Saddleworth2
Well-Known Member
thats what I saw mate. Maybe I need to watch the game again.
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21 | Rayan Ait-Nouri - 2025/26
- Thread starter Blue_Lightsaber
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Lovebitesandeveryfing
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He was sound, solid. Nothing spectacular. Decent start.
One thing — but it concerns the whole back line, not just him. Four times that I counted, a ball fizzed in from the wings straight along the ground and it evaded the entire back line, either ahead of it or behind it and not able to react. It was worrying. A better attack would have put a couple of those away. They have to be blocked by someone, starting with the full back, and if not him, the central defenders, or that's goals in the back of our net. They were too far for Trafford to come for, so he's not at fault in my view.
One thing — but it concerns the whole back line, not just him. Four times that I counted, a ball fizzed in from the wings straight along the ground and it evaded the entire back line, either ahead of it or behind it and not able to react. It was worrying. A better attack would have put a couple of those away. They have to be blocked by someone, starting with the full back, and if not him, the central defenders, or that's goals in the back of our net. They were too far for Trafford to come for, so he's not at fault in my view.
Lovebitesandeveryfing
Well-Known Member
That's fine by me, great to actually have options in the full back positions for once isn't it
Don't forget O'Reilly!
;-)
decmancity
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Interesting. I saw some comments online suggesting he had a bad defensive game, I thought he was fine
thats what I saw mate. Maybe I need to watch the game again.
Really? He chased down Munetsi and put in a great sliding challenge in the first half to put the ball out.
Thought he did well defensively and was asked not to get forward as much
Kippax Street 1880
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Don't forget O'Reilly!
;-)
Would like to see him get more game time in his actual position this season but yeah he's shown he can be very effective there if needs must.
Saddleworth2
Well-Known Member
Count how many crosses were made unopposed from his side.Really? He chased down Munetsi and put in a great sliding challenge in the first half to put the ball out.
Thought he did well defensively and was asked not to get forward as much
Kippax Street 1880
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Interesting. I saw some comments online suggesting he had a bad defensive game, I thought he was fine
He's fine actually defending, just needs to be more switched on with how much space he leaves in behind him. There was a moment where he sprinted out of position to try and win a header he had no chance of getting and if Wolves could have exploited the space he left behind we were fucked.
Still early days though and we can coach this out of him. He did make a few solid tackles and had a generally solid game.
I'm nitpicking a bit and will give some leeway while he settles in with his new teammates but it's something that concerned me a little.
Lovebitesandeveryfing
Well-Known Member
Thought he did well defensively and was asked not to get forward as much
Me too, I had the distinct feeling he was under strict instructions.
Blue Smarties
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Funny. Poor defensively. Have a word.Mental opinion. Sadly shared by @tolmie's hairdoo who is currently trying to shoot him down on Twitter. Probably said the same about Rodri when he first played.
ninjamonkey
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Great example of how meaningless stats can be when used in isolation by those they're not designed for. Ait-Nouri had a perfectly okay debut but did not look like the inpenetrable fullback those stats would suggest he was. We looked at our most vulnerable down his side, there was a lot of space down that side and other players, particularly Bernardo covered him a lot.
super_city_si
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Funny. Poor defensively. Have a word.
Yes I thought he was sound. Remember him making some good tackles. Wasn’t as attacking as normal but clearly had the reigns on with Doku ahead of him. Good start for me.
supercity88
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I thought he did much better in the second half but was pretty poor defensively and ineffective offensively in the first half. With Doku ahead of him there's not much need to overlap or be creative, but they didn't seem to connect particularly well. To be fair to him, never ideal to make your debut away against your old club so he handled it pretty well.
Can't say I remember from my watch of it. There were 7 crosses from his side, 5 by the wingback - can't recall how many were unopposed but when there's that many by a wingback, it's rarely just down to the fullback.Count how many crosses were made unopposed from his side.
Saddleworth2
Well-Known Member
Maybe not. I thought Lewis and Bobb combined better on the right. Not sure AN got much help from Doku but there was far more danger coming down that left hand side than the right. Hope he starts vs Spuds. They will provide a test.Can't say I remember from my watch of it. There were 7 crosses from his side, 5 by the wingback - can't recall how many were unopposed but when there's that many by a wingback, it's rarely just down to the fullback.
He is ineffective offensively because he acted like 3rd CB. Its seems Pep tell him to not overlap at all, or help Doku in attackI thought he did much better in the second half but was pretty poor defensively and ineffective offensively in the first half. With Doku ahead of him there's not much need to overlap or be creative, but they didn't seem to connect particularly well. To be fair to him, never ideal to make your debut away against your old club so he handled it pretty well.
They had a lot of joy down our right side in the first half but this is more a flaw in our system than any fault by Ait-Nouri. I was impressed by his technical ability and showed he’s a solid defender in the second half, too.
I thought playing him in an inverted role was the wrong tactic. It left us wide open on that side when they counter attacked, especially as Doku isn't great at covering back. Overall I thought he had a good game.
Funny. Poor defensively. Have a word.
I thought he was solid, they only got in down our left because he was clearly asked to push on. Seemed to get back in position fairly quickly though, as opposed to Kerkez and Frimpong on Friday who kept getting exposed.
Individually, I thought he held the line well and got stuck in. He got caught out a couple of times and seemed to be under instruction not to bomb forward, but his recovery pace was encouraging and refreshing.
As a collective I thought the back four were excellent on Saturday, and Ait-Nouri was part of that. It can't have been easy going back to Wolves so soon as well, so fair play to him for keeping his head down and cracking on.
As a collective I thought the back four were excellent on Saturday, and Ait-Nouri was part of that. It can't have been easy going back to Wolves so soon as well, so fair play to him for keeping his head down and cracking on.