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Dean Coneys boots

Anyone else worried?

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Ok I know some will shoot me down, and I accept the wonderful work done by our manager who deserves a crack at this as he sees fit...but...

Anyone else fear we look very lightweight for the Prem? Gathering hot young talent worked a treat against the old guard plying their trade in the championship last year but against the top talent at it''s prime in the Prem?

For me the standout striker was a must and I fear Holt might have been asked to jump a hurdle too many. Of course I hope to be proved wrong...but I am worried and preseason did not help. Plenty of fluidity but not much bite

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We don''t have to match this top talent though. People go on about how the players are going to cope against Fabergas, Rooney, Drogba, Saurez etc. etc. but these players are world class or close to it and even the best players in the world struggle to deal with them. What we have to do is to be able to deal with the players in the mid table and lower teams, we have to accept that we''re not going to be picking up a lot of points against the top 6 but I feel our squad is good enough to get points against the rest and in doing so take points from our rivals.

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Its hard to tell with pre season at times it seems that we''re just happy to keep possession along midfield. can only remember us having 2 or 3 decent attempts on goal. I think our defence and midfield are good but im just bit worried about ruddy and forwards but I still think we''ll stay up but it''ll be a long old season

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Thain is right. It''s not about coping with Drogba, Suarez and Hernandez. It''s about how we cope with the teams around us - the Wigans, the Wolves, the Blackburns and the Stokes. And of course Swansea and QPR. And as far as that goes, i''m as confident as i can expect to be. I really remember going in to it last time and thinking "blimey, how on earth is our defence of Charlton and Fleming going to cope with this?" Look at us this time, we have some really impressive centre backs, and an awesome midfield with almost every option imaginable. The front line i agree looks like it could be a little light but then again we have no idea how they''re going to take to it. We certainly have options up front and while i do think it will take some time to work out what our best combination is up there, i think we have enough competition and desire to be effective. I don''t think we''ll have a 20 goal striker in there but we have enough to share the goals around. I can see Holt getting 15 or so, Morison 10, and Vaughan and Martin and Wilbro all chipping in too. And we know we have goals elsewhere on the field. So i''m not worried at the moment. Yet. Just excited and (very) quietly confident.

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I was more worried when we where in the bottom three in league one. I was starting to think we could be heading for the fourth tier of English football.

I am more confident than last time we went up but it will be tough at times and the supporters must stick with the team at all times. Some idiots will be jumping on the players back at the first oppurtinty.

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Dean Coney''s boots - Ok I know some will shoot me down, and I accept the wonderful work done by our manager who deserves a crack at this as he sees fit...but... Anyone else fear we look very lightweight for the Prem? Gathering hot young talent worked a treat against the old guard plying their trade in the championship last year but against the top talent at it''s prime in the Prem? For me the standout striker was a must and I fear Holt might have been asked to jump a hurdle too many. Of course I hope to be proved wrong...but I am worried and preseason did not help. Plenty of fluidity but not much bite.

 

This is very harsh on the Championship! I doubt that Leeds, Forest, Cardiff and Leicester think the league is that flawed.

We only need to finish above 3 sides next year.

Stoke, Wigan, Wolves, West Brom & Sunderland went up from the Championship without wholescale changes so it can be done.

Who knows ... in 3 years time pundits may be talking of Hoolahan, Barnett, Ruddy, Crofts, Pilks, Bennet and Jackson as established Premiership stars just in the same way they talk about some of the players at the teams above. 

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[quote user="a1canary"]

The front line i agree looks like it could be a little light but then again we have no idea how they''re going to take to it. We certainly have options up front and while i do think it will take some time to work out what our best combination is up there, i think we have enough competition and desire to be effective. I don''t think we''ll have a 20 goal striker in there but we have enough to share the goals around. I can see Holt getting 15 or so, Morison 10, and Vaughan and Martin and Wilbro all chipping in too. And we know we have goals elsewhere on the field. So i''m not worried at the moment. Yet. Just excited and (very) quietly confident.
[/quote]

 

I would be delighted with that ... only 2 less than Darren Bent last year!!!

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[quote user="a1canary"]Thain is right. It''s not about coping with Drogba, Suarez and Hernandez. It''s about how we cope with the teams around us - the Wigans, the Wolves, the Blackburns and the Stokes. And of course Swansea and QPR. And as far as that goes, i''m as confident as i can expect to be. I really remember going in to it last time and thinking "blimey, how on earth is our defence of Charlton and Fleming going to cope with this?" Look at us this time, we have some really impressive centre backs, and an awesome midfield with almost every option imaginable. The front line i agree looks like it could be a little light but then again we have no idea how they''re going to take to it. We certainly have options up front and while i do think it will take some time to work out what our best combination is up there, i think we have enough competition and desire to be effective. I don''t think we''ll have a 20 goal striker in there but we have enough to share the goals around. I can see Holt getting 15 or so, Morison 10, and Vaughan and Martin and Wilbro all chipping in too. And we know we have goals elsewhere on the field. So i''m not worried at the moment. Yet. Just excited and (very) quietly confident. [/quote]If Holt got 15 goals and Morison 10 they would be worth about £10m each. I''m not sure what Drogba got exactly this year but I''m pretty sure it was less than that.

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Of course i''m worried we won''t be able to make the step up. There''s a huge gap between the Championship and the Premier League but we''ve got a terrific young manager and a squad of hungry players who will give it a good go.

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" I can see Holt getting 15 or so"

i`d be amazed if he gets into double figures to be absolutely frank. bear in mind that tevez and berbatov, the joint top scorers last season, got 20 each...

as a total neutral, i`d say you do look lightweight, as do the other two promoted teams. but there are some pretty poor sides still hanging on by their fingernails at the bottom of the division, so maybe it`s time for some of them to go.

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[quote user="exiled blue"]" I can see Holt getting 15 or so" i`d be amazed if he gets into double figures to be absolutely frank. bear in mind that tevez and berbatov, the joint top scorers last season, got 20 each... as a total neutral, i`d say you do look lightweight, as do the other two promoted teams. but there are some pretty poor sides still hanging on by their fingernails at the bottom of the division, so maybe it`s time for some of them to go.[/quote]

Indeed - our progression over the last 2 years has been nothing short of a miracle (as was Man Citys a few years ago) and there are some that just assume that the roll will continue.  Which it may do - indeed many last season were looking at mid-table with the playoffs an optimistic hope - similar comments were made around defence, whether Holt could hack it etc

 

Where I think we''ll do well is that many people will write us off - we''ve got Norwich at home, that will be 3 points - and we''ll give some of those teams a bloody nose.  Oddly enough we have the same opener as Blackpool last year, and whilst they''ll be looking to ensure lightning doesnt strike twice Im sure some of their fans at least will be looking at us and thinking 2 years ago they were a League 1 club - should be an easy win

 

Personally I think it will be hard season but we''ve got the last 2 seasons impetus behind us and that may well see us through.  I think we''re more likely to struggle NEXT season assuming we survive this - once we''ve had a couple of consecutive defeats (not had this for over 2 years now) and lost the invincibility.  If we can survive THAT season then I think its onwards and upwards

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[quote user="a1canary"]I don''t think we''ll have a 20 goal striker in there but we have enough to share the goals around. I can see Holt getting 15 or so, Morison 10, and Vaughan and Martin and Wilbro all chipping in too. And we know we have goals elsewhere on the field. So i''m not worried at the moment. Yet. Just excited and (very) quietly confident.
[/quote]

 

Blackburn survived last season with their top scorer having only 5 league goals.

 

I can see Holt getting 8 max and Morison 5 perhaps.

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I honestly have no idea how we are going to do in the Premier League.  on paper, some of the opposing teams look far better than us, but i have a lot of belief in the team spirit and hardwork we used so magnificently last year to acheive something almost no one predicted.

 

a good start is a must, and from then on it will be a case of scrapping for every point we can get.

 

I can''t wait!

OTBC

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Is this yhe first ever thread that has described Grant holt as lightweight?

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Define ''lightweight''? Is this a quality or a muscle issue? I think we''ll be OK but it will be tight. I''d be amazed if Holty scores anywhere near fifteen goals though.

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Hmm, ok, it seems i''m a bit outnumbered on that view. I was going to revise down but then thought no, b*****ks to that, I''m sticking to my guns. I''ll just say 15 in all competitions! The guy will cause all sorts of problems in premier league defences, that much i know. The question will be if his finishing is up to it. But i''m going to keep the faith!The main point i was making in the post was that i think all our strikers will chip in with goals at some stage and hence i don''t think scoring goals will be a problem for us in the way it was for say Birmingham who scored less than a goal a game last year.

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The only thing that I am worried about is a lack of cover for Hoolohan. We do have two wingers so could go to a flat 4-4-2, but I like the idea of having two players who can play just behind the forwards. For me that means we are missing either one of Lansbury or Pacheco. In addition, I''d like to see an experienced keeper on a one year deal to sit on the bench whilst Rudd goes out and gets some real mens football for a year. Other than that, not the slightest bit worried.

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[quote user="a1canary"]Hmm, ok, it seems i''m a bit outnumbered on that view. I was going to revise down but then thought no, b*****ks to that, I''m sticking to my guns. I''ll just say 15 in all competitions! The guy will cause all sorts of problems in premier league defences, that much i know.[/quote]

 

Will he cause more problems for Premier League defences than Kevin Davies? He scored eight goals in the Premier League last season and is the closest player to Holty that I can think of who was operating in the top flight last season. I don''t really get this theory that the average Premier League defender will be unable to cope with a player such as Holty. I love the bloke but the idea that his style of play is that much different as to cause massive problems doesn''t seem to be backed up with any discernable fact.

 

If he scores eight(ish) goals and we stay up I would consider that a successfull season.

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"Will he cause more problems for Premier League defences than Kevin Davies? He scored eight goals in the Premier League last season and is the closest player to Holty that I can think of who was operating in the top flight last season. I don''t really get this theory that the average Premier League defender will be unable to cope with a player such as Holty. I love the bloke but the idea that his style of play is that much different as to cause massive problems doesn''t seem to be backed up with any discernable fact."

i have been trying to think of a way to say this for some time now, without wanting to upset people on here. now that a norwich fan has said it i must agree. you could also compare him to zigic at birmingham to name but one other. the speed and strength of defences in the prem league, not to mention the size of many, will deal with holt comfortably i think. to take the team i support as an example, i would be quite confident in micah richards, jo lescott, and most of all vincent kompany to have the ability to outmuscle him and not allow him any time on the ball or any space. and all are well over 6 foot.

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[quote user="Shack Attack"]

[quote user="a1canary"]Hmm, ok, it seems i''m a bit outnumbered on that view. I was going to revise down but then thought no, b*****ks to that, I''m sticking to my guns. I''ll just say 15 in all competitions! The guy will cause all sorts of problems in premier league defences, that much i know.[/quote]

 

Will he cause more problems for Premier League defences than Kevin Davies? He scored eight goals in the Premier League last season and is the closest player to Holty that I can think of who was operating in the top flight last season. I don''t really get this theory that the average Premier League defender will be unable to cope with a player such as Holty. I love the bloke but the idea that his style of play is that much different as to cause massive problems doesn''t seem to be backed up with any discernable fact.

 

If he scores eight(ish) goals and we stay up I would consider that a successfull season.

[/quote]I''d be more than happy if Holt showed himself as good as Kevin Davies next year. Davies is an England International, a proven Premiership player, and somebody that I would love to have at Carrow Road. If Holt is still playing like Kevin Davies at 34 years old then I will be a happy man, the bloke is an absolute legend at Bolton and has led their line for 8 years. If Holt is still playing to that level at 34 then we get our legend for another 4 years, nothing would make me happier then to see the Horse show that kind of longevity and resiliance.

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Oh for the love of God! Look, it''s just an opinion - I think he will cause problems in "enough" premier league defences. ok, I shouldn''t have said "know" very sorry. Of course there''s no discernible fact to back this up, how could there be when he''s never played in the prem? Sometimes posting on here feels like submitting a thesis and your tutor telling you off for insufficient referencing! Anyway, we''ll come back to this in December and see how he''s getting on!

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At lastrt weak spot has been indentified.

Holt will easily be stopped by Premier League experienced defenders.

Why hasn''t Lambert brought in other strikers ?

Why are there no other six footers who could play up front ?

Why has Lambert not signed a few pacey wingmen who can cut in and half a shot ?

A decent ball player who can ping in a few good, accurate crosses ?

Why have we not got fullbacks who can push forward and score a few ... or even a midfielder or two who can score ?

When was the last time a defender scored for City ?

Our goalscoring record has been appalling, it has been our Achilles Heel. Look how many clubs scored more than us last season ... and the season before. Look how Holt struggled when he moved up to League I from Shrewsbury and how he was totally out of his depth in the Championship. And what did Lambert do ? Bring in a player without any Championship experience. Simeon Jackson. Another player out of his depth, who almost cost us promotion.

Lambert and the club would do well to listen to many of the knowledlegable posters on here ... before it is too late.

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[quote user="a1canary"]Oh for the love of God! Look, it''s just an opinion - I think he will cause problems in "enough" premier league defences. ok, I shouldn''t have said "know" very sorry. Of course there''s no discernible fact to back this up, how could there be when he''s never played in the prem? Sometimes posting on here feels like submitting a thesis and your tutor telling you off for insufficient referencing! Anyway, we''ll come back to this in December and see how he''s getting on![/quote]Touchy much? I''m perfectly happy for you to air your opinion on how much of a problem Holty will cause Premier League defences next season but spitting your dummy out when you''re asked to explain why is a little pathetic. I''d love him to confound his critics again and make that final step up and I will support him every step of the way throughout the coming season. But this idea that Premier League defenders are going to be bamboozled by an old school centre forward (and this is an opinion that I have seen a fair few posters air over the past couple of months) doesn''t stand up to much scrutiny in my opinion.I''ll stand by my earlier post. Eight(ish) goals and survival would be a very good season for our captain. And before you reply ask yourself how many other fans will consider Holty a success based on those stats. I am far from a hater.

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Sorry if someone else has answered Le Judge...

One name for you:

Chris Martin.

He may not be anywhere near as good as Hoolahan in that position, but his play style certainly seems to suit that role more than it does a striker really. I think thats why Martin is still here, if he was only going to play as a striker, i think he would go out on loan for the season at least, maybe even sold. As we have Holt/Morrison/Wilbrarham for the big tough players upfront, and Jackson/Vaughan for the quick men. Martin doesn''t fit into either of those categories, so to get the best out of him upfront, requires a different play style. In League One it was fine, between him Holt and Hoolahan, there was always someone there to score, but last season Martin seemed to be out of the box more than he was in it, and Holt goes chasing around the pitch, so at times we were left with only one midfielder in the box, or no one.

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I know your being sarcastic City1st, but most of those questions/statements are quite clear addressed.

Holt: Why wouldn''t he cause problems? Will he suddenly lose all his strength, pace and aggression? He might not look like the best footballer, he might score less etc, but he will still prove a handful for most CBs.

Strikers: Who''s moaning about strikers? It was quite obvious we wouldn''t be signing Long/Graham/anyone else who scored loads last season. We already have the 2nd top scorer from the Championship.

Six Footers: We have three.

Pacey Wingers: We play a diamond formation, why get another two wingers when we don''t play wingers at the moment, from how i see it Bennett and Pilks are options out wide if needed and can play in the CM positions of the diamond.

Decent Ball player: FOX

Fullbacks/Midfielders scoring: R.MARTIN/Full backs don''t need to score. CROFTS, HOOLAHAN, BENNETT can all score from midfield, and have been doing recently.

Last defender: Yesterday, De Leat. In a competitive game, didn''t Whitbread score near the end of the season?

(I will say again, i know your post was sarcastic, but those answers were more directed to the posters who make these ridiculous statements.)

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I think too many Canary fans are getting a little carried away on the wave of euphoria, What we have achieved in such a short space of time is amazing but make no mistake next season will all be about scrapping draws and the odd win. I am prepared for us to lose quite a few games.....

 

If we can stay up, and I think we can, I wonder how much season tickets will be next year........[:(]

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Thing is Shack, it''s pretty silly to be critical of someone''s opinion on how GH will cope in the prem on the grounds it''s not backed up by facts. Someone did post an article about how Holt can be expected to cause problems a la Kevin Davies and i agree with it:http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/forums/2/2582150/ShowPost.aspx#2582150And actually, strikers like Davies are few and far between in the Prem and defenders are not going to like him or be all that used to his style of play so Holt has a chance to be effective i think.

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