Ben Woodburn

LeylandTrek

Well-known member
Liverpool's youngest ever goal scorer looks like he is heading to league 1 on loan, Charlton and Hull interested in him!
Surely this would be a WOW signing for us, I wonder if Critchley has had a word with his pal Klopp, I hope so.
 
I'd push the boat out to get this lad, surely Critchley will be able to persuade him to join us over other teams in our division?
 
As I wrote on another thread.loan fees are getting out of hand. Herbie Kane £1,000,000 for the season. Harry Wilson same fee plus full wages = almost £3,000,000 for the season. Way out of our reach.
 
It speaks volumes that Liverpool have sent none of their youngsters our way. I think we all hoped that one or two of their best under 21's would end up being improved whilst playing for us under Critchley's coaching at Blackpool. Perhaps Liverpool are not unhappy that Critchley moved on.
 
Based on other current events, does it beg the question of do Liverpool allow players to go out on loan to get experience or to make money for themselves?.
It's all about the money, that is what academies are nowadays. Liverpool poach the best talent then have the monopoly, and they get lauded for having a fantastic system.

Sterling is a perfect example.
 
He is someone who I would have really liked to have signed, but it seems he is going elsewhere.
It seemed unlikely to happen when Critch started signing numerous other players to fill the role that Woodburn would have played.

Puzzling why we haven't signed anyone from Liverpool. I'd be lying if I said I had the slightest idea why.
 
If I was one of these players, I'd be very unhappy if I was sat in the reserves all season because my club had put off potential loans by demanding such large fees. I'd be thinking it's another year of my career wasted.
The trouble is, I don't think these players would think that and that I'm afraid is the root of the problem in English football. Way too many good players happier to be on the Liverpool training ground than be on the team sheet of a league match.
 
No-one knows what enquiries may have been made between the respective clubs or if Critchley actually rates him. Woodburn is probably at the stage in his career when he may need to look at moving out of Liverpool to kick-start his career. Let's face it to get into the Liverpool first team you have to be virtually world class. Maybe the player himself is holding out to see what offers come in before the deadline.
 
The general consensus at Oxford is that he was a bit hit and miss as a number 10 or on the right, but improved when played as a CM. Good passer and dribbler and can tackle as well but not the quickest.
 
Great signing if it comes off. Would feel a bit wow to me but maybe that's because I have signed him on FIFA for us every year since he made his debut for Liverpool!

Only question is how much the injuries last season have affected him, and I would wager not very much if he still got into their playoff squad on return. He has always been lauded for his attitude and dedication to fitness at all of the clubs he's been to, and of course the academy, so if anybody is capable of getting their progress back on track it's him.

The story's now starting to appear in all the LFC fan sites.
 
He's been playing in their Premier League 2 games and made the bench for Wales in 3 of their last 6 matches, so you'd imagine he is fully fit and somewhat match sharp.
 
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Woodburn ended up in midfield at Oxford! Sounds like another player trying to work out his best position. From Oxford forum....

Will be good to see him back. It's been so long I'd forgotten where we were playing him? Didn't he start off no.10 and then drop back into midfield when we switched to 4-3-3?
Yes started off as the number 10 behind the striker when we were playing 4-2-3-1, was a bit hit and miss. Then we changed to 4-3-3 (technically more like 4-1-2-3 as Gorrin sits deeper than the other 2 CM's), we were transformed and so too was Woodburn playing deeper. Put in a few really impressive performances before his unfortunate injuries. He showed he can get stuck in and do the nasty side of the game and still affect the game with his passing/dribbling ability - look at the Lincoln 6-0 highlights for a superb ball to set up Fosu for our second.

It took him a bit of time to find form when he first came. I think it will take him a few weeks to get up to speed when he is back. If we are winning he may struggle for game time to get up to speed.

For me, he was at his best when he dropped deeper into central midfield as he could run from deep and generally had more space to influence the game. He could tackle pretty well so also could do the defensive role needed.

Hopefully he gets his shots just inside the post/crossbar when he comes back as he seemed to hit the woodwork a fair bit pre-injury.

I would like to see him playing centrally, alongside Brannagan and just in front of Gorrin. I don't think he has the pace and the physicality that Sykes does when riding challenges and beating players, out-wide.

Woodburn was (IMO) only just starting to get really effective when he got injured. I can imagine that it will take him a while to get back up to speed,
 
Woodburn ended up in midfield at Oxford! Sounds like another player trying to work out his best position. From Oxford forum....


Yes started off as the number 10 behind the striker when we were playing 4-2-3-1, was a bit hit and miss. Then we changed to 4-3-3 (technically more like 4-1-2-3 as Gorrin sits deeper than the other 2 CM's), we were transformed and so too was Woodburn playing deeper. Put in a few really impressive performances before his unfortunate injuries. He showed he can get stuck in and do the nasty side of the game and still affect the game with his passing/dribbling ability - look at the Lincoln 6-0 highlights for a superb ball to set up Fosu for our second.

It took him a bit of time to find form when he first came. I think it will take him a few weeks to get up to speed when he is back. If we are winning he may struggle for game time to get up to speed.

For me, he was at his best when he dropped deeper into central midfield as he could run from deep and generally had more space to influence the game. He could tackle pretty well so also could do the defensive role needed.

Hopefully he gets his shots just inside the post/crossbar when he comes back as he seemed to hit the woodwork a fair bit pre-injury.

I would like to see him playing centrally, alongside Brannagan and just in front of Gorrin. I don't think he has the pace and the physicality that Sykes does when riding challenges and beating players, out-wide.
From that it sounds like he is capable of doing what Ward hasn't been doing.
 
Woodburn ended up in midfield at Oxford! Sounds like another player trying to work out his best position. From Oxford forum....


Yes started off as the number 10 behind the striker when we were playing 4-2-3-1, was a bit hit and miss. Then we changed to 4-3-3 (technically more like 4-1-2-3 as Gorrin sits deeper than the other 2 CM's), we were transformed and so too was Woodburn playing deeper. Put in a few really impressive performances before his unfortunate injuries. He showed he can get stuck in and do the nasty side of the game and still affect the game with his passing/dribbling ability - look at the Lincoln 6-0 highlights for a superb ball to set up Fosu for our second.

It took him a bit of time to find form when he first came. I think it will take him a few weeks to get up to speed when he is back. If we are winning he may struggle for game time to get up to speed.

For me, he was at his best when he dropped deeper into central midfield as he could run from deep and generally had more space to influence the game. He could tackle pretty well so also could do the defensive role needed.

Hopefully he gets his shots just inside the post/crossbar when he comes back as he seemed to hit the woodwork a fair bit pre-injury.

I would like to see him playing centrally, alongside Brannagan and just in front of Gorrin. I don't think he has the pace and the physicality that Sykes does when riding challenges and beating players, out-wide.

Woodburn was (IMO) only just starting to get really effective when he got injured. I can imagine that it will take him a while to get back up to speed,
Perfect replacement for Ward, by the sounds of it.
 
Wikipedia:
"He made his Oxford debut in a 1–1 draw at Sunderland on the opening day of the 2019–20 season, and assisted Tariqe Fosu for his team's goal. On 24 August, he scored his first goal for the club, opening the scoring in a 3–1 defeat to Bristol Rovers. His campaign was once again disrupted by injury, however, after he suffered a broken bone in his foot in October which ruled him out for a number of weeks. Woodburn returned to Merseyside to recover but, on his final training session before reuniting with Oxford in December, suffered a "carbon copy" of the injury in his other foot; an injury head coach Karl Robinson later revealed stemmed from the peculiar manner in which the player bore weight on his feet."

He made 11 appearances for Oxford - the last three were brief ones in the play off games. He's never really got up and running - he played 7 games the previous season for Sheffield Utd, but injury disrupted that too.
 
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