Top assister for the club in prem and maybe all comps. All the guy needs is time and at 24 years he's got an upwards trajectory we just need to sit back and enjoy the ride. I also like the fact he doesn't take pens atm let him work for his goals the old fashion way 😉

3 assists for our last 3 goals. Not to be sniffed at.

Yet again, this lad makes some amazing runs and regularly finds space, that just begs for him to be played in.  Now, quite what he would do in the event that he was actually played in is another question, but it would be awesome for us to find out sometime!  

Chillwell, Mason, Kova, Jorno, Azpi - All guilty today of missing glaring opportunities to put him through on goal, by slipping him in with a through ball - but instead, they all took the easy option, and played backwards/sideways - or in Azpi's case, panicked and didnt pass at all!

On the worrying side, Michael Owen summed it up today - saying something like (Paraphrasing) " I get uncomfortable watching him - He doesn't look like a natural footballer. His feet are wrong, in the wrong position, and he does things he shouldn't do. In the first half he was through on goal and should have taken it left, but instead cut back into trouble on his right. For the pen, he should have gone around the keeper to the right, but instead shanked the ball over to the left and was never getting there. His instincts are not right for a striker"

 

Did well today, felt sorry for him for a lot of that, no idea how or why people are just ignoring every run he makes. He could've been in a good 5 times if someone actually looked up. 

28 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

He was fun to watch tonight. I was glad he was on the pitch.

Did he get a knock? Or was that bandaging of the leg after he was subbed they showed on my stream just part of some fancy pants new age warmdown?

Also why wasn't that a red for Ramsdale?

Last man or clear goal scoring opportunity penalties arent always a red know this season, if the ref deems the challenge to be a genuine attempt to play the ball, even it was an open goal, its a yellow and a penalty. 

Im not even sure Werner was getting the ball either so it was never a red for me.

Played really well today and swatted away the reporters question about lack of goals nicely as well.

Edited February 7, 20215 yr by 2211

I’ve always liked Werner. He gives 100% every game and that’s good enough for me, it gives me the patience to support him even when he’s woefully out of form.

I’m so pleased he got MOTM, he fully deserved it! I felt sorry for him past few weeks when he gave it his all and had no luck.

Fingers crossed he will build on this performance and rediscover his scoring touch.

Solid performance and critical assists again. Would like some goals - he needs to start getting back into the 6 yard box for some tap ins. 

Works so well with Mason when we press high they frighten the life out of most Defenders drawing mistakes. 

5 hours ago, PhilH930 said:

Solid performance and critical assists again. Would like some goals - he needs to start getting back into the 6 yard box for some tap ins. 

When Havertz comes back Werner should play centrally while Mount and Havertz have this role as inside forwards/AMs behind him, that way he should be getting into more chances to score. 

12 hours ago, nonotnowjim said:

On the worrying side, Michael Owen summed it up today - saying something like (Paraphrasing) " I get uncomfortable watching him - He doesn't look like a natural footballer. His feet are wrong, in the wrong position, and he does things he shouldn't do. In the first half he was through on goal and should have taken it left, but instead cut back into trouble on his right. For the pen, he should have gone around the keeper to the right, but instead shanked the ball over to the left and was never getting there. His instincts are not right for a striker"

 

Well someone should've asked Owen how is it that this guy scored something like 34 goals and had around 15 assists last season if he doesn't have the right instincts. 

He maybe isn't scoring the way he did last season, but the guy is basically responsible for us winning our last 2 matches. 

Edited February 8, 20215 yr by mm24

12 hours ago, Slojo said:

Did well today, felt sorry for him for a lot of that, no idea how or why people are just ignoring every run he makes. He could've been in a good 5 times if someone actually looked up. 

Same reason as Torres was pants because Malouda wouldn't pass to him.

 

 

*****Not getting at you specifically, yours was just the latest to post this "theory"*******

10 minutes ago, yorkleyblue said:

Same reason as Torres was pants because Malouda wouldn't pass to him.

*****Not getting at you specifically, yours was just the latest to post this "theory"*******

Jeez we tried everything to get him to score a goal. Including hiring Rafa and buying Benayoun because they were apparently close. I wonder if Werner will be the same.

Just on Owen's comments on Werner I think his comment on his first touch were pretty well spot on. You see it in build up. He has a bit of a loose first touch that means he doesn't work well in tight spaces. It's not quite Lukakuesque but it's not great. Same for the penalty. He has a bad first touch and gets lucky that Ramsdale makes a bad call and brings him down.

The more I watch (and this confirms why Bayern didn't try and buy him) he really is all about volume shooting and running in behind. You give him 5 good shots a game and he'll score goals. Problem is that we are getting him only 1 or 2 shots in a crowd and it's not working out. 

It's a key challenge for Tuchel to solve no doubt. As much as his assist was lovely today that wasn't why we bought him.

3 hours ago, yorkleyblue said:

Same reason as Torres was pants because Malouda wouldn't pass to him.

 

 

*****Not getting at you specifically, yours was just the latest to post this "theory"*******

Think this is a bit different though Yorkley. You know I'm not Werners biggest fan at the minute, but I can't fault the lad for last game, he really put in the effort and got into good positions. I'm not going to give him sympathy for finishing like Heskey, but credit to him he's really trying. I think our side is just a bit too conservative in their play at the minute, not taking enough risks or looking up enough. 

Sheffield were actually leaving a lot of gaps and a highline and we didn't really trouble it as much as we should've done. I can't tell you how many times I saw Werner free with acres of space making a run only for the defender/midfield to pass it sideways. 

3 hours ago, Spiller86 said:

Jeez we tried everything to get him to score a goal. Including hiring Rafa and buying Benayoun because they were apparently close. I wonder if Werner will be the same.

Just on Owen's comments on Werner I think his comment on his first touch were pretty well spot on. You see it in build up. He has a bit of a loose first touch that means he doesn't work well in tight spaces. It's not quite Lukakuesque but it's not great. Same for the penalty. He has a bad first touch and gets lucky that Ramsdale makes a bad call and brings him down.

The more I watch (and this confirms why Bayern didn't try and buy him) he really is all about volume shooting and running in behind. You give him 5 good shots a game and he'll score goals. Problem is that we are getting him only 1 or 2 shots in a crowd and it's not working out. 

It's a key challenge for Tuchel to solve no doubt. As much as his assist was lovely today that wasn't why we bought him.

We signed Benayoun before we signed Torres though, we actually didn't even play Torres with Benayoun much, we let him go to Arsenal on loan for some strange reason despite having a really good preseason. One of the weirdest decisions from the club that, he practically won Arsenal about 10 points with his goal contributions alone and they finished above us that season. 

But I'm in your camp with this one at the moment, I don't have a lot of faith in Werner, and I can't get onboard with this narrative that Frank ruined him, he had more than enough chances here to have a good goal record. 

A pity you didn't score some goals then.

8 hours ago, yorkleyblue said:

Same reason as Torres was pants because Malouda wouldn't pass to him.

 

 

*****Not getting at you specifically, yours was just the latest to post this "theory"*******

Out of interest, do you think that we are playing to Werner's strengths?

I have commented a few times that there are multiple times in every games over the past few months that our players are failing to see his runs, pick a pass and play him in when he has made a run, and instead take the easy option and pass it backwards or sideways.

Now - quite what Timo would do IF played in i don't know! On current form, he would probably let it bounce of his shin, shank it out for a throw in or turn into trouble....but we wont know for sure IF we dont at least try to play to his strengths in the first place.

That isn't easy, as essentially, his strength seems to be all about having space to run into - something at a premium in the EPL. But all the time we fail to even try and pick out his runs, then he is doomed to fail from the start.

14 hours ago, nonotnowjim said:

Out of interest, do you think that we are playing to Werner's strengths?

I have commented a few times that there are multiple times in every games over the past few months that our players are failing to see his runs, pick a pass and play him in when he has made a run, and instead take the easy option and pass it backwards or sideways.

Now - quite what Timo would do IF played in i don't know! On current form, he would probably let it bounce of his shin, shank it out for a throw in or turn into trouble....but we wont know for sure IF we dont at least try to play to his strengths in the first place.

That isn't easy, as essentially, his strength seems to be all about having space to run into - something at a premium in the EPL. But all the time we fail to even try and pick out his runs, then he is doomed to fail from the start.

To be honest, I'm more concerned about him having shown very little in the way of adapting to how the various ways that Premier League teams play and almost no adaptation to how his own team plays and the tactics they are using.

It's all very well saying he makes runs, so did Torres, but whether they are the correct runs or not is disputable. 

If the entire week's training has been on drills involving playing through or around the opposition and that is apparently our choice of playing style at the moment, then Werner dashing through between centre-backs when the ball is on the half-way line would look like him still playing in a Leipzig style and either not following or not understanding the team's overall game-plan.

That coupled with the same level of ball control as my dog with a tennis ball, and the instinctive scoring ability of Norman Wisdom mean that, as with Havertz, I have seen not much yet in a Chelsea shirt to convince me that we were 100% right to throw away the receipt.  Perhaps we still have the confirmation email. 

If his only strength is that he scores 1 in 10 when sprinting into the spaces in behind, as some have claimed and which would appear to be confirmed by some of the Bundesliga fans we have had join recently,  then he will never be a great striker in a league where the vast majority of opposition teams don't leave space in behind for him to sprint into, regardless of whether our mid-field three are Mineiro, Craig Burley and Yossi Benayoun or prime Pirlo, prime Cesc and the youthful Thiago Alcantara

I know there are fan-boys for both of those players who believe we need to rebuild the entire team and adapt our playing style and tactics to suit them, but that would be quite the silliest thing to do if it turns out we have bought this year's Sutton and Jokanovic.

Very worrying all the reports coming out about him at the moment. I have defended him even though his goal return has been shocking, by saying he will come good, and is he contributing in other ways, esp the last two games. However, after all the clear cut chances he kept missing and Lampard showing faith and defending him in the media, and us fans defending him, he's got some nerve.

After Sundays game in his post match interview he said it helps not being played as winger anymore, and now he's coming out saying before the new manager came in we were wondering how we were going to get top 4. I'm sorry but when you have been woefully awful this year, you don't have the right to frank under the bus. I came on here so critical of souness saying Werner cost Lamps the job, because we support our team and players, but there's a good case to suggest that if he put away half the sitters he was given Frank wouldn't of been sacked. Its a real slap in the face to us supporters tbh, he needs to do less talking and more scoring, winning a few penalties isnt going to cut it. 

19 minutes ago, Oli said:

Very worrying all the reports coming out about him at the moment. I have defended him even though his goal return has been shocking, by saying he will come good, and is he contributing in other ways, esp the last two games. However, after all the clear cut chances he kept missing and Lampard showing faith and defending him in the media, and us fans defending him, he's got some nerve.

After Sundays game in his post match interview he said it helps not being played as winger anymore, and now he's coming out saying before the new manager came in we were wondering how we were going to get top 4. I'm sorry but when you have been woefully awful this year, you don't have the right to frank under the bus. I came on here so critical of souness saying Werner cost Lamps the job, because we support our team and players, but there's a good case to suggest that if he put away half the sitters he was given Frank wouldn't of been sacked. Its a real slap in the face to us supporters tbh, he needs to do less talking and more scoring, winning a few penalties isnt going to cut it. 

I agree Oli. Both are wrong, it's unfair to say Werner cost Frank his job, even though yes if Werner had scored even half his chances Frank might have still been in a job, but who really knows. Those last 8 weeks under Frank we weren't creating chances anyway, so I don't think so. As for Werner, he doesn't need to throw Frank under the bus like that, it is disrespectful. It's like Morata throwing Conte or Sarri under the bus, when it's him who's squandered all their chances. 

I will say that I don't think Frank correctly utilised him, since we were barely making any effort to have him as our runner and get the ball up to him, which we are still struggling with. But still, Frank tried with Werner, there's no need for that attitude with him. 

6 minutes ago, Slojo said:

I agree Oli. Both are wrong, it's unfair to say Werner cost Frank his job, even though yes if Werner had scored even half his chances Frank might have still been in a job, but who really knows. Those last 8 weeks under Frank we weren't creating chances anyway, so I don't think so. As for Werner, he doesn't need to throw Frank under the bus like that, it is disrespectful. It's like Morata throwing Conte or Sarri under the bus, when it's him who's squandered all their chances. 

I will say that I don't think Frank correctly utilised him, since we were barely making any effort to have him as our runner and get the ball up to him, which we are still struggling with. But still, Frank tried with Werner, there's no need for that attitude with him. 

Yep and most of us on here have agreed, that there is certainly an argument to say maybe he was not utilised properly, and most probably Lampard would of lost his job either way. But we as a fan base we have been divided on him with most sticking up for him and giving him the benefit of the doubt. All he needs to do is actually repay that faith with better performances, not come out day after day having digs at a man who defended you for ultimately your own terrible terrible form. I'm not sure if he thinks he's suddenly become Ronaldinho over night, since Tuchel has arrived because he has won us a few penalties, but he needs to shut up, get his head down and concentrate on getting goals and assists, because until he does that, he has no right to criticize anyone else. 

18 hours ago, M.M.B said:

A pity you didn't score some goals then.

And who is this "Metro Sport Reporter" ? People will believe anything these days evem when there's no logic behind it.Just like in that Rudiger situation lol

Edited February 9, 20215 yr by mm24

22 minutes ago, mm24 said:

And who is this "Metro Sport Reporter" ? People will believe anything these days evem when there's no logic behind it.Just like in that Rudiger situation lol

He started it with comments on tv, and its being reported in a few newspapers today with direct quotes about the other stuff he's been saying now. There's no need for it. We want Tuchel to do well, we want Timo to do well. But don't sit there after being a letdown this year and throw Lampard under the bus for your failings. 

3 minutes ago, Oli said:

He started it with comments on tv, and its being reported in a few newspapers today with direct quotes about the other stuff he's been saying now. There's no need for it. We want Tuchel to do well, we want Timo to do well. But don't sit there after being a letdown this year and throw Lampard under the bus for your failings. 

In his post match interview he said that it's good for him not playing on the wing because he has more freedom to run in the middle.If that's a dig at Lampard then you're right lol

3 hours ago, mm24 said:

In his post match interview he said that it's good for him not playing on the wing because he has more freedom to run in the middle.If that's a dig at Lampard then you're right lol

He didn't play down the middle, he played inside forward.

1 hour ago, coco said:

He didn't play down the middle, he played inside forward.

Still has more freedom to run in the middle

Edited February 9, 20215 yr by mm24