Where are we going!

[on the road again 0]

Following the passing of Nigel Worthington I was looking forward to the road ahead - shame Peter Grant has not got Sat Nav. I felt when he played for us he was past his best and now as Manager he has the same credentials, blaming everyone for his own lack of experience.

How can we explain we are the envy of many a Premier league club with our gates then we are told by our manager that we cannot compete with other Championship teams financially!

What has he achieved -

1) Goalkeepers - two Scottish and we know of their reputations. One promising youngster fed out to a lower league team without a single chance at Norwich. Please note Kasper at Man City

2) Fullbacks - excellent purchase of Otsemober, no cover though and Mr Drury, slow and always beaten for pace. Why not move Simon Lapin there.

3) Centre halves - any comments needed. Gary Donkerty worth a goal per match for the opposition. We have needed one for two years but the only area with no purchases.

4) Midfield - two tackling midfiled players with no creative bone in their bodies.

5) Up front - Chris Brown the replacement for Dean Coney, at least he scored once. Instead of a bet on the first goal should be for where the ball will bounce of his head. Cureton must be rested after playing 1 game in two and a half weeks. David the Cheque opening goal not enough to get a start, Chris Martin play him on the left wing (Isn''t Michael Owen pleased he is not at Norwich).

5) The Academy - get rid of and save money. You will never be given a chance at Norwich.

The team is Structured around Gary Donkerty, Sat Nav (Mr Chadwick who seems to run anywhere whilst having his head facing the dugout and head it anywhere Dean Coney Brown.

Meanwhile our Manager is more concerned about which inch each player is occupying on the pitch. He at least is more entertaining to watch than the team is.

It is a sad situation but as my son said to me he does not get aggitated anymore he is just waiting for Grant and Norwich to part by mutual consent and then wait for the next appointment. Perhaps one that is climbing the league.

 

 

 

 

[lobster catcher 0]

[quote user="on the road again"]

Following the passing of Nigel Worthington I was looking forward to the road ahead - shame Peter Grant has not got Sat Nav. I felt when he played for us he was past his best and now as Manager he has the same credentials, blaming everyone for his own lack of experience.

How can we explain we are the envy of many a Premier league club with our gates then we are told by our manager that we cannot compete with other Championship teams financially!

What has he achieved -

1) Goalkeepers - two Scottish and we know of their reputations. One promising youngster fed out to a lower league team without a single chance at Norwich. Please note Kasper at Man City

2) Fullbacks - excellent purchase of Otsemober, no cover though and Mr Drury, slow and always beaten for pace. Why not move Simon Lapin there.

3) Centre halves - any comments needed. Gary Donkerty worth a goal per match for the opposition. We have needed one for two years but the only area with no purchases.

4) Midfield - two tackling midfiled players with no creative bone in their bodies.

5) Up front - Chris Brown the replacement for Dean Coney, at least he scored once. Instead of a bet on the first goal should be for where the ball will bounce of his head. Cureton must be rested after playing 1 game in two and a half weeks. David the Cheque opening goal not enough to get a start, Chris Martin play him on the left wing (Isn''t Michael Owen pleased he is not at Norwich).

5) The Academy - get rid of and save money. You will never be given a chance at Norwich.

The team is Structured around Gary Donkerty, Sat Nav (Mr Chadwick who seems to run anywhere whilst having his head facing the dugout and head it anywhere Dean Coney Brown.

Meanwhile our Manager is more concerned about which inch each player is occupying on the pitch. He at least is more entertaining to watch than the team is.

It is a sad situation but as my son said to me he does not get aggitated anymore he is just waiting for Grant and Norwich to part by mutual consent and then wait for the next appointment. Perhaps one that is climbing the league.

 

 

 

 

[/quote]what a teriffic very truthful post,nice one

[ZLF 271]

I too am far from convinced about the route we have taken - its seems predicated around a long ball game but is currently implemented by isolating rather than supporting the strikers. PG seems to be changing the middle and front combinations too frequently to enable any understandings to be built (eg that is the key to getting anything out of Cureton)   He does not seemed to have solved the quandary of how to have a team and hux by insisting he plays left flank and is then amazed at the lack of balance.

As far as his signings are concerned generally I think it is too soon to say for the summer guys but overall

Keepers - 2 scots - one signed by Worthy & clearly surplus to requirements, marshall(7) generally rated but my only gripe is not whether he is worth a million but whether he was worth a million of our budget this summer.    Gilks (6) is a talented keeper and my preference would have been Gilks with lewis as back up and spend the million on the outfield.     However we do have a very strong keeper squad and I am sure gallacher would be gone if PG had his way.

Fullbacks - we do need left back cover for Drury - however we are weaker at left back when he doesnt play than when he does - lappin can play there but is far better on the flank, which is where he should play - a solid 6/7 for lappin and a starting player.   Ost is too unexposed to assess - pace to burn and exciting going forward without teh skill needed to play midfield,  yet some indications that he is weak as a defender - 6 so far, may vary likes shares - up or down.    

Centre backs - criminal we havent signed cover - wont comment more

Midfield - lost a good tackling midfielder who could pass,one who performed inconsistently and a lovable clapping machine and brought in 2 (Brellier & Rusty) who win the ball back less and also give it away more with less effective passing.     Has signed some creativity in Fozzy (6) who at last appear to have got up to speed with the champs and smith (?) who has showed he can do it at this level with QPR - just unlucky having them and hux injured.   Chadwick (6) is an enigma - passes to otsemebor were reminiscent of crook, other passages like hughes.  For me t his is his biggest challenge- getting the balance right between protcting the defence, winning and retaining the balla nd supporting the attack - that is after all t heir combined role.   

Attackers - earnie out,  brown, cureton and strihavka in,  looks poor on paper yet teh goals per game rate is unchanged - the problem is behind the strikers who are suffering with poor tactics and diabolical service.  So far Brown and Cureton are not a partnership and neither inspires confidence,  Strihavka may but I suspect it may be 6 months before he plays as he comes to term with english football. 

 

Ironically the strongest part of the team is currently the defence - its looks far better balanced with Otse and Marshall and I dont think we will conceed bucket loads like we did last year - even with a doc/shax partnership.  Its scoring that is the problem. 

The manager has to sort out the tactics going forward- he has a squad that can be better than the performances we have seen so far.  I dont care whether its 4-5-1, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 - all will work with the players we have IF THEY ARE CORRECTLY DRILLED.

[BBFF 0]

Great post road , pity there''s too much traffic to see common sense!

 

FOOTBALL MUST COME FIRST

[Smudger 0]

Down a dead end street!!!

Anybody that can''t see that by now must be blind... [H]

[Indy_Bones 441]

I have to disagree OTRA,

Keepers - Has got rid of Gallacher, and brought in a highly talented replacement in Marshall, who has already pulled off some top class saves for us, but is being let down at times by our hit and miss defending.

He''s also signed Gilks, who is a promising keeper, looks a very sturdy cover player, and he cost nothing to obtain. And as you point out, we still have Lewis, the difference here though between us and Man City, is that they really had no choice but to play an inexperienced youngster, as that''s all they''ve had available. I seriously doubt Kasper will keep his place this season once Isaakson is back to full fitness.

Fullbacks - No cover for Otsemobor...what about Cave-Brown or Russell. CB is a young player with potential who could benefit from the playing time if needed to cover Otse, and even if Grant doesn''t want to go with that, Rusty can cover there as well. On the left, I think we''ve seen far too much Drury bashing, as he''s still one of the finest leftbacks outside of the prem. Both Lappin and Murray can cover here.

Centre Halves - Comments certainly needed, in most matches our centre halves have been on par with other players in this position across the league in standard, I do agree however that we need a new player, but I don''t see that player as being readily available. You can slate Grant all you like, but if the quality of player is simply not available for sensible money, then there''s very little he can do. Anyone who thinks that spending £2-3 million on players like Davenport is good value, really does need some sort of medical help.

Midfield - Two tackling players with great commitment and drive, but you have conveniently forgotten about Fozzy and Smith, both of whom can offer the midfield creativity to counterbalance Brellier/Rusty''s defensive style. The problem has been that Fozzy has taken a while to get back to fitness and adapt to the game at this level, and both have been injured. Being fair from what I saw of Smith last season at QPR, and what I''ve seen of Fozzy in flashes, both have the required ability to be big players for us. Lappin has also been a breath of fresh air, commitment, long range shooting, crossing ability - the guy deserves to be playing each match for us on the left. For £75k, has to be one of the best bargains in a long time.

Upfront - Odd comparison with Coney, as he never showed the overall team game and contribution that Brown has so far. He''s clearly never likely to be a 15 goal a season man, but bearing in mind the type of player Curo is, Brown is a good player to put alongside him. If Curo was hitting a goal every game because of Brown being his strike partner, there''d be virtually no complaints. Curo doesn''t need resting every week, and Strihavka is still an unknown quantity. I think he''ll be a cracking player for us, but scoring a header after coming on as a sub doesn''t suddenly make him an automatic selection. With the players Grant has brought in upfront, we have far more options of style of play than we have had in a long time, it''s simply up to the manager to utilise these in the best manner.

Grant clearly has not built his team around Doherty and Chadwick, I don''t know how you can come to that conclusion.

We have a squad that is more than capable of beating ANY team in this league, assuming they play as a team and taking into account individual strengths, which for me is the one area Grant hasn''t perfected yet, but other than that, I have no real issues with the current situation. If it''s still the same come Feb, then I''ll have an issue, but for now, I''ll give my full support, and not simply dismiss a player, manager or season after only 6 games.

[Mello Yello 2,277]

As David Byrne, Tina Weymouth and the rest of Talking Heads sang, "We''re on a road to nowhere"

"We have a plan for the future" say some on here, but - has it been mounted upside down on the boardroom wall, and not one of the Director''s has noticed?

I sincerely hope the "Turner Two" are plotting to overthrow the current regime, at least it would get the media and fans buzzing - if anything.

Where are we going?

Canine Carra is going to the Dogs.....