So then Canaries, if you could combine your side with ours, is their any of our players that would make good additions? I would imagine you'd take- * Murphy * Berra Anyone else? Our young lad Teddy Bishop is a very tidy player, well worth watching out for Sunday. Who do you have a little more under the radar?
I have thought long and hard about this Wsestlake and think that the best eleven available are probably the side that we will field this Sunday. Does this help?
Murphy would make the bench as an impact sub (he is having a stellar season, but this would only be because he wouldn't really fit our system, so it would have to be a "Plan B") Berra might make it for the season overall, but I'm not convinced he's any better than Martin. Doesn't he normally play on the left side of CB though? In which case he'd make the bench as first choice reserve CB because there's no way I would consider him better than Bassong. Don't know enough about Bishop - I'll give him a look on Sunday
Impossible for me to comment. I have only seen you guys play a full game once, and you lost. Murphey looked anything but a striker that day (I commented to effect on the day). Can't remember much else about Town apart from thinking Mings looked useful, if a little naive.
Going to have a look at how you lined up last time, and from my knowledge of both I will put together a side 4-4-2.
Interestingly we've conceded three less than you. Ruddy Whittiker / Chambers/ Berra / Olsson Redmond / Dorrans / Bishop / Bradley Murphy / Grabban. Norwich 7 Ipswich 4.
Fair enough Westy, I doubt you'll find much agreement on this board for that (our CB pairing of Martin and Bassong has conceded just five goals in seven matches, which is better than your team's average)
Bassong, Howson and Jerome (very possibly also Tettey and Hooper) would all be in, Dorrans wouldn't however as he's only played an hour of football for us! I can honestly see us turning them over AGAIN on Sunday, can't wait!!
I'd be inclined to have Hooper in the hole. Or rather playing as a false 9 with Grabban and Jerome wider. That base in midfield is very good though, and we have about 3 other players that can swap into those roles without too much hassle. I think the issue here is that Norwich has the better individual players all over the pitch but Ippy have played more as a team this season, without having significantly skill full players, only Murphy really stands out because of his goals, Which is commendable and exactly how we did it under Lambert. Always a team that was better than the sum of it's parts. Now I feel we are getting the potential from this team and it's really showing. Controlling games. Lots of chances. Pushing til the end. All very promising stuff.
Only 3 goals Rob. Bassong was an unused sub against Brentford so only playing for the two against Charlton and last night's. Bassong is probably the best CB in the league. Tbh I haven't been overwhelmed by our other Centre Backs this season so would probably consider Berra. Shame Ryan Bennett has struggled with injury so much, felt this could have been his season.
My bad - you're spot on. So we only concede every other game with Bassong in the team. Shame for Ipswich that Blackburn took the goal then!
Bassong has come back with his old ability to make the defence around him look better. He's clearly very good at organising the players around him in defence. I wonder if being captain was a distraction from this for him?
I think asking any Norwich fan to put a combined eleven together is difficult as on paper, as well as recently on the pitch, we'd struggle to name less than 9 Norwich players. That said, there's a few Ipswich players I'd rather have on the bench over the remaining Norwich players. A more tricky question, you have to choose 5 Norwich and 5 Ipswich players for the outfield positions, then either goalkeeper. What's your starting eleven then?
That would be just as simple (as long as we're only entering a team into a six-a-side tourney that is)
Canary Rob you're right I'm not going to get many takers - but I was fair and acknowledged 7 Norwich players to Ipswich 4. Bassong is a funny one - wonder how much you're paying him. Yes they may have conceded less in them games, but we've conceded 3 less than you all season. Also, with Mings pricetag he's arguably far better than what you have at LB.
We don't need any of the Budgies maybe Ruddy as back up Keeper. Bialkowski Parr Chambo Berra Mings Skuse Bishop Knockaert Didz Sears Murphy
All our players took a significant pay cut on relegation, and despite spending money on wages and signings, we're still living within our means. That said, if he's not one of the highest paid players in the league I would be surprised, probably only behind some of Fulham's ex-Prem dross.
He must be on £25,000 or so I'd imagine. I know Sunderland have a 50% paycut on all relegated players.
You were fair, definitely , but as DH says I think there are a few Ipswich players who for an honest Norwich fan would make the bench because Murphy would be an extremely useful impact sub for us, much as Jerome has been in the last few games. I'm surprised it's taken you this long to mention Mings, given Olsson's relatively poor recent form. I guess Olsson is still riding on his earlier reputation. I don't deny that your defence has been better over the whole season, but ours has chopped and changed (part and parcel of the problem...) My point is that on current form and existing stats, there is no way either of your CBs would get in ahead of Bassong in the eyes of any Canary fans. I think most of us can agree that at least one of your CBs is your strongest contender in a combined XI. I also agree with Munky that I don't think you can include Dorrans. Given our strength in depth in midfield, Bishop is always going to struggle but again I think a Norwich fan would be lying if they didn't think he'd make a useful addition to the bench. The problem with this, of course, is that making a combined XI is about choosing the best individuals, not working out the most balanced or best team. Over the course of the season, Ipswich as a team have undoubtedly been better than Norwich (to the princely tune of one point), yet I think even the most one-eyed Ipswich fan would admit that Norwich are man-for-man quite a way ahead (at the very least on reputation). So you get this odd situation where making a combined XI is inevitably going to make it look worse for Ipswich than it is. It's not really valuing the very thing that has you in the table position you are in, unless we have a 12th and 13th man for "team spirit" and "being greater than the sum of your parts" (though the former we are now starting to push you on)
