Ben Nelson

[Mickyblueeyes]

Nelson next to a quality defender like Morgan would be awesome for his development. I mean even Liam Moore at times looked assured next to Wes. He has done fine. Had errors as expected but for the majority looked good. 
 

So in summary, I miss Wes Morgan.

[Ric Flair]

1 minute ago, Dahnsouff said:

This is the problem though Rick, zero objectivity. You are only posting the good. It sets false expectations, as he will have bad games, its natural, If you spend all the time blowing smoke you have no right to complain when people comment after he has a less than perfect game.

 

He is great, 100% starter, no doubt, but he is a human.

He was dog shit yesterday, there you go. I don't tend to point it out because it doesn't need pointing out.

 

To date in the 7 games he's played, he's been extremely poor 1st half vs Huddersfield and then 2nd half was fine but the spotlight was on him. Then wilderness for 3 months before coming in and was very good vs Middlesborough, can't really rate him vs Norwich as went off early but had started calm and assured. Superb vs Derby, good 1st half vs Bristol City although must admit the camera angle made it hard to judge any of them as clearances and passes sometimes looked shit even though they reached their target and good and was given away etc, that angle should be banned, it's awful. Ipswich he was steady and then awful yesterday.

 

Doing absolutely fine in a car crash of a team. Huge future in the game, probably not with us as we stink.

[HankMarvin]

17 minutes ago, adejo92 said:

Your right, KDH probably was written off by some, but equally there were probably the same people back then saying he will be future England captain after a couple of good games at Blackpool

As I recall, his name wasn’t even mentioned as one of the talented youngsters so I don’t think he was written off as such.

He seemed to slowly develop later. Most people only really took note with the consistent displays at Luton.

[MrsJohnMurphy]

23 minutes ago, adejo92 said:

You are suggesting I've binned Nelson off?

 

I haven't, I wouldn't take him out of the starting line up, but equally I am more than happy calling out bad performances the same as I will any other player.

 

Your right, KDH probably was written off by some, but equally there were probably the same people back then saying he will be future England captain after a couple of good games at Blackpool yet hes 27 now without a single England cap....obviously im just being pedantic there...

 

But don't take every bit of criticism as writing a player off.

Literally absolutely nobody ever said this

 

I think most thought he'd do well to have a decent lower league career

Edited 21 December 2025 by MrsJohnMurphy

[Dahnsouff]

Just now, Ric Flair said:

He was dog shit yesterday, there you go. I don't tend to point it out because it doesn't need pointing out.

 

To date in the 7 games he's played, he's been extremely poor 1st half vs Huddersfield and then 2nd half was fine but the spotlight was on him. Then wilderness for 3 months before coming in and was very good vs Middlesborough, can't really rate him vs Norwich as went off early but had started calm and assured. Superb vs Derby, good 1st half vs Bristol City although must admit the camera angle made it hard to judge any of them as clearances and passes sometimes looked shit even though they reached their target and good and was given away etc, that angle should be banned, it's awful. Ipswich he was steady and then awful yesterday.

 

Doing absolutely fine in a car crash of a team. Huge future in the game, probably not with us as we stink.

Has has been good, and it does not demean him to say he had a bad game, sure he knows. It speaks volumes next time he plays well.

We are just all different, some find it difficult to discuss less than perma-positive things.

Apologies if this is the case.

[LCFCJohn]

33 minutes ago, adejo92 said:

What, because i dare to be critical of a 21 year old man, yes that's right, man - not child.

 

The same people harping on about how he should be captain and an England international after a half decent season at Oxford?

 

Same people who harped on about Will Alves (who im sure will spend the remainder of his career in the lower leagues) despite the way he was spoken about on this forum.

 

You might want to avoid offering any criticism as to avoid upsetting a certain gaggle of the forum, and thats fine, but other are quite happy to offer their honest opinions.

 

FWIW I have never suggested he shouldn't play again, or be dropped, I have simply offered similar criticism to any other person in the squad and mocked some of the hype around someone who, in my opinion, hasnt been anything other than average at best.

 

 

 

 

Criticism is fine. I just think you can tell a lot from the tone of a post and the one I replied to of yours sounded quite bitter. And then the comment separating yourself from those who champion youth players, like you are ashamed to be associated with them. I’m no psychologist but it gives the impression of being inherently anti-youth player, rather than just having a default of wanting them to do well, whilst calling it how you see it if they have a bad game.

 

We must be one of the worst fan bases for championing and taking pride in players who come through our academy to go on and be successful. It’s a shame as it is the blue print for a club our size to be successful. Or part of the blue print.

[JimJams]

Maybe it's just the way you read them?

[ALC Fox]

He's very young for a centre back. Ideally he'd be brought in alongside a good pro in a decent team. Vestergaard is a good pro but he's hardly brilliant and the back line in general is shocking.

 

His performances are always going to fluctuate in quality. Putting the spotlight on him each time he has a bad one is just not going to be helpful at all.

 

He needs to be allowed to have a bad performance every now and again without the entire fan base falling apart each time and overreacting.

[Ric Flair]

33 minutes ago, adejo92 said:

You are suggesting I've binned Nelson off?

 

I haven't, I wouldn't take him out of the starting line up, but equally I am more than happy calling out bad performances the same as I will any other player.

 

Your right, KDH probably was written off by some, but equally there were probably the same people back then saying he will be future England captain after a couple of good games at Blackpool yet hes 27 now without a single England cap....obviously im just being pedantic there...

 

But don't take every bit of criticism as writing a player off.

You seem to save your postings largely to criticise young players though and sneering at folk for praising milestones as young players make their way in the game. 

 

I am most certainly not mild measured when it comes to championing academy players, but you are most definitely the other end of the spectrum 😂

 

Would you bollock a kid for getting spaghetti bolognese round their gob as they hone the craft an'all? NOT GOOD ENOUGH LITTLE GARRY

[LCFCJohn]

45 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

Two way street though, some start with "here we go, someone who can't wait to slag the youth off" which is just not true for 99% of  folks on here.

Any fans wants the youth to shine, to excel for us and to become the backbone of our future.

But that sort of childish point scoring is just irritating and just prevents any serious discussion.

 

 

Definitely not 99%. We have an oddly large proportion of supporters who seem to take exception to youth players doing well. Again, look at Barnes, Chilwell and KDH as examples. 
 

Most people sit in the middle, want them (and any player) to do well. Praise when they have good games and criticise when they don’t. But, and it’s probably a male pride thing, but there’s a lot of people who have to nail their colours to the mast early to be seen as right. About any player/manager etc.

Me personally, I see football and form as a changeable thing. Sometimes the club of a player goes on a strong run of form and then have bad games or a run. You can’t just decide after a few games and not be open minded to change views. It’s not a weakness to do that.

 

So people writing off Nelson now is silly. Whereas some of the senior players have had enough changes, it is probably fair to by now.

[JimJams]

1 minute ago, LCFCJohn said:

So people writing off Nelson now is silly. 

But who is doing that?

[Dahnsouff]

3 minutes ago, JimJams said:

But who is doing that?

Shock jocks only.

[HankMarvin]

On a long list of players to criticise, I wouldn’t pick the one that didn’t cost anything and is on a low wage and could possibly get the club out of the shit in years to come if they get a large fee for him.

The seasons gone to shit, point deduction incoming let him get experience as long as he isn’t scoring own goals each week.

 

Hopefully Okoli is given a chance along side him. 20 goals conceded in 10 games is probably a reason why JV should be dropped to see if things change.

[Dahnsouff]

7 minutes ago, LCFCJohn said:

Definitely not 99%. We have an oddly large proportion of supporters who seem to take exception to youth players doing well. Again, look at Barnes, Chilwell and KDH as examples. 
 

Most people sit in the middle, want them (and any player) to do well. Praise when they have good games and criticise when they don’t. But, and it’s probably a male pride thing, but there’s a lot of people who have to nail their colours to the mast early to be seen as right. About any player/manager etc.

Me personally, I see football and form as a changeable thing. Sometimes the club of a player goes on a strong run of form and then have bad games or a run. You can’t just decide after a few games and not be open minded to change views. It’s not a weakness to do that.

 

So people writing off Nelson now is silly. Whereas some of the senior players have had enough changes, it is probably fair to by now.

Think you are overestimating the scale of the problem, it likely just stands out due to the obvious dissonance it represents.

Reasonable discussion is warranted, even beneficial, because he is no more Beckenbauer (yet)  than he is Matt Mjlls.

This season alone he has shown he is calm, a very good defender, and more than good enough for us this season and in the future.

[LCFCJohn]

20 minutes ago, JimJams said:

But who is doing that?

Definitely one who has been quite vocal across numerous posts. Perhaps I overestimated thinking it was more. I have seen others away from this forum as well to be fair.

[Muzzy_no7]

With hindsight Marti surely regrets not going with him and Okoli at the start of the season?

[ceebeefox]

1 hour ago, GorlestonFox said:

You can't say bad things about academy players. FT goes into meltdown!

And so it should. If you can’t get behind your home grown players shame on you. We’re going to need them all soon.

[Guesty]

35 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

 

I am 100% in the Ben Nelson fan club but you can't objectively post stuff like this dismissing some of his performances so far when you've got his own manager calling him outstanding vs Derby, Matt Piper and Matt Elliott both giving him MOTM in that game over the likes of James and Reid etc. He was our best defender vs Middlesborough as well. 

 

 

Honestly, I really didn't think he stood out in either match. He was good in those games you mentioned if that's what you're looking for. I never said he wasn't, just said he didn't really stand out. At Middlesborough I thought he was the best of the bunch defensively, but we also put Okoli at right back to help him. At Derby I thought the whole team played well and that one of the midfielders should have had MotM. I went to look at the match ratings on here to make sure I wasn't misremembering. And whilst i know they're hardly great evidence they sort of say the same thing.

 

I'll admit though, I never really saw him at Oxford. And kept seeing people on here saying how exceptional he is and it's built up unfair high expectations. But that's my fault.

 

[GorlestonFox]

13 minutes ago, ceebeefox said:

And so it should. If you can’t get behind your home grown players shame on you. We’re going to need them all soon.

Point proven.

[LCFCJohn]

24 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

Think you are overestimating the scale of the problem, it likely just stands out due to the obvious dissonance it represents.

Reasonable discussion is warranted, even beneficial, because he is no more Beckenbauer (yet)  than he is Matt Mjlls.

This season alone he has shown he is calm, a very good defender, and more than good enough for us this season and in the future.

It’s fairness, it’s a wider issue of over reactions on this forum. I know I said it’s healthy to not feel tied to a view but there’s also so many over reactions.
 

I think this is why OTT criticism gets picked up on, particularly when it’s about the youngest players as there is not the sample

size to draw these conclusions on. 
 

I’m also surprised a (small number of) people take exception to youth players being backed and championed. It’s natural to take pride in home grown players and to not have that pride is a bit odd tbf.

[Tommy G]

Never got the constant simping over academy prospects - I couldn’t give a monkeys where you are from if you perform when you pull the shirt on. 
 

Trouble is nobody performs academy or not, aside from possibly James and glimpses of Fatawu. 
 

Braybrooke will be the next, he’s now the second coming after a handful of good performances for a pony league 2 team. 
 

Can’t relate to anything with the club at the minute so judgement probably a bit clouded, but Nelson won’t make it above this level and happy to be proved wrong in a cpl of years time. 

[LCFCJohn]

12 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Never got the constant simping over academy prospects - I couldn’t give a monkeys where you are from if you perform when you pull the shirt on. 
 

Trouble is nobody performs academy or not, aside from possibly James and glimpses of Fatawu. 
 

Braybrooke will be the next, he’s now the second coming after a handful of good performances for a pony league 2 team. 
 

Can’t relate to anything with the club at the minute so judgement probably a bit clouded, but Nelson won’t make it above this level and happy to be proved wrong in a cpl of years time. 

How many are actually saying this about Braybrooke? I was banging the Nelson drum because he is better (or will be) than what we have in that position. At the same time, I can’t see Braybrooke making it into our first team so business wise, we’d be well advised to try and take advantage of his form and make a sale. Even if it’s a very modest fee, it’s pure profit. 
 

Nelson though, I would be shocked if he isn’t playing higher than we are in 2 years time as he will have left us by then.

[adejo92]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

You seem to save your postings largely to criticise young players though and sneering at folk for praising milestones as young players make their way in the game. 

 

I am most certainly not mild measured when it comes to championing academy players, but you are most definitely the other end of the spectrum 😂

 

Would you bollock a kid for getting spaghetti bolognese round their gob as they hone the craft an'all? NOT GOOD ENOUGH LITTLE GARRY

Honestly, of over 6,000 posts, there's not really many at all that criticise young players. I was critical of Kasey McAteer, because I genuinely couldn't understand how he was a professional footballer. Bar him, the only other time have criticised 'young' players was perhaps Nelson.

 

The criticism of Nelson isn't because I think he's awful, In fact I was glad to see him in the line up, but it was aimed more at the fact he's been hyped up so much on here as future England star / Captain etc etc yet has looked average in my honest opinion.

 

I've never said a bad word about Aluko, Silko Thomas, Louis Page, Monga or Evans all of whom are the same age / younger than Nelson.

 

I am not Anti-Nelson, let me make that clear, but equally i am a pretty simple football fan. I judge what i see, i don't follow stats from previous clubs etc etc or percentages etc. Rightly or wrongly, that's just me. But equally, I am not a pundit spreading negativity world wide - I am just a bloke posting the odd opinion on a football forum - Take it with a pinch of salt.

 

1 hour ago, LCFCJohn said:

Criticism is fine. I just think you can tell a lot from the tone of a post and the one I replied to of yours sounded quite bitter. And then the comment separating yourself from those who champion youth players, like you are ashamed to be associated with them. I’m no psychologist but it gives the impression of being inherently anti-youth player, rather than just having a default of wanting them to do well, whilst calling it how you see it if they have a bad game.

 

We must be one of the worst fan bases for championing and taking pride in players who come through our academy to go on and be successful. It’s a shame as it is the blue print for a club our size to be successful. Or part of the blue print.

Perhaps looking back, I can see why you would form such an opinion, but honestly, I am not Anti-Youth and of course I want them to do well.

 

Perhaps I am just a glass half empty kind of guy, and like I said above, I am not really a stat's man or someone that watches our Youth players when they are at other clubs etc etc. I just say what I think from what I see - Rightly or wrongly.

 

But yes, I am not apologising for my opinion, because I still stick by it, but perhaps I've been a bit over critical and then just get a bit defensive and involved in immature spats as opposed to probably putting my points across in a sophisticated manor (sorry @lcfcell)

 

Anyway, I think I'll have a quick tug and head off to bed.

[Muzzy_no7]

6 minutes ago, LCFCJohn said:

How many are actually saying this about Braybrooke? I was banging the Nelson drum because he is better (or will be) than what we have in that position. At the same time, I can’t see Braybrooke making it into our first team so business wise, we’d be well advised to try and take advantage of his form and make a sale. Even if it’s a very modest fee, it’s pure profit. 
 

Nelson though, I would be shocked if he isn’t playing higher than we are in 2 years time as he will have left us by then.

There’s a clamour for Braybrooke to come back because people wanna see him get minutes ahead of Booby, Winks and The Plonker 

[Tommy G]

6 minutes ago, LCFCJohn said:

How many are actually saying this about Braybrooke? I was banging the Nelson drum because he is better (or will be) than what we have in that position. At the same time, I can’t see Braybrooke making it into our first team so business wise, we’d be well advised to try and take advantage of his form and make a sale. Even if it’s a very modest fee, it’s pure profit. 
 

Nelson though, I would be shocked if he isn’t playing higher than we are in 2 years time as he will have left us by then.

So he’s better than complete sh*t which is what we already have in that position? Being better than Faes and Vestergaard isn’t a yardstick tbh. 
 

Yeh you might be shocked if he isn’t playing above championship level and id be shocked if he is - opinions.