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Joe Willock: The True Joerdie

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RunTheTrap

Kai Havertz Offense League
The Hale End Loftus-Cheek
I think that’s a great comparison tbh. He’s gone out on loan at the age of 24/25 where most are settled in their position or club. I think Chelsea are still sticking with him cos that blend of technical and physical attributes can really turn your midfield around.
 

roz

Fake News Merchant
People comparing Willock to Ramsey after a game against Dundalk :facepalm:

Whilst I always felt Ramsey was overrated by much of our fanbase he was streets ahead of Willock in his earlier years. Willock has literally done nothing for a year+

1 decent game against league 2 level opponents and people getting carried away again.
 

MutableEarth

Reiss' Dad
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He was a very dribbly and technical winger/10 in his younger years. Like i have said in previous posts. He was a small lower centre of gravity playmaker and then in the space of a couple years he’s grown to 6ft2. He’s still learning his body. You have to remember that he wasn’t born tall like a Diaby. He will look clumsy at times but in time he’ll fill out and look a lot cleaner technically. As for Ramsey, that’s your opinion. I don’t know what your standards for technical abilities are but I think he was okay in most departments. Not elite like Wilshere but good imo.
Yeah, Willock was actually a very technical player in his youth days. His growth spurt had a massive impact on his development, particularly as he had one leg shorter than the other. Before that point, he was much smaller, trickier and more creative. Readjusting his game the way it has been is a challenge that even Thierry Henry alluded to from his time coaching him in the U18s.

I think the ability to hit the passes is there. He's hit a few excellent lofted passes and some mean reverse/slide rule passes aswell. This tells me there's room for improvement in that department rather than this being his ceiling. It's quite noticeable how secure his short passing was in the most recent game (yeah, it was Dundalk lol) aswell which I think is OK considering the positions he's taking up in possession and the contrast with the other midfielders who pass over longer distances.

I've been saying it since he travelled to Sydney in 2017 with Nelson. There's much bigger upside in Willock than many think. Whether he realises it depends on multiple factors shifting in his favor, but it's certainly a possibility that he becomes really good.
 

Geofranco

Would let Saka date his daughter

Player:Saka
Yeah, Willock was actually a very technical player in his youth days. His growth spurt had a massive impact on his development, particularly as he had one leg shorter than the other. Before that point, he was much smaller, trickier and more creative. Readjusting his game the way it has been is a challenge that even Thierry Henry alluded to from his time coaching him in the U18s.

I think the ability to hit the passes is there. He's hit a few excellent lofted passes and some mean reverse/slide rule passes aswell. This tells me there's room for improvement in that department rather than this being his ceiling. It's quite noticeable how secure his short passing was in the most recent game (yeah, it was Dundalk lol) aswell which I think is OK considering the positions he's taking up in possession and the contrast with the other midfielders who pass over longer distances.

I've been saying it since he travelled to Sydney in 2017 with Nelson. There's much bigger upside in Willock than many think. Whether he realises it depends on multiple factors shifting in his favor, but it's certainly a possibility that he becomes really good.

Willock was looking pretty good in the 19/20 pre-season and even started the season decently.

He was one of our better players in that 3-1 loss at Anfield earlier in the 19/20 season.

The best team in the league at home, the team that presses relentlessly and totally marked Ceballos out of the game. Willock held his own. He def has enough talent to make it in the EPL.

I believe he is going to be a player that will always divide fans. Some will think he has what it takes and some others will never rate him.

He has to find a niche, cause I just don't think he has enough vision, technique and football intelligence to become a mainstay without standing out either defensively or becoming a goal scoring mid.

If he improves his finishing, decision making and defensive aptitude, he can be very important for the team even without being the most talented.

He has great physical tools. Tall, agile and pretty strong even with his wiry frame.
 

Rasmi

Negative Nancy

Country: England
Willock was looking pretty good in the 19/20 pre-season and even started the season decently.

He was one of our better players in that 3-1 loss at Anfield earlier in the 19/20 season.

The best team in the league at home, the team that presses relentlessly and totally marked Ceballos out of the game. Willock held his own. He def has enough talent to make it in the EPL.

I believe he is going to be a player that will always divide fans. Some will think he has what it takes and some others will never rate him.

He has to find a niche, cause I just don't think he has enough vision, technique and football intelligence to become a mainstay without standing out either defensively or becoming a goal scoring mid.

If he improves his finishing, decision making and defensive aptitude, he can be very important for the team even without being the most talented.

He has great physical tools. Tall, agile and pretty strong even with his wiry frame.
I agree. His general play and work rate isn’t great. When he is not scoring or making 2-3 powerful runs. He will be on the outside of play and he will get a lot of stick. He can be a squad player, but I don’t think you can be a midfielder in a serious team and lack general play like he does
 

The_Playmaker

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People have short memories. Ramsey lost the ball through first time flicks all the time. He was defensively suspect until his mid twenties also. His finishing was also an issue until his mid twenties. He used to thrash at chances even though he got into excellent positions. He always used to force things. Play the hard pass and lose possession. It's because he always tried to make things happen. He didn't play safe.

Willock is forward thinking. He tries to beat players. He makes runs forward into the box. At the age of 21, it's actually insane how many goal scoring opportunities he gets in a team that barely creates anything. He is a confident player. Nothing phases him. He is mentally strong and doesn't dwell on mistakes. Defensively he needs to improve, but it's not something you can't teach as he makes excellent recovery runs. It's more about how he defends in one on one situations. In a foot race he usually comes out on top. It's all about knowing when to try the flick and when not to.

Players who try to make things happen stand out at the moment as we have so few players who do it. For some reason they are looked at in a negative light. We want players to have 100 per cent dribble success rate and passes. We have to get comfortable with players losing the ball as we move forward to building a team that can cope when we lose it.


Pepe should be attempting 10 dribbles in a game, maybe completing half of them, but of the half they may lead to 3 bad passes and 2 really good opportunities. We need more players that can do that. Not players who play safe like Bellerin, Xhaka, Ceballos, Lacazette and even Willian to an extent.

Partey will lose the ball more than Xhaka. It's not a bad thing. Martinelli will lose the ball as will Saka, Nelson, Willock, Pepe. It won't always look clean, but they are the players who make things happen. Its all about building a defence and midfield that can cope with losing the ball. Gabriel and Partey is the first step.
 

bingobob

A-M’s Resident Hunskelper
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Country: Scotland
I like Willock. Have done for a long time. The difference between him and Nelson against Dundalk was both done tricks but for Willock he focused that bit more on his passing and more of the basics came off. For Riess it was to opposite who played a few lazy passes.

I think Willock performs best in a 3 man midfield. He has the energy to go box to box he just needs games to see if he can find a level of consistency to kick on. Not sure Arteta will give him that opportunity just now.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
People have short memories. Ramsey lost the ball through first time flicks all the time. He was defensively suspect until his mid twenties also. His finishing was also an issue until his mid twenties. He used to thrash at chances even though he got into excellent positions. He always used to force things. Play the hard pass and lose possession. It's because he always tried to make things happen. He didn't play safe.

Willock is forward thinking. He tries to beat players. He makes runs forward into the box. At the age of 21, it's actually insane how many goal scoring opportunities he gets in a team that barely creates anything. He is a confident player. Nothing phases him. He is mentally strong and doesn't dwell on mistakes. Defensively he needs to improve, but it's not something you can't teach as he makes excellent recovery runs. It's more about how he defends in one on one situations. In a foot race he usually comes out on top. It's all about knowing when to try the flick and when not to.

Players who try to make things happen stand out at the moment as we have so few players who do it. For some reason they are looked at in a negative light. We want players to have 100 per cent dribble success rate and passes. We have to get comfortable with players losing the ball as we move forward to building a team that can cope when we lose it.


Pepe should be attempting 10 dribbles in a game, maybe completing half of them, but of the half they may lead to 3 bad passes and 2 really good opportunities. We need more players that can do that. Not players who play safe like Bellerin, Xhaka, Ceballos, Lacazette and even Willian to an extent.

Partey will lose the ball more than Xhaka. It's not a bad thing. Martinelli will lose the ball as will Saka, Nelson, Willock, Pepe. It won't always look clean, but they are the players who make things happen. Its all about building a defence and midfield that can cope with losing the ball. Gabriel and Partey is the first step.
It’s not about that.

Of course, if you attempt more dribbling, you lose the ball more often.
But more importantly, is the player technically capable?

Ronaldinho with a successful rate of 9.9/10 is different to walcott/ramsey with a successful rate of 0.1/10 in dribbling. In this case, if we have walcott in our team, we would either tell him not to dribble (because if he does, he is almost always going to lose the ball) or to replace walcott with a more skillful player.

I will prefer to replace all of the technically incapable players (shxt players), such as nketiah, willock, auba, laca, Özil, with more skillful players.

Asking shxt players to try more dribbling just wouldn’t work. There is no point to encourage them to dribble more, because they will lose the ball 99.9% of the time. We need more hleb, more nasri, more Arshavin in our team.

We need players like this:
(Not the auba/the walcott type who needed to be fed and don’t know what to do with the ball in possession) (willock will never be able to become a player as listed in the below)
@The_Playmaker
 
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tap-in

Nothing Wrong With Me
People comparing Willock to Ramsey after a game against Dundalk :facepalm:

Whilst I always felt Ramsey was overrated by much of our fanbase he was streets ahead of Willock in his earlier years. Willock has literally done nothing for a year+

1 decent game against league 2 level opponents and people getting carried away again.

I've said it for ages, just last week I said I would like to see him play alongside Partey. I didnt even see Thurs game. They are different players but my comparison was on the way Willock can surge from midfield into dangerous areas. That is one of the things Ramsey did well. Also I said he has an eye for goal, which he has shown before.
 

Big Poppa

Established Member
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Country: USA

Player:Saliba
I think that’s a great comparison tbh. He’s gone out on loan at the age of 24/25 where most are settled in their position or club. I think Chelsea are still sticking with him cos that blend of technical and physical attributes can really turn your midfield around.

I think we easily forget how disruptive injuries can be to young players’ development. Loftus Cheek was well on the way to becoming a starter in both England and Chelsea’s midfield, and still might. But it would be a mistake and a bit lazy to use that to project Willock’s path.
 

Big Poppa

Established Member
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Player:Saliba
Reward him with a start today. I am sick of Xhaka and Ceballos.

As long as Arteta wants his two players to sit in midfield and focus on safe passing, that’s unlikely.

Honestly wish he went with a 3 though. Willock could easily fill the space that Laca keeps having to drop into, which is killing our attack.

Mikel needs to trust our players more and with the added dynamism of Partey and Willock, we can play 10 yards higher up.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
As long as Arteta wants his two players to sit in midfield and focus on safe passing, that’s unlikely.

Honestly wish he went with a 3 though. Willock could easily fill the space that Laca keeps having to drop into, which is killing our attack.

Mikel needs to trust our players more and with the added dynamism of Partey and Willock, we can play 10 yards higher up.
Players can try more adventurous pass when they are further up the field. There’s no point losing the ball deep in dangerous areas. Ceballos is capable to make killer passes, it’s just that he is playing in a deeper role.

It’s like dribbling. It’s great if you are doing skills in the midfield or in the final third. But if you are doing it in your own box, it’s called poor decision making. Diaby/Chamberlain has done it more than a few times and cost us stupid goals.

Let me tell you why we are playing safe. It’s because our players don’t have the technical ability to control possession, therefore we don’t have the ball in the opponent half often enough. And if we are not able to progress the ball up the pitch through possession play, we can’t expect a lot of adventurous passes to be made. The key to solve our problem is to have players who are better on the ball, more skillful on the ball, so that we can have more possession, then more killer passes are allowed to be played, because we are further up the pitch.
 
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roz

Fake News Merchant
I've said it for ages, just last week I said I would like to see him play alongside Partey. I didnt even see Thurs game. They are different players but my comparison was on the way Willock can surge from midfield into dangerous areas. That is one of the things Ramsey did well. Also I said he has an eye for goal, which he has shown before.
Yeah he makes good runs, and has that knack for being in the right place in the right time.

Those are the big positives to his game, would like to see him do that against decent opposition though, its all very well being decent in the Group stages of EL & pre season games.

Rest of his game seems so raw, compare that to any other decent English midfielder of similar age and he looks miles behind imo. Not sure he’ll ever make the grade here, though as I have always said, would love to be proven wrong
 

Trilly

Hates A-M, Saka, Arteta and You
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Country: England
We have to get comfortable with players losing the ball as we move forward to building a team that can cope when we lose it.
Something that I think is easy to forget.

Dribble success rates in the high 50s/low 60s and passing completions in the low 80s are seen as elite for high risk players.
 

Tourbillion

Angry & Miserable
As long as Arteta wants his two players to sit in midfield and focus on safe passing, that’s unlikely.

Honestly wish he went with a 3 though. Willock could easily fill the space that Laca keeps having to drop into, which is killing our attack.

Mikel needs to trust our players more and with the added dynamism of Partey and Willock, we can play 10 yards higher up.
Yes I mean in a three. Joe making runs off Partey and Elneny.
 
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