I have a really strong feeling that he will absolutely flourish this season. Can I ask Chaos to screen shot this post please? What's everyone else's thoughts?
I think he is a good player and he’s young so why not. He has a great engine and can put the ball in the net. Could we cope with Bruno Joe and Willock? It’s a midfield full of energy.
I'm still not 100 percent what either willock or bruno do best but I think they're both forward looking cm and the trio you suggest may put too much on Joelinton, especially if the wings are players like ASM. I suspect we will go two midfielders to sit in and only one going forward. I really like Willoc and hope he gets good chances this season but I can see him being kept bit part for the sake of the system.
Think he has the potential to be a very good player, he has shown glimpses of brilliance but is still raw. He's got the right manager to develop him. Got far more potential than longstaff for example.
Think there are a few who will massively benefit from a full preseason under Howe. Willock, Almiron and a few other so yeah I tihnk Willock will improve this year. he's grabbed a few goals in preseason and looks fit and healthy! Who I am really excited about though is Anderson, not seen much of him up until last year but he did really well under Barton and has looked mustard in preseason - the penalty he won against Burnley the other day looked like prime Ronaldinho playing against u10's!
2021 was his season. Despite the lack of goals, he was very good towards the end of last season. Under Bruce all he was was a goal machine and when he couldn't score at the start of last season he was a waste of space. Another one Howe has "fixed", along with Joelinton and Fraser.
He's proven he can score. In his high scoring season we had a 3 man CM. He played most of last season in the wrong formation. When we switched back to a 3 man CM, he was much better, same with Joelinton. If we play 4-3-3, Joe Willock will score 5-7 goals this season. Joelinton and Willock aren't great in 4-4-2's, 4-3-3 gets the best out of these sorts of players as they have more freedom to run with the ball. 4-3-3 is our formation
Versatility. Willock has it. Howe knows this and hence adapted him from the "score or be ****" player that he had become under Bruce. Regardless of the formation, he played well at the end of last season.
I really want him to kick on and become a really solid player for us. I think he has the technical capability and with 5 subs there is plenty of game time available for him.
If we play 3 in midfield our best bet is Bruno, Joe and Willock. I really like Willock and would like to see him nail down a spot in the starting line up.
He's a bit of a jack of all trades. Decent turn of pace - so can play out wide Good engine and positional sense so can play in the middle Knows how to link play and can keep calm in the box, so could play 10/false 9. The main issue is, is he the best at any of those roles, from what we have at the club? For me he would feature in most games, whether it's starting or from the bench is a different thing though.
Watching highlights at the end of last season, he seemed to be doing exceptionally well when playing wide, going on runs and getting the ball into the box. Not saying that's his be all and end all, but the mental scoring run he had clearly isnt his regular thing, and a return of 5-8 goals a season would be very good for him. Much more of a team player under Howe last season than under Bruce, and that's where we need to build. Position wise he can be fairly fluid - midfield, player wide, even back up striker when needed.
All are good on the press so will hunt the ball down in a pack, all have a good engine get Bruno mopping up the ball and releasing the other two forward. Then Bruno likes to just sit back on the edge of play watching to see how it unfolds and will burst forward if he sees the opportunity. I think that's a good midfield.
