Who would you go for Nuggets? In my view - He is already the best CB since De Vos - The most gifted footballer since Gio
In terms of on-the-ball ability and technical proficiency, I don't think Woolfenden is even the most 'technically gifted' in the current squad - I think Andre Dozzell is the more stand-out player in that regard (although he needs to work on his physical attributes). Dozzell has also played 25 more Championship games than Wolfenden, so a greater sample size for that level, if we're factoring that into the equation. I think Wolfenden is a decent centre-back, and would like to see him play alongside Nsiala in the first game of next season (as our current options stand). The signs are there that he can play a ball-playing centre-back role, which is what we need to make Lambert's ideal on-pitch playing style work. of the club. However, to state that Wolfenden is 'already the best centre back since De Vos' is incredibly hyperbolic. What are you even basing this on?
Being a good footballer is not all about your feet, although I think Woolfy is one of our better footballers in that sense too. For a centre back the most important things are positioning and reading the danger, making clean tackles, winning battles in the air, being composed in possession and finding midfielders in space. Woolfenden has got all of that. What has impressed me most is his ability to be composed in possession, slow the game down and not rush the ball forward when there's not a good ball on. For his age and experience level it should be the senior pros dictating the play and helping him out, not the other way around. However, if we were a good side he would have to be able to make fast decisions and play the ball into feet when players are being marked tightly - that's not something we have seen from him but if he tried to do that we'd be giving possession away frequently. We also haven't seen long range passing yet. The only concerning thing for me if playing at the lower level has hampered his momentum and development and set him back, I very much doubt he has been spraying around 50 yard passes there - there is no way I would have sent him out to a poor League Two side - we will see. Nsiala's main issues are positioning and composure. Chambers is a good ball winner but exhibits few other qualities. Dozzell's decision making is awful and he tends to give the ball away a lot. He's neither great at tackling back nor playing through the lines. He has had some games when things have 'clicked' for him but it's been few and far between - for the most part he's been a passenger in a rubbish side.
Pmsl.....Yorkie has been on the funny ***s, as well as ten bags of glue!!! Bait not being taken as nobody in their right mind can believe you are being serious!
You're basing this judgement from four odd Championship appearances, his time at mid-table, fourth tier side Swindon (how many Swindon games have you actually seen?), and from his time in the academy? He may well possess those attributes and perform as capably as you say, against the standard of opposition that he has played, but he does not have extensive first-team experience in the Championship. Certainly not to the extent where you can credibly back up the wild claim that he is our best centre-back since De Vos. I remember centre-backs like Josh Yorwerth and Paul Digby displayed similar attributes and arrived at this club hoping to push into the first team, but couldn't make the grade. Wolfenden will benefit by playing League One football, rather than being thrown into the Championship, and Paul Lambert's style of football will hopefully complement his attributes. I'm a fan of the player and hope he gets his chance, but I don't think we should be putting so much pressure and expectation on a 20-year old footballer who has four Championship games to his name.
The reason that Woolfy is up against it is that he is at a club that is the absolute graveyard of potential surrounded by dogshit players and dogshit coaches. But it's very rare that a top player doesn't come in and make an impact as a teenager. You only need to watch someone like Sancho or Rooney or Foden or Rashford or Stones or even Mason Mount as a teenager for half an hour to see their potential. Just because we are a **** football club, why should that be any different at Town? Being 'thrown in' at the Championship is absolute nonsense. Getting thrown in against a top Premier League side or in a Champions' League tie is a challenge, not a pedestrian Championship league game. If our young players can't cope with the Championship we might as well pack it all in.
That wouldn't even surprise me Spanish. I'll say it one more time, he's the best young player we have had come through the ranks in the Evans era. But we have also spunked so much talent in that era that after that, I have no idea.
I’ve also been hearing good things about Ndaba, however like Wolfenden, until we see him over a run of games in the Ipswich first team, it’s going to be difficult to judge how reliable and consistent he will be against Championship / League One opposition. You could argue that the likes of Kenlock, Emmanuel, Dozzell, and Downes have had a run of games against Championship opposition and have mostly struggled for form. I know it’s not the most widely held view among Town supporters, but I believe Dozzell is a talented player, who possesses true footballing vision and has a brilliant range of passing. He has struggled this season on the back of a year out, and I think he must be frustrated when his forward passes exploit space but the current batch of strikers are not on his wavelength. His motivation has also been questioned lately, which is obviously not ideal. However, if you put him into a Brentford or a Fulham from last year, I think he’d thrive and get you assists unlike many of our other young attacking players. Hopefully in a lower division and with confidence flowing, these young players will start fulfilling their potential. Lambert appears to have a degree of faith in them that we didn’t really see under Hurst or Mick before. We need to surround these young players with better footballers though, and by that I mean players who are happy and confident on the ball. They’re sometimes expensive, but if we had a joined up playing style from academy to first team, there’s no reason why we couldn’t scout out the right type of footballers within our budget. Look at the current first team. Our goalkeepers cannot distribute the ball well, which leaves our youngsters in midfield, who enjoy being on the ball, coping with high balls. Chambers, a virtual guaranteed first teamer, cannot play passing football and so his clearances often bypass our midfield. Skuse doesn’t seem to have the legs for Championship football, but may adapt better in League One. The strikers we played this season seemed to struggle whenever we played it on the ground - the likes of Keane and Quaner much prefer to play a direct style of football, which is fine if it gets results (as it often did under McCarthy), but then what’s the point in getting your academy players to play attacking “attractive” football? I know buzzwords like “identity” and “project” get scoffed at by many, but look at the top six teams in the Championship this season and they all had a positive, attacking way of playing football. And with the likes of Sheffield United and Norwich, they did by not spending an awful lot in recent transfer windows compared to some of the “bigger” clubs in this division.
I think you hit the nail on the head with motivation and really that’s all the difference between being an average Championship or League One player or being a top player is. Hard work on your physical condition, hard work on your mental condition, hard work in training, hard work on positioning and tactics. There are only a handful of footballers in the history of the game who have ever gone beyond that level. If you are struggling to be motivated as a teenager in a Championship first team to make it as a professional footballer I really struggle to see how it will ever come good for you.
Just give just £10m to all of us on here, and we could shape a half decent team to bang us straight back up!
The u23 games I’ve seen he’s been very comfortable on the ball and looks assured and imo opinion could step up pretty soon........I think he will become a first team regular before Wolfenstein.
Yeah, it’s worrying when it comes to Dozzell. Then again, once relegation was confirmed the whole team was noticeably more abject and half-arsed in their performances (until Leeds I suppose, where Dozzell in particular stepped up and got a good goal). I’d personally give Dozzell a chance next season, with a fresh squad around him (hopefully with players more suited to his passing style of football), as well as a better mentality for a promotion push, he will be an asset. Having said that, if a club comes in with a decent sized bid, as has been rumoured for years now, then I’d cash in with plenty of incentives added on. As good as he is, we don’t exactly suffer a lack of good attacking midfielders, and we need investment at full back and up top.
A leopard doesn’t change his spots. We make too many excuses for our players and he’s had far too many ineffective performances.
