I don't agree that we should be putting teams like Southampton away, but we really should at the very least be trying. That is where my issues lie.
This ^ This ^. It no longer appears to be a consideration that we could, actually win the game if we really, really tried. Plus I genuinely believe that going into matches with that philosophy has resulted in our players being like rabbits in the headlights if they stray a yard out of position.
They've looked a lot stronger defensively recently but from what I've seen of them this season they leak goals, attack wise their good but yesterday it sounded like they completely dominated the midfield. We seem to of given up on trying to win away from home so the games at Carrow Road are of a vital importance.
There is a time and a place to defend in numbers, when you have something good to defend. Southampton at home is not one of those times.
The three shots on goal including a penalty is a depressing statistic. I'm hoping there is some magic solution to this all but we need to tidy it up sounded like we could barely manage to string a couple of passes together. Did we sit deep yesterday? This is when we play our most negative brand of football, it feels like so long as they don't pass the half way line it's OK, but we'll only venture into their half on the counter when they commit more players forward. I 'd like to see us impose ourselves on the game get right up in their faces, take up as much space as possible.
You think its bad at home - Look at the stats away from home, then it is hardly surprising why we cannot win away. 11 goals in 14 away games and 4 of those came against Swansea! I pity anybody having an away season ticket this season! Southampton's players had movement and fluency whereas ours were devoid of creativity. Look at the throw ins during the game. Every single time we had a throw it was a case of throw it as far as you can to one of two players standing on the sidelines and ultimately lose possession. Southampton's throw ins drew up to five players towards the ball to create options and a way of passing out of trouble.
Maybe it's the time in the season where some fresh faces will help. Lambo did this with us Whilst I agree with defensive structure, some of the players must be going a bit stale Maybe try Whittaker and fox next time I know this doesnt address the tactics issue most of us have with hughton, but I think it's worth considering
Our midfield are afraid to shoot, watch a Norwich game, then watch MoTD. QPR, Reading, Villa & SOUTHANPTON were all raining shots on goal from the edge of the penalty area, WE JUST DON'T DO THAT. We are now a defensive minded outfit and that my friends is NOT the Norwich way. Remember the John Bond era, Ken Brown and Dave Stringer all laid the foundation of good attractive attacking football. It's gone in 30 games, we are now a boring, scared team, and I'm bothered that if we stay up this year that is all we will have to look forward to next season, and I'm not sure I can handle that! We all have our own history of supporting the club, some go back a long long way, loyal is what we are, but the price of loyality is getting close. Over the last 6 years I seem to have somehow managed to pay for 6 season tickets for my family, plus this year 2 additional casual tickets for most games, these alone sometimes cost £50 each!!! Now I'm not pleading poverty and never have where my team is involved, but it's a lot of money to watch the sort of dire boring junk we are being served up at the moment, it's not as if it's the edge of your seat stuff for anything more that about 2 minutes a game.
Anyone remember Pilkington's goal against Man Ure at home? Three questions : 1) wtf was Garrido doing so far forward? 2) How come Pilks had abandoned his wide role and drifted inside? 3) - and most importantly, why have we abandoned that type of fluidity and movement when it was paying dividends and working IN OUR FAVOUR in October and November?
Hughton has been given one task, and one task only, and that is to ensure that we stay up this season, he´s admitted the fact, and he´s also admitted that he´s not bothered how he does it. Although some of you would be quite content with us playing attractive, open football in the Championship or even lower, just as many of us see the priority he´s been set, as being the right one for the club and it´s future. I think moan as much as you like, but I can´t see him changing his philosophy until his target is achieved. He´s keeping, and has kept for a while now, one eye on the points total of the club in 18th spot, and I´ve no doubt, he will continue to do so, and try to keep as much air between us and them as possible. I don´t particularly enjoy some of the football we´ve been served up recently either, but I do understand why he has taken that particular course, as to have continued in the Lambert vein of last year, would have put our position in more jeopardy than it is at the moment, simply because the surprise element has now gone, and the players aren´t good enough to play expansive, open, attacking football and still manage to keep the goals out at the other end. I think basically that is what he realised very early on, and I can see three-quarters of the squad being changed out in the summer if we manage to hang on to our place, and he is given the sort of financial pot that has been rumoured. Personally I hope he succeeds, as to my mind he´s not a negative manager, he´s just trying to get the best out of what he has at his disposal.
But isn't the squad at Hughton's disposal essentially the same, (with one or two changes, possibly for the better), as Lambert had? at the very least, there were no wholesale changes after Lambert left... I doubt also that you won matches last season because of some "surprise element", you won because you simply outplayed the other team(s) and scored more goals than them, playing attractive, attacking football as well. I f the players that you have now are not good enough to play the expansive open attacking football that served you so well last season, what's changed?? Who's left that's made such a big difference from last season (apart from Lambert, of course)? I'd genuinely like to know...
Sorry RBF, He's not getting the best out of anything, this is a very similar team and players to last seasons, it's the tactics that have changed and quite honestly they are awful. It is possible to stay up in this division by drawing all the games 0-0, 38 points and no negative goal difference. Watching Norwich this season I believe this is Hughtons tactic!!!!
Have to agree with RBF. We had a slow start to the season until CH got the defence sorted. Then, as we started to pick up points we became more open and, based only what I have seen on MOTD, played some good football. Unfortunately, we then went on the 10 game winless run. Had we picked up another 4 or 5 points in that time I think we would be seeing better football than we are at the moment. As it was, CH had to tighten up at the back again and sacrifice the attacking side to a certain extent to grind out the points for survival which, as RBF stated, is the task he has been given. I can understand the frustration for the season ticket holder having to put up with the negativity, but I am sure that next season we can and will improve.
I think the trouble with Hughton is the build up of elements he is emphasising. I think people are OK with defending in numbers if the midfield were given freedom when going forward. It is however just a constant stream of negativity within his philosophy. All of his style of play revolves around it. For all the talk of negative fans on this forum, I find it totally bewildering that they then fully endorse a negative manager. If I or anyone else had said last year we need the midfield to defend with this constrained approach they would have been the same people now complaining about "so called fans" showing a lack of faith in Lambert and the players. It really is just nonsense.
I really think for much of last season they over-performed, and surprised themselves and us with what they achieved, and they certainly had the momentum built up from two consecutive promotions. I think there was an element of surprise, in the way that we took the game to many teams both home and away, but I´m not at all sure if that same sort of recklessness would have paid divdends this time around, but there´s no real way of knowing, as that´s not Hughtons style at all. He has to set the team up and get them playing in a way that he is comfortable with, and in a way that he thinks will get the points, I preferred last seasons swashbuckling style too, but if Hughtons way proves to be successful (ie. keep us up) then I´ll be happy with that as well.
The difficulty that I have with that is the 'over-performing for much of the season'...a team can over-perform in a few games, maybe, but the end of the season table doesn't lie, and you finished where you did last season on merit, nothing else... I would wonder, if Villa hadn't come calling and Lambert had stayed and strengthened the squad as he might have thought fit, would you have been in a better position than you are now? I think that the football would have been more pleasing on the eye, for sure... As you say, there's no real way of knowing, but if Hughton's only task is to keep you up, then I'm pretty sure that he will be successful.
Personally welly, I happen to think that part of the reason that Lambert left was because he felt that he had taken us as far as he could, and without some major surgery, which he hadn´t got the funds for, he wasn´t going to take us any further. I dare say some of our football this year would have been more pleasing on the eye if Lambert had stayed, but I´m not at all convinced that his philosophy of trying to outscore the opposition each week, would have had the same degree of success as last season.
You know what I mean kickitoff, if you need any more proof, just look at A. Villa´s progress this year. Premier League teams soon get wise to it, and it´s probably even more galling each week to play open attacking football and end up losing, than play hard to beat football and come away with a draw, not as enjoyable to watch but ultimately more successful.
