Andre Brooks

[10-0 win]

Youngsters like Brooks needs time,some good games but beeing consistent is always a youngsters challenge. Lost the ball a few times when pressed today as Chelsea also did the hard work closing us down high up. They might not click atm but they have a hell of squad of excellent players

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

Youngsters like Brooks needs time,some good games but beeing consistent is always a youngsters challenge. Lost the ball a few times when pressed today as Chelsea also did the hard work closing us down high up. They might not click atm but they have a hell of squad of excellent players

Agreed, I think the issue was that he gave the ball away so easily. He was supposed to be out flair player that could take a few on and get the rest of the lads up the pitch but it didn’t happen today.

He worked hard off the ball though to his credit albeit he left Gallagher for their first goal which slightly moved us out of position and allowed them in.

 

[ancientblade]

Agreed, I think the issue was that he gave the ball away so easily. He was supposed to be out flair player that could take a few on and get the rest of the lads up the pitch but it didn’t happen today.

He worked hard off the ball though to his credit albeit he left Gallagher for their first goal which slightly moved us out of position and allowed them in.

Agreed, I think the issue was that he gave the ball away so easily. He was supposed to be out flair player that could take a few on and get the rest of the lads up the pitch but it didn’t happen today.

He worked hard off the ball though to his credit albeit he left Gallagher for their first goal which slightly moved us out of position and allowed them in.

gallagher and palmer ran the game today weve nothing of their quality in our midfield and it showed today

 

[s4-blade]

Agreed, I think the issue was that he gave the ball away so easily. He was supposed to be out flair player that could take a few on and get the rest of the lads up the pitch but it didn’t happen today.

He worked hard off the ball though to his credit albeit he left Gallagher for their first goal which slightly moved us out of position and allowed them in.

At least you’re doubling down and backing yourself on your strange take. Respect for that.

Kid ran himself into the ground putting out fires first half. Good shift.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Agreed, I think the issue was that he gave the ball away so easily. He was supposed to be out flair player that could take a few on and get the rest of the lads up the pitch but it didn’t happen today.

He worked hard off the ball though to his credit albeit he left Gallagher for their first goal which slightly moved us out of position and allowed them in.

Giving the ball away has been his main weakness for as long as I've seen him. He would have played more at this stage if he that wasn't the case. But it's difficult when we are pegged back for such long periods. When we did get some breaks we had few options upfield. Their defenders were aggressive and always ready and "rested" for these challenges when we tried to break.

Brooks is the type of player who does take risks on the ball. So there are risks, but also rewards. I'm sure he'll keep learning about making the right decisions.

 

[fifty shades of blade]

He played well. He was given some shocking passes to deal with which led to him being robbed of the ball a few times.

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

Giving the ball away has been his main weakness for as long as I've seen him. He would have played more at this stage if he that wasn't the case. But it's difficult when we are pegged back for such long periods. When we did get some breaks we had few options upfield. Their defenders were aggressive and always ready and "rested" for these challenges when we tried to break.

Brooks is the type of player who does take risks on the ball. So there are risks, but also rewards. I'm sure he'll keep learning about making the right decisions.

We were so deep that when we did get the ball there was no where to go. It was great first half when we closed the spaces down but unless we played some exceptional passing sequences we were always going to lose the ball pretty quickly. Only option was to win it back kick it long into touch and press them in their half. Unfortunately they are much better at playing out in those small tight spaces.
Thought that quite a lot, we failed to take the easy option and then move into space to receive again. Instead we went for difficult through balls that just didn’t work today

 

[Bladezz]

Norwood came on and passed it a lot better.

I like Brooks but I think we need Norwood in there and slowly bring Brooks in

 

[straight_outta_compton]

I really like brooks. He's far from the finished article but I think he's definitely a good prospect. Needs to tidy up his distribution, which was sloppy at times (too hard / soft, or a step ahead or behind player passing it to). But like his attitude and energy. Keep it up!

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

At least you’re doubling down and backing yourself on your strange take. Respect for that.

Kid ran himself into the ground putting out fires first half. Good shift.

I'm not here to patronise or provoke. Football is about opinions, others on here agree with me and there'll be people who agree with you.

I felt he gave the ball away far too easily but I also thought he worked hard off the ball. There's a reason that Wilder took him off early doors & its because he wasn't able to create anything going forward. You don't take your most influential player off that early if he didn't think he was struggling.

44% pass completion. I think that says a bit about how he struggled going forward & he made 1 successful tackle all game.

He's a young lad he'll have good games and bad. I don't think today was bad but he didn't effect the game at all which he's there to do.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Played well first half along with Souza. It was crying out for a bit more belief in possession.The whole midfield disappeared second half. Hamer was poor in open play throughout but knocked in some excellent dead balls. He seemed to be playing higher than a n the Brentford game.

 

[finlaytheblade]

At least you’re doubling down and backing yourself on your strange take. Respect for that.

Kid ran himself into the ground putting out fires first half. Good shift.

Yes he was caught in possession! No one looking to help by creating spaces. Wilder said we stopped them playing first half unfortunately when we had the ball we gave It them back straightaway .
We just didn't want the ball or that's what it looked like.
Brooksy got no help ! Expecting to much from a young player it's a learning curve for him and it seems we have too many of those to stand a chance in games like this.Of the starting 11 only Mcbernie has any real experience of note.
Fodringam has been around a long time with lots of experience great shot stopper but prone to big errors and when the balls at his feet he panics just doesn't read the cards most of the time ,I'm sure Wilder will replace him in the window gives the fans jitters! so the defenders end up similar.
The look on Trusties face after the 2nd goal is telling.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Flabbergasted that there are folk suggesting Norwood should be brought back into the XI.

I'm not 100%, but heavily suspect he'll be a January departure.
We can't compete physically / athletically with him in the middle of the park. That's the basics. Everything else can be worked on, but that cannot.

He has been a superb signing for us. A catalyst for so much good that's happened in recent times. But it feels like we're reaching the end of the road. Fleck too.

 

[Rochdaleblade]

Flabbergasted that there are folk suggesting Norwood should be brought back into the XI.

I'm not 100%, but heavily suspect he'll be a January departure.
We can't compete physically / athletically with him in the middle of the park. That's the basics. Everything else can be worked on, but that cannot.

He has been a superb signing for us. A catalyst for so much good that's happened in recent times. But it feels like we're reaching the end of the road. Fleck too.

The writing was on the wall for Norwood when he got dropped for Doyle. Fleck should have been eased out years ago. They have been great servants, but so were Billy, Duffy etc. No one can outrun father time. Surely Hamer is meant to be Norwoods replacement anyway.

 

[Zipwire]

I like Brooks and think he has got bags of potential but I also think he still looks very raw and inexperienced and his time will come. I also think 3 games in 10 days for a player of his inexperience is a big ask, and that he has the shirt because there is nobody else who can play his role

 

[Roygbiv]

Giving the ball away has been his main weakness for as long as I've seen him. He would have played more at this stage if he that wasn't the case. But it's difficult when we are pegged back for such long periods. When we did get some breaks we had few options upfield. Their defenders were aggressive and always ready and "rested" for these challenges when we tried to break.

Brooks is the type of player who does take risks on the ball. So there are risks, but also rewards. I'm sure he'll keep learning about making the right decisions.

This was why I didn't think he was ready for the first team. In the U23s I saw him give the ball away loads that led to break for the opposition. He's totally proven me wrong though and although he wasn't great today he looks at least ready for The Championship.

 

[Roygbiv]

Flabbergasted that there are folk suggesting Norwood should be brought back into the XI.

I'm not 100%, but heavily suspect he'll be a January departure.
We can't compete physically / athletically with him in the middle of the park. That's the basics. Everything else can be worked on, but that cannot.

He has been a superb signing for us. A catalyst for so much good that's happened in recent times. But it feels like we're reaching the end of the road. Fleck too.

It's a tough one with Norwood. We get no possession in this league and he's really not suited to a team that don't have the ball. Next season though you'd hope we were more dominant and he may still have a role. I would personally move him on but we could do worse than him next season depending on the budget.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

This was why I didn't think he was ready for the first team. In the U23s I saw him give the ball away loads that led to break for the opposition. He's totally proven me wrong though and although he wasn't great today he looks at least ready for The Championship.

Whilst true, I do think we turned over possession a lot today by taking risks with the ball.
We knew we weren't going to go to Chelsea and dominate possession, even for small spells, so when we had it we had to break at speed, play line breaking passes and commit men forwards. We weren't great at it, but Chelsea had (a very good) Gallagher and Caicedo in the middle of the park. 2 of the best at reading and breaking up play.
At least we showed the ambition.

Roygbiv re: Norwood.
I think he can still do a job at the top end of the Championship (for 20-30 games at least) so I'd be loathed to let him go on a permanent.
But I don't think Wilder fancies him as a starter anymore and it's understandable.
It might be time to add some proper mobility in that area, something we have lacked for a number of seasons.

 

[Roygbiv]

Whilst true, I do think we turned over possession a lot today by taking risks with the ball.
We knew we weren't going to go to Chelsea and dominate the ball, even for small spells, so when we had it we had to break at speed, play line breaking passes and commit men forwards. We weren't great at it, but Chelsea had (a very good) Gallagher and Caicedo in the middle of the park today. At least we showed the ambition.

Totally agree with you. We are trying to get forward quicker which means you'll see more mistakes. I just don't think we will ever have the lions share of the ball in this league and that's why Norwood will struggle. I can see what Wilder is trying to do even in today's game but we don't have the players to execute it against the top 10

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Totally agree with you. We are trying to get forward quicker which means you'll see more mistakes. I just don't think we will ever have the lions share of the ball in this league and that's why Norwood will struggle. I can see what Wilder is trying to do even in today's game but we don't have the players to execute it against the top 10

We don't have the players, but first half we weren't a million miles off.
There isn't an alternative gameplan, with this set of players, that will reap results away from home against the top 10. They're not up to it quality wise.
All we can do is make it difficult and have a proper go when it opens up (something we never did under Hecky & co.).
Today was about a better team going up the gears. I don't think we could have done much more.

 

[Roygbiv]

We don't have the players, but first half we weren't a million miles off.
There isn't an alternative gameplan, with this set of players, that will reap results away from home against the top 10. They're not up to it quality wise.
All we can do is make it difficult and have a proper go when it opens up (something we never did under Hecky & co.).
Today was about a better team going up the gears. I don't think we could have done much more.

I do think we could have been a lot better first 20 of the second half as Wilder alluded to but at the same time these players are going to make errors. I'm not quite as doom and gloom as others today (Not you!) but we were just outclassed.

 

[TJ blade]

Norwood days in my opinion are done, been a great servant though and I've enjoyed watching him but the games got faster and sadly he's got slower, which is understandable as age catches up with us all.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

VA I think today is pretty much what I
expected going into this season, we huffed and puffed but ultimately fell short. Had we not taken such heavy defeats this year, this would seem (more) acceptable.

 

[Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou]

Slimane and Davies were obviously brought in to be infront of Brooks in the midfield but that hasn't worked.

3 games in 10 days is a big shock to the body, he's done okay me old lad.

 

[Pintor75]

Norwood days in my opinion are done, been a great servant though and I've enjoyed watching him but the games got faster and sadly he's got slower, which is understandable as age catches up with us all.

Norwood should have gone when we came down last time, the team should have been rebuilt in that time and been in a stronger position on a return to the premiership, ok, maybe it was a surprise that we came back up so soon, but it has only emphasized my point

 

[metalblade]

Not sure what the question is but Norwood isn't the answer. I'd be giving young Brooks a rest and start Slimane we need to drip feed the young lads into the squad this league is a huge step up for all the players not just the young uns.

 

[Bladezz]

Not sure what the question is but Norwood isn't the answer. I'd be giving young Brooks a rest and start Slimane we need to drip feed the young lads into the squad this league is a huge step up for all the players not just the young uns.

Doesn’t seem like anyone wants to play Slimane centrally. Seems to be out wide a lot and he’s much better there.

The premier league needs legs in midfield and Slimane / Norwood / Souza don’t have them.

This is the biggest issue. I would keep Norwood for next season but maybe not as a starter.

 

[S64 Blade]

One poor game and everyone thinks he’s shit. Wow.

 

[finlaytheblade]

Doesn’t seem like anyone wants to play Slimane centrally. Seems to be out wide a lot and he’s much better there.

The premier league needs legs in midfield and Slimane / Norwood / Souza don’t have them.

This is the biggest issue. I would keep Norwood for next season but maybe not as a starter.

Slimani hasn't had the game time to prove one way or the other.

 

[Lightsoot]

Much improved first half from Brooksy compaired to Chelsea. Has competed great, protected the ball better than anyone in our team and the only one who has showed any kind of spark.

Shame he couldn’t make more of the opportunity when superbly robbing Matty Cash, but great half from the boy.