Russell Martin - Scotland

[ReadingCanary 0]

At fault for the goal.So so so weak. Just let the Georgian player dominate the box and play the assist

[Van wink 2,994]

Scotland are pretty cr@p, no offence intended of course.

[TIL 1010 4,785]

I suppose with us not having a game this weekend we are lucky having you around to find a stick to beat the club with in a round about way. It may be Scotland but you got there in the end.Good effort. [Y]

[Van wink 2,994]

Sounds like you''re getting a persecution complex Tilly.

The guy is just stating an opinion.

But so are you I suppose.

[Hackedoff 0]

As much as i''m not a fan of Russ at CB i wouldnt say he was at fault. More Scott Brown for not picking up his man.

[ReadingCanary 0]

I''m merely commenting on an event which has occurred.. Which is relevant to the club. Much like Tettey yesterday.

[TIL 1010 4,785]

How is Tettey getting booked whilst playing for his country relevant to our season and as for your opinion that Russell Martin was responsible for Georgia''s goal which i note somebody disagrees with you by the way it is just typical of the negativity surrounding anything he does week in and week out on here.

[Ray 111]

TIL 1010,

There''s more to come I suspect TIL, on the way back from Georgia he''s stopping off in Paris, specifically to soak up the blame for all the tries France score against Scotland tomorrow night, different shape ball but what the hell it must be his fault surely!

[KiwiScot 1,460]

Was Hughton managing tonight we were so uninspiring? Ah well Scotlands best chance of qualifiying now in serious risk.

[Lessingham Canary 99]

Unfortunately same old Scotland, over promise and under deliver.......

[curious yellow 184]

Read all about it! Defender at fault for goal!!

So ( x3!) Weak!!!

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

The guy has been with this club now for 6 seasons and is into his 7th. He does his best each game and has managed 3 seasons prior to this in defense in the PL. If this is how we reward loyal players a i cringe to think what stick Grabban is going to get

[Donkey dangler 0]

[quote user="Yorkshire Canary"]The guy has been with this club now for 6 seasons and is into his 7th. He does his best each game and has managed 3 seasons prior to this in defense in the PL. If this is how we reward loyal players a i cringe to think what stick Grabban is going to get[/quote]

There is no such thing as loyalty in football. You are only as good as your last game (in theory as it doesnt apply to Martin).

[Wiz 0]

I can do loyal.............but I''m still cr@p at playing the game.

[Herman 9,820]

[quote user="Wiz"]I can do loyal.............but I''m still cr@p at playing the game.[/quote]Really???

[Iwans Big Toe 312]

[quote user="Yorkshire Canary"]The guy has been with this club now for 6 seasons and is into his 7th. He does his best each game and has managed 3 seasons prior to this in defense in the PL. If this is how we reward loyal players a i cringe to think what stick Grabban is going to get[/quote]Although loyalty to Norwich City is something to be admired, especially with the mercenary nature of many of today''s footballers, it should not dictate team selection. Just because someone is loyal, doesn''t mean that they play in the position they want, over the position they are best at. I rate Russel Martin, he is a good footballer, but his best position is at right back. And if Norwich City are to be successful as a football club they need to play their best players in their best positions. And Martin is a far better right back than center back, regardless of where he wants to play and if he is as loyal as you suggest he will be happy to play at rightback because that''s where he is needed to do a job. After all someone couldn''t just turn up at the factory and say to their boss "Look I''ve been working in my current role for 6 years and although I realise you need me to continue in that role as I''m the most productive person you''ve got on the production line, I think because of my loyalty you should move me to the IT department, because I prefer to work with computers." Their boss is going to say "We hired you to do a job and we expect you to fulfill the role we''ve asked you to do" and rightly so. And Norwich City should have the same expectation of not just Russel Martin, but all of their players.

[nutty nigel 7,598]

Surely you''re not suggesting that Alex Neil is so weak that he plays Russ in the position he doesn''t think is best for the club? If this is true we need the guy out ASAP. Management like this can never succeed.

 

Alternatively Alex is playing Russ at cb because he believes that is his best option. If that is the case, but you are right, we also need him out of the club ASAP because we could get you in there for peanuts and save the club a fortune...

 

 

 

 

[Iwans Big Toe 312]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Surely you''re not suggesting that Alex Neil is so weak that he plays Russ in the position he doesn''t think is best for the club? If this is true we need the guy out ASAP. Management like this can never succeed.

 

Alternatively Alex is playing Russ at cb because he believes that is his best option. If that is the case, but you are right, we also need him out of the club ASAP because we could get you in there for peanuts and save the club a fortune...

 

 

 

 

[/quote]I think that there are much better options out there at center back than Russell Martin. I don''t think the club did enough to sign a central defender as I said on the ''Norman'' for Norfolk thread. If we had pulled out all of the stop and focused on a CB as our main target over the summer we could have ended up with a back four looking a bit like this:Martin Koulibaly/Nkoulou Bassong OlssonThat back four looks much stronger that the current. I think Martin as a center back is one of, if not the weakest, in the league and it concerns me. This is not the Lambert team of four years ago that went into games believing they could out score anyone. I think that clean sheets are going to be more important to us than they were that season, because we''re not going to score more goals than everyone bar the top six.But because we have not signed a central defender the only options available to Neil are two from Wisdom, Martin, Bassong and R Bennett. Two of which I would are fullbacks over center backs. So I expect that Martin will play a lot of games at center back this season, which he has said publicly is his preferred spot in the team.But of course what do I know about football?

[Shyster 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Surely you''re not suggesting that Alex Neil is so weak that he plays Russ in the position he doesn''t think is best for the club? If this is true we need the guy out ASAP. Management like this can never succeed.

 

[/quote]

Too right, if that were the case Neil would play Andreu every week.

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="ReadingCanary"]At fault for the goal.So so so weak. Just let the Georgian player dominate the box and play the assist

[/quote]

I assume you were there Reading and had the same advantageous view of the game as the football reporter for the Scotsman:

" .........it came as little surprise when Georgia, growing in confidence and securing more sustained spells of possession, made their breakthrough seven minutes before the interval. Mchedlidze won the ball ahead of Mulgrew on the edge of the penalty area and knocked it into the path of Kazaishvili. He got past a Scott Brown challenge all too easily, showing neat footwork before drilling a low, left-foot shot beyond David Marshall."

I guess you expect Russ Martin always to somehow singlehandedly make up for the errors of his colleagues?

[Cerberus 0]

Weston,I suggest you actually watch the goal on you tube rather than relying upon a journalist to get his facts right. It was quite clearly our Russ who failed to clear the header. In fact, he simply failed to jump whereas the player he was marking did! Addmittedly the scorer took his chance well. Don''t believe everything you read in the press!

[westcoastcanary 173]

[quote user="Cerberus"]Weston,I suggest you actually watch the goal on you tube rather than relying upon a journalist to get his facts right. It was quite clearly our Russ who failed to clear the header. In fact, he simply failed to jump whereas the player he was marking did! Addmittedly the scorer took his chance well. Don''t believe everything you read in the press![/quote]

Guilty as charged. Yes, it was Russ rather than Mulgrew but I don''t agree that the goal was his "mistake" or that particular blame can be attached to him. The "mistake" is the failure to deal with the knock back, rather than the header. What I object to is the constant singling out of an individual in contexts where the failure is more often than not collective, as in this case.

[nutty nigel 7,598]

Good switch Toe. As far as I know you know as much about football as anyone else on here. Your opinion about Russ is as valid as anyone else''s. My point was only that if you are correct and players are dictating who plays where for Norwich then we need shot of such a weak manager pronto.

[Iwans Big Toe 312]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]Good switch Toe. As far as I know you know as much about football as anyone else on here. Your opinion about Russ is as valid as anyone else''s. My point was only that if you are correct and players are dictating who plays where for Norwich then we need shot of such a weak manager pronto.[/quote]What I know, Nuts, is that from my experience of playing football, albeit at a much lower level, there are players who see themselves as capable of playing in a position that they''re not. I have known players that are very good in the Tettey/Mulumbu midfield enforcer role, but hated it and always wanted to be a Wes type of player. I''ve known good center backs that always wanted to be a striker, but couldn''t hit a cows back side with a banjo. I have also never played for a club where the club captain did not have a say in what went on out on the pitch (in fact it is expected of him). The problem comes when the club captain falls into the category of having some influence and not wanting to play in their best position. And that is where, I believe, we find Martin. He has made no secret of the fact that he wants to play as a central defender. So to steal your logic if Russ has no influence as captain at the football club, may be he is not the man to be club captain?!

[nutty nigel 7,598]

Russ has ambitions to manage Norwich City. Maybe that''s come early then we could save on Alex Neil''s wages and spend that money on a cb.....

[mrs miggins 0]

I just wish we had got one the CB''s we bid for.

Martin Koulibaly Bassong Olsson

is a good back 4 imo. We have a good midfield and hopefully a good player in Mbokani. Still don''t know why we didn''t buy a decent defender, perhaps we are waiting till January before we can indeed conclude that our defence is the weakest part of our team.

[Iwans Big Toe 312]

[quote user="mrs miggins"]I just wish we had got one the CB''s we bid for.

Martin Koulibaly Bassong Olsson

is a good back 4 imo. We have a good midfield and hopefully a good player in Mbokani. Still don''t know why we didn''t buy a decent defender, perhaps we are waiting till January before we can indeed conclude that our defence is the weakest part of our team.[/quote]It''s a good job I''m sat down already with you agreeing with me.

[lake district canary 4,544]

[quote user="Cerberus"]Weston,I suggest you actually watch the goal on you tube rather than relying upon a journalist to get his facts right. It was quite clearly our Russ who failed to clear the header. In fact, he simply failed to jump whereas the player he was marking did! Addmittedly the scorer took his chance well. Don''t believe everything you read in the press![/quote]

Well I''ve looked at this goal over and over and what I see is Martin making sure he stays goalside of the defender so as not to let himself be turned.  He was never going to win that ball in the air because it fell behind and in between the two Scottish defenders who were both doing their best to cover the attack.   If Martin had gone through the back of the defender to get near the ball, he would more likely have given away a penalty. The fact that the attacker managed to get his head on the ball and that

it fell kindly for the Georgians  was fortunate more than a mistake. But  Apparently I know nothing about football, so I am sure you must be right..........................