Next Signing

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="pete"]Ridiculous idea to let Simeon go, unless CH has a replacement of the same calibre lined up.[/quote]That would be completely pointless.If we''re looking to replace Jackson then we want someone better, not someone of the same calibre, particularly when I don''t think Jackson is up to this level anyway.I''d rather lose Jackson than C.Martin as his end product is nowhere near the level needed and his overall play is nothing special. He''s just fairly quick and committed, but you need more than that at this level.I''d argue that we''ve got enough strikers numbers wise, but ideally we''d want to improve on what we have and I personally think Jackson is the most dispensible, followed by C.Martin, then Moro, then Vaughan then Holt.Unless we''re signing someone who can realistically challenge Holt or Vaughan (assuming he stays fit), then we''d be better off spending the money elsewhere such as cover for LB.

[Salopian 1]

In terms of strikers, while I would not run down either Martin or Jackson, the fact remains that even if you count a renewed Vaughan as a replacement for Wilbrhaham, we are are still lacking an out-and-out striker. Really only Holt and Moro fall into this category. There seem to be no outstanding juniors coming through, so perhaps we need s young striker who will develop over the season. Holt seems tough, but even he was below par when recovering from a knock, and we saw Moro the same earlier this calendar yeear.

 

I personally would not give up on Martin R. at RB. We face some very effective and speedy wingers, some of whom are capable of beating the best fullbacks in the land! I remember Junior Hoilet giving Naughton a bit of a roasting. We have to face the fact that for some games we shall have to make special arrangements when we face the likes of Moses and Hoilet, - perhaps starving them of the ball and with more protection for our RB down the flank. We have yet to see how quick Whittaker is. There may be times when it has to be Whittaker, Martin or Francomb plus a wide player with instructions to support the RB.

 

I am still a little concerned about the CB position. I largely discount Ward and Barnett - the first is too slow, the second quick but rash. Turner, if he comes, Ayala and Bennett seem to be much of a muchness at present, although the two younger men could develop into something very good. The problem is that they are not there yet, and we could be vulnerable, especially if Turner proves injury prone and one of the others is injured or suspended. I wonder of Martin is any worse at CB than the five specialists. I would be happy if we had a more outstanding CB, although someone like that would cost real money!

[Scooby 0]

[quote user="chicken"]

[quote user="crabbycanary"]I certainly think Barnett and Crofts, next in line for me would be Jackson.[/quote]

 it would be one hell of a risk to loose Jackson who played considerably more premiership football last year than Martin and who demonstrated that his pace and hold up play could frazzle some of the better teams such as Spurs.

[/quote]

This did make me chuckle.  I''ve never heard One Touch Jackson being accused of having good hold up play before.  You have seen him play haven''t you Chicken?

[Indy_Bones 441]

Due to his missing pretty much all of last season, Vaughan is very much like a new signing and certainly offers an excellent foil for either Holt or Moro in the second strikers slot.I see C.Martin as replacing Wilbers in the squad in that he''s clearly a squad player to be used in specific ways/matches.I agree to some extent around Russ, in that in games where he''s up against speed/skill merchants, then players like E.Bennett need to give him extra support to deal with this threat. Whittaker may be quicker than Russ but he doesn''t seem quite as solid defensively, much like Arsenal have Gibbs who is better defending but Santos is better going forwards, well Russ is our Gibbs and Whittaker the Santos.The Turner signing could be more important than we realise as he''s likely to provide the solidity and experience that will allow Ayala and R.Bennett the time to improve their game, but if he gets injured again we''re back to square one as neither Ward nor Barnett is good enough IMHO. The problem is that if we sign another strong CB, that leaves the two younger lads very much on the fringe and potentially being called upon based on injuries/suspensions which adds further pressure on them to perform in a short space of time.I think that should Turner get injured, then Russ would move inside and Whittaker would be the first choice RB.Maybe we should be looking at getting a much more experienced pro to come in for a year just to help the younger guys, someone like a Dublin or similar who can still play to a good level, but probably adds more in experience, morale and support than overall on the pitch.

[CanarySmfc 0]

Whittaker isn''t very fast, I think Rangers fans preferred him in midfield. He can play wide right or centre mid.

[Yellow Wal 314]

Don''t be too concerned about Russell Martin.

When we were in the Championship he was the target of the boo boys but slowly won them over by improving his game as the season went on.

Last season he started shakily but slowly and surely won over the doubters by once again improving his game.

Hopefully after a year in the Premiership he will start at a higher level this season .......... and go on to improve even further!

[Yobocop 1,095]

[quote user="jp_ncfc111"][quote user="Yelloow Since 72"]Why do people talk about Ward leaving when he''s just been given a new contract? Now that Turner is on board, I suspect that Barnett will leave or go out on loan. City have 3 RBs so I can''t see any more there. I would like to see a LB, though, taking Barnett''s place.[/quote] because he is awful[/quote]

Ward is certainly not awful.

[chicken 0]

[quote user="Scooby"][quote user="chicken"]

[quote user="crabbycanary"]I certainly think Barnett and Crofts, next in line for me would be Jackson.[/quote]

 it would be one hell of a risk to loose Jackson who played considerably more premiership football last year than Martin and who demonstrated that his pace and hold up play could frazzle some of the better teams such as Spurs.

[/quote]

This did make me chuckle.  I''ve never heard One Touch Jackson being accused of having good hold up play before.  You have seen him play haven''t you Chicken?

[/quote]

Well if you think hold up play is just back to goal protecting the ball ala Holt then sure - Jackson is crap at that.

I was thinking more along the lines of the balls played forward that he got onto ahead of everyone else and then held onto it before giving it to a team mate to help build further up the pitch.

He did this well at Spurs. And for what it is worth I think his pace is a more valuable asset than C.Martins technical ability now. We currently have a lot of players with good technical ability in Pilkington, Butterfield, Surman, Howson, Snodgrass and Bennett. So what does C.Martin offer above them?

Without that sort of pace in the side we will struggle to worry defences. When you have a player like that to defend you know you can''t rest on your heels - that breaking five yards free could cost a goal. Someone like C.Martin doesn''t have the same fear factor - the defenders want you to play the ball in front of them where they can see it.

[andyc24_uk 58]

Given the focus the club has had over the past few seasons on bringing through promising youngsters, I wouldn''t be at all surprised if CH is watching the Olympic tournament very closely with an eye to bringing in one or two youngsters who have been maybe below the radar of other clubs up until now...

[Muddy funster 0]

Quite right - that Joe Allen looked good!

Actually, I thought he was excellent - but I couldn''t help comparing him to Howson....I don''t see a whole heap of difference to be honest. £15m? Lovely!

[priceyrice 123]

[quote user="chicken"][quote user="Scooby"][quote user="chicken"]

[quote user="crabbycanary"]I certainly think Barnett and Crofts, next in line for me would be Jackson.[/quote]

 it would be one hell of a risk to loose Jackson who played considerably more premiership football last year than Martin and who demonstrated that his pace and hold up play could frazzle some of the better teams such as Spurs.

[/quote]

This did make me chuckle.  I''ve never heard One Touch Jackson being accused of having good hold up play before.  You have seen him play haven''t you Chicken?

[/quote]

Well if you think hold up play is just back to goal protecting the ball ala Holt then sure - Jackson is crap at that.

I was thinking more along the lines of the balls played forward that he got onto ahead of everyone else and then held onto it before giving it to a team mate to help build further up the pitch.

He did this well at Spurs. And for what it is worth I think his pace is a more valuable asset than C.Martins technical ability now. We currently have a lot of players with good technical ability in Pilkington, Butterfield, Surman, Howson, Snodgrass and Bennett. So what does C.Martin offer above them?

Without that sort of pace in the side we will struggle to worry defences. When you have a player like that to defend you know you can''t rest on your heels - that breaking five yards free could cost a goal. Someone like C.Martin doesn''t have the same fear factor - the defenders want you to play the ball in front of them where they can see it.

[/quote]

Your right Chicken, i was actually surprised by how well Jackson managed to hold the ball up last season, there were games when he was playing alongside a big man and still holding the ball up better, couldn''t believe it.

If we were to lose a striker it would have to be Martin first without a shadow of a doubt, has had plenty of chances at Norwich and hasn''t performed since league 1. He doesn''t have the attributes or the skill to become a prem footballer, i hope Hughton sees this and decides another striker is needed. 

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="priceyrice"]If we were to lose a striker it would have to be Martin first without a shadow of a doubt, has had plenty of chances at Norwich and hasn''t performed since league 1. He doesn''t have the attributes or the skill to become a prem footballer, i hope Hughton sees this and decides another striker is needed. [/quote]He was just as good as Jackson (if not better) in the CCC and he wasn''t given a run of games in the prem to say either way.Jackson isn''t prem quality and showed it last season with big effort and virtually no end product, it''s CM''s turn to show what he can do at the top level, but in reality I''d rather we signed some good cover/competition for the LB role than worry about our 4th or 5th choice strikers...

[priceyrice 123]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="priceyrice"]If we were to lose a striker it would have to be Martin first without a shadow of a doubt, has had plenty of chances at Norwich and hasn''t performed since league 1. He doesn''t have the attributes or the skill to become a prem footballer, i hope Hughton sees this and decides another striker is needed. [/quote]He was just as good as Jackson (if not better) in the CCC and he wasn''t given a run of games in the prem to say either way.Jackson isn''t prem quality and showed it last season with big effort and virtually no end product, it''s CM''s turn to show what he can do at the top level, but in reality I''d rather we signed some good cover/competition for the LB role than worry about our 4th or 5th choice strikers...[/quote]

I''m  not concerned about LB, a young loan signings will cover that position adequately. Much more worried about our strikeforce. You have already pointed out Indy how Jackson didn''t offer too much of a threat last season, if Vaughan get''s injured again we will have to rely on Morro and Holt all season. Morrison showed last year two sides to him and we had Wilbers to come on and perform well when Morrison was putting in some of the weakest performances shown by a NCFC player. We need another striker!

[kingsway 94]

After releasing Wilbraham, who in reality contributed well last season and had done enough to earn another years contract, we are weaker upfront. Chris Martin is not an out and out striker and no replacememtn for Wilbraham cause he isn''t a targetman and is no threat to the opposition. I find it bewildering that some fans still think Chris Martin can make it with us in the Premiership. He wasn''t that good in the Championship and Palace wern''t particularly impressed. He needs top move as much as we need to sell him!

 

After Tierney we''ve got Lappin whos not even an out and out LB. We need another LB!

 

There you go one striker, preferably targetman and a left back!

[Legend Iwan 30]

I do think at least one striker is necessary, however, I don''t agree with the target man idea. The positive nature of our play last season meant we scored lots - something I expect us to continue this year. So if anything, buying an a young quick striker with lots of potential, who isn''t expected to instantly supply 10-15 goals would be the right move. Someone like Emmanuel Mayuka would be amazing.

[smooth 114]

SJ has pace, can hold up play, can score.However his pace is not premiership class, was never going to be, he can hold up pretty well but nothing special and he can score - but very rarely - (over 2 seasons his goals to shot ratio is appauling, he has had one good month in our promotion season, apart from a great goal against swansea earlier, and then ran around alot last season without any threat on goal or to a defence)This is the highest standard of football in the world, he is a good player, with plenty of raw ability, but this league if you get given a chance you need to score, ie Morison against Arsenal at the Emirates.We need a new striker, I think we need a new striker, clubs will have worked us out and we will need a new threat to get these goals that everyone thinks we are just going to get. We have quality but we need a new threat to defences and opposing goals. We need it to have that freshening up of of forwards.SJ and CM are going to coast through, both are going to struggle to get another contract at NCFC because of our rise... We need a new striker and I look forward to  see who we bring in.

[star_manic 0]

[quote user="smooth"]SJ has pace, can hold up play, can score.However his pace is not premiership class, was never going to be, he can hold up pretty well but nothing special and he can score - but very rarely - (over 2 seasons his goals to shot ratio is appauling, he has had one good month in our promotion season, apart from a great goal against swansea earlier, and then ran around alot last season without any threat on goal or to a defence)This is the highest standard of football in the world, he is a good player, with plenty of raw ability, but this league if you get given a chance you need to score, ie Morison against Arsenal at the Emirates.We need a new striker, I think we need a new striker, clubs will have worked us out and we will need a new threat to get these goals that everyone thinks we are just going to get. We have quality but we need a new threat to defences and opposing goals. We need it to have that freshening up of of forwards.SJ and CM are going to coast through, both are going to struggle to get another contract at NCFC because of our rise... We need a new striker and I look forward to  see who we bring in.[/quote] ............so, what are you trying to say? if you think we need a new striker you should say so.[;)]

[chicken 0]

Hahahah! His pace isn''t premiership?!!! I mean he only out-ran most of the players he came up against last season.

Sure he may not yet be a proven premiership striker but then we signed him as an unproven championship striker. As McVeigh has said a few times - it takes some players a season to adapt - if Jackson can tune his finishing and just panic a little less when picking out passes I think he could be a real asset.

He may not be as quick as Walcott but he is very, very fast. If you look at some of the goals he has scored for Canada as well the proof is there that he has the skill and quality just not yet the consistancy of application. He''s also the sort of player I would expect may well respond to Hughton''s approach so who knows.

[Chunky Norwich 0]

When Jackson first arrived I thought he was awful and seemed to go through entire games without touching the ball. Then after Scunthorpe he seemed to get his confidence back and started to show what he could do; I still firmly believe that Jackson''s purple patch was a big part in us crossing the line to finish 2nd.

 

He HAS got pace and he''s not afraid to run at people. I wouldn''t say he completely changed games on his own but he did make a big difference when he came on in games like Fulham away and West Brom in the cup. And his link-up and hold-up play is actually pretty good. I thought he was superb against ManYoo at home and controlled and retained nearly every ball that came his way.

 

Jackson''s biggest problem - IMO - has always been his decision-making and his greed at wanting to score every time he has the ball. Very often he will get into fantastic positions or run the channel but will decide to have a crack rather than pull the ball back. If he can work on this then I can definitely see a place for him in the squad

[chicken 0]

Spot on Chunky.

It is his decision making and I can never quite tell if it is confidence or sharpness. The latter could be down to having more time, perhaps, at lower levels of football and that it has just taken him time to adapt.

However against Parma last summer he had two glorious chances and made it far too easy for their keeper.

He has improved since. He has quick feet too. I just wonder with the addition of more ball to feet players along with Hughton''s arm round the shoulder approach, if we will see some players improve.

I''m not saying Lambert wasn''t able too - just that some players respond to different management types differently.

There seemed to be all sorts of groans last season like Holt suggesting he wanted to play more and didn''t understand being on the bench for some games.

However I do think that will all go towards helping us avoid second season syndrome. We didn''t play one fixed formation with one set of prefered players. That means we have a good set of tactically intelligent and adaptable players.

Swansea for example, could falter if Laudrop introduces a new system along with them loosing players.