Summer Silly Season 2016
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'course you can, Malcolm
Is he not the one that most England commentators cream themselves over despite only playing max 5 games per season ?
He's definitely got talent but he's been undone by (a) his injury record and (b) the fact that he's a nasty little piece of work, continually trying to prove he's a hard man and writing cheques which his physical frame could never cash. First England drop him, then even Wenger loses patience. The Baggies will be about his level from here on IMO.
Wilshere's elevated position in football in some sections of the media is weird. OK, Wenger's always talked him up, and quite a few England managers seemed equally bewitched (not Allardyce, though), but his almost permanent state of injury only seems to have made him even more popular and lauded.
But what's he actually ever done? What kind of player is he? Where is the skill and talent and mentality to justify such long-standing praise?
There have been a few games I've seen when his desire to take possession, beat players and always be involved in the action have been very impressive, but his ability to actually get beyond players - if it was ever genuinely there - seems to be entirely gone after all the injuries.
His game plan is short passes, then to run with the ball straight into trouble, and hope he can break the tackle and keep possession. It started to resemble a weird kind of attritional American football or rugby type of strategy, and he actually admitted it himself; that he liked to invite tackles and hope his close control and quick acceleration would get him out of trouble and past the tackler.
Problem is, he didn't have any acceleration, so all that happens is he crashes into tackle after tackle, and when he finally did get keep the ball, he couldn't get away quick enough, and another tackle came in.
Everyone seemed schizophrenic about where to play him too. Deep-lying playmaker for some, floating attacking midfielder - who never scored - for others. Perhaps Wenger saw a Modric type of footballer in there? He never seemed to have the brains or quality for me.
But what's he actually ever done? What kind of player is he? Where is the skill and talent and mentality to justify such long-standing praise?
There have been a few games I've seen when his desire to take possession, beat players and always be involved in the action have been very impressive, but his ability to actually get beyond players - if it was ever genuinely there - seems to be entirely gone after all the injuries.
His game plan is short passes, then to run with the ball straight into trouble, and hope he can break the tackle and keep possession. It started to resemble a weird kind of attritional American football or rugby type of strategy, and he actually admitted it himself; that he liked to invite tackles and hope his close control and quick acceleration would get him out of trouble and past the tackler.
Problem is, he didn't have any acceleration, so all that happens is he crashes into tackle after tackle, and when he finally did get keep the ball, he couldn't get away quick enough, and another tackle came in.
Everyone seemed schizophrenic about where to play him too. Deep-lying playmaker for some, floating attacking midfielder - who never scored - for others. Perhaps Wenger saw a Modric type of footballer in there? He never seemed to have the brains or quality for me.
For me, injuries have stifled him massively. I don't believe in smaller players not being able to be aggressive - there are plenty about with injury records nothing like Wilshere's (unless, which is entirely possible, you weren't meaning this at all). Some sportsmen/women are just unlucky with their physiological make up (which is possibly what you were saying), and, for this reason, Wilshere will probably never realise the potential of his natural footballing talent.
LOL
Re-reading my earlier post I can see where the doubt arises. I certainly didn't intend to say no small player can be aggressive. My point was specific to Wilshere himself and I agree with your summary of the situation.
End of thread.
All comments on the subject of Jack Wilshere can be summarized into these 3 alphabets.
Seriously ?
I don't think I've ever seen evidence of this enormous talent in Wilshere.
Terrific? Is he?
I know goals isn't the ultimate criteria of success, but for a midfielder who is supposedly an attacking, creative force he has scored a grand total of 6 Premiership goals in his entire life.
Six.
6.
One less than seven.
Is he terrific? Delle Ali has more PL goals than him already (10 v 7), and nearly as many PL assists (9 v12)!
Injuries or not, he's well overrated.
For me he looked like he *could* have been brilliant. But then got injured, again, & again. Now his development has stalled.
That's not to say he might not become a capable mid table player if he puts his injuries behind him, but he had massive potential he was never able to fulfil & now never will.
That's not to say he might not become a capable mid table player if he puts his injuries behind him, but he had massive potential he was never able to fulfil & now never will.
Fabs: no, he really isn't. The overriding reason for his patchwork career so far is his injury record, and IMO one has to distinguish between that and what he's shown himself capable of producing when, between injuries, he's actually been able to get some games in. A brilliant pass here, a run past two or three players there, even (despite that goal record) the occasional blistering shot - no player without talent could do those things. He hasn't had even half the career he should have had, but to say that's because he's a poor player is nonsense.
He's way overrated because he looks tidy on the ball (he looks even tidier because he's left footed), but overall he's very ineffective. He only got his original look in because Shawcross hacked Ramsey's leg off that time.
Plus, he's a bellend
A player without talent of course can do those things, It's doing it with consistency that makes a player good.
Injuries aside he did those things with zero consistency. In fact, he's never been in a game where you think he's ran the show. The injuries I feel have given the license to fans to slightly romanticise the player he is/could be. You're judged on what you do on the pitch, not what you might be able to do
Even el zhar scored a worldy for us, that doesn't mean he was anything more than a mediocre player.
He runs worse than Henderson.... like he's got a sausage up his arse
We'll have to agree to disagree about the "player without talent/mediocre player" bit. If that were true, all sorts of journeymen would be doing it every week. Incidentally I've seen a few games in which I did think he ran the show for the Arse. I've already accepted above that he hasn't had a good career, but that's a very different matter.
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