Time to drop some players

priceyrice · April 6, 2014

I think it''s time for a few changes for the Fulham game. I know making whole sale changes hasn''t often worked for us under Hughton and picking up on individual performances may not be useful at this stage of the season, however for me i would still make a few big changes before Fulham.

First of all please can we scrap the limited 4 4 2 we play and go back to 4 5 1. None of our strikers are scoring so lets please stop wasting a squad place on two of them, and we seem to play much sharper and with a higher intensity with the five man midfield. Hooper to start up front on his own.

I would suggest dropping Wes for Pilkington, one of our strongest players on his days, but unfortunately he is another who has suffered hugely under Hughton and wants out, so Redmond has to start, at least he will give their full back something to worry about.

Bassong, IMO, should be dropped for the remaining games. Player of the season last year and being made captain has really made him think he''s of a higher quality than he is. Extremely weak mentally, doesn''t look fit enough for the premier league, no leadership, unable to concentrate for 90 minutes and one who seems to capitulate when things go wrong. Turner and Yobo/Bennett for me.

Johnson has to come back into the team, we are missing his never say die attitude and determination. Obviously he isn''t blessed with quality but he wont hide and we need that next week.

My team:

Ruddy

Martin Turner Yobo Olsson

Snodgrass Johnson Tettey Redmond

Howson

Hooper

morty · April 6, 2014

Can''t disagree with any of that.We must not be beaten next week. Not losing is the most important thing, its not just about our points, but denying Fulham points.(If I say it enough times I''ll convince myself it can happen)

hogesar · April 6, 2014

I agree we need Johnson in that midfield. Should have had him yesterday, at the very least at half time when Tettey was shocking and booked.

Think Redmond should start one side, Snodgrass the other. Pilkington''s really struggled this season and probably lost interest by now.

Don''t know if we can afford to drop Bassong - but he certainly shouldn''t be captain. Maybe Johnson can do it for a game.

priceyrice · April 6, 2014

Morty, i think it''s about more than not letting Fulham win now. If we had drawn yesterday, a draw with Fulham would have been ok, however if we don''t pick up the 3 points probably needed to stay up then i can''t see us drawing 2 of the last 4, 1 point from them will be a better than expected return.

Fulham is a must win, we need the players who are willing to fight in the starting line up to give us any chance of winning

Jimmy Bone - Superstar · April 6, 2014

I would go with this team but with both full backs changed for Whittaker and Garrido

pete · April 6, 2014

I agree also but would play Jonas on left and Elmander up front to hold the ball up, at least to occupy their CB''s. Would really like Leroy to operate in midfield but won''t happen need his energy.

tom cavendish · April 6, 2014

[quote user="hogesar"]I agree we need Johnson in that midfield. Should have had him yesterday, at the very least at half time when Tettey was shocking and booked.[/quote]During the first-half there were times when Tettey had the ball and he had no passing options because there was no movement from other players. Did the other Norich players want the ball enough?Howson was failing to track runs from the WBA central midfield so Tettey was having to do more and took a yellow card for the team. Howson went the whole match without making a tackle. Tettey played very well during the second-half so taking him off at half-time would likely have been the wrong decision.

GJP · April 6, 2014

Hard to see how Johnson would have improved it. The two in midfield weren''t the problem.

Too many people around them simply weren''t making themselves available. How would Johnson improve that? He''s slow around the pitch and slow to move the ball. Not the answer. He came on for Howson at Swansea and was worse than him.

If there''s anyone I''d like to see back it''d be Pilkington. Someone with a bit of flair, a bit of creativity, a bit of pace. He''s a threat. And I think we''ve missed him more than people realise this season. But it seems almost certain his days at Norwich are numbered - at least while Hughton is here.

I also think people are just desperate to see Bassong dropped now whether he deserves it or not. I spoke to someone yesterday who had Yobo as MOTM and when I said Bassong did alright too he just laughed like I had said something ridiculous. I then asked him what it was Yobo did that was so much better than Bassong and unsurprisingly he struggled to answer - the only thing he could come up with was that wayward long ball from Bassong near the end.

Barclay seats 4849 the 3rd · April 6, 2014

[quote user="GJP"]

Hard to see how Johnson would have improved it. The two in midfield weren''t the problem.

Too many people around them simply weren''t making themselves available. How would Johnson improve that? He''s slow around the pitch and slow to move the ball. Not the answer. He came on for Howson at Swansea and was worse than him.

If there''s anyone I''d like to see back it''d be Pilkington. Someone with a bit of flair, a bit of creativity, a bit of pace. He''s a threat. And I think we''ve missed him more than people realise this season. But it seems almost certain his days at Norwich are numbered - at least while Hughton is here.

I also think people are just desperate to see Bassong dropped now whether he deserves it or not. I spoke to someone yesterday who had Yobo as MOTM and when I said Bassong did alright too he just laughed like I had said something ridiculous. I then asked him what it was Yobo did that was so much better than Bassong and unsurprisingly he struggled to answer - the only thing he could come up with was that wayward long ball from Bassong near the end.

[/quote]

You are surprised that you were laughed at ? really ? Ridiculed would not be too strong !

I suppose to give you some credit for your ridiculous assertions ....is to suggest that from your stream ...maybe Bassong looked ok ??

Pilkington should play ?? Really ??

You obviously don''t go to Carrow Road ! He has been a shadow of last seasons player ...maybe carrying an injury ..but I think that is a generous excuse .

finally ,the one thing that Johnson can''t be accused of is not getting around the pitch ...he is another who ,, like Snodgrass, even if his game is off ,, gives 100% ,,something distinctly lacking from much of our squad lately .

Carra Rud · April 6, 2014

[quote user="morty"]Can''t disagree with any of that.We must not be beaten next week. Not losing is the most important thing, its not just about our points, but denying Fulham points.(If I say it enough times I''ll convince myself it can happen)[/quote]Morty what are the odds of beating Fulham let alone getting a draw? Away from CR we look totally cr@p, just don''t see we have the desire to pull this off. If we go down to an early goal I se the floodgates open despite Fulham being pretty dire too.

iron_stan · April 6, 2014

we dont score because the strikers dont get the service, the reason they dont get the service is because we play inverted wingerssnodgrass pros are outweighed by his cons, time to drop him and play a balanced team, snodgrass works hard but thats about ithughton has played inverted wingers all season, IT DOESNT WORK!!! only a blind stubborn retarded moron would not be able to see this is where our problems lie, if it means dropping snodgrass then so be it

ruddy martin bennett bassong garrido redmond tettey johnson olsson howson hooperolsson and redmond are our quickest players, both can cross the ball, tettey and johnson can break up the play and its down to howson to get forward and join hooper for the balls into the box.back to basics. easy

Indy_Bones · April 6, 2014

For me it''s not really about chopping and changing players, but simply about asking the usual players to play different balls and focus on a different style of play.It doesn''t matter if it''s RVW or Hooper upfront, as in many ways they are very similar types of players, both prefer through balls rather than playing with their back to goal and leading a line, so instead of having the wingers making pointless crosses or incessantly cutting in to do very little with it, get them to look for the quick ball across the floor in the area and get them to look to thread balls through for the strikers.Similarly, Howson needs to be unleashed from the defensive duties far more, so that he can get forward to support the front line as well as providing that link in midfield and central option.Tettey has been one of our very best and most consistent players this season, has a FAR better overall game than Johnson and when given semi-decent outlets to pass to, is an incredibly competent defensive midfielder.I think we have to stick with Yobo and Bassong, as Turner is NOT match fit, Bennett still isn''t ready (especially in such an important game) and Martin isn''t the answer either.We also need Ruddy to stop incessantly punting it forward to players who aren''t that strong in the air and instead play shorter balls to the back line or central midfield.Team of: RuddyMartin, Yobo, Bassong, Olsson TetteySnoddy, Howson, Redmond Hooper RVWLet''s actually go out to play some decent football, ignore the horridly rigid approach that Hughton has tried to instill and instead play with some flair and passion, much like we did last season against WBA and Man City...

SeattleCanary · April 6, 2014

I agree with Pricey. Although bringing in players from the cold or players that have been out injured often means we''re clutching at straws, I really want to see more pace in the side at Fulham on both flanks and I would go with this team:

Ruddy

Martin Yobo Turner Olsson(if not fit Garrido)

BJ Tettey

E. Benno Howson Redmond

Hooper

While I love Snoddys attitude and commitment, not to mention his goal scoring threat, if Pilks isn''t up to it then I''d love to see Benno back as Snoddy just slows down the attack too much on that right hand side. I''d have Redmond there instead if not only for the fact I don''t know who would play on the left. I do like Jonas, but we have seriously been slow in our build up play, and an injection of pace is whats needed, and after seeing Redmond and Benno against Everton in the first game I thought we looked much more fluid.

Maybe bring Snoddy on at the hour mark to replace Benno or even Howson and put him just behind the striker. It''s time some players were dropped, and we need to attack quicker. This is my team for the rest of the season, unless Fer is fit, in which case he replaces BJ during a game, or vice versa. Those 2 are interchangeable.

JF · April 6, 2014

morty wrote the following post at 06/04/2014 11:37 AM:

Can''t disagree with any of that.

We must not be beaten next week. Not losing is the most important thing, its not just about our points, but denying Fulham points.

(If I say it enough times I''ll convince myself it can happen)

Having just seen Fulhams run in I don''t think anything less than 3 points is enough

0ridgemanddMMyyyy0Falseen-USTrue · April 6, 2014

[quote user="priceyrice"]I think it''s time for a few changes for the Fulham game. I know making whole sale changes hasn''t often worked for us under Hughton and picking up on individual performances may not be useful at this stage of the season, however for me i would still make a few big changes before Fulham.

First of all please can we scrap the limited 4 4 2 we play and go back to 4 5 1. None of our strikers are scoring so lets please stop wasting a squad place on two of them, and we seem to play much sharper and with a higher intensity with the five man midfield. Hooper to start up front on his own.

I would suggest dropping Wes for Pilkington, one of our strongest players on his days, but unfortunately he is another who has suffered hugely under Hughton and wants out, so Redmond has to start, at least he will give their full back something to worry about.

Bassong, IMO, should be dropped for the remaining games. Player of the season last year and being made captain has really made him think he''s of a higher quality than he is. Extremely weak mentally, doesn''t look fit enough for the premier league, no leadership, unable to concentrate for 90 minutes and one who seems to capitulate when things go wrong. Turner and Yobo/Bennett for me.

Johnson has to come back into the team, we are missing his never say die attitude and determination. Obviously he isn''t blessed with quality but he wont hide and we need that next week.

My team:

Ruddy

Martin Turner Yobo Olsson

Snodgrass Johnson Tettey Redmond

Howson

Hooper[/quote]

Certainly would go with that too but what bothers me is that we can see it why can''t those running the club.

ZLF · April 6, 2014

So we have a team where we are relatively defensively sound but woeful creatively. You demand we drop some players yet make just 3 changes - Turner for Bassong and redmond for wes and johnson for redmond.

I agree with most of your comments though. We have not equalised have being behind since Swansea at home, so we have to start the game tight and keep control. I can not see the point of starting with two strikers who between them have just 1 goal in 2014 and just 7 all season. As such we have to go 451

As far as creating chances we have a problem - our woeful midfield did not even create our only strikers goal this year, that came from Sotons generous defence.

I can see no logic in starting howson forward, he has no assists this season. just two in his whole career here (51 starts).Playing him forward would be a waste. His best performances have always been as part of a midfield three - so this should see him back to his best. His strength is being a box to box player with a good shot and keeping simple possession - for me he has to partner tettey deep.

Playing two deep allows us to accomodate Wes where he works best - advanced attacking midfield. Most of his 11 (in 63 starts) assists have come from being central, he remains our best creative outlet.

Out wide Snoddy will start. Personally I think he is precisely why we have struggled to create (play too much through him, he slows breaks down too much, and just 2 assists from 250 crosses is stuart downing at liverpool bad). However he is also our top scorer so cant see him being replaced by redmond as I would like. So that leaves wide left? Jonas or Redmond. Bearing in mind my initial comment of staying in the game until half time its jonas.

Back four remains unchanged (martin, yobo, bassong, Olsson) although I would be happy to see turner back - I dont think there is much between any of them anyway - all make goal conceding mistakes whicle being generally solid,which must frustrate our POTS Ruddy.

That only leaves up front. 1 goal in 14 games between the three. I dont think Johan is a starter up front alone. My preference was RvW before I looked at the stats for 2014 games. We get more points per start with RvW (12 from 7(4subs)) than hoops (13 from 10(4)) But with nearly 1500 mins between them and no goals no one can claim one to be any better than the other

Introduce pace with murphy and redmond from the bench and get hooper on for rvw (or vice versa)

Starts Mins Pts per start pts p app

Hoops 10 891 0.60 0.9

RvW 7 602 1.57 1.1

SeattleCanary · April 6, 2014

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]So we have a team where we are relatively defensively sound but woeful creatively. You demand we drop some players yet make just 3 changes - Turner for Bassong and redmond for wes and johnson for redmond.