Fiery Zac 1,065 Posted February 23, 2013 Doesn''t get enough credit for some very impressive performances throughout the season (after the early issues!), so thought he deserved his own thread.Had a fantastic game today and with Bassong has formed a solid CB pairing thats a match for any prem attack. Today was the final nail in the coffin of the attention seeking, pointless and simply complete rubbish thread of Hughton not improving our defence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,655 Posted February 23, 2013 I''d currently have him 3rd for POS behind Bassong & Snodgrass...........who''d have thought that after Liverpool (h)?!? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phyxius 0 Posted February 23, 2013 That thread started off in the coffin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mister Chops 7 Posted February 23, 2013 Most improved player over the season for sure. Much of this will be match fitness, but I was at the Fulham debacle and he looks a different class of player these days alongside Bassong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phillip J Fry 0 Posted February 23, 2013 Fellaini is one of the biggest aerial threats in the league at the moment. Even teams like Man Utd. recognize this and look to man-mark him. The fact that Turner was able to win most of his aerial battles against him, and even when he didn''t restrict him, indicates just how well he played. I also remember three top tackles and that block in the first half. He might not be as composed or refined as Bassong, but he can be one hell of a defender at times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AJ 1,218 Posted February 23, 2013 Totally agree, he''s been just as important as Bassong in terms of sureing up our defence Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Brownstone 0 Posted February 23, 2013 Couldn''t agree more. Great in the air, strong in the tackle and reads the game well. Fantastic signing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dicky 0 Posted February 24, 2013 Quality defender - composed, solid and Mr Reliable. Equally as important as Bassong, another great centre half Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Jenkins 0 Posted February 24, 2013 [quote user="Dicky"]Quality defender - composed, solid and Mr Reliable. Equally as important as Bassong, another great centre half[/quote]. First two names on the team sheet, Bunn looks a lot better when those two are there as well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jersey Canary 143 Posted February 24, 2013 Once Turner got fit he has been turning in some class performances. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Old Shuck 181 Posted February 24, 2013 The way Bassong and Turner have got it together means they are fast becoming one of our best central defensive partnerships in recent years. We''ve had a few-Forbes and Stringer, Watson and Bruce, Butterworth and Polston, Mackay and Flem. The current two are right up there with Watson and Bruce for me, top quality, both very different players but complement each other so well. Can see Bassong as a future Norwich Captain-just a tad worried his performances might get him noticed by a few of the big clubs if he keeps it up, though he clearly loves it here. Hughton might well be bringing in some more quality this Summer but I wouldn''t expect anyone to immediately bother B and T straight away. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a1canary 0 Posted February 24, 2013 Agreed. My only worry is that we''re still one injury away from a serious relegation battle. Keep them fit and we stay out of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pablofarmer 0 Posted February 24, 2013 He put in a great performance yesterday, especially after he got a Fellani blast to his manhood! Sme players would of gone off after that, but after a few mins he was chasing players again.Great job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yorkshire Canary 118 Posted February 24, 2013 After his early days when with hindsight he was clearly not match fit he has been magnificant and is turning out to be one of our most valuable signings for a very long time overshadowed by the impact of Bassong. do not think thereare too many better centre half pairingsoutside the top 4 clubs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Graham Paddons Beard 2,351 Posted February 24, 2013 [quote user="Phillip J Fry"]Fellaini is one of the biggest aerial threats in the league at the moment. Even teams like Man Utd. recognize this and look to man-mark him. The fact that Turner was able to win most of his aerial battles against him, and even when he didn''t restrict him, indicates just how well he played. I also remember three top tackles and that block in the first half. He might not be as composed or refined as Bassong, but he can be one hell of a defender at times.[/quote]Spot on. towards the end of the second half Fellaini moved deeper as he wasn''t getting any joy against Turner. One of his best performances today, against a really decent player. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheRock 147 Posted February 24, 2013 Threw in some great tackles and won nearly everything in the air. Great cover for the other defenders and he looks like he has buillt so much confidence playing with Bassong. [Y][:D]We should start calling him Michael Puyol, because he''s solid! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayNCFC 14 Posted February 24, 2013 Turner has massively improved this season, I think he has been, as many have said, overshadowed by Bassong, but together the two really are stating to gel.No offense to Bunn, but when we get Ruddy back between the sticks we can start enjoying many more clean sheets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
......and Smith must score. 1,306 Posted February 24, 2013 [quote user="a1canary"]Agreed. My only worry is that we''re still one injury away from a serious relegation battle. Keep them fit and we stay out of it.[/quote]Can''t agree we''d be embroiled in a relegation battle this term if Bassong or Turner got injuredWe''re 8 points clear and I''d wager that we''ve enough in reserve - just - even if they were both out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yelloow Since 72 53 Posted February 24, 2013 I agree with all of this. What I also like about both Turner and Bassong is that they don''t duck away from blocking shots, even when it hurts. That does go back to Forbes and Stringer, or Watson and Bruce (Steve didn''t get that ''look'' accidentally!). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lappinitup 629 Posted February 24, 2013 Michael Turner is The Doc Mk 2. If you watch him at set pieces he grapples with players more than the Doc ever did. Once the refs and Sky wise up to it he will become a liability. Get rid ASAP Hughton! [:@] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
star_manic 0 Posted February 24, 2013 [quote user="Yorkshire Canary"]After his early days when with hindsight he was clearly not match fit he has been magnificant and is turning out to be one of our most valuable signings for a very long time overshadowed by the impact of Bassong. do not think there are too many better centre half pairingsoutside the top 4 clubs[/quote]...i would hazard a guess that Arsenal fans would not say no to the prospect of a Turner/Bassong pairing in the centre of their defence. i certainly would not swap either of them for Mertesacker or Squilacci or even Koscielney. we are lucky to have them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4th floor 4 Posted February 24, 2013 I was interested to read what Kevin Keegan had to say in November about the potential of Turner and Bassong''s partnership. I agree with his general thoughts in that we''ve picked up a couple of very good players who for one reason or another weren''t playing regularly for their respective sides. Contrary to what some believe, it doesn''t always follow that not making the starting eleven of a prem side means a player is poor and I''m much in favour of taking these sorts of calculated risks in order to get good value.[url=http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/179594.html]http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/179594.html[/url]One of Chris'' major contributions at Norwich has been improving the defence. They have kept four clean sheets already this season which is one more than they managed in the whole of last season. It is down in no small part to the two centre-backs, Sebastien Bassong and Michael Turner, who are now gelling after struggling a bit initially. I know all about Bassong having brought him to England when I was at Newcastle. He was an absolute bargain buy at £500,000 and I had only watched him train once but knew he would be well suited to the Premier League.He was one of the few transfers that the Newcastle board actually sanctioned for me during that period - I told them we just couldn''t turn this kid down. We only had him for a week of pre-season and he didn''t look out of place, a big physical lad who could handle the rough and tumble of English football. I was a bit surprised things didn''t go well for him at Spurs, but they had a real glut of centre-backs at that time which was a little unfortunate. At Norwich, though, he''s been playing every week and seems to have developed a good partnership with Turner, who was in a similar position at Sunderland, not really playing regularly. Both lads are really solid Premier league centre-backs and really good additions for Chris - they are experienced and have the makings of a good partnership. They will definitely need to be just that against United! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingsway 94 Posted February 24, 2013 Some facts about Turner without applying the scapegoat agenda! - He was poor against Fulham on the opening day when the whole team were poor, we were lucky to lose 5-0! He was poor in both Liverpool games and in the home game together with Garrido (yes together with Garrido, it wasn''t all Turners fault as the scapegoaters at the time made out!) made an awful mistake that led to one of Suarez''s goals! Other than these games Turner has been very solid in most other games and has been outstanding in more than a few. Apart from Bassong, I can confidently say Turners our best CB since the days of Andy Linighan/ Ian Butterworth! That Turner song that has been knocking around at games this season is so factually incorrect cause Turner was never shi*e, he just had a few iffy games which every player does! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZLF 261 Posted February 24, 2013 I cant agree entirely with this adulation.I think we have two michael turners - for me he is truly either Jeckell or Hyde. Wwhen he partners barnett or bennett his has been abysmal - worse than those two in some of the game and better in others - but we are talking margins of underperformance. That M Turner is not worth his wages.I think Chops sums it up - he has improved and has an excellent understanding with Bassong and it is this Turner that is great and regularly outplays seb and is an excellent signing. Fortunately we have seen more of this turner than the other :-)Good game michael - just try not to hold on quite so tight to manures strikers as you did fellaini next week - the ref will be looking for it and give a pen for it there!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JC 0 Posted February 24, 2013 I thought initially we had spent unwisely on Turner but you can see the difference between when he does and doesn''t play.The thing that pleases me with his current form is that he is an old style centre back shown with a block yesterday where he jumped in front of Fellaini taking a blast from 25 yards, some true grit and strength of character to come back from his "offside" issues at the start of the season Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lake district canary 0 Posted February 24, 2013 Turner has put in some excellent performances this season. When he''s not playing alongside Bass though he doesn''t look very comfortable at all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJP 79 Posted February 24, 2013 Thought Turner was immense against Everton and in general when we have got the big results this season his performances have been at the heart of it all. I don''t really go along with the notion that he struggles when he''s not with Bassong or rather that he needs Bassong alongside him to be a good defender. He''s proven himself at other clubs in the Premier League when he hasn''t been playing alongside Bassong. He''s made a great partnership with Bassong because they''re both good enough to do it at this level and it''s a naturally balanced right and left side. But if Bassong is out injured and Ryan Bennett plays all of a sudden you''ve only got 1 good central defender (Turner) out there as Bennett is a weak link at this level and someone is playing on the side of defence they''re not really comfortable with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ha ya got a loight boy? 0 Posted February 24, 2013 [quote user="GJP"]Thought Turner was immense against Everton and in general when we have got the big results this season his performances have been at the heart of it all. I don''t really go along with the notion that he struggles when he''s not with Bassong or rather that he needs Bassong alongside him to be a good defender. He''s proven himself at other clubs in the Premier League when he hasn''t been playing alongside Bassong. He''s made a great partnership with Bassong because they''re both good enough to do it at this level and it''s a naturally balanced right and left side. But if Bassong is out injured and Ryan Bennett plays all of a sudden you''ve only got 1 good central defender (Turner) out there as Bennett is a weak link at this level and someone is playing on the side of defence they''re not really comfortable with.[/quote]Agree Turner is doing well. But the difference between Turner and Bassong is that when Bassong plays, it doesn''t seem to matter who plays alongside him - Barnett and Bennett have both looked good when playing with Bassong. However, when Turner plays with someone other than Bassong the defence looks less organised. That''s not running down Turner at all but it shows Bassong is the lynchpin of the defence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJP 79 Posted February 24, 2013 [quote user="Ha ya got a loight boy"][quote user="GJP"] Thought Turner was immense against Everton and in general when we have got the big results this season his performances have been at the heart of it all. I don''t really go along with the notion that he struggles when he''s not with Bassong or rather that he needs Bassong alongside him to be a good defender. He''s proven himself at other clubs in the Premier League when he hasn''t been playing alongside Bassong. He''s made a great partnership with Bassong because they''re both good enough to do it at this level and it''s a naturally balanced right and left side. But if Bassong is out injured and Ryan Bennett plays all of a sudden you''ve only got 1 good central defender (Turner) out there as Bennett is a weak link at this level and someone is playing on the side of defence they''re not really comfortable with.[/quote]Agree Turner is doing well. But the difference between Turner and Bassong is that when Bassong plays, it doesn''t seem to matter who plays alongside him - Barnett and Bennett have both looked good when playing with Bassong. However, when Turner plays with someone other than Bassong the defence looks less organised. That''s not running down Turner at all but it shows Bassong is the lynchpin of the defence. [/quote]Ah but Bassong always plays on the left of the defence in his natural/comfortable position. Would he look as clever playing on the right? Probably not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morisons Prozac 0 Posted February 24, 2013 Turner doesn''t look comfortable alongside Bennett and Barnett because they are crap and he has to mop up after them as well as do his own job. For the record Turner was actually doing okay against Fulham until he conceded the penalty. Until that point Tierney was causing all the goals Share this post Link to post Share on other sites