Ward offering more evidence that his time at the top level of football has come to an abrupt end. Thankfully we have Taylor to fill that. He’s far from the finished article but with time he should come good.

Has there ever been a player who’s legs have gone as suddenly as Ward?

MRG wrote:Ward offering more evidence that his time at the top level of football has come to an abrupt end. Thankfully we have Taylor to fill that. He’s far from the finished article but with time he should come good.

Has there ever been a player who’s legs have gone as suddenly as Ward?

What new evidence has he offered?

What do you mean by his legs have gone?

Rileybobs wrote:What do you mean by his legs have gone?

It means he can't keep up with the pace of the game due to age and fitness.

FactualFrank wrote:It means he can't keep up with the pace of the game due to age and fitness.

Odd. I’ve never seen Ward being unable to keep up with the pace of a game.

Sorry I should of been clearer. He looked way off pace for ROI this week similar to the last few times I’ve see him in claret this season

So he’s looked out of form for a handful, maybe 10 games? And you’re summising that his legs have gone?

If he no longer had the fitness or endurance levels to play at this level then do you not think that Dyche and his sizeable team of specialist staff would have figured this out?

It’s one thing to dig out a player for a lack of form but another altogether to completely write off a player who has served us excellently based on such a small number of games, playing with other players who are so out of form. But then again, the vast majority of your contributions to this board are moronic.

MRG wrote:Ward offering more evidence that his time at the top level of football has come to an abrupt end. Thankfully we have Taylor to fill that. He’s far from the finished article but with time he should come good.

Has there ever been a player who’s legs have gone as suddenly as Ward?

Ffs, hahahahahaha played the season of his life, plays a bit off it and now his legs have gone, you clearly know nothing about football

hasn't scored since that 'tap-in' at Chelski!

MRG wrote:Ward offering more evidence that his time at the top level of football has come to an abrupt end. Thankfully we have Taylor to fill that. He’s far from the finished article but with time he should come good.

Has there ever been a player who’s legs have gone as suddenly as Ward?

Ffs, hahahahahaha played the season of his life, plays a bit off it and now his legs have gone, you clearly know nothing about football

Instead of mocking, why not offer your reasons that are contrary to the opinion raised?

Burnley1989 wrote:Ffs, hahahahahaha played the season of his life, plays a bit off it and now his legs have gone, you clearly know nothing about football

As per my initial post, I acknowledge the sudden decline. He literally looks half the player that he was last season!

DCWat wrote:Instead of mocking, why not offer your reasons that are contrary to the opinion raised?

I think people have offered their reason. A drop in form over a very short period of time without looking physically Incapable does not equate to ‘his legs have gone’.

Rileybobs wrote:I think people have offered their reason. A drop in form over a very short period of time without looking physically Incapable does not equate to ‘his legs have gone’.

Do you think that he looks like the same player from last season?

So he’s looked out of form for a handful, maybe 10 games? And you’re summising that his legs have gone?

I have read phrases like 'his legs have gone' or 'his legs might go soon' so many times on here with any player over 29. It's just weird!

MRG wrote:Do you think that he looks like the same player from last season?

No - neither does Wood. Have Wood’s legs gone? Have Ben Mee’s legs gone? Have Lowton’s legs gone? Or are some of our players going through a dip in form.

BigChaCha wrote:I have read phrases like 'his legs have gone' or 'his legs might go soon' so many times on here with any player over 29. It's just weird!

Wonder if we can take out insurance policies on our player’s legs in case they all go.

Rileybobs wrote:No - neither does Wood. Have Wood’s legs gone? Have Ben Mee’s legs gone? Have Lowton’s legs gone? Or are some of our players going through a dip in form.

Ward will never be the same player again! If you think otherwise you need to get a seat facing the pitch!

MRG wrote:Ward will never be the same player again! If you think otherwise you need to get a seat facing the pitch!

Seat facing the pitch. That’s the buzz phrase of the season, seemingly. So you’re happy to entirely write off one of our best players over the past couple of seasons after a few below par games? At least my seat facing away from the pitch isn’t in front of your jerky knees.

Ward is a lot faster than Taylor even if his legs have gone

Somebody who has a different opinion gets shot down in flames shocker.

SalisburyClaret wrote:Ward is a lot faster than Taylor even if his legs have gone

Ward is nowhere near as fast as Taylor and appears reluctant to get forward this season.

Fortunately Dyche seems to have recognised that the future is Taylor and I think he will stick with Taylor now.

Ward has been amazing for us but sadly he is now history and Taylor is the future

BigChaCha wrote:I have read phrases like 'his legs have gone' or 'his legs might go soon' so many times on here with any player over 29. It's just weird!

Really?? I might be missing someone obvious but under Dyche's reign I cant remember us having any player who fans deemed legs had gone (maybe Joey but we had moved up a division and Duff who gracefully retired)

Generally our upward curve has meant players like Jones, Boyd and Arfield are outgrown but id be interested to hear which player youve heard this about cos sounds like youre just making something up to support your defense of WAard

Some of our support writing Ward off....after the season he had last season? ******* unbelievable !

Murger wrote:Somebody who has a different opinion gets shot down in flames shocker.

Somebody who has a stupid opinion gets shot down in flames shocker. My opinion is that the OP’s opinion is stupid. If you want to shoot down my opinion then by all means shoot away, that’s what we’re here for.

Rileybobs wrote:Somebody who has a stupid opinion gets shot down in flames shocker. My opinion is that the OP’s opinion is stupid. If you want to shoot down my opinion then by all means shoot away, that’s what we’re here for.

Honestly, I don’t take it as anything personal. I agree with some post and disagree with others, it’s the beauty of a message board.

In relation to Ward, time will tell, and at that stage one of us can dig this thread back up

UTC

MRG wrote:Honestly, I don’t take it as anything personal. I agree with some post and disagree with others, it’s the beauty of a message board.

In relation to Ward, time will tell, and at that stage one of us can dig this thread back up

UTC

The thing is, you may be right. But you are not basing your opinion on anything with any substance. I could say that Ashley Barnes won’t play again for Burnley and I may be proven right, but it would be a complete fluke. To write Ward off as ‘history’ is just plain daft, no two ways about it

Rileybobs wrote:The thing is, you may be right. But you are not basing your opinion on anything with any substance. I could say that Ashley Barnes won’t play again for Burnley and I may be proven right, but it would be a complete fluke. To write Ward off as ‘history’ is just plain daft, no two ways about it

This is how a messageboard works. People have been talking how great Dunne and McNeil are gonna be based on a few preseason games and a couple of first team appearances. I dont see you policing these opinions questioning the substance of peoples positivity.

For me, at times, this is where this forum falls down when discussing Burnley in that you can post any old unsubstantiated bollock as long as its positive but as soon as its critical you need a lawyer and a high court ruling to justify your opinion

Rileybobs wrote:The thing is, you may be right. But you are not basing your opinion on anything with any substance. I could say that Ashley Barnes won’t play again for Burnley and I may be proven right, but it would be a complete fluke. To write Ward off as ‘history’ is just plain daft, no two ways about it

And this my friend, is the reason I’m sharing my opinion on a two bit message board with a glass of Sancerre in my hand and not in the Sky studio!!

I still think he will be back up to Taylor this season

Devils_Advocate wrote:This is how a messageboard works. People have been talking how great Dunne and McNeil are gonna be based on a few preseason games and a couple of first team appearances. I dont see you policing these opinions questioning the substance of peoples positivity.

For me, at times, this is where this forum falls down when discussing Burnley in that you can post any old unsubstantiated bollock as long as its positive but as soon as its critical you need a lawyer and a high court ruling to justify your opinion

But isn’t the point of a messageboard to have a discussion? I have a different opinion than the OP and I have responded accordingly. If the OP, you or anyone else wants to tell me why my opinion is stupid then I’m all ears. Like you say, that’s the point of a messageboard.

I comment on a range of threads and I’ll admittedly fall on the happy-clapper side of the fence, but I see no reason not to after watching our most successful season in my lifetime.

The reason why this thread may have attracted a response from me is that the OP states that Ward’s ‘legs have gone’ and ‘he’s history’ which is not only baseless but disrespectful.

It’s a lot easier to let Uber-positive posts slide as generally they can’t do any harm. People bigging up McNeill or Dunne doesn’t really interest me as it just seems like a bit of giddiness, which as a happy-clapper is a good thing. I would suggest that you’re equally selective as to which threads you contribute to.

MRG wrote:And this my friend, is the reason I’m sharing my opinion on a two bit message board with a glass of Sancerre in my hand and not in the Sky studio!!

I still think he will be back up to Taylor this season

I think for what it's worth steven ward doesn't look the player of last season...Is it a temporary dip in form? I personally don't think so. He's been immense for us the lads run his socks off hope it's a blip.

The lad has had injuries, which was not helped when sold short by Ben Mee early on. Probably carrying it and needs recovery time.

Rileybobs wrote:But isn’t the point of a messageboard to have a discussion? I have a different opinion than the OP and I have responded accordingly. If the OP, you or anyone else wants to tell me why my opinion is stupid then I’m all ears. Like you say, that’s the point of a messageboard.

I comment on a range of threads and I’ll admittedly fall on the happy-clapper side of the fence, but I see no reason not to after watching our most successful season in my lifetime.

The reason why this thread may have attracted a response from me is that the OP states that Ward’s ‘legs have gone’ and ‘he’s history’ which is not only baseless but disrespectful.

It’s a lot easier to let Uber-positive posts slide as generally they can’t do any harm. People bigging up McNeill or Dunne doesn’t really interest me as it just seems like a bit of giddiness, which as a happy-clapper is a good thing. I would suggest that you’re equally selective as to which threads you contribute to.

You know what I get and agree with quite a bit of what you are saying here. It was more your reason for dismissing the posters opinion than the fact you disagreed with his opinion. If one of your issues is that opinions are unsubstantiated then I would expect you to hold true to those feelings whenever unsubstantiated opinions was expressed

You are right I am selective in what I post on but the thing that I care about is that opinions are allowed to be freely discussed and that there is objectivity and truth to those discussions and I think I am pretty true to myself in these aspects

Your point that you are dismissive based on the posters history is a fair one and that makes more sense to me as to why you responded as you did. (not saying I agree with you but understand)

One last thing "legs are gone" is a bit of a generic football term which means a player is just not quite up to the pace of the game which can be physically, mentally and technically as they are all interlinked. Personally I think its too early to tell but I think in a struggling Burnley team Ward doesnt look quite the player he has been over the last few years and whilst I'll reserve my judgement a little longer I dont think this train of thought warrants being described as stupid

Devils_Advocate wrote:You know what I get and agree with quite a bit of what you are saying here. It was more your reason for dismissing the posters opinion than the fact you disagreed with his opinion. If one of your issues is that opinions are unsubstantiated then I would expect you to hold true to those feelings whenever unsubstantiated opinions was expressed

You are right I am selective in what I post on but the thing that I care about is that opinions are allowed to be freely discussed and that there is objectivity and truth to those discussions and I think I am pretty true to myself in these aspects

Your point that you are dismissive based on the posters history is a fair one and that makes more sense to me as to why you responded as you did. (not saying I agree with you but understand)

One last thing "legs are gone" is a bit of a generic football term which means a player is just not quite up to the pace of the game which can be physically, mentally and technically as they are all interlinked. Personally I think its too early to tell but I think in a struggling Burnley team Ward doesnt look quite the player he has been over the last few years and whilst I'll reserve my judgement a little longer I dont think this train of thought warrants being described as stupid

Fair enough. I get what people mean by ‘legs have gone’, I just think it’s a lazy way to describe a player above a certain age who has a dip in form. With the way that players’ fitness is monitored at this level I doubt we’d let a player whose ‘legs had gone’ near the starting 11 for the opening league game of the season when there is perfectly adequate back up in that position.

For the record, you’ll note that I didn’t call the OP stupid, just his opinion, which may be a little harsh but something that I stand by given its lack of substance.

MRG wrote:Ward offering more evidence that his time at the top level of football has come to an abrupt end. Thankfully we have Taylor to fill that. He’s far from the finished article but with time he should come good.

Has there ever been a player who’s legs have gone as suddenly as Ward?

50 caps my lord...

Op has a seat facing the back of the stand.

Op has an agenda see the previous Wardy thread.

Strange that Dyche and O’Neill don’t seem to have a clue...

Receiving a cap alongside Walters says all that is needed... my lord!

MRG wrote:Receiving a cap alongside Walters says all that is needed... my lord!

Why did you need another thread? We know your views from last week about Ward.

If you say it loud enough and long enough it will become true....

While you are at it you should work out our win percentage with Ward in the team... suggest you then do the same with Taylor at lb...

He had his worse game that I’ve personally seen him play in for the ROI this week. It just reaffirmed why Dyche is choosing Taylor over him. Thank god Dyche has recognised it and has a suitable backup in Taylor

MRG wrote:He had his worse game that I’ve personally seen him play in for the ROI this week. It just reaffirmed why Dyche is choosing Taylor over him. Thank god Dyche has recognised it and has a suitable backup in Taylor

He has been chosen in 1 league game.... I haven’t seen the win percentage answer yet?

MRG wrote:He had his worse game that I’ve personally seen him play in for the ROI this week. It just reaffirmed why Dyche is choosing Taylor over him. Thank god Dyche has recognised it and has a suitable backup in Taylor

OK, Mrs Taylor, we have got your point!

Hibsclaret wrote:He has been chosen in 1 league game.... I haven’t seen the win percentage answer yet?

Let’s see how this season goes. Ward is past it, Dyche knows that and is planning for the future

Win percentage?

Hibsclaret wrote:Win percentage?

You need to stop living in the past. Ward has had his day and you need to prepare yourself for the changing of the guard. What’s the win percentage this season? Looking at historic win percentages will you be calling for Clarke Carlisle to return?

Ok. So you don’t know then.

Let’s put it another way, how many games have we won with Taylor in the team?

Changing of the guard. Don’t make me laugh. There will be no guard for the defence without Wardy in the team. When Wardy came back into the championship winning team we were unbeaten for 23 games. We have barely won a game with Taylor playing....

Hibsclaret wrote:Ok. So you don’t know then.

Let’s put it another way, how many games have we won with Taylor in the team?

Changing of the guard. Don’t make me laugh. There will be no guard for the defence without Wardy in the team. When Wardy came back into the championship winning team we were unbeaten for 23 games. We have barely won a game with Taylor playing....

Nobody is denying that Ward was an amazing player for us in his day. Nobody is questioning his win ratio in the past. If you read the original post it says that the worry is the sudden decline this season, he looks miles off the pace every time he is on the field

We have won 1 league game with Taylor in the team against Stoke last season and he played just over half a game.

15 prem appearances. 1 win

Yes he’s certainly taken his time to find his feet. Luckily he’s got time on his side, something Ward sadly hasn’t. This is a big season for Taylor

Rileybobs wrote:Somebody who has a stupid opinion gets shot down in flames shocker. My opinion is that the OP’s opinion is stupid. If you want to shoot down my opinion then by all means shoot away, that’s what we’re here for.

If you can’t see that Wards legs have gone then your opinion is the stupid one bearing in mind it’s fact ,

joey13 wrote:If you can’t see that Wards legs have gone then your opinion is the stupid one bearing in mind it’s fact ,

OK, you’re quite right. I hadn’t realised it was a fact so I’m feeling a bit silly right now.

Since Taylor joined Burnley:

Stephen Ward. Played 31. Wins 14. Win percentage 45%

Charlie Taylor. Played 15. Wins 1. Win percentage less than 7%

FACT

Changing of the guard made us lose Duff and make Mee go from left back to central.

We went 23 games without defeat.