Border player

Thanks for the memory, plastic scouser! How things have changed; I guess there was a fair bit of frustration when we seemed to be about to embark on another hit and hope season last August. I haven''t lived in the Norwich area for 30 years, so I''m glad I picked the Walsall match for a visit to HQ (It''s a 500 mile round trip for me). I know Walsall were in a bad way, but it still did my heart good to see the canaries able to hit (and control) accurate long passes as well as short ones, and string them together. My first match at Carrow Road was in April 1956, so it''s good to see the ball being passed properly again (we got out of the habit at the end of the Saunders era, and that was a mistake). Yes, DH has been the big catalyst for others raising their game, and they have responded.

I don''t think the position is a problem; looking back a long, long way, Ron Ashman was a great captain at left back during the 58/59 cup run to the semi-finals, and during the promotion winning campaign of the next season. I''d have thought that somewhere in the defence could be a good place from where to act as captain (agreed that Iwan is not in the right position for the job). But maturity matters; Ashman, then in his early 30''s, was one of the older players in that great side. Regarding ''niceness'', I remember seeing him off the field, giving a talk about the life of a professional footballer to a small gathering (a church mens'' club, in fact - sons were allowed in!); he struck you as a really genuine, nice bloke, and that''s still the memory I have of him. On the field, he was a driving force. Perhaps NW hopes that Adam Drury will grow into the job.

"McVeigh, Holt & Francis dominated the show"... On the basis of what you saw last night, where does Mulryne fit in now? Should he have been the player brought on in place of Rivers?

"If only we would play football and not pump useless balls to McVeigh. What is the use of having a midfield using this approach?" Exactly! Remember Arsenal before Wenger - and what did he do but add a (mainly French) midfield with some flair to a mean English defence. Before Wenger arrived, Arsenal were well known for pretending that the midfield didn''t exist. (Wenger also had the skill to get the best out of Ray Parlour). Mention of David Williams reminds me also what a superb player of the dead ball he was (and how many corners do we waste now?). He was well known for that when player-manager of Bristol Rovers before he went to Norwich (and I''ve heard the same comments from Rovers fans and staff). In the 85/86 season when Norwich were promoted from the old 2nd Division, the team scored 84 goals; 22 by Kevin Drinkell, but a whole clutch of players chipped in with 7,8 or 9 each. Williams was one of those, Steve Bruce another. I agree, we have the players to do as well as anybody if we play effective football, but likewise I don''t like paying to watch hopeful long ball efforts being sent back by the opposition; watching paint dry instead at least ensures a result.

I''ve just seen the highlights on Canaries World. One highlight picked out in a short summary could easily have been another goal for Sheff. Utd.... Green kicked the ball long and high; it eventually came down, was won by the Blades, and soon put into the path of Lester who was one on one with Green. Once again the Norwich No. 1 saved the day. Is Green under instructions not to throw the ball out? I''ve seen so many high balls from him that turn possession into a 50/50 ball. Why? Can''t we build from the back? Sadly, perhaps not. It matches up with the habit of pumping up long balls to the strikers. So ingrained is the habit that I saw on another highlights episode a long ball played from defence to Henderson, poor guy. I doubt the opposing defender even had to bother to jump. There is another way to play football, and Neil Adams has mentioned it on Radio Norfolk commentaries. If they can''t pass it''s time to learn - extra training needed on technique.

Stockport have said he''s not for sale. Is that a way of saying they want a lot more for him than £250,000?

It''s said on one website that the other clubs looking at Beckett are Northampton, Plymouth, and Swindon. Do we really think we should be in that queue, especially if the fee turns out to be a big figure? How good is he likely to be in the 1st division? The Owls apparently put in an offer before the season, but heard nothing (not the only club to experience that sort of thing). They then enquired about Nielsen when Norwich were interested in Bromby. When we said that Nielsen stays, Sheff. Wed. seemed to renew interest in Beckett. Interesting sequence of events.

Suddenly the mood is brighter - and isn''t it at least partly because, with Francis making such a strong start, we are now able to control the midfield more effectively? Given the strength in midfield behind him, McVeigh is able to create chances, without waiting for bits and pieces, and has renewed his partnership with Nielsen. These two took us to the play-off final, but how many starts did they make together last season? They seem to be the two in the frame at the moment, and taking the opportunity. It''s interesting that another website has reported that the Bromby talks finished abruptly when Sheff. Wed said they wanted Nielsen; nothing doing - that speaks for itself. Listening to the commentary on Saturday (via the club website) it was good to hear Adams say how much he thought Norwich could achieve if they play the ball on the ground, instead of aerial assaults to a distant striker. So where does this leave Mulryne? Is he more likely to play in a 3-man midfield if we revert to 5-3-2 at any time? Would he sub. for Rivers if needed? At least there''s real competition for places in midfield now.