I commented in another thread about our defence and mentioned I wouldn't care if any of our defence (bar Valencia and Bailly) were shipped out this summer. Not because they're bad players, they're just not the mean bastards that you come to expect from a Mourinho side. Look at:

Terry Cahill Jorge Costa Carvalho Pepe Ramos Lucio Samuel etc.

They're all soldiers. Reliable. Solid (except for Pepe maybe, ha) and that's just CB's under Mourinho. Jones/Rojo/Darmian/Smalling. Not so much.

When I made my comment I totally forgot about Shaw. He's an odd case. He's extremely highly rated. He came with a reputation from Southampton's famous youth academy. He's the most expensive British defender if I'm not mistaken. He's British. And has "loads of potential".

But in reality, none of those things really mean anything. Even 'potential' means nothing, until it is realised. The only thing that does mean something is his past performances on the pitch. Would anyone be able to provide more insight or an analytical view of Shaw's performances so far for United, without rose-tinted specs. Attacking and defensive. Who could you liken him to? My eye isn't the best at analysing real time performances, particularly from full backs. Which is why I listen to things like the Rantcast, who can break it down for me with stats and analysis etc. Unless I see a standout moment, like Valencia's last ditch tackle against Liverpool at Anfield.

I understand he's still very young, but would anybody be able to justify the hype? I can remember a good period of form before he broke his leg. But that was about it. If an opposing fan were to say he was shit, I'd probably say, 'nah he was great before he broke his leg. Good going forward. And got loads of potential'. But that is about the extent I could speak about him really. This isn't a slight on Shaw (though his current attitude does grind on me). But is he what we need going forward? (pun intended) Ha. Cheers.