A couple of things....

You say that, but I'm sure I've read murmurings of discontent from Swans fans, and even that seems madness to me. But probably in the same way few people outside our club can comprehend Hughton's position being under threat.

He's never been quick over the ground, but the speed of thought appears to have slowed too, which is the issue. It's a shame really as RvW's movement could really help him.

 

Priority for me is still a CB. Turner has actually been playing very well and his passing is difficult to criticise, but often I feel he takes too long on the ball, which consequently gives less time for the midfielder he's passing to. Added to his immobility in defence, I feel like an upgrade here would do a world of good because it will allow us to start attacks quicker from either centre back and give the midfielders that fraction of time extra to get their heads up and look for the next pass.

After that I'd want to prioritise a quicker right back. Was there some talk of Naughton being available? I know his form has trailed off, but he really was classy on the right for us. Rusty is a stalwart, but his form has been dreadful and (admittedly I didn't watch the game, but had the updates) he was torn apart yesterday and has been regularly. Whittaker has moments of genius, but they are few and far between.

Only then look at an attacking midfielder - I know it seems crazy given the lack of goals, but I think that lack is because we invite pressure due to some of our defenders holding onto the ball or misplacing passes. With Snodgrass coming in to a bit of form, I'm confident the goals will be flowing, particularly with our "easy" run of matches.

 

this is the problem for me. as you say, pace has never been a part of his game but if the brain starts to go he's only a fraction of the player he used to be. i, like you, felt we could see a renaissance thanks to the movement of hooper and rvw but its not happened. i know he hasn't featured that much but when he has he's been dreadful. i'd still keep him unless someone younger and better can be brought in, though that may be me being romantic rather than sensible. its hard to let go of these heroes of ours, and wes was a hero

 

i find myself agreeing with all of this, which i wouldn't have done before the season began

 

Hoolahan is down to a lack of options more than anything, no runners past the defence from the inverted wingers.

He's just not needed in Hughtons winger system because they both want the ball to early to cross with an angle, or in Redmonds case shoot wildly or kick it out for a throw in.

 

This is true, quite a few questions have been asked about ML, even last season when their 2nd half of the season was perhaps worse than ours! Other than their Europa League exploits, a number of Swans fans have not been too happy, even then they are annoyed with late goals given away in those games.

I can understand their stance a little more as they have raised their own bar that little bit higher than Norwich have, and they are also probably watching Southampton flying high in their 2nd season, wondering why they are not up there with them.

 

While I agree with you on Hoolahan and the system, you really need to drop the Redmond crap and get a grip. He's 19, has good close control, is a live wire and he almost always beats his first man. No, he's not the finished article, far from it. Yes, he can't shoot, he can't pass and his decision making is poor, but these things require training and experience. He does bloody brilliantly for a 19yo and he's a lot better than any other 19yo in our squad and I'd take him over most of the other 19yos in the Premier League. Cut him some slack - it's hyperbolic episodes like these where your frothy-mouthed one-eyed irrational dogmatism gets the better of your rational ego and undermines all the interesting points of view that you often bring.

 

I agree he'd be more at home in a different system, but he played very well in spells last season, so it's not like it's entirely down to the way Hughton is setting us up.

 

didn't he switch the wingers yesterday, or did i dream that?

 

exactly, he was probably the star in our 4-5-1 with inverted wingers during our ten game run last season. carrabuh in 'makes up drivel shocker'

who'd have funked it?

 

Our recent poll suggests that, if it is possible to identify any pattern at all, it may be the opposite. The option to sack CH immediately had the highest ratio of locals to remote posters, where location was identifiable. I suspect that remote posters are more likely to have a clue to their location in their name so perhaps you are just more conscious of their location than when you are communicating with equally negative local contributors?

I fear some may have an image of us long distance supporters as Johnny-come-latelys, caught by the PL marketing machine. I suspect the majority of us are actually Norfolk expats with a long association with the club and many of us will have attended regularly until circumstances made it impossible. We continue to support our club despite the difficulties. I can't think of any reason why we should be more negative or our expectations more unrealistic. In fact being remote, listening to the views of foreign commentators, and invariably watching with people who are not Norwich supporters may well mean that I view matches more objectively than someone caught up in the fever of the snake pit.

 

Here here . Before i left Norfolk, which i admit was a few years ago now, i was a season ticket holder and had been attending games since i was 10 years old. I used to pretend i was Graham Paddon when playing as a child (although i was wearing George Best boots)
I am no plastic. I have seen many highs and lows as a City supporter and all i want is the best for the club as i see it. I do not try and impose my opinion on others but i do have a voice. So i voice my opinion.
All i want is success for my club and that means we need a team and a manager who are capable of that, we have the team but '' I '' fear not the manager.

 

While your distaste for Redmond gets my goat a bit, you were absolutely right when you said Redmond should be stapled to the Right wing in the match thread yesterday. In the few minutes he spent on that wing he beat his man twice and put in some good crosses having made it to the byline! He can be wasteful cutting in off that left wing and it can be very frustrating, even if it does produce a goal like against Southampton.

 

Can the moderators please stop and reflect on the split that has happened on this forum and take a stand on the posts that are causing it.

Superman in 'interrupts a reasonable debate to try to alienate a poster that disagrees with him' shocker.

 

Redmond should be encouraged to cross the ball more, I like that he goes for goal but he lacks the finish at present.

 

This is an interesting one.

One big difference, I think, is we only get to see the games on TV. This makes it very hard to judge the overall system and movement in the team, since TV tends to focus on a small area around the player who has the ball. One of my criticisms of CH has always been that the team looks static and rather statuesque, and there doesn't seem to be much movement off the ball to allow the player on the ball a range of options. Sometimes I wonder if this is an effect of only watching on TV, so I'd defer to people who are watching live.

Other than that, I don't see why we should feel any different. In the early days on here, I felt as if I wasn't really one of the gang, but I think that was more to do with being new than being based overseas.

And you are right, our names define us in a way that the posters in Norfolk tend not to be defined (except Cromer).

 

Are you saying we shouldn't allow freedom of speech or opinion? I thought we had agreed that anything goes as long as it doesn't cross legal boundaries of racist or slanderous content!

 

Are you saying we shouldn't allow freedom of speech or opinion? I thought we had agreed that anything goes as long as it doesn't cross legal boundaries of racist or slanderous content![/QUOTE]

Absolutely not, but perhaps a private message outlining that you are unhappy with repeated attempts to sabotage reasonable debate might stop some of the more divisive comments. I agree that ultimately it's the posters responsibility.

 

Does it really matter what people write? I find it odd that those who flounce off an internet forum feel so strongly about things.The last episode was over the Lee Rigby murder but I can't remember exactly what the dispute was over. I am fairly political but I have friends who think Thatcher was ok wheras I think every ill of modern life can be fairly laid at her door.I still sit down at break bread with them.Get some perspective.As Shankly said it's not a matter of life and death.

 

i can't quite understand why rubiks tube has got his knickers in a twist over that particular post of mine. frankly, i was absolutely 100% spot on. hoolahan was instrumental in our ten game unbeaten run and this was achieved with inverted wingers, so i am correct to say that carrabuh has made up something to suit his argument.

and if he thinks i interrupt 'reasonable debate' then maybe he should check out how much abuse i get on here from certain posters, none of which i have ever complained about, and maybe look at who starts most of these debates, cos a lot of them stem from me. i feel i contribute some decent stuff on here on a regular basis which is more than can be said of some.