Back four for Crystal Palace match?

[Move Klose 303]

Well these 3 CBS are better than Bassong that''s why they are picked ahead of him.

Nicolas N''Koulo Marseille

Henri Bedimo Lyon

Aurélien Chedjou Galatasaray

Simply we have to sign new defenders. Only Bassong and olsson are good enough to play week in week out in the premier league. If we don''t sign a decent right back and centre back then we will be in trouble. Have to get another left back in to cover and push olsson.

Someone described Toffolo as the next luke Shaw earlier. It''s jus madness this lad hasn''t even played a game at championship level let alone starting him against a side who has 2 of the trickiest and quickest wingers in the league in Zaha and Bolasie.

[nutty nigel 7,532]

Do you know the reason seb doesn''t play for Cameroon?

Surely on my post I said if we replaced them wed have to sign better players. The point I was making was that not just any old signing would be better. Despite you''re ridiculous specs comment you still haven''t listed a better back four than mine?

What colour do you wear BTW? ;)

[nutty nigel 7,532]

Teach your children well Rickyyy..

[lake district canary 4,531]

Plenty of people reluctant to embrace players moving positions - but it looks like there are a few people who think Elliot Bennett is capable of making the switch to right back........http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/norwich_city_s_elliott_bennett_is_a_right_back_in_the_making_for_alex_neil_1_4166191

[Benjamin (Bradford) 0]

I think Elliott Bennett and Hary Toffolo are great options to challenge Olsson, Martin & Whittaker. Bennett could earn himself a start ahead of Whittaker?

[Move Klose 303]

Exactly. We buy players better than Whittaker and Martin. Surely I''m making that obvious. Not being funny but out there in the French, Belgium, Dutch leagues there is countless better players than those 2 and ones who can be picked up for well less than £5m each. Players are dying to come over to this country and play in the premier league

[nutty nigel 7,532]

Lakey makes a good point about positions. Martin is better central than right back. Dave stringer was a right back who became a quality centre back. Greg Downs was originallya centreforward before becoming a stalwart at left back.

Having said that I haven''t seen anything in Elliot Bennets games at full back to suggest he''s as good as Whittaker.I think many are devaluing the quality of the players we have. My point in recognising their quality was that signing better players is not as straightforward as it sounds.

[nutty nigel 7,532]

You still haven''t named them or told me about your specs. I bet they''re those old NHS ones. Bet you''re a bit of a Milky Bar Kid...

[Mr Angry 1,555]

Martin, Bennett (R), Bassong, Whittaker.

[Move Klose 303]

Well how am I meant to know who we are signing. Ok well Ivanovic and Terry are better but we are safe to say we won''t be signing them.

Well the point I''m making is your looking through yellow and green tinted specs making out certain players are better than they are. When thinking logically we all know Whittaker is not a premier league player and Toffolo is not ready for the prem. Wasn''t always a starter at Swindon in league 1. I know he came through the youth system here and to some people that means he''s the best thing since sliced bread.

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Mr Angry"]Martin, Bennett (R), Bassong, Whittaker.[/quote]Would be frankly amazed if we ever see Martin playing at right back again.  Having played a whole season at CB bar I think one game, he is fully fledged at CB and other options are available for right back and left back.  He just doesn''t for me quite have the pace or turning speed to deal well out on the right in the premier league and is far better now he is settled in the middle - and will improve more and more, the longer he is there.

[nutty nigel 7,532]

Well if believing that Whittaker and Martin wouldn''t be the worst defenders in the PL means I wear y&g specs then I guess I do.

A lot of money gets spunked on worse players than those two...

[CanaryOne 0]

I would have actually released both Martin and Whittaker this summer , simply just not good enough at the level we now are .

[Mr Angry 1,555]

Martin played right back in games last season and if Toffolo was inconsistent for Swindon in League 1 last season he isn''t good enough to play in the Premiership this season, therefore Whittaker goes left and Martin goes right.

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Mr Angry"]Martin played right back in games last season and if Toffolo was inconsistent for Swindon in League 1 last season he isn''t good enough to play in the Premiership this season, therefore Whittaker goes left and Martin goes right.[/quote]I can only remember one - against Bentford - certainly the only time under AN.  Imo you don''t change a player around unecessarily and like it or not Martin is now a CB.   Even today Elliot Bennett is being considered by the manager as cover for right back, so if left back is deemed a problem and Whittaker goes there, almost certainly it will be with Benno on the right and Martin continuing his good partnership with Bassong in the middle.

[Mr Angry 1,555]

A few earlier in the season possibly-though Ipswich away is the only one I can remember and I think he moved into the centre when R Bennett was injured early on.

It''s not unnecessary though is it-you''re looking at a left back who isn''t Premiership quality, or a right back who has hardly ever played that position in a competitive match. In fact I''m not sure if he has. Remember the disaster when Whittaker was played out if position at home to Brentford? At least Whittaker and Martin have played left and right respectively, even if those are not their favourite positions.

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Mr Angry"]At least Whittaker and Martin have played left and right respectively, even if those are not their favourite positions.[/quote]

This is true, but I really think we have moved on and the new manager will want things to develop on. With the potential of E. Bennett as a right back - and AN wouldn''t be touting him for that position if he wasn''t a serious contender - then that does allow Whittaker to go left, keep Martin in his favoured  and established position and give an opportunity to EB on the right - and inexperienced or not in that position, EB is no fool and a very capable player, whatever position he plays.   We''ll see how it goes, but unless we sign another defender, it will certainly be an interesting selection on that first game!

[Van wink 2,994]

Brady by the looks of it.

Maybe AN doesn''t quite see Whits on the left.......thank God!

[Highland Canary 76]

So fingers crossed for

New player New player Bassong Brady

[nutty nigel 7,532]

I should cross your toes too. It''s a big ask in just 2 weeks....

[GJP 79]

[quote user="CanaryOne"]I would have actually released both Martin and Whittaker this summer , simply just not good enough at the level we now are .
[/quote]

This is either a wind up or madness.

[hazza9 0]

If a new first team **Centre back and Brady are not signed by this time;

RB. E. Bennett

CB. Martin

CB. Bassong

LB. Toffolo

If they are signed then as follows;

RB. Martin

CB. **

CB. Bassong

LB. Brady

[Ray 111]

Oh Cameron,

You posted the following;

Exactly. We buy players better than Whittaker and Martin. Surely I''m making that obvious. Not being funny but out there in the French, Belgium, Dutch leagues there is countless better players than those 2 and ones who can be picked up for well less than £5m each. Players are dying to come over to this country and play in the premier league

My comments on some of your points follow;

1) Correct – you are not being funny

2) “There is countless players” Do you mean there are countless players

3) “Well less than” Well, you don’t need the well, less than is sufficient, or to emphasise your point, perhaps far less.

4) “Players are dying to comer over to this country” Well, there’s that word again, they won’t be much use to us dead!

5) Finally any player from a foreign league, has zero experience of Prem football, the players we have do, so why spend up to half of our transfer budget on unknown potential, we’ve been down that route before. Yes we could unearth a gem but why risk the budget? On top of that the player would be coming to an alien culture and may not be able to speak the language, making adjusting even more difficult

[GJP 79]

[quote user="hazza9"]If a new first team **Centre back and Brady are not signed by this time; RB. E. Bennett CB. Martin CB. Bassong LB. Toffolo  [/quote]

Picking both E Benno and Toffolo ahead of Whittaker in a defence....lol.

[Muddy funster 0]

Hahaha.....oh wait, Whittaker can''t defend....at all. That''s why everyone is trying to pick another right back. He''ll get ripped to shreds in the Premiership. Suddenly not so funny is it?

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Muddy funster"]Hahaha.....oh wait, Whittaker can''t defend....at all. That''s why everyone is trying to pick another right back. He''ll get ripped to shreds in the Premiership. Suddenly not so funny is it?[/quote]

Whittaker was on top form towards the end of last season and if he stays at his best, will do ok for us. If you are going on his form last time in the  premiership, then none of the players that season came out with any great credit - and the midfielders have to help defend more than they did last time too.   Also, one of his strengths is getting forwards and linking well down the right hand side.  We will need someone who can do that if we are to put opponents under any pressure - and in doing that we are taking the pressure away from our own defence. There is more to being a defender than just sitting in a back line.

[Move Klose 303]

Ray thanks for picking up on my grammar and punctuation. Didn''t realise this was my English exam. Amazing how people think that picking up on grammar and punctuation on a message board then makes them better by trying to belittle people.

Yer don''t look abroad. Don''t look for players like Benteke who cost £7m from Genk, or Bony £12m from Vitesse.

Just because they''ve played over here doesn''t make them better than players from abroad.

[hazza9 0]

GJP how is picking them 2 players over Whittaker funny?? I don''t rate Whittaker at all. I would rather have a left back playing at Left back and I think we should be giving Toffolo a chance as he has impressed in pre season. Also Palace have very quick wingers and Bennett would stand a better chance up against them than Whittaker. Yes Whittaker wasn''t getting found out much towards the end of the season but let''s not forget this was championship level and we wasn''t having to defend much but we all know that will be different this season.

[Ray 111]

Oh Cam,

You are making assumptions re my motives and feelings, and I''m sure you know what assuming does?

Furthermore, I was, in my own world, turning the tables on you, as you are certainly forthright in your opinion and dismiisive (belittling) of others'' opinions. I give one example here;

"Well the point I''m making is your looking through yellow and green tinted specs making out certain players are better than they are. When thinking logically we all know Whittaker is not a premier league player and Toffolo is not ready for the prem."

In this passage you are essentially telling anyone who does not agree with you they are wrong and their thinking must be skewed (belittling their opinion).

Let''s take the points you make in order;

Am I (or anyone else who doesn''t agree with you) looking through yellow and green tinted specs, possibly, but that is hardly a surprise is it, aren''t we all Norwich supporters? What you probably mean by this statement is that your glasses are better to look through than ours because they give a view that mirrors yours.

"When thinking logically." An interesting statement as none of us have ''logics; however we all have feelings and emotions (which are what actually drive our decision making, along with our imagination, coscience, values, beliefs, etc). Anyway, have you ever made a decision that you did not think was logical at the time you made it, doubt it, we don''t deliberately make illogical decisions, well I never have. By that, what I mean is we make decisions to satisfy our values and beliefs, so of course we believe them to be logical.

So, in summary I agree with you, insomuch all your points are logical to you and therefore prove you right, well they do to you, just as my points are logical to me and prove me right, well they do to me!

Essentially, it is all about opinion and thank goodness we all have differing ones, otherwise it will be bl**dy boring.

Enjoy the season and let''s hope we spot a gem from abroad and some of our youngsters take the Prem by storm, we''ll both prove ourselves right then.

Good innit!

[GJP 79]

So Toffolo gets a chance for doing alright in a couple of pre season kick abouts but Whittaker doesn''t get a chance for being a big part of a successful promotion campaign.

Makes sense.

E Benno gets picked because he has pace. Well if that''s the case perhaps we should re sign Otsemobor and pick him ahead of Whittaker too.