Westwood

[sage owl]

5 hours ago, longreach said:

  He maybe the new manager before the end of the week!!

I'd prefer that to pulis or sol Campbell. 

[DeBilde'sTea]

No thanks. Been there, done that and got the training top. 

Fine keeper a few years back but time to move on.

[PortlandOwl]

6 hours ago, nickswfc said:

Will be first team keeper before the end of the year

Then he'll fall out with new manager. 

[Quist]

Westwood is very good keeper but has persistent injury problem which means can not train properly. He will be ok at first after rest but then gets injured and performs poorly. Does not like to admit carrying knock so is horrendous. That is why he has been sidelined. When Bruce came he had several months without playing and stayed free of problem. Injury returned at start of new season and he was woeful.

OK in short term few games but no long term solution.

 

Dawson and Wildsmith have basics but do not seem able to step up to level required on a permenant 

[0114]

One thing I believe Monk was right on with the Westwood situation.

You don’t get frozen out twice for no reason. 

 

However I do think a new manager would possibly use him. But long term we really need to move away from Kieran Westwood. 

[BIG D]

Just now, 0114 said:

One thing I believe Monk was right on with the Westwood situation.

You don’t get frozen out twice for no reason. 

 

However I do think a new manager would possibly use him. But long term we really need to move away from Kieran Westwood. 

 

Frozen out by 2 sh it managers but not the 2 decent ones we've had.

+ Bullen brought him straight back in.

[trevdi9]

5 hours ago, mcmigo said:

I wonder if he still runs around the penalty box like he is being chased by Benny Hill?  

rather have that than a keeper parrying the ball out to their strikers and saying you have a pop

[@owlstalk]

1 minute ago, BIG D said:

 

Frozen out by 2 sh it managers but not the 2 decent ones we've had.

+ Bullen brought him straight back in.

 

 

What did the decent managers win?

[0114]

Just now, BIG D said:

 

Frozen out by 2 sh it managers but not the 2 decent ones we've had.

+ Bullen brought him straight back in.

Well I assume the next manager will probably use him. 
 

But I still think both Jos and Monk way have been just in their decision. 

[trevdi9]

4 hours ago, Dutch McLovin said:

As long as we havent registered 25 first team players over the age of 21 (i think its 21) we can register him and he can play in the next game.

we have Three spaces left apparently 

[George]

Good managers can handle big players and big egos.

 

I am however disappointed that this thread is about him playing and not about him being the new boss.

[BIG D]

David Stockdale still has ambitions of becoming Birmingham City’s Number One after being handed a lifeline by new head coach Pep Clotet.

The former Brighton goalkeeper, who joined on a free transfer in 2017, was frozen out by Garry Monk last season and made to train with the kids at Wast Hills.

 

 

It was also alleged the club’s younger players were spoken to about signing with Monk’s agent.

Monk declined to address those allegations when releasing a statement, saying: “I am aware of certain disappointing comments the Club has made in the wake of my dismissal. Mindful of my contractual obligations, it is not my intention, certainly not at this stage, to engage with those comments.”

 

 

Giuseppe Bellusci was frozen out by Garry Monk because the manager was clear he did not want the defender at the training ground, according to a report.

The Yorkshire Evening Post claim that Monk was clear when he was installed at Elland Road in the summer that the temperamental Italian defender “had to leave”.

It is said that Bellusci has “for so long [been] perceived as a bad apple at [training base] Thorp Arch” and the former Swansea manager did not want the atmosphere among the players to be negatively affected.

 

 

George Friend

For five-and-a-half years, George Friend was Boro's first-choice left-back. When he was fit, he played. His inclusion was a Saturday afternoon staple on Teesside.

But that all changed under Monk. The 30-year-old made just two league starts in four months after losing his place to Fabio.

While at the time, the Brazilian defender seemed to fit Monk's more fluid playing style more than Friend, it still must have been a wrench for a player whose confidence was on the floor following relegation from the Premier League.

 

He kept his professionalism and took his medicine on the Boro sidelines, but Friend must have become disillusioned. He'd only be human if his demotion affected him.

"Shaky". That was the word Pulis used to describe the full-back upon taking charge, presumably because of both a lack of game-time under Monk and a sapped confidence.

Yet Friend has been ever-present under the new regime, back in the Boro XI and enjoying his football again.

 

He's since hailed Pulis as a "real leader", a motivator, an inspiring man-manager who leaves nobody in any doubt over what is expected of them.

Had Monk remained in charge for the long-term, there's every chance that Friend would have been forced to look elsewhere and end his six-year association with Boro.

 

 

Ryan Shotton

Two league starts. That's all Ryan Shotton managed under Monk, a statistic made all the more peculiar given it was the ex-Boro boss who brought him to the club.

In many ways, the 29-year-old's experience summed up all that was wrong with the old Boro regime.

 

He was drafted in for his debut in the home draw against Brentford in September, then dropped for the next game. In fact, Shotton wasn't seen again for the best part of three months, other than in a Checkatrade Trophy game for the Under-21s at Blackpool.

Most of the time, he wasn't even in the Boro matchday 18 - behind Dael Fry in the pecking order. He became something of a parody. 'Where's Ryan Shotton?' It's a question that fans asked each other almost by the week.

 

Yet now he's one of Boro's most important players under Pulis, drafted in at right-back to offer more defensive solidity. He's arguably Boro's standout signing of the last 12 months.

If Shotton wasn't already at Boro when Pulis arrived, there's little doubt that the Welshman would have gone out and signed him during the January transfer window. He's that valuable to this team.

It seems bizarre, given we are so used to it now under Pulis, that Monk did not use Shotton's long-throw missiles as an attacking weapon. Not once. Not even late on in matches.

For the player, tonight's trip to Birmingham takes on extra significance, up against his former club on what is his first return to St Andrew's since departing in the summer.

One thing is for certain - Shotton will be in Boro's starting XI this evening. He's probably the first name on Pulis' teamsheet.

 

 

Adam Clayton

It's been a season of torment for Boro's previously ever-present midfielder.

Before a ball was kicked at Wolves back in August 2017, Adam Clayton had missed just 12 league matches in total since joining Boro in the summer of 2014.

He - like Friend - had been virtually ever-present since arriving. Whatever division, whoever the opponents, Clayton played.

 

During the early days of Monk's reign, that trend continued. Clayton featured in 12 of the first 14 league matches under the new boss - but then disappeared seemingly overnight.

Clayton started just twice in the league from October 14 to Monk's sacking 10 weeks later. Most of the time, he wasn't named in the matchday squad. It led to a disgruntled dig from a family member which set social media alight.

 

Why is "the best defensive midfielder in the Championship" moving house in Harrogate rather than helping Boro avoid another away day flop at Millwall? It felt like a valid question at the time.

While Clayton is far from a guaranteed starter under Pulis, he'll be relieved to at least be back in and around the first-team picture. He's come off the bench in each of Boro's last three league fixtures, a go-to option if Pulis needs to shore things up.

Given Grant Leadbitter's absence at Birmingham tonight, as he begins a two-match suspension, there's every chance that Clayton will be in Boro's starting XI.

And one thing is for sure. The player will be desperate to prove a point to the boss who mysteriously bombed him out.

 

 

Adama Traore

After the player's sparkling form in recent weeks, it's hard to contemplate how Monk didn't identify Adama Traore as a player worth building a team around.

For the 22-year-old is a phenomenon, a freak of a talent, arguably the most electrifying right-wing weapon in the entire division.

Nobody can do what he can. Nobody has his explosive pace. No defence in the Championship can contain him when at his best.

 

Yet Monk, and many of us on Teesside at the time, questioned whether Boro could rely on a player with such an unpredictable output. It was a relationship of extremes - his heroics at Bolton followed by a red card at Aston Villa, and the bus debacle at Barnsley.

The first thing many expected when Pulis took over the Riverside reins was for him to move Traore on. The general assumption was that the winger couldn't offer the discipline required under the new regime.

But even Pulis quickly acknowledged that Traore is a game-changer. "Unstoppable" was the word used by the Welshman to describe his star man following another match-winning contribution against Leeds on Friday night.

 

He may have a few rough edges, but what he can do is exhilarating, something rarely seen during the Riverside era or even beyond.

Did Monk see that? If not, why not? And if he did, how could he leave a player of that talent out of the side?

Traore has already spoken of the work Pulis has done with him on the training pitches at Rockliffe. With the ball, he's been given a freedom to go and express himself. But out of possession, he is told to quickly get back into shape.

 

Pulis has previously claimed the player is not fully fit, and that he tires in the second half of matches. So just imagine what Traore could be with a full pre-season under his belt.

Monk often warned Traore that he wouldn't be selected in Boro's line-up unless he sacrificed some of his individual instinct for the good of the team.

But it's that instinct that makes the player such a powerful weapon. There's a balance to be had - and working under Pulis, Traore seems to have found it.

 

 

Patrick Bamford

He's the toast of Teesside after scoring six goals in his last three games. Finally Patrick Bamford has been given the central role he's been craving for years.

It never happened under Monk, and when he did play he was often utilised as a makeshift winger.

 

For Britt Assombalonga was the undisputed No 9 at the beginning of the season. He started every league match under Monk, and scored 12 goals to his credit. But regardless of what he did on the training pitch, Bamford knew he was never a long-term option up front.

 

His fortunes have since transformed. The 24-year-old has had to bide his time, but now seems to have convinced Pulis that he deserves a stint up front.

Bamford now looks to be Boro's first-choice striker. Pulis has been suitably impressed with the player's application - and believes he can be as good as any centre-forward in the Championship on his day.

 

That will be music to Bamford's ears, a player who feels he wasn't given a proper chance during his unsuccessful stints at Crystal Palace, Norwich and Burnley. For a long time this season, it looked like the writing was on the wall for him on Teesside too.

However, Bamford will head to St Andrew's desperate to continue his goalscoring run - and deliver a clear message to Monk. 'Why didn't you play me up front?'

 

 

 

[BIG D]

12 minutes ago, @owlstalk said:

 

 

What did the decent managers win?

 

What apart from Big Ron has any manager won?

[Hookowl]

1 hour ago, BIG D said:

Any manager coming in will ask about Westwood 

 

Any decent manager coming in won't.................he'll know the score

[BIG D]

Just now, Hookowl said:

 

Any decent manager coming in won't.................he'll know the score

 

Didn't Steve Bruce get the memo then?

 

#

[trevdi9]

great post big D  glad someone else did their research 

[Guest hk_owl]

I doubt there is a way back for Westwood... but lessons need to be learned. Some of our best prospects and greatest talent over the last few years has been frozen out and have cost us money for nothing. Big clubs don’t do that.

[BIG D]

Just now, trevdi9 said:

great post big D  glad someone else did their research 

 

Thing is Trev it takes 5 mins.

 

Just search 'Garry Monk frozen out' and whichever club he's been at.

I think he's been the wrong'un all along

[james o connor]

People go on like we are talking about ederson being frozen out . We are talking about a 35 year old past it journeyman with persistent fitness issues . Jeez

[@owlstalk]

1 minute ago, BIG D said:

 

Thing is Trev it takes 5 mins.

 

Just search 'Garry Monk frozen out' and whichever club he's been at.

I think he's been the wrong'un all along

 

 

 

 

 

that's amazing

 

Just search 'Does Donald Trump think Aliens are real?' and you'll get positive results for that

or "is the moon made out of cheese?"

 

Literally anything