Essjayess

This was the reason i replied to Lakey's post about our new boys being rearing to go after the international break, saying DF is more likely to go with a team for Arsenal that is more aligned to the ones who played in the first 3 league games, that many of them could be playing 2 or 3 games in the break and may well need a rest. One or 2 maybe, Normann for sure, has not even trained with nhis new team mates yet. Also, Rashica, Dimi and Tzolis are possibly playing Wednesday and Sargent as late as Thursday morning...in Honduras! and with Kenny now seemingly picking up an as yet unknown injury it could be a difficult choice for DF as whom to play...this "season starts after the break" motto may be needed to be pushed back a week or two im thinking...but in reality it started at home to Liverpool last month.

Much more important is that no one gets injured, and all return safely back ready for the Prem games ahead.

Yep the Sky graphs are total rubbish...the graph table for Norwich transfer fees for each individual player have big glaring omissions, ones like Angus Gunn for example have no fee info at all...feels like we got him for nothing.

Indonesia has now passed UK's Covid death total, the 7th nation to have higher deaths than UK. Asia has and is taking a battering from the Delta variant this last 2 or 3 months after mostly escaping the worst of the original and earlier variants for over a year...basically Covid...especially the Delta variant..is now a more pandeminc problem than ever, assaulting newer regions of the globe that previously got away more lightly. Africa still has been relatively only moderately affected in many nations but of course it feels inevitable that they to will suffer a worse fate in time than at present.

Im trying to make a stab at how this season...and beyond, may pan out Lakey, which i know is a thankless task but anyway..guys like Normann and Kabak have not even met or trained with their new team mates yet let alone play with them. With such a high influx of new, and young players i think it may well be 6 to 10 games into the season before DF finds and starts to play a regular...injuries permitting...eleven to start most games and by then our points total could be bordering on the very low. So for me it will be those final 25-30 games where we will see what City can really do. Now a lot on how many points will be needed to survive relegation is an unknown of course and can have an important factor whether City can survive..last season all 3 clubs relegated never even reached 30 points...other seasons its said that 40 points plus is needed so how many points needed could be a 10-12 point difference. If City find themselves in a situation needing a bulk of 40 points from 25-30 games its going to be a mammoth task, but thats the quite possible scenario facing them. But, if say we do face the drop again..im earnestly praying that City did give their all, the new squad still formed a bond, we just missed out by a small margin and that guys like Normann and Kabak even will see enough bonding and strength built up into the squad with DF at the helm to actually stay as permanents and give us a rip roaring Championship then assault the Prem again with an even better chance next time. This would be a new squad gaining its experience the City way ha ha..but its just pie in the sky and me guessing blindly..all a bit of fun.

Quite a few of our new arrivals are on international duty in this break...Normann, Kabak, Rashica, even Tzolis..some of them may play 2 or 3 games in this short break. Hope none of them pick up an injury, would just be City's luck, but in anycase i get the feeling DF being DF, not many of these guys will be going straight into the Arsenal game..expecting a line up there of much like the first 3 games. But for sure its the true start to our season, we finally know the make up of our new squad and its going to be an interesting ride thru this season for sure.

Probably the last of the true musical sound artists, pioneering dubs, reverbs, remixes and the like, his legacy is to be found in all genres of music in the past half century or more. Its been a sad 6-12 months for the entertainment world, with the last of the male Hollywood stars of the Golden era passing away in 103 yr old Kirk Douglas and likewise for the female stars of that era in 104 yr old Olivia De Haviland. Makes one realise how fast the 20th Century and its Movie and Musical greats has slipped by and consigned itself to the history books. RIP Lee Perry.

Came in at same time as Naismith, though injuries did somewhat curtail a fair few appearances that he should have had, nevertheless he did play many more than Naismith and overall think will be fondly remembered for his time here. Great character with a lot of warmth, loved the area and its people..for that and for his appearances i to salute Timmy, forever a good Canary, best wishes big guy!

Very well said Indy. No matter what happens this season every match at the Carra should have a full house and fans shouting as loud as can be and always be positive with every player wearing the YnG. And yes, even if this time its not quite enough again, then hey...its into the Champs and lets see DF and the boys win the title for a 3rd successive time...thats never ever been done before..its the one thing i love about the Champs...the rest of that division must groan each time we rejoin it. But...lets see DF and the squad busting their guts to give it a real go this season..its there for the taking no matter how hard it will be...and it will be hard of course. OTBC.

Trying to sit back and take this all in..little more than a week ago DF did say a full back, holding mid and CB were still needed and that he was confident of business being done but as time flies towards the close of window i had the first slight feelings of doubt creep into my head....and boom, Williams, Normann and Kabak..and best of all, City can put their figurative feet up on the final day of the window with business already done. Very busy and unreal transfer window for City, incredible work done by SW and all involved, not least by our beloved loan arranger to..a big thumbs up from every true City fan. There is the gun and the ammo...its over to you DF.

Very hard to say...first 3 games, yes played 3 of the top 5 of last season and we are not bottom, somehow Arsenal have managed to slip to bottom by a cats whisker. Anyhow, we need more time to summise whether there's a chance we can survive this season or not..which we will get, with the window not quite shut yet and no match for couple weeks...even then another half dozen games needed at least to give us more idea where the season is headed for us.

Yes thats 13...Prem record is Sunderland with 20.

Interesting little merry go round transfer..Rashica, Sargent..Werder Bremen - Norwich, Tom Trybull...Norwich - Hannover 96.. Marvin Ducksch (often linked to City) Hannover 96 -Werder Bremen.

Looking at DF's comments today and with just over 100 hours left in the transfer window, i think the realisation that City may not possibly get that final elusive DM they seek is for sure in the back of my mind. Of course Daniel once again said how much he trusts SW in getting business done, but using words like 'perhaps' and 'maybe' kind of feels like ok yea, City will try their all until the very final minute to get a guy signed but that it just didnt happen..hope thats not the end scenario but the clock ticks fast in these final hours. That said i still think we have done very good business overall and nobody can ever question SW and his team about how much work and effort they do in the buys and sells in this transfer window.

Mostly agree with this. Only thing i think Biden has done right is insist August 31st remains the deadline for all evacuation, but there really should have been much more sooner rather than later withdrawals from the country. Even some Taliban were wounded in todays explosions...sign of things to come i believe. Anyone who thinks after August and into the future that the Taliban, the opposing war lords and still active groups like Isis and Al Quaeda are all going to snuggle up together in a peaceful unity like system then im afraid they will be wrong.

I am saying it for sure. Absolutely no sense keeping western troops in a nation that is traditionally tribal and war like. The Mujahideen or other tribal warlords there are sure to be who detest the Taliban...civil war is commonplace in such a nation. The collapse of the Afghan army will only have bolstered this, im sure not all their weapons will have been snatched by the Taliban alone. We are a small nation with a small military armed forces these days, its ridiculous that we should ever be involved with such a no win situation as policing a tribalised, war lord country that really has no interest for us relatively.

Maybe Norman should ring Rosenborg and ask his compatriot what its like playing for Norwich as a DM, although there still remains the presumed thorny subject of relegation to the Champs, which Rostov, City and Norman himself all seem to have a different stance on. Norman, Cavalho, Camara (only maybe)...names bandied around but with 5 days left, although DF says he remains confident of getting business done the scenario that time runs out and we go with what we have becomes ever more likely of course. Meanwhile, Lungi scratches his head and ponders...

a few Ifs as always with these rumours but..if it is City and not the 2 'fords' who is the unnamed promoted club and if St. Etienne are looking for a permanent transfer then City should pay up, as much as it takes, even if it means foregoing a extra CB. We have but a single week left and the Norman saga seems to hit a brick wall, but obviously SW does know this better than me but once the final week arrives theres not much time for being patient and / or negotiating. Who knows what kind of transfer fee, 10 or 12 mill euro?..Dont think his wage offering would be complained about by him if he is indeed on only 10k a week..thats not even Champs wage.

I wonder if the Baggies forums ever have similar topics to this one here as i believe since the turn of the millenium WBA have yo-yoed even more than City. Many clubs , including us, over the past few decades, have managed to stay in the Prem for 3 or 5 or more seasons. Many of those clubs, once relegated, then fail to return to the Prem for long periods, just check the Champs and L1, those divisions are littered with such clubs. Talk on this topic of City reaching their glass ceiling...wth is a glass ceiling anyway? I guess going with that analogy then Palace, Soton, Burnley etc have reached their's?..in the bottom half of the Prem, season after season worrying if theyve enough to avoid the drop?...a bit like Stoke, Wigan etc...until they got relegated and could not find the answer to immediately climb straight back into the Prem. To those that somehow have forgotten our past decade...yes that recent..in that time we have had a spell of more than one consecutive season in the Prem, but also seem to easily forget how perilous our plight was just 3 or 4 years back. The club needed a complete root and branch overhaul...not just the old and aged squad, but the whole club itself. SW then DF were brought in and thats where we are at...a club run our model, which is incredibly rare in the top two divisions, virtually starting from scratch, planting that small acorn, watching it grow and progress year after year. I know, i know, we will never be a tall majestic Man City type oak tree (nowhere near unless an Uncle Fred type suggested guy comes along, and even then the tall oak tree has more chance of toppling than standing majestically) but we can grow more right now and are doing so, but slowly, with careful pruning, survive for years and shine wonderfully above the weeds and thistles and broken black wheelie bins of the surrounding landscape.

Hey yea and have same amount of points as Arsenal, Wolves, Burnley and Newcastle, plus played Pool and Man City once already...maybe not the end of the world footballing wise just yet after all.

Quite a few posts on here about the lack of a DM and of course we do need one badly, but it was plainly obvious City hung on to one loan spot for quite awhile in the hope of a Skipp return. City seem to have identified Norman for that spot..whether they can get him and if he will be good enough is a pointless debate right now. As for those talking about why Tzolis has not played yet...theyve obviously not listened to DF and what he said a week or so ago..the guy is young...needs time to bed in...more a future prominent prospect than right at this moment..so for goodness sake be patient for Christos to strut his stuff..it will come when DF believes the time is right. Also some feel the same lessons from 2 years ago have not been learned..but hey DF aint stupid...his after game reaction said about how they had spoken in length about the danger down the left that Man City could create..and yep...4 goals resulted from that very topic. Issue is that Dimi is as inexperienced to Prem football as this Summer's signings...as is Mumba. So getting someone in like Brandon Williams IS as important as getting in a DM. The Prem is absolutely brutal and the computer decided to make it as brutal as it could be by giving us Pool and Man City, followed by Leicester and Arsenal as a season opener. DF has said for a long time that City will need to likely start after the international break to see any real results from all these new signings...and remember...its just a start...not a finished result. But of course that is no consolation points wise, the season rolls on giving us no time for excuses, reasons, adjustments, future hopes... So do i think it means relegation for us again?...more than likely yea, but am i pant wetting?...nope..i still believe we have the makings of a stronger squad than last time, but it may take yet another relegation...hence yet another promotion...for it to finally get us the true chance of surviving this unrelenting Premier League...its that tough with our kind of self funding and unique set up. OTBC.

Makes sense. Pukki is proven and wont regain his matchday sharpness by sitting on the bench, if we are in for a hiding anyway may as well play him, plus its DF who has seen his guys train this past week not us. Chopping and changing matchday squads is not Daniel's way and guys like Sargent and Tzolis will get their full matchday starts when its time to do so.

Have not checked the continent recently so unsure what the lockdowns or lack of, they have currently. But France and Spain have new daily cases / deaths much similar to here in the UK. Italy slightly less so but rising slowly.

Its almost to easy to say its going to be a home win, 29/1 on the exchanges is maybe a valid level but it still hurts and it just feels right in terms of the gulf between us and Man. City. Predicting a score is just a guessing game, but anywhere between 3 to 6-0 is a fair assumption, perhaps we may squeak a goal. Hoping DF keeps the new guys on a level footing after the games done, its no more than the absolute toughest intro to Prem life that they could have tasted but maybe its a good thing, they will have learned very quickly why its the best and highest quality league in the world. Just wanting to see our team competitive as against the Pool.

China also have a decades long program from the top to replace any form of religion other than its own adherence to state worship..just look at Tibet and in recent years the Uighurs and many so called Christian denominations have a rough time there to. China certainly has shown expansionist tendencies in the South China Sea but to get involved with Afghanistan may open up a new can of worms that could be disasterous for itself and the wider region..Iran...Russia...the central Asian "stan" states...it would be a powder keg with nobody knowing what would happen.