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Essjayess

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Everything posted by Essjayess

  1. Essjayess
    Well, one thing about tonight''s game is the opposition...Forest. Looking purely at their results, they seem the kind of team we were last season, score a lot and concede a lot. Given to that they''re mid table like us they could provide a refreshing change from the Burton / Bolton 10 man defence style of play. They really are the opitome of this division, can beat anyone but also  get defeated by anyone.Hoping that if they play with more freedom and openess than the bottom sides then the crowd could see half a decent match tonight. But then again, Forest are capable of beating us to so...we will see.
  2. Essjayess
    [quote user="nutty nigel"][quote user="Rock The Boat"]In 1963 it started snowing on Boxing Day and we had snow until March. Norfolk was completely cut off. I don''t remember missing school for a single day.[/quote]My buddy Lapps says exactly the same thing about the 1928 floods.....[/quote]Which one is Lapps then?..not many around now who could remember those floods, although 4th from the left looks suspiciously like the then King of Romania admiring his reflection or having a pee, who is still alive today, 90 years later.
  3. Essjayess
    Forget the "importance" of the play offs...forget even the "importance" of finishing above Ipswich..this season is not about either, but this season is definitely not over, its about a total new set up off and on the pitch, both financial and sporting.So what has happened between start of the season and now? recall those first few matches...away to Millwall epitomised the new season start. But DF has built a defence that has developed into a very good solid defence.  Next, he found a set up away from home that has yielded us a good bag of points, and it continues. Then since around Xmas we have become hard to beat, 1 defeat in 13 matches proves its not a flash in the pan.We now come to what else needs to be overcome and we all know what that is, 0-0 home draws to the likes of Burton and Bolton testify to that. It seems to be the biggest and last nut to crack, but that''s DF;s job of course, to find the solution to score more at home, open up stubborn defences. That is why the season is not over, this is his test, to solve this issue, but i know one thing, when he does, we will know, and we will know that this club will be ready to challenge proper for the high spots. Dont worry about who leaves or joins in the summer, thats Webbers job and like DF, on evidence of his two transfer windows so far, i trust him.So we know what DF and Webber have to do, what about us the fans?..nothing but be patient. After just two thirds of one season more has been achieved than i thought possible in such a timeframe, but more time is needed for sure and DF , Webber and co. deserve our backing. OTBC.
  4. Essjayess
    Thou predictions are always just fun and none of us fans are mystic or psychic, the last 2 seasons ive been pretty much spot on, giving points total as well as position. In out last Prem season , in the early September i guessed relegation and 33 points, turned out 34 points so close enough.Early September last season i went for 8th to 12th and 65-70 points in the Champs, so 8th and 70 points was again as close as.Not in this thread but elsewhere, for this season, again in September i plumped for 8th to 12 again, but this time 55-65 points. We will see come May.Anyway, as others say, ending above the Binners is always the first objective. Strangely, on TWTD, their fans seem to have a weird fixation with 15th place for their club, i guess for them its an annual hitting the highspot for them.
  5. Essjayess
    No predictions for me for next 5 games or even the next 13 but..Bristol City, Sheff. Utd, Brentford, Boro, Derby, Ipswich, Wolves..W3 D3L1..12 points..for me the most consistently run of good form and results all season from the last games in what was a very tricky set of games.Yes much work still ahead, things to improve but no doubting now, DF is starting to build a squad that is hard to beat and is only going to get better. I still think we need another season in the Champs, actually enjoy this division, but of course will take it happily if a miracle happens.
  6. Essjayess
    Perhaps it is time to give Josh a break and stick him on the bench, he has had a decent run of games without really firing on all cylinders. Ya, Hernandez has had a few weeks to get into DFs training regime, maybe the right time to give him a go. Would be hard to drop Josh from the matchday 18 though, such is City''s weekly need to comply with the 7 homegrown players rule.
  7. Essjayess
    And there we are, not just 8 points but 8 positions from 6th.  Just wish  fans would just try and enjoy the run in  and look at more realistic targets, like getting above Town. Also see what DF  can do to make us more goal threatening to.
  8. Essjayess
    [quote user="Rogue Baboon"]@capricorn1 We will probably beat Wolves and fail to beat Bolton more like! In all seriousness though, if we can do the unthinkable tomorrow night, coupled with Fulham beating Bristol City, we would be 2 points off 6th place if we beat Bolton. The carrot is still there, but we need some consistency at home massively, especially given our last 4 home games[/quote]Some fans still not being realistic enough, looking at how the teams above us are mostly winning tonight, its not just about how many points we are to 6th, but all those above us. We could even be dropping to 14th if Millwall win, even if we won 5 on the bounce after Wolves, which looking at our form this season we wont do, we likely would still be a few points short of 6th.
  9. Essjayess
    [quote user="curious yellow"]Pathetic though, his remark about money. We''re only had more money because we have been promoted.[/quote]Indeed, and what must be added of course, as MM talked money, is that City earned it thru promotion without hardly a brass cent coming from any rich sugar daddy, probably the only club in recent decades to do that, AND doing it on more than one occasion to. Even MM''s guvnor Evans pumps a few small million into Town each season. Also, with PP  coming to an end, yet we are running at a miniscule debt compared to many other richer clubs.Seriously, no other club likely could, or has, enjoyed as much top two divisions seasons as City have, under such a finacial structure.
  10. Essjayess
    The last half dozen or so games have been likely our most hardest run of fixtures consecutively in the whole season and while ive never been one to even think of play offs, fact is with just Wolves to come in this very tricky series of games, we have maintained a status quo on the gap to 6th since we started the run, which in such a topsy turvy season is no mean feat indeed.The season is only over to those who seem to solely rely or think a season revolves around that elusive 6th place. I have never even given it hardly a thought, so the season for me is still full of things to look at, more interesting to me is DF cracking our home form and giving us more goals from the players, then there is the close season, which will be here sooner than we always think and another roller coaster set of changes in the summer window likely. DF is setting the foundations nicely, his next task is building on those foundations, but this is not a quickbuild as some hope it would be, more likely, a steady build up. So i reserve my thoughts for a year or two ahead, this season is only a beginning.
  11. Essjayess
    [quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]Who would have thought that things needed time before we saw something to get excited about?!!! If we aren''t selling the club to a foreign billionaire then THIS is the way forward ... we couldn''t be in a helathier place at this stage. It is genuinely fascinating watching this revolution and I''m proud to be a canary.[/quote]In total agreement with this. Even in the midst of that very poor run of results after Arsenal i never waivered  to much in my belief that eventually the new set up would start to show signs of fruition. That is now starting, yet i personally think its still very early days with much changes and challenges ahead, but am to, fascinated and quietly excited about the next year or two.Even if all of Gunn, Reed, Maddison and Leitner departed in the summer, i dont under estimate the ability of Webber to draft in new guys to keep the set up progressing for better times ahead. My actual one small concern is if in the summer we acquire another bunch of foreign players, the issue it could cause to the 7 home players in every 18 man match day squad rule. We are already sailing close to the wind somewhat regarding this, having  even more from abroad would make it even harder for sure.
  12. Essjayess
    There are a few decent realists on their forum who realise even a win against us next week...the first for 9 years...would only lift the now perennial fog of gloom above Poorman Road for maybe 24 hours..such is the long, slow , creep of tiring boredom and downwardness that pervades the entire club. 5 years of Mick McCarthy dont help either, while the guy i guess has done well enough on the meagre rations given to him, his 5 yrs  are a mirror of Town''s 16 yrs in the Champs...safe, solid, stable, solidified and..stale and stagnant. The worst kind of stagnation to, a season by season never ending, very slow stagnation, no wonder  so many of their fans are up for any kind of change.Some on here bemoan Delia and hubby, but in all honesty, try Marcus Evans approach down the road and wont take long to come running back here. Bet  most of the Town fans look at the huge overhaul and change we''ve had here this past 9 months and just think...why cant they have such a change?..or any change?...just try something different..but no..guess thats why only 13k folks in Suffolk dont yet watch paint dry to get more excitement on a Saturday afternoon.
  13. Essjayess
    I to am failing to see the point of this topic. Money does not talk, money, if you have lots of it to fling around, can help some clubs and not others, and even those who in the last 10 to 20 years have acquired rich owners and had some degree of success by getting into the Prem, find it just a temporary measure as most, ultimately, will fall back into the Champs so are having not much more overall joy over a sensible amount of seasons than our own club, who have never had rich owners.You can imagine Wolves and Villa  being promoted this season yea, but replaced by whom? WBA maybe...and two others, with more money than City. In all honesty, outside the top 6 or 7 in the Prem, nearly all the other present Prem clubs will have tasted Champs seasons in the last 10-12 years.None of this matters to City, who since the turn of the century have been promoted 2 or 3 times without big riches, and are very much capable of doing so again, within the next season or two also, any so called City fan who is pessimistic enough to think otherwise really do understimate our great club.
  14. Essjayess
    Should not even be thinking of play offs or relegation, the OP saying play offs looking "likely" , which to me is way over the top positivism. I regard play offs as unlikely and relegation as very remote. I mentioned a couple of games back about the Fulham dynamic, as i called it, which will lead to the top six picking up points at a faster rate. We have done so good picking up 9 points from the Bristol City / Sheff Utd / Brentford and Boro run of games, but the 8 point gap still remains and after the next 3 games i think we will see that gap widen, which should slow this to positive talking by someway.Way more important  to me, what we should be really debating, is not current league position but what DF has achieved up till now and the hopes we have to see him continue the improvement. After two massive overhaul windows, on the pitch he has melded a defence that is unrecognisable from recent seasons, and its a defence that is very frugal in letting goals in. DF  has also made the 1-0 win into a near artform which, in this  early stage of the new set up, has been welcome and good enough to pick up many important points. Obviously as fans, goals are what we all want to see  and DF next task is somehow to find the right style to see City scoring more, while retaining the very good record our defence now has.I kind of think this will be a bigger challenge for DF than the job he had of melding a solid defensive unit that we now have, maybe patience will be needed for longer than we want, but overall, im confident that DF can and will achieve this but maybe not see its fruition until well into next season. So, for me, talk of relegation / play offs is a minor thing compared to what ive posted here, my main things i want to see is more goals and stay unbeaten to them lot down the road.
  15. Essjayess
    With discussions on Tettey''s future ongoing at the club, its at least acknowledgement that the new regime do want him here for at least another season, much i guess is down to Alex himself. With Wes seemingly coming to the end of his City career, Tettey could well be the last of the old guard from the past few seasons to still have the chance to turn out for us, such has been the dramatic change in player overhaul the last two windows.So valuable in his given role, im not so sure its as easy as some think to replace a guy who does what he does for us.
  16. Essjayess
    43 caps for his country seems way to few. His City career also seems to be moving to its end game slowly, but with 10 years and over 300 games in yellow and green, we have seen Wes at his best. For me will walk into nearly all fans top NCFC XI team for the last 50 years.One word is enough to describe Wessi...class.
  17. Essjayess
    [quote user="Rock The Boat"]There''s one part of me that doesn''t want promotion this season. The reason is that we are still building a team and developing younger players. When you get to the Premier you have to be ready; and the scope to give game time to young players is more limited than the Championship. Then there is the question of parachuting in quality reinforcements to give yourself a fighting chance of survival. And we''ve experience of what happens when the likes of RVW, Fer, Naismith etc. turn up at Carrow Road. Then you''ve got the switch from a winning mentality of the Championship to a dig-in for the duration of the Premiership where we are favourites to lose every match.I get that the downside is, that by remaining in the Championship we are highly likely to lose our best players (Maddison, Klose), but I think we need to establish a really strong Championship squad who''ve been together for a while before we tackle the top league. That''s how the Lambert years went and that turned out to be pretty good in the long run.[/quote]I kind of alluded to this just a few days ago, mentioning the Prem, with 12 teams seperated by 8 points, which simply equates to a massive amount of pressure to avoid the drop for more thn half the teams in the top tier. Plus said how i thought a new dynamic had arrived in Fulham, who''s charge into the top 6 would increase the points per game the teams in the top 6 would need to keep pace with them. I think that dynamic is already beginning to be seen. On the other hand, ive always been optimistic about this new City structure and those who are at the head, namely DF and Webber. Also have  the patience to give them 2 or 3 seasons for them to fully get to a stage for us all to say if it has worked or not. Plus, no one can surely deny the gradual improve on the pitch thru the season, enough there now to suggest City can climb higher, i firmly believe  higher than 13th, significantly, is achievable. Just that...6th place to me as it stands now, never mind earlier a few weeks  back, is a huge, tall order, thou not impossible. If it happened, id happily accept it, which City fan would''nt.
  18. Essjayess
    [quote user="lake district canary"][quote user="Big Vince"] Reducing the wage bill on its own will not make the club self-funding in the Championship. It will rely on player sales too. Once all the best players have been sold you are left with the ones no one else wants and at that point the club cannot make ends meet and will once again build up large debts, thus reversing the achievements of Bowkett/McNasty.[/quote] It was McNasty and his "every spare penny will go towards the team" that has put us in the predicament we are in, so I''m not sure if his contribution was entirely without blemish. As for the selling of players to make ends meet, you are focussing on the negative aspects of selling and failing to mention we will be getting players in to take their place.  Now you might think that means a gradual reduction in quality, but in reality, if done well, the policy has stood us in good stead oer the years - and ALL clubs are selling clubs, whether they have huge amounts of money or not.   [/quote]Agree Lakey. Vince, City have for many seasons had player sales as part of the overall self funding style, just think Redmond, Brady, Howson, Johnson, Olssen, Jacob Murphy etc in past couple of years and it continues with Pritchard and likely Maddison in the summer. I see no actual end in sight for this kind of set up, in fact i think we now have a management set up even more in tune than ever before to keep this going season after season. But you seem to see a point in time when we have no players of any real value to sell on, care to say when that time will be?Cannot be under estimated how much hassle it is for a board to plan the finances each season when a club like ours have done a yo yo for a fair number of seasons, with such a massive revenue difference between the two top divisions. We are where we are, in the Champs, with parachute payments ending. I applaud the way Delia and the board  took action, before it was to late, the two windows Webber has had  has shown he has what it takes to  hugely overhaul an entire team, also within a pretty strict financial structure, and for me personally,  also to have a quiet positiveness for the future despite all the changes a happening, is a big bonus.Good window for City, stabilised in the Champs, no pressure on DF to go up or down right now, he can work on more success at offense  now that hes found us a defence that does not leak goals for fun. I enjoy the Champs tbh, but of course dont pretend to want 16 seasons here. But right now, looking at the Prem....12 clubs with 8 points seperating them all..the immense pressure that brings on clubs and their fans is more crazy than ever. Right now im content to see this club evolve at City carry thru the way its going, the time to whinge or be elated is a season or two down the road.
  19. Essjayess
    If  Madders and Klose are doubtful then i guess its time for Raggett to get his first 90 mins and i dont know..maybe Leitner for Madders? There is also Edwards and Wes. Reed im sure can fill in for Pinto again.Ive been thinking last match or two Josh has not been at fill charge so maybe Hernandez can get his debut...or maybe he can be a come on sub later in the game. Farke seems to like Josh in the team thou, even when hes a but iffy as lately.On the surface it may seem dire if we lose big Timm and more so Madders, but we all know about our home form this season, so maybe its not a bad time for 3 or 4 changes, even if some are forced thru injury.
  20. Essjayess
    I think this window has gone as well as it could have gone, given the restraints City find themselves in. As Webber has said, City have reduced the wage bill, reduced the squad age and mostly filled the positions that opened space, excepting RB, but Harri Reed seems a decent enough cover for Pinto anyway for rest of the season.We have good money for Pritch, who wanted to go anyway, said bye to Cam, which to me was absolutely the right time, shifted Martin and Naismith at least in the short term, kept hold of Madders and Big Timm until at least the summer and have 3 new guys in Srbeny, Hernandez and Leitner to look forward to seeing fully. Plus of course a new guy for the summer already in McLean, which should at least help  in starting to replace Reed and Tettey, should he depart.So for me an excellent window, especially keeping Klose, love the guy. Dont think many fans would''ave thunk he would play at least 2 full Champ seasons with us. So, now we know who we have, its up to DF to see what he can do to improve City more, in defence he has molded  a tight knit, solid unit dramatically well since that day at Millwall. We all know we want to see more spark up front, see more goals, and DF is the first guy who knows that to of course. Its his task to dieter mine how its done, we fans have the luxury of being free to whine or applaud his actions and those of his lads on the pitch. OTBC.
  21. Essjayess
    One media source  reckon that City are preparing  for the bid from Bournemouth for Zimm, hence why they tried to sign the Luton defender. Likely a classic last day window story of two and two equals five.
  22. Essjayess
    Guys on here talking about homesickness...but its stated his home town is Northampton?..anyway, with Middleton and Joe Crowe leaving today, its obviously the younger department today where City are having activity.Should not be totally surprised at this, young lads come and go just as much as the senior squad. Always wondered with our signing of Simon Power earlier this window wether 1 or 2 of our younger lads would be on their way. Middleton has bags of potential, wish him well at Rangers.
  23. Essjayess
    [quote user="lake district canary"]Plenty of draws with the teams above us playing tonight, only Preston and Villa making any real ground.  All to play for in the last third of the season....when we get to it of course! [/quote]Lakey, the dynamic has changed. But it should have no effect upon wether City can put in a much more solid consistent last third to the season, which could push us up the table a few places. But i believe even the small possibility there was of  a 6th place position for City has now shrunk even smaller, the dynamic being Fulham.Since Xmas time, when City moved from being to near the relegation teams to moving up to catch the coat tails of the teams chasing the 6th place, City have kind of stayed to within a 6 to 10 point gap to 6th place. But that was due to teams like Sheff Utd, Leeds, Preston etc not being to much more better than us at point gathering. But Fulham, once again as last year, are on a charge and will likely force the points  gap to widen considerably and quickly. In effect City will need to go on a winning streak, something they have not shown all season.With a charging Fulham, the teams around them will have to be more consistent to keep pace. But like i said, im optimistic in my outlook, and can see the City improving, not just this season, but next season also.
  24. Essjayess
    [quote user="SwindonCanary"][quote user="Hoola Han Solo"]Swindon thinking the Welsh team should be relegated. Your xenophobic Brexiteer qualities shining through.[/quote]Explain to me why Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham are in the English football league, yet every other Welsh team has to play in the Wales League ?  I know the standard answer is that there was no Welsh league before they were formed, but I believe they should now return to their leagues. Either that or make it a British league  and allow the Scottish in the league as well. It''s nothing to do with  ''xenophobic Brexiteer qualities'' It''s common sense.  [/quote]I cant explain as i dont know Swindon, but obviously its a thing that has its roots going back back a century or more. But in reality, not just in sport, while the Welsh do have a Celtic past, which actually a few areas in England do have also, Wales have an affinity with England thats much closer than Scotland and even in sport football is not the only area where the two nations combine of course, such as Cricket.You might believe that they should now return to their leagues. but you are in a very very very small minority who think that way im sure. Cardiff have as much right to play in our leagues as Colchester and Newport as Norwich, long may it be the case.As for the Prem, its any 3 from 12 right now, but like Hercule right said, itll be the 3 who occupy  the bottom 3 on the last day..logical but  at this point in time, very difficult to say which 3.
  25. Essjayess
    Have to disagree about the OP comments about  some posters being overly optimistic. Most of us fall into the either "generally optimistic" or "generally pessimistic" camps, with some switching  between the two every week or so dependent on results on the pitch.Im sure Lakey can speak for himself, but hes been mentioned, i never see him even as "overly optimistic", but for sure a guy who always lives with hope and optimism, nothing wrong with that. For instance, recently hes banged the drum about City could still have a chance of the play offs, albeit a small chance, that to me is a guy with hope and optimism, but not being overly optimistic.On the other hand, there has definitely been a few "overly pessimistic" guys, happily posting we are heading for L1. But overall i think the majority of City fans understand where we currently are at, and give sensible, reasoned opinions on this matter.
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