Was chris wood under appreciated?

[jdrobbo]

Hugely under appreciated.

Scored goals and was a very good footballer. Nowt else to say.

[roperclaret]

With no disrespect, Sam is the only one you can compare to Wood from that list and in my view Wood was head and shoulders the better of the two.

Knew where the goal was - seemingly still does. However I can’t think of another player under Dyche that had a worse first touch, unless it was a shot or header on goal.

[Goliath]

Knew where the goal was - seemingly still does. However I can’t think of another player under Dyche that had a worse first touch, unless it was a shot or header on goal.

Andre Gray, Marvin Bartley.

[roperclaret]

Andre Gray, Marvin Bartley.

Honestly, no in my opinion.

[ClaretTony]

Andre Gray, Marvin Bartley.

In fairness he didn’t sign Bartley and quickly got rid of him but Gray’s first touch was, in my view, a lot worse than Wood’s although a different kind of player whose main asset was pace.

[Goliath]

In fairness he didn’t sign Bartley and quickly got rid of him but Gray’s first touch was, in my view, a lot worse than Wood’s although a different kind of player whose main asset was pace.

Bartley wasn't that bad for us but he was a bloody awful footballer which surprised me coming from Bournemouth.

We got the most out of Gray but he was really limited. He just created mayhem with his pace though when he was on it. Sort of in the manic way Nunez does for Liverpool.

Still would have Fletcher over Wood though. He is by far the most underrated player I've seen for us in the last 30 years. A sublime footballer.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Not under appreciated by me. Wood is yet another player who did fantastic for us and is very good but would be poor in a Kompany team.

When we look at Foster struggling, great running with the ball but a terrible passer of it, Wood would do even worse in that regard, but we know he can find the net, as, to be fair, can Foster.

Mind you, our weakness this season has been both scoring and conceded set pieces. Open play no problem - we have conceded fewer than West Ham and the same as Brentford. Wood would have improved us at set pieces. So, (off topic), that is what we have to improve in the summer, not with Wood but with some of those characteristics.

[ClaretTony]

Bartley wasn't that bad for us but he was a bloody awful footballer which surprised me coming from Bournemouth.

We got the most out of Gray but he was really limited. He just created mayhem with his pace though when he was on it. Sort of in the manic way Nunez does for Liverpool.

Still would have Fletcher over Wood though. He is by far the most underrated player I've seen for us in the last 30 years. A sublime footballer.

Gray never reached any heights at Watford, it really was his pace that made him effective.

Fletcher looked so good at times but missed far too many chances in that season with us and rarely scored a key goal.

[Goliath]

Gray never reached any heights at Watford, it really was his pace that made him effective.

Fletcher looked so good at times but missed far too many chances in that season with us and rarely scored a key goal.

He did miss chances but that was his first season at any sort of decent level, it was pretty good going to do what he did. Imagine a striker going straight from Hibernian to first choice Premier League striker now, it's basically unheard of. I think the key goal thing was just coincidence, there was a key one wrongly ruled out at home to Arsenal wasn't there for example? It wasn't just goals with him either, his performance against Spurs at home was sensational with the brilliant assists for Paterson and Elliott.

I think he's one that could have gone to a top club but for injury. We have a strange knack of having strikers eventually crippled by injury: Rodriguez, Ings, Fletcher, Austin all had their careers severely hampered

[Middle-agedClaret]

Yes

[chipbutty]

In fairness he didn’t sign Bartley and quickly got rid of him but Gray’s first touch was, in my view, a lot worse than Wood’s although a different kind of player whose main asset was pace.

Gray was a bit different, he could do absolutely nothing all game then score a couple of goals.
Bolton away being a great example, we were all slagging him off for doing FA, then in about 10 minutes he'd scored 2, carbon copy goals

[Taffy on the wing]

YES!

[ClaretTony]

Gray was a bit different, he could do absolutely nothing all game then score a couple of goals.
Bolton away being a great example, we were all slagging him off for doing FA, then in about 10 minutes he'd scored 2, carbon copy goals

And I think that might have been the day when we went top for the first time that season. That's what Andre Gray did isn't it?

[Big Vinny K]

Andre Gray was explosive on his day. He was very quick to get his shots away and if they were on target they usually went in as he had a lot of power behind them.
He had little in the way of build up or hold up play though and unless you build your team around him and his style of play then his limitations are exposed - as was proved when he left. He’ll probably go down as one of Watford’s worst ever and expensive signings. £18.5m and a 4 year contract reported to be the best part of £5m a year.

Chris Wood’s statistics speak for themselves. Is it only half a dozen or so strikers in the EPL who have scored double figures each season on the consistency Wood did for the last few years.

The last few months for us looking back with what we know now it seems like he was ready to leave and this impacted his performances. For us to get £25m for him at his age was incredible. For the goals he scored for us and the profit we made on him after years of great service he has to go down as one of our most effective signings ever.

I’m not surprised Nuno started playing him when he took over Forest - he was on the bench previously. Nuno was manager of Wolves when we destroyed them 4-0 at their ground and Wood scored a hat trick. Chris Wood and his goals this season have pretty much kept Forest up - just like they did for Burnley on several occasions

[spt_claret]

Wood- A very limited but very effective player. Under Dyche we played a system where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts, a requirement for a club like ours who can't just go buy supremely all round talented individuals for every position and bank on everyone being technical, fast, smart and strong enough.
He got caught offside a lot, moreso as his pace slipped (he was mobile enough for his size at first) and also as his application slipped. If he's not wanting to be there and not concentrating as hard he's going to be caught out more. But it was part of the tactic of playing high and going direct, it worked.
Excellent finisher with head and feet, strong, not bad technique either even if he was the weakest layoff/support man out of our strike force while here. Incredibly effective player if you build a system that maximises his strengths and minimises his weaknesses, not as effective if you expect a good-at-everything forward who can slot into multiple roles in a fluid system. Specialist player but top top level at it.

Gray- similarly a specialist player but lower level. Watford supporting mate of mine thinks we had their pants down for him and he was awful. Don't agree but don't think he was really PL standard, Vokes scored in more games than Gray did that season, take away a hat trick Vs a ponderous Sunderland defence that made Stanislav Varga look mobile and the only game that stands out is Liverpool at home. But he had his strengths- very quick, very physical. Not sure he was a natural finisher so much as just athletic enough to get into lots of scoring positions, had one of the worst first touches I've seen in a PL player, but at his peak in the Championship was a total destroyer if you fed him with balls to run in behind/through on or quick cutbacks. Would probably fit into our current setup better than Wood despite IMO being a more limited and less able player purely because his limits line up with our requirements better.

[spt_claret]

He did miss chances but that was his first season at any sort of decent level, it was pretty good going to do what he did. Imagine a striker going straight from Hibernian to first choice Premier League striker now, it's basically unheard of. I think the key goal thing was just coincidence, there was a key one wrongly ruled out at home to Arsenal wasn't there for example? It wasn't just goals with him either, his performance against Spurs at home was sensational with the brilliant assists for Paterson and Elliott.

I think he's one that could have gone to a top club but for injury. We have a strange knack of having strikers eventually crippled by injury: Rodriguez, Ings, Fletcher, Austin all had their careers severely hampered

I think Fletcher was the wrong era. He wasn't a natural finisher with us, adapted to become a better one at Wolves, but his touch, technique and link play were always his great assets IMO. He'd be wonderful in our current system doing what Barnes/Jay did last year or in Firminios sort of role at Liverpool.
Jay would 100% have had more caps if not for injury, and is another who was perhaps wrong era.Well rounded but not exceptional at anything, but if he was 23 now he would be raved about for modern demands of that sort.
Austin was a real enigma. Seemed to develop his all round game later on in his career, tremendous goalscorer but felt like a throwback to a bygone age. Loved him for us and do believe his 2014-15 with QPR deserved an England cap or 2.
Ings though is the pick of the litter for me. To have come through so many bad injuries and still play in the PL, and break back into the England team for a game at 28, says it all. I truly believe he could have been England's Dennis Bergkamp, he had everything - pace, intelligence, an absurd first touch and close control, dribbling, finishing with two feet, agile, and even Bergkamps ability to juggle and flick the ball in motion while keeping control. Exceptional player whose body couldn't hold together, he deserved so much more.

[Goliath]

I think Fletcher was the wrong era. He wasn't a natural finisher with us, adapted to become a better one at Wolves, but his touch, technique and link play were always his great assets IMO. He'd be wonderful in our current system doing what Barnes/Jay did last year or in Firminios sort of role at Liverpool.
Jay would 100% have had more caps if not for injury, and is another who was perhaps wrong era.Well rounded but not exceptional at anything, but if he was 23 now he would be raved about for modern demands of that sort.
Austin was a real enigma. Seemed to develop his all round game later on in his career, tremendous goalscorer but felt like a throwback to a bygone age. Loved him for us and do believe his 2014-15 with QPR deserved an England cap or 2.
Ings though is the pick of the litter for me. To have come through so many bad injuries and still play in the PL, and break back into the England team for a game at 28, says it all. I truly believe he could have been England's Dennis Bergkamp, he had everything - pace, intelligence, an absurd first touch and close control, dribbling, finishing with two feet, agile, and even Bergkamps ability to juggle and flick the ball in motion while keeping control. Exceptional player whose body couldn't hold together, he deserved so much more.

Agreed on Ings. He was absolutely sensational. I remember watching him in a championship game in his breakthrough season and saying to the person I was with I think I might be watching our first world class player since I'd been watching. I stick by it that he was that good.
He basically lost the battle with Firmino for that 9 role for Liverpool due to injuries which is a shame. He was very bit as good but with a much bigger goal threat.

[ottclaret]

I always thought the tactic of Wood playing 'on the shoulder' was pointless - even if he managed to stay onside, he didn't have the pace to get away from the defender. The tactic should(?) have been for him to feign it, but at the last moment drop back a yard to receive the ball to his chest/feet and hold it or lay off to somebody coming on to it. Might not have been successful all the time, but surely couldn't have been any worse than his record of being offside!!

That aside, he was very effective for us at set-plays, so, yes, I did appreciate him.

[quoonbeatz]

Effective is definitely the word to describe Wood. Funny player in that he's not a particularly great finisher, not that great with his head (despite scoring a decent amount of goals), not exactly rapid. What he is is very strong, a willing runner of the channels, which makes him a decent outlet, handy to have defending corners and most importantly, he's got that knack of finding the right space in the box. One of those players that makes the most of what they've got without being that great at anything.

Like any player though, if their hearts not really in it, they're not worth having on the pitch.

[Big Vinny K]

Agreed on Ings. He was absolutely sensational. I remember watching him in a championship game in his breakthrough season and saying to the person I was with I think I might be watching our first world class player since I'd been watching. I stick by it that he was that good.
He basically lost the battle with Firmino for that 9 role for Liverpool due to injuries which is a shame. He was very bit as good but with a much bigger goal threat.

Ings and Tripps in that team were 2 of the best players we have ever had in burnley shirt.
In my 50 years of supporting the club they are the 2 best ever players I have ever seen.

That season with Ings and Vokes is one of my favourites. They were both brilliant. I remember being at the front of the Bob lord stand behind the away dug out for the QPR game. Gave me a completely different perspective and appreciation of the game from my normal seat. Trippier was incredible that day - hard as nails as he got hit with a big tackle early in the game and it looked like he was going to have to come off but he carried on and was brilliant. But Ings and Vokes that day were exceptional - they scored a brilliant goal which was effectively a one two from the half way line. My other biggest memory from that day was that the antics of Redknapp and Joe Jordan - they were both an utter disgrace.

[Goliath]

Ings and Tripps in that team were 2 of the best players we have ever had in burnley shirt.
In my 50 years of supporting the club they are the 2 best ever players I have ever seen.

That season with Ings and Vokes is one of my favourites. They were both brilliant. I remember being at the front of the Bob lord stand behind the away dug out for the QPR game. Gave me a completely different perspective and appreciation of the game from my normal seat. Trippier was incredible that day - hard as nails as he got hit with a big tackle early in the game and it looked like he was going to have to come off but he carried on and was brilliant. But Ings and Vokes that day were exceptional - they scored a brilliant goal which was effectively a one two from the half way line. My other biggest memory from that day was that the antics of Redknapp and Joe Jordan - they were both an utter disgrace.

That Ings goal is one of my favourites watching Burnley. It summed up Dyche football perfectly. Intense, high tempo and direct with quality.
Didn't notice Redknapp. What antics were they?

[Big Vinny K]

That Ings goal is one of my favourites watching Burnley. It summed up Dyche football perfectly. Intense, high tempo and direct with quality.
Didn't notice Redknapp. What antics were they?

Redknapp mainly stayed in his dugout to be fair - it was his number 2 Jordan who did all the dirty work. Spent the whole game abusing the officials and claiming for absolutely everything. Very clearly it was part of what they did every week to intimidate and influence officials. Jordan was swearing and shouting at our players too. Dyche and our bench were pretty calm really considering the magnitude of the game at the time and the what Jordan was doing.

[spt_claret]

Ings and Tripps in that team were 2 of the best players we have ever had in burnley shirt.
In my 50 years of supporting the club they are the 2 best ever players I have ever seen.

That season with Ings and Vokes is one of my favourites. They were both brilliant. I remember being at the front of the Bob lord stand behind the away dug out for the QPR game. Gave me a completely different perspective and appreciation of the game from my normal seat. Trippier was incredible that day - hard as nails as he got hit with a big tackle early in the game and it looked like he was going to have to come off but he carried on and was brilliant. But Ings and Vokes that day were exceptional - they scored a brilliant goal which was effectively a one two from the half way line. My other biggest memory from that day was that the antics of Redknapp and Joe Jordan - they were both an utter disgrace.

A sublime goal, telepathic. Never seen two Burnley strikers have such an instinctual understanding of where each other would be in order to make that play, though I'm told Lochhead and Irvine were similar. Think it was Birmingham where Vokes set Ings up for two, one with a first time backheel.

The other one that stands out, I can't remember the opposition possibly Millwall? Trippier played a long swinging ball from our own half, Ings dropped it dead with one touch, clever flick to juggle it round the defender with his other foot, then finished.