"Fleck and Freeman can't play together"

[sufcboy95]

Also he's not as good as Duffy (at that role) and hasn't got a hard enough shot on him. Probably the best crosser of a ball from open play we have but we don't really play like that too often, perhaps it was an alternative had things not turned out as well as they have.

For me if he’d had played for us last season instead of Duffy his goals and assists would’ve been much better than Duffy.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

I said in another thread, I'd like to see us try Freeman on the right hand side of the flat 3. It could give us another dimension in attack.

At the moment, it's so easy to defend against us. Teams show us down the outside, get numbers in the box & defend our (often quite poor) crosses. We repeat this tactic for 90 minutes. It's frustrating to watch, because we seem to work our way into great positions but then fail to create decent openings.

With Freeman, we'd have the option of coming inside. This would either open up space for a left footed shot, or create a bit of extra space for a marauding Basham / Baldock on the outside.

When we played away at QPR I remember Freeman picking the ball up quite a lot on the right wing and dribbling centrally towards goal with runners peeling off. He stood out that day.

Even if Wilder isn't confident starting with this, surely it's an interesting experiment off the bench for 30 mins? We're doing well & we're still churning out results, but most would admit that our performances have dropped. I do think this is in part to teams (finally) beginning to figure us out and we've become a little predictable. It would be nice to see us mix it up.

 

[BladeTillIDie]

Back off, I'm Luke's biggest fan.

He shares my first name, i win. He's mine.

 

[8lade]

For me if he’d had played for us last season instead of Duffy his goals and assists would’ve been much better than Duffy.

No.
Freeman's shooting is nothing like what Duffy's is and Duffy was capable of opening up a space to shoot. Freeman doesn't have that, he is probably the best crosser of a ball we have at the club but we don't play the ball down the wings to whip crosses in.

 

[Isaw Joeshaw]

I said in another thread, I'd like to see us try Freeman on the right hand side of the flat 3. It could give us another dimension in attack.

At the moment, it's so easy to defend against us. Teams show us down the outside, get numbers in the box & defend our (often quite poor) crosses. We repeat this tactic for 90 minutes. It's frustrating to watch, because we seem to work our way into great positions but then fail to create decent openings.

With Freeman, we'd have the option of coming inside. This would either open up space for a left footed shot, or create a bit of extra space for a marauding Basham / Baldock on the outside.

When we played away at QPR I remember Freeman picking the ball up quite a lot on the right wing and dribbling centrally towards goal with runners peeling off. He stood out that day.

Even if Wilder isn't confident starting with this, surely it's an interesting experiment off the bench for 30 mins? We're doing well & we're still churning out results, but most would admit that our performances have dropped. I do think this is in part to teams (finally) beginning to figure us out and we've become a little predictable. It would be nice to see us mix it up.

I agree with you and the others who say we could do worse than try Freeman in the right midfield role .

Since Lundstram's contribution in this role has gone rapidly downhill since November and the fact that Berge has hardly set the world on fire as a replacement , what have we got to lose by at least giving it a try ?

The lad is clearly talented , creative and has good energy and the fact that he would be playing on the 'opposite' side to his natural foot would only put him in the same category as any number of players down the ages who have been successful in doing so .

 

[FleaPitBlade]

It's no bad thing that we have players good enough to start who can't get in the team.

I do feel a bit for Freeman, Besic, Osborn, Jags etc as they've been brilliant when needed. Whatever ends up being achieved this season, they've been just as much a part as those who've been regular starters.

 

[Bladezz]

I do wish Wilder could be a tad more flexible with the right/left sided balance thing.

Yeah it’s not worked so far.

 

[Bladezz]

I agree with you and the others who say we could do worse than try Freeman in the right midfield role .

Since Lundstram's contribution in this role has gone rapidly downhill since November and the fact that Berge has hardly set the world on fire as a replacement , what have we got to lose by at least giving it a try ?

The lad is clearly talented , creative and has good energy and the fact that he would be playing on the 'opposite' side to his natural foot would only put him in the same category as any number of players down the ages who have been successful in doing so .

Last month he was the best player when he came on Palace. Scored the match winner against Bournmouth the week after. Both from the bench. What more can he do?

 

[CrookesBlade]

If this season hadn't exceeded all expectations we would probably have seen more of Luke Freeman. Its as simple as that.

He's a clever player I like watching and with Ben Osborn was probably our Man of the Match on Tuesday but neither will start tomorrow and neither could claim they've been hard done to this season.

We might get a couple of serious injuries or suspensions on Saturday and he might suddenly find himself a regular starter for the run-in and never look back, thats football.

 

[guancheblade]

Why did we sign Madine, Hogan and Washington on loan when none of them were better than what we already had? Back up for injuries and plan B. And best player in the championship, even if we put aside that debate he still wouldn't get ahead of Fleck or Norwood. Maybe Lundstram but he's wrong footed for that side, so yes he was signed up as a back up.

On LOAN being the pivotal word there. But we spent good money on Freeman, and not just on the off chance our system were to fail at any point this season.

Imagine CW pitching that to Freezy before he signed... "Right lad, if you come here all the way from London I'll have you sitting around for the off chance my tactically astute and forward thinking strategy falls on its arse and we need a massive overhaul of the system. How's that appeal to you?"

 

[BushBlade]

I agree with you and the others who say we could do worse than try Freeman in the right midfield role .

Since Lundstram's contribution in this role has gone rapidly downhill since November and the fact that Berge has hardly set the world on fire as a replacement , what have we got to lose by at least giving it a try ?

The lad is clearly talented , creative and has good energy and the fact that he would be playing on the 'opposite' side to his natural foot would only put him in the same category as any number of players down the ages who have been successful in doing so .

What have we got to lose?

Well, the first one is the obvious challenge for a place in Europe. ‘What have we got to lose’ is what you say when you’re facing relegation, it’s what I’d expect to hear from Norwich fans. We’re still in the running. If we only get three or four points from the next five games then maybe we could look at experimenting. Although that could cost us a couple of million if it fails and we finish lower in the table

Secondly, it’s a matter of credibility. If Wilder starts making odd team selections and formations, that cause us to lose games, some players will start to question his judgement. When you need players to run through brick walls for you, which Wilder does, then you don’t want players doubting you. It’s a slippery slope.

We seem to have short memories. Freeman was very ordinary against Brighton (away). He’s looked good against Millwall and Reading, championship sides.

I don’t get this constant questioning of Wilder, we’re doing as well as can be reasonably expected, playing a left winger on the right of a three is unlikely to make us better. As for cutting in on his left, that leaves a big hole if we lose possession and allows the defenders even more time to get into position and get set. Freeman’s a decent squad player who’s shown he can cope with the PL. No more than that, certainly not enough to make major and risky changes to the team.

 

[Isaw Joeshaw]

What have we got to lose?

Well, the first one is the obvious challenge for a place in Europe. ‘What have we got to lose’ is what you say when you’re facing relegation, it’s what I’d expect to hear from Norwich fans. We’re still in the running. If we only get three or four points from the next five games then maybe we could look at experimenting. Although that could cost us a couple of million if it fails and we finish lower in the table

Secondly, it’s a matter of credibility. If Wilder starts making odd team selections and formations, that cause us to lose games, some players will start to question his judgement. When you need players to run through brick walls for you, which Wilder does, then you don’t want players doubting you. It’s a slippery slope.

We seem to have short memories. Freeman was very ordinary against Brighton (away). He’s looked good against Millwall and Reading, championship sides.

I don’t get this constant questioning of Wilder, we’re doing as well as can be reasonably expected, playing a left winger on the right of a three is unlikely to make us better. As for cutting in on his left, that leaves a big hole if we lose possession and allows the defenders even more time to get into position and get set. Freeman’s a decent squad player who’s shown he can cope with the PL. No more than that, certainly not enough to make major and risky changes to the team.

On the other hand , if he were to prove more effective in that role than either Lundstram since November or Berge since he arrived , he could prove to be the catalyst that gives us a strong finish to the season and all that this may entail .

Until it has been tried we will never know and could represent a missed opportunity . What I do know is that being more effective than the aforementioned is hardly a Herculean task .

 

[Silvertank]

Also he's not as good as Duffy (at that role) and hasn't got a hard enough shot on him. Probably the best crosser of a ball from open play we have but we don't really play like that too often, perhaps it was an alternative had things not turned out as well as they have.

It seems to me that we have had a season of poor crossing e.g. recently against Brighton, bring back TC and Woody.

 

[BushBlade]

On the other hand , if he were to prove more effective in that role than either Lundstram since November or Berge since he arrived , he could prove to be the catalyst that gives us a strong finish to the season and all that this may entail .

Until it has been tried we will never know and could represent a missed opportunity . What I do know is that being more effective than the aforementioned is hardly a Herculean task .

We won’t know but there’s nothing to stop Wilder trying it in training, which he may well have done, if he thought there was any mileage in it.

 

[8lade]

On LOAN being the pivotal word there. But we spent good money on Freeman, and not just on the off chance our system were to fail at any point this season.

Imagine CW pitching that to Freezy before he signed... "Right lad, if you come here all the way from London I'll have you sitting around for the off chance my tactically astute and forward thinking strategy falls on its arse and we need a massive overhaul of the system. How's that appeal to you?"

I'm sure Wilder wouldn't have gone anywhere near that. Different people manage and motivate in different ways, good luck with your way.

 

[PittsburghBlade]

2 central right footed players would never be blinked at and common place around the league.

us lefties get black balled for only being able to play on the left hand side of the pitch.

 

[BushBlade]

2 central right footed players would never be blinked at and common place around the league.

us lefties get black balled for only being able to play on the left hand side of the pitch.

True but our system isn’t commonplace throughout the league. There is a higher proportion of right footed players so, within that, there is a higher number of people who can play well with their weaker foot, as it varies from people who are very predominant with one foot through to those who can use both equally as well.
If a player is predominately one footed, it usually makes sense to play them on their dominant side, unless you’re playing a system that specifically demands otherwise, like the 4231 some managers used which had ‘inverted wingers’, whose actual role was to cut in from wide positions.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

I don’t get this constant questioning of Wilder, we’re doing as well as can be reasonably expected,

It is a bit bizarre. It’s almost as though people have been in some way just tolerating the current formation and system because they thought it was temporary, rather than it being a key part of the team’s approach to the season. Plenty of people suggested the current formation wouldn’t work when it popped up in preseason as the one we were clearly going with, criticising it as negative. It’s worked far better than even those more open to it would have expected it too have done, and there’s really no justifiable reason to call for it to be ditched at this point.