Been saying this for a while now he is absolutely terrible. We pay this guy millions up on millions for 8 years now and he can't get his fat ass to stay out of the burgers and fries. Get the feck in shape and please after almost 10 years as a professional at top level please learn how to stay in line and block some crosses. This club has had zero standards for years and has allowed mediocrity to blossom and rewarded it with ridiculous contracts. Shaw epitomises what has been wrong with this club since Fergie called it a day. No standards at all.
23
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 27
- Clean sheets
- 5
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 5
- Yellow cards
- 11
- Status
Starting to feel like Jose was right about him.
2 assists for the opposition in the last 2 games
The Burnley one is fair enough, but blaming Shaws positioning for Southamptons goal yesterday just shows a complete lack of common sense
The fact is that Shaw has been here for 8 years and the only time you could say he’s been top class was last season in the lead up to the euros. One good season out of 8 does not make you a top class player. It’s far more likely that was a period of good form and what we see now, and what we’ve seen before, is his actual level.
As much of a prick as he was, Jose was right about Shaw.
As much of a prick as he was, Jose was right about Shaw.
I feel we’ve missed a trick not getting in Tierney or Digne when they were going cheap, be hard pressed to get a player at that level for less the £30m now.
There's very little actual footballing nous on this forum, the place just reeks of thousands of people who have never actually played the game besides in the park with their mates.
It's the easiest thing in the world to say "so and so played player X onside" but think about WHY that happened.
First of all, our press from the forwards was a disgrace. We talk about lack of intensity, we have conceded two goals now in the last two games in the first 5-minutes after HT. In both games, we have come out ridiculously sloppy. On this occasion, one or two of our players made a half-hearted effort to press, but it was such a weak, uncoordinated press that Fraser Forster was able to just clip an really easy pass into a teammate and take 5/6 of our players out of the game in the process.
Now, I'll be clear about this. This is not some "minor error". It's an absolute disgrace. It's awful from the likes of Ronaldo, Sancho, Rashford, Fernandes, Pogba and McTominay. We slam our defenders time and time again on this forum, but posters aren't understanding how exposed they are left by our lack of awareness, work-rate and discipline. Let me tell you, any manager watching that goal isn't worried about Shaw being half a foot to the right of Maguire. They are questioning what that disgrace of a press was that left half our team completely out of the game with one pass.
Secondly, the REASON Shaw is deeper than Maguire is very simple. Shaw and Maguire know that because there's no pressure on the ball, there is a really easy pass to Che Adams. As we know, this is the pass Southampton make and Che Adams gets in down the left-hand side. Now, if Shaw ISN'T a step ahead of his man at this point, Che Adams is going to whip that ball across the face of the goal for the easiest tap-in in the World and all you numpties are going to complain about Shaw being "wrong-side" of his man.
As it turns out, Shaw's actions prevent this as an option, so instead Adams has to take the more difficult option of shooting, and it's a really good finish.
Again, you have all got to A) stop listening to pundits who say crap like "Shaw played Player X onside". So what? It's a meaningless statement. Someone played someone onside for every goal. Duh! B) Stop nit-picking with the defenders over fractions of a foot either way, when our forward-line and midfield and leaving them exposed time and time again.
How many times yesterday did Southampton get to run at our back four? How many 3 vs 3 or 4 vs 4 situations? It's completely unacceptable and impossible for nay defence.
Watch the first 20 minutes of the City vs Norwich game. Ruben Dias is HORRIBLE, absolutely horrible. Why? Because he's exposed. Norwich manage to co-ordinate a couple of breakaways, and suddenly Dias looks like Nikos Dabizas. It's modern football. You cannot allow 5ft 6" attackers who can run 100m in 11 seconds to be consistently running and driving at your defence, they'll get exposed.
It's the easiest thing in the world to say "so and so played player X onside" but think about WHY that happened.
First of all, our press from the forwards was a disgrace. We talk about lack of intensity, we have conceded two goals now in the last two games in the first 5-minutes after HT. In both games, we have come out ridiculously sloppy. On this occasion, one or two of our players made a half-hearted effort to press, but it was such a weak, uncoordinated press that Fraser Forster was able to just clip an really easy pass into a teammate and take 5/6 of our players out of the game in the process.
Now, I'll be clear about this. This is not some "minor error". It's an absolute disgrace. It's awful from the likes of Ronaldo, Sancho, Rashford, Fernandes, Pogba and McTominay. We slam our defenders time and time again on this forum, but posters aren't understanding how exposed they are left by our lack of awareness, work-rate and discipline. Let me tell you, any manager watching that goal isn't worried about Shaw being half a foot to the right of Maguire. They are questioning what that disgrace of a press was that left half our team completely out of the game with one pass.
Secondly, the REASON Shaw is deeper than Maguire is very simple. Shaw and Maguire know that because there's no pressure on the ball, there is a really easy pass to Che Adams. As we know, this is the pass Southampton make and Che Adams gets in down the left-hand side. Now, if Shaw ISN'T a step ahead of his man at this point, Che Adams is going to whip that ball across the face of the goal for the easiest tap-in in the World and all you numpties are going to complain about Shaw being "wrong-side" of his man.
As it turns out, Shaw's actions prevent this as an option, so instead Adams has to take the more difficult option of shooting, and it's a really good finish.
Again, you have all got to A) stop listening to pundits who say crap like "Shaw played Player X onside". So what? It's a meaningless statement. Someone played someone onside for every goal. Duh! B) Stop nit-picking with the defenders over fractions of a foot either way, when our forward-line and midfield and leaving them exposed time and time again.
How many times yesterday did Southampton get to run at our back four? How many 3 vs 3 or 4 vs 4 situations? It's completely unacceptable and impossible for nay defence.
Watch the first 20 minutes of the City vs Norwich game. Ruben Dias is HORRIBLE, absolutely horrible. Why? Because he's exposed. Norwich manage to co-ordinate a couple of breakaways, and suddenly Dias looks like Nikos Dabizas. It's modern football. You cannot allow 5ft 6" attackers who can run 100m in 11 seconds to be consistently running and driving at your defence, they'll get exposed.
I agree that Ronaldo wasn’t pressing enough yesterday and Pogba should have done more to cut out the Romeu pass to elyounoussi, but that’s some mental gymnastics to try an clear Shaw for not playing an offside trap. Literally if Shaw isn’t playing Adams on there is no pass to the other attacker to square it as Adams is offside.
You can't play offside in that situation because there is an obvious forward pass and there is no pressure on the ball. Maguire and Shaw are sitting ducks.
Why does he play in his own timezone? He’s fecking infuriating at times. He takes an extra touch before passing the ball every single fecking time. By the time he goes to pass it the space is closed.
Wtf is Varane doing there ? Seriously?
Great post, more of this please.
And the revisionism re: Shaw on this forum is really something. As if he has been good for just one season, which is just plain bollocks. He may only have had one true world class season, but the last few years he has been one of our most consistent performers. I even see people arguing that Telles is better than him, which is simply baffling. Telles is thinner than Shaw, I'll give him that, but he sure as heck isn't more athletic.
I think that Shaw is more talented than Telles, but so often he lacks urgency and intensity in his play. He takes so long on the ball, even when making simple passes. It's the same story with his throw-in's, even though you can distribute some of the blame on our poor movement off the ball as a team. Surrendering possession cheaply via 'clever' flicks played blindly to nobody, is another irritating facet of his game. These are just a few examples of his lethargy in possession, let alone out of possession.
It's a bit of a quandary because would you rather play a lesser player with more desire? Telles as first choice is far from good enough, but this is just another area that requires improvement. It won't be addressed however, (much like the goalkeeping situation) because there are more pressing needs. I want to see Alvaro Fernandez get game time and hopefully then we can rid ourselves long term of one of these current incumbents.
It's a bit of a quandary because would you rather play a lesser player with more desire? Telles as first choice is far from good enough, but this is just another area that requires improvement. It won't be addressed however, (much like the goalkeeping situation) because there are more pressing needs. I want to see Alvaro Fernandez get game time and hopefully then we can rid ourselves long term of one of these current incumbents.
In the context of a picture, maybe. But in reality it's terrible, he dropped 6/7 steps in order to play him onside.
This guy clocked out after the Euros.
You don't need footballing nous to realize that with Telles , we manage to keep clean sheet multiple times already despite him rarely start, with Shaw we somehow never kept one. I mean it with the word never because i didn't remember when the last time opposition failed to score when Shaw started. That stats alone is very strong reason to bench Shaw over Telles because you know , goals matters the most in football. I don't care about whether he has direct involvement or not in our goal conceded. He must be benched and I believe he will once Telles has recovered , Rangnick never rates Shaw anyway.
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How have you decided the reason for those clean sheets was purely down to Shaw being out and Telles in?
How have you eliminated all the other factors that can affect scoreline like the other 22 players, the managers performance, the refs performance or even just chance/luck?
While I'd agree that the defence is too easily got at.
There's literally no excuse for Shaw being behind his other defenders. It's just another individual error in a list of them that ends up leading to a goal. 2 goals in 2 games now where he's not stepped up on time and played everyone on. Especially on Sat, if Shaw is just holds his line with Maguire the pass just isn't on and we'd all be saying it was a good line to catch them off.
I said earlier to another poster, you can't play offside when there is no pressure on the ball.
I don't mean this to come across wrong (it probably will) but too many people on this forum have strong opinions without really understanding the real nuances of what they are watching. You say 'there is literally no excuse' as if playing offside is the simplest and easiest thing to do in the World.
Sounds great in theory doesn't it, why don't all defences just keep a foot-perfect straight line at all times? In reality, a football match is a dynamic, random, hustle-and-bustle of a million mini-events happening in microseconds.
As I have already explained, the pass from Forster to the Southampton left-winger is far too easy. This is because Sancho presses but Ronaldo and Rashford don't do anything. So suddenly we then have Sancho, Fernandes, Pogba, Rashford, McTominay and Ronaldo ahead of the ball.
Then, McTominay isn't alive to the only really dangerous pass that the Southampton winger can make, which is the ball inside to the Southampton #10, who has taken up a position between the lines. Once that player receives the ball and is able to turn, we're dead. Absolutely dead and buried.
Varane is marking Che Adams but has to leave him to go and press the ball (although arguably, the better percentage call might have been stay with Adams - but it's close). We then have a 'line-of-two', with Maguire and Shaw suddenly 5-yards deeper than Varane. This absolutely is not the fault of the defenders. As I said, the line is broken because Varane goes to close the #10 but in reality, sort of ends-up in no-mans land.
From the point that Southampton player is able to receive the ball, turn and shape to make that pass to Che Adams, we are f**ked I am afraid. It's last-resort, scrambling from the defenders....a position they regularly find themselves in because we have 4/5 players in the team who can't/won't/don't know how to defend
So ponderous in possession. Lack of confidence, lack of fitness, or both? His body language is horrible and has been all season. Ole stalwarts Shaw, Maguire, Rashford deserve to be dropped for the forseeable future.
I agree that the line gets broken as a consequence of defenders having to make decisions to step out, Dalot went first, then Varane. As individuals they are having to make these decisions because those in front aren't really doing their jobs properly. Southampton have clearly dragged Utd up by playing it back to Forster because they know they can suck them in to a press and get behind it with a longer ball out and get at the back 4, they tried it at least 2 times in the same passage of play before they got in for the goal.
In this instance before Varane stepped out to try and win the ball, both he and Maguire have stepped the line to play the 2 Southampton players off, Shaw is playing them on by not moving up with them. And again, just before the pass is played, Maguire steps up a fraction to play Adams off, and once again Shaw is stood behind playing him on.
Shaw, not once but twice in this move he's looking right across at it and can see them step up and he just stands there and does nothing. That is inexcusable.
I couldn't time stamp it. But from 4.35 it shows the replay where you can see both times where Shaw should step up and doesn't.
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Can’t believe we’re getting people apparently arguing against the concept of a back four defending in a line. That’s obviously a mistake by Shaw. Maguire sets the trap and he should step out with him. By no means our worst error of the game but annoying after a similar cock-up against Burnley
In the split-second between Maguire taking one step to the right and the ball being played, how does Shaw know that is what Maguire is going to do? There's no time to communicate, it's fraction of a second, instant almost involuntary action
What if Shaw steps-up, but Maguire doesn't. Who's fault is it then?
I don't know if things have changed under Rangnick but Solskjaer said clearly on multiple times "this team does not play an offside trap".
How about, as an alternative, we stop putting our defenders in impossible spots where they are damned if they do and damned if they don't, and just defend properly as a team?
Precisely this. That's why Ralf mentioned how did we end up in a situation like that.
Pressing was not collective enough (which we know takes time)
McT was caught out of blue (again due to the issue as mentioned above)
Varane coming out, despite having a midfielder in the centre who could have pushed to press.
If Varane hadn't come out, the pass was going to the right and Shaw was already out of position but the angle for a shot would have been tight.
It’s not an either/or. We should protect our back line better and they should get the basics of defending right. And, believe me, Shaw doing better at staying in line with Maguire there is absolutely basic stuff.
Never understand why full backs always position themselves to be behind the CB. You don't even need to be smart footballer to know this basic, it just shows that he lacks of concentration during the game!! No way that he doesn't understand that he's a full back and should not position himself to be behind the CB line. Shaw has the talent but doesn't have the mentality.
He needs to stick The Full Monty on and learn the offside trap.
It doesn't matter whether you say 'believe me' or not, that just isn't right
It's one thing being in some semblance of a line when, for example, the opposition CB has the ball in his own half, or the ball is out wide with one of the wingers, that's basic stuff. It's a completely different kettle of fish when your lines have been broken and you're scrambling.
What you're saying is a bit like watching a Formula 1 driver get a puncture at 180mph, hitting the wall and you're going "ah, see....always steer INTO the skid...silly mistake that'
He quite clearly had 2 chances to step up and took neither.
To me there's no excuses for him to be that far behind his centre halves while looking right across at the play and seeing them step up twice, only to just stand there are do nothing and keep everyone on.
Man Utd 2:0 Brighton
Got his can't-be-arsed-chasing yellow again.
Some players have a trademark pass, touch, skill, finish. This lazy bastard has a trademark booking.
Some players have a trademark pass, touch, skill, finish. This lazy bastard has a trademark booking.
Just doesn't look fit, I'd stick with Telles over him.
Maybe if we hung a picture of a pie on both ends behind the goal, he’d actually move on the pitch.
Can't stand the sight of him playing. He's probably a sound fella but he's not for me as a player.
Incredibly limited full back.
His one footed approach in the modern game is outrageous
Incredibly limited full back.
His one footed approach in the modern game is outrageous
He can feck off.
All the talent in the world but likes to take it easy.
All the talent in the world but likes to take it easy.
Looking more like those Sunday afternoon ITV wrestlers.
It's incredible how we have so many players that are unfit or can't be arsed but have the talent, can be arsed but have no talent.
It's incredible how we have so many players that are unfit or can't be arsed but have the talent, can be arsed but have no talent.
8 yellows already. There was that season where he got loads of yellow cards (i think 12 or 13) a few years back for pulling the opponent's shirt back; wonder if he'll equal it this season
He was totally spent after about an hour. Just completely stopped running
He'll be 27 in July so best years still ahead, so switch on or just give up place to inevitable replacement.
Ole gave him massive mental boost, but looks like he took a massive shit on it.
Ole gave him massive mental boost, but looks like he took a massive shit on it.
I don't like those youtube 'comedy' videos of our defenders making mistakes but i'm surprised no one has made one of all his shirt pulls over the years. It's no exaggeration to say he must be near 20+ bookings for exactly the same foul at this point. I guess sometimes you gotta do it and it worked for Chiellini against Saka
but it's annoying seeing him do it so often,.He had a stick up his arse last season about proving Mourinho wrong. This was evident in that he wouldn't stop banging on about it.
This season, he really looks like he can't be arsed.
In that first half, there were two or three times his man had already got past him before he even turned to look.
I'm tired of us having footballers that don't care.
Telles barely touches Shaw in terms of talent but gives his absolute everything when he plays.
Rather him than Shaw for the time being.
This season, he really looks like he can't be arsed.
In that first half, there were two or three times his man had already got past him before he even turned to look.
I'm tired of us having footballers that don't care.
Telles barely touches Shaw in terms of talent but gives his absolute everything when he plays.
Rather him than Shaw for the time being.
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