Myleftboot Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Personally think we have a hell of a player if used the right way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groundhog63 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 (edited) I hope the lad progresses on and with us. He's got those, on loan, relegation saving goals on his CV and that passage of poetry when he sent everyone's galactico, Tielemans, for a Chronicle then deliberately crossed the ball off a Leicester player's foot for wor Bruno to fucking head the cunt into the net. His place in my homecoming is cemented. Edited July 23, 2022 by Groundhog63 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xLiaaamx Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Willock's ceiling is miles above Longstaff's imo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howeay Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 1 hour ago, xLiaaamx said: Willock's ceiling is miles above Longstaff's imo Agreed, he has shown glimpses of brilliance but is still raw, got far more potential than either Longstaff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 4 hours ago, HTT II said: He’s not a CM that’s for sure, he’s poor on the ball in terms of possession and passing and that instinctive side to that type of game, he’s more of an off the cuff, press, nicks the ball and then he’s away with his pace attacking player who can finish/run onto things. I’d play him wide or ideally I’d like to see him converted into a kind of striker. If he is to play lots of games next season as a starter, he should be looking at 7-10 goals. Depends on what you consider a CM. Some sit in front of the defenders like Shelvey, some press further forward like Willock. Willock does sometimes pull wide though, but that's because he has the pace and stamina to do it, being the much younger player. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubaricho Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 1 hour ago, xLiaaamx said: Willock's ceiling is miles above Longstaff's imo 100% Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 I've never been as impressed with Willock as I was with Longstaff when he first came on the scene, but I know that was three years ago. And I didn't watch us when we first got Willock on loan. So I'm probably talking shit but I'm optimistic about Longstaff because I think Howe really likes him, and fancy him to be the third CM on day 1 of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neesy111 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 I've never been that impressed with longstaff tbh. Willocks always been a step above even when he was very poor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Seriously play him as a wide forward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazarus Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Willock is almost like a forward who likes to play in the vertical channels except he's doing it in midfield. Cant remember which one it is - Mezzala or Carriello ?? Cant be arsed to fire up FM to check. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnNUFC Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 42 minutes ago, neesy111 said: I've never been that impressed with longstaff tbh. Willocks always been a step above even when he was very poor. Aye. People will be clinging onto those 8 games Longstaff had in 2018-19 when he's like 29. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpersForGoalposts Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 (edited) We've got enough CMs to get us through the start of the season. As it stands, we only have 1 PL standard striker who is, unfortunately, prone to injury. If Willock could prove himself to be a passable forward, I think he'd be far more useful to us, rather than him ending up adding to our CM depth chart. Edited July 23, 2022 by JumpersForGoalposts Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 8 minutes ago, HaydnNUFC said: Aye. People will be clinging onto those 8 games Willock had in 2020-21 when he's like 29. There was nowt between them last season imo. They were both Cardiff Kenedy until about February, both had improved a lot by the end. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nine Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 6 minutes ago, JumpersForGoalposts said: We've got enough CMs to get us through the start of the season. As it stands, we only have 1 PL standard striker who is, unfortunately, prone to injury. If Willock could prove himself to be a passable forward, I think he'd be far more useful to us, rather than him ending up adding to our CM depth chart. Disagree, 1 injury and 1 suspension and we can’t even put a CM on the bench. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnNUFC Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Yorkie said: There was nowt between them last season imo. They were both Cardiff Kenedy until about February, both had improved a lot by the end. But in Willock's 14 games he literally matched one of our PL goalscoring records for consecutive games scored in and nigh on singlehandedly kept us up with it. Longstaff since getting injured away at West Ham in March 2019 has shown absolutely nothing to me so I can be optimistic about him being a part of a midfield that runs PL matches, even against the so called lesser sides. He's played well in 4 games imo this season; Man Utd (h), Leeds (a), Arsenal (h), Burnley (a). Willock matched one of our goal scoring records. There's much more to be optimistic about with Willock than Longstaff. Edited July 24, 2022 by HaydnNUFC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Not denying that Willock's start was more impressive/striking; the point is that both of their recent baselines is utter, utter shit, and that - in each case - their initial form isn't that reliable a benchmark. Now Longstaff seems to have regained that half a second of sharpness he'd lost, I think he could really improve. He's got a better passing range, is more combative and has better technique in terms of striking the ball, imo. There's probably nowt in it in terms of engines but Willock is faster. Happy to be wrong and I'm not dying on a hill over this, I just see them as direct competition and if I was putting money on it I'd fancy Longstaff to have the better season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty__mag Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Yeah I'd jump on board with trying Willock out as a forward. Gradually and as cover, but I could only see something like that happen, if both Wilson and Wood were out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howeay Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Willock shows moments of class that Longstaff isn't capable of, that finish away at West Ham for example, he also did a little drop of the shoulder during that game to get away from a defender that was class, he does actually play some clever short passes aswell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HTT II Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 8 hours ago, TRon said: Depends on what you consider a CM. Some sit in front of the defenders like Shelvey, some press further forward like Willock. Willock does sometimes pull wide though, but that's because he has the pace and stamina to do it, being the much younger player. Pressing is now common place even with defenders, it’s not a midfielder type only trait. He’s not a central midfielder, regardless of the role in the centre expected of him. He’s a forward, either wide or central. He’s not a centre-forward, but I think he can play off Wilson or play where he does as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Agree he's a forward like, or atleast seeing him last seas he looked like he'd be better there. Howe does seem to see him as a midfielder though, so I trust him and all that blah blah... He's clearly very takented though so hopefully he can fully adapt to whichever rile he's given. I like Longstaff but he's pretty limited. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 This season is Willock's chance seemingly. He was just coming in to form and goals before the injury so I'd be happy with him alongside Bruno & Joelinton being the one breaking to support Wilson. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexf Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Unfortunately Longstaff doesn't quite have the athleticism for the top level. However this weakness can be nullified if he was abit sharper. But the amount of times he takes an eternity on the ball and then loses it before Howe came along was embarrassing. I think he will be improved this year but he never quite seems to recover from the injury he got after first bursting on the scene. But the poison of Bruce being manager also set in. So willing to give everyone a chance now that he's gone. Willock was really poor first half of the season (possible foot injury that was bothering him alot?) but just looked a shadow of the dynamic player we had on loan. But a few of us said in january, let's give this lad a chance under Howe and he can play that Lingard position after we failed to sign him, which I was glad about. He was much better once Howe came in and I think he will be even better this year with a proper fitness and coaching to support. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 I think there’s more to longstaff and willock this season, both very young and with Howe’s coaching hopefully we see better contributions from both of these lads. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 1 hour ago, HTT II said: Pressing is now common place even with defenders, it’s not a midfielder type only trait. He’s not a central midfielder, regardless of the role in the centre expected of him. He’s a forward, either wide or central. He’s not a centre-forward, but I think he can play off Wilson or play where he does as well. So if he's not considered a CM because he ghosts into goal scoring positions, then why is Shelvey considered a CM because he sits in front of the back four? At the end of the day I would think you would have to look at which areas they cover, and both seem to cover the central area quite a lot. Shelvey does it in his own time, Wollock seems to a bit more Sonic Hedgehog. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpersForGoalposts Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 (edited) 13 hours ago, Nine said: Disagree, 1 injury and 1 suspension and we can’t even put a CM on the bench. We have one injury prone PL standard striker. I'm not sure in what way CM could be construed as more of a priority than CF at this time. Edited July 24, 2022 by JumpersForGoalposts Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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