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norfolkngood

Ricky van Wolfswinkel slams Norwich City’s ‘kick and rush’ style

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I knew it was not Ricky''s fault !!! ;-) ha !

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The Dutch forward sealed a move to Champions League hopefuls Basel earlier this summer after a prolific stint back in his homeland at Vitesse Arnhem following his release from the Canaries in July 2016.

The 28-year-old endured a wretched time at Carrow Road, scoring twice in 28 senior outings, following a then club-record switch from Sporting Lisbon in July 2013.

Van Wolfswinkel, speaking to Swiss online magazine Watson.ch, revealed he felt let down by former Norwich boss Chris Hughton when he was sidelined just months into his debut campaign after scoring on the opening day against Everton.

“Look, I’ve always dreamed of playing in the Premier League. That was the league which I pursued most closely as a boy. And then came Norwich’s offer,” he said. “Of course I could have waited for a bigger club. But at a Chelsea - or whomever - I would probably have landed on the bench. So I chose a smaller team. It was not possible.

“They promised me to play football in Norwich. At least, the coach Chris Hughton said at the time. And they bought quite a few new players. But it did not work. In December, Hughton asked me to go to his office and said, ‘we have to present ourselves differently (on the pitch).

“Kick and rush. Long balls and go forward. That was the end for me. It did not work, either for me or Norwich. I was loaned out for the first time at the end of that season. In the winter of my first season they brought in two new strikers. And in the following summer, two more. Year after year I was loaned. In the summer I would come back, take almost two months of preparation, and I had to look at training games and 11 versus 11. As a person that was really hard.”

Basel have won the Swiss League for the past eight seasons, but sporting director and former international striker Marco Strellar believes van Wolfswinkel can help FCB make a splash in Europe.

“We were looking for a striker with a certain experience and who proved in the past that he is dangerous,” said Strellar. “Those type of players are difficult to find and quickly become invaluable. My colleagues and I have observed Ricky very closely - and all of them came to the same conclusion independently.

“I knew him when I played with Basel against him while he was at Sporting Lisbon. You can simply see the incredible quality that he brings with him. He finished second in the Eredivisie scoring list and recently won the Dutch Cup final. I am really happy.”

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1) I''m not sure we played that much long ball under Hughton - it didn''t really suit his concept of keeping defensive shape and playing it safe if you''re playing long balls which reduce the risk of retaining possession whilst disjointing the shape by having to chase them down.
2) He has pretty much 0 attributes suited to the English game and even less so for a team like us.

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Of course I could have waited for a bigger club. But at a Chelsea - or whomever - I would probably have landed on the bench

And he''s still waiting!!!!!

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Could sit on Chelsea''s bench?

Jesus fu(k1ng wept.....

I''m closer to being a Norwich player than he is a Chelsea player. How can a striker with such erratic finishing and no ability to dribble, pass or hold onto the ball in any way be so arrogant?

I get that our football was poor under Hoots. Like worse than anything I''ve ever seen before, even worse than what the likes of Pardew/Pulis/Allardyce regularly roll out but that doesn''t account for his woeful anticipation, first touch, shooting skills or presence in the box.

Even Hooper got a few that year ffs with less game time.

I suspect RVW is surrounded by too many sycophants.

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Failed at every club he''s been at that''s in a half decent league.

Irrelevant (not even) has been.

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This is rewriting history that Stalin would be proud of. After he had scored a few goals in a purple (!) patch for St-Etienne he gave a very similar interview, saying how the football was all wrong at Norwich City and how St-Etienne''s style was much more suited to him. The goals promptly dried up and he ended the season as an unused substitute. Funny how he doesn''t mention that, or the one goal all season for Real Betis. I have some criticisms of Hughton as our manager, but once van Wolfswinkel arrived (whoever''s decision that was) the fact that van Wolfswinkel failed was because he just wasn''t bl**dy good enough. As the two following seasons proved.

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How long before someone comes along to defend him....

"We didn''t play to his strengths"

"It was all Snoddys fault"

"''That pass'' was just too clever for everyone else"

"It''s ok having twigs for legs in the PL as long as he stays in the 6 yard box and we create tap ins for him"

"He hasn''t had enough chances to prove himself in the PL, Ligue 1 or La Liga"

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Its interesting to see that he''s gone from one powderpuff league (Netherlands) to another (Switzerland).Kyle Lafferty wearing clownshoes would be a better option than the Wolf.Apples

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[quote user="Fiery Zac"]How long before someone comes along to defend him....[/quote]You Rang [:D]

[quote]"We didn''t play to his strengths"[/quote]We didn''t, you don''t sign a goal poacher and then ask them to play as a target man, even proven players like Inzaghi would have struggled to perform in that setup and being asked to play that role.[quote]"It was all Snoddys fault"[/quote]Not at all, but when one player is constantly being used as the team''s main outlet, and they''re more interested in slowing the game down, running into blind corners or sending in crosses that even Crouch would struggle to get onto, you do have to accept that some of the blame comes from that direction.

[quote]"''That pass'' was just too clever for everyone else"[/quote]No, that was was just $hit, I don''t see how ANYONE could defend THAT pass...[quote]"It''s ok having twigs for legs in the PL as long as he stays in the 6 yard box and we create tap ins for him"[/quote]It is if that''s the role that suits them and we play directly with that in mind. RvW was NEVER going to have the physicality to cope with some of the top defenders in the league, he''d have to use his movement and finishing to make something happen, and we saw from his runs earlier in the season that this is EXACTLY what he was trying to do, yet more often than not his runs were just ignored whilst we sat around dithering (usually on the right wing).

[quote]"He hasn''t had enough chances to prove himself in the PL, Ligue 1 or La Liga"[/quote]PL - we didn''t play to his strengths, simple as that.Ligue 1 - was more suited to how St.Etienne played, and didn''t actually perform that badly if you look into the details further.La Liga - didn''t even get a chance, which is not surprising when the guy being picked over you is hitting a 1 in 2 strike rate and being the team''s best player in the process...Eredivisie - 20 goals in 32 games including winning the Dutch cup ahead of teams like Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV...Any other questions?

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Oh christ.

He does come across as a bellend though. Didn''t he turn down a return to Sporting as they wouldn''t pay him enough also?

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Good points there Indy...

Hughton played CR@P football and never set the team up for a striker like him! He scores a bucket load of goals in a few other countries and he will score for Basel.

I blame Hughton''s style of playing more than I blame him!

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[quote user="king canary"]Didn''t he turn down a return to Sporting as they wouldn''t pay him enough also?[/quote]I''m sure you''d be more than happy to change employers and take only a fraction of the wage you''re currently being paid, to do the exact same job wouldn''t you...

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[quote user="Indy_Bones"]Ligue 1 - was more suited to how St.Etienne played, and didn''t actually perform that badly if you look into the details further.[/quote]I actually looked very closely at the details. In the Europa League, for example, his one goal came against the worst team in the group. Against the two good teams, Inter and Dnipro, he failed to score. And in the league he did end up as an unused sub, despite St-Etienne hardly being overblessed with strikers.I also followed his progress closely in the local paper, and on the leading St-Etienne message-board. And particularly the fans'' end-of-season verdict. Which was split. Half thought he was technically OK (I suspect some assumed because he was Dutch he had to be technically gifted and so saw what they expected to see, in the same way Brazilians are assumed to be genius ballplayers) but simply too lightweight for Ligue 1. The other half thought he was technically sub-standard and too lightweight. No-one was arguing that he had been a success, or even that he "didn''t actually perform that badly". And the club delivered its own verdict but not wanting to hold on to him.

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Oh how I really wanted to see my fellow wolf succeed. Alas, it was not meant to be at CR. A poor fit all around. I don''t think the style or approach of Hughton helped him much. I remember seeing lots of long balls pumped up to him...like we would do with Grant Holt. That wasn''t RvWs game. Holty could create something, or win a free kick in a dangerous position, where as the wolf wasn''t strong enough or skilful enough to do that or lay it off for others. The bit about Chelsea made me howl. By Christmas in the first year his confidence was shot. He couldn''t hit a barn door. I am pleased he has found some success, but he was never going to cut it in the PL. The style didn''t suit him but I don''t think he had the attributes to make it here. Quality defenders dealt with him easily. Then you start to see why he did well in Holland...not the same level is it.

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[quote user="Fiery Zac"]How long before someone comes along to defend him....

"We didn''t play to his strengths"

"It was all Snoddys fault"

"''That pass'' was just too clever for everyone else"

"It''s ok having twigs for legs in the PL as long as he stays in the 6 yard box and we create tap ins for him"

"He hasn''t had enough chances to prove himself in the PL, Ligue 1 or La Liga"[/quote]

It all happened under Delia''s watch so as far as blame goes it starts and ends with her.

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"under Delia''s watch"that must be rather a big watchI hope she doesn''t carry it about with her all the time

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[quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="Fiery Zac"]How long before someone comes along to defend him....[/quote]You Rang [:D]

[quote]"We didn''t play to his strengths"[/quote]We didn''t, you don''t sign a goal poacher and then ask them to play as a target man, even proven players like Inzaghi would have struggled to perform in that setup and being asked to play that role.[quote]"It was all Snoddys fault"[/quote]Not at all, but when one player is constantly being used as the team''s main outlet, and they''re more interested in slowing the game down, running into blind corners or sending in crosses that even Crouch would struggle to get onto, you do have to accept that some of the blame comes from that direction.

[quote]"''That pass'' was just too clever for everyone else"[/quote]No, that was was just $hit, I don''t see how ANYONE could defend THAT pass...[quote]"It''s ok having twigs for legs in the PL as long as he stays in the 6 yard box and we create tap ins for him"[/quote]It is if that''s the role that suits them and we play directly with that in mind. RvW was NEVER going to have the physicality to cope with some of the top defenders in the league, he''d have to use his movement and finishing to make something happen, and we saw from his runs earlier in the season that this is EXACTLY what he was trying to do, yet more often than not his runs were just ignored whilst we sat around dithering (usually on the right wing).

[quote]"He hasn''t had enough chances to prove himself in the PL, Ligue 1 or La Liga"[/quote]PL - we didn''t play to his strengths, simple as that.Ligue 1 - was more suited to how St.Etienne played, and didn''t actually perform that badly if you look into the details further.La Liga - didn''t even get a chance, which is not surprising when the guy being picked over you is hitting a 1 in 2 strike rate and being the team''s best player in the process...Eredivisie - 20 goals in 32 games including winning the Dutch cup ahead of teams like Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV...Any other questions?[/quote]

This,

Indy Bones is quickly becoming my favorite poster.

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Great post Indy.

I especially agree about RvW putting in good runs early on, mainly looking for cut-backs from the by-line, but these runs were mostly ignored, and the ball was put into the 6 yard box, where he wasn''t.

Poor management?

Poor coaching?

Too much for one man ( "The Manager") to do?

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We didn''t play to his strengths"

We didn''t, you don''t sign a goal poacher and then ask them to play as a target man, even proven players like Inzaghi would have struggled to perform in that setup and being asked to play that role.

This is how i see it Indy i really think in a 442 with a Grant Holt he would have done well

RVW is not a battering ram type striker or a hold up striker he is a finisher

before he came here i did put a scouts ( from another PL ) report on a post here that''s exactly what they told me not suited to the PL we are not interested in him ( reports of club interest )

told me the boy can finish and knows where the goal is but not strong enough

if someone is cleaver enough to find that Report / post i did it will prove that the said scout was dead right

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Weird how those saying anything positive about him are still basing their arguments on ''ifs'' and ''maybes''. He had his chances here and at 2 other top leagues in Europe....and failed. He''s found his level, good luck to him....

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To be fair he isn''t going to come out and say "to be honest I was shight at Norwich and it didn''t work out for us considering everyone around the UK was talking about The Wolf and kids were having my nickname put on their shirt before I had even kicked a ball, badly that is.

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