Mike Williamson

[Barney 0]

Managers? Do you mean agents?

 

 

Holloway has a clause in his contract that rewards the Tangerines boss for selling a player for a higher amount than he was signed for.

 

This has become a standard clause in managers contracts. The secret footballer was recently saying that there are these sort of players signed at every club, to develop and make profit for the club and give the manager a cut.

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Impressed by him, more than adequate replacement for Taylor.

[Tooj 17]

We haven't missed Taylor since he has been back.

[Meenzer 13967]

Colo is to Williamson as Woodgate is to O'Brien.

[hostile_statue 0]

Colo is to Williamson as Woodgate is to O'Brien.

 

Williamson, although limited, is definitely a better player than O'Brien (who was gash) though.

[Kid Dynamite 5884]

Obrien is a legend cos he used to roll up to the training ground in a 15year old Saab whilst Dyer was writing off his 4th ferrari on the swing bridge

[Dr Gloom 19736]

He's good competition for Taylor. I don't think there's much in it between them - both old fashioned,big, no nonsense centre halfs. Colo is the one with a touch of class. I wouldn't fancy pairing the other two together if the skipper was out. The less said about our 4th choice option at centre half the better too.

[Kid Dynamite 5884]

Taylor edges it for me, he was one of our best players in the first ten games

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

Taylor is dangerous in the opposition's box at corners too, which is nice.

[jonasjuice 0]

Think the ideal cb signing for us atm would basically be a young Colo style cb, who wouldn't mind not being an automatic starter for a while and could learn from him (even if it's only until he leaves in the summer....).

 

Williamson and Taylor are both good enough at what they do and have relatively long (if im not mistaken) contracts left on wages that aren't gonna upset Ashley.

 

Would not be able to name such a player mind.

[Holden McGroin 4812]

Someone like David Luiz you mean?

 

Taylor has been superb since the backend of last season - when he was eventually fit.

 

I dont think an England (re)call was out of the question before his injury, especially as Pearce seems to love him. I'd actually rather have him than Gary Cahill anyway.

Edited January 15, 2012 by Holden McGroin

[David Kelly 1115]

Williamson is as good a million pound as we've spent in a long while.

Not a great player by any means but he comes in and does a job and rarely let's us down.

Colo definitely helps him though.

[toonotl 2406]

Colo definitely has that rare quality of making those around him play better. His value to us is enormous in that respect is pretty obvious and I think we all recognise that fact.

 

On Willo, I still don't rate him particularly highly and the same goes for Saylor. Willo deserves credit though for his recent form. It has been good.

 

In saying that any centreback we sign, if it happens, should be viewed as good enough to push Saylor/Willo to the bench.

[JonTheMag 4]

Willo is nothing special, but he's consistent and works hard, which for a 3rd choice CB is exactly what you need. Someone who can fill in without much fuss and do exactly what you expect of him.

[Barney 0]

Pretty poor with the ball at his feet. He's been pretty good since his return though, him and Tayls compliment Colo well.

 

Colo is something special though. It's like having Pirlo or someone at centre back the way he uses the ball. Everything starts through him. He has a really good fitness record, even at Depor. The thought of an injury to him and us lining up with Perch and Williamson is scary.

[rogerbarton 24]

Shocked by the criticism Willo was getting at the end of last season. Think he's a very solid centre back. Like Taylor, very much a limited defender who suits playing alongside someone as classy as Colo who can be the ball player. Both Steven Taylor and Williamson are very good partners for Colo but, as things stand, we only have two fit centre backs for the rest of the season. Definitely need cover.

[Guest alex]

Pretty poor with the ball at his feet. He's been pretty good since his return though, him and Tayls compliment Colo well.

 

Colo is something special though. It's like having Pirlo or someone at centre back the way he uses the ball. Everything starts through him. He has a really good fitness record, even at Depor. The thought of an injury to him and us lining up with Perch and Williamson is scary.

Agricultural

I think he's a bit of a tart still when he's playing against a big, strong centre-forward. That's a bit of a problem when you consider he's not a footballing centre-half by any stretch of the imagination.

[Guest alex]

Pretty poor with the ball at his feet. He's been pretty good since his return though, him and Tayls compliment Colo well.

 

Colo is something special though. It's like having Pirlo or someone at centre back the way he uses the ball. Everything starts through him. He has a really good fitness record, even at Depor. The thought of an injury to him and us lining up with Perch and Williamson is scary.

Agricultural

I think he's a bit of a tart still when he's playing against a big, strong centre-forward. That's a bit of a problem when you consider he's not a footballing centre-half by any stretch of the imagination.

 

agreed seems to get knocked of the ball easy enough which is odd considering he's not exactly small, still rate taylor head and shoulders above him like.

Was one game last year i remember screaming at the tv because Keane or someone of that size had shrugged him off the ball

Tbh, I think Taylor is only a bit better. Very similar types of defender but Taylor is probably that little bit stronger in most areas. Williamson is probably a bit more 'honest' though.

[Ally 0]

Taylor does a lot more pointing

[toonotl 2406]

Good point.

[RobinRobin 9163]

I wish Willo could head the ball forward, not up in the air. That is the major difference between him and Saylor, to my mind, and makes the latter more of a threat in the opposition box

[OTF 6129]

Good point.

 

 

Credit where it is due, Williamson has come back from injury and slotted straight into the side with some very solid performances. I have no doubt that were he available against Norwich we would have won that game. If he played against West Brom and our tactics were changed (ie. no high line) we'd have improved our chances ten fold there.

[Holden McGroin 4812]

Yep, if he was fit for those games we could be closer to a CL spot

Edited January 19, 2012 by Holden McGroin

[Happy Face 29]

 

Why Mike Williamson Has Been Newcastle's Least Effective Player This Season

 

In many ways, it's unfair that Mike Williamson is the subject of an article such as this. Most Newcastle fans would point to the fact that he is not a first-team player, and he was only pressed into service because of the horrific Toon injury list.

 

However, that doesn't excuse the fact that Williamson has often been the cause of his team's woes this year. The lack of imagination present in the attack stemmed directly from Williamson's tendency to punt the ball upfield instead of playing the simple pass to the midfield.

 

This could be excused if his defending was impressive, or even just adequate. Instead, the 29-year-old has been exposed, forming a calamitous partnership with Danny Simpson that has drawn much ire from the home fans, and much laughter from the opposing ones.

 

A quick glance at the official Magpies website reveals that Newcastle concede 1.49 goals per game with Williamson in the side, and that one in every 4.28 shots on target results in a goal against his team. A lot of this is due to his lack of pace, which makes him a target for fast wingers.

 

He also suffers against misdirection. You know when you go through the action of throwing a stick for a dog, but don't let go of it and the dog peels off after it, thoroughly bewildered? Sometimes it appears that Williamson would be equally fooled if the same trick was attempted against him.

 

Of course, that's far too harsh, but the point remains valid. When an opposing midfielder can just push the ball past a Premier League defender and successfully run it down, there's something wrong with that defender.

 

Williamson's seven yellow cards across 18 games show that he is unable to cope with quicker players, and the rest of the league knows it.

 

This inevitably brings us back to the beginning: Is Williamson a player of Premier League calibre?

 

With the right partner, he can be. Last season, when Fabricio Coloccini was in form, Williamson responded with some consistent play of his own.

 

He looked more solid and Newcastle fared better. He was still caught in possession and easy to eat at pace, but he looked stronger in the challenge and more confident in his ability to win the ball.

 

This season, Coloccini has been absent—both on and off the pitch—and Williamson doesn't have the leadership ability to marshal the defence to a clean sheet. Defeats like the one against Brighton are a result of poor organisation and discipline, and Williamson can't be relied upon in those circumstances.

 

Some defenders have a useful ability to get up the field and score goals. Davide Santon showed this against Wigan when he cut inside and drilled the ball into the corner. This sort of skill is relatively rare, though, and often a defender's goals stem from set pieces, or headers in particular.

 

Williamson is known for being an effective player in aerial battles. In fact, B/R writer Karl Matchett wrote in January that the defender had won more aerial duels than any other player in the league.

 

This should translate to goals, surely?

 

If you're answering “yes” to that question, it should therefore be a surprise to learn that Williamson has never scored for Newcastle. In 69 appearances, he should have found the net by now.

 

While it stands to reason that winning aerial battles with defenders is more difficult than when dealing with forwards, Williamson's overall record doesn't stack up when attacking the opposition. There have been times this year when Newcastle's only tactic at set pieces has been to send Williamson up into the box and hope he gets on the end of a cross.

 

Given his goalscoring record, it's surprising that this idea got off the training ground.

 

Williamson's appearance as the subject of this article doesn't have anything to do with his effort—that has never been in question. He gives everything for the entirety of every game in which he appears, and it makes him easy to root for.

 

He is a squad player who has been forced into first-team action, and to his credit, he does everything Alan Pardew asks of him. He's understandably popular within the squad, and he is always willing to speak to the press, regardless of his own performance or the result.

 

As a person, Mike Williamson is exactly the sort of guy that a manager wants within his ranks. If more players had his great team-first attitude, the sport wouldn't be mired in accusations of greed and selfishness.

 

Unfortunately, that isn't the case, and attitude is nothing without performance.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1573151-why-mike-williamson-has-been-newcastles-least-effective-player-this-season?utm_source=pulse&utm_medium=referral&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

 

Strange timing, but accurate.

[BigWalrus 0]

Don't agree with the detail. Saying he's the weakest player is hardly a shock, but blaming our lack of creativity on him is ridiculous.

 

Missing Tiote (to take the ball off him), Cabaye and HBA is far more of a factor.