shurlock

Wish I shared your faith that sticking to formations would make much of a difference. Can understand the motivation behind the new formation, especially in terms of closing the opposition down. Fact is we don't have the quality.

Fine. Two freaks don't make the discussion any saner.

Jesus wept...give a break for an evening you freak.

Still remember this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXTLHkNMxRY

Anything in the Benfica rumours? Is Fabio nailed on for a starting position at LB while your interest in Richardson/Heinze could mean Traore is surplus to requirements?

Thought about going up north -Holloway/Finsbury Park? Quicker to Holborn that way and bit more of a buzz than SW London.

Armand Traore - kind of domestic...

The numbers don't really say much. You also need to establish the total value of transactions (given agents take a % cut), not just the number of transactions before you can make conclusions about whether we pay alot or not.

Having not seen much of preseason, has Lallana improved us defensively and offensively by moving into a more central position and do the benefits outweigh the costs of playing Jrod etc on the left? Indeed, would it be farfetched to play Lambert in Lallana's current position (its not as if Lambert can't play in a deeper position - indeed his awareness and touch equip him for such a role), pushing Jrod up top and AL back on the left?

Would prefer to wait and see who comes in and then judge. I'm sure they'll compare favourably with the names you've mentioned. If not, I'll put my hands up. Am pleased with the signings to date - Jrod is a risk but has huge upside and Clyne will be class - I rate him higher than Naughton. Admittedly, Davis was an opportunistic buy but is no more of a mug than Guthrie say. Fact is we can't and won't get trigger happy with signings -and that's before considering the 25-man squad rule. If we buy a player and it doesn't work out, its an albatross around our necks. A degree of caution is sensible. Likewise, if we're going after quality - those players will more likely be wanted by their existing clubs or chased by many suitors, complicating and protracting negotiations. Surely, for someone who's decrying the lack of quality, you can appreciate that. The other interpretation is that you want to have your cake and eat it. Finally, its easy to overstate the risks of not having a preseason with the club. To some extent, all preseasons -insofar they are about building up match fitness- are the same regardless of the club. And no doubt we are targeting players who can fit into our system/style of play and/or have the intelligence to adapt (as you would expect with better players). Cannot think of many examples of players who've joined us later on (at least not a few weeks) nd its demonstrably hurt their performance - except, perhaps, players who were fringe squad members at their previous clubs.

Thank god we're taking our time if this is the best you can come up with.

Think we were more lucky upfront tbh. We were linked with lots of names in the summer, inc Sharp but didnt get anyone in till Jan. With Lambert unproven, Connolly injury-prone and lightweight, Guly inconsistent, Barny and Forte probably not good enough and our CMs goal-shy, not signing anyone was a massive risk. In hindsight, it didn't matter, though I'm sure if we had got Lee or Sharp in earlier, we would have ended up winning the league.

It was a fruitful season but it wasn't necessarily because of our business. On the surface, its arguably one area in which we could have done better. Only Cork and SDR were signed during preseason and we had to wait till the start of the season to get Fox and Hooiveld. More important, it was common knowledge that we wanted a striker in the summer but then only managed to do business in the Jan window, a delay that could have quite easily blown up in our faces and almost did.

Who plays LM if all the signs are that Lallana is going to play in a more central position -the most noticeable difference in this new formation? We tried J-Roy against Ajax; Guly yesterday - neither of them were very convincing in that position. By contrast, we appear to have better options on the right. Given the need for some (quality) pace, LM seems a higher priority than RM.

Yep, though they're left backs albeit with an eye on getting forward. A LM is also needed and probably a greater priority than RM. That's what makes the links with the Bologna player interesting (if unlikely) as he's a left winger.

That's not been our set-up tho. Lallana has gone more central rather than just being licence to cut inside from the left (like last year), meaning we are a bit threadbare on the left hand side.

What with the new system, looks like we're weak on the left hand side all of a sudden. We've been lucky that Lallana has been in form and more or less free from injury but now he's been moved to a more central position -which makes sense- we're desperately short of options there. Jrod is an option, esp if we're if going to play long diagonal balls via Morgan and exploit any aerial mismatch with the fullback. But it feels like a waste. Punch is another option -and he was billed as a LM but he's never been convincing there and has always impressed more on the right hand side while Guly is a no no. Lee might bring something but he still has to establish himself in English football. All in all, if Lallana stays in the middle, LM is arguably a bigger headache than RM, esp given the lack of defensive options on the left.

Guly is not a left-sided player. That's where he was first played pre-Adkins and didn't enjoy it all. Doesnt make him 'pants'- was one of our better players against Ajax but it's always square pegs and round holes when it comes to finding a position for him.

Tidy performance but nothing more. Considering he's 17, that's encouraging but some of the gushing praise is just *****. Well behind Cork and Davis but hopefully he gets a run out or two in the cup and the more generous sub rules give him a few cameo appearances.

Ajax made us look better than we were. We would have struggled against a team that pressed higher up the pitch. Too many people dropping deep to collect the ball and not enough play through them. And when pressed, we looked shaky in possession. We still need some quality pace to keep oppositions honest.

Probably just another name to pad up an article, more lazy journalism but this says we were after Zak Whitbread. Make of that what you will in terms of transfer targets and quality... http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city-fc/zak_whitbread_wants_to_repeat_norwich_city_success_at_leicester_city_1_1460059

Wishful thinking on here. There is no evidence that we have gone in with an improved, second bid (assuming the initial story was correct).

His attitude is a red herring. I don't actually think he's good enough other to be a squad player. He's certainly not better than some of the players we've been linked with in that position.

Good to see Nige give an honest, cliche-free interview, providing a few hints as to tactics and playing style this season. Wonder how long it lasts....

I'll save you the time and bother- happy to admit I was in that camp.