Job nearly completed for Hughton & Norwich, but is it a job well done?

[Indy 3,283]

I have read a lot of threads again about wanting Hughton out, how we need a change and new players.

 

Well my take on Saturday and since December are just how this season has been one about managing a small pool of players who are good enough to impact the premiership.

 

I had to listen to supporters who keep harping on about Fox and his ability to pass a ball, REALLY,  is he really as good as you would like him to be in this league? Have you asked yourselves just why is he not even on the bench? He has done a great job for Norwich but is not good enough to force his way into this team. Just another Jackson, great job completed for Norwich, time to move on.

 

Bennett had his best game for a long time, but he must improve his crossing, three out 7 made it into the box, the rest either found the crowd or the opposite corner flag. But played well.

 

Kamara is not a striker, he played OK and struggled with closing down the ball up there on his own. Is it time to play him on the wing and play Becchio and Holt up top?

 

Wes was yet again useless, running around like a headless chicken in the second half. Lightweight and lacks effort when he’s played out of the game. Really time to bench him, not good enough for the fight ahead.

 

Positive is that we have only been beaten 3 times at home and I cannot see Reading getting anything from FCR, Villa and WBA will be playing out end of season games as both will be safe by the time they play us.

 

Looking forward, Hughton is the man for City, Trollop and Calderwood have to be added to with a good attacking coach, these guys are all about defence.

 

Most of our players have come from lower leagues and have done the best they can and done it well, keeping us up two seasons on the bounce (Probably), Turner & Bassong look good, but for all the holding defence minded set up we don’t track the runners very well as shown for their two goals.

 

A point against a very good Swansea side is no disaster and with Sunderland and Wigan not catching us we can chalk off another game closer to safety.

 

It all hangs on next week results and the Reading game. If we still have a 4 point gap on the bottom 3 after next week’s visit to Arsenal we should then secure the 3 points from Reading at home and 38 points will be enough this season with the run in Wigan and Sunderland have left.

 

Not the best footballing side Norwich have ever had but they are doing the job required.

 

Oh and one last thing, I have read on here a number of times the it’s not the clubs, managers or players job to entertain the crowd but to stay in this division, I think you guys need to wake up, football is an entertainment industry, without the demand then football wold just be a kick about on a green field. It is about being entertained and viewers around the world wanting to watch Norwich and the premiership, football is based on entertaining the masses.

 

Onwards and upwards, looking forward to next year and the summer will also be an exciting one for us who never spend more than a few million………we will be buying in the likes of Van Wolfwinkel, now who would ever have thought Norwich would spend 8.5 million on one player three years ago? And our youth system appears to be working again, well done Neil Adams and the lads for reaching the semi finals.

[Perky Canary 0]

I agree with every word you''ve said, very good post. However I give it a matter of time before someone tries to shoot down the positivity, I thought I was still the only one that was happy with Hughton and the job he''s done.

[Salopian 1]

Prolonging the agony is hard on the finger nails, but the case you put is encouraging. The next three or four games could determine the club''s future for some time to come, armed with some money and a vastly improved scouting system, not to mention McN "doing the business".

 

CH regularly, in his optimism, claims in his post match interview that, with a little bit of luck, we could have.... He probably has a point, and I think that many of us would feel that if referees had visited Specsavers, we would have had a few more penalty chances, and even MOTD went as far as they could to commiserate, on occasions.

 

The fact remains that we are where we are, in a relegation battle, and with confidence at a seemingly low ebb. The difference in expression  after we had gone ahead on Saturday was very noticeable - the nervousness disappeared and suddenly we made the Swansea defence panic.

 

We know that several of the players we have signed, in many cases on a shoestring budget, were to gain promotion from Div1 and Championship. We knew that we lacked the cash to build a Premiership team immediately, and that it might be touch and go.

We know now, however,  that we have inched so far towards safety that a single victory would probably make us safe, and one or two points beyond this certainly would. Since the begining of January we have achieved 10 points in 12 games, well down on the 25 in 20 achieved by the end of 2012, but we need only a slight improvement in current form to guarantee our safety.

 

On Saturday the lack of confidence of the team was really apparent, and the change when once we went ahead. It would be a dream to assume that we could get a point or points next Saturday (- Wigan have to go there later also), although you never know. After that game we really have to build up confidence and attack, while defending resolutely.

We know that our attack is feeble, and we need the midfield and defence to answer the call. (Well done, Michael Turner, again!)

[BOO 0]

Lambert had the players brimming with confidence and self belief, they were encouraged to try things and had no fear of making mistakes, look at us now!

[morty 0]

[quote user="Vanwink"]Lambert had the players brimming with confidence and self belief, they were encouraged to try things and had no fear of making mistakes, look at us now![/quote]Did you miss the bit where Lambert left and is no longer our manager?

[Albyella 0]

Agree with OP - and there are loads who realise that we are having to work with what we have, and in that context we have done ok. We may be limping over the line, but providing we do then that''s job done and we have the funds to build the team for next year.

I have no doubt that CH will strengthen in all areas of the park, and for those that keep banging on about lack of real strikers, well we got what we could and the signing of RVW is a great sign of intent.

For all the moaning, negative posters - well, they brightens up my day when things are getting a bit stressed at work - things could be worse, I could be like them.....

[BOO 0]

It doesn''t matter who the manager is as long as he is getting the best out of our players.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Vanwink"]It doesn''t matter who the manager is as long as he is getting the best out of our players.[/quote]I can''t even be bothered to explain...

[BOO 0]

Good

[Tumbleweed 106]

Pretty much everyone agrees that with some of the additions made by CH the squad is stronger. Yet somehow we are in real danger of relegation.

I agree with much of what the OP has said, but I have no truck with this "we had to defend as we have championship players and play like minnows" sort of stuff. We have a squad which should easily be competitive with  teams from Liverpool downwards and some of our shambolic, nervous and negative displays have defied belief. To take the last 4 games for instance against Southampton, Sunderland, Wigan and Swansea, none of them exactly terrifying giants of the game at the moment, we have failed to win a single one, been outplayed at home by a team just promoted with a non-English speaking manager and failed to get a decent shot on target against Wigan. That''s Wigan who are third from bottom.

So while I believe we will stay up just, I remain far from convinced that next season suddenly everything will change. We have the players right now to attack more and create chances, we saw it last season and Tettey was supposed to be a rampaging box to box player, not another blocker just sitting in front of the defence. I fear that little will change next season without a fundamental, perhaps transformational, sudden change of approach.

The task this time was solely to stay up but I am not sure I yet see the seeds of longer term progress.

[BOO 0]

It was great when we were a club where players signed, came here and improved their game, you cold see them growing in confidence, a joy to watch.

I fear things are changing, we will see good players come here and find that instead of continuing their development they fail to produce their previous form!

[Indy 3,283]

The reality is we can''t compare with Swansea who were given 5 million for their manager and they sold Joe Allen for a further 15 million. They had a rather bigger budget than we did and they spent it wise in getting in a manager who fitted their style and brought in good players.

 

We remoulded our style to suite Hughton and he''s done it on a budget.

 

People also forget that Southampton and West Ham have spent far more on players over the past three seasons building for this league.

 

To finish above three other teams in this league has to be worth celebrating and credit given to Hughton who identified our weakness in defence, shored it up this year.

 

Now he see''e our new weakness up front and guess what, he''s already addressed this by spending 8.5 million on one of the best young strikers out there!

 

What more can he really do? It''s down to the players like Holt and Wes to ensure they do the business for 90 minutes on the pitch as they are payed to do so.

 

Long may Hughton continue and build on this good solid base, as for Lambert, well with bigger funds and better pool of players what has he really done? Villa fans all thought they would finish top 6 at the start of this season not bottom 6.

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

Indy, what makes you think Villa will be safe by the time they play us?

 

Villa currently have 33 points and a goal difference (second worst) of -24.  Their next 3 games are -

 

Fulham - home

Man U - away

Sunderland - home

 

Then they play us away.

 

Yet we have 35 points and a goal difference of -19

 

Our next 3 games are  -

Arsenal - away

Reading - home

Stoke - away

 

Then we play Villa.

 

Are we not going to be safe by then too?

 

[:^)]

 

 

 

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

Holt will have a bl00dy hard job doing the business on the pitch for 90 minutes when he gets brought on for barely 10 minutes!

[chicken 0]

[quote user="Tumbleweed"]

Pretty much everyone agrees that with some of the additions made by CH the squad is stronger. Yet somehow we are in real danger of relegation.

I agree with much of what the OP has said, but I have no truck with this "we had to defend as we have championship players and play like minnows" sort of stuff. We have a squad which should easily be competitive with  teams from Liverpool downwards and some of our shambolic, nervous and negative displays have defied belief. To take the last 4 games for instance against Southampton, Sunderland, Wigan and Swansea, none of them exactly terrifying giants of the game at the moment, we have failed to win a single one, been outplayed at home by a team just promoted with a non-English speaking manager and failed to get a decent shot on target against Wigan. That''s Wigan who are third from bottom.

So while I believe we will stay up just, I remain far from convinced that next season suddenly everything will change. We have the players right now to attack more and create chances, we saw it last season and Tettey was supposed to be a rampaging box to box player, not another blocker just sitting in front of the defence. I fear that little will change next season without a fundamental, perhaps transformational, sudden change of approach.

The task this time was solely to stay up but I am not sure I yet see the seeds of longer term progress.

[/quote]

Term, easily competitive with Liverpool? And I get accused of having yellow tinted glasses?!!

Their starting 11 is superior to ours in every position bar arguably defense. Nearly every single one is a seasoned international.

[Tumbleweed 106]

Haha! Yes indeed I meant below Liverpool!

 

This is always a binary question really for me when it comes to the effectiveness of managers: are we better as a team than we are on paper as individuals? On CH the jury is still out as I had expected a marked improvement from last year bearing in mind the signings he has made.

[Indy 3,283]

norfolkbroadslim, I think both Villa and us will be around 37 and us on 38 points before we play each other, I believe we will both be safe by the time we play each other.

 

I don''t think Sunderland will gain more than a couple points and be on 33 by then, I also think that Wigan will now struggle to cope with the FA cup and fighting to stay in this league. 37 points will be enough I believe.

 

But that''s not fact just my opinion, I don''t think DiCannio was the right move for Sunderland and they can''t have much faith as they have a sacking clause should they be relegated.