Ben Close

[roversdude]

I’ve been critical of him earlier this season but he was class tonight

[Chris Black come back]

He can definitely play. They didn’t press him too much though.

[Bailey Vickerage]

How some don’t rate him is beyond me, quality again today, ran the game after the first half hour and was brilliant off the ball aswell.

[danumdon]

He can definitely play. They didn’t press him too much though.

Exactly, we have players who given room will look good, we just need to be able to produce when big, ugly and physical 4th division teams get in our faces. The extra seconds on the ball tonight made a massive difference, we always seem to play well against teams that let us play.

[Ryaldinhio]

I really rate him and I think WHEN we go up into a better standard of football he will stand out even more. Said it a few times he is almost too good to be down here. I genuinly think he could go to championship and look comfortable because its a different game up there.

Been good to see him getting stuck in a bit this season.

With him and westbrooke we look good in possession. Problem is when either one is out the one left has not outlet.

[GazLaz]

Said since he signed, he’s our best player. Just needs to stay fit.

[SirRobertJones]

Our best player against Harrogate too. Finds space beautifully and can pick a pass out. Quality.

[PDX_Rover]

Always liked him. He’s added a little more steel to his game too. Hopefully he adds some more.

[dickos1]

He’s a great player
And people think we should get rid in the summer

[roversdude]

Agree with PDX definitely added a bit of toughness to his game

[andyst79]

I really rate him and I think WHEN we go up into a better standard of football he will stand out even more. Said it a few times he is almost too good to be down here. I genuinly think he could go to championship and look comfortable because its a different game up there.

Been good to see him getting stuck in a bit this season.

With him and westbrooke we look good in possession. Problem is when either one is out the one left has not outlet.

We're not in L1 or anywhere near though, we're near the bottom of L2 and require players that are capable of performing week in week out to get us out of this division. I understand why people rate Close and I want him to be a success but his performances aren't consistent enough & I'm assuming he's still on a L1 wage ?(I could be wrong) Just think we could get better value elsewhere if this is the case.

[DonnyOsmond]

He’s a great player
And people think we should get rid in the summer

Some people had a preferred midfield 3 of Rowe, Broadbent and Biggins earlier in the season. People clearly don't know what they're on about.

[ncRover]

There’s nothing wrong with being frustrated that he hasn’t shown regular consistency against far worse sides than Wigan for the last 2 years.

[Alan Southstand]

It’s just nice to have him on the pitch, instead of being injured.

More consistent than some of our other midfielders!

[NickDRFC]

He’s a great player
And people think we should get rid in the summer

Some people had a preferred midfield 3 of Rowe, Broadbent and Biggins earlier in the season. People clearly don't know what they're on about.

People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can’t trust people.

[BillyStubbsTears]

He’s a great player
And people think we should get rid in the summer

Some people had a preferred midfield 3 of Rowe, Broadbent and Biggins earlier in the season. People clearly don't know what they're on about.

People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can’t trust people.

There's a quote for the ages.

[Colin C No.3]

Said since he signed, he’s our best player. Just needs to stay fit.

Disagree.

Our best player by a country mile is Owen Bailey. I just wish we could get him in a midfield berth. He has vision, a great engine & can’t be bullied by opponents.

[jmt23]

The reason he is not praised - in my opinion is his style of play,  he is not blood and thunder, diving into tackles taking both man and ball.

Some fans only respect that type of player, and begrudgingly admit “close” like players are any good.

Unfortunately for Ben, this league doesn’t help his style at all, but when teams do give us more time, he is the one who ends up having most of the ball. The new loanee will help him, he is of a similar ilk, and they will link well.
If they can find a way to have Bailey in wit( them for added grit, that could be the ideal.

[Reg of the Rovers]

He’s a great player
And people think we should get rid in the summer

Some people had a preferred midfield 3 of Rowe, Broadbent and Biggins earlier in the season. People clearly don't know what they're on about.

People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can’t trust people.

I don't think you can really compare the two, just think about the atrocities, all the pain and suffering that they caused. Then there was the Nazis. 

[KingKendrick]

I think that they were just rumours about Ben Close being a nazi, it’s far more likely he is a fan of Coldplay

[sedwardsdrfc]

The reason he is not praised - in my opinion is his style of play,  he is not blood and thunder, diving into tackles taking both man and ball.

Some fans only respect that type of player, and begrudgingly admit “close” like players are any good.

Unfortunately for Ben, this league doesn’t help his style at all, but when teams do give us more time, he is the one who ends up having most of the ball. The new loanee will help him, he is of a similar ilk, and they will link well.
If they can find a way to have Bailey in wit( them for added grit, that could be the ideal.

I can live with him not been much of a tackler or physically dominant the middle of the park. Think I expect him to grab the game more on the ball and help us dominate possession. Some games he shows he can do it then in others he’s not in it enough.

If we had a better team around him he’d look brilliant. Think we should try to keep him for that reason

[GazLaz]

Said since he signed, he’s our best player. Just needs to stay fit.

Disagree.

Our best player by a country mile is Owen Bailey. I just wish we could get him in a midfield berth. He has vision, a great engine & can’t be bullied by opponents.

Bailey is good. We haven’t seen enough of him in midfield yet to say he’s better than Close in my opinion. Different kinds of players as well. Bailey will never be as good on the ball as Close but does have other assets.

I like Bailey and he’s been a revelation in a poor team but he’s 25. A lot of people (I’m not saying you by the way) talk like he’s 21 and could develop into a monster player. I think that’s unlikely but I’m sure he will be a pretty solid player for us for a while yet. Close is a class above at the minute for me.

[Butchers Red]

Said since he signed, he’s our best player. Just needs to stay fit.

Disagree.

Our best player by a country mile is Owen Bailey. I just wish we could get him in a midfield berth. He has vision, a great engine & can’t be bullied by opponents.

Bailey is good. We haven’t seen enough of him in midfield yet to say he’s better than Close in my opinion. Different kinds of players as well. Bailey will never be as good on the ball as Close but does have other assets.

I like Bailey and he’s been a revelation in a poor team but he’s 25. A lot of people (I’m not saying you by the way) talk like he’s 21 and could develop into a monster player. I think that’s unlikely but I’m sure he will be a pretty solid player for us for a while yet. Close is a class above at the minute for me.

Bailey missed 538 days following serious injury - so he will be slightly behind others of his age in terms of experience to be fair.

Fact is - both Close and Bailey are well above this level as we saw last night.

[selby]

Wigan next to threw that game last night and lost the tie, we didn't win it and for the first half and the last ten minutes when they went after a winner we didn't get a kick anywhere on the park.
   We stuck at it and got the result we needed, but non of our midfielders would get in their team as a regular.
  Their blond haired sub Humphtys ran straight through  half our team near the end when Jones saved with his legs. and the best midfielder on the night was Adeeko., I would take him as a defensive midfielder.
  Putting on four subs in ten second half minutes disrupting their play got us back in the game, in the context of the game, bad management.
  To put it into context we have won one of our last eight league games when we have had most of our midfielders available apart from Westbrook and are not blessed with any world beaters in the team, we have players some supporters like more than others in a bottom half division 2 side, and Close has played in a lot of  games since joining us that has taken us down from a top half division 1 side.

[Colin C No.3]

In this division Close is a ‘luxury player’ imo.

We know in Lg2 there is no space, no time to spend on the ball in midfield looking for that ‘perfect pass’, Close is no Stock.

Having played at a lower league, Owen has learned to ‘mix it’ with the hard/take your legs off by the knees ‘players’ there. Not only that, but he has consistently performed at a level that belies his ‘pedigree’ (gawd knows what anybody’s stats made of him re xg’s etc before he joined us) & indeed he has warranted the praise given to him by supporters & his manager alike.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

In this division Close is a ‘luxury player’ imo.

We know in Lg2 there is no space, no time to spend on the ball in midfield looking for that ‘perfect pass’, Close is no Stock.

Having played at a lower league, Owen has learned to ‘mix it’ with the hard/take your legs off by the knees ‘players’ there. Not only that, but he has consistently performed at a level that belies his ‘pedigree’ (gawd knows what anybody’s stats made of him re xg’s etc before he joined us) & indeed he has warranted the praise given to him by supporters & his manager alike.

Not quite the same type of player but, looming at it the other way, all players to a point are only as good as those around them.

Had Stock been surrounded by more inferior players, then we might also be saying he was a 'luxury' player or not what we need for this division.

When things go well and with the right support, Close can make the team tick.

[roversdude]

Selby think your account has been hacked by In the Box

[Jimmydee]

I just want him to shoot at goal a bit more often, then he might replicate his wonder goal that he scored earlier in the season, even if it was a fluke.