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Author Topic: Ashley Westwood - Sold to Burnley  (Read 231981 times)

Offline LTA

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #630 on: September 23, 2015, 12:37:36 PM »
I actually lowered myself to reading the match report in the Sun this morning.  They gave Westwood 7 out 10 and Grealish only 6?!?!?

Offline Bottom Right 89

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #631 on: September 23, 2015, 12:46:15 PM »
I actually lowered myself to reading the match report in the Sun this morning.  They gave Westwood 7 out 10 and Grealish only 6?!?!?
Good, the last thing we want is Jack becoming a tabloid favourite or we'll be in for a summer of "reliable source" touting him to Liverpool and Tottenham for 10m plus combinations of their rejects in return.

Offline UK Redsox

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #632 on: September 23, 2015, 01:03:23 PM »
I actually lowered myself to reading the match report in the Sun this morning.  They gave Westwood 7 out 10 and Grealish only 6?!?!?

Grealish only played half the game. Therefore, pro-rata, he actually got 12 out of 10

Offline Pat McMahon

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #633 on: September 23, 2015, 02:21:55 PM »
Right.... Can anyone tell me what he offers to the team?

I can see nothing

Discipline, 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.

I agree Chris. My gripe with Westwood is that he doesn't have the athleticism or physicality to do the harder defensive work when we don't have the ball.

Offline Ryu

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #634 on: September 23, 2015, 02:28:52 PM »
He was playing where Delph and Cleverley played in the diamond under Sherwood last season and it's just not a job he does well and we didn't have the players for that formation on the pitch.  He's at the very least competent in the position he was in the second half and the formation suited all the players better.  It should be him and Sanchez in an either/or situation at the Base of a midfield 3 if you ask me. We need to improve our possession before we can cope with only 2 in midfield.

Offline AGRIPPA

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #635 on: September 23, 2015, 02:47:07 PM »
Right.... Can anyone tell me what he offers to the team?

I can see nothing

He 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 saw Ayew coming for the ball off the defenders more than he did and he was only on 45 mins...
Everything by-passes him cus he's not up to the job. He's had more than enough chances... time for a change IMO

Guess we'll have to disagree

Offline Ryu

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #636 on: September 23, 2015, 03:09:49 PM »
Maybe us Villa fans have been spoiled by having Barry and Petrov playing Westwood's position for years and him looking poor in comparison.

It's like how even if Rudy does a decent job he'll always be negative compared to Benteke. 

Offline old man villa fan

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #637 on: September 23, 2015, 11:15:07 PM »
Westwood looks neat and tidy in the deep midfield position when there is no opposition player near him.  When he moves forward and has opposition players around him, his only way to play is either square or back.  He does not seem to react quick enough to play the short through passes between the midfield and defence.  He has a knack of playing more balls to players in no better position than himself.

Offline ktvillan

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #638 on: September 23, 2015, 11:34:22 PM »
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.

Offline Randy Gurner

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #639 on: September 24, 2015, 01:08:04 AM »
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.

I couldn't agree more.

The arrival of promising midfielders in Gana and Veretout and Sanchez finally showing some class and consistency is really showing up Westwood for the sideways passing Championship corner floater that he always was.

Offline KevinGage

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #640 on: September 24, 2015, 01:17:41 AM »
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.

There's an argument to say we never truly seen the best of Petrov, but he was a very intelligent footballer.

There were a number of games I witnessed when he was playing for Bulgaria -sometimes against top class opposition- and he ran the show. And yes, part of that was keeping play ticking over, moving the ball on quickly and always being available for a return pass.

My gripe at the time with Stan was I knew he had more to his game than we seen for most of his time with us.  He had a good shot on him, but didn't get forward enough. He was capable of sharp, incisive passing. But all to often relied on playing the safe ball.  I credit him with taking one for the team though, as I think he was under instruction to do that.

I don't think Westwood has that extra gear. We would have seen more evidence of it by now.

Offline Chris Smith

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #641 on: September 24, 2015, 07:50:39 AM »
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.

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.

Offline ClaretAndBlueBlood

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #642 on: September 24, 2015, 10:10:18 AM »
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.

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 keeps the ball moving and hence keeps the opposition moving until the point where a gap appears. That is where you need someone who can play the killer pass which is something we have been lacking for quite a while

Offline Risso

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #643 on: September 24, 2015, 10:30:06 AM »
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.

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.

Offline Chris Smith

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Re: Ashley Westwood
« Reply #644 on: September 24, 2015, 10:40:30 AM »
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.

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.

Agree to a point but 'so far' I haven't seen anyone who does what he does. That's not to say they can't but to date they haven't shown that they are suited to the job.

 


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