Match Day Thread Norwich City v Liverpool

Back in the good old (not that old!) days of Paul Lambert, it was a case of "if they score 3, we'll have to score 4"
Sadly it's now gone arse about face so when we score 4, we allow them, through schoolboy defensive mistakes, to get 5!

 

Walking down to the ground yesterday my lad informed me RM was playing at CB.
The look from people around me was astonishing and there we're literally gasps from a woman in front who heard him.
Now I don't want to beat him any more than he has been already but surely he can't ever play there again now after that horror show yesterday?
I'm really disappointed that AN felt he couldn't start Klose but even more so that he couldn't see what was happening at 3-2 and arrest the problem by bringing him on?
Rusty has been a terrific servant but it feels like watching a wounded animal that needs putting down at the minute ! He should be moved on in this window, I'm sure Lambert would take another of his old guard?

 

Calls for RM to be dropped are not unreasonable, but to depart the club?! Given our limited options at centre back and Bassong/Bennett's past injury problems we can't afford to lose him.

Any 'fans' trying to hound him out of the club after everything he's done for us on the basis of a few poor performances needs to take a long, hard look at themselves. He can still do a job at right back.

It's not like he's a big name player not justifying his massive transfer fee and salary, remember we got him from Peterborough...

 

Sorry namesake, but this season is all about survival. And to continue to plod along with players who - over a prolonged period of time, not just a 'one-off' have proved they're not good enough to achieve that is effectively putting one's own head in the noose!
Is that what we want to sit and watch unfold? I know I don't.

 

When I suggested after we bought Klose that we needed another CB, several on here inform me that with Klose we had plenty of CB's (Wisdom, Bennett, Bassong & Martin) and that we needed another striker more than another CB. Assuming we keep Wisdom & sell Whittaker then I would be more than happy to sell Martin provided we buy another CB better than what we have, excluding Klose. If Klose gets injured we are really in the sh!t. The only thing that is keeping us out of the bottom 3 at the moment is that other results are going our way, this won't last forever. AN must sort out the heart of our defence and our team balance. We will find out over the next few months how good a manager AN is.

No one on here wants anyone hounded out of the club, especially someone like Martin who has been a great servant for us. But equally no one wants us playing in the Championship next year because we've let sentiment get in the way of common sense.

 

If you look at the way that Rudd played his game yesterday you could argue that he was not at fault but if you look at goalkeeping technique he was. At this level a GK has to dominate his box. For the winning goal most GK's, including Ruddy, would have come out and punched the ball off Brady's head. Rudd just stood rooted to his line. When you come out to an approaching attacker the GK has to spread himself to lessen the target to aim at. Rudd doesn't. He slides out feet first like a defender going into a tackle. If Ruddy's head is now right after that incident in Norwich we need him back in goal as I still maintain that if Ruddy had been in goal yesterday we would not have conceded 5 goals.AN quite clearly knows that we need reinforcements and we can but wait and see what he can do in the next few days with the limited financial resources available. Incidentally - how many spaces are left in the 25 man squad?

 

^^ Post du jour ^^

 

Naismith's post match interview - http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...city_s_dramatic_defeat_to_liverpool_1_4391385

 

Well that was a wierd game to watch.

Naismith looks class, and pinto looks exciting going forward (if a bit shakey at the back)

However it's just ludicrous that we can't protect a 3-1 lead. We need to gut our defense and do so quickly because RM isnt up to the task anymore.

Im also a little concerned that AN wasn't able to close shop more when we were 2-1 or 3-1 up.
With the personnel we have I want him to show that he realises we cant play an open expansive attacking game for 70-90 mins without being sorely exposed at the back.

Anyway all that said my lasting emotion from yesterday was surreal bemusement.

We looked exciting going forwards and baffling absent going back, but so did Liverpool. It made it a rather enjoyable game if you just disassociated your desire for Norwich to win.

 

Keep your nerve Cromer. We have Tettey to come back, Klose, Naismith and Pinto to fit in, 2 weeks to get Bennett and Mulumbu over niggling injuries and a few days to bring another couple of players in. I know there is one potential signing in Norwich as we speak but that is all I do know about him.

 

Incidentally - I also know that AN has not given up on Andreu being an asset to the squad.

 

Easier said than done when you've lost your last four matches conceding 14 (fourteen ) in the process!!

 

Yes according to the manager Ryan Bennett was dropped in favour of Martin. I just can't see the logic in that, something to do with who Liverpool were going to play up front! So I can only guess the captain gets the nod. I am astounded by that decision.

 

What worries me even more in AN thought he would be better at handling Firminho, I have seen RM play against tricky strikers and he absolutely struggles even against players of Championship quality.

I don't want to twist the knife in anymore but if he continues to play he will relegate us. Every player runs their cause at this club either by outgrowing the club and going on a big money move or simply not being up to the task, we have to evolve there is no room for sentiment there is too much on the line this season.

 

As they say in these parts - 'it beggars belief!!'

 

I knd of understand the idea in that Liverpool play without a conventional centre forward and had pretty much zero presence in the air so maybe AN felt that the smaller nippier attackers would be more up Rusty's street that Bennett's. What AN can't account for is just how poorly he played. I supposed had he hooked him after the horrific back pass then it would have destroyed what little confidence he had but I think Klose would have made a difference if only having a fresh pair of legs and clear head.

I can't imagine Martin will be in the side against Spurs but he should not be in the squad ahead of Bennett who seems to have done better than the skipper in recent weeks but was sacrificed to accommodate Martin.

Martin has been a terrific servant to the club but has not performed consistently this or last season and he should now be seen as cover rather than a starter let alone captain.

 

I reckon he will be, Neil does the exact opposite of what we all think sometimes.

 

I put this on twitter when I saw the teams yesterday - before the result was known.

Jon Dunn ‏@cromercanary
Dear #PaulLambert, in your quest to rebuild the old #NCFC side from 5 years ago,
can I suggest a very versatile defender & captain-#RMartin

 

Martin is substantially more mobile than Bennett so I guess that was the thinking. Compared to Firmino you could argue that there was sense in that decision. That Martin would play quite so badly presumably wasn't factored into by Neil.