Brandon Williams is a tactical anomaly...

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

...who should not be playing ahead of Giannoulis week in week out. 

I have been banging this drum for weeks and I'm not seeing too much from Williams to change my mind, yet continue to see Giannoulis offer us something different, not only to Williams, but pretty much everyone else in the team .

In the interest of offering some balance, Williams did well against Arsenal away, Spurs away and Brentford away, he has some very likeable qualities and really throws himself around for someone of relatively slight build. Who doesn't love a crunching slide tackle and seeing someone get proper stuck in? I can totally understand why he should be starting particular games.

But my god, for every good game he doesn't half have some absolute stinkers (Watford at home, Leicester at home and Villa at home tonight). 

And I don't think its a coincidence his best games have come away from home when we mostly require him to defend, and his worst are in games at home where we want the team to be on the front foot.

The amount of times he receives the ball and either chops back, returns the ball to where it came from, or swivels on the spot and just hits an immediate hopeful pass with varying accuracy, without trying to work a different angle or open up some space for himself. When he is in possession, our attacks regularly seem to either lose momentum to a crawl, or simply breakdown completely. How many times has he actually put a cross in the box for all the time he's been on the pitch, too? 

And don't get me started when we have tried him at left wing back with 3 centre backs behind him, truly a painful watch every single time! I am in deep physical pain as I write this remembering how uncomfortable he looked at Everton away earlier this season. 

I actually feel a bit bad for him, has he always been a left back? I just can't fathom how anything about being at left back rather than right back is better suited for him, or the team overall. 

I think the thing that summed it up best tonight was when he had an opportunity to send the ball down along the line a couple of times, and both times the ball angled out for a throw in because a right footed pass with his instep curls outwards on the left side of the pitch... A correct-sided player would've been able to make those passes work with ease. 

Okay I appreciate so that's a niche example, and its not particularly his fault either, but it exemplifies everything that doesn't make sense about the persistence in using him there. Why not try him at right back where he might actually be comfortable coming forwards, playing passes down the line and putting crosses in?

Giannoulis at left back, on the other hand, is more than happy to receive the ball in space with no one around him and actually go around the outside of the play with his pace, he is much more incisive with his passing, he is happy to cut outside OR inside, he is happy whipping the ball in with his left foot and is actually one of the better crossers in the team at that too. Right now how many players are there in the team who offers us what Giannoulis does? Very few. 

I will accept that Williams is the slightly better defender and more tenacious than Giannoulis, but that also makes him extremely rash at times, on several occasions tonight he got hopelessly caught out trying to chase the ball when it just wasn't there to be won. I genuinely don't think there's a lot in it. 

The icing on the cake of this whole situation for me is that Williams is a player who most likely will not even be here next year, and definitely will not ever be signing permanently (unless we want to pay way over the odds for him). So I'm left to wonder why, on pretty much every single front... 

I know Smith has to change something at the next game and I would like to hope that reverting to Giannoulis would be one of the first things he does!

[Green Canary 21]

I'm with you on this one. Giannoulis looks the better option to me for most games. A better footballer full stop, and certainly better equipped to play on the left. Look at the horrible failure of a partnership between Williams and Cantwell this evening. No threat at all down that wing. I know Cantwell must take a fair bit of the blame but it was also painful to watch Williams nit providing Todd even a sniff of the ball. Even if he is more defensively solid, we simply have to pose some attacking threat..urgently..or we bow out meekly without more than a whimper. 

 

[paddycanary 583]

Agree with a lot of your logic, but on tonight's evidence I think he deserves some credit. The five between the defence & Pukki were:

- Cantwell: something's not right this season

- Placheta: only on the pitch due to other's unavailability. Doesn't offer enough protection defensively or enough guile at the business end (yet)

- Gilmour: the hype around him is really starting to grate with me now. Culpable for both turnovers that led to the goals tonight

- McLean: honest endeavour as always but imo just not a PL standard starter

- Sorensen (before Kabak's departure): decent enough in deep midfield but not a match for Douglas Luiz & McGinn combo at this stage. Good potential though.

Byram: Great to see him on the pitch again but circumstances warranted a full back who hasn't played in nearly two years in the engine room

 

Villa are an average team who won comfortably tonight away from home & hardly broke a sweat. I don't think the blame lies at Williams' door though.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

7 minutes ago, paddycanary said:

Agree with a lot of your logic, but on tonight's evidence I think he deserves some credit. The five between the defence & Pukki were:

- Cantwell: something's not right this season

- Placheta: only on the pitch due to other's unavailability. Doesn't offer enough protection defensively or enough guile at the business end (yet)

- Gilmour: the hype around him is really starting to grate with me now. Culpable for both turnovers that led to the goals tonight

- McLean: honest endeavour as always but imo just not a PL standard starter

- Sorensen (before Kabak's departure): decent enough in deep midfield but not a match for Douglas Luiz & McGinn combo at this stage. Good potential though.

Byram: Great to see him on the pitch again but circumstances warranted a full back who hasn't played in nearly two years in the engine room

Villa are an average team who won comfortably tonight away from home & hardly broke a sweat. I don't think the blame lies at Williams' door though.

I don't disagree with any of that at all, but you are misinterpreting my OP. 

I am not blaming Williams for the entire match, not even close, I actually thought McLean, Gilmour and Cantwell were all at least as bad if not worse than him tonight. And Byram but we'll excuse that given he was clearly always going to struggle out of position in those circumstances. 

What I am questioning instead is why we persist with Williams week after week when we have a much more capable option (who continues to demonstrate that IMO) sitting on the bench. A player who is actually an NCFC player at that too! 

Clearly tonight there were no better options than McLean, Gilmour, Cantwell or Byram, so whilst they all performed at least as badly as Williams I am not going to point any fingers because that is just us working with the cards that we have been dealt. 

Williams though unfortunately does not have that safety net! Lets bring Giannoulis back please.

[BaltimoreBird 127]

Was just able to watch the replay and that well ruined my night. Regardless, I just don't understand Williams ahead of Giannoulis. We're not in a position to play average defense and create zero threat. If we have to sacrifice average defense for mediocre defense in order to get the ball forward I'm all for it.

[CDMullins 504]

BW has been a disaster, a drum I have also being banging.

Which is made incredibly more frustrating by a MOTM display by Dimi.

His first though/instinct is to turn back or play sideways.

He very, very rarely takes his man on, he refuses to or is incapable of passing with his left and when he passes forward with his right he gets the angle wrong and it rolls into touch.

[Thingy 36]

Williams is a lot better at defending. I would have selected Giannoulis on the left-wing.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

5 hours ago, Thingy said:

Williams is a lot better at defending. I would have selected Giannoulis on the left-wing.

I'll agree that Williams has looked a good defender in the games he has played well in (as listed above). 

But last night he did not defend well, Matty Cash had him on toast several times...  Williams made a couple of good last ditch tackles (one in the 6 yard box in the second half in particular) but plenty of times he aggressively rushed forwards and simply surrendered his position and the space in behind when he didn't have to, one such time resulting in a yellow card for a pretty cynical pull back.

I'm not convinced he defended notably better than Giannoulis would've at all last night.  

What I am convinced about, however, is the fact that he was hopeless coming forwards and Giannoulis is an actual asset.

The suggest of Giannoulis on LW is not a bad one at all actually - Todd was probably poorer than Williams on the night too. I just don't know if we want to persist with Cantwell in the hope he might come good again? There is a great player in there somewhere, he did start last year very slowly too so maybe we can still get him to spark somehow?

[Mason 47 2,024]

Smith said prior to Utd game that there are 3 ways past a team; through them, around them or over them. 

Can only assume playing Williams was intentional as it constantly directs our play into the middle of the park (and Max seemed to constantly be chopping inside too) and it didn't work at all. Because there was no way through the out-ball was long to Pukki, which is a losing aerial battle 99/100.

Bad night all around, that was.

[Grumpy 155]

Agree with all that the OP says but we have a habit,forced or otherwise,of playing right footers on the left.Sorensen and Byram

[Jim Smith 2,654]

Agree also. Dimi gives us an outball or “out route” down the left that we just didn’t have last night. All they had to do was press Williams in the first half snd we went backwards or sideways and got stuck. 

[Jim Smith 2,654]

28 minutes ago, Mason 47 said:

Smith said prior to Utd game that there are 3 ways past a team; through them, around them or over them. 

Can only assume playing Williams was intentional as it constantly directs our play into the middle of the park (and Max seemed to constantly be chopping inside too) and it didn't work at all. Because there was no way through the out-ball was long to Pukki, which is a losing aerial battle 99/100.

Bad night all around, that was.

We had two right footers on the left and a left footed right winger. It’s no wonder everything was coming into the middle. 

[Worthy Nigelton 1,334]

I haven't spoken to one Norwich fan who doesn't share this opinion. Williams is brave and tough and works hard but he is severely lacking in quality and is clearly not at the level of Giannoulis as a footballer. Agree 100%.

[Jim Smith 2,654]

8 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

I haven't spoken to one Norwich fan who doesn't share this opinion. Williams is brave and tough and works hard but he is severely lacking in quality and is clearly not at the level of Giannoulis as a footballer. Agree 100%.

I don’t think he’s lacking in quality. He’s just a natural right back. 

[Google Bot 3,995]

Williams is constantly across the pitch involved in action, I think questions need to pointed at Max, who still is only performing at a fraction of his capability.  If Williams played as precautious as Max, he'd be defensively better, but we'd lose a lot of of his positives.

Williams at RB, Dimi at LB for me.  We'd have two hungry performers sharing the workload then, both putting a better shift in. 

As stated above, Williams not a natural LB.  A move there would be an improvement in his play and gives Max a rest, who just looks like he's going through the motions at times.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Google Bot

[hogesar 10,949]

Williams has been very good for us, and was one of the better players last night.

However, i'd have played Gianoullis or at least brought him on. I heard he was slightly suffering with illness though?

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

1 hour ago, Google Bot said:

Williams is constantly across the pitch involved in action, I think questions need to pointed at Max, who still is only performing at a fraction of his capability.  If Williams played as precautious as Max, he'd be defensively better, but we'd lose a lot of of his positives.

Williams at RB, Dimi at LB for me.  We'd have two hungry performers sharing the workload then, both putting a better shift in. 

As stated above, Williams not a natural LB.  A move there would be an improvement in his play and gives Max a rest, who just looks like he's going through the motions at times.

I recall you suggesting this before and I am warming to the idea. 

Aarons can work space for himself so well but rarely does he drive into it. The amount of times he edges past his opponent but then jinks back on himself! He is clearly lacking a bit of confidence. 

Williams would be a much better attacking threat on the right than on the left, I am sure, and he certainly wouldn't be a worse defender - so why not?

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

28 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Williams has been very good for us, and was one of the better players last night.

However, i'd have played Gianoullis or at least brought him on. I heard he was slightly suffering with illness though?

Very good in some games, very bad in others, I think it would be fair to say. 

As others have rightly pointed out he certainly wasn't the worst player for us last night (and that was never the intention of my OP), but he appeared to almost completely capitulate in the second half:

• Tried to take on two Villa players in the middle of the park which nearly led to them scoring 
• Failed to control the ball in fairly simple situations (I can think of at least 3 times) 
• Gave away possession sloppily on multiple occasions (sometimes he did okay though)
• Got caught out diving into tackles
• The best one though was when he decided to take a throw-in 50 yards further back from where it should've been taken to throw the ball to Krul on the by-line, who was then immediately was put under pressure and scuffed his clearance to the exact same point where our throw-in should've been taken at the first place. It really was comical to watch...

I think to say he was 'one of our better players' on the night is probably worded a little favourably to him, I would go with 'he was not as bad as our worst performers'.

But again, this is not the point of the OP. The point of the OP was to question why we persist with him when Giannoulis is the better option. I would be writing the same thing about Gilmour right now if we had Normann sitting on the bench, for example. 

And yes I saw another post after my OP that he was showing symptoms but not sure where that came from, if so then fair enough, but if he's not well enough to come on I would question why on earth he would be on the bench?!