Ashley Westwood - Sold to Burnley

[LeeB]

I'd say he was a deep lying midfielder, because nobody else has yet.

[Chipsticks]

Deep-lying playmaker would be the term I'd go for. Which is fine, as long as he's paired with an anchorman who's willing to do the dirty stuff. The closest thing we have is probably Sylla, although he seems to be unable to get game time at the moment.

[john e]

i'd say he is not good enough in any department, he's not rubbish, but we need better

thought he was overhyped last season to, but he's not improved any this term

[barrysleftfoot]

 Hes an inferior Carrick, but to be fair to the lad he is only young, and only cost £1.5m?

 Like most players his age, he needs to strengthen up, learn the game, and keep working at his game.He has a decent pass, not a great pass, and is a busy player.Atm hes not strong enough or quick enough, and he does'nt track his players good enough.

 For me hes not good enough , hopefully he will be, but not atm.

[Toronto Villa]

like Lowton he's had a bit of a slump. Also at this level there are better scouts and game plans being drawn by the opposition designed to counter every system and player. He needs to work his way through this and he has always come across as very astute and level headed. We as fans also need to show some patience as these players develop. Not everyone is a Benteke and even he got pelters from many at the start.

[Dante Lavelli]

We certainly do need to be patient with this squad of players. 

The whole ethos is about improving each individual so the collective gets much better.  Whilst that means us fans need to stay behind the individuals, I also think it means Lambert needs to identify drops in form and allow others (Sylla, Bacuna, Johnson etc) to be given the opportunity to improve.

In the particular instance of Westwood, I was predicting him to be Carrick's replacement at Man U (such was his promise last year) so it's a shame that he's not maintained that trajectory.  Regardless he's shown enough potential to not be written off, however right now Lambert should maybe reshuffle the pack slightly as I'm not convinced KEA/Westwood should be in the team together at the same time.

[Herman]

Watched him having a kick about at half time at the first pre-season games in Germany when has was only about 6 yards from where I was standing. I remember thinking at the time that he connected with the ball really well (more so than those warming up with him). He seemed to actually kick the ball very very sweetly, if that makes sense. Unfortunately, haven't really seen much evidence of that when he actually plays in a game.
We shouldn't really be expecting miracles from him but he needs to show some improvement as so far this year he has been very poor and I didn't see him do an awful lot for the vast majority of last season.

[Dante Lavelli]

I think his biggest problem is the fact that even when he's doing his job then it largely goes unnoticed.  The role demands that he has good positioning and moves the ball quickly.  If he was breaking into the box ahead of the other midfielders, or dribbled around players from deep positions then he wouldn't be doing his job.

His biggest problem at the moment is his passing is not incisive enough and he's committing stupid fouls. 

[supertom]

I think his biggest problem is the fact that even when he's doing his job then it largely goes unnoticed.  The role demands that he has good positioning and moves the ball quickly.  If he was breaking into the box ahead of the other midfielders, or dribbled around players from deep positions then he wouldn't be doing his job.

His biggest problem at the moment is his passing is not incisive enough and he's committing stupid fouls. 

I also think, as you say, he's the one that should always be available for a pass. But I think he's been hiding in games. Last season, from Jan onwards, he'd pretty much always be available to receive the ball from a team mate when he didn't have the ball himself.

In fairness it's not just him who's lacking in movement at the moment. Our movement off the ball when we're in possession has been well below what it was in the run in last season.

[Smirker]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ashley-westwood-could-england-star-2865687

Ashley Westwood can succeed Michael Carrick for England, according to Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert.

The holding midfielder has become an established top-flight player this season. And he weighed in with a brilliant maiden goal for the club at West Brom in a thrilling 2-2 draw .

Lambert said: “I would say he is in the mould of Carrick or Paul Scholes, but he will be always be his own man. That is a huge compliment to him.

“Every team needs one, you need somebody like him to make the engine work. You have to have someone disciplined to put the team first.”

Lambert snapped up Westwood, 23, from Crewe in August 2012 for under £1million.

He added: “The money we bought him for was incredible. If he ever did get a chance for England I don’t think he would let anyone down.”

[aj2k77]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/ashley-westwood-could-england-star-2865687

Ashley Westwood can succeed Michael Carrick for England, according to Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert.

The holding midfielder has become an established top-flight player this season. And he weighed in with a brilliant maiden goal for the club at West Brom in a thrilling 2-2 draw .

Lambert said: “I would say he is in the mould of Carrick or Paul Scholes, but he will be always be his own man. That is a huge compliment to him.

“Every team needs one, you need somebody like him to make the engine work. You have to have someone disciplined to put the team first.”

Lambert snapped up Westwood, 23, from Crewe in August 2012 for under £1million.

He added: “The money we bought him for was incredible. If he ever did get a chance for England I don’t think he would let anyone down.”

Lambert is deluded.

That's like saying Rodney Trotter can take over from Benteke.

[dekko]

Lambert is deluded.

That's like saying Rodney Trotter can take over from Benteke.

Don't get too wound up, he always massively overstates how good his players are in public.  For instance, here he is telling everyone how Jonny Howson is as good as Iniesta: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Howson-is-like-Iniesta-claims-Norwich-boss-article888028.html

[BoskoDjembaSalifou]

Has Lambert ever taken Westwood off? Seems like he never gets subbed.

[JPartington]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this but.....

Big season for Westwood. I like him as a player and I'm really hoping he can kick on. We all know his form over the last 18 months has been up and down. With little expectation, he started off well, showing glimpses of real class, then was a little hot and cold last season, probably picking up a little bit after Christmas.

He is 23/24 now, and, with a little more strength and 18 months premier league experience behind him, I'm hopeful he raise his level and put in some consistent performances. He appears keen to take the responsibility on and be an influential member of the team. He is never afraid to receive the ball in tight situations and is an excellent passer (not just side to side like El Ahmadi but to develop play). Perhaps he does need to add an extra level of clinical incisiveness to his passing, but that isn't too far off. Although lightweight, he is tenacious in the tackle (maybe a little too gobby with the ref, but you'd rather that than a shrinking violet). If we are to move away from the 'hare em scare em' kick and chase football of the last couple of seasons, we really need Westy to step up.

With villa's frustrating inability  to retain the ball, it is easy to point the finger at the midfield and question why they are struggling to control the game. However, this is a tough gig at Villa in recent years. With the defence jittery in possession and the attackers lacking the technique to hold the ball up you can see how much pressure is put on the midfield. The only relaxed possession we had last year were interchanges between Delph and Westy and when Benteke was in the mood to dominate and roll his foot over the ball. Everything else was fraught and hurried.

I'm hopeful that with Senderos, Vlaar, Okore, Richardson at the back (and much less of Baker, Bennett and Clark), and with the addition of another midfielder who is relaxed and comfortable in possession, Westwood can begin to dictate play on a regular basis, as we need him to.

Fingers crossed....

[Dave]

Good post. I'd also hope he'll kick on a bit in terms of goalscoring. His goals against West Brom, Hull and ManYoo show that he's got a decent shot on him. Would be good if he could get it out a bit more often.

I'd also hope that he's one of those who is playing more like 20 games across the whole season rather than every match due to the other options that we'll hopefully have by then.