Jump to content

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Jordan said:

Much better second half. Was making clever runs for first time this season. Hope he kicks on from that. 

 

He was making clever runs in the first half as well, people just weren't seeing it because they were getting too outraged when he had a bad touch. He's not the best at ball retention, and he wasn't last season either, but nobody else drives forward like he does and he looks to hurt the opposition. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

It's odd, he's a no 10, but he's not all that creative. He's closer to Almiron than say Riquelme in terms of what he offers. I think when we're counter attacking he looks great, it's just a case of what can he do to influence the game outside of that/

Link to post
Share on other sites

Quote

“I felt we really did compete well in that area. Our athletes in the team came to the fore. Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock, as the two attacking midfielders, put in a tireless shift there, they were box to box.”

 

Howe's view on Willock which I agree with. Is he good enough? Not really, but he does have the ability to cover ground and compete with high energy teams like Leeds.

 

I hope this is also an insight into Howe's thinking regarding midfield. We haven't been linked with many central midfielders, but some journalists are saying we definitely want one in this window. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

Disagree massively on Longstaff being an athlete tbh, but he sees him much more than me. Willock defienitely has the legs/atheltic ability. Still need a DM.

 

Yeah I disagree on Longstaff as well, might have to watch the second half again at some point to see what he done. With Joelinton out the DM position has become even more urgent. Supposedly Joe's stats in 42 mins on the field were equivalent to Shelvey's over the full 90 mins. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

He's very much a final third player. His strengths lie in smart off the ball movement and fast counters. He's wasted further back, but is having to play there out of necessity. We desperately need a midfielder to sit with Shelvey and give him freedom to roam.

Link to post
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

Disagree massively on Longstaff being an athlete tbh, but he sees him much more than me. Willock defienitely has the legs/atheltic ability. Still need a DM.

I guess he's an athlete in the way that he could run at a pretty slow pace forever

Link to post
Share on other sites

Easy to say now as we have no other choice, but agreed, let's hope the leeds 2nd half was a turning point and the break and trip away was a season reset for him to get over whatever physical or mental struggles he's had this year. He now has Bruno sweeping up behind him which should give him more license to burst forward like he did last year. Got 8 goals in 14 games which is highly unlikely to be replicated but it's nearly identical to Lingards 9 in 16 for west ham. 

 

There is a player there and hopefully through the disappointment of missing out on an attacking midfielder, Willock can take the opportunity to show us what he's got. 

 

Same goes for Fraser, Almiron and Murphy to a lesser extent. This club is going places and they have a chance to show their worth to us in the short to medium term. Otherwise they are all out the door in 6 months time.  (maybe not all if we go down :))

Link to post
Share on other sites

agree, we didnt get a mobile/pacy striker in or a goalscoring midfielder.

we really need to push this kid further upfield with bruno behind him.

best finisher in the squad bar wilson (based on last season, mind).

Link to post
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, toon25 said:

Really, really need this kid to step up now.

 

 

Agreed.  That Delle Ali transfer last night got me thinking.  Delle had his best form years ago playing very high, off the striker and scoring lots of goals.  He has not made the same impact playing in a deeper more traditional midfield role.

 

Exactly the same last season compared with this season for Willock.  If we want to utilise his strengths we need to get him high up the pitch playing off or close to Wood.  Everton should be thinking the same for Delle.

 

Disappointed to miss out on Lingard or someone else but as we saw last season we have a player who can make an impact in Willock.  Hopefully whatever injury stuff has been bothering him is behind him and he can contribute some goals - which we are desperate for.

Link to post
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Gallowgate Toon said:

I think the role he played at Leeds is good foil for him. Part of a flat-ish 3 but with license to get forward & support.

 

 

He just needs to look after the ball a bit better. He's making great runs, but is very loose with possession.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...