Oliver Norwood

[VwBlade]

He also shares the same name as (in my opinion) the best chippy in Sheffield

 

[Pobby1012]

For me him or Baldock were the MOM yesterday. Watching him a few times during the match and he is just so vital to the way we play. His football brain allows us to play the way we play. He looked class yesterday with his defensive positioning when covering but I also realised how often its Norwood putting the foot in when the opposition team are at our 18 yard box. Class Act

 

[Houston_Blade]

Fair enough, we all have differing opinions, I just thought Ollie gave the ball away far too easily, in the first half especially, he also moved the ball a lot slower than usual, this was perhaps more down to Watford than himself though. I can’t recall Hendo having much to do to be honest so I’m surprised any defender will get less than a 7. Although Bash could’ve perhaps been a lot tighter on Deloufeu for the goal, other than that I’m struggling to see what they offered.

Yep, wasn’t arguing, was just trying to say how I saw it a lot differently. Wasn’t impressed with anyone really but wouldn’t say we played badly. Strange game.

 

[Willie Carlin]

I once saw Monty make a 20 yard slide rule pass with the outside of his right foot.

 

[Almosthuman]

He's brilliant but also really frustrating sometimes. His passing can be sublime but he does knock it out of possession a fair bit, especially recently.

Corner delivery is average with too many going to far to the back post.

I sometimes think he misses the easy pass in favour of trying an impossible one. That being said there were moments yesterday where his passing was sensational.

I still think a pre injury courts just edges Norwood, when he was at his best every positive action of the game would for through him.

Not saying Norwood isn't class just feel his form has dipped a touch recently.

 

[Antonb]

Agree....Fleck comes back and continues his good form....our best midfielder yesterday.
Norwood poor 1st half but much better in the 2nd half. Lunny was the invisible man 1st half....improved 2nd half but still not good enough....although he did take some big knocks in the 2nd half so suspect he was playing with pain.

Everyone is entitled to a bad match/ off day....they all deserve support....so no concerns yet.
Its when a player had a run of underperforming in matches that we should be thinking about replacements.

Its funny how people see things differently , I thought fleck wasnt very good first half, and Norwood was carrying the midfield by himself 1st half, 2nd half Lunny and fleck were better, but Norwood was still better than the both of them, he didnt hide, i thought the other 2 went missing for parts of the game

 

[bonobo]

I think in all this, we are not talking about how good he is defensively. He was outstanding against BHA, the amount of times he picks up the loose ball, his composure, positioning , jockeying of midfield runners.The amount of times, he gets a crucial touch away from a forward. Pushing and pulling the rest of team into shape. Our defensive play improved signficantly when he joined and that's what puts him clearly above Coutts for me. The amount of times, we used to concede long range efforts, from the areas he now patrols. This given he is not particularly strong, quick or great in the tackle. Having said that, I wonder if the opposition doesn't miss a trick in having players just run at him more. A lot of his forward play was inconsistent yesterday, he has a habit of overhitting the ball, but he was also the most forceful and influential players and his set pieces where better than they have been for a while.

 

[Bladesman]

 

[Sheff de party]

He’s a brilliant footballer. His technique is everything I’d tell amateur footballers to ignore. Hollywood passes, sitting deep all the time and those dicey outside of the boot short passes to the centre half.

It’s like watching a sword swallower. Fucking stupid trying to copy, but if you can do it properly, you should do it all the time.

 

[Nick Jansky]

He’s a brilliant footballer. His technique is everything I’d tell amateur footballers to ignore. Hollywood passes, sitting deep all the time and those dicey outside of the boot short passes to the centre half.

It’s like watching a sword swallower. Fucking stupid trying to copy, but if you can do it properly, you should do it all the time.

What a brilliant description!

 

[Bladesway]

What a superb footballer he is. In all my years of supporting United I don’t think I’ve ever seen a midfielder who I’ve enjoyed watching as much as him. I spent 15 minutes just focussing on him during the match yesterday to watch what he does. He plays with his head up. Already knows where everyone else is and where the space is before he gets the ball. He very rarely wastes the ball, if nothing is on he isn’t afraid to play a short safe pace but if someone is free outside 40 yards away he isn’t frightened of pinging a long pass. If United are overloading forward he doesn’t mind dropping back to provide cover for the back line. I’ve been brought on a Uniteds midfielders usually being scufflers who telegraph balls down the flanks for people to run on to but he is too good to have to resort that, and he also knows what his limitations are. He isn’t quick enough to get on the ball and take 3 or 4 men on a mazy run so he doesn’t do it and his touch and control is good enough for him to kill the ball dead and use it properly. His style also complements whoever he plays alongside, the sheer brute force of Lunny, the tenacity and drive of Fleck, the attacking intent of Baldock and Stevens, and he is perfect in the same team as the other gifted artisan in the team, David McGoldrick

He is a player that looks every inch a Premier League quality player who has spent his entire career at the top level, and he is a proper Rolls Royce of a football. Stylish, graceful and elegant. I can’t even begin to work out how we got him for a meagre £2m. We are incredibly lucky to have a real maestro like Oliver Norwood in the middle of the Park and he is only going to improve as he gets older

Need to upgrade him apparently!!

 

[Balham]

Need to upgrade him apparently!!

We do need to upgrade him. We need to be working on the assumption that we can upgrade any of our players if we're going to keep moving forward.

 

[Kev Gee]

Norwood plays as the footballing equivalent of a quarterback. He's looking for the killer pass before he receives the ball. He knows what he is going to do. Like you say he also knows his limitations. He isn't a lung busting box to box midfielder and he isn't a crunching midfield general.

I would really like him to try more long shots though.

 

[originaltrueblade]

What a superb footballer he is. In all my years of supporting United I don’t think I’ve ever seen a midfielder who I’ve enjoyed watching as much as him. I spent 15 minutes just focussing on him during the match yesterday to watch what he does. He plays with his head up. Already knows where everyone else is and where the space is before he gets the ball. He very rarely wastes the ball, if nothing is on he isn’t afraid to play a short safe pace but if someone is free outside 40 yards away he isn’t frightened of pinging a long pass. If United are overloading forward he doesn’t mind dropping back to provide cover for the back line. I’ve been brought on a Uniteds midfielders usually being scufflers who telegraph balls down the flanks for people to run on to but he is too good to have to resort that, and he also knows what his limitations are. He isn’t quick enough to get on the ball and take 3 or 4 men on a mazy run so he doesn’t do it and his touch and control is good enough for him to kill the ball dead and use it properly. His style also complements whoever he plays alongside, the sheer brute force of Lunny, the tenacity and drive of Fleck, the attacking intent of Baldock and Stevens, and he is perfect in the same team as the other gifted artisan in the team, David McGoldrick

He is a player that looks every inch a Premier League quality player who has spent his entire career at the top level, and he is a proper Rolls Royce of a football. Stylish, graceful and elegant. I can’t even begin to work out how we got him for a meagre £2m. We are incredibly lucky to have a real maestro like Oliver Norwood in the middle of the Park and he is only going to improve as he gets older

Yep great midfielder but such a shame you didn’t get to see TC

 

[Maidenhead]

Its funny how people see things differently , I thought fleck wasnt very good first half, and Norwood was carrying the midfield by himself 1st half, 2nd half Lunny and fleck were better, but Norwood was still better than the both of them, he didnt hide, i thought the other 2 went missing for parts of the game

I'm with Sheffsteel on this one, but I readily admit that I sit somewhere between average pundit and village idiot in the opinion of some

 

[1973Blade]

Always like to read comments like this from Norwood. Hopefully he will be with us for years to come.

 

[PokerBlade]

I never get tired of this.

 

[Houso]

I wonder how the likes of Brighton and Fulham feel to be seeing Ollie doing so well in the Prem when both binned him pretty much unceremoniously upon promotion.

Edit: https://www.friendsoffulham.com/forum/index.php?topic=74120.msg1108323

 

['Doc' Pace my hero]

Ever present midfield player in a top six premier league side......and they said he wasn't good enough,funny a lot said the same about SUFC.

 

[GrayBlade]

I’ve loved watching the way he plays from the off but I also admire the way he conducts himself with the Ref’s and in interviews. A great representative for the club.

 

[Wards]

I’ve loved watching the way he plays from the off but I also admire the way he conducts himself with the Ref’s and in interviews. A great representative for the club.

I always think he already sounds like a manager when he gives interviews!

 

[SiamBlade]

Ollie Norwood is my favourite player. I hope he sticks around for many more years.

 

[Antonb]

Pitty Lundstram wasn’t as positive about staying, now he’s a midfield king!

 

[itsinyerblood]

Just to assure anyone reading this, Norwood's a top player, one that we were fortunate to have signed......but I doubt we would have signed ON if Coutts hadn't received an injury that effectively ended his career at the Blades. Having gained promotion, and then showing that his form was no mere flash in the pan, Coutts was on course to help United push for promotion to the Prem, and the midfield trio of Coutts, Fleck, and Duffy, was looking as effective as any midfield at that time.
We'll never know if Coutts could have fulfilled his fabulous promise and become our midfield general in the Premier Division, but to my mind PC had everything we required to deliver at the highest level. Sadly, his loss was so widely felt that it derailed any chance we might have had of securing promotion on our return to the Championship.

At that time I never imagined we could find a player capable of filling Coutts' shoes - and I must stress, they're very different players who, although midfielders, put a very different emphasis on the way we played. Fast forwarding, Norwood is now a central player for the Blades. Yes, he has a mistake or two in his game, but boy, does he make us play with a cohesive ease, picking up stray balls, seeing a potential problem and making sure that it never materialises into anything more than a possibility. Norwood's importance to this side cannot be underestimated, in fact his value to this side is such that to my mind he's not quite as good as this division's very best midfielder's but he's as close as any of us could imagine playing for this club. A great footballer, and what a fucking bargain. What were Brighton thinking when they sold him to us?!????!??

 

[bromtom]

Just to assure anyone reading this, Norwood's a top player, one that we were fortunate to have signed......but I doubt we would have signed ON if Coutts hadn't received an injury that effectively ended his career at the Blades. Having gained promotion, and then showing that his form was no mere flash in the pan, Coutts was on course to help United push for promotion to the Prem, and the midfield trio of Coutts, Fleck, and Duffy, was looking as effective as any midfield at that time.
We'll never know if Coutts could have fulfilled his fabulous promise and become our midfield general in the Premier Division, but to my mind PC had everything we required to deliver at the highest level. Sadly, his loss was so widely felt that it derailed any chance we might have had of securing promotion on our return to the Championship.

At that time I never imagined we could find a player capable of filling Coutts' shoes - and I must stress, they're very different players who, although midfielders, put a very different emphasis on the way we played. Fast forwarding, Norwood is now a central player for the Blades. Yes, he has a mistake or two in his game, but boy, does he make us play with a cohesive ease, picking up stray balls, seeing a potential problem and making sure that it never materialises into anything more than a possibility. Norwood's importance to this side cannot be underestimated, in fact his value to this side is such that to my mind he's not quite as good as this division's very best midfielder's but he's as close as any of us could imagine playing for this club. A great footballer, and what a fucking bargain. What were Brighton thinking when they sold him to us?!????!??

Brighton like letting good players go for no reason, it was Knockaert's turn this season. He got 6 assists in the Premier League last season in a Brighton team that barely attacked. He would have been outstanding with Maupay and Connelly.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Brighton like letting good players go for no reason, it was Knockaert's turn this season. He got 6 assists in the Premier League last season in a Brighton team that barely attacked. He would have been outstanding with Maupay and Connelly.

Agree about Knockaert, on the times I've watched him I've always been impressed. Not sure what Brighton's criteria is for retaining players is, but how they could have missed Norwood's quality is beyond me.

 

[Bladesman]

 

[Liaminho9]

Things you love you see:

 

[LoughboroBlade]

 

[TCsLoveChild]

Ollie Norwood Top Blade ️️ UTB