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Ashley Westwood


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I don't see anything that Westwood brings to the defensive part of the midfield three so I'd rather see Gana and Veretout there and play Gil behind the striker. Grealish, Ayew and any of Sinclair, Gabby or Gestede up front. When he comes back, Traore has to fit into that somehow. 

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Let's just play a team of midfielders that excel defensively. Not much else to being a midfielder going by some of the posts in here today.

Westwood and Gana offer great balance in midfield and with Sanchez behind them our midfield was looking really good. It's all about getting a balance and having everything a good midfield requires in both attack and defense.

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We don't have anybody who reads the game as quick as he does and sets us off on attacks before the opposing team can regain their shape.

More hyperbole than reality IMO.  He's a decent squad player, nothing more.  I would put Veretout and Gana ahead of him tbh.   Then Westwood or Sanchez if we're playing three - Sanchez if we want to be more defensive and Westwood if we want to be more offensive.  I don't dislike Westward, I just don't rate him very much - his reading of a game, positioning and passing is very average by premier league standards and he's often poor defensively

Edited by Gary Thomas
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We don't have anybody who reads the game as quick as he does and sets us off on attacks before the opposing team can regain their shape.

More hyperbole than reality IMO.  He's a decent squad player, nothing more.  I would put Veretout and Gana ahead of him tbh.   Then Westwood or Sanchez if we're playing three - Sanchez if we want to be more defensive and Westwood if we want to be more offensive.  I don't dislike Westward, I just don't rate him very much - his reading of a game, positioning and passing is very average by premier league standards and he's often poor defensively

 

Its strange how two supporters of the same team can see a player differently.

I think Westwood reads the game very well, is very quick to spot a pass and is an excellent passer of the ball. The vast majority of the time he is the midfielder finding space and taking the ball off the defenders and looking to start off our attacks. He has linked up really well with Gana prior to his injury as Gana is excellent at taking the ball, driving into space, laying it off and then finding space again. For far too long Westwood has in his Villa career been surrounded by midfielders who are far too static or worked under a manager who employed negative tactics. That is no longer the case and I think this season he has done very well.

Away from home or against top opposition at home then I'd go with a three of Gana, Westwood and Sanchez. Against lesser opposition I am happy to go with Gana and Westwood. For me though whether you go with a two or a three Westwood will more often than not be in the team.

Edited by markavfc40
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Veretout has barely played for us, and hasn't looked very good in the PL (yet) but we know he's better than Westwood because buzzwords

Like I said in the Veretout thread. He may end up being better than Westwood, it'll be great if he does.

But at the moment it's just people wanting Veretout to be better as opposed to him being better.

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Pretty sure that Sherwood intends to play both Westwood and Veretout in the same team. Veretout can be as good as he likes, I don't think it's going to have much affect on Westwood's place in the team. Also Gil is no more going to play in a central three for us than say someone like Silva would play central midfield for Man City, it's just not his position.

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The patronising "settle" argument rears its head again.

 

Nobody is settling for average. Some people think Westwood has done well for us. That doesn't mean we're happy for him to be our midfielder for ever. It means that for where we are we think he's performed well.

If we were top half or pushing for Europe then Westwood would likely not feature nearly as much in the team, unless we played in a very specific way.
But we're not. We're shite. And Westwood has been one of our less shite players over the past few seasons.

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Veretout has barely played for us, and hasn't looked very good in the PL (yet) but we know he's better than Westwood because buzzword

Based on what I've seen and read I think he has the 'potential' to be a much better player than Westood and I think he offers a few things Westood doesn't.  We'll  only know how good Veretout is if he plays - I want to see him get that chance. You say he's not looked very good in the PL, but I think he's done OK so far and he played well on Tuesday, the most recent game.  There I saw plenty of potential in his through passes to Ayew and his aggressive runs. So to me he is a risk worth taking because the long-term pay-off could be huge.

Edited by Gary Thomas
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Veretout has barely played for us, and hasn't looked very good in the PL (yet) but we know he's better than Westwood because buzzwords

I think he has the potential to be better than Westwood, and bring a lot more to the team than Westwood. We'll have to wait and see but I'm fairly confident, based on reports from France, that once he's fully up to speed he'll will be much more of an asset that Westwood. 

but saying that I don't think they should be in competition. Westwood should be competing with Sanchez, when everyone is fit, for the central holding role. Veretout should be the one from the midfield three that looks to push forward. And you may mock people for thinking Veretout is better based on little, but is it any different of this attitude of you don't get football if you don't appreciate Westwood? 

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I dont mind Westwood he is OK but we can definitely do better than him. I think Sanchez, Gueye and Veretout could be a better midfield overall

 

Problem for Westwood is he never influences games like midfielders should though was same issue I had with the word removed from City. Good for 20 minutes a game but nothing after it

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As ever, totally baffled by the anti-Westwood sentiment here. Technically, he's a very good player - brave on the ball, looks to get the play transitioning quickly, good passer and vision. Defensively he reads the game very well. IMO he's better playing deeper, and a bit less effective going forward. Plays an underrated role - a bit like Carrick in that respect. There are very few English players who play technically like he does. Personally, in my view, the way players like him are rated speaks a lot about English football and English supporters in general (just to be clear, I am English)

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Because a midfielder's job is as black and white as and only boils down to tackle or assist, attack or defend.

 

Because a midfielder's job is as black and white as and only boils down to tackle or assist, attack or defend.

 

In this day and age, yes. Especially in a two man midfield. It's a given that you can pass the ball, you've got to do something else too.

Which is why he doesn't work in a 2 man midfield, this is known. But then, neither can Sanchez. We don't have a complete midfielder that can do everything (Gana is the closest we have) at an equally high level, in fact most teams in the world don't. Most midfielders have 1 or 2 strengths along with certain weaknesses and it's up to the manager to play to those strengths and minimize those weaknesses. It's unfair to criticize a player for aspects that were never the focus of their game to begin with.

I'd trust Sanchez enough in a two but not Westwood. I think the very fact that Westwood can't play in a two is a bit damning, personally. 

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Some of his accurate long passes have been exquisite. It's good too put the fear into the opposition that there is someone with that in their locker if the team takes advantage of it. Sanchez has been too ponderous on the ball on some games and we've lost possession because of it. That said I don't think we are strong enough to play Westwood without 2 of Veratout/Gana/Sanchez alongside. But of course best XI formation is sacrificed so Gabby can impersonate a statue

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Veretout has barely played for us, and hasn't looked very good in the PL (yet) but we know he's better than Westwood because buzzwords

I think he has the potential to be better than Westwood, and bring a lot more to the team than Westwood. We'll have to wait and see but I'm fairly confident, based on reports from France, that once he's fully up to speed he'll will be much more of an asset that Westwood. 

but saying that I don't think they should be in competition. Westwood should be competing with Sanchez, when everyone is fit, for the central holding role. Veretout should be the one from the midfield three that looks to push forward. And you may mock people for thinking Veretout is better based on little, but is it any different of this attitude of you don't get football if you don't appreciate Westwood? 

It's no different, no. But that doesn't make it any less wrong. Just to be clear I also have high hopes for Veretout, I get the feeling that he will become a hybrid of Westwood and Milner for us, which I guess will render Westwood redundant. But for now he's shown very little for us and to suggest he should be in the team ahead of Westwood right now is ludicrous and smacks of bias.

Edited by Keyblade
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Sell Westwood and buy Pierre Emil Højberg or Loftus Cheek. A loan first, then buy. 

Westwood can't beat a player, tackle or win a header. He hasn't kicked on in my opinion as we had hoped he would. For me he is one of the main reasons we concede alot of goals. 

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Veretout has barely played for us, and hasn't looked very good in the PL (yet) but we know he's better than Westwood because buzzwords

I am happy to state here and now that Veretout will be a much better player than Westwood and will have a much more successful career. 

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