We need to talk about Norwood

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guancheblade

guancheblade

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Tin Hat time!

Nothing for immediate concern, but perhaps we are seeing the shoots of why he has never previously featured in the PL with his former clubs. and why CW highlighted competition for his position in that leaked Dubai boardroom snap.

IMO Norwood has looked ineffective for a number of games now. Whether that's down to him or the opposition nullifying his impact, it's something we need to look at improving. Last night he was utterly woeful with the ball, and without it seemed a complete passenger in the game. This was City granted, but at the Etihad he showed he was more than capable of helping build our attacks.

I don't think it's any coincidence that our drop off in terms of possession and creativity has come at the same time his performance level has dropped. My concern for the team is if he can't get his mojo back, how do we continue to get results? We won't be able to rely on Flecky tucking away an 0.02 xG chance every week like he did at Arsenal.

If Wilder can look to get in some competition for JOC (a far more consistent performer than Norwood this season) then surely he should be doing the same with Norwood?
 



Played well at times but he's always susceptible to short spells of casual play.

His casual half hearted lay off last night led to the penalty.

That said I think he's far from being a weak link this season.

Whilst we want and need to improve, we also need to remain realistic about where are and what we are achieving.
 
I don't think he's been ineffective the last few games, I think we've had 1 game out of the last few where he's been able to get on the ball and dictate play to any extent.

Last night he had the ball a few times but he was always under pressure to make a quick pass, they actually pressed us really well, perhaps Pep copied Klopp?

He also took a major part of his game away last night by getting booked early-ish, he shirked a couple of tackles not wanting to give Mason the satisfaction of sending him off.

He's a good player and sweeps really well in front of the back 3, his long range passing at times is exquisite and he plays nice, quick triangle passes when he needs to.
 
guancheblade said:
Tin Hat time!

Nothing for immediate concern, but perhaps we are seeing the shoots of why he has never previously featured in the PL with his former clubs. and why CW highlighted competition for his position in that leaked Dubai boardroom snap.

IMO Norwood has looked ineffective for a number of games now. Whether that's down to him or the opposition nullifying his impact, it's something we need to look at improving. Last night he was utterly woeful with the ball, and without it seemed a complete passenger in the game. This was City granted, but at the Etihad he showed he was more than capable of helping build our attacks.

I don't think it's any coincidence that our drop off in terms of possession and creativity has come at the same time his performance level has dropped. My concern for the team is if he can't get his mojo back, how do we continue to get results? We won't be able to rely on Flecky tucking away an 0.02 xG chance every week like he did at Arsenal.

If Wilder can look to get in some competition for JOC (a far more consistent performer than Norwood this season) then surely he should be doing the same with Norwood?
Click to expand...
He's been clearly identified as our most important player by 2 of the best teams in the world in 3 of the last 5 games. Who do you think could possibly do a better job? His long passing is better than anyone else in the league outside the top 2.

If he's been ineffective for another 6 weeks then of course it's time to look. But that won't happen. If other teams try to press us like that we'll pass through them and they'll back off, giving Norwood the room he needs to dictate everything
 
Roygbiv said:
We've just played Liverpool, City twice and Arsenal. He's been pressed to fuck by some of the best midfields in Europe.
Click to expand...

The lad cost £2m and has been absolutely brilliant for us. He's a massive part of what we do and the team spirit we engender.

It seems that with Lunny being dropped and McB playing very well, the scapegoat net is having to be cast wider.

I will try to be kind and read it as a genuine 'opinion' at one end of the spectrum, rather than the wanker post it seems on first read.
 
Roygbiv said:
He's one booking away from a suspension isn't he? I think he may need to miss a game for people realise how good he is to be honest.
Click to expand...
He's on 6 for the season. Next suspension is at 10.

Coincidentally, we are 5th in the table on cautions this season with 47. 10 behind the thugs that are Aresenal, 5 behind the thugs that are Tottenham, and only three more than the Manchester City angels.
 
The one tool he doesn’t really have in his kit is to beat a man with a dribble when under pressure—that’s why we tend to struggle when teams press him aggressively, as he’s not always able to buy himself a yard of space. Defensively, his lack of pace and physicality is made up for by his excellent positioning and passionate love for the art of the professional foul.

It’s such an important role in the team that we may well look for an upgrade, but getting better than Norwood is going to cost a hell of a lot of money. I hope he’s with us for a long time; the guy is a real leader and clearly has a footballing brain.
 
MobileBlade said:
He's on 6 for the season. Next suspension is at 10.

Coincidentally, we are 5th in the table on cautions this season with 47. 10 behind the thugs that are Aresenal, 5 behind the thugs that are Tottenham, and only three more than the Manchester City angels.
Click to expand...

Some guy in front of me yesterday was going on and on about him being on 9. Thought it seemed high
 
For Norwood to be at his best, he needs a little space and time on the ball. It's not easy to pick that killer pass when someone's right on top of him.

When you play teams that try and press you fairly high like City, Liverpool and to an extent Arsenal, Ollie's regular territory gets very crowded and teams typically don't give him much room.

I don't particularly think we "need to talk about Ollie Norwood" - he's still been reasonably effective in these last few games, and not every team can afford to pressure you like Liverpool and City. He'll carry on being a good player for us, though someone who can offer a little competition in his position wouldn't go a miss - my vote would be Cameron Brannigan from Oxford, but we'll see.
 
I think Norwood strikes the ball as well as anyone. His range of passing and vision is excellent. He is being marked now, by some of the best midfielders in the league. He will adapt in time. Had a message last night after the game, from an ex player (German, you will all have heard of). My translation: Does Norwood always play so deep? He is some player, where did he come from?
Coming from him that is very high praise indeed.
Opinions, it's what makes this game and forum great.
 



Good player having a good season but still has that occasional knack of giving the ball away at key moments that lead to goals or clear opportunities like last night.
Though if he didn't he probably wouldn't be playing for us.
 
This has been said about Norwood many time before, each time he followed it up with a sublime performance. Yes he makes mistakes but he also has the ball more than any other player in the team.
 
Roygbiv said:
We've just played Liverpool, City twice and Arsenal. He's been pressed to fuck by some of the best midfields in Europe.
Click to expand...

Wooden House said:
We are a much better team with Olli than without him. He cost £2m and has been up against some of the best around over the last month. I despair sometimes
Click to expand...

Exactly! People need a little perspective sometimes.

It’s the same as people saying we were playing too many long balls last night. If we tried to out-football Man City we’d have got battered like Villa did.
 
Poor last night but he has been one of our better players this season.
 
guancheblade said:
Tin Hat time!

Nothing for immediate concern, but perhaps we are seeing the shoots of why he has never previously featured in the PL with his former clubs. and why CW highlighted competition for his position in that leaked Dubai boardroom snap.

IMO Norwood has looked ineffective for a number of games now. Whether that's down to him or the opposition nullifying his impact, it's something we need to look at improving. Last night he was utterly woeful with the ball, and without it seemed a complete passenger in the game. This was City granted, but at the Etihad he showed he was more than capable of helping build our attacks.

I don't think it's any coincidence that our drop off in terms of possession and creativity has come at the same time his performance level has dropped. My concern for the team is if he can't get his mojo back, how do we continue to get results? We won't be able to rely on Flecky tucking away an 0.02 xG chance every week like he did at Arsenal.

If Wilder can look to get in some competition for JOC (a far more consistent performer than Norwood this season) then surely he should be doing the same with Norwood?
Click to expand...
What Roy said.
You're looking for parallels that dont exist, it's very unwarranted criticism on a guy that has been excellent since joining. What sort of stranglehold did you expect him to impart on Liverpool and man city?

And btw, improving it? 30 million please. We should buy the ground first...
 
guancheblade said:
Tin Hat time!

Nothing for immediate concern, but perhaps we are seeing the shoots of why he has never previously featured in the PL with his former clubs. and why CW highlighted competition for his position in that leaked Dubai boardroom snap.

IMO Norwood has looked ineffective for a number of games now. Whether that's down to him or the opposition nullifying his impact, it's something we need to look at improving. Last night he was utterly woeful with the ball, and without it seemed a complete passenger in the game. This was City granted, but at the Etihad he showed he was more than capable of helping build our attacks.

I don't think it's any coincidence that our drop off in terms of possession and creativity has come at the same time his performance level has dropped. My concern for the team is if he can't get his mojo back, how do we continue to get results? We won't be able to rely on Flecky tucking away an 0.02 xG chance every week like he did at Arsenal.

If Wilder can look to get in some competition for JOC (a far more consistent performer than Norwood this season) then surely he should be doing the same with Norwood?
Click to expand...

A upgrade on Norwood i.e. someone with his passing range but more athletic would cost us upwards of £30m possibly more.

Fred is playing the role for Man U and he cost £50m plus, is he better than Norwood?
 
Wilder singled him out for praise last night after the game
 



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