Joe Rothwell

[KingKieffer]

He’s made a couple of passes in the last two games that have been absolutely world class, and if Harry Kane had made them then the media would be spunking their pants for days. Because it was Rothwell from Bournemouth they just don’t acknowledge it.

-his pass Vs Leicester in the first half to Ouattara, who then went on to set Dom up for the shot he dragged past the post. The vision to see this pass was insane, I didn’t even see this pass being on and that was from sitting in the ground and having an entire view of the pitch! His technique to then execute such a flat delivery was again insane. One of the passes of the season.

-he then went and arguably topped it yesterday with that half volley outside of the boot pass over the top to Vina, who then went on to set up Christie for a chance. It was sensational.

I feel like even some on here haven’t started to pick up on how good this guy is yet because he was perhaps an unfashionable signing and he hasn’t been here for too long etc. But the vision and technique that he demonstrates really is elite level at times.

 

[MB1980]

I know Van Gaal had him on the bench for a champions league game and Mourinhio had him on the bench Vs Watford.. Two of the best managers of all time must've seen something... Looks to me he's been unfortunate with injuries and made a poor decision dropping down to Oxford.. Would be lovely to see him go full circle and end up back at United. He's as good as anything they currently have. Could have been a United legend if things had panned out differently.

I see Michael Appletion signed him for Oxford. Perhaps they knew each other, somehow, as Appleton came through United youth system... not sure if he returned in any coaching capacity at Old Trafford, where he may have worked with Rothwell perhaps (doesn;t look like he did from quick search).

Maybe thought he'd be sure to get starting place, or near enough, in league 1, so at that stage wanted guaranteed football to kick start his career.

Did he look good at Rovers from 2018, or did he take time to show his ability? Arguably he spent too long in the Championship, if he was that good. A year or 2 in LEague 1 not really end of the world when 21, if it gets your career moving in the right direction/experience. 4 years taking you to 27/28 in the Champ, if you really are that special, not so great.

 

[MB1980]

He’s made a couple of passes in the last two games that have been absolutely world class, and if Harry Kane had made them then the media would be spunking their pants for days. Because it was Rothwell from Bournemouth they just don’t acknowledge it.

-his pass Vs Leicester in the first half to Ouattara, who then went on to set Dom up for the shot he dragged past the post. The vision to see this pass was insane, I didn’t even see this pass being on and that was from sitting in the ground and having an entire view of the pitch! His technique to then execute such a flat delivery was again insane. One of the passes of the season.

-he then went and arguably topped it yesterday with that half volley outside of the boot pass over the top to Vina, who then went on to set up Christie for a chance. It was sensational.

I feel like even some on here haven’t started to pick up on how good this guy is yet because he was perhaps an unfashionable signing and he hasn’t been here for too long etc. But the vision and technique that he demonstrates really is elite level at times.

I know its a video game, but as mentioned before Football Manager can sometimes be useful for some insight, due to amount they research players. On that he's pretty silkly cm/amc, but has pretty poor decision making ability, for a top flight centre mid....below average anyway.... certainly well below when compared the top CM's, where some are saying he's one of the best CM, or should be playing for top 5 lol. Perhaps that's what lets him down from becoming truely top notch.

Lets face it, as good as he's been for us recently, if he was 'that' good there would have been other sides clambering to sign him on a free last summer.... not just us, Forest and Leeds iirc. He's signed from Blackburn in the Championship after all, not Poole Town, where barely anyone may have been aware of him.

 

[KingKieffer]

I know its a video game, but as mentioned before Football Manager can sometimes be useful for some insight, due to amount they research players. On that he's pretty silkly cm/amc, but has pretty poor decision making ability, for a top flight centre mid....below average anyway.... certainly well below when compared the top CM's, where some are saying he's one of the best CM, or should be playing for top 5 lol. Perhaps that's what lets him down from becoming truely top notch.

Lets face it, as good as he's been for us recently, if he was 'that' good there would have been other sides clambering to sign him on a free last summer.... not just us, Forest and Leeds iirc. He's signed from Blackburn in the Championship after all, not Poole Town, where barely anyone may have been aware of him.

He’s barely given the ball away once so I don’t think his decision making is a major issue. Football manager has a tendency to be pretty wildly inaccurate at times.

Get what you’re saying, but some very talented players can slip under the radar/underachieve for years and then all of a sudden reach a level that they hadn’t shown before. It’s rare but it does happen.

 

[KingKieffer]

Not saying he’s top six quality by the way, he’d have to show this form over an entire season to prove that. All I’m saying is that he’s the best centre mid I’ve seen in a Bournemouth shirt and in the last few weeks he has looked like a very good PL level player.

 

[MB1980]

He’s barely given the ball away once so I don’t think his decision making is a major issue. Football manager has a tendency to be pretty wildly inaccurate at times.

Get what you’re saying, but some very talented players can slip under the radar/underachieve for years and then all of a sudden reach a level that they hadn’t shown before. It’s rare but it does happen.

Absolutely. Main thing is if he keeps playing well, and we're getting results, thats all that matters.

Like you say, more established sides may not have need/appetite to take chances on these signings for many reasons. And in reality, he'd probably get barely any game time once again, so little chance to prove his capabilities.

If Forest signed him, he'd probably be playing in Greece right now.

For me, it leads to needing someone similar to Rothwell in the squad for next season, should he get injured. Will Kilkenny be ready next year (or ever)) to play well if called upon at this level? I dunno, but doubt he will be ready next season at this level.

Cook seems more one for the holding role. Dynamic of having a, well, more dynamic midfielder alongside//just in front of a holding dmc is looking much better. So would hate to see Rothwell miss a stint, to see us becoming limited in transition from deep through the centre, as we have done for long stretches prior to Rothwell playing.

 

[KingKieffer]

Absolutely. Main thing is if he keeps playing well, and we're getting results, thats all that matters.

Like you say, more established sides may not have need/appetite to take chances on these signings for many reasons. And in reality, he'd probably get barely any game time once again, so little chance to prove his capabilities.

If Forest signed him, he'd probably be playing in Greece right now.

For me, it leads to needing someone similar to Rothwell in the squad for next season, should he get injured. Will Kilkenny be ready next year (or ever)) to play well if called upon at this level? I dunno, but doubt he will be ready next season at this level.

Cook seems more one for the holding role. Dynamic of having a, well, more dynamic midfielder alongside//just in front of a holding dmc is looking much better. So would hate to see Rothwell miss a stint, to see us becoming limited in transition from deep through the centre, as we have done for long stretches prior to Rothwell playing.

Yeh you make a good point, that we are very reliant on Rothwell right now when it comes to transitioning the play through midfield. We don’t really have another player who can do it. We tend to just bypass the midfield when he isn’t

I hate to say it, but I think we are going to have to come to terms with the fact that Kilkenny is never going to be the answer, at least not for a good few years anyway. Charlton fans can’t wait to see the back of him and he can’t even get off of the bench for a mid table league one side right now, having spent the first half of the season not being able to get off of the bench for a mid table championship side. Think he needs a permanent move to a league one side with less expectation than Charlton, let him play regularly and see if he can establish himself over the next few years. There’s no way he can be considered an option for us right now, even in the championship.

Lewis Cook is an interesting one, I don’t really get why he is so highly rated by our fan base. It strikes me that people rate him based on the potential that he was perceived to have, rather than the player he actually is. I think he’s a decent championship level player and no more than that. Even at that level he will look very good once every few games and then pretty ordinary in the rest. He doesn’t seem to possess a great range of passing and he isn’t physically imposing enough or astute and disciplined enough with his positioning to be a defensive midfielder. His chant is also a bit weird because he frequently gives the ball away. The one stand out attribute he did have was his ability to carry the ball, but he doesn’t even seem to be able to do that anymore. Even if we go down I’d look to move him on as I don’t think he is any better than your average championship midfielder. For me he’s the most overrated player of our PL era. Not the worst player by a long shot, but so overrated.

 

[Monmouthred]

Not saying he’s top six quality by the way, he’d have to show this form over an entire season to prove that. All I’m saying is that he’s the best centre mid I’ve seen in a Bournemouth shirt and in the last few weeks he has looked like a very good PL level player.

I am saying he is top 6 quality. As soon as he went off v Forest and Leicester, our performance dropped.

 

[Blackburn_Fan_Rover]

I see Michael Appletion signed him for Oxford. Perhaps they knew each other, somehow, as Appleton came through United youth system... not sure if he returned in any coaching capacity at Old Trafford, where he may have worked with Rothwell perhaps (doesn;t look like he did from quick search).

Maybe thought he'd be sure to get starting place, or near enough, in league 1, so at that stage wanted guaranteed football to kick start his career.

Did he look good at Rovers from 2018, or did he take time to show his ability? Arguably he spent too long in the Championship, if he was that good. A year or 2 in LEague 1 not really end of the world when 21, if it gets your career moving in the right direction/experience. 4 years taking you to 27/28 in the Champ, if you really are that special, not so great.

He was quality right from the start. Mowbray has an obsession with his positioning and work-rate. Every time he played he was head and shoulders above everyone and worked his **************** off. Fans adored him. Then Mogga would drop him to the bench for extended periods of time for inferior players. It was so frustrating as a Rovers fan and when he finally gave him the extended run of games his obvious talent merited his contract was running out. I think of he'd have been played consistently (as he deserved) right from the start he'd have been gracing the premiership much sooner. I've seen some world class midfielders at Rovers, whilst they're different players, non have had what Rothwell has- an absolute gem. Get him in the England side I say- miles better than Mount/Grealish et.al

 

[yesyescherry]

his range of passing, vision and work rate has got stronger with a run in the side and confidence in his fitness - need to keep him fit and with a strong pre season the best is yet to come, upgrade on Cook imho

 

[AFCBade]

Keeps things simple - quick release of the ball; looks to play forward combined as a first thought with a willingness to do the defensive side of the game. Now for some goals!

 

[afcb_rednblack]

his range of passing, vision and work rate has got stronger with a run in the side and confidence in his fitness - need to keep him fit and with a strong pre season the best is yet to come, upgrade on Cook imho

I agree, Rothwell really does make the difference. I do wonder if Cook has reached the limit of his potential.

 

[KingKieffer]

I agree, Rothwell really does make the difference. I do wonder if Cook has reached the limit of his potential.

Cook is a worse player now than the player who first joined, remember he used to glide with the ball. Can’t do it anymore, injuries have done for him and he should be moved on in the Summer regardless of league. We’ve got to start to being more ruthless with players who don’t cut it anymore.

 

[Druss_the_Legend]

People seem to bash Cook for some reason when hes a different player to Rothwell. Cook is a holding midfielder who would replace Lerma in the starting line up if he was injured. When we play him there people are suddenly surprised how good he is. When he played further forward like Rothwell he never looks as good. Our issues in the past is that we play both Cook and Lerma together. Neither of who are good enough going forward.

 

[RobTrent]

Cook is a worse player now than the player who first joined, remember he used to glide with the ball. Can’t do it anymore, injuries have done for him and he should be moved on in the Summer regardless of league. We’ve got to start to being more ruthless with players who don’t cut it anymore.

And you'll bleat like a baby about players showing loyalty.

 

[Red Sky]

And you'll bleat like a baby about players showing loyalty.

To be fair we've shown more than enough patience and loyalty to Cookie but he's been more miss than hit. His potential when he joined as U-20 world cup winning captain was huge but I think injuries have prevented him realising that. Even Leeds fans don't recognise him for what he once was.

He's still only 26 but at his stage of his career he needs to be playing regular games to get back to his best and he probably needs to take a step down a level or 2 to be guaranteed that.

 

[Red Sky]

People seem to bash Cook for some reason when hes a different player to Rothwell. Cook is a holding midfielder who would replace Lerma in the starting line up if he was injured. When we play him there people are suddenly surprised how good he is. When he played further forward like Rothwell he never looks as good. Our issues in the past is that we play both Cook and Lerma together. Neither of who are good enough going forward.

Despite having played a similar number of PL minutes as Jeff, his individual defensive stats are far worse showing he's not a like for like replacement. Jeff also does occasionally score. All this while covering an additional 25% more ground than Jeff per match. One thing he appears to have over Jeff is number of crosses, although I'd argue if he's a holding midfielder that's not his job. And from those 87 crosses he has a grand total of 6 assists.

https://www.premierleague.com/stats/player-comparison

 

[KingKieffer]

And you'll bleat like a baby about players showing loyalty.

Nonsense, absolute nonsense.

Posts like this get on my tits because you are deliberately twisting things that I have said. You are referring to JZ, I didn’t say that he was obligated to sign a contract, my comments around him were around the way he handled things, not the decision he made. Any player has the right to make the best decision for their career, but there is a right and wrong way to go about it. JZ was not obligated to stay because he felt he good do better, we are not obligated to keep Cook because we can do better.

Please try to actually read and process what I wrote before making brain dead comments for all your little buddies to ‘like.’

 

[KingKieffer]

People seem to bash Cook for some reason when hes a different player to Rothwell. Cook is a holding midfielder who would replace Lerma in the starting line up if he was injured. When we play him there people are suddenly surprised how good he is. When he played further forward like Rothwell he never looks as good. Our issues in the past is that we play both Cook and Lerma together. Neither of who are good enough going forward.

People have a right to hold an opinion on a player. I’m not bashing him, he is a lovely guy by all accounts. He just isn’t good enough for us, I don’t understand your comments at all as he is absolutely nothing like Lerma. He offers very little defensive protection and doesn’t cover anywhere near as much ground as Jeff, he is also about as much of a goal threat as Neto.

I just don’t see what he offers at this level, and to a lesser extent even the level bellow. If there was one player to compare him to it absolutely wouldn’t be Jeff, it would be Surman. But even then his pass accuracy and positional awareness isn’t at the level that Surman’s was. We all wanted him to come good, but it’s about time we accepted that he isn’t going to become the player we wanted him to be. He’s an inferior version of Surman, a decent (but not spectacular) championship level midfielder. There’s no shame in that, a lot of players would love to be at that level. He just isn’t at the level required for us unfortunately. Nice guy as he is, time for him to move on for his sake and ours.

 

[borisatha]

Nonsense, absolute nonsense.

Posts like this get on my tits because you are deliberately twisting things that I have said. You are referring to JZ, I didn’t say that he was obligated to sign a contract, my comments around him were around the way he handled things, not the decision he made. Any player has the right to make the best decision for their career, but there is a right and wrong way to go about it. JZ was not obligated to stay because he felt he good do better, we are not obligated to keep Cook because we can do better.

Please try to actually read and process what I wrote before making brain dead comments for all your little buddies to ‘like.’

I can assure Rob does not post on here for his little buddies to like.
Which I’m sure you class me as one.
I recall you saying you didn’t care what posters said about you. But you soon come back with your usual quotes if you don’t like the post.

Brain dead.
Must be blind.
Cretin.
Deluded.
Please note no insult aimed at you.
Just observations.

I like Cook and Rothwell.