It’s guest blog time again and for the second time we hear from a product of the MFW academy – Daniel Defalco. All yours Daniel…
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Despite recent results showing just how much City have improved both defensively and offensively since the first few weeks of the season, some fans – including myself – have questioned the team’s ability to take their chances.
This has been especially applicable at home, where the Carrow Road faithful have endured some drab matches in recent weeks, and there is no denying that Farke’s men did have opportunities to win these games with clear chances coming and going.
Unfortunately for us, it is becoming an all too familiar sight as shots end up anywhere but in the back of the opposition’s net.
For me, the Derby game on Saturday epitomised our issues at home this season. The first half saw chances aplenty come City’s way; Zimmermann, Stiepermann and Murphy all going agonisingly close. Then in stoppage time at the end of the half, David Nugent converted the only sniff of a chance Derby had.
At half time, the Norwich City Twitter scene was dominated by one word – “frustrating”, which summed up perfectly how the match had gone for us.
For all of City’s chances and complete dominance in the first half, they were undone by a moment of quality from one of the Championship’s seasoned goal scorers. But we ourselves have one of those. His Name is Cameron Jerome.
Jerome worked his socks off on Saturday – as he does every time he wears yellow and green – rarely giving Derby’s central defensive pair of Richard Keogh and Curtis Davies a moment on the ball. But as a side effect of his admirable work rate, Jerome often found himself on the wing or in midfield rather than in the box and so on the odd occasion where a decent cross was delivered, the box was either occupied by no-one or just one of the attacking midfielders.
At the risk of using Cameron Jerome as a scapegoat for the defeat on Saturday, it should be pointed out there were chances which were wasted by others. Stiepermann had the goal at his mercy when Josh Murphy played him through early in the first half but instead of coolly slotting the ball in the corner and giving his side a 1-0 lead, the German went for power and cracked the crossbar. Stiepermann and Murphy combined again in the second half, when the young winger delivered an inch perfect cross only for Stiepermann to hit it straight at the goalkeeper.
The strange thing about Saturday was that our best chances (apart from Murphy’s clear penalty) all fell to the players who are not known for their goal scoring abilities.
Other than Stiepermann’s two chances, the only players that had clear cut opportunities to score were Christoph Zimmermann who nearly toe poked in from a corner and Tom Trybull who missed his kick at the back post in the second half. Then of course, the loveable Timm Klose rose above Craig Forsyth to nod in the equaliser, to show the attackers just how it’s done.
But as Farke quite rightly pointed out in his post-match interviews, his side were both physically and mentally drained following the intense games against Ipswich and Arsenal. And it was certainly noticeable with attacking players such as James Maddison and Wes Hoolahan not showing the creative flare which had been oozing out of them in recent weeks. A leggy City side were not helped when Nelson Oliveira, who could have been the clinical finisher the game required, had to be substituted after barely ten minutes on the pitch.
But all hope is certainly not lost. Let’s not forget that the likes of Steven Naismith, Alex Pritchard and Matt Jarvis are all still to come back from injury. Also, it’s worth noting that a fair few of the squad who are available are not operating at 100 per cent fitness. Murphy, for example, has just recovered from a broken toe and tonsillitis and then of course there is the ongoing injury saga with Nelson Oliveira. With Farke creating a nine-match unbeaten run with so many key players missing or not fully fit, the sky is the limit when he has a bigger squad to pick from.
My point is that there is no need to start fretting over our home form and poor finishing at Carrow Road just yet. Maybe our expectations are a bit too high because we were spoiled with goals at home last season. All in all, 55 goals were netted in our own backyard during the 16/17 campaign – the highest in the league. However, we did finish 8th.
Stick with it. Onwards and upwards.
We are in trouble if we think Naismith or Jarvis will help our cause! Naismith has been a complete waste of money. He runs around misplacing passes and moans about everyone else! Jarvis is always injured and when he does play is awful. He had a couple of good games when on loan but as soon as we signed him, dreadful. Get shot of both of them! Pritchard is different. He has ability and desire and we will be glad if his return.
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Trevor, the problem is we cannot easily “get shot of” either Naismith or Jarvis due to their respective contractual situations.
I wish we could, but currently we can’t. Dreadful waste of ten million quid between them tbh, but the Webber-Farke axis didn’t purchase them, they became stuck with them.
Good article Daniel.
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I think we have to be honest about Jerome and stop resorting to the tired cliche that “‘he works his socks’ off,” which actually isn’t true if you examine his run distances in games compared with other championship strikers. Jerome has a poor touch, look clumsy on the ball, has poor decision making, can’t seem to head the ball consistently (if often his the wrong part of his head, shoulder or back?), makes very poor runs and very few incisive runs into space between and beyond defenders. He is simply playing on the basis of past performance and is invariably a passenger in the team. Even the primary function of holding the ball up seems a challenge for him this season: he either fails to keep possession or flicks it on mindlessly to one of our opponents players. His lack of quality — compared say to the movement, verve and crispness of other championship’ strikers — is deeply worrying. At times if feels like NCFC have no strike force when Jerome is playing. And his lack of incisive/destructive movement (getting behind defenders rather than just receiving the ball to feet which he favours) gives our midfield players so few choices for passes when trying to attack dynamically and with unpredictability. That in turns makes our midfielders look indecisive and slow to release because the movement in front of them is so poor. This needs to change, and fast. The Daniel Farke methodology of passing triangles working their way through the thirds of the pitch until the opponents defence is unlocked will not work otherwise as teams will just prove too difficult and organised to break down in open play and we will over-rely on wonder goals (think Maddison) or set pieces (think Kloser -occasionally!)
Additionally, perhaps at home games we need to win, we should look to start with 2 strikers to the movement is more expansive and varied, with one striker offering to receive and the other peeling off to attack the space behind defenders. That makes for unpredictability and incisive passing, the gateway to more goals which are sadly lacking this season.
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First of all can I say this was a good read and a reasonable summary of where we are. I would however draw slightly different conclusions from what are genuine observations. I don’t beleive that the failure to get goals is entirely a personnel issue. Cameron will score goals if you play to his strengths and he will work his socks off for you if you play the way we are playing him but he can’t do both. Pritchard will add something to the team certainly but necessarily lots of goals. Naismith is a dilemma because he has the talent but has shown little of it in a Norwich shirt. Farke has to find a system that allows the team to get the best out of his limited squad and that means a change of style in attack. Maybe we have to be a bit more direct? Also if the team were suffering from a long hard week why not make a few changes. These are exactly the circumstances where a top manager would introduce some of our young players for part of the game to give the regulars a rest. Playing Oliveira for 120 minutes at the Emirates was foolhardy.
Having been critical above let me say again I am happy ish with progress but goals win games and if we could start scoring a few we could win this division. One concern for me is that Farke in his previous job had a team that conceded few goals but also scored few.
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Should say NOT necessarily lots of goals. Sorry.
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This article is a well thought out and constructed a good read.
Yes we need to get the full squad fit but as with any club there will always be injuries and it is how those are managed.
Jarvis has the skills to be a very good player as in the past but I just don’t think he will do that at city he has burnt his bridges with the supporters having played so little during his period at the club.
Naismith is a complete conundrum he stated that he owes city a full and productive season so that looks like it will not be this one again, can we sell him once he is fit yes I would think but at a very low fee so we will lose a chunk of money, if he goes please be to jock land so that he doesn’t come back to haunt city.
Pritchard as thinks look we can write the first half of the season off time he gets fit it will be sometime in January before he is ready for a full game any sooner would be a bonus.
Oliveria someone suggested that we have another sicknote on our hand I hope not, I was surprised that he played the full game against Arsenal knowing we had another tough game against Derby.
Team Farke as Webber has continued to push are always prepared to trust youth would it have been wise to have either Abrahams or Fonkeu on the bench for both games just to give them first team experience and possible a late 10mins in the game.
When will Tettey be fit that is the next question and with the defence looking jaded with he give Hanley or Franke more game time rotation can be a dirty word in football but that is why the squad has one.
The international break coming up is good for the players not involved and for ones not getting game time that are called up so lets see what happens against wolves both clubs have had the same schedule but wolves have a bigger squad.
OTBC
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You wrote your comment before today’s presser and Pritchard should be back to full fitness in time for the glut of games around Xmas – which can only be a good thing.
It was interesting to read that Stiepermann should have gone for placement rather than power when his shot cannoned off the crossbar and who knows how that may have affected the result on Saturday!!!
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Thanks Ed
Yes I missed todays press news and it will be good to see him back.
would still like to see a couple of the u23 on the bench a bit more often this will get them use to the first teamers and a possible chance of coming on as sub that might help with scoring
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Martin: Naismith and Jarvis are more likely to cost us nearer £20M – transfer fees of supposedly £8.5M and £2.5M, followed by agent’s fees then generous/”desperate” three and a half year contracts given to both. What have either given us? Nothing.
What a dreadful waste when Webber has shown what can be done with a fraction of that money.
Hopefully Farke knows a under-rated German fourth division striker to bring in who can “give the lads a hand” in January.
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Yeah, fair comment. I love the Lambert line in your final sentence.
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I’d love to see both Naismith and Jarvis leaving CR in January and at least get their EXCESSIVE salaries off the balance sheet!!!!
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I think that’s the best we can hope for. If its little consolation, Jarvis is still being paid part of his income by West Ham as we did not match his deal, either we settle his contract and let him find a club like we did with Andreu or we will see him in get injured in his come back game for the U23’s in February then pay him until June.
Naismith wont go unless he’s getting all his wages, that was proven by his snub to Sunderland last season. I wouldn’t be surprised if any departure for him was ……………………..”undisclosed”.
I would imagine Webber and Stone will already be looking to tie up those deals for early in January so that the wages free’d up can go on a third striker (Watkins isn’t a striker), hopefully a loan for a premiership striker not getting game time (Ings has been mentioned by many).
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Well done Daniel. A really strong first gig on the site. Hope we see more.
It seems to me like Naismith is a square peg in a round hole. We’ve seen glimpses of his quality, but I think it is, and still is, different to what we need at present.
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Thanks Connor, appreciated!
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