Ashley Westwood

[Woodytom]

Was ok.

That was a game, where a player like westwood (who divides the fans) could have quite easily taken control of the game and bossed it and started to put any doubt regarding his quality to bed. Very little quality on shoe and no player decided to stand out until grealish came on. 

Very easy to blame the tactics and so so in the first half and different roles etc but it was screaming for someone to take it by the scruff of its neck. And westwood just isn't up to it.

[Stevo985]

He was the best player on the pitch in the first half to be fair, although that's not saying much.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Stevo985

[Woodytom]

I did think about that steveo as I saw that you previously mentioned it. Can't really argue with you. There was nobody better. Maybe richards/amavi equally as good. They were all awful tbh.

Would just like him to leave us with no debate as to his input, like grealish.

[Hanky]

We were no where near them again in central midfield last night in the first half. 10 yards off them just like against Albion. I don't understand how we let this happen, is it the players or the tactics? As we were much closer in the second half although I supposed it helped Veretout and Westwood that we out players on that could actually retain the ball and play football.

[AshVilla]

We were hard pressing them and they were exploiting the spaces in the first half

Wrong tactics

[gilbertoAVFC]

I don't really mind Westwood as a whole. A bit pedestrian at times but we're hardly blessed with options in that area.

I will not rest however until he stops taking those stupid f**king awful floated corners. Doing it for ages. I will start a social media campaign if I have to.

a) it tends to drift to the penalty spot (i.e. further from goal and thus difficult to score from)

there's no power, so anybody who somehow manages to get on the end of it before a defender has to generate their own power

c) it gives the defenders, who always have the advantage from corners, an extra 2-3 seconds to grapple our strikers and anticipate where the ball is going.

They are an absolute dream to defend again. Stop doing them!!!

[troon_villan]

A lot of the good stuff that Westwood does occurs on the edge of perception. He's not really a player who'll look amazing on a highlights reel, but over the course of a game his contribution can make a difference to the team, some might say we need to replace him, but to find someone better would cost a fortune.

Not necessarily. Gana(definitely better) and Veretout(probably better) cost under £10m each I believe.

[troon_villan]

P.S. That first sentence is gold, Useless.

[useless]

Gana and Veretout play in different midfield roles, they might both be better players but I wouldn't play either in Westwood's role. That position requires a very specific skill set, there aren't many out there better than AW, and the ones who are, are going to cost big money and more than likely will end up at a Champions League team. There shouldn't be any real rush to replace him, the next midfielder we sign should be another box to box type, to deputy/challenge Gueye and Veretout.

[gilbertoAVFC]

Gana and Veretout play in different midfield roles, they might both be better players but I wouldn't play either in Westwood's role. That position requires a very specific skill set, there aren't many out there better than AW, and the ones who are, are going to cost big money and more than likely will end up at a Champions League team. There shouldn't be any real rush to replace him, the next midfielder we sign should be another box to box type, to deputy/challenge Gueye and Veretout.

You kind of need to specify what he actually does differently/uniquely for this argument to work....

I think he's decent at covering space, but Veretout has looked good in that area too. I can't otherwise think what this special skill is that he has.

[useless]

To play Veretout in Westwood's position would be a complete waste of Veretout's talents as an attacking midfielder. An extreme scenario but, It'd be like having someone like Zidane and saying he's better than Westwood lets play him instead in front of the defence. If anyone's going to challenge Westwood it's Sánchez.

[Bunnski]

I did think about that steveo as I saw that you previously mentioned it. Can't really argue with you. There was nobody better. Maybe richards/amavi equally as good. They were all awful tbh.

Would just like him to leave us with no debate as to his input, like grealish.

Grealish had a good 45 minutes but he was cack in his last 2 games, do they not count while you're trying to prove a point? Westwood has played great on a few occasions this season and has had one bad game, he is improving his interceptions and tackling stats this season while getting a lot of key passes. His corners can be dodgy but not as bad as people make out and he gets brushed off the ball too easy at times but he has a lot of positives and creates lots of attacks for us and is an important player for us. Consistency in his position is what we need and he delivers.

[Bunnski]

Gana and Veretout play in different midfield roles, they might both be better players but I wouldn't play either in Westwood's role. That position requires a very specific skill set, there aren't many out there better than AW, and the ones who are, are going to cost big money and more than likely will end up at a Champions League team. There shouldn't be any real rush to replace him, the next midfielder we sign should be another box to box type, to deputy/challenge Gueye and Veretout.

You kind of need to specify what he actually does differently/uniquely for this argument to work....

I think he's decent at covering space, but Veretout has looked good in that area too. I can't otherwise think what this special skill is that he has.

He is constantly the player in our team with the most key passes because he's the one that plays that accurate pass into dangerous positions that leads to us getting chances, he normally is at the start of the move so tends to go unnoticed and doesn't get much credit for it but it's his quick thinking and execution. He has improved his defensive stats this season now also so brings a lot of positives to our team.

[Delphinho123]

Gana and Veretout play in different midfield roles, they might both be better players but I wouldn't play either in Westwood's role. That position requires a very specific skill set, there aren't many out there better than AW, and the ones who are, are going to cost big money and more than likely will end up at a Champions League team. There shouldn't be any real rush to replace him, the next midfielder we sign should be another box to box type, to deputy/challenge Gueye and Veretout.

 

You kind of need to specify what he actually does differently/uniquely for this argument to work....

 

I think he's decent at covering space, but Veretout has looked good in that area too. I can't otherwise think what this special skill is that he has.

 

He is constantly the player in our team with the most key passes because he's the one that plays that accurate pass into dangerous positions that leads to us getting chances, he normally is at the start of the move so tends to go unnoticed and doesn't get much credit for it but it's his quick thinking and execution. He has improved his defensive stats this season now also so brings a lot of positives to our team.

Bunnski, I think you need to maybe lay off the stats for a while..

[sexbelowsound]

Gana and Veretout play in different midfield roles, they might both be better players but I wouldn't play either in Westwood's role. That position requires a very specific skill set, there aren't many out there better than AW, and the ones who are, are going to cost big money and more than likely will end up at a Champions League team. There shouldn't be any real rush to replace him, the next midfielder we sign should be another box to box type, to deputy/challenge Gueye and Veretout.

Think this goes into the category of over embellishing his ability. 

Who are theses Champions League players that have the very specific skill set that Westwood has? Let me make it clear as well, I know you aren't saying you think he is a Champions League quality player. I'd just be intrigued to know who you think these similar styled players are.

Don't get me wrong, he is a decent player and I think the level of criticism he gets is wrong, but he is not doing anything that many, many other players couldn't. He is in no way a unique footballer either.

Edited September 24, 2015 by sexbelowsound

[useless]

I didn't say that there are Champions League footballers with the same specific skill set as Westwood. But what I am saying is that if you want to buy a better player who specializes in his position then there's a good chance that there will be better teams than us in for that player He's one of our most dependable players and to replace him with someone who'd be a  guaranteed improvement, would cost quite a bit of money (especially by our standards now the Benteke money has gone).

[AntrimBlack]

Gana and Veretout play in different midfield roles, they might both be better players but I wouldn't play either in Westwood's role. That position requires a very specific skill set, there aren't many out there better than AW, and the ones who are, are going to cost big money and more than likely will end up at a Champions League team. There shouldn't be any real rush to replace him, the next midfielder we sign should be another box to box type, to deputy/challenge Gueye and Veretout.

 

You kind of need to specify what he actually does differently/uniquely for this argument to work....

 

I think he's decent at covering space, but Veretout has looked good in that area too. I can't otherwise think what this special skill is that he has.

 

He is constantly the player in our team with the most key passes because he's the one that plays that accurate pass into dangerous positions that leads to us getting chances, he normally is at the start of the move so tends to go unnoticed and doesn't get much credit for it but it's his quick thinking and execution. He has improved his defensive stats this season now also so brings a lot of positives to our team.

I see the occasional telling pass, but a lot of short, safe passes. Stats don't tell you everything. Decent squad player, though.

[AntrimBlack]

I didn't say that there are Champions League footballers with the same specific skill set as Westwood. But what I am saying is that if you want to buy a better player who specializes in his position then there's a good chance that there will be better teams than us in for that player He's one of our most dependable players and to replace him with someone who'd be a  guaranteed improvement, would cost quite a bit of money (especially by our standards now the Benteke money has gone).

I prefer Sanchez.

[Woodytom]

I did think about that steveo as I saw that you previously mentioned it. Can't really argue with you. There was nobody better. Maybe richards/amavi equally as good. They were all awful tbh.

Would just like him to leave us with no debate as to his input, like grealish.

 

Grealish had a good 45 minutes but he was cack in his last 2 games, do they not count while you're trying to prove a point? Westwood has played great on a few occasions this season and has had one bad game, he is improving his interceptions and tackling stats this season while getting a lot of key passes. His corners can be dodgy but not as bad as people make out and he gets brushed off the ball too easy at times but he has a lot of positives and creates lots of attacks for us and is an important player for us. Consistency in his position is what we need and he delivers.

I did think about that steveo as I saw that you previously mentioned it. Can't really argue with you. There was nobody better. Maybe richards/amavi equally as good. They were all awful tbh.

Would just like him to leave us with no debate as to his input, like grealish.

 

Grealish had a good 45 minutes but he was cack in his last 2 games, do they not count while you're trying to prove a point? Westwood has played great on a few occasions this season and has had one bad game, he is improving his interceptions and tackling stats this season while getting a lot of key passes. His corners can be dodgy but not as bad as people make out and he gets brushed off the ball too easy at times but he has a lot of positives and creates lots of attacks for us and is an important player for us. Consistency in his position is what we need and he delivers.

sorry I just don't agree.

To say westwood has been 'great' is well, beyond delusional imo.

He started the season ok with an assist etc and I was fairly confident and happy with the midfield. Then gueye has been injured and it's fallen to pieces a bit.

He's certainly not the Mr consistency that tactics tim and yourself claim. Far from it. Certainly not in a positive way.

My reference to jack is simple. He's 20. Just come into the first team and already he has telling effects on games. There's no doubt about it, the lad can play. I never said he'd not performed badly.

Westwood is what? 25, in his 4th prem season and we're still yet to be left undoubted by his so called ability despite yours and others attempts to make out that 1/2 'key passes' is a telling impact on the game. I'm not even sure what a key pass is defined as? 

He's had ample opportunity to step up, show leadership and take us forward as a team in games. Never does. It remains tidy, safe bar the ridiculous fouls every now and then.

Just doesn't step up to the mark.

[tinker]

His average for tackles per game this season is 1.5 per game, Sanchez's is 3.9. As DM we need someone who can challenge players and stop them running straight through us, Westwood doesn't do this , he's to lightweight.

What he does do is retain possession and keep the ball moving . However, when opposition teams start steaming forward, like in the Leceister game, he becomes inaffective.