The season 2020 - 2021.

Sorry Robbie, but if you’re going to make a perfectly reasonable debate about each person’s personal opinion on how to play McLean best and whether we like his style into yet another damned-if-he-does, damned-if-he-doesn’t, lambast Farke rant, then I’m afraid I’m out.

Nobody’s pretending Farke’s an untouchable Ferguson type manager of flawless brilliance. But there were far too many factors at play last season to have reductive arguments where everything is blamed on Farke.

 

Simply untrue. And it certainly doesn't "require" both FBs to get forward, which is a standard feature of our attacking play.

 

Who said it did require both full backs to go forward at the same time, although a lot of teams that use this formation do that.

 

I'm sure you enjoyed our goal yesterday: Vrancic to Stiepermann, instant one touch pass forward to Hernandez in the area, cushioned across the area to Dowell running onto it. Could have been from the 2018--2019 scrapbook, when 12 consecutive losses would have seemed inconceivable.

Re. McLean, there were 13 league matches in which he played further forward. In 9 of those he played in the centre of the attacking 3 in the usual 4:2:3:1 formation, with 2 DMs behind. In the other 3, he played centre left in the forward 4 in a 4:1:4:1. Here are the average xG and xGa for those 13 matches compared with the same for the other 25 matches and the season as a whole:

McLean at CM/CAM (13 matches): average xG per match: 0.77
(PPG: 0.53) average xGa per match: 1.76

McLean at DM or not selected: average xG per match: 1.08
(PPG: 0.56) average xGa per match: 1.94

2019--2020 season: average xG per match: 0.98
(PPG: 0.55) average xGa per match: 1.88

 

If MCLean was the only difference between the games then these stats might have a limited value. There are just too many variables between games to judge an individuals worth on the bases of team sats.

 

I’ve not seen the goal actually.

I’m a bit baffled where you got your stats because I count 30+ matches where he didn’t play at DM from here: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ken...126600/saison/2019/wettbewerb/GB1/verein/1123

I’m purely going on memory because admittedly the stats don’t lie(...) but I remain of the view he plays better when he’s not at DM - I suppose whether it’s better for the team is a different question

 

Incidentally, just from a rough glance, those transfermarkt records suggest that we scored substantially more points and conceded way fewer goals when he was at AM than with him at both DM.

And CM we weren’t great. Mind you that was the story of our season...

 

That's supported to an extent by my figures, which indicate that, when KM plays further forward, our average xGa per match is lower (at the cost of our average xG). There's no real surprise in our being a bit more solid with e.g. all three of Tettey, Trybull and McLean on the pitch. I'd love it to be true that we gained substantially more points and conceded far fewer goals in those games; it would add support to my argument that we would have done much better, and maybe even survived, had we accepted reality early on and resorted to playing counter-attacking football.

I use whoscored.com rather than transfermarkt. One point is that transfermarkt's player summaries includes all appearances, whereas my figures are based on starting eleven and ignore appearances off the bench. The main source of discrepancy, though, is transfermarkt assigning "CM" in a lot of instances where whoscored assign "DMC". Maddison would be a typical CM as far as whoscored is concerned. Whoscored's DMC makes more sense to me as far as McLean's usual role is concerned. That said, I don't take the assigned position for granted; I will look at the player's heat map, for example, to see the extent to which where he actually operated on the pitch reflects his notional position.

 

IMO, McLean is a CM who has a flexible role, becoming more attacking when we have the ball, but dropping back beside Tettey when it's lost or even dropping back to LB to cover if necessary. I suspect that Sørensen has been recruited for a similar flexible role to that of McLean, whereas Skipp will likely play a more consistent DM role like that of Tettey.

In Farkeball, most roles are much more flexible than standard designations suggest. Tettey and the CBs are probably the most consistent positions, but the attacking players swap positions and move to confuse opposition defenders.

 

On another note, it's possible 8000 fans could attend the home opener against Preston:

"Whilst Norwich City still await confirmation from the government and EFL surrounding a return of supporters to matches at Carrow Road, the club can now outline how season ticket holders and members can apply for tickets to attend the club’s opening home league games of the 2020-21 season. The club has worked closely with its Safety Advisory Group and has agreed for a maximum of 8,000 supporters to attend games at Carrow Road, subject to government, EFL and ground regulations."

https://www.canaries.co.uk/News/202...mation-for-season-ticket-holders-and-members/

 

IMO it's precisely the flexibility you describe which leaves us so open to counter-attack. Normally a player in that role is free to become more attacking when in possession because one or other FB holds defensive position. In our case, however, both FBs standardly advance together with the "flexible" CM, leaving a back line of only 2 with the DM in front of them. As a result we become wide open on the flanks. All the opposition has to do is wait, primed, for us to give them the ball, and then exploit those spaces. In practice rather than theory, the flexible DM/CM has no chance of getting back quickly enough to cover a well-executed counter-attack; he is stranded upfield and would have to have the speed of Usain Bolt to get goal side of pacy forwards who already have a start on him. (Don't we all have a picture of poor Trybull imprinted on our minds, trying to get back after being caught in exactly that situation?)
For classic illustrations, just replay the highlights of last month's games against West Ham and Arsenal. This is a structural weakness; substituting Sørensen and Skipp for e.g. McLean and Tettey will not provide a solution.

 

We have 12 new players and Lewis is leaving, so it's time to look forward not back. Quintilla will be different to Lewis as Byram was when he played at LB. With 5 CBs now DF also has the option of 3 at the back with WBs, which is what I'd like to see especially in away games. At Huddersfield I think we'll see McLean and Tettey as Sørensen and Skipp continue adjusting to our style of play. If we do play with a back 4, Sørensen has the ability to drop back as an extra CB when we lose the ball with the left-footed Gibson moving wider. These changes will take time to develop. DF has many more options than he's ever had before.

 

More info on fans being allowed back in:

https://www.pinkun.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-returning-to-carrow-road-1-6827539

 

I'm going to have to get behind this!

 

Crown jewels off.......FACT!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...ce-string-talents-recoup-losses-COVID-19.html

 

Yes read that and laughed out loud. Dear old Daily Fail strikes again!

 

Our U23s beat Reading 3-0 with goals from Sinani and Drmic up front. McCallum and Sitti also played and Barden was in goal.

https://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/norwich-city-under-23s-v-reading-u23s-match-report-1-6838083