GJP

I think the whole thing is a bit of a shame really. If he was fit he would be an excellent player for us to have and there were definite glimpses of his quality, you could tell he''s been a good player in his time. His presence in the 2nd half against Ipswich no doubt helped us to get something from that game. But I don''t he ever wanted to stay here as his young kids are back nearer WBA. Hope whatever he does next works out well for him.

[quote user="lucky green trainers"] russell - 7/10  - not upto sunday''s best, felt he had too much to do on his own. brellier - 4/10 - had a shocker - looked a yard off the pace from the word go.  if he is playing upto the level of his best ability/fitness, then sorry its not good enough.  [/quote]   Gotta agree with that. Rusty pretty much played central midfield by himself. Was very disappointed with Brellier after his good showing against Ipswich he let himself down and Rusty had to fight the midfield battle on his own.

[quote user="Cobain18"][quote user="No. 4"]                      Marshall Otsemobor   Taylor   Shackell   Lappin        Chadwick   Brellier   Russell                       Smith             Brown   Cureton Subs: gilks, murray,croft, spillane, strihavka   [/quote] Why would you leave Hartson out, he changed the game for us - set up a goal and in Magilton''s words bullied them - and he''s not even on the bench. It''s obvious thankfully that Roeder don''t rate Brown anyway as he didn''t make the bench on Sunday. [/quote] I don''t think it''s obvious at all that Roeder doesn''t rate Brown. I think a more likely possibility is that he knows John Hartsons game better. He''ll probably continue to pick players he knows more about until he''s had more time to get to know his squad.

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"] Good - brought back brellier,  kept it 442, and focused on passing the ball,   Introducton of Hartson changed game,  used smith  Bad - felt the starting line up relied  on ''big names'' rather than form and ability;  neither  Dublin and CUreton form did not deserve a starting place fortunately onl;y one was a mistake;  Brown not even on the bench was harsh given his form this year. [/quote] I don''t think it was so much of a case of relying on names, I think it was more that he went with players he knows a bit about. His lineup was fairly sensible really given the short space of time he''s had to work with the squad.

[quote user="Steve Burns"] Russell has an annoying habit of losing the ball cheaply..... How Rusty won man of the match I will never know. I thought he was poor. poor control and distribution and the amount of time of appeared to be casually standing around watching. [/quote] That''s a bizarre observation, Rusty didn''t stop running.

[quote user="Rob Henry"]did you actually watch the game? Shackell played well today. I can see a good partnership forming between him and Taylor.[/quote] I think the comments refer more to Shackells performances in general rather than one single game. He did alright today, but usually he''s average at best. I''d be happier if we added another good centreback to go with Taylor.

[quote user="Hardhouse44"] Wow, we showed passion, commitment, pride and quality. I have a negative I wish to discuss however. Shackell. He is in my view clearly out of his depth. He is to easily brushed of the ball, he loses to many 50/50 headers and he turns to slow. I in no way wish to be negative about the day or to single out players for no reason but if we are to grow and improve and to take it to another level after today’s fantastic show of character I would be looking to cut out the mistakes that lead to their goals. I guess I''ll be slated for not being 110% positive about the team after today but for me there is a bigger picture. [/quote] Yup, you''re right. Shackell is a bit of a weak link. He did ok today but in general people go past him too easily and he doesn''t dominate in the air.  

[quote user="UEA Canary"]VERY Disappointed in Huckerby, has let the entire club down with that silly foul, after all the brave and hard work of the team he''s tainted the afternoon. [/quote] Get a grip, there''s no shame in putting a nasty tackle in on a scummer.  

Gary Doherty is a decent player and a decent defender. Hence why he''s been at a big club like Spurs and hence why he''s been capped by Ireland many times. How many other City players have played their football at an equally high standard as to what the Doc has? You''re basically only really looking at Dublin and Huckerby. Ok yeah Marshall has played a few games for Celtic and Crofty has had a few run outs for Man City etc etc but really not that many of our squad have played a lot of football at a higher level. People doubt whether we''d get a transfer fee for him...he''s probably our most valuable outfield player.

Should prove to be an excellent signing. We''ve needed a centreback for ages and Roeder has got a good one in very quickly. I''m impressed with that.

[quote user="komakino"]Wouldn''t want Safri back anyway, certainly a backward step and his petulance was on a par with Huckerby. We need a midfielder who plays in as many games as possible and doesn''t cry wolf, which would rule him out![/quote] A step back was selling Safri resulting in us having to play Rossi Jarvis in central midfield.

[quote user="breaker2"]Yeah, wouldnt be bad, i would like to see Roeder bring in Ameobi and maybe Bernard (who did he manage when at Newcastle?) although he may have sold him, i forget. Then theres Ramage, who to me always seems a fairly talented defender, and not getting much of a look in at Newcastle. But in all honesty i think theres a lot of very decent players out there, who if Roeder does have connections could bring in.Richard Hughes was talking of leaving Pompey the other day or Maceo Rigter...so yeah lots of options![/quote] All of those players would be good signings. Ramage would be a terrific signing, he could do a good job playing anywhere across the defence.

[quote user="lucky green trainers"] so who''s good enough, and who doesn''t cut it???  based on their ability to get us safe from RELEGATION:- Marshall - good enough, mostly.  flappy on crosses.  OK. Otsemobor - defensive nightmare - not good enough. mistake ridden, nowhere near eddy.  Would a new manager be able to teach him better defensive discipline? His blistering pace makes him worth keeping. Murray - ok centre back but thats all, makes errors when tired - could be good enough if fit enough - is a nightmare at leftback though?  JURY OUT. Shacks - still losing concentration and making mistakes - better with a settled player alongside like dublin. Not good enough, something is wrong if he needs a better player alongside him to make him look good. Bench player. dublin - makes mistakes, good leader - but too old to play all the time - No harm in having him around the place, valuable experience. doc - looked better of late - but not upto malky standard and makes mistakes - takes too long to get fit after injury - a luxury we can''t afford right now.  A much more important player than everybody realises. He''s a far better defender than Jason Shackell and if the crowd get off his back it''ll only improve his confidence. He''s there for the cause. Drury - looking better this year for me - still good enough.  OK Hucks - injuries and age not helping - still quality, but unless he scoring and creating then too much of a defensive liability.  good enough, esp when fully fit again  OK Jarvis - lightweight - league 1 standard for me. BIN League 1? Hmmm...a bottom of the table League 1 side at best. No pace, no real motor and unable to play any telling passes. Russell - lots of energy - hampered by lack of a good midfield partner - JURY OUT.  brellier - lacks energy to say the least.  if we ever see him fully fit?? not good enough at present.  BIN smith.  - not seen him play.  JURY OUT Lappin - lightweight - occasional decent cross, but clueless on goal assists.  Feel sorry for him, he''s a sensible kind of player. I think if Norwich were playing well he''d be a good player to have in the squad. Hartson - too fat and old/unfit - we should be getting a younger fitter version in.  If his fitness improves then he''ll be a good aquisition. Proven track record. Strihavka - trys hard, no real chances - outfought by stout defenders.  not good enough.  Probably a bench player if Norwich were doing well. fozzy - better now fitter - not good enough though.   Have to wait and see, looked realy hungry when he came on against Southampton, if he''s got that when he comes back from injury then he could do very well. brown - league 1 for me.  Works hard, not a bad footballer to be fair. Squad player. Spillane - better in midfield - has promise, thats all just now.  next season player. BIN FOR NOW Croft - gives his all - unable to supply quality crosses or goal assists.  but, could be good enough. OK Still a young lad and would surely benefit from the confidence and experience of regular starts. Martin - good enough, but confidence shot to bits.  loan him out - he''ll score plenty for incy. A long way to go for him. I like him because he''s not afraid to pull the trigger but still he''s quite a way off being ready for this standard of football on a regular basis. cureton - proved he can do it - why not with us.  good enough. OK Quite often I''ve found him to be lazy. Gets to hide behind there being a lack of service for not scoring but then he never really tries to force the issue for himself. i think we''re short of a right back, decent centre half for shax to partner, a creative midfielder, a strike partner for curo (howard would do, a fitter version of hartson).  I think we need another centreback too but for me it''d be to replace Shackell. Although I don''t think the Doc is the answer in the long run he''s better than Shacks. Definitely in need of another midfielder and striker as well. And that''s been the case since the summer, it was obvious we needed those players. Been let down by the board. [/quote]

They''re scared too play both Croft and Huckerby on the flanks at the same time because they know that we''re weak in the centre. So they prefer to play the likes of Rusty or Chadwick wide right as they should be inclined to drift inside and give us a bit more presence in the middle.

Not really much of a fan of Steve Bruce. He''s never been that well liked by fans at any club he''s manager. Plus he is a bit of a whinger. He chucked millions at getting Birmingham promoted last season and they still weren''t that impressive given the money he''d spent, plus he moaned about how difficult it had been for them.

I think Marshall is more or less in the £1mil bracket, given the way the market is these days. I think if the team were playing well and individually they were playing well then Doherty, Hucks and Crofty would just about stretch to £1mil. Fair enough Hucks is in his 30s now but he''s still a player who teams might take a gamble on if he''s got the right fitness and form. Doherty might just about be our most valuable outfield player at the moment. He''s played at a higher level (club and country) than most of the lads in the squad and therefore he''s a more established name. And he''s also the right side of 30. I guess we''ll have to wait and see what Strihavka is like after a few months more in English football before we he know his worth. Have to be fair and  give the lad a chance.

Because if a manager a puts player in a team whether he is good enough or not you respect him if he works hard. And Chris Brown does work hard. If you''re a football person you''d respect that and be pleased for the lad when something goes right for him. As for Chris Martin having an "abundance of skill and talent" I think that''s way off the mark. He''s a decent young player who has a bit of ability, he''s not an outstanding prospect by any means.

[quote user="Graham Humphrey"]Brellier''s been shocking every time he''s played this season (and apparently he was bad in the reserves too). It wouldn''t bother me if he never played for us again.[/quote] Acually he played well against Cardiff at home but then Peter Grant took him after about an hour despite the fact he was turning in a good performance.

I''m pleased for Chris Brown, he''s always worked hard for Norwich and he''s got the goal that his hard work has deserved. He''s heavily criticised by many but at least he always puts a shift in, unlike some players have this season.

Feel sorry for Croft really. Started his Norwich career well but then struggled for form (and lets face it as a team Norwich hardly excelled last season). Then he worked really hard in pre-season and looked extremely sharp only for a poor manager to give him limited opportunities and now a poor caretaker manager is doing the same thing. Can''t do much for his confidence when neither manager wants to play him even though it''s clear we look more dangerous when he''s in the side and he''s worked hard to put himself in contention.

[quote user="Cobain18"]And why is Croft not starting?[/quote] I personally suspect both Grant and Duffy are too scared to start both him and Huckerby on the flanks at the same time.

[quote user="jas the barclay king"] id like to make the point that Rossi Jarvis is a center back and was being played in Midfield today.... but dont let that stop any of u slagging him off! 6 months ago u all wanted him in the team! jas :) [/quote] I dread to think what would happen if Rossi Jarvis played centreback for us in this league, he/we would get murdered. He can''t run, he''s not particularly strong and he doesn''t actually read the game that well (too slow to react). Like his brother he was probably good at his age group when he was a young lad but just never going to make the grade to play senior football at this level. I''ve never wanted him in the team, having watched the lad in reserve games down the years I''ve always been of the opinion that he''s far too limited to be a success at this standard of football. So far he''s proving me right.  

So pleased we''ve got rid of Safri and Dickson though.

Yup, he''s not good enough. Not going to make it at this level as long as he''s got a hole up his backside.

Personally I don''t buy into the stuff about the England players not being as good as people think. Individual player quality we''re as good as anyone out there and I am fully aware of what other teams have got. Englands problem is finding a system that works and using the right players in it. There''s more to it than just branding the players a load of overpaid and overrated wannabes.