If Pilks is out on Saturday.........

[railwaycanary 0]

Hughton should play Bradley Johnson left midfield, as this was the position where he came to prominence at Leeds, and he scored a number of goals coming in at the far post, this would give a balance to the midfield that has been missing in Pilks absence, and allow Snoddy to revert to the right hand side where he is at his best, I would play Fox and Tettey in central midfield with Holt and Jackson up front, as in my opinion they are still our most effective pairing,defence picks itself apart from Bunn for Camp.

[TIL 1010 4,826]

I was sort of nodding with approval and thinking yeah maybe until i got to the word Jackson. Are you seriously putting him in the pecking order before Kamara and Becchio ?

[railwaycanary 0]

Not being funny but 1 goal between them, hardly going to frighten any PL defence, Jackson is unfairly maligned, Kamara is impact sub at best, Becchio has shown nothing to prove he has anything to offer over Morison, although he has not had enough game time as yet, unfortunately Hughton is to blinkered to try anything different.

[SYG 0]

I still think Becchio and KK would be our best and most troublesome front two, if just given the chance...

[splutcho 177]

I don''t think Jackson will ever start a game for Norwich again. There''s a reason he''s now 4th (soon to be 5th) choice.

[TIL 1010 4,826]

[quote user="railwaycanary"] Jackson is unfairly maligned, [/quote]

Based on what exactly ? Too much sentiment is based around the injury time winner in the Derby match and his winner at Pompey. He has not shown any Premiership qualities when he has been given the chance . Please don''t mention pacey and can run the channels as Usain Bolt could do that but then be like a startled rabbit caught in headlights once inside the penalty area.

[railwaycanary 0]

Its all about opinions, but if we do ever get the ball into the opposition box again I know who I would like to see in there,and if Fox is in the side there might be chances created.Quite frankly if the side is unchanged from Wigan any striker would struggle to score with so few chances created.

[KeelansGlove 0]

I''m hoping that if Pilks isn''t fit that we see Kamara out wide with Holt up front. Tettey and Johnson in Midfield

[Salopian 1]

It''s not "if", it''s virtually certain that Pilks will miss the Swansea game. This is CH''s judgement.  (I suspect that with such a needle match they would not want to play someone who is a little hesitant and is trying to avoid exacerbating his injury. If things flared up again, he could be out for the rest of the season, and really dent our hopes.) If there is any doubt, far better to hold him back until the next game.

So in place of Pillks, what does CH do? Neither Bennett nor Sodgrass (-strangely) seems happy playing there. Apart from Garrido and Tierney, the only one capable of getting forward and crossing from the left is Johnson.

 

I wonder if we shall see a change, with a sronger central midfield - perhaps Howson, Tettey and Johnson, or including Whittaker, with Garrido asked to get forward and provide crosses, with his defensive duties partly covered by Johnson or other midfielders. Up front would be Wes and Holt/Kei, or perhaps Kei and Becchio and also Snodgrass. We would be slightly unbalanced without a left winger, but other clubs survive without two two class wingers.

 

There is little point in playing as left winger a player who is unhappy or awkward there.

 

 

[Yellow Wal 314]

What strange suggestions.

Simply put - Jackson is not good enough.

Fox is not good enough.

Neither player has been a regular player for the last two seasons, so why now?

The teams that have been picked this season have been picked by necessity, but now we must move on and look for better quality, as I am sure we will do when we finally confirm our position as a Premiership team for next season.

[Joanna Grey 0]

If CH insists on putting Snoddy on the left wing I would suggest playing Kamara or Whittaker on the right rather than Bennett. Both of them have more guile and presence than Bennett. In fact I would rather have one of the Murphy twins there.

[The Great Wall Of Tettey 0]

Kamara RM.....Snodgrass LM

Holt Becchio up top!

Kamaras position for the last few years has been on the RW and snodgrass plays LM for Scotland.

The return of tettey means we should be able to play them 2 in advanced roles using him and Johnson as cover?

[star_manic 0]

i would like to see the same, but KK and Snoddy the other way round. i am sure that KK played wide left for Kansas, and Snoddy is far more effective on the right than he has been on the left since filling in for Pilks. Holt and Becchio up front.

[Sussexyellow 55]

We have really struggled to find an answer to the LM position when Pilks has been unavailable - and I do not expect to see him return tomorrow.

I agree Snoddy needs to move back to the right, but there are no clear answers to the LM position. I read that KK plays the right flank for Kansas so that may not be the answer. Possibly give Whittaker ago, he was advertised as being able to play anywhere across the back four or midfield and he does have an attacking instinct.

COYY

[AJ 1,235]

From what I''ve heard, Pilks isn''t in the squad tomorrow.

Seeing as all else as failed, we should try KK down the left, Snoddy down the right, and Holt or Becchio up top

[GJP 79]

[quote user="railwaycanary"]Hughton should play Bradley Johnson left midfield, as this was the position where he came to prominence at Leeds, and he scored a number of goals coming in at the far post, this would give a balance to the midfield that has been missing in Pilks absence, and allow Snoddy to revert to the right hand side where he is at his best, I would play Fox and Tettey in central midfield with Holt and Jackson up front, as in my opinion they are still our most effective pairing,defence picks itself apart from Bunn for Camp.[/quote]

So, in what is quite an important game for us, you would have a central midfield partnership of a guy who has played only a tiny amount of competitive football this season and another who hasn''t played a competitive game for several weeks. To me that seems a bit risky. Johnson has been pretty solid all season and Howson has done better than he''s had credit for (he isn''t allowed to get away with things that Johnson and Tettey seemingly are). Why drop both of them for a couple of players who are likely to be well off the pace?

 

And then there''s the nonsense of Jackson upfront and Johnson wide left.

[Canary Willo 0]

I know it wont happen but the diamond with Pilks out is the best solution to allow 2 up top.

                                       Bunn

Martin            Turner                     Bassong         Garrido

                                       Tettey

              Snodgrass                           Johnson

                                     Hoolahan

                     Kamara                   Holt

The key areas of tactical change from 4-5-1 would be covered by players who know the system, including Johnson who played this role several times last season.

It also gets the very best out of Wes and Holt, this is what they know best. Cant see it happening but think it would be best as also gives us numbers in the centre where Swansea are strong

[railwaycanary 0]

As I said it is all about opinions, and Jackson up front and Johnson wide left, is no more nonsense than your statement about Howson having done better than he''s given credit for, he gets very little credit because he very rarely gives credit worthy performances, not his fault just not up to PL standard, I am still waiting for a reasonable response as to why KK and Becchio offer anything more than Jackson, I do realise he is not the greatest striker ever to pull on a Yellow and Green jersey, but with decent service he is still a threat.

[The Farmer 0]

Johnson on the wing?

Wow. But no thanks.

Would rather see us go for it for once. Been hoping for that for weeks.

Give Becchio and Butterfield a go.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="Yellow Wall"]What strange suggestions.

Simply put - Jackson is not good enough.

Fox is not good enough.

Neither player has been a regular player for the last two seasons, so why now?

The teams that have been picked this season have been picked by necessity, but now we must move on and look for better quality, as I am sure we will do when we finally confirm our position as a Premiership team for next season.[/quote]What a load of dirge, Fox came third in POTS last year and has had 7 minutes of premiership football all season. 

Fox made a similar amount of appearances to Pilkington.  Only Ruddy was a ''regular'' because Lambert had the ability to utilise the squad. Something seriously lacking this season.

I know this has to be repeated ad infinitum to some people but Fox last season:

• Most accurate crosser in the premiership

Appeared in 23(8) NCFC premiership games:

• Made the most passes per game
• Most total accurate passes all season

• 3rd highest passing accuracy

• Most Key Passes per game (those that result in a shot on goal)

• Most accurate crosses per game (those that find a NCFC player)

• Most accurate long balls per game (those that find a NCFC player)

• The midfielder/forward least dispossessed per game

Fox has clearly shown that at premiership level if you want a midfielder able to influence the game with a wide range of imaginative, incisive, and accurate passing, and to retain possession, he is your man.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="morty"]But the fact remains that Hughton doesn''t pick him, and thats the only fact that actually matters.People can of course theorise that its personal, but obviously he isn''t doing enough in training to warrant a place.Theres no mystery here for me.[/quote]I don''t think it is anything to do with personal or training.... As we all know, Andy Hughes was the next Maradona in training.It is simple, two reasons:1) Hughton does not employ any squad rotation2) Hughton wants defensive players in those two central midfield slots.  It is another reason why we don''t concede many goals, and score even less. Howson is marginally better defensively than Fox.  And BJ a true defensive midfielder.  Forget the fact that BJ has the worst passing accuracy or a central midfielder in the premiership and is dispossessed twice as often per game as Fox. 

[morty 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"][quote user="morty"]But the fact remains that Hughton doesn''t pick him, and thats the only fact that actually matters.People can of course theorise that its personal, but obviously he isn''t doing enough in training to warrant a place.Theres no mystery here for me.[/quote]I don''t think it is anything to do with personal or training.... As we all know, Andy Hughes was the next Maradona in training.It is simple, two reasons:1) Hughton does not employ any squad rotation2) Hughton wants defensive players in those two central midfield slots.  It is another reason why we don''t concede many goals, and score even less. Howson is marginally better defensively than Fox.  And BJ a true defensive midfielder.  Forget the fact that BJ has the worst passing accuracy or a central midfielder in the premiership and is dispossessed twice as often per game as Fox.  [/quote]Totally agree with those reasons.Now we just need to convince the people who go on and on about how Fox should be in the team.Do you have actual facts to back up those Johnson stats? As I think his passing has actually improved.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="morty"]Totally agree with those reasons.Now we just need to convince the people who go on and on about how Fox should be in the team.Do you have actual facts to back up those Johnson stats? As I think his passing has actually improved.[/quote]Well I think Fox should be in the team.  1 win in 14, and a lifeless attack... The defense may well be improved, but our results are relegation form in the last 14 games.  Then again, due to Hughton''s lack of squad rotation, the squad players have looked totally off the pace this season.  Probably due to a complete lack of game time. As for Johnson, yes. His passing is down from a respectable 78% last season to a dismal 71.7% this season.   The worst for any Premiership central midfielder. That said, I think he has had a decent season as a defensive player.Sort by passing, low to high, BJ is 3 pages in.

[Yellow Wal 314]

Two or three weeks ago Elliot Bennett was being touted to start matches because he was ''far better than what we had''.

Like Fox, people could only remember the good parts of his play. Now that he has played we see that there are other formations and players who are being suggested instead.

As somebody else said - "He doesn''t track back, he doesn''t run with the ball, he very rarely tackles and I don''t remember him scoring in the three leagues he''s played in. He''s a good player............. ".

Sorry, forget the few defence splitting passing that might come in ninety minutes and look at the deficiencies. If he was as good as you suggest he would either a) be in the team or b) had numerous clubs after him in the last window.

Neither of those apply.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"][quote user="morty"]Totally agree with those reasons.Now we just need to convince the people who go on and on about how Fox should be in the team.Do you have actual facts to back up those Johnson stats? As I think his passing has actually improved.[/quote]Well I think Fox should be in the team.  1 win in 14, and a lifeless attack... The defense may well be improved, but our results are relegation form in the last 14 games.  Then again, due to Hughton''s lack of squad rotation, the squad players have looked totally off the pace this season.  Probably due to a complete lack of game time. As for Johnson, yes. His passing is down from a respectable 78% last season to a dismal 71.7% this season.   The worst for any Premiership central midfielder. That said, I think he has had a decent season as a defensive player.Sort by passing, low to high, BJ is 3 pages in.[/quote]That is a surprising stat, as I too thing BJ has had a good season.I honestly don''t think the inclusion of Fox is the answer. That said, I don''t actually know what the answer is.Maybe you''re right, maybe Fox does deserve a chance.

[Yellow Wal 314]

I love it how the statisticians seem to think they can analyse everything to do with the game.

Nothing ever gets into statistics when the player does not play or touch the ball.

How many times did a player track back and prevent the opposition playing a telling ball? How many times didn''t a player track back and allowed a goal to materialise because he didn''t?

These are but two of numerous other ''statistics'' that are never reported because it would bring into play ''opinion'' and knowledge of the game by the compiler and as such become meaningless ....... like so many of the reported statistics that you keep quoting. It is a players overall performance that is looked at not selected parts of it.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="Yellow Wall"]Two or three weeks ago Elliot Bennett was being touted to start matches because he was ''far better than what we had''.

Like Fox, people could only remember the good parts of his play. Now that he has played we see that there are other formations and players who are being suggested instead.

As somebody else said - "He doesn''t track back, he doesn''t run with the ball, he very rarely tackles and I don''t remember him scoring in the three leagues he''s played in. He''s a good player............. ".

Sorry, forget the few defence splitting passing that might come in ninety minutes and look at the deficiencies. If he was as good as you suggest he would either a) be in the team or b) had numerous clubs after him in the last window.

Neither of those apply.[/quote]David Fox is a poor mans Michael Carrick... now why does he get picked for Man United again.  Could it be the way he sets the temp of the game,seems to know where he will pass the ball before he has even received it.  Not a BJ or Howson style receive the ball, look up, dally on it, then pass it in a crab like fashion.  No wonder our build up play is slow, ponderous and ineffective with those two in the middle.As for Elliot Bennett, 2 Premiership starts in his natural position.  Lucky you were not judging Michael Turner or Mark Bunn this season. Although don''t think he showed enough last season.As for your dumb reasoning.  a)  I have shown exactly why Hughton does not pick him. Hughton wants defensive players in the central midfield.  b) Just because he is good enough for Norwich, does not mean he will attract the interest of larger clubs.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="morty"]I honestly don''t think the inclusion of Fox is the answer. That said, I don''t actually know what the answer is.[/quote]I don''t think there is any one answer.  If we are going to persist with the 4-5-1 we could at least play a few more attack minded players. Our home form is quite good anyway.... although in individual games against sides who have looked well below par we haven''t really made the most of the opportunity. Who knows.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"][quote user="morty"]I honestly don''t think the inclusion of Fox is the answer. That said, I don''t actually know what the answer is.[/quote]I don''t think there is any one answer.  If we are going to persist with the 4-5-1 we could at least play a few more attack minded players. Our home form is quite good anyway.... although in individual games against sides who have looked well below par we haven''t really made the most of the opportunity. Who knows.

[/quote]Personally I think, the key point for me, is the full backs. Our solidity in defence has a lot to do with their orders to stay there, rather than bomb forward often.

[BOO 0]

Get Foxy in there today and get some go forward