Peanuts

If that''s Bassong on Rooney at Old Trafford then there isn''t a ref in the premier league who wouldn''t have given it. There''s no attempt to play the ball there, just made sure he took Jarvis out. I heard Lawerenson on the radio today and even he thought it was a penalty!Anyway, onwards and upwards.

I didn''t think we played that badly at all, certainly nowhere near our worst performance. It was a scrappy game with few chances and until they scored I thought it had ni nil written all over it. If the Jarvis penalty had been given it could have been very different.I''m sticking with my prediction that Newcastle are down with Villa and we will just pip Sunderland.

I didn''t think you could be banned from domestic matches for something like that, more like a fine or they drop him from the international squad for a few games. Given he''s announced his retirement from international football I doubt he cares much anyway.The quotes I read were from the Congo FA president who is also a FIFA exec member saying they were considering sanctions against him because he missed the games, so maybe that''s where the story has come from. I took that to mean a punishment by the Congo FA so a fine or suspension from their squad and nothing to do with us here.There''s also a quote from the same guy saying Mbokani can''t just retire from international football and it''s up to the selectors whether they pick him or not which just sounds like face saving bollocks as presumably they can''t actually force him to play if he doesn''t want to.Given that the Congo president is also a member of the FIFA executive committee I''d have thought he''d be too busy shredding right now to worry about Mbokani.

I''d be happy to see an unchanged team but I expect Russ will be back in if he''s fit, although I agree Wisdom had a good game. I''d expect Redmond to come on off the bench again but even he''s fit to start I think Jarvis offers more defensively, although on his day Redmond is a match winner.

Villa are practically down already and despite our recent good form I''m not going to get carried away just yet - two good results against Palace and Sunderland and I''ll feel a lot happier!At the other end of the table it''s definitely for Leicester to lose now as Spurs don''t have the easiest run-in and if anything I''d say Arsenal have a better chance of catching them if Leicester start to drop points.I should be pleased that a team outside the traditional big clubs is looking likely to win the league but from what I''ve seen of them this season Leicester''s style has been pretty industrial and not exactly thrilling to watch. By contrast whenever I''ve seen Spurs they''ve played some beautiful football and with their young squad I''d like to see them win the title.

[quote user="morty"]I''m confident he will go to Villa.And that won''t be a good thing for Ipswich at all.[/quote]I''d completely forgotten he''d been linked with them. Not the worst appointment Villa could make, what is it two championship promotions and a couple of play-offs he''s achieved? Not a bad record. I agree it could be trouble for them if he goes as with no money for players and a half empty stadium every week they aren''t exactly well placed to attract top managerial talent.

It''s not just that the manager is more experienced or skilled at managing a football club than the average poster, it''s also that he has access to far more information than we do. It may be that fans have made different calls to the manager that with hindsight have turned out to be better than his, but given that Alex Neil is basing his decisions on far more complete information, you might as well be comparing apples with oranges.On the topic of Mbokani, I''ve been critical of him in the past and I''m glad he proved me wrong against Newcastle. He had a great game and deserved to be in team of the week.

I''m amazed Mick is still there to be honest. He''s a proven promotion winning manager and I think most neutrals would agree he''s done a good job at Ipswich despite having very limited resources. I''d have thought a bigger, more ambitious championship club would have tempted him away by now, but perhaps he''s happier without the pressure that would bring.

At one time when the constant bickering was taking over thread after thread I wrote my own Chrome extension to hide posts by certain users - perhaps I should update it for the new forum skin and release it publicly? [8-|]In all seriousness, the forum software could benefit from an ignore feature - perhaps then some of the repeat offenders wouldn''t feel the need to respond to every perceived criticism.

I feel less confident about this one than I did about Man City, really can''t see why so many people are talking this up when West Brom have had some really good results lately.Anyway, being positive I''m going for a close win for us, 1 - 0 with Bamford to score.

Assuming Bennett isn''t available:                  RuddyMartin  Bassong   Klose   Olsson           Howson   O''NeilJarvis     Hoolahan     Brady               Bamford

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]Now, because Lennon has been sacked for failing* at Bolton, that discredited "stand-out" claim has quietly morphed into "Well, he would have done better than Adams". Which is, as you indicate, questionable in itself but even if true is nothing like claims being made last summer.[/quote]My argument is more that subsequent events at Bolton don''t necessarily discredit any claim that he was the best candidate at that time. Obviously some posters enjoy backtracking and baiting each other about it and I wouldn''t want to stand in their way, I just don''t think him failing at Bolton means he''s necessarily a bad manager or wouldn''t have been successful with us. Regardless, it''s all rather moot given that we went with Adams and then Neil and got promoted anyway.Obviously if those same posters were to start calling for Lennon to replace Neil right now we''d need a lot more popcorn [:D]

I agree we''ve been vulnerable down that right hand side all season but Redmond, on his day, is a match winner so it''s still a blow. He''s certainly been inconsistent, but we''ll never know now if he could raise his game for the run in.I''m with the majority that I''d like to see Brady and Jarvis on the wings but if Brady isn''t fit then Jarvis on the left and Naismith out right is an option. Howson has definitely been much more effective in the middle so don''t want to see him pushed out wide.I''m not sure about Vadis, from what I''ve seen of him he had some nice touches around the box and looked a threat going forward but he didn''t seem to have the discipline in defence. Probably too much of a luxury for a team in our situation.

It all seems a bit pointless arguing over whether Lennon would have been a better appointment for us than Adams given that most managers have both successful and unsuccessful spells in their careers.He was certainly successful at Celtic, and despite the problems off the field at Bolton it''s fair to say he wasn''t a great success there. Whether he''d have been a success here or not, nobody can say.Personally I wanted Mackay, but I''m glad that Adams followed by Neil did the job and got us back up at the first attempt.

[quote user="OldRobert"][quote user="SwindonCanary"]Found this from way back, some interesting suggestions, it''s a good job the board didn''t follow some of the choices.  [/quote]Interesting...............with just one with the right answer.[/quote]That was spooky, does he do the lottery? To be fair though he was just basing it on Alex Neil''s initials.

[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="Peanuts"]I''d not seen that Marcus Evans article before, absolute gold. I mean it would have been absurd back in 2008, but with the benefit of hindsight it''s almost beyond parody.[/quote]If it''s parody you''re after, this is a must........https://norwichcityfc.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/evening-star-send-up-well-worth-a-read/Truly brilliant. [:D][/quote]That''s very funny, although it''s not all that far off the original. [:D]

I''d not seen that Marcus Evans article before, absolute gold. I mean it would have been absurd back in 2008, but with the benefit of hindsight it''s almost beyond parody.

[quote user="Just Dan"]Great goal by Leicester last night - very similar to the one Jerome scored on the first game of the season. That remains Simon Hoopers only ever Premier League game.[/quote]Even before the Palace game former ref Mark Halsey questioned the decision to give Hooper the game:[quote] The first weekend of the season is not the time to be trailing a Football League referee. By next week he’ll be back in the Football League, this is just a one off game to see how he does.[/quote]Fair play to Halsey for calling it.

[quote user="Lessingham Canary"]The Scottish Mourinho..........[/quote]Who needs Mourinho, we''ve got Alex Neil-ee-oh?

A bit soon to get carried away, but he''s a proven Championship goal scorer and could prove a good investment for the future. Let''s hope he can score some goals this season first though!

As fans we can aspire to what we like, but unless we''re in the boardroom or on the pitch there''s not much we can do about it. As a newly promoted team that didn''t significantly strengthen in the summer we were always going to struggle.I think we can still stay up, but being realistic about our prospects isn''t the same as lacking ambition and there''s nothing wrong with being proud of a point against a team that is third in the league and full of star players.

[quote user="Ian"]Lol. People want Bennett dropped, and to change our back four again, despite keeping a clean sheet against Man City.[/quote]I don''t rate Bennett, but I don''t much like Bassong either and I agree Klose and Bennett look like our best partnership at the moment. I''d prefer we got an upgrade on both of them in the Summer, assuming we stay up of course.

Thinking positive, for a PL campaign next season I''d like to see a new partner for Klose of similar quality. I know a lot of people on here rate Bennett, but for me he is just another journeyman and a squad player at best.

Didn''t see it but it doesn''t surprise me - Mills has always hated us although I think it''s Norwich and Norfolk in general more than the club, almost as if he''s ashamed of his roots.He''s always struck me as someone who despite all the money and fame is still very insecure and unsure of his own ability or worth. He''s probably aware that he''s massively over achieved in his professional and media career and lashing out at people is how he copes with it.The fact that he would try to put the knife into Stuart Pearce 10 years after he felt Pearce wronged him shows you exactly what kind of man he is. To be honest I''m rather glad he doesn''t associate himself with us.

I was very happy with the way the team set up and played so not sure I''d want to see any unforced changes. It''s a dilemma for the manager if Brady and Naismith are fit again as there must be pressure to play two of our biggest signings.Brady has definitely looked class and I''d like to see him in midfield, but so far Naismith hasn''t shown enough to warrant a place - perhaps he''d be better as backup for Wes.