Some Observations

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

I was pleased to get to see the game live today so here area few observations.

The mood felt different today from the spectators. There is a new sense of purpose and the crowd stuck fully with the players throughout a hard fought game. Perhaps they sensed the players were properly putting in a shift.

The players looked up for it to. The manager is galvanising them.

Speaking of the manager, I sat near the bench and he and his coaching team were proactive so as to be part of the action. Too often Neil Adams cut a contemplative and lonely figure. This manager stands there like something between a general and an RSM and the players are constantly looking to him and showing every sign of knowing he is assessing everything.

I was pleased for Ruddy to keep a clean sheet. He handled well and came off his line superbly. He looks a stone lighter to me and this is exactly what he needed to be. When goalkeepers lose confidence it can take a while to rebuild and I hope Ruddy is doing so.

The square ball identified by Alex Neil was absent today bar one aberration by Whittaker which caused us problems. We seem to be shooting or releasing the ball forward rather than committing this manoeuvre and it appears Neil has drilled it in.

Olsson got up and down the line superbly today. He is working harder and running further, maybe that''s why he tightened up?

Bassong was noticeably vocal, I liked that a lot, we have needed voices from the back and he had a good game IMO. He went forward like a tank at times too.

Jonno was my MotM. He terrified Wolves and a linesman with his aggression. So pleased he scored.

Grabban had to work hard with little space and his back to the goal for much of the game but he stuck at it and eventually got the ball into space in front of him. Is he the quickest player at the Club? Over medium distance I think he might be. AN has boosted his confidence and through him been able to rest Cameron.

But the most interesting player on show for me was Gary Hooper. His one two''s and triangles were superb as was his vision for a pass. For me, I haven''t seen a Norwich forward play like him since Robert Fleck (although he doesn''t have the same aggression). Is Hooper the new Fleck? He has a lot more to his game than just finishing, it was a delight to watch.

For me a 2-0 win is the best win because it is professional and indicates a hard fought game. This is the kind of performance which would get us safely into the play-offs.

Now the players have put a proper run together. But the upcoming games will tell us everything.

We have to do it for ourselves. I''d take a point at Watford and hope we can win the next two. Some of the other sides around us have winnable games but Bournemouth might be about to slip.

Get great results from the next three and we will have serious belief and momentum but that is getting a bit ahead of things so let''s make Watford a play-off final and take it to them as hard as we did to Wolves today.

[morty 0]

Good stuff and agree.Particularly pleasing for me also was the fact we pretty much controlled the entire 90 minutes.I am seeing people saying how poor Wolves were, but I don''t buy that. Our hard work made them look ordinary.

[Mr Jenkins 0]

"But the most interesting player on show for me was Gary Hooper. His one two''s and triangles were superb as was his vision for a pass. For me, I haven''t seen a Norwich forward play like him since Robert Fleck (although he doesn''t have the same aggression). Is Hooper the new Fleck? He has a lot more to his game than just finishing, it was a delight to watch. "

Absolutely agree with this, Hooper is really beginning to show his true class, he scored three last week but for me today''s performance was equally as good, he is a polished performer, great!

[Indy 3,283]

Another great performance.....full 90 this time......agree Neil appears to have just Tettey sitting now so Howson & Johnson free to push on.

What I noticed and love about the Neil management is how we were at them for full 90, how we pushed up and compressed the pitch and above all else anyone notice just how much Bassong took the ball on his chest controled and passed rather than the Turner head it into space for the oppositio to run onto.

This was the most solid and rounded performance I''ve seen this year......fantastic from the players and Neil.

Bring on Watford.

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Mr Jenkins"]"But the most interesting player on show for me was Gary Hooper. His one two''s and triangles were superb as was his vision for a pass. For me, I haven''t seen a Norwich forward play like him since Robert Fleck (although he doesn''t have the same aggression). Is Hooper the new Fleck? He has a lot more to his game than just finishing, it was a delight to watch. "

Absolutely agree with this, Hooper is really beginning to show his true class, he scored three last week but for me today''s performance was equally as good, he is a polished performer, great![/quote]

Every player seems to have upped their game since AN took charge.  He was renowned at Hamilton for getting players to know exactly what was expected of them and they responded there too.  All good news.

[Mr Jenkins 0]

Every player seems to have upped their game since AN took charge. He was renowned at Hamilton for getting players to know exactly what was expected of them and they responded there too. All good news.

You''re right, it''s that intangible ingredient, a mixture of understanding, confidence, desire, belief, wanting to perform for each other, etc etc.

Whatever it''s called it looks to be there now, I don''t want to get carried away but it really feels positive.

[Canary Jedi 573]

Hooper is far too good looking to be compared with Robert Fleck ;-)

[Phillip J Fry 0]

Alex Neil''s gameplan becomes more apparent with every match. Press high up the pitch and then attack directly whilst the opposition recovers from losing the ball in their own half. Norwich dominate possession in games not because they keep the ball endlessly but because they win the ball back so quickly although the insistence on attacking almost as soon as the ball is recovered means they are likely to lose the ball as well. 

Biggest problem for Norwich to overcome is how to recover defensively if their opponents are able to beat the high-press. At the moment, Norwich look a little desperate defensively if teams can get around their pressing but I''m confident that a consistent defensive selection will allow them to overcome this issue.