killiecanary

Not quite. What I said is that if we are going to play Tettey and BJ then I don''t think Wes has anyone to pass to in forward positions yesterday was a case in point...there were so many times he got the ball inside the Fulham half, no one was anywhere near him so he had to turn 180 degrees and go backwards. I would always want to see Wes in the team but if he has nowhere to go with the ball then I can only see him as a luxury. To be effective he needs to have other players up there with him. I have no problem with the formation, but the personnel trying to play it. Do I think Howson is a better footballer than Hoolahoop? Not at all. But I think he may be a bit more effective than Wes in the current shape and with the 2 defensive mids behind him. I notice another thread tonight about Wes playing in left midfield...so we aren''t alone in discussing the best way to play him!! Just out of interest, what would you do? Where would you play Wes? And who would you play in there alongside him?

Hughton is no newbie, so surely he must have considered the use of Howson, at least in home games we are expected to boss (Newcastle in poor form, Fulham, etc), and yet he continues with two sitting midfielders, and noone seems licenced to roam forward when situations arise. For me, this is a deliberate tactical choice by Hughton, and part of the problem, espescially in home games. PLaying two defensive sitting midfielders in away games is fair enough, but then, if we go 1-0 down, he need to change it, but he is not even doing that. And in home games, 2 def miss is just too negative. Other teams playing this formation (4-4-1-1), or 4-5-1, always have one defensive midfielder, and one playmaker, and the other midfielders are licenced to run/roam. in a straight 4-5-1, there will normally be 1 sitting midfielder, 2 wingers, and 2 "inside forwards" supporting the lone striker. This requires a lot of legs though, and none of our current midfielders seem to have the stamina or energy to fill these roles. And when we clearly tire after 70 mins in game after game, why, oh why, does not Hughton make substitutions. It will keep the fringe players on their toes, they willl feel they have a part to play, etc. It injects fresh energy to the side, after all you can sub 30% of the personell during a game. For me, Howson need to play in home games, as an attacking midfielder, drop Wes, and play two strikers (when fit). Kamars and Becchio or Kamara/Holt should be good, as Kamara have the pace to stretch defences. Playing only Holt or Becchio up front creates a problem where the opposition can play a high line, not fearing to be exposed due to our lack of pace. And espescially when we play 2 sitting midfielders AND Holt on his own up front, opposition teams need not fear any quick breaks, because we have not got anyone with pace. Yep - I agree with all of this. Playing two def mids at home does make us one-dimensional, but if Howson isn''t the answer then I don''t know who we have on the books to do so. Certainly if we play Tettey and BJ i think Wes is a luxury we can''t afford because we haven''t got anyone up far enough for him to pass to! I look forward to seeing who CH brings into that position in the summer if we stay up.

[quote user="Wiz"]His departure is long overdue imo, Calderwood and Trollope are both proven failures! Puketon has taken a free scoring side and destroyed it in 6 months, and our defence still leaks goals.............get rid now. [/quote] Puketon....really? Sometimes Norwich fans simply make me despair. As for the rest of the post...our defence has ''leaked'' 1 goal in 4 matches. Yes. we''ve had the odd tanking, but I''d rather lose multiple goals in the odd game than 1 or 2 every week. If NCFC were to ''get rid'' as you so eloquently put it, it would be very silly. Stability is important, and if you''d told me in August (particularly after Fulham) that we''d need to win 3 of our last 12 games to stay up I''d have been very content. But ''puketon''????? I really really don''t understand how a Norwich fan can sink that low.

What a good thread this has been. There seems to be little argument that the lack of cutting edge in the final third is down to the midfield selection. But one thing that struck me watching Grant Holt recently has been how little time he actually has been spending in a central attacking role. Now this is exactly what some of the best proponents of the lone striker role do - play wide, move from side to side and generally annoy the hell out of the back four. I''ve seen some questioning of Holt recently, but for me he is doing the role he has been asked to do actually very well indeed - see the first hour v Spurs as a good example. What to my mind is missing now is the midfielders getting beyond him in numbers to find holes in the opposition defence. I felt sorry for Becchio yesterday - home debut, must have been keen as mustard to do well, and he was so isolated all day that no-one could have done much...i was encouraged by him when Jackson came on and he had some help. I dont know if we actually have the box-box midfielders we need to give that assistance the striker needs - Howson probably is the most suited to the role, and as someone here pointed out, he did play that role against Swansea in the first half to perfection. But for some reason he isnt getting a look in...I understand Camara has played all across the midfield in his time, and he certainly seemed to have plenty of pace and energy yesterday so maybe he will be an option there as well as up front? I am still completely with CH, and I agree with many on here that this first year is about consolidation and starting to build his own team. I actually think we will stay up relatively comfortably, and expect us to be safe by the time Villa come desperate for points. Next season will be the true test of CH and the team he is building, for the moment take the points as they come and secure Premiership football again for next year.

i would guess that Villa at CR is a certainty given PL return and Villa''s relegation fight. Reading probably likely too? Arent'' they announced next month?

I agree...three wins should be pretty achievable from the ones we''ve got left...but really hope first one is on Saturday! We owe Fulham one anyway...although i always think of them as our bogey team!

I won''t disagree that CH hasn''t made any gamechanging substitutions or tactical surprises that I can remember offhand Clint. But would you accept that just maybe that is because he doesnt think he has the personnel to change a game? As I mentioned before I was desperately keen to see Fox in the side...then came Luton. One of the ways PL used to be able to change shape was to keep Hoolahoop on the bench and bring him on with a change of formation, but if CH was to leave Wes out then I suspect all hell might just break loose on here! We seem to be settled into a midfield formation that has Jonno and Tettey as the ballwinners and Wes as the lone creative force...playing Holty up front on his own really can only work if the midfielders are pacey enough to get up beyond him, but that aint really happening... But I do maintain that I like the players CH has brought to us, and I will hope for more of the same quality of signing for the forward reaches of the team next seson. Do you think Becchio and Holt might start up front together on Sat? And if they do, who gets sacrificed in midfield...Johnson?

Clint, I agree with lots of what you say. CH substitution timings baffle me a bit too...as I said I don''t think he has a very high opinion of the players not making the starting eleven so tries to squeeze as much as he can from them. I would have liked to have seen becchio on earlier yesterday as soon as Holty was tired. I honestly believe CH has done a pretty good job of strengthening the squad and the team is now playing to this shape. Re Fox I loved the guy and was one of those clamouring for his selection as our best ball player... Then he played and did very little so what the hell do I know?? I really do rate Hughton and I think we will stay up confortably. That being so I think the time to judge will be next season. But to suggest as some on here have that be is another Roeder seems to me to be ludicrous.

Sorry - I was replying to ron above - pesky quote thingy not working for me!

Absolutely spot-on! The team did outperform expectations last season, and Lambert did a great job motivating them to do so. Anyone pining for Lambert''s tactical ability would do well to watch the last 20 minutes of the Bradford match - no formation, no system, just desperation and lump it forward. Hughton has the tactical nous to keep us in this league this season...then it is time to build. I expect a busy summer

I agree - a decent point that hurts QPR much more than us - especially with the run of home games coming up I would have liked to see Becchio come on earlier, once it was clear Holt had run himself to a standstill, as this is part of the reason the ball keeps coming back so quickly - Holty has no energy left for the last 20. I thought the same on Wednesday Pleased for Bunn after some early stick (remind you of Ruddy anyone?) 3 more wins ought to do it now

Sorry but I don''t buy this. Hughton seems to be quite clear that apart from a few players he doesn''t fancy the squad he inherited from PL...incidentally I think Lambert probably was well aware that those players would struggle in the difficult second season - I suspect that as much as anything guided his decision to leave for Villa. CH is strengthening the squad - any problem with the signings of Bassong, Turner, Bunn, Snodgrass? But in the meantime he must keep us in this division this season - so he uses the system he thinks might do that. I can cope with that. Seems to be working so far. Everyone seems to agree that sourcing high-quality premiership strikers is the most difficult thing to do on a budget like ours, so I will happily see us stay up with this style and wait for his attacking signings to arrive and be hopefully as good as his defensive ones seem to have been. All that matters this season is consolidation. After that CH can start to build his side. Although I do wish he would take Holt off once its clear that after working so hard for an hour he''s knackered!

Originally come from Kilmarnock, and am a huge Killie fan, as well as NCFC season ticket holder with my kids...still not quite come down to earth yet! I was at Hampden on Sunday, and it was, quite simply, an amazing day! To support your home town club - a small community club - and to see them win a trophy in front of 50,000 against the ''overwhelming favourites (copyright every media hack in Scotland prior to the match) means that days like this are so so rare but al the more special for it! The admiral was outstanding on Sunday - as he has been since arriving in January! Killie try to play too much football at the back often so he is a vital leader in there for us. One final thought - the feeling on Sunday was for a league cup final win...I''d love to see City at Wembley, and hope we don''t treat the league cup as an inconvenience again next season.