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

2cents

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One of the best defensives RBs in the league.
If we get a proper RW, we will hardly notice his short comings in attack.
Not sure - if we get a proper RW we’ll more likely end up incredibly frustrated that he’s being supported by such a mediocre full-back who prevents him getting the most out of the position.
 

MackRobinson

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Yes but you don't have to spend £50m to get a lot better than we had, when what we had was Ashley Young.

It's like saying £50k for a Vauxhall Corsa is justified, because you've been riding a bicycle for your entire life.
Kyle Walker went for £50m two years ago and starts for one of the best attacking sides in Europe.
 

koop

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Not sure - if we get a proper RW we’ll more likely end up incredibly frustrated that he’s being supported by such a mediocre full-back who prevents him getting the most out of the position.
Possibly, however the lads young and is only going to get better.
If we introduce a top RW it could only improve AWBs game I feel.
 

Cela shomana

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he has been poor since his Bournemouth mistake. before that, it was almost impossible for attackers to make crosses from his side. of recently, they find it easier to get behind him and he is constantly out of position. maybe is because of the change in our team shape. when teams attack us, he move closer to the central position probably to narrow the inner channels because of our weaker midfield. if we get a progressive manager, it won't take long before he is replaced by Laird.
 

Cypherage

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The more I think on it, would it make much difference if he was able to put balls into the box anyway? are attackers are lazy and tend not to get into the box often enough to be that effective, the number of times James has put lovely crosses into the box only for there to be no one there I have lost count.
 

Dr Fink

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All this sudden rush of love for Rafael Da Silva is laughable. He could not defend - the polar opposite of AWB. We need a hybrid - the current modern full-back that can defend solidly, then support the wide forward in an overlap/overload. Rafael was far, far too attacking and got caught out too many times. Defensively weak. some people have clouded and short memories.
 
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Cypherage

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It's a pity we didn't have James and Lukaku playing together.
I am far from a Lukaku fan but yeah, for sure I think Lukaku would have had a decent tally by now had James been at the club sooner with the crosses he has put in since the start of the season , personally I feel question marks still remain over Rashford, and as for Martial he leaves a lot to be desired I feel personally.

Again they are both young and can improve if they knuckle down.
 

BusbyMalone

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Overall i like the guy and he's a big upgrade on what we had (although that's damning with faint praise), but i can't help but think there's been little regression from him lately. It's not all on him, because i think the same of Maguire. The attacking side of his game is very poor, but we knew that and that's something he has to improve on. But even the defensive side of his game seems like it's lacking to me. Out of position now and then. Not closing down quick enough. It's not just him, of course - the whole defence has been poor.
 

MS4

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Jesus guys.
He is here since 3 months and people are writting him off already?

As many said, he is the least of your problems. So lets not discuss about him.
 

iammemphis

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He looks really uncomfortable trying to attack. No finesse to his crossing or passing, he can’t beat a man with any technical bit of skill. Unless he picks any of that up he will never be a top tier level right back. He should be putting in an hour a day extra training just on crossing alone.
 

momo83

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I have stuck to my guns from the off on this. He's a very good tackler with his spider like legs but on the ball I don't even think he's in the top 10 right backs in the league let alone Europe. £50m seems like a hell of a lot of money for someone who can tackle.

What else is he offering? Looks petrified when the ball comes his way. I heard someone on a fan cam call him the best right back in the league earlier today. Can we stop this nonsense right now? He's not even close. You have to be able to play football too and he can't quite frankly.
Defensively very solid. Isn’t that still the primary task of a fullback, and where City, Pool and Barca often get caught out when their FB’s get caught out defensively ?

I know his attacking play isn’t CURRENTLY anything to write home about BUT we see him often trying to overlap and getting in attacking positions. With the right coaching and management I’m certain he’ll become good at attacking too and even better at defending.

TL: DR kids still young. His a defender first and attacker second, whereas some FB are attackers first and defenders second...good coaching can drastically improve the bit that their second at.
 

Samid

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Complete novice on the ball. I refuse to believe he was a winger (or even a footballer for that matter) while growing up.
 

*Riley*

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Absolutely wrong!

He has made solid a side of the pitch where we leaked goals.

We need to have a better player in front of him to make up for his lack of attacking ability... He is by no means a donkey going forward BTW.
 

SaintMuppet

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The ‘ I’m bored with this toy I want a new one ‘ is strong in this one. We should give him a decent time to settle and grow before deciding he is not what we want. FFS he only just got here!
 

Kostov

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Complete novice on the ball. I refuse to believe he was a winger (or even a footballer for that matter) while growing up.
I can live with AWB being average on the ball but excellent in defense. But watching players like Lingard playing at number 10 while being absolutely horrendous footballer for this level, and how Fred can’t execute a simple pass every other time is absolutely criminal.
 

Skills

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Just doesn't add enough value on the pitch in most games that we need to be winning.
 

RedIan

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He was bought to defend and does so superbly well, hes got James playing in in front of him and he more than capable of linking up with James. wbs of our best performers again today imo And was mom last league game.
 

acnumber9

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I love how these threads just become a substitute for the player performances threads when the game is on.
 

Bubz27

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Absolutely the least of our problems.
 

Irwin99

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Great 1v1 defender though :drool:

But yes our fullbacks have been a problem on and off for years, at least in an attacking sense.
 

Thiagoal

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Against poor sides we’re better off playing attacking full backs like Dalot and Laird going forward! Or buy a world class right attacker that doesn’t need to do much tracking back
 

antohan

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Against poor sides we’re better off playing attacking full backs like Dalot and Laird going forward! Or buy a world class right attacker that doesn’t need to do much tracking back
Both. Against fodder we don't need a defensive fullback, and the upside of having a very good one is not faffing about appreciating attackers for their tracking back and not their attacking contribution.
 

RedWat

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Attack failing to spark. Blame the right back.

Nice one.
This

We played the worst team in the PL and are blaming the right back because of our loss. There are massive problems in the club and the result trend continues. After the Man City game we had a 77% success rate against the top 6 and 33% success rate against the rest after the everton&Watford games it is now fallen to 30% success rate.
 

PoTMS

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I like him and today was not on him but the point is true - he's so limited. We needed an attacking full back like the other best teams in the league. For £50m, you'd expect better.
 

Acole9

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Souness was spot on about him. He can't stay on his feet, everything is last ditch because he can't read the game.
 

Woodenlung

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The full back position is incredibly important in attack. Him and Shaw fail to do anything remotely meaningful offensively.
The midfield and forward line are far more important and feck was created from there until Pogba came on.

Having full backs that can attack effectively is a great thing. But that requires a midfield that can find them in the right areas. We don't have that.
 

UDontMessWith24

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He was bought to defend and does so superbly well, hes got James playing in in front of him and he more than capable of linking up with James. wbs of our best performers again today imo And was mom last league game.
I think he'd benefit greatly from playing with a left footed inside forward. This will allow him more space to take advantage of his pace.
 

Godfather

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The midfield and forward line are far more important and feck was created from there until Pogba came on.

Having full backs that can attack effectively is a great thing. But that requires a midfield that can find them in the right areas. We don't have that.
I agree. But our midfield has no chance of finding them if they don't join our attacks. And that's what pisses me off about both of them. They should burst forward way more.
 

Rozay

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The biggest issue with his signing is that Shaw was already on the other side. It’s a set of full-backs from the mid-90s, not current philosophies. He is ridiculously good defensively, so I don’t have as much issue with him as I do with Shaw, who is just a poor player.
 

Inigo Montoya

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Great at defending but needs to work in his support play.
He’s young and developing. No need to go overboard on his performance today
 

predator

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I agree that his attacking threat is non existent and he isnt creative at all but he is the least of our worries. His tackling is phenomenal and he is very energetic so he automatically gets a pass compared to the other shower of shite around him, infront of him.