Kyle Walker : 2018/19 performances

[Trojan1962]

Last season he had one big mistake in him per game, now it's three or four.

I have to agree with this comment, if he starts making these howlers against better teams, I think it’s going to start to cost us more games. He isn’t the same player of last year. I’m sure Pep recognises that and think when Mendy comes back Danilo will take the right back spot, leaving Walker to have a break and then hopefully recharge

 

[argyle]

He's class. Just having a difficult season.

Possibly because he has played nearly every game without rotation.

Hopefully he get's back to his top form.

 

[Withnail]

His form has fallen off a cliff. Another poor performance today especially in the first half and when Mendy is fit I would be playing Danilo at RB who is better option at present imo.

 

[Afterthefact]

His speed for defensive cover is so important and sometimes goes underappreciated because the effects are things that do not happen. But the mental lapses,poor passes in dangerous spots, and tendency to pin his own wingers against the line with nowhere to go are a steep price to pay for it.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Still not back to his best , but form is temporary , you know the rest.

 

[mccity]

His speed for defensive cover is so important and sometimes goes underappreciated because the effects are things that do not happen. But the mental lapses,poor passes in dangerous spots, and tendency to pin his own wingers against the line with nowhere to go are a steep price to pay for it.

Good point.

 

[BosnianBlue]

He has awful body positioning when defending 1 vs 1 against wingers. The attacker just needs to cut inside and his body is so badly positioned that until he turns to the left, his man is three steps away.

Yeah, I know this is my first post here and people will get on it fr using it to criticize him, but I am really worried whenever he is 1 vs 1 on that side. His speed is asset in breaking counter attacks and that's what he used brilliantly last season, but this thing is worrying me a lot.

 

[ChicagoBlue]

For a speedy defender, he lets too many crosses in.

In Pep’s system of 2-3-2-3, where he is the right side of the first 3, he is being asked to play more as a midfielder. He is NOT a midfielder. He has poor touch, he flies into silly challenges, he overcommits, he doesn’t have the rain for the pittance doesn’t have th technical ability to seamlessly move forward with interplay.

All that said, I think the midfield part of his game is improving, albeit possibly not quick enough to cover up for his lapses.

In that position (right side of the first defensive line of 3), if he loses the ball, he is immediately putting the back 2 under extreme pressure, usually causing one of them to cover the left winger. Teams already know he is weakest technical player in the team, gets caught out of position an awful lot, and is probably the weakest defender of the back 5, so he gets targeted.

However, he has had some positive forward play in recent games, got himself into good positions, and even played a few decent passes. I don’t think it is a shocker that the full backs in a team are often the least gifted players, but it shows itself a tad more dramatically in a team so chock full of technically gifted players.

 

[Craig]

He's class. Just having a difficult season.

Possibly because he has played nearly every game without rotation.

Hopefully he get's back to his top form.

Class is certainly one thing he isn't. He's got it in him to be a very good defender( despite his recent very poor form. He lacks class though as a natural footballer and always will do. Very little comes natural to him on the ball and it stands out a mile in this team

 

[Easy]

When Mendy comes back, Danilo can play RB and Walker can take a long break. Send him to Dubai for a few days, keep him off the pitch for a couple of weeks.

He's ridiculously out of form and it's hard to beleive it's not rooted in the fact he played about 85 games without a break for club and country in the 18 months after joining us.

Would give Walker a break right now actually. We can play Bolton against Burton and Danilo can play Burnley and Newcastle.

Think players usually get at least one day off a week maybe 2?? Give Walker an extra 2-3 days and let him fly to Dubai with the wife and kids to relax the mind like you suggested.

Don’t think a 7-10 day break is realistic during the season but right now while we are in a good position fixture wise, Walker can take 4 days off for example. Wed to Sat back in training on Sunday and on the bench at Newcastle for example. Of course he could train alone in Dubai as well.

I still doubt something like this will happen but Pep should definitely consider it. He suffering from mental fatigue not physical but the mind effects the body clearly.