How did Morris do? Obviously involved in the second goal. I was following the canaries text commentary and people were likening him to Holty? I have to admit I'd love us to go to Blackburn and start with the young front 4.
I was at the game and thought he did well and put himself about a bit. He had at least one shot on target which was well blocked. I think I'd like to see him go on loan for 6 months to see if he can cope at a league 1 side.
He's already played Scottish Premiership, I think the championship has to be his next test, whether that is with us or not is another question. But his link-up play and understanding with the Murphy's could be a valuable asset.
Yes, good point Suffolk, as they played together in the team that won the FA Youth Cup. He's a 'big unit', but certainly doesn't lack pace like GH (the one we sold last season!!)
As I recall, the comparison with Holt came when he tangled with a defender and drew a foul. I also think another loan is likely.
I went to the game and I think the below. 1) Was disappointed with Lafferty. Missed a decent chance for a header and miss kicked a shot on goal and rarely threatened otherwise. 2) Vadis also disappointed me, he was a game changer against the Saints when he came on, now he looks a bit slow and kept giving the ball away. 3) Wes looked great and his goal was well taken from a situation he created. 4) Whittaker defensively was as worrying as ever and Canos and him seemed to not know who should be defending and who should be pushing up. Going forward though Whittaker looked decent as did Canos at times. 5) Defensively we looked pretty decent, even though I think we coud do with a quality centre back and have done for many years I think that our CB's will be OK in the Championship. 6) McGovern looked good but seems a little small on stature. Having said that he must have been pleased with his performance. Pulled off a couple of good saves. 7) Howson looked solid and despite lacking in pace he gives an awful lot to the team in midfield, the complete opposite to Dorrans who had a bad game. I have to admit that due to the constant changes I got a bit confused with who was playing so there may be a few errors here! As soon as the subs came on at half time there was a complete energy change in midfield as you would expect from such a young side. Coventry were now being pulled all over the place and far more chances were being created. For me Maddison came on and changed the dynamic in midfield from holding to creative. With the Murphy twins running off him it was causing all kinds of issues for Coventry and we just blew them away in the end. If we ever played Wes, Maddison, Canos and the Jacob twins with a proper striker I think we would score lots of goals but almost certainly you would have to sacrifice one of those for a holding midfielder unless we are willing to play 3 at the back and play with wingbacks. Exciting! Overall the kids really impressed me.
Good review Kemp. Lafferty is bound to be a bit rusty after his late arrival, but that didn't seem to bother Wes. Having watched the highlights, Laffs did have 3 shots on target and it looked to me that the cross was to high for him on the header. Vadis has missed a lot of the pre-season because of a family bereavement but again on the highlights, he had a lovely curling shot to the top corner saved at the last minute. What was your impression of Godfrey after he replaced Bennett at half-time. He seems to be very versatile.
Like always at the game there is no replay and it looked like the jump for the header was miss-timed rather too high but I was the other end. As for Vadis, I've seen him play really well so hopefully he will be fit soon. Godfrey looked composed to me and wasn't afraid to play the ball but seemed to know when and when not to. As I said, I think our CB's are good enough for the championship but not the PL. Our midfield options are very good, we can put out a holding one or now with M & M's (Maddison and Murphy's) we can go for it. For these reason's I think we should concentrate on getting a striker in and if it means paying top dollar, do it.
Maybe It's just his stature Dave, Like thin set. Not sure. He did very well though. He did a few nice drop kicks out of goal that got us going in the final 3rd. I was generally impressed by him.
Are we getting a bit carried away here? This was a pre-season friendly against L1 opposition - would the kids have the same impact against Newcastle in the Championship? I fully agree with the view that for the sake of our long term future we have to give the kids a chance and I would be happy to take the risk but how many others will demand AN's head if he plays the kids and are not challenging for promotion in December? Our squad of experienced players should be good enough to mount a challenge - can we blame AN if he takes that easier option and just rotates the bench to contain a couple of the kids every game?
But I don't see how they can be expected to improve at this level merely by watching from the bench with an occasional cameo appearance? No way were they going to feature last season, though they couldn't really have done any worse! Experience at the highest possible level is the fastest way to see improvement and this current league, well, for one year anyway , is a perfect opportunity to get them up to speed. I'm thinking specifically of the Murphys, Maddison and Toffolo.
1950, what I'm saying is that the kids are alright and offer us something different than the squad we finished with last season. In short, fast, exciting, attacking football. Yes, they may not be a good option for some games and then we have a more mature bunch of players to back them up. I generally like the direction the squad is going in though.
Agree with 1950, priority A, B and C is promotion this season. If the "kids" are genuinely looking better than the seniors in training/matches, or offer a different option to a senior player, then by all means play then. Otherwise other than cameo appearances in games where we're comfortable, I'm not going to lose any sleep if they don't play a single minute this season so long as we're on course for promotion.
I see where your coming from but this is a bit sad don't you think? I want our youth players to get a crack at the first team, otherwise how are they going to improve and learn? All the years of academy development wasted because a manager is too scared to play them? I don't think that they would of been good enough in the PL and to be honest there is too much pressure there for them. But in the Championship I would put my neck on the line and say that the Murphy's, Maddison and Toffolo are good enough.
I completely agree that it's sad that that's what football has come to, that results have to be more important to the club than it's ethos, youth, etc. You could argue it's a longer term investment in youth though. Without promotion and seasons in the Premier League, funding our academy and buying young prospects gets harder. I wouldn't say it's a case of the manager being too scared to play them, I'm simply saying that they shouldn't be playing if they aren't good enough. We'd rightly moan if Turner was played ahead of Klose, I just mean the youngsters shouldn't be given special treatment that weakens the side we put out for the sake of their development. I'd love them to come good, hopefully we can start the season strongly and in 20 minute cameos in games where we're comfortable, the likes of the Murphy's and Maddison can prove to Neil that they are worthy of a start, but I don't want to see them rushed into the starting XI purely because it looks good on the club to have homegrown players on the pitch.
Definitely agree with your last sentence K E M P and I would also like to see Godfrey in and around the squad, buy probably on the bench, as he seems quite versatile as to which position he plays. AN REALLY must give the younger players match time and it might be an idea to play them against teams who are more likely to be struggling to stay in the Championship and play a team with more senior players against the likes of Newcastle etc!!!
I agree - they will only improve and we will only know if they are good enough if they play. What I am saying is that it is a risky policy whereas AN has a squad of senior players who should - I repeat should - be good enough to produce a push for promotion. I am not the Manager and my job is not on the line but if it was I suspect that I know which approach I would take. As a fan - albeit one who can no longer go to games - I would like to see the kids given a chance but unlike others I would not be calling for heads to roll if the risk didn't pay off.
