Get off Martin's back and lets look at Holt

[Boyo 0]

[quote user="Smudger"]I still think that Holt can come good for us this season, but he is far from fully fit and I can''t really understand why he has been getting 90 mins regularly this season when in some games he has struggled to walk - let alone run.  Maybe Lambert is trying to give him as many minutes as possible in order to bring up up to full match fitness ASAP?  I wonder if Lambo could be giving Holty too much time on the pitch and slowing up the process of him reaching full fitness however?

I do agree that Chris Martin should not be withdrawn from games so much - he is the best player we have by a long way (probably worth near the £5 million mark if he has a good season).  I would be mixing and matching Holt and Jackson with him at the moment - giving the pair of them a more equal amount of time on the pitch (ie: Jackson on between 60 and 65 mins at the latest if we have failed to score or are chasing the game).  I don''t think that Jackson has been given a fair chance to prove his worth yet, which is silly considering he was one of our two prize signings of the summer.
[/quote]

I agree with you Smudge [Y]

[Boyo 0]

[quote user="Graham Humphrey"]The problem with a Martin/Jackson combo is that we lack a real physical presence up front - we saw that in the opening match and when Holt came on suddenly we looked more threatening.  I think that while Holt has hardly covered himself in glory, he didn''t play as badly as some suggest he did yesterday; to be honest I thought Martin had a very poor game and his worst for quite some time.

Actually I think the real problem in terms of our strikeforce is that we simply don''t have another player in Holt''s mould.  He''s blatantly not been fully fit as he missed almost all of pre-season and he hasn''t been in top form by any means but we''re lacking an alternative.
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Well personally I think Martin has got a lot stronger over pre season.  We don''t always need to play with a target man like Holt all the time because we don''t even play in that sort of way.

[Boyo 0]

[quote user="GJP"][quote user="Boyo"]

And overall I think Chris Martin is a better striker than Grant Holt and they both play in the same way

[/quote]

They play in the same way?

No, they don''t. Not at all.

 

[/quote]

Both are quite strong.  Both like the ball to feet.  When they both get the ball to feet they are both always trying to do something creative.  They both drift out wide.

Yes Holt is a target man but he dosn''t play like a target man he plays more like a Chris Martin style striker and perhaps he should just try and be a target man for once and stand still and get on the end of some crosses.

[Sideshow Tim 110]

How fickle are some NCFC fans?

Get of the players backs and get behind your team.

We will win comfortably tomorrow evening, and I can''t wait for everyone to change their opinions on here.

[Clint 221]

Slideshow is spot on - why do we always have to having a go at someone?

How about we get off Martin''s back and lets not then start pointing the finger at Holt. These guys were scoring for fun last year but we are now playing a a higher level, against better quality opposition. It will take time for them to adapt, particularly without a full pre-season.

If you all thought, 1 or both of them were going to come into the Champs and score goals for fun, from the off, then you''re idiots.

Judge them at Xmas not after 8 games and get behind the team!

[Gingerpele 0]

Its all Dohertys fault.....

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Boyo"][quote user="GJP"][quote user="Boyo"]

And overall I think Chris Martin is a better striker than Grant Holt and they both play in the same way

[/quote]

They play in the same way?

No, they don''t. Not at all.

 

[/quote]

Both are quite strong.  Both like the ball to feet.  When they both get the ball to feet they are both always trying to do something creative.  They both drift out wide.

Yes Holt is a target man but he dosn''t play like a target man he plays more like a Chris Martin style striker and perhaps he should just try and be a target man for once and stand still and get on the end of some crosses.

[/quote]

Both might be strong but I don''t think strength plays anywhere near as much of a part in Martin''s game as it does in Holt''s. Although perhaps it should play a bit more of a part..

Although it is true they like the ball in to feet, neither of them are particularly players who are regularly looking to run in behind the defence or chase a ball over the top.

However, I would say that they are very different players in general. Holt likes to get involved all over the pitch, mix it up, try to make things happen. Whereas Martin tends to stay within a certain area even if he is "coming deep". He''s looking for that break or that bit of time and space that allows him to do something with the ball. Sometimes I think he could do with taking a bit of the work load away from Holt. Maybe it''d be good to see him getting out wide and putting the ball in the box, rather than Holt getting out wide and putting the ball in the box for the invisible man.

Martin relies on his cleverness on the ball and his tight technique whereas Holt is much more about raw power and instinct. Almost an Anelka/Drogba style of partnership (just a million miles away from being as good as those two).

 

 

[Northern Canary 0]

I don''t think the answer two one very unlucky defeat is to start changing the side around. Its much better to work on the team than to simply change personnel. We wont get anything out of either Holt or Martin if we are so critical of him, especially seeing as we are just outside the play offs following a championship winning year in League 1. The criticism is unbelievable, im just glad its Lambert who is the manager.

[Beijing Canary 0]

Anyone who is having a pop at Martin or Holt this early in the season is a bit of a disgrace in my book.

People are saying Holty has been poor, but he''s already hit the winner in TWO away games. Last time we went up a division how many away games did we win the following season? Jesus wept.

The difference between L1 and the Championship is huge. People need to let Holt and Martin try and adjust and make the step up. For all the pats on the back we gave oursleves for winning L1 last year, if we are honest, it was a dog**** division.

Only two games were we up against what I feel was "Championship" standard opposition - Millwall away, and Saints at home. The rest were urine poor.

We need to give Holt and Martin time because a) they deserve that; b) because we can''t afford to replace them anyway.

I do feel Lambert needs to find a way of injecting some pace up front into our home games, but that is another issue. The obvious step in that direction is Jackson, but I/m not sure he''s good enough to start.