Just back from St Johnstone game

[Tom Livermore 0]

Just a quick post to let you know about this afternoon''s game.

I know there are some reports, but here is my feed back anyway....

A good performance all in all. As Gunn said in his debrief to the players ''some good stuf, some bad, but another win, and we need to keep a winning mentality''

Rudd was pretty solid. a couple of excellent saves in quick succession just 2 mins before we took the lead. Will push Theo all the way for number 1 slot, as he hasnt made any errors.

Lappin - played well in patches. But at times didnt defend as well as he should have. One instance in 2nd half caught horribly out of position and Martin was covering him at left back!

I am slightly worried about our left back situation. Drury (understandably) looked way way short of match fitness on Tues, or has he just become very slow after injuries?

Jens - trialist - excellent in the air. won everything. kept passes short and accurate and actually looked really promising. their strikers could/should have tested us more

Doc - solid. dependable. and actually his long passing game was with him today (when he needed it)

Semmy - i know he gets a lot of stick, but was alright today.dangeros with pace, and positioning was better than it has been. not too bad.

Wes - ran the show. hope he keeps to his word and stays. were moments of brilliance and looks to be our major creator.

McVeigh - drifted in and out. was playing quite deep at times. good finish on tuesday, but still needs to show a bit more.

Adeyami - looks strong and mobile. thiunk he will develop pretty well, and should get a few runs this season.

Bridges - wasn''t too impressed on tuesday and today did very little. works quite hard, but snapped at one chance and just doesnt have that killer touch. no contract earnt yet

Martin - not seen too much of him before, and was suprised how chunky he looks (muscle).held it up well, and was part of some good moves. attitude isnt great, but Crook was giving him plenty of praise and encouragement.

Macdonald - looked lively for the 15 mins he was on, but took a knock and taken off as a precaution.

Maric - strong and impressive on Tuesday. If you watched him warm up today, you would think he was half asleep! But who cares, again he looked strong, and took his goal well. Big hold up player, who is also fairly mobile. Quite funny that he speaks virtually no English, so when ref wanted to have a word with him (in a friendly!) he didnt know what was going on.

Dumic - big strong lad who looked composed on the ball. Gunn had a good chat with him afterwards to say basically welcome to the mens game and he did well. Was a nice touch from Gunn to make him feel welcome and proud of his little cameo.

Craig - tiny little guy. quick, but did very little. will have to show a lot more than this for a contract.

All in all a good effort today, and a great game to go and watch, being so close. Had a good chat with Crook and they seem to be a good tight unit.

Am positive for next season because we look good at the back, especially centrally. If Jens always plays like that sign him up. And keeping Wes is key. He could be the one next season to make a difference. Maric I would get in. Big strong guy, but good with his feet too.

Sorry for the long article. got carried away!  OTBC

[Big Slob 0]

Thought it was behind closed doors?

[Yelverton Yella 0]

Thanks Tom. An excellent report. Really appreciate you taking the time to post. Just jealous that you were able to go and see it..

[Canary_on_the Trent 0]

It was open to the public at st andrews university

[Tom Livermore 0]

Not behind closed doors no.

Were about 80 or so people there. maybe less.

Was basically like watching in a park.

First half sat next to Rudd''s right hand post. Second half sat with all the Norwich staff/subs etc. Was great to be able to watch it and listen to the coaches etc.

Can see why Crook was so good and why I loved watching him so much. Clever footballing brain and the most vocal of coaches.

Ridiculous as it sounds, was one of my most enjoyable Norwich games ever, purely because I was so close to the action. Of course i prefer league games! But was a nice experience.

[Big Slob 0]

Ahh right sorry, good feedback mate, especially on the trialist CB sounds good.

[ca 1]

Thanks Tom for your views, its always good to hear from someone who was at the game.

[Jim Smith 2,578]

[quote user="Tom Livermore"]

Not behind closed doors no.

Were about 80 or so people there. maybe less.

Was basically like watching in a park.

First half sat next to Rudd''s right hand post. Second half sat with all the Norwich staff/subs etc. Was great to be able to watch it and listen to the coaches etc.

Can see why Crook was so good and why I loved watching him so much. Clever footballing brain and the most vocal of coaches.

Ridiculous as it sounds, was one of my most enjoyable Norwich games ever, purely because I was so close to the action. Of course i prefer league games! But was a nice experience.

[/quote]

 

Good stuff. I love the pre-season tours for the same reason. Gutted can''t go this year but always good to watch the games stood right on the touchline and be able to mingle with the players/coaches after the final whistle. You get a really good fee for how things are developing.

Remember being struck for the last 2 years at how little team spirit there was and how unhappy a lot of the players looked. Is it any different this year?

[Tom Livermore 0]

Team spirit seems good. I might get some criticism for saying this but:

I think leaving Clingan and Russell behind proves how good the team spirit is. Gunn won''t allow players who want to leave, to upset the morale.

If we get a fair price for each player, I see no harm in it.

We are in the battle as a club to get promoted. Those who contributed to our downfall, but don''t want to battle to get us back, should be show the exit door.

But, it''s only my opinion!

[Joanna Grey 0]

Thanks for the report Tom, really appreciated.

[ryan1992 0]

Great report Tom! I''ve heard about that defender from other people aswell. are you going on saturday? if so another report would be appreciated!

[Tom Livermore 0]

Can''t go on Saturday unfortunately.

I am heading back home (London), as I am up here for a well timed business trip at the moment!

Really enjoyed the 2 games this week though.

Feels like the Norwich of old.

Under Grant and Roeder, I just think we became so distant from everything.

We will have a good season I think

[William Darby 0]

That was a good read Tom

[Bury Yellow 2]

Many thanks for that Tom. Good report and gives a bit of hope. Interesting comments re spirit.

[When Saturday Comes 0]

[quote user="Tom Livermore"]

Team spirit seems good. I might get some criticism for saying this but:

I think leaving Clingan and Russell behind proves how good the team spirit is. Gunn won''t allow players who want to leave, to upset the morale.

If we get a fair price for each player, I see no harm in it.

We are in the battle as a club to get promoted. Those who contributed to our downfall, but don''t want to battle to get us back, should be show the exit door.

But, it''s only my opinion!

[/quote]

Great post, spot on, particularly with this point. Sounds like there''s some good spirit and togetherness amongst the squad again - I think that went a hell of a way to getting us promoted in 03/04.

[Canarygeorge 0]

Excellent report Tom, thanks.

Chris Goreham said on Radio Norfolk this afternoon that there were about 200 City fans there. (the little fibber lol.)

[I am a Banana 0]

well, wes is the most important weapon we have in the club, we must keeeeppp himm

[Tim Allman 1]

Cheers Tom and thanks for the report and comments. Interesting stuff.

 

[BobbyLo 0]

Excellent post Tom. I am actually very jealous....I always sit in the Barclay at Carrow Road and one of my all time wishes is to sit and listen to what the coaches, manager, players say. If I had been able to witness what you did I would be very happy! It sounds daft (that it would be a wish of mine) but I find that side of the game interesting.Anyhow, stoked for the report mate. I totally hope we give Maric a contract, but still believe we should sign another proven target man and left back.

[SnakepitCanary 0]

Very good report. Interesting to get a report from someone at the games about every single player. From the official website it seemed like Bridges and Paul Mcveigh were playing very well. I would wait on them and defiently give a contract to Maric, and if that centre back plays well saturday, give him a contract. He seems to have the same attributes as a certain Martin Taylor.

[IllawarraCanary 0]

Thank you for doing that report, it is good to hear ''real'' opinions. There really seems to be a good feeling beginning to develop and there can be little doubt that morale has been poor for some time now at the club. The recovery must start by sorting that out and BG seems to be well on the way to ticking that one off.

 

 

[Yelverton Yella 0]

Interesting to hear your comments about morale and team spirit. Sounds like a real vindication of the concept of a pre-season tour. Well worth the cost in my opinion!

[IllawarraCanary 0]

[quote user="Yelverton Yella"]Interesting to hear your comments about morale and team spirit. Sounds like a real vindication of the concept of a pre-season tour. Well worth the cost in my opinion!
[/quote]

Presactamundo!

 

[ur just a man in a jacket 0]

great report - by the sounds of it...maric over bridges anyday!! like someone has said in previous posts, if bridges was any good why the hell did carlisle release him!!

[Graham Humphrey 13]

Carlisle didn''t release him. It was Hull who released him. Carlisle offered him a contract but he rejected it, I believe.

[First Jedi 0]

What a nice thread! Genuine positivity and lots of information! Thanks!

[LQ 0]

Thanks for that report Tom.Although it''s hard to tell much about the logistics of play from friendlies, the insight you''ve given into how team spirit and coaching nous is going is very good news indeed. Sounds like the main aim of a pre-season tour, ie a bonding exercise, is working as well as the opportunity to have a look at players in trials. That simply doesn''t work if you just have them in training with the squad for a few days at Colney.Cheers![;)]