Unpopular (AKA fickle) opinion time on AWB.....

Full backs need to be able to play a bit...

This lad is just not a very good footballer.

Great defending 1 on 1s... great at last ditch tackles...

But is poor positionally.. switches off often leading to goals...

And on the ball. Poor. No other word for it... just out right poor.. and teams have figured it out... just let him have the ball, and he will give it away.

Sure he will improve parts of his game... . sure his concentration will get better... But he’s never going to be a decent attacking threat... and you just don’t win the big titles with fullbacks who can’t play...
 
The state of this place after a loss, maybe we should sell Martial/Greenwood/Rashford for the missed chances.

AWB’s first season in the top flight, was 2vs1 a lot, he was certainly partly at fault for the goal, but Lindelof was also poor in terms of his positioning for the goal.

Either way, we wasted our opportunities and got punished. AWB is 21 with the ability to improve.
 
Weird one, he been a good signing in my opinion,

But at same time been really poor this last month. I'm putting it down to lost momentum playing in this bubble.

He come back and hopefully improve his game loads
 
quirkey said:
Nonsense. I don’t care about the EL; dog and duck competition. I’ve been watching UTD all season, wan Bissaka is not a full back. I can’t understand why he hasn’t played beside Maguire, he has all the attributes to be a perfect partner for him. He cannot attack or assist like a modern fullback should. I’d rather we played him there and have Laird a chance than ever see Lindelof play again. I have said it since he signed but Lindelof is not nearly good enough to be at UTD.
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AWB would get murdered at CB. He’s not big enough or strong enough to play against strikers using their body and his positional sense is his biggest defensive weakness.

He is limited as a full back and that’s why playing a right footed right winger is vital for us. We can’t have AWB holding the width and crossing as he isn’t good enough for it.

In our current formation I would tell AWB to stay back at all times and play defensively. I would tell Pogba he has full license to get forward as AWB is staying back. I would then ask Pogba to drift to the right wing and offer a crossing option allowing Mason to attack inside. Pogba should be crossing from the right wing in a similar way to De Bruyne at city.
 
sammyhol said:
Full backs need to be able to play a bit...

This lad is just not a very good footballer.

Great defending 1 on 1s... great at last ditch tackles...

But is poor positionally.. switches off often leading to goals...

And on the ball. Poor. No other word for it... just out right poor.. and teams have figured it out... just let him have the ball, and he will give it away.

Sure he will improve parts of his game... . sure his concentration will get better... But he’s never going to be a decent attacking threat... and you just don’t win the big titles with fullbacks who can’t play...
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He had three assists this season including one against City. For a full back that’s actually decent. TAA and Robertson are rewriting the history books for assists from full backs but it doesn’t mean he’s shit. If he is going to attack we should be looking for him to make cutbacks from the byline not Beckham-esque crosses. Limited technique means that a simple solution is required. Cut backs are far easier to pull off and probably as dangerous.
 
1v1 he's incredible. And his recovery tackles from his poor positioning on the right side is what makes him seem a great defensive fullback.

Buuut, at a top club yoou need to be much more than just a defensive option.
And Wan-Bissaka is indeed very frustrating.
His hesitancy when it comes to crossing or playing in a ball, before instead passing it backwards, and his tendency to absolutely slow down the game because he takes far too many touches really tends to hurt us.

It seems teams have begun to use him as a weak point of the team, which paints a bad picture of him for the future.
 
sparx99 said:
AWB would get murdered at CB. He’s not big enough or strong enough to play against strikers using their body and his positional sense is his biggest defensive weakness.

He is limited as a full back and that’s why playing a right footed right winger is vital for us. We can’t have AWB holding the width and crossing as he isn’t good enough for it.

In our current formation I would tell AWB to stay back at all times and play defensively. I would tell Pogba he has full license to get forward as AWB is staying back. I would then ask Pogba to drift to the right wing and offer a crossing option allowing Mason to attack inside. Pogba should be crossing from the right wing in a similar way to De Bruyne at city.
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That would make it too easy to stop Pogba. You need an overlapping full back to create the space. See Kyle Walker for reference. Liverpool do it as well with either Oxlade Chamberlain or Jordan Henderson crossing occasionally. The big difference with them of course is that they have one of the best crossers in the World playing full back. But the point is that you need the full back to overlap in order to create the space for a midfielder to cross.
 
He never takes on the LB when we are in attack. This has happened for years at United and got to the point where it must be a tactical decision not to lose possession by putting in a cross. I can’t see how the last 3 full backs (Valencia, Young, AWB) we had could be so bad at doing it. Especially as two of them were former wingers.
 
Josep Dowling said:
He never takes on the LB when we are in attack. This has happened for years at United and got to the point where it must be a tactical decision not to lose possession by putting in a cross. I can’t see how the last 3 full backs (Valencia, Young, AWB) we had could be so bad at doing it. Especially as two of them were former wingers.
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Full backs aren’t there to “take on” the other full back. How many other teams do you think do this as a tactic? If you’re talking about running onto a through ball behind the defender then fine, but squaring up a defender 1v1 and trying to use skill to get past? It’s not going to happen often.
 
Josep Dowling said:
He never takes on the LB when we are in attack. This has happened for years at United and got to the point where it must be a tactical decision not to lose possession by putting in a cross. I can’t see how the last 3 full backs (Valencia, Young, AWB) we had could be so bad at doing it. Especially as two of them were former wingers.
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Does taking on Willian count for the assist he got for Martial's goal at Stamford Bridge?
 
Josep Dowling said:
He never takes on the LB when we are in attack. This has happened for years at United and got to the point where it must be a tactical decision not to lose possession by putting in a cross. I can’t see how the last 3 full backs (Valencia, Young, AWB) we had could be so bad at doing it. Especially as two of them were former wingers.
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Tactical decisions across different managers? I don't think so.. Valencia had lost his explosive pace to get past defenders and Young was never particularly good at it to begin with. Irony was that despite them being former wingers, they were quite poor offensively and played mainly the role of a defensive FB for us. The same as AWB.
 
He looks absolutely knackered - was playing well up until the last month.


Still has a lot to work on
 
It’s clear he’s poor going forward, but he’s a good defender that’s for sure. I do wonder how much he can improve in attack, the modern game demands more from a fullback. It’s been a bigger problem since Shaw got injured because we now have next to no threat on the overlap on either side.
 
El Zoido said:
It’s clear he’s poor going forward, but he’s a good defender that’s for sure. I do wonder how much he can improve in attack, the modern game demands more from a fullback. It’s been a bigger problem since Shaw got injured because we now have next to no threat on the overlap on either side.
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The modern game point is a myth. There isnt more attacking FBs now than there was 20 years ago. Its just a different way of playing when you have them in the squad.
You can he successful with more defensively minded FBs that allows the wide forwards to push forward.
Having attacking FBs just means that players with lesser ability in the ball than your attackers have the ball in dangerous positions unless youre a TAA or Davies.
 
Patrice Evra at his peak was managing 7 assists for United but mostly early on he was around 2 Assists in the PL.

AWB will be fine.
 
BenitoSTARR said:
Patrice Evra at his peak was managing 7 assists for United but mostly early on he was around 2 Assists in the PL.

AWB will be fine.
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Are we really comparing Evra to AWB now? Jesus wept. Hahahahaahaha

We were a world class team under Evra. This season we went into the final game of the season where 5th place was still very possible finish for us. AWB is nowhere near as good as Evra was and never will be.
 
The poor guy had been here for about 12 weeks before this thread was set up. Nuts.

He’s 22 and he does his main job, defending, very well. Yes he had a bit of a mare on Sunday but he’ll get better over the next 2 - 3 seasons I’m sure, I can’t remember the last full back that’s had me salivating over tackles. He’s fast, good engine and has a never say die attitude, e could be in our team for years and I doubt very much it will be his fault if we don’t win a trophy soon.
 
Nou_Camp99 said:
Are we really comparing Evra to AWB now? Jesus wept. Hahahahaahaha

We were a world class team under Evra. This season we went into the final game of the season where 5th place was still very possible finish for us. AWB is nowhere near as good as Evra was and never will be.
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I mean....he didn't compare AWB and Evra.

He said Evra had a slow start, which is true.

He said AWB will be fine, which is true.

"Jesus wept. Hahahahahhahahahah" seems a bit OTT.
 
0le said:
A few bad games and already people are out with the pitchforks. By and large he has had a good season. He is still relatively young in terms of being a defender - he is 22 years old. Some of you guys need more patience. I can't even imagine how some of you would have reacted to players like Evra, Vidic, Andy Cole when they first arrived here. Just have some feckin patience and stop throwing a hissy fit at every mistake. If he is still showing no signs of improvement say towards the end of next year then sure, start doubting him, but give the lad some time ffs...
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Not trying to slag AWB, but Evra and Vidic weren’t big purchases financially. The fee we paid for him is more comparable to the outlay for Rio (not quite as high, as I think Rio was either the world record or EPL record for a defender) who absolutely had massive expectations attached to him and mostly delivered outside of missing that drug test.

When you pay 50m for a full-back, you should expect world class results and quickly. I think there are only 4 more expensive full-backs unless I’m missing someone (Hernandez, Cancelo, Walker and Mendy).
 
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GlasgowCeltic said:
Think the club may look at Perreria from Leicester at the end of next season
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We bought Dalot from the same club in the same summer Leicester got him. For a similar fee too. Absolutely criminal. He'd be fantastic for us but Leicester would want 70m+ so we can forget it. He's light years better than AWB is.
 
Nou_Camp99 said:
Are we really comparing Evra to AWB now? Jesus wept. Hahahahaahaha

We were a world class team under Evra. This season we went into the final game of the season where 5th place was still very possible finish for us. AWB is nowhere near as good as Evra was and never will be.
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I think the point he's making if you bothered to engage in a measured conversation is that good full backs don't necessarily need to be as attack minded and post numbers like Trent and Robertson. Those boys are rewriting the script in a team that plays a different system.
There's no denying AWB needs to improve in attack, and he's shown signs of it. In fact when he does decide to go forward with conviction, he does ok. He's been in Crystal Palace where the priority for full backs was heavily towards defending, with coaching he'll improve.

Unsure what the team Evra played in has to do with anything, Evra was a brilliant player - world class fullback in my opinion, that doesn't mean if he was in this team, we'd have done any better. He's just one player (different position anyway), and this team was crying out for a fullback that could actually defend as our numbers will show.

A team is more than the sum of it's individuals. Lest you forget, the likes of Anderson and Cleverly played quite a bit in the team you refer to.
 
His defending hasn't even been great since lockdown either. That has slipped too. He was caught out for the 1st goal against Sevilla down his flank and then left his man (coupled with Lindelof) for the second goal too. I will admit defensively he's been pretty solid most of the season but you just can't give him the ball. He looks scared to have it. £50m is a travesty for him. He's just not good enough.
 
DannyDee said:
Not trying to slag AWB, but Evra and Vidic weren’t big purchases financially. The fee we paid for him is more comparable to the outlay for Rio (not quite as high, as I think Rio was either the world record or EPL record for a defender) who absolutely had massive expectations attached to him and mostly delivered outside of missing that drug test.

When you pay 50m for a full-back, you should expect world class results and quickly. I think there are only 4 more expensive full-backs unless I’m missing someone (Hernandez, Cancelo, Walker and Mendy).
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You've contradicted yourself by stating you should expect world class results when you pay 50m for a fullback, then listed 4 that aren't? I'd certainly take AWB over three of those on your list.
 
People quoting Rafael as a good right back. He could not defend to save his life, but great attacking. Valencia and Young weren’t right backs, but converted wingers. We’ve been suspect defensively down that right side for years. Seems we’ve gone completely the opposite: bought a right back who is probably the best defensive right back in the league, but isn’t a good attacking player. Most modern RBs can not defend being honest. Maybe it’s just us, behind the times?

Kyle Walker has relied on his pace. Trippier and TAA offer things going forward and free kicks. I’m not so sure about them defensively. Anyone got any tackling/recovery/interception stats to prove me wrong? Just my opinion mind.
 
He's great when we win, and questionable when we don't. So just the standard narrative for another post-Fergie signing :lol:

I like him, but he definitely needs to influence the game more in the opposition's half. I also don't think he's a 'great' athlete, looks like he suffers from fatigue more than someone like Trent who doesn't seem to tire - which I hope is a fitness issue rather than a habitual/ability issue.
 
Maybe we could work on a system where he doesn't have to attack... When we have the ball he drops to RCB, pushing one of the CB's to DM, the DM to RCM and the RCM support the RW... or some other nonsense that will probably never work in any practical setting.

The things you come up with when you're in the bathroom.
 
Beaucoup said:
You've contradicted yourself by stating you should expect world class results when you pay 50m for a fullback, then listed 4 that aren't? I'd certainly take AWB over three of those on your list.
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Cancelo and Walker are right back and are far better than AWB.
AWB is a mid table defender at best, he is technically behind those guys it is not even a joke.
 
I am going to boldly make a claim and tell you guys this; If Ole leaves and we get an attacking possession manager, AWB will not get a game.


The guy is so out of his depth in possession you wonder if he is a premier league player.

Defensively his best attributes is a tackle, but other aspects of the game like recovering to shape, reading of the game, heading and positioning he is far behind it.

I can count many goals his error directly lead to a goal. Bournemouth away, Watford away, the two goals yesterday and so many more.


To put it simply, if we have a choice between keeping him now and 50m pounds, I will take the lather and let him go.
 
E-mal said:
Cancelo and Walker are right back and are far better than AWB.
AWB is a mid table defender at best, he is technically behind those guys it is not even a joke.
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Closet City fan talking bollox
 
Volumiza said:
The poor guy had been here for about 12 weeks before this thread was set up. Nuts.

He’s 22 and he does his main job, defending, very well. Yes he had a bit of a mare on Sunday but he’ll get better over the next 2 - 3 seasons I’m sure, I can’t remember the last full back that’s had me salivating over tackles. He’s fast, good engine and has a never say die attitude, e could be in our team for years and I doubt very much it will be his fault if we don’t win a trophy soon.
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Of all the exciting things a footballer can do on a pitch, this is for you :lol: ?
 
Dan_F said:
Full backs aren’t there to “take on” the other full back. How many other teams do you think do this as a tactic? If you’re talking about running onto a through ball behind the defender then fine, but squaring up a defender 1v1 and trying to use skill to get past? It’s not going to happen often.
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Is it too much to ask for an overlap run every now and then? It was one of Ferguson’s main attacking threats. Now Liverpool and City do it.
 
E-mal said:
It's delusion to suggest otherwise. I'd wager Cancelo is even better technically and positionally.
Ricardo went for half the price and is better.
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Nonsense, both Cancelo & Walker have contributed virtually feck all in attacking stats in one of the most offensive teams in world football, plus AWB is by far the better defender, Cancelo is utterly useless in his own half and most City fans don't have many positive things to say about Walker.

I get it, you don't like him, but you're the delusional one if you thinks he's a mid table defender.
 
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