[Bebestation]

I absolutely hate our fan base because many fans of our rivals are better and loyal - can be happy when it's a happy result. Just belittled every player they get at every chance they get.

Has had a fantastic season that he can work up on.

 

[Ace]

Could he ever be converted to a RCB?

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Poor first half. Gave the ball away quite a bit, but certainly wasn't the only one. Felt he was better second half.

 

[Santoryo]

He is so poor on the ball.

I don't know if that's something you can improve at his age.

Very good defensively though today.

I really don't think you can improve on the ball abilities at this age, at least not enough to make up for the gap AWB has to reach decent level.

 

[Beachryan]

Has a lot of improving to be done on the ball, but a decent first season. I think today he was really nervous, and it showed.

 

[Santoryo]

I also don't understand his purchase by Ole given he's so adamant trying to play from the back and sold Smalling because he wasn't good enough on the ball. Surely Ole and his team ought to have known that he was poor on the ball thus would get in the way of how he saw his team play. Or did Ole think he could improve his game on the ball to a decent standard?

 

[Pow]

Once again. How on earth was he coming through the ranks as a winger ???

 

[Revan]

I think he looked good today. much improved since the last few games where he was all over the place looking knackered. got in several vital blocks/tackles but as we know wasn't clinical enough at the other end with his predictable passing to the more creative players infield..

I like him on the whole though.

Controversial/FM-esque opinion coming up so beware - how would people feel about him as a CB/RB rotation option? He's decent enough in his passing/dueling and bringing the ball forward that he could surely play that lindelof role next to maguire (who I thought had a great game today btw, my motm), and can shut down counters very effectively for games where we dominate possession. Just a thought

Take it like this: statistically, AWB this season, for every header he won, he lost two. Lindelof, who gets often criticized for being weak aerially, for every header he loses, wins two (he also makes more attempts than AWB). I also think that Lindelof’s positioning is top notch, while AWB’s is average.

Playing AWB as CB would be a total madness. I have seen some people saying it, but I don’t think that there is much justification except he is good defensively but poor forward, so switch him to CB. He would look comically bad on that position.

 

[Revan]

He's had a great season with some bad games here and there, which is to be expected, considering he's still 22 and this is his 3rd year as a pro.

His strengths and weaknesses are quite obvious. I'm sure that he and the coaches all now there's work to be done and I expect him to get to an even higher level with time.

How are you sure? I mean, he is a professional footballer who has a worse technique than some people I played football with and are amateurs. If he knew that was a problem, surely that part of his game would have been improved, like 5 years ago or so. He either doesn’t know it, or is incapable of improving it (same as how Smalling was).

I’ve been asking this question for some time now, but name me a player who at 21 had as poor technique as AWB and ended up significantly improving it.

 

[Rozay]

I’ll say again, but I’d have loved to have watched him as a winger. He’d have been fecking terrible.

My solace comes from the fact we have Ethan Laird on the way, who I couldn’t possibly rate more highly. I wanted us to get Meunière last summer for this reason as he’d have been a perfect stop gap in between he and Laird.

I appreciate what AWB is good at, and there is no better 1vs1 defender at full-back. The only issue is that we don’t need the best 1vs1 defender in the world at RB more than we need a competent player on the ball.

 

[Rolaholic]

Really strong first season at the club overall. He's the best defender at the club since Vidic and Rio left and he showed enough towards the end of the season going forward that I feel confident that he can refine and improve that side of his game quite a bit. He's got the tools for it, just needs to continue working on it.

All in all he's been of the best signings for the club post-Fergie in my eyes and at just 22, his ceiling looks extremely high

 

[Fosu-Mens]

I absolutely hate our fan base because many fans of our rivals are better and loyal - can be happy when it's a happy result. Just belittled every player they get at every chance they get.

Has had a fantastic season that he can work up on.

Or they(some of them at least) are evaluating players based on a long term perspective? I.e. AWB is an obvious weak point in teams where we are dominating possession and in general hinders our ability to pass the ball around efficiently. For a team aiming(assuming the Glazers care) to win the league and CL, is AWB good enough on the ball? Will he ever become good enough? Can a team fighting for big titles have a fullback that can only defend?

Sidenotes: If our LB was a great attacking fullback, then AWB lack of attacking ability would not be as problematic, but this is not the case. This is not a specific criticism of AWB, but more that none of our fullbacks are competent/an asset on the ball/build-up/final third.

 

[Lennon7]

I think he’d be an incredible centre back. Should at least try it.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

Really strong first season at the club overall. He's the best defender at the club since Vidic and Rio left and he showed enough towards the end of the season going forward that I feel confident that he can refine and improve that side of his game quite a bit. He's got the tools for it, just needs to continue working on it.

All in all he's been of the best signings for the club post-Fergie in my eyes and at just 22, his ceiling looks extremely high

In Serie 30 years ago maybe? Or in a park the bus/low possession team. Fullbacks that can't contribute in the attack/build up/on the ball are not an asset for a team aiming to compete and dominate.

He needs to radically change his way of controlling the ball to not be a liability when the team is in possession. This is extremely difficult to do, especially when already playing for the first team.

 

[Santoryo]

I’ll say again, but I’d have loved to have watched him as a winger. He’d have been fecking terrible.

My solace comes from the fact we have Ethan Laird on the way, who I couldn’t possibly rate more highly. I wanted us to get Meunière last summer for this reason as he’d have been a perfect stop gap in between he and Laird.

I appreciate what AWB is good at, and there is no better 1vs1 defender at full-back. The only issue is that we don’t need the best 1vs1 defender in the world at RB more than we need a competent player on the ball.

Pretty much this.

Fullbacks comfortable on the ball are an absolute must otherwise we'd still be looking clueless at times when pressed. They are also essential for teams looking to play on the front foot all the time which is what we should be looking to do. Greenwood and Pogba suffered because of AWB poor abilities on the ball. They got put into awkward situations, receiving poor passes from AWB, putting them under pressure.

 

[Bojan11]

I think he’d be an incredible centre back. Should at least try it.

He’s not very good at heading or positioning himself.

Thank feck for Lindelof. There was one moment where Vardy was only Leicester player in the box and AWB rather than pick him up ran to our goal. Thankfully Lindelof blocked the pass.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Or they(some of them at least) are evaluating players based on a long term perspective?

Is that what we call writing off young players based on one season?

 

[Scarecrow]

How are you sure? I mean, he is a professional footballer who has a worse technique than some people I played football with and are amateurs. If he knew that was a problem, surely that part of his game would have been improved, like 5 years ago or so. He either doesn’t know it, or is incapable of improving it (same as how Smalling was).

I’ve been asking this question for some time now, but name me a player who at 21 had as poor technique as AWB and ended up significantly improving it.

If you and I know about it then he does as well. That's obvious to me.

I expect him to improve because most players his age do improve with time and experience.

Moreover, we've already seen a steady progression from last season. Obviously it's impossible to isolate this from external factors (different system, style and players around him) but it's still notable that he's attempted and completed more passes, at a higher rate (81% vs 74% last year). This is valid for each type (short, medium, long) of passes (4-10% increase in completion for each) - which shows that the change is not due to a different mix but a technical improvement. He's also completed more forward passes, more key passes, more passes in the 1/3 of the pitch (in totals and per game).

He is not a good dribbler and has trouble in tight spaces. That's a concern that I can understand. However, he has shown improvement in every other category, which is a good indicator.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

Is that what we call writing off young players based on one season?

I think everyone agrees that AWB is among the best isolation defenders in the world.
The first question is: Can a team that aims to dominate games do so by having a fullback that cannot make a sensible pass/action when on the ball regardless of how good he is defensively.

Second Question: If they cannot, do we think that AWB will be able to significantly improve in the build up/passing/final third without making radical changes in the way he controls the ball? And how difficult is it to make great changes in his technique at his age and this level?

 

[Ole'sattheWheel]

Take it like this: statistically, AWB this season, for every header he won, he lost two. Lindelof, who gets often criticized for being weak aerially, for every header he loses, wins two (he also makes more attempts than AWB). I also think that Lindelof’s positioning is top notch, while AWB’s is average.

Playing AWB as CB would be a total madness. I have seen some people saying it, but I don’t think that there is much justification except he is good defensively but poor forward, so switch him to CB. He would look comically bad on that position.

Yeah fair enough, I concede there is an aerial component he lacks (i mentioned it in another post actually) to be an out-and-out CB in the PL, just a thought for situations where we just need a covering defender while we bring on a more offensive FB to attack down the right as I do think he excels in that situation with his covering, anticipation and tackling.

As a side note in general anyway, looking at stats on whoscored for RBs in the prem with 10+ apps, AWB ranks quite highly in some attacking metrics I thought he would be quite far down on- 4th for successful dribbles per 90, 7th for successful passes per 90, 5th for total assists. Not exactly amazing but considering he isn't our main focal point of attacks like the liverpool full backs, and with basically 0 support for 1/2 the season on that side - all the while topping both tackles and interceptions for FBs in the league, I think it's pretty reasonable to give him more time considering he's only 22 and this is his first season with us.

I do agree he is a peculiar case though, he looks super awkward on the ball and I don't really feel confident when he is on the wing, despite him producing some good moments in attacking positions over the season.

 

[Revan]

If you and I know about it then he does as well. That's obvious to me.

Which probably means that he just cannot improve. His technique is shocking for an EPL player, is right there with Smalling and Bebe. Hernandez too had really poor technique.

I expect him to improve because most players his age do improve with time and experience.

Not the technique though. Players improve all the time, but only some aspects of their play. They become stronger, smarter, more consistent (the main improvement that actually happens is in the consistency), read the game better, defenders improve their positioning and lower their number of errors, strikers improve their accuracy and runs in the box etc. Fundamentals do not improve at age 21, heck, I would say that they don't improve that much even earlier. So, I do not see how that part is gonna improve.

Again, I might be wrong. A single counter-example would convince me.

Moreover, we've already seen a steady progression from last season. Obviously it's impossible to isolate this from external factors (different system, style and players around him) but it's still notable that he's attempted and completed more passes, at a higher rate (81% vs 74% last year). This is valid for each type (short, medium, long) of passes (4-10% increase in completion for each) - which shows that the change is not due to a different mix but a technical improvement. He's also completed more forward passes, more key passes, more passes in the 1/3 of the pitch (in totals and per game).

He is not a good dribbler and has trouble in tight spaces. That's a concern that I can understand. However, he has shown improvement in every other category, which is a good indicator.

A question to ask is did his passing improve, or his accuracy improved simply cause we have the ball more than CP, and so there is more space for him?

It also needs to be considered that he is the worst player with the ball in our entire team, and we saw teams deliberately giving space to him (especially Crystal Palace, probably cause they know him well) simply cause he is the least dangerous player with the ball, so just force United to pass the ball to him. That of course, means that he has more time to pick passes, and obviously the accuracy increases. When he is under the slightest of pressure though, he is totally useless with it.

Honestly, if this is the plan, we would have been equally good with playing Smalling there. He actually played many matches as RB under Fergie so it wouldn't have been a totally alien position for him.

 

[Revan]

Yeah fair enough, I concede there is an aerial component he lacks (i mentioned it in another post actually) to be an out-and-out CB in the PL, just a thought for situations where we just need a covering defender while we bring on a more offensive FB to attack down the right as I do think he excels in that situation with his covering, anticipation and tackling.

As a side note in general anyway, looking at stats on whoscored for RBs in the prem with 10+ apps, AWB ranks quite highly in some attacking metrics I thought he would be quite far down on- 4th for successful dribbles per 90, 7th for successful passes per 90, 5th for total assists. Not exactly amazing but considering he isn't our main focal point of attacks like the liverpool full backs, and with basically 0 support for 1/2 the season on that side - all the while topping both tackles and interceptions for FBs in the league, I think it's pretty reasonable to give him more time considering he's only 22 and this is his first season with us.

I do agree he is a peculiar case though, he looks super awkward on the ball and I don't really feel confident when he is on the wing, despite him producing some good moments in attacking positions over the season.

No problem with giving him more time, we have more priorities than improving RB position right now. And he is actually (despite some defensive limitations), an excellent defender. I don't think he is a top 5 right-back on the league, but he might well be a top 5 defensive player in the league.

While I don't think he will improve that much on his attacking play and especially buildup, he will become an even better defender. Which will offer us options, and we then might play an extreme attacking fullback on the other side of the pitch. And if he eventually loses his place (like I expect to happen if Laird turns good or in 2 seasons when we start challenging and upgrade him), he can still be a valuable squad player, especially when we need to park the bus and go defensive. He is already probably the best 1 on 1 fullback in the league, so that can be quite valuable.

 

[Adam-Utd]

The main difference is we're using him more for build up play without Shaw.

With Shaw in the team we go to him first and progress from there with Rashford, AWB is usually in more space.

He's taken a little bit of time to adjust but I don't think it helps him where Greenwood is tucked in and most of our forwards have their back to goal.

Anyway he was much better today.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

No problem with giving him more time, we have more priorities than improving RB position right now. And he is actually (despite some defensive limitations), an excellent defender. I don't think he is a top 5 right-back on the league, but he might well be a top 5 defensive player in the league.

While I don't think he will improve that much on his attacking play and especially buildup, he will become an even better defender. Which will offer us options, and we then might play an extreme attacking fullback on the other side of the pitch. And if he eventually loses his place (like I expect to happen if Laird turns good or in 2 seasons when we start challenging and upgrade him), he can still be a valuable squad player, especially when we need to park the bus and go defensive. He is already probably the best 1 on 1 fullback in the league, so that can be quite valuable.

I'm certainly with you there

 

[Andycoleno9]

He has shocking technique. It is painful to watch him with the ball. It is a fight; man against ball.
Everyone who thinks that with time he can improve that is deluded.

 

[Top]

He has shocking technique. It is painful to watch him with the ball. It is a fight; man against ball.
Everyone who thinks that with time he can improve that is deluded.

This.
He’s part of the problem not the solution.

 

[Red00012]

Once again. How on earth was he coming through the ranks as a winger ???

I asked my mate the exact same question today!

 

[Red00012]

Needs a few months of training when he has the ball in the opposition half.

@GifLord

If you can do your magic of the 27th Minute when he has the ball with no one in sight and does a little dummy / shimmy / turn kind of thing . Not sure what it was to be honest but would like to see it again.

 

[Pow]

[/QUOTE]

I asked my mate the exact same question today!

Lets get the plus out the way. His tackling is phenomenal.
But its staggering that this guy became a professional footballer as a winger. I cannot wrap my head around it.

 

[GifLord]

Needs a few months of training when he has the ball in the opposition half.

@GifLord

If you can do your magic of the 27th Minute when he has the ball with no one in sight and does a little dummy / shimmy / turn kind of thing . Not sure what it was to be honest but would like to see it again.

This?

 

[acnumber9]

Not the technique though. Players improve all the time, but only some aspects of their play. They become stronger, smarter, more consistent (the main improvement that actually happens is in the consistency), read the game better, defenders improve their positioning and lower their number of errors, strikers improve their accuracy and runs in the box etc. Fundamentals do not improve at age 21, heck, I would say that they don't improve that much even earlier.

You obviously don’t remember Andy Cole then.

 

[Revan]

You obviously don’t remember Andy Cole then.

Only the end of his spell.

 

[Red00012]

This?

Yes , it looked worse the 1st time
Thanks

 

[Ekeke]

What a pointless comment. Are you saying his build up play is good?

I'm saying he's a big part of our team, if you don't like watching him you're best off watching someone else. He's going to be here, you dont have to be

 

[Revan]

I'm saying he's a big part of our team, if you don't like watching him you're best off watching someone else. He's going to be here, you dont have to be

Do you have a crush on every United player that cannot pass the ball?

 

[acnumber9]

Only the end of his spell.

That will be after he considerably improved his technique then.

 

[Womp]

Is Laird injured? Hopefully we see him a little bit with the upcoming games. AWB is the only signing from Ole I don't see being the solution here, not comfortable at all going forward.

 

[syrian_scholes]

I'm happy with the season he gave us, I think last few games he knackered and it showed, hopefully comes back stronger next season.

 

[RDCR07]

His one on one defending is the best. Literally everything else he has to improve. His first touch, his heading, his dribbling, his passing and his crossing.

 

[elnorte]

He's actually a sensationally dull player. Maybe it won't matter if he does his job well but watching him play bores me to absolute tears.