HERE IS THE TRUTH!

[Matt Morriss 69]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]

I have seen Fotheringham play a few times and on occasion he has played well. But I have seen a number of his games where he cannot buy a pass to someone in his own side and these passes have been simple enough.

Look at how much better we played with a ball passer like Taylor in the side. Infact, Doherty has played some of the best long passes I have seen this season. Our midfield was ideal for the Bury gameplan, we were allowed the ball, we have three midfielders who pass and move quickly but no one to provide a killer pass and I thought that was Fotheringham''s role. If it isn''t then for me he fights for one place with Russell and Pattison.

All our midfielders show great spirit and commitment, but it isn''t enough, so either they begin to show they can pass too or else they need to be replaced.

As for Croft. His goal record is appalling and he misses easy chances in addition to making poor final ball choices. He flatters to deceive but is still young so Roeder might be able to mould him. having said that Roeder is constantly berating him about his positioning and width.

I hope this opinion (and that''s all it is)  is satisfactory to some of my fellow posters who label themselves as ''intelligent.''

[/quote]If we were playing better it was down to Fozzy in the side, not Taylor. The stats dont lie, and i dont know what they are! But basically we were crap up until Fozzy came back into the team, since Coventry at home and Blackpool away, Fozzy''s first 2 games back in the side, we have been such a different team, and the Barnsley 2nd half was affirmation of Fozzy''s contribution to the Norwich style of play.Forget the Bury game, your slating Fozzy for playing badly and blaming the whole teams performance on his inclusion, citing the game as being perfect for his role. But its Bury, and we know that Norwich City players just dont motivate themselves for these games, so forget it. Judge him on games like Barnsley, and Leicester on saturday.Will you be at the Leicester game saturday? I hope so, and hopefully Fozzy will have a blinder and confirm the following points i will make as to why i sing his praises so highly, watch him saturday and then post again next week, look out for these points on our style of play with Fozzy in midfield.1. The tempo of our attacking play is much quicker with Fozzy in midfield. His quick thinking and simple passes keeps the ball moving, in the right direction.2. With Pattison/Russell it takes 3 or 4 passes for the ball to get wide to Hucks/Croft or forward to Cureton/Evans.3. Our possession is vastly higher due to Fozzy''s spoiler defensive work, this goes largely unnoticed but Fozzy''s defensive work i think is actually better than Pattison and Russells, he may not slide 20 yards to tackle like Pattison does but his overall percentage of contesting 50/50 balls and winning them i believe is higher than the other 2. The Sheffield Utd game in point. He was literally involved in every 50/50 going in the centre, and came out on top more times than the opposition. His defensive work coupled with either Patty or Rusty makes for a stronger midfield and increased possession. This results in more attacks for us and less for the opposition. Simple.4. The main point his presence improves us so dramatically is his energy and enthusiasm to win the ball back and make a pass. If you watch him Sky Sports player cam style he is always looking for that scrap, and when he does the spolier work and wins it back his first thought is instant, he doesnt think about it, the ball is passed immediately, either to Croft, Hucks, Russell or the strikers. Sometimes to the back four. And this isnt a negative thing. Its called keeping possession. The key is simplicity, find a yellow shirt. He doesnt have to always be making those Riquelme/Ronaldinho defence splitting passes, the key is to keep possession, keep the ball moving and switch play when neccessary. Fozzy''s quick thinking and quick simple passing keeps the tempo high, this is crucial to Norwich''s style of attacking play, pace and counter attacking football. This is the way weve always played, from Crook, Eadie and Foxy to Mulryne, Rivers, McVeigh and Safri, Hucks, Earnshaw and now Fozzy, Crofty, Semmy, Hucks and Cureton etc. With the attacking players we have, pacey wingers, full backs and strikers, we need a high tempo of passing, and someone to orchestrate from midfield. Fozzy does this perfectly. He makes us tick.Remember the opening day of the season? Russell and Brellier in midfield. And indeed the games after that. It was dire. Slow unattractive football. You cant win football matches with 2 defensive midfielders. Fozzy''s absence was massive and in comparison his inclusion now is the reason Norwich City are winning again.

[YankeeCanary 0]

[quote user="Mello Yello"][quote user="YankeeCanary"]

[quote user="Mello Yello"]HERE IS THE TRUTH!..........But who is to blame?[/quote]

YOU ARE TO BLAME MELLO! For consistently turning up game after game, year after year to support the product of a Board you don''t believe in.

[/quote]

I can''t abide my Mother in Law.......But I really love my missus......[:|]

[/quote]

Then send your Mother-in-law to the games while you keep the missus happy on the home front. Mother-in-laws are natural predators and she''s likely to come home with her bag stuffed with free cookies.

[Matt Morriss 69]

i see Fozzy''s top of the Actim index for Championship midfielders, so he''s the best at tackling and passing apparently.Well done Fozzy, hopefully those fans who slate you will shut up now.

[ZLF 274]

Fozzy isnt a perfect passer by any means but he is probably the bestat the club at the moment (damned wih faint praise I think the saying goes).  Where he is clearly head and shoulders above every other midfielder though is his desire to have the ball;  not one of his colleagues makes a tenth of the effort to put themselves in a position to receive the ball as frequently as Fozzy does.  He moves into space and demands the ball,  if only his midfield and striking colleagues were prepared to accept that same responsibility.

This gives the player with the ball options rather than the ball shuffling along or back to the back 4 with the subsequent long hoof.   No his passing does not always come off;  but it is always preferable to any of the back four launching another long high ball towards cureton.

Safri was the last player to accept that responsibility;   and look at the results of the team with and without each player - we have rarely won without them over the last three and a half seasons (something like just 7 games or something ridiculous like that anyway).  If we are looking to drop impact players then something is painfully wrong 

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="BarclayMan artist formerly known as BarclayBunk"]i see Fozzy''s top of the Actim index for Championship midfielders, so he''s the best at tackling and passing apparently.Well done Fozzy, hopefully those fans who slate you will shut up now.[/quote]Is He????

Coca-Cola ChampionshipTop 5 midfielders
	Name	Index Score	Index Rank	Team
1	L Lawrence	427	2	Stoke
2	P Parry	388	7	Cardiff
3	M McIndoe	369	10	Bristol City
4	R Koren	342	18	West Brom
5	M Elliott	334	20	Bristol City

[Shack Attack 0]

[quote user="BarclayMan artist formerly known as BarclayBoy"]

i see Fozzy''s top of the Actim index for Championship midfielders, so he''s the best at tackling and passing apparently.

Well done Fozzy, hopefully those fans who slate you will shut up now.
[/quote]

My word, you do seem to have got your knickers in a right twist over young Fozzy don''t you. Nobody''s ''slating'' him, just offering an opinion that maybe he''s not the creative, passing midfielder that some believe. It''s all fairly harmless and not one person has stated that he''s no good.

Anyway, I''ll be there on Saturday (I don''t go every week due to family and work commitments, which I understand makes my opinion less valid than passionate and loyal fans such as yourself [:P]) and I shall keep a close eye on Mr Fotheringham. I''ll report back on Monday if you''re interested.

 

[Fat Barman 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"][quote user="BarclayMan artist formerly known as BarclayBunk"]i see Fozzy''s top of the Actim index for Championship midfielders, so he''s the best at tackling and passing apparently.Well done Fozzy, hopefully those fans who slate you will shut up now.[/quote]Is He????

Coca-Cola ChampionshipTop 5 midfielders
	Name	Index Score	Index Rank	Team
1	L Lawrence	427	2	Stoke
2	P Parry	388	7	Cardiff
3	M McIndoe	369	10	Bristol City
4	R Koren	342	18	West Brom
5	M Elliott	334	20	Bristol City

[/quote]I think we''re referring to the past months stats - not the season stats. Still, good to see you''re cut''n''paste skills are as good as ever Paul!

[Matt Morriss 69]

[quote user="Fat Barman"][quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"][quote user="BarclayMan artist formerly known as BarclayBunk"]i see Fozzy''s top of the Actim index for Championship midfielders, so he''s the best at tackling and passing apparently.Well done Fozzy, hopefully those fans who slate you will shut up now.[/quote]Is He????

Coca-Cola ChampionshipTop 5 midfielders
	Name	Index Score	Index Rank	Team
1	L Lawrence	427	2	Stoke
2	P Parry	388	7	Cardiff
3	M McIndoe	369	10	Bristol City
4	R Koren	342	18	West Brom
5	M Elliott	334	20	Bristol City

[/quote]I think we''re referring to the past months stats - not the season stats. Still, good to see you''re cut''n''paste skills are as good as ever Paul![/quote]Thanks FB for tidying up my mess, of course i meant the recent stats as Fozzy''s season started in late November.Im actually referring to another post on here, stating he was top of the Actim index for the last weekends matches or last month or whatever, cant even remember where i saw it actually.Either way the guys done the business, backing up what ive been saying all season, since his 2nd half sub cameo performance against Southampton, that he''s our saviour and weve missed him like fat birds miss cake.

[Taxing 0]

[quote user="Mello Yello"][quote user="YankeeCanary"]

[quote user="Mello Yello"]HERE IS THE TRUTH!..........But who is to blame?[/quote]

YOU ARE TO BLAME MELLO! For consistently turning up game after game, year after year to support the product of a Board you don''t believe in.

[/quote]

I can''t abide my Mother in Law.......But I really love my missus......[:|]

[/quote]

 

Can I swap my M-I-L for yours please ? Yours can''t be anywhere as bad as mine. Mine is pure evil but I have to keep that to myself of course and keep smiling through gritted teeth.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

I don''t know if anyone else has said it but..............welcome back Fat Barman!

How about some more exiles making a return too?