Nick Woltemade

[KaKa]

17 minutes ago, Foxy Ruel said:

Unconvinced so far. Really like the fella and want him to do well but I think some of his performances have been overrated and some of the issues with his skill set overlooked. Hope I’m wrong but I’ve found his overall output underwhelming on the whole albeit with some sprinkling of really good play. I find him almost uniquely difficult to weigh up but the lack of seeing him shoot properly after so many minutes is odd - whether he is a 9 or a 10 or a combination he is an attacker and most get on the ball enough to get some shots away. The team isn’t playing great which isn’t helping. I’d like to see him have a stormer before we go into yet another international break to settle my concerns. Could be that he’s knackered. Could be that he isn’t as good as we thought or that his style doesn’t suit the rest of the team as much as a flyer like Wissa.

 

Honestly, the fact we have failed to get this man a clear shooting opportunity in and around the box is just pitiful. The team should be ashamed.

 

There have been enough opportunities to do so, but so many times a cross is just whacked into the box, when he's dropped off into a bit of space where a simple cut back gets him a decent shooting opportunity.

 

I'm hoping with Tino and Hall coming back in, more of these chances come as we stretch defences more with the added width.

 

The guy has really overachieved so far as the team hasn't been great going forward at all.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

The cross by Murphy was really annoying, just needed a bit more attention and it was a tap-in. 

[Mountain]

On 02/11/2025 at 12:33, Coffee_Johnny said:

Ekitike would have evidently been an upgrade on Voldemort, but imagine having option of Woldemade linking up with him?

Might have to consider using the  råtta‘s name again. All this Voldemort and Woldemade in the same post stuff is making me spell check/doubt what I know.
Made worse by the fact I visited/stayed in Waldemohr in September (which I, to everyone’s amusement, mistakenly called Voldemort). It’s near Jägersburg (which I kept calling Jägerbomb) and not far from Homburg (hat not Keegan) 🤷‍♂️. 

 

We've had two Voldemorts

 

 

[Mountain]

59 minutes ago, Foxy Ruel said:

Unconvinced so far. Really like the fella and want him to do well but I think some of his performances have been overrated and some of the issues with his skill set overlooked. Hope I’m wrong but I’ve found his overall output underwhelming on the whole albeit with some sprinkling of really good play. I find him almost uniquely difficult to weigh up but the lack of seeing him shoot properly after so many minutes is odd - whether he is a 9 or a 10 or a combination he is an attacker and most get on the ball enough to get some shots away. The team isn’t playing great which isn’t helping. I’d like to see him have a stormer before we go into yet another international break to settle my concerns. Could be that he’s knackered. Could be that he isn’t as good as we thought or that his style doesn’t suit the rest of the team as much as a flyer like Wissa.

 

Fair enough

 

In my opinion I think he's exceptional.

 

[Heron]

1 hour ago, Foxy Ruel said:

Unconvinced so far. Really like the fella and want him to do well but I think some of his performances have been overrated and some of the issues with his skill set overlooked. Hope I’m wrong but I’ve found his overall output underwhelming on the whole albeit with some sprinkling of really good play. I find him almost uniquely difficult to weigh up but the lack of seeing him shoot properly after so many minutes is odd - whether he is a 9 or a 10 or a combination he is an attacker and most get on the ball enough to get some shots away. The team isn’t playing great which isn’t helping. I’d like to see him have a stormer before we go into yet another international break to settle my concerns. Could be that he’s knackered. Could be that he isn’t as good as we thought or that his style doesn’t suit the rest of the team as much as a flyer like Wissa.

What did Isak contribute when not scoring out of curiosity? Woltemade has something like 6 in 9 and is entirely new to us and we are operating (in an attacking sense) an entirely new way.

 

I think you're being a tad harsh personally.

[Cornah]

Over achieved in my eyes, never in a million years a 9, needs a proper striker alongside him.someone like that Wissa fella from Brentford.

[NobertoSolano]

I think we will see the best of him when he has another runner to create more space. 

 

A 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 with Wolte behind Wissa could be the next evolvement of Howeball.

 

This may be the key against the sides we could go at!

 

Its coming 

[Menace]

I think the criticism is harsh, pretty sure even Haaland in this team would look starved. The issue is we have misfiring wingers and a midfield that just does not create enough. For him to score 6 goals with what is not many touches in the box is rather impressive I have to say. I have no doubts that once the team is firing again he will be fine, it's no surprise a lot of the new strikers that got purchased over the summer have struggled - Nick has been one of the better ones, if not the best one so far.

[Stottie]

Ekitike seems to have gone off the boil a little after an initial flurry. I would be much more worried as a Liverpool hater if they were creating Callum Wilson goals for him, crosses to a striker who's found space in the box which he then clinically finishes. If he's hitting snapshots off rebounds from 18 yards out, like at SJP, the majority of them will end up wide or in the stands.

 

In build-up, Woltemade seems way superior. We are not very good at getting it to him though, or giving him options to lay it off to. This is because we've not had a "lead the line" striker for a long time. 

[Guybrush]

He's done really well from the off, but he is a completely different type of player and the lads still need to get used to him, that final ball to him is still lacking.

 

None of that would matter as much if our wingers were consistent. His build up play was made for wide forwards but none (aside from the Juice) are in form.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Heron said:

What did Isak contribute when not scoring out of curiosity? Woltemade has something like 6 in 9 and is entirely new to us and we are operating (in an attacking sense) an entirely new way.

 

I think you're being a tad harsh personally.

I think it’s 6 in - 12 to be fair which is good (one of which was a penalty - these didn’t count back in the day whippersnappers). I think some of those include sub appearances and games where he has come off early so I always prefer minutes per goal anyway. To answer your question Isak contributed because he often had the defenders terrified of his pace but he was selfish and injury prone and often went missing in games. I also think it was easier to judge when Isak arrived - he had an absolute blinder at ………ahem (clears throat) Anfield and it was obvious he had some special qualities. He’s also gone and we move on. What I would say about Wolt in the positive column is that he always seems to occupy at least two defenders and it will be interesting to see what happens when Wissa arrives. I get that it is different styles but at the moment most would agree we aren’t playing consistently great and a lot of the players are taking a hammering - my view is just that I’m less convinced (at the moment) about how good he actually is.
 

It’s reassuring to me that so many think I’m wrong because obviously I want that to be the case. 

 

To clarify - I just think that his overall contribution to the matches has been overrated and he seems immune to the criticisms that others receive.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2025 by Foxy Ruel

[Erikse]

Apart from the lack of service and proper fullbacks, he doesn't look like the fastest runner. It's not mandatory for a striker to be lightning quick, but when he drops so deep, it will take him time to get into good scoring positions from the deep when we attack with our very fast wingers. He will score a good bunch of headers for us anyways, no doubt. Can't wait to see what happens when our fullbacks and/or Wissa is back, that should help aswell.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2025 by Erikse

[Newcastle Fan]

12 minutes ago, Erikse said:

Apart from the lack of service and proper fullbacks, he doesn't look like the fastest runner. It's not mandatory for a striker to be lightning quick, but when he drops so deep, it will take him time to get into good scoring positions from the deep when we attack with our very fast wingers. He will score a good bunch of headers for us anyways, no doubt. Can't wait to see what happens when our fullbacks and/or Wissa is back, that should help aswell.

 

 

 

 

I agree, i noticed when he drops and then our wingers go on the attack he is too far to not fast enough to get in a goal scoring position, Isak scored a lot of goals using his pace so we'll have to adapt around Nick's style of play or count in Wissa to do those runs.

 

Another thing Nick can maybe improve or take out of his game which i already mentioned after the first half yesterday is releasing the ball faster, quite often he holds on too it to a point were he gets crowded and loses it, he's a skillful player but as a striker he needs to be an outlet for keeping the ball.

 

I'm sure he'll improve and it does seem unfair in a way that he's been thrown straight into the team playing every single game from the off, and while he came out of it with a lot of credit he'll get better when Wissa is back and we can afford to rest him and have him understand our style more.

[NSG]

Looks a born number 10 to me. We need to find a way to fit him and Wissa into the same team.

[Erikse]

I would be so excited to see a 4-2-3-1, with Wolte behind Wissa, and Tonali + Bruno behind him. I don't think Howe has ever played that formation with us, though? He loves his flat 3. Could see it being a 4-4-2 with Wolte and Wissa up top, and that would kind of be the same thing. I think we have tried the 4-4-2 one or two times.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2025 by Erikse

[lovejoy]

i think he looks jaded, which is totally understandable. 

 

 

[jack j]

12 minutes ago, Erikse said:

I would be so excited to see a 4-2-3-1, with Wolte behind Wissa, and Tonali + Bruno behind him. I don't think Howe has ever played that formation with us, though? He loves his flat 3. Could see it being a 4-4-2 with Wolte and Wissa up top, and that would kind of be the same thing. I think we have tried the 4-4-2 one or two times.

 

 

 

Would that not just leave our overly exposed midfield even more exposed though?

[Shearergol]

I'd play Wissa instead of Gordon with Hall behind him covering the entire wing.

 

The issue, like everything this season, is our wide players. Yeah he looked absolutely knackered last night (which probably comes from being wrestled to the floor every time the ball comes to him) but without the full backs and wingers actually offering an out-ball he's always going to struggle.

[HawK]

Ignore the player numbers but something like this would be good to see all fit and available :

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2025 by HawK

[HawK]

23 minutes ago, Erikse said:

I would be so excited to see a 4-2-3-1, with Wolte behind Wissa, and Tonali + Bruno behind him. I don't think Howe has ever played that formation with us, though? He loves his flat 3. Could see it being a 4-4-2 with Wolte and Wissa up top, and that would kind of be the same thing. I think we have tried the 4-4-2 one or two times.

 

 

 

 

100%

[ponsaelius]

10 hours ago, Heron said:

What did Isak contribute when not scoring out of curiosity? Woltemade has something like 6 in 9 and is entirely new to us and we are operating (in an attacking sense) an entirely new way.

 

I think you're being a tad harsh personally.

 

Isak set our entire press and scared teams both coming short and going wide/over the top. Even when he was playing shit and he was isolated the type of player he was helped us as a team get up the pitch or damage the opposition on the break. You also always also fancied him to score a half chance to break a game 

 

To me we seem generally much deeper as a team and a bit less dynamic, even if in isolation he has done OK. I've also yet to see him show the pure shooting/finishing prowess that Isak showed twice in 45 mins on his debut.

 

That's not to slander him because so far he's done well, and clearly has a lot to his game, but I too am not 100% convinced yet.

[TheInfiniteOdyssey]

His best moments are when he traps the ball and feeds an overlapping runner to beat the press, in practically the same, fluid movement. 
 

It’s something as a team we need to engineer better patterns of play to anticipate.

 

The CB on the ball perhaps needs to look for him straight away.

 

I’m looking forward to seeing his interplay with Wissa, whenever that time comes.

[Shearergol]

14 minutes ago, HawK said:

Ignore the player numbers but something like this would be good to see all fit and available :

 

 

 

 

 

6-5 every week

[Jack14Bojangles]

12 hours ago, duo said:

The lad is feeding off scraps - other than balls hoofed into the box we aren't creating any chances for him.

That's exactly how it is.

[Jack14Bojangles]

12 hours ago, KaKa said:

 

Honestly, the fact we have failed to get this man a clear shooting opportunity in and around the box is just pitiful. The team should be ashamed.

 

There have been enough opportunities to do so, but so many times a cross is just whacked into the box, when he's dropped off into a bit of space where a simple cut back gets him a decent shooting opportunity.

 

I'm hoping with Tino and Hall coming back in, more of these chances come as we stretch defences more with the added width.

 

The guy has really overachieved so far as the team hasn't been great going forward at all.

That sums it up perfectly. Exactly my opinion.