King Kenny

[jaberry2 550]

Will Rangers have the £50m needed to prize him away from us though?

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Kenny isn't alone in being out of his depth in the EPL is he. Is there any member of the current side who could hack it in the EPL?

But at this level he has been our best player. I would take that. And give him credit for it.

[Mello Yello 2,293]

Mayor Kenny's currently doin' awight.....now, leave him be.....

[Andy G 10]

He seems to be back to himself again!
I think under Smith he just didn't have the inspiration or confidence.
Its been nice seeing him covering every inch of the grass, mopping up at the back enabling the defence to push further forward.
Still has his weaknesses, but he whilst his confidence is high he is definately an assett to the team! 

[dylanisabaddog 4,921]

14 hours ago, nutty nigel said:

Love that description. He's certainly flourishing under Wagner but he was never anywhere close to as poor as his critics would have you believe.

He's a captain on the field with or without the armband👍

I agree that he should be captain 

[shefcanary 2,407]

Kenny is what Kenny is. As others have said, when not pressured and when briefed on what his job is, in the Championship he is just fine. However in the EPL, my god he is so off the mark! My beef has been and will continue to be, if he is first name on the teamsheet when we get back to the EPL, we are coming straight back down. 

Well done Kenny for taking a bit more responsibility in recent games and delivering. However, he needs to put this kind of shift in against say, Sheffield United, to even question my opinion that we need better! 

OTBC

NMTD

[nutty nigel 7,534]

1 hour ago, keelansgrandad said:

Kenny isn't alone in being out of his depth in the EPL is he. Is there any member of the current side who could hack it in the EPL?

But at this level he has been our best player. I would take that. And give him credit for it.

Indeed. This nonsense about the Prem or better sides applies to all our players. That's why we've been relegated so miserably twice. It's just a smokescreen to excuse the scapegoating.

[canarybubbles 1,915]

As fans I think we all get too fixated on individual players, both as scapegoats and as heroes. Yes, McLean has been putting in some great performances since Wagner arrived, but he's been doing this in a partnership with Sara, who has also hugely improved over the last few games, and both of them are flourishing within a larger system that supports their midfield work.

It's much too early to say whether Wagner will eventually be a success with us, but the signs are very encouraging. He seems to be imposing clear roles onto the players and they seem to be responding to this because they understand what he is doing. OK, there have been times when it hasn't worked - e.g. Wigan - but it's already often far from the shapeless mess it was when Wagner arrived.

On McLean individually, I've always felt that he was a player who needed to have a clearly assigned role because left to his own devices he tends to chase the ball and stray beyond his own remit, but if that energy and enthusiasm and leadership can be channelled there's a good player there. I agree, though, that he is much less effective when under time pressure, and this is something that needs to be allowed for in any larger tactical plan.

I have confidence that Wagner is on top of all this.

Edited February 25, 2023 by canarybubbles

[unique 435]

McLean’s role under Wagner appears to be akin to a quarterback. As someone mentioned in an earlier post, his long range passing has been a revelation, an ability that has been seldom seen up to now in his Norwich career.

What has previously annoyed fans about McLean - his wayward passing and his tendency to get carried away and lose his position- seem to have been eliminated by Wagner overnight. If he was to do it now, on the odd occasion, he would be forgiven because he is playing so well.

The accurate long range pass can be a useful weapon. One that we haven’t seen since Godfrey’s departure. His raking passes to Aarons, way up on the right wing, used to set up many attacks.

[East Rider 551]

21 hours ago, nutty nigel said:

Indeed. This nonsense about the Prem or better sides applies to all our players. That's why we've been relegated so miserably twice. It's just a smokescreen to excuse the scapegoating.

Correct and bang on point. There may be the odd exception with one or two of our team, but generally they have collectively fallen short, not just a single player.

It's easy to follow the herd and give stick to the current appointed scapegoat, keeps you popular I suppose. Can't stand it myself

[Capt. Pants 4,234]

Kenny is clearly enjoying the role Wagner has given him. Additionally, he is the captain of the team in all but name. Fingers crossed he can stay fit all season as he's vital for us.

As it stands he will be getting my vote for POTS.

[Ulfotto 632]

On 24/02/2023 at 09:36, Disco Dales Jockstrap said:

I think Kenny suffers from who he isn't, rather than who he is. He's no Howson or Johnson for instance. He does his job efficiently without fuss. I think some fans want more (or something different?) even though that's not who he is.  

Defo the front runner for POTS.

OTBC

Agreed I used to understand the flak because he was keeping Vrancic or even Leitner out of the team. They were simple more exciting and glamorous players than Kenny. These days I don’t really understand it.

[zema abbey football genius 36]

Fair play to Kenny for his improved performances. However, no one seems to be mentioning the number of times he has inexplicably given the ball away in our own half to present the opposition with guilt edged chances…see Wigan & Burnley games 

[Worthy Nigelton 1,046]

He should be the first out the door if we go up. He can only perform against the lesser teams at this level. Burnley overran him as every decent team does.

[Deptford Yellow 258]

5 minutes ago, Worthy Nigelton said:

He should be the first out the door if we go up. He can only perform against the lesser teams at this level. Burnley overran him as every decent team does.

Bit harsh

[Robert N. LiM 4,344]

I like Kenny and think the scapegoating of him has been absurd. But I think it's fair to say that if he's in the running for the POTS, then you're probably not having a very good S.