Full Backs

[REDSCOUSER]

Riise been crap since last season, he must be sold in January or the summer.
Aurelio is good going forward but as dodgy defending as Riise(See Derby's goal as example).
Finnan is an experienced, loyal good right back but he is getting on a bit and its time to find a replacement just incase he gets too many injuries.
Arbeloa is the one of the best signings RAFA has done imo and he will get even better.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

I think the fullbacks today played really well

[Marky]

I think the fullbacks today played really well

Same here, good to see Finnan back fully fit, he had Petrov in his pocket all game but then again we all know Stevie F is quality. Aurelio played a blinder, even when he played and actually wasn't injured for once i was never really impressed but on today's evidence he would be like a new signing for us. His passing was superb, he looked fit and sharp and he nearly scored a wonder goal or two.
Still a bit dodgy defensively me thinks but today he looked the part(playing wise), more of the same please Fabio lad

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Same here, good to see Finnan back fully fit, he had Petrov in his pocket all game but then again we all know Stevie F is quality. Aurelio played a blinder, even when he played and actually wasn't injured for once i was never really impressed but on today's evidence he would be like a new signing for us. His passing was superb, he looked fit and sharp and he nearly scored a wonder goal or two.
Still a bit dodgy defensively me thinks but today he looked the part(playing wise), more of the same please Fabio lad

Summed it up nicely Marky, my thoughts exactly

[enema of the state]

I think one of the main reasons why we struggle to break teams down is because our quality from the wings is sporadic.

Everybody contributes something but if we could match the consistent quality we have in the centre on our flanks, we would be more dangerous and more balanced. That's stating the obvious, really.

We should aspire to play with wingers and full-backs who can penetrate and deliver quality crosses at will.

is absolutely correct

nobody in our 4 wide positions (R and LMF plus the full backs) is currently playing to the standard we need.

ive seen kewell do it regularly for leeds and sporadically for lfc and ive seen gerard do it reliably for lfc but at the cost of not playing him centrally.

we badly need people to show up in the wide positions - particularly the midfield roles. for me, pennant is a write-off, babel is a striker learning his trade out wide, benayoun is promising, but hes too old for me to be excited about "promising". i want 2 players in those roles who are performing at a high level for 40 plus games a season and who are a threat in every game.

its harsh to get on the fullbacks case, yes its good when they get forward but their primary role is defensive and defensively, were strong in the fullback positions. its alo a **** of a lot easier for the fullback to get forward when the opposition has a good wide player to worry about (and frequently double up on defensively). the difference between us and the scum is primarily that they have giggs and ronaldo where we have X and Y. in all other positions were just as good and often better.

chelseas dip in form is in a major part because where they once had duff and robben out wide, theyve now got a combo of wright-phillips/cole/malouda/ striker out of position. theres no substitute for wide players of that class.

[dww]

I think that analysis is right in large part although I think fullbacks can be chosen on attacking talents first so long as they are good athletes and are intelligent enough to follow the defensive plan set out for them. For me in recent years both Ashley Cole (certainly at Arsenal), Eboue and Evra show that this can work. I would say especially if you have a player like Masher covering in front of the back four.

I think the problem is that our wide midfield players are all naturally drawn to the middle, yet none of them offer a goal threat consistently at the minute. At least the width issue can be countered to some extent by having overlapping fullbacks. It is the fact tht Arbeloa is good at bringing the ball into midfield but not great at offering width or crossing that make me suspect he may not be a long term first team solution (although if we found a great winger ahead of him that might change).

[Svennis]

Our full backs are too slow. Arbeloa and Aurelio are both very good with the ball but slow as ****. Get rid of Riise and Finnan and replace them with two pacey full backs, who are comfortable with the ball. Evra, Sagna type full backs.

Having pacey full backs would bring a new dimension to our attacking play.

[Alpha]

I think that analysis is right in large part although I think fullbacks can be chosen on attacking talents first so long as they are good athletes and are intelligent enough to follow the defensive plan set out for them. For me in recent years both Ashley Cole (certainly at Arsenal), Eboue and Evra show that this can work. I would say especially if you have a player like Masher covering in front of the back four.

I think the problem is that our wide midfield players are all naturally drawn to the middle, yet none of them offer a goal threat consistently at the minute. At least the width issue can be countered to some extent by having overlapping fullbacks. It is the fact tht Arbeloa is good at bringing the ball into midfield but not great at offering width or crossing that make me suspect he may not be a long term first team solution (although if we found a great winger ahead of him that might change).

My sentiments exactly.

[checkpoint]

What's the stats on goals/assists on the top sides fullbacks compared to ours?

I can't see that we're any worse off than any of the other 'top 3' teams. Because it's on goals and assists we could actually measure this isn't it? Or else this is just another JAR bashing thread with no real stats to back it up.

JAR was ranked as the 4th best left back in europe by a european paper. If that's a fact or not, I sometimes can't believe some of the sh*t that people write about him on here.

[Neil Young]

What's the stats on goals/assists on the top sides fullbacks compared to ours?

I can't see that we're any worse off than any of the other 'top 3' teams. Because it's on goals and assists we could actually measure this isn't it? Or else this is just another JAR bashing thread with no real stats to back it up.

JAR was ranked as the 4th best left back by a european paper. If that's a fact or not, I sometimes can't believe some of the sh*t that people write about him on here.

Dagbladet?

Come on though, maybe the newspaper got it wrong and others have got it right. He's certainly not played all that well for us for a while now and I can think of quite a few left backs who are performing better than he is at the moment.

[checkpoint]

Dagbladet?

Come on though, maybe the newspaper got it wrong and others have got it right. He's certainly not played all that well for us for a while now and I can think of quite a few left backs who are performing better than he is at the moment.

Not Dagbladet

Not played well and not performing? Well, if it's the defensive work that you are pointing the finger at, then ok. Even though his performance against the scum was great.

BUT when it comes to his offensive contribution, I really can't see Cole, Clichy, or Evra having scored more or assisted more this season. It was that part of JAR's game that was on question in this thread wasn't it?

[Alpha]

What's the stats on goals/assists on the top sides fullbacks compared to ours?

I can't see that we're any worse off than any of the other 'top 3' teams. Because it's on goals and assists we could actually measure this isn't it? Or else this is just another JAR bashing thread with no real stats to back it up.

JAR was ranked as the 4th best left back by a european paper. If that's a fact or not, I sometimes can't believe some of the sh*t that people write about him on here.

Our only full-back with a direct assist in the premiership this season is Riise.

Nicky Shorey has nine but I think he takes most of the set-pieces.

Juan Vargas has three assists and two goals in nine Serie A appearances for Catania. That's the sort of quality I like.

I would expect Aurelio to pick up a few if he stays fit.

[dww]

Not Dagbladet

Not played well and not performing? Well, if it's the defensive work that you are pointing the finger at, then ok. Even though his performance against the scum was great.

BUT when it comes to his offensive contribution, I really can't see Cole, Clichy, or Evra having scored more or assisted more this season. It was that part of JAR's game that was on question in this thread wasn't it?

According the fantasy premier league site:
Assists:
Sagna: 3, Cliche: 2, Evra: 1, Brown: 2, Riise: 1, Finnan: 1, (Eboue: 1)
(No Chelsea fullbacks have any)

Goals:
No top 4 fullbacks have any

On the assists front I'm pretty sure both Eboue and Riise got theirs from midfield.

Riise is nowhere near as bad as some make out. however he can be improved upon and I'm not sure that these stats are all that useful a measure of fullback quality as all the numbers are so low.

[checkpoint]

Our only full-back with a direct assist in the premiership this season is Riise.

Nicky Shorey has nine but I think he takes most of the set-pieces.

Juan Vargas has three assists and two goals in nine Serie A appearances for Catania. That's the sort of quality I like.

I would expect Aurelio to pick up a few if he stays fit.

No mention of Evra, Clichy or Cole in the stats either? I guess this a 'wide' spread problem amongst the top teams then....

Agree, Aurelio could be the type of player getting the stats, but it seems no one of the other teams can boast about having much offensive use of their fullbacks either.

[checkpoint]

According the fantasy premier league site:
Assists:
Sagna: 3, Cliche: 2, Evra: 1, Brown: 2, Riise: 1, Finnan: 1, (Eboue: 1)
(No Chelsea fullbacks have any)

Goals:
No top 4 fullbacks have any

On the assists front I'm pretty sure both Eboue and Riise got theirs from midfield.

Riise is nowhere near as bad as some make out. however he can be improved upon and I'm not sure that these stats are all that useful a measure of fullback quality as all the numbers are so low.

Ok, some stats here finally!

As thought, there isn't much that separate the mentioned FB's, not enough to slaughter JAR's contribution anyway.

Using this stat on the total quality as a FB is not that useful agreed, but I guess we shouldn't expect THAT much in the final third from a FB as we would like/hope.

Then it's back to deciding who's the best defending FB of the options we got or want RB to buy then I guess?