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pete

5 games in two weeks. Can we cope?

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With the number of games coming up will City get through this run with significant success. Wes has been struggling to play three games in a week complaining of tiredness and needs to recover from his exertions against Poland. Tettey says he cannot play three games in a week and Bradley Johnson facing a 3 game ban for another booking it is unlikely Jonno can be booking free for 7 games.

That''s our three most influential midfielders unlikely to feature in all the games during this hectic period. Do we save Wes for the away games or the home games where we shall need him to open up teams at Carrow Rd. How plays the defensive midfield role or left sided role. Its a conundrum which we hope Alex Neil can solve. We have other midfield options in O''Neill and Vadis.

Redmond who has shown he knows where the goal is at least for England has a vital role to play either on the left if Jonno unavailable he has played there quite effectively. Southampton last season amongst other performances with Snoddy on the right we are well served with right sided players. Also should Jerome god forbid get crocked Redmond would be an option in a striking role due to his pace.

Hope Hooper steps up to the plate and can fill in for Wes behind the striker when Wes''s fatigue means he needs a rest.

Now is the time for the whole squad to prove it is the best in the division.

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[quote user="pete"]With the number of games coming up will City get through this run with significant success. Wes has been struggling to play three games in a week complaining of tiredness and needs to recover from his exertions against Poland. Tettey says he cannot play three games in a week and Bradley Johnson facing a 3 game ban for another booking it is unlikely Jonno can be booking free for 7 games.

That''s our three most influential midfielders unlikely to feature in all the games during this hectic period. Do we save Wes for the away games or the home games where we shall need him to open up teams at Carrow Rd. How plays the defensive midfield role or left sided role. Its a conundrum which we hope Alex Neil can solve. We have other midfield options in O''Neill and Vadis.

Redmond who has shown he knows where the goal is at least for England has a vital role to play either on the left if Jonno unavailable he has played there quite effectively. Southampton last season amongst other performances with Snoddy on the right we are well served with right sided players. Also should Jerome god forbid get crocked Redmond would be an option in a striking role due to his pace.

Hope Hooper steps up to the plate and can fill in for Wes behind the striker when Wes''s fatigue means he needs a rest.

Now is the time for the whole squad to prove it is the best in the division.[/quote]

That''s ruined my day, can''t take anymore, I''d just done the prediction thingy and had us going up.

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[quote user="FenwayFrank"]I didn''t think BJ had to go 7 games without a booking. Isn''t the slate wiped clean soon ?[/quote]Am looking for the date on the FA site, but not having much luck.

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[URL=http://s869.photobucket.com/user/mortymccarthy/media/Untitled_zpstk9bauvc.jpg.html][IMG]http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/mortymccarthy/Untitled_zpstk9bauvc.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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The challenge remains the same for every club - with careful management we should be fine. Whatever happens, I doubt we''ll be seeing Whittaker in midfield though...

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A key management skill lies in who can best instil confidence and belief within the players. Given his demeanour, I doubt many would swap Alex Neil right now - he''s made a significant impact hasn''t he?

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Well there will be no repeat of Brentford as we have O''Neil to come in. He can do the DM role in a different way to Tettey but will leave us better off than having Whittaker there and messing up the defensive continuity.

Dorrans can step in and solve the problem if Johnno gets a ban and a midfield of O''Neil, Howson, Dorrans, Wes and Redmond all behind Jerome could do alright if needed and we''d have Hooper, Andreu and Vadis to spare. If we had to run with them 5, i''d rather do it at home. Usually when we have neither Johnson or Tettey, we look a little short in the middle and the kick and lump teams with a tall player to win the flick ons could cause us damage without someone to challenge him properly in the air.

Good thing is though, that other teams will have problems too. People like Kenwyne Jones look good signings but if it''s to replace Wilson, they will be weaker for it.

Boro seem to have patched up their defence on a bit of a gamble as well, so perhaps they might wobble. Watford have a bit of a defensive crisis as well.

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Its a squad game and the depth of our squad means we are better placed than most teams.

 

For me its mental strength that will matter most - if the squad has the cojones and performs to their potential we should be fine.

 

As far as BJ is concerned I dont want him holding back hoping he can go 7 games (if thats what it is)  He would be a miss but the squad remains good enough to cover his absence,  esp with O''Neil back fit too.

 

Look forward with optomism.

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If the cut-off is still the second Sunday of April, then Johnson has to survive three matches without a booking to avoid a two match ban.

A highly unlikely scenario.

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[quote user="unique"]If the cut-off is still the second Sunday of April, then Johnson has to survive three matches without a booking to avoid a two match ban.

A highly unlikely scenario.[/quote]O''Neil is more than good cover for anyone missing through injury or suspension.  Could cover for Tettey - or Johnson - with Dorrans moving out to the left and O''Neil in the middle.  Vadis or Andreu also have to step up sometime too.

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There may well be ''adequate'' cover for Johnson over two games, but no other Norwich City midfielder comes close to Johnson this season when it comes to scoring goals, and this threat could be sorely missed.

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[quote user="unique"]There may well be ''adequate'' cover for Johnson over two games, but no other Norwich City midfielder comes close to Johnson this season when it comes to scoring goals, and this threat could be sorely missed.[/quote]

Maybe true, but Dorrans is more than capable of scoring goals as is Andreu - we just haven''t seen it yet, although I think from what I have seen of both Dorrans may be the more likely of the two to be able to match what Johnson has done from the left.  However, lets hope Johnson avoids any more yellow cards and the question doesn''t arise!

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i agree with LDC,  there are goal scoring alternatives - which is taking nothing away from BJ at all - he has been a regular starter for a reason.

 

As far as no midfielder comes close Howson scores at almost the same rate - he just has fewer starts - roughly once every 3.5 games over the season (BJ a goal every 309 mins,   JH 319).  

 

Add in assists & BJ has one every 257 mins of play,  Jonny H 186 while wes tops them all with a goal or assist every 128 mins.

 

As such I am not that concerned  our goal threat will be significantly reduced IF he does miss a game or two through suspension.     

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[quote user="morty"][URL=http://s869.photobucket.com/user/mortymccarthy/media/Untitled_zpstk9bauvc.jpg.html][IMG]http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/mortymccarthy/Untitled_zpstk9bauvc.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/quote]

What is the point of posting this graphic? Tetty has since received a twelfth yellow and has served his three game ban. Petty out of days if you ask me.

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Mortys table did not transfer under the "quote" button. Just a jumble of meaningless hieroglyphics. But then, that is probably appropriate.

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Morty, I really think you should go and stand in the corner and face the wall and think about what you''ve done[:D][:D][:D]

 

To answer the original question, yes we can cope...comfortably.

 

Apples

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[quote user="unique"]If the cut-off is still the second Sunday of April, then Johnson has to survive three matches without a booking to avoid a two match ban.

A highly unlikely scenario.[/quote]

So what do we do? Play one of him or Tettey next match and then the other the other match and hope Johnson doesn''t get booked and Tettey doesn''t get injured?

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[quote user="Jimmy Smith"][quote user="unique"]If the cut-off is still the second Sunday of April, then Johnson has to survive three matches without a booking to avoid a two match ban.

A highly unlikely scenario.[/quote]

So what do we do? Play one of him or Tettey next match and then the other the other match and hope Johnson doesn''t get booked and Tettey doesn''t get injured?[/quote]

I think we do what we''ve been doing - play our best 11, which currently means Tettey and Johnson.  If Johnson gets booked, we have plenty of replacements - Dorrans, O''Neil, Vadis, Andreu.  Same goes for Tettey not being able to play more than one game a week - O''Neil and Dorrans can both play that role.

If both are out suspended and injured/resting, I''d play O''Neil central and Dorrans wide left, with Howson and Redmond with Wes behind Jerome or Hooper.  Slightly risky with Redmond, Howson and Wes in the same team, but very good going forward!

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Definately the 2nd sunday in April is the cut off. But with Vadis, O''Neill, E.Bennett and Redmond waiting in the wings i wouldnt be too concerned.

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We have a big enough squad so Im confident we will cope.

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CJRV 2014 wrote the following post at 31/03/2015 2:06 PM:

With our squad other teams should be worried about whether they can cope.

Sums it up for me.

I can only see an intense period of games playing to the strength of our squad and hopefully having a detrimental effect on some of our rivals.

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One down, two games to go.

Some NCFC fans may like to think the team will comfortably cope if Johnson earns a two-match ban, his level of consistency and propensity to score crucial and spectacular goals suggest otherwise.

The only other midfielder that would be as close to a ''big miss'' as Johnson would probably be Tettey.

Johnson has cemented the POTS award.

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[quote user="unique"]There may well be ''adequate'' cover for Johnson over two games, but no other Norwich City midfielder comes close to Johnson this season when it comes to scoring goals, and this threat could be sorely missed.[/quote]hah !What do you know ?Quite a bit, it would seem

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