Canary Man of Kent 0 Posted September 14, 2009 Mk dons were pretty average in my opinion, puncheon was decent, other than that. We simply gifted them two goals. The ref wasn''t great, but we can''t blame him.I have no doubt that had Hughes stayed on we''d have won that. We''re too weak in midfield, smith and adeyemi are ok/decent players, but without Hughes around to put his foot on the ball and use it we''re a bit poor. Gill and tudur-jones won''t help, they''re not good enough on the ball. Mcveigh was the only midfielder to show any creativity. Lambert has a lot to do, but, I''m encouraged (sadly) by how poor our opponents have been. A draw would have been fair tonight, mk dons created very little. I''m sure the moaners will come on here and say we''re useless etc. but fact is everything went against us tonight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ricardo 8,034 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="SimonOTBC"]Mk dons were pretty average in my opinion, puncheon was decent, other than that. We simply gifted them two goals. The ref wasn''t great, but we can''t blame him. I have no doubt that had Hughes stayed on we''d have won that. We''re too weak in midfield, smith and adeyemi are ok/decent players, but without Hughes around to put his foot on the ball and use it we''re a bit poor. Gill and tudur-jones won''t help, they''re not good enough on the ball. Mcveigh was the only midfielder to show any creativity. Lambert has a lot to do, but, I''m encouraged (sadly) by how poor our opponents have been. A draw would have been fair tonight, mk dons created very little. I''m sure the moaners will come on here and say we''re useless etc. but fact is everything went against us tonight.[/quote] We lost it because we spent the best part of an hour trying to sit on a one goal lead.Over the years I''ve watched this same game 50 times and usually with the all too predictable result. I went to watch it up the pub and at half time it was pretty obvious that we would not hold out for the full ninety minutes. If you give up the midfield you invite pressure and a string of dead ball opportunities for the opposition leads to the inevitable goal.If you leave experienced players like Russell, Doc and Wes out of the team don''t be surprised by this result because there will be a lot more of the same to come.Forget the penalty, we would have been shouting for it had it been our end. We got what we deserved ............nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sam-NCFC 0 Posted September 14, 2009 Yes the ref was awful, yes MK Dons weren''t brilliant, but I''m afraid they were a damn sight more brilliant than us. I froze my tits off for poor defending, poor refereeing and it cost me £19 for a ticket. Utter dross in my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mello Yello 2,572 Posted September 14, 2009 Because MK were poor.......and we were pants. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downloads 35 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="SimonOTBC"]Mcveigh was the only midfielder to show any creativity.[/quote]I must have blinked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glutton for Punishment 0 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="SimonOTBC"]Mk dons were pretty average in my opinion, puncheon was decent, other than that. We simply gifted them two goals. The ref wasn''t great, but we can''t blame him.I have no doubt that had Hughes stayed on we''d have won that. We''re too weak in midfield, smith and adeyemi are ok/decent players, but without Hughes around to put his foot on the ball and use it we''re a bit poor. Gill and tudur-jones won''t help, they''re not good enough on the ball. Mcveigh was the only midfielder to show any creativity. Lambert has a lot to do, but, I''m encouraged (sadly) by how poor our opponents have been. A draw would have been fair tonight, mk dons created very little. I''m sure the moaners will come on here and say we''re useless etc. but fact is everything went against us tonight.[/quote]You were obviously watching a different game to me if you thought a draw was a fair result. We were hanging on for the last 70 minutes!I agree that not a lot went for us tonight and the three injuries really screwed us up. After the injury to Hughes you would be forgiven to think that we had gone down to 10 men.After saying that the injuries were a large part of our downfall, I was desperately disappointed with how we fell apart thereafter. Lambert certainly did not pull any master strokes and whilst he was not exactly responsible for our downfall tonight he did not help matters either.It was a pretty poor night all in all and more than anything it tells me that Lambert has a hell of a job to get us competing at the top of this league.Sorry if that''s too much of a moan for you but I believe in facing up to the realities of the task ahead rather than pretend that tonight was anything like acceptable for a Norwich City team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary Man of Kent 0 Posted September 14, 2009 I don''t think we were that bad. The tone of the game was set by our early goal, from that point it was inevitable that we''d look to keep it tight and hit them on the break, problem was without Hughes we had no outlet from defence. For me if we''re playing 433 we should play hoolahan or mcveigh as part of the front 3, Daley isn''t up to it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norfolkchance1 0 Posted September 14, 2009 played the same in the second half as we did in the first would of won about 3-0, but a small squad full of kids still learning think playoffs is the aim, we can forget the top 2 till jan when maybe lambert can get his team together Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creative Midfielder 2,203 Posted September 14, 2009 Spot on Ricardo.Still very early but not looking too good for Lambert. Two successive games of hoofball, and not even good hoofball at that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shack Attack 0 Posted September 14, 2009 To be fair the injuries disrupted us badly but you have to deal with these things. We looked very comfortable with Smith in the holding role behind Hughes and Lappin from the start and Martin and Daley were providing us with genuine width. But when Hughes went off we lost our best passer and when Drury went off Lappin was forced back into a position that he never looks comfortable in.Having said that I thought Holt should have definitely had a penalty in the first half and if we go in 2-0 up at half time who knows what happens? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary Man of Kent 0 Posted September 14, 2009 Moaning about lambert is ridiculous. Injuries left him with no options and also took 3 of the best players out of the game. Lambert will have learned alot tonight, we have far too many average players in the squad, but it''s far from unfixable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
First Wizard 0 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="SimonOTBC"]Moaning about lambert is ridiculous. Injuries left him with no options and also took 3 of the best players out of the game. Lambert will have learned alot tonight, we have far too many average players in the squad, but it''s far from unfixable.[/quote]Thank God for some sanity![Y] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss 0 Posted September 14, 2009 Shafted by the three injuries.Sat back too deep after Hughes went off. Deserved a point but two poor challenges and that was that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HazzaJet 267 Posted September 14, 2009 Personally I think that the reason we lost was because of the injuries we got. MK Dons forced us to use 2 of our subsitutes inside the first 25 mins, and up until then we were by far the better side.I feel that we didn''t really deserve to lose, as I think that it could have been a lot different if our players hadn''t been injured. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yelloow Since 72 56 Posted September 14, 2009 City lost it because after starting well, they were physically intimidated. After 30 minutes possession was 30%/70%, but by the end it was 61%/39% - it says it all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary Man of Kent 0 Posted September 14, 2009 Spot on. Our game plan would have worked perfectly without the injuries. We would have scored again I''m sure, and they wouldn''t have put us under so much pressure Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ricardo 8,034 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="SimonOTBC"]Moaning about lambert is ridiculous. Injuries left him with no options and also took 3 of the best players out of the game. Lambert will have learned alot tonight, we have far too many average players in the squad, but it''s far from unfixable.[/quote]Lets hope the thing he learnt was not to leave experienced players out of the squad and leave yourself a hostage to fortune.three points chucked away through pig headedness in my opinion. If we are paying Russell, Hoolahan etc good money we should be playing them at least as subs. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glutton for Punishment 0 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="SimonOTBC"]Spot on. Our game plan would have worked perfectly without the injuries. We would have scored again I''m sure, and they wouldn''t have put us under so much pressure[/quote]And in an ideal world nothing would ever go wrong! The manager has an opportunity to triumph in the face of adversity on nights like tonight and Lambert didn''t. I don''t blame him for our loss as the injuries were pure bad luck but Lambert did not inspire confidence in me tonight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill 1,788 Posted September 14, 2009 It''s going to be the nature of the beast - this is Div 3. Holt understands it and was freely and vigorously ''putting about''.Sadly this is what refs at this level have become accustomed to. A higher level of ref would have stamped his mark on the game early on and booked one of the franchise players before the rot set in. Had the push on Holt (in the box) been on Rooney I don''t doubt it would have been the second or third item on the news tonight, likewise Martin''s getting the ball before the chap fell over him.Wizard''s comment that one of the decisions (if not others) were corrupt might be stretching it a bit far, but for any ref and linesman to come up with a freekick against Holt when he was elbowed in the back of his head does perhaps lend creedence to his suggestion.If it''s not corruption then it is gross incompetence, something that shouln''t be happening at this level. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary Man of Kent 0 Posted September 14, 2009 Glutton for punishment, what exactly did lambert do wrong?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glutton for Punishment 0 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="SimonOTBC"]Glutton for punishment, what exactly did lambert do wrong?![/quote]Wrong choice of substitutes and wrong choice of first replacement when Hughes had to go off. Martin is not a left midfielder. Daley is not man enough for this league. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary Man of Kent 0 Posted September 14, 2009 I think we''ll have to agree to disagree on this one. I thought mcveigh did alright. I hope everyone agrees however that we desperately need another cm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mello Yello 2,572 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="ricardo"][quote user="SimonOTBC"]Moaning about lambert is ridiculous. Injuries left him with no options and also took 3 of the best players out of the game. Lambert will have learned alot tonight, we have far too many average players in the squad, but it''s far from unfixable.[/quote]Lets hope the thing he learnt was not to leave experienced players out of the squad and leave yourself a hostage to fortune.three points chucked away through pig headedness in my opinion. If we are paying Russell, Hoolahan etc good money we should be playing them at least as subs. Stupid, stupid, stupid.[/quote]Maybe, just maybe......Lambert would love to play them.....but there would be more of a reaction from the support if/when, they are sold on....Especially if there''s an improvement in our fortunes when they are played in the first eleven.I personally feel that this club is in such dire financial straits.....and to play or not to play means that Lambert''s in a ''catch 22'' situation....As long as the attendance is strong......It is better for NCFC to have a lower wage bill in the 1st Division, than a higher wage bill in the Championship with similar attendances. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary Man of Kent 0 Posted September 14, 2009 Is that right mello? I haven''t run the numbers but my gut instinct would be that tv money would push it slightly back in favour of the champ. The problem was surely that we were paying too high wages for a low standard of player since the prem season? Hughes (andy), jarrett, Robinson, fotheringham, Russell, we''ve paid good money to some real dross. You can put a champ team together for not a lot, for some reason though we can''t. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OTBC 0 Posted September 14, 2009 How did we lose? Well, we do I start. We played well for the first 9 minutes, had one other chance in the first half (Martin header) but otherwise did nothing. Midfield, non existant after Hughes was injured and Holt spent too much time in midfield. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0ridgemanddMMyyyy0Falseen-USTrue 0 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="Glutton for Punishment"][quote user="SimonOTBC"]Glutton for punishment, what exactly did lambert do wrong?![/quote] Wrong choice of substitutes and wrong choice of first replacement when Hughes had to go off. Martin is not a left midfielder. Daley is not man enough for this league.[/quote] Was Daley playing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ian 1,211 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="SimonOTBC"]Moaning about lambert is ridiculous. Injuries left him with no options and also took 3 of the best players out of the game. Lambert will have learned alot tonight, we have far too many average players in the squad, but it''s far from unfixable.[/quote]Let''s look at this though. He didn''t give Doc, Russell, Hoolahan or Tudor-Jones a place on the bench, but instead played Daley, Smith and Adeyemi. Maybe they have a bright future, but you need experienced campaigners to grind out results. Frankly, when Hughes went off, Lambert looked as if he had absolutely no Plan B. You cannot tell me that Daley/Smith were were their place over Hoolahan tonight, that is simply embarassing decision making regardless of the reasoning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ron obvious 1,711 Posted September 14, 2009 [quote user="I.S."][quote user="SimonOTBC"]Moaning about lambert is ridiculous. Injuries left him with no options and also took 3 of the best players out of the game. Lambert will have learned alot tonight, we have far too many average players in the squad, but it''s far from unfixable.[/quote]Let''s look at this though. He didn''t give Doc, Russell, Hoolahan or Tudor-Jones a place on the bench, but instead played Daley, Smith and Adeyemi. Maybe they have a bright future, but you need experienced campaigners to grind out results. Frankly, when Hughes went off, Lambert looked as if he had absolutely no Plan B. You cannot tell me that Daley/Smith were were their place over Hoolahan tonight, that is simply embarassing decision making regardless of the reasoning.[/quote] Russell & OTJ are (allegedly) injured, Doc wouldn''t have made a difference.Why no Hoolahan?I think the key to Lambert is discipline - players must follow his basic game plan, or they''re out. Younger players are more malleable in this respect & he may feel their energy levels & committment outweigh their rawness when making tactical decisions.I hope he''s right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bill 1,788 Posted September 15, 2009 Young players demonstrate that he has a plan bie he''s not going to be held over a barrelpersonally I don''t think Doherty or Hoolahan are up to what''s needed in this division. McVeigh was an obvious exmaple tonight. It was a rough, ugly game where Ince had set his game plan out early. Rough up City players, nobble them where possible and then just bulldoze their way through the gameMaybe Lambert knows a bit about this level and is experienced enough to plan accordingly. Which is something of why Gunn was sacked. Lambert has stated that they set out with a game plan against City (v Col U) and it worked.It appeared to be working tonight until inept reffing allowed franchise to muscle us out. Where we go from here I''m not certain. It''ll certainly be interesting and I for one have faith in Lambert. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sgncfc 1,330 Posted September 15, 2009 [quote user="Creative Midfielder"]Spot on Ricardo. Still very early but not looking too good for Lambert. Two successive games of hoofball, and not even good hoofball at that.[/quote]Nonsense. First 20 minutes wasn''t hoofball, we created 3 decent chances from quick, strong, attacking football. The injuries destroyed our shape and they got a couple of lucky breaks from the ref. But if they are close to the best this league has to offer we have nothing to worry about. Neither team had any pace wide - Daley is a waste of time, McVeigh is hopeless - Cody would have been a better substitution and I''m sure would have come on if we hadn''t had 3 injuries. Never a penalty, but a tough call. Forster should have saved the free kick and Martin should have buried the header. Soemtimes games go like that, but they won''t always. I''m still confident we''ll be top 6 come May. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites