Bennett and that goal

[Ha ya got a loight boy? 0]

Eliot Bennett scored a terrific goal against Spurs last year.   It was something we had all been waiting for, as we knew he had it in him.    Since then though he hasn''t really had many chances to shine.     The one time I remember he took on his man and beat him, he got pulled down (qpr, I think) but it just showed he does have the pace to trouble defences.    He just needs to do it more often.   I''m not convinced Snodgrass is everything he''s made out to be - his final ball is often poor and his decision making is sometimes less than good - Holt tends to stay out of the way when Snodgrass has the ball, waiting for a cross or getting in a good position - but he rarely gets given the ball because Snodgrass hangs on to it  too long, or puts in a poor cross.  Not really knocking Snodgrass because he has put in some good performances, its just  I would like to see Bennett given a run in the side as I feel he has a special ability that some of the others don''t possess - pace and a terrific shot.  Its just that we don''t see it enough from him.

   

[star_manic 0]

i am not sure that CH has much confidence in him. and playing him on the left as an inverted winger just does not suit his game at all.

[pablofarmer 0]

Like you can see the flaws in Snoddys game, but also appreciate what he brings.

With it likely Pilks is carrying an injury I would like to see CH move Snoddy to the left and play benji on the right.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

I thi9nk Elliot Bennett has been unlucky in that Snodgrass has been outstaanding this season. That''s why his opportunities have been few. We all saw how he scored so many spectatcular goals for Brighton and that Spurs goal certainly was due and welcome. He''s obviously one of the most popular members of the squad and I really hope he gets more opportunities.

 

Can''t agree about Snodgrass though. I think his final ball with either foot is the best we have.

 

 

[Indy 3,283]

Not that I''m antu Bennett but he''s done very little when played to warrant any chance of replacing the POT in my book in Snodders.

 

I can''t see the point of keeping Bennett next year, best to offload him in the summer and look to replace with someone who will push Snodders more.

 

I don''t see what some do in Bennett, Jackson and Fox, all of them have served us well, helped to push us where we are but all are not up to where we need to be next year. We need to find the next level players to push us on.

 

 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,557]

For me, Bennett''s two stand out performances have come when he''s played behind the striker. Posh away this season, but most notably Swansea away last season. Playing on the left should allow him to cut inside and hit shots with his right like we all know he can do, unfortunately he just doesn''t seem to do this.

 

I wonder if he is one of those players who suffers from lack of arrogance - a bit more self belief could do the lad the world of good. I would happily see him still at Norwich next season, but for me he has been one of the players who haven''t been meeting the standards they set last season.

[The Great Drinkell 50]

[quote user="Indy"]

Not that I''m antu Bennett but he''s done very little when played to warrant any chance of replacing the POT in my book in Snodders.

 

I can''t see the point of keeping Bennett next year, best to offload him in the summer and look to replace with someone who will push Snodders more.

 

I don''t see what some do in Bennett, Jackson and Fox, all of them have served us well, helped to push us where we are but all are not up to where we need to be next year. We need to find the next level players to push us on.

 

 

[/quote]

With these two in the side we could counter attack with pace, with Fox in the team we might just get some service to the front two. Not sure Fox fits the system CH likes though to be honest.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

I''m a big fan of Elliott Bennett but the thing is Snoddy has contributed so much of our attacking threat this year, if you add up the crosses he''s put in that have lead to goals, his runs that have drawn free kicks, plus the fact that he can strike a free kick from a good position with a real chance of  scoring (something I can''t remember a City player doing for years) so it''s no surprise EB has dropped out of the starting lineup.

 

So his chances this year have been a mix of sub appearances and being played out of position, and he''s only showed his quality in flashes.

 

If Pilks is not 100% recovered by Sunday, I''d prefer Hughton to give EB another go on the left in 4-5-1 with Hoolahan in his usual spot.  Given that Pilks has now had to come off in the first half twice with what looked like the same injury, I really hope he only starts Sunday if he''s fully fit.

[I am a Banana 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]Can''t agree about Snodgrass though. I think his final ball with either foot is the best we have.[/quote]

Garrido or Snodgrass?

[Indy 3,283]

There''s that mythical "PACE" remark......Jackson does not have blistering pace, he''s just a very hard working player out of his depth at this level. I loved Jackson in the Championship season, that last 12 games he lit up our side. But not for me not at this level.

 

As for Bennett, yep has pace, but lacks the final ball, his crossing is poor. I agree with Beth, he''s had a few performances where he has looked decent, but I''m not sure to be honest.

[ZLF 271]

Bennett has pace but for me the quality of his final ball is not quite there.   Snoddy is significantly better with both delivery and option choosing.  If elliott could passlike snoddy we would have a player for about a season and a half before he moved on!

 

Personally I think Pilks is the most consistent creator - not on teh ball enough be he is so econmonical and rarely fails to chose the right option or put in a ball giving us our best chance.   We will miss him this weekend - bearing in mind he is out of the irish squad for next week I cant see him playing Sunday.

 

Playing behind the striker may be his best position and could be an alternative to wes

[jedi 0]

spot on Bennett seams reluctant to take a man on, confidence issue maybe?!

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

We could always play Snod on the left and Benno on the right on Sunday. By all accounts Snodgrass is equally effective on the left as the right.

[Redders Right Foot 22]

With these two in the side we could counter attack with pace, with Fox in the team we might just get some service to the front two. Not sure Fox fits the system CH likes though to be honest.

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we could also have an even worse final touch than we already do. Jackson pace isn''t all it is cracked up to me, Bennos is, but he isn''t worthy of knocking Snoddy out of the team, not because benno is bad, but due to the fact that snoddy has been (one of) our best players this season, and I know I''m not the only one who thinks that.

Jackson is a good champ forward. but he isn''t premier league standard. simple as. once Kamara is fully fit you will see his pace. it isn''t blistering, but it is very similar to Jacksons

[smooth 114]

Benno will have a job to do now... But simply put he is not good enough, a squad player for us next season at best.

It is a shame as I wanted him to be so much more, delighted with his goal and his contribution, but no question snoddy who is better. Snoddy moves in field and has created many goal scoring chances, there is no question he is integral and will improve next season.

I agree with other posters in regard to the supposed ''pace'' of both eb and jacko. Afraid they have average premier league pace and have not troubled defences enough. If posters are saying I rem,be,r this one game or this run of three then that is not enough. We are in the toughest league and you need players who perform week in week out. Eb hasn''t and I do not see him doing it next ear. His development has stagnated. I expect a new winger in the summer, genuine pace and genuine goal threat, it is time to upgrade. Pilky will then be on the bench.

If we want to be stable in this league we need two new strikers, a winger, central midfielder and left back. All starters.

However Eb has a short term future to show that he can play in this league, he has to hit this hard. Do I think he has a long term future, well it all depends on now. Personally I do not think he has done enough in his two year stay here and I do look forward to some new players in the summer. A winger will be joining.

[Ha ya got a loight boy? 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"]We could always play Snod on the left and Benno on the right on Sunday. By all accounts Snodgrass is equally effective on the left as the right.[/quote]

That would be interesting.   Its not really any gamble, either, because they could swap sides at any time, but  I suspect Hughton will want to keep things tight, as usual and not experiment anymore until we are 100% safe.     But it would be better than putting Wes on the left.  

[catlineker 11]

People knocking Bennetts quality of delivery are either blind or have no memory of last season. He is an excellent crosser of the ball. There is a confidence issue sometimes, i suspect with taking the fullback on but his crosses in open play are great.

He cant really be judged fairly on this seasons performances ( and neither can Fox IMHO) given his lack of gametime and the fact he has been played mostly out of position.

Snodgrass is an asset to the club and its obvious that he only wants to play on the right but for the benefit of the team he can be far more effective on the left than Bennett can (i also think we could give him Hoolahans roving role) and at least utilise Bennett better.

About the last open play goal i can remember us scoring @ West Ham came from Bennett skinning the full back and putting in a cross from the byeline. Snodgrass has been good this season but hasnt done that too often.

[Joanna Grey 0]

The issue of playing Bennett on the right and Snodgrass on the left has been discussed many times on this forum due to Pilkington''s injury record. But it never happens so there must be a reason for it and I can''t imagine it''s because Snodgrass is being obstinate and refuses to swap wings. At the end of the day it will be a management decision and we can only presume that they are aware of an issue that we are not.

[Redders Right Foot 22]

but why put our best player going forward on his unprefered side. benno can be useful yes, but simply put he isn''t as good as snodgrass.

I have spoken to leeds fans and many have said snoddy looks very ineffective on the left.

so if we have 2 right wingers and no one for the left, with 1 right winger better than the other and both more or left as ineffective as each other on the left, who would you play on the right?

[catlineker 11]

because if he is our best player then hopefully he will be more adaptable than those less skilled than him.

Surely it''s worth a try. For fecks sake we should try something different, we create nothing in open play whatsoever how we currently set up,

im sure snoddy can fall over on the left wing as effectively as he does on the right.

[Redders Right Foot 22]

yes, because all he does is fall, like when last weekend he cut through 2 defenders, cut past the keeper, and was unlucky to have a final defender run though him.

it is a horrid idea to put a player who has consistently won player of the month for our club to a side he is less effective on.

[Ha ya got a loight boy? 0]

quote user="Javier''s Deaf Translator"   "yes, because all he does is fall, like when last weekend he cut through 2 defenders, cut past the keeper, and was unlucky to have a final defender run though him.

it is a horrid idea to put a player who has consistently won player of the month for our club to a side he is less effective on."

That''s putting a very glossy picture on it.   What actually happened was he tried to take on too many and then simply lost control of the ball.  The opportunity to shoot had been there beforehand, he just didn''t go for it.    Perhaps he''s been taking lessons off  Wes................

[DeanCourts 0]

Noticed Snodgrass has raised his workrate last few games he has really got stuck in and never gived up I really rate him for that he is fighting for the cause. he always moans but that isnt a problem let him moan it or it will take his aggression away.

[catlineker 11]

didnt say thats all he does, i think hes a fine player but he doesnt create many chances and i think he could adapt better on the left than Bennett who will probably play there on sunday.

I say this because how we currently setup doesnt work for me, we do not create many chances, you probably think it does work, i respect your opinion but i disagree.

I think its fair to say that the large majority of our goals this seasons have come from free kicks and corners and that Snodgrass is very adept at winning these free kicks. I think he could win them just as well on either flank.

On the chance that you refer to you werent watching the same game as me then. I remember him being played in by Hoolahan and knocking it round the keeper only for Luke Shaw to get there first. Dont remember him cutting through 2 defenders.

[Scooby 0]

Good post OP, couldn''t agree more.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="Javiers Deaf Translator"]

it is a horrid idea to put a player who has consistently won player of the month for our club to a side he is less effective on.[/quote]

It is equally horrid to play a player like Benno on a side where he is completely ineffective.

Clearly the right is Snod''s favoured side so there will be some tough choices for Hughton this weekend.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"]We could always play Snod on the left and Benno on the right on Sunday. By all accounts Snodgrass is equally effective on the left as the right.[/quote]

I''ve seen you mention this a few times, do you mind providing some links to support this? 

I don''t doubt it, but I''d like to see where you found this information.

[booklet 0]

I would have liked to see Elliott Bennett get a prolonged run in the side. For me the best we played this year was at home to Arsenal when Snodgrass was dropped for Bennett.

I like SNodgrass and think he has improved, but I think he is wildly overrated. He has no right foot and no pace. Whilst he is skilfull and puts some good crosses in (although lately his crossing has been very poor) i think long term he lacks the key ingredient that Bennett has - pace. Because of this he never gets to the bi line, so the cross he puts in is the one defenders deal with more easily.

A major problem we have is our away form. We play like a side that will hit others on the counter, problem is we have no pace in the side. I think in the summer we need to buy a pacy left sided player and striker.

Against Sunderland we could try Snodgrass on the left and Bennett on the right. Also away we could try Bennett in the Hoolohan role, which he has done well in a couple of times. If we are lucky to be safe with a few games left these are experiments that could easily be done.

If Hughton doesn''t rate the likes of Bennett, fox, Barnet, Jackson and others then he needs to have a clear out in the summer. He seems intent on only rotating when there is an injury. Maybe this is because he doesn''t like any of these players or maybe that''s just his style. Problem is that when they play, they look very rusty and this simply reinforces his negative opinion of them.

Prediction: Sunderland 2-0 Norwich.

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="booklet"]I like SNodgrass and think he has improved, but I think he is wildly overrated. He has no right foot and no pace[/quote]

 

I agree that Snodgrass isn''t the fastest (although he''s hardly a slow-coach) but your comment about his right foot is ridiculous. I''ve seen Snodgrass deliver crosses with his right several times this season, granted he perhaps doesn''t do it enough, but that doesn''t mean he can''t

[quote user="booklet"]Whilst he is skilfull and puts some good crosses in (although lately his crossing has been very poor) i think long term he lacks the key ingredient that Bennett has - pace.[/quote]

I think you exaggerate the importance of pace. Pace is important and is a good think to have on his side, but Snodgrass makes up for his lack of pace with his technique and his footballing intelligence, it also helps that he plays on the right side where his lack of pace is less of an issue. Bennett may have pace, but how many times has he effectively used it during his Norwich career? I''d rather have the slower, more productive Snodgrass in my side than Bennett, who more than a few fans overate purely because he is fast.

[quote user="booklet"] Because of this he never gets to the bi line, so the cross he puts in is the one defenders deal with more easily[/quote] 

What evidence do you base this on? I''ve seen many goals scored from inswinging crosses, at least as many as from outswinging or ''byline'' crosses. Defenders don''t find a quality ball easy to defend, regardless if it is inswinger or outswinger. Look at our second goal against Everton, an inswinging cross to the far post that the defenders couldn''t deal with.

[quote user="booklet"]A major problem we have is our away form.[/quote] 

I think everyone agrees with this.

[quote user="booklet"]We play like a side that will hit others on the counter, problem is we have no pace in the side[/quote] . 

I agree that we lack pace. I can only think of E. Bennett, Jackson and Kamara (possibly Pilkington) that I''d say have significant pace, it will probably be addressed in the summer.

[quote user="booklet"]Against Sunderland we could try Snodgrass on the left and Bennett on the right.[/quote] 

I''m not sure Hughton wants to, but he may have to. With both Surman and Pilkington out, we have a severe problem with that left side. We can play Bennett there, although he has not been very effective there in the past or Kei Kamara who has also played left. 

[quote user="booklet"]He seems intent on only rotating when there is an injury. Maybe this is because he doesn''t like any of these players or maybe that''s just his style. Problem is that when they play, they look very rusty and this simply reinforces his negative opinion of them.[/quote]

I believe it''s the latter. At Birmingham Hughton was often applauded for his ability to rotate his squad, as they navigated a horrendously long season featuring both European football and a 46 game season. The main difference between us and that Birmingham side is simply that Hughton rated more of the players. Apart from his starting 11, Hughton doesn''t rate many of his Norwich squad. E. Bennett is one of the few I believe he does rate. It doesn''t surprise me, we did achieve 2 promotions in 2 seasons and many players that simply aren''t good enough for this level are still around from our Championship days. Give Hughton the summer transfer window to ship out the dead wood and bring in some more signings, and I think Hughton would be more willing to rotate his squad.