Aptly put.
What is Diogo Dalot good at?
- Thread starter TsuWave
- Start date
- Status
He doesn't really excel at anything but very happy to see him doing so well this season. Long may it continue. After a shakey start he shut Martinelli down. If he can keep this up he will at least be a good rotational option at RB. Still feel we need to sign another one.
He makes the whole team play much much better than Bissaka, like the sum of all parts is greater than the quantitative static values of the individual.
Being a fullback isn’t about having one or two outstanding qualities. Fullbacks have to do a bit of everything.
I for one foresee him and Antony striking up a good relationship down our right flank. Both intelligent, unselfish passers who can cross well. Looking forward to it.
I’m honestly more concerned with the left back spot at the moment.
I for one foresee him and Antony striking up a good relationship down our right flank. Both intelligent, unselfish passers who can cross well. Looking forward to it.
I’m honestly more concerned with the left back spot at the moment.
Glad Ole saw his potential and kept him at the club, even organizing that career defining loan to Milan for him to develop. We are now reaping the rewards.
Thought Ole wanted rid?
This thread is so funny. People still don't want to accept he can be good enough for us eventually. Well, atleast everyone is acknowledging he has improved. That's a start, I guess.
Don't really agree with you there, I'd definitely say that's wingers. Probably the easiest position to "bed in".
I'll give you Reece James and TAA, although I think both are pretty suspect at actually defending. TAA regularly gets taken to the cleaners, but is so good going forward that he glosses over it.
The rest I'm not sure I'd call accomplished. Is Chilwell a LB or LWB? Don't really know. Patterson and Livramento, I haven't seen enough of but definitely wouldn't call them accomplished. Walker was not the same player at 22, far from it really in my eyes.
Don't get me wrong, they're all talented, but I think defenders in general improve the most with time and experience.
In all honestly the answer is I do not know, for me the jury is very much out on Dalot, there have been times in his utd career I have honestly thought he was not good enough to play league football at all, and then at other times he has impressed.
Right now I would reserve judgment, he is clearly better attacking than defending but I am not sure what his ceiling is, his performance trajectory over the last few matches has been impressive, I find it hard to believe he could be great considering how bad he has been at times but I live in hope.
Right now I would reserve judgment, he is clearly better attacking than defending but I am not sure what his ceiling is, his performance trajectory over the last few matches has been impressive, I find it hard to believe he could be great considering how bad he has been at times but I live in hope.
What’s impressed me most about Dalot is his physicality and strength. There aren’t many wingers who will out muscle him in tight situations. He’s also been winning most of his aerial duals. He’s showing dominance in the air on his side of the pitch.
He genuinely has attributes that ETH can work with and fine tune. I’m more hopeful than ever that we can get a quality player out of him who can be a first teamer.
I never have that same hope with AWB and don’t feel his limitations can be coached enough to make him good enough for what we need.
How is Ole getting credit for this, Ole literally had us spend 50m to get AWB, one of the worst signings ever
AWB was a better fit for his system. Dalot was the diamond he tried to slowly carve out of a rock.How is Ole getting credit for this, Ole literally had us spend 50m to get AWB, one of the worst signings ever
Yes he is going to need to get comfortable playing with Antony and vice versa. There were instances vs Arse where he needed help and Antony wasn't quick enough coming back. And he will need to be on one page with Antony in possession. But still it's impressive how well he is playing. He is a lot better than I thought he was. Arse is a very tough matchup for his spot with the speed they have on the edge and he got it done.
I figure he and Antony will play Thurs to help get them on the same page.
Blimey, it seems you have a pretty high bar for "accomplished".
Walker was starting for England; that's surely pretty "accomplished".
If some of those players aren't accomplished, I'd struggle to imagine who you would rather consider to be?!
Anyway:
I can't post images yet, but I refer you also to the chart 2 down in this article 'How the different positions age':
https://theathletic.com/2935360/2021/11/15/what-age-do-players-in-different-positions-peak/
Right back is one of those positions where you can go far on mentality, application and hustle even if lacking something in ball skills and athletic ability. Gary Neville was an example and Dalot is another. And he is only just 23 so we should expect him to get better. He's good enough to start.
I think we may have different definitions of the word accomplished - I'm talking master of their craft players. Maybe I should should said top quality. I'd view accomplished as analogous to top quality.
Livramento, Patterson, Chilwell, actually the majority of full backs in the PL wouldn't fall under that category surely? Good, promising, talented, solid maybe..
In the PL, I gave you Walker, TAA and James. Add Robertson, Cancelo, Tierney probably too. Now I'm thinking that's too high a bar? Hmmm.. hahah
Sorry, afraid I don't have an subscription to The Athletic.
A weaker England squad than the present-day, and Walker himself wasn't nearly as good back then, which I'm sure is the point the other poster is making here. 22-year-old Walker was a bit of a pace merchant with single-digit England caps, competing with the likes of Glen Johnson or Martin Kelly. The older version is a much better all-round player (still with the extreme pace) who's one of the first names on the teamsheet in an era with much stronger options in his position(s).
You might be right in saying fullbacks peak earlier than some other positions but that's not the same as saying they peak "young" - even in that Athletic analysis the sweet spot for fullbacks is 25. And it's also important to factor in how much football you actually play i.e. minutes matter more than just age - specifically in Dalot's case, he may be 23 but he played very little football in his first two seasons for us (especially his second), so every reason to think he'll keep developing. He's most likely further behind someone like Reece James who is the same age but played a full Championship season at 19 before establishing himself at Chelsea.
Welcome to the caf, where none of our players are good enough.
Right back easier than left back as you don’t normally have an assistant referee on your side of the pitch. Much easier to cheat
I think he like some of the other players were victims of transfer mistakes made under Ole. After spending £80m on Maguire and £50m on AWB, dropping them would have been seen as monumental transfer failures, even if they were clearly playing poorly. Therefore the earliest they could have been dropped was by the manager who inherited them. In Ragnick's case, as an interim, dropping AWB was much easier than dropping the captain, especially when he didn't have any power.
It's almost as if once people have made their mind up about a player they refuse to change. He's been one of our best players and one of the better RB's in the league so far this season and he still has room to improve. He will never be Trent offensively, but Trent will never have his defensive prowess or his tenacity.
Yeah. I love how Dalot play this season. So much better with room for improvement. His passing and composure on the ball has been very good
He's decent enough at everything to be a good part of the whole for now. If we get a better right back and Dalot becomes the bench option, that's a pretty good back up if he keeps his current form or even improves under Ten Hag.
Yes. An upgrade on Dalot will cost a lot, if they even are available. He’s decent, able to do what Ten Hag wants and has the right mentality.
Hmm. I’m still not convinced. I know he wasn’t the only one but he had an absolute shocker against Brighton and that was only one month ago.
That first minute error set the tone immediately.
Totally agree. Jury's still out for me, but it looks like he's been coached well so far, and also seems to have an idea of what Ten Hag wants.
I hope AWB can also be coached, and can learn well.
To be fair a lot of the team that day looked poor, and he had Maguire as his nearest CB, and McTominay and Fred as the midfield two, Erikson was further forward I believe. Since Varane has been there, and Erikson has dropped deeper, he seems more composed and confident.
archive.ph is your friend
He has demonstrated a level in which he contributes very much in attack and more surprisingly in defence. Good tackling yet often caught forgetting his man on crosses, but it’s an improvement on himself and on AWB. For now I would say he is good enough to start regularly.
I don't think he has done well. We have had some very fortunate results from an opponent's missing chances in a tight game perspective. His side is the weaker side in these games.
He has done well relative to his own level. But his strength is bombing on high up the pitch, adding an extra winger on nearly every attack, and putting good balls in. It's not clear to me why he's in the team except that we obviously don't have other options and you can't sign 12 players for 60m every window
He has done well relative to his own level. But his strength is bombing on high up the pitch, adding an extra winger on nearly every attack, and putting good balls in. It's not clear to me why he's in the team except that we obviously don't have other options and you can't sign 12 players for 60m every window
He'll never be world class but his improvement under Ten Hag is obvious, he's solid now and more of a threat going forward. AWB has become an afterthought.
A testament to how poor he was at coaching. Dalot was still very much a rock when Ole left. If anything he had regressed to barely looking like a football player. Thankfully, Ten Hag is good at coaching players, which is why he suddenly looks improved.
If he keeps playing and listening to the manager, then he might just be a United level player on a permanent basis. I really like Dalot so that would be great to see!
He is making me believe we needes a new RB less urgently than I thought last summer..
It's almost as if young players with potential can improve and develop their game...
He's clearly a much more intelligent footballer than AWB and has a much better touch / passing ability. Basically, he's comfortable with the ball at his feet.
He's not the greatest defender but he's increased his confidence and aggression significantly in recent games and that has given him an advantage in quite a few of his defensive duels. I actually think his defensive positioning is better AWB's also, although I still worry about his getting caught out of position.
He just looks like he wants to play for us more than AWB ever has, and that counts for something when we need an uplift in energy / effort.
He's clearly a much more intelligent footballer than AWB and has a much better touch / passing ability. Basically, he's comfortable with the ball at his feet.
He's not the greatest defender but he's increased his confidence and aggression significantly in recent games and that has given him an advantage in quite a few of his defensive duels. I actually think his defensive positioning is better AWB's also, although I still worry about his getting caught out of position.
He just looks like he wants to play for us more than AWB ever has, and that counts for something when we need an uplift in energy / effort.
Andy Robertson joined Liverpool at 23, the age Dalot is now, and was class from the off.
Kieran Tierney joined Arsenal at 22 and impressed early on.
Joao Cancelo is the only one of all those top full-backs who only really came in to his own from a bit later at around 24/25.
So even using your narrower set of players, basically all the top full-backs in the PL were all already very accomplished and established at top clubs by 23 at the very latest (except for Cancelo). So Dalot isn't young for a full-back, he's at the age where he should be expected to start performing at a very high level. And in fairness to him it seems like it's finally clicked, though he'll need to now continue this form and performance level indefinitely.
(PS Chilwell is class btw, better than Tierney. Pay some more attention as well to Livramento and Patterson as well, they have everything)
Geez, just click the link - it's a free article, you don't need a subscription.
But you could say the same about Denis Irwin! He was quick but not lightning quick, he wasn't a brilliant tackler, he wasn't very good in the air, he wasn't the best passer of the ball. Still he is the best left-back I have seen at United.
Was just about to say this!
Sorry, I'm lost on the point you're making here. Yes, I agreed with you re. TAA, Robertson, James, Walker, Tierney.. I never said that full backs can't be young and accomplished I think? I said it was pretty rare, and those mentioned are rare talents that have been performing at a high level from a young age in the PL. Would you not agree that that's more abnormal than the normal?
Yes, thank you.... I did that and was unable to read it. Maybe if you say it again in an even more sarcastic way I'll be able to read it next time.
- Status