Ray

Reading Canary;   Love this;   Snodgrass. Just wish he had a bit more pace and released the ball earlier on more occasions.   Now I know the question was, "Who is your favourite winger" which of course means he could be your favourite because he''s your brother or something similar, however in my universe I would say a player is my favourite because he was the best, or damn close to it, so you gave me a good laugh by picking Snoddy and then saying you just wished he had a bit more pace and released the ball earlier, prime requisites of a top class winger one would think and the one thing I can probably guarantee you is that over the next few years he won''t gain any pace!   Thanks Reading Canary, you brightened my day.   Having seen what I have seen of young Mr Redmond, if we were asked this question in a few years time his name may well be the first on everyone''s list. 

Here''s the full quote. a lot of words which mean what??  I go back to Russ as Captain and Seb as Vice Captain “I thought about it long and hard,” said Hughton. “What we have in Russell is someone who has been here at this club for a long time and knowing the sort of character he is I am sure from day one he has performed not just on the pitch but around the club, around the young players and he is a great point for communication for myself and other staff members. “What he has done is perform the role of captain on numerous occasions as well so what I wanted alongside that was Seb involved in some way. Where we are as a club at this moment I also want to be mindful of players who have performed well. There have been some changes and new faces this summer and I was delighted with Seb’s contribution last season and I wanted him involved. In some games, even with Seb playing, Russ will take the armband and that is a reflection of what it means to the club.”

Just seen this quote from Chris Hughton, can someone explain why Russ was not named Captain and Seb Vice Captain? "In some games, even with Seb playing, Russ will take the armband"

Given that Fer is suspended and Bassong unlikely to be fit enough (saw him play 60 mins yesterday for the U21''s and imo not ready yet). What I would like to see and what I will see are probably two different selections, so here goes;   Like to see;                               Ruddy   Whitaker   R Martin (Capt)   Turner   Olsson   E Bennett     Johnson     Howson     Redmond                      RVW                                         Hooper   Probably will see;                                 Ruddy      Whitaker   R Martin (Capt)   Turner   Olsson   Snodgrass   Johnson   Howson   Tettey   Redmond                                   RVW

Just because someone is considered our best player doesn''t mean they will be our best Captain, Ronaldo isn''t Captain of Real Madrid, nor is Messi Captain of Barcelona.  The best Captain is the player with the best leadership skills and who is the most respected by the players (team); the second attribute normally flows seamlessly from the first, the obvious choice then is Russ Martin, the player most respected by the other players, he was also the fans choice in the recent poll. Whilst it can be argued that a football Captain has less impact on the outcome of a game than say a cricket Captain, he certainly does have an impact, especially if he is the correct Captain, with the appropriate leadership skills, something very few have, but Russ Martin does.  A Captain with these skills can motivate by deed and words whereas a Captain who leads by example only (as I expect Seb will and do it damn well) by definition has less of an impact.  The thinking leader will be able to solicit 5% more from the other ten players, which of course effectively gives us another half a player on the pitch. The other side of the coin is that if the players feel they have the wrong Captain this could have a negative impact, especially, but not solely, on team cohesion and overall performance.  I believe there are many managers who lack this understanding and conversely many who don''t.  There are numerous examples of Captains who led by example and numerous of Captains who led by words, there are far fewer examples of those who had the ability to lead using both deeds and words, Bobby Moore immediately springs to mind. Now, I am not putting Russ Martin in the same category as Bobby Moore when it comes to his playing prowess, however I am putting him the same category as Bobby Moore as a Captain who could lead by deed and word and I believe the club may have missed a trick here, he is respected by all and imo is a fine player who will appear on the pitch in the majority of this season''s matches, so why not make Russ Captain and Seb Vice Captain? Now we come to the games when both Seb and Russ are on the pitch, who will actually be the captain, who will the other players see as their on-field Captain, who will be the player with the most impact verbally (and by this I don''t mean shout the loudest)?  We probably all know the answer to that, it will be Russ Martin, so perversely and through no fault of his own there may be team disharmony because of Russ''s natural leadership abilities.  

Chicken, Perhaps not giving up on Toby, but possibly selling or loaning out a CB if he comes?  If that is the case my money would be on Michael Turner, not because of his ability but because he is closing in on thirty, not old for a modern player I know but the oldest CB we have, this would leave our four CB''s as Bassong, 27, Martin, 27, Alderweireld, 24 and Bennett, 23, with Ayala if he stays at 22 plus others such as Gafaiti, 19, coming through the ranks.  I think perm any two from the four and we would have a sound CB pairing, plus of course we have cover for Whits if injured in Russ Martin, or even Elliott Bennett, who having seen him play at RB a couple of time, is more than capable.

Russ Martin has played at CB most of the pre-season, which is where he is currently playing internationally and he has been captain throughout.  Also during the pre-season a number of players have occupied right back, Whits, Adel Gafaiti (a CB for the Dev Squad) Elliott Bennet and Ewan McNeil (Dev Squad RB), so it would seem to me that there is a strong possibility that RM will be playing CB as Captain.   It will be interesting to see the set up tonight and Saturday, which will no doubt throw more light on the subject.

Clever Wiz, but not clever enough, because we could ask the same question of Andy Murray, British or Scottish, so back to tennis!! You could counter, Celtic when they won the European Cup, British or Scottish, so back to football, but then we will of course be playing ping pong with each other, so there we go, back to tennis!! Good vying with you Sir, enjoy the rest of the pre-season and of course the superb season and cup runs we are about to have. 

Hi Webbo, yes this is possible, however we don''t know how well he would have performed otherwise.  Also, McEnroe says the following in his book;   But would McEnroe have been a better player without the tantrums? The great man himself certainly thinks so.   He writes in his autobiography, ‘Serious’, that if he had had the ability to remain calm, he would have performed better.  Of course, one might say that with 7 Grand Slam titles to his name,  McEnroe was already performing to the top of his ability. But after his golden year of 1984 (42-match winning streak + victory at the US Open and Wimbledon), McEnroe never again won a singles Grand Slam.  Although he often played well in his later years on tour, he never made it past the semis in any of the Grand Slams, and had difficulty getting to grips with the high power games of younger tennis stars like Boris Becker. In fact, McEnroe is the first to admit that his temper often disrupted his rhythm, and was often an indication that he was about to choke.  He sees his anger as a response to nerves and a deep-seated fear of failure. So, it appears, if we accept McEnroe as someone who performed at the highest level, no matter how good you are your ''mindset'' dramatically affects your performance, so why not take steps to improve it. Let''s face it you cannot put one foot in front of the other without your brain playing a pivotal part, so consequently, playing free flowing football comes only from your brain which instructs your body and just like a computer, the better it is programmed the better it will perform. The Original 1st Wizard (Wiz) has the temerity to use words such as; hocus, pocus, mumbo jumbo nonsense, take a look at your profile Wiz!! The game is always about emotion, it is emotion that drives behaviour, so rather watch a game of positive and negative emotion, just how much of an advantage would a team have if they performed for 90 mins driven by solely positive emotion, unlikely I know, but more positive emotion and less negative emption can only improve performance. Those who ridicule, I refer you to my previous post and suggest you think you are the finished article, God help us all!! When you think you are green you are still growing, if you think you are ripe you start to rot.

Re the psychology many are talking about, it works and improving your mental attitude to anything, whether it be as a team or individual can only improve performance. The chemicals created within your brain when in an ''angry/frustrated'' state serve only to inhibit innovation and creativity, so don''t expect a killer through ball for a minute or two if you''ve been involved in a ''negative'' incident. Ask yourself, how quickly can I go from a positive mood to a negative one, typically in a milli-second, yet going from a negative mood to a positive one takes far longer! However, there is little point attempting to address behaviour without addressing thinking (mindset or attitude or whatever you want to call it).  Attempting to address behaviour solely will have an effect for a while but just like a stretched elastic band it will snap back to its original position unless mindset is addressed and by mindset I mean the values and beliefs held with your subconscious.  It is these values and beliefs that drive your feelings and emotions, which in turn drive your behaviour. So, I agree that many players, including Mr Snodgrass, exhibit negative behaviour, which in turn diminishes performance.  This behaviour is a merciless reflection of the values and beliefs they hold, however they were not born with these values and beliefs, they have formulated or adopted them over their lifetime, so, this means different values and beliefs can be adopted, values and beliefs that will provide more positive emotions, giving rise to more positive behaviour, which in turn become habitual and low and behold the results achieved are also more positive. The issue is whether clubs, managers, players realise how simple it is to encourage a positive change, notice I didn''t say easy, it does take some work.  In my experience football is definitely behind most other sports, although this is slowly changing, my experience also tells me that the ''mindset'' side of the game is often left to the individual and I have worked with some splendid individuals from the PL, the sad part about it is that those that could perhaps benefit the most, believe they won''t! In which case I guess they think they are the finished article!!! When you think how much money is spent on physical training, pre season tours, etc the amount required to provide the entire squad with the tools to mange their mindset is miniscule, and let''s face it, a 5% improvement in the level of our performance can, and will, make an enormous difference to results and of course every position higher up the league brings in hundreds of thousands, or millions, so worth a punt then??

Hi Yellow since 72, Possible there are other candidates, not sure about Snoddy he can be a bit of a moaner, although the captaincy may change that and Bassong maybe in the future but his twitter antics didn''t really stand him in good stead.  IMO opinion RM is a natural and is well respected as such by most it not all at the club, especially the younger players, even when Holty was around he was always a positive influence.  If you have heard him speak publicly or to the media it is obvious he is a natural leader and will therefore probably get the most out of the players around him. 

I would choose Russ Martin over Whits for the following reason (this is a copy of one of my previous mails in another post); RM has a massive influence on the performance of the rest of team, something we don''t always take into account when we review someone''s individual performance, perhaps because we can''t hear it, so whilst there may be better options available on pure ability, if he gets an extra 5% from other players through his attitude and leadership skills it''s like having another half a player on the pitch.  Not sure how old you are or whether you are interested in cricket, but Mike Brearley captained England in 31 of the 39 Test Matches he played, only losing 4 times, yet he only averaged 22.88, yet was considered one of England''s greatest ever captains, the following is a direct quote from Wikipedia; Having passed the England captaincy to Ian Botham in 1980 (losing his Test place in the process), Brearley returned as captain following Botham''s resignation for the famous third Test against Australia at Headingley in 1981,[11] famously going on to win the match and two of the remaining three matches of the series to win the Ashes 3-1. Brearley''s extraordinary galvanising of Botham is regarded as one of the greatest feats of sporting psychology of all time: I think RM can, and will, have a similar effect, therefore would always be in my team, I have a feeling CH is of the same opinion because if you heard RM''s interview last night (about 11.10pm) he revealed he had been captain for both USA matches so far (and was for the third) and when asked if he was going to be captain for the coming season, he replied "I haven''t been approached." So this may still be undecided??

Hi Militant Canary, Agree with pretty much all you say, although I feel you were a bit harsh on RM, it was RB who gave him a pass way of the mark which put him in no mans land.  Can''t blame RM for this one and at least he did all he could to get back.  EB could, and has, play RB IMO, obviously he would probably be third choice behind RM and Whitts, but quite a good third choice, plus it frees up a squad place. The players are still not 100% match fit, I spoke with one of the youngsters and he still feels he needs another week to be 100%, so I assume it''s the same for the rest of the squad. Our form in the upcoming European games will no doubt be a bigger indicator, especially as it appears we now have another striker in board. 

Hi GJP,   Sounds like we are waging peace on each other! Yep, not the best in the league, but could go on to be one of the best, also he has a massive influence on the performance of the rest of team, something we don''t always take into account when we review someone''s individual performance, perhaps because we can''t hear it, so whilst there may be better options available on pure ability, if he gets an extra 5% from other players through his attitude and leadership skills it''s like having another half a player on the pitch.  Not sure how old you are or whether you are interested in cricket, but Mike Brearley captained England in 31 of the 39 Test Matches he played, only losing 4 times, yet he only averaged 22.88, yet was considered one of England''s greatest ever captains, the following is a direct quote from Wikipedia; Having passed the England captaincy to Ian Botham in 1980 (losing his Test place in the process), Brearley returned as captain following Botham''s resignation for the famous third Test against Australia at Headingley in 1981,[11] famously going on to win the match and two of the remaining three matches of the series to win the Ashes 3-1. Brearley''s extraordinary galvanising of Botham is regarded as one of the greatest feats of sporting psychology of all time: I think RM can, and will, have a similar effect, therefore would always be in my team, I have a feeling CH is of the same opinion because if you heard RM''s interview last night (about 11.10pm) he revealed he had been captain for both USA matches so far.  When asked if he was the Captain for the season, he said he had not been approached yet, so it may still be undecided??    

GJP, His performances for Norwich were sound and he was playing RB, in the Scotland game he played CB.  I don''t recall him letting us down in any match.  Yes of course he sometimes gets beaten, but then so does every defender, that''s what attackers are supposed to do, but overall he performed well throughout the season.  The point I was making, although perhaps I didn''t elucidate sufficiently, was that he is probably more of a CB than RB, but can only play where selected and at 27 is maturing into a valuable defender and potential captain.  He was also our equal 4th highest goal scorer last season, although I accept this doesn''t say much, but he did score more goals than Hoolahan and Howson, in fact only one less than their combined tally.  IMO, which of course proves me right, well it does to me, just as yours proves you right to you, we will see RM play a big part in our season, therefore we will see him play ''immense'' games for us too, along with all the other NCFC players on the pitch (we hope).

Russ Martin is asked by the media to comment, as his interview tonight on Talk Sport demonstrated, because he is articulate and media savvy, not because he puts himself forward.  In fact he has been asked by other players in the past to take their place for this very reason.    Even when Holty was captain RM was a POSITIVE influence at Colney not just with the 1st Team but also with the youngsters.   His performance for Scotland against Croatia was immense and he is always the last player to leave the pitch on match day, no matter what the result.   He is a thinking player and therefore perhaps a rarity. This fact appears to be recognised by CH as in the last few games of the season whenever CH wanted to pass on instructions it was RM he called to the touchline, so IMO he will be our next Captain and will go on to be a NCFC legend.

Russ Martin, for a number reasons, he is likely to be captain and also if on the field can cover injury to CB, plus probably the better player overall, can bomb forward if team tactics call for it. He is possession and has done nothing wrong either on or off the field to lose his place. 

Not sure we need another CB, we have 5 if we keep Ayala and count Russ Martin as a CB or RB, plus on tour CH has played Adel Gafaiti as a RB in both games so far. When in the Development Squad he plays CB, so may be CH sees him as cover for both posi1tions if needed. Even if Ayala goes we have 4 plus Adel Gafaiti. I''m not suggesting Gafaiti will be a starter or even on the bench but CH must see something in him. It will be interesting to see if he plays on Wednesday and then in the pre-season games when they return. 

Jamar Dunga striker and Ewan McNeil right back. There are trialists coming from around the world at all age groups, as far afield as Australia and America, so who knows for the future.

Adel Gafaiti appears to have slipped under the radar for many, but then being a defender and being too old by a few weeks for the Youth Cup Final he hasn''t had the mentions other youngsters have, so if it helps here''s a copy of a post I made in April.   Yes I have see him play numerous times this season. He is just a few weeks too old to play for the U18s, therefore is a very young prospect in the U21s. His best game this season was against Stoke at home, when he outperformed two first team defenders playing in the match. He is a very talented young man, intelligent with a great attitude, who constantly works on improving his game. he is a genuine prospect and learning very quickly.  IMO we have a young man who offers a great deal, who should be nurtured, he learns quickly and if he continues to develop as he has this year I would expect to see him pushing for a first team place within a year.  He is an ever present in Scott Marshall''s U21 team and for those of you who want to see him play he will be in the U21 fixture at Colney next Monday v Newcastle and in the upcoming Norfolk Senior Cup Final at Carrow Rd.  

It would be interesting to see our U21''s play say a League 1 or even Championship side, to test their level, etc.  My feelings are they would acquit themselves quite well.  After all the U21''s are effectively the reserves. And the U21 league is competitive, just ask the players. They frequently come up against Prem players returning from injury and don''t appear to have any fear, mind you who does at that age? I''m not suggesting any of our lads are Rooney level, but he made his Prem League debut aged 16, as have many others, and he wasn''t put out on loan previously. If they''ve got it, they''ve got it, and the two in the USA both represent their country, I think Adel played at U20 level when only 17!! We shall see but one thing''s for sure it will fascinating monitoring their progress.  

I''ve posted this on another thread, but realised it may be more appropriate for this one?   If we assume Russell Martin can cover a CB position, or indeed may play CB this year (he did a great job for Scotland against Croatia recently) and Ayala and Barnett are leaving, then with Bassong, Turner and Bennett we have four CB''s, so may be CH is testing Adel Gafaiti to establish if he is good enough should he be needed, same with Josh Murphy.  The wages for these guys are (at the moment) in the hundreds, therefore keeping the wage bill down.  There is of course no transfer fee.  Also as they are both U21, 19 and 3 days and 18 and 5 months respectively, then this frees up squad places for more attack minded players and perhaps a right full back, assuming RM plays CB.  Although Elliot Bennett is more than capable of covering this position and has done so in the past very well. Just because we can have 25 squad members over 21 doesn''t mean we have to.  If we have the youth to cover in extreme circumstances then why not leave a position or two free for possible signings in the January window. The youngsters have often played against Prem opposition in their U21 games, each team is allowed 3 outfield players over 21 to cover returning from injury, etc. and the games I''ve seen, which is most of the home matches, they have performed well.  OK, it''s not 3.00pm on a Saturday, but at some stage each player makes a debut. Just my opinion guys, which of course proves me right, well it does to me, it may not to you of course!!!!

If we assume Russell Martin can cover a CB position, or indeed may play CB this year (he did a great job for Scotland against Croatia recently) and Ayala and Barnett are leaving, then with Bassong, Turner and Bennett we have four CB''s, so may be CH is testing Adel Gafaiti to establish if he is good enough should he be needed, same with Josh Murphy.  The wages for these guys are (at the moment) in the hundreds, therefore keeping the wage bill down.  There is of course no transfer fee.  Also as they are both U21, 19 and 3 days and 18 and 5 months respectively, then this frees up squad places for more attack minded players and perhaps a right full back, assuming RM plays CB.  Although Elliot Bennett is more than capable of covering this position and has done so in the past very well. Just because we can have 25 squad members over 21 doesn''t mean we have to.  If we have the youth to cover in extreme circumstances then why not leave a position or two free for possible signings in the January window. The youngsters have often played against Prem opposition in their U21 games, each team is allowed 3 outfield players over 21 to cover returning from injury, etc. and the games I''ve seen, which is most of the home matches, they have performed well.  OK, it''s not 3.00pm on a Saturday, but at some stage each player makes a debut. Just my opinion guys, which of course proves me right, well it does to me, it may not to you of course!!!!

Contrary to popular belief, I love to say I told you so.  Well done Adel first team football ahead of time, 19 years and 2 days. Don''t you just love it when a plan comes together??

And Adel is a CB, turned 19 today, what a great birthday present, should imagine the lads are putting him through it!!