One of the main talking points after Norwich’s 4-1 defeat to Liverpool last Friday was the performance of Grant Hanley at centre-back.
The Scottish defender played due to injuries to Christoph Zimmermann and Timm Klose and endured a nightmare start to the season.
He scored an own goal after just seven minutes, before failing to make a single tackle or interception during the match – as well as being dribbled past twice, more than any other player on the pitch. Stats provided by WhoScored.
We decided to ask some Norwich fans if they would rather start Timm Klose or Grant Hanley against Newcastle this weekend – assuming both are fit.
Here are the responses…
Joel is going with the big Swiss defender.
Twitter: @ReadNorwich @DanielEmeryRS Klose. (@J_T_Coops)
I, myself, went with him too.
Twitter: @ReadNorwich Klose. (@DanielEmeryRS)
Luke does not think either are good enough, but would go with Klose.
Twitter: @ReadNorwich @DanielEmeryRS Both aren’t good enough and have shown that over the years, but klose is the better player overall (@Lukespeck2)
This user also wants Klose to start.
Twitter: @ReadNorwich Klose ? (@pukkiFUT)
Kyle has had his say.
Twitter: @ReadNorwich Has to be close all day long (@newby1981)
It was not all love for Klose, however, as Rob and Ray backed Hanley.
Twitter: @ReadNorwich Hanley for me because Klose also has mistakes in him and not match fit (@YYGeneral)
Twitter: @ReadNorwich I’d play Hanley.
a) It’s against his old club
b) He’s fit
c) Has the Liverpool game under his belt
d)… https://t.co/81JZF8nizm (@MrBobMcDaniels)
READ NORWICH VERDICT
If Klose is fit to face Newcastle on Saturday, he should start over Hanley alongside Godfrey at the back.
The Swiss international was ahead of Hanley in the pecking order last season, which was shown by the fact Daniel Farke opted to bring Klose on at the end of games as a substitute to see out results, rather than the Scottish defender.
Klose was also a regular for the first-half of the season, before an injury disrupted the end of his campaign. He scored four goals from defence, as well as picking up an average rating of 6.85/10 (WhoScored) for his performances. He also has Premier League experience with Norwich, scoring 7.21/10 for his displays in the top-flight with the club earlier in his career.
Hanley, meanwhile, scored 4.99/10 for his performance against Liverpool and has fallen short of Klose’s average rating in both of his seasons at Norwich before the 2019/20 campaign.
