Osborn as a number 10?

[Brother-Leech]

Due to his frequent forays into the box and making stuff happen at the edge of it in the last few games, I think it would be interesting to see him playing as a number ten with the added bonus that he would no doubt still provide great defensive work in the centre of the park.

It could be useful when playing teams that sit back against us, the same thing we had to develop when the buses started parking up in league 1.

To be honest I was trying to think of ways to shoehorn Fleck and Osborn into the same lineup which granted, is very un-Wlider. That said I think it could be another tool in our belt.

 

[Chabuddy G]

Nope

 

[BerksBlade]

I think the only way to get Fleck & Osborn in the starting XI would be to go with a back 4. Can't see that happening anytime soon.

 

[Sheff de party]

He’s done well considering his ability but he’s nowhere near good enough of creative enough to change our entire way of playing for.

Come on, he’s had a couple of decent games but he’s not good enough on the ball to play there.

And Didzy has just started scoring!

 

[Rodley]

 

[CoatesyBlade]

If anything I’d of thought Fleck would’ve been the suggestion for the more advanced role. Fleck has that touch of class and played more advanced as a youngster. Osborn is tenacious and is all over the pitch. A gem of a player but he’s not a No.10.

 

[Eza Blade]

Freeman, Didzy, Cal Robinson maybe Fleck all in front of Ozzy in a role we no longer play

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

I think the only way to get Fleck & Osborn in the starting XI would be to go with a back 4. Can't see that happening anytime soon.

You want to play those two midgets in a back 4?

 

[Antonb]

Let’s change the way we play from beating wolves spurs and Chelsea! Oh dear!

 

[hidesbehindapseudonym]

He s a great stand in for Fleck.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Never put your thoughts online after midnight

 

[Snake]

Osborn is our new Monty - albeit with a bit more footballing skill about him. No way is he a number 10, but every team needs a Monty! The more Berger comes into prominence the harder I think it will be for Wilder to ignore Osborn for Fleck. A midfield of Fleck, Norwood and Berger sounds delicious, but there is no denying that the extra bit of steel Osborn is providing has been crucial in us breaking up the play and get back on the front foot.

Don't get me wrong, I think Fleck is a fantastic player and this is a great problem to have. It's also a sign of us getting stronger as a squad. The better teams have this problem in every position. It's all good stuff! ⚔ ⚔

 

[Brother-Leech]

Let’s change the way we play from beating wolves spurs and Chelsea! Oh dear!

I wasn’t suggesting changing it up from the off but maybe if we hit a wall it could be something to consider in the future.

 

[Eza Blade]

I wasn’t suggesting changing it up from the off but maybe if we hit a wall it could be something to consider in the future.

What do shit free kicks have to do with it

 

[Yewsman]

Think some are under rating Ozzy's creative abilities. He is an excellent crosser of the ball. See goal in Cup and cross at Burnley headed on by Billy for Egan to score and some others I can't specifically remember. Having said that I don't see him as a number 10 at moment but if he carries on improving at the present rate who knows?

 

[BerksBlade]

You want to play those two midgets in a back 4?

Errrr.....no.
What I'm saying is that there's no room for both Fleck & Osborn in a midfield 3. With a back 4 we could play 4 in midfield & you might be able to play both.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

It’s not really a question of whether Fleck & Osborn can play together, as if Stevens is unavailable Osborn’s automatically the first person Wilder would go to if everyone is fit.

A slightly different question is given that Osborn was primarily signed to be cover for Stevens, with cover as LCM a bonus, is he now arguably main cover for both positions?And is that a problem if he is? It’s arguably an issue for Luke Freeman.

 

[Sharp as a blade]

Basham also frequently forays into the box maybe we should try him in the number 10?

 

[PokerBlade]

I can actually see it given I've been comparing Osborn to Quinn the younger. What I can't see is the need for it right now. That's what Freeman is for and I'd rather have players dedicated to their roles than shoehorn them in.

The great thing about Osborn's recent performances is that I thought cover for Fleck was one of our biggest issues. As it stands Osborn's not been near as good as Fleck at his best but the fact he's played in three victories over sides challenging for Europe can't be overstated.

As far as the role goes in general, one of the things that will be a long term aim of ours is to hold more of the ball. When we were in League One playing much the same system but also dominating the possession we were unstoppable. In the Championship we held a bit less but could do it against a lot of clubs and, again, no one could stop us. Now in the Prem we're holding even less and usually well behind on possession stats and we rely on how effective we are when we do have it to get results, and that's working pretty damn well.

If we could get more of the ball we could move back to having a more attacking midfielder in the mix. The problem is that right now it seems the only way to do that is to somehow find some truly world class players. The system and the tactics are great and we know the direction we'd like to go in (smashing teams like the 100 points season). Where we find upgrades on our budget, I haven't a clue, but it's a nice problem to have so long as we're sat in the top half of the best league in the world.

 

[Badger Blade]

Osborn is our new Monty - albeit with a bit more footballing skill about him. No way is he a number 10, but every team needs a Monty! The more Berger comes into prominence the harder I think it will be for Wilder to ignore Osborn for Fleck. A midfield of Fleck, Norwood and Berger sounds delicious, but there is no denying that the extra bit of steel Osborn is providing has been crucial in us breaking up the play and get back on the front foot.

Don't get me wrong, I think Fleck is a fantastic player and this is a great problem to have. It's also a sign of us getting stronger as a squad. The better teams have this problem in every position. It's all good stuff! ⚔ ⚔

I was about to put the same thing, he's got the same work rate as Montgomery used to have and can do all the same stuff but he's a proper footballer with some ball playing ability, I worked with a Forest fan for a while and he waxed lyrical about him. He's more than a bloke who I'd imagine Warnock used to tell "just chase after the ball and give it to Browny"

 

[Captain2]

Osborn has proved an excellent stand in for Fleck and his performances have warranted an extended run in the side.3 million quid another fine bit of transfer robbery from Sir Christopher

 

[Brother-Leech]

What do shit free kicks have to do with it

As in, if teams start approaching us in a different way. Sitting back more and soaking up the pressure.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Osborn (and Ndiaye) played AM behind McBurnie in the second half vs Chesterfield. We switched from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-2-1.

This was the same tweak that made Heckingbottom improve things when he first took over after Wilder in the second PL season.

Osborn was an important part of this, as his chasing and running meant our pressing game, which had been a disaster all season, suddenly worked. I think it's something that Hecky will try again for the coming season and people should give it, and Osborn's role in it, a clean slate when assessing it.

It may be strange that a player that wasn't integral to our promotion team may possibly - for spells at least - play a bigger part in the Premier League. But we'll have to play a bit different next season, we won't be dominating games as much.


I've highlighted the 20/21 games Hecky chose 3-4-2-1 with Osborn in advanced midfield. I thought Hecky didn't get enough credit for our clear improvement at the end of that season.

 

[NerdyBlade]

Osborn (and Ndiaye) played AM behind McBurnie in the second half vs Chesterfield. We switched from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-2-1.

This was the same tweak that made Heckingbottom improve things when he first took over after Wilder in the second PL season.

Osborn was an important part of this, as his chasing and running meant our pressing game, which had been a disaster all season, suddenly worked. I think it's something that Hecky will try again for the coming season and people should give it, and Osborn's role in it, a clean slate when assessing it.

It may be strange that a player that wasn't integral to our promotion team may possibly - for spells at least - play a bigger part in the Premier League. But we'll have to play a bit different next season, we won't be dominating games as much.


I've highlighted the 20/21 games Hecky chose 3-4-2-1 with Osborn in advanced midfield. I thought Hecky didn't get enough credit for our clear improvement at the end of that season.

View attachment 165202

Credit to you for the research on that - has definitely made me more okay with the idea of giving him more playing time, as I was okay with Osbourne signing as long as he didn't get much game time.

That being said, I would play 3-4-2-1 with Ndiaye and Traore/a CAM replacement we bring in and then maybe bring Ozzy in for 10/15 mins towards the end, Or maybe start Ozzy there and bring on Traore for that injection of pace when we need to chase a game towards the end

 

[blade67]

Osborn (and Ndiaye) played AM behind McBurnie in the second half vs Chesterfield. We switched from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-2-1.

This was the same tweak that made Heckingbottom improve things when he first took over after Wilder in the second PL season.

Osborn was an important part of this, as his chasing and running meant our pressing game, which had been a disaster all season, suddenly worked. I think it's something that Hecky will try again for the coming season and people should give it, and Osborn's role in it, a clean slate when assessing it.

It may be strange that a player that wasn't integral to our promotion team may possibly - for spells at least - play a bigger part in the Premier League. But we'll have to play a bit different next season, we won't be dominating games as much.


I've highlighted the 20/21 games Hecky chose 3-4-2-1 with Osborn in advanced midfield. I thought Hecky didn't get enough credit for our clear improvement at the end of that season.

View attachment 165202

I think Osborn started around 14 games that season 8 under Hecky in the 10 games he was in charge. He played in that position behind Jebbo and alonside Didzy in the last game against Burnley and his desire to shut down defenders and midfielders in position allowed us to play in more advanced areas of the pitch compared to the Wilder games that season. Be interesting to see what happens this year. I can see him chucked on to do that role for the last 30 minutes in some games.

 

[Broomhall Blade]

Osborn's biggest problem is consistency.
He has a good game which inevitability followed by a bad game.

 

[mattbianco1]

Osborn's biggest problem is consistency.
He has a good game which inevitability followed by a bad game.

Partly down to not having a consistent run of games in the team, maybe?

In the last 2 seasons, he's managed 9 consecutive starts on two occasions. He's entering his 5th season with us next year and they're his longest spells in the team.

Last Season:


2021/22:

 

[Bladeinleeds]

Osborn (and Ndiaye) played AM behind McBurnie in the second half vs Chesterfield. We switched from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-2-1.

This was the same tweak that made Heckingbottom improve things when he first took over after Wilder in the second PL season.

Osborn was an important part of this, as his chasing and running meant our pressing game, which had been a disaster all season, suddenly worked. I think it's something that Hecky will try again for the coming season and people should give it, and Osborn's role in it, a clean slate when assessing it.

It may be strange that a player that wasn't integral to our promotion team may possibly - for spells at least - play a bigger part in the Premier League. But we'll have to play a bit different next season, we won't be dominating games as much.


I've highlighted the 20/21 games Hecky chose 3-4-2-1 with Osborn in advanced midfield. I thought Hecky didn't get enough credit for our clear improvement at the end of that season.

View attachment 165202

To be fair - this was why it was always mental wilder never attempted to switch from the flat 3.

If Osborn out of position was capable to improving things a little played out of position- I’ve no idea why we didn’t try say Illiman Ndaiye (wilder proclaimed most talented player at the club) there after we lost approximately 10,000 games in a row.

 

[Booker4]

Osborn (and Ndiaye) played AM behind McBurnie in the second half vs Chesterfield. We switched from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-2-1.

This was the same tweak that made Heckingbottom improve things when he first took over after Wilder in the second PL season.

Osborn was an important part of this, as his chasing and running meant our pressing game, which had been a disaster all season, suddenly worked. I think it's something that Hecky will try again for the coming season and people should give it, and Osborn's role in it, a clean slate when assessing it.

It may be strange that a player that wasn't integral to our promotion team may possibly - for spells at least - play a bigger part in the Premier League. But we'll have to play a bit different next season, we won't be dominating games as much.


I've highlighted the 20/21 games Hecky chose 3-4-2-1 with Osborn in advanced midfield. I thought Hecky didn't get enough credit for our clear improvement at the end of that season.

View attachment 165202

Definitely can see your logic Bergen and fair play for decent tactical observations there, surprised we'd done as well with Osborn in the side in the role you mentioned. However, I'm still sceptical of Osborn in that role, I would worry about would be when he gets on the ball he doesn't have the game to open up a defence, finish with a long range shot etc. From a defensive perspective though and I'm sur this is what you're referring to, he could do a job. He's got good awareness of others around him too.

 

[Balboni]

Partly down to not having a consistent run of games in the team, maybe?

In the last 2 seasons, he's managed 9 consecutive starts on two occasions. He's entering his 5th season with us next year and they're his longest spells in the team.

Last Season:
View attachment 165211View attachment 165212

2021/22:
View attachment 165214View attachment 165215

Reason he doesn't get a run in the team is he's not good enough. I'm baffled he's got a new contract.