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This is so laughable it’s hardly worth commenting on. Zimmerman was by far our best defender last season and that showed by his finishing 2nd in player of the season. Hanley did what in our promotion campaign?

This weekend's game at West Ham would have been ChelleCity's 1000th consecutive City game had she not been so cruelly taken from us. She loved Lisbon and often plumped for Sporting when picking here. They rarely let her down. So, theres really only one game i can offer you... Sporting v Rio Ave - Home Win For the match bet, City to win and BTTS. Best of luck Hansterbubble, DJ11 and all you PUPs

Disappointing result sure, but there are some serious overreactions! This type of result is not uncommon at this stage of the League Cup. We put together a new side last night. A side full of new signings, players back from injury, and a newly promoted youth player to boot. No amount of training can fully prepare them for game conditions. The injury to Klose is hugely disappointing. But Vrancic and Amadou got some decent game time, and they're the only two close to a first eleven place at the minute. Look, we're going to take some beatings this season. But we might just get a few Newcastle games in between them. Hopefully enough to stay up. The League Cup isn't a priority, and to be honest our squad doesn't need the extra games with our injury record. So just forget last night and enjoy the season ahead! PL football is what we all wanted after all! I think some people need to reassess their expectation levels. We're aiming to be the 17th best side in the country this season, nothing more!

Well surprise surprise...some away games are more popular than others..just as its always been. and its for exactly that reason as to why those games should be sold on a staggered priority,points based system

And who on this thread suggested that Hanley should be selected ahead of Godfrey? No-one, you are making up stuff now. The fact that Godfrey was picked to play last season demonstrates the ability of Farke and his team to 1) recognise potential talent and 2) to nurture it. And if they believe Hanley is our best option at CB then that’s enough, move on, find something else to worry about. And the amount of hindsight on this thread is, well, actually it’s unsurprising given previous nonsense we regularly see on here. We started the season with four CBs, four and a half if you count Amadou. Everyone from what I can see rates Godfrey as a future £30m+ player. Timm has been there and done it in the PL, and could have kept us up if it wasn’t for his injury in the past. Zimmerman is a rock, had a fantastic season last time, and was singled out by Wenger when we played Arsenal. There weren’t many (any?) posters on here saying he wouldn’t be up to the PL. And for a fourth choice - fourth choice - CB we have Hanley, who has played in the PL, was probably out best CB at the start of last season and was one of the most expensive players in our squad last year. And as I said, we have Amadou. But we should have rushed out and spent a huge chunk of our available transfer fund on someone better? Seriously? But suddenly all the know it alls are out saying we should have bought a better defender than Timm. Like I say, pure hindsight.

I’d ignore it. There are some posters on this board that when they see any form of criticism of a player they feel the need to defend them whatever. In doing so what they have effectively done is a complete disrespect to Zimmerman and his achievements last season

Out of curiosity, when did Zimm become a much better player than Hanley? Is this that peculiar case whereby a player suddenly comes much better and more important whilst not playing? I'm sorry, but there's not a huge amount of difference in ability between Zimm and Hanley. Certainly no where near the gulf some are making out. And not enough to elevate the team to a new level. The type of player to cause Hanley issues, a player with pace and good movement, is also the type of player Zimm has struggled with. I just don't get it. Hanley is going to have a big role in the next few months. Maybe we should just accept that and support him. Klose yes, clearly a step up. But Zimm and Hanley - not a lot in it.

Fall off your bike, get back on it right away. If you wait and mull over it you might think twice. So, IMO, West Ham this weekend is ideal. Only a couple of players involved in the loss last night will be playing v West Ham anyway. 2-1 to City my prediction ... OTBC!

Clearly the Suffolk socialists have colluded with the boy Farke to get our two first choice centre backs injured, thereby ensuring a swift return to the EFL so they can keep their pet project to themselves and Nephew Tom.

We were poor as a team. Amadou looks like he’s got something and could be a good addition. No one else did anything to suggest they should be considered for West Ham, I only saw the second half though so perhaps someone else could comment on the first

One players challenge is another players opportunity. Time for somebody to step into CB and make it their own. That's why we have a squad of players. It's a shame for Klose but now let's see who can step up. Surely the idea is that we play as a team a certain way, and that the players involved follow a template so we can switch players in and out of the first 11 seamlessly.

https://www.skysports.com/transfer/news/11096/11794727/gareth-southgate-announces-23-man-england-squad-on-thursday-who-should-be-included So, according to the Sky Sports Power Rankings, Cantwell should be starting for England next week. Obviously he's not going to be called up, but it's interesting to see his face in the centre of the main photo of the article. In the space of a month he's gone from being a player who was expected to be either a backup for us or loaned out to the Championship to being mentioned in articles such as this one. It just goes to show how far he has come in such a short time.

https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/2019/august/statement-on-behalf-of-david-rubin--partners-administrators-for-bolton-wanderers3/ Brilliant news.

It was said this morning that up to 20% of all Football League teams are in a precarious position. I think those guys down the road should be very afraid. Their debt will almost certainly not get repaid, and it's only then that you discover how much of a saviour and fan Boy Mucus really is...

Cr@p forgot to log out and change my username!

I’m aware of that. The point is if you play these individual scenarios out throughout the entire season you’ll likely have gained more points with Zimmerman in the team. It’s all in reference to Pirata saying there is no difference in quality between Hanley and Zimmerman. A ludicrous statement in my opinion

We are allowed to fill any spare spaces with free agents as long as they were free agents before the transfer deadline. If we gave 23 senior players registered then we can sign 2 free agents. I do feel that this should be an avenue worth exploring even if just a player for absolute emergencies... Like when we signed Joseph Yobo for a few months. Kaboul is a free agent, won't be an upgrade on Hanley at 33 I doubt but he's better than nobody if Godfrey or Hanley get injured or suspended. 29 year old Norway international Stefan Strandberg is also a free agent, can remember him from a few years back when he was playing in Europe with Rosenberg. Looks like he was called up by Norway in June so must at least be somewhere near capable. Plenty more on transfermarkt showing as free agents but can't pretend to know much about most of them.

Did more than that, he gave him a new 5 year deal after an impressive first season.

Forgetting all that for a moment did anyone manage to eat one of those horrible burgers on sale inside the ground ? Nothing on sale outside so it was that or nothing. Got one of their doubles which ended up being dished up on two hot dog rolls as they'd run out of burger buns and just about everything else too. To say it was disgusting is being kind. Stood next to Tom Smith on the terrace and not surprisingly I noticed wasn't tempted. Surprised Crawley didn't organise better caterering for the night. They'd have made a killing.

The performance last night and the clear lack of depth in the squad screams out for the need to get in a stinking rich Chinese owner ASAP

Everyone in the world has a long list of things they don't understand. The word for someone who doesn't realise they have a long list of things they don't understand is 'ignorant'.

Me, obviously.

As I've pointed out previously, we only scouted Buendia because of his stats-if you don't understand the importance of stats in the modern game, that's your problem.

So before last nights game it was, and I quote LDC, a "Terrific line up. Gives them all a chance to stake a claim for the PL team. Should be a cracker tonight". And less than 24 hours later it was just "a make shift team", nobody came close to staking a claim for the PL team and it was as dull as dishwater.

It was a disaster. Games in this competition are useful in order to give game time to those in need. The only plus is that we will now avoid an encounter with these clogger teams with their suspect timing and the fact that thyey have often caused us injuries. More income, more games all lost in one toothless performance (commentary assessment) against L.2. Klose clobbered. Disaster. No plusses, imo. Onwards and upwards as this game will not feature in the grand scheme of things this season ...we hope!

This is a really big blow for us, losing Timm. All of our players have my respect, and backing when asked to play, but that doesn’t mean I’d want to see one of our under 18’s start in front Pukki in a crucial league game. Zimmermann has emerged as a beast of a defender for us, and to be absolutely brutal, is definitely ahead of Hanley as a starting player. He was superb against Arsenal and Chelsea x2 in the cup the season before last. He needs to start. Grant is not a bad player at all, it’s just unfortunate that he gets turned so easily. His mobility, or lack of, has cost us a few goals, and that cannot keep happening with the same degree of regularity that it has I’m afraid. Grant’s a good player, one of our own, just he’s not blessed with the necessary pace or mobility for this league I’m sorry to say. I’d be very concerned if we lost Godfrey or Zimmermann at any point of this season now, given the dreadful news about Timm. Btw, it’s worth pointing out that only ONE player in the Championship blocked more shots than Christoph Zimmermann last season - a quite telling statistic I would say.

I listened to a podcast with the former Head of Analytics at Brentford- he said central defenders and goalkeepers remain the hardest players to analyze statistically.

Martin Caceres looks the best bet. As long as we have left a space I think we can register him if we got him in. Might be useful for a few months even just to cover in case Zimm drops injured again. We look threadbare but provided Zimm and Godfrey stay fit then our first 11 is still not dinted.

Don't get me started on Srbeny.

I'm often out and about for the away games so like having the option to listen to Radio Norfolk if in the car. The old iFollow App worked well on the decent 4G networks down south.

No I didn't, hence why it concerns me. It does feel like this season is one Pukki injury away from being very tough.

With the amount of money in football- this sort of thing happening speaks only of rot. Rules need changing to ensure leadership is honest and share needs to be fairer down the leagues not just paying obscene wages at the top. Result would be better competition

Wasting your time Teemu, I don't read the match thread until the game is over, and it's hard to believe what I'm reading from Norwich supporters sometimes. Even tonight, someone claimed that Kenny was no better than League One, there were similar 'compliments' about Idah, Mario, Amadou etc, etc. Realise how far we've come in the last year, understand what Webber's been saying all summer, accept that survival this season is a miracle, rather than taking it for granted and we'll all enjoy the ride a lot more. I bet Hanley's glad that he wasn't playing tonight, or it would have been all his fault.

Well now we need Hanley because it looks like he's going to be one of just three fit centre backs until at least January. Can you see now why it makes more sense to support and encourage the players we have fit and available rather than knock their confidence by writing essays about how **** they are? We need the best Hanley we can possibly get, and we get that by getting behind him. The fans (eventually) rallied around Krul after his dodgy patch and we got a better keeper as a result. Hanley is basically Malky Mackay. Now Mackay was no Premier League player, but you know what? We could have done with him for a year under Worthington, just like we need Hanley here right now. How about it Indy? Be a real fan and help us all try and get the best out of what we've got to work with? We've always done that as a club, we've got away with Leon Barnett and Aaron Wilbraham at this level... I'm sure we could do alright with a Scottish International if we work on giving him a bit more protection against the more dangerous sides... and that's where a march fit Tettey or Ampadou comes in. How about we just support every man in the 25 in possible the most important season in our history? Doesn't that sound like a nice idea? No more threads slagging off our our own players? We've got no bad eggs... No Grabbans, no Oliveria's, no shirkers or lazy twats, togetherness is what makes this club great right now. Fans have played a big part in that.

Bury's (and Bolton's) plight isn't just living beyond their means - it's having people in charge who either don't know or don't care what they are doing. At least our owners care - they have made many mistakes, but not because they are asset-stripping or trying to make money, just because they're human. If we can survive even for another season in the PL on our model it will be a miracle; but at least if we do go down we still have a club, and it will still be in a reasonably healthy position.

Easy to say in hindsight. We shouldn't have signed van Wolfswinkel, we shouldn't have signed Naismith etc.

I'm sorry for him but he has had so many injuries and been so fragile you have to ask whether he should have been released and replaced. He has had some talismanic moments but few and far between. At the time, amid the promotion euphoria I was pleased to see his contract extended but that looks like sentimental misjudgement now.

Good to hear Amadou looked ok - read elsewhere that he was unimpressive

Meh, it’s amother ground ticked off - really can’t get too worked up about a second XI losing in the cup. Several players ought to have been looking to stake a claim to starting in the league but few came close. Of far more importance is how Timm and Christoph are. Didn’t think Zimbo was injured, thought it was more a case of ‘give him an hour’, but we’ll see. Klose was nothing to do with coaching/not being ready, he was clattered two-footed by a guy slipping over - no intent but it could easily have resulted in a bad injury to a fully fit player.

Exactly this, for Christ's sake.

Yeah, this is a fair and rational post. On another note, I'm really pleased that we've finally put in a properly dreadful performance to give our serial moaners hope that we might yet have a truly miserable season. The injuries to the centre backs will also offer plenty of potential for whingeing about how we didn't spend enough money over the summer. If only we'd have pulled out the stops and gone for Alan Pardew, imagine where we could be now.

We’ve been zonal marking ever since Farke has been here, have you slept through every set piece?

Waveney's there, but he was too busy shouting abuse at Cantwell.

I looked at the stadium on that map......and I immediately thought 'toilet seat'.......

I saw the heading and did twenty press ups

Kind of like your personal attack on players?

Good post well argued we would be on 9 points by now had we a stinking rich Chinese owner and that is a nailed on fact

I don't remember you telling me that we would start the season with three excellent performances, convincingly winning the one game we stood a chance in and running the UEFA Cup winners really close. I don't recall you mentioning how we would have the league leading goalscorer or be among the most entertaining teams to watch. I also don't remember you acknowledging that we are bringing a promising defensive midfielder up to speed and awaiting the imminent returns of two of our best three centre backs. Nor do I recall your insight into how it might take a few games for the players to get used to the speed and intensity of the Premier League or how this young and inexperienced team would exceed all expectations in this regard.

Zimmermann + a CDM I feel. Trybull constantly bypassed as if he isn’t there, running in treacle. Hopefully Amadou is the man.

Good job we have 2 very good CBs almost back from injury.