Phillip J Fry

I don''t think our defensive issues can be blamed solely on GK selection. Injuries have seen the Norwich back four change twice during two games (and changing a back four during a game is never good for defensive consistency) and means that AN has not been able to deploy what appears to be his first choice back four (Pinto-Martin-Klose-Olsson/Brady) for an entire game yet.

[quote user="Phillip J Fry"]If Tettey is on the pitch, Wigan don''t score the goal they did tonight. Dorrans had no idea where Gomez was in that attacking move. Back four was in good position, Howson had moved wider to double-up on the wide-player and Dorrans was just not paying attention to the central zone that he had to cover. That wouldn''t happen with Tettey.[/quote]And I''m not trying to denigrate Dorrans, who I actually like as a player, it''s just an example of how Norwich still don''t have a midfielder with the defensive instincts of Tettey. To be fair, AN seemed to recognise this which is why the club brought in Mulumbu in order to compete/back-up Tettey. The move clearly hasn''t worked out (yet) but the thought behind it was clearly correct.

If Tettey is on the pitch, Wigan don''t score the goal they did tonight. Dorrans had no idea where Gomez was in that attacking move. Back four was in good position, Howson had moved wider to double-up on the wide-player and Dorrans was just not paying attention to the central zone that he had to cover. That wouldn''t happen with Tettey.

Martin''s mobility makes him a better partner for the immobile, but positionally excellent, Klose. Martin''s ability on the ball makes him a better fit for AN''s possession-oriented system.Bennett is overrated.

[quote user="Ray"]Thirsty, They''re all different, however AN is more animated, shows more disappointment and shouts out instruction that shouldn''t be needed, a simple example being, every time we come out of defence he''s screaming at them to get up. To be frank, if they don''t know that and cannot take personal responsibility to do so they shouldn''t be there or something is wrong at Colney.  [/quote]When Chelsea played West Ham earlier in the season, Conte spent almost the entirety of the first half screaming at his players to push up the pitch. Does that mean something is going wrong at Chelsea?

[quote user="VanWink"]You can''t be serious about Bassong Phillip, he is so frequently out of position nobody knows what will happen next. Klosse and Bennett were beginning to establish a sold partnership, I know it went tits up but would still like to see it given another go with Ruddy in behind.[/quote]My point is less that Bassong should be starting and more about how the partnership of Bennett and Klose is too immobile to deal with balls played in behind the defence. Neither Bennett or Klose are quick on the turn nor are they quick across the ground. Bassong and Martin are both more mobile than Bennett and Klose and Klose is a superior defender to Bennett so Bennett is the one who makes way in my view. In many ways, we were lucky yesterday in that Cardiff seemes determined to knock long-balls up to Lambert and didn''t decide to try and exploit the immobility of the Bennett/Klose partnership. A side won''t always play into your hands like that.

Both Josh and Jacob struggle to protect the ball with their back to goal. Seeing as their going to be receiving the ball quite often in those kind of situations against the deep defences Norwich will play in this league it''s a skill they''re going to have to learn. They need to be able to take the ball in, hold off the defender and then either drop deep and turn with the ball or lay the ball of and spin in behind in order to make the most of their attacking potential because, as yesterday showed, if they can turn and face their defender with the ball at their feet, their pace and skill can cause defenders all sorts of problems.They''re really no different from any young player adapting to a style of football they''ve never played before that requires them to do things that they are not really used to. I''m confident that with time and coaching their weakness can be improved to the extent that they can really show off their obvious attacking ability.  

[quote user="HampsteadCanary"]We''ve been crying out for more leadership on the pitch, with several threads on who''s going to be our driving force posted in recent weeks. I believe Alex Neil wanted to bring Russell Martin back in to be that leader, whether we think he is or not, and Bennett was the obvious one to make way. Its a shame as we all like that Bennett/Klose partnership, but with Brady now injured and Martin performing well at left back, maybe we can keep that CB pairing AND have Russ on the pitch. We still conceded two very sloppy goals yesterday, so it seems whoever plays, we''re either not good enough, don''t want it enough, or aren''t organised well enough to win second balls and clear our lines. This is something we''ve been guilty of for about 4 years![/quote]I don''t.Bennett and Klose are at their strongest when the ball is in front of them and at their weakest when forced to turn if the ball is played in behind. Both of them need a more mobile partner who is more comfortable dealing with a pass in behind the defence. As such, It''s got to be Klose OR Bennett partnered with Bassong OR Martin in order for the defence to be truly balanced and be able to handle all the various defensive scenarios that may arise in the course of a game. And in a straight competition between Klose and Bennett, Bennett doesn''t stand a chance. 

[quote user="TIL 1010"]You can speculate all you like but rest assured The Tinkerman will be at work again. Just look at yesterday and suddenly out of the blue Bennett who has been one of the consistent performers recently gets dropped to the bench and in comes Russell Martin. Just why and for the avoidance of doubt i am not a Martin hater ? An unnecessary and unjustified selection to start the game with in my eyes.[/quote] Bennett and Klose was never going to be the first-choice centre-back pairing in the long term. Both are too immobile and struggle when having to turn back and face their goal when the ball is played in behind, which is always a possibility considering the high-line Norwich adopt when in possession. In my opinion, it was always the case that one of our more mobile centre-backs (i.e. Martin or Bassong) was going to come into the team eventually to partner Klose.

I seriously doubt Rhodes is leaving Middlesbrough in this window.

[quote user="BroadstairsR"]He might be useful and a very good prospect but I cannot for the life of me work out why this would be a good move by us. It''s the loan factor really. He would probably be considered a decent purchase for the future. Surely our thinking should be that if he''s not ready for Watford he''s not good enough for us. We are supposed to be a club aiming for promotion not a club acting as a development ground for moderate Premier League clubs. How the "mighty" are falling.[/quote]That''s some pretty warped logic.

Olsson and Brady are more than adequate left-back options in the Championship. Toffolo wouldn''t start ahead of either. The only reason Toffolo wasn''t loaned out earlier was because no one at Norwich thought there was much chance of Brady staying until at least January, which is looking very likely at the minute.

[quote user="kick it off"]Nick MashiterVerified account ‏@nickmashiter Harry Toffolo was told he''d stay at #ncfc this season but now it looks like they''re keeping Olsson and Brady he''s joined Scunthorpe on loan.[/quote] I don''t think anyone at the club actually thought they might keep Brady...

Very pacy forward who can also play out wide. Alex Neil seems to have a thing for strikers with those attributes...

From what I''ve seen of him this season, Naismith has not looked good enough technically to play the attacking midfield role in ANs system, which tends to place more emphasis on the creation of chances and quick combination play with other attackers rather than running beyond the striker into goalscoring positions. This is one of the reasons Hoolahan has always performed well under Neil, he fits the system perfectly. It also seems, to me at least, that Maddison would be far more comfortable playing the attacking midfield role than Naismith in such a system. Naismith would also really fit a hard-working Moyes side that tends to put alot of crosses in the box, Naismith is surprisingly good in the air, which is not a strength Norwich are set-up to utilise.

I imagine Naismith will be playing as an out-and-out striker, not a false nine. Will be tasked with running in behind and looking to occupy Birmingham centre-backs rather than coming deep into attacking midfield zones. Not all midfielders who play up-front are false nines, sometimes they are just midfielders tasked with doing an unfamiliar job due to injuries etc.

Scott Hogan from Brentford would be a good fit. Good at playing off the shoulder and running into wide areas, used to playing upfront by himself, has shown the ability to score goals in his (admittedly limited) championship career.

[quote user="Buh"]"I said a while ago he was slow" "I''ve always said he''s slow" "I WAS THE FIRST TO SAY HOW SLOW HE IS!"[/quote]Not a criticism of Redmond. I actually think his quick bursts are more effective in the modern game than someone who is faster over longer distances. It just annoys me when Redmond picks up the ball and people expect him to just put his head down and run in a straight line with it. That has never been Redmond''s game.

[quote user="Mr Jenkins"]He needs to have a chat with Hucks[/quote] Huckerby was 27 and in the prime of his career. Redmond is 21. It''s not a fair comparison

Redmond isn''t as fast as people think. He''s very quick in short bursts that allow him to get past players in 1-on-1 situations but isn''t that fast once he reaches top speed. I think Brady is actually faster over long distances.

Redmond is pretty much what you''d expect from a talented young attacker. Good at going past players and getting himself into good positions, not particularly consistent with the final decision (sometimes great, often poor) and suspect defensively. It''s things that improve over time as a player matures and develops.

[quote user="Fakenham Canary"] As for Redmond ''obviously being told to cut inside'' yesterday I disagree - why would you tell your best wide player to cut inside into a packed central area where he is less effective than when he goes past people on the outside?[/quote] He''s right-footed for a start, it''s more natural for him to come inside onto his stronger foot than to go outside on his weaker foot. Also, Alex Neil seems to prefer his wide players to start outside and then look to cut inside in the final third- he thinks that creative players are more dangerous in central areas. [quote user="Fakenham Canary"] We had Mbokani in the box, you would think crossing for him would be the obvious option. I just think he lacked the confidence to take the bloke on. [/quote] That''s the job of the full-back in such a system. One of the reasons Brady is so great at playing full-back in Neil''s system is that his technical skill and crossing ability allow him to play almost like an orthodox winger in the attack. This allows the wide player to move infield and overload that dangerous central area whilst still preserving width in the attack. [quote user="Fakenham Canary"]Be interesting to see what happens when Jarvis is back[/quote] He''ll start ahead of Redmond because he''s the better all-round player at the moment. They''re about equal in terms of what they offer going forward, although Redmond has more potential, but Jarvis is better at the defensive side of the game which is just as crucial.

[quote user="YorkshirePudding"]1. The first clean sheet It was evident soon into the first half performance that Neil wanted to limit the Swans any space in our half and it worked as they couldn''t exploit their passing game and their pace on the wings. And it definitely worked. Bennett and Bassong seem to be forming a good defensive partnership, with Bennett''s distribution being a particular highlight in the second half.[/quote]To be fair, Bennett didn''t actually have to do too much defending. Bassong essentially man marked Gomis and O''Neil and Tettey were so good at screening the back four that Swansea never looked threatening. Bennett was essentially a free man, didn''t have to worry about people bypassing the midfield, didn''t have to worry about the striker.He was far more impressive in the WBA game, easily the best Norwich defender on the pitch

I find in interesting that fans often ascribe the blame of conceding to one particular player making a massive error when, in fact, it is often multiple players making multiple little mistakes that often won''t lead to a goal but has in this particular attack.

A points still a decent result, although it is disappointing Norwich haven''t come away with all three. Ruddy didn''t get the connection he wanted and it spun straight to a West Ham player. Still Norwich played well and can take lots of positives out of this game.