They haven't beaten us at Portman Rd since 2009 , I was at that game Earnshaw up front. Luke Chadwick got shoved into an advertising board & dislocated his shoulder
I didn’t get to see much of the game as I was at 5aside. I saw Borja got a goal and an assist, but how was his general play? Delighted for him in his first start and hope we can see more of him moving forward. How did we play?
He was MotM and his goal was a cracker after having been put through by Kenny. The assist for Barnes' goal was also excellent. He could make a big difference for the rest of the season. We were much quicker and sharper in attack and reasonably good in defence except for the blown cover for their goal.
I think Kenny has made a difference in the defence. Being a lefty and a natural organiser generally they seem better structured, though Duffy still has mistakes in him. Kenny for POTS?
Lets not get ahead of ourselves. He did exactly what you want a young payer to do. Got his chance, and grabbed it with both hands, just like Rowe did. Lets hope he plays against Ipswich and puts in a similar performance. Barnes made a difference particular towards the end of the game marshalling our first line of defence and providing much needed game management leadership. Gunn also did well, making some decent saves, nothing particularly spectacular, but making the sort of saves you would expect from a GK at this level. If Long had been in goal it might have been a different story. McLean stood out again as LCB, Lots of positives against a team that were on a bit of a run, with some good recent results. We still have Hanley, Sergeant and Gibson to come back. I can see Hanley replacing Duffy and Sergeant replacing Idah, but what happens with McLean. We always seem to play better when he plays and is on his game. Could he become a more permanent fixture at LCB or does he go back into midfield, most likely replacing Nunez, which, for me, would leave a toss up between Nunez and Sainz to move to the bench. On yesterdays performance alone for me Nunez is on the bench. I think Sainz made the case to be given a bit of a run in the team to see if he can repeat yesterday's performance.
The Derby will be a huge test of the recent turnaround in results, but 13 points from 6 games says something. Where we have been losing by a single goal previously, now we've been winning by that margin, with the exception of Watford away. Ipswich is 2nd in the form table and we are 6th, so it should be a good game but the odds have to favour the home side, riding high up in the table. Last night, Sainz added a sharpness and threat playing opposite Rowe on the other flank with Barnes running things behind Idah up front. Sara and Núñez combined well in midfield with McLean providing another dimension coming forward on the left. The defence looked solid except for the missed cover on their goal where young Fisher was left with two players to mark. Surely Duffy should have been marking their number 9, who instead was left with a free header. We can't afford to make mistakes like that against Ipswich.
Ipswich & Leicester both beat the record for best starts to a Championship season , they have left the rest of us for dust 21 points ahead already they're going up unless a catastrophic collapse happens. They are desperate to beat us & that may effect them mentally with all the pressure on them . I think 43 wins for Norwich 22 draws & 42 losses head to head so a win will equal it
Er, um, sorry Rick but he wasn't "put through" by Kenny. It was textbook inverted winger "between the lines" play by Sainz, who, on receiving from Kenny, ran laterally, parallel to the penalty box and fired in from outside the D. Again sorry, but McLean is simply doing what Gibson standardly does when he plays. Wagner has always selected Gibson when fit precisely because he offers this "dimension". So it's not a case of Kenny providing "another dimension". The question now, as canario says, is whether Kenny is preferred at LCB even when Gibson is fit. None of this is a criticism of McLean; he was excellent last night. IMO, his playing LCB suits him and benefits the team. That said, there are still some questions about him in that role to be answered from a defensive point of view.
Gibson tends to put everything out for a corner inviting pressure from set pieces & makes a cock up pretty much every game.
Yes Gibson doesn't inspire me with confidence with his tendency to have one cataclysmic mistake a game
I would suggest that Mclean carries the ball forward into the opposition half, particularly down the left wing a lot more often than Gibson does which does offer a different dimension as he is not just a ball playing defender but a ball carrying defender.
Gibson receives the ball, stops, looks around for options, moves the ball back two places with the sole of his boot, still undecided, passes back to keeper. Repetitively.
