Dowell

[Nuff Said 5,141]

20 hours ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

When Webber said that thing about only being here for x number of years, I'm pretty sure he was just trying not to be presumptuous about the clubs owners handing him a fresh contract. 

His contract may expire at that point, but that doesn't guarantee he won't agree a new one. If we stay up next season I'd wager that he does stick around. If we spend a bit and fail miserably again, lose some talent and fail to adequately replace, then it doesn't take too long in football for relationships to sour. Look at McNally, messed it all up in one terrible January window. Nobody foresaw his departure being on the cards.

Stock can fall just as fast as it can rise in football... who thought when seeing that great Leeds team at the turn of the century that David O'Leary's managerial career would only last 8 years, and that he'd be on the managerial scrapheap by 47? 

Isn't Webber just being pragmatic? 

I don’t always agree with you TVB, but this post is spot on and needed saying. This board is full of posters claiming that Webber just sees us as a stepping stone elsewhere based on an off-the-cuff remark years ago. It’s similar to the way the Delia and Michael interview in the Times has become “they don’t want us to be promoted to the Premier League”.

[HazzaJet 253]

21 hours ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

When Webber said that thing about only being here for x number of years, I'm pretty sure he was just trying not to be presumptuous about the clubs owners handing him a fresh contract. 

His contract may expire at that point, but that doesn't guarantee he won't agree a new one. If we stay up next season I'd wager that he does stick around. If we spend a bit and fail miserably again, lose some talent and fail to adequately replace, then it doesn't take too long in football for relationships to sour. Look at McNally, messed it all up in one terrible January window. Nobody foresaw his departure being on the cards.

Stock can fall just as fast as it can rise in football... who thought when seeing that great Leeds team at the turn of the century that David O'Leary's managerial career would only last 8 years, and that he'd be on the managerial scrapheap by 47? 

Isn't Webber just being pragmatic? 

There's certainly no guarantee he won't agree a new one,  and he said that quite a while back so even if he was intending to move on then he might have changed his mind. To be honest I would like him to stay with us until we don't want him anymore. Let's hope for the best

[Rich T The Biscuit 562]

Well that has shown us what he can do, what a move and strike.

[Petriix 2,835]

I'm really pleased for him. He's got his chance because Emi's out and he's playing really well. This is what we've all been waiting to see from him. Hopefully this kick starts a decent run in the team.

[Van wink 2,994]

Making a big impression tonight 

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

It's the kind of show that gets you through the door. He's now got to build on it.

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

Playing very well, nice goal too. Great shtuff!!

[sonyc 5,519]

As a poster has said on the match thread, he takes a great free kick and with such whip. He is going to cement his place.

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

1 minute ago, sonyc said:

As a poster has said on the match thread, he takes a great free kick and with such whip. He is going to cement his place.

Mario's replacement?

[sonyc 5,519]

Just now, wcorkcanary said:

Mario's replacement?

Unless we can keep Emi then yes.

[WD40 720]

3 minutes ago, wcorkcanary said:

Mario's replacement?

That's what he was brought in to be, yes. Source: SexyBennett on twitter.

[WD40 720]

Is Dowell playing off the right wing in Emi's position or through the middle?

[king canary 7,606]

Just now, WD40 said:

Is Dowell playing off the right wing in Emi's position or through the middle?

On the right mainly but our attacking midfielders don't hold positions all that much.

[wcorkcanary 4,334]

2 minutes ago, WD40 said:

Is Dowell playing off the right wing in Emi's position or through the middle?

The three behind pukki rotate, the Forest based commentators were praising it,

Edited March 17, 2021 by wcorkcanary

[Pukki Blinders 96]

Much, much better from him tonight. What a strike as well.

Gonna be interesting to see who starts against Blackburn on Saturday. Dowell and Rupp were excellent tonight, and neither of them deserve to be dropped, but you can't leave Emi out the side if he's able to play.

[Rock The Boat 1,332]

Dowell has earned the right to start the next game. I hadn't thought too much about him before now but tonight he really stepped up to the plate and put in a major shift. Ninety minutes may till be a bit too much to maintain those energy levels so Buendia to come off the bench around the 65th minute. This team is awesome.

[Six Pack 93]

Was good last night, but I won't get carried away. We always knew he had a decent shot on him and was a good taker of corners & long free-kicks - nothing new there !  At the end of the day its his physicality which would be the difference at the level we want to play. He tried hard - I was was shouting "cmon Dowell" everytime there was a tackle close to him to be made. You could see that the Forest player on the left could beat him for speed at will anytime he wanted ! He was tiring but we couldn't take him off cos he was the only one that can taken freekicks & corners. Lightweight and slow is not a great combination but can Farke & his trainers do something with him ? Start with bulking up his body and then working on using correct body positions and flexibilty when challenging a faster more skillful opponent.

[unique 435]

6 hours ago, Rock The Boat said:

Dowell has earned the right to start the next game. I hadn't thought too much about him before now but tonight he really stepped up to the plate and put in a major shift. Ninety minutes may till be a bit too much to maintain those energy levels so Buendia to come off the bench around the 65th minute. This team is awesome.

....and Buendia’s season long heroics means he has earned the right to start on the bench???

I don’t think so.

Buendia start# in my opinion. Rupp and Dowell will have to contest the other spot. 
 

Both played well, but Rupp edges it for me with his driving runs and superior fitness level.

[hogesar 9,674]

5 hours ago, Six Pack said:

Was good last night, but I won't get carried away. We always knew he had a decent shot on him and was a good taker of corners & long free-kicks - nothing new there !  At the end of the day its his physicality which would be the difference at the level we want to play. He tried hard - I was was shouting "cmon Dowell" everytime there was a tackle close to him to be made. You could see that the Forest player on the left could beat him for speed at will anytime he wanted ! He was tiring but we couldn't take him off cos he was the only one that can taken freekicks & corners. Lightweight and slow is not a great combination but can Farke & his trainers do something with him ? Start with bulking up his body and then working on using correct body positions and flexibilty when challenging a faster more skillful opponent.

There's lots of slight / 'lightweight' attacking midfielders and to be fair to Dowell he used his height to compete when moved centrally. He isn't the quickest but still plenty enough for breaking considering he's good with the ball at his feet.

When you consider he was also statistically the highest rated player on the pitch last night (I'd personally have said Rupp, who was second) - and note he won 3 aerial battles and 4 successful tackles (Skipp and Mclean didn't manage that between them) - there can't be any complaint about his performance last night.

Edited March 18, 2021 by hogesar

[Nuff Said 5,141]

Couldn't you have made a similar criticism of Emi in his early games for us? He learnt, Kieran can learn too

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

Dowell was certainly very decent again last night, and a super hit for his goal. I would like to keep him in somehow, but surely we can’t drop Buendia after the season he’s had! And sadly I don’t really think we can drop Cantwell / Rupp either after their performances, so he may find himself back on the bench - however I would hope there is a willingness to give him 35-40 mins game time so he still gets a good amount. 

I also don’t quite see him having the same speed of thought and sharpness of Buendia, Cantwell and even Rupp or McLean of late. Some of our one touch offloads, flicks, one/twos etc have been absolutely exquisite in recent games. He gets involved sometimes, but isn’t quite there yet imo, of course he still done plenty of good stuff to get behind last night - even tracking back much better than the last game I thought.

It appears to be something that Farke can add to his game too  - look at how Rupp has transformed now after over a year at the club - he looked so sharp and completely in sync with the rest of the side last night. Who would’ve believed anyone saying that he would be running the show for us as a number 10 after last season? Even the Forest commentary singled him out for praise!

Hopefully a few more months of coaching and playing time, and we will see Dowell pulling the strings in possession just like our other midfielders are now. The fluidity of our passing at the moment is simply a joy to behold!

I do wonder though if the prem may come a little too early for Dowell due to his injury lay-offs, he’s certainly starting to build momentum but has it come too late? It won’t be long before he’s asked the question in the league above - and we know how many of those currently thriving in our side struggled last year.

That said, I do have an inkling we may just be a much much better proposition next season, and if Dowell can continue his form perhaps he will be right amongst it! 

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

16 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

Couldn't you have made a similar criticism of Emi in his early games for us? He learnt, Kieran can learn too

Nah, Buendia was always a snappy little monster, you could prob make a similar comparison with Cantwell though. His physicality has improved no end since his first performances for us 2 seasons ago! 

[AJ 1,221]

Dowell certainly adds a bit of physicality and we'll probably need it next season, but I agree I'd like to see him getting the ball back a bit more. Cantwell has certainly improved with that, and Emi is fantastic at it (his assist for Todd 2 games ago being a prime example!). I think they need to be for our formation to work, it buys a lot of time for our fullbacks to get back, or creates opportunities to break

[Boris 56]

Farke is predictable and  I can  say that one of his main rules is if team or player performed so well he not make  any changes next game... 

Unfortunately for our best player, Emi will start from the bench on Saturday imo.

[Six Pack 93]

OK after one game against the bottom team - we now have a player who can keep Buendia on the bench ??!!

I have an idea - why not sell Dowell to Arsenal for £40m and we keep Buendia

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

3 hours ago, Six Pack said:

OK after one game against the bottom team - we now have a player who can keep Buendia on the bench ??!!

I have an idea - why not sell Dowell to Arsenal for £40m and we keep Buendia

Fantastic suggestion 😆!

Genuinely find it a bit ridiculous that people think we can drop Buendia. Dowell has been good for 120 minutes, Buendia has been god-like just about all season - he makes everyone in the team play better, Dowell is simply not close to Buendia (at this moment in time). That is not a criticism of Dowell.

Yes Farke doesn’t like to change things when players are performing well but he does make exceptions for his best players:

- Krul came straight back in for McGovern / Barden after both were far more impressive than expected.

- Gibson came straight back in for Zimmerman after he barely put a foot wrong in the 4 games versus Coventry, Rotherham, Birmingham and Wycombe (we won all 4 games and conceded one goal).

- Giannoulis came straight in for Sorenson despite his most recent league game being described by Farke as ‘the best performance by any left back in the championship this season’ (versus Bristol City). 

The only reason I can see for dropping Buendia now is that Farke is 100% confident we will lose him in the summer and wants to keep things how they are to see if we can keep playing without him... that’s it! And even that seems a risk.

If I was Buendia and dropped under these circumstances I would be on the floor waving my arms at Farke for at least 10 minutes of uninterrupted gesturing.

[Gordon Bennett 783]

Nice problem to have! 

Wasn't rocket science that Dowell would improve with more minutes on the pitch, could be quite an asset for us going forward. 

[Canary Wundaboy 1,359]

Dowell hasn’t likely been dealing with a screaming baby all week, possibly with very little sleep. I’m eager to see Emi back too, but if he’s not well rested and ready for the game he’d be better off starting on the bench!

[AJ 1,221]

12 hours ago, Boris said:

Farke is predictable and  I can  say that one of his main rules is if team or player performed so well he not make  any changes next game... 

Unfortunately for our best player, Emi will start from the bench on Saturday imo.

This has been true at times, but not so much this season. Gibson coming straight back into the side recently, and Cantwell. He even threw Dimi straight in ahead of the in-form Sorensen. He'll go with the best XI he thinks he needs as long as they are fit, and you can't keep your best player out of the team if he's ready to play.

[AJ 1,221]

10 minutes ago, Canary Wundaboy said:

Dowell hasn’t likely been dealing with a screaming baby all week, possibly with very little sleep. I’m eager to see Emi back too, but if he’s not well rested and ready for the game he’d be better off starting on the bench!

I'm not sure if you've had children, but the first week is usually by far the easiest of the first 6 months. Baby usually sleeps a lot!

Edited March 19, 2021 by AJ