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Patches OHoolahan

Ricky Van Wolfswinkel: The Case for the Defence

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This is my first attempt at a blog style post, so be gentle...

Ricky van Wolfswinkel arrived at Carrow Road with much fanfare; our record signing, a great name and Youtube clips from his spell in Portugal demonstrating a ruthless streak in front of goal that Norwich were seriously lacking throughout the 2012/13 season. All began well with RvW opening his account in a friendly against Real Sociedad, and netting an equaliser on the opening day against Everton, to rapturous applause from an expectant Carrow Road crowd. Yet here we stand at the end of a dismal campaign for the club, relegated to the Championship with our much-vaunted star-striker having scored only once all season. So where do we go from here?

Many fans believe we should cut our losses, and sell Ricky on for maybe half what we paid. Others take a more pragmatic approach, advocating a season long loan move to the continent, which would help to restore Ricky''s reputation and hopefully his value as an asset. The third way, of keeping RvW and hoping that he rediscovers his goalscoring prowess in the Championship, is derided by those who see him as too weak to cope with big strong Championship defenders. Moreover it seems that many view Ricky, and his paltry goal-haul, as the embodiment of a disastrous Premier League campaign that once promised so much. However if we as fans, and Ricky as a player can overcome these psychological barriers, I believe that we will have the best striker in the Championship on our hands.

For RvW''s supporters the oft-repeated explanation for his failure to find form in the Premier League was the set-up adopted by Chris Hughton, and I am afraid I will repeat this explanation once more. There seems to be near unanimous consensus that Hughton''s negative approach did not play to the strengths of the club''s strikers, Ricky chief among them. Ponderous build-up play combined with an unwillingness to play the ball quickly into the channels resulted in much of our offensive threat being stifled as our opponents retreated with ease, while Snodgrass or Redmond ploughed a lone furrow on either wing. This often resulted in a hopeful ball into the box, where RvW was pitted against much larger defenders, without the benefit of a winger having gotten in behind the defence to disrupt their marking systems. Similarly Ricky was the target of long balls from our defence, where he was tasked with holding up the ball, to allow our hesitant midfielders the time to join in the attack. One need only look at RvW to understand that this is not a strength of his game, and if we wanted someone to perform that role, we would have been better served spending our money elsewhere.

Another criticism that has been levelled at RvW is that he is lazy at the unglamorous aspects of the game. I remember Leon McKenzie receiving fulsome applause for chasing down opposition defenders, while he was at the club, but what does this actually achieve? The standard of the Premier League nowadays means that one man pressing the opposition is unlikely to achieve a great deal except loss of energy. If RvW had been told to press the opposition, it should have been as part of a concerted strategy, in tandem with the other attacking players. For example, Liverpool press hard as a team for a set amount of time, when certain situational triggers occur, such as the miscontrol of the ball by a defender. Without a coherent strategy in place of the sort that Liverpool adopt, then there was little to no point in RvW wasting energy chasing every lost cause, as it could have meant the difference between him getting on the end of counter-attack late in the game. To my mind, I felt that Ricky pressed more intelligently, selecting moments when he felt he could disrupt the opposition''s pattern of play, rather than running around like a headless chicken.

So what does RvW offer us as a player? At his best he is a clinical finisher, both with his head and his feet, but we need to play to his strengths for him to show this. So instead of lumping balls into the box and asking him to compete against John Terry, or other large defenders, we should look for our wingers to get in behind the defence and cut the ball back for Ricky. Moreover a swift counter-attacking game, with through-balls played into the channels would suit his qualities as a player. RvW is exceptionally good at moving the ball between his feet in order to find a shooting position, but how many times can we honestly say that he was given a quality through-ball on the counter this season?

Ultimately I believe that RvW could still be a great success with us, but it is highly dependant on the approach that Neil Adams adopts as manager. If Adams puts greater emphasis on transitional play, short but intense bursts of pressing, and swift counter-attacks then we will reap the benefits of our investment. However if we maintain the slow pace of build-up play, and the use of hopeful balls into the box that has characterised the last two seasons, it is unlikely that RvW will do well at Carrow Road. Paradoxically, Gary Hooper shares many of Ricky''s qualities as a player, and would also profit from a fundamental reorientation of our approach as a football club. So put simply, if we want to succeed and score goals with the players we have here, then we must adapt, or Championship mediocrity beckons.

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For a first attempt Patches that''s very well written. Look forward to reading more of them.

Now I am not saying that I agree with it all, but I fear to open debate will only lead to another round of Wolfie bashing.

Personally I doubt that we will see him in the Championship. As you point out Wolfie and Hooper are in some ways similar and I expect Neil Adams will opt to keep only one - and I am guessing Hooper.

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It''s all wishful thinking. We were sold a dud. He only managed 20 goals in the season before he joined us in a league weaker than the Championship, and how many of those were penalties? That''s lower than Chris Martin''s record for Derby. Sure, he might score 10-20 but we need someone who''s going to knock in 25+ and he certainly won''t do that. Impressive youtube videos count for nothing - they can make any player seem amazing. We can''t build a team around a dud in the hope that he will come good. Sell him at a massive loss and move on.

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Excellent defence of RVW OP, but for me the jury is still out on this player.

 

I would, however, still like to see him given the chance to come good at Carrow Road. Deepish down I feel that he is capable.

 

One strange phenomena about our Rikki is that, despite being the biggest and most expensive flop in our history, he still seems to have retained the affection and sympathy of the majority of us Canary supporters.

 

Yes! There are always some who enjoy kicking the sick dog as it is a means of alleviating their concerns for their own inadequacies. With those it comes over, on this forum, as something more spiteful and the kind of malicious outburst that has more place on TWTD.

 

He is a decent player whose time at Norwich has been such a travesty of mis-fortune that I wouldn''t blame him if he couldn''t wait to get out of the place. Airport or not.

 

Good luck young man. You deserve some of that.  

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Good post Patches.

I for one was so looking forward to see RVW replicate the form he had shown on the YouTube clips we all saw, and expected him to score a few goals for us. For what ever reason he has failed miserably in that regard but as you say is it all his fault?

One question that has bothered me all season is why did we spend more than 13m on two players that can''t seem to play in the same team? Surely some of that money would have been better spent on acquiring a decent No10, someone with the creativity to set up the chances for RVW. Is that was McNally was alluding to when he said last summers transfer dealings were disastrous?

I personally hope that we keep him and he can prove all the doubters wrong. My biggest issue though is do we have a manager now in charge who will be able to bring out the best in him? Mind you he can''t do any worsen I suppose!

Anyway good post Patches!

OTBC

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More to the point, if he does stay next season, will people get behind him, a fresh start?Or just moan and groan at every chance he fails to convert?

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[quote user="morty"]More to the point, if he does stay next season, will people get behind him, a fresh start?Or just moan and groan at every chance he fails to convert?[/quote]

Morty I for one really want him to do well, so yep that''s two of us! But I suppose the question is will he be here next season?

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I have a horrible feeling that he is one of those furriners who simply isn''t suited to English footie.

He is not quick, or strong, doesn''t have quick feet or the ability to turn defenders inside out. It looks like he can make intelligent runs - unfortunately we cannot really tell, as nobody seemed capable of picking him out.

My biggest problem is that he did have a fair few chances to score & failed every time. This may have been due to a combination of lack of confidence/superb goalkeeping/sheer bad luck, but the abiding image I have of him is getting in a complete tangle, racked with indecision & giving the ball away when put through 20 odd yards from goal.

I will be happy as pig in excrement if he can turn it around next season & expunge that image from my mind, but I''m not holding my breath ...

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RvW does not have the control, physique or strength to succeed in the Championship. If we carry passengers again, likely we will suffer the same outcome

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Thanks for all the comments chaps/chappettes. To those who argue that RvW does not have the necessary physique to succeed in the Champs, I would point to Hooper, Billy Sharp, Le Fondre and Ross McCormack as examples of strikers who have a similar build to Ricky, and have scored goals in the Championship. He does not have lightening pace, but if we have the right supply from midfield, that won''t be necessary. I think his lack of success early on dented his confidence, and contributed to his profligacy in front of goal, when he did have the odd chance. He may not have lots of skill in the sense of a Ronaldo (i.e. to go past a player), but I think he does have the ability to make space for himself to shoot in and around the box, if he receives the ball in the right areas.

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I really think if he can bundle in a couple goals early on he will do the business for us. Well here''s hoping!

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Patches for me the issue is he is too one dimensional.

Your defence is based on everything being set up for Ricky being able to exploit his one strength. But we need more than that.

Holt was the quintessential journeyman, yet he could poach, run the channels, exploit a through ball, hold the ball up, be strong in the air and make the most of an indifferent ball into the box.

Wolfie is not an instinctive goal scorer as suggested - we saw enough evidence of that last season from the chances he did have. He can put away the through ball set up for him, albeit that is on the evidence of videos as we have not seen it with our own eyes, and apparently he takes a wicked penalty.

For me though we need a player that has more of Holt''s characteristics than Wolfie''s.

And yes Morty if he is with us next season i will be getting behind him. Nothing to be gained by acting otherwise.

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[quote user="Sussexyellow"]Patches for me the issue is he is too one dimensional.

Your defence is based on everything being set up for Ricky being able to exploit his one strength.
But we need more than that.

Holt was the quintessential journeyman, yet he could poach, run the channels, exploit a through ball, hold the ball up, be strong in the air and make the most of an indifferent ball into the box.

Wolfie is not an instinctive goal scorer as suggested - we saw enough evidence of that last season from the chances he did have. He can put away the through ball set up for him, albeit that is on the evidence of videos as we have not seen it with our own eyes, and apparently he takes a wicked penalty.

For me though we need a player that has more of Holt''s characteristics than Wolfie''s.

And yes Morty if he is with us next season i will be getting behind him. Nothing to be gained by acting otherwise.[/quote]Precisely. He seems to be not very good at the one thing he is supposed to be able to do well. There is also a practical consideration in terms of money and the squad. We couldn''t afford to have "luxury" players (a kind way of describing van Wolfswinkel) last season in the Premier League. Even less so down a tier. And if van Wolfswinkel and Hooper were too similar to play together last season then  they will still be too alike next. Realistically we only have room for one, and that would have to be Hooper.

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Sussex I think you''ve hit on an important point. RvW doesn''t offer the same variety as a Holt does, and is unlikely to create his own chances like say Suarez. But I would say that regardless of whether we retain Ricky, we should alter our set-up,to play in a manner similar to that described, as even Holt in his prime would have struggled to score with the service our midfield provided this season. Perhaps over optimistically I don''t believe we have seen the true RvW as far as his finishing ability is concerned. We all know how fragile a striker''s confidence can be, so I am hopeful that if he can score one or two, we will see the best of him as a striker. Of course the real issue is will he be here to show us what he can do?

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Surely we realise RVW is not going to be with us next season? As good as he could be in the championship there will be teams in Europe who will want him and the chances of us keeping him are slim to none.

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Patches - yep agree we need to be more, and probably much more, offensive in our set up.

The amazing thing about Ricky is that he could well be the player us supporters have wanted to succeed most in the club''s history. Any other striker with his record would surely have been branded a latter day Dean Coney and universally derided. Yet we, and I include myself in this group, still cling to the hope that he will come good. Why? It is just not logical!

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Please take your rose tinted glasses off - we have to get back to the prem first attempt and cannot carry this lame duck on high wages

What does he not do

No pace

No close control

Does not like physical contact

Does not close players down

Does not tackle back

Actually what does he do well - can some one tell me must of missed it

 

Everyone get real the champs is a tough league he wont cope & needs to be moved on asap

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[quote user="Newton"]

No pace

Does not like physical contact

Does not close players down

Does not tackle back

[/quote]

Are you posting about Surman?

 

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Apart from Suarez (who scores goals without any help) any striker would have struggled to score for us last season with our boring negative tactics.

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[quote user="Donkey dangler"]

Apart from Suarez (who scores goals without any help) any striker would have struggled to score for us last season with our boring negative tactics.

[/quote]
People keep repeating that nonsense but the truth is Hooper had a disappointing but not disastrous first season. He scored 6 PL goals, only 2 fewer than Peter Crouch who played more games. Holt scored 8 last season. A decent striker would have been able to knock in half a dozen even under Hughton. A striker can''t blame the manager for such total and abject failure.

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[quote user="Kangaroo Court"][quote user="Donkey dangler"]

Apart from Suarez (who scores goals without any help) any striker would have struggled to score for us last season with our boring negative tactics.

[/quote]


People keep repeating that nonsense but the truth is Hooper had a disappointing but not disastrous first season. He scored 6 PL goals, only 2 fewer than Peter Crouch who played more games. Holt scored 8 last season. A decent striker would have been able to knock in half a dozen even under Hughton. A striker can''t blame the manager for such total and abject failure.[/quote]

 

Last season, Holt scored 1 for Aston Villa in the Premiership, 2 for Wigan in the Championship and 0 in the cups.  Total = 3

 

Hooper has had a terrible 2014 so far, with only 1 goal  in 18 premiership games, that is a disaster in my opinion.

 

The service our strikers got last season was terrible.

 

 

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By last season I meant the 2012-13 season Holt played for us under Hughton. The point is you can only go so far in blaming the manager. Any striker should be able to knock in a few goals. Even with the poor service and negative tactics Holt and Hooper managed to knock in half a dozen or more each. Failing to score in 26 games proves him to be a dud and certainly not someone we should be building a team around.

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[quote user="Kangaroo Court"] Any striker should be able to knock in a few goals. [/quote]

So why has Hooper only scored 1 Premiership goal in his last 18 appearances (i.e. in 2014 so far)?

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[quote user="Donkey dangler"]

[quote user="Kangaroo Court"] Any striker should be able to knock in a few goals. [/quote]

So why has Hooper only scored 1 Premiership goal in his last 18 appearances (i.e. in 2014 so far)?

[/quote]

Because he''s garbage and at least 5 leagues over his head (more like 6-7 really)...

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Interestingly - Becchio and Elmander played 34 league games between them and managed a combined total of 1 goal

RVW scored 1 in 25 games, Hooper 6 in 32 - An average of 2 goals per striker in almost 100 appearances!!

With the exception of Elmander, the other 3 are free scoring strikers

Last season the team played each game in fear of making a mistake, combine this with a total lack of confidence, in a failed system, imposed on them by a nice, yet over cautious manager!….And there ladies and gentlemen…you have your answer to the 2013/14 failure

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