One day, just one day, he is going to score a rocket from 25 yards, and the poor keeper is going to wake up a week later and wonder what hit him.
Don't get me wrong, survival is better than relegation of course it is. But to me, only in the financial sense. I would rather see us playing great attacking, pleasing on the eye football even if it is in the Championship.
He may well do that, but the probability is low. It reminds me of the woman who used to sit behind me constantly shouting hit the ball when the player was 35 yards out, all because of the Safri goal years ago.
I probably would too. it's just that in the current fecked up football financial climate, it is financially perilous outside the PL and that is the bigger issue at the moment.
I'm pretty sure that they tried it with Bennett on Saturday, but he cut inside and shanked it off his left foot.
Ok, so it might not go in, but it creates other options. If he hits it hard down the centre of the goal, it can take deflections past the keeper, or the keeper can make a less than clean save and present a tap-in to a striker. I'm not suggesting it should be a regular routine, we've very much got Free Kick Plan A sorted, but plans B and C should exist, even if it's just for variety and to force the defences to consider it when lining up. If doing the routine once a game was to force a defence to leave a man on the edge of the area to cover off Johnson, then we've gained an advantage in the box, which we've got the players to take advantage of. And Rob, I did see them try it, but it wasn't that well worked and Bennett's control let him down. Still, I think that was actually the closest we came to threatening the Stoke game all game, unless you class aimless balls into the box as a threat.
I very much hope Dave is right, not that it should be about who is right or wrong - but I can't see it. I don't think when he gets his team together that we are all of a sudden going to pepper the oppositions goal with shots or develop an attractive style of play. Nor would a successful summer in the transfer market leave me feeling silly. I've done a lot of fence sitting, right from his appointment if honest - but I've seen enough to pick my side and I can't see myself moving. That said, I'll not be vocal in my unhappiness, because that can only hurt the team and their performance (other than on here) - but a summer parting of the ways would be the best for all concerned. The feeling around the club has changed and thats a huge concern. And while dave might draw attention to the SAF example - the history books arent littered with many similar. It will be very hard for him to rectify from here in my opinion.
Broadly agree Gruffnuts, we have to keep supporting the team, thats what we do. Booing is in most cases counter productive, but I'm afraid that some sections of the home crowd will start very soon, and Hughton has only got himself to blame if that happens! I'm quite surprised that some people seem to have their head in the sand, and are "hoping" that someone else will do us a favour! We have to make our own future and luck, and shouldn't be relying on other teams to lose. Most of the teams around us have put in an effort to climb out of the mire, Southampton, Sunderland & Villa have put together a string of performances that will probably see them safe, this is something we haven't done and I don't see how anyone can see it as positive!
Booing is a very difficult issue for me. I would never do it myself, but if you pay £30 to watch a game (+ other costs for many fans) and watch some of the games we have played this season, I find it impossible to argue against anybody's right to express their disillusionment.
I would love to be fly on the wall this week at Colney. Every week the players watch a video of the oppositions last game, to asses any weaknesses that there might be or things that can be exploited like a certain tactical loop hole that the opposition have. When they turn that Villa and Sunderland video on the room will be VERY quiet and Hughton's eyes will just well up and he will burst into tears.
I have this vision of Whotun, down at carrow road right this minute with a tape measure seeing if there is any possibility of getting the team bus on the pitch.
I think Ruddy will return against Villa. Not for footballing reasons but for his size. Hughton is going to build a "human" wall over the goal line reaching as high as the crossbar. The larger players like Holt and the defenders will link arms and form a line accross the goal mouth from post to post and the smaller players like Hoolahan and Jackson will held aloft to block any high efforts on goal. Hughton and co will patrol the technical area with binoculars to make sure that no gaps appear. When Ruddy manages to get the ball he will then be instructed to take on Villa's players and nick a goal on the break.
