Am I the only one who thinks we look better than we did last season?

[Indy 3,286]

Sorry but I feel a LDC moment!

 

Even though we didn''t put West Ham away, we look a more solid team (take away the Fulham Game which 3 out of the 4 didn''t play), we don''t look like we will conceede too many at the back, our midfield looks set and has matched and outplayed every team so far since the opening day debacle, it''s just that the same front line as last year are not firing yet, or we would have had a flying start!

 

I really can''t say I''m too bothered yet, I think we might well do Newcastle and match Liverpool.

 

Not like me to see all the positives yet I feel we have been very unlucky given that dive from Manure was given as a penalty yet Surman''s was deemed outside the box, well yes it was but I bet had that been at Old Trafford it would have been a penalty!

 

Give it time people, I know I''m more positive then I was, we have the makings of a very solid team, tough to beat!

[Loopzilla 1]

I feel the same way Indy. A lot of overreaction and premature angst is being displayed.

Aside from one horror show I''ve seen us narrowly miss out on beating our last three opponents - not narrowly avoiding defeat against them. But for a little bit of luck and some better finishing we could/would have won any or all three of the last games.

It''s fine margins, and too early at this stage of the season to be panicking or fretting, just as if we had won those games it would be too early to start dreaming of a top 4 finish!

[Kidderminster Canary 0]

I feel the same, just remember how we were after the home defeat against West Brom last Sept

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Concerned about our strikers for reasons I have posted but can''t recall a better set of midfielders at the Club.

Garrido and Bassong are quality; Ruddy looks more confident and Martin and Barnett are having good seasons too.

Overall, I feel confident going forwards and if we do score we are less likely to need 2 or 3 goals just to get a result.

[Gravitys Rainbow 0]

I think last year we looked very gung ho and as a result of that, very weak of the back.

Under the new manager we seem to be playing the same kind of attractive passing football that we like to see from Norwich, but more controlled, more disciplined and yeah as the OP said better.

Luck IS a major factor in sport, and we just haven''t been getting the rub of the green....An awful decision against QPR, Two Goalkeepers having very good days at Spurs and against West Ham.

I know everyone is against comparing last season to this season, but if I remember rightly, four games in we had 2 points (compared to 3 this year) against similar opposition.

Keep the faith and we will be fine. We are playing good football in the premiership and we are due a win.

[ROBFLECK 132]

I am also still positive ... it''s much too early to judge and I would like to see Butterfield and Hoolahan playing in our midfield... I still don''t understand why Hoolahoops didn''t get a go!!!

Totally agree with the OP on the penalty decision..if it would have been Citeh or Manure, or even Chelski...that would have been a pen...typical

[ZLF 271]

Looking at the squad we certainly looked better overall,  better defenders and real midfield options have improved since last season.    Up front we do look a little lightweight but so we did last season too.

 

Performances on the pitch have confirmed the view for our defence,  since bassong and garrido have played we look very solid (conversely we have to hope that they stay fit!)

 

In midfield the on pitch performances have been mixed,  over run against fulham and stifled by west ham (in the centre certainly) but doing well against QPR and Spurs.  A little nagging concern that while we are getting shots off clear chances are few and far between - but we have the flair to do so si I am confident it will come.

 

Up front - we simply have to do better,  two goals in 4 games is a concern.

 

The other view is that we were winning these games last season;   for the comresponding fixtures last season we (Fulham 0 change, QPR -2 pts, West Ham 0-2pts depending on whether blackburn wolves or bolton are the comparators,   Spurs - 2 pts) are 4-6 points worse off.

 

 

So I do see that we are looking better in defence in particular and I think we have the midfielders to create the chances we need to win games so I think things will improve,  but some concerns will remain until we translate that view into points and some goals.

[kellybrook 0]

A stronger squad that will concede less goals and with the same strikers who performed last season once they found their feet.But it''s not gung-ho and it''s not Lambert so some people are so mentally challenged they are unable to adapt.One more point than last season and far better performances defensively after the Fulham anomaly (as I said it was a frek result and that''s now been proven).

[whoareyou? 0]

We look a lot more organised than last year and less likely to concede.I think Holt only needs a goal and he will be away to score a few more. He seems to start every season slowly.But we will need a new striker in January and they don''t come cheap.

[Matt Morriss 69]

I agree we look better defensively and more solid but my problem is that we have had two home games against relegation candidates QPR and West Ham who were both very poor, and we couldn''t beat them, which for me puts us on the same level, relegation candidates.

The way the team is setup we are going to get lots of draws punctuated by the odd win, and a few losses.

People are also glossing over the fact that QPR were a complete shambles and West Ham were pathetic up front. We should have won theses games and would have last season. Hughton set the team up to not lose. Some faith in Wes and going 3 up front and keeping Jacko on and we''d have won yesterday.

[ZLF 271]

quote user="whoareyou?"

I think Holt only needs a goal

/quote

 

I agree with that;  I suspect his confidence may be a little low,  there was an effort in teh first half following a lay back from snodgrass inside the penalty area which was poor and he subsequently had a moan at snodgrass which made me think that.

 

ps - is it ok for holt to moan at his fellow players during the game (or even after it?) - does not seem very supportive   [;)]   

[Gingerpele 0]

Definitely agree.

I''ve said multiple times on here now all we have been missing from the past three games is quality finishing, we''ve aged good attacking football creating lots of clear cut chances, let down by either poor shooting or great saves, also a bit of bad luck. But we are still as good going forward and we are much better at the back. The only worry can be that Holt might not find his feet, but there is nothing to suggest he won''t as he did last season and the one before.

[Chunky Norwich 0]

Thinking about it, you''re right. I just think the glaring difference is our strikers haven''t really clicked into gear yet (and IMHO Howson isn''t really hitting his form from last year). Even looking at our bench on Saturday, we had Fox, Hoolahoop, Turner etc and a Norwegian international and Elliot Bennett and Whittaker still to return from injury.

 

But for the width of a bar, a lack of dodgy refereeing and a split-second of better composure and we could be on 9 points.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,738]

My biggest concern is that we havent really played anyone yet?

We got thumped at Fulham ,which was a worse display than anything last season, Yes we played well at Spurs but we did last season there aswell and our two home games were against possibly two of the weakest sides in the league.......I guess we''re going to find out a lot more in the coming month??

[Jim Smith 2,314]

I also agree as I said yesterday. I do think we look a better, more organised team in many ways. The only difference has been that we haven''t stuck away the chances we have created but I think we are actually creating more chances whilst also looking stronger at the back.

 

I think the nervousness and worry though stems from the fact that we perhaps know that some players (such as Holt) hit heights last season that we were not expecting them to and therefore are not sure they will hit again. I think the little run of fixtures comning up also has people worried. We never had a prolonged spell last season where you couldn''t see where the next three points were coming from and we picked up wins at regular intervals. With the fixtures coming up, our failure to get a win out of the first four games has a lot of people looking at the fixtures and thinking it could be November before we get a win on the board. That said Liverpool at home is not the intimidating fixture it once was and I think on our day we are capable of getting points at Newcastle or Villa so it would not surprise me if we somehow manage to get more points from this run than we have from the first four. We need to really!

[TIL 1010 4,722]

[quote user="Huckerbys Boots - Matt"]I agree we look better defensively and more solid but my problem is that we have had two home games against relegation candidates QPR and West Ham who were both very poor, and we couldn''t beat them, which for me puts us on the same level, relegation candidates. The way the team is setup we are going to get lots of draws punctuated by the odd win, and a few losses. People are also glossing over the fact that QPR were a complete shambles and West Ham were pathetic up front. We should have won theses games and would have last season. Hughton set the team up to not lose. Some faith in Wes and going 3 up front and keeping Jacko on and we''d have won yesterday.[/quote]

This would be the QPR that were the first team to take a point off Chelsea and the West Ham that had they won would be sitting at the top of The Premiership ?

Hughton is different to Lambert and how he approaches games like AVB is different to ''arry and like Hodgson is different to Cappello.

Just love to 3 up front plus Wes so who would you have sacrificed to accomodate such a line up to put pressure on Bassong,Barnett and Garrido who are still improving as a group at the back.

Before you go off on one as it is me who has responded just remember football is about opinions and if yours is not the same as mine try debating the three points i have raised above without obscene language.[:D]

[87canary 0]

I agree!

I was saying to the missus yesterday that I really like the way we are playing. We just need the goals. Once the goals start coming, we''ll be fine I think.

I fancy us for the upset at Newcastle, and maybe vs Liverpool. We matched Spurs, who in my opinion have a better team than Newcastle. So why can''t we do the same there!?

Hughton will have a point to prove at St. James Park, and think that''ll play into our favour.

[First Wizard 0]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

My biggest concern is that we havent really played anyone yet?

We got thumped at Fulham ,which was a worse display than anything last season, Yes we played well at Spurs but we did last season there aswell and our two home games were against possibly two of the weakest sides in the league.......I guess we''re going to find out a lot more in the coming month??

[/quote]

 

I firmly believe there are no easy games in this league, they only exist on paper and in fans imagination.

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

I think that we are remarkably better than last season and, with the exception of a decent striker short, think that Hoot''s signings have been excellent.

 

We have strength in depth in virtually all areas.

 

Whittaker is the example I want to use. Although the forgotten man and seemingly dismissed by many as not being of any significance, I have a lot of healthy expectations regarding this player. He has been a solid defender and a real force coming forward at the highest level. The only mugs at Rangers were the management, not the players.

 

Back to my point. I rate Russell Martin and have a lot of faith in him too. Great team player et al. Martin or Whittaker? What a nice problem to have.

 

The same in midfield. We will likely have a bench-full of quality sitting on their bums on a weekly basis. Such riches and it seems so extravagently wasteful in traditional NCFC terms. I want them all to play. 

 

We even have a more than decent back-up goalie sitting around, thus allowing our promising youngsters time and scope to develop, whilst instilling more confidence in me, personally, should poppadom fingers get injured again (just a joke based upon Nasser Hussein''s dressing room nick-name because his fingers kept being broken by Aussie pacemen.) 

 

The only area we are not deep enough quality-wise, IMO, is in attack. No name, no whats its as it would open up the usual can of worms, but there is one lump of lacklustre I would prefer to see replaced.  

 

We have been the better team in our last three Premiership games. The thing we lack is points. 

[ROBFLECK 132]

HUCKERBY BOOTS -MATT wrote:

<"I agree we look better defensively and more solid but my problem is that we have had two home games against relegation candidates QPR and West Ham who were both very poor, and we couldn''t beat them, which for me puts us on the same level, relegation candidates.

The way the team is setup we are going to get lots of draws punctuated by the odd win, and a few losses.

People are also glossing over the fact that QPR were a complete shambles and West Ham were pathetic up front. We should have won theses games and would have last season. Hughton set the team up to not lose. Some faith in Wes and going 3 up front and keeping Jacko on and we''d have won yesterday.">>

I agree with this, he should have introduced Wes for the last 15 mins of the game! droped one midfielder and gone for it 3 up front. What a shame Wes didn''t get the chance in front of goal and Wes did not...

[Koreacanary 0]

For some reason, I get haunting flashbacks of our second season under Glenn Roeder a few years , not in the players we have avaliable or the personality of the current manager (who by all accounts is a much finer individual) but in the fact that we are playing very well and not getting results.
I seem to remember during that fateful season that at the beginning we were very good and we should have won most of the games we were involved in based on our performance but we just didn''t seem to be able to get over the line. Following that, we began to slip and play some of the worst football I have ever seen at Carrow Road. I''m not saying that I think that is going to happen, I just hope that we don''t have a demoralising defeat that knocks confidence out of them and starts a dodgy slide but I would agree with the OP that we actually do ''look'' a better side and of course have more points than last season but the lack of a W from two winnable home games is concerning particuliarly because of the run in we have over the next three weeks.

[Block Y Seat 176 80]

[quote user="Koreacanary"]For some reason, I get haunting flashbacks of our second season under Glenn Roeder a few years , not in the players we have avaliable or the personality of the current manager (who by all accounts is a much finer individual) but in the fact that we are playing very well and not getting results.
I seem to remember during that fateful season that at the beginning we were very good and we should have won most of the games we were involved in based on our performance but we just didn''t seem to be able to get over the line. Following that, we began to slip and play some of the worst football I have ever seen at Carrow Road. I''m not saying that I think that is going to happen, I just hope that we don''t have a demoralising defeat that knocks confidence out of them and starts a dodgy slide but I would agree with the OP that we actually do ''look'' a better side and of course have more points than last season but the lack of a W from two winnable home games is concerning particuliarly because of the run in we have over the next three weeks.[/quote]

Lee Clarke leaving had a huge impact.

H