I'm a little concerned reading some of the threads that there is an assumption Cookie hasn't been playing that well. He may have had an off game against the Hammers (I wasn't there) but he has been one of the stars of the season. He and Matthew Rose have been a real success on the left together. Looking at the stats (and I know you guys love stats) he has more 'assists' than any other R and is one of the leaders of the division. Not sure how many yards he has on the ground but I'll look into it
I'd be interested in how you think he's done defensively. In the two games I saw, I thought he did fine. The knock on him at QPR the first time around (even though most thought he was excellent overall) was that he was a bit of a one-way player. Reports from Watford seemed to indicate that he'd started to put more effort into defense, but maybe not as much as Olly would expect since he likes guys to pressure the ball by closing men down quickly, etc. Is he becoming a "more complete" player? Also, FYI, everything's on track for me to be there for the Cardiff match in a couple of weeks. Hope to get to see you. I do have a Lower Loft ticket, so may catch you at the bar at the half. If not, maybe afterward. 12:45! Hard to get too many drinks in before the game with that start!
Interesting question re: defensive qualities. He certainly doesn't work as hard defensively as Rowlands but Rowlands forward play has suffered as a result of his extra work defensively. I don't know the answer to this but it could be partly down to the player they have behind them. Bignot overlaps more often than Rose so that leaves Rowly needing to act as a stand in RB more often. Rose is more defensively minded allowing Cookie to get forward on his own. This is probably why their partnership works better than a Gino/Cook combination as Gino would be forward more often leaving Cook in the more uncomfortable defensive role. As for Cardiff, I'm only 50/50 to be there mate but if I am then I'll see you for a pint.