Jacko
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Posts posted by Jacko
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As much as we''d love to see this happen, I honestly don''t there''s anything in this at all. If there were issues such as a large tax bill owed to HMRC or issues relating to unpaid wages then we''d have heard about them long before this.What''s more likely is that Ipswich are winding up or liquidating one of the now defunct companies which was formally used as a holding company to run the club. -
I respect Lambert immensely for everything he did here but I cannot have any sympathy for him with regard to anything he said in that interview. Villa had been trimming their budget long before he came. It was instrumental in O''Neill''s departure and Mcleish whilst not a great manager suffered under similar constraints. Lambert went there fully knowing the score. -
Would like to see 3 at the back for this one. We need to be creative and deal with Vardy/Okazaki.--------------------------Ruddy-------------------------------------------Martin-----Klose-----Bassong-------------Brady-----------------------------------------------Pinto----------------------Howson------Tettey----------------------------------------------Naismith---------------------------------------------Jerome-------Bamford---------------- -
Whatever league we are in next season I think it''s inveitable that he''ll leave in the summer. -
We''d get absolutely eaten alive if we played that team I fear. -
I think we needed someone in that position Lincoln. The number of effective games that Wes has had in recent months has diminished and of course he is now 34, so he does need to be used much more sparingly than he has been in the past.Whilst, he''s an absolute magician you do also need your number 10 to weigh in with a decent share of goals. He scored yesterday but in many ways we saw the best and the worst of him - he turned down a couple of excellent shooting opportunities where he really should have been selfish and gone it alone. Naismith does give you that bit more of a goal threat. But it is traded off against him not having Hoolahan ''s vision and passing ability of course. Is he worth 8 million? Probably not, but in a world where we can get that figure for Lewis Grabban I literally have no concept of what anything is worth in footballing terms anymore. -
I''d have absolutely no complaints with that team at all Lincoln if it was selected. My only query would be Jarvis on the right. I don''t ever recall him having played that position for us or indeed any of the other teams which he has played for. He certainly never did at West Ham or Wolves.Whilst, he seemingly is equally adept at using either foot and on paper at least he should be fine in that position there clearly is some reason (whether it be personal preference or otherwise) that he doesn''t play there and never has. Curious. -
I actually think Klose has done okay so far. I agree that Pinto doesn''t look ready or isn''t good enough - depending on which interpretation you want to spin it with. Therein lies the danger of signing a person in January rather than the summer and expecting them to adapt to a very unique league (which England is due it''s intensity and speed).But I think it''s too easy and lazy to blame the defence alone. Yes, the defence is sunstandard and has much to be blamed for. But you defend collectively as a team and there has been a common denominator in the two collaspes against both Liverpool and West Ham - the lack of protection and cover from central midfield.In both games our central midfielders have allowed midfield runners (Henderson and Noble) to arrive untracked from deep and have all the time in the world to score. You cannot leave yourself wide open like that and I''m convinced that had Tettey played in both matches we''d have probably won both. We also signed Mulumbu to do that job in Tettey''s absence and sadly after a promising start he''s shown little evidence of being able to. The fact he didn''t even make the 18 yesterday tells you exactly where he is right now. -
You make some interesting observations Lincoln. I actually didn''t think he had his greatest game yesterday. At times he seemed very distracted by Byram in the first half and was more keen to fight him than to actually play football. I do however think he''s an excellent addition to our squad and I disagree with the notion that others aren''t necessarily on his wavelength. He''s not actually got the vision, passing or technical ability of someone like Hoolahan but he does have a lot of other great assets to his game. I think the problem is more tactical with Naismith and whether he and Hoolahan can operate in Neil''s preferrred 4-2-3-1 set up. They''re both looking to operate in that central area and neither of them really wants to be out in the wider areas. I think as a manager you''ve got to brave and probably leave one of them out as a result, to give the team a better balance to it. Brady would be my ideal choice higher up the pitch on the left and the goal he got yesterday shows why we must do everything in our power to get him in those areas of the pitch more often. -
There''s a school of thought which says that the way to play against Leicester is to actually sit deep and leave no space in behind. Leicester''s success has been stunning this year but I think some of it is down to the fact that opponents still stupidly underestimate them and dont give them the respect they deserve. We were guilty of it at Carrow Road and literally played into their hands with very attacking full backs leaving plenty of space for Vardy to exploit on the break.By doing this opponents continue to allow them to play on the counter attack, which is their strongest suit. Would Leicester have the invention and guile to break Norwich down if we sat deeper? With someone like Mahrez in the team, there''s always a distinct possibility. There''s also a distinct threat from set pieces with Leicester. But it seems a less risky alternative than being too open on the break.There is obviously one fundamental flaw with us defending for long periods - we are absolutely c**p at defending. I know it''s tinkering (again) but I wonder whether it''s worth playing 3-5-2 (or variant of) to try and help the defence out in counteracting Leicester''s two strikers - Okazaki and Vardy.It worked for long periods at Man City and it could be a useful option here. We also have the players in this squad to play that kind of system. Who''d be a manager?! -
Naismith and Brady in central midfield. What are you smoking? -
You can''t write the guy off after two games and I think he should only be judged when he''s actually played on his stronger left side as well. It definitely does make a difference, whilst I wasn''t Michael Turner''s biggest fan while he was here I think he was made to look much worse than he was by being played out of position last season. I fear this could also happen to Klose. -
Nutty, I understand entirely the points you are making and I can see what you''re driving at.I understand the attraction of having a passing centre half who gets us high up the pitch - hence why I keep mentioning Martin because that''s ultimately who it boils down to if you want to play that way based on the players we have available to us. It does help create chances for us to score goals. If you can get a centre back who steps into midfield and can create an overload it''s deadly.Unfortunately, they''re are very few of those who combine that prowess with being a brilliant defender. Unfortunately, they''re called people like Vincent Kompany or Franco Baresi and they''re some of the greatest defenders of the modern era. But ultimately, it''s about balancing risk and reward. I think the risk of playing Martin now far outweighs the reward of doing so for a variety of reasons which I''ve mentioned above. I would prefer the safer option of Bennett for that reason. He may not create as much as Martin but I think he''ll cost us much less defensively than Martin will. I think there''s also little doubt that we''re relying on Klose to come off and be the defensive leader you''ve described. If he doesn''t we''re basically down.We will never know what would have happened in that Liverpool game had Bennett played. To be honest, our failings weren''t just at centre half (although the failings there were enormous) in that game but also in midfield. Had Tettey not been ill, I am adamant we would have won that game convincingly, but it wasn''t to be. You simply can''t be as open as we were against top quality like Firminho. -
I think part of my concern is that defending as a team starts from the very front. Leicester are the best exponents in the division on that score with the tireless work of Vardy and Okasaki. I''m yet to be convinced Mbokani works hard enough for the team and we do get passed through much more easily than when Jerome plays.It''s also worth pointing out that whilst it''s not his primary function that Mbokani was badly at fault for the first goal. Giving away a needless set piece and then being dominated by Lescott for the goal. Strikers have to pitch in at both ends of the field. I feel that Jerome and Bamford would do that better. -
I agree about Whittaker. I honestly don''t see what he''s done to be completely out of favour. He''s been no worse than any other players tried at full back so far this season. I am not out to completely assassinate Martin. I''m 26 years old and he''s been a constant (along with Wes) in the best Norwich sides I''ve seen. I was too young to remember the Norwich sides of the early 90s. I love the man to bits but this is becoming a bit Gary Holt circa 2004/2005 - a bridge too far for a superb and honest pro. I take your point about the blanks we''ve drawn when he doesn''t play at centre back and I get what you''re saying as to why it might be relevant. His distribution is better than Bennett''s and clearly that does help us to construct more attacks of greater quality. But it cuts both ways, we''ve also had our best run of form over Christmas with wins against Man Utd, Villa and Southampton when he wasn''t at centre back. We also looked much more solid during those games and only conceded once. Personally I would now pick our best left sided defender (Klose) and our best right sided defender (in my opinion that''s Bennett). I would see where that takes us for a couple of games. The sad reality is that none of the personel are probably good enough - hence the wholesale changes. -
There''s an argument for playing him at right back. On the basis that none of Wisdom, Martin, Whittaker or Pinto have really laid claim to that position. But to be honest they''re all much of a muchness in my eyes. As a result, Our season will not realistically stand or fall on which one of those occupies that position. -
Has he ruined them though or are the raw materials just not there to begin with? I have a lot of respect for John Ruddy. He''s been unbelievable value for money and I think there was a time in late 2012 where he was arguably one of the 10 best goalkeepers in the Premier League. But since that injury against Everton where he ruptured his groin he''s not recaptured that form. He''s worked under a whole host of coaches in that time, including Dave Watson, who is regarded as being the best goalkeeping coach in the country. Yet that form had not returned.Declan Rudd has never really played above League One level before this season so it was always going to be a massive ask for him to come in and perform regularly at this level. It''s no surprise that after the initial bedding in period that his performances have dropped somewhat. I anticipate that if he continues to play in the coming weeks that we''ll see what his true level of competence is. I fear it''s not Premier League level but I hope to proven very, very wrong. -
I''m not one eyed at all Nutty, I think it is you who is one eyed and these are my reasons why. The bottom line is that if you select Martin in a home game at Carrow Road at centre half the reaction is going to be overwhelming negative from the crowd and that is going to transmit itself to the team. Potentially creating the fear and panic you keep referring to.That is a relevant factor that managers do and must consider. There were times during our glorious 92/93 season that Mike Walker didn''t play the sweeper system at home because he feared it would be perceived as to negative. You talk about Martin''s fearlessness but what do we know about his state of mind. He''s bound to be feeling very low on confidence following what has happened in that Liverpool game. You also clearly like Martin ''s passing ability and I too like a centre half who I can play the ball out. As a centre half myself (at admittedly a terrible level) I fully appreciate the guts it takes to bring the ball out and play. But I think there is a trend in modern football where we put the cart before the horse and we forget that the primary function of a defender is to actually defend. I personally think Ryan Bennett is a much better ''pure'' defender and that is what we need at the moment. I was sat up high in the home end at Villa and the issue wasn''t our inability to pass the ball out of defence. It was the fact that our setup and game plan was wrong. With Mulumbu and O''Neil in midfield we''d come to stifle and frustrated. Yet with Howson and Wes wide we didn''t have pace on the counter attack to profit when the opportunities arose. That was the reason we didn''t get the ball in advanced positions enough on Saturday. I think the stats you''ve also mentioned with regard to Martin are somewhat misleading. We did have a very generous start - in which he was a fixture at centre back. It is therefore very unfair to make a comparison on those grounds.But hey ho. It''s opinions and shows just how tough the conundrum in for Alex Neil. -
Whilst I accept the points you have made there GJL, I would point out that Ruddy was pretty poor in that FA Cup tie against Man City. Certainly at fault for De Bruyne''s goal and arguably very slow to get down to Man City''s second as well. His kicking is also very poor and lands us in a lot of trouble at times. If Ruddy comes back into the side and makes mistakes then where does that leave us then? He looked absolutely shot to pieces in the Arsenal game by the end. The reality is that neither goalkeeper is good enough to be playing in the Premier League. By all accounts that link to Mandanda in both the summer and January was very genuine. Given what has transpired this season you can see why. -
I was sat up high in the home end at Villa Park and I watched Mbokani very closely. I honestly don''t understand why so many of this board rate him so highly. He does certain things well. When the ball is played directly into him then he will hold it up and bring others into play. He''s also a better finisher than Jerome. However, his general mobility and willingness to work defences down the sides is very poor. I also don''t feel he harries defenders enough and we''re quite easy to pass through as a result. This is a real problem in games where we don''t have a lot of the ball.Good teams defend from the front and the absolute masters have been Leicester this season in that respect. When they came to Norwich at times you wondered how the hell we could get the ball past Vardy and Okasaki such was their work rate. I also do question his match awareness and tactical sharpness. He was needlessly caught offside a number of times in the game at Villa. To compound matters he also gave away a total needless free kick and was then out jumped by Lescott for the goal - with no idea or perception of where he was. I would now play Bamford or Jerome ahead of him in virtually every game this season. Both players I feel will offer us far more than Mbokani does at present. Yes, Jerome will miss the odd sitter but that''s something I''m prepared to suffer for the other stuff that he brings. -
I love that people on this board can''t see the irony in clamouring for Nigel Pearson - a man who ultimately succeeded in the Premier League at Leicester because his board (eventually) stood by him rather than firing him when things got tough. -
I would go for ----------------------Rudd-----------------------Pinto----------Bennett--------Klose------Olsson Redmond------Tettey-------Howson------Brady-----------------------Naismith--------------------------------------------Bamford---------------------Everyone in that lineup is playing in their most favoured position, including Klose who is a left footer. Give them a run of 4/5 games and see what happens. If the results don''t improve then we probably just have to accept it isn''t the tactics, it''s the fact we aren''t good enough. -
Nutty your obsession with Martin at centre back is now bordering on the perverse. For a variety of reasons, he is now almost unselectable in that position. -
Haven''t watched the horror show back but my thoughts were at the time sitting there at Villa Park:1. Stop changing it every week. That’s 11 different defensive combinations in 25 league matches. The players don’t know whether they’re coming or going.2.Play actual wingers (i.e. Brady and Redmond) on the wing rather than central midfielders like Hoolahan and Howson.3.Play Bamford or Jerome up top (players that offer movement, Mbokani is too static)4. Play actual full backs at full back (i.e. Olsson)5. Play your most complete central midfielder (Howson) in central midfield.6. Play Bennett (a right sided centre back) at right centre back, which will allow Klose (a left sided centre back) to play in his natural position. Only then should Klose be judged.If we go down having done all that I can accept it. Even if I don’t like it.
Hucks v Redders
in Main Discussion - Norwich City
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