Full-backs: Slump in quality or too high expectations?

^ I respectfully disagree.

Goals win games and goal keepers win points.

Most important positions in the world is getting the top and the back right. Things in between can wait.

You can't win anything with shit strikers/goalkeeper....you can however win things with shit fullbacks.

Natalie Portman wrote:^ I respectfully disagree.

Goals win games and goal keepers win points.

Most important positions in the world is getting the top and the back right. Things in between can wait.

You can't win anything with shit strikers/goalkeeper....you can however win things with shit fullbacks.

I respectfully disagree back at you.

I think you're working through some Liverpool related things subconsciously and that pours into these posts.
You think you need a striker and a goalkeeper more than a fullback.
That may be, but that doesn't mean that's the ranking for all football teams.

Then again, it might not be. Maybe fullback is THE problem position of Liverpool? So problematic that Rodgers decided it doesn't exist?

To continue with my examples. Why you think Man United made minced meat out of Tottenham and Liverpool this spring?

Because they targeted the area of the right fullback/ the space between CBs and fullbacks.
In Tottenhams case that's especially rewarding since their fullbacks are notoriously vulnerable.

In Liverpool's case it's especially easy since you played without fullbacks and some chaotic relation between Can and whoever played wingback.. Henderson? Ibe? Sterling? Markovic?

If you think that position, or the area of the pitch it's supposed to deal with, is negligible you're seriously fooling yourself.

Another example. One of our main weak points in the Barca semi was Bernat. A good fullback who was bought to add to Alaba but who wasn't just ready for that level.

^ Yet Man Utd made the top 4 playing Valencia/McNair/Always injured Shaw as their fullbacks.

Why ? Because they had a top keeper in DDG and consistent goal-scorers to cover over the cracks, especially til March whjen they were playing turgid football. We didn't make top 4 because of having shit fuillback, but rather because our 4 strtikers scored 8 goals between them combined.

If Sturridge was fit all saeson, more likely than not we'd have made top 4, despite not having any proper fullbacks.

Scoring goals wins games, and it gives confidence to all areas of the pitch. A team without goal-scorers is like a man without a penis.

Useless

If you had to pick between having your penis cut off (striker), your nose (keeper) or your arm (fullback), which one would you pick ??

In those games I mentioned they played Blind as left back and he knew what he was doing.

As for the last part, I'd settle for a smaller penis instead of having crippled arms

I can say that though as my penis is huge.

From this point of view I agree with Sepi: Full-backs don't end up in crucial, matter-of-life-and-death moments as often as most other players. When a forward has a great chance to score that's a crucial moment in the game. When a center-back is the closest defender to prevent a goal, that's a crucial moment. And midfielders are more important than full-backs to the overall quality of your game.

If you have a 30m budget and need a striker and a full-back, you should probably take a 20m striker and a 10m full-back and not the other way round, because the striker is going to face more game-changing situations than the full-back.

However, I don't agree when Sepi says that full-backs can get away with stuff. They can't get away with it, they just don't face it as often as other players. If you neglect the full-back position, it will cost you. And the top, top full-backs can be real game-changers.


Personally I'm starting to think we ask too much from full-backs. Regarding Liverpool's situation this summer where we need at least a first-XI right-back, I think I'd be happy with a defensively solid RB. Like a poor man's Azpilicueta (I don't think he's very good going forward, but defensively he's great). If not, might as well turn Markovic into a right-back - and be ready to forgive him what ever defensive weaknesses he would show.

I wish full-backs were irrelevant when we had the likes of Andre Santos, Armand Traore and Justin Hoyte playing in our defence, making mistakes on a near game-by-game basis and putting our defence in trouble. Fact is, if it's an obvious weakness, then good teams will exploit it, and having other good defenders and keepers to bail the full-back out will only get a team so far.

Natalie Portman wrote:^ Yet Man Utd made the top 4 playing Valencia/McNair/Always injured Shaw as their fullbacks.

Says more about the standard of the premier league than anything tbh.

GoonerJay29 wrote:I wish full-backs were irrelevant when we had the likes of Andre Santos, Armand Traore and Justin Hoyte playing in our defence, making mistakes on a near game-by-game basis and putting our defence in trouble. Fact is, if it's an obvious weakness, then good teams will exploit it, and having other good defenders and keepers to bail the full-back out will only get a team so far.

You would have won the league still with a better keeper than Almunia or a DM better than Song when your teams came so close to winning.

A good keeper gives confidence to the entire backline, and a good attack gives confidence to the whole team. There is nothing worse than not knwoing where your next goal is gonna come from.

Hell, Pardew's Newcastle nearly fluked a top 4 finish with Ryan Taylor starting loads of games at Fullback.

Why ? Because they had Ba/Cisse banging in the goals and Krul had his best season that year.

Man Utd won loads of titles with JOS and Wes Brown as starting fullbacks.

Why ? Because they nearly always had 4 capable strikers who all had goals in them. Ferguson knew it's all about goals and a top keeper to win this league.

Keep talking about the premier league and it's awful quality

Impossible to win the CL without having top quality fullbacks though, hell even do well in it as City have shown. Their fullbacks constantly get exploited in Europe.

FB is one of the most fun positions tbh, I don't know why kids wouldn't like it. (referring to Mole's post on previous page)

El Gunner wrote:FB is one of the most fun positions tbh, I don't know why kids wouldn't like it. (referring to Mole's post on previous page)

There's a lot of hard work involved without much reward, you have to solid defensively while be one of the most important players in possession and provide an attacking outlet.

All that requires a lot of stamina, most would prefer other more glamour like positions.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

El Gunner wrote:FB is one of the most fun positions tbh, I don't know why kids wouldn't like it. (referring to Mole's post on previous page)

There's a lot of hard work involved without much reward, you have to solid defensively while be one of the most important players in possession and provide an attacking outlet.

All that requires a lot of stamina, most would prefer other more glamour like positions.

Okay fair enough.

Maybe it's because I run like Forrest Gump.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Keep talking about the premier league and it's awful quality

Impossible to win the CL without having top quality fullbacks though, hell even do well in it as City have shown. Their fullbacks constantly get exploited in Europe.

Winning CL

Just over the last decade, Djimi Traore, Jose Bosingwa, Ryan Bertrand, Jankuluvski, JOS/Wes Brown Oddo starting the final have won the CL.

As I said, you can always win with shit fullbacks if you get other key positions right and some luck, but you can barely ever win anything noteworthy without a good attack/backbone.

Traore withstanding all those were good players at one point and Bertrand didn't even play fullback that night he played LW

Fullbacks are extremely important, not only because it's easy to exploit a defense by pulling shit ones around. But because they allow a team to have much better build up play and sustain attacks longer than if their fullback isn't good on the ball.

Not to mention it just gives another option in attack, the amount of times a good team scores from a defense being suckered in and the fullback overlaps and scores or creates isn't a coincidence.

It's extremely important, otherwise the best teams wouldn't spend 20m + on quality players and just buy Danny Simpson clones. You are just upset that Liverpool have bought shite there for the majority of our life time.

full back gotta be most nitpicked pose by fans

u need to be technically good, defensively, and nowadays offensively to satisfy fans.
then u gotta be good physically
and finally decision making/positioning

players like marcelo and alaba gave almost 200% of efficiency on both ends every night, yet they dont get enough recognition. and often get blamed for positional 'error'.

Marcelo is ridiculously good going forward, he would be a winger in most teams. It's not just his dribbling, but he's quite creative as well.

I think a lot more risks have to be taken when buying a FB. Most won't move from a top club so you have to buy from smaller clubs.

So it looks like there is a lack of quality as a lot of better FB's are playing at smaller clubs.

Also, the quality of the FB depends a lot on the quality of the CB's they play with, much like all defenders.

which kid growing up wants to be the best fullback?

the best fullback could make a great winger as-well.. so they'll opt for the higher paying role and the one that gets more credit as-well.

Donuts wrote:which kid growing up wants to be the best fullback?

the best fullback could make a great winger as-well.. so they'll opt for the higher paying role and the one that gets more credit as-well.

I disagree, it depends entirely on the person.

Someone like Azpilicueta would care if he became a winger or a FB. He is the kind of guy who just wants to play.

Someone like Marcelo would much rather be a winger, imo.

I think FB is a position were you can (for the most part) only fail. Generally people only notice you if you aren't doing what you are supposed to.

Just don't get ripped apart by opposing team wingers, and be semi competent at whipping in a decent cross every now and then and you'll likely keep your job and start every week.