Qwiss! wrote:
The idea that wingers "stay wide and provide width" is massively out dated at this stage. We haven't played with wingers who stay wide since the 90s. The most successful wide players in the league are Hazard, Sterling, Mahrez, Salah, Mane, etc none of them traditional wide men. TBH unless you have a Giroud or similar at CF then traditional wingers are fairly pointless. And playing with a classic CF and tradition wingers is just too one dimensional to work for anyone who's ambitions are higher than simply staying up.
I know the role has changed and that's not all they do, but for mind their first role is to stay wide and to be able to take on their marker on the outside with ball at feet, rather than wanting to turn infield and pass the ball off.
Guardiola makes his wide men stay wide until they enter the final 3rd with the ball, and then they can either work the overlap with the FB or attack the area and go for goal - I don't have any issue with calling this as a modern winger as opposed to seeing players wanting to play narrow and infield which is an issue we have had for some time.
I'd consider the likes of Di Maria, Ribbery & Robben as wingers even though Robben is an effective & genuine goal scorer.
Same applies to the likes of Sterling and Mane, although I'd say Mane seems to be more vertical whilst Sterling too is an effective goal threat.
I've never considered Hazard as a winger but more of a wide playmaker who likes to play narrow rather than wide.
This season Sarri is using him as part of a front 3 much like Salah & Mane at LFC, but even then I'd put Hazard as closer to Messi. I'd call the likes of Neymar and Mbappe as being forwards.
CR7 plays from wide for RM & Juve, but probably hasn't been a winger since he left MU.
Whereas I'd still call Bale a winger who scores.
I dunno, maybe I've missed too much viewing of recent seasons.
