Wilson. An enigma.

[BLUEAWAY]

Works hard most of the time, falls over a bit too easily, complains a bit too much, capable of moments for absolute magic but not often enough. Not as good at free kicks as Whitts was.

Wales Online are running a story that suggests we didn’t get the best out of him and I think there is truth in that.
Playing in a team struggling to win is never easy and the support he needed wasn’t always there.

But my overall feeling is still that he is over hyped.

What do you think?

[City123]

He's easily our best player technically, he's also performed well overall this season. The problem is we've had two managers who employ a style that won't get the best out of a player like Wilson. He spends half the game watching the ball fly over his head, watching him for Wales and Derby he'd play one twos, use clever movement to get away from players. Here there's quite often nobody near him, our midfield seem incapable of finding him with a good pass and the only player that makes decent runs is Kieffer Moore

I don't think anyone who's seen him play for Derby or Wales can doubt his quality, the issue is we don't play football on the floor so there's no real point in us having him.

[LeningradCowboy]

Wilson is a good player at this level and has played pretty well for us, but I was expecting more when we signed him. Our style of play probably doesn't get the best out of him, but I still think there is something lacking. He hasn't contributed as much as Tomlin did last season.

I doubt that he has a future at Liverpool, so it will be interesting to see if any Premier League clubs try to sign him this summer, or whether he'll be back out on loan next season.

[the other bob wilson]

It was mentioned plenty of times on here in recent years that the way we played meant that Premier League clubs would be reluctant to loan their better, more technical, young players to us. Harry Wilson was the player who disproved that theory, but he hasn’t made the impact here that he did at Hull and Derby and he scored more goals for Bournemouth in the Premier League than he’s done for us.

For me, Wilson has to share some responsibility for his limited impact, but his team mates, particularly our central midfield bear a greater responsibility for not being creative enough to utilise his talent to best effect. Wilson has scored a couple of excellent goals for Wales this season which have offered evidence of what might have been if we had more players on his wavelength - Juergen Klopp has been the Premier League manager most amenable to loaning us players, will he continue to be after this season if we don’t attempt to change what’s been the Cardiff Way since 2014?

[splott parker]

Couldn’t see anyone paying the rumoured fee that was bandied about pre season.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Works hard most of the time, falls over a bit too easily, complains a bit too much, capable of moments for absolute magic but not often enough. Not as good at free kicks as Whitts was.

Wales Online are running a story that suggests we didn’t get the best out of him and I think there is truth in that.
Playing in a team struggling to win is never easy and the support he needed wasn’t always there.

But my overall feeling is still that he is over hyped.

What do you think?

I think he's in the totally wrong side for his skills. You wouldn't put Ciaron Brown in the Swansea side....

[Vindec]

There is no way he is a £20m player and it is questionable whether he is good enough for any Premier League side. While the way CC plays may not be conducive to his strengths, if he was the player his reputation previously indicated, he should have been able to adapt his game to the way we play.

I can't see any clubs willing to pay anything like the valuation Liverpool are rumoured to expect and wouldn't be surprised if he was to go back out on loan where he could see out his Liverpool contract (if it doesn't expire at the end of the season) or signed by a Championship club for a relatively low price with much reduced wages.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

There is no way he is a £20m player and it is questionable whether he is good enough for any Premier League side. While the way CC plays may not be conducive to his strengths, if he was the player his reputation previously indicated, he should have been able to adapt his game to the way we play.

I can't see any clubs willing to pay anything like the valuation Liverpool are rumoured to expect and wouldn't be surprised if he was to go back out on loan where he could see out his Liverpool contract (if it doesn't expire at the end of the season) or signed by a Championship club for a relatively low price with much reduced wages.

I could imagine him doing ok at somewhere like Villa.

[B. Oddie]

I haven't been able to take to him. No doubt he's good player but I agree that he's over-hyped. A star will always perform, regardless of the quality of others around them.

I'm not keen on what I've seen of his attitude as he comes across as a petulant child when decisions go against him. I've noticed that he's partial to a little dive now and then too, which I cannot stand.

He probably hasn't got a future at Liverpool and will likely go to other another Championship club over the summer or a newly promoted PL club; I wouldn't be sorry to see him go.

[19bluebirds27]

Because he is Welsh we have all wanted it to work so much but it just hasn’t for a variety of reasons.

We are very much a workman like team and he is a luxury unfortunately we cannot accommodate.
I hope he finds a permanent club now as there’s an exciting few years coming up for Wales.

[UNDERHILL1927]

Won't be gutted to lose him, just about sums it up for me.

[The Lone Gunman]

Wilson has scored one goal in his last 21 appearances for City.

I can't see any Premier League team being interested in him next season. I reckon he'll almost certainly wind up at another Championship club on loan once again.

[Harry Paget Flashman]

He's clearly a good player.

I did think he'd be better though and would dominate games like Koumas did.

[BlueArmy 86]

He’s the type of player that just has a goal or a piece of magic in him. I think he needs to fill out a bit. He’s been a decent enough signing, but not as good as I hoped.

[City123]

Wilson has scored one goal in his last 21 appearances for City.

I can't see any Premier League team being interested in him next season. I reckon he'll almost certainly wind up at another Championship club on loan once again.

Second in the division for assists

I'd hoped he'd have scored more though, I think a lot of fans (myself included) may have expected a little bit much considering the type of player he is and the type of team we are

[City123]

Because he is Welsh we have all wanted it to work so much but it just hasn’t for a variety of reasons.

We are very much a workman like team and he is a luxury unfortunately we cannot accommodate.
I hope he finds a permanent club now as there’s an exciting few years coming up for Wales.

Says it all about our side that one technically good player is considered a luxury we can't accommodate

[The Lone Gunman]

Second in the division for assists

I have no idea how reliable any of the 'assists' tallies are - they seem to vary and some of the so-called assists just take the piss. For instance, the BBC awarded Wilson an assist on Saturday for the first goal!

I presume corners and free kicks get credited as assists, as I don't recall Wilson providing too many from open play. There have been a few decent ones for sure, but not enough to rank him second in the division.

[19bluebirds27]

Messi would look ordinarily for us.

[The Lone Gunman]

Says it all about our side that one technically good player is considered a luxury we can't accommodate

I thought the 'luxury we cannot accommodate' comment was a bit weird considering Wilson has started 29 Championship games and featured in four more from the bench. Only five players have stared more games than Wilson this season - Nelson (39), Morrison (36), Moore (35), Vaulks (34) and Bacuna (30). Wilson's definitely been accommodated.

[19bluebirds27]

What I mean is that we cannot get high enough up the pitch often enough in games where he can have an effect.

He has to go looking too often for the ball, taking him away from his position, rather than being found in space.
We spend a lot of time out of possession, constantly trying to keep shape our counter attacks can be a bit one dimensional too, by missing out the midfield than being able to find Wilson to drive it forward with the ball at his feet and the picture in front of him.
Like I said we wanted it work, but he just don’t suite the way we were this season.

[blue lewj]

Works hard most of the time, falls over a bit too easily, complains a bit too much, capable of moments for absolute magic but not often enough. Not as good at free kicks as Whitts was.

Wales Online are running a story that suggests we didn’t get the best out of him and I think there is truth in that.
Playing in a team struggling to win is never easy and the support he needed wasn’t always there.

But my overall feeling is still that he is over hyped.

What do you think?

I gave my opinion on him when we got him on loan.

I said that his set pieces aside (which can be ridiculously good) I didn't think he was the player some built him up to be. That was rubbished by some here but I think the season has revealed the truth on that and I haven't changed my opinion on him.

He is capable of flashes of brilliance without doubt but all too few and far between. These flashes are followed by long periods of games where he does very little and is nothing short of anonymous.

City could definitely have used him better but how.

Some painted him as unquestionably one of the best players in the league. Not for me he isn't. The best players in any league force themselves on a game, get on the ball and make things happen. Wilson has so many games where he is anonymous.

If we are to judge his season here and where he is at in his career let's see how many clubs come in at his supposed £20 million price tag. I would be in two minds at half that if I'm honest.

[City123]

I have no idea how reliable any of the 'assists' tallies are - they seem to vary and some of the so-called assists just take the piss. For instance, the BBC awarded Wilson an assist on Saturday for the first goal!

I presume corners and free kicks get credited as assists, as I don't recall Wilson providing too many from open play. There have been a few decent ones for sure, but not enough to rank him second in the division.

Here's how its broken down by WhoScored and it seems fair enough to me. 11 assists, 2 from freekicks and 4 corners, rest from open play https://www.whoscored.com/Players/33...w/Harry-Wilson

I think an assist for the Vaulks goal is fair, everyone's expecting a Wilson shot but he backheels it, giving Vaulks a clear sight at goal between the wall and the rest of Blackburn's defence.

[19bluebirds27]

Not talking about just purely being picked to play - but being able to get him the ball in positions,
with willing runners and support, where his obvious talent can have an impact.

It’s a waste him having to drop to deep to go and get the ball 70 yards away from goal.
Having said that it’s harder to analyse and follow a player on TV coverage alone and have balanced judgment when your not in a stadium.

[City123]

What I mean is that we cannot get high enough up the pitch often enough in games where he can have an effect.

He has to go looking too often for the ball, taking him away from his position, rather than being found in space.
We spend a lot of time out of possession, constantly trying to keep shape our counter attacks can be a bit one dimensional too, by missing out the midfield than being able to find Wilson to drive it forward with the ball at his feet and the picture in front of him.
Like I said we wanted it work, but he just don’t suite the way we were this season.

Pretty much how I see it. A lot of people are calling on him to impose himself more on games, he does impose himself. He closes down well and constantly calls for the ball so I don't really see what more he can do short of tackling the opponent's striker and running the pitch.

The issues aren't down to one one player, they're structural, for too long we've eschewed talented players in favour of grafters and its pretty obvious whenever we play. Our best hope going forward appears to be to force a set piece rather than opening up the opposition's defence with quality play.

I was excited when we signed him because it also seemed to indicate a move to a less agricultural style of play, but it didn't really. We passed the ball across the defence a bit but it still ended in a hoof to Moore so thinking back I don't really know why we bothered signing Wilson considering he obviously doesn't fit into our style of football and his inclusion into our starting XI wasn't going to miraculously us into a side capable of slick passing moves

[The Lone Gunman]

I think an assist for the Vaulks goal is fair, everyone's expecting a Wilson shot but he backheels it, giving Vaulks a clear sight at goal between the wall and the rest of Blackburn's defence.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one - for me, rolling the ball a yard or so does not constitute an assist, but there we go.

I went through all of the match reports on the BBC site earlier (which didn't take long at all) and could only find four genuine Wilson assists from open play. We all know his set piece delivery is excellent and, of course, he has the added benefit of lumps like Moore and Morrison getting on the end of them on a regular basis. However, I've been surprised by how infrequently this season Wilson has had a significant effect on games from open play considering his obvious abilities.

From what I've seen, I don't think he's going to develop into a regular top-flight performer. He's 24 years old now, so it's not as if he's still in the genuine youngster bracket. It's by no means impossible that he could add more to his game in time, but it seems unlikely to me. I think he's going to remain as one of those players who produces occasional flashes of brilliance at this level, but doesn't have the all-round game for the next level.