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Rasputin was a C...

It's all about balance

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You could argue that today we fielded an under strength side because we were missing Huckerby and to a lesser extent McKenzie. Despite this we put in the best performance for ages so why is that. I felt that today we attacked from both the left and the right and more importantly through the middle. How often do we get in to good positions and then give to Huckerby to get stuck in a corner? Another thing that made us a bigger threat going forward was that both Drury and Colin had the confidence in the player in front to cover when they went forward. The most important aspect of the game today for me however was that we went through the middle far more than usual and all those who saw the game will have seen the havoc McVeigh and Ashton caused to the Plymouth defence. When we stick it in the corner for Hucks the defence get a chance to regroup and we often see opportunities wasted. Like Neil Adams said on Canary Call today, I hope come Ipswich Worthington can''t put Huckerby in the team because I think he can sometimes hinder more than help. Just to make sure I''m not misunderstood I''m a big Huckerby fan and wouldn''t want him anywhere else than at Norwich City.

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Absolutely spot on Rasputin, I also feel we are good enough in this division fielding a potentially weaker team so long as the formation is correct which today it was. A front three simply does not work. So the big question is Where does NW accomadate Hux (if indeed he should do)? He is certainly no winger and almost becomes a liability defensively on whichever side he plays. Too often the head is down and he runs into blind alleys. Dare I suggest he seems to have lost half a yard of pace and has been completely sussed out this season. So alongside Deano it is, but then he''s not a great goalscorer. So I''d probably start him there but his place should be by no means guaranteed. Perhaps he could interchange during a game with Mcveigh (not impressed with Marney atall) who could provide width but is much more effective (and more intelligent) through the middle.

A tricky one

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It is fascinating. I do feel sometimes that we look for Hux too much, when there might be other better options on. Without him today there was no early ball up the left wing and our better passages of play saw us stringing lots of passes together, using both wings and working the ball around well.But then that is the enigma that is Hux, and probably one reason why some managers have struggled with him. At this level he is definately a threat, but we do need to learn to use other options as well.It reminds me of when Iwan was here - we always looked for the early ball up to him. When he went out of the side in the play-off year for a while, it took ages to adapt to passing it up the park, but once we did we were a better side for it.

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You''re dead right.

We have become a little predicable with Hucks on the right. I would rather see him back up front were he was so effect when he first came to the club. Behind Ashton he can roam right across the pitch at the front line meaning we attack the left, right and middle. I believe Brennan is good enough to fill a more traditional left wing role.

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yeh i totally agree with everything you''ve said there.

When huckerby is back i think we should try and partner him with deano up front, where he can just play a free role behind ashton.

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i am happy to let nigel decide on this one. I thought at times today, Huckerby would have been a bigger attacking threat than Marney, but huckerby doesnt defend. So its too close to call

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Agreed.

We attacked from both flanks and the left full back (drury) had cover from the hard working brennan. It''s the best the left hand side has looked in ages. Time will tell if they can deliver this week in week out and against better opposition.

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i have to agree with your coments , Drury was the difference in the side today he very rarely wastes a pass and gets up and down the field with ease . Yes Mcveigh played well and created the first goal ,if you noticed he played a little deeper than Ashton and moved either to left or right side to find space . Win at Watford on Tuesday and Worthy will find it hard to bring hucks back into the side against that side that play south of the border .OTBC

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Well said Rasputin,

I certainly don''t think that Hucks should automatically come back into the team,especially if it''s at the expense of McVeigh.

WLY was at his previous best in my opinion and did a considerable amount of chasing back as well as being dangerous through the middle. It would be totaly unfair if he should not be in the starting lineup whilst maintaining this performance level.

 

IMHO

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The problem with pairing Deano and Hucks is that Hucks naturally drifts out to the left, leaving the other striker isolated in the middle up against two defenders - this has happened in the past when Hucks was the second striker. The reason that Deano and WLY Paul worked together so well yesterday is that they were played as a pair, rather than in isolation. Kevin Lisbie also gave the impression that he could do the same, despite looking match-rusty.  

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Good post Rasputin, how nice it was to see the width of the forward line brought into play, purely because we were a more balanced outfit without Hucks!! When he is in the side I''m afraid we tend to leave it to him too much to do what he likes and become one dimensional, and are as a result, left wanting for defensive cover when the resulting Hucks attack has broken down and holes appear, and panic sets in. I personally Like Hucks and what he can do, but he must be coached into a role that uses his attributes for the benefit of he team as a whole rather than allow him to be a battering ram running into blind alleys.  This still means the coaching dimension is in a mess if they can''t make better use of man with his obvious talents.  This problem has not just come about because there have been problems of this nature wherever Hucks has played in his career.  Coached properly and we could become a team with Hucks talents harnessed correctly. I,m aware that NW has said that Hucks cannot be coached????

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I am a huge Hux fan but it is noticeable that he does not create the havoc that he did 2 seasons ago.

Perhaps he has lost that "half a yard" of pace that enabled him to weave past player after player as he was able to do in 2003-2004? Last year he was up against better defenders so he never was going to shine as much.

That being so, it is noticeable this year that his runs up the left rarely result in a killer pass, or a goal, as he would have done 2 years ago.

Accordingly, Brennan has to be the player of choice for left midfield, leaving Hux to play as a striker...mmmmmm...as Amarillo says, this is the enigma that is Hux - perhaps he has achieved his zenith for us (2003-2004) and now is a "squad" player rather than one of 3 automatic picks, oh sorry, 4 automatic picks as I had forgotten Flem

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IMO hux remains ourmost dangerous player and to leave him out of side when fit, available and in form would be stupid.  As GTG posted elsehwere the challenge is how to accomodate Hux within the team so that it functions as a team.

Mylatest suggestion would be to start with a 4-3-1-2 formation with WLY in the 1 and hux and ashton as the two and a very defensively minded three - brennan, marney and safri; encourage WLY to be the pivot between the 3 and 2 but staying closer to Ashton.

Its that decison that Worthy and co are paid for.

OTBC

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