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Connor Wood

Discussion in 'City Talk' started by Plastic Bantam, Sep 24, 2019.

  1. Plastic Bantam

    Plastic Bantam Fringe Player

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    This lad needs to be given a new long term contract sooner rather than later. He is improving every game his defending is getting better and better, very rarely beaten by an opposition player and his positioning has stopped certain goals on 3 or 4 occasions that I can recall.

    He has the attributes to have a very good career at championship level. has one of the best deliveries of a first time ball I have seen down at city for a long long time. It's a crime to football that Adam Chicksen got played before him last season.

    Hopefully the club recognise what a talent he is and offer him a new long term contract either at the end of this season or before.
     
  2. Faithful Bantam

    Faithful Bantam Squad Player

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    To think, Adam Chicksen was chose over him last season....

    A season of League 2 football is perfect for his development. I think he's got a great future. He could be a big money player in 18 months-2 years and we do need to make sure he's suitably contracted.

    Meredith was a good left back, but I think this lad has a higher ceiling. He's better on the ball, has a much better delivery and is rapidly learning the art of positioning.
     
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  3. JonButterfield

    JonButterfield Star Player
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    Oh God...

    Try not to get involved, Jon, keep out of it...

    Higher ceiling than Meredith... Positioning... This will be difficult...
     
  4. Faithful Bantam

    Faithful Bantam Squad Player

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    I'm confident in that statement. I think he'll play many more games at championship level and above than Meredith.
     
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  5. borderlescott

    borderlescott Squad Player

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    Agree with Plastic's OP - Wood has come in and made the position his own.

    For me it shows the benefit of having a natural left footer there and not a right back filling in doing the job, as we so often see there (and was the case with Henley).

    With Henley we rarely ventured forward on the overlap or had the possibility of a cross delivered from deep. We now have that option from Wood, along with the attack-minded Mellor on the other side, and the side looks much better balanced for us.

    How Chicksen got himself a deal at Bolton is anyone's guess. Absolute waste of space. Wood is proving an upgrade this year.
     
  6. vin weasel

    vin weasel Squad Player
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    They are desperate. Quite clearly.
     
  7. Plastic Bantam

    Plastic Bantam Fringe Player

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    His ability to put in a final ball is much better than Meredith's was.. and look over the last few games when he's forced the attacker to make a decision (in particularly the Northampton game) and he did it against Carlisle. Meredith was an excellent defender but also got caught on the counter attack a fair bit.. This is taking nothing away from Meredith who was consistently very good for us over the years.

    However his inability to put a final ball into the box is clearly a reason he never moved up quicker than he did.
     
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  8. borderlescott

    borderlescott Squad Player

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    They are desperate but they have still turned down other players. Chris Taylor and Billy Clarke were there on trial earlier in the year and didn't get deals. Chicksen must have one hell of an agent as anyone who scouted him would have seen he was shite and his personal stats on Wyscout etc could have hardly shown him in a good light either.
     
  9. JonButterfield

    JonButterfield Star Player
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    Wood is a better crosser than Meredith, if that's what you mean.

    But as a defender? Not at that level.
     
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  10. JonButterfield

    JonButterfield Star Player
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    Do you have those stats? Wouldn't mind seeing them if they're available?
     
  11. Plastic Bantam

    Plastic Bantam Fringe Player

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    I'm not expecting him to be at the level Meredith was when he left us.. However give him a watch over the next couple games, see how many times he gets beaten and doesn't recover to put a tackle in.. He has BAGS of potential and if he keeps going he will surpass Meredith's career in my opinion. He needs a 2 year extension with an option sooner rather than later. He's only going to get better and his demands will likely increase with it
     
  12. Faithful Bantam

    Faithful Bantam Squad Player

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    I don't think wood has been exposed defensively this season and indeed, I think he's been better than Mellor.

    Worth keeping in mind that he's 2 years younger than Meredith was when he signed and played his first full season at this level. Prior to that, the only regular football that Meredith had played was non-league.

    I'd actually argue that what Wood has shown so far is as good if not better than what Meredith showed in his first few months here.
     
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  13. bantam2708

    bantam2708 Squad Player
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    He was their third choice signing at LB. Signed a lad from preston who got injured and then a lad from blackpool who was in a car crash. Chicksen will be binned when they're back.
     
  14. Idlebantam

    Idlebantam Squad Player
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    Totally agree. I have liked Wood since day one. There was just something about him to me that suggested we had a potentially good player on our hands

    It must have been very difficult for a youngster such as he, coming into the shambles of last season though

    He will have seem Longridge brought in early pre season, and wondered whether he had a future here.

    Fair play to the lad, due to Bowyer been reluctant to play Longridge, and Henleys early injury, he has reverted to left back, and is making the position his own with some accomplished and consistent performances.

    I too hope that it is not too long before the management and board look at extending his contract
     
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  15. loz

    loz Impact Sub

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    Mezza is certainly better down the line
     
  16. JonButterfield

    JonButterfield Star Player
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    The few times Wood been exposed, he has been able to recover. Had that not been the case, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

    Meredith generally wasn't having to recover from his own errors. He also made more attacking runs.

    If Wood can continue to recover situations it won't really matter - but he couldn't do that in League One last season. Can he next year?
     
  17. Faithful Bantam

    Faithful Bantam Squad Player

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    I disagree about Meredith. He was exposed and his pace bailed him out. Meredith was up and down the line more, agree there. And I'd like to see Wood overlap more, but he'll learn when to do that through experience.

    Last year was Wood's first pro year, in probably the harshest of circumstances and usually with no one in front of him for protection.

    My expectation is that at the start of the 21/22 season - which will put Wood at a similar age to Meredith was when he signed here, he'll be ahead of Meredith in terms of development and I'd wager that he'll be in demand by Championship clubs at that point.

    Time will tell, but I genuinely believe he'll play more games in the top 2 flights than Meredith and will go for much more money (fees) over his career.
     
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  18. borderlescott

    borderlescott Squad Player

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    It costs an arm and a leg to subscribe to Wyscout for the layman.

    Have look in the City Match Videos section of this forum (accessible from the home page before you click into City talk) where Dmitry posts up the video highlights and report for the City games. Not sure how far back they go though, for a comparison with Chicksen.

    EDIT: looks like some of the old files have been removed from last season so it won't be possible to see the PDF's with Chicksen.

    But still, keep an eye out for Wood's stats going forward.

    Here they are for the Carlisle game

    Defensive duels won: 6/7
    Offensive duels won: 3/7
    Aerial duel won: 1/2
    Loose balls won: 0/1
    Interceptions: 0
    Sliding tackles won: 1/1
    Forward passes accurate: 15/20
    Back passes accurate: 4/4
    Lateral passes accurate: 11/13
    Progressive passes accurate: 10/11
    Accurate passes to final third: 10/12

    .....his distribution %'s were higher than Mellor in that Carlisle game fwiw.
     
    #18 borderlescott, Sep 24, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2019
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  19. borderlescott

    borderlescott Squad Player

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    Ah right. that explains that one. Ta
     
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  20. HUDDERSSBANTAM

    HUDDERSSBANTAM Squad Player

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    Meredith was that good we didn't need a left midfield player. It was like having 12 men.
     

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