Is Alberto Moreno absolute rubbish?

[Ryan]

I'm undecided.

His touch is good, he's lightning quick, and there's some decent attributes there.

But for the most part his pace is bailing him out of problems. He looks like he's seriously never been taught how to play the game. I'd go so far as to say he's the rawest player in the entire squad. He's got absolutely no idea where to position himself, where to run, or how to properly join in the play.

Some of that is coach-able I guess.

He's pretty fucking ordinary though. Especially for what we paid.

 

[gkmacca]

Yes. He's one of the most confusing players I've seen in ages. He certainly very raw, but every time I feel on the verge of dismissing him he does something that makes me think again. I suppose what worries me most is he seems a bit thick. As you say, he needs to learn a hell of a lot of lessons so he really needs to show he's capable of absorbing them.

 

[jexykrodic]

His right foot is definitely.

 

[Pesam]

He's rubbish as a left back but in a 4-4-2 formation he'd make a decent left midfielder. Left-wing back in a 3-5-2 still leaves us too vulnerable to his defensive lapses.

 

[ILD]

I don't know what to make of him at all. He is always available to receive the ball but often breaks down a lot of our attacks. I agree with macca that Moreno has a habit of redeeming himself with a great run or tackle quickly after he's made a mistake. I suppose his second season will tell us a lot more about his future here.
On a side note, he seems very popular with the other players.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

We bought him at roughly the same age as Henderson, for less money. I reckon we've seen more positives from him than we saw from Henderson in his first season.

I think we ended up playing him a lot more than intended due to injuries to Enrique, Flanagan and Johnson.

He's definitely raw, but I'm hoping to see a lot more from him next season, most of what he's missing can be coached, so hopefully he'll listen and learn.

 

[keniget]

I think it's fair to say that for 12M you'd want someone a little more polished but there is at least potential there.

I'm not as bothered about his positional play if his pace can bail him out - Jordi Alba is a great example of someone who can be caught up the field and still recover the situation because of his pace (he's got to be one of the fastest players in the game) . The difference is that Alba is quicker and better at making those recovery challenges (and well, just a better player all round). Alba needs to be his role model.

For me, the first things I want to see Moreno improve upon is one on one defending and making better decisions in attack.

 

[hmmmmm1]

The Spanish Kieran Gibbs

 

[cloggypop]

He's done a lot more than Manquillo who seems to be more popular for some reason.

 

[cloggypop]

We should defo give him shorter players to mark at set pieces.

 

[gkmacca]

We've established a new tradition in recent years - in fact all the way back to Roy Evans' era - of having left backs who look like they'd maybe be better, or at least less of a liability, pushed further up the field.

 

[Glen C]

Every time i watch him play all i keep thinking is "when is flanno back".

 

[Leo]

The positioning for Mata's goal was just about the most idiotic piece of defending all season.
I don't think he's very good going forward either.
He's been pretty pointless all and all.
I'd play Lazar in his his position for the rest of the season.

 

[Mystic]

He's not there yet, but he's got age on his side, and I think he'll improve substantially. He's got some of the basic makings of a very good full back, he just needs a bit more of a brain.

 

[mark1975]

It's hard to tell isn't it? Being technically able is great, the raw attributes are there because he's quick and "can" be powerful, but he's also incredibly indecisive, poor positionally and his forward play makes Stig Bjornebye look like Messi.

 

[mark1975]

The positioning for Mata's goal was just about the most idiotic piece of defending all season.
I don't think he's very good going forward either.
He's been pretty pointless all and all.
I'd play Lazar in his his position for the rest of the season.

Lazar's not much better, unless the opposition are going to be content letting him boot the ball into space to run after.

 

[Leo]

Lazar's not much better, unless the opposition are going to be content letting him boot the ball into space to run after.

He's looked slightly better when played on the left hand side though.
He's probably as good as Moreno is right now defensively so I'd be willing to experiment in the last few games.

 

[mark1975]

PS, Bertrand looks good of late.

 

[Judge Jules]

He never was half as bad as some made out when we were linked with him.

 

[mark1975]

He never was half as bad as some made out when we were linked with him.

Who's the lad who plays at Villa too?

 

[gkmacca]

There's also Andrew Robertson at Hull. If they go down he might be worth considering.

 

[Judge Jules]

Not sure, mark. You thinking of Joe Bennett, the guy they got from Boro?

Incidentally I'm not giving up on Moreno. He does have a lot to learn, but the raw material is there IMHO.

 

[Skullflower]

moreno is worth less than half what we paid. as usual.

 

[Leo]

Creswell whom West Ham signed from Ipswich looks a top left back.

 

[Glen C]

PS, Bertrand looks good of late.

When you play 2 banks of 4 most defenders look good....look at Lovren last season.

 

[mark1975]

When you play 2 banks of 4 most defenders look good....look at Lovren last season.

True that, particularly of centre backs, he's looked decent though. Like JJ said, he wasn't half as bad as people made out anyway.

 

[gkmacca]

Robertson fits Rodgers' style pretty neatly - very fast and attack-minded, but reasonably solid and strong as a defender. I would have thought he'd be fairly high on any list.

 

[Pesam]

Not sure, mark. You thinking of Joe Bennett, the guy they got from Boro?

Incidentally I'm not giving up on Moreno. He does have a lot to learn, but the raw material is there IMHO.

I think he got the right man JJ, Robertson has a lot more potential than Bennett.

Regarding Cresswell at West Ham; I haven't seen too much of him this season but saw him many times last season at Ipswich and I'm not sure about him. He had loads of assists last season (and I think he's doing well again with assists/goals this season) but his defensive work leaves a lot to be desired. I saw him being skinned quite a few times last season by Championship wingers. He strikes me as another Ian Harte i.e. great dead-ball delivery and will always score a few and get regular assists but defensively dodgy.

 

[Hansern]

Young player with plenty of potential. Has all the right raw attributes but lacks a helluva lot both defensively and attacking wise.
Obviously to early to write him off but has a big season infront of him next year. Needs to step up and show that he's learned from this season.

If Rodgers is the type of manager that can coach these defensive issues is another question.

 

[ILD]

Trippier should get a move to a new club if Burnley go down.

How does he compare to say someone like Clyne?