SAFRI MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE NCFC

[Matt Morriss 69]

A vast improvement in yesterdays performance with Safri running things. It wasnt great but the only thing lacking was the final product. The way Norwich play, defense sittin deep, is a counter attacking style of play, this suits the speedy players we have in Hucks, Croft and Earnie and is the way we have played for a few seasons now. This style of play has been repeatedly undermined by the poor, lacklustre and uncreative Carl Robinson. I posted after the Southend game that the midfield was so poor and the team played poor as a result purely down to Robinson''s inclusion. He undermines the way we play and as a midfield partnership him and Dickson does not work. Robbo''s style slows the tempo of play so much that by the time the ball has found its way to Hucks, Croft and Earnie the opposition defence have regrouped and marked up.This undermines the effectiveness of Croft and Hucks, and nullifies any attacking threat that Hucks & Co pose. The difference was immense with Safri, he did everything that I slated Robinson for not doing against Southend. He did all that was required of a midfielder, and all that i wanted Robinson to do. Not sit off 5 yards from the opposing midfielder, allowing him to make a comfortable passing decision, but get tight, close down and hassle every time they have the ball in the middle of the park. Safri did this for 90 mins yesterday, well 85 at least. And what a difference it made, he hassled and was biting the whole game. How many times did he nick the ball away? If you work like this you either nick the ball away, or you force the opposition into a mistake or a pass that was 2nd or 3rd on there agenda. This is how midfield play should be, not Robinsons lazy sitting deep 5 yards off and letting them play and then Doc or Shack make the tackle. The way Safri hassled vastly tipped the balance of attacks each team has in our favour. I said last week that the midfield is the most important area of the pitch, the midfield two determine how many attacks the opposition have and how many we have. It was 60/40 in our favour yesterday as opposed to 60/40 in favour of Southend.Huckerby has stated that he wants Saf to play cause we play at a higher tempo, which is exactly the way we should play. Safri dictated every attack we had yesterday, switching the play so effectively from wing to wing.I dont care about him givin the ball away 2 or 3 times and if i see one more post from the idiots on here highlighting the 1 or 2 negative points of Safri''s performance im gonna kick something. Dublin was superb yesterday, but for me the way Safri dominated the midfield and dictated not only our attacks but decreased QPR''s too tipped the MOTM in his favour.Im extremely worried at the moment as Safri''s future seems very much in the balance, its reported that his agent has been circulating his name to other clubs as being available. This must be with the Grants approval, which worry''s me immensely. Forget Earnie leaving or who we bring in, Safri is the main player we should be worried about. He must remain at the club. He said after the game he wants to stay, his very happy here with the fan adulation he gets, and he hinted at his contract and wanting to stay longer than the 18 months he has left.If Grant drops him again and he''s allowed to leave the club I will be calling for his head, which is not my standpoint at the mo as I beleive he is the right man for the job and should be given time to build his own team. But if he lets Safri go ill want him and the board out.Forget all the talk of Earnie, SAFRI and HUCKS are the two key men at this club, they are the focal point of the style of counter attacking football we play. Weve got Hucks for at least another season, lets make sure weve got Safri alongside him for next season.On the subject of  Earnie, what about £4m plus Andy Cole from Portsmouth? I very much doubt Cole would want to come here but i think him and Dublin would be tremendous together and Cole would score a hatful in the Championship.

[Chris Meadows 0]

superb post

[DONT REMEMBER YOUR TENURE AS ENGLAND MANAGER 0]

[quote user="BarclayBoy"]A vast improvement in yesterdays performance with Safri running things. It wasnt great but the only thing lacking was the final product. The way Norwich play, defense sittin deep, is a counter attacking style of play, this suits the speedy players we have in Hucks, Croft and Earnie and is the way we have played for a few seasons now. This style of play has been repeatedly undermined by the poor, lacklustre and uncreative Carl Robinson. I posted after the Southend game that the midfield was so poor and the team played poor as a result purely down to Robinson''s inclusion. He undermines the way we play and as a midfield partnership him and Dickson does not work. Robbo''s style slows the tempo of play so much that by the time the ball has found its way to Hucks, Croft and Earnie the opposition defence have regrouped and marked up.

This undermines the effectiveness of Croft and Hucks, and nullifies any attacking threat that Hucks & Co pose. The difference was immense with Safri, he did everything that I slated Robinson for not doing against Southend. He did all that was required of a midfielder, and all that i wanted Robinson to do. Not sit off 5 yards from the opposing midfielder, allowing him to make a comfortable passing decision, but get tight, close down and hassle every time they have the ball in the middle of the park. Safri did this for 90 mins yesterday, well 85 at least. And what a difference it made, he hassled and was biting the whole game. How many times did he nick the ball away? If you work like this you either nick the ball away, or you force the opposition into a mistake or a pass that was 2nd or 3rd on there agenda. This is how midfield play should be, not Robinsons lazy sitting deep 5 yards off and letting them play and then Doc or Shack make the tackle. The way Safri hassled vastly tipped the balance of attacks each team has in our favour.

I said last week that the midfield is the most important area of the pitch, the midfield two determine how many attacks the opposition have and how many we have. It was 60/40 in our favour yesterday as opposed to 60/40 in favour of Southend.

Huckerby has stated that he wants Saf to play cause we play at a higher tempo, which is exactly the way we should play. Safri dictated every attack we had yesterday, switching the play so effectively from wing to wing.

I dont care about him givin the ball away 2 or 3 times and if i see one more post from the idiots on here highlighting the 1 or 2 negative points of Safri''s performance im gonna kick something. Dublin was superb yesterday, but for me the way Safri dominated the midfield and dictated not only our attacks but decreased QPR''s too tipped the MOTM in his favour.

Im extremely worried at the moment as Safri''s future seems very much in the balance, its reported that his agent has been circulating his name to other clubs as being available. This must be with the Grants approval, which worry''s me immensely. Forget Earnie leaving or who we bring in, Safri is the main player we should be worried about. He must remain at the club. He said after the game he wants to stay, his very happy here with the fan adulation he gets, and he hinted at his contract and wanting to stay longer than the 18 months he has left.

If Grant drops him again and he''s allowed to leave the club I will be calling for his head, which is not my standpoint at the mo as I beleive he is the right man for the job and should be given time to build his own team. But if he lets Safri go ill want him and the board out.

Forget all the talk of Earnie, SAFRI and HUCKS are the two key men at this club, they are the focal point of the style of counter attacking football we play. Weve got Hucks for at least another season, lets make sure weve got Safri alongside him for next season.

On the subject of  Earnie, what about £4m plus Andy Cole from Portsmouth? I very much doubt Cole would want to come here but i think him and Dublin would be tremendous together and Cole would score a hatful in the Championship.




[/quote]

 

Everything you have said is absolutly spot on. Great post. We don''t win games without Safri, its a fact.

[Branston Pickle 3,631]

The point you make is valid, but it is true to say that the Safri of yesterday''s game was not the same Saf that has played much of this season (and last).  I totally disagree that it is the end of the world if he goes - there is not one player in our squad that is irreplacable.  Until he shows that he can produce yesterday''s form regularly I would still be looking for another player in the transfer window if only to add some pressure on him. 

 

[Matt Morriss 69]

Branston...When was the last time Safri started? How do you expect a player who has hardly kicked a ball for 4 weeks to come straight in at be at his absoulute best. Have you ever played football? There''s a little something called match sharpness...Safri''s clearly not 100% fit or sharp and he was still the best player on the pitch..

[ronbol ronbol 0]

The problem is Grant is arrogant and it''s fairly clear he clashes with PG. Safri is our best midfielder by a country mile.one of these two has to go, I know who i''m choosing.SACK GRANT NOW

[Branston Pickle 3,631]

Try the start of the season - he has started two thirds of our league games (17 out of 26), so he ought to be reasonably ''sharp'' (or at least ready to try to prove that he should be in from the start if he is used as a sub) - for me he has been off colour for a lot longer than you seem to think I mean! 

You seem to be taking my point the wrong way -imo he is our best midfielder when on-song but doesn''t show this often enough. Maybe we need someone to come in and put him under more pressure to perform at his best - but the simple fact is that, whether you like it or not, a spell on the sidelines seems to have done it and long may it continue.

[macdougalls perm 0]

Couldn''t agree more, the improvement yesterday was vast and showed just how crucial the central midfield is. We must do everything we can to keep him here.  

[XXL16 0]

The big problem is the midfielders we have at this moment, Hughes, Robinson and Etuhu (cannot include Spillane and Rossi Jarvis because they never given chances) were the same type of midfielder, tackled hard and defensive, cannot play a "killer ball".

Safri cannot go!!

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

he is our best midfieder even when not on-song Branston.  Hughes was again poor when moved to the center for the last few minutes yesterday, Robinson has been very very average to poor since arriving here and Etuhu, don''t get me started on this lazy player.

The last home game Safri played a decent amount of- Leicester - we won with Safri being excellent.  Its a shame he was dropped subsequently nad we havent won since until he started yesterday.

[Old Boy 0]

It''s stretching it to say that the improvement over the Southend game was down to Safri. Everyone played better, passed the ball better, was more awake and aware. I thought there were periods when both Etuhu and Safri didn''t get tight enough to the opposition, and he always opted for safe passes rather than threatening ones. Having said that, I would much rather he stayed than went - our expectations of him are so great because we know he''s potentially a great player. And I didn''t give him credit in my player assessment for the corners he put in, which we should have scored at least twice from.