Ben Woodburn

Who writes this stuff?

"Fast-forward to the present day, and now aged 20, Woodburn finds himself sidelined through injury after making an impressionable start to life on loan at League One Oxford United."

'Impressionable'?
 
FatOldSun said:
Would he get back in the team?
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Liverpool insert clauses into their loans that say any players who are fit and available have to start, or the borrowing club has to pay a higher chunk of their wages for that week etc. So chances are the second he’s passed fit he’s straight back in.
 
RyanioBirdio said:
Liverpool insert clauses into their loans that say any players who are fit and available have to start, or the borrowing club has to pay a higher chunk of their wages for that week etc. So chances are the second he’s passed fit he’s straight back in.
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Tbf, he was looking good before his injury in that midfield spot alongside Cam Bran with Gorrin behind them.
 
Yeah while he didn’t start well and I wasn’t really impressed with him in that no.10 role centrally behind the striker (went missing and was anonymous in games, didn’t affect the game much, not many goals or assists) he played much better in that deeper role in the centre of midfield, great tidy passer, kept the ball moving well and didn’t give it away and could actually tackle as well. If he played like that again he’d deserve a place in the team.
 
HampshireYellow said:
Yeah while he didn’t start well and I wasn’t really impressed with him in that no.10 role centrally behind the striker (went missing and was anonymous in games, didn’t affect the game much, not many goals or assists) he played much better in that deeper role in the centre of midfield, great tidy passer, kept the ball moving well and didn’t give it away and could actually tackle as well. If he played like that again he’d deserve a place in the team.
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In the first few games we had Brannagan sitting deeper alongside Gorrin which certainly restricted the latters ability to tidy up. We also had Woodburn sitting too high, where Mackie/Taylor would often find themselves. We then had a huge gap in the middle which allowed teams to run through us. This was most noticable against Burton.
We were playing with a stretched spine and 2 right wingers in Henry and Cadden which left us massively exposed.

By allowing Gorrin to sit in front of the back 4, and dropping Woodburn a little deeper alongside Brannagan in the middle (and getting Cadden to defend!) gave us a much better balance. Rather than chasing aimlessly or watching the game go by, Woodburn was able to affect the play much more and we begun to see that there is a very good player there. He hassles and rushes players and can do the dirty work as well as being able to pick a killer pace or have a shot or 2 from distance. Generally he does the simple things right which creates options elsewhere.

Baptiste is a different kind of player, one who's first instinct is to run with the ball. That creates goals like we saw against West Ham but also means that he can often lose the ball in promising positions which can be frustrating. He would benefit from looking at Woodburn's game and adding the simple things too. Both have bright futures in the game and I think we're incredibly lucky to not only see players as good as this at our level, but that we have others who are even better!
 
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RyanioBirdio said:
Liverpool insert clauses into their loans that say any players who are fit and available have to start, or the borrowing club has to pay a higher chunk of their wages for that week etc. So chances are the second he’s passed fit he’s straight back in.
Click to expand...

This is the first time I’ve heard this concept described rationally and I confess there’s probably some mileage in it.

Does raise the question as to whose medical team are the arbitrator as to whether the player is “fit” in line-ball cases, and also what happens when a player (as in Woodburn) is on the way back from injury, and in KR’s opinion, fit for e.g. only the last 15 minutes of the game.

I daresay we have to suck us these raw deals if we wish to have access to players of Woodburn’s potential, but it does also seem very churlish of the parent club to expect us to field a player who’s bang out of form, when another poor game may make his confidence plummet further.

Anyway understand why they do it...not like Liverpool would give a toss about those further down the pyramid.
 
BigCrompy said:
This is the first time I’ve heard this concept described rationally and I confess there’s probably some mileage in it.

Does raise the question as to whose medical team are the arbitrator as to whether the player is “fit” in line-ball cases, and also what happens when a player (as in Woodburn) is on the way back from injury, and in KR’s opinion, fit for e.g. only the last 15 minutes of the game.

I daresay we have to suck us these raw deals if we wish to have access to players of Woodburn’s potential, but it does also seem very churlish of the parent club to expect us to field a player who’s bang out of form, when another poor game may make his confidence plummet further.

Anyway understand why they do it...not like Liverpool would give a toss about those further down the pyramid.
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perhaps it would be viable to re-negotiate the bindippers 'must start or pay a higher fee' clause in the loan agreement, to something along the lines of will feature in the matchday squad,as itd be OUFC nuturing him back to fitness and carring out the day to day rehabilitation?
 
RyanioBirdio said:
Liverpool insert clauses into their loans that say any players who are fit and available have to start, or the borrowing club has to pay a higher chunk of their wages for that week etc. So chances are the second he’s passed fit he’s straight back in.
Click to expand...
I would imagine that it is a little more nuanced than that?
These days sports science tends to suggest that in many cases it isng in the players interest to start every game.
The problem is what happens if the player is out of form. In this situation I guess that the club would discuss with Liverpool (sometimes again it would be in the players interest to take a break?)
 
Foley said:
I would imagine that it is a little more nuanced than that?
These days sports science tends to suggest that in many cases it isng in the players interest to start every game.
The problem is what happens if the player is out of form. In this situation I guess that the club would discuss with Liverpool (sometimes again it would be in the players interest to take a break?)
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Also I get the impression they trust Karl Robinson's opinion which will give leeway on form/tiredness etc.
 
BigCrompy said:
This is the first time I’ve heard this concept described rationally and I confess there’s probably some mileage in it.

Does raise the question as to whose medical team are the arbitrator as to whether the player is “fit” in line-ball cases, and also what happens when a player (as in Woodburn) is on the way back from injury, and in KR’s opinion, fit for e.g. only the last 15 minutes of the game.

I daresay we have to suck us these raw deals if we wish to have access to players of Woodburn’s potential, but it does also seem very churlish of the parent club to expect us to field a player who’s bang out of form, when another poor game may make his confidence plummet further.

Anyway understand why they do it...not like Liverpool would give a toss about those further down the pyramid.
Click to expand...

Liverpool will always owe us until we reach European qualification
 
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PottersRightBoot said:
Baptiste definitely starts ahead of Woodburn in my book. More of a goal threat and more flair.
I do agree though that Woodburn looked far better playing deeper; eg excellent performance v Lincoln.
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Based on his West Ham performance, yes, but going by his recent performances I’d say no.

I was hoping Baptiste would have kicked on after that West Ham performance, but may be he’s still working himself back up to speed following his injury.
 
Interesting one between Baptiste and Woodburn.

Woodburn came to us unsure of his best position - striker? Inside forward? #10!?

Before his injury in the most advanced of a midfield 3 he was one of the best creators in the team - his assets are around his passing and vision.

Baptiste is different in that he has the invaluable skill of beating pressing teams and immediately driving at defences with his ball carrying.

IMO Baptiste will be a premiership player and has the highest ceiling in our squad
 
Extract from an article about Magnus Carlsen ...
"
Like many of his fellow Norwegians, the chess genius Magnus Carlsen is obsessed by the Premier League. But this season he has put his obsession to the test, entering Fantasy Premier League, the biggest iteration of the fantasy game in the world. And after this weekend’s fixtures, he stands sixth in the table. That’s sixth out of more than six million players. This is a man who clearly knows when to replace his hapless centreback.

The connection between chess and football is not as unlikely as you might think. Last year, Carlsen played an exhibition match against Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold . The Premier League’s assist machine is a keen chess player, in the past wiling away the down time on European away trips by taking on Ben Woodburn, his fellow Melwood Academy graduate. Since Woodburn went out on loan to Oxford United, Alexander Arnold has taken to his computer for opposition."
 
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