Look at today for example. Yes Doku completed some dribbles, but most times Trent funneled him to the byline or inside and Doku wasn’t really threatening for the most part. Yet the prevailing narrative is that he got destroyed by Doku.
He has actually been decent to good at defending this season yet people say he’s been a horrific defender. I don’t think this is quite true if you watch him play.
I won’t claim that he’s an amazing defender but he’s not a bad one either, he’s just a perfectly average to good defender but the narrative is that he’s a liability. It’s frustrating to see.
I think Trent’s defending gets brought up a lot because he’s so often in conversations of being one of the best full backs in the world and it is logical to therefore bring up the fact that he is an average defender. It’s probably a bit overblown and I think in the past systems have not aided him, but there’s a lot of examples of him being a middling 1 on 1 defender, and also a number of examples of him losing his man or ball watching.
Imo his skill set is not really about being a good defender but when you’re arguing about him vs Walker or Reece James for an england team for example it’s clear he’s a less multifaceted player than them and that’s to do with him defending at a much lower level.
I mean I don’t think anyone has ever said TAA is better then Walker or James, just that he is so much better at attacking then either and that is an area Engalnd need help in.
Trent has shut down some of the best wingers in the world before and been apart of some of the best defenses in the world. His lack of defensive ability is definitely overblown.
Trent is 100% better than James. Walker though is a much better defender and I think an overall player. However Walker does also have the benefit of playing for a team that always has possession but still a fine defender.
Yeah trent has always been a perfectly fine defender. He’s an absolutely world class player with the ball though
I mean no, he has been below average as a poor defender
he’s just average in terms of 1v1 defending but if you mean defensive awareness then yeah he’s below average
If you understood anything about football. Trent loves to move up the pitch I’m which leaves a gap behind him and that’s what gets exploited every time.
Do you have any metrics whatsoever to support this?
There isn’t a single thing to back this claim up. Find all right backs in the top 50 teams in the world and show me how trenr is below average.
He’s not as good as you’d expect for a “world class” right back, but he’s not below average for a typical prem defender
This is eloquently put