i still think we need a flair player in midfield and another striker!! This is not an anti Mick post or anything like that, just an observation on our squad. I don't think we have that player that can change a game with a piece of brilliance. Our midfield is hard working and industrial like, which you would expect from MM's team but can any of them offer something different that can change a game? As for yesterday, we got what i think most of us expected from a very tough first game, shame we couldn't have held on to the lead until half time, had we done so i think we may have gone on to win. I think, with our current squad, we will probably end up about 10th in the league. Is that good enough? With the tiny budget that MM seems to have i would say yes but dissapointing. Fingers crossed Mick decides to go for 1 more player and that it is someone with a bit of flair!!!!
We do have Woodsworth who I must confess I haven't seen play missing from yesterday, along with Anderson who came on late. These two should certainly help this. I think we could be fine uptop to be honest - Taylor was quality when he came on yesterday, McGoldrick looked bright too. Not sure still what I make of Murphy though!!! Edwards didn't have a particularly good game both going forwards ( offered little ) or defensively ( didn't really help Hewitt through one of his first games ) and I thought he was lucky not to have been subbed much much earlier. Think you could be right Spanish, we may need 1 more in this regard to midfield.
Completely agree Spanish, we have a very solid/industrious squad but we lack quality in key attacking positions. We need a playmaker in CM, most of our CMs are similar in that they are grafters and in most teams would probably play the more withdrawn out of our CM options. Although saying that I'm not sure what this Tunnecliffe from Man U is like, plus as Westy says Wordsworth is certainly a more creative/flair player who whenever I've seen him play I've been impressed with what he does on the ball, he certainly has a bit of quality and I think could score a few goals, as I was impressed by his runs into the box and movement but the thing which makes me think he might not be involved and perhaps why he hasn't been shown an interest in by other clubs is that to me he looked like he drifted in and out of the game alot. IMO if you want to be a CM particularly in a 442 you need to show yourself for the ball all the time and not drift in and out of games, no matter how badly they played Magilton and Garvan did this all the time, which is why I rated them both. Perhaps if Hewitt starts to make the RB spot his own Veseli may get some game time in midfield. Still think we lack at least 1 winger aswell, I like Tabb but for me he's more of a CM and I think it says alot about our team that he's probably our most creative midfield player when in most other teams he would be considered the grafter. Edwards I really do not rate on the wing, he just doesn't do enough and I haven't seen this Anderson bloke but what I've heard is that he's not really a proper winger and he cuts inside alot. Then upfront I think we're fairly average, apart from Taylor but all our strikers are second strikers (although they all play it differently) so I think we lack that someone who is always a threat in the penalty box, dare i say someone like Chopra. We'll be okay, Mick has built a Mick team which is likely to be fairly consistent throughout the course of the season but we do lack quality in key attacking areas
Greetings all! Well, there was I, in the height of Summer, and what a sporting summer - listening to KP scoring a much needed century on TMS and grabbing the moments to switch to Town playing their first v diffuclt match of a oh so young season...bingo we score 1st! KP gets his ton! Time to reach for the Defribulater! Many thanks Westy and IPFTC for the helpful summaries - not too bothered bout this result, to be expected but as you all say, shame we gave away two soft goals...and the points. Its very early days, and of course we need to settle down and win against the Wall...convincingly. Worried too bout the absence of Cressy... Much look forward to the customary banter, honest reports and views, a bit if Budgie bating, bags of pithy comments and humour and the community friendship that Not606 brings to us all. Prediction? I was wrong by 2 places last season - I will go for top 10 too, but wouldnt be surprised with a last ditch battle for top 6 - but we need to rapidly put Reading behind us and get into Fortress PR mode. Enjoy the season everyone...and I dont think it will be as miserable, nail-biting, put me down, hand me to the men in white coats stuff of last 3 years!
There has been a bit of talk up here about wickham coming to you on loan, would you like to see this?
" There has been a bit of talk up here about wickham coming to you on loan, would you like to see this? " I major YES if the money is right from me. A massive massive upgrade on Murphy through the middle, likewise the same at LM. A lot more mobile than Tabb, has the defensive shield element if needed also. Can make anything happen, and would certainly help creativity wise too. " No i think we have enough players already..... " Understand what you're saying, however, he is a major upgrade on what we currently have. Real Madrid have " enough players " already, however, they still want to improve and upgrade ala - Gareth Bale!
I would say yes, being him back for a season might do him and us some good in the long run. My biggest concern is LB at the moment!
I think the deal that took him to the North East included us having 1st refusal on loans etc. so if anyone is interested we would have been alerted and given the chance to take him.. Personally I would be happy to see him here again, as Westy says he is an upgrade on our current line up. But I would say that I would rather see a different 'style' striker come in if we were to use the loan market. For me Murph is actually pretty good and will be solid throughout the season, I would like to see a "fox in the box" striker or someone with a lot of pace come in to give us an extra dimension with balls down the channels or over the top.. That said Connor could certainly give us an extra threat although I wouldn't imagine him notching more than 15 goals a season.... (similar to Murph & McG)
i went to your game against reading on saturday. very impressive away following by the way (reading fans were piss poor) spanish has hit the nail on the head in his opening gambit â you lack a creative spark or two. i think you'll struggle to score goals but you'll be pretty hard to beat (so, a typical mick mccarthy team then). i watched you a few times last season and you are far better than you were on each of those occasions so i think you'll improve on previous seasons but on the basis of saturday and looking at your team on paper, you won't be near the top of the table. still early days of course and as any norwich fan will tell you, opening day results mean very little! no need to be down anyway â it looks like progress has been made, even if it's not massive. it'll take time considering your manager has his hands tied in the transfer market.
the last thing i want to do is agree with a bird man BUT, you are spot on ,ME. seems he will give no more ,thats not the way to move on.
to be fair, i have heavily criticised your owner before but have you seen your accounts for 2011-12? there is no way you could go on the way you were or you'd have ended up owing evans £100m+! you have a team of grafters who will keep you ticking along but your clubs prime asset now, in my opinion, is your manager. mccarthy is very astute at this level and should assure you don't drift towards the relegation zone again but instead begin to move you upwards, slowly, probably, but he's not a miracle worker! you were spending 107% of turnover on wages – that is farcical and couldn't go on so you've decided as a club to cut your cloth accordingly and you should be praised for doing so. you won't end up with the finished article this season, maybe not even next season – you will have to persevere for a little while – but as long as you keep hold of mccarthy you've got a chance of creeping up the division.
I disagree that he is any better than what we have already.....hardly set the world alight in Sunnnerland and with Murph and Goldie looking like they can form a good partnership with Taylor also pushing on i think Wickham can stay where he is...
Wickham - Nope don't see why we would want him back. Don't think he offers anything we haven't got already and he hasn't done anything in a town shirt or since leaving to suggest he is worth it YET. Creativity. Yes but most MM teams seem to rely on the wide men for this. Although its not the way I would like to see us play, it is similar to what we done last season when MM was hailed as our messiah and most town fans were expected the play offs this season. I cant see that we were expecting anything else in terms of style and I cant see any issues with losing to a very strong Reading team in which we apparently competed very well. Way too early to criticise for me this season and the point was argued about when he first joined. Is there really a new debate here? Supers. Agree we cant continue pissing money away like we did in the RK days of the ME era but we are also not a team that SHOULD be on the poverty line at this level.
" Wickham - Nope don't see why we would want him back. Don't think he offers anything we haven't got already and he hasn't done anything in a town shirt or since leaving to suggest he is worth it YET. " Quite a comical post - granted, based on him generally POST Ipswich, he hasn't been great. However, he is a long long way better than Murphy, can beat a man for fun - name me ONE current Town player who can do that? POSSIBLY Anderson, not seen him in a town shirt. Edwards doesn't even attempt it... He's also quite a lot better than Murphy uptop.
Westlake, each to their own but I dont see anything comical in my post. He had potential in a Town shirt but I never saw anything to suggest he was brilliant and as you quite freely admit he has done nothing since leaving - so I fail to see the comical aspect. Im by no means Murphy's biggest fan but since MM has been here we have all seen a better level of performance by him. Wickham beating a man for fun? personally I think you have gone ott. He has the ability to beat a player but not as easily as the 'for fun' aspect of your post suggests. I may have been too negative in my initial postings but imo you have gone too far the other way. Each to their own though. Better than Murphy? again not sure at this time. CW is certainly more talented but unless he has improved a lot since the last time I saw him he still has a lot to learn in the playing of the game. He was always very energetic but sometime this boiled over to stupidity or rash decision making. Murphy has less spark but is 99.9% reliable - i.e. - you know what you get. If CW was still our player then I would have no problems letting him develop but I rather give the game time to our own players. Marriot was being spoken about very highly last season and even Nouble doesnt have a vast amount of game experience.
I agree TB, i think Wickham's development has slowed down maybe due to lack of games but even when he was here his performances were very hit and miss in my opinion.
He is head and shoulders better than Murphy, lets be completely honest! I wonder where Wickham will play this season, whether he could do it for Sunderland, or a loan out?
