Underrated Player Traits

[Goku de la Boca]

I posted this on Twitter earlier - basically I find wingers with good heading ability a must and extremely underrated. Never talked about, but a winger needs to be able to head the ball well to be able to finish a chance given inside the box to give more aerial options, as well as being able to generate chances for overlapping or underlapping players.

[Stan]

I wouldn't say it's a 'must' or an essential. It's probably just more valued on top of their essential out-and-out winger traits i.e. speed, crossing, skill, pace, passing, finishing in general. 

Some wingers do give aerial options naturally because of their height, but others it may be more difficult also because of that reason if they're smaller in stature. 

 

I guess an underrated player trait that I can think of right now is long-range shooting from defensive-minded players or players that sometimes play in a defensive position (compared to wingers/strikers/attacking mids). Alexander-Arnold has it perfected from free-kicks or open play positions I'd say. Rodri is another good example too. 

While talking about wingers as well, an underrated trait is their defensive ability, or ability to track back and help their full-back if the tactics allow. As much as a winger would want a full-back to help them out going forward, it's just as valuable for a winger to put in some effort to double-up on an opposition winger when the opposition attack. Maybe not every single time, but frequent occasions during a match it can help so much with nullifying the opposition's attacking threats. Leeds did it to a tee when we played them earlier this month against Fatawu. I think it can help so much for the rest of the team too if you have wingers on both flanks that do it. I guess in a similar fashion some strikers have the trait of doing the hard yards and chasing around while also being a decent finisher (their main job), but the extra effort they may put in to help out the midfield in a pressing tactic high up the field. 

[Goku de la Boca]

1 hour ago, Stan said:

I wouldn't say it's a 'must' or an essential. It's probably just more valued on top of their essential out-and-out winger traits i.e. speed, crossing, skill, pace, passing, finishing in general. 

Some wingers do give aerial options naturally because of their height, but others it may be more difficult also because of that reason if they're smaller in stature. 

 

I guess an underrated player trait that I can think of right now is long-range shooting from defensive-minded players or players that sometimes play in a defensive position (compared to wingers/strikers/attacking mids). Alexander-Arnold has it perfected from free-kicks or open play positions I'd say. Rodri is another good example too. 

While talking about wingers as well, an underrated trait is their defensive ability, or ability to track back and help their full-back if the tactics allow. As much as a winger would want a full-back to help them out going forward, it's just as valuable for a winger to put in some effort to double-up on an opposition winger when the opposition attack. Maybe not every single time, but frequent occasions during a match it can help so much with nullifying the opposition's attacking threats. Leeds did it to a tee when we played them earlier this month against Fatawu. I think it can help so much for the rest of the team too if you have wingers on both flanks that do it. I guess in a similar fashion some strikers have the trait of doing the hard yards and chasing around while also being a decent finisher (their main job), but the extra effort they may put in to help out the midfield in a pressing tactic high up the field. 

It obviously depends on what you want to play, but I do think it's a necessity at a high level. Keep in mind I said having good heading technique, I didn't say they needed to be tall. Especially if you play with a target man, I think there needs to be more than one option for a winger to lose his man and be able to head the ball after a diagonal run, that way youre not crossing it to the same forward over and over again. 

Regarding your last point, you are spot on. In the modern games transitioning quickly is very important. By fans it definitely goes unnoted but professionals know this proper as 2 v 1 situations can screw your full backs.

[Cicero]

Love direct wingers. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Positioning and movement is the most underrated trait in all of football, regardless of position.

Some keepers get heralded as great for making incredible saves for TV cameras - but they're not all that great, they've got to make these incredible looking saves often because they don't have great positioning for a goalkeeper. A lot of really good goalkeepers make a lot of their work look almost routine by being aware of the right positions to be in and making shot stopping just much easier for themselves... as well as having the ability to pull off actual incredible saves.

Everyone knows defender positioning is very important. Defenders out of position = a pourous defense. That's easy.

With midfielders and attackers, positioning is important for defending and attacking. Taking the right positions when their side doesn't have the ball, taking up positions and making movement that's going to lead to better quality chances is vital for attacking.

In modern football, where there's more emphasis on tactics, retaining possession, and physicality - we're seeing players dribble a lot less, we've basically seen the #10 role take a massive decline in popularity worldwide... and football's changed. But having a good understanding of possession and movement still remain incredibly valuable traits.

[Goku de la Boca]

12 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Positioning and movement is the most underrated trait in all of football, regardless of position.

Some keepers get heralded as great for making incredible saves for TV cameras - but they're not all that great, they've got to make these incredible looking saves often because they don't have great positioning for a goalkeeper. A lot of really good goalkeepers make a lot of their work look almost routine by being aware of the right positions to be in and making shot stopping just much easier for themselves... as well as having the ability to pull off actual incredible saves.

Everyone knows defender positioning is very important. Defenders out of position = a pourous defense. That's easy.

With midfielders and attackers, positioning is important for defending and attacking. Taking the right positions when their side doesn't have the ball, taking up positions and making movement that's going to lead to better quality chances is vital for attacking.

In modern football, where there's more emphasis on tactics, retaining possession, and physicality - we're seeing players dribble a lot less, we've basically seen the #10 role take a massive decline in popularity worldwide... and football's changed. But having a good understanding of possession and movement still remain incredibly valuable traits.

While I agree with pretty much all of this, big props for understanding what a keeper needs to be. Secure in positioning is more important than being acrobatic and easy on the eye. All good if you are capable of making a diving save or stopping penalties but if you are dodgy leaving your goal or have bad anticipation for corners it's all in vain.

[Azeem]

Penalty taking. 

[Devil-Dick Willie]

On 01/12/2023 at 05:20, Cicero said:

Love direct wingers. 

The game has left them behind. 

[Devil-Dick Willie]

The game has changed so much in the past decade. I used to bemoan that Barton should have had more game time for England as he was the only fucking English midfielder at the time bar Lampard (who played further forward) who could steal into small spaces and move the ball sharply and accurately. Absolute donkeys like Parker, Barry younger Milner ect wouldn't get a game at Aston Villa these days. 

Here's one underrated trait for each position in the modern game

 Goalkeepers. Height. Has fallen out of favor for passing and athleticism, but has led to a few flappers being exposed every now and then for big teams.
Centerback. Communication. Marshalling that passing from the back by calling the movement of passing options from off the ball. 
Wingbacks. Shooting. The ability to overlap and have a real shot on you, elevates mediocre players like Chilwell. 
Center mid. Physicality. I'm not saying go back to donkeys but the ability to win balls, headers and shove off would be tacklers is still a way to be. I much prefer a Rodri to a twink with the same skill set. 
Striker. Passing. Look at Kane, Lewandoski, Haaland even. Sets them apart, brings in players around them and keeps attacks alive from awkward spots. 
Winger. I think finishing and heading is a good shout from brydog millionaire. Sterling has shown us how much of a liability bad finishing can make you when you're at the back post again and again and there are whole compilations of you hitting air instead of the net. 

[Spike]

On 10/12/2023 at 03:26, Devil-Dick Willie said:

The game has changed so much in the past decade. I used to bemoan that Barton should have had more game time for England as he was the only fucking English midfielder at the time bar Lampard (who played further forward) who could steal into small spaces and move the ball sharply and accurately. Absolute donkeys like Parker, Barry younger Milner ect wouldn't get a game at Aston Villa these days. 

Here's one underrated trait for each position in the modern game

 Goalkeepers. Height. Has fallen out of favor for passing and athleticism, but has led to a few flappers being exposed every now and then for big teams.
Centerback. Communication. Marshalling that passing from the back by calling the movement of passing options from off the ball. 
Wingbacks. Shooting. The ability to overlap and have a real shot on you, elevates mediocre players like Chilwell. 
Center mid. Physicality. I'm not saying go back to donkeys but the ability to win balls, headers and shove off would be tacklers is still a way to be. I much prefer a Rodri to a twink with the same skill set. 
Striker. Passing. Look at Kane, Lewandoski, Haaland even. Sets them apart, brings in players around them and keeps attacks alive from awkward spots. 
Winger. I think finishing and heading is a good shout from brydog millionaire. Sterling has shown us how much of a liability bad finishing can make you when you're at the back post again and again and there are whole compilations of you hitting air instead of the net. 

Specialisation is a thing of the past, the clear delineation between positions and whatever FIFA/Footballer sub-position is a thing of the past. A varied set of skills is more important than being the best crosser in the world, but bad at shooting. That’s why Brydog is right about wingers, they aren’t the old  midfielders playing out wide like Beckham and Giggs, they are forwards and need the skills to score goals as much as passing and crossing, but they still need the qualities and skills Beckham and Giggs had. It doesn’t matter if they are 170cm if they have the technique of header accurately they will score eventually. 
 

For example fullbacks are barely strict defenders anymore, they are transitional players that move the ball vertically, more like a well rounded midfielder, well that’s where I think they do most of their work anyway.

[Goku de la Boca]

19 minutes ago, Spike said:

Specialisation is a thing of the past, the clear delineation between positions and whatever FIFA/Footballer sub-position is a thing of the past. A varied set of skills is more important than being the best crosser in the world, but bad at shooting. That’s why Brydog is right about wingers, they aren’t the old  midfielders playing out wide like Beckham and Giggs, they are forwards and need the skills to score goals as much as passing and crossing, but they still need the qualities and skills Beckham and Giggs had. It doesn’t matter if they are 170cm if they have the technique of header accurately they will score eventually. 
 

For example fullbacks are barely strict defenders anymore, they are transitional players that move the ball vertically, more like a well rounded midfielder, well that’s where I think they do most of their work anyway.

The full back thing is one of my biggest pet peeves. It is by far the position that has evolved the most, yet the general public still think they need to be defenders first and foremost. Your description is spot on, they need to be well rounded and sometimes even more offensive based for more vertical tactics before purely defensive players. 

[Spike]

1 hour ago, Goku de la Boca said:

The full back thing is one of my biggest pet peeves. It is by far the position that has evolved the most, yet the general public still think they need to be defenders first and foremost. Your description is spot on, they need to be well rounded and sometimes even more offensive based for more vertical tactics before purely defensive players. 

I think from observing how Guardiola’s teams play I’ve learned a lot on how the game has changed. People like to say he is an overrated chequebook manager, and there is a truth to that, but I fully stand by the statement the man is a genius, only so few can claim to have reinvented the wheel but he has. His strategies and tactics exploit spacing, focusing on vertical positioning instead of the typical horizontal is exceptionally novel. It really changed my perception 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 hour ago, Goku de la Boca said:

The full back thing is one of my biggest pet peeves. It is by far the position that has evolved the most, yet the general public still think they need to be defenders first and foremost. Your description is spot on, they need to be well rounded and sometimes even more offensive based for more vertical tactics before purely defensive players. 

The evolution of fullbacks isn't even that new. Cafu and Roberto Carlos are good examples of how some top fullbacks of the past were also incredible attackers - and in Cafu's case, an incredible defender as well as an incredible attacker. It's just as football has progressed, attacking fullbacks have evolved a shitload.

Pep and Klopp have shown you don't even need to have the attacking fullback attack from the wide for these players to be incredible playmakers.

[Goku de la Boca]

39 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The evolution of fullbacks isn't even that new. Cafu and Roberto Carlos are good examples of how some top fullbacks of the past were also incredible attackers - and in Cafu's case, an incredible defender as well as an incredible attacker. It's just as football has progressed, attacking fullbacks have evolved a shitload.

Pep and Klopp have shown you don't even need to have the attacking fullback attack from the wide for these players to be incredible playmakers.

It definitely depends on what style you want to go at, but what cannot be denied is that Full Back is the position that's evolved the most since the 70's. 

It is still possible to invent new styles. Football will keep evolving with time, that is what Fernando Diniz has been doing at Fluminense that has caught the eye of even Ancelotti, however it is not an easy task. Of every 100k managers that will try to innovate, only one will succeed and gain traction.

[Cicero]

Aerial winning fullbacks. 

What I would do for peak Ivanovic right now. 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Cicero

[MUFC]

CB's with the balls to bring the ball out of defence.

 

[OrangeKhrush]

Work rate and tenacity can take players that don't have technical ability up a few levels. 

[Azeem]

Paying due taxes and not raping

Edited August 14 by Azeem

[Dan+]

I think simple fundamentals are being overlooked a bit too much in these days in the chase for a level that clubs with far greater resources are aiming for. So what I mean is goalkeepers shot stopping, defenders ability to defend, strikers ability to shoot etc... these are basics that I think seem to be getting overlooked. I have no interest in a centre back who is good on the ball if they can't defend. See also a goalkeeper and shot stopping. If you're only bothered about distribution, then play a midfielder in goal.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

A player who listens to his manager, and stands by him when things aren't going the teams way, because that's what he is paid 150k a week to do.

[Azeem]

knowing when to retire