Ben Godfrey - The future midfield general?

[Il Pirata 249]

Seriously impressed with young Ben, as many others are also. 

There's been debate over Ben's best position, with Farke predicting a bright future at centre back. Earlier in the season many called for him to fill the Tettey role, as he did very well at Shrewsbury, albeit in League One.  Last nights goal was superb, and adds fuel to the fire for inclusion higher up the pitch. His passing and touch are fantastic, along with his aerial ability, strength and ability to carry the ball forward. 

My question is, does anyone think Farke may reconsider Ben's position in the future? Despite his great form at centre back, do others still see a midfielder in there? 

I hope he stay's with Norwich for a while yet. He's fast becoming a favourite of mine,  his passion is both refreshing and infectious. A future captain no doubt. 

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735]

Potentially a Declan Rice.....defender turned defensive midfielder.

I think theres a player in there with more to offer than just a centre half

[CanaryChris 146]

Godfrey is a rare commodity. Defo think he can do the trybull role with the added bonus of being able to drop back and create a strong back three. Have to wait and see what happens in future windows to see where he may play. I think Farke will stick with him in defence as he seems to prefer fluid systems and ball playing central defenders. Godfrey fits that immaculately.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,358]

I wonder if ths reason he was afforded the space for his goal last night was precisely because he came up from defence, pretty much the first player all night to be afforded that opportunity. Would be interesting to see if he can do the same thing when actually playing in midfield and being marked accordingly? 

[Petriix 2,834]

Nah, keep him at centre back. His skill on the ball is vital to how the team play. Rather than seeing his midfield attributes as a reason to push him further forward, recognise that we are redefining the centre back role with the system we play.

[sonyc 5,490]

I cannot think of a centre half strike like that as good. There was the Russell Martin thunderbolt of course. But centre half shots so often are the Row  Z variety.

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

He is a potentially world class centre back. 

At the top level he is a tall, fast, two-footed, calm, ball-playing, strong in the air, highly competitive, level-headed, English Centre back. A rare - and therefore highly valuable - commodity. 

He will command - by some distance - the highest value of any of our players. 

What may occur upon promotion is that Klose signs a new contract and - when confronted by superior teams - we play with 3 centre backs, allowing Godfrey the slightly libero role. 

Godfrey would be wasted in midfield. There are many other players who can be found, bought or used at CDM, it requires positional discipline, but his gifts at centre back demand that he stay there. 

From a purely business point of view - we are self-sustaining let us not forget - our best asset must be placed in the best shop window.

A fabulous player. Enjoy him now.

Parma 

[vlad666 203]

He’s going to the very top wherever he plays. At the minute he’s learning on the job at centre back. He’s a more complete defensive midfielder. I actually thought he was at fault for their first goal. He wasn’t tight enough and shouldn’t let the striker have a first time shot, although an excellent finish.

His all round game is so strong and his potential is so high that I think he’ll end up at a top 4 club. Enjoy him while we can. 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

He’s a modern centre back and shouldn’t even be considered for midfield. 

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

It's a pity that injuries seem to have made Louis Thompson the forgotten man.

He promised as much as Godfrey at one stage, so may be he will still will come good.

[sgncfc 1,221]

24 minutes ago, sonyc said:

I cannot think of a centre half strike like that as good. There was the Russell Martin thunderbolt of course. But centre half shots so often are the Row  Z variety.

Bassong hit one of those against Liverpool in the 5-4 defeat - he made it 4-4 and then Lallana bounced one over Rudd to win it in the 95th minute. Seems familiar......

[Il Pirata 249]

4 minutes ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

He’s a modern centre back and shouldn’t even be considered for midfield. 

Whilst I accept some very valid points supporting his continued development at centre back, to say he shouldn't even be considered for a midfield role is a bit close minded. He has all the attributes to be successful in midfield, why wouldn't it be considered? I may be wrong here, but I'm sure a top centre midfielder usually commands a higher transfer for than a top centre back, don't they?

 

 

[Feedthewolf 4,844]

13 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

He is a potentially world class centre back. 

At the top level he is a tall, fast, two-footed, calm, ball-playing, strong in the air, highly competitive, level-headed, English Centre back. A rare - and therefore highly valuable - commodity. 

He will command - by some distance - the highest value of any of our players. 

What may occur upon promotion is that Klose signs a new contract and - when confronted by superior teams - we play with 3 centre backs, allowing Godfrey the slightly libero role. 

Godfrey would be wasted in midfield. There are many other players who can be found, bought or used at CDM, it requires positional discipline, but his gifts at centre back demand that he stay there. 

From a purely business point of view - we are self-sustaining let us not forget - our best asset must be placed in the best shop window.

A fabulous player. Enjoy him now.

Parma 

Bravissimo, Parma! Agree with every word of this.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

7 minutes ago, Il Pirata said:

Whilst I accept some very valid points supporting his continued development at centre back, to say he shouldn't even be considered for a midfield role is a bit close minded. He has all the attributes to be successful in midfield, why wouldn't it be considered? I may be wrong here, but I'm sure a top centre midfielder usually commands a higher transfer for than a top centre back, don't they?

 

 

He doesn’t have the attributes for a Farke midfielder. This is why Farke told him he will be a centreback. Godfrey passing range and touch is good for a centreback, but he’d struggle if playing the Trybull role.

Tettey compensated for that but having better positional awareness than Godfrey has now (and Tettey’s technic is better than many give credit for). 

Godfrey could be a 6 out of 10 midfielder, but a 10 out of 10 defender. Focus his development on that position. 

Edited April 11, 2019 by Bethnal Yellow and Green

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Fantastic player but still learning and still has a bit to learn about his positional play as a centre back. At his best when being aggressive and attacking the ball. He should have done a lot, lot better though for their first goal. he was right next to Meite and didn;t make any effort to get in front of him or block the shot when he could have done as that pass to the near post was the only ball on for the winger. Those sort of instincts will come though. Fantastic goal and good to see him taking the initiative to go forward at a time when it looked like the goal might not come.

[Peanuts 150]

His strengths are his natural attributes - size, strength, pace, confidence (to play the ball) and attitude (on and off the field). Any areas of weakness will only improve with experience. 

[Thirsty Lizard 3,155]

I actually think that he looks good enough to be a top player in either position. As others have said I think he still needs to be a little bit more positive/aggressive in some defensive situations, but that should come with time and experience. And yes - what a fantastic strike last night. 

[sonyc 5,490]

I often think we might score when we have a (decent) corner. There is a bit of Steve Bruce in him.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

He has all the attributes to be a top class centre back. Probably our best young centre back since Dave Watson. 

What I really love about Farke this season is how his squad has specific positions and he doesn't deviate from that when players are unavailable. 

 

[All the Germans 1,075]

Centre back all day long. He's got a touch of Ferdinand (the good one) about him. Quick, strong, comfortable on the ball, can step out with it etc. Cracking player.

[Aggy 752]

I’m going to go against the majority here and say I think he’d be better in midfield. I think he’s a decent defender, but I think suggestions he’ll make a “world class” defender are slightly premature. I have question marks about his concentration and I think positionally he isn’t that strong in the defence (which might be more of the problem than his concentration in fairness). Don’t get me wrong, he’s more than good enough at this level, but I’m not sure he’ll ever be a ‘top half of the prem’ centre back. 

However, in a midfield role he can play that anchor which allows the two full backs to both get forward (and Godfrey drops into make three at the back), he can press if we need to pressure more and he can probably do a job as a ball playing deeper player as well. 

I think he’ll be a good player in either position, and arguably he’s now slightly more experienced/accomplished at centre back than midfield, but if he’s going to turn into a real top player I think he’s more likely to do it in midfield than centre back.

[wcorkcanary 4,329]

What i take from seeing him play and the above posts is that Ben G is a versatile player which i think was just about the only attribute that Parma left out of his very accurate description of him. Better than decent.

[Midlands Yellow 3,932]

How much would you envisage Ben could go for one day in the future Parma ? I wouldn’t want the club to accept 25/30 M for Emi so interesting he could go for lots more .

[FenwayFrank 2,456]

2 hours ago, All the Germans said:

He's got a touch of Ferdinand (the good one) about him

Franz ?

[Icecream Snow 761]

Just leaving this here....

https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city/canaries-ben-godfrey-on-premier-league-transfer-rumours-1-5971712

The England Under-20 starlet also spent time with promotion rivals Leeds, before Farke put the one-time York trainee on the fast track to the top after converting him into a central defender.

“The boss made the decision after seeing my attributes,” said the 21-year-old, speaking to the York Press. “He said to me that he thought I could play at a high level as a central midfielder but that I could go a bit further to the top if I was a centre back.

“I trusted his opinion and I’ve really enjoyed it.

[All the Germans 1,075]

40 minutes ago, FenwayFrank said:

Franz ?

Beckenbauer.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Ben's level of performance at centre back is so good that we tend to forget how little experience he has had in that position. Even though he's still learning he is learning fast. He was gutted when he went down the tunnel last night but he will come back stronger for it.

Ben and we are lucky to have a manager brave enough to play these youngsters even when the pressure is on. The club will benefit hugely from that bravery in the future.

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

Increasingly top level clubs are investing serious money in Centre backs. Improved analysis shows both the value to outcomes of the kind of player that Godfrey is, plus it is now recognised that pattern of play, established certain early phase trigger movements and -  not least - time available is predominantly in the Centre back zonal area (hence many CDMs splitting Centre backs and collecting deep possession). Guardiola has taken this logic further and extended it to the Goalkeeping position. 

The split centre backs often now receive possession from midfield as the ball is recycled after an initial phase has reached a dead end. After an initial cross field ball to the other Centre back, the kind of fast, flat switch ball (often back to the side where it was recycled from) - such as the one to Aarons for the goal be QPR - then becomes a key attacking weapon and one that Godfrey also possesses. This assist-assist pass is highly prized strategically in Italy, where the final assist pass may be made (relatively) straightforward by the assist-assist that in truth was the ‘passa-gol’ and created the key disruption in the opposition shape.

The financial value of such players has thus risen as their overall strategic value is better understood. £75m for Van Dijk looked high upon purchase, but doesn’t now. Being half as good does not make you a £37.5m player, but a decent first half season in the Premier League might see a subsequent summer value exceed Maddison’s £24m benchmark.

Parma 

[Midlands Yellow 3,932]

Could top 24 M ? I’d hope for a lot more if he will  by some distance command the highest fee of all the assets at Norwich . 

 I’d be disappointed if they would accept that  figure for either Aarons or Buendia tomorrow .

 

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

Performances in the Premier League will be key to establishing significant value for the clubs able to pay such sums.

Parma