My almost end of term report

[Paul Withey 0]

I''m new to the forum so thought i would start with my end of term report:

Whilst there is a lot of hate for Watford & Bournemouth on from elements of the ncfc support I have nothing but admiration for what they have achieved. Table does not lie at the end of the season and they fully deserve to go up automatically.

In terms of NCFC I think our season has really been a "what if" season. The biggest "what if" being what if we had had a decent manager for the whole season. The job that Alex Neil has done only goes to show just how badly wrong McNally and the board got it when reappointing Neil Adams.

In terms of Alex Neil I was very critical when they appointed him as I thought we were going from one unproven unknown manager to another however he has done a good job and seems to have earned the respect of everyone very quickly.

In terms of the players my reviews are as follows:

Ruddy - not had a great season by his high standards but seems to have come back into form of late following a serious crisis of confidence in the middle of the season. Still struggles with corners & crosses which baffles me given he is such a huge man.

Whittaker - often the scapegoat for many but for me always gives his all. Limited footballer but fully committed to the cause. 6 out of 10 most weeks.

Martin - another one who splits opinion. Not in the best two centre backs in the league in my eyes but fair play if his fellow pros think that. Fully committed & a decent bloke by all accounts. I always get the impression though he plays like a centre back who has pace but does not actually have that much hence why he gets caught out by mobile strikers with movement. Decent enough season.

Bassong - been typical Bassong really once we swallowed our pride and played him. 90% of the time he is outstanding the other 10% of the time he switches off and gets caught ball watching. Uses his pace to get him out of trouble as don''t think he reads the game that well. Still our best centre back though. Fancy him to come up with a goal in the play offs.

R Bennett - injury plagued season.

Michael Turner - almost an ever present under Neil Adams and hardly seen under Alex Neil prior to his loan move. Says it''s all.

Miguel - can''t comment as have never seen him play. Appears further away from the starting line up here than he was at Arsenal. Dreadful waste of money.

Cuellar - looks exactly what he is an ageing centre back picking up a last pay cheque. Another strange signing from Adams.

Ollson - played the first half of the season like he didn''t want to be at the club. Looked like he was going to move in January only to turn down a move to WBA. Talented player but another one who appears to switch off at times. Expect him to depart in the summer.

Garrido - drawing a very decent wage for doing nothing. Hope we get rid of him in the summer and bring Toffolo through.

Johnson - great season from Bradley. His goal scoring has been a a revelation. Still tends to give the ball away a lot but can''t fault his commitment to the cause.

Tettey - think he has had a very good season. If there is a better defensive midfielder in the league I''m not sure I have seen him. Breaks play up and we always look a lot better when he plays.

Howson - to me he''s a frustrating player. has great ability but never seems to take games by the scruff of the neck and dominate them by himself which i think he has the ability to do. Still has scored some good goals and when driving forward from centre midfield looks a class player. Wasted when played out wide right as he has been in recent times.

Hollahan - another very good season from the Irish wizard. When on song he is still a class above at this level. Still has the tendency to give the ball away in silly positions but you can forgive him for that when you see some of the good stuff he does. Think he is coming to the stage of his career where he will be best utilised off the bench for 30 mins or so when the game opens up.

Redmond - started the season very well but still flatters to deceive. Has so much talent and pace yet chooses to slow play down a lot. When he does skin his full back he frustratingly seems happy to rest on his laurels where as if someone like Hucks had the beating of his full back he would want to twist him inside out all game. Lacks a killer instinct but I think his final ball has got slightly better during the course of the season.

Dorrans - looks a good player to me. Would like to see him here next season as think he will get better and better.

Andreau - only seen in small glimpses but looked a long way off the pace and nowhere near a million pound player to me. Too lightweight and don''t expect him come good. Poor signing.

Gary O''Neil - has looked a steady player when called upon and may have been a but underused.

Vadis Ofoe - another who has been plagued by injury but again seems a poor bit of business by Neil Adams on face value. 4 million down the drain I reckon as do t expect him to be here next season.

Josh Murphy - after a positive start to the season he has seemed to have disappeared and now not even getting in the squad at Wigan. Needs to start delivering soon or will end up being the next starlet who slips down the leagues.

Jacob Murphy - seems to have performed well in his loan spells and the game time will do him good. Like his twin though needs to start to kick on for NCFC.

Elliot Bennett - decent bloke but very little impact on the team. Injuries have not helped but think he will be on his way in the summer.

Lafferty - much like David Healy I think he is one of those players who performs better at international level than club level. Looked lively at start of the season but never got a run in his preferred position up top. Jury still out.

Hooper - to me his our most natural striker and has been underused in terms of starts. When he has played he''s has seemed to get used in a withdrawn role just behind main striker where as I see him as an out and our goal scorer/ poacher. 13 goals is a ok return considering he has been on the bench a lot.

Grabban - not a natural goal scorer for me and appears a sulky type of player when things are not going well for him. 11 goals is an ok return but I expected more from a 3 million pound striker when you consider players like Freddie Sears only cost 100k in January and already has 10 goals. Let us down badly on Saturday and personally would get shot of him if anyone offered the money we paid for him. Average championship striker who works the channels well but would not cut it in the premier league.

Jerome - been a very good signing for me although has tired a bit of late. Big strong and powerful and despite again bit being a natural goal scorer has netted a very good 19 goals. Scored some crackers as well.

Loza - great intervention at Huddersfield but looks like he is going to struggle to make the grade with us.

Anyway the play offs loom and hopefully a few of the above can make themselves heroes. It''s going to be nerve wracking though.

[ec-p 90]

Thanks Paul, good post and a fair reflection IMO. Welcome.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Not far off my thoughts really. A bit harsh on Grabban but i guess understandable after his ill discipline at the weekend.

For me, he''s our only striker that can take things by the scruff of the neck and stretch defences. We seem to tippy tappy around the penalty area far too much and are scared to play the final ball or have a shot.

I guess that comes with the territory of being arguably the biggest fish in the league. Teams set their stall up against us and our players must be scared they are only ever one Whittaker vs Brentford pass away from being caught out on the break.

For me, we still need more pace and power in the side. We''re up there with the best technically but still seem far too brittle even at this level. Every mistake we make seems to go punished and I can''t help that''s because we give easy chances away as opposed to our shots where we''re smashing from 20 yards through crowds of defenders quite often. More pace and decisiveness would really transform us.

[jaemae2 0]

You know that Hooper only has 12 goals, right?. You know that Grabban has 12 goals, right? You know Grabban only has 5 more starts than Hooper right? You know that of Hooper''s 12 goals 3 are from PKS HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH EARNING, right? You know only 1 of Grabban''s goals came from a PK HE HAD EARNED, right?

[ec-p 90]

[quote user="jaemae2"]You know that Hooper only has 12 goals, right?. You know that Grabban has 12 goals, right? You know Grabban only has 5 more starts than Hooper right? You know that of Hooper''s 12 goals 3 are from PKS HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH EARNING, right? You know only 1 of Grabban''s goals came from a PK HE HAD EARNED, right?[/quote]

You know virtually no one agrees with you, right?

[jaemae2 0]

People don''t agree that they have the same number of goals with one only starting 5 more games? and that Hooper has scored 3 of his from PKs? That''s weird...

[jaemae2 0]

Or that all but 1 of Hooper''s goals have come against teams in the Bottom 6 when we''ve played them? And in fact, 4 of them from Blackpool alone...

[vos 155]

I am a long standing supporter and more or less in full agreement with Paul''s assessment. Three players I would make further comment on ;- Johnson - a stroke of genius to play him in an attacking left sided role. Has always been a powerful tackler, but has made some great late runs in to the box and can certainly put some power behind his left foot shots. Jerome - has worked hard and is still quite pacey. I like his attitude particularly towards younger players. Redmond - has improved very little against inferior opponents. Big disappointment. Started well and for a period looked unstoppable but has barely produced since the New Year. Quality of final ball still suspect and with his ability should have scored a lot more goals.

As Paul suggests over recent games playing Howson and Johnson in forward wide roles has not worked. They are both "lampard style" coming in to goal scoring situations late. Watching Bournemouth last night it is clear we are not direct or quick enough up front. I would partly attribute this to Wes who slows us down and goes across the pitch and tries short tight passes which do not work against quickly recovering defences. Finally - how many times have we even threatened from corner kicks.

I still believe we have a lot of experience and individual quality to win the payoffs.

[GJP 79]

Can''t really agree with Whittaker being "limited" but Olsson being "talented".

[Move Klose 303]

Jaemae2. Do goals not count against teams near the bottom then. What should he do fire wide on purpose "sorry im only allowed to score against the top 6".

[Norfolk Mustard 94]

Interesting report - thanks Paul.

Just wondering, are you the man behind the first-ever NCFC shirt sponsorship deal?

[jaemae2 0]

[quote user="CJRV 2014"]Jaemae2. Do goals not count against teams near the bottom then. What should he do fire wide on purpose "sorry im only allowed to score against the top 6".[/quote]

Not what I said or implied, but please continue... Says QUITE a bit when those are the only teams you even remotely perform against and lay an egg against everyone else... Especially as 2 of them would get relegated from League 1...

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

[quote user="jaemae2"][quote user="CJRV 2014"]Jaemae2. Do goals not count against teams near the bottom then. What should he do fire wide on purpose "sorry im only allowed to score against the top 6".[/quote]

Not what I said or implied, but please continue... Says QUITE a bit when those are the only teams you even remotely perform against and lay an egg against everyone else... Especially as 2 of them would get relegated from League 1...[/quote]Points Norwich collected from the bottom 6 teams - 21 from a possible 30Points Norwich collected from the top 7 teams this season (including Brentford to match the same number of games, as we can''t play ourselves) - 23 from a possible 30.That''s right, we collected more points from the top teams than the bottom. I wonder where we''d be sitting without those Hooper goals? Good job we have him, I''d say.

[jaemae2 0]

uhhhh what? Yeah, we collected more points from the top teams, the games Hooper wasn''t playing in...

[jaemae2 0]

Hooper scored 1 goal against a team in the top half, and it was in a game we lost. The other 4 he didn''t score and we lost...

[The ghost of Michael Theoklitos 0]

[quote user="jaemae2"]uhhhh what? Yeah, we collected more points from the top teams, the games Hooper wasn''t playing in...Hooper scored 1 goal against a team in the top half, and it was in a game we lost. The other 4 he didn''t score and we lost...[/quote]That wasn''t your point though, was it mate. Your point was - and I quote.[quote user="jaemae2"] ...Says QUITE a bit when those are the only teams you even remotely perform against and lay an egg against everyone else... Especially as 2 of them would get relegated from League 1... [/quote]So, which is it? If it''s so easy against the bottom teams, then it should have been easy for someone else to pick up the slack, right? For some reason that didn''t happen.Here is another stat for you. Did you know that we failed to win every game where we didn''t score a goal?Look, I get it. You don''t rate Hooper. That''s fine. Game of opinions and all that. Just stop quoting bull$hit stats that mean nothing. You''re only using them to try and justify your opinion.For the record, I think Hooper is one of the most skillful players we have. One of the reasons I think he gets a bad wrap is because he''s so skillful, he always tries to do things one and two touch. He''ll get a lot of touches in a game, but won''t spend very much time on the ball, leading people to think that he''s not doing much or working hard. Where as if you watch him, nothing is further than the truth. This also means his errors stand out more. When he looses the ball, its more likely to be remembered by ''the boo boys'' than the 4 quick touches he made previous to keep things moving.That''s just my opinion. I have no bull$hit stats to back it up.

[Bradley Johnsons left foot 0]

Pretty sure Hooper must''ve slept with this guys girlfriend or something.

Totally agree with the post above. Hooper''s first touch is the best out of any of our strikers and it''s because of this and his link up play he is forced to play a bit deeper. Hoping he starts against Fulham, could be a big player in the play offs for us with Grabban out.

Oh and Jaemae, Hooper scored 3 against Blackpool so if you are going to go on about stats all the time, get them right.

[jaemae2 0]

[quote user="The ghost of Michael Theoklitos"][quote user="jaemae2"]uhhhh what? Yeah, we collected more points from the top teams, the games Hooper wasn''t playing in...Hooper scored 1 goal against a team in the top half, and it was in a game we lost. The other 4 he didn''t score and we lost...[/quote]That wasn''t your point though, was it mate. Your point was - and I quote.[quote user="jaemae2"] ...Says QUITE a bit when those are the only teams you even remotely perform against and lay an egg against everyone else... Especially as 2 of them would get relegated from League 1... [/quote]So, which is it? If it''s so easy against the bottom teams, then it should have been easy for someone else to pick up the slack, right? For some reason that didn''t happen.Here is another stat for you. Did you know that we failed to win every game where we didn''t score a goal?Look, I get it. You don''t rate Hooper. That''s fine. Game of opinions and all that. Just stop quoting bull$hit stats that mean nothing. You''re only using them to try and justify your opinion.For the record, I think Hooper is one of the most skillful players we have. One of the reasons I think he gets a bad wrap is because he''s so skillful, he always tries to do things one and two touch. He''ll get a lot of touches in a game, but won''t spend very much time on the ball, leading people to think that he''s not doing much or working hard. Where as if you watch him, nothing is further than the truth. This also means his errors stand out more. When he looses the ball, its more likely to be remembered by ''the boo boys'' than the 4 quick touches he made previous to keep things moving.That''s just my opinion. I have no bull$hit stats to back it up.[/quote]

Uhhhhhhhh you know that the games that Hooper scored in against the bottom 6 were games that Norwich were already winning, right? Other people DID pull their weight those games and without Hooper''s goals (with the exception of Bolton, Brighton, Cardiff, and Rotherham) we didn''t even get a result...)

Also you have no stats, not because they are "bullshit" because there''s NOTHING to back up Hooper as anything but a Conference Regional spot starter quality football player...

[jaemae2 0]

Are you really this slow BJLF where did I say Hooper didn''t score 3 against blackpool? Also Blackpool would likely get relegated from League 2 this year.,..

[jaemae2 0]

[quote user="jaemae2"]Are you really this slow BJLF where did I say Hooper didn''t score 3 against blackpool? Also Blackpool would likely get relegated from League 2 this year.,..[/quote]

Oh, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha I see. You know that Norwich played 2 games against Blackpool, right. You know that he scored 1 in the other game, right? Yeah, unless 3+1=3 (which apparently to you it does) I''m pretty sure he 4 of his goals came from games against the team that never left bottom past the 5th week...

[Bradley Johnsons left foot 0]

[quote user="jaemae2"][quote user="jaemae2"]Are you really this slow BJLF where did I say Hooper didn''t score 3 against blackpool? Also Blackpool would likely get relegated from League 2 this year.,..[/quote]

Oh, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha I see. You know that Norwich played 2 games against Blackpool, right. You know that he scored 1 in the other game, right? Yeah, unless 3+1=3 (which apparently to you it does) I''m pretty sure he 4 of his goals came from games against the team that never left bottom past the 5th week...[/quote]

Clearly you don''t pay much attention to our games. If you did you would notice that in our 3-1 victory at Blackpool Grabban and Murphy scored and the other was an own goal.

Thanks for the maths lesson though, appreciated.

[jaemae2 0]

[quote user="Bradley Johnson''s left foot"][quote user="jaemae2"][quote user="jaemae2"]Are you really this slow BJLF where did I say Hooper didn''t score 3 against blackpool? Also Blackpool would likely get relegated from League 2 this year.,..[/quote]

Oh, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha I see. You know that Norwich played 2 games against Blackpool, right. You know that he scored 1 in the other game, right? Yeah, unless 3+1=3 (which apparently to you it does) I''m pretty sure he 4 of his goals came from games against the team that never left bottom past the 5th week...[/quote]

Clearly you don''t pay much attention to our games. If you did you would notice that in our 3-1 victory at Blackpool Grabban and Murphy scored and the other was an own goal.

/quote]

Yep.

[hogesar 9,615]

It''s ok Jaemae.

Your Mrs f**ked Hooper because he''s got more money than you, is better looking and is a better footballer.

I think you''re slowly coming to terms with it.

[Herman 9,710]

Stick to basketball Kris. You know less about soccerball than I do.

[jaemae2 0]

Nah, that''s OK, I''m fine.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Well looking at that table of Watford being bottom of the top 6 team mini league, it appears we could have done with using Hooper more against the poor opposition we struggled against!

I think he''s not a guy who is going to look great against tougher teams but as others have said, if I had to bet my house one one of our players putting a chance in the damned net (like the one vs Bolton) it would be Hooper all day.

I don''t think we''d have drawn with Leeds at home or lost twice to Reading if Hooper had played and had the chances that fell to others in them games for starters.

The Liverpool game last year summed him up perfectly. The worst 45 minutes i''ve seen from a pro footballer in a while but then a well positioned and taken goal. Against lower opposition, i''ll take a shit performance and a goal over a "he worked hard without scoring and missed a few chances" any day of the week.

[jaemae2 0]

[quote user="Jimmy Smith"]Well looking at that table of Watford being bottom of the top 6 team mini league, it appears we could have done with using Hooper more against the poor opposition we struggled against!

I think he''s not a guy who is going to look great against tougher teams but as others have said, if I had to bet my house one one of our players putting a chance in the damned net (like the one vs Bolton) it would be Hooper all day.

I don''t think we''d have drawn with Leeds at home or lost twice to Reading if Hooper had played and had the chances that fell to others in them games for starters.

The Liverpool game last year summed him up perfectly. The worst 45 minutes i''ve seen from a pro footballer in a while but then a well positioned and taken goal. Against lower opposition, i''ll take a shit performance and a goal over a "he worked hard without scoring and missed a few chances" any day of the week.[/quote]

Honestly, I agree with almost all of this. I have an issue with the "Hooper needs more time because he soooooooooo great and sooooooooooooo much better than Grabban" stuff WHEN THEY''VE PLAYED ALMOST THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME, and have contributed the same stats (though honestly Grabban has more goals from play, though I won''t say it would be beyond Hooper to get 2 more goals from play in another 5 games).

He''s a very very mediocre striker for the Championship, a squad player if there ever was one. He''s not EVER going to get "bags of goals" or "score for fun" in this league, unless it''s against teams fighting relegation/equivalent of League 1 (though we saw him struggle against 2 of the top League 1 sides this year, and not even TAKE A SHOT against one of them...) For a 4th striker or so he''d prob. be fine.

[Lewis Esquire 0]

Do you know how season I have read on this board that people think Hoolahan has had it, or has peaked? Far too many! And everytime he comes back and proves you all wrong. He''s not an impact sub player. He''s a first 60 minutes sort of player who gives his all and is by far our best creative attacking threat. Yes Brad has scored a shed load of goals but the others aren''t given enough... and don''t get me started on Redmond - if he wasn''t British we wouldn''t have paid close to what we did and he would be long gone by now.

[jaemae2 0]

Biggest problem with that whole "4th striker" thing is WE PAYED 7 MILLION POUNDS for him... And, yeah...

[jaemae2 0]

well, over 5 mill pounds, but who knows exactly how much over...