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rock bus

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Posts posted by rock bus

  1. Posted

    10 hours ago, ged in the onion bag said:

    Would prefer we drop Gibson, Hanley, Giannoulis, McLean, and Pukki and anyone else whose contract is expiring and play Omo, Sorensen, McCallum, Gibbs, Tzolis, a young forward, let them play with freedom, without expectation and we finish mid table.   

    7th would be just fine.

    Whilst I appreciate what you are saying and do agree to some extent. Imagine if Wagner did do this and then we missed out on the play offs by one or two points. People would be going mental on here about how one goal from Pukki could've made the difference.

    (I was going to go on to use other examples with the other players mentioned but struggled to see how any of them would actually make a difference ....which ironically may prove your point!!!).

  2. Posted

    I’m really beginning to wonder if the  club deserves the support it gets (team certainty doesn’t at moment).

    I live away from Norwich but coming back on holiday for Easter so have decided to go to the Rotherham game. Despite todays pathetic performance the only place I can get 2 seats together is south stand near away fans.

    fair credit to the faithful fans. 

  3. Posted

    1 hour ago, Richard Richard said:

    That's the spirit Rock Bus - dismiss and mock an opinion simply because you don't agree with it. The key to a successful thread.

    Care to comment on any of the original content? Is/should women's football being forced on us? Should we have a say in what's reported or highlighted in the media? Is it in fact of a poor standard? Does anyone dare admit, secretly, that it's actually not very good?

    Not really I’ve got better things to do than get in a debate with a sexist dinosaur who is getting all upset because they mistook a headline about women’s football to be about men’s football…how awful.

    But I would add that I coached my daughter’s football team for a number of years and it was great to see how much joy they got out of playing a sport that historically had been closed off to them. I saw the game and skill level improve dramatically in that time. So the more exposure the women’s game gets and the more it annoys people like you the better as far as I’m concerned!

    • Like 5

  5. Posted

    1 hour ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

    Our club captain showing why he's in charge

    I know it's a flippant point but honestly he does seem so uninspiring and such a dour character I dread to imagine what his team talks are like!

    Too late for this season but I really hope Wagner changes Captains before next season. I don't see any natural candidates in the existing squad so I hope this is a new signing (dare I dream even to say maybe that elusive CDM!)

    • Like 1

  6. Posted

    1 minute ago, Google Bot said:

    Emi born in 1996 and played thousands more minutes versus a lad born in 2002 who's played only a handful.

    You need to ask yourself if you're a critic of the club and our players, or a supporter.

    I get you're point but when you've paid £7m+ (think that was the suggested price) then you're surely entitled to expect more than what we've got from Tzolis so far? I will continue to support the player when he plays but difficult not to levy some criticism at both him (lack of effort and commitment) and the club (spending too much).

  8. Posted · Edited by rock bus

    9 minutes ago, urdie_Canary said:

    Totally agree with this. Fed up with seeing players in their comfort zone, just ticking over / just doing enough / going through the motions however you want to put it.


    I mean how ever much has Aarons regressed as a player, pretty much no strength in any area what so ever now, cant skin a player to save his life, terrible positioning, poor crossing and so on. Yes he has been loyal which is great, but come on, the mentality needs to be questioned. Go back 2 or 3 seasons ago surely he should have had the drive to better himself, but no he stays here and stays in his comfort zone, which I'm afraid is all too common with this Norwich squad, far too much deadwood. We are far too nice as  a club.

    Yes Webber is at fault to some extent, but tbh players like Nunez and Sara have been good and will likely be sold on for double the fee which is a  big part of his remit. Of course others have not been so successful but that is football, no clubs get all transfers bang on.

    Another good point which has made me think.

    I know everyone wants to blame Webber but the players who are really annoying me are ones like Hanley, Sorrensen, Idah, Gibson, Dimi, McLean, Pukki and Aarons (as commented above it is incredible how poor he has become!). These are the ones showing no leadership and appearing to just be going through the motions with no real desire.

    None of these are what I would call 'Webber type' players even if he was here when they arrived. The only ones who give me any hope are Sara, Nunez and Gibbs who are the type of 'punts' I think Webber does well. I'd even argue that if one of Tzolis, Sargent or Rashica comes good for us then that's an ok return.

  9. Posted

    1 hour ago, hogesar said:

    I suppose a fair question, whilst not being the sole solution, is did we have more "vocal" leaders during our last promotion season? Skipp was a very quiet player. From what I remember the core of leadership was Gibson, Hanley and Mclean.

    I don't think leadership in itself is a big problem - it only ever get's mentioned when things are going badly. Unless these players have just stopped leading?

    Ironically, when Mclean wasn't playing as well (but still decent) - he was ridiculed by fans for trying to lead and organise (the pointing jibe). 

    Just to add some balance 🙂

     

    That's a very good counter point and I'd tend to agree but would say players like Krul and Zimmerman were in the team and being more vocal. You also have players on the periphery eg Tettey, Rhodes, Hernandez who would be wise heads or enthusiastic people on training pitch and in dressing room. You can then add on players who led by example - Pukki and Buendia were so good it would inspire people. Skipp, Aarons, Godfrey, Cantwell having their best seasons and bringing some youthful enthusiasm to the party.

    It is of course always easier when you are winning but when times are tough is when you need the 'characters' - I guess it is a bit of a chicken or the egg question.

    But in all honesty if you were stepping out in the team on Saturday which team mate would you see as being an inspiration or one you would pull out all the stops to work hard for? I honestly cant name one who would really inspire me to be a better player (Sara if on song?)

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    15 minutes ago, king canary said:

    I was amazed during that period v Stoke where we were totally hemmed in and we were giving chance after chance up that nobody was getting in each others faces, trying to rally. Instead after each chance the defenders just trudged back forward, heads down. They looked broken.

    Totally agree with this.

    I was at the game and said this to my son at the time. They were battering us and the lack of reaction from the players was embarrassing. Gunn made some decent saves in a row but is was noticeable that neither him or any of the other players were giving anyone a rollicking for making stupid mistakes.

    Not sure if it is a lack of passion, commitment, confidence or just a combination but the team really needs a few players who will grab the game by the scruff of the neck but also be prepared to lead on the pitch and make sure all players are contributing. 

    Hanley is not the inspirational leader we need and unfortunately players like Pukki, Aarons and Tzolis just look miserable and fed up.

    We need to be looking at bringing in some new players who can cause a spark in this team - Nunez and Sara are decent players but they wont build the team spirit that we need (partially because they have the added issue of having to learn a new language!)

  12. Posted

    All those saying it wont happen might like to have a look at the position of our opponents last night who recently had made a better go at being a premier league team than us!

    Not saying it will happen but there is a risk as things feel a bit toxic at the moment.

  14. Posted

    Let's be clear that I am not in any way comparing ourselves to Liverpool in terms of size or success (before I get ridiculed) so please stick with me on this point...

    Just read an article on BBC website about the challenge facing Klopp and we are at least in a similar (if worse) position.

    Like them we have had a couple of brilliant years -

    • promotion  twice
    • renowned and admired for the style of football we played (presumably Pep has stopped watching us on TV now...I certainly hope he didn't have to endure last night!)
    • A fantastic and charismatic coach that players and fans seemed to love
    • Success at the time of our local rivals struggling.

    However, now:

    • Both clubs are failing 
    • A squad that is nowhere near the quality needed
    • Performances well below expectations
    • Risk of further failure as rivals seem to improve

    The main point that I took from the BBC was the question of if Klopp has been too loyal to some of his players. The continue reliance on players who are now too old eg Henderson, Milner and youth products that haven't developed or improved as expected (Alexander Arnold).

    This is what I see as being the main issue we need to solve somehow - There is too much of the old guard (damaged goods) in our team - Hanley, McLean, Gibson, Aarons, Dimi, Dowell, Pukki (boy does that last one hurt!). Players like Idah, Hernandez, Omo, Sargent, Sorrenson, Nunez? dont seem up to the standard we are going to need IF we can ever get back to the premier league. That leaves us with very few players capable of achieving what is supposedly our ambition (Sara, Gunn, Gibbs (I hope)).

    Going back to original point - there may be parallels with Liverpool but, having typed this out, I fear we are in a far worse position and most importantly wont be able to buy ourselves out of the mess like they will.

    I sense it will be a long time before we are even thinking about trying to be a premier league team again (unless that significant investment eventually materialises!)

     

  15. Posted

    Totally agree.

    We really did look awful today, not one player impressed.

    I’m now used to the likes of Hanley, Dimi, McLean and Idah not being good enough but sadly we also now need to add Aarons and Pukki to the list. Max in particular is awful and worse just doesn’t see, to really care.

    As stated on another thread huge clear out needed and even if we have spent all our money need to foster on the young players where there is at least a hope they can improve and become decent players.

    Wagner really has a lot of work to do.

  16. Posted

    We really did look awful today, not one player impressed.

    I’m now used to the likes of Hanley, Dimi, McLean and Idah not being good enough but sadly we also now need to add Aarons and Pukki to the list. Max in particular is awful and worse just doesn’t see, to really care.

    As stated on another thread huge clear out needed and even if we have spent all our money need to foster on the young players where there is at least a hope they can improve and become decent players.

    Wagner really has a lot of work to do.

  20. Posted

    1 hour ago, Bovril said:

    Previously Hanley could just play a simple pass to Skipp or Buendia under pressure, and they would take responsbility to beat the press, either through a half-turn or quick pass further up the field. They had the technical ability to do that. We no longer have a true DM or No.10 to pop the ball too and hence Hanley looks for Aarons and Gibson for Gianni instead.

    We have two Number 8's (Mclean and Sara) and a lost Nunez who if plays, needs to play on the wing ahead of Aarons and not centrally where he gets physically outmuscled offensively and defensively. We need a 6 and 10 to play possession football.   

    I think this is the key point and the major issue that Wagner has in playing the style he wants (although it's been our Achilles heel since Tettey left!).

    Having McLean drop into the back 3 has been the temporary fix and that works when we are playing weaker teams as he has time and space to do something with it. However, against the better teams he is either pressed (and then puts us under pressure with poor decision making0 or they leave him space but has no one else in midfield to pass to (because he has dropped back, Sara is marked in the middle and neither Hernandez or Idah/Sargent are good enough at controlling or even protecting the ball) so resorts to long balls (which is what a capable ball playing half could do anyhow and is inevitably either a wonder pass or more often just a 50/50 ball...again what we are trying to avoid!).

    We either need better quality ball playing CBs or we need a better avenue out of the back through  midfield.

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    53 minutes ago, BroadstairsR said:

    I think Wagner underestimated Sunderland and therefore went more attacking with his line-up.

    We all did, actually.

    Once they'd scored we were playing catch-up, which warranted a more attacking approach.

    As it was, they were on it for the game and we had an off day.

    (A lesson we have had to learn a few times this season is that if a team takes the lead at Carrow Road they become much more defensive and can be very hard to break down.)

    I think this is a fair comment. We were at home against a team that had got hammered in their last game. I expect a few on here would've been annoyed if he had started Sorenson in what would've been a more defensive line up.

    IF we were more on it from the start and took the lead (which we actually could've done with Nunez's chance just before their goal) then confidence could've flown and we might have had easily won with that team.

    As it was, we started poorly and Sunderland were far more up for it then we expected. I actually thought that they played well and showed the type of commitment that we need from our players (especially defenders throwing themselves in front of shots which is in stark contrast to the constant backing off all our defenders do).

    Team picking is easy with hindsight!

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    This is great news, what was so pleasing about the result on Saturday is we best Millwall at everything…skill, passion, fouls, gamesmanship. So often we are nice norwich playing pretty but ineffective football. It’s about time we also learnt sometimes you need to put your foot in and take a player out before they get close to your goal.

    Purists might not like it but it’s all part of the game.

    • Like 2

  25. Posted · Edited by rock bus

    Credit to Webber (I know some won’t like that!) in his recent interview he talks about how brexit had closed the European market so they had to look at new sources for bargains.

    Looks like that might be coming nicely to fruition with Sara and Nunez.

    Also worth mentioning that the milwall keeper made two world class saves to stop Sara’s fantastic shot from distance and Pukki’s header.

    • Like 1
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