Defensive Midfielder

[Lewis DW 30]

I know this sounds dramatic (sorry) but I feel we need a midfield clear out.

Mulumbu? Why did we sign him, I don''t remember ever seeing him in a NCFC shirt. I get that he has played but he hasn''t made an impression.

Dorrans? What is his position? He can''t defending and is good enough at attacking...

Neither of the above are PL class. Hence why West Brom got rid of them. These aren''t Chelsea or Arsenal cast offs they came from little struggling West Brom.

Add Howson in to the mix and I think we need a clear out. He is not strong enough for the PL and only really shows up fir game a game. Did anyone notice him in the second half today? No me neither.

With the exception of Tettey and O''Neil who can defend and orchestrate a game we are seriously lacking in central midfield talent. We have numbers but not quality.

For me - a commanding defensive midfielder is our next key signing for me - someone in the Alex Song or Coquelin mould would be ideal. Maybe someone unheard of previously like Kante from Leicester.

We as a team gave too many passengers.

[Lewis DW 30]

Predictive type is awful. Good luck understanding that.

[Move Klose 303]

I''m confused about the whole Mulumbu thing. Hasn''t really had a look in. Why did we sign him ? O''Neill & Dorrans are even getting picked ahead of him. Strange really as Tettey was out today you would''ve thought Mulumbu was best suited to that role.

[Mooney 0]

I agree with most of these points...

..but I disagree on Howson. He''s a great player and I think he provides the box to box dynamics we need from him. Scored some really vital goals for us. We do need someone to protect him and break up play like song for West Ham or Kante for Leicester. Currently we have Tettey who is quite good at breaking up play but he lets him self down with his touch and passing. Dorrans isn''t that player nor is O''Neil... they are both below par.

A player I''d love to see at the club is Lassana Diarra. He''s very experienced and got the ability to both break up play and then equally as importantly he can release the ball fast and effectively.

[mrs miggins 0]

Agree with Monney, I feel Howson is starting to hit some form finally after a terrible season so far mostly on the right; a good box to box player.

[STAN 30]

Howson has the ability but rarely/if ever shows it for a full 90 minutes. If things aren''t going our way he normally goes missing.

We need a central midfielder who demands the ball and can dictate play.

[GJP 79]

Hoolahan was knackered before half time and Dorrans was knackered before the hour mark. Howson had to do a lot of running, a lot of hard work.

Always amuses me that he can never do enough for some people though. He''s meant to get box to box, dictate play, score goals, create goals, tackle and win headers. And do all of that all of the time for 90 minutes every game we play.

[Six Pack 105]

Neither Dorrans or Howson are not defensive midfielders, they''re both attacking midfielders. Dorrans was brought to the club by AN as play maker and Howson is versatile so can cover all midfield positions adequately. With Tettey & O''Neil not available and Mulumbu not considered these are who we have left.

Dorrans passed the ball well going forward but as a defender he was a cardboard cutout. Howson contributed to the attack well. When both Hoolahan and Redmond went off - to me that was when the game was over for us -Jarvis & Olson just haven''t got that X factor about them to create a goal. Howson was left basically "attacking on his own" (creative wise). We needed a stronger partner for Howson in the middle especially with Martin & Bassong in our defence and the new right back is basically a headless chicken.

Without Hoolahan, we lacked that intelligent player that would come back to play the triangle, we had headless chicken running away from the ball carrier, when we lost the ball that''s where all their goals came from.

[Six Pack 105]

Hadn''t finished....

Howson a competent player - not so if you take off all the good players in his team and leave him to do it on his own.

[paddycanary 579]

Picking through the bones of that result today -

Rudd - 5 picked out of the net and perhaps could have made a couple more saves but can''t really be blamed - still deserves his place for me

Pinto - Bit early to make judgements but looks a loose marker and was caught out for 2 of the goals - needs more protection from whoever plays in front of him but this has been the case for any right-back over the last few years

Martin - Poor positioning on too many occasions today - I wouldn''t be as harsh on him as some posters (although that backpass!!!) but is most likely a Championship player and we need better

Bassong - Both centre-backs suffered from lack of protection today - I think Bassong still deserves his starting place with the squad as it stands

Brady - Mixed brilliant with bad today and if he continues at left-back he also needs better protection from whoever plays in front of him - Will be interesting to see if Olsson starts against Spurs - don''t think he will

Redmond - Frustrating player - He draws opposition players to him and provides an outlet but he isn''t effective enough for me when we''re not in possession or to help out his full-back - Do we have anyone else to play his important role?

Howson - Never stopped working today - I don''t think the frailties lie at his door

Dorrans - A fairly average player at this level - I don''t think he should be starting and normally wouldn''t. Where was he for the last crucial 30 mins?

Hoolahan - Shoehorned in to accommodate Naismith - Important player to relieve the defensive players and is always capable of providing ''that pass'' but I think age is catching up and oppositions can nullify him without too much detriment to their own gameplan. Left Brady exposed today - Tettey was needed

Naismith - Still early but looks like he could be an inspired signing - We''ve been crying out for someone to provide the link between midfield and the lone forward - If he stays injury free he could be the signing that sees us scrape survival

Mbokani - Did well, worked hard and lovely goal - Getting a run of games looks like it might be doing the trick - I don''t think the lack of points in January is down to him and he''s probably our most effective forward at the moment

Subs:

Jarvis - He provides good options in the squad but I don''t believe he''s the answer - I''d love to be proved wrong!

Olsson - In my opinion he must be close to starting - If Brady was in front of him, who better to understand the protection the left-back needs in a bottom 6 team - If he''s not good enough then this must be addressed next summer and Toffolo won''t be the answer if we survive

Jerome - A good honest player and he has his qualities but he just hasn''t got enough at this level for what we need

Conclusion - Screening role in front of the defence badly missed today. Tettey is so important and without O''Neil either the concession of goals was inevitable. AN went for an attacking lineup across the midfield to compensate (why do we have Mulumbu?) which was exciting going forward against an average Liverpool team but he can''t have anticipated the level of ineptitude in our defensive play. Both full-backs needed more cover and protection from a new-look midfield and formation. We just can''t seem to get the balance right between attacking and defending. If Mulumbu isn''t going to play, perhaps a solid defensive midfielder needs to be acquired next week to play alongside or replace Tettey. I don''t think Odjidja-Ofoe has enough defensively for this level although again I''d love to be proved wrong. We can''t afford to give him the run of games he needs to learn at this point which is unfortunate. I don''t understand why Ryan Bennett was nowhere near the pitch today unless the story about his wife''s pregnancy is correct. Is he the fall guy for the last few results? I hope not. Shame Wisdom was unavailable today as he most likely would have started at right-back after the Bournemouth match.

If Pinto can learn how to defend, if Klose plugs a much-needed gap alongside Bassong (or possibly even Bennett), if we can sort out protection for the full-backs, if Tettey can stay fit and a bit more consistent alongside O''Neil/Howson/New signing I still believe we''ll survive. It''s going to be close though.

Apologies for length of post but today''s match left so many questions

[Mooney 0]

If we stay up (Which I think we will) we should definitely look to buy idrissa gana gueye... He''s been the only class act at Aston Villa and was really good against us. He''s basically Tettey who can pass and turn defence into attack rapidly (We will never progress with Tettey in the side although he''s vital for this season)

[ZLF 335]

Howson and dorrans are woeful defensive midfielders as yest showed, both provided little more than an osmotic barrier in the second half, failing to tackle, track runners or cover each other. Their communication was poor leadership non existent and both simply went missing as the ball moved around them. a key part of losing yesterday.

and its not as if either offered much in the way of creativity.

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

Dorrans is another Surman.  He''ll probably end up at Bournemouth too......

[GJP 79]

Very harsh on Howson. He was up against the very mobile Henderson and Can as Dorrans tired early.

He takes credit from the game for a massive shift.

[Yellow Wal 315]

ZippersLeftFoot wrote the following post at 24/01/2016 9:50 AM:

Howson and dorrans are woeful defensive midfielders as yest showed, both provided little more than an osmotic barrier in the second half, failing to tackle, track runners or cover each other. Their communication was poor leadership non existent and both simply went missing as the ball moved around them. a key part of losing yesterday.

and its not as if either offered much in the way of creativity.

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GJP wrote the following post at 24/01/2016 9:54 AM:

Very harsh on Howson. He was up against the very mobile Henderson and Can as Dorrans tired early.

He takes credit from the game for a massive shift.

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Fully agree Zipper. I think it showed how much we really missed Tettey. He gives the defence more cover and reads the game better than any other midfield player we have by a mile.

GJP - I agree Howson put in a shift but he is not a defensive midfield player. He is unaware of his defensive duties at times and just does not read the game defensively. A good player but I''m still trying to work out what part he really plays in AN''s system as he has now played in just about all the midfield positions but has not made any one of them his own.

Mulumbo is the greatest disappointment for me this season as I thought he would be playing alongside Tettey in many matches when we needed to keep it tight.

What has happened to him?

Please be available for the next match Alex Tettey!

[ZLF 335]

As a defensive midfield pair between them they made 5 tackles, won 3, cleared the ball twice recovered possession 12 times having made no interceptions and committed no fouls. Blimey Redmond made the same defensive contribution as each n 25 mins less pitch time and is pilloried yet Howson "put in a shift" so its ok.

the ball went around howson as much as it did dorrans - defensively (and thats what this thread was focusing on) he made three tackles, lost one and no interceptions. He was in a central position but, like dorransm didnt offer himself for the ball (he had it less than any player on the pitch whole game and less than redmond despite being on for 25 mins less) It wasnt good, or good enough

If he had created then it may have redeemed him. sadly even dorrans outdid him on that front too.

As a def midfield pair it was a disaster and it usually is when one of them is in that position.

Tettey was missed,

Not saying howson is a bad player, just not good at def mid; yest he had a quiet ineffective game. In future he should only played as an attacking midfield outlet used to carry the ball; whether he is better at that than redmond, jarvis wes or naismith is another debate - but a much easier one to have and make a case for.

[Yellow Wal 315]

Zipper - does the expression ''flatters to deceive'' cover it?

Howson always looks good but, as I stated earlier, has now played in all the midfield positions but has failed to make any his own.

[Essjayess 307]

Sadly Tettey is so close to 10 bookings that we are likely to lose him a few games sooner rather than later, which could turn out to be vital. Expecting a difference to the midfield scenario...but no idea yet how, when Klose starts playing.  CB he may be but i believe he will cause a transformation to the midfield, just unsure yet in what way.

[Katie Borkins 1]

Until Mulumbu sorts himself out, which may be never, I think Tettey and O''Neil are our best two in those roles.

Dorrans is a poor man''s O''Neil and Howson was way out of position but better than Whittaker.

[KoromaCrab 0]

Someone mentioned before that apparently Tettey''s cards have been started from 0 as of January. Not sure if it was true though.

[Mr Angry 2,017]

They are only reset if the player hasn''t reached 5 by 1 Jan.

[AmericanNorwichFan 0]

I do believe that Tettey is still 1 booking away from a suspension.

[KoromaCrab 0]

ahhh ok, I didn''t know that I guess a suspension is 3 games, same as red card?

[AmericanNorwichFan 0]

I believe it''s only 1 game.

[ZLF 335]

10 yellows before the next deadline is a 2 match suspension. Highly unlikely he will last that long with one.

[GJP 79]

Of course the criticism of Howson is based on the assumption that he was deployed as that people regard as a traditional defensive midfielder.

So people are criticising him based on that and as usual some people are very, very eager to criticise him.

But perhaps the job AN asked him to do was something different. I suspect his performance won''t be top of AN''s priorities of things that need to be addressed from that game.