I actually lowered myself to reading the match report in the Sun this morning. They gave Westwood 7 out 10 and Grealish only 6?!?!?
Quote from: AGRIPPA on September 23, 2015, 08:21:46 AMRight.... Can anyone tell me what he offers to the team?I can see nothingDiscipline, for a start. When you have players who like to move all across the pitch in front then you need somebody to hold their position otherwise you end up with 7 players on one side of the pitch. Secondly he keeps the ball moving and the play ticking over. There might be others who will, in time, do it better but for now I think Grealish etc need a player doing what he does to give them the freedom to do what they do.
Right.... Can anyone tell me what he offers to the team?I can see nothing
Quote from: AGRIPPA on September 23, 2015, 08:21:46 AMRight.... Can anyone tell me what he offers to the team?I can see nothingHe is the player which shows for the ball most often by constantly moving into space to receive a pass from the defenders. That in itself does not hurt teams but it does provide a platform which the team can play from.
I confess to be somewhat old fashioned and therefore a little unimpressed when people praise Westwood by saying things like he keeps the ball moving, and he keeps play ticking over. I've no real idea what keeping play ticking over means, or why it is supposedly a good thing. Or why keeping the ball moving is something to be admired. I'd prefer a player held on to it rather than keep it moving in the general direction of the opposition, as Westwood all too frequently does. I'd rather have a player who can put a foot in to win the ball, keep hold of it when he needs to, play the right pass at the right time, play an occasional killer pass, get some goals and assists, take a decent set piece, get forward and back quickly and effectively, and impose himself on the game and the opposition especially when we're under pressure. The kind of things that unfortunately Westwood regularly demonstrates he's not very good at. I just don't think he's particularly good I guess, but then I didn't rate Petrov much either.
Quote from: ktvillan on September 23, 2015, 11:34:22 PMI confess to be somewhat old fashioned and therefore a little unimpressed when people praise Westwood by saying things like he keeps the ball moving, and he keeps play ticking over. I've no real idea what keeping play ticking over means, or why it is supposedly a good thing. Or why keeping the ball moving is something to be admired. I'd prefer a player held on to it rather than keep it moving in the general direction of the opposition, as Westwood all too frequently does. I'd rather have a player who can put a foot in to win the ball, keep hold of it when he needs to, play the right pass at the right time, play an occasional killer pass, get some goals and assists, take a decent set piece, get forward and back quickly and effectively, and impose himself on the game and the opposition especially when we're under pressure. The kind of things that unfortunately Westwood regularly demonstrates he's not very good at. I just don't think he's particularly good I guess, but then I didn't rate Petrov much either.You don't understand why keeping the ball moving is something to be admired? Not every pass can be a killer pass but keeping possession until that opportunity arises is a fundamental part of the game - the water carrier as Cantona described them - and essential to any team. The wrong player in that role results in things like over ambitious passes or dribbles in your own half. There are obviously better players at it than Westwood (then again you could say that for all of our squad) but not to have anyone playing the role because you don't understand it is a dangerous game to play. I think Sherwood likes him because it is the role he used to do himself.
Quote from: Chris Smith on September 24, 2015, 07:50:39 AMQuote from: ktvillan on September 23, 2015, 11:34:22 PMI confess to be somewhat old fashioned and therefore a little unimpressed when people praise Westwood by saying things like he keeps the ball moving, and he keeps play ticking over. I've no real idea what keeping play ticking over means, or why it is supposedly a good thing. Or why keeping the ball moving is something to be admired. I'd prefer a player held on to it rather than keep it moving in the general direction of the opposition, as Westwood all too frequently does. I'd rather have a player who can put a foot in to win the ball, keep hold of it when he needs to, play the right pass at the right time, play an occasional killer pass, get some goals and assists, take a decent set piece, get forward and back quickly and effectively, and impose himself on the game and the opposition especially when we're under pressure. The kind of things that unfortunately Westwood regularly demonstrates he's not very good at. I just don't think he's particularly good I guess, but then I didn't rate Petrov much either.You don't understand why keeping the ball moving is something to be admired? Not every pass can be a killer pass but keeping possession until that opportunity arises is a fundamental part of the game - the water carrier as Cantona described them - and essential to any team. The wrong player in that role results in things like over ambitious passes or dribbles in your own half. There are obviously better players at it than Westwood (then again you could say that for all of our squad) but not to have anyone playing the role because you don't understand it is a dangerous game to play. I think Sherwood likes him because it is the role he used to do himself.It's an important skill, but it isn't enough for a Premier League player to only have that ability in his locker. Westwood offers very, very little of anything else.