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CanaryDan

Team for Everton

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Biggest problem I thought historically with Norwich has been that we were often talked about in terms of target men Holt and Morison, and how we needed to get crosses in to these big men. Unfortunately, most of the time Holt or Morison ended up being the one on the wing crossing in to noone...

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Does highlight the need for another CB.

 

A defence without at least one of Bassong or Turner is a bit worrying.

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Yeah GJP. I did post in another thread by Hog I think that I felt we had enough cover at CB but the more I think about it the more concerned I get. I really rate R. Martin at CB and R. Bennett was starting to show glimpses of his promise at the tail end of the season but what if the end of the season came at the wrong time for him and he''s unable to pickup where he left off?

 

Ayala has been looking ok in pre-season but only ok so with the prospect of Bassong and Turner possibly being 2 months behind everyone in terms of fitness, another CB signing doesn''t start to sound like such a bad idea. My only concern as mentioned in my other post is that player being able to slot in straight away.

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[quote user="Howson is now"]

Yeah GJP. I did post in another thread by Hog I think that I felt we had enough cover at CB but the more I think about it the more concerned I get. I really rate R. Martin at CB and R. Bennett was starting to show glimpses of his promise at the tail end of the season but what if the end of the season came at the wrong time for him and he''s unable to pickup where he left off?

 

Ayala has been looking ok in pre-season but only ok so with the prospect of Bassong and Turner possibly being 2 months behind everyone in terms of fitness, another CB signing doesn''t start to sound like such a bad idea. My only concern as mentioned in my other post is that player being able to slot in straight away.

[/quote]

Ayala might have looked ok in pre-season but he hasn''t had to play against RVP, Aguero, Suarez, Benteke etc etc. I very much doubt he''ll be in the first team plans.

 

I''m still not sure about Bennett. He had a few decent games towards the end of last season but some of his performances have been pretty overrated.

 

I think Martin is safer at CB than he is at RB but if we had a defence of Whittaker, Martin, Bennett and Garrido for the full 38 games of the season I don''t think I''d see us finishing above the relegation zone.

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[quote]

Turner has not featured at all in pre-season and whilst he may be "ready" he will be a possible 6 games worth of fitness behind R. Bennett and R. Martin. For me it would be

                           Ruddy

 

Whittaker       R. Martin     R. Bennett      Garrido

 

Snodgrass      Howson         Fer           Redmond

 

                            Hooper

 

                       v. Wolfswinkel

[/quote]

I like the look of this team!

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Assuming that Bassong will be fit and Turner is "up to speed", my team would be as follows:

Ruddy

Martin Turner Bassong Olsson

Snoddy Fer Howson Pilks/Redmond

RvW Hooper

There is plenty of attacking prowess there, and useful defence

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Howson is now!

Howson is now!

"Turner has not featured at all in pre-season and whilst he may be "ready" he will be a possible 6 games worth of fitness behind R. Bennett and R. Martin. For me it would be"

You are right there, but I got a feeling Turner will be there to start Everton game if new CB is not signed until that. What I have heard from spectators of friendlies Martin - Bennett haven''t worked as it should have.

But, we have two expensive strikers on the books. It would appear that they are both going to feature in games, otherwise why pay out all that money. For back up? I don''t think so. Certainly home games they should both play and maybe even away, although one may have to be content with coming on from the bench, away from home. 442 or 4411. Makes no odds, like you say, but I still think they will both be in the team against Everton.

Second thing is why to play Hooper in pocket? He definently doesnt have ball distribution skills of Wolfswinkle who still is far from player type that is normaly used as a 10.

So either just put them next to each other or Wolfie behind Hooper, if you want to keep them on the field in same formation.

LDC

"But, we have two expensive strikers on the books. It would appear that they are both going to feature in games, otherwise why pay out all that money. For back up? I don''t think so. Certainly home games they should both play and maybe even away, although one may have to be content with coming on from the bench, away from home. 442 or 4411. Makes no odds, like you say, but I still think they will both be in the team against Everton."

We needed a quality second striker and as markets are what they are Hooper really wasnt that expensive that it would be a "must" to play him as a starting player. He definently will have a role and decent ammount of minutes, but those can come from rotation and being tactical sub.

Not to mention that at the moment we still have only 3 strikers and we have been linked with two players that are normaly seen as 10. This quite much tells you that Hughton would like to keep 4-2-3-1

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I''ve put Hooper there because I''ve seen him play there many times. He seems to like it as well.

"Hooper suggested he would be playing just off the Dutchman, a role he has revelled in, in the past but wherever he is deployed he knows what’s expected of him – goals, and lots of them."

I''ve watched all of the pre season friendlies and whilst there have been defensive errors from pretty much all of the back four, the reason I''ve picked Martin and Bennett is because they have been playing. If everyone were fit it would be Bassong and Turner but as it stands, neither are fit. Turner is not sharp at the best of times but if Hughton believes he''s ready without a pre season then fair enough. He has the positional sense.

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[quote user="Lavanche"]

LDC

"But, we have two expensive strikers on the books. It would appear that

they are both going to feature in games, otherwise why pay out all that

money. For back up? I don''t think so. Certainly home games they

should both play and maybe even away, although one may have to be

content with coming on from the bench, away from home. 442 or 4411.

Makes no odds, like you say, but I still think they will both be in the

team against Everton."

We needed a quality second striker and as markets are what they are

Hooper really wasnt that expensive that it would be a "must" to play him

as a starting player. He definently will have a role and decent ammount

of minutes, but those can come from rotation and being tactical sub.

Not to mention that at the moment we still have only 3 strikers and we

have been linked with two players that are normaly seen as 10. This

quite much tells you that Hughton would like to keep 4-2-3-1[/quote]

Hughton, seems to like a settled line up without much rotation.    I can see Hooper playing in behind RVW  so maintaining an attacking momentum.  Time will tell, but I think that with the quality that is coming in to the team, Hughton will be more confident that his players will be able to cope with  an attacking 4411 line up, whether its Hooper playing off the front man, or Hoolahan or a new player.

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Am I the only forgetting we have a top class CAM in Wes Hoolahan? We''ve only seen 45 mins of Gary Hooper in 1-0 loss to Cambridge where he didn''t even play CAM. Hoolahan is top class player, he has great vision, runs his socks off and has a great attitude! Personally Id like to see the diamond with Fer as a CDM utilizing his vision for a pass, with Hooper and RVW up front, supported by Pilks and Snoddy who aren''t out and out direct attacking wingers, so they could help out our full backs.

Credit has to go to Hughton though for creating a range of possibility''s with the players he''s brought in. I would love to see Hooper involved, but not quite so sure at the expense of Hoolahan. But then that would leave Howson on the bench and he''s shown his potential at the end of last season and looked sharp in pre-season.

Are we saying the significance of one our top/former top players in Wes Hoolahan has decreased? Which would really put into perspective one how far we''ve come.

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If Wes plays all season in that position in this formation we will be relegated without question.

I cant see CH ever playing Diamond far to open.

The Wes from League one who scored a few goals maybe but not the one we have now. I see Wes coming on as an impact player especially away from home.

With Wes and Snoddy hardly ever shooting in open play, Pilks Injured/ Poor Form and Holty being dragged all over the pitch its a wonder we didn''t get relegated.

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When Hoolahan plays well he is what makes Norwich tick - the Man City game was prime example of this, pretty much everything went through him. Unfortunately he also has games where he just goes missing.

 

Hoolahan and Holt built up a great understanding, so with no Grant around Wes might not be as effective, but it is certainly too early to be righting him off - was MOM on many occasions last season for Norwich and there is no reason why he can''t still be that player.

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It''s impossible to predict the team against Everton, because we are hoping to sign further players and because we have not seen the new players already here in a first eleven setting, and we don''t know how quickly some injuries will heal. We don''t know what tactics CH will use or what formation, and how he views one player against another in a given position.

Barring injury, Ruddy, Fer, RvW look certain to play, and possibly Hooper and Redmond

At right back - Whittaker or Martin (if not needed at CB), at left back - difficult - Garrido has looked a little suspect at times, but Olsson has yet to play. By reputation it ought to be Olsson.

Midfield - Redmond will probably get the nod on front of Pilks, because of his great performances and because the latter, while Snoddy seems almost certain to be on the right. Who will play with Fer? I suspect that it will not be Wes, because of his lack of defensive covering, and I suspect the same applies to Fox. This may also rule out Howson, despite his present scoring vein, while Johnson/Tettey could supply good defensive cover for Fer, but their creativity is thin.

Up front I would certainly play Hooper, but CH is clearly pinning his hopes on RvW. As it is a home game I expect a more attacking approach, with both players playing from the start. The similar argument, and the need for a flying start, may mean that Howson gets the nod in the midfield.

 

Somewhat lacking in confidence, because of all the unknowns, I suggest

Ruddy

Whittaker Martin Turner Olsson

Snodgrass Fer Howson Redmond

RvW Hooper

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[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]

When Hoolahan plays well he is what makes Norwich tick - the Man City game was prime example of this, pretty much everything went through him. Unfortunately he also has games where he just goes missing.

 

Hoolahan and Holt built up a great understanding, so with no Grant around Wes might not be as effective, but it is certainly too early to be righting him off - was MOM on many occasions last season for Norwich and there is no reason why he can''t still be that player.

[/quote]

Exactly. Hoolahan is a great link man for us. And you''re right, he also had an excellent understanding with Holt. That partnership has been key to our success over recent seasons.

 

I think sometimes his role is misunderstood. People seem to put his position into a box where he should be scoring 10-20 goals and slicing defences open time after time with through balls. But that''s not necessarily his game and there aren''t too many players that can do all that anyway.

 

His game is about knitting everything together. Linking things up, bringing others into play.

 

However, some games to do pass him by. Either because the opposition has planned to mark him out of the game and cut off the supply to him or because the ball is getting hoofed over his head.

 

 

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I think we may start the season like this.....

                    Ruddy

Martin  Turner   Bassong   Garrido

                Fer  Johnson

Snodgrass    Hoolahan    Pilkington

                 Van Wolfswinkel

subs: Bunn,Whittaker,Bennett.R, Tettey,Howson,Redmond,Hooper

 

but I don''t think it''''l be too long into the season before Redmond replaces Pilkington, Olsson replaces Garrido and Fer eventually plays off RVW.....

really not convinced yet that Hooper can play in the hole behind a striker, but will be happy to be proved wrong.....until then he''ll be understudy to RVW / sub off the bench to play as 2nd striker if we''re chasing a game.

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GJL i''d go pretty much with that line up except i''d replace Johnson with Howson and I think Pilkington may already get replaced with Redmond as he is still nursing an injury isn''t he?

Hoolahan is massively underrated imo and without Quag or another AM in the doors I would start him. We just look so devoid of ideas without him.

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I think Hoolahan is massively over rated, yes he can string a couple of passes together but he is easily knocked off of the ball, often runs around in a circle a lot and doesn''t seem to get a high enough assist/goal ratio for this level.

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Oh dear!

Wes haters out again!

Overrated my A**e!

He is sorely missed when not in the team! last season it was clear we played better when he was playing!

Snake

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Funny who Hughton turned to after the first half dozen games ended in disaster going 4-4-2.

 

Went 4-4-1-1 and we went on a nice big run.

 

Imo that was down to one player. As stated above, we looked clueless last season without him. He understands how to link midfield and forwards together so the team plays in a cohesive way. Why is it commentators and other teams rate him and Norwich fans seem to hate on him?

 

Legend in my book.

 

Didn''t leave when we got relegated.

Promoted from Division One.

Promoted from the Championship.

Helped us stay in the PL in season 1 - While playing a huge number of games

Was turned to after our 4-4-2 didn''t work early in season 2. Barely played before 10 game unbeaten run, started every game of unbeaten run.

And while virtually all players have moved on and been replaced in season 3, including the great Grant Holt - Who is still here? Wes and Martin. Missing anyone? (Who actually plays that is)

 

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Based on pre-season so far and that I think Bassong and Pilks won''t be fully fit in time I reckon:

Ruddy

Whittaker

Turner

Martin

Olsson

Johnson

Howson

Fer

Redmond

Snodgrass

Hooper

---------------------

v Wolfswinkel and Hoolahan coming off the bench in latter stages

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Considering Fer is suspended and it doesn''t look like an attacking mid is on the way, then I''d plump for Hooper and RVW to start with Johnno and Howson, Snoddy and Olsson in the midfield, Garrido, Turner, Bassong (or Bennett if bass is still recovering) and Martin. Ruddy in goal

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if bass plays:

ruddy

martin turner bass olsson

johnson tettey

snodds howson redmond

rvw

hoolahan can be a very important impact off of the bench if needed.

if bass is not fit, whitts at RB with martin moving to CB.

would love to fit hoolahan in, but think with Fer banned for the first game, tettey can make an excellent pairing with bradders and howson has to play, have great expectations of him this season.

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