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Serge Aurier

When he plays well he's a very good FB but as ever it's the consistency that lets him down. He doesn't dive in anywhere near as much as he used to for instance and his crossing has been much better this season. I actually thought he played well yesterday and was unlucy for the penalty.

Even though this is his 3rd season he's had injuries and Poch used to rotate at FB a lot, how many times has he played 5 games on the spin for instance to get some proper form and momentum.

That is how i saw it as well, i think a few fans had made up there minds about Aurier when he first game and ignore the fact that he has improved his game since then.
 
That is how i saw it as well, i think a few fans had made up there minds about Aurier when he first game and ignore the fact that he has improved his game since then.
He really hasn't. He's nearly 28 and looks exactly the same player as when we bought him and exactly the same player he was at PSG.

He lacks the ability to learn and that's equally demonstrated on the field, where he lacks any football intelligence whatsoever.

Edit: I don't blame him for yesterday's penalty though...blindsided by Mane...just unlucky
 
He really hasn't. He's nearly 28 and looks exactly the same player as when we bought him and exactly the same player he was at PSG.

He lacks the ability to learn and that's equally demonstrated on the field, where he lacks any football intelligence whatsoever.

Edit: I don't blame him for yesterday's penalty though...blindsided by Mane...just unlucky

Well as we say Stop! Hammer time and i have seen a improvement in him. I am not suggesting that we should not look for a replacement but as i say some times fans memories are fixed on first sightings, remember all the fuss about his foul throws? when in all honesty there are many in most games now and the refs hardly pick up on then.
 
Still hasn’t cut out the errors that we all saw in his PSG highlight reels even after 2 full seasons under Pochettino plus Aurier turns 27 in a few weeks time so is probably too old to change his ways.


I guess one of the under rated benefits of Serge getting himself sent off for brain farts so often is that it reduces the amount of penalties he concedes.
 
Feel bad for Aurier. He has to live with the guilt of being involved in that challenge, without the same sympathy as Son.

Thought he played well - good positioning & better concentration than in the past.
Lot of Twitter accounts have wrapped him up in the incident. Hopefully MOTD and other media outlets will clear up.
 
Was an odd signing thinking about it, he came with baggage and a history but we still signed him.

Forget how he actually plays, his signing signified us doing things differently and not going for players with character.
 
Anyone wanna fill us in on Aurier's anti Poch line in this article


This guy has some fudging nerve. Aurier, I mean.

Poch basically fudges KWP's career into the ground to play this utterly useless macaron, and he complains.

Who the f*ck does he think he is, Roberto Carlos? He's a fifth-rate League One level right-back who gives away a penalty every game. Poch not selecting him was a mercy to keep people from realising how permanently macaronic his 'defending' is.
 
Was an odd signing thinking about it, he came with baggage and a history but we still signed him.

Forget how he actually plays, his signing signified us doing things differently and not going for players with character.

It was a desperation signing … Poch has no system that doesn't have athletic FB's overcommitting to attack as his midfields have no width.

So instead of adapting, we are forced to either shoehorn players that can't do it into the system or go after a very small target group (can't be picky)
 
Which successful teams don't play with attacking full backs atm?

I'm sure there are a few (otherwise quality FBs would be plentiful)

But to put a finer point on it, yes in the modern game FBs are expected to contribute, the issue is when you expect them to be the only source of width and the biggest part of your creativity. City uses Walker as example but they have lots of creativity in midfield and lots of AMs that can play wide and add pace/attack, so Walker is more the overload vs. the focus.
 
I'm sure there are a few (otherwise quality FBs would be plentiful)

But to put a finer point on it, yes in the modern game FBs are expected to contribute, the issue is when you expect them to be the only source of width and the biggest part of your creativity. City uses Walker as example but they have lots of creativity in midfield and lots of AMs that can play wide and add pace/attack, so Walker is more the overload vs. the focus.

If Harry Kane became golden Boot winner two seasons in a row in the back of walker and Rose created chances then he's the greatest sportsman that has ever lived.
We have never relied on our fbs for creating chances.
 
If Harry Kane became golden Boot winner two seasons in a row in the back of walker and Rose created chances then he's the greatest sportsman that has ever lived.
We have never relied on our fbs for creating chances.

Sometimes I don't know if people on this board are just fudging with me, I'll assume you are not.

- Walker, Rose, Trippier, Davies and even Aurier put in a fair amount of crosses
- They also provide width and thereby space in the center.

To put more detail on it

- They add width, that causes the defenders to be pulled wider, which in turn gives the center more space for the attacking players to run into and time and space for the true danger (Eriksen)
- Add an overlap player like Son or Lamela working with the FB, you might pull 2 or 3 opposition players out to cover
- The FB's need to make a cross (actually doesn't really matter if it's great), because its the threat of the cross that makes the opposition close down, and if they don't, even the worse crosser can put in a decent ball with time and space.
- It also means the opposition sees the assist (i.e. creativity) coming from more than one space, both wide and center, so harder to nullify

That's the basics of Poch's system (when it works)

- The FB's provide width, and combined with an inverted AM/winger an alternative option for crossing/passes into and around box
- This supports the high press and also creates space and time for the most dangerous players in the side, as well as space for AMs to run into.
- This is protected by a DM who either falls back or moves wide to cover the space vacated

If the FB's don't threaten or get wide enough, then the opposition doesn't need to cover them, and can sit back and be narrow, pressure Eriksen and close the space for Kane and whatever combination of Son, Dele, etc.

So no, Walker & Rose didn't create all the chances for Kane's golden boot (Trippier I believe has had 4 assists in 1 game, so it does sometimes happen), but by creating width and providing a second and third threat made it much more difficult for the opposition to nullify all creativity in the side.
 
I'm sure there are a few (otherwise quality FBs would be plentiful)

But to put a finer point on it, yes in the modern game FBs are expected to contribute, the issue is when you expect them to be the only source of width and the biggest part of your creativity. City uses Walker as example but they have lots of creativity in midfield and lots of AMs that can play wide and add pace/attack, so Walker is more the overload vs. the focus.

I'm not fudging with anyone, it's your words mate.
Maybe the mental gymnastics you are using to prove an unprovable point are catching up with you.
 
I'm not fudging with anyone, it's your words mate.
Maybe the mental gymnastics you are using to prove an unprovable point are catching up with you.

3 creative points in entire side, CM (one player), LB, RB (so two thirds?)

You chose to interpret that as most effective or best creators, I have simply explained why the FBs as a creative option in the setup Poch uses is not only critical but the biggest part (it's super simple to stifle a single CM in midfield)

What role do you think the FB's provide for Poch? defense?
 
I'm sure there are a few (otherwise quality FBs would be plentiful)

But to put a finer point on it, yes in the modern game FBs are expected to contribute, the issue is when you expect them to be the only source of width and the biggest part of your creativity. City uses Walker as example but they have lots of creativity in midfield and lots of AMs that can play wide and add pace/attack, so Walker is more the overload vs. the focus.

I would say if you look back at how we played when Walker and Rose were here and on their game they too were used as overload as we had the DESK attack with all rotating positions across the full width of the attacking third - not at Citys level but similar approach. Im pretty certain if you gave Guardiola full backs not up to his game plan they would become much easier to defend and score against. And he would make it a high priority to get the ones he needed in future windows - they've probably spent more money on fullbacks than any other position in their team which would show how important the position is to their game.

You can't just say oh well find another way of playing, with inferior full backs and maintain the same level of performance and expect that to be taken as a valid opinion
 
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