That's not really relevant. The bottom line is that he hasn't been given the chance to play his preferred CM position (the "why" could be a million different things) and until you see them both in that position you cannot draw a definitive conclusion.
Good new contract discussion, by the way.
The "why" is entirely the point, and thats why its relevant.
Two young players, playing in the same area of the field, one gets a chance there and the other doesnt.
Why?
What distinguishes one from the other?
There may be something to what GB is saying. If Winks is expected to give and go quickly, to release not long after he gets it most of the time, you can probably be comfortable that he can operate deeper and there is less risk in losing the ball. Of course Winks drives forward sometimes too, but there may be something in it. Onomah is less of a metronome and more someone that would hold on to the ball a little longer and commit players, and it may be until he has physically matured that he would be too easy a target for opposition managers to exploit. You get 2 or 3 players surrounding him when he’s in deep midfield and maybe he gets knocked around a bit and it’s too much of a risk for us to take until he fills out a little more.
BoL put it much better than I have, but I think a comparison should be made with Dembele, as they are the same style player. When Dembele was the same age and build as Onomah he was being used as a winger. Only when he got his strength later into his 20s did he become the CM beast he is now. You can't say Dembele uses no contact - it's just all upper body. That's exactly what Onomah does to his peers, but not yet to adults
This is the trouble you run into when you try and pigeon hole players into nice little boxes, or define them by other players.
Winks is smaller, yes. And Winks is more of a passer, yes. Winks also gets closed down constantly, has to shield the ball constantly, dibbles through/round players...
...Essentially, while it might not be his primary attribute, he still does a hell of a lot of what Onomah does. And he does it just fine. So this whole "Onomah needs to bulk up before he can play" thing simply doesnt wash for me.
He is already bigger and stronger than Winks, and we all know he has ability, its not a reason for him to not play.
I may be totally wrong and it may be that Josh just doesn’t have the mentality and he may have lost his chance, because it is curious that Winks was trusted deep quite quickly. But by the same token, in the first team where results are important they have tried to give Josh and many minutes as possible. I actually don’t think he does have an attitude problem at all, I think he is totally misjudged in that regard. From Poch’s very first season, he was the one getting time in the Europa and has always been around the team. I think Poch likes him, and if he didn’t get a good vibe from his attitude then he wouldn’t have been anywhere near the first team. He’s also quality in the way he thinks and plays the game to me, you can tell sometimes he is two steps ahead of his Villa team mates and it baffles me that their fans don’t like him. But again, he’s not getting chances deep midfield and I imagine a Bruce system works better with cloggers playing deep.
All of this doesn’t mean JO is gonna turn into a star for us, but I’ve got a suspicion he may make a late dash for the first team ala Mason. He is very talented and I think if he fills out physically then he’s got a big chance, as long as he wants it. If he doesn’t want it, he’ll be out because Poch won’t stand for it.
I dont think he has an attitude problem, lets be clear. I think its a mindset/mentality/belief thing.
I have no doubt he is enthusiastic as hell, a consumate professional, could be first on the training field/last off - all of that. I dont argue otherwise.
My belief, based on whenever Ive seen him play, is that he lacks that confidence, the aggression to assert himself. He is too passive, to nice, to gentle.
If he can "bulk up" mentally, I would have every confidence in him making a fair run at the team, as you say.
