expected back 5

Ruddy - unless we sign Lewis or Forster

R martin
whitbread
barnett
tierny

Slaughtering non league teams for fun. For what its worth:

Vs Gorleston 7-0



NORWICH CITY: (first half): Rudd (GK), Francomb, Tierney, Whitbread, De Laet, Adeyemi, Fox, Hoolahan, K Smith, C. Martin (Jackson 30), Holt (Morrison 30).
NORWICH CITY: (second-half): Ruddy, R. Martin, Brindley (Dawkin 71), Barnett, Ward, Johnson, Bennett, Jackson (Vaughan 61), Morison (Wilbraham 61), Crofts (Ball 86), Surman.

Goals (assists)
Holt (Martin)
Whitbread (Hoolahan)
Holt pen (Martin) - Holt and Martin subbed off after 30 mins
Smith
Jackson (Morison)
Johnson
Wilbraham

Fantasy notes Holt taking penalty, Hoolahan taking corners. Whitbread going up for corners.

Vs Sparta/RSV 8-0

To be updated....

Goals (assists)
Vaughan
TBC
Jackson (Holt)
Francomb
Morison
Benett
Ward
Ward

Fantasy Notes Centre back Elliott Ward scoring 2 headers

Like my corner of Norfolk, this thread is a little on the quiet side....

Holt and Martin the only two worth considering?
Who's the full back everyone was talking about last season - player of the season wasn't he?

Norwich defender too risky though...?

What about norwich midfielders? Noticed David Fox(4.5) had 10 assist last season, plus scoring a few goals, can you expect him to get regular starts and keep scoring assists? What kind of a player is he, and does he have any set piece responsibilities?

He was a Left Back, i think>?

foxy is a midfielder but I wouldn't want to guess the midfield line up as we've signed a few wingers this summer....

Really is a bit of a guessing game with a large part of the squad at the minute.

Hoolahan, Holt, Crofts and Ruddy would be arguably the only virtually guaranteed players, and defensively we just aren't good, so I'd suggest that even picking a decent defender like Barnett would be a bit of a liability (unless it's just for a cheap sub you NEVER intend to play).

Even as a Norwich fan, I don't see a huge amount of value in many of our players, although I have got Ruddy in so far just as a cheap backup keeper purely based on saves, as he's a good shot stopper but nothing amazing overall.

A fully fit Grant Holt is probably the most sensible selection if you want to go with someone, although he can pick up a few YC's as well, closely followed by Hoolahan who may well benefit from the new midfielder rules regarding fouls.

I like Tierney but I'd recommend staying clear of defenders for the long cruel season.

Yep, full back was Russell Martin the RB Jester (note: theres another 'Martin' whos a striker) - he was runner up to Holt in Player of season I think. Prob. nailed on for start of season, but Naughton has come in for the year on loan from Spurs and he's a good RB. Lambert now has back up in virtually every position, so poss. lots of rotation

I'm not sure about Hoolahan as he's now got Bennett and Pilkington who can play in that position too - and Hoolahan certainly did not start in all games last season either. The other MF (fox, Crofts, Surman) looked ok last season, but a few loanees came in as well to as Lambert says ''give them a hand'' (he likes that sentence ) inc. Lansbury. Some other new in for this season inc. Johnson from Leeds, so lots of competition there. Same for Forwards too with Vaughan and Morrison coming in.

They could be a surprise package this season (well organised etc), esp. for the first few games, but a bit of a long term pick lottery IMO.

Note: yes I know I have a Forest/Clough avatar, but I havn't lived in Nottingham for a few years now. Left after all the euro days ...memories, memories...

Norwich

I remember that "lady" getting on the field and yelling at her own fans...

That was an epic moment

He may not have started in every single game, but he certainly played in 41 out of 46 games scoring 10 goals in the process, and that's more than enough to suggest he's likely to be one of the first names on Lambert's team sheet.

Lambert has also said that both Bennett and Pilkington were signed to give him more flexibility around our current diamond formation as we had no real wingers (apart from McNamee...), and this really suggests that they'd be called on for wing duties as against playing in the hole, which I personally think Chris Martin would probably get the nod in if needed anyway...

Crofts also chalked up an extremely good 44 games last season, which again justifies my point about him, Hoolahan and Holt being the only real guarantees (along with Ruddy in the net).

You aren't much of a celebrity stalker if you don't know who 'that lady' is

Mr and MrsJ were at that game!

reminded me of the "witch" from some movie

yelling at the home supporters and then getting booed off the pitch... that was awesome

this has to be the most infamous moment in Norwich Football history. legendary stuff.

Wes will be a shoe in as a starter, he did start a few games on the bench last season but think they were all around the same time when he was a bit knackered november time?

pilkington/bennett will be slowly introduced IMO

I'm still not sure about holty....he'll start the season but if he's struggling with the step up I can see morison/vaughn taking his spot and he'll be an off the bench player

hopefully he'll start banging them in

Ruddy is the number one and that worries me makes some brilliant saves but lets in shockers

I just got a feeling Pilkington will be our dark horse. I have that preseason optimism at the moment and I think everybody will be liking Lambert this season. How long will he out fox the other managers? Tangoman had the others on the ropes in the early rounds when he arrived. I expect Lambert to last a little longer.
I'm pretty convinced, as a manager he's going to go far.
It's all on his CV.
He oozes confidence of a German and has a stare of a deranged Glaswegian. To make things worse for his players, he can shove his Champions League medal down their throats.
For me he ticks all the boxes.
As a fan, I accept his decisions and he keeps us all guessing. The players must be on their toes.
......and for all you lurkers,the first name on the Team Sheet each week will be Lambert

Holt to Leicester http://www.myfootballnews.co.uk/news_ju ... ory=133065

I think last nights 1-1 friendly draw against Zaragoza, is pretty much what I expect the starting lineup against Wigan to be

Norwich City: Ruddy; R Martin (Tierney, 71), Barnett, De Laet, Naughton; Fox; Bennett, B Johnson (Pilkington, 71); Hoolahan; Morison (Wilbraham, 82), Holt (Jackson, 71). Subs (not used): Rudd, Drury, Whitbread, Surman, K Smith, Lappin, Francomb. Goal: De Laet (15).

Looks like new loan signing Naughton may have displaced Tierney at left back, but Tierney did no wrong last season so wait and see i guess.

Aside from Naughton, new signings De Laet, Morrison, Bennett and Johnson (crofts out injured atm) are all firmly in the reckoning for starting places.

One more friendly against Parma to come on saturday... cant wait for the season to start

NORWICH have insisted striker Grant Holt is staying put after reports linked him with a move to Leicester.

according to http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... -club.html

saw that Holty was linked with newcastle yesterday for 3.5m

Also heard that the starting line up for saturday could be this

ruddy

naughton
de laet
whitbread
tierney

B johnson
bennett ( pilkington )
Fox
hoolahan

holt
jackson

this is just what I've heard so don't go by it as it might be ( probably is ) wrong

oh by the way we're gonna piss those pie eating cnuts saturday and be top of the league saturday night

prediction 3-0 or 4-0 win for Norwich

Allez, Allez.

I thought Surman was a starter...?

doubt it mate...risky pick for a FF team

He was my 3rd sub... nevermind... back to the boardroom

Which of those 4 defenders are the 100% nailed on, bet-my-life-he-plays type ?

Other than Hoolahan at 5.5, do you see any fantasy value in any of the other midfielders as a cheap fifth option coming off the bench-Bennett 5.0, Johnson and Fox each 4.5?

Bradley 'Row Z' Johnson is a decent player but not in FF value terms. Unless Lambert gives him another position.

Our defence is hard to predict in my opinion, I've seen nothing yet to say Russell Martin is "definately out" of the first game (he was withdrawn just before the last friendly in the warmup).

Ruddy
Tierney / Naughton
De Laet
Whitbread / Barnett
Martin / Naughton

I wouldnt be surprised to see any of these combinations at Wigan tomorrow, so looks like new signing De Laet who has impressed pre-season is the safest bet IMO

Cheers.

A wait and see situation, I guess.

Guardian squadsheets have gone for Rudd in nets, surely crossed wires though (who can blame them?)