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Shack Attack

Hucks - The Alternative View

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Firstly I''d like to join everybody else in welcoming back a true legend to Carrow Road and sincerely hope that receives a great reception and thoroughly enjoys life as a City fan. The words spoken in his interview yesterday brought home to me what the man is all about and I feel great pride in the fact that he cares so much about our team and this wonderful part of the world. So, welcome back Hucks and may you and your family enjoy a long and happy life in the place you know will always be your home.

Right, now that''s out of the way let''s get on to business. The last three seasons have seen finishes of 9th, 16th and 17th in The Championship and, whilst I''d gladly take 9th place if it was offered to me for this season, those seasons have all been seen by most as failures. Like it or not Hucks was part of those failures.

Now we all have our own scapegoats for those failures, be they Doherty, Worthy, Brown, Hughes, Robinson, Colin, Grant etc. but Hucks played 117 times in those three seasons which makes him as culpable as any in my opinion. We now see posters suggesting that our performances would be greatly improved if Hucks was still here but the performances over the past two seasons just doesn''t back this up. Oppositions teams had long ago worked out who our main threat was and as he gradually lost a little of that devastating pace and we fielded a team who had less and less of a goalscoring threat in other areas (the loss of Svensson, Francis, McKenzie, Ashton and Earnshaw) we were easy to defend against. There were occasional flashes of brilliance, great players will always be capable of these, but be truthful they were happening less and less.

I think Glenn Roeder realised how reliant we were on Hucks but felt that he was no longer capable of carrying the team as he had in the past. I think he realised that if you''re going to have a player stand out on the left wing and offer no defensive cover that he has to provide a constant attacking menace to the opposition, but age and that hip problem meant that Hucks could no longer do it against ''rugged'' Championship defenders. The mistake he made was to raise expectations by promising us ''new heroes'' yet still talking of a ''three year plan''. Mention of the plan made it clear that he thought we had big problems that would take time to resolve and he should have focussed on these and the gradual building of a successful team. Instead he seemed to be suggesting that Hucks would barely be missed in amongst our new heroes and I think it is this that has annoyed people the most.

Yes Hucks has been a success in America but comparing their league with The Championship is a nonsense. It''s not so much that the overall standard is significantly worse but the style of play is much different. The game seems slower, there''s more emphasis on technical ability rather than physicality and Hucks is not being booted in the air anywhere near as much. Can we honestly say he would carry his MLS form over here and instantly start influencing games?

I''ve always thought that letting Hucks go was the right decision. I still believe this but I also think that Glenn Roeder has gone about replacing him in the wrong way. We should welcome him back on Saturday with a rousing reception, hope that he gets more joy out of his season ticket that most of you seem to be getting but forget the fanciful notion that we would be much better off with him in the team.

 

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[quote user="Shack Attack"]

Firstly I''d like to join everybody else in welcoming back a true legend to Carrow Road and sincerely hope that receives a great reception and thoroughly enjoys life as a City fan. The words spoken in his interview yesterday brought home to me what the man is all about and I feel great pride in the fact that he cares so much about our team and this wonderful part of the world. So, welcome back Hucks and may you and your family enjoy a long and happy life in the place you know will always be your home.

Right, now that''s out of the way let''s get on to business. The last three seasons have seen finishes of 9th, 16th and 17th in The Championship and, whilst I''d gladly take 9th place if it was offered to me for this season, those seasons have all been seen by most as failures. Like it or not Hucks was part of those failures.

Now we all have our own scapegoats for those failures, be they Doherty, Worthy, Brown, Hughes, Robinson, Colin, Grant etc. but Hucks played 117 times in those three seasons which makes him as culpable as any in my opinion. We now see posters suggesting that our performances would be greatly improved if Hucks was still here but the performances over the past two seasons just doesn''t back this up. Oppositions teams had long ago worked out who our main threat was and as he gradually lost a little of that devastating pace and we fielded a team who had less and less of a goalscoring threat in other areas (the loss of Svensson, Francis, McKenzie, Ashton and Earnshaw) we were easy to defend against. There were occasional flashes of brilliance, great players will always be capable of these, but be truthful they were happening less and less.

I think Glenn Roeder realised how reliant we were on Hucks but felt that he was no longer capable of carrying the team as he had in the past. I think he realised that if you''re going to have a player stand out on the left wing and offer no defensive cover that he has to provide a constant attacking menace to the opposition, but age and that hip problem meant that Hucks could no longer do it against ''rugged'' Championship defenders. The mistake he made was to raise expectations by promising us ''new heroes'' yet still talking of a ''three year plan''. Mention of the plan made it clear that he thought we had big problems that would take time to resolve and he should have focussed on these and the gradual building of a successful team. Instead he seemed to be suggesting that Hucks would barely be missed in amongst our new heroes and I think it is this that has annoyed people the most.

Yes Hucks has been a success in America but comparing their league with The Championship is a nonsense. It''s not so much that the overall standard is significantly worse but the style of play is much different. The game seems slower, there''s more emphasis on technical ability rather than physicality and Hucks is not being booted in the air anywhere near as much. Can we honestly say he would carry his MLS form over here and instantly start influencing games?

I''ve always thought that letting Hucks go was the right decision. I still believe this but I also think that Glenn Roeder has gone about replacing him in the wrong way. We should welcome him back on Saturday with a rousing reception, hope that he gets more joy out of his season ticket that most of you seem to be getting but forget the fanciful notion that we would be much better off with him in the team.

 

[/quote]We would be much better off with Hucks in the team.

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[quote user="tribes"] We would be much better off with Hucks in the team.[/quote]Maybe so, but like Shack says; only with threats in other areas too.Hux in ways made us lose balance and exposed when defending despite being an amazing assit.Yes, he could win games out of nothing and I would have im back any day. But like Shack says, he simply got marked out of games.

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A well consructed post for which SA should be proud.I really can''t see from a strictly playing perspective how his going has been in any way beneficial.Just how many of the current squad could have scored that sublime trademark goal against Sheffield Weds away at the very end of last season?(You needn''t spend long thinking that one through.)No, there were obviously two factors at work in the decision:-1/ His high salary.  And to that, I wouldn''t mind betting no one at the club inquired as to what cut price deal he would actually accept.2/ ''Not invented here'' syndrome, whereby people with limited ability/intelligence/imagination are unwilling to allow anything imposed before their regime to overshadow their own efforts. The greater the popularity,  the more the need to root it out.With a complete recovery from that hip problem allied to his own innate fitness, it is even possible that Darren Huckerby might just have been able to roll the clock back...

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Best post i''ve read on here for a long time Shack.

People forget how many goals we probably also conceded as a result of Huck''s attacking style when he left left backs exposed.

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and of course we are all forgetting just how much better the team is this season without him. How can anyone even think that this years performance would be as good with Huckerby in the team?

Remember all the excitement of watching ............ (Fill in who you like)  attacking Burnleys aged defence on Saturday.

We have never had it so good. The entertainment home and away has never been better.

Get Over Huckerby and support all the new heros Glen has given us.

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[quote user="jbghost"]

and of course we are all forgetting just how much better the team is this season without him. How can anyone even think that this years performance would be as good with Huckerby in the team?

Remember all the excitement of watching ............ (Fill in who you like)  attacking Burnleys aged defence on Saturday.

We have never had it so good. The entertainment home and away has never been better.

Get Over Huckerby and support all the new heros Glen has given us.

[/quote]

Hucks played his fair share of crappy games for NCFC, just like the rest, and was equally to blame for our defeats or poor performances, just like the rest.

Nobody is saying that Huckerby wasn''t a great player in his time, but the solution to all our worries? No. If we could have afforded him to come off the bench after 60 mins? In my opinion, that''s a no brainer - yes.

Great post Shack, by the way.

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Nobody is saying that Huckerby wasn''t a great player - Mook

No, but what you ARE saying is that you do not believe he has recovered fully from his injury, which he finally, and obviously, has.  Late last season when he was back in top form, he was as good as ever. He has carried that over to MLS.  It matters not.  One great winger with nobody to receive his crosses is just that, a great winger with few goals to show for it.

Who knows, maybe Lupoli or Koroma could have been on the recieving end of those crosses, and be putting them away.  We will never know. He worked well with Earnshaw, though.

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Good post SA, my only comment on what you say is that I believe that Hucks could still do a good job for us in the current team, and really that is the point a lot of people are making. All this stuff about Hucks and the balance of the team makes me laugh, the team is not exactly balanced now is it!!

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i have to disagree shack attack, last season was bit of a right off for hucks due to niggling injuries but the season before his partnership and form with chris martin kept us up, this year with a full pre season hucks would have added lots to the team. in fact his pace and skill is exactly what we are missing when we are under pressure away from home. there is no one in the current 11 who can run the ball out and counter attack.

the 2 reasons hucks is not here is obvious to everybody,

1. roeders ego

2. cash strapped no ambition board.

i will stick my neck on the line and say that i do feel we would have more points if huckerby had started every game for norwich this season.

hucks would add somthing to any team, and any squad with out huckerby is certainly a weaker one. end of story!

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[quote user="lincoln canary"]

i will stick my neck on the line and say that i do feel we would have more points if huckerby had started every game for norwich this season.

hucks would add somthing to any team, and any squad with out huckerby is certainly a weaker one. end of story!

[/quote]

I''d stick my neck out with you.

I can''t see how anyone could look at our squad now and think that Huckerby would be anything other than an asset to us.

Our left wing has been non-existent at times this season.

Just look at Ryan Bertrand, he was quality last season and Huckerby brought the best out of him when they played together. The pair of them got on the same wavelength very quickly and had the ability to link up with ease. And I''m sure most people would agree that Ryan Bertrand hasn''t looked the same this season and has looked lost at times when he''s had the ball.

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Simply can''t agree Shacks and frankly can''t be bothered to argue my case except to say my binner friends are absolutely delighted they won''t see Hucks in a Norwich shirt again.

Most amusing was that they got very excited because they actually thought he was going to sign for them in the close season!

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[quote user="AJ"][quote user="tribes"] We would be much better off with Hucks in the team.[/quote]

Maybe so, but like Shack says; only with threats in other areas too.

Hux in ways made us lose balance and exposed when defending despite being an amazing assit.

Yes, he could win games out of nothing and I would have im back any day. But like Shack says, he simply got marked out of games.
[/quote]No he didn''t simply get marked out of games. We had balance when he played on the left.

The argument will never go away but on Saturday we will see what the majority of fans thought about Darren Huckerby.

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[quote user="jbghost"]

and of course we are all forgetting just how much better the team is this season without him. How can anyone even think that this years performance would be as good with Huckerby in the team?

Remember all the excitement of watching ............ (Fill in who you like)  attacking Burnleys aged defence on Saturday.

We have never had it so good. The entertainment home and away has never been better.

Get Over Huckerby and support all the new heros Glen has given us.

[/quote]

good effort mate, but your irony is way too subtle for most of the posters on here[8-)]

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[quote user="Barclay_Boy"][quote user="jbghost"]

and of course we are all forgetting just how much better the team is this season without him. How can anyone even think that this years performance would be as good with Huckerby in the team?

Remember all the excitement of watching ............ (Fill in who you like)  attacking Burnleys aged defence on Saturday.

We have never had it so good. The entertainment home and away has never been better.

Get Over Huckerby and support all the new heros Glen has given us.

[/quote]

good effort mate, but your irony is way too subtle for most of the posters on here[8-)]

[/quote]Well obviously, who on earth would have known he was being ironic? [:S]As for Hucks. I personally think we would be doing better with him than without him right now, it cant get much worse. However I totally agree with Shack that the case for him being let go is there, just the plan to replace him has completely failed. I dont think Hucks would have been able to carry us into the playoffs and beyond in the way he did back in 03/04, however with the right people around him I think he could have still done some damage. In this team, as in last seasons team, I dont think his style would fit in at all. And thats not a criticism of Hucks, thats a criticism of the respective managers we have had over the last few years. The lack of quality means he would have to do it all himself, which is why we saw him continually running up blind alleys and getting outmuscled last season. Either way its a shame he isnt in the team still, even on his bad days you could usually be guaranteed at least one moment of genius, which is one more than your going to see in a lot of matches this season from our whole team.

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100% agree shacks... top post! particualrly your point about Roeder not replacing Hucks in the right way... i think thats down to money but thats another post for another day perhaps.

jas :)

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As someone else said, the basic two opinions will never meet but another poster said he was marked out of some games. Well if he was, it took three defenders to do it which opened up space for others.

Oh and just because i think he should have been retained, it doesn''t mean that all with this opinion no nothing about football.

I thank you

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Excellent post Shack Attack and 100% correct, Huckerby has always unbalanced any team he has been in .........but Glens new heroes speech has not come true and that is one of the problems for people who live in the past and only remember the "runs" Hucks went on and not the times he stood hands on hips watching as an overun defence tried to cope

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[quote user="Bury Yellow"]As someone else said, the basic two opinions will never meet but another poster said he was marked out of some games. Well if he was, it took three defenders to do it which opened up space for others. Oh and just because i think he should have been retained, it doesn''t mean that all with this opinion no nothing about football. I thank you[/quote]Football is all about opinions, unfortunately there are a few who consider theirs to be due to some remarkable insight into the game that they posess, which many supporters do not have. It is called arrogance and they make a habit of patronising those who do not agree with their opinions.

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Very good post by Shack but I disagree 100% with the statement that Hucks would not improve our team. The one thing the team has lacked in abundance this season is a) a cutting edge, b) consistency of performance and c) real quality to unlock and scare a defence. We have nobody now to do that. Hoolahan hasnt done it, Lupoli showed glimpses but has faded and who else is there? Croft, er......yeah, Croft.The real question is whether Hucks'' age and hip problem meant that he was finished. Think back to his last goal against Sheff Wed, and his last few performances of last season, in which he produced form far from his best but getting there. The key issue is that he wasnt match fit or sharp due to the hip problem, but that seems to be behind him now yes? No reports of hip problems this season, and he has literally lit up the MLS, a league in which David Beckham hasnt shone this season but still finds himself worthy of a place at the highest level.Why is it that David Beckham and the MLS is good enough for Capello and England but Hucks and the MLS isnt good enough for Roeder and the Championship? Is international football not as tough as the Championship? Obviously not. Has Hucks done better in the MLS this season than David Beckham? 100% yes.So why then does everyone still think he''s finished? Cause i certainly dont, and Hucks, being the honest man he is certainly doesnt think he''s finished. He''s no Gazza, i think when the time comes that he can no longer cut it at the top level he''d be the first to admit it.Hucks would without a shadow of a doubt improve our team. When we play with Hoolahan there''s nobody for him to pass to as the frontline has always looked so static. With a Hucks up front drifting off a Sibierski or the like there''d be an option for the midfielders to pass to. Whenever Hucks received the ball in the left corner there would be an end product. Either a foul, a corner, a cross in or Hucks would drive past and shoot. Whats happening now?Nothing from the left all season and we now look one dimensional with Croft on the right being the only threat we have, and his crossing is always hit and miss.The only question there is now is whether or not Hucks is 100% match fit and producing his best form week in week out. The answer to that question is a resounding yes. And yes, it is only the MLS but so flippin what, if its good enough for Becks and Capello then its good enough for me and it should be good enough for Roeder, the Championship and Norwich City Football Club.Since the other stars left like Ashton, Francis, McKenzie, Earnshaw etc there was only Hucks left for the opposition to worry about and understandably as our only threat it wasnt hard for other managers to figure out how to stop us.Now there are other attacking threats in Croft, Bell, Hoolahan Lupoli and Lita, there is also more attacking creativity and players for defences to worry about. Can anyone really say that with Hoolahan or Bell charging forward on the left, to look up and see Hucks waiting to either receive or have a thru ball to run onto, that the attack wouldnt have a different result to what were seeing at the moment? Cause there''s nothing happening is there, when Hoolahan plays there''s no one to latch onto his vision and creativeness, which then results in him looking bad or losing the ball due to no options.Im sick of the Hucks is finished brigade and people claiming we''d be no better off with him in the team. If you hadnt noticed we are 1 off the bottom three, and the main reason for this is 1) lack of goals and goal threat in the final third and 2) nobody in the team with the consistency and real quality in them to finish what was started. This was Hucks'' best asset. Consistently performing week in week out and doing it when and where it really mattered, in the box at the end of an attack.Who''s doing that now? Nobody.The only factor is whether people believe that Hucks is physically incapaple of doing it. I for one dont believe thats the case. And neither does Darren Huckerby.

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Although I said I agree with SA''s post 100% earlier having actually engaged my brain for once I don''t think I do, really. Still a very, very good post and he isn''t the player he was but would we be any worse off with him here? I doubt it. But how much better would we be off? Not an awful lot. We certainly haven''t improved in any meaningful way and he''d still get into the squad most matchdays I''m sure. If only we could have him, and more importantly for me Evans and Dublin back. At least we''d look like we may have some sort of attacking threat in us.

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