HampsteadCanary

Have we been knocked out of a cup at all of these stadiums?

Last year McNally admitted we focused on defence. This year he talked about buying more offensive options. There''s no point buying 3 strikers if the midfield doesn''t work properly, We bought one midfielder in Fer, yet this was clearly our weakest area last season, and remains to be the case this season. Redmond I see as an out and out offensive option, and he has proved he can play in this league. We ALL knew we needed some more quality in midfield, just like last season we ALL knew we needed a striker. I''m afraid to say that Howson, Johnson, Tettey (and maybe Fox, WHO KNOWS!?) are just too inconsistent in this league. If Fer has an off day like today, we''re screwed, as no one else can take the game by the scruff of the neck. We need to strengthen midfield in January with some serious quality.

Need to press teams like spurs higher up the pitch. They''re sauntering round the centre circle like a bunch of tourists wandering around trafalgar square...if RvW and Elmander press them higher up we can push up a bit, then maybe when we do win the ball back the midfield will be around the centre circle (god forbid) rather than on the edge of our box the whole time....

no wes!

I know this is an hypothetical situation, but I for one love seeing us doing it the right way, without ridiculous investors, silly wages etc. Its fun to see the club competing because its well run, has a good manager and a good team, rather than one individual being responsible for a teams success just through money. Yes the big clubs with investors do well but money is the only motivation for everyone involved, from the board down to the players. We have majority shareholders who LOVE our football club with a passion. Yes they have made mistakes, but they''ve done an amazing job over the last 4 years and I think they would deserve to stay in charge even if a big investor did come in. Also, people expect instant success with big money investors...look at QPR for an example. The way our club is run, it can improve year on year, some get left behind, some make the grade, and new additions are added in all areas, but we can''t grow too quickly for our own good. We are very lucky to be in the situation we''re in, with no debt and all proceeds going towards the squad pretty much

That''s kind of what I''m getting at Jimmy. It seems the quality and quantity of crosses going in from the wide areas, dead ball or not, are not up to last seasons standards. Mixing great crossing ability (which we have!) with pace, close control and shooting from distance (which we NOW have) and better movement and clinical finishing up front, we should make the most of it all. I feel RvW has been let down in the game so far, feeding on scraps. But it will take the players behind him a little time to get used to his positioning and how good it is

Maybe Van Ginkel at Chelsea...would have completed a top class attacking force!

I have been thinking about the last five or six goals we have scored in competitive fixtures, and its good to see that we are moving away from last years set-piece dominance. I seem to remember we scored maybe one or two goals from outside the area last season, which is not a lot compared to other teams in the premier league. Yet three or four of the last six we have scored have been such, either directly or as a result of a distance shot being spilt. Nathan Redmond won the match for us on Saturday by having a pop from the edge of the box. Its great to have players like him that can turn a match with a moment of brilliance, something we were distinctly lacking last season. Its great that we''re adding a new dimension to our play, but it should be exactly that, ADDING to it, rather than completely replacing something that is quite effective. It concerns me a little that we have moved away from one of our strengths, which has been our crossing, but also that we are not making the most of our new options up front. RvW has had about three chances, but our players seem hell bent on shooting from the edge of the box when they wouldn''t do it for toffee last season! Yes it has been effective to a certain degree, but I would love to see us playing our strikers in on goal more. It just interested me to see the balance shift from crosses and headers (mainly from set pieces) to distance shooting, when we now have the firepower to make the most of all types of service. RvW and Elmander are both fantastic headers of the ball, why have we neglected this side of our game? And also we have often chosen to go for glory when we now have excellent movement up front, and the forwards are being ignored in the final third. Maybe its to do with team gelling and the midfield not being used to having that movement in front of them and therefore not picking them out. I guess all I''m saying is I wish they would feed the Wolf and shoot from the edge of the area when it genuinely opens up for them! I know its early in the season and we''re still finding our feet a bit!

actually, he just scored, so leave him where he is!! GET IN NATHAN MY SON!!!!!!!

Snodgrass not producing the goods....get Redmond on the right whipping the ball in and Pilks on the left with the option of going on the in or outside of the full back. Southampton have two very young fullbacks, lets try and exploit them as much as possible. Good news is Fer looks AMAZING!

NorwichCityFC: #ncfc team v @SouthamptonFC: Ruddy; Whittaker, Bassong (c), Turner, Garrido; Snodgrass, Fer, Johnson, Redmond; Elmander; van Wolfswinkel. Glad to see Bassong and Elmander starting, seems quite an exciting line up. Could have goals in it. Surprised that there''s no place for Olsson even on the bench...

I know Spurs are in for him, but can you believe Ajax only want £8-£12 million for Christian Eriksen? Fantasy land I know but he would be awesome behind RvW...wages always an issue but I''d rather have someone like him and not bring in another CB if it meant having that creative spark between midfield and attack.

Ayala has good qualities on the ball, but a bit of a rash head on him...not sure whether championship experience will help him to make the step up to the Prem. I know Barnett is a different kind of player, but he always looks great in the Championship and not as strong in the Prem. Maybe Ayala is simply one of them... As for Fox, I don''t think he is the answer to our problems, but I think an upgraded version of him is...just sad for him as a guy that he did so well for us across the first two seasons and we''ve moved on from him, like so many others.

You also have to feel for David Fox. A loyal servant to the club, voted 3rd in POTS 2 years ago and now in the reserves with the youth players and a CB who will probably be gone in a months time. We all talk about RvW being an upgrade on Holt, Fer on Johnson, Olsson on Garrido etc, but where is the upgrade on a cultured midfielder who can actually dictate the pace of a football match, not just "get stuck in'' like Jonno or Tettey. At the moment, if we discount Fox, we have no one bar Fer (who''s played 1 competitive game) who can play in a midfield two and play more than a sideways pass. Sort it out Hughton! The game is won or lost in midfield....LETS WIN IT!

I''m afraid so

[quote user="king canary"]My only problem with this formation is how it stacks up v. the current standard of playing one up front. When Lambert tried it we often ended up with 3 defenders looking after one striker, so when we had the ball we were outnumbered. [/quote] I guess you''re right, but at the moment we have few options for passes going forward, so maybe the 3-5-2 would allow the team to move more fluidly. I know Wigan got relegated playing this formation, and its never really worked for us. I seem to remember Lambert using it away at Chelsea, perhaps not the best game to try a new formation, but I think against some of the lower sides it might give us a little more scope for creativity whilst remaining solid. 7 defenders (3 centre backs, 2 CMs and 2 wingbacks) should be quite enough, whilst allowing us to attack with 6 as well (2 Fwds, 2 wingbacks, CAM and ONE CM while one sits!). With Russ at RCB, Bassong at LCB (I know he''s not a LB but he is left footed and has plenty of pace)and Olsson at LWB, its easy for the back 3 to slide across and drop into a back 4 when necessary Wes was at his best at the tip of the diamond, receiving the ball in dangerous places (such as the edge of the penalty area, any on remember that place!?) and threading through wingers/Holt/Martin. This allows him that roaming role, with good midfield cover, good width and crossing from the WBs and options ahead of him in RvW and Hooper. I think I need to go and buy FIFA and check this one out!

Could this be a possiblity away from home...just a thought, please don''t slaughter me! Ruddy Martin Turner Bassong Whittaker Tettey/Fer Howson/BJ Olsson Wes RvW Hooper Would keep bassong/martin/turner on the field, width with the attacking fullbacks, Fer bursting from midfield with Tettey/BJ holding, Wes stays further forward with two mobile targets in front him to aim for....definitely an option? Turns into a 5-3-2 when defending. Could start with Bennett/Snoddy in the right wingback position as they''re defensively disciplined wingers capable of putting in a good tackle when needed. This will probably never happen, and maybe rightly so, but it could solve some problems and get some of our attacking options on the pitch in their most natural positions. No room for Pilks/Redmond though...either could play the Wes role

Perhaps playing Redmond off RvW in the no. 10 role would limit the risk of him leaving his team mates exposed? He looked good running at defences from a central position, but maybe that doesn''t maximise his ability. We should be looking to play our best players in their most natural positions, but a lot of them are injured, or we don''t know where their best positions are! Wait til Pilks and Bassong (and Hooper) are back, and Snoddy hits his form from last year, and hopefully we''ll put some better performances in.

The trouble is, we will struggle to find a better manager if Hughton doesn''t improve. Who would you like to see here? Martin O''Neil hasn''t really done it since his successful Villa period. None of us wants to have a season like last year, and I can only think the board won''t take it if it doesn''t improve after the summer spend. We''re owed an apology, but Hughton doesn''t really seem to do that! Lets hope the reserves give Bury a good hiding and we put a performance on against Southampton. If we lose that game, I can see Hughton being put under real pressure. McNally didn''t hesitate in getting rid of Gunn after that first game against Colchester...he''ll know the fans don''t want to see another season of clueless team selections and frustrating football. We all had so much hope after the West Brom/Man City performances that we would kick on, but it really looked exactly the same as last season. The shackles are back on, we''d better get used to it!

I think the timing of the subs were ok, but the players brought on were either out of form or out of position...they didn''t affect the game at all. Snodgrass was appalling, Wes out of position on the wide left, and Elmander had nothing to get on the end of.

Positives: Ruddy had pretty much nothing to deal with Redmond looks sharp, needs to work on his decision making, but we all know that. RvW looks like he''ll convert if given the chance, just ONE HEADER TODAY! Howson looks more comfortable in the middle, shooting was a lot better than BJ/Tettey etc However, too many things were wrong with our game today...no creativity, no passing, no movement, no desire, no commitment. Too many of our players are off the boil, and the result is we can''t even draw with a poor Hull team with 10 men. Snoddy looked appalling when he came on, Elmander was anonymous and Wes was stuck out on the left out of position. We all know Wes looks very poor on the left, that''s why he hasn''t played there for 4 years. Howson is NOT a right midfielder. Hughton really needs to learn how to set up his team with people in their natural positions, and then to motivate his players, because he won''t keep his job for long with performances like that. His tactical decision making has been so poor for the last 12 months, bar the 10 game run. With roughly £24 million spent on the squad and a performance like that, you have to ask the question. Four central midfielders away from home against Hull? Are you kidding me? We talk about Hughton wanting to play it out from the back, but the midfield actually have to be able to control the football, and then pass it to another play on our team for that to work. We''re playing it from back to middle, but not from middle to front! I don''t think its even the "Hoolahan" spot that needs work, its a CM to play with Fer. Yes the new players might need time to gel, but the desire has to be there, and that can only be down to the manager. Against Southampton, I''d like to see Bassong in for Russ, as I think the composure of the team relies on him heavily. Olsson has to come in for Garrido, he was basically camped outside the Hull box for the whole second half and only managed to put one good ball in, and that was with his right foot! I have no idea about the best midfield combination, and I don''t think Hughton knows either. All in all, very frustrated, and wondering how Hughton is going to rectify this situation. This is clearly unacceptable.

Very strange selection today, a lot of muscle in the midfield against a team that doesn''t really need it. Need to play Fer and Tettey in the middle, Snodgrass out wide on for Johnson and Wes on for Howson at half time...we need to take it to them now they only have 10 men....

But why couldn''t we play Olsson left and Redmond right - Howson clearly isn''t a right midfielder. Good idea to keep Tettey on Huddlestone, his first touch has let him down a few times though....

Ruddy Whittaker Martin Bassong Olsson Bennett/Snoddy Tettey Fer Snodgrass/Pilks Redmond RVW. Let Tettey and Fer dominate the Hull midfield. Snoddy and Bennett provide width and decent cover as Redmond left Garrido exposed a lot on Saturday, and play Redmond in the hole. That way we don''t lose the shape, and keep as much pace up front and strength in the midfield as possible....

The finishing quality of the players we''re linked with is a big step up - we haven''t had many players over the last 20 years who can finish like Elmander and El Hamdaoui. Both would be excellent signings in my opinion, as we really need an older, more experienced striker in the squad, even if they don''t start all the time. At the moment none of our forwards have a premier league goal to their name!