Trent isn't a very good defender. There is no denying that. That said he has a very good range of passing and crossing ability in the final third.
I don't think he is terrible at defending but he is the weak link when we have our best 4 defenders out. On weds that was a howler and he tends to lose his head at times which is usually when he's bombarded and outnumbered because in our system it does need midfield support because Salah is not always tasked in tracking back.
If he had a Hendo or Milner playing RMF he is secure but someone like Keita threw him under the bus the other night.
I think Neville's assessment of him was bang on and shows he is a level or two above Carragher.
Trent is a very good football player. He has been a mainstay as part of a team that has won the league and champions league, so you have to be an imbecile to deny this. I would take Trent for AWB for example everyday of the week and twice on Sunday, albeit AWB is a better defender 1 vs 1. Positionally he also has a lot to learn.
In saying all this, the job of a RB is to defend first and Trent is not particularly good at defending. Arguably football is going down the route of if you're exceptional going forward as a fullback, your defending frailties are somewhat ignored.
I always felt it was a bit irrelevant when people talked about Marcelo and said "ah, but he's a poor defender" when the whole reason Marcelo was at Real Madrid was his attacking brilliance, and the team was set up to rely on that / compensate for it in defence. The same thing strikes me about TAA.
Is it even accurate to characterise a right back in Liverpool's system as a 'defender'? Obviously, he has defensive responsibilities in certain phases of play, just as the central midfielders do, and obviously if he possessed the defensive instincts/one-on-one defensive skills of Ashley Cole, he'd execute those responsibilities more effectively. However, the thing that has elevated TAA as one of the best right backs in Europe is his attacking ability, and it's his dip in that area that has been really pronounced this year.
I'd expect him to get over this blip - unfortunately.
"the job of a RB is to defend first ... Arguably football is going down the route of if you're exceptional going forward as a fullback, your defending frailties are somewhat ignored."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Surely that depends entirely on the formation and tactics? The last two seasons Liverpool were incredibly good and TAA was a key player for them. His defensive shortcomings weren't an Achilles heal not just because the team's strengths in other aspects (including TAA's considerable contribution to its attacking potency) made up for it, but also because the system and formation enabled Liverpool to defend effectively as a team.
If we accept that that defensive rigour was present *by design*, I don't think we can conclude that TAA's defensive shortcomings are a kind of design error in the squad.
anyone have a tard translator so I can wrap my head around the first paragraph?
(Christ, it really is quiet on the Liverpool board, isn't it? Debate about a Liverpool player and there's only United fans here talking about it.)
comment by (K̇ash) I'm the Mané - PL Champione (U1108)
posted 21 minutes ago
I don't think he is terrible at defending but he is the weak link when we have our best 4 defenders out. On weds that was a howler and he tends to lose his head at times which is usually when he's bombarded and outnumbered because in our system it does need midfield support because Salah is not always tasked in tracking back.
If he had a Hendo or Milner playing RMF he is secure but someone like Keita threw him under the bus the other night.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
agree with some of this. Hendo is key
comment by scholayScholes (U13961)
posted 19 minutes ago
I think Neville's assessment of him was bang on and shows he is a level or two above Carragher.
Trent is a very good football player. He has been a mainstay as part of a team that has won the league and champions league, so you have to be an imbecile to deny this. I would take Trent for AWB for example everyday of the week and twice on Sunday, albeit AWB is a better defender 1 vs 1. Positionally he also has a lot to learn.
In saying all this, the job of a RB is to defend first and Trent is not particularly good at defending. Arguably football is going down the route of if you're exceptional going forward as a fullback, your defending frailties are somewhat ignored.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Awb is just a very limited footballer, I don’t see him improving much. And I would swap for taa too, who’s more of a liability but does offer far more for the team
He's a brilliant player going through a bit of bad form. He's never been the best defender though and, like any full back would, he's looking a bit more exposed having 2 CBs next to him who look out of their depth in the PL, let alone the CL quarter finals.
But put it this way, if you offered him to United i would snap your arm off.
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
Keita seems to have been selected as the fall guy for the team’s performance on Tuesday. It wasn’t just him, it was a whole team. They couldn’t pass the ball more than once - not even then at times - without giving the ball away, on a plate to the Real players who couldn’t have believed their luck. LFC made Real look better than they are. Naby is top class, cut him some slack.
Trent? My definition of him? An excellent, first-class player, yes, better attacker than defender at times, being made the subject of humiliation by opposition players and fans in the hopeful expectation that his overall performance takes a hit.
He lost his cool on Tuesday night, and that defo wasn’t good. The Real players wound him up, and it worked. He will rise above that.
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 8 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's could be a classic.
comment by RB&W (U21434)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 8 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's could be a classic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We aren’t going to get beat by Granada..
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
95% of the comments are generated by on average 6.3 posters. Key words from the match thread word cloud: 'Gollum' - 'PE' - 'Gashford' - 'C@nt' - 'end of season' - 'YES!'
[The researcher who carried out the statistical analysis from which I quote has since been sectioned in a secure facility]
The problem with TAA, as everyone has acknowledged, is that defending is not his strength. Now some have already argued on this thread that it’s not really his job in the Liverpool team or that he compensates for it by going forward. But therein lies the problem, when you aren’t great defensively or if being an ‘attacking fullback’ is your role, then you better be very very good at going forward and for two or three seasons TAA was exceptional, but the truth is he has been very very poor for over a year now. This season he has 4 assists and 1 goal in the PL (6 and 1 in all comps), and from January last year these stats stay pretty much the same. That simply isn’t good enough if your arguing that his job isn’t to defend, especially when he is making mistakes and causing goals as well. He’s a great talent but his form for a year has been awful.
comment by RB&W (U21434)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 8 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's could be a classic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
They’ve become akin to being sat in a room with a bunch of spoilt and restless Sunny Delight-fuelled tweens who’ve just been told that their trips to meet Mickey at Disneyland have been cancelled.
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 58 seconds ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
95% of the comments are generated by on average 6.3 posters. Key words from the match thread word cloud: 'Gollum' - 'PE' - 'Gashford' - 'C@nt' - 'end of season' - 'YES!'
[The researcher who carried out the statistical analysis from which I quote has since been sectioned in a secure facility]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope they let you out soon, RR
This actually makes me sad Two years of grief from the mentality monsters when they were winning and breaking records then 5 months of dog poo form and you all disappear. Grow a pair. United have match threads of 1000+ comments and they havent won a bean in God knows how many years
-----
That happens when your team is crap. People have a lot to say when your team is sheet.
When United win there are less articles that when United lose. I've seen posters complaining about that many times.on the Manc board.
Hopefully United board can have many more 1000 comment articles.
comment by Ji Sung Park's Cousin - A Beekers Dozen (U2958)
posted 28 minutes ago
anyone have a tard translator so I can wrap my head around the first paragraph?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
RDD should be able to help.
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by RB&W (U21434)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 8 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's could be a classic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
They’ve become akin to being sat in a room with a bunch of spoilt and restless Sunny Delight-fuelled tweens who’ve just been told that their trips to meet Mickey at Disneyland have been cancelled.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The diddums gang
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
95% of the comments are generated by on average 6.3 posters. Key words from the match thread word cloud: 'Gollum' - 'PE' - 'Gashford' - 'C@nt' - 'end of season' - 'YES!'
[The researcher who carried out the statistical analysis from which I quote has since been sectioned in a secure facility]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Can add in 'how we playing lads'.
We also don't ban all non-United fans.
comment by Thorgen Kloppinson - Son of the Soil (U1282)
posted 1 minute ago
This actually makes me sad Two years of grief from the mentality monsters when they were winning and breaking records then 5 months of dog poo form and you all disappear. Grow a pair. United have match threads of 1000+ comments and they havent won a bean in God knows how many years
-----
That happens when your team is crap. People have a lot to say when your team is sheet.
When United win there are less articles that when United lose. I've seen posters complaining about that many times.on the Manc board.
Hopefully United board can have many more 1000 comment articles.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The United board on JA and BBC before it was always a hive of discussion during the highs of the Fergie era just as it is now. I'm sorry to contradict you, but engagement with our forum isn't driven by the ups and downs of our club's fortunes, but by the timeless qualities of vitriol, ignorance and tribal bitterness. And the fact that there's just more of us than you, because we have the might of the Home Counties behind us.
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 58 seconds ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
95% of the comments are generated by on average 6.3 posters. Key words from the match thread word cloud: 'Gollum' - 'PE' - 'Gashford' - 'C@nt' - 'end of season' - 'YES!'
[The researcher who carried out the statistical analysis from which I quote has since been sectioned in a secure facility]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope they let you out soon, RR
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I just keep pretending to take my meds and swearing I no longer hear the voice that urges me to cut things. Hopefully I'll get to come and visit you soon, like we talked about.
He's world class for me. He's had a poor season in general, certainly the last few months and has errors in him, but very few full backs have ever been error-free defensively. People talk about his errors, but nobody remembers his block on Tuesday (just before Madrid's 3rd goal) for example. I also think the saying "form is temporary, class is permanent" would be fair to say about him.
I don't know whether I'd say he is the best right back in the world, but on his day he certainly is. I don't think he needs to be moved to midfield yet, whether he ultimately does in a few years because of the ages of Henderson, Thiago etc, I don't know. But I think he will end up there, but I don't see why when the club do have one of the world's best right backs at the moment.
To say he is a terrible defender is just a poor statement. It's not his strong point, but he isn't terrible.
Sign in if you want to comment
So Quiet here lately, lets talk about Trent
Page 1 of 4
posted on 8/4/21
Trent isn't a very good defender. There is no denying that. That said he has a very good range of passing and crossing ability in the final third.
posted on 8/4/21
I don't think he is terrible at defending but he is the weak link when we have our best 4 defenders out. On weds that was a howler and he tends to lose his head at times which is usually when he's bombarded and outnumbered because in our system it does need midfield support because Salah is not always tasked in tracking back.
If he had a Hendo or Milner playing RMF he is secure but someone like Keita threw him under the bus the other night.
posted on 8/4/21
I think Neville's assessment of him was bang on and shows he is a level or two above Carragher.
Trent is a very good football player. He has been a mainstay as part of a team that has won the league and champions league, so you have to be an imbecile to deny this. I would take Trent for AWB for example everyday of the week and twice on Sunday, albeit AWB is a better defender 1 vs 1. Positionally he also has a lot to learn.
In saying all this, the job of a RB is to defend first and Trent is not particularly good at defending. Arguably football is going down the route of if you're exceptional going forward as a fullback, your defending frailties are somewhat ignored.
posted on 8/4/21
I always felt it was a bit irrelevant when people talked about Marcelo and said "ah, but he's a poor defender" when the whole reason Marcelo was at Real Madrid was his attacking brilliance, and the team was set up to rely on that / compensate for it in defence. The same thing strikes me about TAA.
Is it even accurate to characterise a right back in Liverpool's system as a 'defender'? Obviously, he has defensive responsibilities in certain phases of play, just as the central midfielders do, and obviously if he possessed the defensive instincts/one-on-one defensive skills of Ashley Cole, he'd execute those responsibilities more effectively. However, the thing that has elevated TAA as one of the best right backs in Europe is his attacking ability, and it's his dip in that area that has been really pronounced this year.
I'd expect him to get over this blip - unfortunately.
posted on 8/4/21
"the job of a RB is to defend first ... Arguably football is going down the route of if you're exceptional going forward as a fullback, your defending frailties are somewhat ignored."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Surely that depends entirely on the formation and tactics? The last two seasons Liverpool were incredibly good and TAA was a key player for them. His defensive shortcomings weren't an Achilles heal not just because the team's strengths in other aspects (including TAA's considerable contribution to its attacking potency) made up for it, but also because the system and formation enabled Liverpool to defend effectively as a team.
If we accept that that defensive rigour was present *by design*, I don't think we can conclude that TAA's defensive shortcomings are a kind of design error in the squad.
posted on 8/4/21
anyone have a tard translator so I can wrap my head around the first paragraph?
posted on 8/4/21
(Christ, it really is quiet on the Liverpool board, isn't it? Debate about a Liverpool player and there's only United fans here talking about it.)
posted on 8/4/21
comment by (K̇ash) I'm the Mané - PL Champione (U1108)
posted 21 minutes ago
I don't think he is terrible at defending but he is the weak link when we have our best 4 defenders out. On weds that was a howler and he tends to lose his head at times which is usually when he's bombarded and outnumbered because in our system it does need midfield support because Salah is not always tasked in tracking back.
If he had a Hendo or Milner playing RMF he is secure but someone like Keita threw him under the bus the other night.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
agree with some of this. Hendo is key
posted on 8/4/21
comment by scholayScholes (U13961)
posted 19 minutes ago
I think Neville's assessment of him was bang on and shows he is a level or two above Carragher.
Trent is a very good football player. He has been a mainstay as part of a team that has won the league and champions league, so you have to be an imbecile to deny this. I would take Trent for AWB for example everyday of the week and twice on Sunday, albeit AWB is a better defender 1 vs 1. Positionally he also has a lot to learn.
In saying all this, the job of a RB is to defend first and Trent is not particularly good at defending. Arguably football is going down the route of if you're exceptional going forward as a fullback, your defending frailties are somewhat ignored.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Awb is just a very limited footballer, I don’t see him improving much. And I would swap for taa too, who’s more of a liability but does offer far more for the team
posted on 8/4/21
He's a brilliant player going through a bit of bad form. He's never been the best defender though and, like any full back would, he's looking a bit more exposed having 2 CBs next to him who look out of their depth in the PL, let alone the CL quarter finals.
But put it this way, if you offered him to United i would snap your arm off.
posted on 8/4/21
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
posted on 8/4/21
Keita seems to have been selected as the fall guy for the team’s performance on Tuesday. It wasn’t just him, it was a whole team. They couldn’t pass the ball more than once - not even then at times - without giving the ball away, on a plate to the Real players who couldn’t have believed their luck. LFC made Real look better than they are. Naby is top class, cut him some slack.
Trent? My definition of him? An excellent, first-class player, yes, better attacker than defender at times, being made the subject of humiliation by opposition players and fans in the hopeful expectation that his overall performance takes a hit.
He lost his cool on Tuesday night, and that defo wasn’t good. The Real players wound him up, and it worked. He will rise above that.
posted on 8/4/21
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 8 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's could be a classic.
posted on 8/4/21
comment by RB&W (U21434)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 8 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's could be a classic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We aren’t going to get beat by Granada..
posted on 8/4/21
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
95% of the comments are generated by on average 6.3 posters. Key words from the match thread word cloud: 'Gollum' - 'PE' - 'Gashford' - 'C@nt' - 'end of season' - 'YES!'
[The researcher who carried out the statistical analysis from which I quote has since been sectioned in a secure facility]
posted on 8/4/21
The problem with TAA, as everyone has acknowledged, is that defending is not his strength. Now some have already argued on this thread that it’s not really his job in the Liverpool team or that he compensates for it by going forward. But therein lies the problem, when you aren’t great defensively or if being an ‘attacking fullback’ is your role, then you better be very very good at going forward and for two or three seasons TAA was exceptional, but the truth is he has been very very poor for over a year now. This season he has 4 assists and 1 goal in the PL (6 and 1 in all comps), and from January last year these stats stay pretty much the same. That simply isn’t good enough if your arguing that his job isn’t to defend, especially when he is making mistakes and causing goals as well. He’s a great talent but his form for a year has been awful.
posted on 8/4/21
comment by RB&W (U21434)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 8 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's could be a classic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
They’ve become akin to being sat in a room with a bunch of spoilt and restless Sunny Delight-fuelled tweens who’ve just been told that their trips to meet Mickey at Disneyland have been cancelled.
posted on 8/4/21
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 58 seconds ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
95% of the comments are generated by on average 6.3 posters. Key words from the match thread word cloud: 'Gollum' - 'PE' - 'Gashford' - 'C@nt' - 'end of season' - 'YES!'
[The researcher who carried out the statistical analysis from which I quote has since been sectioned in a secure facility]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope they let you out soon, RR
posted on 8/4/21
This actually makes me sad Two years of grief from the mentality monsters when they were winning and breaking records then 5 months of dog poo form and you all disappear. Grow a pair. United have match threads of 1000+ comments and they havent won a bean in God knows how many years
-----
That happens when your team is crap. People have a lot to say when your team is sheet.
When United win there are less articles that when United lose. I've seen posters complaining about that many times.on the Manc board.
Hopefully United board can have many more 1000 comment articles.
posted on 8/4/21
comment by Ji Sung Park's Cousin - A Beekers Dozen (U2958)
posted 28 minutes ago
anyone have a tard translator so I can wrap my head around the first paragraph?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
RDD should be able to help.
posted on 8/4/21
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by RB&W (U21434)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 8 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight's could be a classic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
They’ve become akin to being sat in a room with a bunch of spoilt and restless Sunny Delight-fuelled tweens who’ve just been told that their trips to meet Mickey at Disneyland have been cancelled.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The diddums gang
posted on 8/4/21
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
95% of the comments are generated by on average 6.3 posters. Key words from the match thread word cloud: 'Gollum' - 'PE' - 'Gashford' - 'C@nt' - 'end of season' - 'YES!'
[The researcher who carried out the statistical analysis from which I quote has since been sectioned in a secure facility]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Can add in 'how we playing lads'.
We also don't ban all non-United fans.
posted on 8/4/21
comment by Thorgen Kloppinson - Son of the Soil (U1282)
posted 1 minute ago
This actually makes me sad Two years of grief from the mentality monsters when they were winning and breaking records then 5 months of dog poo form and you all disappear. Grow a pair. United have match threads of 1000+ comments and they havent won a bean in God knows how many years
-----
That happens when your team is crap. People have a lot to say when your team is sheet.
When United win there are less articles that when United lose. I've seen posters complaining about that many times.on the Manc board.
Hopefully United board can have many more 1000 comment articles.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The United board on JA and BBC before it was always a hive of discussion during the highs of the Fergie era just as it is now. I'm sorry to contradict you, but engagement with our forum isn't driven by the ups and downs of our club's fortunes, but by the timeless qualities of vitriol, ignorance and tribal bitterness. And the fact that there's just more of us than you, because we have the might of the Home Counties behind us.
posted on 8/4/21
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 58 seconds ago
comment by rosso - he hands you a nickel, and he hands you a dime, and he asks you with a grin if you're havin' a good time (U17054)
posted 12 minutes ago
“ United have match threads of 1000+ comments...”
Just don’t read the comments, please, for your own sanity
----------------------------------------------------------------------
95% of the comments are generated by on average 6.3 posters. Key words from the match thread word cloud: 'Gollum' - 'PE' - 'Gashford' - 'C@nt' - 'end of season' - 'YES!'
[The researcher who carried out the statistical analysis from which I quote has since been sectioned in a secure facility]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope they let you out soon, RR
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I just keep pretending to take my meds and swearing I no longer hear the voice that urges me to cut things. Hopefully I'll get to come and visit you soon, like we talked about.
posted on 8/4/21
He's world class for me. He's had a poor season in general, certainly the last few months and has errors in him, but very few full backs have ever been error-free defensively. People talk about his errors, but nobody remembers his block on Tuesday (just before Madrid's 3rd goal) for example. I also think the saying "form is temporary, class is permanent" would be fair to say about him.
I don't know whether I'd say he is the best right back in the world, but on his day he certainly is. I don't think he needs to be moved to midfield yet, whether he ultimately does in a few years because of the ages of Henderson, Thiago etc, I don't know. But I think he will end up there, but I don't see why when the club do have one of the world's best right backs at the moment.
To say he is a terrible defender is just a poor statement. It's not his strong point, but he isn't terrible.
Page 1 of 4