Match Day Thread Pre-Season

A fair summary of yesterday's game by DF - 'With a full week of training in wait for his City players, Farke says places in his starting eleven at St. Andrews next week are up for grabs.'
https://www.canaries.co.uk/News/2018/july/df-charlton/
I hope we start with a win for a change!!!

 

I wouldn't mind a 7-1 loss providing we ended up as champions as in our League One year!

 

What a roller coaster season that was.
Arguably the most enjoyable to watch.

 

In London for the weekend staying with our son prior to return to France tomorrow. Guess where I went. It is wrong to base an opinion based on such a game but I will. Don't expect too much improvement on last season. They were p**s poor from front to back and that is being kind. Having said that they will probably end up top 6!!!

 

That seems to be the general consensus from following the game on line and reading the various reports - let's hope it was the 'wake up call' that DF referred to!!!

Andy Head's column on MFW tries out various formations/starting 11 - http://norwichcity.myfootballwriter...ion-4-1-4-1-4-2-3-1-or-do-we-go-mike-bassett/

 

Good article, JMF, and I agree with Andy that we now have a squad with good quality in depth, well settled before the season starts. As for formations, I wrote this earlier on the Pick your Line-up thread:

"DF's 4-1-4-1 easily changes into a 4-2-3-1 when the ball is lost and then into two ranks of four to defend against an attack. When the ball is won, it changes back to a 4-2-3-1 again as the ball is played out. If possession is retained, it then changes to an attacking 4-1-4-1 again with the FBs providing width to support the attack (effectively a 2-3-4-1).

Leitner is at the heart, influencing the tempo of play and distributing the ball to set up attacks. The FBs will be key players, sliding up and back along the flanks as possession changes and Pukki's pace opens up new options up front, like at Luton when Godfrey sent a long crossfield pass to Marshall breaking out of defence, who then put a perfect cross to the feet of a charging Pukki to slot it home. Hernandez now looks a much better player, adding guile to his pace and McLean has added a dynamic element to midfield. Both Thompson and Godfrey are better passers than Tettey, which also opens up new possibilities. IMO the line-up at Brum will be based on a 4-2-3-1 which can then change according to possession.

Krul
Marshall, Hanley, Klose, Husband
Thompson, Leitner
McLean, Pukki, Hernandez
Rhodes

If so, compared to last season, we now have two strikers, a much improved Hernandez at WL, McLean replacing Watkins at WR, Marshall at RB, a ball playing DM in Thompson and Leitner as a deep playmaker.

 

"Nelson is still part of our group" says Farke.
The same Farke who just over a week ago said "I'm quite
happy going into the new season with just Matthews and McGovern"

http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/...&utm_source=eshot&utm_campaign=newsletterlink

 

Didn't he also say 'unless an opportunity comes along'? Even so, I doubt many expect to see Oliveira here at the end of the window.

 

Much has been written re the loss of JM and Josh and the 20 or so goals that they plundered between them and without them, we could VERY easily have been in a relegation battle. If you look back, I think you'll find that most of JM's goals were before March and once opposing managers/teams had sussed out how to nullify him, his goals/assists became much more infrequent.

IMO, we now have a stronger/more balanced team overall (as opposed to relying heavily on one player) and the onus is now firmly on DF and his coaching staff to get the best out of them, so that we finish several places higher in the Championship than we did last season.

 

If nobody wants to buy him for a sensible amount I would rather keep him just in case the three we have turn out to be gash or get injured .
Let him score a few goals and sell him in January to a desperate club when everyone is more expensive.

We are not desperate for the money .

 

Totally agree DD.

I'd hate to see him go to a rival and find his form again.

 

I still think he’s a top Championship player, if played the right way with the right tactics.

 

I agree, if we could sort his attitude out he would be brilliant alongside Rhodes or Pukki. I think last season saw him frustrated by a lack of support, with Madders not really creating space for him

 

His attitude hasn’t been good, but that dates back to when Farke kept dropping him when he was obviously our best and only real striker. Think that lack of belief in him knocked his confidence and attitude. He certainly didn’t look the player last season that we know he can be.

 

Didn't Reading offer us 7 or 8 million for him a year or so back?

 

Apparently so.

 

That's the irony. The new players and style of play would suit him with much more movement and interplay up front.

 

He played Jerome ahead of him first game of the season and he threw a hissy fit when he scored. As much as I like him a player, I think Farke was right to drop him for the following few games to teach him and the team a lesson early on! I would however have picked him ahead of Jerome for the first game anyway but he should have just got his head down. After scoring the goal he would have started the next game if he hadn’t reacted stupidly and then who knows how his season would have turned out.

Agree RER this system would be very suited to Oliveira

 

Can’t disagree with any of that.

The playing one striker decision caused a lot of problems last season.

 

Perhaps Farke is a follower of the All Black's no dickheads policy.