Some Positives & Negatives........... .................... ...............

1) The full-back positions are a serious problem when it comes to defending but Lewis came in at LB and did very well.

I hope that he will be like Adam Dury reading the game well to allow creative players such as Hucks (Murph) to be at their most effective.

Pinto's positioning when defending is way-off and he doesn't create much either.

I think the Norwich squad still needs 2 new full-backs who are good at defending.

2) Tettey & Trybull combination is proven to be effective.

It works because Tettey reads the game very well to get in the right places and the oppo don't fancy taking him on. He is helping to guide Trybull who has lots of energy to go out and hunt-down the oppo.

I pointed this out after I saw them play together for the first time for about 10 mins towards the end of a cup match. It looked like a genuine midfield partnership that complimented one another.

An important aspect is that Tettey is genuinely trying to help other players. I think Tettey should be given another year. There is a lot he could pass-on not just to Trybull but also Godfrey & Thompson.

3) Olive, Pritch, and Madds can work well together when having a solid midfield behind them; it gives greater freedom to be more effective.

4) A difficulty is that when you have Wes, Pritch, Madds you also need a bit of width to help create spaces for them.

I think a lot of the criticism of Murph has been unfair. He has scored goals and created chances. Sometimes fans have even been critical during matches even when he has put some fantastic crosses into the box.

Wildschut is physically stronger but it seems has never been good at creating chances and scoring goals (ask Grant Holt).

5) Vrancic makes some good passes but seems more suited to slower, less physical football. Having said that, Surman was a bit like that too.

Vrancic seemed an odd signing considering Wes, Pritch, Madds are competing for the No 10 position. Likewise, Watkins and Naismith.

6) Farke doesn't seem to understand what it takes to be promoted from the Championship. You need some grit, solid, hard determination.

Early season matches when Olive, Wes and Tettey were bench warmers I had wondered whether Farke had lost the plot or was pandering to others to cut costs, or just stubborn favouring new signings. I'm still not sure.

Slow, sideways passing is a bit pointless when you are playing at home and not in a winning position.

7) It seemed a mystery as to why Russ Martin was given a new contract as he already had a long contract. I assume that Farke had little to do with the decision.

8) Naismith - the effort has been there at times but the quality has been more like a decent lower league player than Premier League.

9) Olive is the best striker Norwich have had for many years but there are times when I think he would be even more effective with a strong striker alongside.

It was a mistake to go into the season with only 2 strikers in the whole squad.

10) During the summer, none of the issues regarding the balance of the squad were addressed. The squad still needs a couple more players like Tettey, full-backs who can defend, and to have more than 2 strikers in the squad.

Posted By: Larry Hagman, Dec 27, 17:49:35