Lets get constructive (reposted message)

[Yellow Rider 0]

This message was incorrectly posted (by me) to the ''Transfer Talk'' site. It should now appear where I first intended. Sorry!

A couple of complimentary comments with other suggestions so far but what do others think?

The post was as follows: 

So the house that Delia built is well and truly crumbling away if the pessimists are to be believed. All that ''spirit, togetherness, passion, unique bond'' etc. that we got praised for last season (and, yes, praised ourselves for) is lying in tatters amidst bitter recrimination, infighting, booing and god knows what from our so called ''marvellous fans''! I am no great Worthy fan as followers of Yellow Rider posts will well know but, like nearly everything in life, the answer is not ''black'' (i.e. sack him) or ''white'' (i.e. there is no problem) but somwhere in the middle in some sort of shade of grey.

In short, it is totally stupid to draw any kind of conclusions from just the first 3 games as regards either individual performances or where we might finish in the table. 

BUT, there are very valid reasons why some criticism of Worthy is justified. Last season this could be summarised as blatant favouritism to certain players and his failure to give players like Helveg, Saffri and Shacks decent runs in the team. So far this season, my main gripe would be the failure to go for a good centre back to partner Shackell in an attempt to strengthen the back line.

Another point that has been overlooked by most posters is the ''turnover rate''. 9 players have left and 6 have come in. If you look at the first team and say that this is a business of about 20 - 25 employees, that rate of staff turnover in just 3 months is the stuff of nightmares for any supervisor, manager call it what you want. Marney has only just completed 2 weeks service for example. I''d wager that most of the 6 signings are still (if truth be known), struggling to get to know each other let alone all the other players, coaches etc. Couple that with the pressure of expectation following relegation and the 3 successive home games and it''s no wonder that we have at times look disjointed. I think it will take several weeks for the real team spirit to take hold and some real, sustained improvement emerge. By mid October, I think we are likely to be somewhere between about 9th and 14th. Top 6 will have to wait until Christmas at best.  

So what constructive suggestions do I have?

1. Raise the vocal levels at FCR and stop the jeering and moaning at ind. players. If you think that such and suach a player is poor (or worse) then direct your criticism at the manager who picked / bought him).

2.  Accept, that despite what many of you thought in May, this a much better league in terms of quality and competition that you thought. A play off spot at end of season will be very good, an automatic will be absolutely excellent. If we miss out on top 6 then we need to review what exactly happened and whether Worthy then has truly reached his ''sell by date''.

3. The manager and coaches need to actively try and improve certain flaws e.g. Leon''s first touch, Shacks over reliance on his left foot, Marney''s reluctance to take the fullback on, Hucks failure to bring colleagues into the game much earlier than he does.

4. Creativity in team selection and tactics when things aren''t going well. Example, try Hucks in a free role just behind the front two where he has more options and could run at central defenders which would frighten them to death! That means playing 3 at the back with Brennan on left side of midfield in wing back role.

5. Give serious consideration to buying a decent, footballing centre half to partner Shacks. A Matt Jackson type would be ideal (he was top class in his first couple of years here).

6. Coaches to

[Plastic Scouser 0]

YR - A really good, thought provoking post - I have to agree with the majority of your comments here.   I don''t think that we should be looking at sacking the manager/board/team yet (I think that Christmas will be the make or break time for the team)  and I do think that there are some posters out there who have underestimated the strength in this division (after all we''re all on a pretty equal financial footing as far as the transfer market etc is concerned)....

 

But we''re all in it for the long run and some sensible questions like this demand more time than I''ve got (nearly clocking off time!!!!) but I will certainly be interested to read some of the other posters comments.

[Evil Monkey 52]

Excellent post, Yellow Rider...

Don''t really have much more to add to that, other than to reiterate your point about getting behind the team - a real bugbear of mine, people may have noticed!

The noise at Carrow Road has been half of what it should be, so lets stop griping and get on with singing!

[Morph 31]

[quote]This message was incorrectly posted (by me) to the ''Transfer Talk'' site. It should now appear where I first intended. Sorry! A couple of complimentary comments with other suggestions so far but w...[/quote]

Yellow that is a really good post.

I don''t think we can ignore that loads of people are disappointed with the results in the first three games. On paper, and it was just on paper, 7 points didn''t really seem beyond the club. However, the reality is much harsher.

We seem to have forgotten how difficult the division is to get out of. Those 9 years in the wilderness seem to have been lost from memory because of that one season in the glory-land.

I am concerned about the points you raised about the coaching staff though.

"3. The manager and coaches need to actively try and improve certain flaws ...

4. Creativity in team selection and tactics when things aren''t going well ...

6. Coaches to encourage Hughes to focus on his touch and vision and not be afraid to play the difficult ball ..."

I''ll ask a question of the rest of the noting populace (quite clearly I never see a match) of those three points of YRs original post that I highlighted, how many do you believe Worthy and his staff really address?

Number 4 is a crucial one for me. Of the times that I have watched City on a full recorded match they have shown an inability to adapt. Stifle the attacking threat of Huckerby and the team seem unable to try something different. In that respect alone Worthy has to be prepared to be more flexible in the way he uses his tactics. If Huckerby is being tailed by two players make a change that means he''s not restricted to the left hand side of the park - bring off one of the strikers and play a left sided midfield player then giving Hucks freedom to roam.

In the promotion season against West Brom at home I watched the full game and was disappointed in the lack of ideas from City. They''re going to come up against lots of teams this season that shut up shop and play for a draw. The staff and team need to be adaptable enough to change their tactics to try and break the opposition down. That extra 2 points could ultimately be the difference between being outside the promotion spots or the playoff spots.

As supporters we can see these things I''m very concerned that the staff don''t. What''s more alarming is that the inflexibility has been there for the last season and a half. I''m worried that it''s going to continue into this season.

The other thing I''d like to see from Worthy is a belief in the youth system. He seems to have ignored the prospects that the academy system brings through the club. Shackell has obviously been the exception. So in that respect I fear your point 7 would also be a forlorn hope. Personally I''m of the opinion that if a player is good enough then he should have the chance irrespective of his age.

...

[Saint Canary 0]

One of the better topics posted at the moment.

I feel it''s fairly safe to say you have hit the nail on the head Rider.  We need to be a lot more flexible in our tactics and a lot more positive in substitions in my opinion.  If we sorted these issues out we would be laughing.  It''s seems strange to me that Thorne has replaced Marney when he has come on as Marney seems the player most likely to get crosses in for Thorne.  This decisions make no sense!

I agree with Morph that if you''re good enough etc and that Worthy seems a bit slow to promote young talent.  Saying that though you do have to be careful, players who break into their teams at a young age seem to be prone to injurys.  Giggs, Owen and our very Bellamy, O''Neill and Eadie.