Isa Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 (edited) No but i was responding to the statement that 10 years ago a player like Westwood would never get near our first 11 Fair enough though I think he just meant that Westwood wouldn't have been a fixture in the XI back then. Edited October 29, 2014 by Isa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArteSuave Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Westwood > Gavin McCann. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nik986 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Westwood doesn't impose himself on enough games. A tidy footballer, but playing above his level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted October 29, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted October 29, 2014 Westwood > NRC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 No but i was responding to the statement that 10 years ago a player like Westwood would never get near our first 11 Yes, and Djemba Djemba wasn't in our first 11. Unless we were playing 11 games seasons back then, which I certainly don't recall. OK my apologies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Westwood > NRC Not for me. Captain of a team at 18, captain of u21 and while a different player to Westwood he's a better player. Westwood would not have got in our midfield when challenging for top 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Westwood can play NRC can't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heid3ster Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Things Ashley Westwood is good at: - Reading the game: seeing the opposition players, knowing where his teammates are to lay off a pass, thinking two or three moves ahead. We have almost no one else on our team who can do this. - Passing and ball retention. - First touch. - He is among the most comfortable on the ball in our current team. By that I mean he does not panic in possession. - Through balls. Things Ashley Westwood can improve at: - Tackling and general defending/ball-winning. - Set piece delivery (I'm seeing improvement here, hope it continues) - Taking more risks - Taking shots. We do not have enough goals from midfield in this team. - Pressing the opponent. Things Ashley Westwood will probably never be good at: - Dribbling - "Enforcer" role - while I think he can improve on his defensive play, he is not going to evolve into a Roy Keane style DM. - Pace - Unlocking a defense My feeling is that if we aspire to be a team that controls possession, we need a player like Westwood in the team. I think he's one of our more intelligent players, but I also think we don't really play to his strengths, since we rarely seem to attempt to control possession, and there are expectations on him to do the things he's not suited to. I think it's hard for fans to see the value in a midfielder who doesn't fit either the Enforcer or Playmaker role -- he can do bits of each job but can't fill either role completely. I think he could be an important player for the team, but if we're not going to bother trying to control possession anyway, then maybe going with a midfield two of Sanchez (Enforcer) and I guess Cole ?? (Playmaker) would make more sense. Delph is a big miss, obviously (although he is also neither Enforcer nor Playmaker). Frankly I also think we miss KEA more than we know, no one in our team hassles opponents the way he did. I think Westwood is wasted in a kick-and-rush style of play. I don't know if we intentionally play that style or if our players just panic and it becomes that style. And of course as well all know, we need a creative playmaker in the center of the park, have for years. Other than Cole, who for me the jury is still out on, we have no one to fill this role. N'Zogbia and Grealish both have creativity and flair to their games but I think both are better out wide. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArteSuave Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Westwood > NRC Not for me. Captain of a team at 18, captain of u21 and while a different player to Westwood he's a better player. Westwood would not have got in our midfield when challenging for top 4. Seriously? He couldn't pass, dribble or shoot. His PL career was based entirely around his athleticism and at the age of just 30 he's a million miles from playing in the PL again and apparently earning less than £3k / week in the MLS. Westwood has taken shits with a better first touch than NRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poitier Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 NRC gets little appreciation on here, I remember the other season people saying Sylla was better than him after he had played about 5 games. Yes, NRC was a jerk and not very gifted with the ball, but he had pace, a great engine and was a good tackler. He would have made a big difference to our last two seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Westwood has taken shits with a better first touch than NRC.NRC's local angling shop had better tackle than Westwood.Sorry, that's poor but you get the idea. Totally different players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArteSuave Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 He would have made a big difference to our last two seasons. If he had anything at all to offer any Premier League club (or even Championship club) over the last two years someone would have given him the relatively tiny salary he's earning to play here. They didn't because he didn't. We paid £8.5m for that **** and he couldn't trap a bag of cement, pass wind, hit a cows arse or any other cliché to describe a player with no ability. Thankfully, Westwood cost a fraction of that and can actually kick the ball in such a way that is at least slightly beneficial to us. Westwood has taken shits with a better first touch than NRC. NRC's local angling shop had better tackle than Westwood. Sorry, that's poor but you get the idea. Totally different players. I thought it was OK. They are totally different but NRC is absolutely devoid of any skill whatsoever and he'd have to be defensively Makelele-eque to make up for it. He isn't, hence why he's earning less than squad fillers at Championship clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Nrc had his limitations just like Westwood does. Westwood would never have got in our team when NRC was playing for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyAnty Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 It was one of his worst games, but he's still the only player who has it in his locker to play balls like the one for Benteke's headed chance. Not from corners anyway. Ive never saw a worse corner taker and he still gets to take them even after all this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 NRC had the better song. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodytom Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I suppose this applies to a number of player threads but we are where we are, with 4 goals and the worst stats in the league, because we don't have many players who are actually any good. Right now, I'm not sure that any player of ours can be considered as playing well. They are all pretty turd ATM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Not sure I've ever despised a player quite like I despised NRC. What an abomination he was. He'd half get it under control, then rotate himself around it, then point and shout out of the side of his mouth. Then pass it out for a throw in to the opposition. Christ, I hated watching him. Westwood is a bazillion miles ahead of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodytom Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 You see there's this claim that Westwood gets targeted for criticism by some on here. However , a lot of it is to do with the wild claims on here like him being a bazillion miles ahead of NRC! They are both different players so it's hard to judge. But, both could have been/be a lot lot better in a villa shirt. I don't think NRC would look out of place in that midfield personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Not sure I've ever despised a player quite like I despised NRC. What an abomination he was. He'd half get it under control, then rotate himself around it, then point and shout out of the side of his mouth. Then pass it out for a throw in to the opposition. Christ, I hated watching him. Westwood is a bazillion miles ahead of him. 23 caps for England u21 and played 100 games for a team challenging top 4. Westwood has not come close to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I'm a fan. Yes he wasn't at his best on Monday, but who was? His passing options were limited to statues or a target man who constantly came deep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts