Aaron Wan-Bissaka image 29

Aaron Wan-Bissaka England flag

2022-23 Performances


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6.4 Season Average Rating
Appearances
34
Clean sheets
17
Goals
0
Assists
1
Yellow cards
3
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To be honest, I think its fairly clear that both Wan-Bissaka and Maguire were scouted with Jose Mourinho's style and system in mind. Somehow, when Mourinho left, nobody rebooted the system and we just kept on bringing in players suited to him despite trying to go in a different direction.

If you think about it, even Bruno is a Mourinho type #10: Hardworking, able to create stuff out of nothing and make the most of quick transitions. The kind of ace you need if you're not that bothered about patterns of play etc.

It says a lot about how United just allow things to drift that several of our targets have remained the same, regardless of who the coach is, and I imagine that's been a huge problem this summer: Ten Hag being presented with potential transfer targets who are completely incompatible with his style and ideas, just cos nobody thought to ask the scouts to take a look at his Ajax teams and suggest players who could do similar things to the players he's been managing.
With AWB and Maguire, I got the impression that Ole and Ed had learned the basic lessons from previous years (don’t buy players who are old), but that Ole had no idea what type of players they wanted. Maguire was an established target, then AWB broke out, and Ole and Ed got excited about having a British core of star players.
 
AWB does not suit the current United style of play. He would do well for a long-ball team which is on the backfoot and needs lots of last ditch tackling.
 
AWB does not suit the current United style of play. He would do well for a long-ball team which is on the backfoot and needs lots of last ditch tackling.

We should convert him to a defensive midfielder sitting in front of two CBs :angel: . His anticipation, tackling and aerial ability are not bad at all, he's just terrible in transition play and taking the ball forward.
 
We should convert him to a defensive midfielder sitting in front of two CBs :angel: . His anticipation, tackling and aerial ability are not bad at all, he's just terrible in transition play and taking the ball forward.

A midfielder needs to be able to pass the ball too. Kind of imp. Not to say needs to have excellent positional awareness.

AWB would be a terrible defensive midfielder. Much worse than he is at RB.
 
A midfielder needs to be able to pass the ball too. Kind of imp. Not to say needs to have excellent positional awareness.

AWB would be a terrible defensive midfielder. Much worse than he is at RB.

We should change our system so we can maximize AWB's potential. Play him like Makelele who only needs to pass 6 feet in front of him. :lol: (agree, it's getting ridiculous at this point)
 
We should convert him to a defensive midfielder sitting in front of two CBs :angel: . His anticipation, tackling and aerial ability are not bad at all, he's just terrible in transition play and taking the ball forward.
The player is bound to be even worse where he can be pressed from all directions. If the manager believes AWB's talent for tacking doesn't bring enough to compensate his weaknesses at fullback it's not going to get easier anywhere else you move him. Positioning, awareness, ball playing requirements and opponent pressure are through the roof centrally. No hiding in the middle of the park.
 
We should convert him to a defensive midfielder sitting in front of two CBs :angel: . His anticipation, tackling and aerial ability are not bad at all, he's just terrible in transition play and taking the ball forward.
Poor wum
 
We should convert him to a defensive midfielder sitting in front of two CBs :angel: . His anticipation, tackling and aerial ability are not bad at all, he's just terrible in transition play and taking the ball forward.
Aerial ability? That's one of his big weaknesses. He's terrible at judging the flight of the ball and it constantly goes over his head, and some opposition teams seemed to deliberately target that issue last season. Not to mention the obvious issue with him on the ball.
 
Aerial ability? That's one of his big weaknesses. He's terrible at judging the flight of the ball and it constantly goes over his head, and some opposition teams seemed to deliberately target that issue last season. Not to mention the obvious issue with him on the ball.
Yep. City have Rodri, Liverpool have Fabinho. That's the standard we're aspiring to. AWB is absolutely not it.
 
We shun him all pre season, making it clear he's not wanted. Except then he doesn't move and we end up relying on him for one reason or another. We've done this sort of thing before and it must be the worst possible way of dealing with a player.
 
"Privately", meanwhile publically the RB never plays :lol:

Wan Bissaka, Dan James, Ighalo, Cavani, Telles, amad, pellistri, Donny, Varane, Ronaldo.... Sancho, Maguire and Bruno aside, literally every other Ole signing is probably not going to be a starter here in a year or is already gone. Horrific transfer record.
 
We shun him all pre season, making it clear he's not wanted. Except then he doesn't move and we end up relying on him for one reason or another. We've done this sort of thing before and it must be the worst possible way of dealing with a player.

The first part of this is exactly how we should deal with players we want rid of. Freeze them out until they are gone. Hopefully we don’t end up doing the second part :lol:
 
I d love to see the list of names of the other 803 players. It probably included all the RB from the top 3 divisions in the major leagues.
 
The 804 right backs weren't scouted but were plucked from a database according to reports.

The issue was that the scouting heads and Solskjaer and Phelan weren't on the the same page. And the strategy was to sign British players that summer, so the 804 right backs were narrowed down considerably due to the criteria set by Solskjaer and Phelan imo.

The below snippet from the Daily telegraph is just one of a number of reports which mentions Wan Bissaka being selected from a database.

Daily telegraph: "Before signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace, Manchester United started out with a database of 804 right-backs. They wanted a young player, preferably British, and, given the way that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted his defence to push up, one that was also very good at so-called ‘recovery runs’ - getting back into position when possession was lost, something of a specialism for Wan-Bissaka"

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/10/15/manchester-united-have-method-madness-dont-talk/
 
The first part of this is exactly how we should deal with players we want rid of. Freeze them out until they are gone. Hopefully we don’t end up doing the second part :lol:

Totally agree.

Problem is I reckon the second part is the most likely outcome and I don't think its a position we can afford to completely demotivate a player in. We've kind of done the same with Bailly but it doesn't realy matter, we've got 200 other CB options.

But it really won't take much for us to find ourselves needing AWB. A player whose ended up with no pre season and is now well aware he's not wanted.

Fingers crossed we somehow find a buyer at this late stage and we keep Laird here rather than loaning him out. I reckon that's the clubs thinking anyway.
 
The 804 right backs weren't scouted but were plucked from a database according to reports.

The issue was that the scouting heads and Solskjaer and Phelan weren't on the the same page. And the strategy was to sign British players that summer, so the 804 right backs were narrowed down considerably due to the criteria set by Solskjaer and Phelan imo.

The below snippet from the Daily telegraph is just one of a number of reports which mentions Wan Bissaka being selected from a database.

Daily telegraph: "Before signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace, Manchester United started out with a database of 804 right-backs. They wanted a young player, preferably British, and, given the way that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted his defence to push up, one that was also very good at so-called ‘recovery runs’ - getting back into position when possession was lost, something of a specialism for Wan-Bissaka"

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/10/15/manchester-united-have-method-madness-dont-talk/

What’s your thoughts on clubs using these kinds of databases?
 
What’s your thoughts on clubs using these kinds of databases?
I think the use of databases is a good thing and we should always look to evolve when it comes to recruitment and apply modern practices to back up the eye test.

But the problem with signing Wan Bissaka was that we failed at the strategic level from a footballing perspective. Fullbacks are now expected to not only provide a overlapping threat but to also have the ability to tuck in and act as the midfielder at times, which means the fullback today is absolutely required to be of a high technical level at the big clubs.

I think it'll be interesting to see who heads the recruitment department come the start of the season. Because the role of head of recruitment is missing right now and it's a role that is extremely important at all the big clubs. Chelsea, Liverpool and City have Scott McLachlan, Dave Fallows and Gary Worthington in such roles. And it really helps the DoFs at those clubs when it comes to recruitment because they turn to the head of recruitment to provide them with a list of targets for the positions they want improving.
 
Not a fan of his at all but I've gotta admit I'd pick him ahead of Dalot.

They are both really shit though.
 
He must start next game because he can't be worse than Dalot
 
Not a fan of his at all but I've gotta admit I'd pick him ahead of Dalot.

They are both really shit though.

No chance. At least with Dalot, I feel like there is a small hope of something positive happening on the right wing. AWB kills that hope, sets fire to it, and urinates on the remains.
 
No chance. At least with Dalot, I feel like there is a small hope of something positive happening on the right wing. AWB kills that hope, sets fire to it, and urinates on the remains.

He wasn't terrible when he first arrived, I admit I don't rate him highly at all but Dalot is horrific as well so for me there is nothing in it.
 
It is unclear that he is worse than Dalot. If he just needed guidance, then ETH seems to be the right kind of coach.
 
I really think we should play him. He has a weak final ball but can carry it forward reasonably effectively. He also adds quite a lot defensively. His tackles breakup the opposition play.
 
"Before signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace, Manchester United started out with a database of 804 right-backs. They wanted a young player, preferably British, and, given the way that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted his defence to push up, one that was also very good at so-called ‘recovery runs’ - getting back into position when possession was lost, something of a specialism for Wan-Bissaka"

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/10/15/manchester-united-have-method-madness-dont-talk/

Did the morons that populated this database ever actually watch AWB play?
 
Did the morons that populated this database ever actually watch AWB play?
:lol: my first thought too — his jogging back at snail speed on counters is 100% the worst trait Wan Bissaka has!
 
:lol: my first thought too — his jogging back at snail speed on counters is 100% the worst trait Wan Bissaka has!

Wtf, like?! Reading stuff like this is a great insight into how clubs make so many mystifyingly stupid decisions. A database is only as good as the data put into it. Rubbish in, rubbish out.
 
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