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Rudolph Hucker

RUDOLPH'S REPORT AND RATINGS

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This is for Ricardo.

It was a balmy and a barmy evening at Carrow Road tonight in stark contrast to the arctic gale of Saturday and, in a quiet way,  a special night for me so I wanted a win for me and my guest. More importantly I wanted three points for Norwich City to compensate for the gaff against Hull. There is only one thing better than a match under lights and that is one on a mild evening and the biggest crowd of the season came along in everything from winter coats to flip-flops and shorts. It was atmospheric from the off.

Hardly had we settled in our seats than Adam Drury made an uncharacteristic missed tackle leaving Ruddy in a one on one. Now, Ruddy will take the blame for spilling the ball into his net and no one will be harder on Rudy than the player himself. They could probably hear the sound of him kicking the goal post in frustration in the City centre. In mitigation, the player was five yards out, had an angle to go for either post and hit it hard. Ruddy had to stand up a bit so wouldn''t have time to dive on the ball. He therefore did a Robert Green, got two gloves to it but couldn''t make it stick.

When you have just lost 6 - 1 an early goal in the next game is the perfect tonic and for half an hour  Leicester competed strongly and Norwich struggled to find any cohesion. Ward stood out for me in this spell for his composure but some will criticise him for his distrubution. In fairness he had insufficient movement in front of him and despite pushing the midfield further forwards Norwich were failing to get the ball forward quickly. We had space between defence and midfield that Leicester were exploiting with their extra man but then the outstanding Andrew Crofts got going and brought Norwich back into the game first by his destructive play, second by his underrated eye for a pass and thirdly by a goal which when people see it again will show excellent technique.

Hoolahan who worked harder than I have ever seen him do in a City shirt took the difficult option, didn''t pass wide but went between defenders and clipped in a cross. Holt, who happily made a number of far post runs tonight pulled the ball back to the edge of the area and Crofts passed it with pace and accuracy into the net. It was the sort of chance so many players spoon into the stand.

After this the game was more even until half-time.

Second half saw a Leicester player turn his back but raise his arm to a Russell Martin cross and the ref, who generally had a good game, pointed straight to the spot. There was an unnerving chat between Holt and Hoolahan and I was concerned this was about who wanted to take it. Wes hasn''t scored this season but he struck the ball well for a tidy penalty kick goal. It was a big moment in the game and Hoolahan stepped up to the plate and showed he is hitting form. Saturday and tonight he found time on the ball and long may this continue.

Norwich were now notably faster than Leicester, Korey Smith was on his game, we were mobile and Simeon Jackson drew a smart save with his only clear chance. But it was Wes who lit up Carrow Road. Fed by the combative but competant Crofts, Wes took the ball on his chest in space 25 yards out and, without hitting the ball too hard, volleyed it with accuracy into the River end net. Thank God we kicked the correct end first this game. This will do Wes'' confidence nothing but good and we all thought that was it.

Leicester are too good a side to be bottom in my opinion and their players competed well. In fairness, Hull dragged Norwich down to their level whereas Leicester made Norwich work and fight; we knew we were in the game from the off and it produced not only a cracking game but also a great anecdote for our players. Leicester came back again but there was always the sense they were chasing the game and we had more goals in us. We never went into our shell and for me that won us the game.

Fraser Forster was the best I have seen for a long time in one on one situations. John Ruddy is not. In fairness again these are Championship strikers but John did have his chance to make amends but didn''t take it.

We kept breaking dangerously and it was with one such break that we scored our fourth and winning goal. Adam Drury''s last goal was in an epic 4 - 4; he had warmed the opposition goalie''s hands with a strong drive in the first half and later this game hit another drive to produce a smart save. So he could have had a hat-trick! That isn''t as bizarre as it sounds because Drury got into the positions and for his goal he was streets ahead of everyone else breaking and smacked a smart shot past the advancing goalie. Drury''s stamina is truly amazing and I could only have felt better had I had some money on his usual long odds.

Back came Leicester again as  they refused to lie down and in pulling it back to  4 - 3 the scored lost his rag with Barrett laying on the ball in the gaol and openly kicked him in the back thus giving the ref no choice but to show him red. Barrett had a little word as he left and incase he got lost helpfully indicated the direction of the tunnel.

Wes came off to an ovation and Steven Smith got his first run out. I have the clear impression Lambert rates Smith and we will see him pushed for a starting place. We then passed the ball around and played the game out properly. We won by a narrow goal margin but should have won by 2 clear goals and continue to win or otherwise by degrees.

Ruddy. Didn''t inspire great confidence despite some good work and in particular was indecisive on some crosses. 4.

R. Martin. Defended okay but is only 70% of the player Drury is. He doesn''t have competition for his place though and has a decent attitude and rapport with his team-mates. 6.

Ward. Kept a calm head and made some decent tackles. He is showing a bit of leadership too. 7.

Barrett. Second half in particular got his head on the end of numerous balls and acheived good clearence. 8.

Drury. Made a poor start but thereafter was superb. 8.5.

K. Smith. Came back strongly after underperforming Saturday and had an excellent second half. 8.

Lappin. Poor delivery at set pieces and some poor passing. Broke play up well again. 6.

Hoolahan. See report. Industry with talent. 9.

Crofts. Outstanding commitment, courage and no little skill including hard but fair tackles to die for. 9.

Jackson. Worked hard but got the wrong service. 6.

Holt. Looked like he had his game face on tonight in contrast to Saturday. Got into proper positions and deserved a goal. 7.5.

The subs were a 6.

Paul Lambert gets an 8 for having the courage of his convictions.

The Norwich crowd get an 8 for keeping with the team and a good atmosphere.

Leicester fans get a 5 for a stupid song calling their own team s##t and not having much conviction at all.

The ref gets an 8. The linesman in front of the City stand gets a 3.

The teleprinter gets an 11 for the Leeds and Scum results.

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''Barnett'', ''Barnett'', ''Barnett'', ''Barnett''. It''s ''Barnett''.

Sorry to be a little short, but being the chauvinistic pedantic pr*ck i can sometimes be, i felt like eating my face every time read the name "Barrett" in reference to our lanky centre back hailing from the midlands.Though, in all fairness such minor qualms shouldn''t get in the way of what is a very good report.Well done Rudolph, and it goes someway to supplementing the cold isolated void that has been left open in post match assessments by Ricardo''s absence. [Y][B]

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I thought Ruddy did well after his early error, apart from maybe a couple of times when he shyed away from coming for the ball, he composed himself well and had good communication with Ward and Barnett. R.Martin getting a poor rating, Shock horror! Did equally well as Drury at attacking, delivering some decent crosses, one that was begging to put in and made no big mistakes like Drury for their first. He covered well in defence, and was not outdone for pace (one moment in particular he made a great last ditch clearance). What has he got to do to get some credit?! The ref had a good game??? Missed a number of poor tackles from both sides, played advantage when he felt like it, gave a corner for their 2nd that really wasnt (unless it was and ive got that wrong!) and didnt book the guy that basically ripped Jacksons shirt off his back but managed to book 4 of our players (mostly justified except Drury who got the ball!)Hoolahan was a different class, starting to see and make those passes he was last year, and whether hes being cleverer with movement or just due to the oppostition, he is finding more space, and really making the most of it. Nice to see him put in the performance we know he can, especially after some on here were calling for him to be dropped.Other than that and getting the last 2 city goals in the wrong order! a decent report.

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[quote user="Persnickety"]R.Martin getting a poor rating, Shock horror! Did equally well as Drury at attacking, delivering some decent crosses, one that was begging to put in and made no big mistakes like Drury for their first. He covered well in defence, and was not outdone for pace (one moment in particular he made a great last ditch clearance). What has he got to do to get some credit?!


[/quote]

Both full backs got forward a lot, they have to in order to get width attacking. They are often further forward than the midfield. This can leave us exposed at the back and relies on the midfield to get back and cover. Crofts and Smith did really well on that score tonight. I thought Drury was better than martin tonight but Martin still had a decent game.

 

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[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]Quite right John, I made a few errors in my haste and I didn''t proof read it.[/quote]

I''d like to know where they''re going to tell the anecdote that the game provided the players with.

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Am I the only person who thought we were shocking last night? The first half was a shambles and only Crofts'' fantastic commitment and desire kept us in it. He was absolutely colossal.

We were fortunate to get back into it through a penalty, then played our best football of the match, culminating in Drury''s brilliant goal. But to concede so soon after going two goals up - twice - was unforgivable.

Essentially we were got out of jail by Crofts'' resilience in the first half and two moments of genius from Wes. How great to hear the crowd chanting his name at last. Other than that, it was a very poor performance - we were far better against Hull on Saturday.

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Crofts was MoM by a distance for me, with Wes anonymous for much of the first half. Barnett was also outstanding against a real handful in Howard.

As for the OPs other ratings, I think that Ward was well below his normal standard and probably merits a 5, as does Jackosn, who was peripheral. The fact that the again immaculate Russell Martin gets 6 says all you need to know about his status as all weather whipping boy. As for Ruddy, I thought he showed real character after the howler and handled well, but he''s another one who isn''t "local" so let''s keep on his back.

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This is probably an old debate i''m sure, but can i ask why you are so in favour of attacking the river end second half?

When listening to the game against hull and we got a corner in front of the river end i could hear a pin drop. Surely the crowd second half should be willing the ball into the back of the net?

Or maybe the theory goes get a good start in front of the barclay.

Either way the river end should make more noise, shouting encouragement to the team is allowed at a football match you know! I speak as someone who grew up on the river end and knows what it used to be capable of.

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Ruddy 5: came back ok from his start, but his inability to hold shots is a real worry. The second Leicester goal came when he spilled a shot he should have held, giving away an unnecessary corner.

Martin: 6: pretty solid

Barnett 6: some immense presence especially towards the end, and did superbly well to get Fryatt sent off. But the partnership is still not secure

Ward 5: see above: not quite as solid in the air as Barnett, and we were opened up too easily for defenders to score more than a six. Apart from:

Drury 7: absolutely skinned for the first goal and was under pressure defensively all night. Got forward to great effect though.

Crofts: 9. Man of the match. Here, there and every-f-in where. Superb stuff. Surely now a sung hero?

Smith 5

Lappin 5 Endeavour but not much quality from both Korey and the King of Spain. In particular, Korey needs a rest, I think.

Wes 8. That''s what he''s in the team for. Pretty quiet game for most of it, but won it for us with a superbly taken penalty, a sublime pass for Drury''s goal (as well as one that was almost better for Holt in the first half) and his brilliant second goal. Pipped for MOM by Crofts'' consistency.

Jackson: 5 not in the game at all and looked pretty League One to me last night. Realise it''s early days for him, though.

Holt 6. Getting better, but still getting drawn out too wide and not getting into enough positions where he can hurt the opposition.

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[quote user="Robert N. LiM"]

Am I the only person who thought we were shocking last night? The first half was a shambles and only Crofts'' fantastic commitment and desire kept us in it. He was absolutely colossal.

We were fortunate to get back into it through a penalty, then played our best football of the match, culminating in Drury''s brilliant goal. But to concede so soon after going two goals up - twice - was unforgivable.

Essentially we were got out of jail by Crofts'' resilience in the first half and two moments of genius from Wes. How great to hear the crowd chanting his name at last. Other than that, it was a very poor performance - we were far better against Hull on Saturday.

[/quote]Coming from one of our most moderate and thoughtful posters I hope others take note of what you say. I agree fully.It seems, as with most football fans, a win overrides and obscures any criticisms that would otherwise have been forthcoming and, in this case, been totally justified.Shipping 3 goals at home to the bottom of the table side doesn''t inspire any confidence in me, personally. Ruddy''s howler set the tone, of course, making him tentative from there onwards which in turn unsettled Barnett, and Ward in particular.Going with that, our personal MOM Crofts was all over the pitch: yes, he does put in some crunching tackles but is more of a genuine box to box CM than Russell, which IMO from a purely positional (and hence tactical) perspective comes at a price. He simply doesn''t protect the back four quite to the standard of Russell last season, and up against some of the quicker counter-attacking units found within the division this could clearly cost us.

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Pedro, we score more goals and acheive our best results most often attacking the River End second half. It is our lucky charm but I don''t know why.

Beausant, I take your point on Russ Martin who had a decent game so perhaps deserves a 7.

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[quote user="Paul Lamberts Disciple"][quote user="Robert N. LiM"]

Am I the only person who thought we were shocking last night? The first half was a shambles and only Crofts'' fantastic commitment and desire kept us in it. He was absolutely colossal.

We were fortunate to get back into it through a penalty, then played our best football of the match, culminating in Drury''s brilliant goal. But to concede so soon after going two goals up - twice - was unforgivable.

Essentially we were got out of jail by Crofts'' resilience in the first half and two moments of genius from Wes. How great to hear the crowd chanting his name at last. Other than that, it was a very poor performance - we were far better against Hull on Saturday.

[/quote]

Coming from one of our most moderate and thoughtful posters I hope others take note of what you say. I agree fully.

It seems, as with most football fans, a win overrides and obscures any criticisms that would otherwise have been forthcoming and, in this case, been totally justified.

Shipping 3 goals at home to the bottom of the table side doesn''t inspire any confidence in me, personally.
Ruddy''s howler set the tone, of course, making him tentative from there onwards which in turn unsettled Barnett, and Ward in particular.

Going with that, our personal MOM Crofts was all over the pitch: yes, he does put in some crunching tackles but is more of a genuine box to box CM than Russell, which IMO from a purely positional (and hence tactical) perspective comes at a price. He simply doesn''t protect the back four quite to the standard of Russell last season, and up against some of the quicker counter-attacking units found within the division this could clearly cost us.
[/quote]

Sorry but this is the Champiuonship and the month is September. A win is a win and worth three points. Come then end of the season you can argue whether we scraped this win against the bottom club or wether it was a good 3 points against a decent side. Meanwhile say what you see, were Leicester the worst side you''ve seen this season? Certainly they weren''t the worst I''ve seen. Were they better than Hull? I thought so. Consider the following :-

 

Portsmouth 6 Leicester 1, Leicester 2 Cardiff 1, Cardiff 4 Doncaster 0, Preston 0 Doncaster 2, Leeds 4 Preston 6, Leeds 3 Millwall 1, Millwall 1 Watford 6, Watford 2 Swansea 3, Hull 2 Swansea 0, Burnley 4 Hull 0 Middlesboro 2 Burnley 1, Derby 3 Middlesboro 1, Coventry 2 Derby 1, and so on...

 

 

This isn''t League One with a huge difference between the top and bottom. As we have seen in previous years the Championship has fine margins between the top and the bottom. Win more than we lose and we''ll be fine. Win a few more and we''ll be in the play offs. Win a few more and we''ll go up automatically. But in this league a win is huge whatever the circumstances, and Lambert''s philosophy of never settling for a point could be the difference.

 

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My thoughts entirely Nige. Hull were truly awful and we fell into mediocrity when we didn''t score. Leicester were competitive and combative and brought out the best in us.

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thanks for the explanation. i wasn''t aware of this.

and for those in the river end spread the word... ''come on you yellows'' when we get a corner is very catchy and might even fire up our players and improve our chances of scoring a goal!

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Sorry but this is the Champiuonship and the month is September. A win is a win and worth three points. Come then end of the season you can argue whether we scraped this win against the bottom club or wether it was a good 3 points against a decent side. Meanwhile say what you see, were Leicester the worst side you''ve seen this season? Certainly they weren''t the worst I''ve seen. Were they better than Hull? I thought so. Consider the following :-

 

Portsmouth 6 Leicester 1, Leicester 2 Cardiff 1, Cardiff 4 Doncaster 0, Preston 0 Doncaster 2, Leeds 4 Preston 6, Leeds 3 Millwall 1, Millwall 1 Watford 6, Watford 2 Swansea 3, Hull 2 Swansea 0, Burnley 4 Hull 0 Middlesboro 2 Burnley 1, Derby 3 Middlesboro 1, Coventry 2 Derby 1, and so on...

 

 

This isn''t League One with a huge difference between the top and bottom. As we have seen in previous years the Championship has fine margins between the top and the bottom. Win more than we lose and we''ll be fine. Win a few more and we''ll be in the play offs. Win a few more and we''ll go up automatically. But in this league a win is huge whatever the circumstances, and Lambert''s philosophy of never settling for a point could be the difference.

 
[/quote]All valid points backed up by some very strange results so far this season, and as you say, this league is definitely more mixed quality-wise and very unpredictable.Leicester were, indeed, far from the worst side I''ve seen this year but still got tonked by Pompey and Burnley, beaten soundly by QPR and hadn''t scored more than 2 so far this year in the league. We simply shouldn''t really be conceding 3 at home to them. No evidence you can offer will change that fact.A combination of a goalkeeping howler, goalkeeping indecison with aerial balls towards the edge of the 6 yard box and resultant indecision in central defense made them look better than they are.

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Time will tell PLD but for me each win is huge. The game was shaped by that early goal we conceded. But because it was early we had time to win the game. I''m much more concerned about Saturdays failure to score when we were clearly the better side than I am about winning this game by the odd goal in seven.

Wins are gold dust in this league and you take them however you can. I doubt Hull are worried that they were a poor seconnd best for 80 mins on Saturday.

 

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Really interesting set of results, Nutty. I totally take your point that anyone can beat anyone in this league and that three points is never to be sniffed at. We are third because we''ve won more games than most teams, not because we''ve lost fewer, and that''s not to be ignored.

I don''t think you could ever untangle the relative merits of the opposition. I thought Hull looked all right for a team that hadn''t won away for a decade. They passed it around really nicely. That they didn''t create anything was, I thought, because we were superbly defensively organised, but you might be right that it was actually because they weren''t very good.

In contrast, I thought we were all over the place last night (the rigours of playing on the Tuesday following a Saturday should not be ignored, especially for players like Lappin and Smith who are so dependent on effort; Leicester had had an extra day off), but managed to look dangerous because of Leicester''s outright incompetence at the back and the genius of Wes.

So my reading of the two games is based on our performances, whereas you''re taking the performances of the opposition more into account than me. The problem is that you can never fully establish whether Hull looked poor because we were good, or vice versa. I suppose I focus on us because I can compare one City performance to another, whereas I won''t see Hull or Leicester again this season.

Don''t get me wrong, I''m delighted that we won last night and think it speaks volumes for the guts and determination of this team and its manager. But I''ll remain more focused on performances than results in terms of my confidence for the season, and, based on those, I thought last night was more worrying than Saturday.

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In the midst of that long reply I meant to mention that I thought Hull were better than Leicester. If we had been switched on at the back we would have won 4-0.

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[quote user="Delia Out"]

Ruddy - 7

Drury - 8

Barnett - 8-5

Ward - 8

R Martin - 7.5

Crofts - 9

Smith - 7.5

Lappin - 7.5

Hoolahan - 9.5

Holt - 6

Jackson - 7

[/quote]

So we concede three at home to the bottom team in the division and no one in the defence or midfield scores less than 7?

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Robert, I fully understand what you are saying about concentrating on our performances rather than the opposition. It was PLD''s comments about shipping three goals against the bottom club that really moved me to post.

Two years ago we got relegated from the Championship and Wolves won it. We beat them 5-2 at home and drew 3-3 away. I was at both games and can tell you that there was little between the sides. We just shaded the encounters overall and a neutral looking in would not have believed the two sides were what amounts to a division apart.

It''s very fine margins in the Championship. It''s hectic and when the games come thick and fast players need huge physical and mental strength. Both those Wolves fixtures were midweek games after Wolves had won on the Saturday. I wonder if the results would have been different if both fixtures had been Saturdays.

And finally, the point you made about Leicester playing the Friday was very relevant. The Championship is intense and that extra day makes a huge difference.

So all things considered I''m quietly confident for the season. I am still more concerned about our failure to turn our approach play into goals on Saturday than I am about the goals we conceded last night. But we all see different things in the same games. As always it''s a real pleasure to discuss the games with you.

They say the position after 10 games is a good indicator for the rest of the season so here''s hoping that we''re still in the top six on Saturday evening.

 

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[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]

Pedro, we score more goals and acheive our best results most often attacking the River End second half. It is our lucky charm but I don''t know why.

Beausant, I take your point on Russ Martin who had a decent game so perhaps deserves a 7.

[/quote]

Traditionally, it is because we are kicking down the slope.

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"Am I the only person who thought we were shocking last night? The first half was a shambles and only Crofts'' fantastic commitment and desire kept us in it. He was absolutely colossal.

We were fortunate to get back into it through a penalty, then played our best football of the match, culminating in Drury''s brilliant goal. But to concede so soon after going two goals up - twice - was unforgivable.

Essentially we were got out of jail by Crofts'' resilience in the first half and two moments of genius from Wes. How great to hear the crowd chanting his name at last. Other than that, it was a very poor performance - we were far better against Hull on Saturday."

"Coming from one of our most moderate and thoughtful posters I hope others take note of what you say. I agree fully.It seems, as with most football fans, a win overrides and obscures any criticisms that would otherwise have been forthcoming and, in this case, been totally justified.Shipping 3 goals at home to the bottom of the table side doesn''t inspire any confidence in me, personally. Ruddy''s howler set the tone, of course, making him tentative from there onwards which in turn unsettled Barnett, and Ward in particular.Going with that, our personal MOM Crofts was all over the pitch: yes, he does put in some crunching tackles but is more of a genuine box to box CM than Russell, which IMO from a purely positional (and hence tactical) perspective comes at a price. He simply doesn''t protect the back four
quite to the standard of Russell last season, and up against some of the quicker counter-attacking units found within the division this could clearly cost us."

Yes as people have said a win is a win, but like the above poster I really am concerned at the way a few players are carrying us through these games . Without an epic performance from Hools and Crofts we would have lost big style. I am afraid times up for me with Ruddy he just does not inspire confidence in the defense and time to let Rudd have a go. First goal should have been easy save , second goal should never have dropped ball for corner, third goal why did he stop his run out to player to let him shoot. The other issue is our attack , in that Holt is really struggling in the air, he got beat way too often to punts up middle, Jackson is still not doing it and doesnt work with Holt, Martin has a real attitude problem at present. Why especially at home not give McNamee a chance. I was staggered when he did not come on against Leicester he would have loved such an open game.

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