Match Day Thread Norwich City v Leicester City, Wed 20th Sept, ko 20.00hrs

Another quick MTD.
A very difficult game for us,
I must admit a bit of a soft spot for Leicester, their fantastic feat of winning the Premier League, is a highlight in recent years.
Live on Sky, so should be plenty of good streams.

More to follow.

 

The loss of Sargent seems to have been the start of a loss of momentum in the team after a really encouraging set of results. Idah doesn’t seem to be the clinical finisher that Sargent was becoming and the new South Korean will need time to readjust.

 

I think we're seeing what was obvious from looking at Webber/Wagner's squad on paper, that they'd built a squad with some good top-end talent but lacking serious strength in depth. There's very few players outside the first choice XI making a strong case for regular starts. Subs aren't coming on and making a difference, there's little argument as to who should be starting. Batth/Gibson, Idah/Hwang are perhaps the only debates currently, and that's only because the current starters are a little underwhelming rather than the replacements having done anything.

Hopefully Sainz, Nunez can return from injury and change that, plus Sargent in time. But it would be very welcome for Springett, Gibbs, perhaps Sorensen, to find a new level and really challenge the starters.

 

How many teams are there in the Championship to whom this doesn't apply?

 

Considering how little money we spent this summer, it's amazing how much strength we have added. Rowe wasn't a starter last season but has become first choice this season. Sainz will have a challenge to try to replace him. Four other current starters are new players. Placheta has emerged as a new challenger at LB while still being an option at WL with the potential to add to either position as a sub given his pace. Forshaw is probably ahead of Sørensen as a sub for McLean, especially if we're trying to protect a lead.

The main difference this season is that we don't have to push players out of position to cover for injuries, so in that sense we do have improved depth. As Robbie says though, few teams have equivalent quality to bring on as subs but we're probably better off than most teams, which I wouldn't have said last season.

 

Potential lineups for tomorrow night:

 

Vardy always scores against us so I am not that confident

 

Idah isn’t the same type of striker as Sargent. Sarge is a proper pressing forward and that is a big part of our game plan, he lead the press. It doesn’t make Idah a bad player, his style is just less suited to our game plan and therefore performances have taken a knock. Hwang is supposedly another pressing forward so he may be able to help bring them back up but will need time to settle

 

I thought the competition for places was starting to look better at the weekend. We have had a lot of injuries, but at the weekend McCallum couldn’t make the bench. We still have Sainz to probably take Springetts place. Lungi may not even make it as I don’t think he is ahead of Placheta for LB, Batth for CB or Forshaw for CDM

 

I had a similar thought when I saw the lineup. A real test for our new defensive tactics.

 

Ben Lee's tactical analysis of the Stoke game is now available and this is his conclusion looking forward to Leicester:

"Top teams are brave both in and out of possession; Wagner’s men will need to be exactly that if they are to deny Leicester the superiorities they seek to create in possession, while playing into the right spaces will be the key to escaping the Foxes' press. After another positive result on Saturday, Wednesday is undoubtedly the biggest test of Wagner’s 2023/24 Norwich side thus far."

https://www.pinkun.com/sport/norwic...ity-1-0-stoke-city-ben-lee-tactical-analysis/

 

Perhaps look at the video of Hull against Leicester & see how they managed to best them

 

Bravery quickly turns into foolhardiness unless grounded in intelligent reading of the game. How many old heads do we have on our younger shoulders?

 

Quite a few, by my count:

Gunn
Stacey Duffy Gibson Giannoulis
Sara McLean
Fassnacht Barnes Rowe
Idah/Hwang

The difference this season is that we have leaders like McLean, Duffy and Barnes using their experience to guide younger players during the game. Rowe knows that he has competition coming from Sainz and the same with Idah and Hwang. Barnes will soon chastise any drift towards foolhardiness in either young player. McLean has had a big influence on Sara's improvement this season and his new role as captain has increased his influence with others as well.

 

Barnes and McLean are certainly the influential core of our current squad.
Their presence on the pitch is critical to our improvement.

 

Ipswich doing well & 3rd v 4th tonight against Leicester.
Hopefully chasing them motivates the squad .
Kenny & Angus the only ones in the team to have played in the Derby

 

Leicester have started well, but they haven't faced the strongest opposition so far, opening against Coventry (2-0), then Huddersfield (1-0), Cardiff (2-0), Rotherham(2-1) and losing at home to Hull (0-1) before beating Southampton 4-1 on Saturday.

Stoke and Millwall were the main difference for us and given that we're at home, our chances should be fairly even tonight, but it will be the biggest test so far. Like us, they are short on strikers with Collins out injured and the second match in 4 days will be a test for the 36 year old Vardy.

 

When was the last time we played Ipswich? Seems like an long time ago.

 

Sun 10 Feb 2019Norwich City 3 - 0 Ipswich

Our last game

 

Hopefully, we can sneak a 1 goal win, though 2 or more would be better for a more comfortable viewing experience. OTBC