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SM

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  1. Posted

                         Marshall

    Otsemobor   Doherty   Taylor   Camara

    Croft        Brellier      Smith       Pattison

                    Brown   Cureton

     

    Subs: Dublin, Russel, Fotheringham, Lappin, Evans

     

    Doc is in because although he is an awkward defender he has proved that when he is in we defend a lot better. Brown is in because I think we need someone to hold the ball when the inevitable hoofing starts. I would definately bring on Evans on about the hour mark to see if he can make an impact. I would give Taylor the armband because he is the defender who comes across as calm but also gives out his orders. I think Shackell needs to be relieved of the captains armband because in this fight we need someone with a bit of experience, is Taylor that? I would try it. Another reason he wouldn''t be my captain is because he wouldn''t be in my starting Xl.   

                    

  2. Posted

    Marshall

    Otsemobor   Taylor   Shackell   Lappin

    Chadwick   Brellier   Russell   Smith

    Brown   Cureton

     

    Subs: Gilks, Murray, Spillane, Croft, Hartson.

     

    I was thinking about playing Murray at the back with Taylor, but decided to give Shackell another chance. I put Bown on because although he doesn''t score many goals, he will hold the ball if Watford are pressuring us. Hartson and Croft should come on after about 60mins so they can freshen things up and maybe impact the game.

  6. Posted

    Norwich: Marshall, Otsemobor, Doherty, Shackell, Drury, Brellier (Fotheringham 55), Russell (Hughes 75), Lappin (Rossi Jarvis 89), Martin (Ryan Jarvis 80), Brown (Strihavka 58), Cureton (Croft 60).

     

     

    Contrary to reports, from what I could see wee started off with a narrow diamond in the midfield, with Chris Martin playing in the hole behind the two strikers. Rusty and Lappin playing tight in midfield.  

     

     

    Player Ratings

     

    GK - David Marshall – 7 – Everything he had to on the night, he did well. He also looks like he is very agile and gets down to low shots very quickly. Well worth whatever we paid for him.

     

    RB – John Otsemobor – 8 – This looks to be a very shrewd piece of business by Grant. While being reasonably solid defensively, his attacking play and raw pace is what really excites me. He made 2 or 3 steaming runs into the opposition box, taking the ball past many players as he did so, his crossing is also very good.

     

    LB – Adam Drury – 4 – Once again another poor performance from him, I think I counted two times when he received the ball and then passed it along the ground. His defending also looks very poor at the moment with most of the Dutch attacks coming down our left side. A replacement is definitely needed, or at the least some real competition.

     

    CB – Gary Docherty – 6 – A much improved performance from the Doc after Tuesday’s defensive collapse against the Hammers. Didn’t really put a foot wrong all night, we need a full season of this. Just consistent, no-nonsense defending, do everything simple and you will not go wrong.

     

    CB – Jason Shackell – 6 – The captaincy certainly doesn’t seem to be affecting him, he could be heard barking orders at his players all night which encourages me. His performance was much like the Doc’s an improvement on Tuesday; no-nonsense defending from shacks also.

     

    DMC – Julien Brellier – 8 – Like Otsemobor, another shrewd piece of business which I am very pleased about, because he gives us a bit of bite in the midfield area. Made a couple of crucial blocks/interventions to stop the Vitesse attacks. Looked like he had picked up another knock about ten minutes in, but he had ran it off by half-time because he stayed on the pitch until just before the hour mark.

     

    RCM – Darel Russell – 7 – I liked the way he was always closing down the opposition before they could release the ball. After he had taken the ball from them he always chose the simple pass, leaving the extravagant play to the more attacking players. With him and Brellier in the midfield we won’t be found wanting in the tackling department.

     

    LCM – Simon Lappin – 7 – He seemed to get more stuck in than last season which was an encouraging sign. He also looked more potent in the final third, attacking the defenders numerous times and trying to get the cross in. He did so with decent success and his crossing was also quite accurate.

     

    AMC – Chris Martin – 6 – Didn’t look comfortable in the hole position, like he wanted to be nearer the last defender. Grant is starting to worry me now because he has played him on either wing and behind the strikers, if there isn’t room for him in the team in his preferred position he needs to be loaned out.

     

    ST – Chris Brown – 7.5 – Carried on from where he left off on Tuesday, he now looks a great physical presence in an around the box. Like he can win every header, he is also very confident that he can score goals by the looks of things. Was unlucky to again be taken off after being clattered by another defender.

     

    ST – Jamie Cureton - 5.5 – Only did one thing that really impressed me all night when he ran into the box, taking the ball past a couple of defenders as he did so. His cross was then sliced clear by a Vitesse defender. The rest of the time he looked ineffectual when trying to win headers against defenders. Even when the ball was on the deck he struggled.

     

    Subs Rating

     

    Mark Fotheringham – 7 – Once again, he looked a different player from last season with bags of energy and accurate passing. The midfield now looks like it has good competition for places

     

    Andy Hughes – 5 – He came on in the centre of midfield and gave everyone the reason why he doesn’t usually play there. He went into his headless chicken mode and most of his passes went astray.

     

    Rossi Jarvis – Not on long enough to rate.

     

    Ryan Jarvis – 6 – Even though he was only on for 10 minutes he did more to impress me with a couple of marauding runs into the box.

     

    David Strihavka – 6 – He set up the Drury screamer (although I don’t think the pass was intentional), and held up the ball quite well.

     

    Lee Croft – 7 – Impressive again and certainly deserves a starting place against PNE on the 11th of august. He seems to have lost a lot of weight, and gained that vital yard of pace.

     

    Overall Team Rating

     

    Although they improved after Tuesday’s game the central defence does certainly need strengthening. But I would say the left back position is the one which is in need of strengthening most desperately. I have seen 3 pre-season games and it has shown more than ever how we need that competition for the left back slot. The rest of the team looks like it has enough competition.   

  8. Posted

    For home games:                         

                           Marshall         

    Otsemobor   O''Brien   Shackell   Dixon

    Chadwick   Brellier   Smith   Huckerby

                   Cureton   Strihavka

    Subs: Gilks, Drury, Croft, Hughes, Martin

     

    For away games:

                            Marshall

    Otsemobor   O''Brien   Shackell   Dixon

                        Safri   Brellier

                              Smith

    Chadwick                              Huckerby

                      Cureton/Strihavka

    Subs: Gilks, Drury, Hughes, Croft, Cureton/Strihavka

  9. Posted

    I agree with all your suggestions appart from Lee Croft, mainly because he has only had one season in which the whole team was poor and injuries and change of manager half way through a season is almost certain to disrupt a player. Many people also forget thant he is only 21/22 which is still very young. I am not saying he would be my first choice winger because chadwick is streets ahead of him at the moment, but he is a very useful backup player and one we may need to call on a few times if chadwick continues to pick up annoying niggles here and there. So he is the one I would definately keep for the coming season.  

  12. Posted

    The Player Ratings:

    GK Paul Gallacher – 5 – Didn’t really have a save to make, just had to rush out a couple of times to collect the ball. He certainly doesn’t give the defence confidence either and that was very evident last night with quite a few mix-ups.

    RB Andrew Cave-Brown – 6 – He looked quite solid last night, and I think is the perfect backup for Otsemobor if Hughes go’s. If Hughes doesn’t leave then a loan period is probably required. He also linked well with Croft which was quite encouraging.

    LB Drury (C) – 5 – I gave him a 5, but if not for his goal it would have been a 4 because most of the KL attacks were down our left side. There were a couple of incidents when he rushed out to clear the ball and missed it, thus leaving Shackell 2 on 1.

    CB Shackell – 6.5 – Tried to hold our shaky defence together when he was needed most, he also made lots of crucial interventions and last ditch headers to stop the Lynn strikers getting through one-on-one. Just one glaring mistake when he missed his kick but Lewis saved smartly. Was good to hear him barking orders to the team unlike, Drury who remained quiet all game.

    CB Doherty – 5 – He looked the most unfit of all the players on the pitch, doesn’t inspire me at all, a replacement is needed desperately if we are going to mount a serious challenge for the play-offs.

    RM Croft – 6 – His crossing need’s serious work before he can even think about challenging Croft for the right-midfield berth, he can beat players easily but rarely do we see a cross go to its intended target.

    LM Ryan Jarvis – 7.5 – His loan spell at the Orient looks to have done him the world of good, and even though playing out of position he still looked lively and was the player most likely to add to the scoring after Drury’s opener.

    CM Brellier – 7 – From what I saw last night, he loves a tackle and although he can give it he can take it as well. Retaliation doesn’t look like his problem, he is just so eager to make the tackles that he can sometimes be a second or two late. He spent most of his time trying to cover for Drury.

    CM Fotheringham – 8 – My man of the match, he looks very lean, like he has been training through the summer. This has certainly been beneficial because he controlled the midfield well and if he plays like that, he will certainly be a better player than many saw last year.

    ST Strihavka – 6.5 – Got involved with play quite a lot in the first half and also had a good first half, but faded in the second although he did have a goal disallowed. Looked lost at times though, as if he didn’t know what was wanted of him, but the language barrier can’t be helping at the moment.

    ST Cureton – 5.5 – Except from his two goals, he did nothing that overly impressed me and it seemed that every time the ball got to him during an attack he would lose it and the attack would break down. This seemed to be because he was trying to hard to score, but now he has the two goals I think it will help his confidence.

    Subs: Lewis – 6.5 – He made one decent save from one of the Lynn strikers following a defensive mix-up, the defence also seemed a lot more comfortable when he was there.

    Rossi Jarvis – 6.5 – When he was central midfield he broke up play well and made a few decent passes, he also did well when moved to right-back.

    Smart – 7 – Even though he was only on for about 20 minutes, his contributions were very notable. He made two of the goals by using his raw pace and doing what all good old fashioned wingers do, run at the wingers then get a good cross in. He was very impressive.

    Lathrope – 5 – Nothing notable to report except the goal, which he lashed home from about 6 yards.

    Kelly - Not on long enough to rate.

    The performance was professional but we didn’t look like ever getting out of 2nd gear, I would have like to see us really go for it instead of passing it between each other. But it was overall a good work out.

  15. Posted

    I agree with all the points you have made, but would just like to add that now we have seen each of these lads play a few times, I would have no hesitation of putting them in the team when needed. So if you include these youngsters the squad now looks like it has much more depth which was much needed. Next season I would like to see youngsters such as Bexfield play a role in the league and cup game even if it is only 5 games, we need to keep giving the youngsters an opportunity if we are to find the next Martin.

  16. Posted

                    Marshall

    Otsemobor Dublin Shackell Drury

             Safri  Etuhu  Brellier

    <---------Huckerby--------->

              Strihavka Cureton

     

    Subs: Gilks, Docherty, Lappin, Chadwick, Martin

     

    Just leave Hucks in a floating role so he can go everywhere he wants, I think this way gives him the freedom he needs.

    He would also be very difficult for defenders to pick up.

     

     

     

  21. Posted

    I think Andy O''Brien would be the perfect partner for Jason Shackell in our defense which needs some strengthening after leaking over 70 goals last season. At the age of 28 he would also bring the sort of experience we need and because he is 28 he is in his prime and not just a quick fix. He also impresses in stature standing at 6''3'''', so he could be a threat at set pieces. I don''t think the price would be an issue either because he is hardly 1st chioce at Pompey so I think that a bid of £1million would probably tempt Harry into selling him.

    Thoughts?

  23. Posted

    [quote user="Stevie Wonder"][quote user="Dan Grant"]

    If we don''t get a cente-half in by the first pre-season friendly I think we should try this team:

                  

                  Marshall

         Semmy Shacks Drury

                     Brellier

     Chadwick Etuhu Safs Lappin

              Strihavka Cureton

     

    Only against one of the smaller sides because I think the trio in the centre of midfield would give us tackling from Brellier, strength and power from Dickson and the passing from Safs. The defence is obviously week but no disrespect to them but are Lowestoft going to trouble them.  

    [/quote]

    Errrr....where is Hucks then?

    [/quote]

     

    Wouldn''t you see how the team performed without him for the first pre-season game, I would and also this may be my line up for the 1st/2nd round of the cup. We have to start planning for life without hux because he may not be with us for much longer.

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