Hoolahan

[ron obvious 1,495]

[quote user="GJP"]

[quote user="baldyboy"]why do so many people think he was great last night/ thought he was average and especially very greedy!! He needs to pass more instead of trying to beat the whole team on his own. he frequently got away with being greedy last season but this season he certainly won''t!! no doubt I will be called all the names under the sun for having this opinion but i am just saying how I felt about him last night, yes he is a great player for us but at this level he may be too much of a luxury as he is the key to this diamond. i hope I turn out to be wrong but I think the diamond wont work at this level.[/quote]

He''s not greedy. He''s not a luxury either.

He loves being on the ball, he always wants the ball (like any good player) and he is always trying to work something for his colleagues.

On Friday night Watford knew they had to close him down quick and that''s what they did. We used to see that with Hucks - teams doubling up on him because they knew he was the danger man who could hurt them. However, while Hoolahan tried his best to come up with something, we needed someone else (probably Surman in particular) to start doing a bit more as well to give Watford something else to think about but that never really happened.

If you get Wes some space then he will do some damage but if nobody else is offering anything then sides like Watford can comfortably concentrate on closing him down. And therefore shutting us down as a team.

[/quote]Exactly correct. We saw the problem when over reliant on Hux.  Good though Surman is, I think he needs to up his effort a bit. Having Holt back is crucial, it''ll give the opposition a whole lot more to think about!

[hogesar 9,608]

CDMullins...

 

How can you claim ''i said the same last year'' as back-up to your point, when it was evidently wrong, as we won plenty of games thanks to Hoolahan''s creativity, flair and ability to beat defenders..

[The Gunnpowder plot 0]

Don''t know why this is even up for debate. Wes is technically the best and most creative player we have. Yes he will hold on to the ball too long at times and try and do too much but that is the same with all players in his mould.

Anyone at the game should notice Wes usually holds on to the ball when there is absolutely nobody moving infront of him!!

[thirdlion 0]

Ah, English fans. A player with a wealth of technical ability, but without the blustering about, and he''s a luxury. Fickle.

[Darren Lamb 0]

In Hoolahan we have the most unique and gifted player in the league, just enjoy him while he''s here.

[CDMullins 436]

[quote user="hogesar"]

CDMullins...

 

How can you claim ''i said the same last year'' as back-up to your point, when it was evidently wrong, as we won plenty of games thanks to Hoolahan''s creativity, flair and ability to beat defenders..

[/quote]

Third divison bleeding football! Even last year he constantly gave the ball away, were just wernt punished for it!

He has been a professional for 10 years and the higest he''s played at is in the Championship with us, now if he were anywhere near as good as you boys made out, he wouldnt be in our squad or even this division.

[hogesar 9,608]

By saying he''s one of our best players, it doesn''t mean he''s top 6 premiership standard you fucking idiot.

Even the worst of teams still have their ''best players''. Dereham town have their best players, it doesn''t mean they should be in the premiership.

[morty 0]

[quote user="portmanking"][quote user="morty"][quote user="portmanking"][quote user="CDMullins"][quote user="Yellow Rider"]

[quote user="CDMullins"]More of a liabitilty than an asset, said so all last season too.[/quote]

Shows what you know about football then - i.e. not a lot.

The boy was voted by his fellow professionals in Div. One into the team of the season. Argument over I''d say.   

[/quote]

Honestly, I dont how you can rate him him. Its time to be realistic, this is his 3rd season for us,

Would he really be playing for us if he were ''that'' good?

Would he really be kept out of the Republic of Ireland squad by Keith Andrews, Keith Fahey, Paul Green, Keith Tracey if he were ''that'' good?

For his one piece of magic, he''ll give the ball away a dozen times, we might have got away with that in League One, we wont in the Championship.

Boasting about having a player voted player of the season in the third tier of English football....................Jeez I thought we wanted more than that.[/quote]Strange - I was saying just that on here yesterday and was shouted down - some deluded souls even compared Hoolahan to other one-footed ''maestros'' such as Messi and Maradona! HA![/quote]People are highly unlikely to be even vaguely interested in an Ipswich fan''s opinion posted on a Norwich city message board on any of our players.[/quote]That''s a shame, I come on here because I like debate. And let''s be honest I''m never far from the truth as the many posts above this one suggest.[/quote]This guy''s opinion is very much in the minority, and I suspect yours is quite possible tainted with a smidge of bias lol.

[ron obvious 1,495]

[quote user="CDMullins"][quote user="hogesar"]

CDMullins...

 

How can you claim ''i said the same last year'' as back-up to your point, when it was evidently wrong, as we won plenty of games thanks to Hoolahan''s creativity, flair and ability to beat defenders..

[/quote]

Third divison bleeding football! Even last year he constantly gave the ball away, were just wernt punished for it!

He has been a professional for 10 years and the higest he''s played at is in the Championship with us, now if he were anywhere near as good as you boys made out, he wouldnt be in our squad or even this division.[/quote]That''s one of the eternal fascinations of football. How can the same player be so good in one team & so rubbish in another? Kieran Gibbs - remember him? - is the latest example.Wes needs the right sort of players around him, playing in the right sort of system. He also needs the right sort of coaching. It would be grossly stupid of the club not to make the most of his talents, because he is the most skillfull & exciting player we have. People will pay good money to watch players like him.So now comes the hope. The hope that this year he can, given the right TEAM coaching, forge a real understanding with enough of his fellow players to set this league alight.It''s exciting being an optimist!

[Power Hamster 0]

With any gifted ball-player like Hoolahan, its a percentages game. You will probably have six or eight failed crosses for each one that is successful, and six or eight successful crosses missed by the strikers for each one that they actually put in the net. You may only get a goal scored from a Hoolahan assist once every two games, but even that adds up to maybe 20 - 25 a season. So he''s definitely worth having in the side.The other thing you get with him in the team is the effect he has on opponents. Just as Huckerby used to do, Hoolahan makes them nervous, and frequently they will put two defenders on to him, which of course leaves us a man up somewhere else on the field. I don''t think we should underestimate this aspect of his game, as it has often had a big effect on the course of a match.

[Brendo 0]

The way I see it, as Fox and Surman don''t seem to be able to be used to their best ability with Hoolahan in the side. [:(] Sometimes I think that we might be better off and more balanced without Wes in the side, but then again he is just brilliant sometimes. [:(]

Really not sure about this one.

[bjg123 0]

[quote user="Brendo "]

The way I see it, as Fox and Surman don''t seem to be able to be used to their best ability with Hoolahan in the side. [:(] Sometimes I think that we might be better off and more balanced without Wes in the side, but then again he is just brilliant sometimes. [:(]

Really not sure about this one.

[/quote]I''d sooner see us drop Fox than Wes. You can get balance with Wes in the side, we had it last year. I''m not sure why Lambert has changed how the system works to be honest, a replacement for Rusty,  either Crofts or Smith, at the base, on the left side a decent passer with a good touch, on the right a ball winner who''ll go box to box, either crofts or smith, with Hoolahan at the tip.

[writeronthestorm 4]

There were elements of Hoolahan''s game on Friday that reminded me a little of the last time he was playing with us in the championship.  Upon reflection, I agree with the posters on this topic that have stated that he needs support from the others in midfield and upfront to make the most of his runs and passes.

For me, Surman was the most culpable, but having said that, with an unpredictable talent like Hoolahan, it may take the new signings a while to get onto his wavelength.

[Deliascurleypubes 0]

Hoolahan was never that exceptional for Blackpool...If he was that good, would he of come to Norwich and for the small fee you signed him for at the time?

He''s to lightweight to ever really be effective in this division...

[Boyo 0]

Please, stop comparing Hoolahan to Huckerby, there not even on the same planet.  When Huckerby got the ball all the players new what was going to happen, he would beat his man, cut onto his right foot and put a cross in.  This was very affective because as soon as he got the ball all the players would burst a gut to get into the box.  With Hoolahan you have not got a clue what is going to happen.  This may seem a good thing but if you are like this then you have to be extremely good, which is why there are very few Messi''s. 

When Hoolahan gets the ball everyone is making runs and Hoolahan will often beat a man and be in the perfect position to play someone through.  However he then turns his man again, beats another man and then shifts it onto his left foot, by the time he has done this all the runs have dried up due to the offside rule and players have now become marked meaning he would have to pull of one hell of a bit of magic to create something.

For me he is not a match winner because you can never count on him to do the right thing at the right time.  And he most definately does not get me on the edge of my seat.

[Baldyboy 0]

Boyo that was the gist of my original post!!!! I totally agree you cant compare Hux and Hooly!!!

[WeAreYellows49 0]

[quote user="Deliascurleypubes"]Hoolahan was never that exceptional for Blackpool...If he was that good, would he of come to Norwich and for the small fee you signed him for at the time? He''s to lightweight to ever really be effective in this division...[/quote]

 

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Boyo"]

Please, stop comparing Hoolahan to Huckerby, there not even on the same planet.  When Huckerby got the ball all the players new what was going to happen, he would beat his man, cut onto his right foot and put a cross in.  This was very affective because as soon as he got the ball all the players would burst a gut to get into the box.  With Hoolahan you have not got a clue what is going to happen.  This may seem a good thing but if you are like this then you have to be extremely good, which is why there are very few Messi''s. 

When Hoolahan gets the ball everyone is making runs and Hoolahan will often beat a man and be in the perfect position to play someone through.  However he then turns his man again, beats another man and then shifts it onto his left foot, by the time he has done this all the runs have dried up due to the offside rule and players have now become marked meaning he would have to pull of one hell of a bit of magic to create something.

For me he is not a match winner because you can never count on him to do the right thing at the right time.  And he most definately does not get me on the edge of my seat.

[/quote]

I think you''re missing the point of the comparison between Huckerby and Hoolahan.

Their playing styles are very different but they are both players that worry the opposition. Everyone who has played and is due to play us will know that Wes is the spark in our team. Malky knew it so he got him closed down tight. Just in the same way that everyone used to know Hucks was the player in our team they had to try and keep tied down.

Hoolahan, like Huckerby before him, will rip teams to shreds if he isn''t countered. Just in a different way.