Step forward Vadis Odija

[a1canary 0]

Anyone else feel this guy will have a role to play in the next few months?

We''ve seen how important Tettey has become to our defensive solidity but his position is constantly in doubt because of his knee or his bookings. Similarly Johonson although his fitness is far less of an issue.

As such i can only see Vadis being the genuine, like for like stand in for Tettey. What little we saw of him before he got crocked i was really encouraged by. He has that wonderful languid style where he can get form box to box quickly with huge powerful strides - in the kind of vein of a Viera or a Toure. Easy/lazy to make those sort of comparisons and not for a moment meant to suggest he''s as good as them, just the in terms of his manner on the pitch.

Seems that AN may be thinking this as he seems keen to get him in the squad.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,486]

Vadis and Tettey are very different players. Tettey''s main strength is his willingness to sit deep and shield the back four, a role which requires great discipline and good positioning.

Vadis, as you said, wants to burst forward more and make runs into the box - this would make him a terrible holding midfielder as the last place you want him is in the opposition box. Vadis is more like Howson or Johnson than Tettey.

Alex Neil said Vadis will be a ''peripheral'' player this season and then brought in Dorrans who also plays in his position. I see no evidence that the manager is keen to bring Vadis into the team.

Gary O''Neil is the most obvious replacement for Tettey in the squad as he is also aware enough to be able to play the deeper role, and has a good range of passing, which is often a feature people over look about Tettey.

[Kingston Yellow 259]

I''ll be surprised if we see anymore of him. I saw him at Shef Wed and he looked miles off the pace and not up to the physical demands of the Champs. Alex Neil has got the luxury of time to allow Ouija to find his feet. And in the meantime, Dorren''s come in and hit the ground running.

I reckon he''ll be off in the summer.

[Kingston Yellow 259]

EDIT - Alex Neil has not got the luxury of time to allow Ouija to find his feet

[a1canary 0]

Well, no two players are the same, but i disagree completely with your assertion that he would be a "terrible holding midfielder". Johnson, Tettey, Vadis are all the kind of midfielders who could be molded to play the holding role, hell we''ve even seen AN prepared to put a RB in that role so he certainly won''t have problem doing it with someone who is by trade a powerful central midfielder. Pellegrini does the same with Toure moving him from a holding role to an AM role, often WITHIN games.  As for seeing "no evidence that the manager is keen to bring Vadis in to the team" AN taking him to Blackburn is not evidence for you? 

[Feedthewolf 5,931]

[quote user="Kingston Yellow"]EDIT - Alex Neil has not got the luxury of time to allow Ouija to find his feet[/quote]Maybe the player himself will get fed up and put in a transfer request – the headline could be ''Ouija bored''.

[daz 163]

[quote user="Kingston Yellow"]I''ll be surprised if we see anymore of him. I saw him at Shef Wed and he looked miles off the pace and not up to the physical demands of the Champs. Alex Neil has got the luxury of time to allow Ouija to find his feet. And in the meantime, Dorren''s come in and hit the ground running.

I reckon he''ll be off in the summer.[/quote]

perhaps because early on in that match he had done his medial knee ligaments and still lasted the half........

[Howson is now! 1]

Johnson is not the kind of player who could be molded to play the holding role. There''s a reason he''s having the season of his life when he''s not being asked to play that role.

Tettey doesn''t need to be molded into that role, it is his natural role and what he is comfortable with. We tried to force Howson to play there and we stifled his creativity when we all know he''s much better bombing forward and trying to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.

I don''t necessarily think he''d be a terrible option there, but I''m tired of people trying to force midfielders into playing a holding role when it''s not natural. Just because you play in the middle of the park, it doesn''t make it automaticaaly possible to switch your mindset to a holding player.

If we want a stand in for Tettey then we need to get someone who''s role is to play as a holding midfielder as I don''t see much more benefit from asking any old midfielder to do it, to asking Whittaker to do it as it''s not natural for them.

As for taking him to Blackburn being an indication that he wants him in the team, maybe he wants him as part of the squad, not necessarily as a starter.

I think when Tettey''s ban comes into effect after Sunday, we''ll see O''Neill play there.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,486]

Whilst no two players are identical (apart from maybe the Murphys) - there are players who are very similar. You called Vadis and Tettey ''like for like'' and I would certainly say they aren''t that close in their game.

Personally I feel Johnson is not suited to being a holding midfielder due to his instinct to push up the pitch to get involved in the action. His worst period for Norwich came whilst Hughton asked him to sit deep in the midfield.

The two players you mention in Toure and Viera are/were not ''holding midfielders'' - there is a difference between a midfielder who makes tackles and wins the ball than one whose primary role is to sit deep and shield the back four - the holding midfielder will probably make less tackles in the game than the previous type, as they are more based on making interceptions or forcing the opposition to go wider.

From what I have read and seen of Vadis in Belgium he could be a great player for Norwich, but forcing him to sit deep and curve his attacking instinct would be counterproductive. He could be molded in holding mid, but that would take quite a few months of training and games - and as mentioned, Norwich don''t have the luxury right now of trying out players in new positions.

Whilst Vadis was taken to Blackburn, Tettey with his dodgy knees and walking the tightrope of suspension was still preferred on the subs bench.

Alex Neil''s words about Vadis give a much bigger clue to his intentions than whether he was on the bus to Blackburn and back or not.

[Howson is now! 1]

Also agree that Viera and Toure aren''t/weren''t holding midfielders. If you want an example of a great holding midfielder you''ve got to be looking at the likes of Javier Mascherano at Barcelona. Even at Liverpool his sole purpose was to sit deep, win the ball, and give it to Alonso.

[Feedthewolf 5,931]

[quote user="Howson is now"]Johnson is not the kind of player who could be molded to play the holding role. There''s a reason he''s having the season of his life when he''s not being asked to play that role.

Tettey doesn''t need to be molded into that role, it is his natural role and what he is comfortable with. We tried to force Howson to play there and we stifled his creativity when we all know he''s much better bombing forward and trying to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.

I don''t necessarily think he''d be a terrible option there, but I''m tired of people trying to force midfielders into playing a holding role when it''s not natural. Just because you play in the middle of the park, it doesn''t make it automaticaaly possible to switch your mindset to a holding player.

If we want a stand in for Tettey then we need to get someone who''s role is to play as a holding midfielder as I don''t see much more benefit from asking any old midfielder to do it, to asking Whittaker to do it as it''s not natural for them.

As for taking him to Blackburn being an indication that he wants him in the team, maybe he wants him as part of the squad, not necessarily as a starter.

I think when Tettey''s ban comes into effect after Sunday, we''ll see O''Neill play there.[/quote]Agree with all of this – O''Neil is the only other natural option for a holding role. Johnson and/or Howson (and possibly Vadis) could play as one of the two holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1, but only if Tettey (or O''Neil at a push) were alongside them to play the disciplined role.

[a1canary 0]

Who said Viera/Toure were holding midfielders? I just said VOO has the look of them when he plays and from what most are saying here he is that kind of player as well in terms of being a dynamic and generally attacking midfield player. However, with Dorrans now in the team, Andreu, Howson, Hoolahan there really isn''t a space for him in that part of the pitch so my sense was that AN may be thinking of him in a deeper role (which Pelegrini uses Toure for a lot). Otherwise why bother involving him in the squad at all? My other sense is that we are going to have to do without Tettey for certain games between now and May, so AN will need to be and of course is thinking about how we play withouth Tettey, as he was doing last night for the starting 11. Let''s just see how things pan out.

Of course you want to play players in their favoured position but equally you mustn''t as a manager be afraid to try slightly different roles for players, and very often in doing that you find they are better suited to a role other than the one they have played before. Witness Hoolahan being considered a left sided midfielder when he arrived.

[Six Pack 105]

He may turn out ok in that holding role but his preferred position is attacking mid and was brought to the club for that reason - to play that position. He has a lot of natural ability, running power and shooting power. I for one would like to see this.

I do not see any reason why VOD should be the one that has to change position or leave the club. When he is back to full fitness he can change the manager''s decision of the team setup and instead move Howson back and send Dorrans & Andreu to the bus stop !

[Tetteys Jig 853]

Thing is, I wouldn''t call any of our midfielders holding mids apart from Tettey, so he is impossible to replace.

This means when he inevitably is banned, we''ll have to change our system. Perhaps we will have a more dynamic midfield where all three potential CM''s (say if Johnson, Howson and Vadis started) have to chip in to cover the back four?

I think what the OP is alluding to is that we could "get away with" a midfield of Vadis, Howson and Johnson but not so much Howson, Johnson and Dorrans.

[Lessingham Canary 108]

Don''t think we have seen enough of Vadis, to answer the OP question of "can he step forward", I saw him at Sheff Weds when he got injured, and certainly he didn''t show enough that day.

What we have seen enough of recently is that the manager will change the team to suit, and no player is surplus if he doesn''t want them to be, so it is up VO to show what he has, and if he is good enough he will get the chance, ask Grabban, Wes or Bassong.....

[Kingston Yellow 259]

Daz - "perhaps because early on in that match he had done his medial knee ligaments and still lasted the half........ "

Perhaps.... or perhaps I''m not far off the truth thus why he couldn''t break into NA''s team and why AN isn''t exactly racing him back, preferring Dorrens.

Let''s see how many games he plays for us.

[havemyhowsonit 0]

No.

Get rid waste of money.

Done nothing. Will do nothing this season.

[wcorkcanary 4,839]

FFS Guys give Vadis a chance will ye ? He has had a serious injury and should NOT be rushed back, how can he be off in the summer if he hasnt played much ball? would anyone buy him unless he personally leads the charge to the prem in the next few weeks, Surely the most prudent thing to do is ease him back in where and when its appropriate.

Don''t write the guy off just yet, he can still be a very important player for us.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="Jimmy Smith"]Thing is, I wouldn''t call any of our midfielders holding mids apart from Tettey[/quote]

O''Neil? 

[GJP 79]

Might be a good player but might not work out for him here.

 

Probably harder to imagine him being in the team next season than it is to imagine him out of the picture.

[Tetteys Jig 853]

[quote user="Phillip J Fry"][quote user="Jimmy Smith"]Thing is, I wouldn''t call any of our midfielders holding mids apart from Tettey[/quote]

O''Neil? 

[/quote]

He is comfortable and disciplined on the ball etc but not the destroyer like Tetts is.

[TIL 1010 5,303]

[quote user="a1canary"]

 

 He has that wonderful languid style where he can get form box to box quickly with huge powerful strides

[/quote]

I think I had better have a pint of what you have been on mate because having seen him play at both Shrewsbury and Sheff Wed I must have been watching a different game. Before we signed him I had never ever seen him play so maybe you can enlighten us as to where you witnessed these attributes ? By the way 30 second clips on Youtube can be deceiving if that is what you come up with.