I have heard and read a few things which seem to indicate that this young lad is the latest candidate for the ' we have to hate one of our own players ' element in the crowd at Carrow Road. Get off his back for goodness sake. Yes, he has made a couple of mistakes but who in our team hasn't ? On the whole De Laet has played very well in what after all is a team game. Yes, it was a weak header but, in fairness, he assumed that Rudd would have been a bit nearer - Rudd was a bit slow coming off his line - and a stronger header could have resulted in an own goal. Could Tierney have done more to intervene? All in all a defensive mix up but De Laet was not solely to blame for the result. Why not pick on Morison? In 20 minutes on the pitch he gave away a penalty and missed with a free header from 6 yards. Before you say the ball came to him quickly how long did De Laet have to assess the situation? Why not blame Chris Martin for holding up a couple of promising quick breaks in the first half by needing the turning circle of a battleship to face the right way? De Laet is new to the team and new to the level of football - as were Ward and Ruddy the last 2 players in the sights of the moaners - and I'm sure he will learn very quickly. In the meantime just get off his back.
i do feel its a lack of concentration and awareness. i really don't think you can question his ability as what we've seen so far has been pretty impressive, but the mistakes have been sloppy things. pondering on the ball in possession as last man = dopey, lack of concentration; loose back pass = sloppy, lack of awareness; misplaced header = lack of awareness. these are things that can be coached out of him
Not even close 5os, that tag is firmly stuck on young Crissy Martin...................I think the boys brilliant...
I seem to remember way back in the 80s, a new centre half we had playing for us. We all wondered what this new chap would be like. His first touch was an own goal!!! Fans gave him time and he adjusted to the step up from where he came and he became a hero to us fans........ especially after his header at Carrow Road in the Milk Cup semi final!!! This new guy, as has been said earlier and elsewhere, has made mistakes which has cost us a couple of goals, but he has saved us many more. Give the lad a chance. He will improve, and he wont make the same mistakes twice in a game.
I don't know if that was a dig at me 1950's but I hope not. The reason I posted my is De Laet the next Ginger Pele thread was to make comparisons and spark some debate and interest. I liked the Ginger one - he was always a bit marmite you could say with the fans but on the whole you could never argue that he didn't give everything in every match he played. From what I have seen of De Laet it struck me that at this moment in his promising and improving career that he shared a few traits with the Doc. (except being about twice as fast as him). I think he will do a sound job for the rest of the season and agree with Dave that we have a lot to be thankful for from the last ditch takles an blocks he has made which often get forgotten about as they are not so high profile. I just hope we get that first win under our belts to allieviate the steadily rising number of doommongers rearing their ugly heads. The last two years have been based on togetherness and team spirit - that will be tested to the extreme the longer the first win takes to get.
It most certainly wasn't a dig at you Chris or anyone else in particular for that matter. I heard a few comments as I left the game yesterday and there were a few comments along those lines on other threads concerning the game yesterday. There is often a tendency for this sort of thing to develop if a new player makes a few mistakes but, as I said earlier, it is a team game and within that ALL individuals make mistakes and you just cannot point the finger at one player for the mistakes he makes. I am sure looking back at the goal yesterday De Laet wishes he had headed the ball firmer, Rudd wishes he had come out a bit quicker and Tierney wishes he had got across a bit more to cover what eventually transpired but, at the end of the day, the goal was not the only reason we lost the game. Unfortunately it is very easy to pick on one individual.
Agreed. I remember when we signed Iwan and the big man was playing with injury for the first year he was with us. The amount of people who said he was utter ****e and what a waste of money etc. I always remember thinking that I liked him from the start and wishing people would get off his back as he had a proven track record and was sure to come good. Thankfully he did and without his goals we would have been third division fodder much earlier than only a couple of seasons ago, let alone playoff candidates an league winners!
I simply don t like loaning players in, it worked well with Huckers and we eventually signed him. The problem being if De Laet turns out to be our best player and we do well Man U will take him back next season or we will be in a bidding war with other teams that see a potential. On the other hand if we really struggle, he won t have the heart to fight for survival as it wont effect him as hes a ManU player. Roeder gave us a whole team of expensive loanees and they didn t care about Norwich one bit. Someone like Sturridge is the best example of how loan players can be used, he proved to Chelsea what they were missing and did well for Bolton. In a way too well, as they had no chance of getting him permanently and had to start from scratch in the summer.
Forgive me for dragging this one up again but I just noticed this comment and felt I had to put it right as to me it sounds a illogical as they come. We lost one nil because they scored a goal (thanks to a basic defensive error) and we didn't and as goals are the things that win games ultimately the goal was the reason we lost the game. Simple. Pretty sure de Laet didn't help things either by lambasting our 20 year old keeper straight away for something that wasn't even his fault, but I guess you'll all think I'm completely wrong in this as well so please forgive me for even daring to say something negative about everybody's new golden boy.
I'm sure the case of De Laet berating Rudd was a knee-jerk reaction to the feeling of guilt that possessed him once he realized his mistake!
Doesn't really help though does it, and not exactly the most professional thing to do - hunting around for somebody else to blame (when it was clearly his own fault) rather that shouldering the responsibility himself. Oh yeah I forgot, there's always a reason/excuse when it comes to de Laet, however had it have been Doherty it would have just been his own stupid fault Just saying...
although i do agree with sid that he shouldn't have berated rudd the way he did, i totally understand why he did it! the keeper has to be more vocal about the defenders positioning - they can't know their exact whereabouts and what is around them when dealing with a high ball. a more experienced keeper would have given his defenders more information when a tricky ball is being dealt with. it was quite clear it was de laet's error but as usual sid is more intent on bashing him rather than looking for ways to improve the situation. he probably assumes that i am just making excuses for him rather than rationally looking at the situation
My point isn't so much 'de Laet bashing' as I have stated on several occasions that I DO rate him, think he's a pretty good signing and 90% of his play has been excellent so far. I merely wanted to highlight the blatant double standards regarding certain players who appear to be waterproof from any criticism whatsoever compared to others who are villainised and hauled over the coals again and again and again on internet forums with very, very little justification or actual evidence whatsoever. That was my over-riding point on the previous thread and this one as well, not so much looking for a scapegoat in de Laet as that has never and will never be my way of going about things (you will never, ever hear me booing a City player at Carra Rud and I can promise you that), though some people have decided to mis-interpret everything I say and think that I am. I find it pretty funny though to be honest as the reaction I have received is pretty much the exact one I was expecting. Pretty funny but also ultimately a little disappointing, heyho....
I guess it's easier for people to criticise defenders and goalkeepers than it is strikers. If a mistake is made at the back it could lead to a goal. A striker makes a mistake, he misses and will get another opportunity later. Just think of all the goals De Laet, Ruddy and Rudd have prevented. De Laet prevented a winner against Wigan with two great blocks. Ruddy saved a penalty and Rudd stopped West Brom from getting a second and kept us in the game. Without them we could be on 0 points with a far worse goal difference, which could well matter at the end of the season. Yes De Laet made a mistake to allow Mata to score a third for Chelsea and another mistake against West Brom to give them the winner, but the strikers have madde just as many mistakes. Morison, Holt and C Martin have had opportunities to score this season but made mistakes and didn't yet people forget these. Had they not made mistakes we could have got 3 points from any of the games. As for Rudd, he's had 3 or 4 professional starts in his career and he's 20 give him a chance. He saved a penalty against Odemwingie
Sid - I promise I have no hidden agenda here, I am a loyal Norwich fan and love all things NCFC, but I'm struggling a little bit to see what point you are trying to make! It appears to me that anyone who doesn't agree with you is being dismissed as being 'anti Sid' - forgive me but you appear to be our version of Guru of Ipswich, who just keeps repeating the same things over and over again! Please help me to see the light!
Well I'm afraid that's not my problem, I'm pretty sure I've made my point clear enough by now and if you can't understand what I've said then unfortunately that's your lookout. Heck, I dunno, maybe read my posts again, perhaps a little slower, one.word.at.a.time. Don't know if that helps but I'm afraid it's the best I can suggest
Hopefully Whitbread and Ward will play so well that De Laet is just used as cover when they get back to full fitness...
