Excuses excuses, and our defence...

[Brendo 0]

Firstly I would like to make sure my opinion over the red card is clear - it was NO WAY a red card, and obviously I am also annoyed by the decision. However...

 

We simply did not defend. I really am not convinced by Ward. He makes so many errors. His main attribute is surely his height? Well he missed a few headers last night, namely one which lead to a 1on1, which Ruddy make a tidy save from. Also Lappin left back, give me strength. We really miss Drury and Surman, imo. In the first half, McNamee did literally nothing. Yet we continue with him on the pitch after the red card, when we need defensive players on the pitch surely? Yes, we did play well first half but my god their defence was absolutely dreaful. Seriously I was godsmacked at how bad they were at the back. All three goals were awful defending by them, but I aint taking anything away, we did well to convert them all. Maybe if Holt hadn''t hit his other, easier 1on1 right at the keeper, we might have won? But he did well so I aint too fussed by that. My main concerns are about Ward and Lappin though. I''d like to know everyone''s thoughts on Ward, because I really don''t rate him much at all.

Lastly I would like to praise Russell Martin, and Barnett as always. They are superb! Nothing gets past Martin. Seriously, I can''t recall barely anything this season getting past him, and he can attack bettter now it seems.

 

Bottom line is yeah, we got unlucky with the decision but we defended poorly. [:(]

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735]

When the referee cheats us by sending off Holt it then removes that ''outlet'' that our defence would have to relieve pressure. When Holt Isn''t there nothing is going to stick up front and therefore we were always going to face a continious barrage of attack in the 2nd half.

Now we might be able to criticise Lambert for not having signed a striker of a similar stature to have on the bench but one thing is for sure........all of you Holt-bashers got an insight yesterday into what will happen when he''s not there, more so if his red card doesn''t get overturned..................BE CAREFULL WHAT YOU WISH FOR !!!!!

[Brendo 0]

I certainly did. I only realised last night how wrong I was about Holt. I still don''t think he''s amazing, but I now realise how much we need him.

[kdncfc 27]

Lappin is not good enough to play anywhere at this level imo but to be fair he is not a specialist left back so it''s more forgivable that he looks poor when he''s out of position. Ward is good enough imo but he is prone to errors. Don''t really know what the problem is with our defence conceding so many soft goals, we don''t seem to react quickly enough when the ball is bouncing around in our six yard box and we don''t seem to be learning very quickly from our mistakes.

[Canary_on_the Trent 0]

I thought in that last 30mins the defence as well as Ruddy were heroic, we took an absolute pummelling but the lads got their body''s in front of the ball, won crucial headers, tackles and then if that failed Ruddy was on hand to make 2/3 massive saves.

[Graham Humphrey 13]

Yes, I was really impressed with the spirit and resilience that we showed when they were throwing the kitchen sink at us.  However even minus Holt, we should really be keeping the ball a bit better than that.  If Hoolahan got sent on he may have helped us to hold possession for a little while longer.

[Mister Chops 7]

The biggest problem was once we lost Holt, we had nobody to hold it up and take the pressure off - Martin, McNamee, Daley and Jackson were like pinball bumpers.  When the ball keeps coming back again and again and again, it''s very hard to keep from conceding.  I think the defence did well to earn us a point, and anyone who thinks Holt doesn''t add value to the team should think again after seeing the alternative strike force fail to protect the midfield or defence last night.

[Clint 221]

Who would you have played at left back then Brendo? You may have noticed that our 1st and 2nd choices are out injured.

Yes, we really miss Drury but what has Surman got to do with anything? You say we needed defensive players on the pitch, he''s not really known for his tough tackling is he?!?

[paul moy 235]

[quote user="Graham Humphrey"]Yes, I was really impressed with the spirit and resilience that we showed when they were throwing the kitchen sink at us.  However even minus Holt, we should really be keeping the ball a bit better than that.  If Hoolahan got sent on he may have helped us to hold possession for a little while longer.
[/quote]

Exactly my thinking, and the reason why I suggested that Hoolahan replaced McNamee at half-time. McNamee on a number of occasions in the first half was simply pinging the ball forward without looking where he was putting it and thus giving away possession cheaply.

[Brendo 0]

[quote user="Clint"]Who would you have played at left back then Brendo? You may have noticed that our 1st and 2nd choices are out injured.

Yes, we really miss Drury but what has Surman got to do with anything? You say we needed defensive players on the pitch, he''s not really known for his tough tackling is he?!?[/quote]That''s what I mean, we have no option for left back. [:(]Wish we could''ve kept this team :RuddyMartin Barnett Ward (sigh) DruryCroftsSmith SurmanHoolahanMartin Holt

[grantroederdisaster 0]

I thougth we defended very well considering it was one way traffic for the entire 2nd half thanks to Holts unjust sending off!

 

My biggest critiscism of our defence is I can''t make out why we don''t have 2 players on the posts when defending corners?

 

Ward has been superb for most of this season so if you don''t rate him you are a very hard person to please!

 

Lappins only oplayign left back cause our 2 leftbacks are injured!

 

 

[CantonsHero 0]

Many have said that teams with 10 men go onto win, and we''ve shown that

in the past we''ve been able to play well with 10 men (especially in the

game last year when Holt was sent off, and another when Forster was red

carded). However I think it was the timing of it that was the

killer. Had that happened three minutes into the second half, I think

we''d have been fine.However just before half time with the game

lost; Reading''s manager could say, all out attack; we''ve got nothing to

lose and we don''t deserve anything. The mentality behind it would be

let''s go for this.Ours would have been; we deserve this win and

we have been conned. The mentality could have been nothing but let''s

hold onto this.Those two coupled together meant we had it

against us, and anyone who saw the match would have seen yeah, the

tactics for winning the game in the second half were all wrong, but the

boys did a mighty fine job of keeping it down to 2, because it was only

ever going to have been more than that if anything.

[Nexus_Canary 1,016]

Brendo , has Jas had you on his special duche bag punch again ?Really, crap post mate.

Ref screwed us over and we were fighting the whole second half. You can not even attempt to understand the magnitude of having your captain sent off for such shite just on the whistle of half time.All Norwich players involved in yesterdays game came out with heads held high, end of.

[hogesar 9,615]

[quote user="Nexus_Canary"]Brendo , has Jas had you on his special duche bag punch again ?Really, crap post mate.

Ref screwed us over and we were fighting the whole second half. You can not even attempt to understand the magnitude of having your captain sent off for such shite just on the whistle of half time.All Norwich players involved in yesterdays game came out with heads held high, end of.[/quote]100% correct.Brendo, what planet are you on? We showed how much we missed Holt which you acknowledged - but the players came out knowing FULL WELL the referee was awful and wasn''t about to improve. Lappin was on a yellow, Crofts a card away from suspension so we were already very limited in what we could do. This, followed by the fact that lappin is a THIRD CHOICE left back, suggests to me we defended very well!Also, Barnett played quite well, but Ward also makes him look good. Vice Versa too. That''s called a partnership - and why opposing teams players class WARD as ''Premiership Class''.

[Mtv 0]

The facts are we plated much betterwhen we played 2 up front after Jackson came on. Our defence were heroic but had no way of relieving the pressure untill then.

The ref was very poor but my main gripe was with Harte, he went down like aman shot him and rolled around like his leg was broken...Nothing short of cheating, if that card gets recinded then he should be banned for 3 games. Quite simply he''s a bloody cheat.

[Barclay Boy 0]

[quote user="Brendo "][quote user="Clint"]Who would you have played at left back then Brendo? You may have noticed that our 1st and 2nd choices are out injured.

Yes, we really miss Drury but what has Surman got to do with anything? You say we needed defensive players on the pitch, he''s not really known for his tough tackling is he?!?[/quote]That''s what I mean, we have no option for left back. [:(]Wish we could''ve kept this team :RuddyMartin Barnett Ward (sigh) DruryCroftsSmith SurmanHoolahanMartin Holt

[/quote]

Yeah that team would be great but we couldn''t field it. Both 1st & 2nd choice left backs were out. Lappin was the next best option. We don''t have a squad where we can field 3 good champ players in every position, it aint going to happen.So why give Lappin stick?

As for Ward he has been getter better in every game since returning from injury. Just because the Doc has gone doesn''t mean you have to look for another centre half to bully lol

[NCFC4LIFE 0]

[quote user="Brendo "]

Firstly I would like to make sure my opinion over the red card is clear - it was NO WAY a red card, and obviously I am also annoyed by the decision. However...

 

We simply did not defend. I really am not convinced by Ward. He makes so many errors. His main attribute is surely his height? Well he missed a few headers last night, namely one which lead to a 1on1, which Ruddy make a tidy save from. Also Lappin left back, give me strength. We really miss Drury and Surman, imo. In the first half, McNamee did literally nothing. Yet we continue with him on the pitch after the red card, when we need defensive players on the pitch surely? Yes, we did play well first half but my god their defence was absolutely dreaful. Seriously I was godsmacked at how bad they were at the back. All three goals were awful defending by them, but I aint taking anything away, we did well to convert them all. Maybe if Holt hadn''t hit his other, easier 1on1 right at the keeper, we might have won? But he did well so I aint too fussed by that. My main concerns are about Ward and Lappin though. I''d like to know everyone''s thoughts on Ward, because I really don''t rate him much at all.

Lastly I would like to praise Russell Martin, and Barnett as always. They are superb! Nothing gets past Martin. Seriously, I can''t recall barely anything this season getting past him, and he can attack bettter now it seems.

 

Bottom line is yeah, we got unlucky with the decision but we defended poorly. [:(]

[/quote]You have NO clue.......

[Robert N. LiM 4,237]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

When the referee cheats us by sending off Holt it then removes that ''outlet'' that our defence would have to relieve pressure. When Holt Isn''t there nothing is going to stick up front and therefore we were always going to face a continious barrage of attack in the 2nd half.

Now we might be able to criticise Lambert for not having signed a striker of a similar stature to have on the bench but one thing is for sure........all of you Holt-bashers got an insight yesterday into what will happen when he''s not there, more so if his red card doesn''t get overturned..................BE CAREFULL WHAT YOU WISH FOR !!!!!

[/quote]

Presumably we''ll be allowed to play someone else instead of Holt if he is suspended? Am I the only person who wouldn''t mind seeing what Jackson and Martin do together given a consistent run?

[Jim Smith 2,314]

I do think that there is some legitimacy in the original post. Plenty of teams go down to 10 men in matches and it doesn''t effect them quite as much as it appeared to do us. I think Reading had something like 20 attempts in the second half and seemed to get in behind us at will down the flanks. Ok Holty is a massive player for us but I just feel we went too defensive and became obsessed with simply sticking 2 banks of men behind the ball so we didn''t push forward at all. Martin cannot play as a loan front man as the ball does not stick. i would have liked to see jackson come on for him early second half as at least his pace would give us an outlet for the ball over the top. I also think we should have taken Fox off as with 10 men you cannot afford to have a midfielder out there who does not tackle. As the ball was not sticking up front and the midfield was getting overrun the defence had a lot to do. I thought generally they held up ok but Lappin got done a lot as he has no pace.

 

All in all from where we were after 40 minutes am gutted not to get the 3 points but from where we were with 30 minutes left 3-3 is a decent result. The Ref completely chnaged the game with that decision and had Holt stayed on i am convinced we would have won easily but I am a little disappointed that with 10 men we rather invited them onto us and surrendered the impetus so easily.

[Salopian 1]

Holty had one of his best (half) games, causing Harte and others all sorts of trouble, and I don''t mean mere physical presence. We shall miss him very much if the suspension goes through.

On the defence, we know that Lappin has no pace, and is always likely to be undone by a speedy winger. In fact, in the whole back four only Barnet has real quickness, and to think that he may not be with us after January.......

I thouight that PL was right in his praise,- in the "backs to the wall" defence they really did show commitment. Thjey were severely tested by attackers containing some who have played in the Premiership. When a shooting chance did arise, Ruddy was in supreme form.

In fact all three Rerading goals were from lapses - Fox caught out by the bounce for the first goal, another player unable to resist he push which allowed Jay to score, and then poor Lappin...

Otherwise I didn''t think that the defence etc. was too bad. The fact that Reading managed only two goals after so many attacks in the second half suggests that our defence was doing something right.

Past games have shown that we struggle against teams with quick or tricky wingers - Crofts and the central defenders seem to deal well with attacks down the centre. Whether Drury or Smith S. are that much quicker than Lappin, and whether Martin R. is quick enough to be outstanding as a defender at RB I am unsure.

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

When the referee cheats us by sending off Holt it then removes that ''outlet'' that our defence would have to relieve pressure. When Holt Isn''t there nothing is going to stick up front and therefore we were always going to face a continious barrage of attack in the 2nd half.

Now we might be able to criticise Lambert for not having signed a striker of a similar stature to have on the bench but one thing is for sure........all of you Holt-bashers got an insight yesterday into what will happen when he''s not there, more so if his red card doesn''t get overturned..................BE CAREFULL WHAT YOU WISH FOR !!!!!

[/quote]This really is a load of old rubbish, which I am sure we will see over the next two games.You seriously think Holt would have held up any of the crazy misguided balls that were lumped out of our defence between 45 mins and 70 mins of Saturdays game?  A crazy statement to make considering before Saturday he hasn''t looked like trapping a bag of cement all season and has also won few flick on''s which have gon to a yellow shirt.

I am convinced that Chris Martin will do a good job for us in place of Holt, if called upon Saturday.

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="Robert N. LiM"][quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

When the referee cheats us by sending off Holt it then removes that ''outlet'' that our defence would have to relieve pressure. When Holt Isn''t there nothing is going to stick up front and therefore we were always going to face a continious barrage of attack in the 2nd half.

Now we might be able to criticise Lambert for not having signed a striker of a similar stature to have on the bench but one thing is for sure........all of you Holt-bashers got an insight yesterday into what will happen when he''s not there, more so if his red card doesn''t get overturned..................BE CAREFULL WHAT YOU WISH FOR !!!!!

[/quote]

Presumably we''ll be allowed to play someone else instead of Holt if he is suspended? Am I the only person who wouldn''t mind seeing what Jackson and Martin do together given a consistent run?

[/quote]We should write them both off because they are obviously useless on the back of 90 mins together against Watford, where our midfield was the main problem that day... [:$]

How many poor games has Holt had this season, then he gets needlessly sent off to give another 2 points away on Saturday.  I think that if we have the right kind of organisation behind them then Jacko and Martin are two far superior strikers to Holt.