Flip Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Just now, KaKa said: People just hate Longstaff man I don't understand what they are watching. At the very least he makes blocks, interceptions and wins the ball back. In that deeper position he keeps it simple and gets it to the forward players. Today the forward players did nothing with the ball. Willock hardly contributes to build up play as he's always making forward runs too early, I even noticed Schar gesturing at him to make himself available for the ball when he was trying to play it out from the back today. When he does eventually get the ball higher up the pitch he is very unconvincing and hardly ever makes anything happen. Anderson comes on for 10 mins and hits the post by hustling to get on the end of that flick on at the far post. he then runs at their defence and wins a dangerous free kick at the end that could have won us the game. In general he was just present, and got on the ball and was involved in build up play too. Under no circumstances should Willock be starting. If we don't get another CM, Longstaff should be in there ahead of him or Anderson. He is the new Jermaine Jenas. Problem with Longstaff is that he wasn't keeping it simple in the 2nd half. He played some terrible passes from deep. Should learn from Big Joe who has now realized he's limited in passing so keeps it simple for most parts. Agree on Willock and Anderson. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 7 minutes ago, Flip said: Sorry, Willock was the worst player for us on the pitch with Burn and Wood (at least in the first 45). It's not even debatable. Doesn't seem to care at all. It seems that it is tbf. Longstaff not even in your top 3 worst performers seems a lot more controversial to me like, he was terrible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 I think Brighton and Wolves are the two hardest places to play outside of the top 6. plus we’ve played Man City at home. to go 4 games unbeaten with 6 points is actually pretty incredible when we were given one of the most difficult starts to the season in my view. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
worthy Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 1 minute ago, Smal said: He is completely anonymous. We are going to have to throw Isak straight in at the deep end! Honestly he cannot do worse unless he scores own goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 I think we just about deserved the draw in the end, but a really frustrating afternoon of football mostly. The front three just didn't click at all, although having Wood as the target man isn't doing them any favours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, Smal said: He is completely anonymous. We are going to have to throw Isak straight in at the deep end! I mean, if Isak blindfolded can't come in straight away and contribute more than Wood then he probably shouldn't have been bought for that sum Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 1 minute ago, Kid Icarus said: I think you're being overly harsh, possibly because you're expecting something from him I wouldn't. Willock for me is a presser who wins things back, drives us forward, and yes should be more of a goal threat. He did the first 2 parts well today, and was a threat in that one moment and absolutely should have buried his chance. Wolves are horrible to play against though, I thought we really struggled to work out how to create anything. Longstaff was not showing for the ball, in the wrong positions, dawdling on the ball, making the wrong decisions, misplacing passes, getting caught in position. Schar kept having to resort to long diagonals because Longstaff went AWOL. We didn't really control the midfield imo, we pressed high up and dominated in the wide areas instead, with Trippier especially seeing loads of the ball. We completely see things differently on both Longstaff and Willock. I think Willock hardly ever gets on the ball in our build up, which he should be doing as a central midfielder, and I think he does nothing in forward areas when he does get it up there, not to mention defensively he is incredibly lightweight. I think both Joelinton and Longstaff's jobs were made infinitely more difficult today because they were both carrying Joe Willock, the invisible man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stottie Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 A fine point in the end and unlucky not to win. For all the hype about silky Portuguese players who should be able to keep possession in their sleep, Wolves had no control in this game. They had one decent spell of five minutes that ended with a non-blocked shot that flew in. Despite being under the kosh for fifty minutes, the only counter attack of note they could manage needed a big bundle for them to create a chance. I thought they were shit and we would have won easily with Wilson/Isak and Bruno. The co-commentor sounded desparate to make Semedo MotM despite him pulling back Fraser for what should have been a second yellow. That was far from Joelinton's best match, he did try to up his game with Bruno out but is not a forward passer, but was still better than any of their midfielders. He covered more ground and was more involved. More injury woes and scares, so I think the chequebook is going to have to come out again. We have strength but not strength in depth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smal Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Willock is a ball carrier. He should look to get on the ball deeper but he just hides all the time. Really needs to up his game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 11 minutes ago, Flip said: Sorry, Willock was the worst player for us on the pitch with Burn and Wood (at least in the first 45). It's not even debatable. Doesn't seem to care at all. Longstaff was much worse, Willock was ok I thought, but then I never think he's as bad as some people on here make out. He presses effectively, and at least he wasn't giving the ball away repeatedly like some of his co midfielders. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 4 minutes ago, Flip said: Problem with Longstaff is that he wasn't keeping it simple in the 2nd half. He played some terrible passes from deep. Should learn from Big Joe who has now realized he's limited in passing so keeps it simple for most parts. Agree on Willock and Anderson. I noticed both Joelinton and Longstaff were often forced to play more difficult passes because Willock is hardly ever available for a pass. Guy just takes off on forward runs way too often and early in our moves. He's supposed to be playing as a central midfielder. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodneyCisse Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 1 minute ago, Smal said: Willock is a ball carrier. He should look to get on the ball deeper but he just hides all the time. Really needs to up his game. I think they’ve watched the Mctominay videos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubaricho Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 4 minutes ago, KaKa said: We completely see things differently on both Longstaff and Willock. I think Willock hardly ever gets on the ball in our build up, which he should be doing as a central midfielder, and I think he does nothing in forward areas when he does get it up there, not to mention defensively he is incredibly lightweight. I think both Joelinton and Longstaff's jobs were made infinitely more difficult today because they were both carrying Joe Willock, the invisible man. This is a very bad take my man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 (edited) Match ratings: Pope 7 Trippier 6 Schar 7 Botman 8 Went up a level today Burn 6 Willock 6 Longstaff 6 Joelinton 7 Almiron 8 Wood 5 ASM 8 Ultimately we completely dominated against a solid PL side, away from home. We would have been 1-0 up had we got the correct decision and we would have coasted. Their goal came from a quality player who you just take your hat off to but it wasn't a reflection on our performance IMO. Second half we showed character without having our goalscorers on the pitch. We were well worthy of a point and unlucky to have had to chase the game. The message is clear, when we have injuries we suffer when it comes to cutting edge but we don't suffer from lack of organisation, character, spirit or fitness. We are lightyears from where we were last season. Edited August 28, 2022 by STM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeordieDazzler Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 (edited) We had 64% possession away from home man Night and day to what we used to be. Edited August 28, 2022 by GeordieDazzler Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginola Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Willock was poor today, Longstaff is just plain bad. Normally he'd be third choice for that position though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, KaKa said: We completely see things differently on both Longstaff and Willock. I think Willock hardly ever gets on the ball in our build up, which he should be doing as a central midfielder, and I think he does nothing in forward areas when he does get it up there, not to mention defensively he is incredibly lightweight. I think both Joelinton and Longstaff's jobs were made infinitely more difficult today because they were both carrying Joe Willock, the invisible man. But Joelinton was fine and neither he nor Bruno have any bother with Willock normally. Your 'people just don't like Longstaff' craic is woeful like, howeh. I'd love nothing more than for Rafa-era Longstaff to make a return, but I've just watched a 90 minute match where in my view he did loads of things wrong, the main one being that he didn't show for the ball, so I'll say so. Schar and Botman weren't asking him where he was for a laugh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 26 minutes ago, doublecrown said: Once I saw Longstaff in the starting lineup I knew we were in trouble - just not good enough for a team striving for a top 7 finish. Have we ever won a game that he has started? Thought Joelinton was slow AF, and still not sure Wood is top-7 quality either. This is a game we should have won, instead it was a slog that reminded me of the Steve Bruce era. Show me a Steve Bruce match where we had 64% possession on the road and 21-10 shots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, KaKa said: I noticed both Joelinton and Longstaff were often forced to play more difficult passes because Willock is hardly ever available for a pass. Guy just takes off on forward runs way too often and early in our moves. He's supposed to be playing as a central midfielder. I mean, isn't that part of his remit? That sort of movement is what you need if you want to progress the ball rather than just pass the ball sideways and backwards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWN Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Thought we dominated long periods and thoroughly deserved the point . What a strike for both goals , ASM the pick . Thought Miggy did well and the crisp passing is better but we missed two big players that have the cut to win these games . Happy with a point tbh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfcastle Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Sneakily but surely, yet another 1-1 with these Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave s Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 is it just me who still instinctively looks towards the bottom of the table when a web page is loading with league on? ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpenC Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 6 minutes ago, STM said: The message is clear, when we have injuries we suffer when it comes to cutting edge but we don't suffer from lack of organisation, character, spirit or fitness. We are lightyears from where we were last season. can't believe people freaking out at the team sheet didn't recognise that even with our big names absent we're a different proposition now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 5 minutes ago, cubaricho said: This is a very bad take my man. 1 minute ago, Kid Icarus said: But Joelinton was fine and neither he nor Bruno have any bother with Willock normally. Your 'people just don't like Longstaff' craic is woeful like, howeh. I'd love nothing more than for Rafa-era Longstaff to make a return, but I've just watched a 90 minute match where in my view he did loads of things wrong, the main one being that he didn't show for the ball, so I'll say so. Schar and Botman weren't asking him where he was for a laugh. No point arguing back and forth on this. I think Willock is a nothing player at the minute and should not be in the starting line up. Against Tranmere nothing and same again today. Shown up both times by Anderson who should be ahead of him now in all honesty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzy Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 We've had 2 poor games in our first 4 yet we are still unbeaten. The fact Liverpool are coming up next is perhaps no bad thing, I think we need a wake up call. Whether that be proving that we can compete with the top clubs and get results consistently or just showing how far we still have yet to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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