I can see roughly 10 of those leaving. The "leadership group" could/should leave - Duffy/Mclean/Sargent - it doesn't feel like we have had much leadership on the pitch. Gunn, Stacey, Doyle, Sorenesen, Nunez, Sainz, Hernandez all likely/possible to leave aswell. A separate note but in regards to our defence of which Duffy has been a mainstay over the last 2 seasons - we have conceded over 130 goals in that time
Our defence is truly shocking! I do like McLean (moronic ban excluded), but yeah unless the Americans want to build a team around an American Sargent will be off? For several years our team has had the spine of a jellyfish! How many points have we lost from a winning position this year?
Agreed which is why I think we need a change at senior level. I was looking back at the Lambert era team and there is no comparison in terms of leadership - Holt, Howson, Johnson, Snodgrass, Bassong, Martin, Whitbread even the like of Olsson, Pilks, Ruddy, Morrison were characters.
You probably know this, but I used to be a lifeguard at the UEA Sportspark. Saw Norwich hire a lane or two at times and first saw Holt there when he was recovering from injury. He enjoyed swimming so would be back after he was fit. He'd always do his session, but you could tell they had a good team spirit as he would be joking messing about after they had finished whatever set they were on. They had team spirit and enjoyed being around each other. Though we sit 12th in the discipline table, the bans we have had and for the key players have been awful especially as so much of it was unnecessary. If a player gets carried away with a tackle, mistimes something that is one thing, but 6 matches for spitting and then McLean being banned twice just when injuries were hampering us was so frustrating. Okay you make a mistake, we are all human learn from it, but twice one after another so frustrating.
I debated that, GE, but limited the squad to those who have been included in the first team this season. Perhaps there's a case for Myles to be included though.
It isn't just our defence, it's our defending as a team. In that regard, it's difficult to separate the players from JHT's tactics where the attacking players and midfielders fail to close down opposition players, which allows them to progress the ball through the thirds with relative ease. Too often our defenders are caught upfield, thus giving a numerical advantage. Unless we achieve some sort of balance between attack and defence the concession of goals will continue.
If you look at our back line during play there is hardly ever a back four, they are staggered all over the place. The basic tenet for defence is to keep your shape. We simply do not do this.
Some support for Robbie's theory relating back to Knapper and JHT's meeting with the new owners in America. https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/u...thorup-it-involves-the-clubs-american-owners/
Thanks Rick. It also suggests an explanation on targets - the top six target was something the owners confirmed when their takeover was ratified (ie mid-season). At least that’s the implication of the article.
It's hard to know, but after finishing in the top 6 the previous season to do so again would not have seemed an unreasonable target. I also doubt that the new owners will be willing to accept a new 3 year transition proposal. If true, Knapper is now facing a far more demanding set of expectations and that could be a good thing.
Just got off a 10 hour flight having watched through the clubs promotional videos form this season at all of the stages of the season. In the last one, 4 weeks ago, JHT expressed that position in the table didn’t matter but they wanted good performances for the rest of the season. Obviously we didn’t get that, but there also seems to have been a lack of communication to him. There also seems to have been a significant downturn in performance since the last international break where Kanpper was supposedly confirming players futures
Dare I suggest downturn start with McLean playing left back. There seem to be a few idiotic fans that want to get rid of McLean. Not sure why as it seems to me that when he's on it and playing in the middle of the park we seem to have our best performances.
Am I the only one concerned about this alleged sort of interference by American owners who know nothing about the game in this Country and this league in particular? Delia and Michael loved the Club but to the current owners it is just a business but football clubs are more than a normal business.
More positives out of that game but what part is down to Wilshere given he had about a day, perhaps a day and half to work with the team before the game. (including his charity golf day in between too), plus a marathon to run on the Sunday. Busy week for him! Some tactical changes like Stacey and Schwartau's positioning for instance, but was that the key to the uplift, or was it the team naturally playing with a bit more urgency to secure their place with new management?
For me, it was the change away from passing the ball around in our own third and playing Stacey WR so we had two defenders on that side while Stacey also carried an attacking threat we had been missing on the right most of the season. Our defensive shape was also much better against a good team desperate to score to stay in the playoff places. I was expecting us to be under siege but we weren't. We gave as good as we got. A look at the Prediction League thread shows very few predictors expected anything other than a loss. I only changed my prediction from a 3-1 loss at the last moment once I had seen the lineup and that was more in hope than expectation.
I think Ben reflects a view held by those who thought the problem was the players rather than the coach or the implementation of the tactical approach. There was also a large contingent who saw it the other way around as we surrendered 5 goals to Portsmouth at home then another 3 against Millwall. I continued to watch but I was totally disillusioned by then. I was surprised when JHT was sacked because I thought Knapper would not break his 3 year transition dream. The reality that intervened was that the new owners, who were only co-owners when the transition dream was being created, were not going to go on dreaming and putting millions into the club as our season deteriorated. Like it or not, the cosy family club is gone and a hard nosed business partnership has replaced it. We are now a results based business.
Sorry I posted the below on the Boro match thread but actually it would be better here, so copying below. I agree with you RER. The key summary, for me, is that results based business doesn’t necessarily sacrifice long term success for short term optical results. I think you can be hard-nosed, fire a manager for poor results and still have a project and a long term vision, but the results should be marked against the project/vision rather than a series of football scores. For me, I now think JHT was and this sacking can be justified on the basis he was scoring badly against the project/vision rather than purely a snap decision due to the latest poor results.
