I have hardly accepted negative tactics, but in this situation CH was correct. The only other thing he could of done is taken off Elmander who he had just put on. I'm sure if he had done as you suggested and we had lost you would criticise him for that too. There is plenty to criticise CH with but that sub is not one of them.
I'm sorry, the fans are always right..... Maybe you didn't want him to come off, but it was a perfectly sensible move from CH, if you want to blame anyone blame Johnson for getting sent off and enforcing a change.
The way we are playing especially in the goals scored department ,i would only EVER sub Hooper if he was fatigued or injured, the man scores goals and is our only attacking threat. Shift Goalmander to either wing and let Leroy and Tettey stay in the middle.
Blame Johnson for passing the ball away time and time again like all of them in the first half, we were blessed by the post and crossbar that makes the Mag`s 3 shots on target stat look good. Ruddy played well.
To be honest there is no way Hooper is going to score with 1 midfielder behind him. I'm sure the fans would like to see us play Van Wolfswinkel, Hooper and Hoolahan all at the same time but there has got to be be a balance between attack and defence. In the absence of Howson I would have subbed off Johnson for Tettey at around 60 mns; Hughton likes to wait longer and unfortunately Johnson got himself sent off leaving us a man light. Any manager would take off a striker in order to sure up the midfield regardless of the fans' reactions. With regards to Snodgrass as I previously said, I think Hughton would like to play Gutierrez in his place but he couldn't be played against his own club. We started the game with two strikers and were forced into substitutions by one player's stupid actions in the heat of the moment and the manager is to blame for being negative. Whoosh. OTBC
Already posted on the 'Johnson' thread, but there's a few highlights here: (ADBLOCK RECOMMENDED) http://www.frequency.com/video/norwich-city-0-0-newcastle-united-game/146401041/-/5-133731
i'll have a crack! ruddy 7 - surprisingly didn't have that much to do, despite the away sides dominance. probably just edged motm from hoops martin 3 - sorry, he was absolutely abysmal yesterday - one to forget! torn to shreds time and time again and wasteful in possession bassong 6 - better 2nd half, fairly solid but still switches off too often bennett 7 - won everything in the air but got turned inside out first half by remy. best player on the park 2nd half olsson 5 - couldn't get forward and struggled to cope with ben arfa snodgrass 6 - disappointing first half but much better 2nd half and apologised for spat with snake pit at the end fer 4 - the game passed him by but he simply cannot play alongside johnson - it doesn't work johnson 3 - not just for his idiotic sending off but also for his overall performance. nearly scored an own goal too pilkington 4 - rarely involved, didn't look fit, rusty van wolfswinkel 4 - never given any service of any kind, let alone quality service that he would thrive on. may as well have started with ten men hooper 7 - great work rate, unlucky not to score. overall, arguably our worst performance of the season, yet escaped with a very valuable point. not too sure how after a first half which would not have flattered the visitors had they been four goals to the good. however, 2nd half, we played much better and almost snatched an unlikely winner. the incident with the red cards was farcical. johnson's reaction was disgraceful and although he probably shouldn't have been sent off (two yellows would have dealt with the incident), he will probably get his red rescinded, unlike remy. we looked miles better when tettey was on, even with only ten men. i'm also glad snodgrass bit back at the increasingly annoying snake pit crowd who seem to turn on the side every single week. the players do not enjoy playing at carrow road and its easy to see why. when they are struggling they need our support. saturday at cardiff is certainly a 'must not lose' game.
This pretty much sums it up: http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/720712/MatchReport EDIT: The 'Player Positions' tab really highlights our lack of width. Stop our width, and you stop us creating.
This - despite not having individual player ratings, is pretty close to yours above, Superman. And highlights the need to get some service to RvW or Hooper - and the seeming futility of persevering with both in a 4-4-2 system that clearly isn't working! http://www.shoot.co.uk/lucky-canaries/
yeah, forgot to mention the subs but all three did well. you all know how i feel about 4-4-2 - i've banged on about how hideous the formation is for years and how it doesn't work in this league as we can't keep the ball for long enough and get completely overrun in midfield, so the quicker we go back to five in midfield, the happier i will be - and i suspect we will look both stronger and much easier on the eye too.
Agree with most of these, except: 1 - Bennett - I'd give him a 5. His first half performance he was regularly outwitted, but I agree he was much better in the second half. 2 - Snodgrass - also a 5 - yes a better second half performance, but a key reason he is on the pitch is his delivery and it was regularly shocking I would agree that it was our worst performance of the season and to an extent people are overlooking the fact that Newcastle are on a very good run of form, with an exceptional away record. This match pointed to a Newcastle win, with us in for a shout of a draw. And this was how it transpired. One point gained, not 2 points dropped, and I didn't feel like we were ever really out of it even though the performance was truly abysmal. The set-up definitely played to Newcastle's strengths.
And yet, bizarrely, a number of posters are adamant that we need less width and to stop putting in crosses? This.
thanks Superman, listening to the commentary it's hard to pick up how some are playing. seems like right back is still a problem, both martin and whittaker have been poor recently
Both full backs and both wingers had dreadful games. Ruddy had a good game,as did Bennett and Hooper. Fer and Johnson were overrun and poor. Bassong was average. RVW cant cut it at this level We need to get back to the Diamond
i suspect that one of the few formations which would be MORE suicidal than the current flat 4-4-2 would be a return to the diamond!
I think it depends on the team we're playing though. If the opposition plays pretty narrowly, and our fullbacks play well, I think the diamond can be very effective. My personal preference is 3-5-2.
I think 4-5-1 is the way forward for us. It suits the players we have and it doesn't have to be defensive. You can play it with one defensive mid and one CAM.
we might struggle to play 4-5-1 against Cardiff due to player avaliability - Johnson and howson missing, hoolahan out of the squad, I can't see CH picking Fox
