Match Ratings Norwich 1-2 West Ham

followthegreenandyellow · July 31, 2007

In general a much better looking city side who seemed to find their feet in the second half, good defending, good work in the engine room, still more needed up front. David Marshall mom, and how!!

David Marshall 10 - four top draw saves, how we have this bloke is beyond me, good organising, good catching, everything we need.

Jon Otsomobor 7 - did well down the right and again got forward more with good pace in the second half that was much more citys.

Shackell 7 - second half improvement with some great last ditch challenges, still suspect when those high balls sometimes come over, misjudges headers

Gary Doc 6 - Good first half, pretty quiet second half, relied much on shackell

Adam Drury 6 - doesnt set the world alight but did his job better in second half then first

Daryl Russel 7 - got stuck in well, good challenges and got better as time went on, will form a crucial partnership with le judge (we hope)

Fozzy 6 - worked hard but lacks that killer pass and bit of grit that we need, still very average

Hoooozey 6- Poor bloke, worked his socks off again without really doing too much, looked confortable on ball at times but then gave away possesion poorly.

Chadwick 7 - did well, got forward and worked hard, still lacked any killer instinct, took a clattering challenge and stood back up, must be over the keith o neil stage!

Cureton 6 - full of run, and neat little interchanges, but did nothing to really warrant a gold star! seems to want to do well so that sgood enough for me.

Strihavka 4 - good knock downs a couple of times but that was it, took a clatter to the head and didnt do too much, i highly rate this guy and he will come good, but the way he didnt do alot of running shows hes used to a much slower game, again will come good.

Subs

Martin - didnt do anything

Chris Brown- scored and battled hard, hes talking the talk so far but can he carry it on, well done son!

dublin - do i need to say anything, his usual self, man mountain.

croft- good pace suprisly but not too much after his initial 2 minutes of sprinting, perhaps he was knackered!

Hope that gave you some idea!

NCFC_Shaun · July 31, 2007

David Marshall 9 - yeah he was awesome but cant give a ten if 2 goals are conceded, but was still brilliant and is a gr8 buy.
Jon Otsemobor 7 - made a few mistakes but showed signs of being a good attacking full back.
Jason Shackell 8 - captain, in my opinion made some brilliant clearances especially with his head.
Gary Doherty 6/7 - was no where near as bad as he can be, didnt do very much wrong.
Adam Drury 7 - thought he did some good blocks and was not as bad as everyone is making out
Darel Russell 7/8 - was cool on the ball, did well, some good challenges and passing, seemed to give away most of the free kicks though i believe.
Mark Fotheringham 6/7 - very average performance, did work hard but lacked ability, took mostly all corners and free kicks.
Andy Hughes 6 - didnt do very much, but didnt seem to do anything terribly bad.
Luke Chadwick 8/9 - played well in my opinion, some good touches, created most of our chances, had a few pops at goal. Played on the left as well which isnt his best position.
Jamie Cureton 6 - also didnt show much, did a neat flick into fozzys path but that was about it, saw a few passes go astray.
David Strihavka 5 - only good thing was controls well with his chest, and did well winning a free kick in a tussle in the corner. Other than that did nothing.

Subs (for how long they played)
Chris Martin 6/7 - i thought held the ball up well wen he was on and was trying to create opportunities.
Chris Brown 8 - great finish, battled and played some good football at times, would have scored a second after showing a burst of pace but the ref award a freekick against dion.
Dion Dublin 7 - won every ball basically, allthough ref was not on his side and always penalised him.
Lee Croft 8 - good cross for goal, worked hard and created opportunities.

burn down the ipswich · July 31, 2007

[quote user="ipswichrscum"]

David Marshall 9 - yeah he was awesome but cant give a ten if 2 goals are conceded, but was still brilliant and is a gr8 buy.

[/quote]

If it wasnt for him we would have lost 6-1. i saw the two goals he "let" in and you can''t blame him for either. the defence was sloppy for the first one, allowin spector to run all the way from defence unmarked and the second one he made an awesome save and had only jus reached the floor when ashton slotted home. oh and another thing, the booing of ashton was really not neccessary, at least the lad showed some fight in the premiership, better than some so called heroes of norwich.

Graham Humphrey · August 1, 2007

I''ll only bother with marking the players now, it''s a bit late:

Marshall - 9

Otsemobor - 7

Shackell - 6

Doherty - 6

Drury - 6

Russell - 8

Fotheringham - 5

Hughes - 5

Chadwick - 7

Cureton - 6

Strihavka - 5

Subs:

Martin - 5

Brown - 7

Dublin - 7

Croft - 6

Jimbo_Jet_Set · August 1, 2007

For what its worth, here are my ratings

Marshall - 9 - Excellent display. Will be a major asset this season IF he gets a decent defence in front of him

Otsemobor- 7 - Looked solid and bombed forward effectively on occasions

Shackell- 8 - Got better and better as the game went on

Doc - 4 - Shocking display for me. Consistently caught ball watching and waiting for somebody else to react

Drury - 6 - Not one of his better nights, but didn''t do too much wrong

Russell - 7 - Showed a lot of desire and tried to give the team a high tempo

Fozzy- 6.5 - Gave his all, but nothing he tried seemed to come off. Could be the next McVeigh?

Hughes- 4 - Same old story. Tried hard, but he just doesn''t possess enough skill, touch or vision. Very limited

Chadwick- 6 - Started brightly, but faded. Enough to suggest he will be a good asset though

Cureton- 5 - Felt a bit sorry for him. Barely touched the ball

Strihavka - 4 - Way out of his depth. It is going to take him a while to adjust to the English game. He simply got bullied out of the match

SUBS

Brown- 8 - Excellent display and nice goal. He could be a key player this season IMO

Croft- 7 - Looked full of energy, but the questions over his end product remain

Martin- 6 - I don''t remember him doing much, good or bad

Big D - 6 - Not really on long enough to judge. Made a nuisance of himself.

OVERALL

The problems at the back remain unsolved, but at least we showed a bit of passion in the 2nd half. Most of the new guys look like decent signings to me. Even Strihavka was no worse than Thorne ever was

Don''t lose all hope yet!

Camuldonum · August 1, 2007

I''d give your keeper a 10 because otherwise you would not have come back from 6 down at half time.

That you able to get a respectable result ultimately can be attributed to those saves. Which is why he is there and why your Manager bought him surely?

August 1, 2007

David Marshall - 9 - Four world class saves. Gonna need to be on his toes this season me thinks

Jon Otsemobor- 7 - I like the look of this guy. Very Positive

Jason Shackell- 7- Done ok, needs a strong player beside him

The Doc - 4 - Oh dear, off the pace and if he is first choice, we are in trouble

Adam Drury - 4 - Now this is a worry. I have always been a Drury fan, but he did not look intrested tonight. Worrying

Darel Russell - 7 - The boy did well, lacked a bit of match fitness, but was up for the fight

Fozzy- 6 - Does Fozzy have a presence. He has ability but can he be the one to dictate a game, remain to be convinced

Andy Hughes- 6- Pleasantly suprised, but he will not be a regular this season.

Luke Chadwick- 9 Could be the main man this season and take some of the focus and stress away from Hucks, but he has to stay fit

Jamie Cureton- 6 Didnt get the service

Big Dave The Strihavka - 6 - I certainly saw enough, has ability, will need patience from the Norwich fans to ease is transition. Hopefully the Norwich fans wont be a la Etuhu with him. Needs time and an empathetic approach from the fans.

SUBS

Chris Brown- 8 - Very well done, two fingers up at the doubters who saw him play only 5 games last season.

LeeCroft- 7 - Looked far slimmer and fitter then he has ever been. Tried hard, Needs confidence, Norwich fans will have to be patient with him

Chris Martin- 6 - Didnt impact the game, but in glimpses showed the undoubted talent he has. Left winger he is not Mr Grant

Double D - 6 - Caused problems in the short time he was on the pitch

chicken · August 1, 2007

1st Half looked more like a 4-4-2 than a 4-3-3(4-3-1-2) if you ask me, at least more so when we were on the defence. We seemed to be playing Chadwick out left with Hoooooooze on the right. Fotheringham and Russel in the middle. Seccond half was very much more of a 4-3-1-2 with Brown playing the target man and Chadwick in the hole.

The Canaries were late out for the seccond half leaving the ''ammers out there for a short time before re-emerging from the tunnel. I wouldn''t be surprised if there was a little bit of hair drying going on and judging by the first halfs performance some of the hair cuts out there needed it!

Marshal showed all of his class - his saves were amazing and looked purely instinctive! He also commanded his area well apart from a couple of punches that had bums on the edge of seats!

Drury was Drury, good solid and not half as bad as some people may say. Works tirelessly away and one some timely tackles.

Doherty - I am not sure what some of the people so far saw. He won some good headers but sitting behind him in the Barclay for the first half was not exactly comforting. He was to blame for a couple of very very good attempts that Marshel dealt with and was easily partly to blame for at least one of the goals. Other than that his main issue is pace.

Shackell - Was assured. He looks to have improved a lot in my opinion. That band on his arm seems to have done something as he was very strong and alive to threats. It looked more like he was leading the defence rather than for someone else to make the call. Earned the captaincy and showed class in the seccond half to block some threats including a last ditch diving header John Terry style.

Otsemobor - Strong, quick and looked to get forward when he could. I think he improved when he had someone with good pace and movement in front of him as he seemed to step it up a gear when Croft came on.

Chadwick - doesn''t have the sort of pace to threaten teams in that way but good ball controll and skillful. Set up many oppertunities and was possibly the most creative thinking in the first half.

Russell - Strong, strapping, protagonistic and just as I remember him but better. The Sideshow Bob look-a-like chased, niggled and clashed his way through the game resulting in a good telling off by the ref and Bowyer almost crying which saw the ref have a few there theres with him. Broke up the opposition play like a rogue dog on a sunday morning footie match. When he one the ball he looked to move it quickly and at times bossed. The only criticism I will have is that he didn''t quite look to sure of the players around him but he has only been here a short time so maybe that will come, also sometimes caught trying to do too much to impress.

Fotheringham - Worked hard, chased and tackled and also looked to get the ball moving quickly. In all honesty didn''t look that much a better player to Robinson untill the seccond half when he seemed to give it more of a battle and his challenges were visably more commited. Was certainly not as creative as I had hoped.

Hoooooooooze - Worked hard. Proved beyond doubt that anywhere other than full back or defencive midfield is not his position. He would not make the right runs and really did not get into the game very much in the first half. When he did his crossing was miles out often going over anyone at the far post. Right wing or anywhere near it is not his best position. Not sure what Grant was thinking here - even with that personel out there I would have prefered him at right back where he would do a better job and Otsemobor further forward where his better crossing could be appreciated.

Cureton - Good sound proffessional performance. Dropped deap to recieve the ball and distributed well. Out of the Strike pairing in the first half he was easily the better. He was generally much more productive and looked to support all attacks well. A very unselfish player who on a couple of occaisions chose to ignore his instinct to shoot - one of which I think he should have taken on as there was no better option. Looked sharp and not to slow either.

Strihavka - For me still has a way to go. He was good at bringing the ball down and seems to have a great first touch. He needs to be stronger in the air with headers but other than that he seemed very neet and tidy and able to hold the ball up well and not too shabby and laying it off or looking out wide. He also looks to be quite pacy. His best moment came when bursting down the right flank outpaced his marker who just about caught up with him in time to rugby tackle him as he was nutmegged resulting in a City free kick.

Subs:

Martin - Didn''t seem to much at home on the left side of an attacking three but in all fairness got very little of the ball. To his benefit when he claimed the ball he looked dangerous. At one point looking up to see if anyone was making a run - nothing on, so took the man on twisting one way then the other then bamboozling him only to see the player luckily getting the back of a trailing calf in the way to knock it out of play.

Croft - having a pacey player out wide with a few tricks and the ability to make good runs lifted the team, it was like they all realised Hoooooze was not an attacking player. Withing moments of coming on he was turning his man this way and that and carving out a cross. The first cross was well positioned for an on rushing midfield player to burst into the box and blast into the back of the net. As if suffering from some sort of post Hoooooze position changing they didn''t seem to expect it coming and even the Sc''ammer defence looked relieved when no one attacked it. On the seccond pacey run down the right he looked to do the same but instead turned his man inside out and cut inside onto his left - "oh no!" I hear you cry but "oh yes!" it was a few milli secconds later as an inch, no a pin-point perfect cross was met by a towering Brown header! Right out of the top drawer - a good move finnished well.

Brown - for me on this performance has to be ahead of Strihavka. Was strong, quick and decisive. Nearly all of the attacks in the seccond half were created by his hard-man stance and fine gladiator style battling performance. At one point clotheslined by a leaping Sc''ammer and floored only to change his shirt because of some fussy rule about blood being nasty to look at and there are children about don''t you know? Was by far the best combatent on the night and deservedly got his prize when he lept above the Sc''ammers defence and fired in the goal off his crown. A very good performance, my man of the match for the seccond half.

Dublin - came saw and conquered. If anyone saw anything wrong with his beautiful flick on that arced over the Sc''ammers heads into the path of a bustling Brown who held at bay his marker and spead clear to be one on one with Green then I would like to meet them and point out the finer art of slapping. Unfortunately we will never know if Brown would have belted the ball past a rather lonesome looking Green but I for one will imagine that he would have slammed that one in the back of the net and would have lifted the roof in doing so. Would have been deserved for all of the seccond half effort and would have been a bit of a Sc''ammer sort of result.

A thoroughly enjoyable game through out - oops bar the first half. A real game of two halfs then with one dominated by defencive errors and fantastical goalkeeping. With the other full of guts and determination and arguably domination which lead to several good moves and chances.

My only other remarks would be towards two players with which we have been linked. Bowyer - if this performance was anything to go by please please please do not waste the time or money. Crossing was poor, tackling was poor and his shooting - ask whoever is in the upper Barclay on the left - he seemed to like them. And Davenport - don''t even get me started! People complain about Doherty need to watch this guy, gave away freekicks for hugging, cuddling and inapropriate behaviour in public. Not only that but failed to defend a cross favouring the defence where he should have been first to the ball. In short no and no.

colneycanary · August 1, 2007

I went to the match tonight and thought we played pretty well against a strong west ham team.

MARSHALL was very good in goal and i was sitting right behind the goal in the barclay and thought some of his saves were superb!

Other players who caught my eye were RUSSELL who looked very fit, tackled hard and played very well.

FOTHERINGHAM who got so much of the ball and passed the ball round well a big improvment on last season. Anyone who says he didn''t play very well could not of watched him properly. Got more of the ball than any other city player.

CHADWICK looked fit and dangerous and was always getting forward and came very close to scoring.

Of the subs that came on CHRIS BROWN surprised me and looked very strong, fit, gave the hammers defence a hard time and scored a good header. Out of all the forwards on show he performed the best.

CROFT when he came on looked quick, dangerous and put in a superb cross for brown''s goal. Looks slimmer and fit.

I just have to say i think the defence still needs sorting out a bit, but still looks better than last season, but that could be down to Marshall in goal. Other than that i left carrow road quite pleased, roll on friday!!!

CanaryJames · August 1, 2007

My ratings are:

Marshall - 9 - Was easily the better of the two goalkeepers on display. Two or three world-class saves early on. Will be crucial this season.

Ostemobor - 7 - Very good in an attacking sense, especially in the 2nd half, but was caught out defensively a couple of times. More cover is needed in this position I think.

Doherty - 6 - Not great, but an improvement from what we saw last season. I still expect a replacement for Doherty to come in.

Shackell - 8 - The new captain led from the front. Improved as the game went on, and dealt with Bellamy very comfortably.

Drury - 7 - Solid as always. Ball distribution needs work on, but put some dangerous balls into the box.

Chadwick - 9 - Put himself about, and worked his socks off. Worked hard defensively, as well as threatening the West Ham defence. Much stronger than he looks.

Russel - 6 - Solid, but not spectacular. Did what he had to do. Will improve as he gels with the new-look squad.

Fotheringham - 6 - Fitness has improved, but needs to work on his tackling. Out-muscled too many times. Good ideas, but average execution. Will improve with time.

Hughes - 5 - Never stopped running. Crossing was poor, and a snap-shot from a corner went miles wide. Had a decent effort on edge of box saved, but lacks skill. Can''t fault work-rate though.

Cureton - 6 - Didn''t get into the game at all. Had one clear chance but took to long to make a decision. His goals will be crucial this year.

Strihavka - 4 - Very ineffective, but given time, he should adjust to the English game. Has pace and height which he needs to learn to use correctly to out-muscle defenders. Movement needs work on.

Subs:

Brown - 8 - Good performance and good goal. Held the ball up well. Also showed a nice turn of pace when he came on. Fitness has improved. Could be very important this year.

Croft - 7- Fitness seems to have improved, which is very important. Tough in the tackle, and put defenders under pressure whne they had the ball. Worked well with Ostemobor.

Martin - 5 - Never really got into the game.

Dublin - 6 - Put himself about in a very short run-out.

Overall: - We need another central defender, and I''d also like to see us sign a player who can play as a full-back on both sides. A midfielder, or possibly two, must be signed now that Safri is going and Smith is injured. A striker to ease the pressure on Cureton would also be a welcome addition.

Cheerio · August 1, 2007

[quote user="Jimbo_Jet_Set"]

Strihavka - 4 - Way out of his depth. It is going to take him a while to adjust to the English game. He simply got bullied out of the match

[/quote]This makes me laugh. Always the excuse for a foreign player..... Helveg, for example. They seem to adjust ok when playing against England and our ''English Game''. Our league is no tougher or faster than any other. Lacking in technique maybe.... so what shall we do, wait for him to come down to Hughes level?He looked worrying poor last night. Hopefully its fitness and language, not ability

Gingerpele · August 1, 2007

David Marshall 8- made some brilliant saves, but did let the bal slip past twice (partly the defences lack of orgaisation)

Jon Otsomobor 7 - Very pacey and started to connect with crfot when he came on, looks a very very good replacement for colin MOM

Shackell 7 - did ok, showed good glimpses

Gary Doc 6 - wasnt too involed but didnt do much/anything wrong really

Adam Drury 6 - dstarted poorley but then got on his fett and did well

Daryl Russel 7 - brillinat return, plaed a good game, stuck his foot in (he would have been booked in a leugue game)

Fozzy 6 -stood in the middle and help the ball acrosss the fiels, but wasw not very prominant in the second half

Hughes 7- Huges only made 1/2 mistakes, that most players make, and he was fired up despite it just being a friendly

Chadwick 6- didnt do too much for me, when he tried to tackle he fell over, when he had the ball he fell over, so needs to strengthing up. but did nearly beat greeno

Cureton 7-ran alot seemed to be doing a hux job, unlucky he didnt really get a shot but he looked good.

Strihavka 6- he will be a good player, he ran rouund thepitcha bit, he is fast tall, can knock the ball down and showed all that last night

Subs

Martin 6- was on the wing, and didnt get the ball much

Chris Brown-7- did well imo he came on ran around, and scored a decent header

dublin 7- won ever ball put to him

croft-7- Croft made run from the minuite he came on, i dissagree he was knackerd, he sprinted back to defend in tnhe 85 minuite, he looked fit, and connected well with ostemobor

Gingerpele · August 1, 2007

saying strihavka is out of his deoth, being builled out of the game, he wa marked by two players, and he was a least a 6 or 7 he rarley gave the ball away

HARRYPOTTER · August 1, 2007

Thought Chris Martin( who ate all the pies) looked overweight and very slow, would have liked to have seen someone with pace come on instead.Also seemed a good night to have tried one of the new youngsters like Smart or Bexfield or Cave Brown rather than the same old crap.

Fozzy awful- Hughes awful -Doc worse than awful. Cureton-did he play?.

Where were the Jarvis boys-on their way to Morecambe?

Jim Smith · August 1, 2007

Some very over-generous ratings in my view for a defence and central midfield that were a shambles in the first half. My ratings:

Marshall - 9 - tremendous - kept the score respectable in the first half

Otsemabor - 8 - like the look of this guy - passing excellent and got forward really well. Did wimp out of a couple of tackles though and definitely more an offensive full back than defensive.

Drury - 5 - thought he was awful personally. Got caught out of position countless times (as always), particularly when they were cutting through us in first half.

Shackell - 7 - only just thoigh as he was ropey in first half as well. Clearly cannot play alongside the Doc

Doc - 5 - rubbish - constantly playing their strikers on side because he was 10 yards behind Shack.

Chadwick - 6 - positive stuff but just when you thought he was away he would get the ball stuck under his feet or get tackled

Russell - 6 - not bad on return given had only been with us 1 day but hopefully more to come

Fotherigham - 4 - poor. Have had high hopes for him this season but on last nights evidence not the answer.

Hughes - 4 - can''t believe we have still someohow managed to have him in the starting line up!

Cureton - 6 - some neat touches and good runs but no service.

Striker - 6 - again no service, what he did was neat and tidy but not in the danger areas

Subs:

Brown - 8 - thought he made a real difference. Took goal well and held the ball up as well. Should start ahead of Striker at preston IMHO.

Croft - 8 - ditto - should have started ahead of Hughes.

Martin - 6 - no time to do anything

Dublin/Spillane - ditto

KidCanary · August 1, 2007

Over all I thought it was an encouraging display considering theres still a few key players out.

David Marshall (8) - excellent first half, some real world class saves, couple of flaps at some crosses in the second half (would have 9 otherwise) but general play was very good, looks an excellent signing.

Jon Otsomobor 7 - How fast is this guy? Saw him close down bellamy in the later stages and was surprised. Defensively solid, looks like he will be good going forward just didnt make much use of him.

Shackell 7 - Covered alot for Doc, which meant he was occassionally out of position, with teh right partner wil be a defensive rock.

Gary Doc 5 - Dreadful, caught out of position and ball watching alot in the first half, improved in second.

Adam Drury 6 - Steady eddy, ok first half, improved second half when he started to get forward more, hoofed a bit too much in the first half.

Daryl Russel 6 - Did ok, signs that he will be useful, just looked a little off the pace at times and held back on occassion in the first half presumable because it was a friendly.

Fozzy 6 - Pretty anonymous, im expecting this guy to boss the midfield with his vision/passing, can see the potential one incisive pass that was intercepted by Boa Morte would of have been very tasty.

Hughes 5 - Tried hard but passing is attrocious.

Chadwick 7 - Nice ideas but kept running down too many blind alleys in the first half, improved in second and was always an outlet.

Cureton 7 Positioning was good, made himself available, passing was a bit poor in first half.

Strihavka 6 Very tidy player, i think it will take him time to settle, doesnt seem quite on the same wave length as the others, but i think will prove a very good player when he does (i wouldnt expect much from him till the new year).

Sub

Martin 7 on a limited amount of time but look good on the ball and ran at players.

Chris Brown 7 Put himself about and took his goal well. A good season can make a player, which he has had this time around.

dublin 6 nearly teed up the equaliser, wasnt on pitch long but strong in the air.

croft 7 very direct, pace, looked very handy.

colneycanary · August 1, 2007

You talk about over generous ratings. We were against a prem team that

will do very well this season. A team that will finish in the top half

of the prem. We lost the first half 2-0 but won the second half 1-0.

There was some good performances out there. Marshall, Russell,

Fotheringham (yes fotheringham, got more of the ball than any other

city player), Croft and Brown when they came on all played very well. I

left quite pleased with what i had just seen, and this was without

Hucks and Brellier. The only negative thing i would say is our defence

needs work. But what a superb keeper Marshall is. Best keeper in this

league, by a mile!!!!!!!![quote user="Jim Smith"]