The two Idahs.

[canarybubbles 1,919]

Why does Idah look so tentative and uninvolved when he starts games, but seems fired up when he comes on as a sub? He was great in the second half yesterday.

Is it simply that he is much better when the game has opened up? It's like he's two different players.

[Coneys Knee 959]

I genuinely think if Idah could release whatever it is that holds him back, we’d have one hell of a player on our hands.

When he’s the strong, powerful Idah he looks and absolute beast.  But you’re right, in a way, there are two Idahs. That’s for the coaching staff to figure out I suppose.

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

6 minutes ago, Coneys Knee said:

I genuinely think if Idah could release whatever it is that holds him back, we’d have one hell of a player on our hands.

When he’s the strong, powerful Idah he looks and absolute beast.  But you’re right, in a way, there are two Idahs. That’s for the coaching staff to figure out I suppose.

Not being rude but I think he needs a sports psychiatrist not coaching. At times he looks full of self doubt but I don't think he should. For all Dean Smith's faults he briefly turned Adam into a bit of a beast. 

[Coneys Knee 959]

5 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Not being rude but I think he needs a sports psychiatrist not coaching. At times he looks full of self doubt but I don't think he should. For all Dean Smith's faults he briefly turned Adam into a bit of a beast. 

I think you’re right, there’s a psychological barrier of some sort there that needs breaking down. He reminds me a bit of heskey. I always felt that as good as heskey was, we very rarely saw his true potential realised.

[The Real Buh 3,437]

100% this, it’s a proper Jekyll and Hyde situation. I honestly would look into a bit of sports psychology for the guy. The way he played from the bench yesterday was how we want him all the time.

[Ken Hairy 3,773]

He's a definite dilemma that's for sure

[BroadstairsR 2,173]

 All players seem to have upped their dame at the same time, including Idah who usually fails to contribute enough, imo. McCallum has had a couple of excellent halves, Nunez seems to be getting back to his best and I thought Argos had a good game yesterday and has had good moments recently, although some will always refuse to notice it.

Hwang is a different player to the one at the beginning of his Canary career and showed energy, good touches and his international credentials yesterday.

I could go on as it's generally all-round and stems from RESULTS breeding confidence.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,763]

Tiring opposition.

With Sargent and Hwang returning,,  impact sub will be his role for tge second half of the season...injuries aside

[Greavsy 2,415]

10 minutes ago, BroadstairsR said:

 All players seem to have upped their dame at the same time, including Idah who usually fails to contribute enough, imo. McCallum has had a couple of excellent halves, Nunez seems to be getting back to his best and I thought Argos had a good game yesterday and has had good moments recently, although some will always refuse to notice it.

Hwang is a different player to the one at the beginning of his Canary career and showed energy, good touches and his international credentials yesterday.

I could go on as it's generally all-round and stems from RESULTS breeding confidence.

Is that a pantomime dame?

Oh yes it is! 

Sorry couldn't resist that one......

 

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,321]

He is the second coming of Ole Gunnar Solskjær, he only ever looked like doing something off the bench, some players are just that. Made for impact rather than leading the line. 

Maybe that's his future, super sub. 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,728]

5 minutes ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

He is the second coming of Ole Gunnar Solskjær, he only ever looked like doing something off the bench, some players are just that. Made for impact rather than leading the line. 

Maybe that's his future, super sub. 

Feel the same way with Hernandez.

[hogesar 9,676]

1 hour ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Feel the same way with Hernandez.

He doesn't really do much off the bench either though

[HB1989 27]

If you start Idah, then you have to simply play to his strengths and have the right creative players around him. Sounds simple but if you don’t play balls into channels for him and over the top then he isn’t going to thrive.

I would like to see Sargent and Idah paired together at some point.

[Christoph Stiepermann 1,138]

Probably the strongest player in the Championship physically. Players just bounce off of him even big opposition CB's and we need to make more use of that. I know long balls aren't the Norwich way but he's so dangerous when we play balls over the top for him to run into as he's got some pace and technique to drive forward and a good long shot. 

He's pretty useless v a packed defence though and not as good in the air as he should be so if any team is sitting back against us there's little point in him being on the pitch. I do wonder if he'd be better off playing for a team like Luton or Sheff Utd who defend all game and have to go long than he would a team like us who want to dominate games at the level we're at. He's the perfect sub for us though in any game when teams aren't getting men behind the ball. If we're 1-0 up or drawing v a better team who are throwing players forward bring him on because they'll have to sit deeper to deal with his threat. If we're pushing for a winner his pace and strength is a nightmare for tired defenders too but seemingly only when they're tired later on in games. But when he starts games for a team like us his poor positioning and lack of creativity and ability to find space means he just looks lost most of the time. I doubt he'll be happy playing the super sub role though and I can't imagine that's the career the club were hoping he'd have. 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Christoph Stiepermann

[Nexus_Canary 1,016]

11 hours ago, Coneys Knee said:

I genuinely think if Idah could release whatever it is that holds him back, we’d have one hell of a player on our hands.

When he’s the strong, powerful Idah he looks and absolute beast.  But you’re right, in a way, there are two Idahs. That’s for the coaching staff to figure out I suppose.

He was one of the shining stars of the Dean Smith prem take over in that hole behind pukki at that time.

My mate is a west ham fan and said they were screaming for someone like that, he really impressed Vs them.

Then took a long term Injury.. I wonder if fear of injury sits at the back of his mind?

It can really affect you although that's why the club has sports psychologists 

[Nexus_Canary 1,016]

That said he's maybe always been like that.

If you watch a very early interview after he signed his coach told him to up his game as Norwich scouts were watching so he allegedly scores a hattrick and the rest is history, but i think this report suggests hes prone to being lazy? 

[Midlands Yellow 3,994]

14 minutes ago, Nexus_Canary said:

That said he's maybe always been like that.

If you watch a very early interview after he signed his coach told him to up his game as Norwich scouts were watching so he allegedly scores a hattrick and the rest is history, but i think this report suggests hes prone to being lazy? 

He just doesn’t back himself enough when the heat is on. Some players thrive on pressure but Adam isn’t one of them. 

[Big O 225]

I think he is just now at that inconsistent stage youngsters hit early in their career. Unfortunately rather than this being when he should have been on loan 3 years ago, it’s happening now.

He clearly is going to be a late bloomer and he needs to continue to get starts and play big parts in games for us as there is a player in there for sure. 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Big O

[norfolkngood 1,087]

13 hours ago, Coneys Knee said:

I genuinely think if Idah could release whatever it is that holds him back, we’d have one hell of a player on our hands.

When he’s the strong, powerful Idah he looks and absolute beast.  But you’re right, in a way, there are two Idahs. That’s for the coaching staff to figure out I suppose.

he has to go out there disliking the opposition like them against us ,

you have to get players like Idah angry then you would have a good player 

otherwise he was just far to nice like scared of hurting someone ,

his size he should be bully defenders out muscling them , like a Holt  / Iwan ,

Idah looks like he is in a shell sometimes 

 

[mastoola 183]

13 hours ago, Coneys Knee said:

I think you’re right, there’s a psychological barrier of some sort there that needs breaking down. He reminds me a bit of heskey. I always felt that as good as heskey was, we very rarely saw his true potential realised.

Its almost a pity that he is a nice guy and not deep down an arrogant ****.

[Branston Pickle 3,661]

I’ve long said that Idah needs someone like Holt to take him under his wing and get the physical side of his game improving - I hoped Barnes would be good for him to learn from.

[Yellow and Green 334]

10 hours ago, HB1989 said:

If you start Idah, then you have to simply play to his strengths and have the right creative players around him. Sounds simple but if you don’t play balls into channels for him and over the top then he isn’t going to thrive.

I would like to see Sargent and Idah paired together at some point.

Very true, and the current system where the forwards drop deep doesn't suit him.

Idah is actually a complete forward, who has decent pace, height, movement, dribbling and can finish from close range or hit one from outside the box. 

The thing to remember is that he's only 22. You only need to look at Pukki's career to see that strikers need time (/and the right manager or system) before they firing on all cylinders.

[littleyellowbirdie 2,551]

It may just be that a sub is in a position to have got an overall view of the dynamics of the game, which means they go on with a clear idea of what they can do to exploit weaknesses and alter it; the players who start are all in the same boat.

Edited December 26, 2023 by littleyellowbirdie

[Greavsy 2,415]

6 minutes ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

It may just be that a sub is in a position to have got an overall view of the dynamics of the game, which means they go on with a clear idea of what they can do to exploit weaknesses and alter it; the players who start are all in the same boat.

Surely a professional player should be able to read the game and work that out for themselves? 

[littleyellowbirdie 2,551]

2 minutes ago, Greavsy said:

Surely a professional player should be able to read the game and work that out for themselves? 

I don't know. That's why I'm throwing the theory in the mix to see what others think.

[rock bus 853]

I just don’t think he has the required mental instinct to be a top player.

He lacks the game sense to make a move in advance of a pass or the speed of thought to deceive a run (hence so many offsides).

Later on in the game defenders are both physically and mentally tired so he doesn’t need to be one step ahead and his natural strength and pace are enough to have an impact.

Edited December 26, 2023 by rock bus

[daly 503]

He will be OK when they ban heading the ball 

[Thirsty Lizard 3,165]

8 minutes ago, rock bus said:

I just don’t think he has the required mental instinct to be a top player.

He lacks the game sense to make a move in advance of a pass or the speed of thought to deceive a run (hence so many offsides).

Later on in the game defenders are both physically and mentally tired so he doesn’t need to be one step ahead and his natural strength and pace are enough to have an impact.

I agree with you up to a point, but to be fair to him he's getting caught offside a lot less now than he used to. 

[Mason 47 1,380]

The late bloomer analogy is the one I ascribe it to. He's 2-3 years behind where he might otherwise be if not for Farke, Pukki and injuries.

You can almost see him learning in real-time on the pitch, which is what he should have been doing on loan a few years back. If he was playing as he is now as a 19yo I think we'd all be saying he's doing great. 

This is the filter I use when watching Idah. An inconsistent 19-year-old still learning the game.