Ex-Player Watch Player Watch: Kyle Walker

[Bus-Conductor]

Just out of interest, is there anyone that actually believes Trippier isn't at least slightly better than Walker when going forward ?

I mean, I keep reading from his fans that "Walker's miles better than Trippier" but do any of you actually really think Walker is better in forward areas ?

Ignoring the defensive aspect for a minute.

 

[E17yid]

Firstly, it hasn't been consistent, he didn't even play all the qualifying or tournament games of the last tournament and none of the last World Cup. It doesn't automatically make him the best in the country, it might make him the best English player in his position in the country at best, and that is why it's moot, because being that doesn't automatically make him great, and as we've seen for 6 years before Poch got here and plenty of games since, he isn't always great.

With regards to Trippier, why don't we see how that pans out if he's actually given a consistent run of games for us, because I have a feeling he may start challenging Walker for the England place that Clyne (and that's how moot being England number one is right now) has been challenging him for for the last couple of years.

If Guardiola's after him then it's because, like a lot of people, he rates him as one of the best RB's in this league, a player who he thinks will be able to play in his system, and that's fine, I can understand that, doesn't mean it alters my opinion that Walker has flaws and that I believe in Trippier we have a player who is perfectly capable of performing as well as Walker, and in KWP we have a player who will one day be better.

Walker may work out well for Gaurdiola, he's done well for Poch, but that doesn't mean him leaving us will be a disaster because I don't think Gaurdiola will eradicate all his flaws either and I think 50m + Trippier + KWP means we could well end up ahead on the deal.

He's the best in the league as well though which essentially means he's one of the top right backs in the world so maybe you're right, when you look at the fact he's the best RB in the league the fact he's England's number 1 is moot, though personally speaking I think regardless of how poorly England play as a team they still have some of the best players in the world (namely our boys Kane, Alli, Rose etc etc)

I don't know how's it's going to pan out, obviously I hope you're right and we don't notice it but even if that turns out to be true (a big if) then it still doesn't solve the issue that we're massively strengthening a rival. For me I'd tell him he isn't going to any prem rival and whore him out to Bayern, PSG or whoever and if he didn't like that I'd nut him.

 

[razzmaster]

Walker provides more energy and occupies the left back due to his pace but technically Trippier is streets ahead of Walker with both his passing and crossing ability. In a back 4 I would feel safer with Walker as he is generally pretty solid defensively but as a wing back I think Trippier offers more in an attacking sense. I also think that KWP offers far more attacking threat than both of them but only time will tell whether he can make the step up to senior football.

 

[diamond lights]

Now it's fucking UTD. Fucks sake. Why don't we get Arsenal and Chelsea involved see who he prefers. We could get a bidding war on the go.

Joking aside, I wouldn't even be happy if we got £70m for him and we're not getting that, obviously.

If all the ITK is correct and he goes up north we'll deal at around £50m which would be heartbreaking. I just hope he's shit for city and Trippier improves being the new number 1 but it's more likely that City will win the league and we'll be worse off.

Step back and think about it.

£50 mill for Kyle Walker... £50 million!! That's fantastic business. He's a good player (very good athlete) that we picked up for a few million and Poch made him into a better player but what we could add to the team for that money we'd be mad to turn it down.

Not saying we should just sell players if we get silly money but if the ITK is correct he's the one driving this. An unhappy player that thinks he should be elsewhere making more money or £50 mill to improve the squad. No brainer for me.

 

[Spurrific]

How can he be gone if we haven't agreed a fee?

I imagine it's just a random percentage that Ali Z has plucked out of the sky. He definitely is not 90% gone, you don't have to be ITK to know that. 90% gone would be him waiting to do a medical. I don't believe for a second that a fee has been agreed, nor that Walker has been given permission to talk to them, nor has he passed a medical. I'd guess that Walker's people have agreed a salary in principle at most.

 

[lennonslaces]

I think if we do flog him to a rival it will drag out until the end of the Window

 

[E17yid]

Just out of interest, is there anyone that actually believes Trippier isn't at least slightly better than Walker when going forward ?

I mean, I keep reading from his fans that "Walker's miles better than Trippier" but do any of you actually really think Walker is better in forward areas ?

Ignoring the defensive aspect for a minute.

Firstly while I concede Trippiers crossing is slightly better than Walker I think it's greatly overstated.

I like Trippier, I think he's decent but people mug off Walker with this he's just an athlete not a footballer bollocks totalling ignoring that for your modern day full back being a beast is a large part of being successful. Trippier hasn't got the the natural attributes to get himself in the creative, attacking positions that Walker does. He lacks the speed, the engine, the physicality to beat a man with the ease Walker does this is why you see Trippier putting balls in from deep and not beating his man to do a fast, Azza blud pull back pass across the face of goal coz he literally can't do it.

Walker has shown this season that he can put a decent cross in from deep, like Trippier, but he can also mix it up and run beyond. Defensively speaking I think Walker is considerably better. Like I say though, I like Trippier and hope he has another level or 2 but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[E17yid]

Step back and think about it.

£50 mill for Kyle Walker... £50 million!! That's fantastic business. He's a good player (very good athlete) that we picked up for a few million and Poch made him into a better player but what we could add to the team for that money we'd be mad to turn it down.

Not saying we should just sell players if we get silly money but if the ITK is correct he's the one driving this. An unhappy player that thinks he should be elsewhere making more money or £50 mill to improve the squad. No brainer for me.

I'd rather sell to Bayern for a tenner.

 

[Blake Griffin]

I'd rather sell to Bayern for a tenner.

if the club consider him expendable then i don't really see the big deal in "strengthening a rival", city will strengthen that position regardless so why not benefit from it ourselves in the process ..

 

[E17yid]

if the club consider him expendable then i don't really see the big deal in "strengthening a rival", city will strengthen that position regardless so why not benefit from it ourselves in the process ..

Let them take a punt on someone expensive and untested in the league then. Don't give them the current best RB and let him slot in easy as you like.

 

[dirtyh]

I think if we do flog him to a rival it will drag out until the end of the Window

and absolutely right if he's gone. Make them wait and make them both miss a preseason so he's playing catch-up while we bed in his replacement.

 

[BillyWhizz]

Just out of interest, is there anyone that actually believes Trippier isn't at least slightly better than Walker when going forward ?

I mean, I keep reading from his fans that "Walker's miles better than Trippier" but do any of you actually really think Walker is better in forward areas ?

Ignoring the defensive aspect for a minute.

Trippier all day long for me. If Walker wasn't really really fast I don't think he'd have made it as a Premiership footballer.

 

[raggy]

Those who say he's the best RB in the league does that mean much at the moment?

Right-back is probably at the top of the transfer needs for United, City and Chelsea maybe even Arsenal and Liverpool as well as Clyne and Bellerin are both overrated. It's a position that isn't really stocked with much quality at all in the Premier League.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

there are some rassclarts who can't ignore that he's the best in the league so now they're trying to spin it that we won't miss him.

The logic in this statement is so faulty it undermines your entire post.

 

[Spurrific]

Trippier all day long for me. If Walker wasn't really really fast I don't think he'd have made it as a Premiership footballer.

If Kane wasn't a really good finisher, I don't think he'd have made it as one either.

It isn't just speed that Walker has over Trippier. That's revisionist bollocks that's coming out as a result of a load of posters feeling like they've been cheated on by him.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Firstly while I concede Trippiers crossing is slightly better than Walker I think it's greatly overstated.

I like Trippier, I think he's decent but people mug off Walker with this he's just an athlete not a footballer bollocks totalling ignoring that for your modern day full back being a beast is a large part of being successful. Trippier hasn't got the the natural attributes to get himself in the creative, attacking positions that Walker does. He lacks the speed, the engine, the physicality to beat a man with the ease Walker does this is why you see Trippier putting balls in from deep and not beating his man to do a fast, Azza blud pull back pass across the face of goal coz he literally can't do it.

Walker has shown this season that he can put a decent cross in from deep, like Trippier, but he can also mix it up and run beyond. Defensively speaking I think Walker is considerably better. Like I say though, I like Trippier and hope he has another level or 2 but I'm not holding my breath.

Saying Trippier lacks speed and engine to get himself into attacking positions is sillier than what you are saying people are saying about Walker. He clearly does have decent pace and a good engine because with us, and before us at Burnley he's continually posted some better offensive numbers than Walker - he couldn't do this if he couldn't get into attacking positions. I've posted some stats, @jair1970 (who runs Statsbomb - and football analytics website) posted something today along the same.

Nobody is claiming all Walker is is just an athlete, but quite a few think that that is a major part of what makes him what he is, he doesn't read the game very well, he's not very intelligent, he doesn't think quickly, he doesn't trust his technique under pressure often (evidenced by his reluctance to play first time balls), he does stupid things sometimes either under pressure or under no pressure at all. But we all acknowledge that he also does some good things too. But I personally would rather rely on a player who's a little bit less sick than Walker but who has a quicker brain and slightly more reliable technique, (as long as he's not Corluka slow) than I would a player who is heavily reliant on his pace, because that will go.

Just a an example - How many times does Walker make really stupid throw-ins to no-one - he did it again and again against west Ham. Watch who initiated our first goal against Arsenal with a quick bit of thinking from a throw. Trippier. So for me, there's some swings and roundabouts. I'm not denying that Walker's pace and his physique are good defensive attributes, but Trippier's brain is also a good attribute.

I happen to think that if people like Smith or Soares (Southampton) had been here for the last 3 years, we'd probably be talking about them as we are Walker and Rose (remember what we thought of the pair of them before Poch and this team got it's shit together). As much as they have contributed to the team, Poch and the team have contributed to making them better and look better too.

 

[shelfmonkey]

Step back and think about it.

£50 mill for Kyle Walker... £50 million!! That's fantastic business. He's a good player (very good athlete) that we picked up for a few million and Poch made him into a better player but what we could add to the team for that money we'd be mad to turn it down.

Not saying we should just sell players if we get silly money but if the ITK is correct he's the one driving this. An unhappy player that thinks he should be elsewhere making more money or £50 mill to improve the squad. No brain for me.

Like it

 

[For the love of Spurs]

Saying Trippier lacks speed and engine to get himself into attacking positions is sillier than what you are saying people are saying about Walker. He clearly does have decent pace and a good engine because with us, and before us at Burnley he's continually posted some better offensive numbers than Walker - he couldn't do this if he couldn't get into attacking positions. I've posted some stats, @jair1970 (who runs Statsbomb - and football analytics website) posted something today along the same.

Nobody is claiming all Walker is is just an athlete, but quite a few think that that is a major part of what makes him what he is, he doesn't read the game very well, he's not very intelligent, he doesn't think quickly, he doesn't trust his technique under pressure often (evidenced by his reluctance to play first time balls), he does stupid things sometimes either under pressure or under no pressure at all. But we all acknowledge that he also does some good things too. But I personally would rather rely on a player who's a little bit less sick than Walker but who has a quicker brain and slightly more reliable technique, (as long as he's not Corluka slow) than I would a player who is heavily reliant on his pace, because that will go.

Just a an example - How many times does Walker make really stupid throw-ins to no-one - he did it again and again against west Ham. Watch who initiated our first goal against Arsenal with a quick bit of thinking from a throw. Trippier. So for me, there's some swings and roundabouts. I'm not denying that Walker's pace and his physique are good defensive attributes, but Trippier's brain is also a good attribute.

I happen to think that if people like Smith or Soares (Southampton) had been here for the last 3 years, we'd probably be talking about them as we are Walker and Rose (remember what we thought of the pair of them before Poch and this team got it's shit together). As much as they have contributed to the team, Poch and the team have contributed to making them better and look better too.

Regardless of who we have Poch is immense at improving full backs. Shaw was the best in the country under Poch, Rose is the best now. I'd rather not sell walker to a rival and flog him abroad but the world won't end if we lose Walker.

 

[shelfmonkey]

If he does decide to go to Citeh, it will be fun watching him sprint off zig zagging all over the country until finally bumps into Manchester.

 

[longtimespur]

If Poch thinks Walker is at his peak and doesn't think he can improve him then let him leave. If this is the best he can become then he's at his best and we'll never get a better reward from selling him. Especially if his head has been turned.
It seems to me that Trippier is improving game on game and KWP appears to be strongly in Poch's mind. These two are better for the future of our club and Poch has already stated we're farther ahead than where he thought we would be now.
Thus we are still building and progressing which we would struggle to do with a player already at his best.
Just my twopenneth on things