Time to try inverted wingers again?

[Canaryboy]

I was really surprised to see Elliott Bennett leave on loan, with us having just two other recognised wingers - Redmond & Josh Murphy.

What happens if Redmond gets an injury or suspension by the way? We play a striker on the left and a striker on the right?

Whilst inverted wingers got a lot of the blame by fans for our failure to create chances and score in the Premier League, surely playing an inverted winger on the left has to be preferred to playing Kyle Lafferty on the left?

Adams had the simple option of playing Redmond on the left, and Bennett on the right. Why has he decided against that in favour of playing a 6ft 5" target man wide left?

Why on earth have we let four wide players leave the club, only to play a target man on the wing? It just seems so odd to me. Adams is making Hughton look like a tactical genius.

When everybody (me included) stated that £7m for Snodgrass and £2m for Pilkington was good business, none of us expected Lafferty to be our new winger, did they?

I'm not one of these people who thinks that Elliott Bennett is some sort of world beater, or a player of Premier League standard, but it is an

insult for him to be so far down the pecking order in a squad with such a scarcity of wide players isn't it?

The player with the most assets in this league so far this season is actually an inverted winger, with 8 assists in 16 games (Matty Ritchie). I can't judge Lafferty as a player until he is given a run in his natural position, but what does he have to offer out wide? Looks so uncomfortable out there, as did Grabban when Adams thought it was a good idea to try him out wide.

How can Elliott Bennett have been below Grabban in the pecking order for a wide berth?

 

[Ankles]

Bennett needs matches to get fit enough to push for 1st team berth, I could only see positive in the loaning out (assuming call back clause present) as will get competitive miles in his legs

 

[SussexYellow]

Benno was not making the 18 so hardly surprising he went out on loan.

If taken at face value will only be gone for three more games, one of which is against us so will not be able to play. He played virtually the whole game last night but was taken off after taking a knock.

The trouble is I can not see what Adams game plan is, and sometimes wonder if he knows. Do we actually have a plan A at the moment, let alone a plan B!

 

[Suffolk Canary]

Bennett's loan isn't really much of an issue considering its only for 1 month. It'll get him some match fitness and he can come back in to the squad if needs be 

 

[Surgeryman]

I was really surprised to see Elliott Bennett leave on loan, with us having just two other recognised wingers - Redmond & Josh Murphy.

What happens if Redmond gets an injury or suspension by the way? We play a striker on the left and a striker on the right?

Whilst inverted wingers got a lot of the blame by fans for our failure to create chances and score in the Premier League, surely playing an inverted winger on the left has to be preferred to playing Kyle Lafferty on the left?

Adams had the simple option of playing Redmond on the left, and Bennett on the right. Why has he decided against that in favour of playing a 6ft 5" target man wide left?

Why on earth have we let four wide players leave the club, only to play a target man on the wing? It just seems so odd to me. Adams is making Hughton look like a tactical genius.

When everybody (me included) stated that £7m for Snodgrass and £2m for Pilkington was good business, none of us expected Lafferty to be our new winger, did they?

I'm not one of these people who thinks that Elliott Bennett is some sort of world beater, or a player of Premier League standard, but it is an

insult for him to be so far down the pecking order in a squad with such a scarcity of wide players isn't it?

The player with the most assets in this league so far this season is actually an inverted winger, with 8 assists in 16 games (Matty Ritchie). I can't judge Lafferty as a player until he is given a run in his natural position, but what does he have to offer out wide? Looks so uncomfortable out there, as did Grabban when Adams thought it was a good idea to try him out wide.

How can Elliott Bennett have been below Grabban in the pecking order for a wide berth?

When you put things like that the choice of Adams as manager and the role if the board has to be questioned.

 

[Bethnal Yellow and Green]

Lafferty has spent a large part of his career in wide positions, he played there for Burnley, Rangers and Palermo and has also been positioned there for Northern Ireland.

He certainly isn't a 'target man' just because a player is tall doesn't mean he can play that role well, he isn't that great in the air - a bit like how Crouch wasn't a good target man until later on in his career.

I can see the logic in putting Lafferty out wide, he is very quick, has good close control and causes all sorts of problems - he totally dominated his full back in the Bolton game and attacks down Norwich's left looked the most dangerous in the first half.

As for Bennett, he hasn't put anything resembling a good performance together since injury and Norwich can't keep him around hoping he'll suddenly get it together again. He needs games if he is to get back to form, but personally, I think he might be done. It's a shame but he seems to have lost a huge chunk of his pace post injury and without it he hasn't got a huge amount going for him - he looked like he was running through treacle in the Wolves game. He needs to prove he still has enough to be considered a Championship standard player, and that wasn't going to happen whilst he was only playing infrequent U21 games.

 

[Canaryboy]

Apparently excellent on his debut for Brighton, and he has only started two games for us since his return from injury?

 

[Canaryboy]

Nottingham Forest have signed Tom Ince on a two month loan. That's the type of player I'd like to see on our flanks.

 

[Dubai Mark]

As the season progresses its as though NA is doing the opposite to learning from experience as things are getting more baffling by the match. I am seriously concerned, even at this early stage that we are all in for a huge disappointment by the end of the season. Anyway, to the subject Elliott Bennett, no problem with the loan as it will get him up to speed hopefully and I dont mind how NA plays the wingers as long as it gets results.  

 

[ZLF]

Lafferty has spent a large part of his career in wide positions, he played there for Burnley, Rangers and Palermo and has also been positioned there for Northern Ireland.

He certainly isn't a 'target man' just because a player is tall doesn't mean he can play that role well, he isn't that great in the air - a bit like how Crouch wasn't a good target man until later on in his career.

I can see the logic in putting Lafferty out wide, he is very quick, has good close control and causes all sorts of problems - he totally dominated his full back in the Bolton game and attacks down Norwich's left looked the most dangerous in the first half.

Glad some one else understands what Lafferty is and isnt;      I have got fed up saying heis not a target man nor is he being played out of position out wide.

Most ofthe issues I have with him are around the passion / loss of control of his temper;  reign that in but remain aggressive and he is a definite asset to the team

 

[GJP]

If Lafferty was a few inches shorter nobody would question him being played on the wing. But because he's tall and an attacking player people just come to the conclusion he must be target man.

With the squad we've got at the moment he's the clear choice on the left wing, in my opinion. And I also think if he'd played a couple more games there (instead of the ones we were putting Hoolahan out there) we'd have picked up a few more points.

I do think he can play upfront and I certainly wouldn't be upset to see him playing there but keep him where he is for now.

 

[gerryinromania]

Agree with the comments from Bethnal,,GJP, and ZLF re Lafferty. Have seen a fair bit of him out here with his previous clubs. I don't think that he was bought in as an out and out striker, and he certainly shows more than Pilkington did in the past 2 seasons

 

[eatonparkboy]

Thing is, you are pointing out he isn't a target man, fair enough but are calling him a winger which he most definitely isn't. He is a striker.

Yes he has played wide before but invariably in a front three or two.

I think those querying his inclusion out wide left, me included, is that we do have candidates for wide left or even winger if you wish. Ollson and Murphy can play there from the current squad.

Surely Lafferty was bought for his goalscoring which is virtually 1 in 2 for his major clubs. He has yet to manage one for us in 11.

And to complicate it further, when we have enough strikers on our books, we don't play more than one in a striking role.

 

[ZLF]

Beyond Lafferty we are looking at a loan

Elliott has not been up to his previous standard,  Josh simply is not yet ready to start and olsson a shadow of last season;  none warrant a start.

 

[GJP]

Yeah, I can see the argument for Josh because it's his natural position. But I agree with ZLF, he isn't ready for it yet.

Lafferty is a bigger threat. Football wise and the safety of opposing players.

 

[Canaryboy]

I actually went to fact check the left wing thing. Found a massive 20 page thread on a Rangers forum from 2012, where they were all saying that he is rubbish on the left wing and is a striker. They really were not very complimentary at all about him. 

Found similar from Burnley fans, frustrated that he was being played out of position on the left. He doesn't look very comfortable on the wing to me. Then there is this quote from Willie Irvine, about a 20 year old Lafferty: "I believe he is best served staying at Burnley, to continue his development, so long as he is played up front in his natural position and not on the left wing".

Can certainly find evidence that he was used on the wing for both Burnley and Rangers, but always accompanied by comments from lots of people saying that he shouldn't be playing on the left wing. 

Surely a winger needs to be able to cross the ball and create chances for strikers, that's my idea of a winger? Lafferty's only assist came in a game where he was a sub and used through the middle, and it was actually a somebody burying the rebound from a long range shot.

He certainly isn't a winger in the conventional sense. I'm happy to stand corrected and acknowledge that he has played left wing throughout his career, but I just don't rate him in that position and neither did Rangers fans. 

 

[GJP]

Who cares about fans from other clubs? It's only ever about what a player does in a Norwich shirt.

As I said earlier in the thread, I think Lafferty can play upfront. And I'd be fine with seeing that.

But we've got a couple of other lads who are good upfront too. Have we got anyone better than him to play wide left? I'm not sure we have.

 

[Canaryboy]

Well I'd personally like to see us try Olsson on the left side with Garrido behind him, and I'm one who would have liked to have seen Elliott Bennett given more football (possibly with Redmond on the left). If that doesn't work, then why not sign a winger? Forest just signed Tom Ince on loan, we don't have to wait until 1st January to make a loan signing.