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Fiery Zac

Team Vs Wednesday

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10 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

Farke has the opportunity to change now, following imperfect results and a somewhat subdued and - at times - inefficient performance against Wigan. Reading was simply an outlier and on another day Norwich win 3-0 comfortably. 

To emphasise the ‘collective’ purpose and the ‘sum is greater than its parts’ mantra, it is reasonable to assume that either no change occur to reward the effort shown, or - for once - a few changes may be made at once to ensure no single individual is (or feels) targeted. To this effect a ‘refreshment’, based publicly on fitness, ‘load’ and the ‘Englische woche’ of multiple Easter games. To this effect I think both Leitner and Vrancic may now appear, with Maclean moving into a more attacking midfield where he is quite effective in terms of assist-goal end product (despite perhaps not being as smooth as some others). 

The only issue here is the ‘out ball’ that Stieperman provides and which is a dimension that no others have, bar Rhodes, though we have a tendency to go a little over-aerial when he is introduced. 

Krul

Aarons Zimmerman Godfrey Lewis

Leitner Trybull

Hernandez Vrancic Maclean

Pukki

If Stieperman plays, then I suppose that he - at least nominally - drifts to the left side instead of Maclean, though - unfortunately - it may otherwise be that Leitner and Vrancic cannot get in the side together a bit á la Gerrard-Lampard.

A solution might be more of a 4-3-3:

Krul

Aarons Zimmerman Godfrey Lewis

Trybull (full back even higher, Trybull sitting even deeper)

Leitner Vrancic

Hernandez Pukki Stieperman (Buendia)

That looks quite a dangerous side. Good defensive structure and possession outlets too...

Parma

Logical as always and pleasantly succinct, gets my vote...

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I expect us to go with the same side. Very capable of beating Wednesday with that side, and comfortably too. It does seem a shame to have both Leitner and Vrancic on the bench though, I agree. I would suggest that the single most important thing for the team on Friday night is a confident and encouraging Carrow Rd atmosphere, over any one particular player in the team. That will be key to pushing us over the line sooner rather than later.

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3 hours ago, Fiery Zac said:

It’s not just two draws though, it’s two draws with an ineffectual player in Cantwell taking a place in the side while we still have two of our best midfielders sitting on the bench.

The definition of madness is said to be repeating the same thing expecting different results. We’re giving Sheff Wed the chance to look at the way either Reading or Wigan played and say ‘pick a system, both caused us problems’. 

With such an obvious weakness (Cantwell simply hasn’t had any influence in the last 2 games) surely its worth trying something new to inject some change? Cantwell isn’t a winger himself (like Buendia) and has failed to adjust in two games, there are two more gifted, creative players, who would provide more. Indeed they both provided more in the 15mins or so they were on the pitch yesterday.

Talking of Farkes philosophy, surely when given a chance, as Leitner and Vrancic were, if a positive impact is made and game changed, they should argue they fully deserve their place in the team for the next game.

Really????

If you watch the highlights of the Wigan game you will see that Cantwell was heavily involved in our best moments of the first half. He was actually involved three times in the move that saw Pukki's shot blocked nearly on the line (including a beautiful first time pass with the outside of his boot to put Hernandez in space in the penalty box) and then sprayed a beautiful 40 yard pass out to Stiepermann to start the move which saw Pukki almost getting on the end of Stiepermann's cross,.

I'm not saying he had a great game, but it strikes me that your comment is a good example of people having a pre-conceived agenda and then altering the reality to fit that agenda. 

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24 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

To hell with "single individuals feeling targeted"....the prize we have within our grasp is bigger than any of that...

The thing that has made us successful above all else this season has been our fantastic team spirit.

The moment you start targetting individuals you run the risk of destroying that.

We win as a team - we draw as a team!!

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4 minutes ago, Thirsty Lizard said:

The thing that has made us successful above all else this season has been our fantastic team spirit.

The moment you start targetting individuals you run the risk of destroying that.

We win as a team - we draw as a team!!

Dropping one player in favour of another who the manager feels would do a better job for the team.......or "targetting an individual" ???

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Whatever team is put out by Farke is the right team. He knows what our players are capable of and their mindset. In Farke we must trust.

OTBC

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2 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Dropping one player in favour of another who the manager feels would do a better job for the team.......or "targetting an individual" ???

What player did the manager drop? Are you getting a bit confused between the manager and his critics?

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8 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Dropping one player in favour of another who the manager feels would do a better job for the team.......or "targetting an individual" ???

They were YOUR words I was quoting GJL!!!  

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We can speculate all day on whether Farke will make changes against Shef Wed, but I am sure, subject to any major injuries, he will already know what side he wants to put out.  Personally I think we need either Vrancic or Leitner starting as they are likely to create more chances than those currently playing in midfield.  The bottom line is Farke has generally got it right most times with only 6 losses in 42 games, and sitting 4 points clear of Leeds and 7 ahead of Shef Utd. 

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26 minutes ago, Thirsty Lizard said:

The thing that has made us successful above all else this season has been our fantastic team spirit.

The moment you start targetting individuals you run the risk of destroying that.

We win as a team - we draw as a team!!

Yeah but you don't really know what the players think about Vrancic and Leitner not playing. I'm surprised by it and it seems most on here are too. If a player isn't performing well, or we need to make a tactical change, then it beggars belief those changes can't be made. In any event Cantwell has hardly played of late so I wouldn't have thought dropping him would disrupt team spirit.

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Just want to add one thought to the mix. Does Pukki's lean spell correlate with the loss of Vrancic - he would quite often play Pukki through. Without a doubt we've played differently without him and perhaps not too our best strengths. We are not a one man (Buendi) team - we have lots of other playmakers and players feed off each other.

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7 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

Just want to add one thought to the mix. Does Pukki's lean spell correlate with the loss of Vrancic - he would quite often play Pukki through. Without a doubt we've played differently without him and perhaps not too our best strengths. We are not a one man (Buendi) team - we have lots of other playmakers and players feed off each other.

Lean spell?! Pukki's got 3 goals in 3 games!

Whilst Pukki and Vrancic do link up well, I think he must have been fairly exhausted either side of the international break.

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We have one game left without Emi (the curse seems to be true) and then all speculation can end. I would expect a change after two successive draws against teams at the bottom of the table. We will be playing a team straining for the play offs.

The consensus seems to be that three or four individuals aren't playing that well. And much of the finger pointing is at Cantwell. Maybe it is his inclusion or maybe its something else. Has the shape changed that much? Is the tackle count in midfield down? Possibly.

I am quite sure that DF will take everything into account and pick a side he believes will do the job. His only interest will be in picking a team that wins the game. No favourites in this club or Klose, Leitner and Vrancic would have walked back into the team.

Whatever he decides has to be for the team only. He hasn't changed his tactics all year so I don't think he will tinker much. But I do hope the spirit is more upbeat in the squad than on here. For goodness sake we are edging closer every game. We only have to get 6 points maximum. And who knows that might be down to three at 4.50pm on Friday.

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57 minutes ago, Thirsty Lizard said:

I'm not saying he had a great game, but it strikes me that your comment is a good example of people having a pre-conceived agenda and then altering the reality to fit that agenda

Not at all. I want all in a city shirt to succeed (obviously) and being a Dereham lad (same as me and I also work with his mum) I would love Cantwell to play well and become a regular starter.

I haven’t rewatched the game but my comments are purely based on what I observed. Cantwell was ok against Reading and I felt (along with a lot in the team), poor against Wigan. The problem is he is Buendias replacement and so will come under closer scrutiny. Also, the problem is there are 2 quality midfielders on the bench who have clearly shown what they can do this season and are very very unfortunate to have seen so little game time lately.

Our front 4 this season have been full of creativity and scored so many goals, so to suddenly see that diminish will obviously pose questions of changes. Of the front 4 I believe Cantwell was the weakest link and should be replaced. The other 3 are all match winners and can produce a moment of magic out of nothing. Cantwell has done that once this season but not consistently enough to keep his place ahead of better players, whether that means changing the system or not.

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21 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

Yeah but you don't really know what the players think about Vrancic and Leitner not playing. I'm surprised by it and it seems most on here are too. If a player isn't performing well, or we need to make a tactical change, then it beggars belief those changes can't be made. In any event Cantwell has hardly played of late so I wouldn't have thought dropping him would disrupt team spirit.

You're right - I don't - and neither do you.

There is absolutely no way though that changes "can't be made" as you put it. Farke has made plenty of changes of personnel this season and plenty of tactical changes too. Many of these have been within games it's true, but I'm sure he'll change it if he thinks it's for the best. People are entitled to their opinions of course - but as others have already said - if any manager has earned the right to be trusted by the fans it's Farke this season. 

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3 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

We have one game left without Emi (the curse seems to be true)

If we really are a one man team, we’re in trouble next season no matter what league we’re playing in.

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45 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

What player did the manager drop? Are you getting a bit confused between the manager and his critics?

It's not about the player(s) he has dropped it's about the ones he should drop.

It's a sad old state of affires when you get slated for having an opinion on who is playing well and who isn't when it's blindingly obvious to anyone who has watched the last 2 games.

Before Xmas we thought things would be difficult without Leitner. When Vrancic got injured we thought things would be difficult without him.

Now, when things have actually become a bit more difficult they don't even get a look in.

Nevermind about upsetting the odd player who is not playing well or not wanting to disrupt "the system" before Emi returns, we have 4 crucial games left that we need to get results from and therefore we need our best & most influencial players we have at our disposal playing in the team.

Sadly, based on current form and despite his undoubted ability, Cantwell is not one of them.

 

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11 hours ago, Fiery Zac said:

Other than the assist (which yes was our one creative spark) thought he struggled as much as anyone. I am torn as he has really won me over with his performances but I can’t get out of my head that we just look better with Leitner and/or Vrancic and we can’t play all 3. Tough calls to make

? Modern day football selections are mainly done on stats and I am led to beleive that going by stats he was the best player on the pitch ( both sides ) with 85 % pass completion 18 duals won and 1 assist ( the only assist in the game ). Think you are seeing what you want to see. McClean stayed on when we went for it ? 

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10 games 26 points.

Sorry, theres  very little perspective in a lot of posts.

Get a grip and trust in Farke. He got us here. He will take it to the promised land.

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2 minutes ago, Well b back said:

? Modern day football selections are mainly done on stats and I am led to beleive that going by stats he was the best player on the pitch ( both sides ) with 85 % pass completion 18 duals won and 1 assist ( the only assist in the game ). Think you are seeing what you want to see. McClean stayed on when we went for it ? 

If most modern day football selections are based on stats I think that’s incredibly naive, it’s also got to be rubbish. Stats often tell a different story to what a viewer takes away from a game. Pass completion could be a yard. A dual? Come on surely people can see how stats can be twisted or misconstrued. I’m not saying he was the poorest on the pitch just that the whole team struggled and other than the assist didn’t see anything particularly to make McLean stand out from the rest.

I did say I was torn and McLean has generally won me over with his performances. It’s a tough choice. Wouldn’t be disappointed at all to see him start as Farke knows what he’s doing.

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1 hour ago, Making Plans said:

It's not about the player(s) he has dropped it's about the ones he should drop.

It's a sad old state of affires when you get slated for having an opinion on who is playing well and who isn't when it's blindingly obvious to anyone who has watched the last 2 games.

Before Xmas we thought things would be difficult without Leitner. When Vrancic got injured we thought things would be difficult without him.

Now, when things have actually become a bit more difficult they don't even get a look in.

Nevermind about upsetting the odd player who is not playing well or not wanting to disrupt "the system" before Emi returns, we have 4 crucial games left that we need to get results from and therefore we need our best & most influencial players we have at our disposal playing in the team.

Sadly, based on current form and despite his undoubted ability, Cantwell is not one of them.

 

Your credibility was finally shot to bits in September. You have proven time and time again that you have no idea of which players are doing what and your judgements are based on the views of the loudest critics on here.

Prove me wrong and tell me why we are a worse side this last two games than any other two games.

I'll give you a clue. He's from Argentina.

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I'm still not sure why Cantwell is deemed the weak link. I guess hes had the least impact of our front 4 but hes played the least too.

First half against Wigan I thought he was the only one who intelligently dropped into holes / pockets of space. Unfortunately he doesnt have the physicality to hold onto it for long and we didnt offer great movement off the ball at times, particularly in the first half. 

I'd love to get Vrancic in the side but in a central position.

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1 minute ago, hogesar said:

I'm still not sure why Cantwell is deemed the weak link. I guess hes had the least impact of our front 4 but hes played the least too.

You answered your own question. As I said I don’t think he played badly against Reading and at Wigan I think the whole team were poor compared to our usual standards. From that and with 2 wins needed I think a change should be made and undoubtedly of the front 4 he is the weak link. It could well be because he has played the least but we don’t have time to wait when there are better players waiting for match time who show their superior quality even when only given 15 mins at the end of a game

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2 hours ago, Making Plans said:

It's a sad old state of affires when you get slated for having an opinion on who is playing well and who isn't when it's blindingly obvious to anyone who has watched the last 2 games.

Farke appeared to be watching from what I could tell. It doesn’t seem to be blindingly obvious to him.

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31 minutes ago, Yellow and Green said:

Good God I'd love Cantwell to score on Friday!

I don't have a strong opinion either way but I'm just wondering what would people be saying if Farke made the changes and we got beaten. 

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Two below par performances against teams who are fighting relegation suggests that something needs changing.

Teams are down in the dog-end of the league after 40+ games for a reason. We are top for a reason. Yet in both games, particularly the latter we have been more or less equally matched. Some suggest that we were even fortunate to get a point against Wigan.

Both games we came back stronger once changes had been made. It was these changes that led to the two points by achieving in forty odd minutes what the starting eleven had failed to achieve in well over two hours of game time.This amount of time without goals contradicts our season.

This all suggests that some tinkering is now needed and that the so-called 'system' is perhaps not the precious artifact that needs preserving at all costs that some think it is. Are we that inflexible that we have to  leave better players on the bench? Better, more experienced and more likely to influence the game and gain that important three points. Fresh players with something to prove.

If we had won just one of those games then it would be all over bar the shouting. As it is we have well and truly lost that winning habit at precisely the wrong time of the campaign. Suddenly some are getting nervous when we were looking impregnable just a week ago.

Of course young Cantwell is well capable of that game changing moment, but both Vrancic and Leitner are more capable. They have proven this to be the case over the course of the season.

Farke's achievements this season means that, in our eyes at least,  he sits on the right hand side of God.

Yet, most of us seem to feel that he has made the wrong call for the last two games.

"He thinks too much, such men are dangerous?" Well not really, we still love him, but let's just get the job done in as pragmatic a way as is possible.

Edited by BroadstairsR

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To go with the same team will affect the atmosphere on Friday.  Going a goal down again will bring pressure and to come back a third time is unlikely.  We must start much stronger apply the pressure to the opposition.

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9 minutes ago, pete said:

Going a goal down again will bring pressure and to come back a third time is unlikely.  

Why is it unlikely?

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