Walker

[Betts]

I think he's been playing very well lately. I know he sometimes gives away a silly foul or has a moment where he makes a silly pass, but mostly, he's solid.

The way he runs up and down the right side constantly does not get recognised enough. If (as usual ) Townsend cuts in, Walker will almost always be giving him the overlap and taking a player with him. It's this, off the ball, work that is not recognised enough.

 

[onthetwo]

Agree, much better recently.

 

[fortworthspur]

He's been great. I know people have been critical of what he contributes going forward, but if you are relying on a bit of magic from your fullback to win games you've got bigger problems than the fullback.

 

[double0]

Walker has been very good. People are not recognising his good work and constantly dwell on the odd minor mistake that happens few and far between.

 

[jamesc0le]

walker is one of the biggest problems in this system

 

[Legend10]

walker is one of the biggest problems in this system

Rubbish

 

[Betts]

walker is one of the biggest problems in this system

Why?

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

walker is one of the biggest problems in this system

Walker is one of the players we have that could genuinely thrive in this system. As long as he can learn how to cross.

In response to the op: Running up and down the right does not translate to good performances. However, he has improved. Haven't seen him get skinned in a while.

 

[Betts]

Walker is one of the players we have that could genuinely thrive in this system. As long as he can learn how to cross.

In response to the op: Running up and down the right does not translate to good performances. However, he has improved. Haven't seen him get skinned in a while.

It doesn't translate into a good performance, but it makes up a part of one. Off the ball work is not given enough credit. He draws a man with him and is one of the only players who actually widens the pitch, particularly with us playing an inverted wingers system.

 

[jamesc0le]

learn how to cross? any player with experience of playing on a flank can cross. he has to learn, subtlety, composure, how to change up and down gears, incisiveness and so on. he needs to develop a footballing brain, if we had two classy fullbacks, like corluka but faster, we'd be ok. add the option of a bigger striker or a big attacking mid to support soldado/defoe , we could be flying. we could do with more options, sure , but the main ingredients need to be in place before we should consider adding more options.

 

[Dr Know]

Hit and miss IMO

 

[Gedson100]

Having just watched Sagna ping in a set of beautiful crosses that nobody could finish, I think it's fair to say that this is something Walker could add to his game, especially since he seems to fancy himself as a dead ball specialist

 

[Legend10]

learn how to cross? any player with experience of playing on a flank can cross. he has to learn, subtlety, composure, how to change up and down gears, incisiveness and so on. he needs to develop a footballing brain, if we had two classy fullbacks, like corluka but faster, we'd be ok. add the option of a bigger striker or a big attacking mid to support soldado/defoe , we could be flying. we could do with more options, sure , but the main ingredients need to be in place before we should consider adding more options.

More rubbish

 

[ILS]

Walker is not the problem on the right it's the overrated predictable idiot in front of him that is the issue.

 

[L-man]

I'm far from Walkers biggest fan but he's been decent for the last few games. But you just know there's a huge mistake waiting to happen followed by some more poor form

 

[Vulcan10]

He was excellent today. In my opinion the criticism of walker stems from unrealistic expectation. When he first came through & was being linked with Real Madrid etc we thought we had a mega star on our hands so every mistake has been over criticised. He's not perfect and is still learning but I can't think of any right back that I would swap him for.
I also think he is due a bit of love & confidence boost from the fans. He doesn't have a song that I can think of yet new signings like holtby then eriksen etc do.

 

[muppetman]

I thought he got turned a couple of times today. However, I really rate him and think he is one of the players that genuinely fits the system. If we had a similar player at left back we'd be a happier bunch IMO.

 

[balalasaurus]

learn how to cross? any player with experience of playing on a flank can cross. he has to learn, subtlety, composure, how to change up and down gears, incisiveness and so on. he needs to develop a footballing brain, if we had two classy fullbacks, like corluka but faster, we'd be ok. add the option of a bigger striker or a big attacking mid to support soldado/defoe , we could be flying. we could do with more options, sure , but the main ingredients need to be in place before we should consider adding more options.

Give him time. His game is improving every time we see him play - I for one am happy with the progress he's been making with his set pieces (has it been 3 or 4 free kicks on target in the last few games from him?). Add the fact that he's young and we might just be looking at England's future rightback for some time. To go from playing with Lennon for most of his time in the first XI, then learning Townsends play and then Lamela's is no mean feat yet it's a challenge he's proving to take on with aplomb. Granted he's not the finished article but I'd rather have a player we can mould and help grow than a player who for all intents and purposes would be beyond our reach (I don't see any Lahm type players rushing to sign for us). Let's work with what we have instead of looking elsewhere. Past experience has shown us that our coaches know what they're doing. Just ask Modric and Bale.

 

[Dare]

For me he's one of the first names on the team sheet.

 

[dagraham]

I haven't been Walkers biggesr fan but credit to him I think his defending has improved. He seems to have improved his positioning and concentration.

I just wish he'd work on the attacking side of his game. It's not enough to just use his pace to bomb down the line.

He needs to be more disciplined in timing his overlapping runs and more importantly he needs to work on his crossing. As someone else said, he should watch Sagna's performance or watch Baines to see how to put in an effective attacking full back performance.