Player watch: Josh Onomah
- Thread starter Dharmabum
- Start date
Bobbins
SC's 14th Sexiest Male 2008
- May 5, 2005
- 21,598
- 45,146
I'll get slated for this no doubt as it's a very unfashionable line to take, but even taking into account that he's very young, I've honestly seen little so far to suggest he'll become anything particularly special.
That's fine, not every player is destined to succeed at the top, and perhaps his game will hugely develop over the next couple of years. But unlike Kane, who scored hatfuls at every age and level, or Mason, who was regularly identified as the most talented of his age group at Spurs, or Bentaleb, who came in from nowhere and dominated midfielders ten years older than him, I'm not currently seeing anything from Onomah which is crying out with potential. I'm just not sure what he's actually supposed to be good at, at the moment. He doesn't score, doesn't really create, doesn't dribble particularly well - he tends to just play fairly accurate short passes and get himself into the odd decent position. He's not actually produced anything so far in his (now quite a few) appearances which is a bit disappointing.
Soz. I look forward to him proving me completely wrong in the future.
That's fine, not every player is destined to succeed at the top, and perhaps his game will hugely develop over the next couple of years. But unlike Kane, who scored hatfuls at every age and level, or Mason, who was regularly identified as the most talented of his age group at Spurs, or Bentaleb, who came in from nowhere and dominated midfielders ten years older than him, I'm not currently seeing anything from Onomah which is crying out with potential. I'm just not sure what he's actually supposed to be good at, at the moment. He doesn't score, doesn't really create, doesn't dribble particularly well - he tends to just play fairly accurate short passes and get himself into the odd decent position. He's not actually produced anything so far in his (now quite a few) appearances which is a bit disappointing.
Soz. I look forward to him proving me completely wrong in the future.
That's what I'm getting from his appearances too. He definitely can't score, doesn't look like he will play any defence splitting passes, not the best dribbler and so I'm left to wonder what is his specialty or what is he really good at. I saw that he put in some decent tackles in and that he uses his body very very well when dribbling and retrieving the ball. On the bases of his performances and ability he has shown he definitely isn't a CAM or a winger so hopefully he is a CM in the future and can develop his reading and tackling side of his game.
beats1
Well-Known Member
- Feb 22, 2010
- 30,024
- 29,598
Thats where you're wrong
He does create and he is a very good dribbler, the issue for him in the first team is that he has been pushed out wide and he has struggled as he isn't a wide player at all.
As for the comparisons with Kane, Mason and Bentaleb. They too, are wrong. Onomah is better than Mason at the same age judging on his performances for the U21's. He was a regular in the U18's next to bentaleb, so whilst bentaleb may of come out of nowhere he was playing in a 2 CM with Onomah for the U18's. As for Kane he did better out on loan than the youth team before the 2013 season in which he did very well but worth noting that Onomah has been putting the same level of performance for the U21's that Kane was in the 2013 U21 season.
It must be stressed he has been playing out of position for those games, in a position he has never played in before, even in the youth teams. He was a DM/CM and then moved to AM last season and a half. Now he has been moved out wide a position in which he hasnt played in and we have a better player in Oduwa.
Last edited:
Luka Van der Bale
Well-Known Member
- Jan 29, 2011
- 6,041
- 13,611
Sorry mate, but you are genuinely wrong here. Not just a debatable opinion - you're wrong. Onomah made his under-18 debut at 15, his under-21 debut at 16, was regularly starting for the under-21s at 17 and has now become a first-team squad member at 18. He has very much been identified as the most talented of his age group.
beats1
Well-Known Member
- Feb 22, 2010
- 30,024
- 29,598
Actually made his debut for the U21's at 15(when technically speaking he was still in year 10, YEAR 10!), he came on, playing in a midfield 3 with Mason and Carroll
He was a regular in the Under 18's at 15/16(though CCV and Maghoma also did this when he was a similar age more like 16 but when he was a school boy) also the first time a lot of people saw him was when he was 15 in the Under 19 nextgen series when he played against Barcelona
Last edited:
spurs9
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 11,893
- 34,340
Onomah started in the 4-1 win over Barcelona in the Nextgen series when he was 15 along side Pritchard, who was 19 and Bentaleb, who was 17. Bacelona started Sandro (who occasionally plays in the 1st team), who was 17 at the time and the highly rated Samper, who was 18.
Larryjanta
Well-Known Member
- Apr 22, 2014
- 1,953
- 5,040
They never learn either do they? Waaaay more of our youth players, in recent years, have gone on to be a success with us after being slagged off. I'm still waiting for @kaz Hirai to eat his pants
cookiemonster
Well-Known Member
- Dec 29, 2005
- 2,731
- 5,870
I slagged of Steven Caulker years ago and got slaughtered for it
How he is going to be the next England centrehalf for the next 50 years etc
Now all of you are laughing at him
How he is going to be the next England centrehalf for the next 50 years etc
Now all of you are laughing at him
Lilbaz
Just call me Baz
- Apr 1, 2005
- 41,363
- 74,893
I'm not. We got £9m for him and may yet become a decent premier football player.
Onomah is 18. How we can say he is the finished article is a joke. He has a lot to learn still but has plenty of time.
Sweech
Ruh Roh Ressegnon
- Jun 27, 2013
- 6,752
- 16,378
Whether you end up correct is pretty irrelevant, slagging off anyone that young is just stupid.
Lilbaz
Just call me Baz
- Apr 1, 2005
- 41,363
- 74,893
Especially when they play for us. We need to support and encourage them especially when they make mistakes.
kaz Hirai
Well-Known Member
- Nov 5, 2008
- 17,692
- 25,340
SlotBadger
({})?
- Jul 24, 2013
- 13,919
- 43,640
I completely agree that writing off an 18-year-old is never good, but Bobbins' post has reasoning and justification for his thoughts, rightly or wrongly.
Sweech
Ruh Roh Ressegnon
- Jun 27, 2013
- 6,752
- 16,378
Yeah but he's wrong in his reasoning from the off.
Others have already noted that he has been identified as one of the best, if not the best in his age group. So he's wrong in that point. Anyone who has seen him against his peers in the U21s will confirm he's an exceptionally good dribbler and good creative player, he is a poor finisher though. So wrong on that count.
So no the post doesn't have reasoning and justification if it's built on a platform that's entirely false.
Last edited:
Larryjanta
Well-Known Member
- Apr 22, 2014
- 1,953
- 5,040
Even a blind mole sometimes find a hole
SlotBadger
({})?
- Jul 24, 2013
- 13,919
- 43,640
How can anybody's opinion of a player, going by what they've witnessed, be based on a false platform? Why should anybody take into account what a player has done in the youth setup to give an opinion on any first team performance?
Sweech
Ruh Roh Ressegnon
- Jun 27, 2013
- 6,752
- 16,378
Considering you considered his post to have "reasoning and justification" you appear to not have read it or not read it well. As he clearly brings up comparisons with Mason and Kane when at youth level.
Not only that but Onomah has played too few first team minutes to make any kind of reasoned or justified argument so you would need to see youth matches to understand the player. Even ignoring his extremely young age is the fact that nearly our entire best 11 has been written off before by similar fans when said players were older and had larger sample sizes to go off of.
Simply put its impossible to come to any justified and reasoned opinion about a player whose played so few minutes at that age.
