Marks out of ten so far ( and playing Hoolahan)

[Surgeryman]

So we are 5 games into the league fixtures and most will be happy with the points total and generally that things have gone pretty well so far. Apart from the Wolves blip and maybe some aspects of our performance today, three wins including a derby victory have seem smiles returning to the Canary faithful.

Today was a bit disappointing but credit to Bournemouth how worked hard and deserved the point. We did not really click today and second half we lacked that killer edge in the final third and the midfield was packed. We do try to over complicate things at times and today I did find myself querying some aspects of the way we have set up and do feel that trying to accommodate Hoolahan does cause some issues. Don't get me wrong, Wes on his day is superb but it does affect our formation.

For example, why are we playing Lafferty on the left wing. He is crying out to be behind Grabban and to be in the box for crosses. There were times today when no one was in the box and it's no wonder Redmond shoots at times as he has no options.

You have to say, Grabban has done well scoring goals, but when I watch him I am mystified how he has as he is not a lone striker but a poacher. He was largely anonymous for the second half today. I know this may get some comments but Hooper and Lafferty would be my choice ( if Hooper stays).

It's going to be interesting for Adams when Howson, Hooper and Vadis are available for selection. Again Wes will still be the influencing factor. To play him or not, that is the question?

So overall I am happy and this is not meant to read negatively but just raise some questions. I hope that after today some fans have realised it is not a forgone conclusion that we will get promotion, however we do have a decent chance. Transfer business has been reasonable and maybe a couple more to come in so overall 8/10 from me.

 

[CJRV2014]

If we keep Hooper i will be amazed, seems strange to have a player valued at £5m+ whos attracting interest from prem clubs who probably isnt a guaranteed starter here.

I like him and would have built my attack around the bloke.

 

[Wiz]

I'm very happy at the moment especially with Adams who has amazed me.

With the new boys and Hooper and Howson (hopefully) to come back in, a 9/10 is not out of order imo.

 

[SussexYellow]

I am going for a harsher 6 out of 10. Yes we we have a reasonable points haul from what is looking to have been a tough start. But....

We have had the rub of the green on a number of occasions. Watford down to 10 from the off. Grabban needed two bites of the cherry against Blackburn - on another day the ball could have gone safe rather than bouncing back to him, we got on the right side of penalty shouts that day as well.

We are thin on the ground in terms of defensive reinforcements. The next two days will be important in this respect. Whilst generally we have defended ok, I am not convinced we are yet as dominant as we need to be in that department.

Midfield is looking good, hopefully a couple of good arrivals this week plus Johnny H to come back.

Up front I am also yet to be convinced. We are too reliant on Grabban's goals at the moment. He will have a dry spell at some point, and it is hard to see where goals will otherwise come from. Jerome and Lafferty do not have reputations for being prolific. So I am hoping we can hang on to Hooper, probably a forlorn hope. Adams after all has said he want 4 strikers and I would rather Hooper than Loza. I also think that we have yet to master this fluid attacking formation we seem to be playing.

We also need remember we have a rookie manager. Yes he is having a good run but he is still learning and we will need to be patient because he will make a mistake or two. He may yet prove to be an inspired appointment but the ride will be bumpy for a while yet.

As th OP pointed out we are not going to easily dominate this division. Promotion is anything but a forgone conclusion. But we are a big fish and teams will see a point at CR as a prize, and as we need to be able to overcome those who set out to frustrate.

So a 6 from me to reflect a promising start but with plenty of opportunity for improvement.

 

[Keckers]

Harsh there Sussex.

As for the rub of the green, we didn't have it at Wolves and we were already beating Blackburn so I don't agree with those points. As for penalties, we had at least one good shout for one yesterday so it balances out.

Agree about defence. Martin is not a CB for me. He is not even a guaranteed starter for me. But definitely need additions there.

Agreed with Midfield.

Up front is a tough one. I think Adams is still looking for his best combo there. With goals coming from midfield, if we're playing a lone striker, maybe it should be someone who can hold the ball up and bring them into play, but while Grabban is scoring stick with him.

I think your view of Neil is a little pessimistic. It's been a good start by any measure. We have faced lots of good teams with weaker teams to come. 4 wins on a row. Asking for more is desired but let's remain realistic. Wolves had momentum, Watford and Blackburn are good sides, as are Bournemouth, and away at Ipswich. Tough games and a tough start which I for one am delighted with.

Agree with the point about CR being somewhere teams will see a point as a result. We do need to be more clinical but it's only been one game where that has happened and against a team who challenged last year and are likely to be there or thereabouts this year.

Overall, I'd go with 8.5 out of 10. I'm very happy with the start and that's what I'm judging.

 

[SussexYellow]

It was a positive 6 from me Keckers. To give room to up the score as things improve. 1 for the defence, 1 for the attack, 1 for Neil improving with experience, and 1 for keeping results going. Yes the last 1 is harsh, alright so 7. That's one that should be taken away if it goes pear shaped, rather than still needs to be earnt.

On the Blackburn game I should have said Grabban had fortune with him twice. The penalty save could also have bounced to safety and that was at a critical time.

Agree with your thoughts up front. They pretty much match mine. I had overlooked Becchio though. I think I can be excused that as management have consistently overlooked him. Maybe, just maybe, he could be our alternative goal source.

OTBC

 

[Keckers]

I agree about Becchio. He seems to be doing the right things to improve his relationship with Neil so would be good to see him as an option. We all know he can score at this level. To be honest, he had slipped out of my thoughts too for the same reason. Maybe he could recreate his last half season in the Champs for us this time. I'd be happy as Larry with that.

OTBC

 

[BarclayBoy88]

All great questions but I have to give it a very solid 8/10. I think we've done some really smart business to strengthen the side and I can't complain about the sale of Fer or Snodgrass considering the price that we got. I think Hoolahan has done a great job this year but it will be interesting to see what happens when Hooper is fit. Lafferty on the left is working because it's leading to goals for Grabban, I know he may get a little frustrated being out there, but it should be big picture time and I fully expect Grabban to get 20+ goals this season, he did so at Bournemouth and we've got better players providing for him. 

I think we'll know a lot more when the transfer window is closed. We absolutely need to keep our players unless some silly money starts doing the rounds, and we absolutely need to bring in defensive reinforcements. I'm looking forward to Olsson being back and integrating Vadis into the side. 

 

[Watling the Gnome]

On the pitch, 7/10

Off the pitch, 7.5/10

Currently exceeding expectations. Long may it last.

 

[Din]

On the pitch it's been mainly positive, with the exception of the opening day and the second half against Bournemouth. We've already beaten Ipswich away from home, and certain members of our team have proved how effective they can be at this level (Johnson, Tettey, Turner, Hoolahan, Grabban). We have also played much better, attacking football than we did at any point last season, and I think that we can still play a lot better. There are some aspects of our play that have been a bit disappointing. For example, Nathan Redmond has been relatively poor in comparison to last season, and I don't like the fact that we keep persisting in playing Martin at centre back. And as said above, having to change the way we set-up during games, just so we can accommodate Hoolahan, even when he's not playing that well, is a bit annoying. But the fact is pretty much every Norwich fan would've taken 10 points from 5 games before the season started, and we've managed to play some nice football whilst getting good results. It has also been refreshing to see some of the younger players getting a chance. Josh Murphy has impressed when given the chance, and I have no doubt that the likes of Loza, Jacob Murphy and McGrandles will get opportunities throughout the season as well. Assuming that none of our big players leave between now and Monday night, then I think that once we get some of our injured players back, and some of the new signings settle in, then we'll gradually get better and better, and become much more consistent both in our performances, and results.

Off the pitch it has also been very encouraging. In the transfer market we have done some very good business. Grabban has looked great and is an absolute bargain at £3m, especially when you compare him to the likes of McGoldrick, Ulloa and McCormack. Lafferty on the whole has impressed me, although it does look as if he has a bit of an issue with his fitness. And the other players we have bought in, Jerome, McGrandles, Odjidja-Ofoe, O'Neil, and Cuellar, as well as the imminent arrival of another centre half, have not only added depth to our squad, but are also all players that could easily fit into the first team. I was disappointed to see Snodgrass and Fer go, but you cannot argue with their sale when you consider the amount of money we got for them. The only transfer that I was actually annoyed with was the sale of Pilkington. It wasn't the fact that we sold him, it was just the fact we let him go to a promotion rival for a pretty small fee, as on his day he can be a very effective player, particularly at this level. I have to admit that I was very sceptical when we appointed Neil Adams, but so far everything he has done has been positive, and you can't question his commitment and passion for this club, so on the whole, so far at least, the board appeared to have made a very good appointment.

Overall I'd give our season so far an 8/10. The performances on the pitch on the whole have been good, as have our dealings in the transfer market. Hopefully now we'll be able to keep hold of the likes of Hooper and Redmond until the transfer window shuts, and I'd be very confident of promotion.

 

[Yellow Fever]

Interesting to read this after the window has closed and not one, but two CBs have come in from PL teams (and both left sided CBs as well). We still have Hooper and Howson coming back from injury to offer different attacking options. It seems an 8.5 at least from me! OTBC!

 

[Robert Brompton]

I think it will take a while to bed in all the new players, find our best line-ups for different situations and see if we really have a fully-bonded squad. By the end of October we should have a pretty good idea of what sort of season we are likely to have.  At the moment all we can really say is that there are some very good signs but I'd give it 7.5 overall with a 9 for NA in getting through the transition with players and fans with dignity and no little style.

 

[bloodwagon]

As of now, I would give the team 7.0 ( still a long way to go )

As for N.A. 8.0 As seemed to got the team playing how we should have played last season.

Only another 43 games to go.

 

[ZLF]

Good summer spent realigning the squad to a lower level league,  retaining future talent while cashing in on some high value assets.  Decisions made sound so far.    Solid start for a quality squad with disproportionately large resources in this league with excellent cover for all positions. 

Responded well to the opening day mistake of aiming for a diamond (not mid game though) and adopted the best formation/personnel since and made it work;   last week signings mean we are best suited to either a 4231 formation or at a push 352,  although we dont really have enough cover to sustain a two man front line for any run of games.

Still unsure that Martin/Turner is our best cb partnership but agree it will be good enough for this league.    Fitting in the new signings will be a challenge as will building upon/sustaining our start.   

6.5 / 10 for me

 

[Mundham]

I would give the team a solid 7.5, there are times we have dominated games but also I feel we still lack that killer instinct when we've had teams on the ropes.

Adams gets a strong 8 from me, I feel he's fulfilling his promise of attacking football, has a solid idea regarding formation (Johnson and Tettey have been a revelation this season thus far), and has real strength in depth through his purchasing.

 

[SussexYellow]

OK what are our scores now.

We have had a win, draw and loss in the last three games so not a bad time for a reassessment.

Folling my reasoning earler in this thread I will go back to my original 6 out of 10, on the basis that results have gone south over the last month or so.

Am I still being harsh, or am I now being generous?

 

[Surgeryman]

For me 5 out of 10. Unfortunately it may be going lower if our form continues as it is.

 

[Jimmy smith]

Each game he continues the ludicrous experiment of Russell Martin at CB and Whittaker at RB his rating declines. Give it up Neil and play a proper CB and a capable RB!

 

[Fenway Frank]

Each game he continues the ludicrous experiment of Russell Martin at CB and Whittaker at RB his rating declines. Give it up Neil and play a proper CB and a capable RB!

I agree that Russ Martin should go back to right back, but it's hardly an experiment is it ? 

 

[Dubai Mark]

I didnt reply the first time, but I guess I would have been at a 7 out of 10 then. 

Now, sadly it has to be a 4 for effort.

Wiz, he amazed you then....what about now?