Ashley Westwood - Sold to Burnley

[Gregorys Boy]

If we sign one two midfielders who are a step up in class and with more experience then I can see Westwood struggling a bit to get back in the team.  But as things are I still think he has something to offer, and when you are as young as him I don't think any great pressure should be put on him.  Its not like he is another Baker who looks totally out of his depth at this level.

If Lambert did say that then he is a fool.   That is the sort of thing you say when a player is hitting top form (like MON's world class comment with Young) not when they are still finding their feet.

[papa lazarou]

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.

This is the critical point that has been mentioned many times. Westwood and Delph have been having to do things that they are not great at to compensate for the missing dominant central midfielder. Get the right man in and they will make better progress.

[Olneythelonely]

He did say it. 8 months ago.

[Dante Lavelli]

There was a spell at the end of the previous season where he looked excellent but he dropped off a lot last year in my opinion.
It's certainly a bit of a cross-roads season because the Jan-May 2013 player is Premier League quality whereas the guy we've seen since is not.

[JPartington]

More than most, Westwood would probably benefit from having some better players in the team along side him, allowing him to dovetail with them and move the ball around with a bit more ease than present.

He has it all to prove, but I'm hopeful that within a year or two, we will be talking about him with some real pride.

[bobdylan]

His performance at Newcastle last season was op class, but we did not see enough of that level of performance during the season.

[Gregorys Boy]

He did say it. 8 months ago.

Okay, I really should start looking at the dates on this posts...

[bobdylan]

If we sign one two midfielders who are a step up in class and with more experience then I can see Westwood struggling a bit to get back in the team.  But as things are I still think he has something to offer, and when you are as young as him I don't think any great pressure should be put on him.  Its not like he is another Baker who looks totally out of his depth at this level.

If Lambert did say that then he is a fool.   That is the sort of thing you say when a player is hitting top form (like MON's world class comment with Young) not when they are still finding their feet.

I think we'll only be in the market for one, but even then Westwood would be fighting with Cole probably for the third midfield place and I'd certainly fancy Cole over him against a number of opponents, but at least it will give us options and fighting for his place won't do him any harm.

[eamonn]

Is he any better than Gavin McCann in his "prime"?

[Dave]

Is he any better than Gavin McCann in his "prime"?

They're not really comparable players. 

One was in the team to tackle,  one was in the team to pass the ball. 

[LeeB]

Even now, on top of some of the shite served up in recent years, I still wince when I see footage of McCann playing for us.

[SoccerHQ]

If we sign one two midfielders who are a step up in class and with more experience then I can see Westwood struggling a bit to get back in the team.  But as things are I still think he has something to offer, and when you are as young as him I don't think any great pressure should be put on him.  Its not like he is another Baker who looks totally out of his depth at this level.

If Lambert did say that then he is a fool.   That is the sort of thing you say when a player is hitting top form (like MON's world class comment with Young) not when they are still finding their feet.

We'll only sign one more I think.

If it's Ki then I reckon he'll play him and Westwood stationed infront of the back 4. Not sure on positioning but you'd surely think both of those can keep things ticking on the passing. Delph will play more advanced and then it will either be Cole or N'zogbia depending on fitness.

Could even be a diamond actually.

[Matt Collins]

I can also see Westwood and ki holding. Unless we play a diamond (which we might) that does leave Delph as the most advanced of three. Not sure about the creativity there

[pauliewalnuts]

Even now, on top of some of the shite served up in recent years, I still wince when I see footage of McCann playing for us.

I used to be like that with Aaron Hughes. I know he did ok at Fulham, but I thought he was truly awful for us.

[tomd2103]

I can also see Westwood and ki holding. Unless we play a diamond (which we might) that does leave Delph as the most advanced of three. Not sure about the creativity there

Depending on the formation, I could see Westwood holding with Ki (if he arrives) and Delph in front of him in a midfield three.  I think having a more advanced attacking midfielder would also help Westwood as he is more than capable of  sliding passes through into those kind of areas.