Peter Grant's choice of personnel rather puzzled me this weekend and got me to feeling a little sorry for Luke Chadwick.
Ian Murray, devoid of a chance to properly get to know his new team-mates, let alone a chance to train with them, is put straight into the City starting 11 ahead of the former-Stoke man and not only that but in a position he had stated just two days earlier that he was "not so keen playing at full-back."
Chadwick was arguably one of the best performers in pre-season, looking fit, creative, hungry and notching a few goals to boot yet, after featuring for the first 65 minutes at Preston, he has featured minimally in the last three matches. It would appear to me that Chadwick is the closest replica of the 'Canary Messiah' (aka Darren Huckerby) that PG has in his squad.
Particularly with Grant's front line relying largely on Chris Brown being fed the ball from all angles, in the hope that he can put the ball into Jamie Curetons lethal path. The most effective way to supply Brown is surely to have two wingers bombing on towards the by-line, something that Chadwick and Croft are surely better qualified at doing than playing 'in the hole behind the front two.'
We've been terribly unlucky to lose our two most creative passers, Fotheringham and Smith, until Christmas but we need to look at a different way to get round this, rather then trying to push nearly-round shapes into round holes.
Simon Lappin has done very little wrong in his time at the club, looks good with the ball at his feet, doesn't give the ball away and his dead-ball skills can be vital to us but he does not seem to be the sort of player who is going to attack full-backs.
Hindsight is, as ever, a wonderful thing but surely it would of made more sense to have played Lappin at left-back with Chadwick attempting his best 'Canary Messiah' impression in front of him, Lee Croft in his more natural position on the right and then leave Brellier and Russell to try and deconstruct a timid Hull attacking threat and play simple passes.
Don't get me wrong, I’ve not suddenly decided to jump onto the bandwagon of negativity that constantly circles Carrow Road now-a-days, waiting to try and turn a small crack into a dramatic ravine, I’m sure PG had reasons that made sense to him, they just don't seem to be obvious to me.
Murray, a good signing on paper it would seem to me, could then have a chance to settle at the club and, as we shouldn't need him against Rochdale, could get a week of training under his belt. In my view, he should then be installed alongside Captain Shacks at centre-back.
Although I think Gary Doherty has become somewhat of a scapegoat and is sometimes unfairly blamed, I believe a fresh voice and point of view is needed at the back. Most people would agree that Shackell looked much better with Dion Dublin alongside him last season and as club captain he could impose his authority and organisation on a new player a lot better.
Doherty has actually been a first-team regular longer than Shackell and has Premier League experience so this must be difficult for Shackell to do with Doherty. There seems to be a trust issue with the former-Spurs man that stems from the terraces and continues on to the pitch and a fresh start could work wonders in the same way that John Otsemebor has reminded us that we do actually have a right-back in our starting XI every week, I can't remember one since Darren Kenton myself.
We face our 1962 League Cup Final opponents Rochdale on Tuesday night and with Keith Hill's men sitting second from bottom in League 2 it would seem we have an excellent chance of progressing in the competition we have reached the final of four times and won twice.
As we all know all too well though, we usually like to make these matches difficult for ourselves so let's hope to avoid a repeat of our exit courtesy of struggling Port Vale last year at Spotland this week.
There will at least be one friendly face in the Dale line-up, former Rotherham centre-back Guy Branston. I seem to remember him getting slightly irate with Darren Huckerby a few years ago in a 4-4 draw at Millmoor, that resulted in him getting a half-time red card after causing a scuffle in the tunnel going into the break.
Let's hope PG unleashes a no doubt chomping at the bit Huckerby, to cause the lumbering centre-back some more problems. We need that spark of excitement and attacking flair to take the pressure off a solid supporting cast that can more than help messers Huckerby and Cureton do the damage this season.
My Team: (4-4-2) Gilks, Otsemebor, Shackell, Spillane, Lappin, Croft, Brellier, Russell, Chadwick, Strihavka, Cureton. (Subs): Arnold, Doherty, Jarvis, Huckerby, Brown
Loan Files
With Ryan Jarvis playing for Kilmarnock in the SPL, Joe Lewis in League Two with Morecambe and PG likely to let the likes of Halliday, Smart, Arnold, Eagle and Bexfield test the murky first-team waters in the lower leagues, I thought I’d open up the Loan Files again.
Joe Lewis - Has played 90 minutes in all four of the League newcomers games so far, including their Carling Cup win over Preston, conceding four and keeping one clean sheet. They got their first League win on Saturday with a 3-1 home win over Mansfield Town. Joe apparently picked up a knock just before the goal he conceded and this contributed heavily to him not saving the goal.
Their fans seem happy with him so far with this comment coming from the message board on the Morecambe official website. - "Joe Lewis, apart from his mistake for the goal and his other little slip, looked pretty sound again. He took crosses cleanly and showed good handling throughout."
Ryan Jarvis - Ryan was an unused substitute in Kilie's 2-1 home loss to SPL heavyweights Rangers on Saturday. He will be in the squad for their CIS Cup second-round match away to Scottish Second Division side Peterhead on Tuesday night.
Paul Gallacher - Paul played 90 minutes of his debut for Scottish First Division side Dunfermline in their 2-1 home win against Stirling Albion with former-City loanee Kevin Harper scoring a late winner,
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