Leroy Fer

[lappinitup 629]

Excellent article about him...........

 

http://www.insidefutbol.com/2013/08/07/inside-scoop-norwich-bag-marouane-fellaini-esque-midfielder-in-leroy-fer/94382/

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

Cheers for posting that.

 

I expect to see him playing a role just behind RvW unless some like Quagliarella is signed and then Fer will probably move back to play alongside Johnson or Howson.

 

If Fer has a good season, then I think Norwich will have a good season - can see him becoming the main man in the team. Norwich could be fighting off some much bigger teams for his services this time next year.

[Budapest Canary 154]

"Bethnal Yellow and Green"

"If Fer has a good season, then I think Norwich will have a good season - can see him becoming the main man in the team. Norwich could be fighting off some much bigger teams for his services this time next year."

Wouldn''t it be ironical if Everton came in for him? On the same account, it''s shame that he must miss the first game, as I''d expect him to prove a point against the Toffees.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

Nevermind Lapp! This one''s still here! But it''ll never challenge Corrie in the ratings[;)]

 

 

[TIL 1010 5,246]

Thanks for that Lapp. Just read it as Corrie is not on until tomorrow night. Did Nick survive the crash ? [:D]

[Six Pack 105]

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]

Cheers for posting that.

 

I expect to see him playing a role just behind RvW unless some like Quagliarella is signed and then Fer will probably move back to play alongside Johnson or Howson.

 

If Fer has a good season, then I think Norwich will have a good season - can see him becoming the main man in the team. Norwich could be fighting off some much bigger teams for his services this time next year.

[/quote]

This article is just bull - talking him up. Doubt he has the game to better Hoolahan in that advanced central position - linking play. Howson has been groomed by Hughton to be the midfield play maker building attacks out from defence and Johnson is our main ball winner / enforcer - he started 37 of the 38 premiership games last season, hes gained parity of possession for us in most games.

Fer has in his game a bit of all 3 disciplines but not perfect in any one ! Certainly no way near Hoolahan in what he does - and I don''t mean knocking people over or shooting from way out.

I think Fer will have his work cut out just to get into the team in front of one of those three, needs to turn in performances that will lead to results at this level - not just "talk the talk" or his season may be from the bench.

[flying high up in the sky! 1]

Fer will be the first choice midfielder.

[ZLF 335]

I am struggling with the perception that last years centre midfield triangle (3 from wes, bj, howson and tettey) is either strong enough to keep Fer out of the side or performed acceptably as a unit last season.

 

The centre midfield area was ineffective at winning the ball back,  (with a low tackle per game rate), at preventing goal scoring opportunities, as witnessed by the proportion of goals scored by untracked midfielders coming into/around the area,  keeping possession (3rd worst passing rates in the league and 3rd possession).

 

We sat so deep and became defensive because the centre was so soft - struggled to create chances because the centre midfield could neither pass to the creative players successfully and played to a formation that kept the creative players far to deep to cause problems.

 

It seems two good performances have outweighed the 25+ poor games from that area of the pitch.   It needs strengthening - we cannot sit so deep, make and  win so few tackles and pass so poorly again,  if we do RvW and Hooper will continue to be starved of service.

 

If Fer is not an improvement then why have we bought him?

 

I too think he will start and hope and expect him to make a huge difference.      

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

[quote user="Six Pack"][quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]

Cheers for posting that.

 

I expect to see him playing a role just behind RvW unless some like Quagliarella is signed and then Fer will probably move back to play alongside Johnson or Howson.

 

If Fer has a good season, then I think Norwich will have a good season - can see him becoming the main man in the team. Norwich could be fighting off some much bigger teams for his services this time next year.

[/quote] This article is just bull - talking him up. Doubt he has the game to better Hoolahan in that advanced central position - linking play. Howson has been groomed by Hughton to be the midfield play maker building attacks out from defence and Johnson is our main ball winner / enforcer - he started 37 of the 38 premiership games last season, hes gained parity of possession for us in most games. Fer has in his game a bit of all 3 disciplines but not perfect in any one ! Certainly no way near Hoolahan in what he does - and I don''t mean knocking people over or shooting from way out. I think Fer will have his work cut out just to get into the team in front of one of those three, needs to turn in performances that will lead to results at this level - not just "talk the talk" or his season may be from the bench.[/quote]

 

You''ve obviously never seen him play.

 

Personally I would say he is better in any of the positions that Johnson, Howson or Hoolahan. He''ll start every game injuries/suspension allowing.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Six Pack"][quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]

Cheers for posting that.

 

I expect to see him playing a role just behind RvW unless some like Quagliarella is signed and then Fer will probably move back to play alongside Johnson or Howson.

 

If Fer has a good season, then I think Norwich will have a good season - can see him becoming the main man in the team. Norwich could be fighting off some much bigger teams for his services this time next year.

[/quote]

This article is just bull - talking him up. Doubt he has the game to better Hoolahan in that advanced central position - linking play. Howson has been groomed by Hughton to be the midfield play maker building attacks out from defence and Johnson is our main ball winner / enforcer - he started 37 of the 38 premiership games last season, hes gained parity of possession for us in most games.

Fer has in his game a bit of all 3 disciplines but not perfect in any one ! Certainly no way near Hoolahan in what he does - and I don''t mean knocking people over or shooting from way out.

I think Fer will have his work cut out just to get into the team in front of one of those three, needs to turn in performances that will lead to results at this level - not just "talk the talk" or his season may be from the bench.[/quote]

Lol. If Fer is not better than BJ than god help us.

[CambridgeCanary 0]

It was obviously only a friendly but Fer showed on Tuesday that he can play powerfully behind the striker and feed him with flick on headers and passes. He also adds a major physical presence there with the ability to close down defenders that may be Holtlike.

 

In the second half he became a Bradley who can pass and break with the ball.

 

He could be huge for us.

 

Then again it could just be me. One comment in the voxpop on Wednesday morning when asked about Fer was "He had a quiet game. I didn''t really notice him". Everyone''s entitled to an opinion but for me he really stood out.

[ZLF 335]

People fdo see the game differently - one bloke in the lower barclay was already having a go at redmond for being a lazy useless waste of space - nearly the whole game!!!   Unbeleivable Jeff

[Gingerpele 0]

Lincoln Canary, while Fer is better than Johnson, why God help us if he''s not? Johnson was one of our most consistent players last season, voted 3rd in POTS and fully deserved that.

[paul moy 235]

My prediction is that he will be Norwich City captain before long !!!!  

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]Lincoln Canary, while Fer is better than Johnson, why God help us if he''s not? Johnson was one of our most consistent players last season, voted 3rd in POTS and fully deserved that.[/quote]

Consistently average at best. BJ''s a very limited footballer but people appear blinded by the fact he works hard and is mister consistent. Last season our midfield with BJ was overrun on many occasions. Fer is the upgrade.

BJ for all his endeavour is not good enough for the premier league. I''ve never going to endorse midfielders who can''t actually pass a ball.

[Yelloow Since 72 56]

Johnson is very good at breaking up play and making it difficult for the opposition, but his passing is often a disappointment. Fer does the breaking up play, but then turns play around with a good pass or surging forward himself with sufficient power and pace to worry defenders. I also think he will be first choice.

[Gingerpele 0]

But Johnson can actually pass a ball. And people like you are blinded by the stats. Yes he has a pretty poor passing completion rate for a midfielder, but how many passes does he attempt? And does he, or Hughton claim he is a master passer? Its not his fault you expect something from him that he isn''t asked to do. If Hughton was telling him to play like Fox, then yes, he''s a disappointment.

But he clearly is good enough for the PL, and saying otherwise is quite shocking. We finished 11th last season, and 12th the season before. He''s played a lot of games in that time, 37 out of 38 last season. If he wasn''t good enough, especially considering how many average games Howson and Tettey had between them. We wouldn''t have finished 11th last season.

[Gingerpele 0]

P.S

Expect Johnson to play a similar amount of games this season too.

[RvWs 4 year contract 0]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]P.S

Expect Johnson to play a similar amount of games this season too.[/quote]What about Tettey, Howson etc?I rate Johnson as well (probably not as much as you [;)]) but to say he''s as good as a Dutch international that we''ve bought for £4ish million is laughable.

Fer is a far better all round midfielder.

[Stig 0]

While I do like Johnson and can see what he brings to the team... Saying he isn''t asked to pass is daft. That''s like 90% of the game, I''m pretty sure he is asked to pass. I can see him being a great option from the bench.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]P.S

Expect Johnson to play a similar amount of games this season too.[/quote]

I''d not be too confident about that. And it is not me blinded by the stats. I''ve not looked at any stats regarding BJ, my opinion of him is forged soley by watching him play.

Yes we finished 11th last year but at times our midfield was woefull and the reason why we flirted with relegation towards the end of the season.

If we want to push on people need to realise that effort and commitment are not enough. BJ does have some strengths but is far to limited to be a reqular midfield starter. He''s benefitted from lack of competion. Now with Fer on board I fully expect to see BJ as understudy.

[Indy_Bones 444]

[quote user="Gingerpele"]But Johnson can actually pass a ball. And people like you are blinded by the stats. Yes he has a pretty poor passing completion rate for a midfielder, but how many passes does he attempt?[/quote]How many? More than any other player in our side, of which close to 30% of them go straight back to the opposition or out of play, so out of his 1663 total passes, he gave the ball away in one form or another 468 times, which is significantly worse then either Howson or Tettey in regards to the central areas, and also worse than Fox based on his last full season''s stats for us.You can try to spin it however you like but Johnson IS the least accurate passer of the ball we have in midfield - end of.[quote]And does he, or Hughton claim he is a master passer? Its not his fault you expect something from him that he isn''t asked to do. If Hughton was telling him to play like Fox, then yes, he''s a disappointment.[/quote]Give over GP, how the hell can you try to claim that we shouldn''t expect a midfielder to be able to pass the ball just because he''s good at breaking up play? Tettey is good at breaking up play, but he still manages an 83% success rate!And if neither player or manager are claiming Johnson to be a ''master passer'', then why the hell is he not being told to focus on passing within his range instead? And if he WAS being told that (which I doubt), then why hasn''t Hughton taken him to task over it???[quote]But he clearly is good enough for the PL, and saying otherwise is quite shocking.[/quote]I agree that he''s good enough for this level, but I also feel that his passing is a glaring weakness and one which makes him an average player rather instead of a top class one.I have no problem with Hughton playing Johnson (although I think Tettey is better), but he should be telling him to play very simple, very safe balls, rather than trying to attempt passes that his skill level just isn''t capable of completing on a consistent basis and he should just leave that side of things to players like Howson, Fox, Wes, Pilks or even Tettey IMHO.

[GJP 79]

I''m a bit reluctant to have much of an opinion on Fer yet. Over the last few weeks I''ve seen a lot of people say about how good he is but apart from the game against Sociedad and a couple of Youtube clips I''ve never really seen the guy play.

 

So all I can really comment on is the Sociedad game and from that he looked better and more comfortable in central midfield than he did playing higher up/off Ricky. But I also thought, and it is only pre season, that he looked slightly off the pace at points.

 

He didn''t seem quite as sharp as RVW, Redmond and Olsson. So perhaps when he does sharpen himself up a bit he''ll look a bit better playing in an advanced role.

 

I would also add that I think the midfield took a bit too much criticism last season. I''m not saying that improvement can''t or shouldn''t be made but I also think sometimes people don''t quite realise how hard it is for them playing against some of the quality there is in this league.

 

It was Howson''s first full season at this level and how much has Johnson improved from the player we signed at Leeds? For me they both deserve a lot of credit because they have both worked very, very hard for the team - and often haven''t had the credit they deserve (particularly in Howson''s case).

 

Football wise you''d probably have to say that Johnson is the lesser player and he''d be the one you''d look to change first but it''s a squad game and I think that the main midfielders from last season will still feature a lot this season - just with Fer added into the mix.

 

 

 

[Yelloow Since 72 56]

I think Fer will do well, but BJ, Howson, and Tettey will all play a fair number of matches as well. I''d guess that BJ will play with Fer against top teams with strong attacks and Howson and Fer will play when City need to be more attacking. Tettey is somewhere in between those, IMO.

[The Great Mass Debater 1,202]

BJ is a combative midfielder. He makes life uncomfortable for the opposition and offers a physical presence - something the midfield needed with our approach last season (or rather Hughton had to work with the players he inherited and had to play to what he believed to be their strengths).

Aside from that BJ does very little else particularly well. To me he is no better than a Karl Henry. Played every game nearly for Wolves and got by at Premiership level - but also doesnt look out of place in League One now.

BJs game is based on being a physical presence and a good work rate, which will always get a player so far. But the truth is BJ cant shoot (on target), passes poorly, fouls a lot, gets booked a lot and his biggest weakness cant pass. He''s not particularly mobile and defensively is far worse than Tettey (who I also think is very limited). BJ doesnt track his runners or position himself well, as one poster said the midfield was overrun far too often last seaon. He is very poor at converting defence to attack - an essential attribute for a top class midfielder.

BJ has done well to progress from League One on the basis of industry, but I dont think his footballing ability has really progressed beyond this level. A Leeds fan described him as the above a few weeks ago on here and was asking if he was still a headless chicken.

Karl Henry played many Premiership games. Did he prove he was Premiership class? If so, why is he still doing his thing at Wolves in League One?

Fer is going to be the midfielder we''ve been crying out for and I am excited about watching him play. Getting the chance to watch a true top quality central midfielder may make BJs weaknesses more obvious. Id have snapped Swansea''s hand off for 4.2million if there was any truth in that rumour

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="The Great Mass Debater"]BJ is a combative midfielder. He makes life uncomfortable for the opposition and offers a physical presence - something the midfield needed with our approach last season (or rather Hughton had to work with the players he inherited and had to play to what he believed to be their strengths).

Aside from that BJ does very little else particularly well. To me he is no better than a Karl Henry. Played every game nearly for Wolves and got by at Premiership level - but also doesnt look out of place in League One now.

BJs game is based on being a physical presence and a good work rate, which will always get a player so far. But the truth is BJ cant shoot (on target), passes poorly, fouls a lot, gets booked a lot and his biggest weakness cant pass. He''s not particularly mobile and defensively is far worse than Tettey (who I also think is very limited). BJ doesnt track his runners or position himself well, as one poster said the midfield was overrun far too often last seaon. He is very poor at converting defence to attack - an essential attribute for a top class midfielder.

BJ has done well to progress from League One on the basis of industry, but I dont think his footballing ability has really progressed beyond this level. A Leeds fan described him as the above a few weeks ago on here and was asking if he was still a headless chicken.

Karl Henry played many Premiership games. Did he prove he was Premiership class? If so, why is he still doing his thing at Wolves in League One?

Fer is going to be the midfielder we''ve been crying out for and I am excited about watching him play. Getting the chance to watch a true top quality central midfielder may make BJs weaknesses more obvious. Id have snapped Swansea''s hand off for 4.2million if there was any truth in that rumour[/quote]

What I said. But with a more articulate spin!

Completely agree with the Karl Henry comparison. If anyone can disagree with this than I feel they are a little delusional as to the ability of BJ.

[paul moy 235]

All I will add to the debate is ........:::::  What is the point of breaking up play and giving the ball straight back to the opposition, and also if we attack for the majority of a game instead of defending we would NOT spend so much time trying to ''break up play!  !!!!    

[CambridgeCanary 0]

I and probably many others find your constant and irrational insistence that Hughton is deliberately negative and does not want to win games as inappropriate and boring and pointless as you claim to find references to your devotion to a former player.

 

Are we being bullied too?

 

Perhaps you could gain the moral high ground by packing in the snide comments and seeing what Hughton actually does this season?   I will certainly not mention the C word again if you do.

[Gingerpele 0]

Pretty irrelevant if you guys don''t think he''s good enough.

Of course you''re allowed an opinion, that''s absolutely fine. But I, not getting into this anymore because I''ve done it all before and will just get carried away.

At the end of the day. Hughton clearly rates him and thats what counts.

[Syteanric 1]

Johnson will still be a big part next season, no doubt along side Fer.

I wonder where this leaves Alex Tettey, who might have one eye on the exit door.