Coventry post match thoughts

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Forgive me if there are countless threads below along similar lines but a few thoughts on today''s game at the Ricoh:

All in all I came away deflated at the result but having seen enough to convince me we are on the right track and there good be some good times ahead this season. the closest performance I can liken it to is Bristol City last season when we played a lot of slick football but just could not take our chances and were hit with a sucker punch. To say we were robbed would be pushing it because at the end of the day if you don''t put the ball in the net then you don''t deserve to win games but on another day we could easily have had 4 or 5 and won the game comfortably. Coventry got away with it and they know it judging by Coleman''s post match comments.

Whilst there were still one or two occasions where it was obvious the team is still bedding in and lacking a bit of understanding if that is how they play after 2 weeks together then I am genuinely optimistic about our chances this season subject to getting in the right man to spearhead the attack. That is absolutely crucial and in my view if that is how we are going to play then we definitely need a big man who is good on the ground rather than a Steve Howard type striker. For me Rasiak would appear to fir the bill perfectly but I guess we will see soon who Glen has in mind.

As for the game relatively even first 10 minutes but then we took a bit of control and had Cov on the back foot for most of the first half. Hoolahan is class and his combinations with the midfield 2 and lupoli who was dropping off the centrebacks had Cov in all sorts of trouble. At times the passing and movement was a joy to behold and when Loops is fully fit I think the Lupoli/Hoolahan combination will do some real damage. The major problem though was that all of our front players seemed determined to walk the ball into the net and on several occasions tried and extra pass when they should have shot or delayed the shot a crucial second too long. On 4 or 5 occasions we got into goalscoring positions but never really tested the keeper. Just before half-time a bit of casual play by Dejan could have seen him sent off after he cynically brought down tabb but he was saved by the fact Shack was covering. Have seen reds given for similar but on balance the ref was probably just about right.

Gutting to concede straight from half time but I was in the bar so cannot comment on the pen although others sitting near me felt it was a bit soft. We then immediately proceeded to carve them open 3 or 4 times only for Croft to f**k up embarassingly when played in brilliantly by Hooly, Lupoli to head over an open goal from 3 yards (after their defender had handled it in the area), Hoolahan was blatantly brought down only for the ref not to give a stonewall penalty and then Korona was denied by the keeper when put through one on one. All in all you felt it was not going to be our day and that was confirmed when Leon added an totally undeserved second late in the game. After that we looked a bit downhearetd and I was worried they might get another during the 6 minutes of injury time.

Before player ratings a final word for (or rather about) Leon Mackenzie. After all his "no hard feelings" stuff in the papers this week he was given a generous round of applause by our fans when warming up which he did not even acknowledge. Then after scoring a 1 yard tap in that even i could have scored he produced the most ridiculous over the top shirt waving chest pumping celebration i have ever seen whilst running the length of 3 sides of the half. Finally at the end he stayed on the pitch and milked the Cov fans applause from every stand. Basically he was a complete and utter tw*t and when he comes to Carrow Road he should be given no grace or respect ir warm welcome whatsoever as he clearly does not hold our club or fans in any regard at all.

Finally ratings:

Marshall: 7 - had nothing to do really. Did what he had to do capably.

Omazusi: 7 - solid full debut. Not as attacking as Semi but defended well.

Kennedy - 7 - like the look of him. Strong and good in the air. No nonsense.

Sefanovic - 7 - still a class defender but his problem will be that he gets overcasual at times. This could have led to him being sent off. Noticeably dropped off their strikers after about 20 minutes and played almost as a sweeper when it became clear all they were doing was hoofing it up to Morrison and he proceeded to sweep basically everything up after that.

Shackell - 7 - considering he was out of position did everything asked of him. We missed Bertie''s overlapping threat but not fair to expect that from Shack.

Hoolahan - 8 - class. He is a joy to watch and Cov changed their team and put a man on him at half time as he was causing real problems. Link upi with Lupoli looked very promising.

Fozzy - 7 - good game. Got stupidly involved with the ref after penalty tunred down and needs to stop doing that.

Clingan - 7 - apart from giving away the pen I was impressed.

Croft - 6 - usual frustrating stuff. he gives us width and holds the touchline well. Also linked up well with the other midfielders and loops. The problem though is once again no end product whatsoever. Should have hada  couple of goals and one miss in particular was criminal.

Lupoli - 7 - great movement, dragged their CB''s all over the place but a little lightweight and not yet match fit. Needs that hold up man to play off. Will be very good for us though on this evidence.

Cureton - 6 - quiet although involved more after Lupoli went off. Think they are too similar to play together.

Subs

Korona - 6 - mobile and pacy but should have done better when through one on one. Raw talent but needs some coaching. Impact player off the bench I would say.

Russell - 6 - no real chance to impose himself although had 1 shot.

All in all therefore disappointing to lose to a bang average side who we outplayed for much of the game but we knew before the game we needed a striker and we most definitely still know it now. Get the right man in and we''re not far away from being a decent side.

 

 

 

 

[rascal 0]

I thought that a pretty accurate and insightful assessment.....until the bit about Leon

I sat with the Cov fans today and he ran to them to celebrate his 100th goal. He had a t-shirt on dedicating the goals to this family.

No way did he try to diss us.  I don''t think he ignored the fans either. Face it, he plays for another club. And he applauded the Norwich at the final whistle as well.

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Well we will have to disagree about Leon then. I was sat right by where he was warming up and he did not even look up at our fans even though he was getting what to many was an undeserved round of applause. His celebration was well over the top and in my view disrespectful if he is genuine in terms of what he sasy about his affection for the club. All I cn say is you would never see Hucks or Dion or several other players i could mention do the same thing and it won''t be forgotten.

[nutty nigel 7,513]

Jim Smith - you are 100% correct in your McKenzie observations. He got a really good reception from the Norwich fans when he first warmed up and he totally blanked them.

 

[Big Down Under 0]

Thanks Jim for taking the time to post that. Get that striker and get Lupoli match sharp and I''m confident the goals will come.

[mighty yellow 0]

[quote user="rascal"]

I thought that a pretty accurate and insightful assessment.....until the bit about Leon

I sat with the Cov fans today and he ran to them to celebrate his 100th goal. He had a t-shirt on dedicating the goals to this family.

No way did he try to diss us.  I don''t think he ignored the fans either. Face it, he plays for another club. And he applauded the Norwich at the final whistle as well.

[/quote]I have a lot of time for the guy, think he was a top player whilst at the club, and have no grudges.I just hope he dedicated the goals to his wife. Fine woman, so I''ve heard...[;)]

[The Saturday Boy 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Shackell - 7 - considering he was out of position did everything asked of him. We missed Bertie''s overlapping threat but not fair to expect that from Shack.

[/quote]Shacks was awful this afternoon... I know he''s a centre back and shouldn''t have been played there but 7? you are having a laugh!!

[The Saturday Boy 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]

Omazusi: 7 - solid full debut. Not as attacking as Semi but defended well.

[/quote]defended well but was awful going forward and distribution was poor... give me Semmy any day!!