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Ricardo's report v Southampton

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These sort of games always come along sometime in a season and the trick is to be no too disappointed. We have had an exceptional run lately and even other teams results have gone in our favour but that sort of luck can''t last forever. I thought we started quite well compared with recent home games but without ever getting into scoring positions. Saints looked neat and tidy but most of their early attacks centred around banging long balls up to Lambert. After 20 minutes Saints started to get the upper hand and I felt a lot of the trouble was being caused by the low Sun. Our defenders had great difficulty clearing the ball with mistimed headers going up in the air and thus we were unable to clear the pressure. O n the ground, Nelson in particular couldn''t buy a decent pass out of defence. The goal, when it came was no surpise because it had looked on the cards for sometime. A 30 yard free kick dipped off the underside of the bar and in the resulting melee Barnard headed in. City complained of a push but I was too far away to make a comment. We expected City to up the tempo but Saints held the upper hand for the rest of the half and could really have gone in 2 or 3 up. We were that poor.Lambert made no changes which I thought was good as the team now had a chance to put things right. City did seem to be having more of the game but most of our balls into the box were meat and drink to the big Southampton defenders. However I said to my son that I could see us getting a point from this and Smith nearly brought us back into the game with a dipping shot that came back off the bar. All hope faded when the Referee made an enormous ricket. From my view 80 yards away it looked like Rusty stretched for and got possesion of a waist high ball and a Saints defender came into him from the side and spun him round. It looked like a 50/50, blow the whistle and give a free kick but suddenly the Ref produced a red card. I don''t think I was alone among the 25k who were totally gobsmacked by that decision.. However, Rusty walked and Lambert swapped Nelson for McNamee and went three at the back. City created a few chances, notably Martin and Holt heading over but Saints were making hay at the other end with the extra man. I lost count of the times they hit the woodwork but eventually Barnard turned in his secondfrom 6 yards and it was game set and match.City''s ten men struggled manfully and no one can fault the effort but Saints were far too good to give anything away and fully deserved their win. It was just a pity that the Referee had such a big say in how that resut went.I thought they all gave of their best but Korey Smith was my MOM. Even with tired legs he was getting up and down right to the finish. Lappin and Neson couldn''t buy a pass between them and Doc found Lambert a real handfull. Up front Holt only showed flashes of his true form and Martin had plenty of aggression but little went for him today. Wes produced a few sweet moments but he couldn''t find the magic to turn the tide.My advice to those in tears is, grin and bear it, you can''t win''em all. Roll on Tuesday and "The Shrimpers".

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Thanks Ricardo.  Get a Peroni down you.What do you make of Michael Rose?  Clearly he is cover for Drury, but he seems to not want the ball and plays everything far too quickly, often first time.

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[quote user="Mister Chops"]Thanks Ricardo.  Get a Peroni down you.What do you make of Michael Rose?  Clearly he is cover for Drury, but he seems to not want the ball and plays everything far too quickly, often first time.[/quote]Yes Chops, I get the same impression. He''s not as good as Drury but that long throw is a nice weapon to have. Its a bit unfair to slag any of the defenders when they had to go 3 at the back. It becomes a different sort of game then.

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[quote user="ricardo"]These sort of games always come along sometime in a season and the trick is to be no too disappointed. We have had an exceptional run lately and even other teams results have gone in our favour but that sort of luck can''t last forever. I thought we started quite well compared with recent home games but without ever getting into scoring positions. Saints looked neat and tidy but most of their early attacks centred around banging long balls up to Lambert. After 20 minutes Saints started to get the upper hand and I felt a lot of the trouble was being caused by the low Sun. Our defenders had great difficulty clearing the ball with mistimed headers going up in the air and thus we were unable to clear the pressure. O n the ground, Nelson in particular couldn''t buy a decent pass out of defence. The goal, when it came was no surpise because it had looked on the cards for sometime. A 30 yard free kick dipped off the underside of the bar and in the resulting melee Barnard headed in. City complained of a push but I was too far away to make a comment. We expected City to up the tempo but Saints held the upper hand for the rest of the half and could really have gone in 2 or 3 up. We were that poor.Lambert made no changes which I thought was good as the team now had a chance to put things right. City did seem to be having more of the game but most of our balls into the box were meat and drink to the big Southampton defenders. However I said to my son that I could see us getting a point from this and Smith nearly brought us back into the game with a dipping shot that came back off the bar. All hope faded when the Referee made an enormous ricket. From my view 80 yards away it looked like Rusty stretched for and got possesion of a waist high ball and a Saints defender came into him from the side and spun him round. It looked like a 50/50, blow the whistle and give a free kick but suddenly the Ref produced a red card. I don''t think I was alone among the 25k who were totally gobsmacked by that decision.. However, Rusty walked and Lambert swapped Nelson for McNamee and went three at the back. City created a few chances, notably Martin and Holt heading over but Saints were making hay at the other end with the extra man. I lost count of the times they hit the woodwork but eventually Barnard turned in his secondfrom 6 yards and it was game set and match.City''s ten men struggled manfully and no one can fault the effort but Saints were far too good to give anything away and fully deserved their win. It was just a pity that the Referee had such a big say in how that resut went.I thought they all gave of their best but Korey Smith was my MOM. Even with tired legs he was getting up and down right to the finish. Lappin and Neson couldn''t buy a pass between them and Doc found Lambert a real handfull. Up front Holt only showed flashes of his true form and Martin had plenty of aggression but little went for him today. Wes produced a few sweet moments but he couldn''t find the magic to turn the tide.My advice to those in tears is, grin and bear it, you can''t win''em all. Roll on Tuesday and "The Shrimpers".[/quote]Nice report Ricardo... [Y]I wonder if this was because Lambert has brought him off several times in recent weeks, or is it just what Korey always does?  I wonder if he can drop Lappin for a few weeks, or drag the real culprit for why our midfield has been lacking since Christmas off a bit sooner in matches?Along with Russell''s assured head offering protection infront of the back 4 and Hoolahan''s time on the ball and skill behind the front two, Koreys non stop running has been a constant this season and a major reason why Lambert''s diamond system has worked so well for so long.  The weak link in our midfield is Simon Lappin.As for not winning them all, we have been lucky to have only lost two games recently and changes need to be made.  We should be aiming to precisely that in this league.  The standard of football on the whole is awful and teams of the stature of Millwall, Southampton and ourselves would mediocre at best in the league above.  We will be playing teams of that quality or better every week if we do go up and we are starting to show how much work still needs to be done.First thing is first though... we are still in pole position in what appears to be turning in to a 4 or 5 horse race for the two automatic promotion spots.

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rubbish report as usual ricardo...anyway onto lappin i`m starting to sway with smudger on this..he doesn`t beat  a  man has no pace and his crossing is poor lately ,,his one saving grace is work rate and he does put his foot in.. but maybe its time to give hughes a go ?

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[quote user="pennywise "]

rubbish report as usual ricardo...anyway onto lappin i`m starting to sway with smudger on this..he doesn`t beat  a  man has no pace and his crossing is poor lately ,,his one saving grace is work rate and he does put his foot in.. but maybe its time to give hughes a go ?

[/quote]Thanks Penny, yes there was no denying that the King of Spain had his beard singed today. His passing was well below par and he doesn''t have the stature to muscle it out with the big players in this league. He had some decent games earlier in the season but I agree with Smudger that enoughs enough and we should se a change on Tuesday.

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[quote user="ricardo"]These sort of games always come along sometime in a season and the trick is to be no too disappointed. We have had an exceptional run lately and even other teams results have gone in our favour but that sort of luck can''t last forever.

I thought we started quite well compared with recent home games but without ever getting into scoring positions. Saints looked neat and tidy but most of their early attacks centred around banging long balls up to Lambert. After 20 minutes Saints started to get the upper hand and I felt a lot of the trouble was being caused by the low Sun. Our defenders had great difficulty clearing the ball with mistimed headers going up in the air and thus we were unable to clear the pressure. O n the ground, Nelson in particular couldn''t buy a decent pass out of defence. The goal, when it came was no surpise because it had looked on the cards for sometime. A 30 yard free kick dipped off the underside of the bar and in the resulting melee Barnard headed in. City complained of a push but I was too far away to make a comment. We expected City to up the tempo but Saints held the upper hand for the rest of the half and could really have gone in 2 or 3 up. We were that poor.

Lambert made no changes which I thought was good as the team now had a chance to put things right. City did seem to be having more of the game but most of our balls into the box were meat and drink to the big Southampton defenders. However I said to my son that I could see us getting a point from this and Smith nearly brought us back into the game with a dipping shot that came back off the bar. All hope faded when the Referee made an enormous ricket. From my view 80 yards away it looked like Rusty stretched for and got possesion of a waist high ball and a Saints defender came into him from the side and spun him round. It looked like a 50/50, blow the whistle and give a free kick but suddenly the Ref produced a red card. I don''t think I was alone among the 25k who were totally gobsmacked by that decision.. However, Rusty walked and Lambert swapped Nelson for McNamee and went three at the back. City created a few chances, notably Martin and Holt heading over but Saints were making hay at the other end with the extra man. I lost count of the times they hit the woodwork but eventually Barnard turned in his secondfrom 6 yards and it was game set and match.

City''s ten men struggled manfully and no one can fault the effort but Saints were far too good to give anything away and fully deserved their win. It was just a pity that the Referee had such a big say in how that resut went.

I thought they all gave of their best but Korey Smith was my MOM. Even with tired legs he was getting up and down right to the finish. Lappin and Neson couldn''t buy a pass between them and Doc found Lambert a real handfull. Up front Holt only showed flashes of his true form and Martin had plenty of aggression but little went for him today. Wes produced a few sweet moments but he couldn''t find the magic to turn the tide.

My advice to those in tears is, grin and bear it, you can''t win''em all. Roll on Tuesday and "The Shrimpers".
[/quote]

Good report, Ricardo, especially the observations that I''ve hightlighted -

If Holt won the toss and decided to play towards the N&P first half, then he needs his head examined.

It was definitely a push on Nelson; poor refereeing. Which leads me on to your third point...

At worst, it should have been a yellow for Rusty. We must appeal against what Lambo has called "a poor decision" - the understatement of the day!

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[quote user="ricardo"]These sort of games always come along sometime in a season and the trick is to be no too disappointed. We have had an exceptional run lately and even other teams results have gone in our favour but that sort of luck can''t last forever.

I thought we started quite well compared with recent home games but without ever getting into scoring positions. Saints looked neat and tidy but most of their early attacks centred around banging long balls up to Lambert. After 20 minutes Saints started to get the upper hand and I felt a lot of the trouble was being caused by the low Sun. Our defenders had great difficulty clearing the ball with mistimed headers going up in the air and thus we were unable to clear the pressure. O n the ground, Nelson in particular couldn''t buy a decent pass out of defence. The goal, when it came was no surpise because it had looked on the cards for sometime. A 30 yard free kick dipped off the underside of the bar and in the resulting melee Barnard headed in. City complained of a push but I was too far away to make a comment. We expected City to up the tempo but Saints held the upper hand for the rest of the half and could really have gone in 2 or 3 up. We were that poor.

Lambert made no changes which I thought was good as the team now had a chance to put things right. City did seem to be having more of the game but most of our balls into the box were meat and drink to the big Southampton defenders. However I said to my son that I could see us getting a point from this and Smith nearly brought us back into the game with a dipping shot that came back off the bar. All hope faded when the Referee made an enormous ricket. From my view 80 yards away it looked like Rusty stretched for and got possesion of a waist high ball and a Saints defender came into him from the side and spun him round. It looked like a 50/50, blow the whistle and give a free kick but suddenly the Ref produced a red card. I don''t think I was alone among the 25k who were totally gobsmacked by that decision.. However, Rusty walked and Lambert swapped Nelson for McNamee and went three at the back. City created a few chances, notably Martin and Holt heading over but Saints were making hay at the other end with the extra man. I lost count of the times they hit the woodwork but eventually Barnard turned in his secondfrom 6 yards and it was game set and match.

City''s ten men struggled manfully and no one can fault the effort but Saints were far too good to give anything away and fully deserved their win. It was just a pity that the Referee had such a big say in how that resut went.

I thought they all gave of their best but Korey Smith was my MOM. Even with tired legs he was getting up and down right to the finish. Lappin and Neson couldn''t buy a pass between them and Doc found Lambert a real handfull. Up front Holt only showed flashes of his true form and Martin had plenty of aggression but little went for him today. Wes produced a few sweet moments but he couldn''t find the magic to turn the tide.

My advice to those in tears is, grin and bear it, you can''t win''em all. Roll on Tuesday and "The Shrimpers".
[/quote]100% clear push in the back of our defender(nelson i think), i cannot beleive the lino and ref didnt see it....the ref was aweful today and i still cant understand why he sent Rusty off????   I also thought Foster got MOTM for me with K.Smith second....Lapppin was bloody aweful

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I thought it was funny when the scores were announced at the end and when Leeds 1-1 Brighton was read out, half boo''ed knowing that Leeds were so close to losing and the other half cheered because they didn''t know.

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[quote user="LinkNR9"]

[quote user="ricardo"]These sort of games always come along sometime in a season and the trick is to be no too disappointed. We have had an exceptional run lately and even other teams results have gone in our favour but that sort of luck can''t last forever. I thought we started quite well compared with recent home games but without ever getting into scoring positions. Saints looked neat and tidy but most of their early attacks centred around banging long balls up to Lambert. After 20 minutes Saints started to get the upper hand and I felt a lot of the trouble was being caused by the low Sun. Our defenders had great difficulty clearing the ball with mistimed headers going up in the air and thus we were unable to clear the pressure. O n the ground, Nelson in particular couldn''t buy a decent pass out of defence. The goal, when it came was no surpise because it had looked on the cards for sometime. A 30 yard free kick dipped off the underside of the bar and in the resulting melee Barnard headed in. City complained of a push but I was too far away to make a comment. We expected City to up the tempo but Saints held the upper hand for the rest of the half and could really have gone in 2 or 3 up. We were that poor.Lambert made no changes which I thought was good as the team now had a chance to put things right. City did seem to be having more of the game but most of our balls into the box were meat and drink to the big Southampton defenders. However I said to my son that I could see us getting a point from this and Smith nearly brought us back into the game with a dipping shot that came back off the bar. All hope faded when the Referee made an enormous ricket. From my view 80 yards away it looked like Rusty stretched for and got possesion of a waist high ball and a Saints defender came into him from the side and spun him round. It looked like a 50/50, blow the whistle and give a free kick but suddenly the Ref produced a red card. I don''t think I was alone among the 25k who were totally gobsmacked by that decision.. However, Rusty walked and Lambert swapped Nelson for McNamee and went three at the back. City created a few chances, notably Martin and Holt heading over but Saints were making hay at the other end with the extra man. I lost count of the times they hit the woodwork but eventually Barnard turned in his secondfrom 6 yards and it was game set and match.City''s ten men struggled manfully and no one can fault the effort but Saints were far too good to give anything away and fully deserved their win. It was just a pity that the Referee had such a big say in how that resut went.I thought they all gave of their best but Korey Smith was my MOM. Even with tired legs he was getting up and down right to the finish. Lappin and Neson couldn''t buy a pass between them and Doc found Lambert a real handfull. Up front Holt only showed flashes of his true form and Martin had plenty of aggression but little went for him today. Wes produced a few sweet moments but he couldn''t find the magic to turn the tide.My advice to those in tears is, grin and bear it, you can''t win''em all. Roll on Tuesday and "The Shrimpers".[/quote]

Good report, Ricardo, especially the observations that I''ve hightlighted -

If Holt won the toss and decided to play towards the N&P first half, then he needs his head examined.

It was definitely a push on Nelson; poor refereeing. Which leads me on to your third point...

At worst, it should have been a yellow for Rusty. We must appeal against what Lambo has called "a poor decision" - the understatement of the day!

[/quote]Oh dear... blub, blub, blub... [:''(] [:''(]By the sounds of it we were lucky... it could of quite easily been 4 or 5 to Southampton!

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We kicked off today so assume they elected to kick towards the Barclay.

Defo push in the back of Nelson for first goal.

Rusty did not even deserve a yellow card

Officials were awful and we must appeal against the sending off

It was one of those days and all teams get them

Another superb report Ricardo. Many thaks

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Spot on report. I''m a huge admirer of Lappin''s past dedication to the cause after he was frozen out by Roeder back in the day, but I think he needs a rest and we need to try another option on Tuesday night. to be fair to Southampton, I reckon they''d have scored anyway if Barnard''s first one had been disallowed as they were really picking up the pace. The goal itself didn''t really come as a surprise. Still, onwards and upwards. I''m confident we''ll bounce back on Tuesday.

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Excellent report Ricardo, many thanks for taking the time.  Assuming Russell is out for 3 matches, who will fill in for him ?  Hughes I guess could try to make the spot his, but I wonder if he has the fitness to play week in week out in a position that will require 7 or 8 kilometres of running every match.

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Great report as usual Ricardo. Interesting to see the Lappin comments- one of the few comments during our subdued walk away from the ground was whether it was time to rest him. 100% effort once again, but his big contribution to the team was always his quality of dead-ball delivery.... and even that just isn''t happening for him at the moment. Maybe it is time to try something different on Tuesday. Retrospect maybe but today just didn''t feel right. The crowd (esp in The Jarrold) seemed edgy and subdued, even the bright start didn''t seem to lift the mood. Saints got in our faces, we seemed to continually invite pressure and our midfield was nowhere. For a period in the first half, Southampton had a succession of attacks and chances and everyone around me considered 0-1 at half time a lucky escape. Even before Rusty''s sending off I don''t think we were getting a grip on the game and then another PL gamble was always a risk against a quality side like the Saints. We all have off days, let''s look forward to Tuesday.                  

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A poor performance all round with just 4 players coming out of the game with any credit.

The midfield have stopped putting in the hard graft that was the difference bewteen this season and last. All three were slow, uncommitted, second best in the tackle and sat too deep. The ball moved around them with few tackles and poor use of the ball. Not sure how Korey got motm (Doc, Forster, C Martin and Hoolahan all better) although he was the best of the middle 3

At the back Nelsonitis struck and visibily encouraged the midfield to sit deep. Rose was poor positionally, and Soton targetted their right flank with great success. It pulled doc and martin across and the defence then struggled.

Up front Holt was for me the worst player on the pitch. Beyondmoaning at the ref he was ineffective and did not chase or close down balls as he did prior to his suspension. His weak headers in the second half summed up his efforts Ditto Martin, who at least started to look dangerous in the second half.

Hoolahan looked like the only player who wanted to win; he worked his socks off and was the only one likely to create an opening.

As far as the subs were concerned neither had much of an impact and it was too much to ask that the all out attack verison would work again.

The sending off did not change the game, we were already second best. It looked like there was contact to me, and rustys studs were showing at chest height. That is at best dangerous play and whether he intended to injure or take the player is irrelevant; its an injury making tackle and a card was warranted - if it was on Russell we would have demanded a red. Having said that the ref was pretty appalling.

As far as the much lauded Barnard & Lambert were concerned neither got any changed out of doc and was never out paced. If Doc can contain them then just how good can they be?? Unfortunately Nelson was outclassed, soton knew it and exploited it. We did not take advantage of ots aerial weakness.

We will bounce back, but as I have said before we have stopped doing what made the diamond so successful. We must defend from the front and that demands effort from Holt, Lappin, Russell (hughes) and Smith. That was painfully missing today.

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An accurate report once more and efficiently posted - which once more has invoked a thoughtful debate about the next game/strategy/formation for the next game. If you wrote your reports in a weekly blog and charged us mere motals for the privilege

- we could keep you in Peroni for a few years........... I''m glad you don''t - because for the games I cannot make it to I appreciate your views.P.S. Based on recent/todays evidence Lappin out - Hughes in and maybe Rose hasn''t shown enough to warrant a longer contract. Might be nice to see Lambert try 4-4-2 against some of the formidible foes in this division. [I]

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I came away as disappointed as everyone else but have tried to consider my response. The first summary and infact post I turned to was Ricardo''s and reading the first paragraph I appreciated the sense of perspective. I will try to write my summary in the same spirit.

Fraser Forster. I didn''t see Fraser do too much wrong today and he made yet another of his excellent one on one saves which he followed up with a well timed tackle outside his area. Above average 7/10.

Michael Rose. Plenty of effort, left exposed after the sending off but didn''t do enough going forward or with the ball. In the diamond it is essential the full backs are up to it and Drury clearly is. Rose has heart but appears to be average in this league on his day. Below average 5/10.

Russell Martin. Here is a player who I have been unable to really take to. He shows promising signs and a mature attitude but I feel regularly disappointed with his defending and, in the diamond he seems to lack running and pace. I doubt he can cut it outside this league but know Lambert gave him a contarct so perhaps I need to look harder. Below Average 5/10.

Michael Nelson. I am afraid I can only concur with previous comments. Plenty of heart and effort as usual. Poor 4/10.

Gary Doherty. Anyone who already disabuses Doc will cut him no slack from a game where the team as a whole were outplayed. Doc put an early pass astray but recovered it; he gave away the free kick leading to the goal; he was later part of a three man defence Southampton exploited well and should have scored more against. But he gave the usual 100% effort and showed the usual high levels of stamina getting forward. Average 6/10.

Korey Smith. The lad should have been rested three games ago IMO. But this is simply for a mental break in a changed formation. But for heart this boy is 18 going on 28 and no one else comes near to his energy, stamina and hassling play. Some older players could learn a lot from his unpretentious application. Average 6/10.

Darrel Russell. I though Darrel was one of the few players holding their own in the first half and he was a victim to some rough play and a high foot which he just ducked out of himself. I need to see the sending off again but it looked to me as if the Saints player came into the challenge from the side or to the back of Russell and my impression was to wonder if Russell knew exactly where he was in order to deliberately foul him in a dangerous way.

Average 6/10.

Simon Lappin. Another player who needed to be rested three games ago. He was as others have testified and today I noticed his hystrionics more than I have previously. He is apparently frustrated at his own form. I posted before the Millwall game hoping for a 4 - 4 - 2 formation with Simon rested. Clearly, lambert knows best but this is my humble opinion as an observer. I didn''t see him contribute in any constructive way. Very poor 3/10.

In respect of all out midfielders I have to wonder why they so seldom oick up loose balls outside their own penalty area.

Wesley Hoolahan. For me Wesley was the player who tried to play the Norwich way and put the effort in to do so. It didn''t always come off and he ended up going deeper to get the ball. The problem with Wes is: is he capable of being as effective in a 4 - 4 - 2 so the less capable players and out of form players can go back into their own comfort zone. Average 6/10.

Chris Martin. Chris showed aggression and passion, he gave the ball away less than others and tried to link the play. He ended up dropping deep and wasn''t well supported. Average 6/10.

Grant Holt. Right from the off he was in the referee''s ear and did seem to get the rub of the green on decisions which begs the question: why did he spend so much of his time trying to referee the game. I would have subbed him for Oli as Oli would have carried the ball with his running and because Holt was the striker most deserving of replacing. It would also have shot a message to the rest. I am wondering where Holt''s head is these days. He needs to ground himself and look at Korey Smith for inspiration.

Anthony Macnamee. A big improvement on Simon and carried some threat in a formation which I didn''t think was best for him. Average 6/10.

Stephen Hughes. The boy is a proper footballer and brought some flair to the side. I have wanted him back in a 4 - 4 - 2 alongside Russell or Smith for several games now. Average 6/10.

Paul Lambert. He actually disappeared from his usual position for a time in the first half and this led me to think he was planning some radical change with Ian Culverhouse which didn''t transpire. (Much to my disappointment). For me this was Paul''s worst management performance both in failing to make personel and formation changes prior to the game, rest certain players and not changing the set up at half time. I would have liked to have seen Spillaine; a reversion to 4 -4 - 2; Macnamee on the right and Hughes in for one of the front three. We were over-run in midfield and dropping deep through apparent fatigue in some players. Below average 5/10.

The supporters. Tried but had nothing to keep them going. Average 6/10.

I hope to see a change in formation, players and attitude by Tuesday rather than the same players being given the chance to put it right.

Finally, I wonder what effect the absence of Crooky due to sickness had in the preparations for this game.

We haven''t played well for almost a month now and something more radical is called for please Mr. Lambert. I am afraid we appear to have been sussed.

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Just thought i would bump this thread up. It''s an excellent example of how good this message board can be.

Terrific reports and comments from the main contributors. Makes for good interesting reading and debate of a high standard.

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http://www.pinkun.com/content/pinkun/norwich-city/story.aspx?brand=PINKUNOnline&category=Norwich&tBrand=PINKUNOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=NOED21%20Feb%202010%2017%3A33%3A32%3A900&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebookSorry, can''t insert a link as using FF, but seems yesterday''s result was but a dream, and we got a valuable point in the end.......[:D]

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I think that there are lots of factors behind our loss of form, and that it''s too simplistic to blame it on a system. . For what it''s worth, my view is that we have lost a bit of balance since drury was injured. Rose is a good League One full back, but Drury has been here forever and has played most of his career at a higher level. What we have lost with him out is the level of calmness that he brings to the defence as well as the quality of his overlaps and crosses. This in turn has exposed Nelson to a massive extent. In fairness the guy isn''t left footed, and with this allied to a turning circle like the QE2, he''s in a vulnerable position, made worse by Rose''s (understandable) lack of positional empathy.

A lot of people seem to have it in for Russell Martin, but I think he''s done fairly well and he and Doc (who has been one of our most consistent players) seem to have developed  a decent understanding. Energy levels in midfield have been generally down. Korey has had a brillliant first season but is not the dynamo he was before Christmas. That''s not a criticism because the lad''s only 18 and has shouldered a huge amount of responsibility. Rusty has been pretty steady, but I''m afraid that I don''t get why some supporters seem to see Lappin as above criticism. I see that the current excuse is that Rose is leaving him exposed, but I always thought that the midfielder primarily covered the full back, not vice versa,. I actually feel that Lappin might be making Rose''s job harder by drifting infield and (particularly lately) losing the ball. Rose will also be acutely aware that Nelson simply doesn''t have the pace to get him out of a hole. Lappin has, for me, largely flattered to deceive this season, although he has had some good spells.He is currently not in one of them in my opinion.

The biggest factor for me is the fact that Wes has not controlled a game for a very long time. His one footedness makes it a little easier for sides to stifle him, but I think the overriding factor has been the fact that his strike partners have created much less space for him of late. Chrissie Martin did a great job with Holt out, but Cody lacks the experience to really drag defenders around, so it was inevitable that Wes would get more attention. What disappoints me is that in his two games back Holty has been pretty anonymous (despite the goal at Brighton) and was in Jaidi''s pocket all day yesterday. One can only hope it''s ring rust, because if it''s something more serious then we really have a big problem.

That said, we have 42 points to play for and 24 should ensure an automatic spot. We are feeling the pressure, but so are all those in the pack and we''ll see many more surprise results before the trophies are handed out. We as fans just need to keep the faith and keep believing. A cursory glance at Waccoe will illustrate what can happen when fans lose belief and start to seek scapegoats. Yesterday was terribly disappointing, but no-one died, we''re still top and have a home game against a poor Southend side to look forward to.OTBC

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One point of concern is Holt''s below par performances of late. He hasn''t seemed quite right since before his ban, & I believe there was talk of a chronic back injury.This is really worrying; It seems odd that such a whole hearted player should become subdued for no good reason, but a persisten injury would explain it. He is terrific at leading by example, & if a bad back is preventing him giving his all then the whole team spirit will suffer.

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It all smacks of excuses.. Sun in the eyes, poor refereeing, etc etc etc..

Southampton dominated for 80% of the game, even before the sending off they looked a class better than us in every department. They dominated midfield, took the game to us, and we just didn''t have an answer to it.

We were lucky this wasn''t 5 or 6 goals against us.

Holt just whinged and whined all afternoon instead of getting on with it.

Someone said the Saints are a good side, and so they are.

They look a far better balanced side than us, we should thank our lucky stars they have only just started to play like this.

Let''s learn from it, we will come up against better teams next season in the Championship.

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I wouldn''t worry about Holt. The service that he received yesterday was truly woeful. If we had been pinging in decent crosses it could have been a different story.

What really concerned me was how easily we were bullied off the ball all over the pitch. When Saints had possession they had time and space (even before we went down to ten men) but as soon as one of our lads received a pass the opposition was right on their toes.

I put this down to the fatigue (a couple of players in need of a rest) and Southampton being a much stronger team than most at this level.

We won''t meet many opponents like Southampton again this season ... but it suggests that if we do get promoted we will face a real challenge to survive.

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[quote user="becclesboy"]It all smacks of excuses.. Sun in the eyes, poor refereeing, etc etc etc.. Southampton dominated for 80% of the game, even before the sending off they looked a class better than us in every department. They dominated midfield, took the game to us, and we just didn''t have an answer to it. We were lucky this wasn''t 5 or 6 goals against us. Holt just whinged and whined all afternoon instead of getting on with it. Someone said the Saints are a good side, and so they are. They look a far better balanced side than us, we should thank our lucky stars they have only just started to play like this. Let''s learn from it, we will come up against better teams next season in the Championship.[/quote]

 

I agree with all of that. Yesterday we found ourselves up against opponents good enough to punish the sloppiness that has crept in in recent weeks. Hopefully it''s a salutary kick up the arse.

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[quote user="Beauseant"]

I think that there are lots of factors behind our loss of form, and that it''s too simplistic to blame it on a system. . For what it''s worth, my view is that we have lost a bit of balance since drury was injured. Rose is a good League One full back, but Drury has been here forever and has played most of his career at a higher level. What we have lost with him out is the level of calmness that he brings to the defence as well as the quality of his overlaps and crosses. This in turn has exposed Nelson to a massive extent. In fairness the guy isn''t left footed, and with this allied to a turning circle like the QE2, he''s in a vulnerable position, made worse by Rose''s (understandable) lack of positional empathy.

A lot of people seem to have it in for Russell Martin, but I think he''s done fairly well and he and Doc (who has been one of our most consistent players) seem to have developed  a decent understanding. Energy levels in midfield have been generally down. Korey has had a brillliant first season but is not the dynamo he was before Christmas. That''s not a criticism because the lad''s only 18 and has shouldered a huge amount of responsibility. Rusty has been pretty steady, but I''m afraid that I don''t get why some supporters seem to see Lappin as above criticism. I see that the current excuse is that Rose is leaving him exposed, but I always thought that the midfielder primarily covered the full back, not vice versa,. I actually feel that Lappin might be making Rose''s job harder by drifting infield and (particularly lately) losing the ball. Rose will also be acutely aware that Nelson simply doesn''t have the pace to get him out of a hole. Lappin has, for me, largely flattered to deceive this season, although he has had some good spells.He is currently not in one of them in my opinion.

The biggest factor for me is the fact that Wes has not controlled a game for a very long time. His one footedness makes it a little easier for sides to stifle him, but I think the overriding factor has been the fact that his strike partners have created much less space for him of late. Chrissie Martin did a great job with Holt out, but Cody lacks the experience to really drag defenders around, so it was inevitable that Wes would get more attention. What disappoints me is that in his two games back Holty has been pretty anonymous (despite the goal at Brighton) and was in Jaidi''s pocket all day yesterday. One can only hope it''s ring rust, because if it''s something more serious then we really have a big problem.

That said, we have 42 points to play for and 24 should ensure an automatic spot. We are feeling the pressure, but so are all those in the pack and we''ll see many more surprise results before the trophies are handed out. We as fans just need to keep the faith and keep believing. A cursory glance at Waccoe will illustrate what can happen when fans lose belief and start to seek scapegoats. Yesterday was terribly disappointing, but no-one died, we''re still top and have a home game against a poor Southend side to look forward to.OTBC

[/quote]A very good point about Lappin constantly being pulled out of position Beau and one which I would like to see the King of SPAM lovers answer [Y]

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[quote user="Broadstairs Canary"]I wouldn''t worry about Holt. The service that he received yesterday was truly woeful. If we had been pinging in decent crosses it could have been a different story.

What really concerned me was how easily we were bullied off the ball all over the pitch. When Saints had possession they had time and space (even before we went down to ten men) but as soon as one of our lads received a pass the opposition was right on their toes.

I put this down to the fatigue (a couple of players in need of a rest) and Southampton being a much stronger team than most at this level.

We won''t meet many opponents like Southampton again this season ... but it suggests that if we do get promoted we will face a real challenge to survive.[/quote]We need McNamee in the team to ping in decent crosses.Don''t expect decent crosses when by far the best crosser of a ball has spent 80% of his time with us on the bench.As far as struggling to survive in the Championship goes, I think this result and performance was just further evidence that Lambert has not discovered his strongest starting 11 here at City yet.  Yes we would need strengthening in certain areas, but first of all Lambert needs to get to grips with who are the strongest 11 players we have here at the club and start bedding them in for next season.  It is clear to see that at least 2 or 3 individuals who have been played week in week out simply are not good enough and have been struggling at this level.

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[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]A poor performance all round with just 4 players coming out of the game with any credit.

The midfield have stopped putting in the hard graft that was the difference bewteen this season and last. All three were slow, uncommitted, second best in the tackle and sat too deep. The ball moved around them with few tackles and poor use of the ball. Not sure how Korey got motm (Doc, Forster, C Martin and Hoolahan all better) although he was the best of the middle 3

At the back Nelsonitis struck and visibily encouraged the midfield to sit deep. Rose was poor positionally, and Soton targetted their right flank with great success. It pulled doc and martin across and the defence then struggled.

Up front Holt was for me the worst player on the pitch. Beyondmoaning at the ref he was ineffective and did not chase or close down balls as he did prior to his suspension. His weak headers in the second half summed up his efforts Ditto Martin, who at least started to look dangerous in the second half.

Hoolahan looked like the only player who wanted to win; he worked his socks off and was the only one likely to create an opening.

As far as the subs were concerned neither had much of an impact and it was too much to ask that the all out attack verison would work again.

The sending off did not change the game, we were already second best. It looked like there was contact to me, and rustys studs were showing at chest height. That is at best dangerous play and whether he intended to injure or take the player is irrelevant; its an injury making tackle and a card was warranted - if it was on Russell we would have demanded a red. Having said that the ref was pretty appalling.

As far as the much lauded Barnard & Lambert were concerned neither got any changed out of doc and was never out paced. If Doc can contain them then just how good can they be?? Unfortunately Nelson was outclassed, soton knew it and exploited it. We did not take advantage of ots aerial weakness.

We will bounce back, but as I have said before we have stopped doing what made the diamond so successful. We must defend from the front and that demands effort from Holt, Lappin, Russell (hughes) and Smith. That was painfully missing today.[/quote]How can you say that?  Wasn''t it the Doc that brought one of the above players down which led to Lambert''s free kick?  Where was the Doc when Barnard got to the rebound off the crossbar and headed in???

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In my view our excellent run of form and position at the top of the table has made us think we''re better than we are.  We''ve (mostly) beaten the teams we''re supposed to beat but haven''t done especially well against the top sides (including Southampton - their 10 point deduction puts them in a false position). 

At the end of the day this squad isn''t so wildly different from the one that lost 1-7 on the first day of the season.  Lambert''s got far more out of them than most of us expected, he''s shipped one or two out and brought in a few new players but hasn''t had a fortune to spend, so don''t expect changes of personnel and/or formation to produce a drastic turnaround.  What he needs to do now is find a way of grinding out a few ugly 1-0s and stop a blip turning into a slump. 

We were in a rich vein of form and we''d begun to take it for granted.  Hopefully we''ve given ourselves enough of a head start to take us over the line in first or second place, but it could be a buttock-clenching climax to the season.  

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[quote user="Smudger"][quote user="Beauseant"]

I think that there are lots of factors behind our loss of form, and that it''s too simplistic to blame it on a system. . For what it''s worth, my view is that we have lost a bit of balance since drury was injured. Rose is a good League One full back, but Drury has been here forever and has played most of his career at a higher level. What we have lost with him out is the level of calmness that he brings to the defence as well as the quality of his overlaps and crosses. This in turn has exposed Nelson to a massive extent. In fairness the guy isn''t left footed, and with this allied to a turning circle like the QE2, he''s in a vulnerable position, made worse by Rose''s (understandable) lack of positional empathy.

A lot of people seem to have it in for Russell Martin, but I think he''s done fairly well and he and Doc (who has been one of our most consistent players) seem to have developed  a decent understanding. Energy levels in midfield have been generally down. Korey has had a brillliant first season but is not the dynamo he was before Christmas. That''s not a criticism because the lad''s only 18 and has shouldered a huge amount of responsibility. Rusty has been pretty steady, but I''m afraid that I don''t get why some supporters seem to see Lappin as above criticism. I see that the current excuse is that Rose is leaving him exposed, but I always thought that the midfielder primarily covered the full back, not vice versa,. I actually feel that Lappin might be making Rose''s job harder by drifting infield and (particularly lately) losing the ball. Rose will also be acutely aware that Nelson simply doesn''t have the pace to get him out of a hole. Lappin has, for me, largely flattered to deceive this season, although he has had some good spells.He is currently not in one of them in my opinion.

The biggest factor for me is the fact that Wes has not controlled a game for a very long time. His one footedness makes it a little easier for sides to stifle him, but I think the overriding factor has been the fact that his strike partners have created much less space for him of late. Chrissie Martin did a great job with Holt out, but Cody lacks the experience to really drag defenders around, so it was inevitable that Wes would get more attention. What disappoints me is that in his two games back Holty has been pretty anonymous (despite the goal at Brighton) and was in Jaidi''s pocket all day yesterday. One can only hope it''s ring rust, because if it''s something more serious then we really have a big problem.

That said, we have 42 points to play for and 24 should ensure an automatic spot. We are feeling the pressure, but so are all those in the pack and we''ll see many more surprise results before the trophies are handed out. We as fans just need to keep the faith and keep believing. A cursory glance at Waccoe will illustrate what can happen when fans lose belief and start to seek scapegoats. Yesterday was terribly disappointing, but no-one died, we''re still top and have a home game against a poor Southend side to look forward to.OTBC

[/quote]

A very good point about Lappin constantly being pulled out of position Beau and one which I would like to see the King of SPAM lovers answer [Y]
[/quote]

Good point Beau. I also think the team are missing Drury''s left wing play.

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