Topic: Trent Alexander-Arnold

[B0151?]

It makes so little sense

We've got to two CL finals in recent years and won one coming up against the best players and teams in the world and Trent hasn't let us down or been exposed once

In fact, he's done the opposite. Will never forget Pep trying to stick Sane on him and attack down that flank and getting nowhere

[RedKenWah]

From an England perspective I can sort of understand the rhetoric behind the amount of right backs that a manager would take to a tournament, why would one take 4 or 5 of them when really you could do with having more options at CB, midfield or attackers. So from that view it makes sense that the manager would look to trim down on who he takes.

However what Trent can offer though, well it doesn’t need highlighting really, personally think he’s on par distribution wise to what David Beckham did for England...

Ultimately a manager like Southgate needs to decide what he wants in full backs. Offer an attacking threat or be a solid defensive unit. If he wants the former then you take Trent. If he wants an ultimate defensive unit that only does that side then leave he’ll leave the lad out and have a very short tournament length...

Obviously Southgate is an absolute fraud of a manager mind and his opinion should not reflect heavily on Trent... he’ll have plenty of tournaments to attend in the future

[Hazell]

From an England perspective I can sort of understand the rhetoric behind the amount of right backs that a manager would take to a tournament, why would one take 4 or 5 of them when really you could do with having more options at CB, midfield or attackers. So from that view it makes sense that the manager would look to trim down on who he takes.

However what Trent can offer though, well it doesn’t need highlighting really, personally think he’s on par distribution wise to what David Beckham did for England...

Ultimately a manager like Southgate needs to decide what he wants in full backs. Offer an attacking threat or be a solid defensive unit. If he wants the former then you take Trent. If he wants an ultimate defensive unit that only does that side then leave he’ll leave the lad out and have a very short tournament length...

Obviously Southgate is an absolute fraud of a manager mind and his opinion should not reflect heavily on Trent... he’ll have plenty of tournaments to attend in the future

Given his record at Valencia, no wonder Gary Neville was defending him.

[farawayred]

Trent ain't got nothing in Trippier, brave Gareth was right all along. We'll all see how it is at La Liga level tomorrow.

[Dull Tools]

I have been saying for a while that Trent should be moved to centre mid for England. Its a position they struggle with and they have lots of right backs.

[plura]

I have been saying for a while that Trent should be moved to centre mid for England. Its a position they struggle with and they have lots of right backs.

And I think he should do no such thing. Just continue to do what he's doing and show he's one of the best fullbacks in the world. What he offers is what few others can do. So let him just do more of that, and improve on it.

[MH41]

Neville is dangerous. He has an agenda here, and should be called out for it. Over the last couple of seasons, Sky have sat back and let him more or less turn his appearances into episodes of MUTV. His hatred of Liverpool being masked as 'banter', or 'great viewing'.
But beneath this banter, he always has an agenda. As far back as with Karius, where he highlighted every single little 'error' by the young keeper, whilst ignoring the glaring errors of his more experienced fellow keepers.
Fast forward 5 years, and he's now decided to run with the story that a young lad, who has won, PL, CL, Super cup, World club championship medals, along with numerous individual awards and representation in UEFA/FIFA teams, all whilst playing against the world's best players, is not good enough? In any other job, he would be called into the Boss' office, and told that what he has produced for a TV show was absolute nonsense, and that he would be no longer required. Unfortunately, we live in an era where good quality punditry, backed up with good research, is not as important as 'bantz'...
What Neville was allowed to get away with last night was a disgrace. No comparison stats with his 'superior' right backs is just a start. He needs to be called out for it.
But it's his agenda that is the dangerous part. If Neville says so, it must be true....Will we ever see him do a Monday night 'special' on Maguire's weakness, and why does he get away with so many blatant penalties? Or a Monday night special about Bruno's weaknesses, and what he needs to do?
Or a 'special' on why Man Utd's results improved dramatically after lockdown, mainly due to the favourable decisions from refs and VAR?
Of course he wouldn't. He has an agenda, he still works for Utd, and in a very influential way.
His fury at Arsenal last night was purely because Liverpool beat them.

[bornandbRED]

Still can’t believe Neville stated England should be scared of playing Trent vs the mighty Ivan Perisic. Then has the gall to call Carragher Trumpian. He is the ultimate footballing pseudo intellectual.

[Alf]

So in the space of 48 hours Gary Neville & Jamie Carragher have said they’d take Trent to the Euros while Micah Richards has said he’s the best right back in the country.

On the subject of Croatia, I was there the week the after the 2010 World Cup Final. They couldn’t understand how England had done so poorly having man handled them both home & away in the qualifiers. If England are going into their opening game of the Euros, expecting to have less of the ball than them, that says it all about their mentality.

[dutchkop]

Neville is dangerous. He has an agenda here, and should be called out for it. Over the last couple of seasons, Sky have sat back and let him more or less turn his appearances into episodes of MUTV. His hatred of Liverpool being masked as 'banter', or 'great viewing'.
But beneath this banter, he always has an agenda. As far back as with Karius, where he highlighted every single little 'error' by the young keeper, whilst ignoring the glaring errors of his more experienced fellow keepers.
Fast forward 5 years, and he's now decided to run with the story that a young lad, who has won, PL, CL, Super cup, World club championship medals, along with numerous individual awards and representation in UEFA/FIFA teams, all whilst playing against the world's best players, is not good enough? In any other job, he would be called into the Boss' office, and told that what he has produced for a TV show was absolute nonsense, and that he would be no longer required. Unfortunately, we live in an era where good quality punditry, backed up with good research, is not as important as 'bantz'...
What Neville was allowed to get away with last night was a disgrace. No comparison stats with his 'superior' right backs is just a start. He needs to be called out for it.
But it's his agenda that is the dangerous part. If Neville says so, it must be true....Will we ever see him do a Monday night 'special' on Maguire's weakness, and why does he get away with so many blatant penalties? Or a Monday night special about Bruno's weaknesses, and what he needs to do?
Or a 'special' on why Man Utd's results improved dramatically after lockdown, mainly due to the favourable decisions from refs and VAR?
Of course he wouldn't. He has an agenda, he still works for Utd, and in a very influential way.
His fury at Arsenal last night was purely because Liverpool beat them.

great list of Manc bias in Neville  commentary - and why I try never to watch or listen to Sky  commentary


I think the Southgate snub and Trent's latest form could be a blessing in disguise as Trent and Liverpool finish strong.  It will be interesting to see how Zidane and Real are setup and play tonight against Trent.

I am hoping that Robbo also has a stormer.

We must not try too hard and go into too strong as ref loves a yellow card - also gives them our early on in first half. I shared some of his ref stats under the match thread

[El Lobo]

So in the space of 48 hours Gary Neville & Jamie Carragher have said they’d take Trent to the Euros while Micah Richards has said he’s the best right back in the country.

On the subject of Croatia, I was there the week the after the 2010 World Cup Final. They couldn’t understand how England had done so poorly having man handled them both home & away in the qualifiers. If England are going into their opening game of the Euros, expecting to have less of the ball than them, that says it all about their mentality.

They can all fuck off back into their pit, along with the waistcoat wearing pizza hut twat

He's literally the best RB in world football, and has been for a good 18 months. Its not some controversial statement to say they'd take him to the Euros. They all join in with the hyperbolic criticism of him, constantly. They create the whole narrative that he cant defend. People talk about how strong England are at RB, and its true. We have one world class RB and then with the likes of Walker, James and Wan-Bissaka a lovely set of alright ones who are several levels below Trent. And then the likes of Justin, Lamptey and Aarons who with some work could also get to a level several below Trent.

Its like going into the 2010 World Cup and saying 'we've got some really good CM options....Gerrard, Carrick, Barry, Milner' and then leaving Gerrard at home

[Dull Tools]

And I think he should do no such thing. Just continue to do what he's doing and show he's one of the best fullbacks in the world. What he offers is what few others can do. So let him just do more of that, and improve on it.

I agree from Trent's point of view then he should want to play right back. From England's it makes sense due to the amount of players they have in the position. If he played on the right of a 3 he could peel off into similar deep positions that De Bruyne delivers the crosses from.

[Alf]

It’s a lazy argument that Trent can’t defend. You put the handbrake on him & Robbo putting Fabinho & Henderson in defence. 2/3 of the most prolific strike force in the division have an off spell and suddenly people are putting 2 & 2 together and coming out with 5.

[Morgana]

What the fuck is this clown Neville on about on Sky here.

‘Sane, Mbappe, Hazard would rather play against Trent than the others’. He’s pocketed all 3 of them and more you snivelling rat.

This pissed me off too.

[Morgana]

I can.
I don't like the rat and don't go out of my way to listen to him most of the time. But heard this vid and also remember it was him hanging on about Trent's apparent weakness in defending a couple years back.

I'm pretty sure he was one of the pioneers of this narrative so his ego will for damn sure not let it lie

Yes, Neville was definitely one of the loudest "Trent can't defend" gobshites from the outset. Him and Lee Dixon. They never won anything with England and I always detect a hint of professional jealousy from them towards Trent whenever they're commentating. Trent is still so young and has all this potential. Neville especially is scared shitless that this young right back will eventually eclipse him with a more illustrious career in trophies for club AND country. Neville is the embodiment of everything that's wrong with the professional game and punditry in England.

[Charlie Adams fried egg]

Never listen to the agenda driving hypocritical dickhead, but great to see so many people seeing straight through him and his footballing sage act.

If he told me it was Tuesday I’d check the calendar.

[keyop]

Trent is a Liverpool player, from Liverpool, who trained in Liverpool's Academy. He was in the FIFA World 11, shortlisted for the Ballon D'or and won the Champions league and Premier league in successive seasons all before turning 21.

He is, quite literally Gary Neville's worst nightmare come true.

As a former right back himself, Neville could show some credibility (and solidarity) and highlight how incredible it is that such a young player can fulfill his defensive duties whilst providing the sort of passing, assists and crossing ability at the levels of David Beckham.

I've often thought pundits tend to criticise players from their own club more than the opposition, as a way of perhaps overcompensating for any perceived bias. I always felt Lawrenson (and to some degree Hansen) did this for years, and I sensed at times some pundits were more interested in preserving their own legacies than supporting their club to achieve similar success.

I don't have (or watch) Sky in general, but do watch selected clips on YouTube as there's occasionally something worth watching (very occasionally...). When a pundit becomes a parody of themselves then they're no longer useful as a pundit, and Gary Neville fits that category. The fact that both him and Carragher chose the path of banter and controversy instead of impartial analysis and proper discussion only serves to highlight both of them (plus Sky) as the brainless morons they truly are.

[Yorkykopite]

What the fuck is this clown Neville on about on Sky here.

‘Sane, Mbappe, Hazard would rather play against Trent than the others’. He’s pocketed all 3 of them and more you snivelling rat.

He told BBC Sport: "Yeah, I saw! I'm proud. This guy is amazing."

https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-mbappe-responds-to-trent-alexander-arnold-copying-his-celebration-20200121

That's Mbappe speaking about Trent Alexander-Arnold. "This guy is amazing".

So.......

Gary Neville's comments about Trent aren't really about Trent. They are about himself.

All retired footballers like to curate their own careers, but especially those ones who go by the name of 'pundit'. As a pundit you are especially sensitive to the accusation of being an anachronism. Why? Because football as a sport moves very swiftly and yesterday's best quickly becomes today's ordinary. Yet pundits rely on the implicit faith we all have as viewers that they know something about the game because they were once very good players themselves. That's the currency they trade in to keep themselves before the cameras.

Neville's problem, therefore, is an extreme version of every pundit's problem. He's an anachronism. His interpretation of the full-back role has as much resemblance to Trent's as a Penny Farthing has to the Specialised Aethos S-Works Di2 Carbon Road Bike. He knows this deep down because he's not entirely stupid, but it's simply too painful (and too dangerous professionally) to admit it in public. To acknowledge Trent's phenomenal ability would be to effectively say "look at me, I'm a Penny Farthing." And then the veil would have lifted. Why should we listen to what this anachronism has to say about anything?

So Gary falls back on praising defenders who look like versions of himself. Wan Bissaka for example. A woodcutter's tackle, permanently on his arse, vertigo every time he crosses the half way line etc etc. The Penny Farthing in other words. Gary likes him because he is him.

It ought to be a badge of honour to be criticised by Gary Neville.  I hope Trent sees it that way.     

[keyop]

He told BBC Sport: "Yeah, I saw! I'm proud. This guy is amazing."

https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-mbappe-responds-to-trent-alexander-arnold-copying-his-celebration-20200121

That's Mbappe speaking about Trent Alexander-Arnold. "This guy is amazing".

So.......

Gary Neville's comments about Trent aren't really about Trent. They are about himself.

All retired footballers like to curate their own careers, but especially those ones who go by the name of 'pundit'. As a pundit you are especially sensitive to the accusation of being an anachronism. Why? Because football as a sport moves very swiftly and yesterday's best quickly becomes today's ordinary. Yet pundits rely on the implicit faith we all have as viewers that they know something about the game because they were once very good players themselves. That's the currency they trade in to keep themselves before the cameras.

Neville's problem, therefore, is an extreme version of every pundit's problem. He's an anachronism. His interpretation of the full-back role has as much resemblance to Trent's as a Penny Farthing has to the Specialised Aethos S-Works Di2 Carbon Road Bike. He knows this deep down because he's not entirely stupid, but it's simply too painful (and too dangerous professionally) to admit it in public. To acknowledge Trent's phenomenal ability would be to effectively say "look at me, I'm a Penny Farthing." And then the veil would have lifted. Why should we listen to what this anachronism has to say about anything?

So Gary falls back on praising defenders who look like versions of himself. Wan Bissaka for example. A woodcutter's tackle, permanently on his arse, vertigo every time he crosses the half way line etc etc. The Penny Farthing in other words. Gary likes him because he is him.

It ought to be a badge of honour to be criticised by Gary Neville.  I hope Trent sees it that way.   

Love that Yorky. Nailed it.

[FlashGordon]

He told BBC Sport: "Yeah, I saw! I'm proud. This guy is amazing."

https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-mbappe-responds-to-trent-alexander-arnold-copying-his-celebration-20200121

That's Mbappe speaking about Trent Alexander-Arnold. "This guy is amazing".

So.......

Gary Neville's comments about Trent aren't really about Trent. They are about himself.

All retired footballers like to curate their own careers, but especially those ones who go by the name of 'pundit'. As a pundit you are especially sensitive to the accusation of being an anachronism. Why? Because football as a sport moves very swiftly and yesterday's best quickly becomes today's ordinary. Yet pundits rely on the implicit faith we all have as viewers that they know something about the game because they were once very good players themselves. That's the currency they trade in to keep themselves before the cameras.

Neville's problem, therefore, is an extreme version of every pundit's problem. He's an anachronism. His interpretation of the full-back role has as much resemblance to Trent's as a Penny Farthing has to the Specialised Aethos S-Works Di2 Carbon Road Bike. He knows this deep down because he's not entirely stupid, but it's simply too painful (and too dangerous professionally) to admit it in public. To acknowledge Trent's phenomenal ability would be to effectively say "look at me, I'm a Penny Farthing." And then the veil would have lifted. Why should we listen to what this anachronism has to say about anything?

So Gary falls back on praising defenders who look like versions of himself. Wan Bissaka for example. A woodcutter's tackle, permanently on his arse, vertigo every time he crosses the half way line etc etc. The Penny Farthing in other words. Gary likes him because he is him.

It ought to be a badge of honour to be criticised by Gary Neville.  I hope Trent sees it that way.   

Absolutely brilliant post Yorky, nailed it as per usual.

[Coolie High]

He told BBC Sport: "Yeah, I saw! I'm proud. This guy is amazing."

https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-mbappe-responds-to-trent-alexander-arnold-copying-his-celebration-20200121

That's Mbappe speaking about Trent Alexander-Arnold. "This guy is amazing".

So.......

Gary Neville's comments about Trent aren't really about Trent. They are about himself.

All retired footballers like to curate their own careers, but especially those ones who go by the name of 'pundit'. As a pundit you are especially sensitive to the accusation of being an anachronism. Why? Because football as a sport moves very swiftly and yesterday's best quickly becomes today's ordinary. Yet pundits rely on the implicit faith we all have as viewers that they know something about the game because they were once very good players themselves. That's the currency they trade in to keep themselves before the cameras.

Neville's problem, therefore, is an extreme version of every pundit's problem. He's an anachronism. His interpretation of the full-back role has as much resemblance to Trent's as a Penny Farthing has to the Specialised Aethos S-Works Di2 Carbon Road Bike. He knows this deep down because he's not entirely stupid, but it's simply too painful (and too dangerous professionally) to admit it in public. To acknowledge Trent's phenomenal ability would be to effectively say "look at me, I'm a Penny Farthing." And then the veil would have lifted. Why should we listen to what this anachronism has to say about anything?

So Gary falls back on praising defenders who look like versions of himself. Wan Bissaka for example. A woodcutter's tackle, permanently on his arse, vertigo every time he crosses the half way line etc etc. The Penny Farthing in other words. Gary likes him because he is him.

It ought to be a badge of honour to be criticised by Gary Neville.  I hope Trent sees it that way.   

So true you can tell this when even yesterday Neville went back on Jamie’s comment a couple seasons ago of ‘no one grows up wanting to be Gary Neville’

Many will though grow up wanting to be TAA and it’s annoying for him that when all said and done he won’t have the list of trophies to draw on when comparisons arise, Trent will go down not only as an incredible world class player but also have the medals to back it up, Neville only ever had one of these things to brag about, he was a good player but no on will remember him the same way we do Dani Alves Cafu Lahm and eventually Trent.

[ac]

He's positional play is getting slaughtered by Carra and rightly so. Until he increases the level of intensity in his defending he will never become world class imo

[Studgotelli]

Dropped a defensive disaster class today. All over the place defensively from the first time Vinicius went past him in the corner in the first half. Really poor.

[disgraced cake]

Think he, like all of us, just needs the season to end. I don't doubt that he'll be back to his old levels next season, when we're not in this awful predicament of playing without fans etc, and having Virgil back etc, but his performances this season for the most part have been staggeringly poor given the quality he possesses. He just hasn't put together a run of decent performances all season. Everyone knows he's not been great from the start, but I've seen after a few of his good games this season plenty of people saying he's finding his feet again, really I couldn't disagree more. It's just not even came close to happening for him this season. I don't think he will but ideally he'll miss out on the European Championships and stay behind, it'll do him a lot more good than going.

I really look forward to seeing Trent in the flesh again next season, and all the years we have with him going forward, I think it's a matter of when not if he regains his form, because when he's on song, usually the rest of the team is too.

[Anfield Kopite]

He's positional play is getting slaughtered by Carra and rightly so. Until he increases the level of intensity in his defending he will never become world class imo

"Carra" can fuck off. Never stops criticising Liverpool. Maybe he is jealous that the LFC of the last 5 years are so much better than the teams he played in.

[jillcwhomever]

Dropped a defensive disaster class today. All over the place defensively from the first time Vinicius went past him in the corner in the first half. Really poor.

Yet you don’t mention the vital clearance he made to stop a certain goal.

[killer-heels]

Yet you don’t mention the vital clearance he made to stop a certain goal.

But made a massive error and was generally poor in defence.

He isn’t a good defender at all but he is so amazing going the other way that it is what it is.

[The G in Gerrard]

Dropped a defensive disaster class today. All over the place defensively from the first time Vinicius went past him in the corner in the first half. Really poor.

Didn't see midfield help him out at any point in first half.

[Haggis36]

Trent is better defensively than he's often given credit for, but when he does play poorly, it can be an absolute horror show. As much as his deficiencies are exaggerated it's pretty telling that RB is a position opposition teams regularly look to exploit, to not insignificant success. You rarely (if ever) see teams try to exploit Robbo in the same way, which should be pretty telling.

It's frustrating because a lot of the time more than anything else it seems like a concentration issue, as though he gets randomly complacent/lazy for stretches of the game. It's certainly not lack of ability. Hopefully that improves with age and experience.

[jillcwhomever]

But made a massive error and was generally poor in defence.

He isn’t a good defender at all but he is so amazing going the other way that it is what it is.

There was no balance in the first half especially in midfield they were putting the whole defence under pressure. In that situation mistakes will happen, Trent made an error as did Phillips. But let’s stop playing into the Neville/Carragher agenda that he can’t do anything defensively. He stopped a certain goal in the second half, but typically no one remembers that.

[y2w902]

There is significantly less high quality right sided attackers compared to left sided ones which is often forgotten about.

[killer-heels]

There was no balance in the first half especially in midfield they were putting the whole defence under pressure. In that situation mistakes will happen, Trent made an error as did Phillips. But let’s stop playing into the Neville/Carragher agenda that he can’t do anything defensively. He stopped a certain goal in the second half, but typically no one remembers that.

I don’t give a shit what Neville and Carragher say, the fact is that he has made too many errors this time around or not been strong enough or intense in his play defensively. But because he is so good going the other way that I don’t really care.

[diggerling!]

I remember when he first came into the side the thinking was that he'd have a spell at right back and then move into midfield once a 'proper' right back was acquired. I wonder whether the thinking at the club is that he will stay in defence or move up the pitch. With our reliance on our full backs for creativity being found out to some extent, I'd imagine his future role is being carefully considered. I can see him in the Wijnaldum role next season.

[Working Class Hen-Pecked Hero]

There's always been talk of him being weaker defending. Wonder if it might be worth trying to get him in midfield and sorting out a new RB. Felt for him today, played okay, stopped a few breaks and the one on one with Asensio but will just be remembered for his mistake

[Sammy5IsAlive]

Trent is better defensively than he's often given credit for, but when he does play poorly, it can be an absolute horror show. As much as his deficiencies are exaggerated it's pretty telling that RB is a position opposition teams regularly look to exploit, to not insignificant success. You rarely (if ever) see teams try to exploit Robbo in the same way, which should be pretty telling.

It's frustrating because a lot of the time more than anything else it seems like a concentration issue, as though he gets randomly complacent/lazy for stretches of the game. It's certainly not lack of ability. Hopefully that improves with age and experience.

I've said this before but I'm surprised we haven't at least tried swapping Salah and Mane. On paper at least that potentially brings the best out of at least three of the four (including Robertson). TAA gets a bit more help defensively and a target who is happier to drop deep/inside to receive those penetrating balls to feet between the lines that he does so well. Mane gets quicker and better quality service in those positions. Salah has a stronger defender behind him to cover for him and also a calmer head to offer options and help him recycle the ball when there is nothing on and he wants to get up the pitch. I guess Robertson is the one that loses out a little as he wouldn't get as much protection and going forward perhaps wouldn't get as many of those balls that Mane slips through for him to cross from the byline. Although the latter would potentially be made up for by the amount of times, this season in particular, where Robertson has burst forward carrying the ball only to find Mane at best level with him and often 15 yards behind the play having dropped deep for a ball that wasn't coming. 

[skipper757]

The question is, what do we want Trent to be?  He's essentially our De Bruyne in terms of creativity and chance creation.  His cross-field passes are fantastic for opening up space.  His passing/crossing was a nightmare for Arsenal to deal with.

At the same time, we want him to be a great physical one-on-one defender who's always in position?  He's probably not at his best in terms of defensive concentration, but we put a lot of responsibility on his plate.  It's usually why we have someone like Hendo on that side to help him out (or Matip/Gomez as a very quick CB to cover).  When he's caught up the pitch, Hendo can delay the other team's counterattack.  When he's caught out on a pass over the top, he has Gomez's pace to help him.  Right now, he has neither, and he hasn't had much protection all year.

He's not a normal full-back by any stretch of the imagination, and Klopp probably gives him a lot of freedom to advance up the pitch and to play passes/crosses to create chances.  It's not shocking that when he doesn't get cover, he looks bad defensively.

He can obviously play better, but if we need him as a creative outlet but simultaneously put a slow CB and a Hendo-less midfield around him, it won't look great.  I think I saw that the Fabinho-Wijnaldum-Keita midfield was also used in the 7-2 Villa match.  That entire right side (Gomez had a shocker too) was a mess.

Trent isn't an out and out defender like Arbeloa or a physical player like Walker (who can get away with positioning issues).  We want him to be our creative outlet and long-range passer.  We want him up the pitch for his crossing and shooting ability.  But if we don't provide adequate cover for him, it can look bad defensively for us.

He needs to improve his focus and concentration (and overall play) for sure, but we are asking a lot of him.

[Haggis36]

Where would Trent play in midfield though? A Thiago/Fabinho/Trent midfield isn't exactly blessed with pace or dynamism...

[jillcwhomever]

There's always been talk of him being weaker defending. Wonder if it might be worth trying to get him in midfield and sorting out a new RB. Felt for him today, played okay, stopped a few breaks and the one on one with Asensio but will just be remembered for his mistake

He’s not a natural right-back yet people expect him to defend like one anyway. You are only as good as your last mistake apparently. I am sure he will get better at it, it’s been a tough season for him overall, he was perhaps due to a season like this. People forget that he is still learning the game and young which means he is still finding consistency in his play, that will be the key for him. He just can’t catch a break at the moment.

[Studgotelli]

Didn't see midfield help him out at any point in first half.

I agree midfield were shite and he had no help but 1v1 Vinicius absolutely had him on toast all game. He also gave the ball away way too much. Not critiquing him to be a prick but apart from a few good crosses it was rank from him defensively.

Just calling it how I see it.

[diggerling!]

A Thiago/Fabinho/Trent midfield isn't exactly blessed with pace or dynamism...

Neither are Modric/Kroos/Casimiro. Midfield is all about control.