Josh Onomah

[Gutter Boy]

Remember the last academy player we kicked out because of his 'rebellious haircut'

(Although of course he did later score a cup final winner for us)

 

[Rorschach]

The haircut stuff is ridiculous.

 

[AdamB]

The haircut stuff is ridiculous.

I dont think whoever posted it was being serious

 

[par_18]

Someone was telling me the other day that the reason a lot of young footballers have outrageous dodgy barnets is that it is encouraged by parents/agents as it supposedly helps the player to get noticed and stand out more to scouts/coaches etc.

 

[Bullet]

Someone was telling me the other day that the reason a lot of young footballers have outrageous dodgy barnets is that it is encouraged by parents/agents as it supposedly helps the player to get noticed and stand out more to scouts/coaches etc.

Interesting. Certainly helps; if a player has a 'beacon' haircut you definitely notice them more during a game. If we play a few players of similar build / colour / position it is a lot harder to distinguish who did what. Commentators hate it.

 

[Grays_1890]

Far to early to rule this player out of a career at Spurs, for me I would send him out on loan to grow some intensity to his game. 40 games back to back over a season will toughen him up .

THe current set up of youth games and the odd first team appearance is not going to get the best out of him

 

[BrainOfLevy]

The haircut stuff is clearly ridiculous but I think the 'he acts like he's made it' stuff is too. I think he's the type of player that does things that coaches love, the unselfish stuff, clever runs off the ball making space for others. It shows intelligence but isn't immediately obvious in the chaos of a game.

If people want to say they don't like what he brings, or just don't see it, fine. But accusing the kid of having a bad attitude when they know nothing about the guy, when he's clearly rated by our manager and everything we know about our manager suggests the one thing he looks for is effort, application, attitude as a starting point, it's just a really confusing position to take. We can debate all we like whether he has the ability, but I don't think we can talk like he has an attitude problem. He wouldn't be anywhere near the team if he did.

 

[parklane1]

Well i have seen him play in all his games for the first team (25 plus) and have said before i am not sure what he brings to the team. However i do not think he was poor yesterday and it was probably his best game for us. As others have said when all our players are fit i really can not see him playing more then the odd game, so maybe its best for him to go on loan.

 

[Libero]

I, like ParkLane1, have seen most if not all his matches at first team level live and have always tried to keep a particular eye on him and have never been impressed. That all being said and it is my belief he isn't anywhere good enough, I still feel he definitely deserves a chance at a season long loan in the championship at a side where he is going to be forced to sink or swim. A chance to actually earn his money and win bonuses and dominate games against seasoned professionals.

When you look at the difference between him and Winks in how they actually try to get through a game, I think the contrast is quite marked. Obviously totally different players but Winks has from the very start actually buzzed about with purpose, got involved and been quite positive when he has the chance. When Onomah has the ball or looks to support, I'm not quite sure what he offers and maybe he isn't sure either. Maybe underneath it all he doesn't believe in himself as much we would assume he does, who knows? I think the fact that no one can really define his specific position is probably a big issue and consequently what is really expected of him depending on where he is played in his limited game time.

Happy to be proved wrong but I don't see the talent there to carry him through with us but he definitely deserves and requires the opportunity to play week in, week out in his favoured position (whatever that may be) and come back to us more mature in body and playing ability.

 

[parklane1]

I, like ParkLane1, have seen most if not all his matches at first team level live and have always tried to keep a particular eye on him and have never been impressed. That all being said and it is my belief he isn't anywhere good enough, I still feel he definitely deserves a chance at a season long loan in the championship at a side where he is going to be forced to sink or swim. A chance to actually earn his money and win bonuses and dominate games against seasoned professionals.

When you look at the difference between him and Winks in how they actually try to get through a game, I think the contrast is quite marked. Obviously totally different players but Winks has from the very start actually buzzed about with purpose, got involved and been quite positive when he has the chance. When Onomah has the ball or looks to support, I'm not quite sure what he offers and maybe he isn't sure either. Maybe underneath it all he doesn't believe in himself as much we would assume he does, who knows? I think the fact that no one can really define his specific position is probably a big issue and consequently what is really expected of him depending on where he is played in his limited game time.

Happy to be proved wrong but I don't see the talent there to carry him through with us but he definitely deserves and requires the opportunity to play week in, week out in his favoured position (whatever that may be) and come back to us more mature in body and playing ability.

This for me as well, Winks looks like he belongs at this level where as Onomah looks lost a lot of the time.

 

[Rorschach]

Someone was telling me the other day that the reason a lot of young footballers have outrageous dodgy barnets is that it is encouraged by parents/agents as it supposedly helps the player to get noticed and stand out more to scouts/coaches etc.

I think there is some truth in this.

 

[Yoof]

He looks lost because he's not an attacking player.

@Libero you may be surprised but he and Winks aren't actually that different, they both do their best work in the same areas of the field, just a little differently in styles. Onomah's just drawn the short-straw so to speak and is having to adapt to a different role, a role he never even particularly excelled in at youth level so it's no surprise he's struggling to make any kind of impact for the first team.

 

[Robspur12]

He looks lost because he's not an attacking player.

@Libero you may be surprised but he and Winks aren't actually that different, they both do their best work in the same areas of the field, just a little differently in styles. Onomah's just drawn the short-straw so to speak and is having to adapt to a different role, a role he never even particularly excelled in at youth level so it's no surprise he's struggling to make any kind of impact for the first team.

I've not seen him as much as other posters but wasn't he being touted as cover for Dembele? That means he would have to be comfortable carrying the ball through midfield.

 

[Yoof]

I've not seen him as much as other posters but wasn't he being touted as cover for Dembele? That means he would have to be comfortable carrying the ball through midfield.

Yes, in terms of the role he plays and what he brings to the team Dembele is the most comparable player. Whatever kind of midfielder you'd describe Dembele as, you would also apply the same label to Onomah, that's where he's played and impressed so much throughout his formative years.

 

[Robspur12]

Yes, in terms of the role he plays and what he brings to the team Dembele is the most comparable player. Whatever kind of midfielder you'd describe Dembele as, you would also apply the same label to Onomah, that's where he's played and impressed so much throughout his formative years.

Thanks for the response mate. That would make him different to Winks though?

 

[Yoof]

Thanks for the response mate. That would make him different to Winks though?

Different but they operate more or less in the same area of the field. Winks is the busy-bee that gets the ball and moves it on, Onomah gets the ball and drives forward but he's not the guy you want on the end of it, which is where he's playing now. Both are central midfielders at the end of the day. This video, even if not particularly amazing gives a better idea of where Onomah has played the majority of his career at youth level -

Spoiler

 

[Lemonade Money]

Someone was telling me the other day that the reason a lot of young footballers have outrageous dodgy barnets is that it is encouraged by parents/agents as it supposedly helps the player to get noticed and stand out more to scouts/coaches etc.

This sounds like advice from a trumping agent.

 

[Cochise]

I kind of like the idea of a back three with Winks and Onomah acting as a pivot in front. It's not gonna happen for at least 2-3 years (if ever), but that would get the best out of the pair of them at the same time.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Different but they operate more or less in the same area of the field. Winks is the busy-bee that gets the ball and moves it on, Onomah gets the ball and drives forward but he's not the guy you want on the end of it, which is where he's playing now. Both are central midfielders at the end of the day. This video, even if not particularly amazing gives a better idea of where Onomah has played the majority of his career at youth level -

Spoiler

That's how I've seen him play youth football too ... bossing midfield

Maybe he just isn't physicalky developed yet to be given a chance in centre mid and I get that playing him in a attacking role gives him a different experience to learn from, but he needs a lot of coaching to learn how to play there, whereas he looks a natural fit in midlfield

 

[afsoc4life]

If the recent posts are correct then I strongly believe that Onomah needs to go on loan either in the Netherlands or the lower levels.