Fox = Winning

[The Wesminator 0]

It was great to see us line up as we have of old and IMO David Fox is the key to our success today and in the future.

He absolutely worked his socks off today and always offers himself as an option and outlet playing out of defence.

He should have been MoM today.

Keep it up Foxy

[Canaries Utd 0]

Worked his socks off yes, good enough, no.

[QHcanary 0]

[quote]Worked his socks off yes, good enough, no.[/quote]What game were you watching? Do you think it was coincidence that we kept the ball better today, played less long balls up to the front 2 and looked generally more assured in possession? Fox does a great job of knitting the play together, making himself available as an outlet for the CBs and other midfielders. Needing him in the team is part of the reason we can''t play a diamond against better teams. He hasn''t got the physical side to his game that he would need to offer the necessary protection to the back 4.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Fox was my MOTM too but no arguement over who got it.

[Buncey 1]

Holt, Hoolahan and Fox are the spine of this team. No surprise we stormed to victory today.

[Mr Brownstone 0]

Foxy was outstanding today, my MOM too.

[The Wesminator 0]

This is the first thread I have started and there is general agreement..

Is this place becoming a tad friendly at long last. ..?

Good points and agree with comment that we do play better with Foxy playing out of defence.

I think I may hang around once again........it''s nice to be back

Ta

[Boyo 0]

Fow brings out the best in other players because he is only player we have who can get the ball to them before they are marked or under pressure.  Fox dictates all our play and when he is on form like today then we usually play well like today. He is absolutely vital to us.  MOTM.

[smooth 113]

I think we have said it that all our midfielders offer one thing, but maybe not the whole package. Crofts energy and good ability on the ball, Surman great ability on the ball and great from set pieces but Fox is assured and hence makes our defence more confident.

 

You can see it our defence is more confident with him there, I do agree with the poster above that he is good enough but is not the answer. I feel we have bit part midfielders not one who is the total package in either the role of creative and energetic or assured and strong in the tackle.

 

For me Holt and Morison worked hard once more and no question they proved why they should start. Naughton was exceptional this week. But I would say that our strikers won us the game today and our defence can thank them for it. For me I think the strikers deserved it, very little service when our players were in good positions and when it came we scored. However I also agree that Fox, for now is a starter, never thought he wasn''t but he does give that comfort to a back four that need the pressure taken off them, problem is they create their own problems. I do wonder though as I believe we need a central midfielder, originally it was to play instead of Fox but maybe now I am thinking that a midfielder to partner him and to have an engine and the desire for goals.

[Canaries Utd 0]

[quote user="QHcanary"][quote]Worked his socks off yes, good enough, no.[/quote]What game were you watching? Do you think it was coincidence that we kept the ball better today, played less long balls up to the front 2 and looked generally more assured in possession? Fox does a great job of knitting the play together, making himself available as an outlet for the CBs and other midfielders. Needing him in the team is part of the reason we can''t play a diamond against better teams. He hasn''t got the physical side to his game that he would need to offer the necessary protection to the back 4.[/quote]I was sat in my seat at Carrow Road where i have done for the last umpteen years, so most likely the same game as you?In my opinion, we need to strengthen our midfield in January, both Fox and Surman don''t possess the alround quality for a first team call up week in week out. This is a forum for opinion, and if we stay in the premisership, in my opinion Fox will not be in the starting eleven come next August.

[QHcanary 0]

[quote]premisership[/quote]That is just about the most perfect typo I''ve ever seen, given your miserly attitude towards a player who was excellent today.You may be right. He may well not be in the team come August, but team selection 9 months from now isn''t exactly a pressing issue, is it? As I intimated above he is far from the perfect holding midfielder. He does deserve praise for his performance today. Always available, good use of the ball, barely lost it all day, calming influence on the defence and midfield. We look a better footballing side when he''s on the pitch.

[Gingerpele 0]

Fox was brilliant today, probably made every single pass he had too (I don''t remember him giving anything away), is good enough defensively, can play some pretty killer long balls and generally is a great player to build your attack from.

Him and Hoolahan today, both ran the show.

[Buncey 1]

[quote user="Canaries Utd"]In my opinion,... Fox ... don''t possess the alround quality for a first team call up week in week out. [/quote]I think keeping the ball and passing to your team-mates is the most important quality in football.

[Howson is now! 0]

I do often wonder what people want from our players. People are saying that we don''t have any midfielders that are the complete package but how many teams actually do?

David Beckham? One of the best crossers of the ball in the world but did he have pace? Could he tackle? No to both. Would you drop him because he wasn''t a full package? No! You use him because of his strengths and put players around him that compliment this. He knows his job and he does it well.

Don''t get me wrong, I''m not saying that Fox is as good as Beckham was but he has a job and he does it well. He is there to help the ball out of defence, keep it, and pass the ball across the pitch to where it needs to be.

I do think that Pilkington compliments Fox more than Surman but I also think that Crofts'' energy suits his game.

It''s no surprise to me that with Fox, Hoolahan, Morison and Holt in the starting XI that it was our most composed attacking display this season.

[hogesar 7,391]

All round midfielders are actually at an all-time premium and only the top clubs REALLY have them. We could get all rounders, who can tackle and pass, but its likely they wont pass as well as fox, or tackle as well as Johnson, for example.As fox is my favourite player this might be a little biased but i was praying he would start today. Everything seems a lot more calm with him in CM. Players know they can give him the ball and he''s very unlikely to lose it, and he can play some fantastic long passes as well.

[AJ 1,067]

Totally agree there Hogesar, I feel with Fox in the side we take the sting out of games at times. He is happy to drop deep and pass the ball around. Keeping possession is very key in this division, and Hoolahan will always lose it at some point. So having someone behind him to break up play and just take that attacking edge out of the game is sometimes exactly what you need.

That said, he can quickly spread the ball to the wings, or thread a pass through the middle! Plus, lets not forget just how good Fox''s set piece delivery has been this season!

[ZLF 149]

keeping possession is essential, any coincidence that we actually had 3 midfielders on the pitch that do that better than anyone in surman, hoolahand and fox?

Fox linking up play is crucial - and as frustrating as his set plays CAN be he remains our best and most consistent set piece player.

Fox is a must start player for me - and the basis for everything we do well going forward.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

David Fox attempted 78 passes yesterday (20 more than Kyle Naughton who attempted the second most) and his pass completion rate was 83 %. This indicates what Fox does, he gets the ball passes it to a team mate and remains open to receive the return pass. It his ability and composure in possession that allow players like Hoolahan, Crofts, Surman, Holt and Morison to make the runs that lead to goal scoring opportunities. Out of all the Premier League games played yesterday Fox attempted the most passes of any midfielder and was only behind Ashley Williams (85 attempted) and Laurent Koscielney (79 attempted) that''s pretty impressive.

[Buncey 1]

[quote user="Gareth"]David Fox attempted 78 passes yesterday (20 more than Kyle Naughton who attempted the second most) and his pass completion rate was 83 %. This indicates what Fox does, he gets the ball passes it to a team mate and remains open to receive the return pass. It his ability and composure in possession that allow players like Hoolahan, Crofts, Surman, Holt and Morison to make the runs that lead to goal scoring opportunities. Out of all the Premier League games played yesterday Fox attempted the most passes of any midfielder and was only behind Ashley Williams (85 attempted) and Laurent Koscielney (79 attempted) that''s pretty impressive.[/quote]If you discount set-pieces the percentage is even higher. Furthermore he attempts more long-balls than any of his contemporaries in midfield, yet still retains an incredibly high pass percentage, a testament to his ball playing ability and his read of the game.

[Jacko 0]

Fox would be my starting XI every week. He is effectively a deep lying play maker for us. He is always happy to receive the ball off the back four even if he is under pressure. That is so important for getting us on the attack. Rather than our defends resorting to hitting a hopeful, straight ball up to the forwards which a class defender will win the majority of the time.

Ok, he does not possess the destructive qualities of a Tiote, an Essien or a Makelele but if he did he would have about 50 caps for England. So people have to be realistic. Holt would have been my MOM though purely because his leadership qualities and the belief he instills in the whole club from his teammates through to the supporters is astonishing. And he showed it again on Saturday.

[smooth 113]

I am realisitc, I know we are fighting for 17th place. We don''t have star players, we have a unit that works hard together and utilises each individuals strengths and limits the weaknesses of the individuals. I believe that all our players have something to give this season, great to see Crofts getting the praise. But if we achieve our goal then we will look to improve and that is possible, in fact many of us our saying we need a central midfielder, if so then one of our good players may have to be content with a seat on the bench. That is the beauty of this game you are constantly looking for improvement. I have said it Fox for me is a player who is a 7/10 player in that position, he will develop with more games and that is the key he will need to improve if we achieve our goal. No player can rest on their laurels, we have healthy competition now and I believe that alot of the 25 man squad believe they have a chance of playing due to Lamberts inclusion of many of them which is a bonus.

 

Fox can dictate in front of our back four and will against Everton and deserves a place in the team, I am not questioning that. But following the equaliser  Newcastle were firmly in the game, half time came at the right time for us and then again at 3-2 we let Newcastle dictate. It was not a polished attacking performance as some suggest, crossing first half was inadequate and when we put good balls in during the second half we scored. But I like how Lambert moves on and hence the talk is now about the game this weekend.

 

Individually we are improving but we are a team that many are seeing the different facets to our game, not exceptional, but each player has unique qualities and hence that can be worrying for opposing teams. This weekend we play against a very organised team defensively, a little counter attacking football will be good later in the game, but again to start with our two strikers is essential and good quality in to them in the box is what we need. Hopefully we have ironed some bits and bobs out, Whitbreads rustiness etc. But now we can look at maybe a 4-4-2 or the same system for Saturday.

[Reggie Strayshun 0]

It''s good to see someone who is able to come up with some (hopefully accurate) stats on this, but my gut feeling is that not only is Fox a great user of set pieces, but also our best midfielder as regards pass accuracy and keeping posession . The harsh truth is, at this level, if you keep giving the ball away, ie passes not going to a man in yellow, you''ll get punished . As we''ve found to our cost pretty much every game this season. So, whilst I''d agree that there are facets of his game that are not perfect, having Fox on from the start does make the team seem a more solid, cohesive unit . As Smooth writes above, it''s a matter of being a learning curve, and everyone has something to bring to the party, but the nature of the cost of our squad means that we have no "star"...someone who is the finished article. I just believe that the qualities that Fox brings are ones that are vital in the Prem, and I''d agree that the way for him to improve on the areas he''s not so strong in  would be for him to have a prolonged run in the side.

[BarclayCanary (Former HDDH) 0]

I agree, we looked a lot better in midfield.

Question is, will we be lining up the same against Everton away?

I would like to see us give it a go, but maybe we will go for the 4-5-1 away from home, whatever PL goes for im sure he will get it right.