Mouthwatering fixture - and we're in good shape for it!

[lake district canary 4,545]

The best fixture for us for quite some time coming up on Saturday. Just at a time when the team is starting to build confidence and on a decent run. 

                    Gunn

Stacey  Duffy Mclean Gianoulis

             Sara  Nunez

    Rowe     Barnes   Sainz

                     Idah 

It's the team we could have imagined at the start of the season (apart from Mclean, who looks ok at CB).  Great to see Sara and Nunez working together, plus Rowe and Sainz on the flanks, with the experience and know how of Barnes.  Idah looks decent at times too, although arguably be stronger with Sargent back in.

Optimism is returning (well up here in the Lake District, at any rate)

OTBC!

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,800]

Dont think we can risk McLean at the back for this...I'd bring Baath in and move everyone up one...McLean into mid, Nunez or Sara further forward, Barnes up front, Idah an impact sub

[cambridgeshire canary 6,795]

"The best fixture for us for quite some time coming up on Saturday"

 

And then you woke up and found out we are in fact playing the binners and not a non league side

[hogesar 9,743]

4 minutes ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Dont think we can risk McLean at the back for this...I'd bring Baath in and move everyone up one...McLean into mid, Nunez or Sara further forward, Barnes up front, Idah an impact sub

I don't know if we can afford to bring Baath in, i've never seen a CB look so uncomfortable opening up his body to receive or play a pass. Unless we're going to play long ball all game we don't stand a chance.

It looks like Ipswich play along the floor a lot too and Mclean is far better at dealing with stuff on the ground than Baath is. 

[Capt. Pants 4,276]

No excuses. Ipswich concede goals and we can score.

That's our best starting XI by a long way but little on the bench to change the game if we have to start chasing it.

Huge game for Wagner - if we get humiliated there it's game over for him. A win, then he suddenly becomes likeable again.

 

[Jim Smith 2,339]

I strongly believe we need to drop one of the strikers and play an extra midfielder for this or we will get cut open far too easily. I’d go with:

Gunn

Stacey Duffy McLean Gianoulis

Gibbs Nunez

Rowe Sara Sainz

Barnes

Wagner wont do that though. No doubt he will drop Sainz to the bench, play Onel and stick with two strikers until they carve us open and go a couple ahead! 

[Peregrine Shorts 331]

the turgid, pedestrian game I witnessed at Carrow Road last night suggests to me we are in anything but good shape for Saturday

[lake district canary 4,545]

1 minute ago, Peregrine Shorts said:

the turgid, pedestrian game I witnessed at Carrow Road last night suggests to me we are in anything but good shape for Saturday

You beat what is put in front of you, that is all that matters.

[TheGunnShow 5,995]

Agree largely with Jim here, unusually. Wagner did essentially do this for the Leicester game as Gibbs came in. It worked quite well until Fassnacht had a rush of blood to the head and went in for a tackle that wasn't on, conceding a penalty in the process.

McLean's done OK at centre-half and we can play out of defence better with him there, so I'd keep him there for now. Does show what can happen when we've got a natural left-pegger at centre-half who likes to break lines with passes.

Sainz couldn't have done any more to grab a shirt. I know Hernandez has been crap recently but part of me is thinking "put him on the other flank and have Rowe as the impact sub as we know this is the game he will be fired up for". But there's an argument for sending Placheta on - Ipswich like getting their full-backs up like we do (Leif Davis has got a ton of assists for them after all), so a speedster to go behind them could push them back.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,800]

40 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

No excuses. Ipswich concede goals and we can score.

That's our best starting XI by a long way but little on the bench to change the game if we have to start chasing it.

Huge game for Wagner - if we get humiliated there it's game over for him. A win, then he suddenly becomes likeable again.

 

You say game over for him, I just cant see that now

Blackburn -home should have been game over but since then we've won 4 and and drawn 1 from the subsequent 6 games.

If he wasnt going after that Blackburn game I cant see that he would now

[Inch High aka Inchy.. 412]

Ipswich will make our current squad look like a bunch of mugs, sadly they'll win this one easier than ever before.

And when it starts to go belly up we have a clueless manager who'll have no idea what to do about it.

[Well b back 3,279]

2 hours ago, hogesar said:

I don't know if we can afford to bring Baath in, i've never seen a CB look so uncomfortable opening up his body to receive or play a pass. Unless we're going to play long ball all game we don't stand a chance.

It looks like Ipswich play along the floor a lot too and Mclean is far better at dealing with stuff on the ground than Baath is. 

I went to the Birmingham v Sc** game. They played a lot of hoof ball over the top to be fair and they are enormous as well

[Worthy Nigelton 1,063]

2 hours ago, hogesar said:

I don't know if we can afford to bring Baath in, i've never seen a CB look so uncomfortable opening up his body to receive or play a pass. Unless we're going to play long ball all game we don't stand a chance.

It looks like Ipswich play along the floor a lot too and Mclean is far better at dealing with stuff on the ground than Baath is. 

Bookmark this Hog, I'm going to back Kenny. He's played decent at centre half in his three games there and we've only conceded 2 goals in 3 games - a vast improvement on what went before. There is no reason to drop him from that position - when Hanley comes back, Duffy should make way and if people want to see Baath start, again, it should be for Duffy, not Kenny.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,063]

2 hours ago, Jim Smith said:

I strongly believe we need to drop one of the strikers and play an extra midfielder for this or we will get cut open far too easily. I’d go with:

Gunn

Stacey Duffy McLean Gianoulis

Gibbs Nunez

Rowe Sara Sainz

Barnes

Wagner wont do that though. No doubt he will drop Sainz to the bench, play Onel and stick with two strikers until they carve us open and go a couple ahead! 

I disagree. Their game all goes through Morsy, keep the same team and tell Barnes to be all over him from minute one. Stifle him and we can steal it high up the pitch. Morsy is a good technical footballer but he's slow as hell. That's where we can get some joy.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,063]

36 minutes ago, Well b back said:

I went to the Birmingham v Sc** game. They played a lot of hoof ball over the top to be fair and they are enormous as well

Yeah, for all their chat about great football I saw a stat the other day that suggested they were second only to Rotherham at hoofing it up the park. That could have been a load of tosh though.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Worthy Nigelton

[Rolf Harris 31]

3 hours ago, GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary said:

Dont think we can risk McLean at the back for this...I'd bring Baath in and move everyone up one...McLean into mid, Nunez or Sara further forward, Barnes up front, Idah an impact sub

McLean is our best CB though.

[Positive_Canary 27]

The expectations being heaped on a former League One team to win this game seem incredible. 
Fourteen years in our shadow and they don’t even seem to be contemplating losing a couple of points let alone three.
Hugely helpful to go into this game with scummers literally frothing at the mouth to win it.  

Edited December 14, 2023 by Positive_Canary

[shefcanary 2,448]

32 minutes ago, Rolf Harris said:

McLean is our best CB though.

He's finally found a position where I think he totally deserves to be a starting player! Only taken 5 years! But when we do buy a decent CB and a proper CDM his days are numbered.

[BroadstairsR 2,203]

3 hours ago, Jim Smith said:

I strongly believe we need to drop one of the strikers and play an extra midfielder for this or we will get cut open far too easily. I’d go with:

Gunn

Stacey Duffy McLean Gianoulis

Gibbs Nunez

Rowe Sara Sainz

Barnes

 

Precisely.

Even the Binners (many of them seem to watch us a lot at every opportunity) have our midfield weaknesses sorted out:

"...they are totally wide open through the middle.

Their central midfield is non-existent and their centre backs are hopeless.

They create quite a lot of chances, but miss most of them.

Morsy not being suspended is a massive bonus having watched this, he'll just be able to wander through their midfield.

They are really going to struggle with Chaplin's movement, and if Hurst drops deep to pick the ball up they will really struggle." (TWTD)

Gibbs in midfield as well for me. It will be a special game for him, obviously, and he will be fired up. Idah offers little by comparison, imo, but will clearly be a force if we require an impact.

Even with the Ipswich factor dismissed, we are playing the team second in the league on their own patch and where they have been very strong. Defensive considerations are vital.

Edit: I don't particularly like this tactic, but nevertheless stick one on Morsy before he hits one of ours. Get him riled and make him vulnerable to an early yellow. He's a mini-Muscat in my view.

Edited December 14, 2023 by BroadstairsR

[nu_matik 167]

3 minutes ago, Positive_Canary said:

The expectations being heaped on a former League One team to win this game seem incredible. 
Fourteen years in our shadow and they don’t even seem to be contemplating losing a couple of points let alone three.
Hugely helpful to go into this game with scummers literally frothing at the mouth to win it.  

I've heard quite mixed reports. Many Ipswich fans not confident at all, feel like it's an obvious banana skin and know what derby day can bring up. Most Norwich fans feel like we've lost already and we'll spiral off and the whole club will implode.

I feel we have a good chance of beating them if we defend well.

My gut feeling is a feisty draw.

[Satriales 693]

1 minute ago, nu_matik said:

I've heard quite mixed reports. Many Ipswich fans not confident at all, feel like it's an obvious banana skin and know what derby day can bring up. Most Norwich fans feel like we've lost already and we'll spiral off and the whole club will implode.

I feel we have a good chance of beating them if we defend well.

My gut feeling is a feisty draw.

All this build up from both sets of fans, it will probably be a boring nil nil draw!

[S_81 847]

Good shape? A patched up defence that still gives goals away. No grit whatsoever in central mid. And hardly a prolific front line. Plus - vitally - a manager who still makes obscure tactical decisions and a bench totally incapable of changing a game for the better. 
 

In relative terms we are in a better place than 5 games ago, granted. But only on points. Not on performances. 
 

I hope my pessimism is thrown back at me on Saturday - but as it stands I think there’s a lot of over optimism going on and some of you are in for a rude awakening    

[BroadstairsR 2,203]

McKenna thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.

Wagner thinks too much. Such men are useless.

[Jim Smith 2,339]

58 minutes ago, BroadstairsR said:

Precisely.

Even the Binners (many of them seem to watch us a lot at every opportunity) have our midfield weaknesses sorted out:

"...they are totally wide open through the middle.

Their central midfield is non-existent and their centre backs are hopeless.

They create quite a lot of chances, but miss most of them.

Morsy not being suspended is a massive bonus having watched this, he'll just be able to wander through their midfield.

They are really going to struggle with Chaplin's movement, and if Hurst drops deep to pick the ball up they will really struggle." (TWTD)

Gibbs in midfield as well for me. It will be a special game for him, obviously, and he will be fired up. Idah offers little by comparison, imo, but will clearly be a force if we require an impact.

Even with the Ipswich factor dismissed, we are playing the team second in the league on their own patch and where they have been very strong. Defensive considerations are vital.

Edit: I don't particularly like this tactic, but nevertheless stick one on Morsy before he hits one of ours. Get him riled and make him vulnerable to an early yellow. He's a mini-Muscat in my view.

It was also abundantly clear from watching them on Tuesday that their game is built around Chaplin and Hirst dropping into the pocket of space between the defence and midfield. If Wagner does not do something to plug that gap and try and counter that then frankly I give up. It is beyond obvious. 

[Yellow Green Army 237]

Got a sneaky feeling Wagner will change it again for Ipswich. Can see him bringing Onel and Fassnacht back in with Barnes up top. 
Hopefully not though!

[......and Smith must score. 1,360]

4 hours ago, Peregrine Shorts said:

the turgid, pedestrian game I witnessed at Carrow Road last night suggests to me we are in anything but good shape for Saturday

 

4 hours ago, lake district canary said:

You beat what is put in front of you, that is all that matters.

The performance was certainly not world beating but it was better than it has been of late.

That said they will have to up the ante considerably if they are to beat our opponents on Saturday.

[Monty13 2,251]

4 hours ago, lake district canary said:

You beat what is put in front of you, that is all that matters.

Very different propositions though.

1 hour ago, BroadstairsR said:

Precisely.

Even the Binners (many of them seem to watch us a lot at every opportunity) have our midfield weaknesses sorted out:

"...they are totally wide open through the middle.

Their central midfield is non-existent and their centre backs are hopeless.

They create quite a lot of chances, but miss most of them.

Morsy not being suspended is a massive bonus having watched this, he'll just be able to wander through their midfield.

They are really going to struggle with Chaplin's movement, and if Hurst drops deep to pick the ball up they will really struggle." (TWTD)

Annoyingly hard to argue with any of that. Most of us would say similar.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Monty13

[hogesar 9,743]

4 hours ago, TheGunnShow said:

Agree largely with Jim here, unusually. Wagner did essentially do this for the Leicester game as Gibbs came in. It worked quite well until Fassnacht had a rush of blood to the head and went in for a tackle that wasn't on, conceding a penalty in the process.

McLean's done OK at centre-half and we can play out of defence better with him there, so I'd keep him there for now. Does show what can happen when we've got a natural left-pegger at centre-half who likes to break lines with passes.

Sainz couldn't have done any more to grab a shirt. I know Hernandez has been crap recently but part of me is thinking "put him on the other flank and have Rowe as the impact sub as we know this is the game he will be fired up for". But there's an argument for sending Placheta on - Ipswich like getting their full-backs up like we do (Leif Davis has got a ton of assists for them after all), so a speedster to go behind them could push them back.

I don't think Placheta should be anywhere near the starting 11 and I suggest he won't be. He has pace but no idea how to use it. 

[yellowrider120 784]

5 hours ago, Jim Smith said:

I strongly believe we need to drop one of the strikers and play an extra midfielder for this or we will get cut open far too easily. I’d go with:

Gunn

Stacey Duffy McLean Gianoulis

Gibbs Nunez

Rowe Sara Sainz

Barnes

Wagner wont do that though. No doubt he will drop Sainz to the bench, play Onel and stick with two strikers until they carve us open and go a couple ahead! 

That would be a nightmare but in entirely predictable Wagner style it's very likely he will do that!

[yellowrider120 784]

15 minutes ago, hogesar said:

I don't think Placheta should be anywhere near the starting 11 and I suggest he won't be. He has pace but no idea how to use it. 

Ditto Argos!