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Master J-Do Pur

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Everything posted by Master J-Do Pur

  1. Agree. Looks a bit like a small child who is really proud of a poo he has just done.
  2. Interview in The Guardian with Alex Neil (in case you aren''t a wishy washy lefty and miss it). Nothing new in the article really but rare to see a big piece about us in one of the national papers so thought I''d share. http://gu.com/p/477xg
  3. I think it''s pretty hard to predict how a youngster will turn out unless you are seeing them in training. I really didn''t think Harry Kane would make it after seeing him for us. He also had poor loan moves to other teams before us. I remember at the time a lot of coaches raving about him but i couldn''t see anything in his performances. I also thought Ross Barkley was poor when I saw him at Shef Wed a few years ago.  It''s obviously great if a player hits the ground running on loan, but the training ground still has a bigger say on younger players and the loan is to get them used to adult football. Even recently, I thought Ibe looked OK against us at Derby, but nothing fantastic. A poor loan performance doesn''t necessarily mean a poor player.Maybe I am just a really crap scout. I could probably have worked for Peter Grant.
  4. I think our biggest problem this season has been injuries. Big injuries to Tettey, Howson, Pilkington, E. Bennett, Turner and Van Wolfswinkel really hampered our form. We tried to change our style of play in the final third at the beginning of the season with the signing of Redmond, Van Wolfswinkel, Hooper, Elmander and Fer. Unfortunately for it to work we needed some stability, something we haven''t had due to injuries. I thought RVW started to look good before his injury, and the constant changes right through the team every week really slowed the progression of our new starting line up.I think this is the first time this season when we have really been able to field a regular team with not many changes and form has improved. My biggest problem with the way we play is how we line up with inverted wingers, as it really narrows the space for our striker to work in. With Redmond''s youthful naivety and Snodgrass''s direct approach (both always shooting instead of passing) it doesn''t really create too many genuine goalscoring chances up front. This is where the fullbacks really come in to play and i don''t think it''s a coincidence our form and attacking has improved with tettey being back in the team. He offers the shield for the defence that gives the fullbacks the freedom to attack as he is really great at covering the space that they vacate.Howson being back will also be a massive bonus, i think he is our only midfielder that bursts past the striker, offering genuine support and giving the centre backs someone else to think about. Also, with RVW running the channels, he does leave a lot of space for a midfielder like Howson to run into and i hope this might mean actual goals.I think the signing of Yobo was a fantastic one in the Jan transfer window, and one that has been an instant success. It''s really hard to make signings in the Jan transfer window and would have been too much of a risk to overspend on a striker, a position we just spent over £10m on in the summer. I always try to give any signings until their second season before writing them off because we have seen with so many players who join the PL, struggle in their first season and then really step up in their second season. (eg Giroud and Drogba).
  5. Hello Citizen. He''s playing in a new league where each performance is an improvement to the one prior. Compare that to Morrison who started well and then, under Lambert, slowly deteriorated. So we could say that Lambert made Morrison worse and Hughton is making RVW improve every game! Norwich fans had grumbles about Morrison before Lambert left. He seems to have forgotten that in this interview. The second half of the season he was poor. Was that Lamberts fault? Nope, not really. Was the fact that he carried on that form into the next season  Hughton''s fault? Nope, not really. The truth of it is that Morrison had the motivation to begin with but, like many players, quickly lost that drive and didn''t have the quality to keep him in the Premier League. He seems to have forgotten he is playing in the Championship after a poor second half of the season at Leeds. Is that Hughton''s fault? Nope, not really.Also, I''m not really sure what the complaint about the fouls is? Holt used to foul defenders all the time, which we all loved, and it''s a positive thing about RVW as well. It means he is involved and pressing the defense. Prefer that than a forward that just lets defenders have free headers. Both of our last two goals have come from RVW winning a header against a big centre back. Something Holt would be, and rightly,  proud of. 
  6. Reading that article just makes me think that Morrison and Holt''s form dipped after they stopped paying attention to their football and got distracted by dog racing. Similar to Micheal Owen and his obsession with horse racing.Maybe studying his previous performances would have meant he played better instead of watching dogs go for a run. The top top players in the world are always obsessed with football and talk about nothing else. You never read in interviews  Messi/Ronaldo/Bale/Van Persie/Stuart Ripley talking about how much they love another sport. Sounds like his focus had moved from football. Sounds better if you blame a new manager though.
  7. There is a little reference to Ruddy''s chances here if anyone missed it:http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/oct/04/premier-league-10-things-weekend
  8. Thanks Ron and BigFish! Always nice to know there are some like minded posters about.
  9. I think people seem to misjudge managers with long term plans as well. It''s incredibly common for managers to focus on tightening up a teams defence first and then slowly look at expanding the football over the long term. Yes Lambert did this transition fairly quickly but the first half of the League One season he spent working on the defence/fitness and we ground out a lot of results to begin with. Due to the lower standard of football it was easier to move our attacking play forward quickly because the opposition isn''t of such a high standard that we are competing against now.I honestly think that if Lambert carried on in our second season we didn''t have the team to play attacking football again (teams would have known how to play against us) and second season syndrome would have come in to play. You just have to look at so many of the teams that went down after their second season because they thought they could outscore the opposition. You can catch the PL by surprise in the first season but the second is so much harder. We didn''t have the finances of Southampton etc to kick onto the next level last season so i think we went about it the right way.You don''t have to look too far to see most of the successful teams focus on defence first and then step it up after a year or two in attack. We still need to give out attacking players six months to really settle in. You only have to look at Rodgers'' Liverpool to see how long it takes for teams to progress their attacking plays. Liverpool were fairly defensive with little team cohesion last season after lots of signings. Only now have they really kicked on in the final third. Wenger''s first season at Arsenal saw them let in under 20 goals. Then after that he had a platform to build the football you have seen them play over the following years.I think we need to have a bit of patience, it''s only just been over a year. Please don''t get me wrong, I never want to settle for boring football but it takes time to create a free flowing game that i want to see. Against Stoke, i think we started to see that. Pilkington looked back on form and the midfield of Howson/Fer/Tettey was great on the ball just as much off it.We have Redmond, RVW and Hooper that will only get better and hopefully over the next couple of years we will see Murphy make the step up that we have all been hoping for.
  10. Interesting point. This was probably to do with the fact that on the other wing there was Redmond so Snodgrass was the obvious target for the long ball out from the back. For the Stoke game however, with Pilks replacing Snodgrass, this tactic moved over to the left and most long balls were played down the left to capitalise on Pilkington''s height advantage. I never like to see long balls but i think against stoke the decision making was spot on. We now have Fer, who is fantastic on the ball when surrounded by the opposition, and with Howson and Tettey, they played lots of tight triangles out of danger without getting caught out from memory. However, the goalie and defence didn''t do any ''hospital balls'' and, when needed, played it long down the left. It''s also worth noting this is where our goal came from as well. RVW gets a lot of stick but it was him that won a great header under a strong challenge that Pilks then picked up from to play it to Howson to shoot. Pilk''s anticipation of the drop down shows that he is expecting RVW to win flick ons, something Snodgrass sometimes stands and watches currently. I thought there was some good chemistry starting to show from Pilkington and RVW.
  11. I think if i was offered 42 points now I''d take it. I feel with the signings we have made we are pushing to have a strong team next season. Feels like a season of transition, lots of Lambert''s players have been forced out now and many of the foreign players are in their first season in the PL with the club. RVW, Hooper, Redmond, Fer will all improve next season, meaning that we will have a better strike force without even signing anyone. Always liked the long term approach in football. We have possibly signed too many/got rid of too many this season for us to have a good sustained season this season but i think our long term looks good. There isn''t a single player in our team that is at their peak (Possibly with the exception of Bassong, Turner and Elmander) so they will all be improving and gelling with the new players.I can''t be the only Norwich fan to think the long term future of the first team is good? Within the next couple of years we also have the potential of a couple of the FA Youth Cup team coming through. It''s always nice to see some of the academy coming through.
  12. I think some people are very quick to make a judgement on a player. He''s only played 4 games in a new league. RVW is a tricky player, relying on his runs to get his goals. He was never going to instantly shine. Very few foreign forwards start off brilliantly. You only have to look at Drogba and, more recently, Giroud. They had very average first seasons for them to then make a big step the following years. It takes a while to fit into a new system and for your teammates to know when/where you are going to make a run. All of this takes time. I know people are going to use Michu as an example of someone who did shine straight away but he plays in a more withdrawn position. He also plays for a team that spends more time with the ball than without, making it easier to have an impact on the game.You cannot possibly judge him after 4 games? People probably find me mad but any international player needs to be given at least a season before really being judged? Especially in the final 3rd positions which is where the more complex movements take place, where team cohesion is essential.
  13. Sorry, had a quick look and couldn''t see it had been up before. Glad you enjoyed it if you hadn''t read already. I get very bored of the closed season so just nice to read something that''s a bit different to the rumour mill that can get tiresome.
  14. Hello. I don''t normally post on here (1 or 2 may remember me) but found this article on the New Statesman website. I don''t think the New Statesman has a massive readership from the footballing community so thought i''d share so no one misses it. http://www.newstatesman.com/sport/2013/07/grant-holt-football-fandom-and-me It''s an OK read but nothing compared to a Shoot Annual. Can the season start now please?
  15. On the subs bench today is a player called Ball. I am assuming he is a defender and a youth academy player? Never really noticed his name being mentioned, but then again no one ever goes to a youth game to look out for the next centre back prospect do they. Anyway, anyone seen him play previously?
  16. [quote user="Hoopy"]I wouldn''t underestimate Lambert; similarly I wouldn''t look at Warnock''s record as an indication of how we''re playing now. I''ve been watching us for 34 years and the football we''ve played this season is the best I can ever remember. The movement is astonishing at times (our 3rd goal v Boro for example) and we''ve become incredibly difficult to get the ball away from. The 4231 system has been honed so well that any player coming in knows their role more than they ever have before. More importantly, we can win through pace and passing (Ipswich), digging deep (Palace), counter attacking (Leicester and Doncaster), or sheer power and technical ability (Barnsley and Scunthorpe) Faurlin returning could be the key. He was the outstanding player before his knock, playing off Derry and passing the ball about to the front 4 with a confidence that I''ve not seen before. Similarly, Rob Hulse may well be at least on the bench and his record speaks for itself. It''ll be a cracking atmosphere; there''s fewer than 500 tickets left in the home stands.[/quote] I have been to see QPR three times this season, including the Boro game, and the reference to the third goal makes me believe you have not much knowledge of astonishing movement. The goal was good, but against the worst team i have seen in years. If Norwich scored that goal i wouldn''t have noted it for future reference. Anyway, Having seen QPR i would suggest we are in for a fun game. I cannot believe they haven''t let a goal in! They have been very fortunate. It will be a really good passng game. Really don''t know which way it will go. I think the one thing to our advantage is anyone that has been to Loftus Road will know that it is a very narrow pitch which will probably play better for our system. I would actually be more concerned if the game was at home due to their strengths are on the wing. Although people talk about Taarbat being their central figure, watching them a few times, nearly everything goes through Faulin. Really classy player that constantly switches it. We need pressure on the ball when he is in possession- something i hope Smith will be able to do- otherwise we could struggle.
  17. Does anyone know when Colney was set up with the Academy? I remember Wenger saying at when they set up the Academy there it would take over 10 years before you see the full effect of it. Wilshere being an example of what now will be coming through. Hopefully this is a sign that we have got good things to come from now on. The under 18''s are going really well at moment so there are definitely good players at youth level. Hopefully we can see more making that step.
  18. It''s nice to see optimism about more than one player from the Academy. Don''t remember a time previously where it was multiple youth players showing potential. Before it was one every few years. Nothing better than seeing youth come through the system!
  19. I am at work today. This thread will hopefully be my 21st century opiate
  20. I really didn''t see anything wrong with the ''foul'' before the 3rd goal. Thought the players were just going for a 50/50 ball. The whole game the ref allowed a lot of 50/50 balls. To give them at the end would have shown inconsistantly because he had been letting go the whole game. I feel you should be more annoyed with the lack of professionalism of Nelson and Russell for not playing to the whistle if anything. Am i being to level headed?
  21. I will be there. In my oil stained Norwich top.TIP: Do not bike in london, when it''s raining, in your City shirt.
  22. First Jedi,Who is the quote in your tag line from? I can''t stop laughing about it! It''s amazing! I am assuming you have it with ironic intentions...
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