Will Hughes Article

[Orphanram]

I know there is a Will Hughes watch thread in football talk but this is an interesting article in the Mail which refers to him leaving Derby and not being a Rowett type of player, which maybe worthy of debate outside of that thread. The comments about the improvements he has made through the coaching he is getting at Watford also make for interesting reading.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5665221/Will-Hughes-not-wonderkid-anymore-cultured-midfielder-impressing-Watford.html

[eddie]

England international in the next 2 years, I reckon.

[North East Ram]

2 minutes ago, eddie said:

England international in the next 2 years, I reckon.

Should be already. He’s a modest lad who’s so far played at provincial style clubs. 

When I think of the Jake Livermore’s etc etc that continually get international recognition it beggars belief. 

Klopp or Wenger c2000 would have Hughes playing like an Iniesta / Ramsay / Ozil type player. But even so, Hughes style is distinctly Hughes. It’s innate. It’s special.

im genuinely gutted we couldn’t keep him and help him realise his potential. And then lose him for such a paltry sum.

There’s so many teams with young players where their fans feel they have the next ‘so and so’ but with Hughes we genuinely had one such player.

He’s a classy player and from what I know (bugger all), a good lad and I really hope he makes it at the very top. 

Maybe we’ll get him back in 2028 when he winds down. A smart man; maybe player / manager!

[Highgate]

Seems like Will realised he was incompatible with Rowett's style of play and thought it was time to move. If we had a manager who liked to play football, it sounds like Will might have been happy to give it another 12 months, who knows?  You can't blame Hughes for leaving obviously, and i don't blame Rowett either. He prefers his teams to play a certain way and he must find the players that are most suited to that system.  I do blame Mel though, for appointing a manager who clearly would not appreciate the talents of the club's best player.

The paltry fee received just added insult to the injury.

[wingfieldram]

Admittedly, I have had a few beers tonight.....but reading that article has made me feel really sad.  I loved watching Will play for Derby. It was a joy and worth the admission fee alone.  I cant quite forgive Gary for dismissing such a unique talent. I question his judgment for that reason alone.

[Ambitious]

Rowett, regardless of how well he does (or doesn't do) here, will (rightly) always be remembered for the sickening fee we received for Hughes. Ince, too, although his wasn't nearly as bad. 

I'm not surprised to see him say that he wasn't a Rowett type player, anyone with a set of eyes could have called that, but it's another reminder that technical players don't have a future at this club under this regime which is a shame. I'm not saying Hughes was always a joy to watch, because he wasn't and anyone who says he was is clinging on to the good times. Classy player, always, but he seemed to spend a lot of games not doing enough or putting himself about enough. 

The move was good for him, I'm glad to see him doing well. I'm also dubious about where he would be considered in THIS Derby County team, even so we should have got a lot, lot more money for him. 

[ronnieronalde]

reading that you can easily see he's head and shoulders above most other players intelligence wise. The way he talks about his own development is brilliant.

He's a huge loss but it was time for him to go and play with the big boys.

 

I'd love to see him on the plane to Russia but think it might come a bit too soon for him.

 

Class player.

[Carl Sagan]

Sad to read and think what might have been. I'd love to see him on the plane, but it took him a while to break into the Watford team that were sweeping all before them at the start of the season, and then got injured. So I suspect he won't break through until after a World Cup failure when we're looking for new players. But it's interesting to see him play in the Premier League as a forward/attacking midfielder, when I would always have played him further up the pitch yet for whatever reason the Derby managers failed to see it. With his ability, you have to want him where he can hurt the opposition most.

But even if he dropped deeper again, he could do a job for England, and that's where Southgate often played him in the U21s (as Southgate is a hopeless manager).

[gccrowdpleaser]

Ironically Will is quoted in the interview as stating that 'things get exaggerated in the game'!

No way on earth us Southgate watching a player who's managed a little over 700 minutes in the Premier League. The last 400 of those have seen them concede 13 goals and score just 4. 

Will is a decent player and if he moves on from Watford there is a slim chance he'll play for England but it is slim. He never really got hold of games and bossed them... Even at Championship level. He has no pace which is a prerequisite even for the skilled players at international level now. He'll be a decent pre player but there are plenty ahead of him in the England reckoning. 

Nice lad and shows a good head on his shoulders. Doesn't make him a world beater though. 

[uttoxram75]

He could go straight into Man City’s team and not look out of place.

Top player if used in a team that wants to keep the ball in the oppositions half.

[cannable]

1 hour ago, gccrowdpleaser said:

Ironically Will is quoted in the interview as stating that 'things get exaggerated in the game'!

No way on earth us Southgate watching a player who's managed a little over 700 minutes in the Premier League. The last 400 of those have seen them concede 13 goals and score just 4. 

Will is a decent player and if he moves on from Watford there is a slim chance he'll play for England but it is slim. He never really got hold of games and bossed them... Even at Championship level. He has no pace which is a prerequisite even for the skilled players at international level now. He'll be a decent pre player but there are plenty ahead of him in the England reckoning. 

Nice lad and shows a good head on his shoulders. Doesn't make him a world beater though. 

When was he ever in a position to boss games though? When was it even his job to boss games? Under McClaren he was restricted solely to the inside left channel and under Clough he only started thirteen games and that was a midfield two.

[cosmic]

Seeing him on the plane to Russia this year would bring me more pride and joy than seeing Derby win the playoffs.

Not sure what that says about me or the season we’ve had, but it’s true. 

[sunnyhill60]

2 hours ago, gccrowdpleaser said:

Ironically Will is quoted in the interview as stating that 'things get exaggerated in the game'!

No way on earth us Southgate watching a player who's managed a little over 700 minutes in the Premier League. The last 400 of those have seen them concede 13 goals and score just 4. 

Will is a decent player and if he moves on from Watford there is a slim chance he'll play for England but it is slim. He never really got hold of games and bossed them... Even at Championship level. He has no pace which is a prerequisite even for the skilled players at international level now. He'll be a decent pre player but there are plenty ahead of him in the England reckoning. 

Nice lad and shows a good head on his shoulders. Doesn't make him a world beater though. 

One of the most condescending posts I have read on here. I'm sure he will be grateful you think he is "nice".

How many England players are "world beaters"? And you seem to blame him alone for the Watford teams failings!

A team needs to have some pace, that doesn't mean all 10 outfield players need it. Vision, intelligence and technical skill on the ball are equally important attributes.

I don't know if Will will make the England team but sure as hell I miss things like his assist for Bent's goal at Wolves last season, now that we have to make do with Johnson's hoofball.

 

[irobinson]

He’s know where’s near the England team  IMO - only just broken into Watford 11

[Angry Ram]

Let me see Will or Gary?

Will please. 

[RadioactiveWaste]

2 hours ago, irobinson said:

He’s know where’s near the England team  IMO - only just broken into Watford 11

He's not going to play for England until/unless he plays bit part roles for a "big team" no matter how well he does for Watford.

[Grantona]

Saw Hughes at Watford v Burnley the other week. After Pereyra, he was Watford's best player but Burnley still won 2-1.:)

One day, he might be on a winning side against the Clarets.:)

As for England, he has more technical ability than players like Jack Cork....but Cork is far more influential.

 

 

[DRBee]

Says a lot about the depressing aspects of 'Rowettball' . But even if a manager should obviously be able to choose players to suit the chosen style of play, there's no escaping the failure to  replace with a different midfield player of similar quality. Players who can hold the ball and not give it away cheaply can make as big a contribution to defence as those who run fast, chase and harry.

[Doodle]

He was simply too good for Derby and the championship. My only regret is, we didn’t get what I consider his worth. Our team should have been built around him, not fit him in our team 

[Ellafella]

A very special talent and a very intelligent brain.

Simon Hughes, England Cricket analyst, did a programme about how left handers are disproportionately more represented in top class batting than you’d expect. He linked it to a Cambridge Scientist’s findings that left-handers have a thicker set of nerve fibre in their corpus callosum  - the part of the brain ? that links left and right hemispheres. This gives left-handlers greater visual perception and what’s called prio-perception. Watching Will from the age of 15, you could see instantly what a special talent he was. Sublime left foot and wonderful vision and indeed very like Liam Brady. With Hughes in your side you have a unique talent ...a CPU. He will only get better and will eventually play at a top club. I’m gutted that we got rid of him and it took me 3 days to stop feeling livid and cheated about it. I remember getting his autograph for Edward {my boy} just after he’d ran the game on his debut versus Peterborough. I looked at this boy with white hair, still small with quite childish writing and I couldn’t believe it was the player who’d just run the game and made grown men look ordinary. “You’re a brilliant footballer Will” I said with startled admiration. He just looked up and back at me with marked indifference with out a flicker of acknowledgment, refusing to admit to any hyperbole, although I was totally sincere. A very rare talent and just the sight of him in a Derby shirt always excited me.  Top marks to Nigel Clough for spotting his talent and nurturing his very grounded attitude.