meregreen Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 We really wouldn’t. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREAT_BEARD_OF_ZEUS Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 One of his best games I thought. Take away the clumsy challenge which resulted in their goal and he didn't do much else wrong. He's going to get skinned by faster players from time to time, but at least he doesn't give up - he still chases and makes it uncomfortable for them. I thought we backed off them too much on Saturday, let some of their players almost run the length of our half before closing them down and slowing them up. Things like that don't help Whelan. Attacking wise he played the ball of the day through to Onomah for the second, plus he was much neater and tidier with his short passing I thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpotvilla Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 2 hours ago, dukes said: He doesn’t do anything spectacular, which is why I think some people view him as not being good. I see a player that does the simple things really well, a player that enables Hourihane to push further forward without exposing us. I see a player who makes 15 yard passes rather than 30 yard passes, and who breaks up opposition play really well. I think if he wasn’t in the team we’d miss him. This is spot on for me. His experience is key. Would we really be better of with Gardner, Tish,etc doing that job? He's part of the reason we're where we are in the table going the right way 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Been very critical of him, but this was the perfect type of game for him. Scrappy, limited quality and a chance to put yourself about - he did that brilliantly. Aside from the complete (standard) brain fart that allowed their centre mid to break in the first half, he was very good. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Best game for us and got what they game was about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Very good today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roonst83 Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Thought he was utter shite today. Kept giving the ball away and was on his arse more than his feet. Stood up to the physical side of the game well enough but I want so much more quality from him. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 7 minutes ago, roonst83 said: Thought he was utter shite today. Kept giving the ball away and was on his arse more than his feet. Stood up to the physical side of the game well enough but I want so much more quality from him. I agree. I get it's a game of opinions, but how he got MOTM today, I just can't see. I didn't even think he won his battles, it wasn't until Jedi came on that we finally seemed to compete in there. I like his effort, but he's so poor on the ball, he makes Jedi look like Pirlo. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, roonst83 said: I want so much more quality from him. Prepare to be disappointed. Edited October 29, 2017 by villa89 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaglint Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 I think Whelan winning MOTM tells you everything you need to know about the game. I'd have given it to Keinan Davies for being pretty excellent in the few minutes he got or Jota for being generally good and making the right decision when it mattered most. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxahunter Posted October 30, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted October 30, 2017 I thought he was dreadful, he just isn't a good footballer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 He doesn’t suit our game and gameplan. - Long ball to the flanks or target man - Invite and try to soak up pressure - Pedestrian attacks He’d suit a team on the front foot, quick passing, movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 56 minutes ago, Taxahunter said: I thought he was dreadful, he just isn't a good footballer... Certainly not dreadful if you assess what he brought to the team but he's not a 'technically good' player, no. He's not flashy or glamorous but anyone who has watched football for a number of years and/or has played the game at any level will tell you that you need a workhorse who does the ugly stuff. We're not exactly able to purchase someone like Kante, who has absolutely everything to his game, so we need to prioritise defensive grit, which is what we get from Whelan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Pangloss Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 16 hours ago, wazzap24 said: I agree. I get it's a game of opinions, but how he got MOTM today, I just can't see. I didn't even think he won his battles, it wasn't until Jedi came on that we finally seemed to compete in there. I like his effort, but he's so poor on the ball, he makes Jedi look like Pirlo. It was awarded by the same idiot (Andy Hinchcliffe) who felt that Davis simply should have "passed" the ball into the net for his brilliant shot that hit the bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 (edited) 18 hours ago, wazzap24 said: I like his effort, but he's so poor on the ball, he makes Jedi look like Pirlo. Whelan has completed 83% of his passes this season, Jedinak 67%. Don't be silly. Edited October 30, 2017 by lexicon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 I gave him MOTM on Sunday, and I'm hardly a fan. He was everywhere, broke up attacks, kept it simple but tried to play forwards (when we had any options) and really did well. Our general midfield outlet options were poor and resulted in us "being under the cosh" for the majority of the 1st half. Thought he looked much better when Jedi came on (who looked assured, but a little ring rusty) and got on with what he had to do. Is he going to go on mazy runs? No. Is he going to open up defences with passes? No. Had CH and JO played a bit better, maybe we could have taken him off and gone more attacking. But as they were mostly poor and anonymous, he became very central to what we did. So frankly, the less of Whelan we see, the better Villa play. As we didn't play that well yesterday, he stood out and had a good game. Well done Glenn. I think it's very telling that more or less everyone outside of this forum, thought he played very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadyexists Posted October 30, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted October 30, 2017 It seems our central midfielders always divide opinion, is he the new Westwood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Jedinak even fir 20 mins was better than whelan, heck even Ndoye was better than him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 3 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: Jedinak even fir 20 mins was better than whelan, heck even Ndoye was better than him. N'Doye is about half a foot taller than him, and twice as heavy - a little surprise then, that maybe he lost out that battle because Blues were going long a lot. Quite rightly Jedi was introduced, which instantly negated N'Doye's threat (a tactical decision by Bruce? NO WAY!! ), but that doesn't mean Whelan had a bad game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 57 minutes ago, lapal_fan said: N'Doye is about half a foot taller than him, and twice as heavy - a little surprise then, that maybe he lost out that battle because Blues were going long a lot. Quite rightly Jedi was introduced, which instantly negated N'Doye's threat (a tactical decision by Bruce? NO WAY!! ), but that doesn't mean Whelan had a bad game. Im obviously talking about his overall game not just his height! Whelan was no way motm for me. His passing was terrible. Lucky that slip never cost us. Have noticeded he tends to slip quite often in games. Bit clumsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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