Imagine if Ben O could play on the right side. Big problem solved for the AWs!
Obviously getting to grips with the LB role more & more. Some good stuff in those highlights. He might even start the AWs March games at LB, if Libby is unfit.
Without Wood playing, a big reason to play FDV (his crossing) is basically lost. FDV doesn't have the pace of Cacace or Old, and at a World Cup that could be found out badly.
Reckon we may need to see some Ben Old left-back minutes for the All Whites next window 👀 https://t.co/36AasrtChX
about 2 months ago· edited about 2 months ago· History
Niche Cache. Old continues to impress as a LB in the French 2nd tier. As I posted elsewhere I think Baze should at least ponder the idea of Libby on the right flank & Ben O on the left.
His ASSE coach comparing him to 97 cap French international & 1998 WC winner Bixente Lizarazu is certainly high praise.
Ben Old is a left-back now, he’s even admitting it himself. Not a winger playing out of position but a genuine converted option having played nothing but fullback for the past two months. Successive St-Etienne coaches have not only picked him there but raved about his potential in the position. Oldy has embraced the opportunity, picking up the tricks of the trade remarkably quickly and turning himself into a first eleven player after beginning the season mostly stuck on the bench. And since he was on pre-game press conference duty this week, we’ve got quotes galore about how it’s all going.
“Yeah it’s obviously different, I’ve never really played a fully defensive role before. So when I moved into that position it was obviously a lot different but I think my qualities and my game really come out in this position and I think I've been able to adapt and learn the defensive side very quickly. So I’ve been very happy with my past three performances and I hope I can keep improving and helping the team.”
Asked about whether he sees himself as an attacker or a defender these days, he answered “both”, saying that his attacking instincts are part of why he’s been able to perform well as a left-back, being able to support the frontline. He also said that it didn’t take much convincing to get him to play there.
“No, it kind of happened quite naturally. Obviously, I came in because of an injury and played about 60 minutes off the bench and after that match they were thought this was a possibility for me. So I spoke to the coaches, the owners, because they wanted to make sure that if I play in this position, I committed to it because I have to learn a lot of things defensively. I’m enjoying it. I’m enjoying playing a lot after not playing for a long time and I honestly think this is a position that I can bring a lot of quality in and help the team out in a different way.”
If you’re wondering about how the positional swap might affect his All Whites standing, he said he spoke to Darren Bazeley as well and Baze told him that the most important thing was to be getting minutes. He also told him that learning different positions is always beneficial, unlocking new attributes and all that, but that he’s still going to be seen as a left winger first and foremost for the national team.
There was a bit of chat in there about how ASSE are playing more compact and more cohesively under the new coach Philippe Montanier. There was also a reference to how Montanier had compared Old’s attacker to left-back swap to a French legend who did something similar...
SE post match conference. Oldy starts speaking at 21 mins in with the help of a translator! https://youtu.be/miPkGBiGPZo
PM: “Ben Old? I am very satisfied! It reminds me of [Bixente] Lizarazu! Liza was initially a number ten while he was in the youth grades. I think that if he had remained there he would have had a good career but not as extraordinary as the one he had with the French team and Bayern Munich in particular. It's a good conversion for Ben Old. He's very aggressive, he's very intelligent. He's also discovering the position but is very complete. I find that defensively he now has the right reflexes. For me, this is good confirmation.”
BO: “Yeah, I obviously heard that he spoke about [the Lizarazu comparison] on the press conference, but he also mentioned it to me very early on. It's obviously amazing for him to... I wouldn't necessarily say compare me to him, but to be able to see someone at such a high level be able to do a similar change to me. He explained that it just made his level and his career so much better. So we've talked a lot about it because I think what they're worried about is that going from a left wing to a left back might seem like a bit of a reduction. But for me, and speaking to the coach and the staff and the players, we think that it's just going to be able to elevate me more and take me to heights, which maybe wasn't possible for a winger. So I'm very excited to be able to continue and improve in this position.”
Those new heights continued into a 3-0 win away against Pau FC. Fourth win in a row under Montanier’s leadership. Lucas Stassin scored twice (3’, 64’) to snap a long goal-drought before Joshua Duffus added another at the end (90+4’). Stassin hadn’t scored since September so his brace was very overdue (he also got assists in each of the previous two wins – one of many players thriving since the manager chance) and it’s also funky because he’s a Belgian international hoping to make their World Cup squad where he could come up against... his club teammate Ben Old playing for New Zealand.
We haven’t seen any goals or assists from Old since he switched to defence but he did have a big role in the second goal here. Really beautifully worked goal that included Old on the overlap out wide, whipping in a low cross for a lay-off for a slip pass for a square ball for a tap-in. Absolutely mint. That fourth win in a row sent ASSE top for a couple of days until Troyes won 2-0 away to Amiens to jump back ahead. But only by two points and Troyes have slipped up a few times lately. When Philippe Montanier took over, ASSE were fourth. Now they’re back in the title race.
Full game in a 2-0 win over Red Star (French version).
SE stay 2nd, and now have a 5 pt gap on Le Mans (3rd). The top 2 teams are automatically promoted, so good chance now Old will be back in Ligue One next season.
Spotted a green St Etienne shirt with Old 11 printed on the back in of all places the dining hall at a ski resort in France last week. A quick conversation with the wearer, he was very happy with Ben Old, even playing at left back.
about 1 month ago· edited about 1 month ago· History
As has been written elsewhere LB maybe the position where he has the highest ceiling, ie the spot where he has the best chance of playing regularly in a top 5 league.
Mentions his club coach reckons he's now one of the best one v one defenders in Ligue Two!
coochiee wrote: As has been written elsewhere LB maybe the position where he has the highest ceiling, ie the spot where he has the best chance of playing regularly in a top 5 league.
Mentions his club coach reckons he's now one of the best defenders (full backs?) in Ligue Two!
So much depth for that LB/LWB position now - Cacace, Old, de Vries, McGarry, and even down to Sam Sutton and Dalton Wilkins.
Compare that to the right hand side - Tim Payne, Callan Elliot, Storm Roux, Bill Tuiloma (as cover) and Dalton Wilkins who covers both sides.
The contrast is stark. If only he could have transitioned to a RB/RWB. 🥲
Good to see Oldie doing well though, and obviously he's got his managers backing over in France. Pretty much all you can ask for given he was on the peripheral figure for a fair while at the start of the Ligue 2 season. Will be another challenge entirely if they make the leap back up to Ligue 1.
If Dalton Wilkins could actually stay injury free for more than 10 mins, who knows how good he could be. Looks like he got a cameo off the pine at RB for Sonders on the weekend.
Bit depressing- watched his team chase the game for about 25 minutes needing to break down what turned out to be a team at the bottom of the table and they didn’t pass to him once.
I don’t know if they used him as an outlet earlier in the game, but the net result was a 2-0 loss.
Potentially costly loss for St Etienne. They stay 2nd, but only on GD now from Le Mans (3rd). 3 rounds left, and top 2 teams are automatically promoted.
Huge game next week hosting top of the table Troyes.
