So as the last man, with a winger running at him, you would rather he lunged in?
Personally, I would rather see him try and shepherd him out wide and make time for the centre backs to get into position.
But he DOESN'T do that at all. He runs backwards, directly towards the goal.
he wasn't fast enough to shepherd him out wide(i dont know who would be!), you can only do that if you have real pace. the best way against a quick winger is to stay tight on the man even when the ball is knowhere near him, El Abd is the strongest man in the team meaning if the winger does pick up the ball he wont have the strength to turn him, if the winger is running at you step between man and ball slowing the mans momentum down and make the challenge.
By backing off the player gets nearer to dangerous areas meaning IF you are beaten by him it is more likely to prove costly.
Exactly. Thank you. I think as a general rule on here you can tell apart the comments from posters who have actually PLAYED the game, and those who haven't.