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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/01/23 in all areas

  1. 12 points
    I haven't been to Carrow Road since early November and it felt it bit awkward going back again after recent events. I had a few thoughts about it but my great grandson was keen so away we went on cold but otherwise bright afternoon. I told him to wrap up well but the young don't seem to listen and there he was with no gloves or hat, what can you do? City began with purpose and penned the Hornets back early doors but couldn't find any openings in a crowded penalty area. Sargent appeared to be bundled over from behind but ref Mr Linnington waved away the appeals. When the danger was finally cleared it was Watford who came close to opening their account as Davis cut in from the right and Gunn had to make the save from a narrow angle. It got a bit fiesty in midfield and a bit of play acting set the crowd off as the visitors engaged in some early time wasting. The home side bossed the early possession but most moves broke down before they could breach the eighteen yard line while the visitors were quick to break away as soon as we lost the ball. Indeed, only a wayward shot and a block by McCallum prevented them from going in front. There was plenty of effort and movement but we were unable to sustain enough pressure on the Watford goal where Bachmann was a virtual spectator. We did have the ball in the net after about 35 minutes but Hanley's crisp header was ruled out for offside. It looked close but there weren't many complaints from the players. It was a frustrating half with some decent play at times but the ball seemed to mainly ping about like it was on some pin-ball table and any pressure that the home side could exert was quickly relieved by some swift Watford breaks that had defenders scurrying back to cover. Most of City's good stuff was coming from Max Aarons down the right but he couldn't set anyone up and when he had a go himself his shot was well off target. Just before the break a nice ball from Gibbs put Sargent in on the City left and he might have done better to look for a pass but tried to cut inside and ran into multiple defenders. At the half it looked fairly obvious that this would very likely be a one goal game and it was a toss up as to who would be on the winning end. Nothing seems to be going for us lately so I wasn't greatly encouraged although my great grandson still seemed very positive despite the decling temperature. The second period began much as the first one finished with City attacks breaking down and Watford breakaways causing problems. On 50 minutes the visitors should really have taken the lead as they broke at speed down their left and a header back across goal was almost turned in by Sarr. Somehow a combination of Gunn and a couple of defenders managed to block almost on the line. There had been little to worry Bachmann in the way of shots on goal and it wasn't until well after the hour that Nunez dragged Pukki's set up a yard or so wide of his right post. It seemed to open the game up however and a minute or so later a cute ball from Sara put Sargent through the centre. Bachmann was very quick off his line and collided with the City Striker as the ball flew over the bar. Aarons appeared to be carrying an injury from an earlier tackle and limped off with a quarter hour left to be replaced by Omobamidele. After this we had another bout of Watford players milking the clock and the usual series of dubious reffereeing decisions that have blighted so many games this season. On one occasion a Watford defender appeared to have been shot by someone in the crowd because there wasn't a City player within five yards of him as he spun and collapsed dramatically. Mr Linnington allowed play to run for once and Pukki's pass found Sara who was desperately unlucky to see his shot fly inches wide of the post. Next it was Idah with a strong run across the penalty area and a shot just beyond the far post as City increased the pressure. The visitors were struggling to get the ball away and a poor clearance went straight to Gibbs. Unfortunately his return ball was weak and Watford sprang forward at speed and this time a quick ball in from the left beat covering defenders and Bayo was on hand to turn the ball in from ten yards with only four minutes left. At least the officials were fair with the time wasting and there was no surprise to see nine minutes added. There were a couple of close things as City tried to repair the damage but to be honest in the grand scheme of things an equaliser didn't look likely. I could see my great grandsons teeth were beginning to chatter so I took mercy on him and dodged out two or three minutes before the end. Years of this sort of misery have taught me that I would be unlikely to miss anything and that proved to be the case. I just hope today hasn't put him off because this could go on for quite a while. Football is often a microcosm of life both personally and for Norwich City. It gives us moments of joy and moments of despair and the glowing expectations of August are often dashed and broken by events in December, leaving only a dim light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Experience of life tells me that somewhere off in the distance sunlit uplands will open up again but when that will be and how far away I am unable to say. All that is left is to persevere and to continue to live in hope.
  2. 6 points
    Also related to legendary quiz host, Blockbuster's Bob Hoeness.😉
  3. 6 points
    He was a very good signing, not really Webber's fault that he got injured.
  4. 6 points
    I thought it was a reasonably good interview He accepted he had underestimated the fans' desire to connect with the manager and to play a certain way and accepted the club need to change that with the next appointment Also saying 2 of the shortlist aren't even in the betting markets is good from my point of view. Shows they're looking far and wide
  5. 5 points
    This squad of players is easily good enough for top six in the Championship. It just needs a coach who has some authority, passion, determination, tactical nous and most importantly leadership skills.
  6. 5 points
    He's dog****. That's coming from somebody who desperately wanted him to succeed as our first Polish player. Hopefully recalled just to sell him to an Ekstakalasa team as nobody else would be interested in buying him. The only time Placheta is the answer is when the qesution is "Which useless speed merchant who never actually outruns anybody is crossing another ball into Row Z or dribbling out of play again?"
  7. 5 points
    My God. Can't believe I'm biting but he looked pretty good when he played, its a pity injury has cut his loan short. Wishing him a full and speedy recovery.
  8. 5 points
    Christmas is over. Stop drinking👍
  9. 5 points
    He sat deep because the rest of the midfield didn’t do their job- he worked really hard. I feel for Sarge- up front he has proved he is delivering more than Pukki this season- yet he keeps being bundled onto the wing.
  10. 5 points
    I think he spoke well and rationally. I thought he was humble in admitting he didn’t realise the importance of the relationship Daniel had with the fans. I think recent signings have been questionable, but criticism of this interview is harsh. I think he explained the position, and if he is going to get pelters for this there really is no point in him stepping in front of the cameras. I don’t think this team is good enough to go up, so I’m hoping for someone to come in and start building.
  11. 5 points
    Not totally fair. He said the fact the atmosphere was so toxic it became difficult for the players to perform was a factor. That's slightly different and let's be honest he was right.
  12. 4 points
    Like "Re-e-wind - when Webber says Bo Svensson" Sorry that's the best I could come up with at short notice
  13. 4 points
    Season saved. See you at Wembley.
  14. 4 points
  15. 4 points
    Why not just start a thread called " 1000 Reasons why i want Webber gone " Rather than 1000 threads each with its very own reason( or title , anyway). 😇
  16. 4 points
    We don't know he's failed to recruit well because fans have failed to create an environment that gets the best out of players.
  17. 4 points
    Hopefully not, can’t wish that on anyone.
  18. 4 points
    Someone, whoever, has to decide whether we play to Pukki's strengths, or to Sargent's. We can't continue to play to neither! Until that is resolved (and yes I accept it could mean saying goodbye to the Goat), we will be nearer relegation than promotion.
  19. 4 points
    Obviously Webber is public enemy number one now, but that interview is perfectly reasonable. The point about the fan reaction was in response to the interviewer's question. He answered it with the honesty people used to like, but then went on to stress it was primarily about results. If a new SD had given that interview word for word it would have been well received.
  20. 4 points
    Why? If he is on the bench, he is fit. I guess you just don't like him.
  21. 3 points
    I think it is a top 6 squad in defence and upfront. Gunn, Aarons, Hanley, Gibson and Giannoulis is a back 5 most clubs at this level would kill for. They might not be in form now but they are all proven at this level. Omobamidele and McCallum are back ups with real potential. Byram is a solid utility man when fit. In attack I think most teams would be delighted to have Pukki and Sargent in competition to lead the line. Midfield though I'm not so sure. Hayden hasn't played well. Sorenson is overrated. Gibbs is talented but young and also not a true, physical DM. I'd argue that all 4 of Cantwell, Dowell, Ramsey and Nunez are best suited to playing as a number 10 but due to a lack of options we keep having to shove them out wide. Hernandez and Sinani are bench players at best and really don't have a place in a team chasing promotion. Rashica and Tzolis were supposed to be key but are both out on loan and may never return. Sara is a bit of an enigma to me in that I've no idea where his best position is. The group is imbalanced and full of lightweight players with no consistency and new signings adapting to a new league. It is difficult to come up with a starting midfield 5 that doesn't involve players out of position or relying on people who aren't good enough like Sinani or Hernandez.
  22. 3 points
    Just to think there was a poster on here a couple of days ago who said that.............'the only way for Brighton is down' and 'we are a much sexier proposition than them'. I do despair of some fellow Yellows at times!
  23. 3 points
    We have signed two crocks as a gamble because we can’t afford a fit one who is at the right level. That is the sad truth
  24. 3 points
    You'll have to forgive my naivety for thinking Dean Smith was responsible for the unfathomable perseverance with the flawed 4-3-3 and playing Sargent on the wing. I had optimistically hoped for a return to the balanced and pragmatic 4-2-3-1. I was wrong. It leaves me begging the question: is it Webber picking the team? Was it him all along? How can we still be trying the same thing and expecting a different outcome? I always suspected that the 4-3-3 wasn't Farke's choice but I had assumed that Dean Smith was the main driver behind the continued madness. Now I'm not so sure. People are blaming the players for not being good enough. To me it's obvious that they aren't suited to the system they're being asked to play. Most of the Championship winning squad from 19/20 are still here. There's some seriously wonky thinking going on behind the scenes. Pukki is the closest thing to a 'weapon' left at the club. We absolutely need to be playing to his strengths. There are a lot of other players who played better under our previous system too. I can't understand how we look basically the same with or without Smith. Unless Smith was only carrying out Webber's plan. Surely that cannot be the case?
  25. 3 points
    Nice that some people took the time to read his tweet. #benice
  26. 3 points
  27. 3 points
    Wagner or Schubert? Whoever composes the best goal music gets the job
  28. 3 points
    Ask the Portsmouth supporters if they are any good.
  29. 3 points
    I voted for Todd Cantwell, because we'd finally have a manager who won't give up on Todd Cantwell.
  30. 3 points
    Appropriately in English English "Trump" still means "fart"
  31. 3 points
    You must know by now that it is impossible to give Webber any credit, for anything @PurpleCanary
  32. 3 points
  33. 3 points
    About 12 clubs in the Championship all feel they should be in the Prem. Only 3 can get promoted. We've out-performed most similarly sized, and some larger clubs in Webbers tenure, and some of our fanbase wants him sacked. So you can't really blame other clubs who've done far less than us in the same timeframe wanting more for their clubs.
  34. 3 points
    Young player who was one of our best this season in an attacking sense. Why is there such a weird desperation from apparent supporters to cling onto an opportunity to criticise, even when there isn't really a genuine reason?!
  35. 3 points
    "I believe we need a director of football in place to work with the manager". Persuade Webber to go there. Two clubs' problems solved simultaneously!😆
  36. 3 points
    I know it is hindsight but when you look at Brentford it does remind me how big a missed opportunity our first promotion under Farke was. We went up with a young team brimming with confidence and momentum and then gave them no support in terms of reinforcements. Brentford didn't spend loads but they added quality and depth in a couple of positions and built on the momentum they had.
  37. 3 points
    Even Todd's most ardent supporters have to recognise that something significant has happened/is happening with him. Farke dropped him completely fairly suddenly. Smith immediately brought him back in but just as quickly dropped him again. Bournemouth took him on loan and he wasn't exactly a consistent fixture in their side. Now even the interim manager(s) won't put him on the pitch in spite of his obvious talent. That's too many people with independent views, motivations and goals for it to be a coincidence or a conspiracy. As you said, big clubs were sniffing around him and now he can't get on the pitch in a 1-0 loss against Watford. He either has a terrible attitude, is terribly unfit, or is going through something terrible off the pitch that we're not aware of. I have no idea what's going on but we can't say 'Todd is our most talented player, why isn't he on the pitch?' any more. It's beyond the stage where you can put it down to managerial negligence.
  38. 3 points
    @Nuff Said Please don't re-invent history and read the final set of accounts published before McNally's departure. Detailed plans for Colney's expansion and refurb were included in McNally's CEO report. Ward had just completed the strategy for the improvements at Colney and handed them over to McNally. McNally unfortunately drunkenly resigned on Twitter before he could implement them. Ward shared the strategy with her hubby who used this information in his interview with Smith & Jones later the following year, which probably secured the SD role. True Webber delivered the plan, but the plan was not entirely his to begin with. Probably the only thing at Colney not featuring in Ward / McNally's strategic plan for Colney was the SoccerBot and we know how sensational that has been in improving our on field performance! Also as TvB has said Naismith's contract was essentially covered by saleable assets within the team. Now we have to use every last penny we have to repay loans taken out against future parachute payments because due to rundown of contracts there is **** all value in the current squad. Not only is Webber unable to manage playing squad budgets, tells untruths about what he has achieved, but he has created the biggest disconnect between club and supporters since the last days of Chase. There is no way back for him except up a mountain.
  39. 3 points
    Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis, McLean, Pukki and Cantwell all played a huge part in our last Champs season when we got 97 points. OK, time moves on, and maybe some of them are past their peak, but five of those players have featured regularly this season. Gunn, I would argue, has performed at least as well as Krul did in 20/21. So half of the side are the same as two years ago and yet the team as a whole is a shadow of what it was two years ago. Yes, we don't have Buendia or Skipp, but I don't think we can assume it's as simple as that no matter how crucial that pair were, so I don't think it's right to call the current squad 'devoid of skill'. Application, commitment and effort I can agree with, but that does not make them bad players, it makes them unmotivated players or perhaps players who don't know what they are supposed to do on the pitch or don't agree with it. I think we have to give a new manager time to see if he can get a tune again out of these players.
  40. 3 points
    But we still built. For example last season we signed Gibbs from the binners into our academy and he's now a Championship player. This wouldn't have happened before. Colney goes on improving at a rate. The Webber comments about p**ing money up the wall were because we'd spent every penny on poor signings and were scraping money from wherever we could to try and keep Cat One status. People have short memories. I'm not a great fan of Webber, I think he should grow a thicker skin, but the club is still in a good place and he still has credit for me. Yes there's lots wrong on the pitch at the moment but Sara has been fine, gets better each game. Nunez gets worse each game. We have three strikers who would get into most Championship sides. We have yet to find a way of playing them. It's telling that although Nunez was clearly out of form none of the subs were deemed good enough to replace him. The last decent defensive midfielder we owned was Tettey and we signed him in 2012 that is something I struggle to understand. I never wanted Farke sacked but there's a lot of reinventing of history by those who did. Smith did nothing memorable so I was 'meh' about whether he was sacked or not. Reading this forum tonight is like Smith was still there. It was different in the ground where the players responded to the fans and the fans responded to the players. It was better but of course the goal at the end deflated everyone as you would expect. Smith has been gone six days. The new man hasn't even been appointed. Surely patience is needed before judgement.
  41. 3 points
    After the debacle of the last 12 or 13 games , or the last 18 months, or whatever, and especially after the game at home to Watford which was yet another loss, it must be apparent that the problems at the Club go much further , much deeper than simply the Head Coach. Farke could not get this squad to work, Dean Smith could not get this squad to work and now the interim coaching team prove that the squad will not work for them either. Which leads me to conclude that this squad is just not good enough. Today we saw no skill, little application and very few ideas. Hanley could not lead a band of Boy Scouts to the corner shop and no player could hit the side of a barn with the ball let alone the opposition goal. It was a sad , sad waste of an afternoon. It really seems not to matter anymore who gets appointed to the position of Head Coach, this sad, tired, jaded, inadequate bunch are not fit for purpose. The Head Coach appointment and the recruitment and construction of this squad is the responsibility of the Sporting Director, a man who will only dedicate 90% of his massive abilities to the job, in between fell walking. The appointment and retention of the Sporting Director is the responsibility of the Directors ( one of whom is the Wife of the Sporting Director so no conflict of interest there) and the Owners. All of this equates to problems at the Club from the top to the bottom. Sad times with no easy or quick fix. A root and crop rebuild required.
  42. 3 points
    My 14 year old hopes he gets the job as he's a smart dresser and quite fit......I've grounded her...
  43. 3 points
    The game was crying out for Nunez to be replaced at half time with Todd . Very dissapointed
  44. 3 points
    If we are insistent on playing a certain formation, it would make sense to get players who suit that formation. If we want to play 4-3-3, it seems sensible to play Sargent upfront and get two fast wingers to get to the touchline and throw in high crosses. I am not advocating this, since almost no one plays this style any more, and I personally don't want the team I support to play it; I am just pointing out that playing this system with a centre forward who is totally unsuited to it, in terms of either physique or natural talent, farming out all our wingers, and playing players who are strikers out on the wing seems counter-productive.
  45. 3 points
    Message to Attanasio; put up or shut up. This nonsense cannot go on, either you buy the ckub or not.
  46. 2 points
    Missed McLean out - he's been left-back this season too. 😉
  47. 2 points
    I don't think there's any doubt Pukki will leave at the end of the season, is there? He's a club legend and has my absolute respect whatever happens. However, playing in a very poor team in a very poor Champs this season will ensure he'll be off - and good luck to him. He looks tired and fed up at a distinct lack of service from midfield. The other problem we have is that Pukki, Sargent and Idah are all central strikers - you can have all three on the pitch but only one will be in their favoured position and therefore we're consistently failing to maximise their potential (whatever level that may be). I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said already. Frustrating doesn't come close to summing it up. OTBC
  48. 2 points
  49. 2 points
    Was criminal not bringing subs on last 10 .. surely that scenario exactly what hugill made for and Hernandez .. to just do nothing and keep trying same old was just unbelievable… clueless clown .. we need 1/2 new faces on pitch in Jan too to have any chance of top 6 ..
  50. 2 points
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