I think we can, given the performance against Hull. Southampton away will be a bigger test and we'll know more after that, but there are many positives from the Hull game. For me, Barnes adds an experienced canniness and physical presence we've been lacking since Holt left. His chip for the goal disallowed by an offside decision showed this, but the rest of his play showed a tactical awareness as he dropped back to support Sara in midfield when necessary and teamed well with Sargent up front when we attacked. Had Sargent's bullet header eluded the out stretched fingers of the keeper, he'd have been the hero of the day. Instead, it was two youngsters in Rowe and Idah who will get a boost of confidence from their goals. All of the wide players performed well and, along with the strikers, allayed some of the fears about creativity with Fassnacht and Sainz to come. Also key to creativity was Sara, who played a blinder for his 74 minutes, before being relieved by the capable Núñez, who then provided the cross for Idah's spirit lifting goal. Except for the mishap for their goal, the defence looked solid and restricted Hull to 8 shots to our 28 and the Duffy/Gibson partnership is coming together. Giannoulis had one of his best games, including the vital assist for the first goal while Stacey looked good on both sides of the ball on the right. Will Aarons ever play for us again?
Stacy provides something the Max cannot. Stature. And crosses. I thought Kenny was superb which no other poster has mentioned. Dimi had, probably, his best game for us as well. Defensively we look more secure ( cockup aside) and Rowe showed the future. Quietly confident here in the sun, though rainy season at the mo.
I think one of the hardest things to judge is whether Hull are a mid-table championship club, or relegation fodder. Hopefully we looked that good against a mid-table side! Equally, with a defined playing style, opposition teams will figure us out. Curious how many teams will do their homework better than Hull. Sara created 9 chances in 70 mins, no other player in the championship created more than 5. If teams can shut him down, it'll be interesting.
I thought Hull's pressing was generally excellent, but Sara neutralised it with instant, first time, passing to team mates in space. It was terrific to watch. If teams are going to stop him, they'll have to resort to the kind of tactics that were employed against Buendia, and hopefully there'll be less tolerance of that sort of persistent, cynical fouling.
I know they were preseason games, but we did similarly against 5 top European sides. Southampton away will be a true test of where we are against a top ex-PL now Championship team coming at us. How effectively we can blunt their attacks and counterattack will be critical. That will suit Hernandez, Rowe, Barnes and Sargent very well and Sara's ability to get the ball to them early could make a big difference. Our playing style isn't so defined, as Ben Lee's tactical analysis of the preseason revealed. Barnes can push forward when we attack, then drop back alongside Sara when the ball is lost. The wide players can do similar, dropping back into the 4-4-2 low block when we defend, then break forward on the counter when the ball is won. That can make it difficult for their defenders. How well we do that could give a real indication of our chances for the rest of the season.
Ben Lee's tactical analysis for Hull is on the Pinkun now and these were his conclusions: "Saturday’s season opener was a clear indicator of how far Norwich have come. At 1-0 down, there was no doubt that Norwich had been the better team; it often looked as though Wagner’s side had more players than the visitors. Therein lies the value of tactics. Norwich were able to create overloads in every phase of the game. The intensity of Norwich’s performance was another significant factor; the squad is clearly the fittest it has been for a significant period. This, combined with the quality of the tactical processes within the game, are key signs that Norwich are moving in the right direction. Many people watch football for moments – after all, moments decide games – but after moments of chaos, it is important to remember the processes that created them. Tactics matter." Our tactical superiority is clearly outlined in Ben's analysis, showing how we dominated every aspect of play. https://www.pinkun.com/news/23707478.norwich-city-2-1-hull-city-ben-lee-tactical-analysis/ For those without a Pinkun subscription, it will eventually be posted on Ben's own website: https://ncfcanalysis1.wixsite.com/ncfcanalysis/post/assessing-norwich-s-pre-season
But doesn't every team have "a defined playing style"? Furthermore, doesn't forcing an opponent to abandon their normal style of play to counter some aspect of what you do, weaken them and create possibilities for you to exploit that wouldn't otherwise exist? People talk about teams having plan A, B, and C etc. but alternative plans can never involve abandonment of one's defined style; at most they can involve relatively minor adjustments. Otherwise teams would quickly be reduced to a shapeless rabble! And remember, no team had a more tightly defined style than we did under Farke.
With Wagner, it seems to be a core style around a 4-2-3-1, which transitions to a 4-4-2 mid or low block when the ball is lost. Once we win the ball back it changes to a 3-3-4 as McLean drops back between the CBs and the FBs move forward as the ball is transitioned out of defence. At that point there are options. Barnes can drop back to support Sara as the FBs overlap and the wide players tuck into the half space. Alternatively, the wide players can tuck in either side of Sara while the FBs occupy the wide vertical channels and stretch the defenders, creating space for Barnes and Sargent. There are many tweaks to these transitions according to what the opponents do and players have to make key decisions all the time. That's why DW wanted the new players in early. Fortunately, Fassnacht has played under Wagner before, so he should have a good understanding of how it all works. The other thing Lee points out is how fit our players are and how important that is for exploiting the tactical advantages as they occur, as tired players can make the wrong decisions. The tactical tweaks certainly worked well against Hull, but Southampton away will be a far tougher test.
Forgive me if I am missing something as I am no expert, but what possible reason could Dean Smith have had for not having the team be fit? It was evident in each match that we clearly struggled beyond the 70-75 mins mark in matches. Why would any manager not push their players to be the fittest in the league each year? It seems so obvious - as the saying goes “hard work beats talent” but imagine having the best players and the fittest.
I haven't seen his latest analysis, but how does he know how fit our players are? What we do know is that Wagner's preferred style of play demands a high degree of fitness; without that, talk of "high energy" and "high intensity" over 90 minutes is pie in the sky. But we haven't as yet seen high energy and high intensity maintained for 90 minutes, have we? We saw it in spells during pre-season, more so against Olympiacos. Against Hull I thought we definitely tired, and Hull came much more into the game as the second half wore on; not much high energy/high intensity in evidence at that point. Yes, we had the better of the closing stages, but several factors probably played into that, including e.g. Hull's desire to keep hold of the point they had, not go for broke. How long we could maintain those elements of Wagner's style was something I was particularly on the lookout for; I didn't see any real sign of exceptional fitness from us in this opening game. Here are some illustrative stats (again from WhoScored), us first, then Hull: Match as a whole: Team ratings: 6.8 / 6.41 Possession: 57.4% / 42.6% Shots: 28 / 9 Dispossessed: 9 / 10 Minutes 55 to 75: Team ratings: 5.9 / 6.02 Possession: 49.1 / 50.9 Shots: 3 / 2 Dispossessed: 4 / 2 No doubt this in part reflects the timing of substitutions (e.g. Hull's 66th minute introduction of 3 fresh players). But if you look at the stats, the drop off from our first half levels is even greater than for the match as a whole, really quite dramatic.
What Ben Lee said was: "The intensity of Norwich’s performance was another significant factor; the squad is clearly the fittest it has been for a significant period." Given that Farke's teams were also commended for their fitness from extra training sessions, this seems to be a comparison with the fitness under Smith rather than a claim of 'exceptional fitness'. Unlike training fitness, match fitness comes with game time and this was the first competitive match played. Another factor is that Sara missed most of the preseason after his appendectomy, and he was at the heart of the performance in the first half. It isn't surprising that he slowed before being replaced by Núñez in the 74th minute. Rowe also worked exceptionally hard before he was replaced by Springett. Given the amount of running Stacey and Giannoulis had done, they both did well to stay on for the whole match. In spite of the 20 minute period you cite, we still dominated the second half.
Bit thick on stats, but how do we score the winning goal, but the stats show no shots on target!!!! Explain please
Rick, thanks for clarifying what Ben Lee actually said. My "exceptional fitness", was referring more to Wagner's stated aim of making us "the fittest squad in the division" in order to deliver the high energy, high intensity required by Wagnerball. Yes, match fitness has to be developed by playing competitive matches, but that goes for our competitors as well. The full match replay is available on the club website if people want to see for themselves.
WhoScored correctly record Idah's goal as our single SOT in the second half. Rick doesn't say where his second half stats are from, but it's not WhoScored.
My second half stats are from Flashscore, but I think they failed to include Idah's goal for some reason. My point was that the 20 minute spell from 55-75 minutes seems to have been a good spell of play for Hull, but not typical of the whole match. Flashscore is useful for providing stats for each half as well as the whole match. The Attacks/Dangerous Attacks stats which we dominated in both halves are a particularly useful indicator, IMO.
Can someone enlighten me as to why all the cup matches are this week except for ours, which is next week.
