Are we a better team than 2 years ago?

[nutty nigel 7,506]

Just now, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

So , nobody elses fans get behind/lift their team?

I dont believe empty stadiums make our team 'better'...but I do believe its a leveller at many away games in particular....as I said , take fans out of the equation ,it emphasis more the XI vs XI on the pitch , without other influences on the game.

...and when its XI vs XI our team will invariably is better.

...and our ability yo see out the vast amount of one goal margin victories , without the oppositions home crowd shouting their team on/influencing a referee in the last few mins of a game , is too in my opinion a factor

But our fans are more patient than a lot of these clubs. We travel in great numbers and get behind the team.

Why would that be a disadvantage?

Surely the clubs disadvantaged would be the ones with impatient fans and/or half empty stadiums.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,734]

2 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

But our fans are more patient than a lot of these clubs. We travel in great numbers and get behind the team.

Why would that be a disadvantage?

Surely the clubs disadvantaged would be the ones with impatient fans and/or half empty stadiums.

The disadvantage of home teams not having fans in the ground outweighs the advantage that away teams have of fans being there imo

Youve only got to see that this is a record season for away wins across all leagues

Look at how badly both Liverpool and Man United have performed at home this season..

[Jools 584]

'Are we a better team than 2 years ago?'

Yay and nay...

'We are just doing what we did before but are doing it better than before' ~ lake district canary 😉

[Mr.Carrow 376]

Farke said recently that 2 years ago we were basically playing with two number 10's in front of the central defenders. It was fantastically exciting but frankly that is no way to prepare for the Premier League. We will be much more robust if we go up.

Main negative is that unlike 2 years ago we barely score from outside the box. Our poor shooting really is quite bizarre considering the quality we have.

[Monty13 2,229]

Think the issue for me is there’s only one player in the team that truly looks like an upgrade on the team from 2 years ago and he’s not ours.

Gibson and Giannoulis both look like good replacements for Godfrey and Lewis but not sure they are an improvement.

Rest of our recruitment seems debatable on whether it’s an upgrade. We have some depth, but yet to be convinced on quality.

[ged in the onion bag 854]

Bizarre one since we look more in control of games yet can't put them to bed..... when you're in the Prem, they say mistakes get punished...    Many games could (and should) have been over by half-time yet we've ended up with some serious luck in the final minutes to hold onto the points.    In the Prem, those chances are converted and on the evidence, we won't be punishing mistakes. 

We've probably created more chances than last time but our finishing has been pretty woeful all season, Pukki isn't anywhere near the level he was last time.... he remains unconvincing in front of goal.    In goals per shot stats, Teemu is our most productive player and he is 55th in the division overall. Emi 68rd and Todd 101st (https://fbref.com/en/comps/10/shooting/Championship-Stats), that doesn't bode well as we won't create these numbers of chances next season.      Vrancic is 162nd!   

Krul - better than last time, more confident.

Defence  much more experienced.... Aarons is better now, Gibson and Hanley are more organised and at LB Giannoulis' performances are starting to suggest he may be an improvement.   Mumba and McCallum have promise

At CDM, Skipp is an improvement but there is no evidence that any other central midfielder is any better at this level..... From what I can see we have no options in this position if we get promoted.    This is a major problem and should have been addressed (even partly) in January not left to the summer.

Cantwell and Buendia are better now but Hernandez, Vrancic and Steipermann are less effective.    Dowell, Platcheta and Martin have yet to show enough and so the third forward position is inferior so far.....

Pukki, isn't at his 2019 level and otherwise the forwards have had little impact in either season... Rhodes and Hugill much the same.      

Collectively, the system / philosophy is honed, (probably the reason we find a way to win regularly) and spirit seems very positive again.  Also, we have more strength in depth to the squad at this level......... but..

In terms of players capable of starting games regularly in a competitive Premier League side, sadly we only have Krul, Aarons, Gibson, Hanley, (although we would need a better CB than both of them as the mainstay).... Hernandez, Cantwell, Buendia and Pukki..... unfortunately, the best two (Buendia and Aarons) are likely to move on in the summer whatever happens.   Todd may also be sold if we don't sort his contract out.   

Possibles' still to prove themselves but definite squad players would be Famewo, Mumba, Giannoulis, McCallum, Sorensen and Idah. Zimmermann, McLean / Rupp (although we need 3 better options in CDM), can't see Skipp returning next season.

Still not sure what to make of Platcheta or Dowell, Martin needs a loan and Byram can't be relied upon at this stage.   

Many players failed last time, they need to move on.... Trybull, Leitner, Drmic, Steipermann, Vrancic, Tettey, Heise, sometimes (especially in this game) harsh decisions need to be made.   Quintilla doesn't look to have the defensive strength and I can't see Hugill stepping up either.

If we get promoted, we will need a back up keeper, a first choice CB, at least 2 CDM's and a centre forward better than Pukki.   Plus replacing any sold.  Otherwise can't see us being competitive and that would be a disaster for the players and Farke after last season.

 

[ged in the onion bag 854]

2 hours ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

The disadvantage of home teams not having fans in the ground outweighs the advantage that away teams have of fans being there imo

Youve only got to see that this is a record season for away wins across all leagues

Look at how badly both Liverpool and Man United have performed at home this season..

Haven't we just gone a record 15 games without a home defeat!   Funny ol game! 

[Midlands Yellow 3,913]

7 hours ago, Kenny Foggo said:

Defence is stronger and I feel this side would grind out more results in the premiership but not as enjoyable to watch.

Full agreement but the brief for Daniel was get promotion and so far Norwich look like achieving it. The purse strings have to be looser in the summer mind or what’s the point. 

[lake district canary 4,530]

Is the team better? 

Well Krul is better.

Hanley is definitely better and more comfortable on the ball and in his passing. 

Gibson is more experienced as a CB than Godfrey was and maybe better overall at the relative stages of their careers.

Sorensen/Giannoulis are solid good players and even perhaps better defensively than Lewis was, although Lewis was terrific too.

Aarons is more mature and experienced.

Buendia and Cantwell are better players.

Vrancic has not been at his goal scoring best, but there is time for him to put that right (Stiepermann may have been more effective in his position)

Pukki is, well, he's Pukki - a class act for the team and still scoring goals.

Of the others, we have strength in depth more than last time Idah/Hugill/Dowell etc - even Tettey who is like a fine wine and gets better with age.....

Overall then, you would have to say that there would be something wrong if this team was not better than two years ago! 

[All the Germans 1,072]

More efficient, more comfortable in winning positions but nowhere near as entertaining. Give me a 4-3 and 3-3 over a 1-0 and 0-0 any day of the week. However, this is a harsh comparison as I have never witnessed a season like two years ago. The most entertaining, brilliant season that I have ever seen. It would have to be something special to get close to being that entertaining. 

[TheGunnShow 5,904]

11 hours ago, Mr.Carrow said:

Farke said recently that 2 years ago we were basically playing with two number 10's in front of the central defenders. It was fantastically exciting but frankly that is no way to prepare for the Premier League. We will be much more robust if we go up.

Main negative is that unlike 2 years ago we barely score from outside the box. Our poor shooting really is quite bizarre considering the quality we have.

That was where Stiepermann came in. He usually carried a fair threat from the edge of the box. Dowell should have that in his locker...

[hogesar 9,606]

20 minutes ago, All the Germans said:

More efficient, more comfortable in winning positions but nowhere near as entertaining. Give me a 4-3 and 3-3 over a 1-0 and 0-0 any day of the week. However, this is a harsh comparison as I have never witnessed a season like two years ago. The most entertaining, brilliant season that I have ever seen. It would have to be something special to get close to being that entertaining. 

I also think people would be very different on the 'entertainment' aspect if we'd finished more of our chances. There have been lots of games where we could have won by 3, 4 or 5 this season.

[vos 155]

I think GED's opinion is spot on. We are almost certain to go up. Well organised with some players of real ability but lets be frank this is a very average Championship. But we will struggle in the Premiership. Mainly lack of big powerful physical athletic players. The Club are not going to lob out £80 million on two players a policy of which I entirely agree. Despite local press comments, Pukki's best days are over and apart from Buendia we really do not have any consistent goal scorers. We were woeful in front of goal on Sat. 

I expect us to continue to Yo Yo until Sky fulfil their wish to form some sort of elite European League as I suspect numbers are falling re viewing of the Premiership. Once they have plucked out say the top eight Premiership sides we might be able to re-establish ourselves as consistent members  in the top English League. Perhaps the time is ripe to spend money on expanding the Stadium so that our younger supporters can obtain a regular seat.

[PurpleCanary 5,553]

I haven't read every post, so this point may have been made. I would say the squad is definitely superior to two years ago.

 

[sgncfc 1,221]

3 hours ago, lake district canary said:

Is the team better? 

Well Krul is better.

Hanley is definitely better and more comfortable on the ball and in his passing. 

Gibson is more experienced as a CB than Godfrey was and maybe better overall at the relative stages of their careers.

Sorensen/Giannoulis are solid good players and even perhaps better defensively than Lewis was, although Lewis was terrific too.

Aarons is more mature and experienced.

Buendia and Cantwell are better players.

Vrancic has not been at his goal scoring best, but there is time for him to put that right (Stiepermann may have been more effective in his position)

Pukki is, well, he's Pukki - a class act for the team and still scoring goals.

Of the others, we have strength in depth more than last time Idah/Hugill/Dowell etc - even Tettey who is like a fine wine and gets better with age.....

Overall then, you would have to say that there would be something wrong if this team was not better than two years ago! 

This. The improvement in the technical performance of our two centre backs is absolutely huge, and the cover the defence as a whole gets from Skipp is something we just didn't have two years ago - Tettey was good but not that mobile.

Cantwell is twice the player he was two years ago and is finally starting to use his skill and vision to make things happen - his run for Pukki's goal on Saturday was pure class.

I think Giannoulis will prove to be a better player than Lewis and if Sorensen can step into the Skipp position (assuming we can't keep him) we have a small chance of survival in the PL with another two or three additions.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,358]

We're more defensively solid and our turnover play is better than 2 years ago. If we could just be a touch more ruthless in front of goal I'd be far more confident about next season but everywhere else on the pitch we're undoubtably stronger than 2 years ago.

[Indy 3,283]

If we had a Wes at his best, in at number 10 we’d be pretty much unstoppable going forwards, we’re struggling to find that number ten, Vrancic isn’t it, Steipermann isn’t the answer and looking to next year Dowell certainly isn’t the answer. 

Edited February 22, 2021 by Indy

[All the Germans 1,072]

3 hours ago, hogesar said:

I also think people would be very different on the 'entertainment' aspect if we'd finished more of our chances. There have been lots of games where we could have won by 3, 4 or 5 this season.

I partially agree. As much as it isn't good for the heart, there is more entertainment in being 3-2 down on the 90th minute and winning 4-3 or being 3-1 down and drawing 3-3, than just scoring a few goals. Our sh*t defending contributed to the entertainment!

 

9 minutes ago, Indy said:

If we had a Wes at his best, in at number 10 we’d be pretty much unstoppable going forwards, we’re struggling to find that number ten, Vrancic isn’t it, Steipermann isn’t the answer and looking to next year Dowell certainly isn’t the answer. 

Caveat: I love Wes. However, it's a Maddison we need, someone who can score too. As brilliant as Wesley was, he didn't score enough for that position.

[king canary 7,558]

48 minutes ago, All the Germans said:

Caveat: I love Wes. However, it's a Maddison we need, someone who can score too. As brilliant as Wesley was, he didn't score enough for that position.

I'd underestimated quite how fantastic a season Maddison is having right now.

11 goals in 32 appearences (and 8 of those were off the bench) along with 6 assists. What a player.

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,421]

1 hour ago, king canary said:

I'd underestimated quite how fantastic a season Maddison is having right now.

11 goals in 32 appearences (and 8 of those were off the bench) along with 6 assists. What a player.

Agreed . It puts the achievement into perspective   Maddison is influencing and effecting the game , for a team 2nd in the Prem . It would be difficult for him to perform at a higher level at the moment .