Old Boy

Ruddy Naughton De Laet Barnett Tierney Crofts Johnson Bennett Hoolahan Pilkington Morison

It''s gone to McNally''s head. He should relax a bit - there''s no mileage in trying bully basically well-meaning people. He''s too trigger-happy by half.

".....there story''s" "their stories" FFS!

Could''ve scored three but didn''t score once. That''s a problem for a striker. Not so Super.

Mine''s down too Ron. Fucking disgrace

[quote user="Excited Canary"]If Holt stayed in the bloody box rather than drifting out wide yesterday we would have won I am sure. There were too many times when Hoolahan, Lappin, etc had the ball in a crossing position but there was just no-one in the box. Last season Holt would have bust a gut to get into the box, but now he is either caught wandering or has the ball out on the wing! He''s definitely not at the top of his game, Martin/Jackson for 45 minutes on Tuesday I think.[/quote] Remind me - who''s our top scorer this season? It must be Chris Martin, right? Even though he missed a one-on-one yesterday, and looks every bit a 2-goals-in-10-games striker, you''d play him instead of Holt?

[quote user="Beauseant"]Why are so many people in denial about Holt? The guy is a shadow of the rampaging player of the first half of last season, yet he seems to be treated as beyond criticism. Its an easy option to drift out wide when you''re not getting any joy in the middle, and he''s doing it too often. Having said that, he''s got to find his way out of Ayala''s pocket before Tuesday night. [/quote] You think what I said wasn''t critical of Holt? Read it again. He''s always had a tendency to get stuck in wherever the play is and to try to do the work of 2 men, but now we need him to concentrate on his own job. I can''t criticise his attitude though. Paul McVeigh''s recollections on RN before the match of Lambert spending most of last season''s games shouting at Holt to get back up front was very revealing - he could do it and get the goals last season because we were the class of the field, but it''s not so easy this term.

[quote user="Gingerpele"]If Holt can''t improve beyond his current performances :S[/quote] Huh? The only thing with Holt''s performance yesterday was that he tried to do too much. He''s brilliant at putting crosses in, but that means he''s not there to receive them. He needs to be nearer the goal for more of the time. He''s a true leader by example, trying all the time to make it happen. But that hurts his scoring stats, and hurts the team, ironically.

He was really suffering with the heat = you could see it on his face. He''s a bulky bloke, and not young, so it''s to be expected. But he never gave up, as usual, and made the second goal.

[quote user="a1canary"]The guy''s a legend, in a totally different way to your hucks or your holts (sure to become city legend if he isn''t already - he has to score against the binners next). He reminds me a little of another left back who never got any attention but was always there doing a great job - Denis Irwin of the man u sides of the 90s. He could hit a wicked free kick too though, nice if Ads could add that to his game! When he hangs up his boots he should have the same status around the city as Hucks. He is also from the same village as me![/quote] I agree with all of that a1canary, including your admiration for Irwin - one of those low-profile professionals who are better than most people realise, purely because they just get on with their job. And Drury is definitely another one.

The Club''s putting the screws on the fans, but at the same time it''s investing money in the squad. I''ll go with that, provided they don''t push it too far. Volunteer gate people isn''t too far IMO.

Could do a lot worse. He was more consistent last season than when he was here last time, and he''s a pretty good footballer when he''s on his game. He''s athletic, hard working, very brave. He''s not a fan''s favourite because he doesn''t give a shit about the fans, or the Club, whichever Club it is. But still, a good player at this level.

[quote user="ron obvious"]A few random thoughts:Excellent pitch. No excuses there.Ruddy is bloody huge. Looked even bigger further away (!). Very strong & agile - smacked a well-taken free kick out into touch. Kicking awful though (overhit/misdirected passes a Norwich problem throughout).Whitbread certainly not wrestling. Just didn''t look very inspiring - got outmuscled a lot.Nelson just what you''d expect. A lot of the ball went to him (not necessarily a good thing).R. Martin''s body language nervous. Stevenage LM frequently waltzed round him; bit of a worry.Drury class.Eyes not what they used to be, so couldn''t really too much of the MF/forward stuff first half. Got the impression Jackson was quick, though, & couldn''t miss Wes working his socks off - somebody else of a similar stamp looked pretty useful too. MF got completely overrun at times.Second half obviously saw more of the attack. Oli well off the pace - is he really better than Cody?Korey the real deal. Looked by far the player with most potential, like a raw version of Tevez. Needs the right coaching (& players to play alongside!).Tudur-Jones another huge player; appeared stately & self-assured. Don''t know if he was any good though.Pretty meaningless game as to future form really. Some signs of decent flowing moves occasionally, but obvious that most of them didn''t know each other''s game very well. Stevenage obviously much more together as a team; I think they could do rather well in L2.Excellent support (especially for £18!!!) &  a fair bit of noise, although you could tell nobody was taking it very seriously. Stevenage suporters were really getting into it, especially when the drummer got going.And many apologies to the lady I (nearly) kicked when waving a leg in the vague direction of a passing ball![/quote]Didn''t go Ron, but I like your summary for its honesty and humour, and because I agree with you on some general points! Particularly about Korey Smith, who I think is the one player of lasting solid potential that our youth system has produced since Bellars. R Martin - I''ve always thought his body language looks dodgy, usually lacking in the confidence to make a crucial challenge.Oli - loads of raw talent, but almost no footballing nous. I really hope that he and the coaches put the effort in, because he could be a great player. I think...The Admiral - you''ve got to admire him for his total commitment and guts last season, but to be honest he was well back in the queue for talent. I really hope he doesn''t come unstuck this season and end up crucified by the fans, after what he did for us last season.Drury - a true NCFC legend. Has had a very few bad games over the years, but he''s always given it everything.Good luck Stevenage - fly the flag for good football in L2.

What a difficult one. I''m going for Keelan, though Steeno was such a great professional, and a total role model in a game where true role models are rare. But Keelan had such a long career here and was (in my opinion) one of the best keepers in the world for a while. Love to see Steeno come back and say hello though.

That''s interesting - we do need someone like that in the squad. But where does this idea that Holt has no skill come from? He has a very good first touch, pretty good close control, shields the ball really well. He doesn''t dance a jig like Hoolahan, but then he''s twice Wes''s size. But he''s at least as skilful as Martin (and quicker, and works harder). He''s a gem.

[quote user="Fudge"]There seems to be alot of posts on this message board about player songs and chants ! Here is one for the little wing wizard McNamee. Its too the tune off, Robin Hood Robin Hood running through the glenn McNamee McNamee running down the wing McNamee McNamee running down the wing He''s feared by the blue''s and loved by the green''s McNamee, McNamee, McNamee, I think Man utd use this for Ryan Giggs.[/quote]Take no notice of the no-wits - it''s a good song.

[quote user="Lambert is King"]With all due respect we aint in the championship and have signed players to get us out of league 1 on low wages and small if any fees. I am sure if / when we are promoted Lambert will assess the squad and try to improve the squad where possible partly by shipping players out. In league 1 we cannot afford players that are capable without question of playing in the Championship. Your point would also apply to Grant Holt as in league 1 and 2 his goal scoring record is outstanding - in the championship it is atrocious[/quote]I take your point, but I''m sure that Lambert''s looking ahead to the CCC (if he wasn''t, it could turn out like Worthy''s season in the Premier League - too little planning, too late). In my view, he''s signed certain players with that in mind, and others with cover for the current season in mind. MacNamee could be one for next year, so could Johnson. Nelson''s one for this year, and so is R Martin (though I hope he''ll get better). As for Holt - I don''t take any notice of his goal-scoring record in the Championship, because he wasn''t well used at Forest (where he still scored nearly 1 in 4) and particularly at Wednesday. I''m totally convinced he''s got the tools to do the job, and the only worry is that he''s getting older. The fact that we haven''t paid big money is no bad thing and doesn''t mean that they can''t play at a higher level.Again - if we get promoted and leave it until the summer to try to put a CCC team together, we''re dead - see you back here same time next season.

I''m not on Nelson''s back - I admire his attitude a lot. But he''s a very limited footballer, much more limited than Mackay or Gary Holt or Andy Hughes or any of the others who''ve been crucified by our fans when they''ve seemed out of their depth. At the moment, Nelson''s not too exposed, because of the limited nature of our opposition. However, I''m looking forward, as we should all be doing (and I''m sure Lambert is), to when we''re playing Championship teams. Nelson will be absolutely sunk with all hands then, and those who are defending him on here now will no doubt be leading the calls for his head on a plate. And he doesn''t deserve that, any more than Gary Holt did or Andy Hughes did, because he''s done a professional job within his limitations.

I didn''t go to yesterday''s game, but, judging from the previous games, we''re more at risk of conceding too many goals than scoring too few. It''s only the fact that in this League the strikers are generally so poor (except for ours) that''s won us so many points. It''s not just the back four''s responsibility. Grant Holt does a huge amount of defensive work, and we''re missing that now. I don''t think we can afford to rest him because he does so much work for us - he''s our most valuable player by a margin. We also rely on Rusty protecting the back four, and he seems to have had an off-day yesterday (a feud with a Hartlepool player?). And a lot of defence is down to denying the opposition possession, and when Hoolahan''s not on form and Holt''s not playing, we struggle with that. But the main weakness at the moment IMO is at RB and CB - Nelson and R Martin. Martin''s certainly better all round than Semi, and good going forward, but he''s fragile defensively. Nelson''s just not up to it. From what I''ve seen of Whitbread, and what I heard yesterday about Rose, I''d be happier (until Drury and Askou return) with a back 3 of Rose, Doherty and Whitbread, with a midfield of Lappin, Hughes, Russell and Smith, and Hoolahan operating behind Holt either Martin or Johnson. If Hoolahan goes, try MacNamee. I''m impressed with how Lambert''s planned ahead for possible transfers out and injuries, bearing in mind the money available.However, I still see a weaklness at RB

A very significant thing is that it''s only local authority schools that are closing. My daughter teaches in a private school, and that never closes due to the weather. That''s because they know that the parents would not be happy about it and would be able to move their kids to another school. And where''s the concern about the safety of the kids on school premises? The claim that that''s the reason why LA schools close as soon as it the first snowflakes are spotted is bunk - it''s for the benefit of the teachers. Very few employees in the private sector are in such a privileged position. I drove 250 miles on business on Friday - it was tedious, but I felt obliged to do it. Teachers don''t feel that anymore about their job.

The key to defending is not to leave it to the back four, particularly when they''re new boys. In the second half of the Huddersfield game we realised that and did a much better job than in the first half. In this game it sounded like we made the same mistake, possibly because Rusty and Hughes weren''t fit. I''m amazed that we kept a clean sheet with Nelson and Russell at CB, but credit to them.

[quote user="Robert N. LiM"]Oh, and I''m not sure Lambert can be given much credit for bringing Hughes on at half time. Why on earth didn''t he start with him? Adeyemi clearly has much promise, but hughes offers so m uch more in terms of passing ability. At least Lambert put it right at the break.[/quote]I agree with your opinion of Hughes, but I think Lambert''s trying to give Hughes a wake-up call. He''s remarked before on Hughes''s fitness. When Smith comes back, Lambert will have better ammunition to do that than he has with just Adeyemi as an option.

Russell was great, Martin was good, but Russell Martin was terrible. He looked at sea and nervy, always out of position and making wrong decisions. And Nelson was dreadful by and large, with a few bright moments. Both he and R Martin did their best to give the opposition 1-on-1s with Forster. In the second half things were better because the midfield started closing down. But those two are the weak links, compared to Spillane at RB and Askou at CB. Adeyemi looked like a boy in a man''s game, which Smith has never looked. Hughes was an improvement for sure, but that wasn''t the big difference IMO - we just got in their face more in the second half.

[quote user="Mook"]Diego Maradona?![/quote]But wasn''t Maradonna left-handed? Or was he as sublimely skilful with his right hand?

Didn''t see much of the game, but IMO what we lack is anyone a combination of pace and skill either up front or on the wings. This means we have to either pass the ball through midfield, which is difficult to do at high tempo unless you''ve got high quality players, or through midfield then out to the winger who''s already high up the field and virtually in position to make the cross - which again slows the tempo and is easy to defend against, or just lump it up to the big man, again easy to defend against. We do all of those successfully at times, but not if the opposition are wise to us. We''ve got Holt - my hero, but not very quick, Hoolahan - not quick but skilful, Martin - same as Hoolahan, and Lappin - skilful but slooowww. Then we''ve got Cody - quick but no skill, and Daley the same. We need a combination of Martin and Cody to give us options. If we''d had Beckford we would have had a field day last night I reckon. January''s shopping list:Striker with pace and skillWinger with pace and skillRight back (until Spillane gets it together againMust be out there somewhere. But I think if we''d had Spillane thundering down the right wing like he did in his last game, and Korey Smith in midfield we would have won last night! Or even had them on the bech to bring on for last 15 minutes.