Our goal on Saturday

[HampsteadCanary 0]

Has anyone notice that our goal on Saturday came from a right footed winger on the right wing, running at pace towards the box, knocking it to a central midfielder supporting the striker on the edge of the box, to a left footed player on the left wing, who played the ball to our centre forward in the penalty area, with his face to goal, who kicked the ball into the net. And it was all one touch football apart from Hooper''s sublime first touch to get it out of his feet and score a simple winner.

These are things we''ve been talking about on here as the solution to our attacking problems, and its taken a series of injuries for Hughton to discover how to get the most out of our strikers.

I also think we were unlucky not to get more out of that first half, with Elmander''s unbelievable effort from Redmond''s right footed free kick from the right hand side, and a possible penalty for obvious shirt pulling on Bassong, we could have been 3-0 up. However the second half performance still left a lot to be desired. Carry on with that sort of approach play and we''ll score a lot more.

[lake district canary 4,831]

You are right in what you say.   Its the old Snodgrass conundrum.  He is what he is and does well for us, but there is no doubt he is not of the same pace of a Redmond, or an E.Bennett, come to that,  so as much as injuries may have affected the way we set up, this kind of play has always been a likely scenario to be fruitful for us at some stage. Bennett would I think have given Snodgrass a real run for his money this season, so we won''t know anything until he is fit again, but Snodgrass at his best is a terrific player too, he is just different.   So there are different ways to approach the team and the use of the squad.   The main thing is to carry on developing and improving the different aspects of what the team does and as injuries and form affect team selection, we can only hope the players adapt and produce the best form when they are chosen/needed to play.   Some will blame the manager for not setting up the team like this before, but he can only set up the team with the best players available.   The fact that Hoolahan can come in and still make a positive contribution is great and the fact that Redmond can play on either wing is great too.  My hope is that the longer the season goes on, the better understanding the players will have for each other''s capabilities and the better the manager will be able to utilise them. 

[Jonzey 0]

I hear what you''re saying Hampstead. All players were played in their correct position, and that worked for the goal.

 

I think the squad is looking good, we have some decent strength in depth and good options in all positions. Also some players starting to look in good form. Let''s hope we can feed Hooper and give him a few chances to prove how good he is over the next few games. Maybe even a few through balls tomorrow evening down the middle, can''t remember the last time we didn''t play it wide.

[Matt Juler 211]

A very rare positive post from me, but the constant switching of Redmond and Hoolahan on Saturday was great to see.

[Tumbleweed 106]

This sums up quite neatly why many fans are frustrated. We do have a strong squad and we do have some very good players. We have seen evidence here and there that when it gels it is good. We need more of that. And fewer total no shows. In Hooper/Fer/Bassong and Ruddy we have a great spine when on form. We have genuine talent elsewhere on the field and great promise coming through from the youth. Hughton is indeed blessed to have this at his disposal.

[HampsteadCanary 0]

The problem is, do you play our best players even though they might not make the best team!? For example, Snoddy won''t provide the kind of service that Hooper/RVW need, but is obviously a better player than Redmond (at the moment). Picking the best team isn''t necessarily picking the best players.

[Scooby 0]

Did anyone notice that the reason that we were less of an attacking theat in the second half was because Hughton moved Redmond back to the bloody left wing !! Beggars belief. Why, why, why, why can the bloody manager, who is supposed to be the expert, not see what everyone else can?!!!

[Buh 0]

I wouldn''t say that was the reason we were less of an attacking threat, although its very convenient to say so.

[iron_stan 0]

its pretty simple, redmond is a better right winger than snodgrassredmonds best periods against west ham, man utd, and palace was when he switched to the right hand sideso snodgrass then either needs to play on the left (funny that, given hes left footed) or through the middle, or be on the bench

spurs are suffering the same problem, soldados getting no service because they play townsend right and lennon left, which means hes also getting no goals

[Graham Paddons Beard 2,791]

Hard to argue with that Hampstead. In particular the "our centre forward in the penalty area with his face to goal" bit. Players passing from deeper positions , to players in positive areas (penalty area) is something our system does not result in enough . Too many passes into forward players with their back to goal - first half at Newcastle was a clear example of how ineffective that is for a lone striker so high up the pitch, with huge gaps between him and the midfield.  

 

 

[HampsteadCanary 0]

Graham I think you need a higher quality of centre forward than we have to play that back to goal style: think of Dzeko''s goal against us this season, or some of Michu''s play from last year. Those players make something out of nothing, but we need to get good service to our forwards as they''re not quite as creative.

I guess an inverted winger simply doesn''t create the best angles to cross (given Holt''s record last season) or play in strikers or advancing midfielders. Some of the interplay, 1-2s, and reverse passes we haven''t seen at Carrow Road for a long time, and I put that down to Wes. He never got to play with Fer as he was out for the Everton game and Wes never got back in the team.

[Fleckys Flip-Flop 0]

Have we all forgotten that Redmond''s goal against Southampton came from cutting in from the left? Have we all forgotten what an excellent season Snoddy had last year playing on the right? It''s just not right to say that playing inverted wingers is a bad tactic. It''s actually a good way to increase your goal threat when you play a lone striker, when crosses in to the box are ineffective due to your target being outnumbered. The key is mixing it up. If your full back has to spend 10 minutes concerned about a player switching inside, then all of a sudden he is up against a guy looking to get to the by-line it is increasingly more difficult to settle. We are starting to see the wingers switching. It''s a slow and steady tactical development, but we shouldn''t say it isn''t working. So far we have won 1/3 of our games this season. If we continue on that form then we will stay up!

[SwindonCanary 457]

To keep the wingers on the ''wrong wing'' it always slows down play as the winger wants to ''cut back'' onto his preferred foot, (Cardiff match) but as already pointed out it''s a good weapon when that player cuts in (Southampton match).  I like it as we played it on Saturday, keep swapping wings, it confuses the opposition defenders.    

[MancCanary 0]

Flecky''s Flip-Flop is right - both inverted wingers and non-inverted have their benefits. But certainly when we have 2 forwards, it must be better to play the wingers on the right sides and get more crosses in!

Would like to see Snoddy play on the left, just out of interest.

PS whoever said (apologies, I can''t see who it was now I''m writing a post) Snoddy is definitely better than Redmond - that is highly debatable! I''d say they were about equal, but they are very different from one another. Snoddy is slow, but very tricky and full of guile. Redmond is fast, direct and a little naive due to his age. With time he''ll be twice the player Snoddy is though, and that''s no disservice to Snoddy.

[HampsteadCanary 0]

Manc - I agree about both types of wingers having their benefits, but its about making sure it suits the rest of the team. Having pacy direct wingers seems to suit Hooper (and probably RVW, they''re quite similar) a lot better. RVW scored from whittakers a right ring cross (although I think it was actually a left footed slice) and hooper''s scored from two first time balls when he was facing goal. Our wingers need to be highly productive, scoring goals if they''re inverted. So far Snoddy has scored one free kick, and not got an assist as far as I can remember. We have scored twice from Olsson''s early crosses. Redmond''s shooting boots have left him since that first game, so playing him on the right where he''s less likely to shoot but more likely to create something special for someone else is the better bet until he gets his eye in again. Snoddy wasn''t delivering on the right, Redmond does.

I too think Redmond will be amazing, and better than Snoddy, but Snoddy does have experience on his side. I''d rather see Redmond start as he is young, exciting, direct and nearly always has the beating of his man.