30 Oct 2020 07:11:38
Does anyone here see AWB moving to centre-back in the future.
He is a little short, but not short.
He his very good at defending, and I think we should let him focus on that than trying to hone his attacking game which is not natural to him.
Him and Maguire would be an excellent partnership. Or maybe him and Tuanzebe.

Not this year but I do see Dalot coming back and really making a claim for RB and Brandon along with him being backup.

I think Sergio Ramos started RB and moved to centre, although he's not in the same category. Did carragher also move in thr centre I'm not so sure I was younger when he started playing.

Whenever the next cup game arrives I'll be very interested in pushing AWB as a CB and see how he plays there.

1.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 08:09:58
A Lot about Wan-Bissaka in his game is his tackling, mainly last ditch slide tackling.
I feel it would be a calamity for a CB to do that many slide tackles in the penalty area.

Reading of the game and positioning has to be the fundamental skill for a CB.

2.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 08:13:40
Him and Maguire would be disaster as i do think both lack position awareness and Bissaka is poor on the ball.

3.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 08:18:25
Rohan

I saw a Scouse poster on here months ago suggesting it and I posted several times that it was not a bad idea at all. If we played 3 at the back it gave us the opportunity to play a right wing back who can cross a ball. Then we got rid of Dalot, a mistake in my eyes.

4.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 08:37:19
in a 3 wan bissaka would work. I can see him do that for England with trent as the wingback and for United with Brnadon or Dalot as wingbacks as it suits their game better. However, he will need to become postionally better to do so.

To be honest, i think his attacking game has improved over the last 2 months - he tried different things against RBL and looked OK, which is much better than he has looked in previous attacking positions. I wouldn't change his development path right now and wait to see how it pans out over the year.

5.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 09:12:02
In a back 3, like Shaw, I think AWB would work well, but not in a back 2, for much the reasons TRD has stated.

AWB is limited offensively, but that doesn't have to be a problem. With a LB who is the total opposite (ie excellent offensively but not great defensively) and inverted left wingers like Rashford who want to cut inside, we can play a 4231 formation but when we are on the offensive, the 2 cb's and AWB can effectively shift into a back 3 while Telles overlaps down the left and Rashford can either go inside or stay wide to create overloads wherever looks more promising. The issue then is who plays at RW.

In some ways, someone like a younger Antonio Valencia would be perfect, someone who is going to stay wide and keep it simple, bomb down the flank and whip a cross in.

Alternatively, someone like Mata as a wide playmaker could work. Would give plenty of good balls in from the flank and let us work another creative mind into the team alongside Bruno and possibly Pogba/ DVB, but it means giving up some of our counter-attacking pace, and we'll already be losing some pace whenever we play Cavani up top.

Greenwood might be a good compromise, as he has enough pace to maintain the counter-attacking threat, and he can stay wide and put crosses in or come inside to score, where the sheer quality of his finishing is enough to make up for the reduced creativity compared to having a Mata-type playmaker.

6.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 09:13:39
Sign a quality young right back for 50m and then use to him to fit a hole at centre back in a position he has never played before.

Yep that sounds like manchester united for the past several years lol.

I get the disappointment with awb attacking ability, its pretty clear it doesn't come naturally to him but he needs time and patience to develop and putting him at cb makes no sense to me. A large part of this is fuelled by trent alexanders arnolds form at liverpool which has been incredible but he is a generational talent, some of his passing range is remarkable for a full back and is not a fair yardstick for AWB.

The bigger worry for me with awb is his back post defending from crosses, he switches off quite easily and loses his man which is not going to help at centre back.

7.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 09:32:33
AWB is a supreme 1 Vs 1 tackler, yet defensively his positioning is suspect, and he is poor in the air. I think he would struggle at centre back.

AWB has played two seasons of senior football at RB and around 18 months at under 23 level.

While he has spent 6-7 years training as a forward at youth level.

If he is to reach his potential he needs to stop being shunted about and played in a position and trained and developed in that role.

He should play at RB or RWB as both roles are very similar. He needs to work on BOTH his final third output AND his defensive positioning and reading of the game. That isn't a problem, he is a young player bought mostly for his potential, but with enough about him to be first choice while he develops.

8.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 09:43:33
AWB - Tuanzebe - Shaw

I'd go for this, loads of pace.

9.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 10:39:37
I think Wan Bissaka uses the touchline well in his tackling, getting side on and showing them down the outside.

If he were to play CB he wouldn't be able to do that, and I don't think he's as good a tackler when more square with space behind him.

10.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 10:42:24
He’s the best defensive right back in the world. He’s a throwback. A lot of people expect so much more from full backs in a pure attacking sense because of what players like trent are doing. That’s fair, but for me I’d leave awb exactly where he is. He’s world class at what he does and what I think he really needs is a winger in front of him who is top quality as they won’t need to worry to much about getting back to defend consistently. Also how many times does he get the ball with no one in front of him, that’s going to make him look even worse.

11.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 11:51:56
Exactly, Caolan. We've moaned for years on here about different managers putting square pegs in round holes. We then get a top class right back, and already we're talking about moving him.

12.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 12:03:18
Don’t we have enough centre backs to play. centre back. He’s a brilliant RB. Why are we trying to change him?

{Ed025's Note - i agree eric, why try and fix something that isn,t broken mate?..

13.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 14:08:47
Eric

Not trying to change him but would it harm to experiment at some point? Won’t know if we don’t try. Maybe preseason next season or in a cup tie against lower opposition.

14.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 14:18:33
So he's short, but not short short?

15.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 14:17:48
I actually asked Ed001 last season a similar question, and he answered that it will not suit AWB or the team at all. He gave quite a few sensible reasons to justify why not. I am tryipn to find that reply to copy it here.

16.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 13:26:21
In a word no.

17.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 15:32:51
AWB works well as a RB defensively and is improving going forward. When we play back 3 his defense first nature will allow for Shaw to take the LCB position and Telles to be more attack minded with everyone shifting left slightly.
AWB could work as the RCB in the back 3 but would need to have a strong leader in the middle.
We need to push Tuanzebe more and not stunt him by playing AWB in his position.

18.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 18:07:22
I echo that Brad, I'd be a little upset if we played AWB at CB or RCB ahead of Tuanzebe.

19.) 30 Oct 2020
30 Oct 2020 22:05:01
I think sometimes we expect too much of youngsters, most footballers peak in the mid to late 20's, possibly into their early 30's. I think AWB is excellent for his age and if he continues to develop is going to be a hell of a player.

In some ways I think this is a problem in our squad and in some ways is responsible for some of our troubles. Signings like Telles, Cavani and Bruno I hope will aid the youngsters development.