No place for lazy Etuhu when everybody is fit

[Hardhouse44 261]

Etuhu has to be the man to make way when everybody is fit. With Drury back I guess we will see Lappin wide left. With Chadwick back we will see him either move in to central midfield along side Safri or take Crofts place which would suit me and Fotheringham will go central.

Again Etuhu looked off the pace, disinterested and unable to affect the play. Somebody will have to miss out and can anybody tell me he shouldn’t be the one dropped.

[andy laz 0]

On yesterdays performance again he is the logical candidate but thats

not how it works, as long as they continue to improve as a team i will

be more than happy with whoever starts games .Parts of yesterdays game

we looked half decent side but in the last 15 minuets of the first half

and until we scored in the second half we looked  toothless but

once we had equalised we never look as if we would do anything but win

  .Lets

give the Grant credit when credit is due a deserved victory even if

Etuhu isnt playing that well at the moment OTBC

[GJP 79]

I think Dickson is in that unfortunate position now where many City fans have got it in for him and no matter what he does they''ll never be happy with it.

Etuhu is surely the kind of player that could be an assest to Norwich. He''s a big lad and he gets through quite a bit of work. Going back to last nights Canary Call somebody called in and said he pulls out of tackles which Neil very quickly discarded. It''s not true but because that person has already made up their mind about him they''ll blindly find fault.

Yesterday I thought he worked fairly hard, his passing wasn''t great but we''ve seen that he can be a really good passer of the ball. He also had a couple of good surges forward into the Leeds final third.

Earlier on in the season he was our best performing midfielder and one of our best players overall. Surely he and the coaches just need to find a way to bring his top form out of him all the time. I suppose it can only help if people encourage him rather than wish he didn''t feature for Norwich.

[ZLF 271]

Agreed  - but will Grant spot who the weakest link now is?

Hopefully the fozzy signing will mean that Etuhu ups his effectiveness as he sees he has to work to keep his place in the team 

[Salopian 1]

If Dion had not been fit yesterday would Dickson have been tried as a central defender? He is certainly tall enough, but if he pulls out of the tackle....

[Beaker 0]

dickson is too thick to play at centre half - if he had a brain he''d be dangerous

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,020]

GJP - I have to say I think Adams is wrong on this one, Etuhu does pull out of tackles, I can only assume he is carrying a knock that he does not want to aggravate and I say this as a fan of Etuhu as I believe that he can be a very good player for us, I just find him so frustrating because he clearly has it in him to be an asset to the side. Like you say he covers an awful lot of the pitch and makes an awful lot of runs into the box which draws players away from Hucks and Croft but then he just seem to switch off and becomes very casual in his play, giving the ball awy, not tracking back, pulling out of tackles and unfortunately that is what people notice about him.

[big dick sanchez 0]

His performance yesterday was some way off the mark.  I think a spell out of the team will do him good, shows him that the shirt is there to be worked for.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Sons of Boadicea"]GJP - I have to say I think Adams is wrong on this one, Etuhu does pull out of tackles, I can only assume he is carrying a knock that he does not want to aggravate and I say this as a fan of Etuhu as I believe that he can be a very good player for us, I just find him so frustrating because he clearly has it in him to be an asset to the side. Like you say he covers an awful lot of the pitch and makes an awful lot of runs into the box which draws players away from Hucks and Croft but then he just seem to switch off and becomes very casual in his play, giving the ball awy, not tracking back, pulling out of tackles and unfortunately that is what people notice about him.[/quote]

I don''t see him pull out of tackles because he bottles it but I do see him pull out of tackles because I think he sees it as a better chance of getting control of the ball. Sometimes if an opponent commits himself to going for the ball they''re unlikely to be able to control it if they''re going all in for it.

He does definitely switch off a bit too much.

The guy  has ability and I''d like to try and stay positive about him.

[Pyro Pete 1,889]

I just don''t understand why Etuhu gently jogs around the pitch all game long. He does have both athletic and technical ability. But he almost never uses it. It just goes to show that you do need a bit of intelligence to be a decent footballer.Yesterday, there was one instance where Etuhu was shouting at everyone around him, telling them to come on. Leeds then quickly moved the ball down our left flank, and Dickson just watched as the rest of the team sprinted back to the edge of the box to defend. While he slowly ambled back from the half-way line. I mean, what on earth goes on inside that head of his?

[Buncey 1]

Why do people want Etuhu to track back all the way into our penatly area? I thought he was an attacking midfielder who attacks the ball into defending it. People need to think first before the slate players for supposedly not doing their job. I don''t demand Earnshaw to track back and defend or Doherty to spearhead an attack. Seems like people need to understand that if you start sticking all of your midfieldes in the box everytime the other team attack then you are gonna get put under pressure and conceed. If etuhu stays up then someone has to come back to mark him, and if he goes back he''s just another player getting in the way. If they don''t mark him when he stays upfield we counter and score (Sunderland, Cardiff anyone?).

[ZLF 271]

I mean, what on earth goes on inside that head of his?

 

That will always be a mystery!   The bloke has all the attributes to dominate a game, strength, pace, and ability;  however the key piece he SEEMS to be missing is mental strength.  If he had the drive that we see in Hux, Dion or even Hughes the bloke would be playing for a spurs/blackburn or better in the prem picking up enormous wages,  but without that little extra intelligence or drive he is destined to remain as frustrating as his currently is;  superb in glimpses and nonchalently not ar$sed for far too much of the game.  

[Barry Brockes 145]

What I really struggle to get my head round is why our coaching team can''t seem to get any improvement out of Etuhu. Personally I''m confident the lad has the ability but we''re just not getting it out of him. If it''s in his head then surely to goodness in these days of sports psychology coaching someone ought to be able to do something with him to bring about an improvement. 

[ron obvious 1,501]

I''ve only seen him on the telly (Tamworth), but, certainly in the first half, he epitomised the lack of confidence running through the whole team. I might be wrong, but he looked to be doing what I used to do a lot of the time when I played, i.e. rushing towards the ball feeling full of confidence, then at the last moment realising I didn''t have a clue what to do when I got there, & I would probably end up looking a tit. He has, however, about 100 times any ability I ever had, so why the lack of confidence I don''t understand. This is where the manager comes in ...

[gunnsdoppellganger 0]

What is it with this clown, Tuesday night he stood around watching the play and today...no different apart from a shot on goal and a defensive header. And then Mr  I''m not paid by the club Adams get''s all tetchy on Canary Call because someone dared accuse the big strong darling of not getting a foot in to tackles.  This guy is a total waste of space and does nothing. He does not want the ball and seeks to pass within seconds of receiving it and not because he is using a skilful and inciteful touch but because he is crap. He spends the game running round aimlessly. My mum would do better. He has had long enough to prove himself and other than 1 or 2 odd occasions looks no good at all. When he is on the pitch we are a man short   Great result today though but must do better

[Yellowfuture 71]

[quote user="Barry Brockes"]What I really struggle to get my head round is why our coaching team can''t seem to get any improvement out of Etuhu. Personally I''m confident the lad has the ability but we''re just not getting it out of him. If it''s in his head then surely to goodness in these days of sports psychology coaching someone ought to be able to do something with him to bring about an improvement. [/quote]

 

I agree Barry. I certainly dont think we should right him off yet, unless someone wants to pay us some good money for him of course, unlikely I think. I have seen him play some very good games for us, yesterday he was getting forward more and can look very dangerous when he`s on form and coming from mid field into the box. He is hard to get the ball off due to his sheer size and when he is up for it and can shoot. His physique is excellent, I think the problem is in his head. I dont believe he couldn`t care less even though thats the way it can look, I think he has lost confidence and doesnt really know what his role is. With the new guys in he needs some time to sort himself out, maybe coming on off the bench with explicit instructions what to do. I think Grant believes in his potential as I do, the coming monthe will decide his future with Norwich so it`s up to him. Perhaps the new coach will be able to give him some direction, or perhaps a loan move to Div 1 if we can afford to lose a mid fielder at the moment.