Both have big potential, all depends on which one realises it.I actually think Ethan Laird will turn out twice the player of Dalot... time will tell
No point in getting a right winger when we have no forwards capable of getting on the end of crosses . James has put a lot of crosses in this season but we very rarely score from themIt is weakness, but it doesn't help that we don't have a proper right winger. Add someone like Sancho there and it will help him a lot, it will allow Sancho freedom to focus on attacking and finding space while AWB can do what he does best and defend.
I had the unpopular opinion after the City game that I didn't think AWB deserved the MOTM. While he had some very good moments defending Sterling one on one and made a good tackle in the box from the Lindelof mistake, there were lots of moments that were other parts of his game that were glossed over. And as unpopular as that take on that performance was, I still think he is an excellent signing. First and foremost, we have got to have defenders that can defend. Some have mentioned Dalot but, while he may be good going forward, I find that he can be got around too easily and that I think can't be coached.
Am not a fan of changing out the fullbacks depending upon the opponents - like maybe playing Dalot in games where we will defend less and need more attacking ability. Even if in the short term that maybe something Ole can do. But, over the rest of the season and especially in the summer, the coaching staff need to spend time working with AWB on the attacking side of play. Even just working on developing a little better crossing would be huge but, I see a decent dribbler in him, he just has a lot of that Valencia-itis where he doesn't take on his defenders and just get a ball in or never puts in a early cross.
Even a decent improvement on his attacking ability and better use of the ball will make him an incredible right back but, it is going to take a lot of work from the staff and him.
I can live with AWB being average on the ball but excellent in defense. But watching players like Lingard playing at number 10 while being absolutely horrendous footballer for this level, and how Fred can’t execute a simple pass every other time is absolutely criminal.
AWB is the least of our worries right now...
Spot on.
Isn't it obvious that he and Maguire have started to go backwards. And James is beginning to stall.
That tells me that there is something fundamentally wrong with the coaching setup.
Can anyone remember the last time that the coaches actually improved a player or players.
Spot on.
Isn't it obvious that he and Maguire have started to go backwards. And James is beginning to stall.
That tells me that there is something fundamentally wrong with the coaching setup.
Can anyone remember the last time that the coaches actually improved a player or players.
Wan-Bissaka is not amazing going forward but at least he is great at defending and if United had someone like Marcelo or Robertson bombing down the left then it would be a nice balance in defence. The problem is that instead it's the very average Shaw who is okay at defending and also sub-standard going forward. Barcelona at their peak as one of the greatest teams ever had Abidal and Dani Alves as full-backs. Wan-Bissaka can be Abidal, but United need a Dani Alves.
I would love to see him play there. That could be his strongest position.His future might be on the right side of a back three.
You are missing the point TAA is arguably Liverpools main attacking outlet creativity wise, it is not just a case that he is a good attacking RB, but currently in the world he is arguably the best attacking wise in his position(the same with Robertson on the other side) and Klopp has built his successful system around it. That TAA and Robertson are his main outlets to feed Salah/Mane/Firmino. Man City the record breaking PL Champions however do not use the same system and attacking full backs are not as essential as in Liverpools case.Yes, that is a problem. Luke Shaw and AWB have played 249 games during their careers. Still, they have managed to produce fewer points than Alexander-Arnold did last season. Scary stuff.
You are missing the point TAA is arguably Liverpools main attacking outlet creativity wise, it is not just a case that he is a good attacking RB, but currently in the world he is arguably the best attacking wise in his position(the same with Robertson on the other side) and Klopp has built his successful system around it. That TAA and Robertson are his main outlets to feed Salah/Mane/Firmino. Man City the record breaking PL Champions however do not use the same system and attacking full backs are not as essential as in Liverpools case.
Now if Ole's forming a playing system that was similar to Liverpools where the full backs are the attacking fulcrum then I can see your point and then questions may have to be asked as to why AWB was purchased as even though he is a great defensive full back he is not offensively and everyone should have seen that whilst he was at Palace. There should always be joined up thinking when you buy a player not just buy him just because he looks good, but will he fit the system you are trying to adopt.
As I do not believe Ole was looking to copy Liverpools system AWB as a great defensive full back was bought,, you hope with good coaching he will improve offensively (which seems not to be happening) but the question is what is Ole's system to make him an effective manager in the toughest league in the world?. He doesn't seems to have one as he is repeatedly making the same errors against 3/4 of the teams in the league.
Our CMs, CAM look woeful in possession and that is the problem here, I can live with AWB being average on the ball. Kyle Walker has been a consistent starter for City and he’s very ordinary on the ball, AWB is 21 and one of our better players constantly. We should fix the shit happening in positions far more important to our attack first and foremost and then concentrate on our 21 year old RB.I don't get this caf obsession of justifying one player's flaws by taking the thread off topic and bringing up something completely unrelated. This thread is about AWB being woeful in possession. You've got hundreds of other more appropriate threads to moan about Lingard, Fred and whichever other player.
Modern day full backs playing for supposed top teams are meant to be complete footballers. Defensive cohesion has improved so much over the last couple of decades that you now need the X factor from your defensive players if you want to break down parked buses on a regular basis. And with the 100 point standards set by City and Pool, if we are to even challenge them any time soon we can't afford to carry passengers.
He will be great in games where we are expected to defend for most parts. But that's only about 10% of our games. In most other games he is currently surplus to requirements because he's clueless in possession. Opponents have him figured out already. They give him all the space in the world because they actually want the ball played out to him. That way they can kill two birds with one stone, firstly winning possession from his indecisiveness and secondly starting a counter by already leaving this excellent tackler behind.
With possession he genuinely looks like the kid at school who gets picked last because he lacks any motor skills whatsoever. 17 (!) dispossessions already in the league. Arnold has 5 and Robertson has 2. And that doesn't even tell half the story considering the latter two have several hundred more touches than AWB.
The reality is that he looks petrified with the ball. Unless he improves miraculously he won't make it here (not as a RB at least). Irrespective of Lingard, Fred or whoever else.
I said this before. Every player in our first team seems to decline and this isn't just a thing happening recently, it has actually been the case for the entire time since SAF retired, maybe this started even in his later years. I can't really pinpoint but it's so obvious that something in our training methods is borked and it's been consistent throughout 4 different managers.
We also have this symptom that a lot of the players start really well with us, just take Matic, he had some excellent games at the start for us and now he seems like a championship level player. Maybe it's time we refresh our entire coaches team a bit?
It is my strong opinion that our coaching set up is not fit for purpose and needs a major overhaul.
Honestly, do we have any signings since the Moyes days onwards who haven't regressed after 1-2months at the club? It's as though they come in better coached and look good, then once our own coaching and approaches take hold on them their ability to resemble a footballer slowly disappears. It's a real, major problem. I want the entire coaching team gone. AWB is fine, and will be fine. If he had an actual top RW in front of him we wouldn't even need to be having this discussion. Luke Shaw is a bigger issue.
One of our best signings in ages, he's still young and has no end of ability defending.
I wouldn’t say skills he doesn’t have, I would more say skills that need further developing. And that developing should be happening in the training ground. I would have thought during training was the opportunity for the coaches to identify his strengths and weaknesses and find ways to improve what he is weak on.I don't think anyone is saying he can't defend. Okay make a right mess of the tackle at the weekend but this thread started weeks ago. It has nothing to do with the penalty.
We had loads of the ball and quite often it goes out wide to our fullbacks. AWB is a major issue in our offensive game. As is Luke Shaw. Neither are good enough with the ball.
Think back to how much grief Valencia and Young got for wasting possession. AWB is a great tackler usually. Great. But when we play teams from 7th place to 20 we need different skills. Skills he doesn't have.
We had loads of the ball and quite often it goes out wide to our fullbacks. AWB is a major issue in our offensive game. As is Luke Shaw. Neither are good enough with the ball.
I wouldn’t say skills he doesn’t have, I would more say skills that need further developing. And that developing should be happening in the training ground. I would have thought during training was the opportunity for the coaches to identify his strengths and weaknesses and find ways to improve what he is weak on.
i read last week how some of the forward players were impressed with him during training as no one gets pass him, which is great to help improve their forward movement, but what about focusing on his offensive play. I actually believe his forward play is no where near as bad as some are making out, but he does need to improve his crossing. If the coaches are helping him with that they need to do better.
