Thread by @babuyagu

I read a lot of daft shit about Trent on here. Most of it is just entirely subjective nonsense about him not being better than a certain player because he isn't a good defender. It's a vague, nebulous statement which means it can't really be measured thus it is only

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possible to counter it with the opposite opinion. Then you just have two intrenched people shouting their opinions at each other and it goes nowhere. A waste of time.

But sometimes I wake up to find someone in my mentions saying something so daft that you just have to push back

Today is such a day with me being told Trent lacks the basics of defending.

He was an ever-present in a side that conceded just 22 goals in a season despite not knowing the basics of defending. A side that also conceded the fewest goals last season.

https://twitter.com/ninadchilap/status/1394497953885159430

A guy that put in a man of the match performance in the Champions League at the Etihad when he was still a teenager playing against peak Leroy Sane who scared every player he faced shitless.

A guy that put in man of the match up against Neymar

Sure, these are one-off games but it is important to understand that if you lack the basics of defending, that is a problem EVERY game. A top winger like Sane or Neymar will make you look like a muppet

for a full 90 minutes because you lack the tools to prevent them from doing so.

So why did he say it? Simple, to sound smart. I believe he couldn't tell you the basics of defending if you asked him. It just sounds clever and diminishing enough in equal

https://twitter.com/ninadchilap/status/1394497953885159430

measure while also being so vague nobody can really pick it to pieces. You can't really counter it because he hasn't really provided any insight. Or examples. Or data. It is nothing, essentially. A throwaway comment that someone who has reached the very top in his professional

praised by his peers from the likes of Cafu to Rio Ferdinand... yet this guy thinks he doesn't even know the basics of defending. Sure.

Not convinced it is a shitpost with no basis on reality? How about this? Did you watch the WBA game? Is this true?

https://twitter.com/ninadchilap/status/1394553017999888387

Because either his judgement is so woefully bad that he doesn't know right from left, or he is full of shit and never watched this game. Because it all came down our left. Diangana got absolutely nothing out of him, didn't beat him once all game, and had to be replaced.

Here is the cross map from the game. See how all those crosses are coming in from in front of the full back on our right. Why? Couldn't get past him.

Two of those are freekicks. btw. The other two came in the 2nd half half having given up on the idea of beating him.

They spent the whole first half trying to get past him on that side and didn't manage it once, didn't even get a cross from that side of the pitch. But yeah - it ALL came down that side right? Bullshit. You either didn't watch the game or have no idea what you are talking about.

I am not sure which is worse from an analysis point of view - straight up lying or utter incompetance.

Oh you want more? Okay here is the shot map of the game. All those shots in the box bar that cluster of 3 at the bottom are set pieces. Those 3 at the bottom including the goal

came from attacking the space behind the central defender on the other side. i.e Not Trent's side. But you watched the game so you know that right? My balls you did.

Still more? How about this that shows which side of the pitch each time predominantly progressed the ball.

For those like Ninad that don't know right from left it is helpfully labelled here. Reminder - that 25% on the left is Trent's side of the pitch.

Definitely watched the game though. Doesn't just make stuff up to sound smart on twitter.

You want more? Unreal. Okay then.

Here he mentioned 1v1 defending which is thankfully something we can measure. Thankfully @el_mansfield already did so yesterday when disembowelling some other moronic opinions on this bird app.

https://twitter.com/ninadchilap/status/1394626492756230150

You going to sit there in your big boy pants and tell me the guy who succeeds in 1v1s more than the other top RBs is poor in 1v1s... likely down to him not understanding the basics of defending. Get the fuck outta here with that.

https://twitter.com/el_mansfield/status/1394295146645127168

I know you want more. So here is @james_a_leonard (follow him, his visuals are clean) comparing English full backs offensively and defensively.

https://twitter.com/james_a_leonard/status/1394630195492098053

https://twitter.com/james_a_leonard/status/1394630206808371200

https://twitter.com/james_a_leonard/status/1394630214571933697

https://twitter.com/james_a_leonard/status/1394630222650171396

Here is the thing everyone misses when assessing the game - everyone has a blueprint in their head of what a position is. For Hodgson, a full back is defensive. Tucking into the box as a CB at the back post, the wingers mostly go out and press the opposition wide players.

And for a lot of people in England, that is how they view a full back. Which is why for those people Roberto Carlos is not a full back. Hodgson even said that to the face of one of the greatest fullbacks that has ever played the game. Carlos told him he doesnt understand football

In Brazil (and similar in a lot of european countries) they are 'lateral'. There is no indication of depth in that description unlike in English with 'fully back'. It just means width. The role is to dominate that whole flank. And Carlos did that in spades. He could pin back two

opposition players on his own in games. He was an absolute fucking beast. However, he isn't someone you want tucking in back post on crosses as a 3rd CB.

Whatever YOUR football blueprint is in your head will dictate how you rate footballers for suitability to their position.

Of course, if like Ninad you just make up evidence, make vague nebulous statements to denigrate players and pretend you watch games you didn't - how you rate footballers is irrelevant.

Oh and I hope Ninad does better explaining 'the basics' than the last guy

Oh one last thing, anybody who has played as a full back will know the more aggressive you need to play the harder it is to defend.

If you are compact in a low block there is almost no space for the forward to beat you and go anywhere with the ball. And usually there is

more than one of you and backup close behind as you are compact and deep. It is pretty easy to defend in such situations compared to when you are a full back part of a counter press where you have to charge at the opponent once you lose the ball. It is MUCH easier to beat someone

sprinting at you because of momentum. It is why the success rates for dribbling diminishes very quickly the higher up the pitch you go with the ball. So beating players around in your own half often has ~80% success rates (hence why DMs have HIGH numbers).

Whereas beating players in the opponents box is much lower - less than half that.

AWB has a 65% success rate dribbling in his career. Messi is 61%.

Is there anybody dense enough to think AWB is a better dribbler than Messi? No, of course not.

It's just that where AWB is dribbling past people charging at him to press is easier than Messi trying to unpick a low block.

And the same is true for the defender. If you are a defender in a low block your defensive numbers will be better than someone who is in a counter press.

This nonsense that Trent is a 'systems player' is daft for that reason, his job is actually FAR harder for Liverpool because the demands on their full-backs are much higher than most other teams. They are part of the counter-press rather than staying behind the ball.

Here is how it works. You can find clips of those 24 times Trent was dribbled past, make a comp of them to some clown music and then 'prove' his is a defensive liability.

Then take whose 21 times AWB won a tackle 1v1, make a comp of them, to prove he is a beast 1v1.

And that is what a lot of analysis is. Start with a conclusion or media narrative, then search for any data or clips to prove it is true. It is cherry-picking and confirmation bias.

When Reece James made a mistake recently, or AWB today - those are 'uncharacteristic'. 'Rare mistake'. An 'off day'. Because they don't agree with the narrative and their cognitive dissonance is screaming to either ignore it or downplay it.

When any goal comes down LIverpool's right side, it is proof that he can't defend. Someone used Mount's goal against LIverpool as such an example.

Confirmation bias and cherry picking once again.