Has to be said Utd were awful all over the pitch, but seeing that i've been critical of James it's only fair to praise him after a good all round performance.

Wingback is a fantastic position for him to develop his defensive game without being hung out to dry with errors. If he makes mistakes he has Azpi covering. It’s a perfect set up for him. 

I said last week I didnt think Full back suited him but he is much better as a wing back with a 3 behind him and I think this game showed that perfectly. It gives us the stability to allow him to go forward, and I thought it worked really well that when he banged forward Jorginho moved to his wing to cover in also.

I’ve been harsh on his performances lately and rightly so as I don’t think he’s been good enough since the break. Having said that, he was outstanding yesterday, very commanding, made the right decisions, sat back with Azpi went forward. A top, top performance from the young man. If he can start showing that on a regular/semi regular basis then it’ll be a massive boost for us as we’ll have two of the best RB’s in the league. I think having the 3 at the back helped him massively, especially having Azpilicueta right beside him to give him support. Very impressive indeed!

1 hour ago, EdinburghBlue said:

I’ve been harsh on his performances lately and rightly so as I don’t think he’s been good enough since the break. Having said that, he was outstanding yesterday, very commanding, made the right decisions, sat back with Azpi went forward. A top, top performance from the young man. If he can start showing that on a regular/semi regular basis then it’ll be a massive boost for us as we’ll have two of the best RB’s in the league. I think having the 3 at the back helped him massively, especially having Azpilicueta right beside him to give him support. Very impressive indeed!

Azpilicueta at right centre back made moses look world class at right wing back. Thats not a knock on either James or Moses, i just think its massive having such a good player directing you, and helping you understand where you need to be positionally. Its exactly the type of partnership we lack from our centre backs in a back 4. 

3 hours ago, big blue said:

Azpilicueta at right centre back made moses look world class at right wing back. Thats not a knock on either James or Moses, i just think its massive having such a good player directing you, and helping you understand where you need to be positionally. Its exactly the type of partnership we lack from our centre backs in a back 4. 

Very good point! RJ definitely has the minerals, and he has always been good at bombing forward, its just his defensive work that needs to be improved, which in time he will only get better

He needs to look at Azpi's videos and take pointers. 

Reece James is a rare talent that has strength,  speed and crossing ability in a sturdy frame. If he can learn the way prime Azpi defends, he'd be challenging Walker and Trent

He is one of the best passers on the team. As others have noted, he has looked great in a 343 because he has a centreback right behind him. That lets him know where to be defensively and be a little bit more free on attack.

Werner is one of the best passing strikers in the entire world and Hakim Ziyech is one of the best passers, period, in the entire world. Pulisic and Azpi are both good and James has the potential to be a world class passer. I think with all of that freedom, Reece could become one of the better wingbacks/RBs in the EPL fairly quickly.

 

Was solid today, suits him playing wing back, another one who is developing under Frank, still has a lot to learn and will if given time.

 

He's a beast of a player, has to stop taking the ball so close to the line, cos it inevitably goes backwards, but that will come with more awareness

Best crosser of a ball i've ever seen

He is definitely getting better. Although i still want to see him more in a back four.

3 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Best crosser of a ball i've ever seen

Pains me to say it but Alexander-Arnold is better. His crossing is out of this world though.

James have really been performing lately though, Hopefully he can bring that confidence with him into the Cup-final and next season as well.

 

He’s very similar to Trent in a way that his delivery is excellent however he still needs to work on his defensive game. 
 

He is far more powerful though. 

3 minutes ago, Sindre said:

Pains me to say it but Alexander-Arnold is better. His crossing is out of this world though.

James have really been performing lately though, Hopefully he can bring that confidence with him into the Cup-final and next season as well.

 

His crosses in open play are better than Trent' imo, Trent has the obvious advantage with his set pieces though. Trent is also able to whip a ball into 3 of the best attacker in the league, i think next season James' numbers will boom when he's looking for Werner, Pulisic, Ziyech and Havertz.

His last two performances have been better. If he continues to improve he will be superb.

Go Reece!

I'm a massive fan. Fabulous player.

At the moment he's in a similar position to Alonso in the sense that they are both excellent in a back 5, but in a back 4 their defending is much more suspect. Alonso however I can't see improving, but RJ definitely has a high ceiling and can improve.

If Reece manages to improve his defensive side of the game, whilst being this good going forward and crossing, then we have some player on our hands! Has the physical attributes as well, really high hopes for him

His anticipation needs work, needs to learn how to pick his runs and when to sprint back to cover passing lanes. 

Not bad of a season. He's like the opposite of a young Azpi, good at offense, needs work at defense. Hopefully Azpi can guide him like Alaba guides Davies. 

Reece and Foden.

8 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

His crosses in open play are better than Trent' imo, Trent has the obvious advantage with his set pieces though. Trent is also able to whip a ball into 3 of the best attacker in the league, i think next season James' numbers will boom when he's looking for Werner, Pulisic, Ziyech and Havertz.

i think the biggest advantage that Trent has is his pace over Reece that allow him to run past people or create that extra space... But i think Reece would be a much better defender once he gets his positioning sorted..

On 28/07/2020 at 02:16, Jangz said:

i think the biggest advantage that Trent has is his pace over Reece that allow him to run past people or create that extra space... But i think Reece would be a much better defender once he gets his positioning sorted..

Trent is fast but Reece knocks people over with his physique and strength. 

Reece just needs to take a leaf out of Azpi's book

I'm becoming more and more concerned about him as a RB or RWB. He always seems to give the attacker an extra yard, combine that with his slow acceleration, and it's basically asking for trouble. He just doesn't ever seem to be switched on. Going forward he has been pretty poor in recent times too. There is no urgency in his game.

I don't think he is ready to be our starting RB yet. 

5 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

I'm becoming more and more concerned about him as a RB or RWB. He always seems to give the attacker an extra yard, combine that with his slow acceleration, and it's basically asking for trouble. He just doesn't ever seem to be switched on. Going forward he has been pretty poor in recent times too. There is no urgency in his game.

I don't think he is ready to be our starting RB yet. 

His positioning seems all over the place as well, I don't know if its a tactic or him not concentrating but he drifts into the middle and leaves acres of space out wide. Where was he for their second as well? With Dave off he shouldn't have let Aubamayang out of his sight.

Still hopeful for him as there is potential there but he needs to step up whilst he still has the chance to make it at this level.

2 minutes ago, jack h said:

His positioning seems all over the place as well, I don't know if its a tactic or him not concentrating but he drifts into the middle and leaves acres of space out wide. Where was he for their second as well? With Dave off he shouldn't have let Aubamayang out of his sight.

Still hopeful for him as there is potential there but he needs to step up whilst he still has the chance to make it at this level.

He drifted into the middle quite a bit today and I also wondered if that was a tactic. 

Perhaps he was asked to mark someone, though he can drift inside I haven't noticed as much as today.

He can cross well yet his shooting needs work.