then again he probably gets booked given the inconsistency

Yeah, I get people saying that but he really shouldn’t have to. It should just be given as a foul. It’s a sad reflection on the state of PL refs that you need to make a huge deal out of something like that to get a foul, though. There does seem to be a narrative as I don’t recall the commentators even mentioning it. Very weird. There was another foul when he got absolutely clattered by DCL and he protested to the ref but got told there was nothing doing. Joke.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

A great example that "needs to bulk up" isn't always just a cliche.

I don't think he's good enough either way but he should be loaned out to a league where he is able to play and be told that he needs to work very hard and develop physically.

Then assess in a year or two. Essentially give him the Saliba treatment and hope for the best.

 

[Poborsky's hair]

Poor. But he needs a leader next to him. We forget how young he is.

Leader next to him. I think it's fair to say we have leaders everywhere and he's upgraded. He' has some potential but he's very weak in challenges and poor in the air for a CB. He will not cut it if he doesnt improve his physicality/aggression and in the air. The rest like technicality or mentality is there but needs to improves a lot. Of course anyone would improve to have prime Ramos next to him. How about he becomes one.

Same excuses for Mainoo he needs this and that player next to him to be good.. nonesense

 

[V.O.]

Poor game, and he's had a few this season.

However, the lad is still 20 years old, and the things he's currently lacking are some of those that often come with age. A bit more physical robustness and improved positioning/decision making and he can still be a hell of a defender. Wouldn't be writing him off yet at all.

 

[Lash]

He needs some serious development to be a really good player in the PL. He has potential, but nowhere near the potential that his price tag suggested.

I see nothing at all to suggest he would be world class in another league, that to me is an utterly ridiculous statement. What are his world class attributes?

I think he mainly struggles with the physical nature of the prem. He covers large spaces really well and is good on the ball. He is extremely low on confidence here, but he had some extremely promising performances for us last season. He's only 20 too.

I think in another league he would be offered way more protection by refs and would perform better as a consequence. He had some great games for us in Europe, I don't think that's coincidence.

 

[FrankDrebin]

I find Yoro and Sesko quite similar in their attitude .
Both have good, potentially very good, ability but both play the game in a completely lax, nonchalant manner.
There's a real lack of tenacity and aggression in their game at the moment.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Leader next to him. I think it's fair to say we have leaders everywhere and he's upgraded. He' has some potential but he's very weak in challenges and poor in the air for a CB. He will not cut it if he doesnt improve his physicality/aggression and in the air. The rest like technicality or mentality is there but needs to improves a lot. Of course anyone would improve to have prime Ramos next to him. How about he becomes one.

Same excuses for Mainoo he needs this and that player next to him to be good.. nonesense

I’m critical of the lad - but he’s only 20.

How good were the great CBs of this club over the last 40 years at 20? Where were they playing and at what standard?

Bruce, Pallister, Stam, Ferdinand, Vidic? As a youngster, you need players around you to talk you through games, to direct you, and encourage you - it’s not about just being next to a good player.

 

[Frank Grimes]

He has always been dodgy. He's not even that quick and lacks aggression. Obviously you give a young defender time coming into such a tough league but it's obvious he isn't the required standard at this stage.

 

[V.O.]

I’m critical of the lad - but he’s only 20.

How good were the great CBs of this club over the last 40 years at 20? Where were they playing and at what standard?

Bruce, Pallister, Stam, Ferdinand, Vidic? As a youngster, you need players around you to talk you through games, to direct you, and encourage you - it’s not about just being next to a good player.

Rio Ferdinand was excellent even as a teenager. West Ham's player of the year at 19 while they were a solid top half side.

He's very much the exception though, and I agree with your overall point.

 

[Gandalf67]

Mistake to play him next to Licha today I think... left him exposed. Both are pretty poor in the air for different reasons compared to a Maguire or De Ligt. I would have played Shaw CB just for this game, Maz and Dalot RB/LB. Things improved even with Ugarte in there which somewhat proves my point I think.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Rio Ferdinand was excellent even as a teenager. West Ham's player of the year at 19 while they were a solid top half side.

He's very much the exception though, and I agree with your overall point.

I think we have similar thoughts. I love Rio, and watched him from when I was 17. But he was erratic, and i think it was only really when he went to Leeds that he became a top class player. It all clicked - because it can take some time. But I’m not going to argue it hard.

What I would say about Rio, is I’ve never seen such a talented teenage CB as him, but he did have serious question marks about him until he matured a bit.

 

[The Big Magc]

It was a clear foul on him for the goal. He still plays like a rookie. Did better after the red card but I’m never 100% sure he’s the answer. Still young, I know.

This happened because he played more central after Martinez left.

I've been trying to analyse why Yoro looks good at defending at times and sometimes cwap.

The thing Yoro is best at slide tackling with his long lanky legs. He wants to use his more stronger leg to go in to tackling.


Yoro says he prefers playing at LCB which makes him use his stronger leg when the opposition tries to cut in and attack him centrally.

When he plays at RCB he can't dive in with his lanky legs with his stronger right foot because it becomes easier to get past him on his weaker left hand side.

This is why Yoro himself says he is better at LCB than RCB.

He's there to make sliding challenges but at RCB he is being deployed their purely due to having a right footed player play the ball from the back but this stops Yoro's ability to be a last ditch defender.

Carrick playing Maguire at LCB and Yoro RCB made me raise eyebrows about Carrick and his ability to understand his own players strengths and weaknesses. Because playing Maguire at RCB and Yoro on the left is more balanced for both players.

Yoro isn't a ball playing defender, Heaven is. Yoro is a last ditch defender that currently lacks some ability in the air but is great on the ground.

 

[giggs-beckham]

Will Carrick bench him next game?

 

[Dominos]

Disaster 1st half, but I thought he did well 2nd half to be fair. He seems to excel defending counter attacks more than traditional backs to the wall type defending - that might be a positive sign further down the line when we transition to a front foot dominant team who plays a higher line.

But I've not been that impressed since he signed honestly. There's a temptation to call every young player hugely talented because they're young rather than what you actually see, or because we were told he's a big talent when we signed him. If he came into the first team from the academy and you had no idea if he had a prior reputation as a big talent, not many people would be convinced we have a gem on our hands based on what he's shown.

He was billed as good on the ball when we signed him but I think he's been our worst CB on the ball, sloppy passes galore, Heaven shows much more talent on the ball and may be our best CB on the ball after Martinez. I also thought Yoro might be lightning quick when we signed him but he's fallen short there, though his pace is decent, he's not Saliba unfortunately.

Struggled to be physically and aerially dominant which is maybe the flaw we most expected when we signed a young CB, so he can definitely improve there with time, but for now it's a struggle. Heaven is younger and he looks to handle himself much better in physical battles. Yoro also lacks aggression and too passive a lot of the time.


Anyway, the huge money we spent on him was really not a very efficient use of resources. The reason to sign them young and develop is it's a lot cheaper but that hardly applies here, you're spending £52-58m on a youngster that isn't ready for this level and will take years to develop... I would expect us to just sign a really good CB close to their prime if we're spending that sort of money.

If he ever does become an elite CB we better hope he stays forever rather than fancying a move to PSG/Madrid/Barca, because it will be hard to justify developing a young CB for someone else to get the benefit of.

 

[Dominos]

This happened because he played more central after Martinez left.

I've been trying to analyse why Yoro looks good at defending at times and sometimes cwap.

The thing Yoro is best at slide tackling with his long lanky legs. He wants to use his more stronger leg to go in to tackling.


Yoro says he prefers playing at LCB which makes him use his stronger leg when the opposition tries to cut in and attack him centrally.

When he plays at RCB he can't dive in with his lanky legs with his stronger right foot because it becomes easier to get past him on his weaker left hand side.

This is why Yoro himself says he is better at LCB than RCB.

He's there to make sliding challenges but at RCB he is being deployed their purely due to having a right footed player play the ball from the back but this stops Yoro's ability to be a last ditch defender.

Carrick playing Maguire at LCB and Yoro RCB made me raise eyebrows about Carrick and his ability to understand his own players strengths and weaknesses. Because playing Maguire at RCB and Yoro on the left is more balanced for both players.

Yoro isn't a ball playing defender, Heaven is. Yoro is a last ditch defender that currently lacks some ability in the air but is great on the ground.

The quote from him on LCB/RCB was this - "I'm right footed so it's more easy for me sometimes on the right but I like to play on the left because I can put long ball to the striker when I go inside. I like both sides". It was a bit of a nothing quote made out to be something big.

If a right footed player can't play on the right side of defence because he doesn't like tackling with a certain foot then we have a real problem on our hands.


I do agree Maguire should be right and Yoro left when they play together though. Although I'm not too impressed with Yoro's ball playing he adapts to the left side better than most and although Maguire has spent a lot of time on the left over the years I hate to see him on the ball on that side, looks uncomfortable as hell.

 

[Dominos]

He looks too weak for the PL. Maybe a loan would help him. Massively overrated by some on here.

A great example that "needs to bulk up" isn't always just a cliche.

I don't think he's good enough either way but he should be loaned out to a league where he is able to play and be told that he needs to work very hard and develop physically.

Then assess in a year or two. Essentially give him the Saliba treatment and hope for the best.

Looked completely out of depth. Poor for both goals, possibly even 3 if Licha didn’t bail us out.

Feel like he needs to be loaned out, though at this point I can’t completely argue against outright selling him off either.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but spending £52-58m on a young CB that was unlikely to be ready for this level, having a couple of years in the prem and then loaning him out... Just smells of a club that doesn't have a clue what they're doing.

People on here don't seem to like questioning the signings and strategy of the new recruitment team but their record is far from spotless, and I just don't get this one. The usual benefit of signing young is it's cheaper than buying established but in this case we somehow paid a fee more fitting for an established pro, and will have to spend years developing him in the hope he's eventually ready for this level.

I used the phrase "inefficient use of resources" early on and I stick by that. I'd expect us to find an actual first 11 ready CB for this kind of money.

 

[Sylar]

Yeah, I get people saying that but he really shouldn’t have to. It should just be given as a foul. It’s a sad reflection on the state of PL refs that you need to make a huge deal out of something like that to get a foul, though. There does seem to be a narrative as I don’t recall the commentators even mentioning it. Very weird. There was another foul when he got absolutely clattered by DCL and he protested to the ref but got told there was nothing doing. Joke.

Its unfortunately the way the game has gone
You gotta make a spectacle out of everything.

Even these bad decisions, you need the manager to cause a big fuss over them that it become a talking point for the pundits to highlight it and keep it in the news

 

[Gavinb33]

If his name was Frank Evans and was from the academy and not a 60 million pounds buy people would be losing their minds, but I just don't see if with this kid unsure what he is good at, was billed as the next Rio...

 

[iKnowNothing]

With CL footie next season, I'm actually worried about the CBs at the club. Yoro looks like a back up, but then with other more experienced CBs not fit for a majority of this season, I don't think the club can afford to have Yoro and Heaven as the primary CBs for a big chunk next season.

 

[Romez]

I can't remember where I read it but it was something along the lines of if a player hadn't shown enough in two seasons at a club be ruthless and get rid.

I'd do that with Yoro and bring in Senesi on a free transfer.

 

[bosnian_red]

I’m critical of the lad - but he’s only 20.

How good were the great CBs of this club over the last 40 years at 20? Where were they playing and at what standard?

Bruce, Pallister, Stam, Ferdinand, Vidic? As a youngster, you need players around you to talk you through games, to direct you, and encourage you - it’s not about just being next to a good player.

Im sure he'll have a good future, the problem with me is the transfer in general. We spent CB superstar money for a teenager who didn't actually have any real stand out qualities where you could even say he could one day get there. Most CBs don't really make the step up until after 25. Why would you spend 70m on a player who has 7 years until we can even think about their prime? By all means, go for talents to develop and fill the squad, but do it for reasonable sums of money.

We don't have that much money to drop insane amounts on what is an extremely long term project. It's not like he's an attacker where it's a lot more individual based for how good they'll be. With defenders, their ability is far more dependent on how they read the game, intelligence, composure and how they play as a team. None of which you can really see or accurately project long term when they are teens. To me Yoro seems pretty much exactly like what Lindelof was as a highly rated young CB. The same issues too. Unless he has a physical transformation, I don't really see him becoming anything special. There's really not that much there to work with, at least any time soon in the prem.

 

[Dominos]

Im sure he'll have a good future, the problem with me is the transfer in general. We spent CB superstar money for a teenager who didn't actually have any real stand out qualities where you could even say he could one day get there. Most CBs don't really make the step up until after 25. Why would you spend 70m on a player who has 7 years until we can even think about their prime? By all means, go for talents to develop and fill the squad, but do it for reasonable sums of money.

We don't have that much money to drop insane amounts on what is an extremely long term project.

Exactly. Inefficient use of resources. Should have just found a first 11 quality centre back instead for £60m.