‘Amazes me how folk don’t see it’ – Remarkable Stat Rekindles Debate Over Forest Star’s Selection
Soccer Football - Championship - Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Nottingham Forest - Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, Britain - January 20, 2018 Nottingham Forest's Ben Osborn celebrates scoring their second goal Action Images/Andrew Boyers EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
The debate over Ben Osborn’s selection at fullback will rumble on and on. The 24-year-old is always fully committed to the cause but many believe he is not a solid option on the left-hand side of defence.
One fan on Twitter did, however, point out that our no.11 has made the most tackles of any player in the Championship this season:
https://twitter.com/ForeverForest1/status/1031527206319804417
That prompted more debate on Osborn’s inclusion in the starting eleven:
Us forest fans love players who give 120%, and he does more than that every game. Amazes me how folk don’t see it.
— Barry Griffiths (@NFFCbaz) 20 August 2018
So many fickle fans, trying to down play this
— Joseph ‘Shovel Brother’ Bradford (@gingerjoe2000) 20 August 2018
there’s a reason why he has been picked by our current manager and previous managers and they all know better than us fans so that will do for me #nffc
— Slipknottingham (@jjc271080) 20 August 2018
He’s got #nffc running through his Blood he’s a 100%er that will do for me. Wherever Karanka Plays him that’s not his fault keep it going Benny Lad ???? ????
— Marc ‘Smurf’ Twaite (@MarcTwaite) 20 August 2018
Some fans are not convinced:
Not good enough at left back and not good enough in midfield. Serious about promotion then play best players in best positions. #nffc
— Jemmas Cat (@jemmascat) 20 August 2018
Teams are loading up on him because defensily he is poor ..just not his position
— clint (@FlewittClint) 20 August 2018
That’s because the opposition know he’s defensively weak and target him every game but for some reason people don’t see this!
— Adam Stevenson (@Stevo20001076) 20 August 2018
I’m a big Osborn fan – but he’s not a LB. Watch the games – he’s targeted, so yeah may get more tackles simply because of the amount of attacks that come down our left. Needs to be one of the 2x CM’s.
— Smash! (@thurmatwit) 20 August 2018
This stat simply highlights how every team targets us down there! He’s bound to win one or two tackles!
Bet he’s also missed the most, is the most beaten full back, given the ball away the most etc— Paul Richardson (@ricoforest30) 20 August 2018
Statistics don’t always tell the full story though. Those that think Osborn is a liability would point out that the player is constantly beaten by opposing wingers. However, the tackling stat does prove the player is putting in a shift defensively.
The only opinion that really matters though is Aitor Karanka. The manager has picked him to play the full 90 minutes in all four league matches so far. While some would want Jack Robinson to be given more starts, it seems apparent that he is the understudy at left-back, for the time being at least.