Interesting that at the time of me adding to the poll, 83% of people think he should be getting more minutes on the pitch.
I agree that he should be playing more, but who does Hughton drop to fit him in? If he sticks with his current 4-2-3-1 formation then he'll have to drop Johnson or Tettey. Realistically this isn't going to happen as they've formed such a good partnership. If he changes to a 4-5-1 to keep the Johnson/Tettey partnership then he'd have to drop Hoolahan, or push Hoolahan out wide which we all know doesn't work and this would also mean dropping Pilks, which would be harsh. Unfortunately the only way he's going to get in the side at the moment is through suspension or injury to two or three players at the same time.
I'd drop Johnson for him, particularly home games. Johnson is full of endeavour but he's got no vision or real passing ability. Fox isn't a fantastic player who threads these balls through a needle, but he does make things tick nicely, cleanly and with patience, particularly with Hoolahan playing. I like players who don't feel the need to try and score on every attack, regardless of the situation. He's one of them, neat and tidy.
Nah, its easy, drop Johnson. We have very few players like Fox, players who don't rely on physical traits.
I agree with that Carrabuh. Fox is a more creative player than Johnson (although Johnson has also shown creative ability, as with his pass forward to Pilks that led to a goal), but Fox needs to add a stronger defensive side to his game (also true of Howson). Too many long passes are failing at the moment and simply giving possession away. Fox is the best we have at the long pass (Ian Crook style), with the ability to create a scoring opportunity out of nothing, as with his pass to set up Jackson for that stunning goal. The art of moving the ball forward lies in keeping the opponent guessing - sometimes short passing, sometimes long passing to mix it up. Fox is a master of that.
Yes because Snodgrass, Pilkington, Bennett, Howson and Hoolahan are well know in the Premier League for their crunching tackles and physicality in the game If you drop Johnson and bring in Fox our midfield suddenly looks very lightweight indeed. While I agree that Fox's passing is better than Johnson's, Johnson isn't in the side for his ability to pick out Snodgrass 60 yards away on the opposite flank, or to slide a ball through that leaves the oppositions defence static. Johnson is in the side to break up attacks and then off load the ball to the player closest to him. Unfortunately for Fox, everything he brings to the table that has won him so many plaudits in his time at the club has been covered by someone else. Hoolahan is opening up defences with his passing, Snodgrass has got free kicks covered, Pilks and Snodgrass have got corners sorted. It's one thing splitting the Peterborough defence with a long ball, another thing entirely to do it to Man City, Man Utd, Spurs etc
I would drop Johnson and bring in Fox at home. You have to be brutal sometimes and drop a player even if they are playing well, David Fox suits us more at home so I would still play him. If we do soak up a bit of pressure you can bring on Howson for Wes who would strengthen up the midfield and probably compensate Johnson's loss a little. I like him, but Fox is a better player in my opinion.
Well the wingers are hardly lightweight short arses. Fox played the defensive role all by himself at times last year. I certainly don't want Fox for this make believe long ball which all of a sudden he is famous for. What is it with people on this forum, Jackson plays up front on his own against Peterborough, suddenly he can do it against anyone, Bennett has one game, now he's suddenly undroppable. Fox does a long pass, now thats all he can do. And keep those ****ing moronic headslaps to yourself.
In all fairness I don't know who you expect Norwich to sign. For a team of our standard he is a very good passer I think. Dictates the tempo of a game which is difficult in the Premier League, I actually don't think there are many better who we could afford.
Don't get the context of this reply. I've got nothing but admiration for Fox and explained nothing otherwise.
The headslap came out because you said all our players relied on physical traits and quite frankly that's rubbish. Hoolahan, Pilks, Snodgrass and Bennett rely on their skill and pace, not their size and strength. Also I never once said Fox was a long ball merchant. What I said was one long ball against a side struggling in the division below us doesn't mean he should go straight into the side. O know he played as a DM by himself most of last season, but that was in a different formation, with different players and currently Johnson is better suited to the role Hughton is using than Fox is.
Can't believe nobody has suggested leaving Tettey out and playing Johnno with Fox in the middle? I agree that it's tough to squeeze Foxy (probably my second favourite player) in at the moment, but if anyone hasn't looked at their best in recent weeks it's been Tettey for me. I wasn't a huge fan of Johson last year (wasn't a critic either) but he's really impressed me this season and for me has been the more consistent of the two so far. When Tettey is on song he is immense, but he's been taken off in a few games lately and hasn't made the impact he did during our unbeaten run. I know it was against poor opposition last week, but I thought Johnson and Fox totally bossed the midfield from start to finish. I reckon Hootun will stick with Johnson and Tettey, and I'd have no problem with that at all, but I'd possibly go with last week's pairing again - especially if Cabaye isn't fit enough to start.
Hang on, isn't pace a physical trait, or am I missing something? And as for Snodgrass relying on pace
Oh, I never realised pace wasn't a physical trait, what is it some sort of mental telekenesis? I said we have very few players who don't rely on physical traits and Hoolahan is the other one. The others are hardly shrinking violets. Pilkington is not a particularly skillfull player who prefers the ball into space, Snodgrass is skillfull but also physical and Bennet is quick (I'm assuming you've now realised pace is a physical trait).
Don't forget we'll need to crowbar Butterfield into the midfield setup somewhere at some point. I don't think meddling with Wes will help Fox. Conclusion: we're not too shabby in midfield!
In my lesser opinion, Fox is not a starter apart from injuries. He was a Lambert player not a Hughton player.
I'm just glad that its Hughton who has to deal with this and not us, because its really hard to decide what to do!
