What can we learn from Norwich City’s relegation nosedive?

[vlad666 205]

2 hours ago, Feedthewolf said:

Lewis and particularly Aarons add pace as overlapping full-backs.

You could understand us not scoring many counter-attacking goals in the Championship where we're one of the big fish and teams tend to sit deep against us, but considering the amount of pressure we've been under in the Prem, not to score a single counter-attacking goal all season is a huge concern.

The trouble with our full backs is, more often than not, after an initial burst upfield They tend to turn backwards again. More so Lewis than Aarons. The game against Brighton was one of the first times I can remember Lewis fizzing in a good cross. 

[Feedthewolf 4,901]

27 minutes ago, vlad666 said:

The trouble with our full backs is, more often than not, after an initial burst upfield They tend to turn backwards again. More so Lewis than Aarons. The game against Brighton was one of the first times I can remember Lewis fizzing in a good cross. 

I don't disagree with that, Vlad. They'll be much more incisive back in the Championship if they stay next season, though.

[Mason 47 1,403]

31 minutes ago, vlad666 said:

The trouble with our full backs is, more often than not, after an initial burst upfield They tend to turn backwards again. More so Lewis than Aarons. The game against Brighton was one of the first times I can remember Lewis fizzing in a good cross. 

Bit of Column A, bit of Column B for me.

Lewis I think is a big confidence player (watch any highlights from last year to see a swashbuckling, speedy wing back doing step-overs and taking on players) so he often isn't risky in possession; this season in particular, if he goes to the byline and loses the ball there's little to no chance Todd or Emi have dropped 10-15 yards to cover the break, so he doesn't take the risk. At the same time, both Drmic and Pukki looked like they were discovering fire for the first time when Lewis and later Mclean whipped gorgeous low crosses in-between the defence and keeper- it just isn't something we see from this team.

It all comes down to confidence. Lewis isn't confident his defensive space will be adequately covered or that the forwards are likely make the most of a cross, so he'll just go halfway and unload the ball to the nearest midfielder. Similarly, the forwards don't look confident at all that anybody is going to deliver a genuine quality ball so aren't taking up those poaching positions, choosing instead to drop to the edge of the box where they are much more likely to get a touch (I haven't checked, but to memory almost all of our shots since the restart have been by midfielders from just outside the D).

The one bright spark in all of this is Idah. He has nothing to lose and isn't jaded by a season of slogging against stronger, better defenders which is why I think he's looked the most likely to score out of all of our forwards lately despite fewer minutes than both. I wonder if this is both a help and a hinder to his game time, as 90 minutes of not getting a shot on goal or so much as a chance in a 4-0 loss carries the risk of blunting his youthful spark.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,868]

Feedthewolf, Vlad and Mason have all summed up the travails of our full backs brilliantly, but one other thing that hasn't helped them is the tactics and formation we play.

They're clearly two full backs who prefer the offensive side than the defensive, and they're obviously instructed to overlap and provide an attacking option. That's great in the Championship when we're generally stronger than the opposition and will spend most of the time attacking, but in the Premier League the opposite is true.

As a result, we can either tell them to get forward less which isn't making the most of their attributes, they can continue to bomb forward whilst leaving gaping holes that will get exploited at this level, or we can play a third centre back to help cover them. Personally, I think the third centre back option would be the best option, but unfortunately due to injuries we haven't been able to field two centre backs a lot of the time, never mind three.

[......and Smith must score. 1,365]

1 hour ago, lake district canary said:

Yep, dwell on the negatives, it's so much easier than trying to find something that is good about this season......

 

Yep, you said it.

[ron obvious 1,517]

Considering the injuries to defenders, I'm amazed we've got any points at all.

Any team anywhere would have struggled with what's happened to us. Losing Hanley, Zimbo & Byram for the restart was just unbelievable.

 

[Making Plans 942]

On 06/07/2020 at 23:33, lake district canary said:

"They are ninth in the league for passes both attempted and completed (80 per cent on the latter) and are 11th for chances created from open play.

From Daniel Farke after last night's game

"We won more or less all statistics but the one that matters is goals"

[lake district canary 4,552]

2 hours ago, Making Plans said:

On 06/07/2020 at 23:33, lake district canary said:

"They are ninth in the league for passes both attempted and completed (80 per cent on the latter) and are 11th for chances created from open play.

From Daniel Farke after last night's game

"We won more or less all statistics but the one that matters is goals"

Obviously.

[king canary 7,681]

15 hours ago, ron obvious said:

Considering the injuries to defenders, I'm amazed we've got any points at all.

Any team anywhere would have struggled with what's happened to us. Losing Hanley, Zimbo & Byram for the restart was just unbelievable.

 

It was, unfortunately, eminently believable as all three had already missed time with injuries this season.