[justboy68]

West Brom seemed to have free reign down that side at times, and he didn't offer much going forward until near the end. Just doesn't seem to be playing his proper game at the moment. Still settling in.

 

[Rossa]

I am hoping it is just the step up nerves between SOU and united and he will get over it with more game time. Was at fault for the first goal and like you said, just did not offer enough in the attacking sense.

When you feck up like he did for the first goal, at least you can try to make an effort to get back; instead it was Di Maria who was ten yards further from the ball who tried to chase the attacker. Awful by Shaw - and as I said, Evra would've been crucified for doing something similar. His attacking is limited it appears. Let's hope he can improve on that.

Was the pitch narrow though? I'm only asking as there appeared to be so little space on the wings at both sides.

 

[Ekeke]

He needs to do better. And I'm sure he will. I remember at the start of last season some posts suggesting he'd been poor. Well it turned out to be his best season, so hopefully in a months time he'll be back at top form

 

[footballgirl07]

When you feck up like he did for the first goal, at least you can try to make an effort to get back; instead it was Di Maria who was ten yards further from the ball who tried to chase the attacker. Awful by Shaw - and as I said, Evra would've been crucified for doing something similar. His attacking is limited it appears. Let's hope he can improve on that.

Was the pitch narrow though? I'm only asking as there appeared to be so little space on the wings at both sides.

Totally agree. Wasn't a good game tonight either at the back or up the pitch. No idea about pitch width but he has to offer more, especially since Di maria is our main player and he plays that side. He will learn and improve hopefully but now he is at United, he will definitely under a lot more scrutiny this season. Has to put in a lot better performance v Chelsea.

 

[Sied]

West Brom seemed to have free reign down that side at times, and he didn't offer much going forward until near the end. Just doesn't seem to be playing his proper game at the moment. Still settling in.

I think there was a massive difference from playing behind di Maria to Young. Behind di Maria he always plays the ball to di Maria and then half heartedly runs beyond him, not really expecting to actually get the ball. Behind Young he looked a lot more confident and was more adventurous with his balls.

Perhaps it was because it was late on in the game and we were getting more desperate, but I think he's still intimidated playing alongside di Maria.

 

[Hed Zitin]

He is allowed to have a go you know. Very timid so far.

 

[ZDwyr]

Wasn't very good tonight. Obviously young and will improve but these sort of games will be frustrating - particularly when we don't win them.

 

[Kag]

Grew into the game after an error for the first goal.

Anybody else feel that Di Maria doesn't really use him as much as he should? Young played a pass into Shaw which allowed him to burst between the right back and centre half nearing the end of the game and we got into a great position. Di Maria tends to cut inside.

Shaw and Di Maria need to work on their link up.

 

[Amar__]

Didn't like his performance too much today tbf. Evra esque lazy tracking back for first goal(I am not blaming him for the goal, just didn't like his attitude there), and was pretty poor attacking wise. I also don't like that he never wants to start our attack, he is always happy to pass it back to defender instead of actually pushing us forward like Rafael quite often does, and like Evra used to do. He is better than this, so hopefully he'll show it soon.

Grew into the game after an error for the first goal.

Anybody else feel that Di Maria doesn't really use him as much as he should? Young played a pass into Shaw which allowed him to burst between the right back and centre half nearing the end of the game and we got into a great position. Di Maria tends to cut inside.

Shaw and Di Maria need to work on their link up.

Yep, quite obvious.

 

[DevilRed]

Seems to be lacking in confidence like most of our defenders. Clearly he can turn on the afterburners and beat a defender whenever he wants. Just seems to defer a little too much to Di Maria. Hopefully will grow in confidence as season goes on.

 

[Tarrou]

Not his best performance but I'm confident he'll improve. He's just finding his feet at a big club which is not easy for a youngster.

 

[justboy68]

I think there was a massive difference from playing behind di Maria to Young. Behind di Maria he always plays the ball to di Maria and then half heartedly runs beyond him, not really expecting to actually get the ball. Behind Young he looked a lot more confident and was more adventurous with his balls.

Perhaps it was because it was late on in the game and we were getting more desperate, but I think he's still intimidated playing alongside di Maria.

I'd definitely agree with that. Some blame Di Maria for not using him enough but he never seemed to make the purposeful overlapping runs when Di Maria had the ball. Hopefully as they get used to each other, that will improve.

 

[Cristiano Jonaldo]

He is allowed to have a go you know. Very timid so far.

Agree. He seems to have modelled himself on Cleverley. Run forward with the ball, but as soon as you see an opposition player, stop and play a nice safe backpass to someone.

No attempt to run through players, and the rare occasions he did try to do something attacking like put a ball in the box the result was woeful.

At £30M+ we needed someone to fit right into our first team. Shaw however is looking like a newly promoted youngster who could go either way. You'd never guess he was a regular in the premiership last season.

 

[Rossa]

Grew into the game after an error for the first goal.

Anybody else feel that Di Maria doesn't really use him as much as he should? Young played a pass into Shaw which allowed him to burst between the right back and centre half nearing the end of the game and we got into a great position. Di Maria tends to cut inside.

Shaw and Di Maria need to work on their link up.

True, but then again, did Shaw help Di Maria out enough? He hardly made too many overlapping runs that created space for Di Maria; not every overlapping run has to be used. They are important for creating space also.

 

[Nighteyes]

Is it a case of him not being as good as he was at Southampton or it a case of his shortcomings becoming more apparent now that we see him every week?

 

[Steven Seagull]

I don't think anybody would pick up on him being at fault for the goal if they weren't trying to scrutinise for something (anything.)

He's gone to challenge for a header and somebody hasn't tracked Wisdom. He can't do both.

 

[Coxy]

Is it a case of him not being as good as he was at Southampton or it a case of his shortcomings becoming more apparent now that we see him every week?

Of course he is as good as he was at Southampton. However he is still young - out of form - and playing in an out of form team as well. Southampton were settled and playing well all season. Give him a chance ...

 

[Mali_Zeus]

After Everton and England U21 - oh what a great player we have on our hands!

After WBA - he isnt doing enough. He is like a newly promoted youngster. for 30 million he should do more.

 

[Carl]

I don't think anybody would pick up on him being at fault for the goal if they weren't trying to scrutinise for something (anything.)

He's gone to challenge for a header and somebody hasn't tracked Wisdom. He can't do both.

I really like Shaw but he was at fault for the goal. He was sucked in. That'll come with experience though.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Grew into the game after an error for the first goal.

Anybody else feel that Di Maria doesn't really use him as much as he should? Young played a pass into Shaw which allowed him to burst between the right back and centre half nearing the end of the game and we got into a great position. Di Maria tends to cut inside.

Shaw and Di Maria need to work on their link up.

I expect that Di Maria backs himself to put in a better ball than Shaw would, even from a worse position.

 

[Nighteyes]

Of course he is as good as he was at Southampton. However he is still young - out of form - and playing in an out of form team as well. Southampton were settled and playing well all season. Give him a chance ...

I'm not writing him off.

He looks very good for most of the game so I'm hopeful he cuts these mistakes out.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Games like last night really bring home how much Evra will be missed. He was taken for granted in the end but swash-buckling fullbacks like him are a rare breed. Shaw wasn't terrible (although it was probably his worst performance) just a bit "vanilla". Something you could never say about Paddy!

 

[Massive Spanner]

Games like last night really bring home how much Evra will be missed. He was taken for granted in the end but swash-buckling fullbacks like him are a rare breed. Shaw wasn't terrible (although it was probably his worst performance) just a bit "vanilla". Something you could never say about Paddy!

to be fair, Paddy did put in plenty of 'terrible' performances towards the end.

but I agree for the most part, full-backs these days seem more restrained and you can see that in Shaw. Evra's workrate was beyond madness at times considering he played every second of every game.

 

[Steven Seagull]

I really like Shaw but he was at fault for the goal. He was sucked in. That'll come with experience though.

Well you can't just let Berahino take it down and turn on the half way line can you? Jones' mistake for the goal is a real case of getting sucked in because he's actually leaving his own man to make a shit challenge.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

to be fair, Paddy did put in plenty of 'terrible' performances towards the end.

but I agree for the most part, full-backs these days seem more restrained and you can see that in Shaw. Evra's workrate was beyond madness at times considering he played every second of every game.

Even in his "terrible" performances , which involved getting caught upfield not a whole lot more than Shaw last night, he was a threat going forwards. That's what we miss most of all. Even started scoring from corners in his final season. By god we could do with some of that under Van gaal!

 

[Parma Dewol]

He is still young so probably deserves a bit of slack, but I did think he was awful last night. At fault for the first goal in my opinion - no need to get sucked in that scenario, particularly with no cover behind you.

Gave the ball away a few times, crosses were lacking quality and his overall positioning left something to be desired. Seems more confident at home when he and Di Maria are careering down the left flank, but he needs to be much more solid in away games.

Still a prospect, but lots to learn.

 

[sincher]

I think long term he will be very good for us, but he had a bad day yesterday.

 

[IwatUwat]

He looked nervous, he would get to 30 yards from goal on the left and then cut back and give it back to a CB if Di Maria wasnt free. I understand the want to just give it to Di Maria but varying it up, overlapping, running inside etc is what I would expect minimum from him. He also got pulled out of position for their first (maybe this resulted in the cautious approach after. He did improve second half. But probably put in 3 crosses all driven all hit first man.

Seems like hes not playing his natural game and therefore not offering anything going forward and playing within himself. I wasn't overly convinced with him at Saints and was hoping his reputation would not exceed him here. Sure he'll find form but for our defence and attacking variations we need this to happen sooner rather than later.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Even in his "terrible" performances , which involved getting caught upfield not a whole lot more than Shaw last night, he was a threat going forwards. That's what we miss most of all. Even started scoring from corners in his final season. By god we could do with some of that under Van gaal!

to be fair, Shaw on his day is lightning quick and we have seen glimpses from him, he's obviously suffering from fitness issues too. I see no reason why we can't mould him into that sort of full back, he obviously has all the required talent, it's just a shame that he's not like that right now in our toughest spell in a long, long time.

 

[Rossa]

Games like last night really bring home how much Evra will be missed. He was taken for granted in the end but swash-buckling fullbacks like him are a rare breed. Shaw wasn't terrible (although it was probably his worst performance) just a bit "vanilla". Something you could never say about Paddy!

Evra certainly offered something more than just defending and attacking. He spurred the team on and always looked to find a teammate with a pass; he was simply that good at linking-up play. The funny thing is that Evra was criticized for most of the chances created against us came down our left side - that still seems to be the case. Shaw will turn out good, I'm sure, but I would've loved for Evra to have stayed one more season and taught the lad a thing or two.

I don't think Shaw is as athletic as Evra at his prime, but then again, who is?

 

[Rossa]

to be fair, Shaw on his day is lightning quick and we have seen glimpses from him, he's obviously suffering from fitness issues too. I see no reason why we can't mould him into that sort of full back, he obviously has all the required talent, it's just a shame that he's not like that right now in our toughest spell in a long, long time.

He's probably quick enough, although I have yet to see him matching a prime Evra for pace. What he lacks is unpredictability and being creative in the final thread. He looks to run in a straight line down the wing. He had so many opportunities yesterday to take the ball inside, leaving more space for Di Maria on the wing, but he never took those opportunities; Evra would have most certainly exploited that space. Then again, I've barely seen other fullbacks than Evra actually do that on a regular basis, drift into the center of the pitch and bomb forward, but it worked a lot of the time.

 

[Dante]

He's 19.

 

[Ekeke]

He's probably quick enough, although I have yet to see him matching a prime Evra for pace. What he lacks is unpredictability and being creative in the final thread. He looks to run in a straight line down the wing. He had so many opportunities yesterday to take the ball inside, leaving more space for Di Maria on the wing, but he never took those opportunities; Evra would have most certainly exploited that space. Then again, I've barely seen other fullbacks than Evra actually do that on a regular basis, drift into the center of the pitch and bomb forward, but it worked a lot of the time.

I've seen Shaw dribble inside plenty of times for Southampton. The problem is how often he goes for it, like with the rest of his attacking play. The attempts seem few and far between, a bit too content with finding a sideways pass to a teammate. LVG needs to drill it into him that he should be trying to make progress down the wing far more often

 

[noodlehair]

There needs to be no more of these fitness stories, or him mouthing off on twitter, or generally being a prat, until there is any evidence at all that he is actually good at football.

He's hardly endeared himself to me thus far. To be fair neither did Evra when he first turned up, and he wasn't 19, so we shall see.

 

[Coxy]

There needs to be no more of these fitness stories, or him mouthing off on twitter, or generally being a prat, until there is any evidence at all that he is actually good at football.

He's hardly endeared himself to me thus far. To be fair neither did Evra when he first turned up, and he wasn't 19, so we shall see.

Do you watch any teams other than Utd? it was quite clear last year that he is.

 

[Sam]

I'm not worried at all. He's been very good up until yesterday, and at 19, he's going to have off games (I didn't actually think he was anywhere near as bad last night as some are making out).

 

[Adam-Utd]

I'm not worried at all. He's been very good up until yesterday, and at 19, he's going to have off games (I didn't actually think he was anywhere near as bad last night as some are making out).

He wasn't bad. He did the right thing by following his marker in with that header, but Di Maria didn't track his fullback. If Shaw sat off and let the guy win the header, people would be saying "oh he didn't challenge him".

Apart from that he had an OK game, nothing special but he was hardly awful either.

Clearly his instructions were to give the ball to Di Maria as much as possible, which is hardly a bad thing.

Once Di Maria went off, he obviously took charge more and started attacking by himself.

 

[kundalini]

The more you watch their first goal, the worse Shaw looks. He couldn't even be bothered to sprint back, having made a questionable decision to challenge for the ball in the first place. Had he done so, it would have been touch and go whether he could have got a foot on the pass for their goal.

He's had a poor first few games. Far too many errors. At fault for Everton's goal as his man scored. Conceded a stupid penalty. Another poor performance here.

Right now he looks more like a McNair, Lingard, Blackett than a Herrera or Blind. At least with Rafael, you get an obvious contribution to our attack, to balance out the defensive errors.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

There needs to be no more of these fitness stories, or him mouthing off on twitter, or generally being a prat, until there is any evidence at all that he is actually good at football.

He's hardly endeared himself to me thus far. To be fair neither did Evra when he first turned up, and he wasn't 19, so we shall see.

What are you talking about here, exactly?

The one and only "fitness story" I can remember was him being a bit under-cooked in pre-season following a World Cup where he barely played any football. What's this about ""stories"? Anything I've missed?

I've obviously missed the rest of the stuff too. I tend to ignore what most footballers say on Twitter as it's usually quasi-literate nonsense. What's he done to stand out?

 

[noodlehair]

What are you talking about here, exactly?

The one and only "fitness story" I can remember was him being a bit under-cooked in pre-season following a World Cup where he barely played any football. What's this about ""stories"? Anything I've missed?

I've obviously missed the rest of the stuff too. I tend to ignore what most footballers say on Twitter as it's usually quasi-literate nonsense. What's he done to stand out?

Most footballers don't feel the need to tweet newspapers whining about legitimate criticism aimed at them. Nor do they post topless posy selfies of themselves as some kind of dis at people calling them unfit.

You also don't get to act like an obnoxious child about being called unfit when the person who called you unfit was your manager...and then also your national team manager. He's 19, had just come out of a world cup squad, being in a fit physical state should not be something that the manager needs to specify for him to do. A bit undercooked is putting it kindly too, when it was noticable enough he had to train away from the rest of the team (i.e. everyone else in the squad managed to do what he didn't, including those who had the entire summer off).

I'm not writing him off or anything close to it by any means, but I've yet to see anything at all to be impressed by, either prior to or post us signing him. There's just stuff that makes me suspect he isn't made of the right stuff. Might be slightly harsh but he's already put himself in a position in my mind where he has to prove me wrong, though he wouldn't be the first person who has. Evra for example I was convinced was the worst signing ever by the time he started playing well.