paddycanary

Didn't Spain win a World Cup playing without forwards? Seem to remember this, and they would throw Torres on for the last 20mins. While I openly admit I'm no elite level coach, I'd say our current set of midfielders aren't quite at the level of Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Fabregas et al... That said I'd like to see Idah get 70 mins today. And not get slated. And maybe even rattle the onion bag!

I wonder was it a (generally) pre-planned set of substitutions to give Forshaw, Hwang & Springett a good hour to empty the tank & manage their load, and then bring on a bit of pace to (in theory) finish the game off against a tiring defence? I can see that thought process, but I agree with the thoughts above that we once again left the central areas undermanned, thereby exposing the defence. Emphasis on 'again.' Gibbs instead of Onel was surely a more logical change, especially if you're slinging Placheta in there. And this is not with hindsight, I thought exactly that when the triple-change was being made. Hopefully a lesson has been learned. ( but not the type of lesson learned by Alex Neil when he hauled off Tettey up in Newcastle!)

Deano Smith nailed on for next manager after this news. (note for later: think of mildly amusing way to mention Lewis Dunk on this thread)

A very fair assessment RD and I thought exactly the same with those layoffs to Ogbene. Hopefully he gets (and earns) a good run of games now and we can finally make a reasoned judgement of where he is at this stage of his career. Given his history, you would think his load will need to be managed carefully over the next couple of months, e.g. bring on Hwang on 70mins. I'm not sure I would agree that he gave van Dijk & Ake a "torrid" time or "hell!" I don't think we'll see the best of Adam Idah for a few years yet, probably at a different club!

I don't think Idah will ever be prolific like he was underage. But I also don't understand why people get on his back & give him a hard time. You can be critical without being a **. I think he could be an effective player at Championship level working in tandem with a partner up top if he can stay fit and do enough to earn a run of 10/12 games or more. Learning the dark arts from the likes of Barnes this season with Sargent out will hopefully stand to him in the years ahead. He's been unlucky with injuries when chances have arrived & hasn't clocked up the minutes he should have at this stage of his career given his trajectory. I haven't given up on him yet & I think he'll carve out a decent & respectable (if unspectacular!) career for himself over the next ten years.

Notched a nice early penalty but otherwise just ploughed a fairly lonely furrow, plodding around. Some decent touches/plays & did his bit defensively - probably a 6/10. Up against Virgil van Dijk tonight & mainly Rabiot & Hernandez against the French a few days ago so it doesn't get much harder than that I suppose. Ogbene did more offensively in both games from play. Shane Duffy could have the finger pointed at him for his positioning for both the Dutch goals, particularly the winner, but generally played well enough over the two games. He certainly won't be coming back fresh, that's for sure. I think tonight's result is curtains for the Irish manager Stephen Kenny. There's lots of sympathy for him as Lady Luck has $hát on him from a height since his tenure began. But there's not even one result he can hang his hat on against decent opposition. Even when they play well, they find a way to lose. Ireland have been out of the mix at the halfway stage in the last three group campaigns & were arguably even worse in the Nations League competition. Damaging results losing to Finland twice, Armenia, Luxembourg & Greece back in June have done for him. The pick of players for Ireland are probably mid to lower Champo standard but you still need to nick a couple of wins and grind out a few draws.

Got sent this today. What a cracker! Don't think I've ever started a thread before. Cherry popped.

Being Irish myself, I get great pride & satisfaction when players from this island are playing for Norwich. Although Omo's departure was on the cards all summer, I'm still saddened to see him move on. His back injury was a big setback just as he was laying claim to the jersey. Idah has also been desperately unlucky on a few occasions with injuries just when he threatened to break through. I wish Omobamidele all the best and hope to see him in an Ireland jersey in the not too distant future. 11/12m with add-ons seems like another decent return to be fair to Webber. Time will tell of course but the window in general seems to have been about cutting our cloth financially, adding some resilience & experience for the hear & now while also keeping one eye on the future and still being able to make an assault on the top 6. Mission accomplished (hopefully!) as long as we have a bit of luck with injuries.

He's notoriously difficult to mark tight.

That little nugget didn't sit right with me either as my eyes wandered down the page!

We cleaned up in the Team of the Week.

I strongly approve of your correct spelling of Tayto sir. A person who knows.

I take umbrage at this gross & insulting generalisation. Put me right back in a mood that has.

You bástárd! You robbed my joke!!! 🤣

OP calls to mind that Robin Williams quote from 'Good Morning Vietnam...'

If Aarons goes good luck to him. He's been a great servant. In fairness to Webber, I'd be confident he'll extract a good fee for him. I wouldn't be upset if he stayed though. Would create quality competition for both full-back positions. Hard to know with Fisher & McCallum is a decent enough option. The squad depth in general still looks a bit thin to me along the spine - a few injuries away from a very average team. Perhaps we will see some action in the loan market before the end of the month.

I have 4 or 5 jerseys & a number of t-shirts but the jewel in the crown is still the 92/93 vintage. It's travelled to numerous continents & is showing its age but still in the cupboard. These days it requires a chisel & putty knife to remove from torso after usage.

Very enjoyable. Hard to beat a last minute winner. Is it too early to suggest that a page has perhaps been turned on last season?

Up Cork!!

Nothing like a winner at the death!!! Well done Adam...!!!

GTFI Adam Idah!!!

A very youthful looking bench. I fear that central midfield has once again not been sufficiently addressed this window (yet?) I'm going for a reasonably entertaining 1-1 draw.

You're going nowhere with that argument my friend.

That lad Ben Johnson is seriously pacy & James Garner certainly knows how to shoot.