How is asking whether or not someone had actually seen a guy who has yet to play for the first team "juvenile" exactly? Believe it or not I'm not here to fall out with people and don't really know how can I have made a "personal attack" when I don't know you, have never met you, know nothing about you and don't even know what your name is? I attacked (if that's the correct word, I prefer 'challenged' personally, but let's not worry about semantics now) what you wrote and said I disagreed with your opinion. There was nothing personal about what I wrote at all , no name calling or anything and who knows, we may even agree on 99% of other issues? However I did /do strongly disagree with what you posted yesterday, and as this is a public forum then I'm perfectly entitled to do so I've got no problem with you chap, it's just a difference of opinion about our football team at the end of the day. I have disagreements about all sorts of things (politics, music, sport etc) with some of my very best friends and we don't fall out over then so I agree we maybe need to chill out a bit and not get so touchy about things written on here in good faith
For what it's worth the Martin Bassong pairing is the best option . Turner seems shot & Cueller is too sloppy in the box giving away too many pens. The Grabban lone striker gamble failed this time but he is still our second highest scoring striker so I can see why Alex tried it . The same side with Jerome instead of Grabban & Howson instead of Hoolahoops would probably be more fruitful in attack. If we can keep a few more clean sheets that will give us a good shot at going on a long run of wins .
Neil has undoubtedly seen Norwich at their best (Bournemouth when down to 10 men), worst (Brentford....shudder) and most average (almost turning a comfortable position vs Cardiff into rat ****e and hanging on for dear life) And then a decent point and clean sheet yesterday against a team currently in form. 90% of this has been without Howson in the team. I hate to say how 'pivotal / crucial' any single squad member is, but my god we've missed his mobility and movement off the ball. At least it seems we're now mature enough to give Bassong and E Bennett a decent chance to perform rather than seeing them farmed out on loan feathering the nest of fellow championship competitors
Did anyone who went to the game yesterday think Birmingham were a team on form- thye were ****ing ****e and we were marginally less ****e. but less it was a point and a clean sheet. T
Anyone think they might have been **** because we played well enough to stifle them and made them look ****? Just a thought.....
Yes we all got the irony of the situation but it was still petty, especially given how easy it is to feck up when tapping away on your phone I'm the heat of the moment or you become a victim of auto correct. Anyway will you two either get a room or go round the back of the bike shed and have a punch up and clear the air [emoji6]
No they couldn't pass the ball and we didn't press so they were ****e- one of the worst games of football I've watched this srason
I didn't go to the game, but from everything I've seen & heard we dominated possession, but did very little with it against a very poor team. The unplatable truth is that for whatever reason our team team is consistantly underperforming and failing to take advantage when other teams results go in our favour. I accept at times we play very well, but we regularly struggle to do this for a whole game. It is very easy to single out the defence as the reason for the current state of affairs, but I think the issues run much deeper than this. There is something not right with the team. We reugularly look unbalance and disorganised. I think Neil is a good appointment and will sort things out, although I don't think he's going to do this in sufficeint time to get us back to the premiership. I think we will need a good clear out of players this summer and would like to see us bring in hungrier younger players and use them as well as give players like McGrandles & Murphy more of a chance. Yes we could still get promoted with the players we've got, but we would still need a good clear out in the summer if we weren't to get crushed in Premiership.
Here's a question: If our entire first team squad played for other clubs, and were now all available to sign for us today, how many wouldn't you be interested in us snapping up?
Agreed. I think I could name four or five, but none would be starting line-up save for maybe Whittaker. And I know he gets slated a lot, but I'm not convinced he's overall worse than most other right backs in this division.
Ruddy, A below par (so far this season) Olsson, BJ, Tettey, Redders, O'Neil, Howson and Jerome. That would be about it from moi.
Of players that you would want, presumably. For me I would definitely add Hooper, Martin, Bassong, Turner plus all the youngsters. I'm pretty sure I'd want Hoolahan with us rather than against us. Likewise with Lafferty and Grabban and I'd probably be keen for us to sign Garrido, especially as back-up. Maybe even Elliott Bennett too. Ryan Bennett is a close one like VOO based on injury history, but otherwise yes.
Well, Rob, with my list, and then yours, that's virtually the entire squad as it stands anyway So what have we learned from this exercise?
You've pretty much nailed my point there I personally don't get his 'deadwood' stuff, if we made our entire first team squad available there would be clubs aplenty ready to snap them up. Kick up the arse and played to their strengths is what we need for the next 18 games. Not saying they'd all cut it in the PL, but most could step up given the right management in my opinion. I'm definitely not writing this season off, not by a long chalk. I should have added to my earlier question, of those you wouldn't be interested in, who would you realistically sign as an alternative in the same position?
Yep, exactly - there aren't many players who I don't like in our squad or see as useful. But I do think there is a lack of balance, particularly made worse by injuries. The players we have, as has been said time and again, are decent individuals. It's working out how to use them as a team that is key. I have a mate who is a Watford fan and he said something along the lines of "your team looks better this year than it did in the Prem - how's that fair!?!" Little did he know that the players might be overall better, but the team isn't. That's why I think I would be comfortable, say, letting Olsson go, because I think with our current defence we would be better suited to Garrido there (along with his dead ball contributions) even though I'm confident Olsson is the better all round player. I might well be wrong and that might make us worse defensively or a disaster going forward, but if that's evened out with a proper left winger I think we would be better off overall. Just an example. Obviously Neil will have identified how he wants our system to work and if he sees Olsson as the best player for it then fine by me too.
Lafferty and Grabban would be the two I wouldn't bother with, and sounds like they may be off anyway so it could be a superb transfer window
I like Lafferty. I think he offers something very different and his performances for NI suggest to me that if only he were used correctly he might be seriously good. And in fact on the odd occasion he's been on form for us I think he's been unplayable. Grabban, I take your point. Though his pace is useful compared to our other strikers and if he were still at Bournemouth slotting goals like he did last season I think we'd probably want him based purely on that without knowing how he fits in!
I have kept away for a couple of weeks because the negativity was getting on my nerves and the reaction to the defeat by Brentford bordered on the hysterical. We are not in a bad position in the league but unfortunately there are still some who still believe that all we should have to do to get promotion with our squad is turn up. I would have hoped that by know the penny would have dropped and realism would have set in. Our biggest problem has been stupid goals being conceded and hopefully this is now being sorted out. Our Manager is obviously going to stick with the system he knows and loves - back 4, one up top, two wide players and three in midfield. With just one up top we do not need all the strikers we have - although I am told Lafferty is on his way to Turkey - and we will have a hell of a lot of players competing for the 3 midfield slots. People, including one or two who individuals on here love, will not be in the team. Can we just remember that the people who decide what the team will be are paid to make those decisions based on what they see in training all week and having regard to the strengths and weaknesses of our opponents and they therefore know a lot more than we do. Just be patient and see where we end up at the end of the season.
I don't expect us to win promotion just by turning up, but I think anyone that witnessed Brentford is entitled to say that turning up would have been a step in the right direction.
