tom cavendish

[quote user="tom cavendish"]Looking at the types of goals that Larrivey has scored he seems heavily reliant upon others creating clear chances for him. Much like RvW in that respect but Larrivey is stronger.Larrivey seems like Elmander, RvW, Lafferty and Becchio all rolled into one.[/quote]Mr McNally must have read that ;)

Looking at the types of goals that Larrivey has scored he seems heavily reliant upon others creating clear chances for him. Much like RvW in that respect but Larrivey is stronger.Larrivey seems like Elmander, RvW, Lafferty and Becchio all rolled into one.

Januzaj was excellent for a while but then lost form and got a reputation for diving. I think the diving increased as he lost confidence and a bit of pace.His creative unpredictability is his strength but some could consider that a risk in comparison to someone who is less adventurous but more consistent.He is 20 so now needs to play regularly to develop as a player and yet Man Utd might be less inclined to allow him out on-loan because he doesn''t count in their 25-man Premier League squad.I wonder whether Norwich will be able to create many chances to score next season so I think it is well worth Alex Neil asking Sir Alex asking about him.

He is the type of player that might make a reasonable strike partner for Hooper.

[quote user="kick it off"]I can see the queue forming round the block for your "insight" Tom. "So what do you think about that defender Tom? "Well he plays in defence, and tries to stop the ball going into the net" "Genius, thanks for the in depth analysis Tom, here''s a pay rise" You say it was an "interesting thing to learn about" yet you learnt absolutely fvck all, as your "scouting thoughts" posts are all moronic drivel stating the most obvious points that Stevie Wonder would have no trouble seeing. Basically, we all know you''re talking $hit. So stop, it''s boring.[/quote]My opposition reports were always very detailed and were many pages long. However, when checking on potential signings at the request of a manager I would later receive a call asking whether it was worth taking further, so you have to keep it very concise. None of the players that I have been asked to watch were worth signing so they didn''t.Sometimes a manager would be looking for a particular type of player and would ask for suggestions. I would then write a report detailing why a particular player should be signed. I would also include background information.Whether or not you believe me is entirely up to you, but you should stop being abusive towards people.

[quote user="kick it off"]Cavendish, you''re full of $hit. Everyone knows you''re lying so why keep pretending? If you had been offered a head scout deal, a chance to progress your career through the football league, and potentially become head scout higher up the ladder, and you turned it down because you weren''t happy with the package, then you''d be a moron. As you dreamt up that fantasy, you''re a deluded moron.[/quote]What a shame that you are so abusive and you are wrong too.When I first got into football scouting it wasn''t for the money. I did it because I thought it was an interesting thing to learn more about. I was able to do it because running my own business allowed me to be flexible at times. Managers and chief scouts were happy to let me pick and choose what I wanted to do.I have my own business interests, a family and I want to stay in the local area. I wasn''t going to give that up for less money, less job security and a lot more time away from my family.

http://www.chelseafc.com/teams/on-loan-players/tomas-kalas.html

Tomas Kalas is due to go back on-loan to Middlesbrough. Anyone think that he would be worth a bidding for?

[quote user="kick it off"]LOL of course they did Tom. To be fair though, hardly shocking that Hethersett Athletic Reserves Under11s couldn''t offer you a more sizeable fee for your valuable services.[/quote]It was for a big Football League club.

[quote user="Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man"][quote user="mrs miggins"]But the players that ''we know what we are getting'' aren''t that good, especially for the extortionate price. Ross McCormack and Jordan Rhodes cost £11m-12m respectively whereas you can buy the likes of Bony for that much and sell them on for £30m Pelle at Southampton for £7m would now be worth more than double that. Sakho at West Ham for £4.5m - now worth at least £12m When you think the likes of Connor Wickham cost £8m, yet has scored no more than 5 goals in a season, poor.[/quote]But how did we know how good Bony, Pelle and Sakho were going to be?[/quote]I knew. I was also right about RvW.

[quote user="kick it off"]So we have a new man for the role (I make him about number 36 in the last 5 years. Personally, I don''t understand why McNally has taken a gamble on him when he could have got a proven star for the role. Tom Cavendish was the obvious appointment here, but yet again, we go for the cheap option.... ;) [/quote]It wasn''t for Norwich but last summer a manager offered me a role to replace their chief scout but I immediately declined it because the deal wasn''t even nearly enough to make it worth my while.It sometimes amazes me that clubs will pay a fortune to agents and yet football scouts whose impartial judgement is so vital (and they very rarely get the credit) are expected to work for little in comparison.

1. I often said that I didn''t like Redmond being selected to play on the left. He has done well since being played regularly on the right.2. Since AN became the manager, Wes has been playing some of the best football of his career.3. Tettey is vital to the way the team plays. He was by far the best defensive midfielder in the Championship.4. O''Neil''s experience really shows when the team is trying to tighten-up to see out the end of a match.5. Johnson has been outstanding on the left where the weakness in his passing ability hasn''t been so easily exposed.6. Howson doesn''t create many chances nor is he particularly good at winning challenges. He can be largely anonymous during most matches but he is good at making late runs into the box to score.7. Dorrans gets stuck-in a bit more than Howson but he doesn''t create much.8 Elliott Bennett still hasn''t recaptured his best form since his last serious injury.9. Thompson, Andreu, King, Reece Hall-Johnson, McGrandles are unlikely to start any Premier League matches.10. Murphy bro''s are exciting creative players to watch but their lack of experience sometimes shows when selecting passing options.11. It will be interesting to see whether Odjidja-Ofoe can even get fit enough to challenge for a first-team start. If he does then the system AN uses could suit him.I think the midfield priority is to find a defensive midfielder (to challenge for Tettey''s position), a creative midfielder who scores goals (to challenge for Wes'' position), and a winger. I would then look to get those listed in points 8, 9, 10 & 11 out on-loan.

[quote user="Nicko"]For what it''s worth, I think getting 3 new defenders in would upset the dynamic. A decent CB would do the trick just fine.[/quote]Other than Olsson, who would play at left-back to a high standard?

1. Bassong seems to have got his act together and has been in his best form for a long while. However, he becomes error prone the very moment that those standards drop by even a just a tiny amount.2. I would expect every opposition manager to single-out Martin because he loses a lot of aerial and physical challenges and sometimes gets caught dithering on the ball for too long. 3. Ryan Bennett is 25 but I don''t think he has yet realised his full potential.4. Olsson is good going forwards but when he is defending the opposition get far beyond him with time to make good passes into the box.5. Whittaker is a lot better going forwards than some give him credit for but gets turned too easily when defending.6. Turner seems likely to be playing elsewhere next season.7. Toffolo, Awuah etc. won''t be counted in the 25 man squad but don''t  yet seem ready to be playing regularly in the Premier League.I think AN has done a brilliant job to get the club promoted considering the defenders he had to select from. The key to the system has been Tettey protecting the defenders which then gives the full-backs more freedom to get forwards (and so the team spends less time defending). Johnson playing wide on the left has also helped to make the team more solid defensively.I think the defensive priority should be to sign 2 new central defenders and a left-back. Then consider loaning Ryan Bennett to a Championship club for a couple of months.

Last summer I said that Norwich should try for Patrick Bamford:http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/3146525/ShowPost.aspxI still think that he would be a good fit for Norwich. Rickie Lambert too.

7. Loza has struggled to score goals in the lower leagues and is now 21 years-old. Playing in League 2 at a club such as Cambridge Utd might be good for him at this stage.

1. Jerome has had a fantastic season, is a good lone striker and suits the way that Norwich play.2. Hooper is a good finisher and he is quite creative. Some say that he doesn''t suit being a lone striker but he does actually link quite well when Wes plays as they keep the ball down and can be a bit unpredictable to play against. As others have said, he is a good option from the bench if the team is losing.3. Grabban''s movement is good but he misses a lot of good chances to score. Many of those he does score seem very fortunate. He won''t get so many chances to score in the Premier League so he needs to be a lot better with his finishing. 4. Lafferty often looks likely to be sent-off but perhaps he got frustarted at being played in a wide position. He is more effective centrally up front unsettling defenders into making mistakes.5. RvW wasn''t even close to being good enough in the Premier League.6. Morris has only scored 1 goal in the lower leagues.AN has stronger striking options than Hughton had in the Premier League but what AN has are still likely to struggle to score goals. I wouldn''t be surprised if the club tries to replace 4 of them.

"why did you think that Miguel was a better option than Bassong, if you didn''t want to select Cuellar?"As the team would have been playing a wing-back system, I would have selected Miquel instead of Cuellar or Bassong for his mobility getting across to cover.Miquel is an inexperienced youngster so starting him in a back 3 plus wing-backs to help gain some experience should be more forgiving than a traditional back 4 and a weak midfield.If Bassong was fully fit and back to his best then of course he would be the first choice central defender, but it has been a long time since then.

I don''t see Lafferty as a left-winger so would have put him up front with Jerome when Hooper went off.

I still somehow managed to mess up some text after copy and paste and previewing a few times. This old forum code needs updating. Try again:                         Ruddy            Martin   Turner  MiquelWhitaker          Johnson        Olsson                            Redmond   Hooper    Wes                        Jerome        Subs:McGrandlesCuellarElliot BennettRuddLafferty (only played up front)

Considering the lack of options available in central midfield and that central defence has been a problem area, I would have selected 3 central defenders with Martin able to come forward and Johnson as the holding midfielder.This would also suit Olsson and Whittaker playing as wing-backs to get the ball forward earlier.I would have gone with both Jerome and Lafferty up front to give more of a physical presence to compete for early longer balls forward from wide areas. I would have selected Hooper centrally behind the front 2 as he is decent at linking midfield and attack. That would leave Redmond and Wes flexibility to go wide or inside. I think this is the best that could have been selected under such difficult circumstances:                         Ruddy            Martin   Turner  MiquelWhitaker          Johnson        Olsson                            Redmond   Hooper    Wes                 Jerome        Lafferty

It seems that my judgement has been proven right about Bony and other players. Perhaps some might now realise that I did used to do some football scouting and that I had a great record doing it.

[quote user="iron_stan"]whittaker ahead of martin ? really ? hes direwhen fit id still play olsson, turner, bennett, martin[/quote]I don''t think any of the defenders are all that great so it is a much of a muchness.

When not in possession of the ball it would be more like a midfield 5. When in possession it would be more like a front 3 plus either Vadis (or Wes) going forwards centrally in support. Tettey & O''Neil staying deep as cover. That suits the players available.O''Neil seems better at keeping the ball than BJ and better at protecting the defence than Howson.The main problem is who to play as the left-sided central defender. I don''t think switching Turner to his weaker side and having Martin on the right is a great solution. I would rather Turner played in his best position on the right and either Hooiveld, Miquel or Cuellar on the left. I wouldn''t be surprised if a new player was signed in that position once the transfer window reopens.

I like the way that Adams tries to play 2 wingers to get crosses into the box but you also need a central midfielder making late runs into the box to create space for others and get onto some knock-downs to score goals. BJ is good at doing that but his passing in general isn''t. The wingers also need to be contributing goals.I think Adams could try this as an alternative:                 Jerome   Lafferty  Vadis  Grabban          O''Neil     Tettey Olsson Cuellar Turner Whittaker                  Ruddy Both Lafftery & Grabban are suited to playing from wider positions and dropping deeper than a traditional striker. Going forwards becomes more like a front 3.I would put Turner back into his better position as the right central defender. This also gives better protection with him stepping across to cover right-back. Who to play next to him is a bit of a lottery but I would try Cuellar for his experience. I think this way of playing could give lead to more goals scored and make the team stronger defensively.