Before I get the expected ****storm to come raining down on me let me start by saying that I fully recognise the debt that this club owes Grant Holt. Also I have only seen three live games this season, one of which Holt did not start and a live stream is not the best way in which to judge a player. But from what I have seen over the last few months I think we would be better off shaking things up with Holt on the bench with Kamara and Becchio upfront (or Kamara upfront with Hoolahan playing behind him). It may be a complete disaster but the way we have been going at the moment it has to be worth trying. The only question would be who to put as LM since Pilkington's injured and Surman is also out. We all agree that Hoolahan is not best suited in that position.
Snoddy could play LM if needed - he is left footed after all but I would imagine that Wes will get the gig with Howson in the "hole" and maybe (hopefully) Fox in the centre with Bradders. I agree that Holty should be rested - he looked out of puff on Saturday and got no change at all out of Hooiveld who won a very physical battle. I imagine that Becchio will start on Sunday with Kei and Holty on the bench.
Not a bad suggestion, perhaps it might work bringing on Holt and Kamara as subs against tired defenders. Midfield is the area where we're void on ideas but Hoolahan behind one striker for the first half might work or at least bring some creativity.
agreed we need a bit of freshening up - most teams do 30 games through the season. we've played the same personnel largely all season. Holt has made a massive impact from the bench before we know that.
totally agree with fleck. holt looks tired. he is not alone to be fair. its time for a shake-up. equally, i'd like to see whittaker reinstated. martin offers absolutely nothing going forward at the moment and is no better defensively. i’d go: bunn whittaker - turner - bassong - garrido snodgrass - johnson - tettey (if fit, fox if not) - kamara hoolahan becchio the key to getting the team going again is getting hoolahan playing better and getting tettey back fit again and hopefully letting him roam as he was earlier in the season. its no coincidence that since both these players form has dipped so has the teams. when we were having a decent run, little wesley was being lauded on motd for his creativity and tettey was being talked about as a possible poty. without either on form, we lack thrust and finese, other than a few glimpses from snodgrass. if fox has to play instead of tettey then so be it, but we will still lack that drive in the middle. everything needs to be tailored to getting the best out of tettey and hoolahan. i simply cannot stand the 4-4-2. it leaves us with less options going forward and creates more problems defensively. equally, we cannot hold on to the ball for long enough to do anything worthwhile and we are easy to play through because we have flat lines all over the place. i totally understand why some fans want to see two up front but it just does not work. there is a reason why only one team plays that way in the top flight every week (reading, if you were wondering). i don’t personally think becchio is any better than morison but for the sake of giving holt a rest and having him as an impact player, i feel he has to play unless we play kamara up front on his own but then we will have issues on the left. with no pilks, it really does show how we lack depth to our midfield options. an injury to snodgrass would really give us problems!
Edit: If you've read Supers post above, skip this, I've practically said the same thing! I can't see Johnson as LM myself, not with Tettey injured, and Fox out of favour, it'd leave us too short in the centre. I kind of agree about Holt though, and perhaps giving Becchio a run out alone up top might be beneficial. I'd play 4-2-3-1, and fill the left berth with Kamara, with instructions to get into the box whenever the ball is wide on the right.
When Pilks got injured,there was an ideal opportunity to try Kamara wide left and play Hooly behind Holt. IMO Hughton was playing to the majority of fans who wanted 2 up top. Never looked like working,and Hooly was lost again on left side.
i agree that Holt should start on the bench, but we have a problem in the front 5 at the moment with Pilks and Surs out. it says a lot for our quality if Wes is perceived as our most talented forward. there are few games at the level we are now at where his ability is allowed to come to the fore. he isn't fast enough, and opposing players are just brushing him off the ball so his overall effectiveness is drastically reduced to that we are used to seeing for him. at the risk of upsetting his fans, this could be his last season anywhere near the starting eleven.
Interesting points about Wes GE - he did get pushed off the ball very easily on Saturday and did his usual "beat one player and then beat myself running into trouble bit" a little too often. However, he did combine with Garrido effectively a couple of times and he still has that rare quality of being able to make things happen, albeit we've not seen much of that recently. I thought Lallana for them, who is similar in style and stature to Wes, was excellent on Saturday and I'd like someone like him in our team - maybe Butterfield will be that player next season ?
Not just tired, it's a rarity however there are times I think his attitude stinks it could be because his not been rested or he dislikes the system his playing in, but I'm of the opinion there are times when his not giving 100% last season and every season before that you could always count on him to put in shift. I know every player has their off day but there was a time in which you count on Holt to win games for you based on his sheer determination.
I still think wes is our most creative player, and i think CH agrees, as shown by when switching to 4-4-2 he still kept him in the team above pilks who was on the bench. I would also like to see Kamara out wide next game as I might be wrong in saying this but Sunderland have been playing a make shift right back for a long time now, so a bit of express pace at him wouldn't go a miss. I fear CH will go for Elliot Bennett as we all know how hard working he is and that seems to be top priority. Away from home I can see this working as long as Elliot is allowed to drift into central positions and Wes move out wide left on occasion to create more problems for them without the fear of defensive duties as surely that is where johnson comes in.
All sensible solutions. It's up to Hughton and the team to assess whether Holt needs to be dropped or not. I'm undecided. The biggest part of me wishes there was a game tonight so we could have another go. Holts just been chatting to a guy on twitter thats accused him of taking too many corners. I'm being serious. THAT'S the fans that annoy me, not ones that have differing opinions.
your going through a bad patch and you should know by now that most teams go through them at some point. we ourselves lost 4 games on the trot last season and fans started to panic but we finished the season in 11th place. you are about 4 points from certain safety and even qpr will get another 4 points this season, so norwich have nothing to worry about from what i can see.....grant holt has been a great servant and have done more than most to secure another season in the premiership so to blame him is none other than using him as a scape goat because of the teams loss of form.......you dont become a bad player over night and i expect grant to get on the score sheet again once the blip comes to an end......and it will..ktf
I agree with most of what supers is saying but I think Martin is quite good going forward. He scored 2 goals against Man City as an example. He's also VERY good, in my opinion, at keeping shots on target. But Whittaker is still better attacking. Can we have two right backs?
See this is the problem with fans from other club coming on here to be the voice of reason. Nothing against you personally but to be honest I doubt you watch every game Norwich play. A loss of form or a poor performance isn't the problem and most fans accept that it can and does happen to most clubs however the problem here is with our playing style. Negative and dull football which isn't usually associated with our club. I think someone said two goals in our last eight games says it all for me and not to even attempt winning a game at home to a relegation candidate is unacceptable. Again, I'm not singling you out or criticising your intentions but people from the outside aren't quite "getting" our gripe.
For Becchio read Morrison! If Holt is tired which I doubt very much, it's not surprising. He has covered every blade of grass at Carrow road 10 times over in every game, all he needs is some service, did you want him dropped to the bench after his last minute goal against Everton? On many occasions I've seen him overtake the likes of Howson to get back and defend, then overtake the midfield again on the way up the field, leave him alone. I've already posted on another thread, that it's pointless naming a different striker when the ball never gets into the oppositions penalty area! I can't see where our next goal is coming from.
