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ricardo

Ricardo's report v Rotherham

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With summer seemingly changing to Autumn overnight and wind and dark rain clouds overhead, Ricardo was extremely glad to get undercover as the heavens opened just in time for kick off. Hooiveld returned to the line up with Martin moving to right back and Johnny Howson, rather surprisingly coming in for Alex Tetty.It was a bit of a scrappy opening as the teams felt each other out and nothing much going on early until Jerome stubbed a weak shot that was easily collected while at the other end a lofted ball almost caught City out and it looked from my end that a Rotherham player missed what seemed an easy close range chance.City were coming forward in fits and starts but gradually exerted more pressure as the half wore on. Johno ought to have done better than blast a yard over when set up nicely by Redmond after a flowing move involving Grabben and Wes. Then Jerome screwed a low shot narrowly wide after good work again by Wes in the box. The corner count was steadily mounting but the big Rotherham defenders were covering well and City found it hard to work the openings.Redmond was a real live wire down the right and more than once sent dangerous crosses into the box. Twice Jerome got on the end but his aim was slightly off target. Then Olssen did the same from the left side only for Jerome to again guide his header just beyond the far post with the keeper beaten.It was starting to look like deja vu all over again when with halftime approaching Grabben looked to have opened the scoring only for the Rotherham keeper to produce a superb one handed save to his right. Jerome came in for the rebound only for the keeper to block on the line bit his second attempt looked in to me before it was booted away.With City players still arguing with the ref the ball was suddenly dropping in the City penalty area to an unmarked striker. Ruddy was out quickly but cleaned the forward out and it was an obvious penalty. Incredible stuff and totally in character with the last few games where nothing seems to go right but when it goes wrong it goes very wrong indeed. Needless to say Rotherham scored  and we were left to contemplate, why there is no justice in the world. At the halftime whistle I noticed Jerome walk off shaking his head. The big man could very easily have had a hat trick with just a fraction of good luckCity came roaring back at the start of the second half but we only endured more of the same. Grabben shot across the face of goal but nobody could divert it in. Corners and crosses were somehow scrambled away as City camped in the Rotherham half. At the other end a rare Rotherham break caused a hearts in mouths moment as the ball flashed across the face of goal. I''m sure some people were beginning to think we would never score again and who could blame them after such a catalogue of near things.With fifteen minutes left Wes was sacrificed for Lafferty and it almost brought dividends when the big man surged forward. His shot looked like being no danger until Jerome''s deflection sent it past a wrong footed keeper only to rebound off the foot of the post and take another Rotherham bounce before being cleared. Johno rifled it back from twenty yards only for Collins in the Rotherham goal to fly again to his right and palm to safety with City fans groaning and shaking their heads in disbelief.Adams, to great applause from the crowd went three at the back by withdrawing Hooiveld for Murphy and as City roared forward down the right  they gained a free kick 25 yards out. Lafferty curled a low effort round the wall only to strike the left post but agonising groans were stifled as there at last was Jerome to net the rebound as it spun across goal. City had to guard against over commitment as Rotherham earned a corner but fortunately Howson cleared a goalbound effort off the line.The final few minutes were a storm of City attacks but with a mixture of fortune and good defending Rotherham held out for a very unlikely point. I said on Tuesday that these sort of games come along every now and then but I didn''t expect to see another one quite so soon. I really don''t know what more we could have done, had we won both games two or three nil we would still have felt slightly short changed. They say luck evens out over a season, if so then we must be due an enormous slice soon. Perhaps next week we will beat Fulham, at long last, and then all will be right with the world.........................but I wouldn''t count on it.[;)]

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[quote user="Crafty Canary"]It will be a miracle if we beat Fulham next week. The following week perhaps?[/quote]I was hoping nobody would notice so we could turn up score before they knew we were there.Probably the only way we will ever get anything at CC.[:D]

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Wes slows our game up....for 70 minutes we were slow and lethargic, on comes Laffs on and bang we break with pace power and scare teams.

Is it time to re-think using Wes? I wonder how many goals we have scored with Wes on the pith to without this year.

So the so called pant wetters will be out soon and with a right to do so as we picked up 3 points from 4 very average teams in the last 4 home games, now as said we play Fulham......we never beat Fulham a bogey team are they not!

Then Leeds at home....some tougher games coming up and now we will see the true Adams, will he keep to his preferred starting side or make the changes?

Not all is as easy as some thought 5 games ago!

Dissapointed again but the last 20 minutes was good tempo.

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Many thanks as usual Ricardo, zero coverage today for this plastic, but I am going to take a positive stance and see it as a point saved today :-)

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Well Mark, rather than a point saved I got ribbed by some of the Nelsonettes for suggesting it was a point won. Their view that we should "expect" to beat teams is one that I hope Neil Adams and his team don''t have. I also mentioned that I thought Bradley Johnson was far from our worst player today. His qualities probably earned us the point because we had to be very much up for the fight. We are still top and there will be sides kicking themselves that they couldn''t really take advantage of us getting 1 point from 6 in successive home games and there''s now just six points seperating the whole top half. That 1 point today is as important as the other 20 we''d won already. Welcome to the Championship is what they say[:)]

 

 

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Or you could say thats another 4 points dropped where we should have pulled away from the pack!

Depends on your point of view and expectations.

If you think a point at home against a newly promoted side is a point won and not two dropped, I''m not supprised.

Come May this might not be a point won but could be the two points we needed....time will tell.

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Not really Indy. Come May this point will be included in the total we''ve won. It won''t become points 2 points lost because we never had them to lose. Rather like when people suggest I''ve lost my marbles....

 

[;)]

 

But joking apart every single point is hard won in this league. Never devalue points in the bank.

 

 

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Nope not for me Nutty, I could accept that from the Bournmouth game, could even accept that from the Brum game, losing to Charlton was unlucky if you look at the performance but that put pressure on todays result.

I agree every game is hard but the gulf between us and those we have played has not delivered the expectation. Sadly we have lost 9 points from these games which you rightly say we don''t have.

Fulham next then a tougher run of home games to come. We will see.

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Indy... take a look at the 10 Championship results today. How many of them would you have called? It''s not like the Prem where you can expect points from some games and not expect any from others. I wouldn''t have called any of those Champs results today. Every point we win is precious.

 

 

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And not wanting to hijack Rickyyyy''s thread but please come on Rays Funds. Selecting six results has been a minefield the last fortnight. Your Message Board Needs You...

 

 

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That''s why the best teams win the league, would you not say? So do you think Rotherham, Bournemouth, Birmingham & Charlton are on par with City in squad & quality?

If this was over a season I could see your point but it''s our last 4 home games. If we get a point in the next two games is that a point won or as Adams said today another 5 points dropped in you view?

Just wamt to kmow if you have expectations or are just happy to watch games regardleds?

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[quote user="nutty nigel"]

And not wanting to hijack Rickyyyy''s thread but please come on Rays Funds. Selecting six results has been a minefield the last fortnight. Your Message Board Needs You...

 

 

[/quote]Mark 6 draws in the Championship every week and you want go far wrong.[:D]Adams has told the boys to get ''em in singles.[Y]

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[quote user="Indy"]That''s why the best teams win the league, would you not say? So do you think Rotherham, Bournemouth, Birmingham & Charlton are on par with City in squad & quality?

If this was over a season I could see your point but it''s our last 4 home games. If we get a point in the next two games is that a point won or as Adams said today another 5 points dropped in you view?

Just wamt to kmow if you have expectations or are just happy to watch games regardleds?[/quote]

 

Every point we get is won. The best I have before a game is hope. Do you expect to win? Was your expectation that we''d be 6 points clear top tonight?

 

 

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[quote user="Indy"]That''s why the best teams win the league, would you not say? So do you think Rotherham, Bournemouth, Birmingham & Charlton are on par with City in squad & quality?

If this was over a season I could see your point but it''s our last 4 home games. If we get a point in the next two games is that a point won or as Adams said today another 5 points dropped in you view?

Just wamt to kmow if you have expectations or are just happy to watch games regardleds?[/quote]

We have dominated possession and shots on target in almost every game so far. I expect we will win many more than we lose.Recent visitors have been very lucky to get away with some points. It happens sometimes and we have all witnessed many games like it but dominance usually wins out over the course of the season.I have seen nothing in the first ten games that make me doubt that we will win this league quite comfortably. We look stronger and we have better quality and that is what wins out over 46 games.

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Agreed Ricardo...best teams will be at the top and deserve to be promoted....

Nutty I have expectations, not to be relegated from the championship, win more home games and with the money invested in Adams squad I would think MacNally would also have expectations or I might be wrong and he like you just hopes for a result each game.

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I think we are seeing the effect of having a strong reputation for a top forward line.Games at home will be much more difficult for us at home, where visiting teams will come to try and get a point, possibly nick a win with the odd counter attack. After all, even poor teams will fashion a couple of chances against top opposition and if they can make the most of theirs and stifle ours, they''ll smash and grab something.We have seen that twice now. Charlton scored a rather lucky goal which took a deflection in what was only a couple of efforts on goal. The goal today came from a long ball with City players dallying a little.We have more luck away from home as teams are less likely to park the bus. As soon as any team pushes a little higher up the pitch we''ll beat them.I expect that any game we take the lead in, we''ll score more and win more. Simply because parking the bus is no longer an option for opposition sides and thus we''ll find more space and pick them apart with more ease.The very basic fact of football is that you can drill defending, marking, organisation and composure. Creativity is far harder to coach. Quality costs money - these teams are not foolish, they know their strength against us is to not to try and outscore us, but to out-defend us. It''s the same policy we had last season, and for me, it is typical of football league mentality.

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That is true and the reason Adams has to figure out his best tactics and team to break this poor home form.

The other significant comment you make is about us scoring first, I can only think of the Watford, Binners & Bournemouth game where we have scored first, the rest we have chased and done well getting the points we have.

I''m sure we will turn the poor form round but it would be good to see the squad rotated when things are not working.

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Indy, expecting to beat Charlton and Rotherham stinks of complacency and arrogance. Charlton still havent lost this season. Rotherham worked hard for their point today and probably deserved it more than Charlton deserved their win. I hoped we would win both games but I expect to finish above both in May.

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No nutty arrogance is thinking we will walk the league with 100 goals & 100 points. Expecting to get more than 3 points from 4 home games against Bournmouth, Birmingham, Charlton & Rotherham is not arrogance, there was enough money spent and quality players in the depth of squad to have picked up a few more points and a win.

That''s my opinion and I hope the manager and players standards too. You may not aim this high but I do.

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Last time I looked we were top of the league with the best goal difference in the league. Did you lose money betting in the wrong games Indy? We can t expect to beat anyone and it really doesn''t matter where the points come from.

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We will not dominate this league, that''s for sure, but we most definately should be there or thereabouts.

 

These are points dropped, IMO, as teams with our advantages and aspirations should win most games at home. Home games are where it''s at surely? 

 

The fact that we are still top, despite our dismal hme run, suggests that perhaps we have picked up more points away from home than might be expected. Away form alone is a fragile basis upon which to build promotion hopes though and if fortress Carrow Road is not established asap then promotion it won''t be.  

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chicken wrote the following post at Oct 05

''The very basic fact of football is that you can drill defending,

marking, organisation and composure. Creativity is far harder to coach.

Quality costs money - these teams are not foolish, they know their

strength against us is to not to try and outscore us, but to out-defend

us."

A good example was Villa v Man City yesterday. City dominated as Villa parked the bus waiting for the counter attack. City were passing the ball around just outside the Villa area continuously looking for the opening, while Villa kept their shape. It was Yaya Toure who eventually decided to go direct to goal and scored when i think Villa were waiting for the usual one-two.

IMO City (Norwich) need to work on different strategies to open up the visitor''s defence, especially patience in those situations in order to limit the counter attacking opportunities.

I was not able to see the match (11,000Km away and no stream) but I was looking at BBC stats and the shots numbers were coming thick and fast and totalled 27 at the end. How come only 6 were on target? was it poor shooting or were the defenders closing them down mostly?

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Ricardo''s response gets it spot on as far as I am concerned and along with NN I think we have the answer.

My guess is, that in this first part of the season our management and squad are still finding their feet, and that what we are now seeing is one of probably two "bad runs" we will get this season.......a bad run where we have dominated in every game and still created plenty against teams who are still fresh and with just about their strongest teams out (I say that because later in the season many of them will have weakened teams due to lack of squad).........and at the end of the day the quality and strength of our squad will come through and I still believe we will win this league.

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I don''t think Rotherhan parked the bus. In fact they got in behind our slow and disorganised defence on 3 or 4 occasions with alarming ease.

Scoring first is undoubtedly a problem. Teams up their game when they come to Carrow Road at the moment. Early goals would squash that enthusiasm and I suspect see us enjoy a few more comfortable home games but as it is teams are staying in the game and growing a bit in terms of confidence and belief, especially when coupled with the unbelievable good luck our opponents at Carrow Road have had of late. Need to start blitzing teams in the first half like we used to do under Worthy.

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I really like Jerome and Grabban as players, they''re hard working, excellent on and off the ball but their finishing is mostly poor. The fact they''ve scored so many so early is testament to our excellent midfield and playing philosophy.

For me you can''t play the two together, especially when they''re supported by the also excellent but extremely goal shy Hoolahan and Redmond.

We just can''t rely on them to bury chances when we need them to. I''m not a huge fan of Hooper, I think 5 Million was exactly what he''s worth as a PL striker, he''s no better than say Shane Long or Fabio Borini, but he''d have a field day in this team so I can''t wait for him to come back.

Also please no more 442 with Wes! If we have to play Grabban and Jerome together they need to be supported by Howson in the hole in a diamond because he scores goals.

My team for the next game providing they''re all fit

------------------Ruddy-------

Whittaker-Martin-Turner-Olsson

------Tetty------VOO-------

Grabban-----Hoolahan----Redmond

---------------Hooper-----------

Just to freshen it up a bit if anything and to give Johnson a rest, you could play either Jerome or Grabban, i Just picked Grabban and Howson on for Hoolahan if he''s not on form by 60 mins

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I for one did "expect" more than 3 points from those 4 home games. I don''t think it is arrogant to have an expectation, you could define it as believing something is probable, or much more likely than not. You come to that determination based on a number of factors including form, goals being scored and conceded, home/away, depth of squad and injuries, experience of the team and manager etc. if having taken these and factors into account you believe that you will win then it is not wrong to have expectations. But of course that doesn''t mean that the unpredictable nature of football can''t outweigh it all and you find the odd surprise. Anyone looking at the stats not knowing the result would see 27 attempts vs 7 or so and therefore "expect" that more of ours went in than theirs.

As to 2 points dropped etc, the argument that we have won a point not lost two is similar to arguments put forward last season to the effect that "we are not in the bottom 3 so why all the worry" stuff that many received on here. We need to get the points so it is better to get them early and when the opportunity arises. If injuries etc strike then we may not outplay such teams again and dominating two games to pick up only one point is undoubtedly disappointing. Battling relegation may justify a one point gained mentality but we are not- we want to come in the top two and that means wins, wins and a few more wins.

However with nearly 1/4 of the season gone I am pretty sure that everyone would have taken our current points total, but even more than that a new found sense of optimism, confidence and resilience which bodes well for the next 7 months.

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