Cantwell

[Jersey Canary 143]

4 hours ago, Downloads said:

You just made this up, you have no idea really.

I could say Buendia gave away twice as many goals away in the Prem - But there is nothing to support this.

You make it sound like your opinions are facts, they aren't, you are wrong.

Or you’re not liking a differing point of view?

Emi made mistakes as well but also created lots from his work rate. Robbing Otimemdi at Man City springs to mind. Emi is very good at sticking a back leg out and winning the ball with his tenaciousness. 

[NorthCarolinaYellow 197]

This is an odd thread.

Cantwell has moments of real excellence. That is not in doubt. He also very frustratingly loses the ball on numerous occasions each match and has a ways to go to be in Buendia's class or be a starter for a quality PL team. I suspect he'll leave in the summer and go on to have a solid if unspectacular career.

[Jersey Canary 143]

5 minutes ago, NorthCarolinaYellow said:

This is an odd thread.

Cantwell has moments of real excellence. That is not in doubt. He also very frustratingly loses the ball on numerous occasions each match and has a ways to go to be in Buendia's class or be a starter for a quality PL team. I suspect he'll leave in the summer and go on to have a solid if unspectacular career.

Exactly. 

[curious yellow 184]

12 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

He has work to do to convince me and for what it's worth I think he will do it, but until then I will praise him when he does well and criticise him when I think he needs criticising.

"Scoring 6 or 7 goals in a relegated team means diddly squat imo" 

He's got a mountain to climb then. I presume you'll continue to criticise Vrancic for all his errors. 

[Downloads 35]

It's an odd thread because we have odd fans who don't appreciate our clearly talented player.

No surprise results are better with him in the team than without.

He also gets through more work than Emi as he comes deeper to initiate more moves. I love Emi and Todd in equal measures, one has a few more games under his belt in general and in this season too

[lake district canary 4,531]

2 hours ago, curious yellow said:

"Scoring 6 or 7 goals in a relegated team means diddly squat imo" 

He's got a mountain to climb then. I presume you'll continue to criticise Vrancic for all his errors. 

You seem to enjoy quoting half sentences and ignore the rest of the point, which taken as a whole gives a wider picture.

[Dr Greenthumb 749]

2 hours ago, lake district canary said:

The difference is I loved Ben's attitude and application and was never ever even once able to question that. Todd has shown varying degrees of application and focus ever since he got in the team - and I fully get that he is a creative player so will have ups and  downs to go with that, but there it is. 

All players are open to criticism, or ought to be and we all have our favourites and not so favourites. I am warming to Todd and that he is showing signs of being the consistent and effective player that I think he could be, but he has a way to go before I will be shouting his praises without reserve, which is what some people seem to be demanding. He has work to do to convince me and for what it's worth I think he will do it, but until then I will praise him when he does well and criticise him when I think he needs criticising.

Don’t forget to critique Ben too then, his positioning at times was hopeless and led to the concession of a fair few goals.

[lake district canary 4,531]

2 hours ago, Dr Greenthumb said:

Don’t forget to critique Ben too then, his positioning at times was hopeless and led to the concession of a fair few goals.

Ben was terrific all through the championship promotion season, with only minor signs of inexperience and in the PL season he never had a regular partner, sometimes not even with a recognised CB next to him - and also played with an injury for quite a few games - so he gets a big concession for all that.  Yes, he got caught out sometimes, but then that isn't a surprise, given the quality of the opposition and way the season went with injuries and lack of a settled defence.

 

[hogesar 9,671]

1 hour ago, lake district canary said:

Ben was terrific all through the championship promotion season, with only minor signs of inexperience and in the PL season he never had a regular partner, sometimes not even with a recognised CB next to him - and also played with an injury for quite a few games - so he gets a big concession for all that.  Yes, he got caught out sometimes, but then that isn't a surprise, given the quality of the opposition and way the season went with injuries and lack of a settled defence.

 

I agree.

So why then isn't Todd afforded the same excuses? He's up against the best defenders and defensive midfielders in the world and his goals and assists mean "diddly squat" because we were relegated? Yet a defence that concedes 2 goals every game instead is lavished with praise and admiration?

Absolutely bonkers.

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

6 hours ago, hogesar said:

Absolutely bonkers.

In a nutshell. 

[Ekoku: The Ambassador Of The People 122]

On 10/01/2021 at 19:20, TeemuVanBasten said:

Well I'm glad you aren't on the management team if you think we still employ Matt Jarvis who left 18 months ago! 

I used his name as an example. Plus i’m glad you’re not on the management team thinking one of our certain starters will be moved on if he picks up another injury. 

[lake district canary 4,531]

8 hours ago, hogesar said:

I agree.

So why then isn't Todd afforded the same excuses? He's up against the best defenders and defensive midfielders in the world and his goals and assists mean "diddly squat" because we were relegated? Yet a defence that concedes 2 goals every game instead is lavished with praise and admiration?

Absolutely bonkers.

It's not "absolutely" anything. What is it with some people they have to be so disparaging about other people's point of view? I'll answer your point, but If you persist in just being dismissive, then I won't bother to reply to you in future. (That goes for your lacky wcorkcanary too 😉 )

You could never accuse Ben of not taking responsibility, he was always there, faults and all, yet Todd noticeably became less effective as the season progressed, being less adventurous, more content with short passes and less showing the kind of skills we know he has - so much so that the manager publicly said that he needed his midfield players to take more responsibility for making things happen. Todd responded to that and improved again in the last few weeks of the season.

And as for your point about the defence letting in goals, well that is what happens in football. So the defence lets in goals and we are relegated, yet defenders Lewis/Aarons and Godfrey all touted with big moves, two of them getting them already and the other sure to follow in due course. Why is that then I wonder?? 

 

 

[TeemuVanBasten 3,327]

6 minutes ago, Ekoku: The Ambassador Of The People said:

I used his name as an example. Plus i’m glad you’re not on the management team thinking one of our certain starters will be moved on if he picks up another injury. 

Since when has Hernandez been a "certain starter", he came off the bench as a sub in 7 of his final 9 appearances after lockdown last season, in the last four games prior to lockdown he was an unused substitute in one and not in the squad for three of them, and I don't recall us selling any wide players in the summer?

And in our promotion season he came off the bench 14 times, in the second half of the season he was sub more than he started. 

Sounds like its Farke you need to be having words with if you've got a problem with that, not me! 

[hogesar 9,671]

41 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

It's not "absolutely" anything. What is it with some people they have to be so disparaging about other people's point of view? I'll answer your point, but If you persist in just being dismissive, then I won't bother to reply to you in future. (That goes for your lacky wcorkcanary too 😉 )

You could never accuse Ben of not taking responsibility, he was always there, faults and all, yet Todd noticeably became less effective as the season progressed, being less adventurous, more content with short passes and less showing the kind of skills we know he has - so much so that the manager publicly said that he needed his midfield players to take more responsibility for making things happen. Todd responded to that and improved again in the last few weeks of the season.

And as for your point about the defence letting in goals, well that is what happens in football. So the defence lets in goals and we are relegated, yet defenders Lewis/Aarons and Godfrey all touted with big moves, two of them getting them already and the other sure to follow in due course. Why is that then I wonder?? 

 

 

Based on your reply, I agree... don't bother replying to me in future.

Scoring goals in a relegated team means 'diddly squad' yet conceding loads of them is 'what happens in football'.

 

[lake district canary 4,531]

13 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Based on your reply, I agree... don't bother replying to me in future.

Scoring goals in a relegated team means 'diddly squad' yet conceding loads of them is 'what happens in football'.

Fine by me. Your precis of what I have tried to say is so wide of the mark it isn't worth arguing about.

[Rich T The Biscuit 562]

I'm not really sure I can follow whats what with this thread, however, to put a response in on behalf of the players mentioned.

Godfrey was superb in our promotion campaign as was Buendia etc

In the PL Godfrey did a good job with the situation we were in, however, we conceded way to many goals to realistically ever having a chance of staying up, yes some of that was down to injury crisis but Godfrey wasn't faultless.

As for Cantwell, he showed some real glimpses of being top class but glimpses, he's not consistent enough to be in the category of being a regular in most PL sides, certainly not the big ones, why you may ask, simply because he still has a lot to learn. When he's playing well he looks superb, when he's not he looks far from superb. What he needs to focus on is consistency and being more ruthless with his chances, he also lacks a bit of pace.

As for Buendia, I'd say the same as above however for me he is more consistent but still has his faults, he gave the ball away in silly positions when we were in the PL and those mistakes costs us goals and therefore games.

For me it's not clear that Buendia would be anything other than a good player in a PL side, imagine he goes to Arsenal and doesn't get to play for 6 games, his temperament won't stand for that I'm fairly certain. 

They are both still relatively young and inexperienced and time will tell.

And I did all of that and didn't insult one person 😬

[hogesar 9,671]

2 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Fine by me. Your precis of what I have tried to say is so wide of the mark it isn't worth arguing about.

I quoted you.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

11 hours ago, lake district canary said:

Ben was terrific all through the championship promotion season, with only minor signs of inexperience and in the PL season he never had a regular partner, sometimes not even with a recognised CB next to him - and also played with an injury for quite a few games - so he gets a big concession for all that.  Yes, he got caught out sometimes, but then that isn't a surprise, given the quality of the opposition and way the season went with injuries and lack of a settled defence.

 

You appear to have ignored my last reply so I'll try again.

Coming into the prem season we had our known star performers; Pukki, Buendia, Trybull, Aarons, Godfrey, Zimmerman and Lewis. We all knew and expected them to be our key players. Our team's success would rely on those players performing well and consistently, as well as new signings like Amadou / Drmic / Fahrman (Krul improved indirectly) hitting the ground running.  

Todd was not amongst those players, and not even close. No one would've complained if he was loaned out. 

Therefore his surprise and significant goal-scoring return should not be scoffed at like it was nothing. 

It was his debut season as a regular player, in an attacking position (much more difficult to influence games consistently), in a team which struggled massively, where he exceeded all prior expectations of him. Circumstances you appear to have forgotten completely.

Because of the context in which he was brought in, he should be afforded more leeway than any of the aforementioned key players - not less.

The team's ultimate relegation was nothing of his own doing and we would've failed more dramatically without his unexpected improvement. 

[lake district canary 4,531]

1 hour ago, hogesar said:

I quoted you.

In part sentences. People are good at that on here.

[Midlands Yellow 3,984]

2 hours ago, lake district canary said:

It's not "absolutely" anything. What is it with some people they have to be so disparaging about other people's point of view? I'll answer your point, but If you persist in just being dismissive, then I won't bother to reply to you in future. (That goes for your lacky wcorkcanary too 😉 )

You could never accuse Ben of not taking responsibility, he was always there, faults and all, yet Todd noticeably became less effective as the season progressed, being less adventurous, more content with short passes and less showing the kind of skills we know he has - so much so that the manager publicly said that he needed his midfield players to take more responsibility for making things happen. Todd responded to that and improved again in the last few weeks of the season.

And as for your point about the defence letting in goals, well that is what happens in football. So the defence lets in goals and we are relegated, yet defenders Lewis/Aarons and Godfrey all touted with big moves, two of them getting them already and the other sure to follow in due course. Why is that then I wonder?? 

 

 

The lesson is, everyone has their favourite players and cuts them some slack. 

[lake district canary 4,531]

1 hour ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

You appear to have ignored my last reply so I'll try again.

Coming into the prem season we had our known star performers; Pukki, Buendia, Trybull, Aarons, Godfrey, Zimmerman and Lewis. We all knew and expected them to be our key players. Our team's success would rely on those players performing well and consistently, as well as new signings like Amadou / Drmic / Fahrman (Krul improved indirectly) hitting the ground running.  

Todd was not amongst those players, and not even close. No one would've complained if he was loaned out. 

Therefore his surprise and significant goal-scoring return should not be scoffed at like it was nothing. 

It was his debut season as a regular player, in an attacking position (much more difficult to influence games consistently), in a team which struggled massively, where he exceeded all prior expectations of him. Circumstances you appear to have forgotten completely.

Because of the context in which he was brought in, he should be afforded more leeway than any of the aforementioned key players - not less.

The team's ultimate relegation was nothing of his own doing and we would've failed more dramatically without his unexpected improvement. 

Sorry. I've been busy this morning.  People keep quoting part sentences to me, ignoring the gist of what I am saying in favour of their own agenda.  After all, I'm not crticising him that much - all I'm doing is saying praise him when he does well, criticise him when he doesn't do so well - and I've given him plenty of praise for this season so far. 

I agree with you he deserves some praise for last season too, but his contribution overall did not amount to enough.  Neither did anyone's contribution for that matter, but that is my wider point - he wasn't good enough and neither were the rest of them.  Some though did better than others - and I include Godfrey in that for his level headedness and commitment despite the severe injury problems we had all season with defenders.

An awful lot is written about Cantwell and that is right - he is one of those players who can excite and when on it, can turn a game, but when he is not "on it" he can look inneffective and sometimes downright wasteful. Leeway for him only just having made the breakthrough? Not really, if you're in the team, you have to deliver - and keep delivering.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

4 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Sorry. I've been busy this morning.  People keep quoting part sentences to me, ignoring the gist of what I am saying in favour of their own agenda.  After all, I'm not crticising him that much - all I'm doing is saying praise him when he does well, criticise him when he doesn't do so well - and I've given him plenty of praise for this season so far. 

I agree with you he deserves some praise for last season too, but his contribution overall did not amount to enough.  Neither did anyone's contribution for that matter, but that is my wider point - he wasn't good enough and neither were the rest of them.  Some though did better than others - and I include Godfrey in that for his level headedness and commitment despite the severe injury problems we had all season with defenders.

An awful lot is written about Cantwell and that is right - he is one of those players who can excite and when on it, can turn a game, but when he is not "on it" he can look inneffective and sometimes downright wasteful. Leeway for him only just having made the breakthrough? Not really, if you're in the team, you have to deliver - and keep delivering.

I've highlighted those pieces as again, I think you're still missing what I'm trying to say - his contribution based on what was expected of him before the season started far exceeded what anyone predicted. Therefore how can you can't say he wasn't good enough? He went from barely playing at all to one of our key players! That is a stark improvement. 

All the criticisms you have are valid to a degree. But please find me a young attacking player who has played for us and not struggled to consistently play well week in and week out in their debut season for us. 

Players like Idah, Placheta, Dowell, Martin, Josh and Jacob Murphy, Nathan Redmond. Even Buendia struggled to make an impact last season consistently! That tendency to drift in and out of games is part of parcel of those types of player.

The only exception to this for NCFC would probably be Maddison but he was a freak for us in the championship. 

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

3 hours ago, lake district canary said:

That goes for your lacky wcorkcanary too 😉 )

If you're  going to try to belittle  someones opinion, at least get the spelling right . Its Lackey !!  Not lacky.  Why does agreeing with someone's appraisal  of your post make me a lackey? 

Please explain as I really dont get where you're  coming  from ( apart from Cumbria , of course.)

Does anyone agreeing  with someone else  Immediately  become their  'lackey ' , has the like button suddenly become the lackey button? Or were you  waiting  for a chance to have a dig? because if you were then  you tactics were even more badly thought  out than your  rather repetitive  and pointless posts as to why Todders doesnt quite meet 'lackyos' *   exceptionally high standards . Despite most knowledgeable  and experienced observers  realising he's  a very good young player you persist with your ' ahyesbuttery ' ...says more about you than about Todd.

 

* see what I did there 😇 

 

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

3 minutes ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

I've highlighted those pieces as again, I think you're still missing what I'm trying to say - his contribution based on what was expected of him before the season started far exceeded what anyone predicted. Therefore how can you can't say he wasn't good enough? He went from barely playing at all to one of our key players! That is a stark improvement. 

All the criticisms you have are valid to a degree. But please find me a young attacking player who has played for us and not struggled to consistently play well week in and week out in their debut season for us. 

Players like Idah, Placheta, Dowell, Martin, Josh and Jacob Murphy, Nathan Redmond. Even Buendia struggled to make an impact last season consistently! That tendency to drift in and out of games is part of parcel of those types of player.

The only exception to this for NCFC would probably be Maddison but he was a freak for us in the championship. 

The reason he wont admit he is wrong is because of who he is. He'd say black was white if it got him attention. Seen it many times over the years on here. I cant be arrissed to wait for the multiple clarifications  as he tries to justify his contrary views, trying to save face as he backtracks. Not a man to be stuck in a lift with, I imagine.

[chicken 2,624]

23 hours ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

Sorry but I really don't follow this criticism. Do you believe assists are a pointless stat too then? That's the same thing, only the player who shoots scores, something which is not in the passer's control?

Yes sometimes you will get key passes / chances created which are simple lay-offs which anyone could do, or the player shoots from a ridiculous position - therefore inflating or overestimating the figures a little. But that flaw is not unique to any individual and it applies to everyone in unison. Over the course of the season then, the anomalies surely even themselves out. 

Really, all creative players will have a range of assists / key passes / chances created from the simple to the more technical.

Bruno Fernandes in recent weeks for instance has got assists from simple lay-offs to McTominay and Pogba who were 25 yards out, and another for completely accidentally setting up Rashford versus Leicester. But he's also got plenty of cracking assists too. It all counts just as a simple tap-in or goal off his backside would count for a striker too!

If the player isn't too good and only capable of simple assists or passes, then his creativity stats will ultimately never correspond as well as a player who has more ability, and our Buendia is head and shoulders top of these charts in the champs for very good reason IMO. 

My point was as a stat on it's own it's useless. It lacks context. I've played 11 a side with strikers who will shoot every time they receive a ball within 25 yards of the goal. My chance creation stats would have looked brilliant... I wasn't happy, he missed most of them because many were in poor positions and ignored better passing options. But on that stat alone I would have looked amazing...

I don't think it does balance out either. You also need to factor in that he has been the regular corner taker and set piece taker - not something I feel he is even especially good at.

At the end of the day, all I am trying to point out is that chances created aren't the only thing that should be looked at. And actually it does a disservice to Buendia as well as any other players who are supposedly worse because they don't create as many chances. Assists are also a bit bogus at times yes. And I would argue if you are viewing the statistic without context it is also entirely unreliable.

Again I refer back to Hoolahan who assisted and created chances but no one bigger than Villa under Lambert came in for him. Yet his quality is still shaping results at age 38 in League 2.

I don't get that for Buendia to be good, another player has to be crap. I don't understand why one player being kicked about the place is "throwing themselves to the floor" when the other has been equally as guilty if not more so.

It's that inconsistency of comparison which just reduces anyone's argument to being useless and meritless.

There is no doubt that Buendia is a better player in the role that they play. But the reality is that if he is sold, Cantwell is currently the player that the team would look to, to fill his boots. I would add Dowell too but he is injured and we can't expect him to deliver until he is back. Cantwell is the 2nd best player of that ilk we have which ever way you look at it. Having them both on the pitch no doubt helps one another as the opposition team have two quality wide players to consider as well as Pukki up front.

[chicken 2,624]

On 12/01/2021 at 06:27, shruk4 said:

I think its funny how some comments here establish a clear link between how much a player dives and throws their hands out and how good they are. Arsenal are interested in Buendia cause he is a fantastic player, which he has been for 2-3 years now. Not because "he stopped throwing tantrums". Its a bit of a patronizing way of looking at players

You may want to have a word with Farke then...

He also hasn't been consistently good for 2-3 years. He struggled, comparatively, in the Premier League. He wasn't standout for the first half of the promotion season - not that you would expect him to be when in his first season in English football.

And it is an observation, from having watched him play, that in more recent games he is appearing to play more calmly, with fewer instances of sitting on the floor thumping the turf or bemoaning the referee. Something Farke and other players have reflected on at times. For me, it is no surprise that his performances are therefore more focused, he is wasting less energy on unnecessary issues and putting it all into work rate and playing football. He is a better player now than he was last season. If he can consistently play this well he'd not only walk into the Arsenal side but the Argentina side too.

The comparison was drawn because of people that are quick to say Cantwell throws himself to the floor too much as if to underline that is all he contributes. When Buendia has undisputedly been guilty of the same. I agree with you that this shouldn't be the only measure of a player, but if you do use it in comparison, or in a situation where you attempt to scapegoat a player, then you at least need to recognise he isn't the only one.

[lake district canary 4,531]

1 hour ago, wcorkcanary said:

The reason he wont admit he is wrong is because of who he is. He'd say black was white if it got him attention. Seen it many times over the years on here. I cant be arrissed to wait for the multiple clarifications  as he tries to justify his contrary views, trying to save face as he backtracks. Not a man to be stuck in a lift with, I imagine.

That is a a bit sad of you.  My view that players should not be praised and told how wonderful they are in a season where we were relegated is consistent over the years and is in no way attention seeking.

2 hours ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

I've highlighted those pieces as again, I think you're still missing what I'm trying to say - his contribution based on what was expected of him before the season started far exceeded what anyone predicted. Therefore how can you can't say he wasn't good enough? He went from barely playing at all to one of our key players! That is a stark improvement. 

All the criticisms you have are valid to a degree. But please find me a young attacking player who has played for us and not struggled to consistently play well week in and week out in their debut season for us. 

Players like Idah, Placheta, Dowell, Martin, Josh and Jacob Murphy, Nathan Redmond. Even Buendia struggled to make an impact last season consistently! That tendency to drift in and out of games is part of parcel of those types of player.

The only exception to this for NCFC would probably be Maddison but he was a freak for us in the championship. 

Yes, I understood that. But I expect more from players who I think can be better or who don't appear to be 100% on their game.  It's semantics really and we always see things in the way we want to, but I saw a player who during the season started to drop his levels and that was concerning to me.  Even Farke said as much in a general point about midfielders taking more responsibility - and that was aimed at Todd and Emi.

Now hogesar and wcorkcanary ignore my well put posts and resort to mockery because they can't get their heads round the fact that quite a bit of what I say actually has some foundation in reality.  The ONLY thing that I have said that is controversial is that scoring a few goals does not mean you have done well overall.  Scoring one goal and the opposition scoring two is not very helpful.  Maybe if those midfielders had been a bit more careful with the ball and in their youth and excitement then we might have not given away so many soft goals, quite a few of which were not because of defensive lapses but because the ball was needlessly and stupidly given away by Todd/Emi and others too.

So, yay, Todd did well and scored a few goals....but I repeat we were relegated and I refuse to give too much credence to anyone in that situation.  Despite the mitigating circumstances of the injury situation (which is why Godfrey escapes too much criticism imo)  - it was a failure. 

Actually - and this will annoy a few - but this is what annoyed me at the time - I thought Todd was coasting in the cup match away at Burnley as he strolled around the pitch hardly breaking sweat, deigning to link play sometimes,  but with very little in the way of creativity. One pass I think was incisive in the whole match. To me he looked like a player who believed he was above the rest of the players.....now that may be wrong, but that is what I felt after the match. 

Now I don't care if he has long flowing hair, alice bands, ringlets, platts or pigtails.....IF....he is looking the business on the ball as well. I don't want show ponies in my team I want players. Todd looks much more a proper player this season than last so maybe he is maturing a bit, which is great.  Long may that continue - he is a precocious talent, but there is a lot for him to do to develop into a top player yet. Imo if course. 

Edited January 13, 2021 by lake district canary

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

29 minutes ago, chicken said:

My point was as a stat on it's own it's useless. It lacks context. I've played 11 a side with strikers who will shoot every time they receive a ball within 25 yards of the goal. My chance creation stats would have looked brilliant... I wasn't happy, he missed most of them because many were in poor positions and ignored better passing options. But on that stat alone I would have looked amazing...

I don't think it does balance out either. You also need to factor in that he has been the regular corner taker and set piece taker - not something I feel he is even especially good at.

At the end of the day, all I am trying to point out is that chances created aren't the only thing that should be looked at. And actually it does a disservice to Buendia as well as any other players who are supposedly worse because they don't create as many chances. Assists are also a bit bogus at times yes. And I would argue if you are viewing the statistic without context it is also entirely unreliable.

Again I refer back to Hoolahan who assisted and created chances but no one bigger than Villa under Lambert came in for him. Yet his quality is still shaping results at age 38 in League 2.

I don't get that for Buendia to be good, another player has to be crap. I don't understand why one player being kicked about the place is "throwing themselves to the floor" when the other has been equally as guilty if not more so.

It's that inconsistency of comparison which just reduces anyone's argument to being useless and meritless.

There is no doubt that Buendia is a better player in the role that they play. But the reality is that if he is sold, Cantwell is currently the player that the team would look to, to fill his boots. I would add Dowell too but he is injured and we can't expect him to deliver until he is back. Cantwell is the 2nd best player of that ilk we have which ever way you look at it. Having them both on the pitch no doubt helps one another as the opposition team have two quality wide players to consider as well as Pukki up front.

I agree the stat has limitations sure, but no more so than assists or goals or any other stat taken in isolation. Ultimately goals and assists are what creative players are held up against (apart from very niche types of player such as Firmino).

Behind goals you have xG and behind assists you have key passes / chances created. A player over the course of the season who isn't recording xGs or creating chances, will simply not record goals or assists. 

So to my mind those stats are all interlinked. Key passes / assists are even more related because the differentiation of whether the player scores or not is clearly outside of the passer's control. The relationship between goals / xG on the other hand also shows how clinical or wasteful the goal-scorer is. 

My answer on Buendia taking set pieces, thus inflating his figures, would be: 

     1) As most of his corners fail to hit an NCFC attacker its very unlikely to significantly impact his stats... 

     2) Every other club has a set-piece taker, where are they on those stat tables? Still miles behind Buendia despite his rubbish corners 😄

Interestingly, I think the general consensus of NCFC this season is that we haven't been shooting enough from long range, not too often! In fact we don't appear to have any Maddison or Oliveira types who like to shoot on sight! Ironically the player who likes to shoot the most from long-range seems to be Buendia himself... On that basis then Buendia's key pass stats are even more impressive...

In regards to Hoolahan, he only really started to play at his peak in his early-mid thirties, I think his age tied in with his lack of physicality was always going to put off the top sides. His creativity was great. 

On your final 3 paragraphs, not sure if you are aiming any of that at me - but I don't disagree with any of it! 

[Ian 1,129]

We all have our favourite players, and it's fine IMO to say you just prefer one player to another for no particular reason other than it is your instinct. However, what is silly is trying to act as if this is an objective opinion and intellectualise it.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

10 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

Yes, I understood that. But I expect more from players who I think can be better or who don't appear to be 100% on their game.  It's semantics really and we always see things in the way we want to, but I saw a player who during the season started to drop his levels and that was concerning to me.  Even Farke said as much in a general point about midfielders taking more responsibility - and that was aimed at Todd and Emi.

Fair enough. You say you expect more from players who you think can do better / are not 100%. 

But where did that expectation in Cantwell suddenly come from? Why did you immediately think he can do better when he had only just started to perform for the team?

I personally absolutely had zero expectation of him performing for us in the prem. So the fact he managed to exceed from my initial judgement of him was a massive positive. 

You instead have taken a glass half empty approach for a player's debut season. I don't think that's fair, especially when you factor in everything else like how **** we were as a team... 

I would suggest the only thing Cantell is probably guilty of is setting the initial premier league bar too high for himself... but let's not forget that very same bar was at ground level before the season started. 

In regards to the rest of your post, that's subjective so I'm not going to argue with how you've interpreted things. But I don't think his playstyle is particularly arrogant - no more so than other creative players. I also think his attitude on the pitch has been great on the whole. He fell out with Farke over the summer yes, but then so did Buendia. 

He does some stupid things sometimes (diving / playacting / stupid flicks / trying to be too cute), but again no more so than Buendia...