We are Oliver Norwood

[Berlin Blade]

It struck me today that this entire team is just Oliver Norwood.

When he is good we are good.
When he has space everyone has space.
When he controls a game we control the game.
When he looks frantic we look frantic.
When he has a poor game we have a poor game.

I think the reason we have looked better in recent months (boro at home, Fulham at home, qpr second half away) its all because he’s made us tick and been on the ball. Whenever we are shit he NEVER has a good game.

Today he looked rushed and was awful and it set the tone for everyone else. It’s no coincidence that not one outfield player came out with any credit today.

We need a new midfield engine room I think. It makes us too inconsistent to be so reliant on one player turning up.

 

[adamawdhali]

It struck me today that this entire team is just Oliver Norwood.

When he is good we are good.
When he has space everyone has space.
When he controls a game we control the game.
When he looks frantic we look frantic.
When he has a poor game we have a poor game.

I think the reason we have looked better in recent months (boro at home, Fulham at home, qpr second half away) its all because he’s made us tick and been on the ball. Whenever we are shit he NEVER has a good game.

Today he looked rushed and was awful and it set the tone for everyone else. It’s no coincidence that not one outfield player came out with any credit today.

We need a new midfield engine room I think. It makes us too inconsistent to be so reliant on one player turning up.

I don’t understand how more teams haven’t figured this out. When they mark him out the game we seem to fall apart

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

I've said it on many occasions and I'll say it again, Norwood is our consistently most inconsistent player. You don't know which Norwood will turn up. The influential midfield general who can ping it on every angle at various distances with great accuracy, or a guy who looks like he couldn't pass a turd. One thing that is guaranteed is that his corners and set pieces will be woefully inadequate and wasteful. He's massively over rated and I'd rather cash in over the summer and bring in someone who's capable of putting in back to back performances, instead of tossing a coin and seeing which version we'll get each week.

I wouldn't agree that he was marked out of the game today. He was too sloe to react to the counter and just wasteful on the ball through lack of composure or bad decision making, not because of pressure from Forest players. He had a poor game through his own doing, much like most games where he plays crap.

 

[Putney Blade]

Need two attacking central box to box midfielders players. Norwood style of play is too slow. Good player. But we are poor offensively. Manager needs to address this.

 

[Antonb]

That's the problem. Norwood is still very important to the way we play. So if he has a mare, it all comes tumbling down

 

[Harry's Game]

After the first goal last week Fulham allowed Norwood and Berge to do anything they wanted,

Forest didn’t.

 

[South stand tut]

This is our major problem. When Norwood is having a stinker and comes off or doesn't play , we look even worse . We need to rejig the whole midfield set up

 

[Wards]

100%

If they close down and press Norwood we haven't got a clue.

He wasn't the only one but he was particularly woeful

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

Hecky taking him off and pushing Osborn into midfield surprised me. Why not bring on Baldock and Hourihane as Osborn was having a 'mare all game? His subs are often baffling. It's not his strong point.

 

[Joeytheblade]

Maybe send him to sit outside Wembley on Tuesday night then?

 

[Muttley]

Nowood as Forest's best player today.

 

[FriethBlade]

Norwood biggest problem is hes absolutely shite when the other team have the ball. When the other team are fast and mobile hes even worse.

So if hes having a bad day on the ball he is a totally useless and we are effectively playing with 10 men. I think Hecky pushed Osbourn into midfield to try and stop them over running us.

Whichever division we are in next year we have to replace Norwood and Fleck

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Just a post to appreciate how good Oli Norwood has been this season, on and off the ball.

The statistics don't lie and at the moment he is on the league's leaderboards for tackles, interceptions, passing completion rates and chances created.

He often gets overlooked, is very rarely in our man of the match conversations, but if you objectively look at his body of work this season it's been top drawer.

Like Egan, very rarely does he miss a game through injury or suspension which speaks to a high level of professionalism too.

Noticeably getting involved higher up the field for us and taking some responsibility for making things happen, particularly in home matches.

Keep it going, Oli.

 

[BushBlade]

Just a post to appreciate how good Oli Norwood has been this season, on and off the ball.

The statistics don't lie and at the moment he is on the league's leaderboards for tackles, interceptions, passing completion rates and chances created.

He often gets overlooked, is very rarely in our man of the match conversations, but if you objectively look at his body of work this season it's been top drawer.

Like Egan, very rarely does he miss a game through injury or suspension which speaks to a high level of professionalism too.

Noticeably getting involved higher up the field for us and taking some responsibility for making things happen, particularly in home matches.

Keep it going, Oli.

He’ll probably trip over a cat whilst reading that and be out for three months.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

He’ll probably trip over a cat whilst reading that and be out for three months.

Hope not. I'll have to re-do my list.

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

 

[pommpey]

Just a post to appreciate how good Oli Norwood has been this season, on and off the ball.

The statistics don't lie and at the moment he is on the league's leaderboards for tackles, interceptions, passing completion rates and chances created.

He often gets overlooked, is very rarely in our man of the match conversations, but if you objectively look at his body of work this season it's been top drawer.

Like Egan, very rarely does he miss a game through injury or suspension which speaks to a high level of professionalism too.

Noticeably getting involved higher up the field for us and taking some responsibility for making things happen, particularly in home matches.

Keep it going, Oli.

What statistics are you talking about here?

Whilst I don't deny there has been an observable uptick in his output this season, I don't see much in statistics to support your affirmation he's the luminary described. Sure, he rarely misses a game and rarely is injured but the reason he isn't MotM is that other performers, lately Anel, RND and N'Daiye are a couple of points above him. Late in his career he is unlikely to iron out that tendency to fuck things up in key areas and either transmit a pass or lose possession to switch us from an advanced attack into a desperate defend posture. Stats don't show that one. He's done it three times this season in the ten games we have played, which has no xFuckup metric to go by. He has also banged in a spectacular, but equally rare free kick which, over the past five seasons since he last scored from a dead ball is one in I'd say twenty attempts, many of them ending in the kop or BLUT

As ever, I am yet to be bought that we have turned a corner with him, and given his off/on outings will remain so until well into next year. I do hope we get the player we think he is out of him because when he arrived, he was very much the Coutts replacement we needed to play alongside Lundstram and Fleck and really made our midfield a force to be reckoned with

pommpey

 

[stringjunior]

Beans and Roygbiv we're extolling his virtues on their pod earlier. He's been excellent this season so far.

 

[Rodley]

Some of the more extreme stick he got after the first game were some of the most embarrassing posts I’ve ever seen on here.

He’s been fantastic this season and is well in the frame for POTY.

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

I don’t understand how more teams haven’t figured this out. When they mark him out the game we seem to fall apart

Sssh!

 

[blade67]

Just a post to appreciate how good Oli Norwood has been this season, on and off the ball.

The statistics don't lie and at the moment he is on the league's leaderboards for tackles, interceptions, passing completion rates and chances created.

He often gets overlooked, is very rarely in our man of the match conversations, but if you objectively look at his body of work this season it's been top drawer.

Like Egan, very rarely does he miss a game through injury or suspension which speaks to a high level of professionalism too.

Noticeably getting involved higher up the field for us and taking some responsibility for making things happen, particularly in home matches.

Keep it going, Oli.

He's excellent at this level. I'm amazed that some people can't see it.

I think he will always find the premier League hard though as he's up against stronger more talented players

 

[Rodley]

He's excellent at this level. I'm amazed that some people can't see it.

I think he will always find the premier League hard though as he's up against stronger more talented players

Lacks the athleticism to excel at PL level, but he’s pure quality in the Championship.

 

[jono_t2000]

Just a post to appreciate how good Oli Norwood has been this season, on and off the ball.

The statistics don't lie and at the moment he is on the league's leaderboards for tackles, interceptions, passing completion rates and chances created.

He often gets overlooked, is very rarely in our man of the match conversations, but if you objectively look at his body of work this season it's been top drawer.

Like Egan, very rarely does he miss a game through injury or suspension which speaks to a high level of professionalism too.

Noticeably getting involved higher up the field for us and taking some responsibility for making things happen, particularly in home matches.

Keep it going, Oli.

Agree. People keep saying he can't tackle but his tackling and interceptions this season have been top class.

As CaptainMorgans says, stats show he makes more tackles and intercepts than the majority of our defenders currently.

 

[steve26272]

A

Agree. People keep saying he can't tackle but his tackling and interceptions this season have been top class.

As CaptainMorgans says, stats show he makes more tackles and intercepts than the majority of our defenders currently.

Agree

One thing he seems to have improved under Hecky is getting stuck in, he can actually tackle, not a midfielders tackle as you see from some of the Prem ones, Pogba springs to mind as someone’s who was, for a “£100m” midfielder kin useless, but a spoiler. However he equally is our quarterback, hence the comments that he plays shit we play shit.

Is it 3 separate teams, BHA, Fulham and us he’s been promoted with?

As the midfield playmaker that’s no coincidence

He seems to be enjoying been the focal point, whilst not been a Billy big bollox means he just goes about his business

Keep it up and he’s leading us to the promised land. Again.

 

[Nedski]

We'll always be able to find a goalkeeper that can make saves, a centre back that can header, and a striker that can score. But we're gonna struggle to find some to do everything that Ollie does. Remove the second Premiership season and he's been arguably our best/most consistent player since he signed.

He's 31 now though, and if we go up this season we'll need to go all out to find the next Norwood while we've got the cash (this is in addition to Doyle, who we also must sign).

 

[JohnDenver]

Agree. People keep saying he can't tackle but his tackling and interceptions this season have been top class.

He’s always been good at that. First noted when Jay presented some of his stats on bladespod back in the day. And when you watch him closely your eyes bear it out.

Some folk think he’s a traffic cone because when he’s caught wrong side he can’t recover. But when we play well this rarely happens. If he had the athleticism of RND his whole career would have been Premier League.

 

[Carlton Blade]

I think, with Ndiaye, Doyle's emergence and Egan's improved play in possession we are less reliant than we were on Norwood.

I also think that's really helped with his improved form. We went through stages over the last few seasons where it was"Oli, you do it". Now he's a key cog rather than the whole mechanism

 

[Tarqs]

Just to put an added twist on these stupid opta ratings....

Arguably one of our best players this season... rnd....

Is our 14th best performer this season.

Let that bollocks sink in and then take these daft sites and ratings with a pinch of salt.

 

[jono_t2000]

Just to put an added twist on these stupid opta ratings....

Arguably one of our best players this season... rnd....

Is our 14th best performer this season.

Let that bollocks sink in and then take these daft sites and ratings with a pinch of salt.

I agree looking at individual sites, can be misleading but looking at averages overall can give you a pretty good idea.

Might try and get some averages up later today

 

[CaptainMorgans]

What statistics are you talking about here?

Whilst I don't deny there has been an observable uptick in his output this season, I don't see much in statistics to support your affirmation he's the luminary described. Sure, he rarely misses a game and rarely is injured but the reason he isn't MotM is that other performers, lately Anel, RND and N'Daiye are a couple of points above him. Late in his career he is unlikely to iron out that tendency to fuck things up in key areas and either transmit a pass or lose possession to switch us from an advanced attack into a desperate defend posture. Stats don't show that one. He's done it three times this season in the ten games we have played, which has no xFuckup metric to go by. He has also banged in a spectacular, but equally rare free kick which, over the past five seasons since he last scored from a dead ball is one in I'd say twenty attempts, many of them ending in the kop or BLUT

As ever, I am yet to be bought that we have turned a corner with him, and given his off/on outings will remain so until well into next year. I do hope we get the player we think he is out of him because when he arrived, he was very much the Coutts replacement we needed to play alongside Lundstram and Fleck and really made our midfield a force to be reckoned with

pommpey

I can't deny he still has momentary lapses in concentration and coughs it up in dangerous areas but more often than not we are able to get away with it at this level and his positive output is far outweighing the negative at this moment in time.

I think Carlton Blade makes a good point though. We look a more fluid side this season and he has more passing options and better cover in behind. Other players are stepping up and it's helping him. He suddenly seems more confident in possession.

As for the statistics, I don't pay too much attention to the subjective stuff - e.g scores / 10, but I would assume the 'most interceptions, tackles, chances created' etc. are all tangible and accurately measured.
For midfielders in the division he always seems to be either top, or in the top 5.