gazzathegreat

I haven''t seen it, JB Ghost, but the fact she has recently published yet another book and made a TV programme (I have to admit the chocolate crumble will definitely be tested by me) suggest she is trying to generate extra income. I assume some of this will go into the club coffers. Has she really taken a step back? Certain appointments to the Board of Directors and the ''letting go'' of Gunn would indicate she has. Maybe she''s had a serious talk with someone who has spelled out the reality of what''s needed to continually fund NCFC. Let''s hope that the initial good things generated by McNally continue and promotion is realised. I also hope that serious effort is put into finding investment/someone to take over her role. I don''t particularly think she needs to go immediately, but the majority shareholding should be shared out somewhat. However my fears of her being in total control with flawed business acumen has been somewhat eased in the new appointments at board level.

It''s the South Stand for me, just as it''s the River End. Let''s just hope no one ever has the bright idea of renaming the Barclay.

2-0. A bit of a test against an injury ravaged side who will come to defend, but Lambert will surely see this as a must win and any spare holes to fill for his purchases in January will be highlighted if we fail to break down their defences. In the end I hope our quality and fitness will be too much for any resistance from Oldham.

I don''t know how the players view it, but it seems largely psychological to me. At home they are surrounded by home fans, familiar surroundings and a pitch they are used to playing on and no minuses of travelling a long distance (from our perspective anyway). Where we are now, in the Third Division our home advantage has to really be that, a big advantage. Massive home support and incentive to win for the supporters. IF things are going badly for manager or players playing away can become something of a solace and getting away from pressure, but from our current point of view we have to look upon CR as a nailed on three points in our bid to be promoted.

King, most of the better moments have to be centred around 2001-4. The final five years of this decade haven''t exactly been golden years for us. Defining moments: Iwan''s goal at the Playoff Final. For a few precious minutes we really thought it was our turn. The atmosphere and sense of occasion that day were very special. Signing of Hucks: Who over the decade had to not only be our best signing, but we all lived beside a now legend of our club, not only by witnessing his wonderful ability on the pitch, but also the man he is off it and the now sense we have of a superfan amongst us who has given so much to our club and continues to do so in becoming one of us, a true fan and for me one of NCFC''s favourite ever sons. Goals. More than a few memorable ones, plenty from Hucks, Malky''s decider in the semi final v Wolves, McKenzie''s goals v Ipswich, Steeno''s wonder goal, the comeback v ''Boro, the win over the ''stars'' of Man U and the look on the plastic Man U fans'' faces. Classical stuff. Away trips to such a variety of places over the past ten years - from Old Trafford to Plymouth, from Southend to St James'' Park. Such a variety of contrasting venues, circumstances and highs and lows. Off the pitch the changes in the boardroom and the constant tales of woe and increasing debt - let''s hope we can start off the new decade with some positive and encouraging news re vital investment. But if I had to pick one moment it would be the sight of Huckerby on Boxing Day being introduced to us as one of our own. We knew then promotion was ours.

Wiz, try and have some faith, I know it''s difficult, with the club''s past history of making some truly dubious business decisions, but we now have a few new people, if not exactly in charge, at least seemingly making decisions to the benefit of the club. We are in debt, yes, and that hasn''t changed for a long time. But in the current climate, our best chance of making a serious dent in the debt and moving the club forward it to gain promotion. We have of course not always looked to doing this in the past, and flung good money after bad in investing in the wrong area. Now we have to invest in promotion and to do that means keeping the players who can achieve promotion for us. That includes Holt and Hoolahan. I can''t see Lambert being happy about selling anyone who features in his plans. I can see him pressing to strengthen the squad, not weaken it. IF, and I mean if we do sell, for whatever money, I like you would question the ambition and rationale of NCFC. But this time I really can''t see it happening. Would a sum of £6 million say benefit us in replacing Hoolahan or Holt (where would we get the same or better players)? It may pay off some debt, but simply we can barely survive as a club in this league and have to get back to the Championship. Players do that. Also, selling our better players would have a negative effect on season ticket sales for next season, is the club willing to risk this? We cannot continue to have cause for division between fans and the board. The number one aim is promotion and everyone connected with NCFC should be working towards that.

Couldn''t agree more Zipper with your selections, but just to add a bit, the best could be padded out a bit more with seeing at last a decisive passionate manager in charge of our team who is moulding (we hope) a promotion winning side. Off the field, as you say, we have a bit of steel in the boardroom. Added to your thoughts re Gunn, I still remember the shameless touting of Gunn for the job on local radio. A lot of people have highlighted the Colchester defeat, for me the manner of the defeat was not at all surprising, though perhaps the number of goals conceded was. We had been warned at Charlton. This season so far has more positives than negatives for me, thanks largely to new personnel coming in with some semblance of quality, sense and drive. Long may it continue. It''s also great to see a team with so many of our former academy players, let''s hope as we move on (upwards) that we can continue this in the Championship next season.

Hi Nutty, can you put me down for a Norwich home win please? Best of luck Graham, look forward to seeing you and all the rest of the PUPs at the Xmas get together!

Yes it was disappointing to be knocked out of the cup. Let''s face it, a home draw in the next round would have suited us and our dire bank balance down to the ground, but it wasn''t to be. NCFC as we know it today is a changing and growing beast, wounded beyond most of our comprehension last season on and off the pitch. Frankly yesterday was nothing compared with our first game of the season, that was a real low! Since that day we have seen the start of a new NCFC with a new manager and new people on the board trying to get us back to some degree of respectability. We lost in the 2nd round of the FA Cup. That''s a new low on a historical level, but in five years time will only be important if we are still in this league or lower. Personally I take it as a blip, a sign that we are not quite where we want to be, but making good progress overall. We won''t win every match, but as long as we continue to make steady progress up the league this season and don''t have to sell anyone we need to keep in January I am satisfied enough to think NCFC are on the mend. Bly and others, ask yourself this, would you rather have gone into the 3rd round of the FA Cup but had the team at the wrong end of the league, or are you, like some on here still hankering over losing Gunn or Roeder. Yes, we lost, but reading some of the over reaction on here makes it look like we have been relegated all over again. Lambert has proved over the past few months that he is building us back up and also building for the future, under tight financial constraint. I won''t lose faith in him, nor the players for one loss. IF it were to continue for the month of December, then yes perhaps then we should show some real concern.

Hi Kathy, best of luck this week. My pick is Blackpool to beat Preston.

Tom, I completely agree. It''s not just about the reserve games being free for season ticket holders. IF we, the season ticket holders, were given a choice whether to pay to watch the reserve games or for them to disappear into the ether (just how many people are free and able to attend Colney in the middle of the afternoon) then that to me would be a step in the right direction. I would gladly contribute a fiver to watch the reserves. What about having stewards volunteer perhaps to work at reserve nights, if they were not willing then perhaps supporters who were could receive adequate training to enable this to happen. How many steward do we really need for occasions like this anyway? What about the takings at the bar, does this not cover stewarding costs? If not, then what sort of profit margins are the catering company responsible taking out of the club? As for the floodlights, well Tom, you are correct, they are on most Friday and Saturday nights, game or no game. Purely I suppose for diners, party goers or whoever is in the building at the time. Does everyone who goes to dine at Delia''s really want the floodlights on? Why not ask them? Why not ask if they really would prefer football to profit from the use of floodlights rather than them as mere diners or partygoers with their occasional glance at the pitch on their way to the function room. Come on NCFC, what exactly do the words football club mean?

No Colney we shouldn''t sell him. On two counts. Firstly, Wes is a little bit special and more than a bit different to your average player at this level (and in the right team with the right ideas, I believe he can work well at levels above where we are right now). IF we were to sell what sort of player could replace him, bearing in mind all the fine attributes Wes brings to our team. Two or three average players in other positions to bolster the numbers? That''s fine and perhaps what we as a club should be aiming for, but not at the expense of Wes. Secondly, I am not convinced ALL of the money we might receive from the sale would go to Lambert for players. IF the money was used to service debts then NO NO and NO. The club''s best chance of getting rid of debt is to win promotion and Wes is key to that chance. So, no, don''t sell, unless Wes was to really seek a move away, and everything I hear leads me to believe that is not the case.

I know this is really cheeky Mr Chops, but could we please have an updated version this year? Please, pretty please? Can''t believe so much has changed in a year though! Some of it seems like ancient history now. Do you have it in you to produce another classic? Go on you know you want to......your audience anticipates!

Thanks for this Pete, sounds a great night! Henning and Martin are both regulars on Fighting Talk, which for those of you who have yet to listen is a sports quiz on Five Live on Saturday mornings. Required listening and well recommended. I will definitely go just to meet Will Buckley who always mentions the great NCFC when he''s on the same show. Perhaps a few other Pink Un regulars are going? Sounds a great night out to me. And hey, a very good price. Top marks to the club for putting this one on.

Arsenal to win away at Sunderland for me, good luck Mr Bump

Ziderman Thanks for following up with more information regarding your team. I think most City fans who either went to the cup tie or who watched on TV will indeed have fallen just a little bit in love with your club and the romance of the FA Cup. Despite the big teams winning it year after year, it''s really the early ties which keep the love for the cup alive. Nutty probably speaks for many of us, yes we are generally well liked in the world of football. We have had our ups and downs, like many clubs, but our spirit is still there and I for one would be proud to keep our links with Paulton Rovers, much the same as I am proud to still watch out for Sunderland as a result of our Milk Cup final game with them many moons ago. On a personal level, the kinship we forge with fans of other clubs keeps the love of football alive. I have met many fans from numerous clubs over the years and forged many friendships. It''s what football is all about, not as many TV fans think, all about winning and money. Best of luck to you all and I hope that we do indeed manage to come back to Winterfield Road in a pre season friendly and look forward to seeing your club representatives at a game at Carrow Road.

Well put Bury Green. After relegation we expected (naively perhaps) that the board would look towards appointing someone with some experience of taking us forward. To hear Bryan Gunn on the local radio touting for the job was indeed one of my personal lows in supporting NCFC and has, for now, tarnished memories of him on the pitch. The legend status thing is thrown around causally these days, I am not sure he is really one of our true greats, we''ve had better keepers in the past. As in most controversial decisions, we will never know all of the facts, but thankfully the new CE was man enough to make a decision for the good of the club, not merely to satisfy Gunn''s ego nor steer towards Delia''s sentimentality.

Another Norwich win for me too, good luck Cosmic.

Agreed Beau, although I got the chance to listen on R Norfolk yesterday, I have only just watched the match. Sadly ITV are now just where Paulton are in terms of live sports coverage, distinctly non league. If I were anything to do with Paulton I would not be too complimentary about ITV''s blatant patronising tone. While we expect more of the time to be spent with the ''underdogs'' the questioning of the manager was pretty clueless. Did he welcome the extra time spent on him, I guess not! As for the interview with Delia, even she (for once) looked as if she wasn''t courting publicity. Camera shake, microphones sounding not too clever and lots of shots of the hills during play didn''t add up to professional sports coverage. Why don''t the BBC show the FA Cup? All down to money I suppose. ITV, you need to up your game somewhat. Smithy, thanks for a great report, was hoping you would do this for us all. As for the team, we looked professional, there seemed to be a fantastic attitude by the whole team yesterday. Well done to Paul Lambert and his coaching staff.

Inchy You should be able to get the programme from the club shop. They always sell home and away programmes, maybe a phone call to reserve one would suffice. Hoping you manage to get hold of one!

Can you put me down for a Norwich win please Nutty, and best of luck Trent.

I completely agree Robert, yes, we may well need the money the sale of Wes would generate, but who would we replace him with? Anyone of the same quality? Surely not, we couldn''t afford it. So then two to three also rans ( as you indicate) to boost numbers rather than strengthen in quality and ability. No, keep Wes, who by all accounts wants to stay and concentrate on bringing forward more of our young players, most of whom have contributed to our push for promotion. Selling Wes will be a step backwards and has to be avoided. Also agree with your comment on the rebate. I wonder if the club have the time to administer this, or would even consider the possibility?

I can''t believe you are even thinking about it CA. I wouldn''t care if Ipswich had won every league title and cup for ten years and we were non league. Nothing, and I repeat nothing would make me wish we were them. Nothing. And Nutty, yes, I agree, I would rather have Delia and Lambert over Evans and Keane. Ipswich are doing so well this season, let''s hope he stays there to finish the job.

You can add my golden retriever, Nelson (as in avatar), he''s been a city fan for 13 and a bit years and still going strong! I leave the commentary on for him each week, so he''s very knowledgeable about the game.

Nutty, are you really saying the football (since the arrival of Lambert) is not better than last year? Maybe it''s all to do with wishes, hoping that at last the combination of a manager who can actually manage, the emergance of a team spirit (rather than a group of aimless individuals) and real competitiveness can achieve promotion? Going back to Safri, Hucks at their best, maybe the football was better, but post relegation and latter day Worthy, Grant, Roeder and Gunn, no. Last season we were on a downward slope. Changing managers didn''t help (without getting into the rights and wrongs of that), the general mood was gloomy. Infighting between fans, ill will towards the board etc etc....of course the numbers were still high (many of us had bought season tickets). The mood worsened of course following our surrender at Charlton and the relegation that followed. The general thoughts of supporters towards the club was reflected in the good old refund fiasco. Yet NCFC fans are a tough bunch who attend not soley for entertainment/success. It''s as much to do with a love of the club and a never say die attitude. To which end the marketing dept milked for all it was worth. I have to say, just for me, the mood this season (since Lambert) has brightened. He seems to be working towards an achievable aim of promotion and the feel good factor is back. There is still much to do and it''s certainly not perfect. But under Gunn I think by now I would have to attend all matches well under the influence of a good big glass of red. Crowd size doesn''t really relate to the standards of football. Many external factors contribute. No way is anything we have seen in the past five years comparable to 1992-4 (and you can add on the five years preceding those). But we had smaller crowds then. The nature of the average supporter has changed. More families, more people on subsidised tickets, more interest in football in general? As Butler says, there is a hardcore of support who will go whatever the standard of football. However I can''t see how the club can rely on that - given the level of debt and the economic climate we HAVE to go up this year. To suggest we can maintain NCFC as a business (let alone a football team) with Division Three income is fairytale stuff. We can only hope that the introduction of a competent person as CE and a capable manager has happened just in the nick of time.