Just been reading an article on the midfielder and interesting that he was talking about team spirit - ""Team spirit is a massive thing,â he said. âI keep harping on about last time we got promoted but one of the main things for me back then was the team spirit was excellent." - something I think was sadly lacking last season and really hope the team can quickly regain that 'togetherness' for the forthcoming campaign. Read the full article here - http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...h_city_championship_encore_1_3690777#cxrecs_s
Yes a good article. Surman could be an important player for us next year, and team spirit will be crucial in a promotion campaign where there is little margin for error.
Whatever team spirit Lambert had instilled in the boys was quickly broken and destroyed by Hughton and his negative tactics. They (squad members) were used to having that winning mentality, not 'battling' to try and achieve a 0-0 draw every firkin match Case in point, Grant Holt. I hope Adams can recreate some of the Lambert wonderland factor.
For me, Surman is a perfect player to have as part of the midfield 3 in a 4-3-3. With Tettey behind and Howson on the right you get strength, a good engine and the technical craft. If Fer stays it's likely he'll be the main choice but Surman provides a different side to the game. He likes to pass, he picks up good positions and he supports the attack very well, especially when playing on the left of a diamond, as was seen when we last got promoted.
I think we have the players to play 3 distinct styles of play. We can play a diamond with width coming from full backs (Olsson and Bennett) Play a standard 4-4-2 with wingers, and probably Howson and Fer in the middle Or a 4-3-3 with Tettey Fer and Howson making up the midfield. And we could play it as more 4-5-1 with wingers either side of a single out and out striker, or 3 strikers with Grabban in particular playing a touch wider, there would be more requirement for the full-backs to get forward with three strikers. The defence would probably be fairly constant, maybe some changes at RB. But the only three players I'd see as a constant through all formations are Fer, Howson and Hooper.
Not sure I agree with Hooper or Howson as constants: In a diamond, Tettey or Johnson hold, with Howson/Wes/"mythical new CAM" on point, and Howson/Fer/Surman in the middle roles. That leaves occasions where Howson could miss out. In a 4-3-3, I'd rather see RvW than Hooper as he's more prepared to work the channels than Hooper, giving better interchange. So we'd have Lafferty-RvW-Grabban as the first choice 3.
Howson would play right side of the diamond but Fer and Surman would probably be competing for left. Now I think about it I agree with you on hooper.
I agree with the 3 styles of play possible with this squad and that it could make a big difference this season. Going back to Surman's comments about squad bonding, Lafferty has also found strength there in an article on the official site: “This is one of the best teams for team bonding that I’ve been in. Everyone gets on so well, and that will count for a lot when we have to dig deep. Seeing the way we’ve trained and worked so hard, there’s a hunger there to win as a team and fight for each other. There are a few jokers in the team which is always good. The lads have been superb, and in training too it’s been easy to know the guys. At the end of the day we’re here to do one thing and I’m pretty sure we’ll be up there.”
I'll try this thread! http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...rty_set_to_miss_italian_tour_opener_1_3691071
