He wasn't. He wasn't at his best doesn't mean he was poor.
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He wasn't. He wasn't at his best doesn't mean he was poor.
He’s been poor for the last 3 games with an atrocious 20 minutes in this one and in the last one. Let’s just not pretend like everyone is blowing their top now because of one poor game.
Some of the reactions yes are over the top. He clearly has something, just right now be it fatigue, lack of concentration whatever it is it’s just not happening for him. The one thing that covered all his weaknesses doesn’t seem to be on point at the moment.
I’m not overly worried about him but needs to make improvements and if we are going to take more risks playing from the back it’s imperative he gets a better touch and better distribution as well as not panicing.
Lets agree to disagree. He wasn't at his best vs Villa and vs Southampton he was very poor but before that he was good.
Neville was limited technically, but we're talking a long time ago with him, between 10-20 years. A whole different league and different requirements for players.
Does AWB have a great cross? It isn't one of his best attributes. He's a great defensive fullback, but he's very mediocre when attacking. Imo, a fullback at a top level club today needs to have a bit more to his game. I like that he's at least attempting to get forward, so maybe there is the desire there to improve that side of the game. Not questioning his effort level at all and am in no way saying that he's a bad player or a bad signing. But, long term, I'm not sold on him yet as our first choice right back.
I thought I was the only one perplexed about that!! The Bournemouth one really annoyed me because even if Stanislas didn't shoot, he could easily has squared it for a tap in because Aaron was so slow in getting up.
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He was poor against Bournemouth as well. He’s had a dip of form and generally hasn’t been playing well for a while. People seem a bit blinded by the fact he put in a couple of decent crosses whilst ignoring how poor he has been defensivly. It’s not even the first time this season. He does seem to have some what of a free pass from many United fans.
Or maybe too much nitpicking from you? Works both ways.
Southampton seemed to target our righthand side, which sounds odd given AWB is known as a top defender who won't let anything past him. For me it shows Southampton thought they could get in behind him with pace as he's positionally suspect. When he's back in a defensive position there is almost no way past him but in trying to work on his offensive game he is guilty of being caught up the pitch and he is not the best in transition at the moment.
As others have said I'm not overly worried about him going forward, and I think there is fatigue and maybe a bit of general loss of form at play, but he wasn't good yesterday and has some fundamental stuff to work on.
As others have said I'm not overly worried about him going forward, and I think there is fatigue and maybe a bit of general loss of form at play, but he wasn't good yesterday and has some fundamental stuff to work on.
He's had a poor couple of games and 1 bad moment against Bournemouth. However, he gets a free pass because of all the superb defensive performances he's put in over the course of the season (a lot more than 3 games mind) - even when we were terrible, which frankly, is a sensible stance to take.
He's probably had less poor games that almost everyone else in the squad.
He is attacking much more than he used to and it is going to effect his defending due to fatigue but also Greenwood's inability to track back and defend as much as James did.
It's just the end of the season and after a good preseason with the perfect right winger like Greenwood or possibly Sancho - he will adapt his game better to mix both attacking and defensive ability.
It's just the end of the season and after a good preseason with the perfect right winger like Greenwood or possibly Sancho - he will adapt his game better to mix both attacking and defensive ability.
If I were to guess, I'd say they probably targeted the right hand side not because of AWB himself, but the pair of him and Greenwood defensively. No matter how good a right back is, he can't cover that zone on his own, he's going to get overrun.
With the pair of Greenwood and AWB, a lot of teams we've played have sat back, so it's not been a factor. Against a high energy press, it's understably been exposed, and I suppose it's something we work on.
You learn more from the setbacks. Good thing we didn't find out in a more costly manner
Yeah I should've mentioned Greenwood. Like you say in previous games we've overwhelmed teams and not had to worry about our defensive combinations much, but it was a bruising encounter for the pair of them on that side.
He didn't have a great game, in fact that's 2 on the bounce now as he looked poor against Villa as well, as others have said might need a rest. The problem yesterday was Greenwood had a poor gamel, lack of defensive cover and that , but for me the biggest issue was the high press. AWB looks so uncomfortable when he is closed down. His passing was underhit, overhit, even that last kick of the game he overhit the pass to James who in turn fouled the defender,. Lindelof who was right of the central defence pairing had the same issue, ie uncomfortable when pressed, so Southampton had a fair bit of joy down that flank. The team as a whole esp in 2nd half were poor collectively. Our big guns in Pogba and Fernandes were poor, Rashford and Martial who both looked good particularly Martial, but both missed chances they need to be tucking away
He and Pogba were just sloppy in possession. Need to up their intensity and it'll be fine. That dwelling on the ball has to stop.
So are you saying Sancho would track back and defend more than Greenwood?
I’m a fan of his, but I’m gonna call a spade a spade when I see it. He’s had great games this season when he’s looked unbeatable. He’s had poor games this season where every thing else has let him down bar his ability to sliding tackle. Just so happens over the last few games there has been a consecutive string of poor performances.
He doesn’t read the game well, he’s often caught out of position, he often lets people run off of him and he gets caught ball watching often. I’m by no means saying we need a replacement but if Shaw and Martial had been putting in these kind of performances then their threads would be going wild with we need a new player such and such.
Do feel like Bissaka gets away with an awful lot.
Well everyone thinks they are objective in their analysis, everyone would love to think so.
This season he was very good. Maybe top 3 RBs in the league and he is very young and just 2nd full season.
There isn't a FB who didn't allow attacker to go past them at least few times, what sets AWB apart is he completely shuts the opponent wingers more often than not and that too completely.
If you call spade a spade, would love to see your posts on Shaw when you called out his poor performance, unless you think he never had one. I mean there are so many times he just let's the winger to cross the ball without closing them down but that would be nitpicking. If every defender is analysed at that level then there won't be a good defender in any league.
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No that Wan Bissaka has had a relatively new game to try and adapt to at the end of the season/ after the coronavirus break. Playing with Daniel James is different to playing with Greenwood and we have seen Wan Bissaka improve his attacking gameplay which may open up some defensive flaws more often.
I just believe that after a good preseason playing with proper RW like Greenwood and Sancho that he will find a balance between his attacking and defensive play by knowing his own flaws and where he needs to position himself more etc.
I think I read somewhere that Bissaka used to be a winger before he was tried out at full back.
It's little wonder he didn't make that position his own when you see him receive the ball and his lack of touch and technique is quite astonishing.
As a defender he's extremely good, last ditch tackles aside. He almost appears clumsy when he's running with the ball.
I don't know how he'll turn out long term but if we want to be back in champions League finals and winning trophies consistently then I think he'll need to either up his game dramatically or else be upgraded.
It's little wonder he didn't make that position his own when you see him receive the ball and his lack of touch and technique is quite astonishing.
As a defender he's extremely good, last ditch tackles aside. He almost appears clumsy when he's running with the ball.
I don't know how he'll turn out long term but if we want to be back in champions League finals and winning trophies consistently then I think he'll need to either up his game dramatically or else be upgraded.
A couple of bad games is not really cause for concern. He has been brilliant most of the season and he has had to play nearly every game. A dip in form is perhaps inevitable. Hopefully Laird (or Dalot) can develop on the RW as we have seen Williams on the left.
I am surprised to see people asking for a more technical RB in other threads.
What we have to remember is that this is AWb's second full season of football. He is very young and had one season of experience at Palace.
He has come in where in the first half of the campaign where he had to defend, now we are asking him to play a possession style game. He needs to learn the role. He will improve given time.
Unfortunately, some sections of fans are not patient.
What we have to remember is that this is AWb's second full season of football. He is very young and had one season of experience at Palace.
He has come in where in the first half of the campaign where he had to defend, now we are asking him to play a possession style game. He needs to learn the role. He will improve given time.
Unfortunately, some sections of fans are not patient.
If Laird is as good as people say he is, he will surely relegate AWB to the bench.
Not so soon. Player might be very talented but he needs bit of luck with injuries and timing to make it at top level.
He's missed quite a bit of football the past couple of years and who knows how badly that could affect his career going forward. I haven't seen him much myself but I have read that he's very highly rated.
Maybe next season he'll get a chance to show what he can do and we might have a bit of competition for AWB.
Brandon Williams has shown how effective competition is because Shaw is playing his best football in years because he knows he has someone on his toes if he slackens off.
Was poor the other night, but I think the season is catching up with him now. Its a big step up from Palace to United where the physical and mental demands are much greater now, I think it has taken its toll on the young lad which is why he hasn't looked as sharp on and off the ball. It's a difficult predicament the club is in here as he is our only reliable choice at right back which is why he plays so many games. In an ideal world we could rest him but we don't really trust Dalot and its a difficult time to throw in Laird, however if we keep playing him then the tiredness factor can create costly errors and possible injury. I personally would play him against Palace and then rest him for West Ham and bare the consequences against Chelsea.
Probably because they have Redmond and Bertrand on that flank. Two of their best attackers.
It’s simple. Shaw is far better on the ball than AWB & Rashford tracks back better then Greenwood. The biggest target of their press were AWB & Matic
Not too sure about that. Rashford was not tracking his man all game.
I don't disagree that AWB was a target for their press, but I'm also talking about what Southampton did in possession. At 2.15 in the highlights Redmond gets a good chance after AWB is caught trying to defend high (James and Fred also caught doing knob-all as well I might add) against Bertrand and Romeu is able to play it in behind:
As was pointed out a few posts ago Southampton had two of their best attackers in Bertrand and Redmond on their left so they were naturally going to attack down this side but I also think they purposefully exploited the space AWB leaves behind him too, which isn't solely his fault but it's an issue for the team.
I’m not saying he has had a bad season, he like many has made mistakes and had poor games. People tend to brush them off as he has free pass where as like I said earlier Martial and Shaw would be crucified for such things.
There is no doubting that in a one on one situation in race or battle with Bissaka he is incredible. Probably the best in the world at what he does. This however does not make him all of a sudden brilliant defender Because generally his positioning is awful, he’s rubbish in the air and he doesn’t spot danger. It’s why I find the idea he should be a CB laughable as the first thing they say about a defender is going to ground is a last resort and if you find yourself going to ground a lot then you already made a mistake.
On the crossing thing Bissaka does the same thing. Infact most modern day fullbacks do it. If you are running out to someone to get touch tight in a straight line they can shift it past you and knock it in or just go past you and carry it in further. Hence why most fullbacks in that situation opt to stand off and block an easy cross or pass. They position themselves that way so if the winger decides to knock it and go further down the line they have the chance To stop them.
They make it hard to put a ball in and trust that the goalie and CB will deal with it. However if they are in a flat race like we’ve seen Bissaka vs Sterling or Shaw vs Traore Then they will be touch tight to block a cross as it depends on their positioning and the scenario they are in on the pitch.
If ones going from the CB position out wide to meet someone they aren’t going to try and get at them, more so block the cross and invite them on.
I’ll stick with the he’s had 3 poor games on the bounce and hopefully he can sort out whatever is up with him and work on the other aspects of his game. Which I’m sure he will.
I don't know if anyone has noticed this but imo his recent "poor" performance were largely caused of by our recent tactical changes.
Prior the break his job was simply to defend. He's excellent in this so his performances were really good. Most of the time he stayed at the back and rarely joined the attack.
Recently he and Shaw have been deployed much further down the pitch. They both actually play much more like attacking wing back or right/left midfielder rather than their normal full back role. They stay there all the time when we have possession. Especially AWB, you can even see him getting in the final third on the end of a pass to finish like a winger/inside forward quite regularly.
Imo he's just not used to this new role yet and usually he's just too far up the pitch when we lost possession to track back and defend in time. He's still learning this new role. He needs to read game and position better. His attack is getting better but he'll have to learn how to manage his defensive duties as usual while still attacking that much. Imo if he can do that, and raise his attacking a bit, he'd be one of the best completed wingback/fullback in the world.
P/s: and as @romufc has pointed out above, this possession and building from the back football is quite new to him as well.
He'll need time to learn all that. It's actually a lot and imo would take quite sometime.
Prior the break his job was simply to defend. He's excellent in this so his performances were really good. Most of the time he stayed at the back and rarely joined the attack.
Recently he and Shaw have been deployed much further down the pitch. They both actually play much more like attacking wing back or right/left midfielder rather than their normal full back role. They stay there all the time when we have possession. Especially AWB, you can even see him getting in the final third on the end of a pass to finish like a winger/inside forward quite regularly.
Imo he's just not used to this new role yet and usually he's just too far up the pitch when we lost possession to track back and defend in time. He's still learning this new role. He needs to read game and position better. His attack is getting better but he'll have to learn how to manage his defensive duties as usual while still attacking that much. Imo if he can do that, and raise his attacking a bit, he'd be one of the best completed wingback/fullback in the world.
P/s: and as @romufc has pointed out above, this possession and building from the back football is quite new to him as well.
He'll need time to learn all that. It's actually a lot and imo would take quite sometime.
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He's decent, a good defender. But what do you guys reckon was Ole's thought with this signing? I hadn't seen much of him but surely Ole and the scouts most have seen how limited he is going forward. And by that I don't really mean crosses or speed (I think his cross is decent and better than Shaw's) However, his passing is very, very poor and under pressure he's hopeless. He's 23 years old and by that age, your technique and passing and technical ability in general can't be worked on that much. Seems strange to me. As I said, I think he's decent but at £50M I certainly don't consider him a "fantastic signing".
Crystal Palace 0:2 Man Utd
How much better do we think Wan-Bissaka is at defending than Evra was during his time here? Obviously when it comes to attacking there really isn't an argument.
People can say he'll improve his attacking, fine, but I can't see him getting better at football. By that I mean, sure, he'll get better at making runs and crossing into dangerous areas, but when it comes to general technique, like actually controlling the ball, expecting major improvements is very optimistic.
hes been gash the last two games but looks completely out on his feet. There was one moment in particular where he was so slow getting out to the attacker.
Well that you should not expect from him imo. He has a touch of Lukaku, that can't be fixed, sorry.
I would rest him against Chelsea.
If TFM is good to go then play him at RB and Williams at LB.
If TFM is good to go then play him at RB and Williams at LB.
Not good today, I'll put it down to the emotion of playing his old team
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