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Jonny Forumer: Norwich fans assess Hughton start

Jonny ForumerWho cares what a bunch of disinterested hacks have to say when you can get the skinny direct from those to whom it matters most? Well, good news – Football Burp’s very own Jonny Forumer, lurker extraordinaire, is here to collate choice message board analysis so you can get the lowdown from the people who really know what they’re on about. Take it away, Jonny…

Morning folks, Jonny Forumer signing in. After a less than encouraging start, new Norwich City manager Chris Hughton is starting to make some headway into securing a third successive season of Premier League football at Carrow Road – Saturday’s 1-0 win over Stoke City was the Canaries’ third in four games in all competitions, including victories over Arsenal and Manchester United, so I hotfooted it down to online Norwich joints The Pink ‘Un and Wrath of the Barclay to see what folk were saying about it all…

Chris Hughton
Hughton… Anyone have a problem? (Img: NCFCQ)

lake district canary, The Pink ‘Un…

My judgement is that Hugton has taken time to get to know his players and they have taken time to adapt to the new manager. A inevitably difficult start with nothing going our way to start with, things have improved – belief has started to emerge from the chaos. The standard of play still leaves something to be desired, but the new players are beginning to show their worth and the old ones are returning to form. The determination and character is as strong as ever and as results are improving – so will confidence.

The areas still weak are – still giving the ball away too cheaply at times – and delivery from set pieces. These are things that can be improved and all in all the situation has the feeling of a work in progress – in other words – the team are learning and improving.

Long may that continue.

essexcanaryOTBC, Wrath of the Barclay…

So this solid defense whilst snatching a few goals strategy seems to be getting results

I wonder how well it will compare with Lambo’s gung ho style come the end of season…..

whoareyou?, The Pink ‘Un…

We are far better organised than we were under Lambert last season.

If we can just get a quality striker signed in January then the future looks very bright.

If Hughton can find quality like Tettey hiding in Europe then i hope he can do the same with a striker.

ingi, Wrath of the Barclay…

Can’t believe fickle fans wanted him out a few weeks bck

Said it wud take time for him to find his best team. Much better team than last season

Wiz, The Pink ‘Un…

Hughton’s done well and wwill keep us up imo, I was wrong, very wrong, thats all I wish to say.

Cheltenham_Canary, Wrath of the Barclay…

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTS INNNNNNNNNN!

Believe. He IS the man for us. He IS life after L*****t.

Chunky Norwich, The Pink ‘Un…

Hughton is still slightly too defensive for my PERSONAL liking (football is all about opinions and preferences) but we have started to turn the corner and looking more like a cohesive unit. I’ve never doubted Hughton or screamed for his head post-Fulham but after the Liverpool game I was mightily concerned we were heading for the drop. Currently I am sleeping much better at night.

SCC, Wrath of the Barclay…

a life of playing like arsenal under george graham

which tbf i’ll take

ZippersLeftFoot, The Pink ‘Un…

Its looking much more encouraging after a very poor start; so whats changed?

well houghton has addressed the balance of attacking and defending by adopting a 4231 formation which suits the squad and using the best players

secondly he dropped then recalled an underperforming and not match fit holt
he recalled we to be the heart beat of his side
finally he has unearthed a gem in tettey, replacing howson another pivotal moment
much to work on still and we can easily be dragged back in if we think its a peice of cake, but the recovery is looking less fragile.

A striker is needed, a benteke would be perfect.

priceyrice, The Pink ‘Un…

I agree, ten games was always the benchmark with me. I was never too nervous as i thought we had been performing well and just not getting the rub of the green, my major concern had been the West Ham game, where Hughton failed to go for the win in the last 10 minutes, that moment did raise concerns that we may get too many draws this season (in a similar fashion to Birmingham last season). However, 10 points from 10 games and i am feeling very confident about this season, we are playing good football, performed against most teams and beaten some tough tough teams.

One major positive for me is the clean sheets, i think we have had 2 now in the prem, which i think is the same amount as last season. Turner looked very shakey in his first couple of games, but alongisde Turner he has excelled, i was extremely gutted when he went off today and slightly concerned we would miss his height and experience in the box. We were seriously lacking in experience at the back last season and hughton has done a great job in solving that.

We can now judge Hughton’s signings fairly as well and i have been impressed with almost all of them (Kane being the exception), Tettey seems to be one fantastic piece of business from the management team and Bassong is quickly becoming the best centre half i have seen during my time supporting Norwich, and one of the best players to pull on the yellow and green – i suspect we could see some 10+ M offers for him this summer.

We are creating as many chances as last season, we just need to start being more clinical in front of goal.

So to conclude, after 10 games i believe Hughton has done a good job, the 4 2 3 1 or 4 4 1 1 is proving effective with the correct personal. We have some important games coming up, against some relegation candidates, i will be happy if we don’t loss to reading and southampton and come out of the next 4 games with 4 points, however I am expecting 5-7 points from the next 4 games to set us up nicely going into the christmas period.

O i do have one more major concern, losing Holt to injury, i have faith in Jackson but not as a lone striker and Morrison seems to be on one hell of a long run of poor form. A striker or two needs to be a priority this January and we could do with shipping one or two out.

What do you think of the job Chris Hughton’s done so far, Norwich fans? Have your say in the comments section below…