Brewster

[blades78]

I watched the highlights last night and when I saw DCL playing, my feelings were nothing short of envy. Looked he could score each time he was within sight of goal. I know 4 separate Everton fans from different walks of life and these were their comments a few months after they signed him.
'You had our pants down with that fee'
'He will never make the grade, possibly good league one player in time '
I'd drive him back for nothing'
'He's our worst Everton signing in a decade'
Ironically, I recall reading and hearing some of our own supporters sharing the same type of views.
So what's his worth now? 60m, 80m, 100m from a top European club?

Now this reminds me of Brewster. The best thing CW can do his to take the pressure off him by keeping him on the bench with the odd cameo appearance as and when suited and for Rhian himself to keep off social media platforms such as this which will be destroying him and his confidence with what little he has left.. As mentioned earlier he has entered a baptism of fire joining our club this season , which is no fault of his own. He will come good and the last thing I want is to be looking at him in 4 or 5 years time playing for another club banging the goals in with the same amount of envy I had last night watching DCL.

I see where you are coming from and hope you are right, however the one thing that you could see with DCL is his willingness make a nuisance of himself and has strong work ethic. That gives you hope that there is something to work with and people will support you, unfortunately Brewster doesn't not show the same sort of application. I'm not saying that he isn't trying or doesn't want to do well, but he needs to realise quickly that if things aren't going your way you have to work hard to make up for it and your rewards will come.

Part of the problem maybe due to the enormous success he's had at age group football for Liverpool and England, then had a decent loan spell at Swansea. Maybe, he arrived over confident, expecting to be a success straight away and has struggled with the fact its not going as well as he thought would.

 

[Hamburg Blade]

That is the thing for me- not even bothered about the goals as silly as that seems. Even can cope with poor touch or link play but I want to see him chasing, harrying, moving, even defending from the front. I barely see him in games.

I am not sure it is harsh to say we need to see a lot more effort and please do not give me the 'He is not that sort of player.'

Watch the best strikers, Vardy, Kane, Mane etc. The thing that always impresses me is the work rate first and the rest then comes after.

I just want to see him really busting a gut. Maybe watching on TV is deceptive but he needs to get in front of his man more of press or make things happen.

Isn't it about time United fans stopped judging players on how much graft they put in? I'm not saying Brewster's workrate is fine, but just in general it is a thing Blades do and it is high time we didn't.

 

[I should coco]

Its been a disappointing start for him and he will feel that more than we do as fans. He is not a bad player and nowhere near on the Conor Sammon/Craig Beattie scale.

They were grown men who were never going to get better. True, they may get a lucky run of half a dozen goals but both were poor players of L2 standard at best.
Brewster has shown ability at Swansea and is unlucky how badly our side has performed this season, which in turn has put the spotlight on him.

He didn't set his transfer fee. He might never be worth £20m, but he is a young kid with potential and still has years ahead of him to improve. Comparing him to those two donkeys is facile.

anyone remember Billy in his first spell in the first team under Robson and Blackwell ?

Turry Robinson had done the deal before Mogadon Man came in and it was plain he didn't want him. He'd got Shelton, Stead, Hulse and Beattie so showing a wonderful eye for a player's strength, tried to play him on the wing.
Blackwell wanted a team of six foot plus players and showed his ideal striker by signing Darrius 'want a fate?'-Henderson, who got more yellow cards than goals*. He also briefly played Billy on the wing then palmed him off to Donny. Wonderful judge of a player that he was, I can imagine KB being gobsmacked how well Billy did at a side that played to his strengths.
I don't thinks there's a straight comparison with how Brewster has been treated, as he's generally been played as one of a front two although he is expected to drop deep, mark, chase and harry, which may be alien to him.

* Possible made up stat warning.....

 

[Bladesthorpe]

Yes, his happiness is will be entirely dependent on how much money he earns.

He's made a bad move but I suppose he wasn't to know that Wilder was going to turn from a lion to a kitten in the summer.

Sorry but he's never been a lion while he's been here, it's part of CWs job to turn him into one but hes got to put the effort in and help himself. I see no evidence of this so far.

 

[Working Class Hero]

That is the thing for me- not even bothered about the goals as silly as that seems. Even can cope with poor touch or link play but I want to see him chasing, harrying, moving, even defending from the front. I barely see him in games.

I am not sure it is harsh to say we need to see a lot more effort and please do not give me the 'He is not that sort of player.'

Watch the best strikers, Vardy, Kane, Mane etc. The thing that always impresses me is the work rate first and the rest then comes after.

I just want to see him really busting a gut. Maybe watching on TV is deceptive but he needs to get in front of his man more of press or make things happen.

His movement really is non-existent. This surprises me, as he had a reputation as a goal scorer and good movement is usually a prerequisite of a goal scorer. I have seen a few decent touches and strikes of the ball which tells me there must be technical ability in there, and presumably he can finish. But how are we supposed to ever find out if he can't find space, make runs, or just put a shift in?

 

[gordoncharles]

View attachment 105291

Hard to get a decent image but he's stood on the line and the ball is travelling behind him. Think he was probably anticipating Sharp getting something on it.

He was offside on that one anyway.

The other time he was lurking at the far post with no realistic chance of seeing the ball come to him.

There's nothing about him which makes me think he looks like a natural goalscorer and I hope to God I'm wrong about it. Confidence in front of goal is one thing but at least McGoldrick got himself in goalscoring positions last season.

Apropos nothing Ben Woodburn is currently with Blackpool and James Wilson at Salford.

 

[Greg.]

I watched the highlights last night and when I saw DCL playing, my feelings were nothing short of envy. Looked he could score each time he was within sight of goal. I know 4 separate Everton fans from different walks of life and these were their comments a few months after they signed him.
'You had our pants down with that fee'
'He will never make the grade, possibly good league one player in time '
I'd drive him back for nothing'
'He's our worst Everton signing in a decade'
Ironically, I recall reading and hearing some of our own supporters sharing the same type of views.
So what's his worth now? 60m, 80m, 100m from a top European club?

Now this reminds me of Brewster. The best thing CW can do his to take the pressure off him by keeping him on the bench with the odd cameo appearance as and when suited and for Rhian himself to keep off social media platforms such as this which will be destroying him and his confidence with what little he has left.. As mentioned earlier he has entered a baptism of fire joining our club this season , which is no fault of his own. He will come good and the last thing I want is to be looking at him in 4 or 5 years time playing for another club banging the goals in with the same amount of envy I had last night watching DCL.

True. I get the impression it's been a lot of coaching work to get DCL where he is today.

On an age adjusted basis, Brewster is the same age as DCL was his 2017/18 season. DCL scored 4 league goals that season in a much better team than we are that eventually finished 8th in the league.

You can read the player performance thread from the Everton forum for that season here: https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/dominic-calvert-lewin.97931/

Mixed bag of course, but saw a few after around the time that he'd scored 1 league goal in 949 minutes (Brewster has played 733 so far this season):

"He's rubbish. He's had plenty of minutes and never looks like scoring or creating anything.
Sorry but we have to start accepting some of these players are just not good enough. We should sell him in the summer with a buyout clause. If he starts doing well we can buy him back but right now he's not good enough for our squad."

"He’s absolutely awful. Didn’t complete a pass all match. Guess that was someone else’s fault too. Surely to god he can’t play on Weds."

"I know it was a difficult game for him but he just offered absolutely nothing. Said it before on countless occasions, should be a player in the Championship. Even then I don't think he'd be guaranteed a start every week."

"Shouldn't have started and utterly baffling that he finished. He tries hard and has character but seriously lacks quality and is a woeful finisher.
Sandro's been poor but he proved himself last season at a level DCL will likely never reach. Astonishing decision by Unsworth to persist with DCL. Oumar when available is in a different league and Sandro deserves a chance now he's off the mark. Please Jebus no more starting DCL."

"Same as Davies, not that good even for his age. Even at his peak won't be good enough for a top half team"

"Donkey Calvert-Lewin is well and truly back."

"This lad is the biggest sh*thouse I have ever seen in an Everton shirt. Will be playing for Yeovil at 25 after 2 failed premier league moves. Awful
It's almost like he doesn't want to offend defenders by closing them down or scoring..."

 

[yorkshirecoast]

His anticipation and movement is virtually non existent at the moment. When we occasionally put a good ball in the box he just stands there hoping it will fall to him rather than getting away from his marker and attacking the ball.

He’s got to be better than he is showing at the moment but he’s not helping himself or us by not doing the basics or putting the work in.

 

[cooperblade]

His movement really is non-existent. This surprises me, as he had a reputation as a goal scorer and good movement is usually a prerequisite of a goal scorer. I have seen a few decent touches and strikes of the ball which tells me there must be technical ability in there, and presumably he can finish. But how are we supposed to ever find out if he can't find space, make runs, or just put a shift in?

Think I've said this elsewhere but I don't think we'll get a true picture of his movement off the ball until we're back in the ground.

When Scott Hogan played for us, he used to make run after run looking for an early ball in behind but our style meant that ball never came. If you're watching on TV, you probably would've only seen a fraction of these runs as they would've been off camera (when a centre back had the ball for example).

I really struggle to believe that a kid who has come through the ranks at Chelsea and Liverpool, played in numerous England age-group sides (including a World Cup winning one) and scored 1 in 2 in the Championship doesn't know how to find space and make runs. Did Liverpool think "he can't do the basics but we'll give him a 5 year contract anyway"?

None of us know, but rather than he's just shit, it seems more likely to me that he's struggling to adapt to a new style, at a new club, in a new City, with a massive price tag on his head all whilst getting beat every week during a pandemic.

If you take someone like Ferran Torres away from Manchester City and stick him a side who have closer to 25% than 75% possession, would he look as good or would people think 'how did this lad get a game at Man City?'

I think we sometimes forget that footballers are human beings.

 

[Keef Chedwyn]

Sorry but he's never been a lion while he's been here, it's part of CWs job to turn him into one but hes got to put the effort in and help himself. I see no evidence of this so far.

I was talking about Wilder, not Brewster.

Remember when he was tough, no nonsense and his team would have a go against anyone? What a man. Wonder what happened?

 

[Sharrow Snuff Mill]

I think Brewster might be better suited to playing off McBurnie in a more direct style of attack.

The way we often overplay it down the flanks means defences are compactly set by the time the ball comes in, which is difficult for any player to score against, let alone a very young lad.

 

[Deadbat]

Isn't it about time United fans stopped judging players on how much graft they put in? I'm not saying Brewster's workrate is fine, but just in general it is a thing Blades do and it is high time we didn't.

If I saw the odd piece of skill/talent and he did sod all the rest of the game I could live that. A bit of magic that makes a chance or gets us off our feet. Not seeing that so I expect more work ethic.

Quite simple for me as a footballer - if you are talented and show individual flair or moments I can kind of live with laziness (Hodges, McDonald, Blake etc) at times or not running around as much as others but if you do not do those things then I expect to see the work ethic,,

Maybe I am looking at it too simplistic.

I get Blades still often look for hard workers over sheer talent and maybe we should not but the reality is that for the most part is what we have been. I'd love to see more technical players but my point is even the best players put lots of effort in - see Kane or Vardy.

Just winds me up when players are stationary a lot and then show little when they have the ball.

 

[I should coco]

True. I get the impression it's been a lot of coaching work to get DCL where he is today.

On an age adjusted basis, Brewster is the same age as DCL was his 2017/18 season. DCL scored 4 league goals that season in a much better team than we are that eventually finished 8th in the league.

Great post but I'm afraid you are wrong.

Our forum is made up of top class coaches, ex-pro strikers, performance analysts and highly experienced trophy winning managers. They have concluded that he is 'shite' so please stop this positivity and particularly trying to add perspective about his age.

BTW, the use of the DCL analogy is a very clever ruse to allow further knocking of the club. Although at the time, DCL was also 'shite', once he'd gone, £1m was 'a steal' and it was 'typical United always selling their best players'.

 

[SouthportBlade]

Last night he was sadly non existent. A really disappointing and abject performance. Looked slow to react, disinterested, two yards off the pace and spent much of the game waiting for ball to come to him.

Regardless of his showing for us so far, there is clearly a player with potential in there. I've said before, there have been glimpses with us and plenty with Swansea last year.

However like ANY young player, potential doesn't equal a successful career in football. Theres an aspect of grafting, of luck, of being in the right team etc. For every DCL theres a Slew. Just on DCL as he's been mentioned a few times its worth noting took him a good few years to turn good.
Brewster could still go either way.


Its easy to forget he's basically a boy still learning his trade, not played much first team football, not really had a preseason, pressure of a price tag (which is nothing to do with him), not had a run of games, playing in a new team who create very little. Whilst these shouldn't be excuses, it should give some context.

Ultimately, its easy to judge in the here and now (and these are mostly fair calls) - but realistically it will be 12 months before we know if he's going to be good enough.

 

[Bladeinleeds]

To me he’s still trying to do one touch flicks etc which worked a Swansea when they played on the break and at pace. Rather than holding it like billy and then moving Swansea are almost the exact opposite of how we play.

I’m sure there is still a player in there somewhere.... but I feel like we are going to need to either work with him on what’s required in our system or tweak it to play more to what we have seen Brewster do well. By all accounts his best spell was with a pacey partner in mousset for half a game.

to me it’s like we’ve signed him without any real idea of what he’d bring and hoped for the best in just sticking him in. That said a goal and some confidence would do him the world of good, I’m sure.

As others have mentioned there are parallels with how sharp started for us and he did struggle to produce until his third spell here.

 

[Keen Blade]

We desperately needed goals to survive our 2nd season in the PL , so why did we buy Brewster who wasn't ready ?

 

[Hamburg Blade]

If I saw the odd piece of skill/talent and he did sod all the rest of the game I could live that. A bit of magic that makes a chance or gets us off our feet. Not seeing that so I expect more work ethic.

Quite simple for me as a footballer - if you are talented and show individual flair or moments I can kind of live with laziness (Hodges, McDonald, Blake etc) at times or not running around as much as others but if you do not do those things then I expect to see the work ethic,,

Maybe I am looking at it too simplistic.

I get Blades still often look for hard workers over sheer talent and maybe we should not but the reality is that for the most part is what we have been. I'd love to see more technical players but my point is even the best players put lots of effort in - see Kane or Vardy.

Just winds me up when players are stationary a lot and then show little when they have the ball.

I don't think you can apply this overall approach to this team at this time. And especially not to this player in his circumstances. Graft is part of someone's natural game or a team's tactics. Vardy would be nothing without the graft, but there are plenty of players who are considered top class level yet don't do anything like as much.

I've seen enough touches, vision and moments of skill to see that he is a talented player, but the current team and set up haven't allowed for many, which is a problem of our circumstances and should not lead to a demand that everyone just changes their style to put in some physical graft.

We have a player like that in Sharp, a grafter and a poacher, and that's why I feel he should have had more time, because that's what we need at the moment. Brewster hasn't come from that background and doesn't have the experience to understand that he should switch to that style to suit the moment - if he can - if he even should.
We are doing badly and some expect that each and every player can still play to a specific high standard individually, if not skill-wise, then effort-wise. That's not how it works. If it were that simple, a team would never underperform.

We have people claiming to know the thoughts and intentions of Lundstram based on how he runs up and down the pitch, claiming to know all about Mousset's attitude because he owns expensive cars, now it's Brewster's turn because he's not running enough. I'm guilty of those judgements to some degree, we all are, but taken to the extreme it becomes ridiculous.

 

[blade67]

He's now really struggling and will drop a further rung down the selection list after last night and Mouse's return to the squad.

Truth is that he now one for next season.

He's got some improving to do , but confidence will also be a big factor for him at the moment. His performances and goalscoroing record for Swansea last season at 19 tell me that he's not a busted flush, he'll come good. When is the big question in my mind

 

[Tarqs]

I saw you mention this in your report. Are you talking about the one that went past Sharp first? Wasn't it a yard behind Brewster? Haven't watched it back but I seem to remember thinking it looked bad in real time but then they showed a replay which showed he couldn't have got to it.

Could argue he could've timed his run better but if we're talking about the same incident, I thought there was literally nothing he could've done because the ball was played behind him.

Indeed, sharp missed it and it was behind Brewster.

 

[Tarqs]

He's now really struggling and will drop a further rung down the selection list after last night and Mouse's return to the squad.

Truth is that he now one for next season.

He's got some improving to do , but confidence will also be a big factor for him at the moment. His performances and goalscoroing record for Swansea last season at 19 tell me that he's not a busted flush, he'll come good. When is the big question in my mind

Mousse is last choice, he's gone already as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Yoonited]

I tend to agree regards most other things said. However, expecting him to do the basics isn't expecting too much. That's expecting the minimum. He provides literally nothing, he doesn't press, doesn't make runs, doesn't try to get into goalscoring positions, doesn't try and win the ball back if lost, he never shows for the ball.

Long way to go yet, but I can't help feeling we've bought a very expensive Ben woodburn MK2.

Given that analysis he must stand still all game? I remember two runs he made,albeit one a tad early ,the other a tad late,but he did make them. To exaggerate is a bit unfair on the lad and unnecessary to make your point.

To be honest you could have been referring to another striker of ours. UTB.

 

[Danetheblade]

Given that analysis he must stand still all game? I remember two runs he made,albeit one a tad early ,the other a tad late,but he did make them. To exaggerate is a bit unfair on the lad and unnecessary to make your point.

To be honest you could have been referring to another striker of ours. UTB.

My bad. I'll take it back based on those two runs.

 

[Yoonited]

I was talking about Wilder, not Brewster.

Remember when he was tough, no nonsense and his team would have a go against anyone? What a man. Wonder what happened?

He's learning his trade in a much tougher league.

Keef Chedwin,used to be a great supporter. Wonder what happened.

 

[Keef Chedwyn]

He's learning his trade in a much tougher league.

Keef Chedwin,used to be a great supporter. Wonder what happened.

I understand that but why go from a strong mentality to a weak one, especially off the back of an amazing few seasons.

Nah, Keef's always been a dick.

 

[Yoonited]

I understand that but why go from a strong mentality to a weak one, especially off the back of an amazing few seasons.

Nah, Keef's always been a dick.

Because he's human and flawed like we all are. As fans we have unrealistic expectations when we could enjoy the journey more and accept it as part of life.
No one maintains continual success without setbacks.
Keep the faith.
We've had some utter dross during my 50 odd years as a Blade and I mean,utter fucking dross with crowds of 8,000.
Thank your lucky stars you've witnessed the last four n a bit seasons.
I suspect long term we're not done yet.

 

[Varkanoid]

We desperately needed goals to survive our 2nd season in the PL , so why did we buy Brewster who wasn't ready ?

To fix the problem of buying McBurnie who also doesnt score.

The problem of not scoring will only be fixed when we directly attack the box and stop the pass pass pass pass pass pass outside the box. Look at how many runs and crosses we made in the box last night we could have scored from. Even Lowe nearly scored by darting into the box to get a pass laid on for him.

 

[SwitchBLADE Smiles]

Fucking hell some of the replies to this...

He’s a kid with 38 senior appearances to his name and people are writing him off. Have a word with yourselves.

 

[Bennyand the Blades]

Maybe we should have bought the guy at Swansea who was feeding him as well. But seriously has as been said this 20 year old lad is carrying a lot of weight on his young shoulders right now, not only this massive price tag and wage but also the promise in the agreement from Liverpool that they will buy him back IF he makes it big.
That possibility, whether true or false must seem a million miles away to him just now......

 

[United Aren't Back.]

You missed out mardy and the Mike Yarwood facial expressions.

Very much so.
Doing his Kevin expression after each terrible contribution.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

Never trust scousers

Not even Jackh??