Should Luke Shaw be converted to a midfielder?
- Thread starter Adam-Utd
- Start date
I don't think it is, but thanks for your detailed input.
I don't think he will be a good midfielder, he lacks awareness to play the position. He should play as FB and work on his end product. Last season wasn't bad, contributed to 4-3 goals which is a decent record but there should be continuous improvement in the game.
If Williams is as good as he looks so far then Shaw's already lost the fight, regardless of how fit he is.
Personally i don't see Luke in a defensive midfielder's position. He's not a player who can win a lot of aerial duels, nor can he actually defend deep and bring the ball into the opposition side. His best position is indeed LB and i think he will stick with it. Also i think he can still be a good player for us but since Williams is doing a goof job, i'd like for him to continue there. Luke can slowly start back and rotate with Williams and i think it'll good for us to have some competition for that position. In this case, we have a huge advantage of sitting out our club captain and that would mean the world to me. Young was great in the beginning but i'm sorry, he needs to go and give us a chance to have new direction.
He wasn't at all. He started the season quite poorly and was really underwhelming
Williams showed more in the last few weeks than Shaw has in a long long time
He was quite good as a right back, nothing too fancy though. Rumours were that we were in for him as a right back at some point.
As far as I recall, he wasn't defending very well and seemed very reluctant to make an overlapping run when it was on (unless we're talking before the leg-break).
Thought he was solid RB without much end product, like Shaw. Like I said, I didn't watch him as RB but just going by his stats as RB.
Anyways on this thread, don't think Shaw has the skill set to play the role.
He should be converted to an Everton player.
If they’re willing to buy him they can convert him into whatever the hell they want.
He needs to convert his body so he can play football first.
I don't think advances in bio-mechanical engineering will come in time
I don't think advances in bio-mechanical engineering will come in time
Nope. Let's see if he can win his LB spot back first.
It won't work. If he's moves into central midfield how will he be able to hear Jose telling him what to do?
Yes, struggling for fitness through out his career, why not put him in even more combative and intensive role. You know, cos its more appropriate.
Convert him to the Championship.
After 5+ years in the role, he's barely got the positional sense to play full back, so there's no way he could ghet his head round playing in midfield. And that's before you get round to his lack of technical ability, limited range of passing, vision etc.
So no, he couldn't play that position.
So no, he couldn't play that position.
If you guys read then it quite clearly says before the leg break. He was dove tailing with Memphis really well. The whole reason his leg got broke was he was flying towards the box about to get a shot away. Short memories
Intensive? I'd argue being a fullback is WAY more intensive, especially running.
Midfield you run around the pitch at 80%, bursting into a sprint at certain times. Fullback you're making 100% runs way more regularly. That's a lot harder on your body than it is in midfield.
There's a reason why people like Pirlo, Scholes etc can play there until their late 30s no problem.
Conceptually, this seems like a bad suggestion, IMO. Even though a lot of modern fullbacks have a brilliant technical skill set to go with traditional qualities like stamina or sense of timing, a midfielder still has to deal with a more expansive segment of the pitch (especially in horizontal terms which necessitates a peculiar way of reading the game) and has to have at least above-average understanding of space around them at all times as well as the positioning of their team-mates and opposition to be successful in the central portion of the pitch. It's possible for a good system coach to train a fullback/wingback as a midfielder (like Tuchel's development of Guerreiro as a box-to-box midfielder at Dortmund) but from a wider respective, it's no coincidence that fullback-midfield converts or hybrids have typically been players who are pretty darn intelligent and had consistently good decision-making while also possessing an eclectic technical skill set (and frequently but not always, a non-stop engine)...like Lahm, Zanetti, Alves or Kimmich. Shaw has never really evidenced the signs of being that type of player if we're being fair in our assessment — he hasn't even perfected the condensed vertical/lateral movement of a good fullback who mostly plays on one channel, so playing smack dab in the middle of the pitch would, in all likelihood, be a step too far for him.
If you guys read then it quite clearly says before the leg break. He was dove tailing with Memphis really well. The whole reason his leg got broke was he was flying towards the box about to get a shot away. Short memories
I was a bit confused by the other poster and didn't go back to check the OP which is which was why I said 'unless we're talking before the leg break'.
He's never been the same player since. I don't see him fitting in at CM as I don't think he has the temperament or ability for it.
I'll disagree about the ability part as I genuinely think he does, to me his attributes fit the role perfectly - whether he can make it work though is another thing.
Who would have thought that Schnweinsteiger or Lahm could have done a similar job? Blind quitre regularly switches from LB to CDM. It's not some weird suggestion like others are making out.
Quite a few fullbacks can play the same role. Some people on the forum are crying out for Fosu Mensah to get a chance in midfield, but I'd say Shaw is a better footballer personally.
I'm a United fan and I've not seen much of him for a long time.
Daley Blind covers more ground as a left-back than Luke Shaw does (from memory, I think Blind was about 10.5 km per 90 mins). Dalot averaged 10.5 km per 90 mins as right-back. Valencia was close to 9.0 km per 90 mins one season, think he was up to 9.5 km in the other. If Shaw could run further, why doesn't he ? There are full-backs for other teams in the CL who cover distances that aren't too far away from CM distances.
Last edited:
Well for one you missed the most important part of midfield play football iq and positional play. Two things schweiny and lahm both had in abundance and the two areas which Shaw critically lacks.
How about shaw is asked to stay fit and if not just let him leave.
I think Shaw struggles with his stamina having a bigger body.
There's quite a big difference when running like that though. I've played both positions and found running at 80% with more running but with fewer sprints is much easier than repeated full speed sprints. This is also what contributes to his muscle injuries.
I don't think he'd find the switch physically difficult basically. It's easier playing CM than fullback in terms of fitness.
Has a high football IQ
sorry didnt read that rightIf you guys read then it quite clearly says before the leg break. He was dove tailing with Memphis really well. The whole reason his leg got broke was he was flying towards the box about to get a shot away. Short memories
I thought you were talking about the start of this season
No chance!
Wish someone would have applied this policy to him in 2014.
He at least needs technical abilities like Lahm or Kimmich.
He's fairly good technically though, but I don't see him in that position, no.
He's fairly good technically though, but I don't see him in that position, no.
What makes you guys think he doesn't read the game well? he intercepts well and has a good eye for a pass. I wouldn't put him down as a dumb player.
I don't think TFM is gonna make it at United in any position and I don't think the comparison to Lahm, Schweinsteiger or Blind really hold up, and this is aside from the fact that they are all much better players than Shaw.
Lahm played midfield as well as defence in his youth and while he had a spell at midfield in a Pep side, he was moved back to fullback.
Schweinsteiger played LB very early in his career but his preferred position was always AM and he played there and as a winger so it wasn't that much of a stretch.
Blind is one of those versatile players and played DM though out his youth before being moved to full-back for the first few years of his senior career, rather than the other way round.
Should De Gea be converted a striker??
He does, his first touch is one of the best in the squad usually, and he hits some lovely passes.
Who remembers this assist from Shaw for Rashford? sums up what i'm talking about.
at least DDG is still in goal so there's still hope.
You think a midfield role is less demanding than a full back, physically?
Unless you're a Mata or Silva you have to be a proper specimen in midfield .
Unless you're a Mata or Silva you have to be a proper specimen in midfield .
He is very often out of position and critically doesnt get many interceptions because of that. Also he is a player with no knowledge of when to push up or sit back.
Thing is, people talk shyte about him because he gets injured a lot.
He is solid at left back on form, why change that?
He is solid at left back on form, why change that?