Patches OHoolahan
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Posts posted by Patches OHoolahan
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Obviously there is still a great deal to happen between now and the start of the new season, and we don''t know exactly what personnel we will have by the time the first game comes around, but what formation do people imagine we will play? Neil has favoured the diamond in the past, and we''ve done well with it under Lambert, but I''m not sure it would be the best use of our current personnel. We have built more towards playing with wingers in recent years so, assuming Neil intends to play two strikers, would a flat 4-4-2 with out-and-out wingers be more suited to our squad? -
http://www.joe.ie/football/football-news/vine-anthony-pilkington-channels-messi-and-ronaldo-with-this-stunning-piece-of-skill/Think the above is the piece of skill you were on about, unbelievable tekkers from Pilks- great to see he still has that in his locker! -
Sussex I think you''ve hit on an important point. RvW doesn''t offer the same variety as a Holt does, and is unlikely to create his own chances like say Suarez. But I would say that regardless of whether we retain Ricky, we should alter our set-up,to play in a manner similar to that described, as even Holt in his prime would have struggled to score with the service our midfield provided this season. Perhaps over optimistically I don''t believe we have seen the true RvW as far as his finishing ability is concerned. We all know how fragile a striker''s confidence can be, so I am hopeful that if he can score one or two, we will see the best of him as a striker. Of course the real issue is will he be here to show us what he can do? -
Thanks for all the comments chaps/chappettes. To those who argue that RvW does not have the necessary physique to succeed in the Champs, I would point to Hooper, Billy Sharp, Le Fondre and Ross McCormack as examples of strikers who have a similar build to Ricky, and have scored goals in the Championship. He does not have lightening pace, but if we have the right supply from midfield, that won''t be necessary. I think his lack of success early on dented his confidence, and contributed to his profligacy in front of goal, when he did have the odd chance. He may not have lots of skill in the sense of a Ronaldo (i.e. to go past a player), but I think he does have the ability to make space for himself to shoot in and around the box, if he receives the ball in the right areas. -
This is my first attempt at a blog style post, so be gentle...Ricky van Wolfswinkel arrived at Carrow Road with much fanfare; our record signing, a great name and Youtube clips from his spell in Portugal demonstrating a ruthless streak in front of goal that Norwich were seriously lacking throughout the 2012/13 season. All began well with RvW opening his account in a friendly against Real Sociedad, and netting an equaliser on the opening day against Everton, to rapturous applause from an expectant Carrow Road crowd. Yet here we stand at the end of a dismal campaign for the club, relegated to the Championship with our much-vaunted star-striker having scored only once all season. So where do we go from here?Many fans believe we should cut our losses, and sell Ricky on for maybe half what we paid. Others take a more pragmatic approach, advocating a season long loan move to the continent, which would help to restore Ricky''s reputation and hopefully his value as an asset. The third way, of keeping RvW and hoping that he rediscovers his goalscoring prowess in the Championship, is derided by those who see him as too weak to cope with big strong Championship defenders. Moreover it seems that many view Ricky, and his paltry goal-haul, as the embodiment of a disastrous Premier League campaign that once promised so much. However if we as fans, and Ricky as a player can overcome these psychological barriers, I believe that we will have the best striker in the Championship on our hands.For RvW''s supporters the oft-repeated explanation for his failure to find form in the Premier League was the set-up adopted by Chris Hughton, and I am afraid I will repeat this explanation once more. There seems to be near unanimous consensus that Hughton''s negative approach did not play to the strengths of the club''s strikers, Ricky chief among them. Ponderous build-up play combined with an unwillingness to play the ball quickly into the channels resulted in much of our offensive threat being stifled as our opponents retreated with ease, while Snodgrass or Redmond ploughed a lone furrow on either wing. This often resulted in a hopeful ball into the box, where RvW was pitted against much larger defenders, without the benefit of a winger having gotten in behind the defence to disrupt their marking systems. Similarly Ricky was the target of long balls from our defence, where he was tasked with holding up the ball, to allow our hesitant midfielders the time to join in the attack. One need only look at RvW to understand that this is not a strength of his game, and if we wanted someone to perform that role, we would have been better served spending our money elsewhere.Another criticism that has been levelled at RvW is that he is lazy at the unglamorous aspects of the game. I remember Leon McKenzie receiving fulsome applause for chasing down opposition defenders, while he was at the club, but what does this actually achieve? The standard of the Premier League nowadays means that one man pressing the opposition is unlikely to achieve a great deal except loss of energy. If RvW had been told to press the opposition, it should have been as part of a concerted strategy, in tandem with the other attacking players. For example, Liverpool press hard as a team for a set amount of time, when certain situational triggers occur, such as the miscontrol of the ball by a defender. Without a coherent strategy in place of the sort that Liverpool adopt, then there was little to no point in RvW wasting energy chasing every lost cause, as it could have meant the difference between him getting on the end of counter-attack late in the game. To my mind, I felt that Ricky pressed more intelligently, selecting moments when he felt he could disrupt the opposition''s pattern of play, rather than running around like a headless chicken. So what does RvW offer us as a player? At his best he is a clinical finisher, both with his head and his feet, but we need to play to his strengths for him to show this. So instead of lumping balls into the box and asking him to compete against John Terry, or other large defenders, we should look for our wingers to get in behind the defence and cut the ball back for Ricky. Moreover a swift counter-attacking game, with through-balls played into the channels would suit his qualities as a player. RvW is exceptionally good at moving the ball between his feet in order to find a shooting position, but how many times can we honestly say that he was given a quality through-ball on the counter this season? Ultimately I believe that RvW could still be a great success with us, but it is highly dependant on the approach that Neil Adams adopts as manager. If Adams puts greater emphasis on transitional play, short but intense bursts of pressing, and swift counter-attacks then we will reap the benefits of our investment. However if we maintain the slow pace of build-up play, and the use of hopeful balls into the box that has characterised the last two seasons, it is unlikely that RvW will do well at Carrow Road. Paradoxically, Gary Hooper shares many of Ricky''s qualities as a player, and would also profit from a fundamental reorientation of our approach as a football club. So put simply, if we want to succeed and score goals with the players we have here, then we must adapt, or Championship mediocrity beckons. -
Aside from facetious answers people are thinking wrong end of the scale here. Even if we sell the players the OP mentions, and have a wodge of cash to spend, who are we realistically going to attract? Our best bet might be to look at someone already in the Championship, or from upper end of League One- I believe Dean Cox of Leyton Orient was mentioned the other day. Regardless, it is an area we have been lacking in, over the past two seasons, and obviously the OP does not feel that any internal candidates fulfil that role well enough. For what its worth, as I said on another thread, I think Bennett could be useful in that position but whether he is played there, we will have to wait and see. -
I can see the points being made re Benno''s style of play and his possible conversion to right back, but I think that undersells some of the qualities he has but has not been able to demonstrate. Yes two of his main attributes are his pace, and shot, but he does also have an eye for a pass. Maybe not to the same degree as Wes, but I still think he would be a useful fulcrum for our attacks. Snoddy might work, but I am fairly sure that he will be departing this summer. -
All good shouts (Norwich aside). I think we can take it as a warning that all the teams mentioned so far have been relegated relatively recently from the Prem, and we now consider them to be average Championship sides on paper. It brings it home how important this season is, so we don''t stagnate. -
Every year in the Championship it seems at least one average club performs better than it appears their squad would merit. Look at Burnley this year, Palace last year, us when we went up, so which team will launch a surprise promotion challenge next year? My bet is on Middlesboro''. Solid squad, including a few ex-NCFC players, and I think Karanka will turn out to be a good manager. -
Assuming Wessi leaves could Elliott Bennett be our new number 10? Played there for Brighton, and showed creativity and long-range shooting ability when given that role. We only saw him play there once for Norwich to my recollection- in the second half against Swansea away, when Lambert was in charge in the first Prem season- and he tore their defence apart. -
Anything less than the playoffs is unacceptable, really we should be promoted. I know how tough the Champ is as a league, but that is not an excuse for failing to take advantage of our current and potentially fleeting financial superiority. My perspective hasn''t changed since Adams was appointed- success or failure should not be judged differently just because the manager is learning. -
Agreed, although I think either would be strong next season. The benefit of QPR losing would be the huge fine and possible transfer embargo they would have imposed by the Football League- would be really disruptive for their preparations next season. -
That is my big fear Barclay. For all the hard work, effort and heart in the world, Adams does not have that pre-existing reputation as a manager like Malky or Zola for players to really know what he''s about. Moreover the fact he''s been with Norwich for so long has probably served to diminish his contacts within the game, making it difficult for him to attract a top drawer backroom team with experience to mitigate his own inexperience. Thinking particularly in terms of current players, some potentially key men were frozen out under Adams (Bassong, Pilks, Wessi and to a lesser extent RvW). If they want to leave then let them, if we get the right price, but players like that when on form and properly motivated can be more than the difference in the Championship. -
Do you think McNally would dictate to Adams in that way on footballing decisions? Would be interesting to know. Nothing against Mr Foley but I for one am quite happy he''s not coming back on board, feels like he''s been away from the top level for too long. -
Much the same as I thought Bor. Hopefully Adams can realise that vision in a successful and entertaining way. -
Its a good point that Yellow Wall makes- which of our playing assets have actually increased in value during Hughton''s tenure? I would argue Snodgrass, Olsson, Redmond and possibly Fer to some degree. I don''t wish to be uncharitable to Hughton, as I think he had his merits as a coach (cue outrage), but I don''t believe he was responsible for much of the value creation in relation to these players. It was more a case of them proving they could cope with Premier League football, which, in spite of our relegation, the above players did clearly demonstrate. -
Not usually one to bump my own posts, but thought this was a topic worthy of discussion (you may disagree), as so much emphasis has been placed on the "Norwich way" concept. -
I''m not sure how much it strengthens McNally''s position. I suppose it may add a veneer of democracy to some of his decisions if he has discussed it with the football board. Really I think my objection is that it doesn''t really change much of anything. -
It appears that this four man football board, composed of McNally, Adams, Ewan Chester (assuming he''s still chief scout) and the as yet unnamed technical director hasn''t really changed too much. McNally promised a review of the football management structure, but it seems like the technical director is just alleviating a relatively minor burden from the management team.I thought the idea of a director of football had some merit, a sort of hybrid head of recruitment and board member to act as that go-between and ensure real long-term consistency with input on recruitment decisions regarding managers and coaches from first-team to academy level. This would have given consistency to the club in terms of the transition between managers. I''m not sure their conception of the technical director really changes much in the grand scheme of things. All the so-called board members have discrete areas of responsibility so the extent to which they are held to account by one another will be limited except where performance is clearly deficient (i.e. first team manager; recruitment). I believe a more fundamental rethink would have been beneficial to the long-term future of this football club. -
http://instagram.com/p/oTpLkBJCzz/Not sure if that links to the picture and comments but in summary Tettey is asked if he is staying, says "yes am staying", and in response to a question on what he thought of Neil Adams'' appointment he said "topp (sic) manager" with a thumbs up. Make of that what you will, as statements on social media are hardly binding, but it is at least more encouraging than his earlier (potentially mistranslated) remarks. Could be an important player for us next season. -
After all this talk about the Norwich way, it seems that Neil''s vision for the club was fundamental to his appointment. So how do people think Adams will attempt to set us up? A lot of buzzwords which don''t mean anything have been used so far such as looking to score more goals, attacking play and other such platitudes. For what its worth I think Neil will place an awful lot of emphasis on quick transitions, looking to keep the ball on the deck but counter-attack quickly. I think Neil will encourage the players to be penetrative with possession rather than looking to retain the ball at all costs, which will likely mean that we lose possession a few times per game, meaning that we need to be resilient to the counter-attack. Defence is my biggest concern with this new approach. Depending on the state of our strike-force and midfield I think we should have enough to score against most teams in the Champs, but we need to get the organisation right at the back. I felt this was a real weakness in the games Neil managed at the end of this season, with players not keeping their shape in defensive situations, often leaving runners unmarked at set-pieces. I hope that the new coaching team address this weakness over the summer, but I am broadly positive about the approach Neil will adopt. Hopefully the introduction of the technical director will ensure the players are adequate in terms of fitness, and Neil will be allowed to get on with footballing matters. -
Is Ricky off? Adams'' non-committal answer on RvW''s future does lead me to think he won''t be here next season- can''t see that a conversation wouldn''t have already taken place. Wouldn''t be surprising given his omission in the final game, but I really do think he will be a success next year if we retain him (cue people complaining about his performances this season). The fundamental issue for RvW''s failings this season has been an inability to give him the right service. Hopefully, and I do mean hopefully, Neil Adams'' Norwich will be set up in a way that suits his game i.e. through balls into the channels, wingers getting in behind the oppo defence and cutting the ball back. -
Yep a good shout. Has the quality to be lower Prem, upper Champs player. -
Couldn''t agree more- a very useful box-to-box midfielder who would add something to our central options.
Jordan Rhodes
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