Let's be honest.......

[unique 435]

.....one effort on target, playing at home against the bottom club in the league, up until Holt was taken off, was a massive disappointment.

It was not that long ago, (and may still be the case up to now), that Norwich had scored more headed goals than any other Premiership club. Goals have dried up a little, of late, along with the number of dangerous crosses being played into the penalty area.

Pilkington, Bennett, Tierney and Naughton were the prime architects of these superbly accurate crosses in the first half of the season, and Holt and Morison''s prowess in the air certainly paid off.

Yesterday''s midfield of Surman, Hoolahan, Fox and Crofts, coupled with Drury''s understandable inclination not to support the attack so readily, was never going to offer danger down either wing, and the game became more about stopping Wigan, than creating clear-cut opportunities for ourselves. Holt''s frustration at being substituted was probably as much about the paucity of service he had been receiving as much as anything else.

The introduction of Morison, Pilkington and Bennett, offered far more threat, and begged the question why Lambert didn''t start with the two wingers, who offer as much defensively as they do going forward.

Lambert is showing a great deal of loyalty towards Jackson, who has shown a desire and determination as great as any Norwich player so far this season. However, his obvious desire to get on the score sheet seemed to cloud his judgement on more than one occasion yesterday and his decision making was poor.

The Premiership is very much a squad game, and Crofts is proving himself very much to be a squad player. He starts for Wales on a regular basis, but when he starts for Norwich at Carrow Road, I can''t help feeling that our attacking intent has been blunted. Crofts strikes me as the sort of player that can be brought on with ten minutes to go, to try and help protect a lead, there are far better attacking options when playing at home.

When all is said and done, yesterday''s disappointment was a product of the level of expectancy brought about by two and a half seasons of uninterrupted success.

Who would have believed that failing to move into eighth spot in the middle of March, would seem such a wasted opportunity?

[The DicTaTor 0]

I agree and think that Wigan deployed Martinez''s tactics brilliantly. Wigan saw that we had no width and after the first 15 mins got very tight and doubled up on both Hoolahan and Fox, giving each oif these players no space or time on the ball. With this our midfield continually ran in to trouble and the only option we had was to go direct to Jackson and Holt upfront. Jackson was moving the Wigan defence around well but Holt was very poor. Why did we not respond to this until Wigan had equalised and we had just 20 mins to go? Wigan were by far the better team for the best part of an hour after we had scored and prior to us bringing on Pilkington and Bennett,we made the change far too late. Hopefully a lesson learnt for when we visit St James Park on Sunday?

[Bury Yellow 2]

A good analysis from both of you except that I don''t think Holt did much wrong frankly. If he had been on the pitch when Pilks and Bennet came on he would have been a happier bunny.

He can''t create and be on the end of crosses. When he did get a modicum of service he had a couple of decent shots and got up well to a header that was off target. I was most impressed with Morison and I am not one of his most ardent admirers. I would like to see Holt and Moro up front next week.

[The DicTaTor 0]

With the exception of Surman (one poor game in a very long time) and Crofts who really should not have started, I do not think that any of our players drastically underperformed yesterday. I think that we got it wong tactically in midfield and it took us far too long to change it. We were slighly better after the midfield changes were made but it is difficult to step things up a level again when you have let your opponents dictate the play for the previous hour.

[Bill 1,788]

very good thread, with some excellent posts

[Branston Pickle 3,657]

Pretty much agree with DicTaTor, I''m not sure why but I just didn''t feel confident when I heard the starting XI, mostly in midfield - it just didn''t feel ''right'' somehow. Given that Howson was ill, I think Johnson for Crofts would have been better for the formation, or starting with Pilks. There wasn''t anyone who you could say had a howler, but nor were they on top form and a point was not a bad return when all''s said and done.

[BroadstairsR 2,164]

Am I the only one who thought that Grant had a pretty good game?

 

Wigan revelled in our lack of bite in midfield and the fact that we were constantly "standing off" them. At times it seemed as though we gave them a free role.

 

A bit more width would have helped as we were passing the ball around ad nauseum and, with no real output available, most of these passes went sideways or backwards.

 

Simeon, who had a good game overall, was culpable on three occasions when he took a shot when a pass across would have likely been more productive. If it comes off he''s a hero, it didn''t so he was a bit of a "villain".

 

 

[CambridgeCanary 0]

What a pleasure to read such a thoughtful, well argued and mutually respectful post. This is how threads should mainly be and not a rare exception.

 

And, entirley concidentally, I agree with the main thrust that we were too narrow and was telling anyone who''d listen to me at half time that we needed Bennett for Crofts to stretch Wigan and turn their back four. ( Yes Bennet rather than Pilkington because I think Bennett is the better winger and he works well with Naughton. I really rate Pilks but Surman was worth persevering with and Crofts was not. In my opinion)

[Shack Attack 0]

Some decent points raised in this thread in a sensible manner. It''s OK to be disappointed with the overall performance and be critical provided you retain a sense of perspective.

 

I think we''re sometimes guilty of looking at the diamond as a formation in which Fox and Hoolahan are the most important players and overlooking the contribution of the other two midfielders. But their role is vitally important to the overall cohesion of our attacking play and if they are not at their best (and I felt that Surman and Crofts were slightly below average on Sunday) things can get a bit static. They kept their shape pretty well when defending but when attacking I felt that their movement was a little predictable and they didn''t support the front two enough. The result was plenty of unthreatening possession in deep areas followed often by a long ball to the strikers who had little support.

 

I do sometimes think that we just haven''t got enough pace in the squad to be able to play the diamond effectively at this level especially against sides like Wigan who are pretty comfortable in possession. When you win possession against a side like that you need those players at the side of the diamond to break quickly and exploit any space preferably supported by the full backs. Neither Crofts or Surman have that pace or athleticism and it is even more noticeable when Tierney is absent. Because of this I''m surprised we haven''t tried Bennett on the right hand side of the diamond as he is quicker than Crofts and has shown whilst filling in at right back that his is defensively capable. The narrowness of the diamond would also allow him to attack with pace more centrally as he did to great effect against Swansea.

 

Of the two forwards I thought Jackson offered more to the team as a whole but his final decision making was poor and you always feel that Holt is the real goal threat in that partnership. Holt was unlucky with his header (as was Morison with a very similar effort later on) but his overall link up play was average at best. It would be harsh to be overly critical though as the service he received was not particularly great. Morison looked much livelier when he came on and is probably pushing for a start next week although this will probably mean further change to the midfield if he partners Holt. We still don''t have a settled first XI as each change in formation or personnel seems to bring about further problems. It doesn''t really matter at this stage as chopping and changing has served us well to date but I suspect it is something Paul Lambert will seek to address in the summer.

 

[Canarino 0]

I''d also like to see the Holt/Morison partnership on from the start. Jackson is a really hard worker, but I think two strong, taller strikers in the box might help to return us to our winning ways. Holt is faster and fitter than he was last season, which also makes a big difference.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

I agree with the OPs analysis although I think it is OTT to call it a "massive" disappointment.  Personally I was just plain disappointed.

 

I suspect PL is keeping Jackson as a starter because he poses a different threat to Holt and Morison so the combination puts more pressure on defences.  I agree he was trying too hard to score and 2-3 occasions on the edge of the box he could have played someone else in rather than having a hopeful shot.

 

My issue with having both Holt and Morison at the start is we get a bit one-dimensional and I don''t think they''ve worked together particularly well when they''ve both started.  When we need a goal near then end I feel good to see one of them coming on as it adds a real goal threat, unlike any of our other attacking substitutes.   The one major positive from Sunday was to see Morison come on and create some decent chances.

 

I think the reality is PL is still feeling his way on the makeup of the team and tactically how to deal with the Prem.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

[unique 435]

The ''massive disappointment'' was........''one effort on target, playing at home against the bottom club in the league'' in the first sixty or so minutes of the game, especially when staying up is almost a foregone conclusion.

Any neutral watching the match, (and unfortunately there would have been plenty), may well have thought that not only were Wigan playing at home, but that both teams were in the bottom five fighting relegation.

Whether it was Lambert''s starting formation, the trip to Spain, an inability to ''get themselves up'' against lower opposition, an inner belief that they have reached safety or any other factor, every fan watching Sunday''s game was expecting Al-Habsi to be troubled far more than he was, and the biggest disappointment for me was knowing Swansea had beaten Man City, moved above Norwich in the table, and that Norwich will no doubt face a Man City side, with the return of both Kompany and Lescott, and will find winning against them a much harder task than the little Welsh darlings.........

Heading our ''mini-league'' should now be the primary target of Lambert and the players.