Jack Wilshire

[Tinpot Club]

Always thought cook had/has the look of Wiltshire.
Both have that barrel chest thing. Able to almost roll opponents off them as they turn sideways on.

Yeah there is a definite similarity. Lewis has always played a deeper role so a stats comparison would be unfair. When I’ve watched top players you can never tell which way they will turn on the ball. Hazard is the master, but both Lewis and Brooks have that ability.

 

[USCherry]

I thought it was odd that Eddie didn't play him once he played 19 times. Seriously he had played 19 league games (league or cup I forget) but anywho...20 might have triggered a fee of some sort....?

 

[AFCBade]

I’d never really thought of a Wilshere-Brooks comparison but yes they do both play a similar style. I totally agree with @Def_II_Royalz but Brooks is already a more complete footballer.

I think people forget how good jack was as a youngster.

 

[New Forest Cherry]

Can I just ask why this player never did well with afcb?

only had one foot, couldn't tackle, no pace and no engine
1 assist and no goals in twenty plus games
apart from that he was brilliant

 

[USCherry]

only had one foot, couldn't tackle, no pace and no engine
1 assist and no goals in twenty plus games
apart from that he was brilliant

Also the psychic link between him and Afobe was completely let down by Afobes inability to hit a cows **************** with a banjo

 

[MarineBoy1]

Like others have said I thought he started well, but by the time he was injured at Spurs near the end of the season and went back to Arsenal he was spending a lot of unexplained time on the subs bench which implied to me that Eddie felt he had lost his impact. Last few games of that season when Lewis Cook came in and was flying, I wasn’t missing Wilshere at all,

 

[New Forest Cherry]

no, eddie just realised he wasn't up it.
just because he played for arsenal and had a few england caps doesn't mean he was any good

 

[Sorry Roger]

Jack Wilshere was a very good player and an excellent addition when we signed him on loan. I enjoyed watching him play and he contributed a lot to our performance. But we are a much better team now. So he doesn't seem so special any more. That doesn't mean he wasn't special at the time.

 

[billythekid]

I don’t think we ever saw the ‘real’ Jack Wilshire.

We saw a player who had been plagued with injuries during his career.

There were moments when we got glimpses of what he can do, deft flick over the other defence for our player/s to run onto.

If Jack Wilshere had been 100% fit, I don’t think we would have seen him in an AFCB shirt.

He did have a run of games for us before being out with yet another injury.

 

[Kudos]

no, eddie just realised he wasn't up it.
just because he played for arsenal and had a few england caps doesn't mean he was any good

That's quite funny because when we signed him and the media went nuts I didn't quite understand what the big deal was beyond him being the first "name" player we've ever signed.

When I saw him play it was a completely different story. I felt that he had the ability to put in balls that only Afobe could anticipate because no other player in the team had played with someone who could do that. As others have said, if Afobe could finish then we'd probably had a solid top half finish and we'd be talking about who could be the "next Wilshire and Afobe".

Other than that he had an amazing desire, work rate and dribbling ability when he was playing and really embraced the club when he wasn't.

 

[DJ]

Like others have said I thought he started well, but by the time he was injured at Spurs near the end of the season and went back to Arsenal he was spending a lot of unexplained time on the subs bench which implied to me that Eddie felt he had lost his impact. Last few games of that season when Lewis Cook came in and was flying, I wasn’t missing Wilshere at all,

There was a change in system.

To accommodate Wilshire and get the best out of him we had to play a five man midfield. In that system he was very affective and also got the best out of players around him like Harry Arter.

In a midfield four, he was genuinely less affective and dropped down the pecking order behind Arter, Gosling, Surman and Cook.

 

[northstandmark]

That's quite funny because when we signed him and the media went nuts I didn't quite understand what the big deal was beyond him being the first "name" player we've ever signed.

When I saw him play it was a completely different story. I felt that he had the ability to put in balls that only Afobe could anticipate because no other player in the team had played with someone who could do that. As others have said, if Afobe could finish then we'd probably had a solid top half finish and we'd be talking about who could be the "next Wilshire and Afobe".

Other than that he had an amazing desire, work rate and dribbling ability when he was playing and really embraced the club when he wasn't.

Really good point at the end there, about how Wilshere came here and embraced the club. He didn't come here with any ego thinking we were beneath him. He got stuck in, played with a smile on his face, worked hard happily making tackles and runs to cover any mistakes made by his less technically talented team mates. He deserves credit for that.

 

[BoscombeCherry]

I really enjoyed having Jack here - people expected him to be something that he’s not though. He’s never been prolific so to hang on the fact he didn’t score as a sign of failure is quite naïve and there was a lot made of this around me at games. I think I’m right in saying that he created more goal scoring opportunities than anyone else that season? Towards the end of the season when I think his body was beginning to tire, we looked a better team with Cook in the middle though.

 

[BillMcgarrycherry]

Slightty Overrated regarding the big picture ...as you would now come to expect from Afcb fans.....when looking at injury prone Arsenal/Liverpool players they have seen occasionally on Motd or splashed on 3 pages( front and back) of the Sun newspaper! Ooh ooh we are getting a Celeb. Biggy Wiggy Big bollix! Nah!
Who had honestly heard much about Brooks at Sheffield? Or thought Fraser would have this impact.?

 

[Neil Dawson]

Dj has it spot on. That spell we had with five in midfield was our best spell in the PL. We were eighth and nearly safe after demolishing Swansea on New Years Eve. Injuries then hit and Jack moved back to being one of two central midfielders with two up front. He couldn’t do the running the team suffered and with Eddie wanting to keep this formation he moved jack to the bench. The team rallied and had a strong finish.

 

[It'sRicotime]

There was a change in system.

To accommodate Wilshire and get the best out of him we had to play a five man midfield. In that system he was very affective and also got the best out of players around him like Harry Arter.

In a midfield four, he was genuinely less affective and dropped down the pecking order behind Arter, Gosling, Surman and Cook.

Agree with this. Wilshire was a very classy player who had the ability to spot a pass not many others could and at times it seemed like the ball was glued to his foot when he carried the ball. The only issue with him like you alluded to was that he could only operate in a midfield three, not robust enough to play in a 2 and not really a natural out and out no 10 either. That and the fact that he's made of glass obviously.