Petriix

LMFAO

In response to a lot of the nonsense posts on here recently:If we want to sign a proven goal scorer at Championship level who is not too old then we would have to pay a lot of money - say £5m +. Clubs just don''t sell players like that without a massive incentive.There is no such thing as a striker that is guaranteed to score goals at this level. Just look at Torres going to Chelsea for £50m; world class striker yes, but not guaranteed to score.No one knows whether any given player will be able to step up a level until they are give a chance at that level. Dean Ashton is a great example - did really well for us and went from being a £3m gamble to an £8m proven goal scorer. Grant Holt has also stepped up a level with us and proven himself in the Championship. Cody M(a?)cDonald stepped up from non-league and is proving himself in league 2. No one knows whether he will be able to step up to Championship (or even Premiership) level next season.  Will people please stop pretending to know with such certainty one way or the other.Transfer prices are going to be inflated at the moment given the time of year. £3m is about right for a striker with a reasonable scoring record and it would be a gamble. If he scores a few and we go up then it looks like shrewd business. If he flops then it would have backfired but at least we would have given it a shot.Realistically who else could we possibly get for that kind of money with a better scoring record or with more potential at this stage of the season?

nice one [Y]

I hope we keep the same formation against Preston. 4-5-1 can be seen as a bit negative but the way we played it on Saturday was very attacking yet seemed to also look ok defensively.

[quote user="Lewie - Holt Our Saviour"]It''s 4-2-3-1 we are playing today.[/quote]Guys, 4-2-3-1 is a variation of 4-5-1 with four defenders, five in the midfield and one up front. The other common variation of 4-5-1 is 4-1-4-1 but that is still 4-5-1. Crofts and fox also had a bit more freedom when we were in possession.... Either way, the formation worked very well. I really think it is the best way to play our best players at the same time. We look more solid defensively and seem to have more options going forward. I hope we persevere with it.

It looks like we''ll finally be giving it a try. I''ve been wanting to see this for a while - we''ve got a fantastic midfield and we''re lacking in strikers so it makes perfect sense.

Away form is crucial to success in the league an I too am impressed with how we''ve performed away from home so far. I think we have set out to be organised and solid defensively at home as well as away. It seems as though we are happy to let the opposition have lots of possession in front of us but then attack quickly on the break. With our system, it is easy to turn more attacking if we go behind.  I know what you mean about the pressure from the home fans to be more attacking and it might well be this that has led to us conceeding so many more goals at home. I find it infuriating when the fans moan about sideways or backwards passes when retaining possession is such an important part of the game at this level and the players seem to respond by trying to do too much and giving the ball away cheaply quite often. I''m not gona complain if we win 4-3 every time though!

There were 34 games in the football league yesterday. If the Football League Show was only highlights (with no talking, introductions, analysis or stupid emails etc.) then there would be time to show 2 mins 20 secs of highlights of each game. It''s never gona be like watching your team in the featured game on Match of the Day with replays of incidents from different angles and in-depth analysis of defensive frailties. I think they do an alright job of giving a quick overview of a lot of games with some brief discussion of the key talking points. They could improve the format a bit or maybe have a program just for the Championship games - after all it is the sixth most supported league in europe. However, as it stands there''s no point complaining that they only gave us 1 minute again because there simply isn''t time for more.Rant over.

[quote user="Methane"]...who was the clown and can he stay at his own circus in future please?[/quote][:)]

[quote user="thirdlion v2"][quote user="Frank"]Hoolahan:-... fails to track back when he should...[/quote]Completely disagree. This is a part of his game that is often ignored but has been particularly evident this season in the championship. It was clear at points today, and was highlighted repeatedly on RN during the Scunthorpe and Forest games (I don''t travel away often). He tracks back plenty, he gets himself about plenty...[/quote]You''re probably right, I guess the times when Drury gets exposed at left back it''s actually Lappin (today) who should be tracking back. There was just one particular occasion today where Hoolahan seemed to stop tracking back and let his man go in a dangerous position when I thought he should have given chase at least.

[quote user="Largey"]I have to agree with pretty much all of what you have just said there :)[/quote]Thanks. I wondered if I was being too critical - especially after a win.

Hoolahan:-He is very attacking minded and tries to create something every time he gets the ball. Unfortunately this means that he gives away possession cheaply all the time and often fails to track back when he should. He always has the potential to produce a piece of magic with an incisive pass or surging run, but too often his runs go nowhere. It seems that the diamond system is built to accommodate him but when he''s having an off day then the team lack something in terms of shape when going forwards.Does he have enough pace and physical presence to be effective at Championship level?Chris Martin:-He is working a lot harder off the ball this season and was generally very lively today with some fantastic hold-up play. He is a fantastic finisher and proved it with a well taken goal. He doesn''t seem to have much of an understanding with Holt at the moment and the two are not linking up very well - every time Martin wins a header Holt runs the wrong way and vice versa - the partnership was so good last year, what has happened? His free kicks were awful today but it is hard to clear the wall when they have crept forward 3 yards!Grant Holt:-He is looking very much off the pace of the Championship and is severely lacking match fitness. He will put in a burst of energy every now and then but needs 10 minutes to recover each time. He brings a lot to the team and his physical presence causes problems for defenders but he commits too many fouls (silly trip on the keeper?). He needs a bit more support from the midfield getting forwards so that he can do what he does best - goal hang and score - otherwise he looks isolated up front at times. When he drops deep to look for the ball, no one else seems to wan to get into the box in his place.Andrew Crofts:-He is quietly essential to the team''s defensive structure and shape when the team is not in possession. He didn''t seem to do a lot today but he broke up play very well and protected the back four all afternoon.Korey Smith:-He is developing into a fantastic midfielder with bags of pace and skill. He could get into the box a bit more and would score a lot more goals but his work rate is excellent. He tracks back well and links up with Russel Martin down the right. Deserved MOTM today.

[quote user="Talk Show Host"]What really grinded (Is that a word?) my gears today was that 20 minute spell in the second half when Mr Holt didn''t even break into a run. He just stood there looking slightly more overweight than he normally does.[/quote]ground?Grant Holt can see the future. He didn''t run because he knew we would win anyway.

[quote user="Frank"][quote user="Adam NCFC"]What has been the worst part of this season for you? - Some awful grounds?- Poor football?- Defensive teams?- Officials? For me it''s been the officials, it seems handballs don''t exist when we play...I''m glad we''re out of it [:D][/quote] I think the officials have been much better this season than last (with one or two exceptions). I have actually enjoyed this season a lot. The only bad thing about the league is that the TV revenue is so small that it would not be possible for a club with such high player wages to survive in it for long.[/quote]Why the <blockquote> mess?

[quote user="Adam NCFC"]What has been the worst part of this season for you? - Some awful grounds?- Poor football?- Defensive teams?- Officials? For me it''s been the officials, it seems handballs don''t exist when we play...I''m glad we''re out of it [:D][/quote] I think the officials have been much better this season than last (with one or two exceptions). I have actually enjoyed this season a lot. The only bad thing about the league is that the TV revenue is so small that it would not be possible for a club with such high player wages to survive in it for long.

I come out with a stram of utter rubbish throughout every home game.

Its the name of my father, and his father before me.

I have seen the future. Don''t panic, Lambert will not leave us for Celtic.

We have been so rubbish at keeping clean sheets recently but I really get the feeling that this is about to change. 2 - 0 Norwich.

ignore me....I can''t imagine them checking tbh.

Did I break it?

I agree.

It sucks the way the form to post stuff on this forum adds html in the background...

The way I see it is that teams will typically achieve somewhere between their current form and their season form. Obviously, sometimes teams will go on a good run or a bad run, but form is a good way to get a picture of how things will pan out. The below is taken from http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/D2/runin.html: Current Position Team Current Points Matches to Play Maximum Possible Points Highest Possible Finish Lowest Possible Finish Projected Points Season Form Recent Form 1 Norwich City 78 10 108 1 11 99 100 2 Leeds United 71 10 101 1 18 90 83 3 Charlton Athletic 66 10 96 1 22 84 79 4 Millwall 65 10 95 1 22 83 88 5 Colchester United 63 11 96 1 22 82.8 81.7 6 Swindon Town 63 11 96 1 22 82.8 81.7 7 Huddersfield Town 58 10 88 1 23 74 71 This suggests to me that 90 points would be more than enough for promotion and should be enough to win the league. Even more interesting is that Leeds might struggle to keep 2nd place ahead of Millwall. Now I know that a lot can change but Millwall are on a superb run of form and Leeds are struggling at the moment.

We have somehow been pulling it out of the bag against the lesser teams in the division with some strong second half performances. We may have even done the same against Sothampton had it not been for the red card. However, we do seem to leave gaps at the back and give the ball away too cheaply at times so my feeling is that Huddersfield - who have been scoring for fun at home this season - will have plenty of opportunities. That said, Forster has done a fantastic job of saving our blushes (with the notable exception of the Leeds game) and I just get the feeling that things are falling into place for us. Furthermore, Huddersfield have only won 1 out of their last 5 at home. It has high score draw written all over it but I fear we may have one of those bad away days. My prediction: 3 - 3 but I hope we win comfortably.