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Norwich v Atalanta live stream

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We need a commanding DMC at the heart of the team who can hold everything together -- One that the back four can feel confident behind.

I'd also prefer an additional CB.

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19 minutes ago, JF said:

Easy to forget after that 2nd half that we largely dominated the 1st and should have been clear out of sight. I thought we looked superb against a very good team in that 1st half so we need to take the positives from that into the next friendly and hopefully eradicate the silly costly mistakes. I’m not overly concerned but I would like to see one or two more added to the squad

Ok but what position do you think ?

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Godfrey has literally everything a top class modern CB needs, and am expecting him to have a really impressive season.

On another note, does anyone think we might need another DM?

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5 minutes ago, Ian said:

Godfrey has literally everything a top class modern CB needs, and am expecting him to have a really impressive season.

On another note, does anyone think we might need another DM?

Does the bear defecate in an arboreal location? 

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So it comes around again - start of the 2015-16 season when we got up - we were anticipating how things would go.

My feeling at the time - play Tettey, BJ and Hoolahan in the midfield and we would survive. What happened BJ got sold to Derby, Tettey got injured and Hoolahan was played sparsely - we went down.

I was banking on Leitner & Trybull this season as they look our best combination in the centre. But some of the comments on here have me worried. Can after all these years we have to rely on Tettey again !

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Lots of positives to take from that first half, and the second half, well, better to happen now than during the season. But if we defend like that against the top six our goal difference will not be healthy. 

I've been critical at times, but thought Cantwell was excellent first half, took his goal well and generally looked very imposing. Was nice to see him playing with a bit more give and confidence. Pukki should have scored a few. Byram looks a good addition but certainly not as influential as Aaron's. Game felt a bit pedestrian at times, and some of the defending in the second half was unacceptable. Felt Emi struggled to get in the game, Cantwell and Leitner were certainly pulling the strings much more than he was. 

I expect Saturdays game will be another gear higher. But it's another 90 minutes of decent work out, and no notable knocks or injuries. 

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A lot of people saying we will learn from this but for me it taught us nothing that most of us do not already know. The manner of the goals we conceded was not new. We have been too easy to play through in midfield when the ball is given away throughout Farkes reign (this is a dilemma because it’s partly because the full backs push forward which is important to how we play but it’s also because we don’t have a proper defensive midfielder without Tettey) and defenders have consistently made stupid errors to gift goals to the opposition, often with us having had the better of the game until then. We got away with it for a lot of last season because champ football is not as ruthless and our attacking and general game was so good but we won’t get away with it against top level opposition.

This is not new stuff nor is it something Farke and Webber should have needed to learn last night.

 

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10 hours ago, vlad666 said:

Leitner and trybull together doesn’t work in my opinion. 

Can't agree Vlado, I think they are our best deep midfield combo. Tough on Mario, who I think is excellent, a sublime footballer.  Would also be happy with Trybull & Vrancic. Not Vrancic and Leitner though.

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Trybull is a good DM, but it looks to me as if the way we play we will be demanding more of other midfielders to take a stint at being the man that stays back when whoever is nominally in the DM position gets forwards as Trybull likes to.

We see it in defence all the time - the last man back can when we are on attack might be any of the four defenders, mainly because they are individually good enough and trustworthy enough to do that job, so it is the same with the DM position.  I might be wrong (I often am) but it does fit with the development of the teamplay under Farke that players are comfortable anywhere on the pitch.

 

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Pleaseing to see our attacking play continue to look strong and Pukki's movement causing issues for top defences.

Difficult not to be a bit concerned about the second and third goals though.

The second is the kind of chance we gave up in the championship quite regularly because of our fullbacks bombing on and allowing teams and extra man on the counter. You can get away with that against Rotherham or Millwall as often the final ball will be overhit or the strikers touch will take him too far away from goal to get the shot away. Against even middling Premier League teams though we'll get punished.

The third goal is a classic case of over pursuit- again hit on the counter, players trying to get back actually end up too far back so we've got 5 players on the 6 yard line and nobody on the penalty spot, hence letting a ball get miscontrolled and travel across the box unchallenged for a free hit.

These are all adjustable, we just need to be more disciplined in defence. So having a DM who sits deep between the central defenders when we push our fullbacks up, making sure on of the other four midfielders doesn't get too far up the pitch on every attack to snuff out counters on the halfway line and some dedication to keeping a defensive shape even when we are pushing forward. 

Every great attacking team of the modern era understood this need- Barca had Busquets breaking up play and sitting deep to let the more attacking types do their thing and Xavi knew when to hold and when to push up. The Madrid Galacticos balanced the outrageous attacking talents with Makelele and the more conservative Salgado opposite Roberto Carlos. Liverpool last season found space for players like Milner, Henderson and Wijnaldum to help create a platform for the forwards to reign free and for TAA and Robertson to bomb on.

So yes, a DM and some more work on the training pitch on keeping a shape at the back and I'll be very confident. No changes to how we played yesterday and we could set a record for goals conceded.

 

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I personally enjoyed watching Srbeny come on to try and start a fight for some reason.

 

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Just now, hogesar said:

I personally enjoyed watching Srbeny come on to try and start a fight for some reason.

This has just reminded me: with VAR in operation, how on earth did Toloi escape a red card for that headbutt on Srbeny? I know it was only a friendly and the common sense thing to do is just to have a word with them and let them calm down, but rules are rules and with VAR, there's no hiding place.

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Just now, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

This has just reminded me: with VAR in operation, how on earth did Toloi escape a red card for that headbutt on Srbeny? I know it was only a friendly and the common sense thing to do is just to have a word with them and let them calm down, but rules are rules and with VAR, there's no hiding place.

Well quite, and on top of that I'm pretty sure Srbeny hit out at him as he was getting up.

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Just now, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

This has just reminded me: with VAR in operation, how on earth did Toloi escape a red card for that headbutt on Srbeny? I know it was only a friendly and the common sense thing to do is just to have a word with them and let them calm down, but rules are rules and with VAR, there's no hiding place.

Talking of VAR- I had no sound last night, was the referee going to give the world's most obvious handball goal or did VAR have to overturn it?

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1 hour ago, wcorkcanary said:

Can't agree Vlado, I think they are our best deep midfield combo. Tough on Mario, who I think is excellent, a sublime footballer.  Would also be happy with Trybull & Vrancic. Not Vrancic and Leitner though.

That’s fine mate. It’s all about opinions. I just feel they don’t offer enough protection to the defence. They’re both not very mobile and you often see opposition midfielders running off the back of them, exposing our defence. Also I’d just love to see someone in there with a bit more bite. 

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A few thoughts from my perch in the South Stand:

Fahrmann generally dominant, good distribution. Prefers palming/punching to catching, but technique generally solid. That one-on-one where he started coming and then backed off was a concern, I think he'd have comfortably got there first if he'd have committed.

I thought Godfrey was a cut above last night. Even when we were on the rack in the last half hour, he did incredibly well. Don't think he got skinned once, and on a couple of occasions he showed blistering pace in a foot race.

Klose generally fine until the last half hour, let's forget about the one ridiculous mistake. Farke called him out on it post-match, and Timm is experienced enough to learn from it and ensure he doesn't do it again.

Byram put in some good strong tackles, and apart from being caught upfield a couple of times played very well. Think he'll be a very able deputy to Max.

Lewis was outstanding in the first half with and without the ball, a constant menace. Trickery and excellent tight control in possession, confident in his defensive behaviour. Tired a little before being substituted, but he put in a hell of a shift.

Trybull had a tough night, fine in possession but was led a merry dance by Gomez. Worry about him one-on-one against real top-class PL players.

Leitner has the vision to drop deep and distribute from his own third, and to move forward and unlock defences with great vision - as he showed with the pass to Cantwell. He and Mario are as good as we can hope for in the creative CM position.

Buendíá had a real stinker. A couple of decent link-ups, but nothing seemed to work for him and he grew more and more frustrated. Playing against top-level teams he will experience more days like this than he is used to. His natural talent is undoubted, but he needs to work on his mentality when he is unable to influence games as much as he has become accustomed to.

Cantwell was brilliant in the first half. Played with real confidence, a deftness of touch and great awareness. Like many others, seemed to tire quickly in the second half as we started chasing shadows. 

Hernández linked up well with Lewis down the left and caused a fair few problems; pace to burn, great technique and a willingness to track back and cover when Lewis was caught forward.

Pukki showed his usual awareness and interplay in the final third, but just couldn't quite get onto a lot of well-intentioned final balls. Nearly scored with a low left-footed drive in the second half.

Brief overview of the bench: Heise and Srbeny looked a bit clunky by comparison to the starting XI, Roberts looks a real talent, Idah didn't have long on the pitch but looks to ooze class and confidence.

 

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11 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Well quite, and on top of that I'm pretty sure Srbeny hit out at him as he was getting up.

I suspect both would have been given at least a yellow card in a league game, possibly both red.

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10 hours ago, Nuff Said said:

Why? We have alternatives to Todd and Emi. We don't have another Marco. As others have said, we have plenty of skilful plyers but are lightweight. Marco helps mitigate that.

It has been suggested Farke has been looking at Srbeny for this, but he seemed mainly up for a scrap tonight.

Exactly. Steipermann had a lot to do with Pukki's success last season, and is the best fit for the number ten position. Buendia is better in tandem with either Hernandez or Roberts further wide. Without Steipermann in the attacking quartet we have zero physicality or direct outlet. Cantwell appears suited to the 'ten' position, but I'd still put Marco there for the reasons mentioned. 

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10 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

A few thoughts from my perch in the South Stand:

Fahrmann generally dominant, good distribution. Prefers palming/punching to catching, but technique generally solid. That one-on-one where he started coming and then backed off was a concern, I think he'd have comfortably got there first if he'd have committed.

I thought Godfrey was a cut above last night. Even when we were on the rack in the last half hour, he did incredibly well. Don't think he got skinned once, and on a couple of occasions he showed blistering pace in a foot race.

Klose generally fine until the last half hour, let's forget about the one ridiculous mistake. Farke called him out on it post-match, and Timm is experienced enough to learn from it and ensure he doesn't do it again.

Byram put in some good strong tackles, and apart from being caught upfield a couple of times played very well. Think he'll be a very able deputy to Max.

Lewis was outstanding in the first half with and without the ball, a constant menace. Trickery and excellent tight control in possession, confident in his defensive behaviour. Tired a little before being substituted, but he put in a hell of a shift.

Trybull had a tough night, fine in possession but was led a merry dance by Gomez. Worry about him one-on-one against real top-class PL players.

Leitner has the vision to drop deep and distribute from his own third, and to move forward and unlock defences with great vision - as he showed with the pass to Cantwell. He and Mario are as good as we can hope for in the creative CM position.

Buendíá had a real stinker. A couple of decent link-ups, but nothing seemed to work for him and he grew more and more frustrated. Playing against top-level teams he will experience more days like this than he is used to. His natural talent is undoubted, but he needs to work on his mentality when he is unable to influence games as much as he has become accustomed to.

Cantwell was brilliant in the first half. Played with real confidence, a deftness of touch and great awareness. Like many others, seemed to tire quickly in the second half as we started chasing shadows. 

Hernández linked up well with Lewis down the left and caused a fair few problems; pace to burn, great technique and a willingness to track back and cover when Lewis was caught forward.

Pukki showed his usual awareness and interplay in the final third, but just couldn't quite get onto a lot of well-intentioned final balls. Nearly scored with a low left-footed drive in the second half.

Brief overview of the bench: Heise and Srbeny looked a bit clunky by comparison to the starting XI, Roberts looks a real talent, Idah didn't have long on the pitch but looks to ooze class and confidence.

 

I agree about Heise and Srbenny. They don't look remotely premier league class when you see them on the pitch alongside top players and really you would hope we would have better replacements but hopefully the occasions when we will need to use them will be few and far between. An injury to Lewis would be a real worry though. I actually think he may out perform Max this season based on the very end of last season and what I've seen in pre-season, he looks to have kicked on again after perhaps a bit of fatigue in the middle of last season. 

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Many positives from last nights game, maybe Todd Cantwell can really stake a claim for a place in the starting lineup. The biggest problem is DM. Trybull, McLean, Leitner are all excellent players but really need a proper DM alongside. A pity that Thompson has had such bad luck, he may well have been the solution, but even if he stays fit needs time to get back Into it. Tettey has surprised us several times now but it may be a season too far. Of course we do have one player on our books who would be perfect - Godfrey- shame we can’t clone him!

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33 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

I thought Godfrey was a cut above last night. Even when we were on the rack in the last half hour, he did incredibly well. Don't think he got skinned once, and on a couple of occasions he showed blistering pace in a foot race.

1

Godfrey has the makings of a quality DMC -- His physicality and reading of the game is outstanding for a 21-year-old -- Ready for such a task in the Premier? Possibly not, but his development in said position will be on any decent coaches to-do list.

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2 minutes ago, Jools said:

Godfrey has the makings of a quality DMC -- His physicality and reading of the game is outstanding for a 21-year-old -- Ready for such a task in the Premier? Possibly not, but his development in said position will be on any decent coaches to-do list.

He was signed as a central midfielder at the age of 17, and Farke has coached him into a brilliant central defender. No matter what anyone thinks, he's not going to coach him back into a central midfielder again.

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6 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

He was signed as a central midfielder at the age of 17, and Farke has coached him into a brilliant central defender. No matter what anyone thinks, he's not going to coach him back into a central midfielder again.

I can assure you that Godfrey will be playing as a DMC long before his career is out.

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15 minutes ago, Jools said:

I can assure you that Godfrey will be playing as a DMC long before his career is out.

Depends on what kind of team he is playing in I reckon. He'd be a good defensive midfielder for a Warnock/Pulis-esque team, but not for a Farke style team.

I doubt he'll ever start at DM (apart from in an injury crisis) for Farke.

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44 minutes ago, Jools said:

I can assure you that Godfrey will be playing as a DMC long before his career is out.

I'm not saying he wouldn't be good in that position, Jools. But under Farke's system, he will not (and should not) play there.

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49 minutes ago, Jools said:

I can assure you that Godfrey will be playing as a DMC long before his career is out.

What makes you think that? He has successfully transitioned into a championship winning, now first choice centre back in a PL team, looking like a top class centre back and if his career path continues the way it is, he might be an England centre half before very long, probably playing centre half for a top three club.  What then, will you still say that he will be playing DMC?

 

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1 hour ago, Jools said:

I can assure you that Godfrey will be playing as a DMC long before his career is out.

Disagree. Everything about Godfrey screams 'modern CB'

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8 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Disagree. Everything about Godfrey screams 'modern CB'

He is proving to be a competent CB, but his potential as a high calibre DMC will not have gone unnoticed by coaches both here and abroad.

I don't think Godfrey will be at City long enough to fulfill said role.

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