Essjayess

Hoola its 8 scored and 7 conceded from the 3 games so far this season, with at least 2 or 3 of the conceded down to individual errors. So whats new? I can recall plenty of seasons when he had a few matches receiving a real good old tonking. Even our best season ever, the inaugural Premier season of 92-93, when Mike Walker took the club to a dizzy 3rd place finish, we had a fair number of big defeats that season, finishing with a minus goal difference.As to the poster who mentioned 5 high earners to go next season, that should be 6, no?..Somehow Russ Martin seems to have been left out.Agree with Indy, strange how some see it. I could point out that we could very much say we are punching above our weight even in the Champs, if you only go on the financial availability of football clubs. Also that some regard any head coach / manager we have at this time are failing, simply because we are not in the top 6 or in the Prem, as we have been so often in the past 10, 20, 30 or more years...but that to me is getting to close to comparing the club "now" to where it was in its history..should that not be left to "them lot" 40 miles south of here?The mythical 10 games...yea..so what at 20 games? ..or 30?..even at that point theres still another 16.Really hope DF does sign a new contract with City, hes the guy who played Madders all last season, the guy who even played Josh  much, when at times Josh was frustrating many of us watching him. The guy who brought Jamal straight in last year, and who gave Aarons, Cantwell, Godfrey and Thompson  plenty of minutes last night. Im  satisfied to want him here this, next , and maybe even more seasons, its a fascinating, interesting period in the clubs life, honestly, DF is doing fine up to now, hes a big part of this new adventure, he deserves to see it thru.

Agree with the lasr few posters, its clear the loan business is as varied as the British weather. When Neil Adams was first appointed as City''s loan arranger i maybe had a small part of me thinking "yea, thats a cushy little number for a guy who has been yellow and green thru and thru" but of course truth is these days the loan business, both ins outs each season, is a big big part of the make up of most football league clubs squads and Neil Adams job is as integral and important as Webber''s and Stone''s jobs are in giving DF as good a squad as is possible to play with.

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]With Pinto’s contract up at the end of the season just loan him to WBA for the season with a loan fee commensurate to what the club would want as a transfer fee and WBA pick up his wages. That would suit WBA better as they don’t have to commit to him if he doesn’t meet their standards.[/quote]Agree with this, looks really possible now that Ivo will be loaned out before the end of the month. Marshall, Passlack, Pinto, Max Aarons, even in theory still Russ, so it seems ludicrous to have 5 RBs at the club.

Vince, yes Mr. Chase did  do some good things at his time here, as well as some not so good. I could never compare his time at the club to Delia and Michael''s, for one thing the jobs were / are different, as is the football world itself, and its question of financeYou mention under Chase we had a state of the art training facility. Well, despite the so called "hard times" right now. we play our first home game this weekend on a brand new relaid pitch, the first for a decade and a half. Also at this very time, check Archant''s report on Steve Stone and Stuart Webber''s info on whats happening at Colney.Delia and hubby have brainwashed no one, they have the full support of the Board and other shareholders. I for one look at our club right now, all of it, not just what result we get on the pitch on a Saturday afternoon. Its financially sound, the facilities compare well to many other clubs that have  much higher finance than us, and if they dont, they are being seen to, to make them so.Football backwater? i would argue less so now than 20 years ago (although of course the internet has been a substantial part of that). I look at Delia''s 20 years plus at the club and give a thumbs up. I can even smile at her somewhat cheesy commercial with Kevin Bacon (there''s food for thought...). Want a true backwater? try 40 miles south down the Portaloo.

Think this was on the cards. Playing Husband and Passlack as the backs, Trybull as the holding midfielder, in a 4141 format that ive never liked, but obviously DF does, against a high line pressing team was always prone to a defeat. Husband we all know about, our last choice for LB, the media guys rightly pointed out that Passlack has the credentials to be good but, as with last seasons foreign imports, will need time to adjust to the rigours of the Championship. But thats what pre seasons all about of course, giving all the guys game time, even the ones who are most likely not first choice in the starting eleven.I see so many posters saying "Give it 10 games blah blah"...i never understand that strange comment, the season is 46 games. Anyway, our first run of games seem to be challenging and with the likes of Tettey, Lewis, Pinto, Vrancic etc at various stages of readiness / unreadiness, i will not expect us to be charging at the top in those opening stages.. But the Charlton game, just like all the other pre season games, in isolation, bare zero resemblance to the real stuff thats now  almost upon us.

After plodding about like a lethargic zombie last few days, awaking to feel a fresh Atlantic breeze was as good as a convincing Canaries win. Getting rid of that 90 degree something nonsense, its just perfect to have our normal airflow back again. Only token rainfall but thats ok, im more than sure that will resume normal service to come the autumn.Quite a strange bizarre year, having Northern Ireland and the Lake District as the two areas to get hosepipe bans..cannot for the life of me work that one out.

Extraordinary to see nos. 5 and 16 still hanging onto a number, but i guess its the last time. In the post Madders / Josh era, looks a squad very much capable of being competitive and only a week away from the start of it all. Hanley as skipper..rock solid choice for a rock solid player.

Absolutely agree with Lappin. The way KC has put that is if McGovern sits on his bum doing nothing, when of course the fact is that he has to train every bit as hard as any other player at City, obviously having to be as fit and ready to deputise at a split second in case injury crocks the No. 1. In fact, to have a guy at the club, be it GK or anyone, who knows hes not no.1 for his given position, but is realistic in knowing he will likely have to wait  his chance for an injury to the main guy to be able to take over, is as important as the main guy himself. McGovern has been in this scenario for 2 or 3 seasons now, im sure like most professionals he would much rather play games, so fair dues to the man as regards this.For Remi...well yes there is the scenario that he could go to Plymouth or elsewhere on loan again, but what a shame that would be. In my opinion, he should stay at City as no. 2, play him in the Cup games, and , like McGovern above, wait his chance. We were very fortunate last season that Angus played pretty much the whole season with no injuries, i am not convinced Tim Krul will go thru a whole season unscathed, in which case i would love to see Remi then get his chance, i rate him higher than McGovern. So having him out on loan again, he would miss his chance and yes despite pre season, i think Remi would do a decent job...but im not DF so my opinion counts for nothing.

Indeed hope he is ok, it may be only the friendly stages we are going thru, and it maybe different formations each match, but nonetheless we have seen the names of Pukki, Rhodes and Srbeny on the scoresheet regularly enough thru these matches to at least make me feel anyway that there is definitely positivity at last...life after Jerome and Olly, indeed even after Madders, that goals can and will be more in abundance this  new season from bona fide strikers.With Carlton Morris sidelined for so long it would be a real low to have Rhodes suffer a lengthy spell injured to before the real stuff even begins.Fingers crossed.

[quote user="king canary"]? I''d suggest the fact we''ve got north of £35m reportedly for two players with basically no top flight experience this summer suggests we know how to sell a player...[/quote]A fact?...sorry king but i suggest that "north of 35 mill" is anything other than a fact. Best or nearest non factual figures i saw quoted are around 22 mill for Madders and around 10 and half mill for Josh. Take away Coventry''s couple mill slice of the Madders deal, then the figure would be around 30 mill, but non of us know the exact factual amount.But i agree with you that in general, over the past few seasons to, we have more often than not got a good fee for selling our players. If 8 mill is to the be the figure for Waghorn, then fair dues, he is likely worth it based on his stats for last season. Good money for Town, likely enough to keep their buying power afloat for the next 10 seasons

Maddison, Murphy, Hoolahan, Watkins, Naismith, Gunn, Reed and 5 mill (approx) out...McLean, Marshall, Buendia, Leitner, Krul, Pukki, Rhodes, Passlack and 30 mill + in.....We are downgrading?..strange but how this summer window has gone, it does not feel that way to me.Welcome to Tim Krul.  With just a week or two before the new season begins, i for one think this summer window has been excellent. Now we await to see if Daniel can get this team performing to its best. I am optimistic for the new season, without getting carried away. OTBC.

[quote user="Duncan Edwards"]I’m willing to give them ten games, if we aren’t at least top 6 by then it can only be regarded an unmitigated disaster.[/quote]"Oh look, its May, and we finished in the bottom 3. But thats ok, im Duncan, and i saw us in the top 6 after 10 games".......

[quote user="AJ"]If we can become a free scoring side then that optimism will be gladly backed. We over achieved with our league position given our lack of goals last season, so hopefully add a lot more goals scored to our stats and quickly things change from mid table mediocrity to play-off bound. Certainly think anything above play-offs is out of reach, but certainly think we shop be aiming for play-offs as a minimum.[/quote]Goals for / against are a factor of course, but come behind points amassed. Look at Hull City, they scored for fun last season, scoring 70 to our meagre 49, also let them in for fun, conceding 70, and managed to finish nicely below us. Dont think we over or under achieved, mid table was our constant thruout the season.Of course results on the pitch can cause some fans to go into a state of over reaction in either of the optimism / pessimism zone very quickly, but all thru last season, even at the height of the bad result runs, i was trying to stay realistic and see the bigger picture, to the club as a whole. The new model the club chose, after we said goodbye to both AN and the Prem, was massive, the change in approach, style, coupled with an absolute necessity in managing the coffers wisely. Delia and the Board can be moaned at all all we want, but going into another new season, the guys they chose such as Webber, Neil Adams and Steve Stone have turned out to be stonkingly good, and the beauty of this time of year is all clubs go into the new season equal, no matter whats happened off the pitch. Now its over to DF and his squad, which to me, feel like a stronger, better outfit than last season, which in itself amazing to say post Madders and Murphy. Optimistic?...for me, yes, more so than 12 months ago, but no futile predictions on where we will finish in the Champs come next May. OTBC.

Encouraging indeed, as far as it goes in pre season friendlies. Agree with you about Thompson especially Lakey, had not realised its been 20 months the young lad has battled his way back and two achilles ruptures. Really hope its the start of something good for him, no one deserves a decent run uninjured more than Louis. From the media guys there, only disapointment seems to have been young Raggett, apparently very good with heading the ball but definitely suspect with ball at his feet.So finally we see our lads in action, minus Wes, Josh, Madders, Watkins, Angus and Read, plenty of decent (we hope) permanents, couple of loans in Rhodes and Passlack, plus the likes of Matthews, Godfrey and Thompson making their mark. Apart from our old warhorse Tettey, its now much more of a Webber / DF team and i for one am positive for the season, lots to look forward to in the new Madders-free era. OTBC.

Our defence were quite adequate for our mid table position, indeed the final table shows no other side from Ipswich in 12th down to Sunderland in 24th had a better goals against column than City and of course the previous season we had finished  8th place with 69 conceded.Clearly the main issue was not enough goals, thats where the improvement must be seen this season.

I said at start of the quarter finals it would be France vs Croatia, always looked the two best teams for flair and / or penalty shoot outs, not that i can judge England as i never watched their matches. Made a concious decision after 1990 semis disapointment that in my lifetime id never see them reach, never mind win, a tournament of any importance, so since then  never have watched them so never have been disapointed since.I love club football, but on a national level i really dont care. But for those who follow England, there''s always the next tournament...and the next..

Of those in gissings list, only Martin and Jarvis can be considered deadwood, with Olly and Yanic as possible "those to leave" but, like others, would not be sad if they stayed, they could have roles with us this season.

Every club in every pre season pick up a few niggles and injuries, has always been the case and is to be expected.Defence wise last season, yes the total was 60 let in, but oh so spoilt by just the 3 games, Millwall, Hull and Wednesday. Outside of those 3 games it was 47 conceded in 43 games.49 scored, yes, no doubts, marked improvement needed here.

Talking of injuries and talking of players who we dont know what they will give, there is only one certain thing we know in this life about one particular player and Farke''s update on injuries contained that one certainty....Matt Jarvis is injured and hence nowhere near first team action.Im sure thru the pre season fixtures there will be 1 or 2 other injuries to other players, its normal, but hopefully nothing long term.

Rhodes to Norwich has had more twists and tales over the years than an EastEnders script. Just wish someone somewhere can finally put this saga to bed, one way or the other.I would be ok to see the club go with Pukki, Srbeny and Olly, if bad form and / or injuries blight those strikers, give young Idah a go. Second half of season hopefully Morris may be in the frame to.

Would surprise me if this happened, but there we go, im just a fan. Would almost border on the "over indulgent" to have 4 strikers here, with a 5th, Morris, on a fairly lengthy come back  to fitness, compared to recent times.  May of course mean DF has plans up his sleeve to accomodate more than 1 striker on the pitch more often this coming season, or may mean an Olly move is indeed in the works in the near future.Whatever happens, to have Rhodes join for the season is exciting in my view, not necessarily about what he may do, but in general terms of the whole squad, enough have left and enough have joined to give that feel as last season...a fresh looking squad with us fans not having a clue how things will pan out in the coming months. But for me, more important is Farke is into his 2nd season here, considering his newness to English and Championship football in his 1st season, along with the massive player overhaul, thought he did well enough for all fans to warrant him our support, not just for some 10 games, but the whole season.So if Jordan Rhodes is coming to the Carra, then embrace it, bring it on.

Why does everyone assume Pinto is off and away? Passlack im sure has been brought in as cover. A few to many also assuming Aarons is ready or almost ready for the first team squad. The lad is 18 and may need some more development yet. Marshall has been said can fill in at RB, but im sure that would only happen if we had serious injury concerns in that position.I see no reason why Pinto, as like Klose, cannot  fulfill his final year at City as a regular in the first team squad.

Dont think Croatia are dark horses these days, theyve played some of the best football in this tournament. France vs. Croatia for me in the final.

Shirt is ok but dont like the thick green bands running down each side. If they were a smaller width or even a diamond or zig zag kind of side stripe it would have been awesome. Shorts are fine.

Seems to be to much posting in this thread about 1 guy, even thou he has not even kicked a ball for City yet. I get it of course, he has a "striker" tag above his head. This thread creator has the theme "We are still very far from being competitive", which has to mean we were not competitive last season, of which i totally disagree, if we had been disasterously competitive, we would be with Sunderland in L1 right now. We finished 14th, with a team that included Maddison, Murphy and Pritchard, of which we have recouped somewhere around 45 million pounds for.Personally, i will look at ALL the new guys, McLean, Buendia, Leitner, Marshall and Pukki equally, along with the rest of the guys, and DF''s 2nd season, as a whole. Personally, my expectations for the club in general, which includes off the pitch as well as on it, have increased in the past 12 months instead of decreasing. I still remember all to well the happenings of a decade ago and having invested a huge amount of money over the last few years on guys that have contributed little (all the way back to RVW, thru Lafferty and up to the Naismith and Jarvis now), i was truly apprehensive for a time about where we were headed in Alex Neil''s last season.The club, and the new regime, have and continue to develop in a manner that had to be done, for survival as well as competitiveness. Of course you can wish a rich guy can throw his money around and buy competitiveness such as Tony Xia at Villa, but i prefer the model we have here and look forward to the new season, not more or less, but as much as i do every new season.