Lewis Cook

Cook is far too good of a player for the championship imo; but the problem is, he does pretty much everything well in the championship because of the standard of the league. He ends up looking like the biggest baller of a playmaker, but he’s not lol. He’s Surman. And we’ve needed a peak Surman in this team for about 5 years now. He has the ability to dribble and take players on, but in this league, it’s not what we need him to do, and it’s not the best use of his attributes

Let him get fit, and used to the new playing style, and let him do what he does best; run around a lot, win the ball, and progress the ball forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if he keeps Adams out of the team for a while tbh. Cook has gone through a lot of periods of bad form, but he’s capped for a reason. He was on the World Cup shortlist for a reason. If he hadn’t gotten injuries, just like Brooks, he’d probably be at a Top 6 club now.

There were times when we needed him out of the team because he wasn’t playing very well. But honestly, look at the state of our management, on a curve, for the last 5 years. We’ve got a proper coach playing an actually consistent brand of positive football, finally. I’m making a bold prediction; he’ll be called up to England again within the next 2 years if he stays fit. He’s a better player than Kalvin Phillips and that jammy **************************** is entrenched in the England squad. Henderson is finished. There’s room in the squad for a defensive midfield understudy, that should be Cook.
 
NWCherries98 said:
Cook is far too good of a player for the championship imo; but the problem is, he does pretty much everything well in the championship because of the standard of the league. He ends up looking like the biggest baller of a playmaker, but he’s not lol. He’s Surman. And we’ve needed a peak Surman in this team for about 5 years now. He has the ability to dribble and take players on, but in this league, it’s not what we need him to do, and it’s not the best use of his attributes

Let him get fit, and used to the new playing style, and let him do what he does best; run around a lot, win the ball, and progress the ball forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if he keeps Adams out of the team for a while tbh. Cook has gone through a lot of periods of bad form, but he’s capped for a reason. He was on the World Cup shortlist for a reason. If he hadn’t gotten injuries, just like Brooks, he’d probably be at a Top 6 club now.

There were times when we needed him out of the team because he wasn’t playing very well. But honestly, look at the state of our management, on a curve, for the last 5 years. We’ve got a proper coach playing an actually consistent brand of positive football, finally. I’m making a bold prediction; he’ll be called up to England again within the next 2 years if he stays fit. He’s a better player than Kalvin Phillips and that jammy **************************** is entrenched in the England squad. Henderson is finished. There’s room in the squad for a defensive midfield understudy, that should be Cook.
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Not sure I agree with the England stuff but I do think this is Cook's big chance to show what he can do in his best position. He's done well in all midfield positions without nailing one down but, as druss has long said tbf to him, the deep lying Surman role is the one he can excel in.
 
The big issue with that bold prediction is I think Cook's playing time will be limited once Tyler Adams is fit.
 
Da Bomb said:
The big issue with that bold prediction is I think Cook's playing time will be limited once Tyler Adams is fit.
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But you also predicted Billing would replace Cook in the deep lying roll. Not saying you are wrong but its difficult to drop players if they are playing well.
 
SlowDownDerek said:
Not sure I agree with the England stuff but I do think this is Cook's big chance to show what he can do in his best position. He's done well in all midfield positions without nailing one down but, as druss has long said tbf to him, the deep lying Surman role is the one he can excel in.
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It’s getting carried away in a low risk high reward conversation :grinning:.

Druss has always believed in Cook to an almost comical degree; there have been plenty of occasions where Cook should’ve been dropped, but also plenty of occasions where he’s been used wrong. I’ve been saying he’s Surmans heir for about 6 years. He’s a top player in that role, and serviceable in others. Any talk of Cook not being good enough anymore point blank, which has been easy to fall into given the state of our coaching and, on occasion, his own performances, is wrong. If he stays fit he’ll prove Druss right all along.

It’s not even necessarily because Cook is this elite player or something. There’s Rice, there’s Philips, there’s JWP. Who else is there, really? Cook played star boy Enzo off the park at the weekend. GS has picked Cook before. He’s a fan of players thatve come through the system with England, and Cook is a former England captain.
 
Cook played well on Sunday and I think he is vitally important to us right now in ensuring that we don’t get overrun it that area, he has a good appreciation of space and he is our only midfielder who really competes physically.

However from an individual perspective I can’t help but feel that he should be so much more than he currently is at this stage of his career. I remember in his second season with us, he regularly would carry the ball forwards from deep at pace and it really was a joy to watch. It was his attribute that gave him his real X factor, but we just haven’t seen it consistently for a long time now. There was one very slight glimpse on Sunday when he picked the ball up from deep on the half turn and drove past an opponent, but it almost seems as though over time that his best attribute has gradually been coached out of him, or he isn’t capable anymore.
 
NWCherries98 said:
Druss has always believed in Cook to an almost comical degree;
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As Neil would say about other players....every manager hes played under has picked him when fit...they must know something many fans dont?

Its more about me knowing how good he is and others undervaluing him. A certain portion of our fans cannot grasp the idea of a good holding midfielder and the selfless work they do allowing our other players to push forward. Surman was always a great example. KK laughed when I compared Surman to Lerma, suggesting Surman didnt tackle as much as Jeff. I tried to make a bet with him but sadly he didnt take it as Surman made more tackles during our first season in the Premier League than Lerma did last season. But obviously he doesnt see it or understand you dont need to fly in on players to get the ball when good positioning and reading of the game makes the job easier.
 
Druss_the_Legend said:
As Neil would say about other players....every manager hes played under has picked him when fit...they must know something many fans dont?

Its more about me knowing how good he is and others undervaluing him. A certain portion of our fans cannot grasp the idea of a good holding midfielder and the selfless work they do allowing our other players to push forward. Surman was always a great example. KK laughed when I compared Surman to Lerma, suggesting Surman didnt tackle as much as Jeff. I tried to make a bet with him but sadly he didnt take it as Surman made more tackles during our first season in the Premier League than Lerma did last season. But obviously he doesnt see it or understand you dont need to fly in on players to get the ball when good positioning and reading of the game makes the job easier.
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Not sure that first line is true about Cook tbh. He's not always been picked when fit.

I've always criticised him for not dictating games in the Surman role and although he has done this, like on Sunday, he's not done it consistently enough in my mind. That said he's had his career interrupted with injuries and then was behind Lerma for the deep lying player spot. Funny thing is that despite his energy I don't think Lerma ever controlled games either, in fact Cook is the better player in many respects. That said every manager preferred Lerma's mobility/energy to cook when faced with the straight choice.

All or nothing for Cook now. He simply has to take this chance and nail the spot down.
 
KingKieffer said:
Cook played well on Sunday and I think he is vitally important to us right now in ensuring that we don’t get overrun it that area, he has a good appreciation of space and he is our only midfielder who really competes physically.

However from an individual perspective I can’t help but feel that he should be so much more than he currently is at this stage of his career. I remember in his second season with us, he regularly would carry the ball forwards from deep at pace and it really was a joy to watch. It was his attribute that gave him his real X factor, but we just haven’t seen it consistently for a long time now. There was one very slight glimpse on Sunday when he picked the ball up from deep on the half turn and drove past an opponent, but it almost seems as though over time that his best attribute has gradually been coached out of him, or he isn’t capable anymore.
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There's some good points there.
 
KingKieffer said:
However from an individual perspective I can’t help but feel that he should be so much more than he currently is at this stage of his career.
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That's what 2 ACL tears and 2+a little years of Tindall/Woodgate/Parker does to a man. You brought up both physical ability and coaching as reasons he may not have reached those peaks his early potential suggested, and he really has been unlucky to have suffered on both accounts during his time with us - that he even still shows those glimpses and has incredibly solid days like against Chelsea I'd say is a testament to his ability to push through those adversities (and hopefully further beyond them in the Era-ola).
 
Druss_the_Legend said:
As Neil would say about other players....every manager hes played under has picked him when fit...they must know something many fans dont?

Its more about me knowing how good he is and others undervaluing him. A certain portion of our fans cannot grasp the idea of a good holding midfielder and the selfless work they do allowing our other players to push forward. Surman was always a great example. KK laughed when I compared Surman to Lerma, suggesting Surman didnt tackle as much as Jeff. I tried to make a bet with him but sadly he didnt take it as Surman made more tackles during our first season in the Premier League than Lerma did last season. But obviously he doesnt see it or understand you dont need to fly in on players to get the ball when good positioning and reading of the game makes the job easier.
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I’ve always generally said the same thing about Cook and I agree with what you’re saying here. Saying it’s to a comical degree is just me being facetious lol, there have definitely been bad patches of form, but on the whole, he’s a very good player.
 
Considering what he has gone through in the last few years, in terms of injury and trying to fit into teams under Tindall, Parker and all, I think it's a testament to his ability to now be playing the best I have seen him since his England call up.
Admittedly, we are only 5 games into the season but think AI trusts him to play that defensive role and hopefully allow Billing to support the front players.
 
Druss_the_Legend said:
But you also predicted Billing would replace Cook in the deep lying roll. Not saying you are wrong but its difficult to drop players if they are playing well.
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Are you sure I said that!? Can't recall ever saying that and no idea why I would when Billing is our most effective advanced midfielder with regards to goals and assists
 
What an absolute idiot for moving his head in like that.
Of course there was no force behind it and he was never going to hurt the guy ( who then predictably fell to the ground clutching his face as if somebody had just attacked him with a hammer ) but you can’t give these devoid of common sense referees any kind of excuse to give you an easy red card.

Totally stupid and unnecessary by Lewis and I hope he gets his wages docked for a while. Absolutely fuming, so unprofessional and the last thing the team needed today :censor:
 
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