Ouch.
12 points dropped against the teams we were relegated with… No big deal.
The wake-up call though is that Watford should have scored four or five last night.
Everything I fret about with 4-2-3-1 was exploited by the Cherries and the Hornets; Danjuma is a £13 million player and Max Aarons couldn’t contain him and against Watford, Sarr, a £25m winger, skinned Xavi Quintilla every single time.
But let me be clear… it is not the fault of our fullbacks that they were isolated against the best wingers in the league. Watford was a classic case that for 4-2-3-1 to function against Premier League quality, then that #10 role is critically important.
Kieran Dowell was a passenger against Watford. We can see his qualities developing but I see little from him defensively. Their front three left us chasing shadows, while their experienced midfield three3 contained us reasonably easily.
Danjuma, Sarr… these are, man-for-man, better players than we have. They are bigger, faster, more emphatic in their output than our fleet-footed magicians. Against guys like this, you need to change your shape, or you need to buy players that can match them physically.
This was personified late in the second half when Todd Cantwell was ruthlessly hunted down after 10-yards by Andre Grey despite Todd having a five-yard head start! A clattering tackle but completely fair. Todd and Dowell will need to go toe-to-toe physically before they will be able to express themselves technically and perform to their best.
Had Mario Vrancic been in the weights room two years ago, he’d have looked good even in the Premier League. We have, without question, amazing potential and I fully believe in this team next season, but there is nothing wrong with adding even more quality.
Todd is only challenged by Przemysław Placheta. Dowell is only pushed by Marco Stieperman. McLean only by Luka Rupp. Teemu Pukki has no competition at all. We need to help these lads.
Politely, we have no Premier League depth in this squad, no game-changers on the bench.
We will be champions and we should be an attractive proposition. I really feel that without Oliver Skipp, we will be in a perilous position before a ball is kicked, so Alex Mowatt is still my first draft pick: a deep playmaker with goals and the energy and leadership to match.
But then this team really does need more goals: Todd is a magnificent talent, very capable in our system, but that doesn’t make him perfect. Danjuma has scored 14 from Todd’s position, a similar marker of productivity to even Buendia.
Likewise, does Buendia fulfill his maximum potential from the right? If you play Emi centrally as the #10, I believe we can fill the wider positions with more goals, more pace, more power….because we likely won’t be playing a second striker, will we?
But in this core group and in the management I still trust. Daniel Farke and Stuart Webber will have a plan and I can’t wait to see it.
Champions elect.
OTBC
I didn’t say it clearly ….. I don’t want us to pay mega money for Sarr or Danjuma. I want their attributes in players that we can afford. Cheers
Even so, would love Danjuma in the side. Sarr less so, incredibly talented attacker but can’t abide players who are so lazy defensively. But you’re right – this was a great comparison, and there seems to be something in the lads that when they get shaken, their confidence drops and the neat passing falls apart. And then we give away possession and lose games. Just like last year. Partly physical, partly mental.
I’d like a front 3 of Danjuma,Pukki and Saar with Buendia just behind,in attack.
What a set up that would be.
If only………
I’m not sure the blame lies at the no 10 position. Both our CDM’s were bypassed by Bournemouth and Watford who got the ball wide at every opportunity and pushed up on Maclean and Skipp in the middle with hard, athletic markers to starve them of influence. It did also mean that Dowell barely got a kick; likewise Pukki because we seldom broke their lines but when we did – and this is the crucial bit – they stopped us. Sometimes they stopped us fairly, sometimes unfairly, but they stopped us. Just like Burnley, Palace, Brighton etc will do. Just like Huddersfield didn’t. We didn’t stop them, just like we didn’t at any time last season.
We needed our back line to push higher upfield and compress the midfield space so that Buendia and Cantwell could stay forward rather than constantly trying to cover wide, but I guess wuth 2 of our normal 4 out there wasn’t the confidence to do that, though Quintilla and Aarons tried to. Our centre backs weren’t brave enough, because Skipp and Maclean gave them very limited protection.
The most important purchase of the summer will be a powerful CDM to either replace or supplement Skipp. This needs to be someone who can run all day, is powerful and can pick a pass and make a tackle. They don’t have to be big (Makelele;& Kante are two of the best ever, and neither is huge), but they have to be runners who don’t lose the ball and can dominate. Maybe Mowatt is that man – I don’t know enough about him to know – but someone like Pearson (who everyone hates, but who is very, very good at his job) would suit.
Yeap, the problem is 4-2-3-1
Let’s not judge over the past two games. We started against Bournemouth like we did against Huddersfield.
Things were changed by the unfair sending off, dirty tactics by Bournemouth and the celebrations of Saturday night.
We were left with the walking (or staggering) wounded against Watford, knowing we can win the title another day.
Both opponents have been worryingly inconsistent with the players available.
Danjuma is an excellent player who I wouldn’t mind to see here but he is their leading goalscorer, so I would prefer our attacking options.
I am not worried thay Grey caught up with Cantwell, he’d just come on as substitute and Todd was on his last legs.
Personnel will probably change next season, hopefully the likes of Dowell, Idah and Placheta will continue their progression
I’d like to see us concentrate on strengthening the defence. I’d like to see Byram and Gibson back at their best.
That DM role is important, I think a Fernandinho, Rodri or a Fabinho may be beyond our budget. May be a Will Vaulks or Pearson could add that bit of granite required, a Mr Nasty if you like but we are lacking that type of player. Alex Tettey has done the job for many seasons but no longer..
In 2015 we had Jonny Howson, Tettey, Mulumbu, Dorrans but they weren’t good enough so that position is a tough ask without spending big sums.
It is actually a good thing that we are losing and not winning 7-0. Did anyone get de ja vu watching that game? If City don’t toughen up with 2/3 big signings we will go straight back where we came from – and this is only Watford and Bournemouth. The truth is that we have been very good flat track bullies against the minnows preparing themselves for the next game instead of ours so it has given us an inflated view of ourselves.
Remember too – against Bournemouth, red card aside, we knew just a few hours earlier that we had been promoted. That affects the mentality and whilst with 11 players on the pitch we played brilliantly, knowing promotion was assured with only 10 players on the pitch doesn’t help support a do or die approach to the game.
The Watford game we must also remember that we still had the promoted mentality, and on top of that a less than perfect physical condition on the basis that the promotion celebrations a day before might well have involved just a few beers…or maybe a few more.
All this combined…it has an effect. Over the whole season, we’ve been brilliant. Of course we want to add quality, but maybe we are a little better than we perhaps might have looked last night.
Its the same old problems that were highlighted in the premier league. Norwich give teams too much time and space to play through them and quality teams take advantage of it. They get away with it most games in the Championship as most teams are not good enough to punish them. Its not a coincidence they lost to Bournemouth and Watford twice this season. They are great to watch going forward and on their day will challenge any team but If they keep defending as a team like this next year it will not go well. I love this club, what they have done again this season is amazing, but they are not quite premier league standard yet, Its hard to see how they will replace Skipp or bring in players of the calibre needed to keep them up next season without spending big, hopefully they can bring in some great players on loan ? Ideally there should be an option where the club could take the premier league money but opt to stay in the Championship, far more exciting … OTBC
Also bear in mind, Watford’s defence, best in the Champs. That will be more like the defence we will be facing every week next season. Against them our attack looked very blunt!