https://byag.medium.com/christian-fassnacht-dc70d01ee84b Analysis of Fassnacht and what he brings to Norwich
So when Connor said other bits were on going he wasn’t talking about ins then, possibly ours I guess?
It looks like a good new class of players this summer. Still wish we had brought in another CB. Omobamidele, Gibson, and Duffy with Sorensen as backup is not enough IMO. I may be forgetting a youngster - can't think right now.
If things are progressing well with Rashica or Aarons for example, I could see us being in negotiations already for replacements. But equally could just be youngsters heading out. Tomkinson and Jaden Warner are the other young CBs. Our depth at that position is still worrying though when Sorensen has ongoing injury issues, and Tomkinson is out for a couple of months.
Thanks DH. It must have been Warner I was forgetting. I didn't include JT because he's out til sometime in October .
I think I’d be comfortable with adding one more, the trouble is managing the wages and also giving the younger guys an opportunity. On the books we have 4 senior CBs plus the 2 youngsters, plus Lungi as cover. It’s a balancing act with Hanley being out for so long, but Tomkinson could be back by October and then he is ready to be the 4th CB option for the majority of the season
There's an excellent post/translation of a Swiss article about Fassnacht from reddit's r/r/norwichcity: I tried to find a clip of the games vs France mentioned, and all I could find was this: You get about 1 second of him winning the ball back from Coman and there's nothing of the Pogba tackle unfortunately. The same user also posted:
Apparently, unless the Rashica deal is sorted or Aarons or Omobamidele leave, our business is done, according to Wagner: “I'm very happy that we have done with Christian maybe our business for this window. I think so. I'm very pleased with the squad which we have now together. Obviously everybody knows that Milot and Max are back with us in the last days as well and catching up now with their individual fitness programme."
This is the bit I liked best from DH's article above: "Please don't misunderstand me when I say that you were one of the few who still plays amateur football. An amateur is someone who does something out of passion. With dedication, from the bottom of one's heart. Of course, you have long since become a professional. Better yet: a model professional. But you have retained your passion." More of that in today's game would be welcome. That passion could make a difference in the dressing room at half time or during a match. Add it to the new leadership shown by Barnes and Duffy and the natural teamwork of Stacey with whoever he's playing with and then the remarkable breakthrough of Kellen Fisher and we could be on to something this season. It's a welcome change from the self-interest of players like Rashica, Normann and Andalou in the past. This from Shaun Duffy is also encouraging: “I just wanted to be somewhere I felt at home and happy. I haven’t had that for a couple of years now. This is probably the first place where I’ve felt at home since leaving Brighton. That’s what I wanted. There was a lot of chopping and changing, not being settled – knowing that I am going to be here for three years, I can settle, bring my dog down and have a settled life again. It’s been tough for me with a lot of things off the pitch. This feels like home again, so I’m excited.”
When coupled with Stuart Webber's comment that no amount of data analysis could have forewarned the club of the importance of re-uniting Gabby Sara with his dog, maybe the facilities at Colney should include kennels ...........
Right this is bugging me so I need it clearing up…is it Shane or Shaun Duffy? Various media seem to use the name interchangeably
Gozo, if you got a warning but I did not, the most likely explanation is that you crossed a line which I didn't cross. IMO, the moderation on this forum errs on the side of lightness of touch, not heavy handedness.
After last night's 40 minute debut, the Pinkun interviewed a Swiss football expert on Fassnacht: "He’s very consistent, very dependable. He mostly plays out on the right wing, but he can play on the left, sometimes up front....You can always rely on him for goals and assists. Even if the team is in a rut, he’s going to be one of those players that can provide big moments....There’s not really any part of his game that’s anything less than good for his position. Even though he’s mostly played out wide, he’s always in and about the box, and he scores a lot of headed goals now as well. He’s going to be a player that’s always working hard, always trying to attack, and create goals and assist. He’ll help contribute to the team massively, and I think he’s going to be a big player for Norwich." I hadn't realised that he's can almost as good with his left foot as the right and he scores with both. His heading has improved over recent years and should give us another option for set pieces which our other wide players have lacked. The same could be said of Barnes and Duffy in their positions. Our set pieces should be far more effective this year. Even Stacey has decent heading ability and his ability to play as a DM could be valuable if Aarons stays after all. When playing at RB Stacey's heading ability will eliminate a weakness opposing teams exploited last season and his attacking abilities look impressive as well. With Sainz due to return in October Wagner should have the players he needs to make his tactics work.
I’m wondering if his his ability to play up front may also mean that we could let Idah go out on loan? He needs the game time and we have have plenty of players that could play the 10 role behind Sargent or Barnes. Tzolis has played as a striker before for Greece
Has anyone seen it mentioned anywhere that Stacey is also capable of filling in at CB? That wouldn't be altogether surprising, given his DM experience and overall abilities.
His DM/CM experience is limited to 4 senior games (per transfermarkt), with the most recent being a single DM appearance for Luton in League One during the 18/19 season. I can see that he might have the qualities to be an emergency CB/DM, but I don't think we conclude that he's capable based on prior experience, he's less of a DM than McLean is a LB. I can't see it personally, I think Idah gets at least 15 starts and 40 appearances in all comps this season. I think our current depth chart looks a little like this (assuming Rashica, Aarons depart without replacement, and Omobamidele is a placeholder for another CB if he goes). There's some argument about the ordering in the wide areas (can probably promote Onel) but I wouldn't be surprised to see Idah and Sargent used in those positions at times. Barnes made 39 appearances in the Championship last season but he only played 85+ mins in 11 of them. He's regularly going to sub off around 60 for Idah, and if we've got two games in quick succession he may not start both. Idah is also going to get opportunities alongside Barnes when Sargent is rested/injured, and if we have injuries in wide areas I can see Idah appearing on the left, or Sargent shifting to the right and Idah up top. Basically Idah may not be in our ideal starting XI, but he's going to be the first replacement entering it in a lot of scenarios. Tzolis, Onel, Rowe, Placheta, Springett are probably jockeying for the "6/7th attacker" roles, and I wouldn't be surprised to see 1-2 of them loaned out rather than Idah.
