Lessons From West Brom

[NorthernYella 0]

Just to quickly introduce myself, I''m a Norwich fan, currently living in Manchester, born and raised in Norfolk, attended first game when I was four years old etc. Was on this board before, but thought it was about time I came back on.West Brom were on the verge of doing a Blackpool this season. They were giving everyone a game at home, but still lost too many games and were conceeding far too many goals. In came Roy Hogdson and you could say the rest was history. What Roy Hodgson did was help the players be very organised and disciplined in defense, this was discussed many times on Match of the Day. West Brom always had talented playees, like Peter Odemwinge, Chris Brunt, Jerome Thomas etc, but it was only when Roy Hogdson sorted the defence that changed West Brom''s season.My point being that we have far more attacking threat than we did when we were last in the Premier League, and that players like Hoolahan, Jackson, Holt, Bennett, Surman, Vaughan and Morrison will do a solid job, much in the way that West Brom and Blackpool''s attacking players did last season. What we need to do and I''m sure that Lambert is looking into this as we speak, is have a very solid, organised defense (including midfielders like Fox).From what I have already read on this board, many fans recognise this and the majority now hope the rest of the money we have will be spent on good defensive players. It seems obvious to me we need a very solid, preferably experienced Centre Half, who still has plenty of mileage in the tank and could be the club captain if Holt was not playing for whatever reason. I also think we need a back up or competition for the Norfolk Cafu (Maybe Kyle Walker Eng U21 right back?), a back up or competition for Fox and a back up for Ruddy. Once we have all those players in, then we can start building and organising the players so we are solid enough to stay up. Lastly, I can see Lambert possibly changing how we play away next year, and play four at the back, two centre mids, two wide players, Wes and one up front, what do you all think? Greetings from the not so sunny North, definitely no drought up here!

[Cantiaci Canary 610]

Welcome back!

 

As you say I''m sure most fans feel the same about the defence. I think Tierney & Martin will be good enough and I would back Barnett but the other centre back spot needs upgrading.  Richard De Laet will obviously be coming in but it''s hard to judge how effective he would be and where he will play precisely.

 

Lambert claimed to be looking at 6 or 7 signings this summer. Vaughan, Morison, Bennet, De Laet & Johnson leave 1 or 2 left. We''ve spent around £6M - £7M out of the £40M ... even bearing in mind extra wages and leaving some for January are we to expect some huge transfers (possibly at the back) to complete the job?  

[Jacko 0]

Very good post. Personally I would have liked Matt Mills myself but he looks like he will be pretty expensive at £3/4 million. Walker looks a sensational player to me. I think he could easily play for team in the top 10 and will be England''s regular full back one day. So he might be a bit out of our league sadly.

[Boyo 0]

This is definitely the way to go IMO.  Have your young and hungry attacking players who may be unproven at Premiership level but at the back you need an experienced and demanding leader.  De Laet will be a good signing because I believe he has versatility?  However I think we need a marque centre back signing because we are going to need a leader at the back and at the moment we don''t have one.  I personally would love to have Scott Dann here or Matt Mills but Mills doesn''t really fit into the experienced catagory.  This is the position I am most intirgued about by who Lambert will sign.

[CaptnCanary 0]

[quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]

Welcome back!

 

As you say I''m sure most fans feel the same about the defence. I think Tierney & Martin will be good enough and I would back Barnett but the other centre back spot needs upgrading.  Richard De Laet will obviously be coming in but it''s hard to judge how effective he would be and where he will play precisely.

 

Lambert claimed to be looking at 6 or 7 signings this summer. Vaughan, Morison, Bennet, De Laet & Johnson leave 1 or 2 left. We''ve spent around £6M - £7M out of the £40M ... even bearing in mind extra wages and leaving some for January are we to expect some huge transfers (possibly at the back) to complete the job?  

[/quote]

If we are keeping some back for January, I doubt very much that we will spend more than £10-12m in total this summer. The wage bill will take a big chunk of that £40m and I also expect some of that 40 to go on other things like reducing the debt a little.

[KingOfSpainNCFC 0]

I agree entirely with this, a strong, disciplined defence is a must in the Premier League. I think, as already said, Martin and Barnett can handle it. Tierney, I think his passion for Norwich and the game will help him through. However, I think Whitbread could possibly do a job with Barnett, he reads the game so well, although lacks pace. I believe that we need a CB and a RB cover as everyone has been saying. Matt Mills is a good shout, but I''ve liked the looks of Ryan Bennett at P''boro. He is very young but looks a really promising talent, thats if we want to invest for the future. Mills would be my choice if we had to buy a CB to come straight into the team with Barnett. De Laet will be a good signing, due to the versatility, who knows, loans can lead to a permanent signature if everything goes right. I''d also like to point out Kyle Walker of Tottenham. He is an unbelievably good player, and IMO will be the best RB England have in the near future. However possibly out of reach, I''m surprised Spurs haven''t played him with their lack of RB''s?!

[smooth 114]

A very sensible post. There is nothing wrong with winning a game 1-0. Certainly it was one comment made last year that we weren''t keeping enough clean sheets. Think we will revert to a different style of play but always have the option of moving to the diamond.

As I have mentioned on a previous post I believe that is the key to a good season is by being able to change your style and evolve your style, you give no time for a opposing team to adjust from when they played you before.

Matt Mills, although I am happy for his personal rise through the football league is not the singing I would like to see. Certainly if 3 million is being touted. Considering we have been touted as being interested in an international swiss defender van Bergon, who from reports has pace and has played in three top european leagues for 1.5million.

Still think Scharner was a huge coup for wba last season and think that on a free a player like that would be ideal. But certainly Hodgson proved that he is one of Englands best managers, WBA are very lucky to have such a great manager. So good point and certainly one that we look forward to seeing Lambert answer.

[Desert Fox 0]

[quote user="KingOfSpainNCFC"]I agree entirely with this, a strong, disciplined defence is a must in the Premier League. I think, as already said, Martin and Barnett can handle it. Tierney, I think his passion for Norwich and the game will help him through. However, I think Whitbread could possibly do a job with Barnett, he reads the game so well, although lacks pace. I believe that we need a CB and a RB cover as everyone has been saying. Matt Mills is a good shout, but I''ve liked the looks of Ryan Bennett at P''boro. He is very young but looks a really promising talent, thats if we want to invest for the future. Mills would be my choice if we had to buy a CB to come straight into the team with Barnett. De Laet will be a good signing, due to the versatility, who knows, loans can lead to a permanent signature if everything goes right. I''d also like to point out Kyle Walker of Tottenham. He is an unbelievably good player, and IMO will be the best RB England have in the near future. However possibly out of reach, I''m surprised Spurs haven''t played him with their lack of RB''s?![/quote]King of Spain,Good post and you are right about Kyle Walker. However, the problem is that he is already close to being the best RB in the PL, nevermind the future. I fully expect that he will be Spurs first choice RB this season and would say that his value will be close to that of Henderson and Jones who have both gone for £15M plus fees recently.