I guess if you count bunkering and not playing offense, as a solid defensive team, sure you are right. Anyway, watch him, this is a criticism of his defensive abilities I am not saying that the teams he is playing on are not defensively sound. To the extent your argument is that because he plays on a team that lets in an average amount of goals, we can conclude he is defensively sound, that’s pretty weak. First, his field sense and positional awareness is sub par, he can mask it with speed in some circumstances but that recovery ability diminishes near the box. He is always a half beat behind everyone else. Second, his hips are super tight, and he can’t turn in small spaces, which is part of the toolbox for a FB. In pointy football speak, he would be a good running back but a shit corner back. Why do you think he never gets tight? Third, he gets dominated in the air from a standing start and will always lose a battle on the back post for a header. In the positive column for defense, he has elite recovery speed, he is very physical in the tackle, and his speed allows him to step to some interceptions. I hate him at RB in a back 4, in the same way I hate Chandler as a RB in a back 4 but think they are both very intriguing wingbacks.
Well first of all, the NUFC teams he has been on before this season have let in far fewer than an average number of goals. Last season only 1 team outside the top 5 allowed fewer. And yeah, when a team is above average defensively and you make up 25% of the defenseive line I think that reflects on you a little bit. I know DY has liabilities - interesting to me that the liabilities you mention are exactly the wrong ones for the systems he has played at NUFC and Sunderland but for some reason Big Sam wanted him back and Rafa always looks elsewhere for upgrades. DY is a tenacious defender with great recovery speed and has made himself tactically disciplined (for anyone who thought he looked bad on the 2nd goal yesterday how about the left side of defense on the first goal? Or was that Yedlin’s fault for not anticipating?) I think he’d do very well for a team that starts defending further up the field and uses him to put pressure on opposing LB.
I can’t imagine DY succeeding in a higher level team. At Tottenham he had Kyle Walker and Trippier as competition. I love DeAndre but he just doesn’t have the skill to play at a higher level. It’s just not there. Doing it at Newcastle is impressive and I’ll be thrilled if he can stay at this level for a few more years.
There is, to be fair, a fairly large gulf of teams between NUFC and Spurs 18-19. It's one thing to say "he's not top-half EPL quality" - which is reasonable - and "he can't ever do better than NUFC" which is more debatable. But he's pretty clearly at a level where, without a bit more tactical nous, he's going to have trouble going up many more rungs. Seems to me if he had better defensive read, anticipation and tactics, he'd see a pretty big bump in his overall game.
I will say this for DY, he has grown into the role of a pretty serviceable right back for a team around 14-26 in the English Leagues. From where he started, he is a very different, smarter and more mature defender. He doesn't have the ability to cross accurately enough with consistency, or lock down a man 1 v 1 well enough to play for a better team, but for a team in the relegation dog fight or probably in the upper tier of the 2nd division, he can play. His first touch has improved, his decision making has improved, and his defending as part of a team has improved. He just doesn't have the innate skill to be a RB for a better team, and at his age, is not likely to develop into one. My hope is that N'castle find some way to finish 16-17 this season.
DY is a right back with great recovery speed but he is not tall which hurts him when opponents target that, and he has occasional lapses (he should have done his homework to know that Willian precisely sets up his opponent for that type of a stop start quick shot). He is best suited to be a midfield winger in a championship squad or in MLS. But he has done ok at NUFC and I think has reached his ceiling.
He's in the right country and at the right level for his abilities. In the fast-paced English style on a lower to mid-table team at the top level. I can't speak for his overall performance yesterday, but he was not at fault for the goal. Forced the attacker inside to his help who didn't react. Overall he's great at covering for teammate's mistakes, good at handling his own man 1 v. 1, but can get lost when they combine. Offensively he can make the trailing run and cross, but not overly creative, and mediocre at best holding possession or advancing. Very flawed but solid team player. I think Newcastle should have a similar attitude about him as the USNT. Can take or leave him as a starter, ideally would look for a better option, but has clear use on the roster regardless.
They are above average defensively because they pack 10 behind the ball at all times. Their game plan is route 1 (Rondon) 90 % of the time. Statistically they are a decent defense but look at the other side of that, 18 goals to date because they don’t possess the ball. So yes they are going to look better statistically because they take zero chances. Even taking zero chances, Yedlin still gets beat like a drum regularly in a back 4. I watch all the Newcastle games, and with very few exceptions he is a defensive liability in a back four. So the fact that Big Sam (who benched prior to reinserting him in the lineup), who didn’t have alternative options (wasn’t it Manquillo then too) as well as Rafa who has same transfer limitations choosing him means little to me. Agree to disagree about what my eyes see vs what your associations of statistics and managers means, I guess. Cheers.
His main issue is technical-he's not very good with the ball for an EPL player. You can always improve tactics but it's hard/impossible to suddenly become skillful at 26 or however old he is.
Yea I’m not gonna disagree but he could improve his crossing and that would go a long way. If he could hit a legit cross semi consistently to go with his improved pull back pass in the box he’d up his value a lot.
I have eyes too, you don't need to be dismissive. He's 25 and the only Yank field players with more EPL appearance seem to be Dempsey, McBride, Cameron, Spector, Boca and Reyna.
I was not being dismissive, I was indicating that we are weighting aspects of the analysis differently.
Technical improvements can be really hard to eek in mid career, but his 2nd biggest problem, to my eyes, is tactical, especially position and anticipation and "reading" the counter. That's a bit easier to get some marginal improvement on with coaching, extra homework etc. He's never going to be Lahm or Gio or pick-your-favorite FB back there, but better positional sense and anticipation, combined with his speed, will make him a better defender, which will make him more useful to someone.
You can keeps the warts. But I like DY as well, although I also think he could be more effective with a bit more soccer IQ.
On the bench: TEAM NEWSHere’s how Newcastle United will line up for tonight’s @EmiratesFACup third round replay against @Rovers at Ewood Park. #NUFC pic.twitter.com/MEPjQBKlnC— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 15, 2019
In England, being on the bench for cup games is praise: it means you're important enough to earn your rest, yet also important enough to keep you on hold in case things go belly up.
Starts: TEAM NEWSHere's how Newcastle United will line up for today's @premierleague game against @CardiffCityFC at St. James' Park. #NUFC pic.twitter.com/neLpTDAfto— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 19, 2019