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Who do we leave out?

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When Olsson is fit, the back four and goalkeeper pick themselves, but the midfield four or five is way open to all sorts of mixtures. Nine players in with a reasonable shout of a start, but only five can make it - Mulumbu  Tettey Redmond   Howson  O''Neil Dorrans Hoolahan Andreu Johnson.   Louis Thompson could be knocking on the door too.  Then there is Murphy(s). Have I missed any? It is a good looking line up of players - the Redmond Tettey Howson Hoolahan Johnson line up at Wembley did us proud and would imo be good enough this season, but with Dorrans and Mulumbu and O''Neil - with Andreu maybe coming in to it as well, AN has a good set of players to choose from.  So what would be your choice of a midfield five?   I''ve looked at it over and over again, but can''t decide.  On paper, it could  be -                        Mulumbu Redmond    Howson   Hoolahan   Johnson- but I wouldn''t want to leave Tettey out as one of our best performers - and I rate Dorrans, so whoever is picked, a very good player is going to be on the bench. Great competition for places and a good situation for the manager. 

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I think a certain degree of this will come down to who we are playing, and the way in which AN wants to approach the tougher games.For example, I could easily see Mulumbu and Tettey being deployed together in the double pivot with someone like Howson or VOO in front of them at the expense of Wes against the likes of Man City or Chelsea.We have a wealth of choices centrally, but we are much more limited when it comes to the wide positions at present.

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I expect Dorrans to start more games than he doesn''t. Either alongside Mulumbu or ahead of Mulumbu and Tettey.

AN wasn''t afraid to play 5 centre mids at times, and I expect Redmond will have to settle for being on the bench in games AN wants to keep tight.

Despite his goals last season, I have a feeling Johnson might be the one to lose out most - if a suitable left winger/midfielder can be sourced.

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Good post, Johnson is an interesting one. Has he actually improved or was he just more suited to the championship? This may have a big day in our whole approach as there isn''t really a like for like replacement for him on the left. It''ll also be interesting to see if andreu and voo can get in the team as well.

When you look at our side, it''s a bit clearer why we haven''t made many buys as our current side is better than most of the plan b players Linked to us. If rather we get 1 striker and 1 defender of real quality in than 6 alright players.

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Think we will see a much more flexible formation and selection obviously depending on the team in front of us.

As much as everyone likes hoolahan I think he''s completely non existent when we''re chasing the ball, a likely occurance in the majority of prem games. I''d go for

Tettey Mulumbu

Redmond Howson Johnson

Jerome

If we do indeed sign another winger I think Johnson may well miss out occasionally, as affective as he was I think we need more direct attacks and pace from both wings, the same apples for Howson when hoolahan plays. Might be wrong and he only plays 1 from mulumbu & tettey although if we haven''t got the ball we can have as many creative players as we like yet we still won''t score!

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I thought this topic would be about who we leave out of our bloated squad.

This is more important at the moment, IMO.

The midfield, for instance, is over-subscribed. Yes, a nice problem, but there are restrictions to adhere to.

Gary O''Neill, for example, seems redundant.

He has done little wrong, but because of other considerations, needs to be moved on.

We also have to consider the wages bill. We cannot afford to pay players (RVW?) who we cannot find a place in the squad for.

Is anybody more up to date with our squad numbers than I am? I know we are tight ..... and we need one or two ins to boot.

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The Great Wall of Tettey wrote:

As much as everyone likes hoolahan I think he''s completely non existent when we''re chasing the ball, a likely occurance in the majority of prem games. I''d go for

..........................................................................

What people need to understand is without Hoolahan - we will be chasing the ball.

With him in the team - the opposition will be chasing us !

The spine of the team is of upmost importance.

My central three would be Tettey, BJ & Hoolahan. With Mulumbu being first CAB off the rank.

If you want to play Howson or Dorrans it''ll have to be in the wide positions. Someone as pivotal as Hoolahan can not be left out if we are to be competitive.

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In midfield, every permutation means leaving out a player who it is hard to justify leaving out.If you have a midfield of -Redmond Tettrey Mulumbu  Johnson                   Hoolahanit means leaving out Howson, one of our best performers.If you have it as -  Redmond Howson Mulumbu Johnson                   Hoolahanyou leave out Tettey - one of our best performersDorrans to me could be a key player next season, but the same applies - who do you leave out?   Its a good dilemna for the manager to have - and I haven''t even mentioned  Andreu or Vadis - both of whom will surely be looking to get in the thick of things.  O''Neil too. Just goes to show what a strong midfield we have, even without the youngsters Murphies and Thompson.  People seem to think we might need more midfielders in the squad - to me it looks pretty full already.

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Away from home it will be tempting to pick 
        Mulumbu       Tettey
Redmond    Howson      Johnson (?)
                <<target man>>
However at home I think we need to go with one DM and do what we failed to do under Houghton i.e. set the tempo and have a go at winning games, so
                  Tettey/Mulumbu
                Howson  Johnson   
Redmond                               Grabban
                    <<target man>>
Either way, I don''t see Ricky getting much pitch time.

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I expect O''Neil to move on, as he is surplus to requirements now. He''s probably the least useful of all the mids we have at our disposal, and wouldn''t even get on the bench 99 times in 100.
Interesting dilemma as to what we do with the mids though.
I expect to see Tettey and Mulumbu starting most games, as that''s probably our most solid CM partnership. I expect the others will rotate around that. I exect to see Johnno starting most weeks as he gives the mid a bit more bite, and I expect whoever comes in on the leftwill be competition for both Olsson and Johnno but I think it''s Johnson''s spot to lose going into the season, I don''t think AN will bring the new signing (if we get one) in as a starter.
RM and attacking mid (Presuming we keep with that style formation rather than going 2 up top) could be interesting. On paper Redmond should slot in to RM but his best displays last season came when he was let off the reigns a bit and given more freedom, so he may be more suited to playing that AM role, as whoever plays RM will need to be disciplined. Not that Redders can''t do it, but it doesn''t play to his strengths. I see RM and AM being an area that we will mix up between Andreu, Redders, Howson and VOO, with Hooly being in that rotation but only as AM.
I think Murphs and Thompson may be allowed out on loan until January, ready to come into the squad if we lose Redders or A.Nother at that point. 

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judging by rumours (brady) and lack of activity im guessing the first couple of games will be something like this, dependent on injuries, and if olsson''s not ready then we are probably screwed given weve got quite an easy start.                   ruddywhittaker martin  bassong olsson          mulumbu  johnson  redmond    howson  brady                   jerome

i would settle for the midfield/striker like this, but the back four isnt good enough for this division

if olssons outthen maybe

                   ruddywhittaker martin  bassong brady             mulumbu tettey redmond    howson  johnson                   jeromemaybe hoolahan for howson but i suspect he wont be much than a bench warmer this year

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Good OP subject.

For me I think first we need to realise that with just one player taking an injury that keeps him out and one out of form, then we can see why we have plenty of options.

This Manager from what we have seen to date will almost certainly make subtle changes in the midfield set up throughout the season, probably meaning the majority will all end up with a minimum 10 or so starts and maximum 25.

I really do see Vadis coming good this season and certainly would be very disappointed of Bradley Johnson did not get a fair crack after his terrific season. Also, I doubt Mulumbu has come in to be a bench warmer the majority of the time.

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Going to be interesting, against teams like Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and the likes who play through you i can see Tettey and Mulumbu starting, the likes of West Brom and Sunderland probably only one of the 2, Likes of Brad, Howson and Dorrans will probably only start a dozen or so games.

The 2 home friendlies will give us a clue who is likely to be starters for our first 3-4 games, going to be great competition for places, hope AN can keep them all happy and fighting.

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Bethnal ..Despite his goals last season I have a feeling Johnson might be the one to lose out most- if a suitable winger/midfielder can be sourced.

Not sure about hat Bethnal, I think Johnson will be the first name on the team sheet in any AN team, he spoke glowingly about his ability and character last season, I can''t see him being sidelined.

Good thread LDC

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I hope Howson isn''t in the starting midfield, doesn''t contribute enough week in week out, seems to be very hot or cold. He was very poor in the final

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[quote user="Paris aint German"]I hope Howson isn''t in the starting midfield, doesn''t contribute enough week in week out, seems to be very hot or cold. He was very poor in the final[/quote]

????  No one, imo, had a poor game that day.  Quite the opposite.

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[quote user="Paris aint German"]I hope Howson isn''t in the starting midfield, doesn''t contribute enough week in week out, seems to be very hot or cold. He was very poor in the final[/quote]Couldn''t disagree with you more on all points.Howson is a very solid, tidy passer of the ball with plenty of energy who also weighs in with his fair share of goals and assists.One of those players that you don''t fully appreciate until they''re unavailable and then you see the difference they bring to the team.

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What on earth is this I''ve stumbled across on the Pink''un Message boards?! An actual Norwich City FC football related discussion with people being nice to each other and actually debating issues? Blimey, must only mean one thing - the football season''s start is just around the corner!

Back on topic, it is a very interesting point I''ve been mulling over myself - I find it bizarre we''re still being linked to other midfielders. Wingers aside, we have a very, very solid central midfield for a team coming up via the play-offs from the Champ!

Howson, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Johnson, Tettey, O''Neil, Hoolahan - bags of experience - and most crucially premier league experience. With the likes of Andreu and Redmond to spice things up with a bit of raw graft too what an exciting selection to choose from. I just wish our defense and strike force had the same kind of dilemma! That said, Grabban, Hooper and Jerome ain''t a bad three to be choosing a striker from.

As others have said, AN seems very happy playing 5 CM players across the middle, and with the style of football we play this will surely suit the Premier League absolutely fine.

Mulumbu Tettey

Redmond Howson Johnson

Jerome

That would be my selection for the opening game barring any more signings in that area. From the bench we still have Hoolahan, Andreu who has looked promising, plus Dorrans and O''neil.

What a really great squad we have actually got together! We possibly need to add a left back for cover for Olsson, a CB and a striker in the mold of Jerome - and possibly another winger to play as an opposite to Redmond.

Not long now, I don''t usually get that excited for pre-season friendly''s but I''m looking forward to our games against West Ham and Burnley next week

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Each to their own, his tackling is very poor and he goes too quiet in games. Yes he pops up with goals, I will give him that. But he is very quiet other games. It''s only my opinion, but the lad I watched the final with (non city supporter) commented on how poor he was in the final. I don''t rate him and I feel we have better in the squad

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There will be a fair few who are left out but we have pace, goals, tacklers, energy in abundance in the group. I think for a few games we will see a different five come out if we want to be harder to beat etc.

As mentioned above I wish our other three areas had this competition, goalkeeper, defence and forwards

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I think you might be right about Johnson Bethnal- despite the goals last season our biggest investment this summer looks like a left winger in Brady.

I expect we won''t see as much of Wes as last season- I think AN really rates Dorrans and he''s spoken glowingly of Tettey in the past. I also think Howson may feature less, although I like him I think Dorrans is a better version of him.

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It will be horses for courses.

The selections for the bench are just as important.

Form, injuries and suspensions might mean that we are not quite so ample in midfield as it seems, but we have enough.

The need of quality re-enforcement in defence is now paramount, and nearly that with regards the strike-force, IMO.

Our midfield, though, does seem full of goals as well, and more so than I can ever remember.

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