Luke Shaw - The Centre Back

Barcelona shaking in their boots
 
Bobski said:
He could probably do a Lahm midfield switch and still be the best player at the club.

Guy is an immense talent.
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He is a ridiculous talent. Almost a bit like Rooney - he can pick up any part of the game, and excel at it within a few weeks.

Let's get him shooting freekicks now!
 
Skills said:
He is a ridiculous talent. Almost a bit like Rooney - he can pick up any part of the game, and excel at it within a few weeks.

Let's get him shooting freekicks now!
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Not sure about free kicks but he's definitely got a great cross on him
 
Pleased with Shaw ever since Malacia started getting games ahead of him. Great im both CB and LB this season which is huge for our squad depth and tactical flexibility.
 
Samid said:
Think Shaw will eventually move to LCB full time, whether with us or with someone else. He’s a very compact, efficient, tidy player and I think he could do very well there given a run of games.
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Let's move Martinez to LB
 
fergiewherearethou said:
Exactly what I was thinking as well, the commentator never mentioned him in the first 75 minutes, there was nothing for him to do.
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Yeah, him and Varane having Haaland in their back pocket meant the ball was never really near them and they weren't threatened.
 
So are fans going to keep writing him off as a centre back due to the poor opposition?

Him and walker should be England's centre backs, the pace and ability on the ball would be exciting to see southgate try out but of course he won't
 
fergiewherearethou said:
Exactly what I was thinking as well, the commentator never mentioned him in the first 75 minutes, there was nothing for him to do.
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I don’t think that is true, he did a lot of great defending throughout the game and the reason it maybe didn’t seem like he had many major dramatic bits of defending to do was because he was doing all the small things right. He was getting to Halland, matching every run, nudging him ever so slightly and just being aggressive on him.
He pocketed The Nordic goal scoring Yeti today.
 
fergiewherearethou said:
Exactly what I was thinking as well, the commentator never mentioned him in the first 75 minutes, there was nothing for him to do.
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I noticed him quite a bit because he looks so composed on the ball I kept thinking it was Eriksen and wondering why he was back there.

You think he didn't have much to do and i kind of agree, but if Maguire or Lindelof were there you can bet you'd have noticed them making "nothing" into a problem quite regularly
 
He's one of those players the Caf has been suggesting could work in a different position. Next up, Lindelof as DM!
 
He's doing great but I'd prefer not to see Shaw playing there unless it's enforced. Martinez is having a monster season too and what we lose from having Malacia at LB instead of Shaw doesn't make it worthwhile.
 
fergiewherearethou said:
Exactly what I was thinking as well, the commentator never mentioned him in the first 75 minutes, there was nothing for him to do.
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that’s a good thing considering he’s playing out of position against what’s probably the best set of attackers in the league.

And it looked like he had nothing to do because he was cutting out most of Haaland’s threat by being at the right place at the right time.
 
Huge improvement under ETH. Looks a more concentrated and focused player. Finally starting to forfill his potential.
 
Ramos was a RB before he converted to a CB full time and was brilliant there. No reason Shaw cant make that transition as well.
 
Cloud7 said:
Ramos was a RB before he converted to a CB full time and was brilliant there. No reason Shaw cant make that transition as well.
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It'll be waste of his talents though, we've already got a solid partnership in varane and Martinez, no need to touch it to be honest.
 
Cloud7 said:
Ramos was a RB before he converted to a CB full time and was brilliant there. No reason Shaw cant make that transition as well.
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He's not the presence in the air Ramos was plus if Shaw moves centrally then we probably need to upgrade at left back. It's a fine option to have on occasion and he's done really well (he seems more switched on this season than he ever has for us) but I still think the best version of us is with him at left back.
 
Red the Bear said:
It'll be waste of his talents though, we've already got a solid partnership in varane and Martinez, no need to touch it to be honest.
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Martinez has a wc left foot for passing out from the back. Agree that varane and martinez are the first choice pairing. But shaw at lcb gives you a good option.
 
Cloud7 said:
Ramos was a RB before he converted to a CB full time and was brilliant there. No reason Shaw cant make that transition as well.
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He won't because he's class at LB and Martinez is a top class CB. Martinez is building sharpness, but also Ten hag probably wants Shaw to get familiar at LCB as he is the cover for Martinez, and Martinez is out for Barca.
 
Red the Bear said:
It'll be waste of his talents though, we've already got a solid partnership in varane and Martinez, no need to touch it to be honest.
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RORY65 said:
He's not the presence in the air Ramos was plus if Shaw moves centrally then we probably need to upgrade at left back. It's a fine option to have on occasion and he's done really well (he seems more switched on this season than he ever has for us) but I still think the best version of us is with him at left back.
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bosnian_red said:
He won't because he's class at LB and Martinez is a top class CB. Martinez is building sharpness, but also Ten hag probably wants Shaw to get familiar at LCB as he is the cover for Martinez, and Martinez is out for Barca.
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I should have clarified my post by saying that IF Shaw and ETH believe that his future is there and they both want that to be his future, that I do not believe there is much in terms of ability and physicality that would stop him from properly making that transition, not that I believe that is the best move or what I am hoping would happen.
 
He's playing it really well. He reads the game. He had some extremely comfy fixtures but today was as challenging as it should get. Haaland didn't have a lot to say for himself.
 
bosnian_red said:
He won't because he's class at LB and Martinez is a top class CB. Martinez is building sharpness, but also Ten hag probably wants Shaw to get familiar at LCB as he is the cover for Martinez, and Martinez is out for Barca.
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Martinez is also not capable to compete with Haaland, he is not strong enough physically, not tall enough, and not quick enough. This is where a tactical switch with Luke Shaw makes sense, and it proved to be highly effective. Haaland barely touched the ball. Luke Shaw is a monster CB.
 
Bastian said:
He's done exceptionally well there in a back four. His quality on the ball has been important when Martinez was out and he of course provides balance being left footed and mobile. But he's a better left back than a centre back.

What is most interesting of all with him playing there was him retaining his place while captain Maguire was on the bench, fit and ready. So a left back has now leapfrogged Maguire (and potentially Lindelof too) in the centre back pecking order.
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That's not a surprise, ETH has made it clear that he wants a left footed CB on the left and a right footed one on the right, Lindelof and Maguire are both right footed so it's not leapfrogging any pecking order
 
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Arguably Shaw has more attributes for CB than Martinez, but that Martinez mentality is something different. He defends like his life depends on it and that spreads throughout the defence. Shaw is more reserved and visibly the defence just doesn’t look the same without Martinez.

Its a great potion for CB when Martinez is out or needs a rest but if Bissaka keeps improving and Shaw maintains this form with Varane nd Martinez back then that’ll be some back line.
 
MikeKing said:
Martinez is also not capable to compete with Haaland, he is not strong enough physically, not tall enough, and not quick enough. This is where a tactical switch with Luke Shaw makes sense, and it proved to be highly effective. Haaland barely touched the ball. Luke Shaw is a monster CB.
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Shaw is quicker than Martinez but Martinez has never struggled due to pace or physicality, he's aggressive as hell and very strong himself that I don't think that's fair. The height hasn't proved to be an issue either. It's purely game reps that Martinez is still coming back post world cup and Ten Hag is happy enough with Shaw and Malacia. Will go back before long though.
 
bosnian_red said:
Shaw is quicker than Martinez but Martinez has never struggled due to pace or physicality, he's aggressive as hell and very strong himself that I don't think that's fair. The height hasn't proved to be an issue either. It's purely game reps that Martinez is still coming back post world cup and Ten Hag is happy enough with Shaw and Malacia. Will go back before long though.
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I agree and I really like Martinez, but Haaland is a different beast. I also think there is times where a different profile of a CB is needed and Shaw contribution is kinda unique. His combination of pace, power and calm is really good. He is also a bit similar to Martinez, and reaching the ball sometimes is just a bit easier for Shaw due to the physical advantages.
 
He was immense today, that header away in injury time taking the ball off Haalands head was unreal.
 
Cloud7 said:
I should have clarified my post by saying that IF Shaw and ETH believe that his future is there and they both want that to be his future, that I do not believe there is much in terms of ability and physicality that would stop him from properly making that transition, not that I believe that is the best move or what I am hoping would happen.
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I think in an ideal scenario, we would have an upcoming youth player who could offer a third option at fullback and potentially challenge Malacia for the place. Then Shaw could basically play either left sided roll while covering for the other allowing us to potentially offload one of Maguire or Lindelof without needing a dedicated replacement. As it is currently, we can't think of Shaw as a true starting option for center half when we don't have anyone capable of backing up Malacia if he is out.

These are good problems to have though.
 
If we didn't had Licha I'd say he'd be nailed as a CB. He's really good, have all the qualities good passing range, speed, strength and enough height. Also he's really agile and build like a tank. So he's not bullied easily.
 
I've never before seen a centreback tackle the ball, control it with a perfect touch, move past a player and play a pin-point pass to start a counter attack - all in the same movement. Some of the tackles and the way he sometimes combined tackling and trapping left me stunned. I might be hyped about the game - probably am to be fair - but I thought he was really something special today.
 
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