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The Dog

Thr Dogs verdict

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Whilst I do not think we should over react to yesterday''s result I think the signs have been there for a few weeks that a few minor tweaks may be required.

We have not been at our best since Colchester but we were always due a drop in form at some stage. The vital thing is that we have not lost any ground in the promotion race as Leeds and Charlton have been having a dip as well. Much as I expect Colchester and Swindon to slip up at some stage in the next few weeks.

The diamond i believe is the formation that Lambert and his coaches came up with to get the very best out of Wes Hoolihan, and boy did it work for a few months nobody could touch Wes and we were flying. It is no coincidence that since Colchester Wes has been shut out of games and as a result we have struggled. Wes is very very one footed player and he always wants a lot of time on the ball hence why some days (especially last season) he can be very frustrating as he constantly wants to over play and run up blind alleys. Teams will have watched us when we were flying and realised it was Wes making us tick. As Millwall showed if you shut Wes down you shut Norwich down.

Playing the diamond and using Wes as focal point has, now that teams know all about it, has made us very predictable. This has not been helped by the loss of Drury, who I thought was playing so well he was doing the job of two men up and down the left hand side giving us width.

The diamond also make us very vunerable against teams who have a lot of midfield runners as Russell is often left to track two or 3 players bombing forward. Hartlepool exploited this well.

All in all Wes and the Diamond have become very predictable and I think we now need to mix it up a bit to get teams guessing again. This is not to say we abandon the diamond altogether but all teams at the moment know how we are going to be lining up. Even if we just switch to 442 for a couple of games it will get teams guessing again.

Lots of people have been questioning Lappin in the last few games and I have to agree he has has not been good for a while. I think this is the most games he has played in a season for a long long time and tierdness may be setting in. I think a couple of weeks on the bench will do him good. The same could also potentially be said for Korey Smith who you have to remember is only in his first full season.

My biggest concern is Michael Nelson, he has done well in some games, especially Colchester, on a pitch were he knew nobody could run at him with the ball, he was exceptional. You can''t fault his commitment or determination but he is a very very average player. I feel against teams with a bit of pace and movement he is on edge and this puts the rest of the defence on edge. Yesterday Barnard continually ran across the line looking for balls in behind Nelson and this really unsettled us. I don''t think Nelson has helped Rose settle in at all as it is clear to see Rose does not trust Nelson.

When Nelson plays we also sit very deep against teams with any pace and this does not help Russell, Lappin and Smith in midfield as there is a large gap between attack and defence ,normally with at least 4 opposition in it, meaning we are often over run as Wes does not do much defensive work!

It was a real shame that Whitbread got injured when he did as he is a class act at this level and can bring the ball out of defence. I think Lambert would have brought him in for Nelson before now if he had not picked up his niggle.

Anyway i''ve rambled on for far too long so I will leave you with my proposed team for tuesday night assuming Russell is suspended:

FF

RM GD JBA MR

WH KS SH AM

GH CM

I know Wes is not a right winger but we have little choice its either him or bringing back Mcveigh. Martin and Hoolihan can swap during the game. Wes also did well from the right side in our comeback at Walsall.

I did consider bringing in Matt Gill and resting Korey Smith but I have to say I have seen a fair bit of Gill whilst at Exeter and he is not a good player, he passes backwards and sideways, does not tackle much and is never likely to hurt a team going forward. He is a very average lower league player. If you like a midfield equivilent of Michael Nelson.

Whatever Lambert decides on I trust him and am sure we will soon be flying again.

By the way the fans that booed at half time yesterday need to get a grip. was disgraceful.

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Okay.  You want to play the league''s most left footed player on the right wing, which forces him inside all the time.Notwithstanding the fact this is in itself a crazy idea, the fact WH cannot stick wide and will constantly cut inside will mean Russell Martin is repeatedly exposed on the counter attack.Fail.

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I know its not ideal but our only other right wing option is Mcveigh and he is simply not up to it.  Hoolihan has been hanging right more often whilst playing the diamond and has set up quite few goals by getting on his left and crossing from the right. Exeter at home is a prime example. As for Russell Marting being exposed he will be no more exposed than he is currently with the diamond formation where he was nobody directly in front of him.

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Totally agree with you about Nelson. The guy is doing his best but he is never going to be anything more than a lower league defender. We are crying out for centre back who can bring the ball out of defence and take the pressure off the midfield.  At the moment teams know that if they press us up the pitch our defenders will resort to long punts forward and we don''t have the pace up front to make this tactic effective

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