Match Day Thread Norwich v Coventry

Perhaps its where I sit. Im next to the Away support in the Jarrold and all I could hear was their fans. They were even singing "Two nil up and you still dont sing", "shall we sing a song for you?" and there was a lot of "shhhhh" When we scored it was good, and when Onel was warming up he got a song, but the it wasnt bouncing like it was in the last promotion season (the one where fans were allowed in). There seems to be a disconnect between the Snakepit and Barclay. Also, they arent very creative in terms of songs lol. Definitely need some new ones!

It wasnt an awful atmosphere, just a bit flat for a team winning at home. Perhaps it will pick up as we win more?

 

Gilmour would be better in midfield 3, but his passing was fairly limited and he lacked the physicality for the defensive requirements in a midfield two. If you compare him to Núñez, who would you choose? Marcelino only cost a third of what Brighton are paying.

 

One thing I love about Núñez is that, despite giving the ball away a fair bit, he generally only does so trying to play it FORWARD. Such a breath of fresh air, having a player willing to take risks!

 

When some of them come off you get some very good through balls!

 

I agree with Rowdy. I was sitting in a similar area and the Coventry fans sung their hearts out from beginning to end pretty much. They did a pretty good job of drowning out ''On the ball City."
For the size of the crowd it seemed much quieter than usual. The second half was hard work to watch till Hernadez sparked things and the scoring of the 3rd goal.

I felt for the drummer! He was up on some raised platform underneath the big screen and was as close to the Coventry fans as he was to the Barclay end and of course received the expected verbal response from Coventry fans though I'm sure all in good humour. Not sure the drummer added much but fair play to the guy for effort!

 

The data nerds will knock that flair and positivity out of him in due course. He'll have an 8 week review of stats where they focus on incomplete passes and a new bonus linked to safer (xPC expected pass completion) passing sideways and backward in order to improve numbers.

[This is tongue in cheek]

 

To use a rather outdated saying, 'Many a true word spoken in jest'.

 

Chaucer never goes out of date:

"Ful ofte in game a sooth I have herd saye!"
'The Cook's Tale' from Canterbury Tales

 

And having a manager who wants him to take those risks?



The comparison is a bit skewed currentlly because of Núñez's role in the absence of Hayden. An analysis of Villa in 2019-20 drew attention to McGinn's less than stellar pass success rate, commenting that the trade off in terms of chance creation was one that Villa were more than happy to accept!

 

I don't think that Farke was risk averse, but I do think he placed too much emphasis on possession above all else. Smith also emphasises possession but also values chance creation and attacking threat. I think Farke would have loved to have Núñez playing for him.

 

Farke, risk averse?

His mantra was specifically to create a risky situation to entice the opposition to overcommit, using skill to avoid the risk and thereby creating space on the pitch to attack.

Nuñez’s passes are only “risks” insofar as they lose possession if the through ball or ball over the top doesn’t find a teammate - they are not attempts to draw the opposition. It’s exactly the sort of thing that Buendia tried to do, albeit a slightly different style - so I completely agree, Nuñez is firmly in the territory of a Farke-type player.

Which is no surprise given that Norwich’s data analysts have almost certainly spent the last 18 months trying to find someone whose stats and style offer something similar to Buendia, knowing Buendia would be/was departing. It’s a geek’s game these days.

 

It's the sort of "geek’s game" that brought Attanasio's success at the Brewers and which makes him such a good fit on the club's Board of Directors. I'm sure Delia, Michael and Tom understand the concept of 'moneyball recruitment' but Attanasio will want to sit down with Webber and Adams and their team to discuss the detailed statistical breakdowns under consideration. The £10m he's buying in preference share will also help.