Joe Willock

[Howmanheyman 33221]

14 minutes ago, Monkeys Fist said:

I hope so cos I’ve just cracked one out. 

 

[PaddockLad 17262]

AM NOT COMPARING WILLOCK TO CRUYFF!!  

 

but the great man would’ve been 76 today… I think he’d have enjoyed our display on Sunday

 

 

 

[Alex 35083]

2 minutes ago, PaddockLad said:

AM NOT COMPARING WILLOCK TO CRUYFF!!  

 

but the great man would’ve been 76 today… I think he’d have enjoyed our display on Sunday

 

 

 

He’s on about the current Sunderland team 👍🏻

[Alex 35083]

I think it was in David Winner’s Brilliant Orange where’s he on about Cruyff. He said Cruyff had so much time to think about how the game should be played because when he was 18, he could already do everything 

[PaddockLad 17262]

1 minute ago, Alex said:

I think it was in David Winner’s Brilliant Orange where’s he on about Cruyff. He said Cruyff had so much time to think about how the game should be played because when he was 18, he could already do everything 

Criminally forgotten nowadays in the pantheon of all time greats, along with Pele. Ronaldo and Messi didn’t help invent a new way of playing the game. Johan Cruyff did and Barca (& now Man City) are influenced by it to this day. He was my dads favourite player. I’ve just sent my battered copy of Brilliant Orange to a charity shop…think I’ll get it on audio book.. David Wimner is always up for a chat on twitter too, very nice fella 👍

[Alex 35083]

1 minute ago, PaddockLad said:

Criminally forgotten nowadays in the pantheon of all time greats, along with Pele. Ronaldo and Messi didn’t help invent a new way of playing the game. Johan Cruyff did and Barca (& now Man City) are influenced by it to this day. He was my dads favourite player. I’ve just sent my battered copy of Brilliant Orange to a charity shop…think I’ll get it on audio book.. David Wimner is always up for a chat on twitter too, very nice fella 👍

When Cruyff passed away I was talking to Tooj when we were out for a few jars. He said (and it’s hard to disagree) that no one had more influence on the modern game than Cruyff. When you think about the way he played the game, his time coaching/managing teams, as a commentator, philosopher on the game, as an administrator, etc….

[RobinRobin 11272]

10 hours ago, Alex said:

When Cruyff passed away I was talking to Tooj when we were out for a few jars. He said (and it’s hard to disagree) that no one had more influence on the modern game than Cruyff. When you think about the way he played the game, his time coaching/managing teams, as a commentator, philosopher on the game, as an administrator, etc….

Is he the only player with a move named after him? 

[wykikitoon 20146]

13 hours ago, Alex said:

When Cruyff passed away I was talking to Tooj when we were out for a few jars. He said (and it’s hard to disagree) that no one had more influence on the modern game than Cruyff. When you think about the way he played the game, his time coaching/managing teams, as a commentator, philosopher on the game, as an administrator, etc….

You still in touch with Tooj?  That video on Cruyff he made was great from what I remember.  Well, I think it was his!

[Meenzer 15529]

4 hours ago, RobinRobin said:

Is he the only player with a move named after him? 

 

Panenka!

[OTF 7295]

4 hours ago, RobinRobin said:

Is he the only player with a move named after him? 

 The Steven Taylor; it's a complex one, so you don't see it as often as something as basic as the Cruyff turn.

 

 

[Alex 35083]

1 hour ago, wykikitoon said:

You still in touch with Tooj?  That video on Cruyff he made was great from what I remember.  Well, I think it was his!

Yeah. I don’t get out much these days tbh But we probably catch up and have a few bevvies every couple of months 

[Alex 35083]

5 hours ago, RobinRobin said:

Is he the only player with a move named after him? 

No, but easily the most famous 

[The Fish 10857]

5 hours ago, RobinRobin said:

Is he the only player with a move named after him? 

A 'Murphy' - Hitting the post when one on one was submitted to the naming committee, but recent events have made them reconsider it. 

[Alex 35083]

13 minutes ago, The Fish said:

A 'Murphy' - Hitting the post when one on one was submitted to the naming committee, but recent events have made them reconsider it. 

Now named after the move where you kick the ball away when pretending to pick it up 

[RobinRobin 11272]

The Lascelles which involves getting booked without getting on the pitch? 

[LongTimeAdmirer 1257]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/05/12/joe-willock-interview-newcastle-united-arsenal-eddie-howe/

 

Joe Willock: Moving from Arsenal turned me into a man

Joe Willock: ‘I was homesick when I joined Newcastle – it hurt Arsenal did not value me’
Exclusive interview: Midfielder thriving in North East after realising he 'was not valued' at Arsenal and now has England ambitions

 

When Joe Willock ends this interview saying he feels at home at Newcastle United, happy, and settled, playing the best football of his career, under a brilliant manager alongside teammates he has come to think of as family, it is a more powerful statement than you might realise.

 

For the first time, Willock, whose excellent performances this season have pushed him to the periphery of the England squad, has revealed he suffered terribly with homesickness. Living on his own, in the middle of the Northumbrian countryside, he wondered if he had made an awful mistake.

 

Pulled away from all his family and friends, as well as the comfortable and reassuring surroundings of Arsenal, Willock struggled after agreeing to turn a loan into a permanent move in the summer of 2021.

 

“At the time, it was overwhelming,” Willock explained, his wide eyes dominating his boyish face. “Leaving London, leaving Arsenal and coming into the unknown really, it was hard but it was the right time. I’d never been this far north before, I’d never visited Newcastle.

 

“To experience a totally different dressing room environment, under a different manager, playing with real pressure on your shoulders because we were in that relegation battle, it was the making of me. “I had been so protected at Arsenal. I was a young kid coming through the age groups, then a young player trying to break into the first team. Even when I played in the first team it was like, ‘oh he’s just a young kid.’ “There was nothing like the same pressure there. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it wasn’t as competitive as playing for Newcastle. I came here and I was expected to be one of the main players to get us out of trouble.”

 

Willock did just that, but he does not attempt to hide any of the personal problems he endured. The emotions are raw, yet he is proud of what he has achieved. Not so much as a player - although he is a far better one now than he was when he arrived - but what he went through away from the training ground.

 

“I think I arrived a boy and have turned into a man,” he explained. “Maybe not so much in that short period of time on loan, but making the difficult decision to sign permanently. I look back now and I’ve definitely grown up a lot. I was so young and raw.

 

“The loan went really well, but it probably masked a lot of things that I needed to learn, not just football, but about life in general.

 

“My game has grown so much, but I have grown up too. I scored a load of goals in that loan spell and that grabbed headlines, but it masked a lot of my weaknesses.”

 

For all Arsenal have also improved since he left, Willock has blossomed on Tyneside into a dynamic, all action midfield player. The memory of his departure, though, still stings.

 

“I remember that summer going back to Arsenal and I didn’t know what to do,” he admitted. “I’d enjoyed the loan but to make it permanent was a big call. I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave Arsenal.

 

“I probably thought I was going to go back and things would be the same. I’d be working to break into the first team again and everything would be familiar and comfortable.

 

“When the talk of a permanent move started I wasn’t sure, you know. The fans probably made that decision easier but also Steve Bruce. He really fought to bring me here, he was great for me.

 

“We had loads of conversations on the phone that summer. I wasn’t valued at Arsenal, that became clear. When I had a meeting with them, it was obvious they wanted me to go. Yeah, it hurt.

 

“I would probably have drifted for another year had I stayed. I’d been there since I was four-and-a-half years old. I’d given my life to Arsenal. At that meeting it just felt like my time was up. I didn’t feel valued anymore and that was it, I was going to sign for Newcastle after that.”

 

It was a big move, a daunting one, but after months struggling to adapt to his new life, the arrival of Eddie Howe as manager helped bring out the best in him.

 

“Newcastle is my home now,” Willock enthused. “I love the place, the fans, the people, the city. But to be honest with you I was really homesick. It lasted the whole of that first season. I was so used to my London ways. I was close to my family and everything was the same.

 

“Suddenly I was at the other end of the country, living on my own. It was difficult. I was miserable at times.

 

“I would go home after training and it would kick in. The team was struggling at the start of the season. I didn’t think I was playing well. I didn’t have anyone to take my mind off things. I was alone for the first time and spent way too much time thinking about everything.

 

“Coming through that period was the making of me. The manager (Howe) has been fantastic and he’s been one of the most important people, without a doubt, in terms of developing me as a player. But also as a human.

 

“You can speak to him about anything. For him to be genuinely interested in you and everything going on, it’s brilliant. He’s done an amazing job.

 

“He has created an environment for players like me, but also players like (Brazil international) Bruno who are from the other side of the world, to feel at home. We are like one big family here. Newcastle is an incredible place to play football.”

 

Willock has been watched by England manager Southgate this season and earned the nickname Williockinho from supporters for his silky skills alongside Brazilian pair Bruno and Joelinton. But there is one thing - or rather lots of them - that he is missing.  Having burst onto the scene at Newcastle with eight goals in 14 appearances on loan, including seven in consecutive appearances, Willock’s finishing is the only thing that has let him down. Since arriving for £25m in the summer of 2021, Willock has only managed five in 70 appearances.

 

“My all round game has developed in so many ways, defensively and offensively,” he explained. “I think I’m far more involved in games than I was. I’m affecting them regularly. I understand my role a lot more, but there is still a long way to go.

 

“Of course, I want to play for England. I’ve represented England through the age group levels so yeah I want to play for the senior side. I hope that I’m pushing to get in the squad now but we have to finish the season strongly - I have to finish the season strongly.

 

“I know I need to score more goals, that’s the thing that hasn’t happened this season and it is annoying. I’ve been getting into the positions to score and not taking the chances.

 

“Maybe I need to speak to Alan (Shearer) and get some advice. I’ve looked at my stats and if I’d taken those chances I would be up there with the leading midfield players in Europe. But I’ve not taken them. I know what Alan will say - hit the ball hard - but I think I’ve been hitting it too hard.”

 

It says much about how comfortable Willock is in himself that he can say the last bit with a laugh, but Newcastle still have serious business to take care of.

 

Sitting third in the table ahead of Saturday’s trip to Leeds United, the Magpies realistically still need another six points from their remaining four games to guarantee a Champions League place.

 

“This season has been a hell of a ride,” Willock added. “We’ve got to a cup final and we are third in the league, but you ask any of the players, we don’t feel like we have achieved anything yet. “We have come a long way from fighting relegation to third in the league, which is a credit to the whole club, from the owners, to the manager to the coaches. It’s down to everybody.

 

“But we think this is the start of our journey. Things are going to get better and better. I’m so happy here, I love playing football for this club and I’m going to get better too. I can still take my game to another level.”

 

And he will be doing that with Newcastle, happy and content. A London boy taken in by the Geordies, excelling in black and white stripes. He is well on the way to becoming one of their own.

 

 

 

 

 

Great interview. Willock/Bruno/Longstaff

 

UCL winning midfield.

[ewerk 30611]

Joe Willock, Joelinton, ASM, Callum Wilson. That Steve Bruce fella really did have an eye for a good player*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*As long as he's nowhere near the coaching of them.

[Monkeys Fist 42449]

Good to hear him speaking so positively about the club and the city. 
 

You hear players say stuff like that all the time, but given his honesty about his initial problems, you get the sense he’s not just blowing smoke up our arses. 
 

Good lad. 
 

( I don’t know if he’s from a nice family )

[Alex 35083]

1 hour ago, ewerk said:

Joe Willock, Joelinton, ASM, Callum Wilson. That Steve Bruce fella really did have an eye for a good player*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*As long as he's nowhere near the coaching of them.

Or looking after their wellbeing, etc. it’s fucking mental how much some clubs neglect that sort of thing when you consider how valuable players are as assets and how much it can impact on their play etc. It comes as absolutely no surprise given the previous manager / regime that Willock wasn’t supported though (reading between the lines) 

[RobinRobin 11272]

13 hours ago, ewerk said:

Joe Willock, Joelinton, ASM, Callum Wilson. That Steve Bruce fella really did have an eye for a good player*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*As long as he's nowhere near the coaching of them.

Or actually choosing them in the first place (apart from Wilson)

[Kid Dynamite 7029]

I remember thinking it was a bit weird that he bought a house out in the sticks when he moved up here. Bliss if you're a 40 year old who hates people. Probably a bit isolating if you're 23, live on your own and finish work at 1pm every day.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Kid Dynamite

[The Fish 10857]

Kind of expect Howe and the coaches to encourage more team bonding shit away from the training ground. 

 

Didn't Pardew's teams use to have barbecues and that? 

[Monkeys Fist 42449]

1 minute ago, The Fish said:

Didn't Pardew's teams use to have barbecues and that? 

Aye, but Eddie isn’t trying to bang their lasses, soooo…

[The Fish 10857]

13 minutes ago, Monkeys Fist said:

Aye, but Eddie isn’t trying to bang their lasses, soooo…

Mad Dog however,

[Dr Gloom 21924]