Ollie Norwood

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INTERUNITED said:
What a player this lad is!! One of the finest midfielders I've seen in my 35 years watching the Blades. Some of his passing is breathtaking. I cannot believe he gets some stick from our fans at times, the man is sheer quality. Enjoy him Blades, you only get to see players like him once in a generation.
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Probably the best player at what he does in the Championship and we are by far a better team with him in the side. Unfortunately despite been a consummate professional and a fantastic ambassador for the club he only gets cut a fraction of the slack that other players do for reasons that are frankly beyond me. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 



Sheffsteel said:
When assessing a player think it's really important to know what you have.

Fleck tends to play those easy sideways/ backwards passing keeping possession ticking along, so he'll not be booed and not stand out for criticism.

Where as Norwood sometimes tries some very difficult passes, "the Hollywood pass", so he'll be the one who faces the moans and groans of a bad pass
However he sticks to continuing his strength because he knows sooner or later some of his passes will split the defence and result in a goal.

With Fleck you'll have constant 6 or 7 out 10 performances where as with Norwood, the nature of his game means he'll occasionally have 9 out of 10 (on a good day) or 4 out of 10 (on a bad day) performances.

Also love Norwoods personality and attitude, a down to earth model pro, a great person to have in the dressing room and at any club.
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We all know Fleck is not the same player he once was. But he's still so important to the way we play. Fleck comes back in to the side and Norwood starts to play much better. Won 3 in row with Fleck in. He gives us balance and allows the other players to do what they do best. Him and Norwood have a really good understanding and partnership as well. Norwood makes us tick and when he plays well, we play well. Fleck allows Norwood to be Norwood.
 
I’ve been critical of him in the past. The ease at which players waltzed passed him in a key central area of the pitch of most concern.

That was a masterclass of a performance yesterday. If that was KDB, the pundits would have been more than slightly aroused !!

Magnificent performance 👏👏.

UTB
 
DronnieBlade said:
I’ve been critical of him in the past. The ease at which players waltzed passed him in a key central area of the pitch of most concern.

That was a masterclass of a performance yesterday. If that was KDB, the pundits would have been more than slightly aroused !!

Magnificent performance 👏👏.

UTB
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What did you think of McBurnie’s performance yesterday?
 
Just rewatched the game this morning. Norwood had a fantastic game didn’t he.
His passing was excellent & a threat from start to finish.
His tackling & closing down was also top quality.
And lastly his pointing was up to his usual high standards - and I’m not taking the piss there. The amount of times he helps others make the right pass by pointing it out to them is brilliant.
He really is a driving force behind the side when he’s on form like this.
At 31 he’s worth another contract when he shows what he’s capable of like he did yesterday.
 
He is a lovely footballer to watch. He can make the game look effortless and he always seems calm under pressure.

He is the quintessential player than when he plays well, the team plays well too. Every now and then he will have an off day, and it’s always more noticeable because when he has an off day, United tend to as well.

One thing I’ve enjoyed about watching the Blades over the last few years is watching Norwood orchestrating the midfield. On his day he is a cracking player to watch and has given me a lot of enjoyment.

I also think yesterday was amongst his best games he has had for us.
 
Let’s face the reality of this situation. Norwood is a very good baller. He’s been around long enough to make an impact from the key position he occupies. This thread was started following one of his better games.
He has been present, uninjured and made some great contributions to our current league position.

His game should be on a constant improvement curve, given his talent, experience and maturity. He can be shut down, and that has been seen before. Most quality players at CDM will look better when their midfield partners are represented by Osborn, and the current iteration of Mr Fleck.
He was still ever present when the team went through a bad patch of underwhelming results. Yet some supporters are happy to quote him as being responsible for the team playing well when he starts?

Some fans might point out that, apart from the Burnley game, when Norwood played, Berge was also out injured for most of those performances? But giving Norwood the plaudits for good performances is equally simplistic.

He is very good, but he should be, given his age, the potential rewards, and the renewal of his contract coming up.
People are making similar claims for Ndiaye, with his contract under discussion. They are both quality players, at different ends of their careers. No need to get carried away with it!

Maybe I underestimate Norwood’s contribution, with so many players out injured? Anyway you look at it, this kind of reaction is knee jerk and too simplistic. (Wah shield up).
 
LJBlade said:
Is the view from their armchair any worse than the view from yours?

“Random bloke on the internet” could easily be used to describe you or me or anyone of us on here.
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Indeed. However hear the clarion calls that Norwood is 'player of the season' based on objective opinion on people believed to speak from some or other platform of authority. Do they have any better understanding of Norwood and Sheffield United than say Nick and Hal and the gang at The Sheff Utd Way or those at Four Blades In The Pub, The Tufty Club, Blades Pod or any of the other better placed and very knowledgeable pocasters, broadcasters and commentators the internet presents? I'd say not, to be honest yet listen to their opinions and Norwood does tend to attract favourable comments but still splits the vote on his consistency.

pommpey
 
pommpey said:
Indeed. However hear the clarion calls that Norwood is 'player of the season' based on objective opinion on people believed to speak from some or other platform of authority. Do they have any better understanding of Norwood and Sheffield United than say Nick and Hal and the gang at The Sheff Utd Way or those at Four Blades In The Pub, The Tufty Club, Blades Pod or any of the other better placed and very knowledgeable pocasters, broadcasters and commentators the internet presents? I'd say not, to be honest yet listen to their opinions and Norwood does tend to attract favourable comments but still splits the vote on his consistency.

pommpey
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Does he ? Im not sure he does
 
pommpey said:
Indeed. However hear the clarion calls that Norwood is 'player of the season' based on objective opinion on people believed to speak from some or other platform of authority. Do they have any better understanding of Norwood and Sheffield United than say Nick and Hal and the gang at The Sheff Utd Way or those at Four Blades In The Pub, The Tufty Club, Blades Pod or any of the other better placed and very knowledgeable pocasters, broadcasters and commentators the internet presents? I'd say not, to be honest yet listen to their opinions and Norwood does tend to attract favourable comments but still splits the vote on his consistency.

pommpey
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“Better placed”. What makes them better placed? For all you know they might have seen every single minute Norwood has played this season. For what it’s worth I grew up with Nick and although I know he at least attends the games I wouldn’t say he’s all that more qualified at defining a good player from a bad one, just because he’s got a podcast.

You said the ‘context’ behind their opinion is that they’re just random blokes on the internet. Like this makes their opinion worth less. Do you not also fit into that category?
 
LJBlade said:
“Better placed”. What makes them better placed? For all you know they might have seen every single minute Norwood has played this season. For what it’s worth I grew up with Nick and although I know he at least attends the games I wouldn’t say he’s all that more qualified at defining a good player from a bad one, just because he’s got a podcast.

You said the ‘context’ behind their opinion is that they’re just random blokes on the internet. Like this makes their opinion worth less. Do you not also fit into that category?
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I do. But I don't make massive extrapolations in my comments to proclaim a player 'player of the season', especially in a team so inconsistent as Sheffield United containing a player as inconsistent as Oliver Norwood. Think he's not inconsistent? Many disagree. Many state that 'when he has a good game, United have a good game' as well as acknowledging the observation that the opposition has to 'allow' Norwood time on the ball and to play his game. When pressed or marked, he's fucking invisible, or at best ineffective.

When it comes down to overall season effectiveness, last season belonged to Morgan Gibbs-White and Illiman NDaiye, who played an attacking game in spite of Norwood's Wilderball traits, not because. This season NDaiye is doing the do with McBurnie, another vastly improved player who is coughing silver dollars up for us in terms of goals and output.

pommpey
 



Absolutely lovely footballer, and very good at what he does well.

He only looks poor when we leave him exposed, or when we fail to put those with legs around him, or if we expect him to do more than to play to his strengths. The same is true for any footballer.

Has looked very good this season, a cut above when in possession.
 
Kozzy_is_my_Dad said:
Absolutely lovely footballer, and very good at what he does well.

He only looks poor when we leave him exposed, or when we fail to put those with legs around him, or if we expect him to do more than to play to his strengths. The same is true for any footballer.

Has looked very good this season, a cut above when in possession.
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I'd say he's has looked better, better than his jawdroppingly poor PL2 season for us and the first months under Slav where he couldn't find his arse with both hands in a 4-2-3-1, basically because he had no-one to ping the ball to and only faced midfield outlets. His 'strengths' as you attest are easily telegraphed and countered, wither by doubling up on the wingbacks or simply putting him under pressure in possession where he can't hold on to the ball or go past players.

The 'he's looked very good' statement reduces everyone else down to a pretty mediocre level in truth.

pommpey
 
pommpey said:
I'd say he's has looked better, better than his jawdroppingly poor PL2 season for us and the first months under Slav where he couldn't find his arse with both hands in a 4-2-3-1, basically because he had no-one to ping the ball to and only faced midfield outlets. His 'strengths' as you attest are easily telegraphed and countered, wither by doubling up on the wingbacks or simply putting him under pressure in possession where he can't hold on to the ball or go past players.

The 'he's looked very good' statement reduces everyone else down to a pretty mediocre level in truth.

pommpey
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Hate this. Bang right again. Obvious to anyone who actually watches, understands and processes.
 
dc_blade said:
Some people made themselves look a bit silly with their hysterical attacks on the guy and now can’t admit they were wrong. Nothing else to see here—everyone else knows he’s one of the best midfielders in the Championship and has been in each of the last 5 seasons he’s played at this level.
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It really is this simple ^^^^^

As for his supposed wild inconsistency, like every player ever he has games where he is relatively less effective, but we’ve come away from some rubbish Utd performances/defeats this season agreeing that ‘at least Norwood did alright’, etc. If anything, in a season when we’ve been inconsistent week on week, he‘s generally played to a reliably high standard.

Admittedly we don’t have a podcast, or write match reviews on here. So if that’s the latest measure of whether Norwood is all that, then wtf do we know?

I don’t understand the desperation to talk him down. In the end you have to assume this desperation has little to do with Norwood or Utd.
 
ShockingBadBuy said:
It really is this simple ^^^^^

As for his supposed wild inconsistency, like every player ever he has games where he is relatively less effective, but we’ve come away from some rubbish Utd performances/defeats this season agreeing that ‘at least Norwood did alright’, etc. If anything, in a season when we’ve been inconsistent week on week, he‘s generally played to a reliably high standard.

Admittedly we don’t have a podcast, or write match reviews on here. So if that’s the latest measure of whether Norwood is all that, then wtf do we know?

I don’t understand the desperation to talk him down. In the end you have to assume this desperation has little to do with Norwood or Utd.
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I think he’s having his best season for us. I’d like to ask him if he thinks he’s having the best season of his career—I reckon he might be.

There’s this idea that he’s easily nullified. Possibly that’s true at Premier League level. Possibly: he had one cracking season at that level for us. But at Championship level there just aren’t many teams with the resources or tactical nous to shut him out of the game. That’s why he’s consistently so good in this division.
 
ShockingBadBuy said:
I don’t understand the desperation to talk him down. In the end you have to assume this desperation has little to do with Norwood or Utd.
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People using the words 'hysterical' and 'desperation' are victims of the hyperbole they broadcast.

Look, you own an Aston Martin Lagonda. To some, it's fast, historic, beautiful and a work of automotive engineering beauty. I however don't like it because of the problems with it's brakes, transmission, in car entertainment or interior styling. I'm not being hysterical, nor desperate to talk things down. It's simply my opinion, because I have looked at it and formed my opinion on my basic requirements of a luxury car. You point at other owners who similarly are concrete-cocked about the AML and online opinion formers and twitter broadcasters. However my experience of the AML is different as I see it different because of 'x', 'y' and 'z'.

Now see Norwood, who to me is far from 'the best midfielder in the Championship', or if he is, then the runners and riders must be pretty inconsistent or the general condition of the runners pretty mediocre. He's been better than he has of late and in some games (like Burnley) very, very good ... albeit because Burnley's midfield didn't display any of the tactics which make his game ineffective.

Which, in car terms tracks across the that the AML might be a decent car on country runs with plenty of road to floor the pedal, but round town and running the kids to school (where you'll probably need it most) its an expensive, over-rated piece of shit. When Norwood playes teams with decent, canny midfields (like Rotherham) he's not quite the Player of the Season that many 'hysterically' say he is in their 'desperation' to justify a basic set of skills he displays like knocking impressive cross field balls onto the feet of marked wingbacks.

pommpey
 
pommpey said:
I do. But I don't make massive extrapolations in my comments to proclaim a player 'player of the season', especially in a team so inconsistent as Sheffield United containing a player as inconsistent as Oliver Norwood. Think he's not inconsistent? Many disagree. Many state that 'when he has a good game, United have a good game' as well as acknowledging the observation that the opposition has to 'allow' Norwood time on the ball and to play his game. When pressed or marked, he's fucking invisible, or at best ineffective.

When it comes down to overall season effectiveness, last season belonged to Morgan Gibbs-White and Illiman NDaiye, who played an attacking game in spite of Norwood's Wilderball traits, not because. This season NDaiye is doing the do with McBurnie, another vastly improved player who is coughing silver dollars up for us in terms of goals and output.

pommpey
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Those guys claiming him to be 'player of the season' are only offering their opinion. An opinion which you apparently feel is worth less because they're just some 'random blokes on the internet'. Just like yourself and yet you still feel your opinion is worth it's own thread after every game.

Think he's inconsistent? Many disagree. That works both ways. When the opposition plays well against him he's less likely to have a good game himself, is what you're saying isn't it? Top quality analysis there.
 
ShockingBadBuy said:
I don’t understand the desperation to talk him down. In the end you have to assume this desperation has little to do with Norwood or Utd.
Click to expand...

People using the words 'hysterical' and 'desperation' are victims of the hyperbole they broadcast.

Look, you own an Aston Martin Lagonda. To some, it's fast, historic, beautiful and a work of automotive engineering beauty. I however don't like it because of the problems with it's brakes, transmission, in car entertainment or interior styling. I'm not being hysterical, nor desperate to talk things down. It's simply my opinion, because I have looked at it and formed my opinion on my basic requirements of a luxury car. You point at other owners who similarly are concrete-cocked about the AML and online opinion formers and twitter broadcasters. However my experience of the AML is different as I see it different because of 'x', 'y' and 'z'.

Now see Norwood, who to me is far from 'the best midfielder in the Championship', or if he is, then the runners and riders must be pretty inconsistent or the general condition of the runners pretty mediocre. He's been better than he has of late and in some games (like Burnley) very, very good ... albeit because Burnley's midfield didn't display any of the tactics which make his game ineffective.

Which, in car terms tracks across the that the AML might be a decent car on country runs with plenty of road to floor the pedal, but round town and running the kids to school (where you'll probably need it most) its an expensive, over-rated piece of shit. When Norwood playes teams with decent, canny midfields (like Rotherham) he's not quite the Player of the Season that many 'hysterically' say he is in their 'desperation' to justify a basic set of skills he displays like knocking impressive cross field balls onto the feet of marked wingbacks

pommpey
 
So to summarise, it is possible to find fault with anything or anybody, at any time, as nothing is perfect - even ourselves.

On his day, in his position, he is the currently the best we have, and how much would it cost us to replace him with someone we think might be better.

I used to enjoy watching Tony Currie, was he perfect in every game he played - no.

I also used to enjoy watching Leon Clarke - then we gave him a new contract.
But overall on balance he was not a bad player for us.

Notice the theme of the time frame running through the above. Picking out Norwood for the second PL season disaster, seems a little unfair given that no one shone that season.
 
Tom Bott said:
Notice the theme of the time frame running through the above. Picking out Norwood for the second PL season disaster, seems a little unfair given that no one shone that season.
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Norwood went through a spell in that season where for a few weeks he was not only playing poorly (although they all were), but he was seemingly putting the opposition strikers through on goal every game! He started getting pelters at that point and some people have never got over it. Despite him being our best midfielder for pretty much all of the other 4+ years that he's been here.
 



GrayBlade said:
Probably the best player at what he does in the Championship and we are by far a better team with him in the side. Unfortunately despite been a consummate professional and a fantastic ambassador for the club he only gets cut a fraction of the slack that other players do for reasons that are frankly beyond me. 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Yeah, but he's got a kind of slapable face. And all that pointing.

I'm still a massive fan. Watching England at their turgid worst, you just know they would be transformed with a Norwood on the pitch
 
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