Most of these dodgy twitter rumour sites do to be honest.Feels like clickbait this one. Not sure why we’d sign Woodyard tbh.
Feels like clickbait this one. Not sure why we’d sign Woodyard tbh.
Most of these dodgy twitter rumour sites do to be honest.
Saying that, I was reading up about him, and he does tick a few boxes that might be useful to us.
a, he comes as a free
b, he's been captain for Wimbledon for the last 2 seasons from midfield, and we could do with more leadership in that area.
c, he has experience at L1 level.
The downside of course is that he was part of a relegated side.
Dons boss Mark Bowen hails the influence of captain Alex Woodyard since his arrival
Woodyard, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has only missed six minutes of League One football this season when he has started the game.londonnewsonline.co.uk
Conversely, I thought this sounded the most plausible link so far:
- captain of Wimbledon and as Emu's link suggests, the kind of character we value
- google suggests he's ranked in the top 10 League 1 players for tackles made, so fits with the data-led approach (we also don't really have a purely defensive-focused midfielder in the squad)
- a journeyman non-league/lower league background and never played higher than League 1, so unlikely to be of interest to the upper L1 clubs with whom we are unable to compete financially
If or when Woodyard or any other player comes in they will compete with not automatically replace someoneSo if Woodward comes in who does he replace?
If that doesn't make me renew my season tickets then nothing will!journeyman non-league/lower league background and never played higher than League 1, so unlikely to be of interest to the upper L1 clubs with whom we are unable to compete financially
I'd say more added competition than replaceSo if Woodward comes in who does he replace?
So what happens to Jordan Houghton?
I think it's safe to say that we won't go for Scott Sinclair. Ageing, waning players expecting a big wage (by our standards) are not our style, so not ideal. May signed a new contract earlier this year.Would we go for scott sinclair an ideal player 32 but still get us a few goals . Also alfie may from Cheltenham on a free.. contract expires in July.
Houghton sits deep but he is there to play passes and start attacking moves. I think in some games, particularly against better teams where it's harder to dominate possession, we could use a defensive midfielder whose role is to make tackles and disrupt the opposition. Either alongside Houghton, or potentially as an alternative. Not something we have in the squad atm.
(NB I had never heard of Woodyard until his name was mentioned on this thread - not necessarily saying he is this type of player, just that it would make sense if he is)
Agree. He’s ok but lacks anything specific. Randell has such an eye for a pass and can be the deep lying playmaker that we need.I’m still not convinced about Houghton personally. I don’t think he actually does start moves nor provides enough defensive security - for me he’s not a great tackler shown by the amount of yellows he’s had (and red) many of them because an opponent gets goal side of him.
I really want to see Randell given more game time - he seems a better tackler than Houghton and I also think he passes the ball quicker with either foot and more forward passes into midfield rather than Houghtons style which is more to play short passes into the defenders or wing backs.