Binky

....is a defender that can stamp his authority on the game. Might be partly due to our captain being up front of course. Good though Barnett was yesterday, he was not a man giving orders and whilst Ward might have that potential, he''s too inconsistent IMO. Anyone notice the immense contribution Martin Taylor is making at Watford? Set up one goal and set another in motion - and with Leroy Lita in the opposition line-up too.  Whilst fans are understandably jittery when Holt & Martin miss chances, defeats at Doncaster and against Hull were not just the fault of our forwards.

I would give each of the team a 7. Didn''t think anyone had a ''mare and were pretty effective for most of the match except in the penalty area. Hoolahan was running up blind alleys for the first 20 minutes but got better with some good runs in the second half. Holt overplayed his physical game to the point he was concentrating on knocking the opponent off the ball rather than watching and winning the ball. Lappin put in some excellent corners and crosses and is not afraid to tackle - but still doesn''t try to beat his man and is shot shy. Ward looked classy one minute and flaky the next. Would have liked to see Crofts more in the game but what he did I thought was perfect. I honestly thought that for once there would be no substitution (barring a goal being conceded or an injury) because I couldn''t see how what was on the bench would improve anything on the field.Thought Hull posed no real danger but always looked more comfortable on the ball and stroked it around with more confidence right from the kick off. Around the 68th minute, the ball was passed across the field with some 15 Hull passes followed a Ruddy goal kick! That said, 0-2 flattered them and a draw would have been the right result.

Lappin? There''s a reason why he ended up playing in more games than anyone last season. I''d pick him every time ahead of McNamee - two quite different players. I like McNamee and the two own goals he''s forced recently shows his usefulness - but he cannot defend as Lappin can and he''s lightweight in comparison. Lappin doesn''t have McNamee''s speed but starting McNamee while defences are still fresh is always a risk in my opinion. Lappin''s corner kicks are every bit as good as McNamee''s and his physical commitment should not be overlooked IMO - after all, we need to prevent the opposition scoring as much as scoring ourselves.It will be a sad day when he finally accepts that "his future lies elsewhere" (as Mr Roeder assured us all).

[quote user="Darren Lamb"]Crofts'' goal against Watford was assisted by Jackson, the little back heel.[/quote]Ah yes of course. Thanks for the reminder. Very neat it was too. (Though that still begs why Lappin and McNamee are not in the list currently)

After the Scunthorpe match, Lappin was credited on the official site with an assist for his cross which set up the late winning goal - now it seems to have been  deleted. I know there was confusion at the time between him and his lookalike Surnam, but I thought there was no doubt t was Lappin who made the cross. Jackson is also credited with a league assist - is that the case or is it another case of player name confusion (Simeon/Simon)?5 League goals so far - only 4 scorers credited because of the OG v Swansea - but shouldn''t McNamee have an assist credited for that?

[quote user="lordyfan"]the nest must have been on heck of a place![/quote]By all accounts. Long before my time but was told that there was almost a sheer drop of chalk cliff face to the pitch at one end, as your photo suggests. Wouldn''t be allowed now of course. Hundreds of fans pass it when approaching from the north and north west of the county. You get a brief glimpse on your left half way up Rosary Rd - don''t think it''s as easy to see when going back after the match.

[quote user="Crofts Number 1 Fan"]In the Pinkun''s interview with Surman it says that it was Lappin who made the record books but didn''t specify what. Does anyone know? [/quote]Lappin will be credited with the "assist" - so far there are half a dozen players all with 1 assist each. Early days of course but it does suggest goals may come about through a variety of players. Lappin might have had another v. Gillingham - Johnson nearly scored  from his long ball near the end - but Martin (rightly) nicked in and took it off Johnson''s feet. (According to the official site no-one seems to have been credited with an assist for that goal).Last year Lappin, who could not score a goal, was nevertheless joint second with Grant Holt as provider at the end of the season with 11 assists each. Hoolahan was top with 16.

[quote user="IOW Canary"]I know we have a lot of fengibbon fans but this is ridiculous. OK, so he did one good cross? So what. Lappin is a League 1/League 2 player at best and was extremely poor last time in the championship. He is the definite weak link in the squad and needs to be got rid of.[/quote]Agree your first sentences. Your last two however, are, IMO, utter baloney.

[quote user="Stephen Fry Gives Peas a Chance "]so play Surman too...if he offers much more going forward then drop Hoolahan and play Surman in his position and bring Lappin in. Lappin created the winning goal todya and deserves to be rewarded for it[/quote]Lappin''s contribution to the team is very under-rated IMO - he''s a very useful and tidy player who helps Drury play better too. I''m a big fan but so far Surman has impressed too and I think will become the better player in time. As for dropping Hoolahan - er...no! NO!!

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"][quote user="Old Shuck"]He reminds me a bit of Teddy Sheringham. Not the fastest, but deceptively strong, good touch, good intelligence-always looking for the pass, or to make the final pass, and gets into good positions when we are attacking-and always available. He gets stick because he doesn''t throw himself around the pitch @ 100mph a''la Robbie Savage, but he''s a ball of never ending energy compared to someone like Ted MacDougall, who wouldn''t have run for anything. Good finisher as well. If he develops this season as much as he did last, he''ll be wanted man next Summer, but I don''t think he''ll go anywhere this season. And Roeder wanted him gone![/quote] Roeder never wanted rid of him completely, but said he needed to grow up and apply himself more. If you remember the cup game against Bury where Roeder gave him a chance, Martin was awful and looked like he felt he had already made it (thanks in part to all the smoke Grant was blowing up his behind about being the best young player he had ever seen or something like that). Roeder sending him to Luton on loan made Martin the player he is today and is probably the best thing he did for the club.... that and clearing out all of Grant''s flops. [/quote]If that was the best - what was the worst - apart from taking the job in the first place? Martin had already turned in several excellent performances with some good goals under Grant. But like Bellamy years ago, Martin needed managing. That is what managers are paid to do. Getting rid of a potentially match winning but precocious striker - even for a season - when we were desperately in need of strikers, was the easy way. Sorting him out should have been Roeder''s task, not some other manager''s problem.

Am sure he''s do wonders for our team "all in it together" spirit. Then again I was sure I''d win the lottery last week. ;)

[quote user="I am a Banana"]I suppose it would be the #1 shirt. We seem to always have a good keeper , marshall, green, marshall, forster, ruddy, rudd, steer. [/quote]+ Kevin Keelan, Chris Woods, Bryan Gunn....

                         Rudd     Martin    Askou    Nelson     Drury                           Fox    Hughes                                  Lappin                         Hoolahan                Holt              JohnsonPerfect time to let some of the second string have their chance. Think Chris Martin and Jackson will be rested - Hoolhan and Holt need some playtime together. Johnson always looks sharp to me and I think he''ll be given a run out. Fox is doing OK but will benefit from more match practice with Hoolahan and if the the diamond is to be retained (initially at least), then Fox''s role is arguably the most vital to get right..  Assuming the defence is going to be under scrutiny then I fancy Lappin may also be recalled - he gives further options, especially if he needs to drop back to the LB position. I''m sure McNamee will feature too at some stage.

Yellow Rider: "Pity about the basic defending though as Ward can play the ball out from the back (which is what we need) and has some style about him.^Agree your basic post YR but not so sure about the above comment. Early days but Friday was no different from his performance in the Lincoln friendly. He hoofs the ball forward or passes straight back to the sender to often. He seems slow to move. He may be lacking fitness but so far he has not impressed in any department.

[quote user="Yellow Wall"]A central defender who has played in the Premiership stands off a player about to shoot at goal from twelve yards out with covering defenders around him and then turns his back when the forward shoots allowing the deflection to be put past the keeper. Yes its always the keeper''s fault![/quote]Spot on YW. Twice Ward turned his back as he charged the forward down - all he achieved was to leave Ruddy unsighted - and I think give a deflection in the case of the first goal. That said, Ruddy has done nothing to reassure me - in fact I''d say his performance Friday was actually worse than Theo''s a year ago. In both cases the goalkeeper had to contend with a rubbish defence (remember Nelson in the Colchester game?) and a team featuring a load of new players. The priority is to sort the defence and only then can we judge Ruddy properly. But I suspect he - and others like Ward - may be dropped for the League Cup game on Tuesday, if only to enable a better assessment of the other contenders. Askou anyone?

Matt Gill didn''t disgrace himself when he captained the "B" team in the first half at Lincoln - ran his heart out, tackled - and tried to pass the ball forward. I thought he had more possession than any other city player. Similarly Hughes can have a good claim for a bench position and probably a few starts too. I''d like to see McNamee do well (because I like to watch genuine wide players who can cross the ball) but it remains to be seen if he can do the business in this league. I see him as a sub to add some pace against tiring defences. Johnson has come a long way in a short time and despite the competition, I think he will get games and goals for us this season. I think all this means we have a very good squad this season with the possible exception of central defence - the likes of Fotheringham and Croft would not even make Lambert''s bench now IMO.

Champions...(Norwich) said: He didn''t look that good against Lincoln. Obviously he isn''t match fit yet, but with Watford being a week away, there is only so long you can keep saying that. I think he is a good player, and of course I hope it works out for him at Norwich. However, on Wednesday Askou looked much better! How did Ward fair in the other friendlies? A lot of people are saying a Ward & Whitbread partership, that may end up being the case, but atm neither have proven worthy of there places yet ahead of Nels and Askou. I am really hope I am wrong, and I will be there to see how he does against Everton tomorrow!Was at Lincoln and was not at all impressed by Ward - I put it down to lack of match fitness. Wasn''t at Carrow Rd today - apart from his mistake for the first goal, how did you rate him overall, assuming you were there?

[quote user="writeronthestorm"] One thing I do have to mention is OTJ.  He played at centre back last night: he was caught the wrong side of the attacker and mis-judged the flight of the ball several times.  Only a couple of last ditch tackles/headers seemed to be any good. I can understand that, after all, the guy is a centre midfielder.  Unfortunately though, when he had the ball at his feet his passing was dreadful.  He, like a few of the players in the first half, was guilty of looking for the killer ball over the top, so no major reason to single him out for that.  But what he was doing was firing passes out wide with such ferocity that more often than not the wide player, hugging the touchline didn''t have a hope in hell of controlling it. Passing is something that I would have expected a midfielder to do well, so that was really disappointing. Other than that, the fringe players that played the majority of the game seemed to me to show Lambert more reasons as to why they are fringe players than why the should be in the 1st team, but that could be down to the formation and the high work rate of Lincoln. Francomb and Dawkins were the standout performers and it was good to see those pesky rumours put to bed by seeing Askou playing.  [/quote] Sorry – not going to let you get away with that. Compared with Elliot Ward – who may be struggling with fitness – I thought O Tudor-J looked world class! OT-J may not be a first team regular this season but I would have no worries about him being on the bench for us. As you suggest, he''s not a natural centre back perhaps but unlike Ward, I thought OTJ passed the ball well and usually kept it on the ground. He certainly seemed hungry for the ball – Ward on the other hand either passed it straight back to the sender or hoofed it up to the Lincoln back four.  The big man Ward looked by far the weakest member of the side last night although Jackson has got to see a lot more of the ball before he convinces me he will play a really big role. (Oli Johnson looked far sharper). I also thought Gill did well with the second streamers – yes he gave the ball away cheaply a couple of times but then he saw far more of the ball than any other player IMO – always running and working hard and prepared to tackle, and always tried to pass the ball forward. The stylish Dawkin and Francomb looked capable too. The look of the side changed completely when the new signings came on late in the second half – Fox, Surman and Crofts looked excellent – on this evidence we will not miss Russell  (or even my favourite player of recent years – Sammy Clingan). But Hoolahan was the star man for me – his fitness this season will surely be just as crucial as Holt’s. Similarly Chris Martin looked good though none of our forwards looked as if they had played together much before – Johnson did a nice turn in the box to get a shot in but generally we looked incapable of creating a chance never mind scoring.

[quote user="Herb"][quote user="TIL 1010"]I am out of this,Jesus we are days away from the new season with seven new players and a huge dose of optimism and Nutty is on his high horse defending the indefensible on a subject that has been flogged to death on 100 threads since Bryan Gunn was sacked.Instead of giving lectures on the past Nutty how about some pearls wisdom and give us your views on what is going to happen next season but as i said i am out of here.[;)][/quote]Well why did you get in here in the first place?It''s obvious a thread such as this will contain one opinion or the contrary. Not good for your blood pressure old boy.Nutty sums it up pretty well in my opinion. If nothing else, Gunny assembled a squad that actually wanted to play for City. That''s more than can be said for Roeder despite him spending a damn sight more.[/quote]

[quote user="Northerncanary"]Lambert should think twice before getting shot of GILL and OTJ - this league is hard enough and squad players can play a big part.[/quote]Agreed. Neither had a decent run of games but Gill looked up to the job when he was asked to come in.

[quote user="Dan Druff"]Not much wrong with Nelson and Askou, in my humble opinion. I will be surprised and disappointed if they are not involved too much this year.[/quote]Prediction for you DD: Askou will stay and be a first team regular (injuries permitting). Nelson will warm the bench as many times as he starts.

Both surprised and disappointed by this decision - whilst we cannot know all the reasons, it is hardly the case that we have too much cover at RB is it? And as others have said, he looked OK in the centre too. Thought he was looking an effective tidy tackler before his injury and he scored a decent goal too. Lambert obviously has a tight budget and cannot carry too many spare parts, but this is one player I would like to see more of - I think he will still progress his career and I hope we got a sell-on clause. On this basis, there must be a number of midfielders who will also be shown the door.

I won''t be bidding - even if I had the money. But if you have the car NO 1 OTBC is available for a mere £799 from DVLC. Have seen one similar on a 4x4 recently.

[quote user="chicken"]Without trying to make a massive swooping generalisation, Green is a different breed of footballer. He is pretty intelligent and also appears to be quite philosophical. I think what he is relating to is that the turn over of the top clubs is quite high and that a lot of players don''t tend to bond greatly as they know they wont be around for very long. Look at West Ham, Greeno must be one of the longest surving players there now and yet they are not bothered about keeping him. I think Greeno liked it here because he had good honest down to earth players who he could relate to, Fleming, Iwan, Malky, Drury etc. And he was managed by Worthy for most of his time here and he is another pretty down to earth person. You look at the premiership, you have complete idiots like Ashly Cole who has more money than sense, players who get paid mega bucks to sit on the bench or that are happy to languish in the reserves on good money. You could almost say Greeno is perhaps one of a dying breed. [/quote]And Chicken, didn''t he set up his own charity some years back to collect old football shirts and unwanted replica strips to take out to Africa so kids could play "real" games? Most modern footballers are too preoccupied to even think about organising something like that.

[quote user="First Wizard"]And pensions, jobs, savings etc all get cut, how long could you afford to support City? Season tickets and the club could all be hit hard.............. well? [/quote]As someone already on a pension, it would need a bit of thought but  in no particular order:1. sell off all my gold reserves2. raid your pension3. start a war somewhere and then write my memoirs4. go backpacking around the world and earn a living giving lectures on world peace