Max Aarons

[unique 435]

Much as Aarons has been one of our consistent performers since he established himself in the first team, Norwich City’s decline since their promotion of two years ago has been matched by the defensive performances of Max.

The amount of time and space afforded to Osborn on their left attacking side, was nothing short of criminal.

Opposition managers would appear to see this as one of our bigger weaknesses as this area seems to have been deliberately targeted in recent matches.

As much as his attacking instinct is still as strong as ever, his contribution with assists always remains frustratingly low.

If Bali Mumba wasn’t out on loan, a spell on the bench would not go amiss.

 

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,290]

I'd be starting Byram there when he's back. 

Then in the summer we really need to find a reliable alternative as Sam, unfortunately, isn't reliable fitness wise. 

Max should be fighting for his place with someone, not being 1st name on the sheet each week, I think this plays a large part of his downward form.... Complacency 

[KeiranShikari 1,410]

He seems so unwilling to get to the byline these days, I can only assume it's tactical. Wasting one of our best offensive assets. 

 

[Monty13 2,231]

He definitely gets targeted for his height, their second goal being a textbook example. Good goal but a bigger RB wouldn’t have been so easily outmuscled/jumped.

[Richard Richard 186]

I think there was a lot of noise around him, Lewis and Godfrey. To be honest, always thought Godfrey was hugely over-rated (always looked nervous in possession and  capable of dropping a clanger) and Lewis has faded since leaving.

As others have pointed out - there's a reason none of the big boys have taken a punt on Aarons - likely a simple combination of him not being physically tall enough and actually lacking that top quality seen in the Prem. As OP has suggested, he's definitely being highlighted as a weakness by opposing teams.

That said, he's a top professional and a solid Championship-level player who seems to be experiencing a dip in form (likely a result of following orders from Deano)...

[littleyellowbirdie 2,538]

15 minutes ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

I'd be starting Byram there when he's back. 

Then in the summer we really need to find a reliable alternative as Sam, unfortunately, isn't reliable fitness wise. 

Max should be fighting for his place with someone, not being 1st name on the sheet each week, I think this plays a large part of his downward form.... Complacency 

I don't think he's complacent; I think Max is overworked on account of having no other options in a super busy schedule. 

[Capt. Pants 4,225]

Max is playing a lot closer to the CBs, he was doing it last season as well. I can only assume it's under the instruction of Smith, otherwise he'd be told not to do it?

To be fair it's just as well he did today with that game saving block at the end.

He's regressed a bit since Farke left imo. 

[Nexus_Canary 1,016]

How many times....

Max is being shackled to play a far more defensive role than he ever has.

Bad tactics or not the main issue is our current style does not fit Max.

Now a poor manager does not adapt to the tools at his disposal and trys to bang a square peg into a round hole.

Watch max force a move at Christmas or the summer, I certainly would if I was in his shoes.

[Richard Richard 186]

4 minutes ago, Nexus_Canary said:

How many times....

Max is being shackled to play a far more defensive role than he ever has.

Bad tactics or not the main issue is our current style does not fit Max.

Now a poor manager does not adapt to the tools at his disposal and trys to bang a square peg into a round hole.

Watch max force a move at Christmas or the summer, I certainly would if I was in his shoes.

Yep, couldn't begrudge the guy if he wanted to move on. Square peg/round hole seems to be something of a speciality of Deano's unfortunately.

[Creative Midfielder 1,996]

43 minutes ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

I'd be starting Byram there when he's back. 

Then in the summer we really need to find a reliable alternative as Sam, unfortunately, isn't reliable fitness wise. 

Max should be fighting for his place with someone, not being 1st name on the sheet each week, I think this plays a large part of his downward form.... Complacency 

Don't think it has anything to do with complacency, Max's downturn in performance co-incides exactly with the arrival of Dean Smith (IMO) and he isn't the only one by any means who has gone backwards since Farke's departure.

That shouldn't really be a surprise, we've undergone a big downgrade in the quality of coaching - the results of that are clear to see.

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,290]

9 minutes ago, Creative Midfielder said:

Don't think it has anything to do with complacency, Max's downturn in performance co-incides exactly with the arrival of Dean Smith (IMO) and he isn't the only one by any means who has gone backwards since Farke's departure.

That shouldn't really be a surprise, we've undergone a big downgrade in the quality of coaching - the results of that are clear to see.

That's fair 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,698]

Hes done all he can with us and he knows it, similar to how quite a few players playing for us right now feel I do think, like Pukki and Krul.

 

Wonder if he regrets not taking those Barcelona and bayern deals? Either way, he'll be one of the first to leave come the next transfer window I think, will probably end up getting paid double or more wages than we pay him and if it happens good luck to him.

Edited October 22, 2022 by cambridgeshire canary

[Ken Hairy 3,769]

No players personal decline is systematic of the manager more than Aarons. 

[Dame to Blame 95]

Poor old Max's it seems like he could be the next for the boo boys to get there teeth into,  Maybe he just needs a rest and he certainly has plenty of credit in the bank , and i will always be a fan of his , he could have easily thrown his toys out when the big clubs were sniffing around but the young lad was a true pro and got on with it. Lets just give him some slack a lot of footballers have some loss of form.  

Edited October 22, 2022 by Dame to Blame

[Pyro Pete 1,891]

Last season, Smith frequently said 'these players were brought in to play a certain way'.

Aarons is one of many who now look like square pegs in round holes.

[nfkboy21 1]

Max will spend his whole career at Norwich 

[Midlands Yellow 3,970]

Love Max, the epitome of a true professional. The fact is he should have left a season or two ago. We missed the boat selling him at a premium and he’s stuck here with his price tag dropping quicker than Jordan’s knickers. 

[Richard Richard 186]

10 minutes ago, Midlands Yellow said:

Love Max, the epitome of a true professional. The fact is he should have left a season or two ago. We missed the boat selling him at a premium and he’s stuck here with his price tag dropping quicker than Jordan’s knickers. 

Hugill?

[Richard Richard 186]

31 minutes ago, nfkboy21 said:

Max will spend his whole career at Norwich 

He absolutely will not.

[Ulfotto 630]

It’s nothing new he’s better going forward than he is at defending but most full backs are these days.

[Petriix 2,834]

I really don't know why people find it so hard to understand: when a fullback is left trying to pick up two players half the time, they're hardly going to be setting the world alight with their blistering runs down the wing.

Both our fullbacks have suffered due to the 4-3-3 and the enormous space between them and the wide attacking midfielders. In theory the wider of the central midfielders are supposed to be covering too, but invariably they're wandering about in the central areas.

It's a tactical flaw.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,698]

1 hour ago, nfkboy21 said:

Max will spend his whole career at Norwich 

And I'm becoming the new prime minister

[Ken Hairy 3,769]

2 hours ago, Dame to Blame said:

Poor old Max's it seems like he could be the next for the boo boys to get there teeth into,  Maybe he just needs a rest and he certainly has plenty of credit in the bank , and i will always be a fan of his , he could have easily thrown his toys out when the big clubs were sniffing around but the young lad was a true pro and got on with it. Lets just give him some slack a lot of footballers have some loss of form.  

If you actually read the comments people are blaming Smith's tactics rather than Aarons himself. 

[littleyellowbirdie 2,538]

14 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

If you actually read the comments people are blaming Smith's tactics rather than Aarons himself. 

We're getting plenty of shots and are defensively frail. In light of that, encouraging your full backs to spend less time defending and more time attacking seems somewhat counter-intuitive.

[Mullet 293]

3 hours ago, Monty13 said:

He definitely gets targeted for his height, their second goal being a textbook example. Good goal but a bigger RB wouldn’t have been so easily outmuscled/jumped.

Agree, I love Max he is always one of our best performers and is good going forward but his lack of height and build is a weakness in defence. We haven't addressed our defence in 3 years, we have been poor defensively for as long as I can remember. 

[littleyellowbirdie 2,538]

12 minutes ago, Mullet said:

Agree, I love Max he is always one of our best performers and is good going forward but his lack of height and build is a weakness in defence. We haven't addressed our defence in 3 years, we have been poor defensively for as long as I can remember. 

I still quite liked that brief spell when we were playing 3-5-2. The extra centre back would free him up massively.

[Thirsty Lizard 3,158]

1 hour ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

And I'm becoming the new prime minister

Well the way things are going these days that's actually quite likely.............................

[Yellow and Green 334]

5 hours ago, Nexus_Canary said:

How many times....

Max is being shackled to play a far more defensive role than he ever has.

Bad tactics or not the main issue is our current style does not fit Max.

Now a poor manager does not adapt to the tools at his disposal and trys to bang a square peg into a round hole.

Watch max force a move at Christmas or the summer, I certainly would if I was in his shoes.

Completely agree. He's an attacking full back, and he spent the majority of matches under Farke on the right wing. This was because we completely controlled possession and didn't have to worry about Championship wingers - they were one of the ten passengers on the parked bus.

Smith is indeed playing him more defensively, which isn't his strength. We don't control games as we used to, so the defense is way more exposed. 

Should he adapt his system just because of one player? Probably not. I think he'd play Byram there, if everyone was fit.  

[TheBaldOne66 682]

Sad to say but he is overrated, overhyped and definitely overpriced!

The only real offers for him have been loans from big clubs, which says he’s nowhere near the great player many claim on this forum, as if he was that good there would be clubs queueing up to sign him.

We should have cashed in 2 years ago when we were promoted last time as his value now is probably half what it was then sadly

Edited October 23, 2022 by TheBaldOne66

[Nexus_Canary 1,016]

Disagree, if he was 6ft he would be playing for a top 5 right now as an attacking full back.

Cast your mind back to Wesi.

Too short and no right foot. 6ft with both feet and he would have been a world class play maker.

Taught a couple of lads turned down for the Norwich academy due to height, one of them was probably the most technically gifted player I've seen at that level. Now working in Tesco's. On the flip side I've taught a couple of lads that have made it.

Overall football is cruel at times.

 

The name that springs to mind is Messi, but his sort maybe already part of a bygone era - think of van djik and Haaland. As the years progress we are going to see more and more Haaland style genetic freeks appear in the game.

Edited October 23, 2022 by Nexus_Canary