hampton canary

I watched Rangers play Celtic today in a fiercely fought derby. Based on the team they had out I could not see either Martin or Naismith getting in their starting line up.

This is a good move for Martin and will give him a chance to play first team football. Naismith has made enough money at Norwich he could probably pay his own transfer fee if he really wants to get back to Rangers.

Tettey will be a key player for the rest of the season but you have to remember he does have knee problems, so you cannot play him every game. Assuming he does leave this summer we still have Louis Thompson to come back from injury and Ben Godfrey out on loan; both these youngsters can play in that position.

There is still a long way to go with 23 matches still to play. The next three matches against teams below us give the head coach and squad an opportunity to show us supporters that they are up for the fight to stay in this league. Come away with at least 7 points means player and supporter confidence will be high, and we can look forward to moving up the table. Burton and Bolton had good wins today, but with Barnsley, Sheff Wed, Millwall and Hull all losing, means there are still at least 11 sides fighting to avoid ending up in the bottom three.

Naismith has said it will not be finances that determine his next move, but whether he is wanted, and can play full time football. We just need to get rid of him and hope some Scottish club is willing to pay a fee for him; maybe we can throw Jarvis in as well. Just getting those two off the wages bill alone will free up a large sum of money.

[quote user="Yorkshire Canary"]I totally agree if we had a credible experienced manager at this level eg Warnock , Steve Bruce or dare i say it even the Ipswich boss but we have a nobody[/quote] Between Sep 9 and Oct 22 we had a 9 game unbeaten run including wins away at Shef Utd, Middlesborough, Reading and Ipswich. I don''t think that is too bad for a head coach whose experience at this level started on 5 Aug. I believe the Ipswich boss is one of the longest serving managers in the Championship, which might explain why they are still playing at that level.

None of us knows who will be sold and who will be brought in, but are the German/ East European players we currently have really that bad? Apart from the top six in the premier league the majority of clubs also have to sell their good players, that is football. At least we no longer waste millions on players who are past their best, like Naismith and Jarvis. On the positive side we currently sell our players on for realistic fees, and unless we get an investor to buy Delia and Michael out this will continue. I despair when some supporters are ready to dismiss this whole new venture when we haven''t even played half the season. Nobody was complaining when we went on an unbeaten run and won away at Ipswich, Sheffield Utd and Middlesbrough. I have seen some very good, and also pretty poor managers at Norwich over the last 50 years of following the club. It is too early to say what category Farke will be in, but I do believe we need to give him more time.

The board stated from the outset this season that it will take a few transfer windows to get to where we want to be, that has not changed. We still have a number of players on high wages who probably need to be sold/released such as Jarvis, Jerome, Naismith, Hoolahan, Martin and Tettey. We have promising players in Lewis and Thompson recovering from injury as well as other youngsters out on loan such as Godfrey, Morris and Toffolo. Raggett will be joining us soon to add to the defence. There is also a lot of talent in the U-23 squad. Farke has the highly talented Maddison and Pritchard available in midfield for the first time this season. Premier clubs may well put in high offers for either player in January, but if that happens, then lets hope it is a big club who will loan them back to us for the rest of the season. Farke has only been in the job less than 6 months and still has a lot to learn about the championship, team selection and substitutions, but this would be a massive task for any manager new to English football. On the positive side we did have an unbeaten run; beat Ipswich away and played well in the cup against Arsenal. We played well against Cardiff for the first half but once again failure to take chances when we are in front, coupled with poor referee decisions, resulted in a defeat and will not help the confidence of the players. It is frustrating for all Norwich supporters at the moment but we have to continue to back the head coach and his players and I personally believe our patience will be rewarded.

I agree we do not always commit enough men forward, but there were several occasions today when we had 4/5 men in and around the Ipswich box, but the final pass or shot was not good enough. The Germans are one of the best teams in the world at defending a 1-0 lead and I believe Farke has instilled that ethos into the current Norwich side. Last season we would have conceded a goal as soon as we were put under any pressure, this is not the case this season. I will settle for solid defending and a 1-0 win anytime. Olivera is almost back to full fitness, Pritchard is making good progress and we still have the January transfer window to come.

He was impressive today and gets better with every game he plays. I am sure other clubs are beginning to take note of his performances, so hopefully we can convince him to stay with us and offer him a long term contract. I also thought him and Reed looked a very good pairing in midfield today.

After losing to Sunderland, Villa and Millwall we were in the bottom three, but now they are all below us in the league. There were signs on Sat that Farke is coming to terms with how he needs to set his side up to pick up points in this league. I am looking forward to see how we set up in the next away game at Sheffield United.

He is a young player with bags of potential and we need to accept that he will have a quiet game occasionally.

Hanley, Naismith and ex canaries Whittaker and Chris Martin all on the bench. I guess if Martin was taking pain killing injections at Norwich recently then Strachan will not risk him and save him for the bigger games (only joking). They probably included him in the squad as he is a good man to have in the changing room.

If only football was about talking a good game, then Naismith would be world class. He fits nicely into the category of big fee, big wages but not quite able to produce anything on the pitch.

Naismith always talks a good game and he said he owed the club better performances this season. Sadly he is still the same slow average player we saw last season. His main strength appears to be able to shout and wave his arms a lot, giving the impression he is heavily involved. I will be disappointed if Farke continues to play him when he has both Hoolahan and Maddison available.

I hope he sticks with the same unless there are injuries. The thought of Naismith and Jerome starting does not fill me with any confidence. I know Wes will struggle to play too many games in one week, but even if he is tired he will always have more to offer the team than Naismith.

Unless there are any injuries I would leave all three on the bench again for Villa.

I see he is claiming to have joined the best side in the Championship. If he plays as well for them as he did for us last season, then perhaps he will still be playing in the Championship the following season.

I personally would prefer someone to offer 6 million for Naismith and keep Jerome.

This really was a good deal for Norwich and now gives Farke a bit more to spend on a forward and a defender. We did not miss Redmond, and I am sure it will be the same for Murphy. At last we now have a management team in place who sell our players for what they are worth, and do not pay over the top prices for the likes of Naismith and Wildschut. Cannot wait for the season to start.

Godfrey, Franke, Zimmerman, Husband if he plays back four. Franke, Zimmerman, Klose if he plays back three.

I personally think the defence is beginning to take shape now. We needed a keeper, 2 centre backs and a left back and we have got them; the Arsenal youngster on loan would be a bonus. In addition we have Pinto, Klose, Martin, Godfrey, Tofolo, Efete and Lewis. There are still 3 weeks before the season starts and I am confident that Farke will have enough time to sort out his starting defence.

If Farke can get us playing football the way the German full and U-21 sides do, then we are in for a great season.

Club captain is presumably different to team captain, because he is certainly not the leader you want on the pitch.

Having watched the German u-21''s last night I was very impressed with their passing and movement which was so quick and decisive, and a pleasure to watch. Despite the Germans having less time to recover from their previous game, they looked so much fitter than the England players. If our new coach gets us playing in a similar fashion then I am confident we are in for a good season.