MasterNagus

Ever since we went top about two decades ago (it seems...) I''ve been arguing with both City fans and other teams fans that we haven''t acheived bog all yet! An alarming number of City fans seem to think promotion - if not the title - are in the bag. I say once again - no, no, no, it isn''t. Don''t get complacent guys, and however we guard against complacency, I only hope the team and management guard against it a hundred times more! My biggest worry came on Monday morning, when I met up with with a couple of very miserable looking scummers I work with. After the usual banter and gloating, they said through gritted teeth that they are certain City will go up. And you never, ever trust a blue! Until the maths tell me otherwise, I ain''t celebrating a thing

Sorry, MadDan, but no we''re not. We took a massive step towards being there, but I believe we still need at least another 20 points. The binners have come and gone. Enjoy it today. In fact, love it today. After that, all that matters is Cardiff next Saturday.

What do you guys want? Firstly, lay off Hendo. Yes his formed has dipped in and out this season, but he''s had a long time on the sideleines, and it was his free kick that led to the opening goal. And he ain''t 20 years old yet. Secondly, whoever is slagging off Francis has clearly been watching a different Francis to me all season. I won''t waste time explaining the positive aspects of his game as you clearly wouldn''t understand anyway. Let''s just say his performances have been priceless this season. And so what if the binmen have a flaky defence and strikers who don''t score? Guess what? Tough. City had three chances and scored three goals. Go figure. Points aren''t given for hitting the woodwork or being unlucky. Nor are points deducted if the winning goals are a little bit scrappy. Thats all that matters. And that is why City are at the top of the league. Work it out for yourselves!

Well said Mark. The derby games are massive even when both teams are sat mid table with nothing to really play for. This game goes way beyond massive. I''ve been saying for the Sheff Utd, West Ham and West Brom games that this is perhaps the most crucial time in City''s history - I genuinely believe this period is bigger than when we were playing Inter and Bayern. Then , we already had the ''prize'', so far this season, we don''t have anything...but it is so, so close. Let''s not throw it away. Like Mark said - sing like you''ve never sung before. And that goes for the City Stand too (some hope I know, but it''s been a weird season...) Lets get it on!

Personally, I don''t buy this theory of putting Hucks out wide - left or right. From what I recall of his times at Leeds / Man City it was when restricted to a wide role that he struggled. He is damn good at dropping wide as a frontman, but not as a wide player per se - much like Henry at Arsenal. It is easier to mark a winger out of the game, than a striker who pulls wide. Also, part of the job of a wide midfielder nowadays is tracking back and covering his full back. Now, I am a loyal worshipper at the church of Hucks and think he is the best thing at this club in years, but he ain''t no defender! My vote goes for Hucks up front as usual with Svenson. A midfield of Mcveigh, Holt, Francis and Henderson (Mulryne did ok against the Baggies, but his game is not about width - a hungry Henderson offers width, tracking back, a 90 minute ''engine'' etc etc...) Brenan at left back, and the other defenders pick themselves! Such a selection is hard on the likes of Iwan, Mullers and Leon...but hey, welcome to the top of the first division. It''s about picking the best team for the job, and the fact that we even have serious competition for places in the starting eleven is testament to what a good job the board and management have done in the last twelve months. How many times have we sat there one nil down under Rioch / Megson / Hamilton et al and looked to the bench for options only to see Ulf Ottoson or Chris Llwellyan? Look to a bench featuring Roberts, Mackenzie, Mulryne, Shackell and Crichton, and it don''t look so bad. And as much as I don''t rate Easton and Rivers (they wouldn''t make my squad unless decimated by injury!) something tells me we haven''t seen the last of them this season. I feel one or both of them will still have a part to play. What odds on Easton popping up with the goal that clinches promotion? Like I say, just a feeling... It''s a funny ol'' game

I''m with Archie all the way on this. Kerri Parker rocks. Is there a rule preventing her standing behind the opposing goal distracting ''keepers? Might keep the Barclay entertained when the play is up the River End too... Nurse... the screens...

Surely if The Darkness do a City song, it has to be....... Get Your Hands Off Our Title Mutha F..... (you know the rest) With dedications to Meggy, Colin, Ronnie More and that Joe bloke from Portaloo.

Is Huckerby really good enough? Er.... Yes. Now go away. Next question?

This is a big problem, and one that we will find gets worse, as we become an increasingly ''successful'' club. It was always the case back in the couple of years we were in the Prem - I often found myself sat close to opposing fans - Spurs and Leeds spring immediately to mind - and I''ve sat in most parts of the ground at some point. West Ham is probably more problematic than most First Division clubs. There are a lot of London / Essex exiles in Suffolk and South Norfolk, and sad to say a lot of London / Essex wannabes too. So, geographically, its very likely that West Ham have a fan base in this area. And frankly, if those supporters have purchased NCFC memberships at the start of the season, solely to secure tickets to see ''their'' team, what can be done? I don''t think it will be as much of a problem when we play the likes of Gillingham and Walsall. What is a greater concern is if and when we go up, and suddenly hundreds of Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool ''fans'' invest in NCFC memberships. Not only is it a recipe for aggro, it also deprives City fans. It has been suggested that anyone applying for membership / season ticket has to pass some kind of ''City test'' to prove their knowledge and interest in the Club. I have always opposed this simply because many people simply aren''t date and goalscorer anoraks, and it seems a bit harsh to penalise someone just because they don''t know who played full back against Inter or whatever. But I do wonder if there is something in this after all - what do you all think? The other idea I''ve heard is to base it on geographical location - for example, people living within 50 miles of Norwich getting priority. But, with so many exiled fans, I can''t see that working. We simply cannot penalise a genuine fan simply because his job means living in Birmingham! I''d be interested to see what other posters think.

This all kind of winds me up I''m afraid guys. Not so much the talk of the Hammers trying to ''do'' Hucks - that is a legitimate worry but I don''t think he''s under any more threat than he was at Highfield Rd, the Bescot, or Millmoor. It''s the nature of football that teams try to quieten the the most threatening players. I bet Malky won''t shed a tear if he gets in a good ''reducer'' on Harewood in the first ten minutes. It cuts both ways. No, what gets my goat, is people going on about how big the threat and danger is from any team we play. Yes, West Ham have some quality, yes, they will be hard to beat. But you know what? We''re pretty damn good as well. Don''t you think Hammers fans are just as worried about Hucks and co up front and having to break down a mean defence as we are about facing them. With all said and done, we are going to into the final months of the season and it''s City five points clear, NOT West Ham. That says something. Also, we''ve been to their place already and got a deserved point - it''s only 11 First Division footballers in their side, not Real bloody Madrid. I''m not saying we are certain to win, or even draw on Saturday -it will be a tough game. Probably the hardest of the season so far (I say that every week!) All I am saying, is please let''s have a little more confidence and faith in the players and staff who have got us in this position in the first place

My fave that springs to mind is not a City player , but Ketsbia (apologies for spelling) at Newcastle who after scoring set to work on the advertising hoardings behind the goal with his fists and boots, wearing a psychopathic grimace like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Dread to think what would have happened if he missed...

Si mate, calm down. We ain''t there yet. First Objective: Get promoted. Second Obective: Stay promoted for longer than nine months. Then maybe, start whispering about aiming for a top 10 finish. I know you''re excited, we all are, but calm down please!

To use the thread heading, it is a million miles away from a foregone conclusion. On paper, I would be confident of rounding up eleven pensioners in the Post Office pension queue and them getting a win. But football matches aren''t won on paper. Nige will know that, and as long as that message gets through to the players, I think we''ll be ok. Like the idea of starting with Leon - he''ll be bursting to go out and impress under finding himself on the bench last week. As worried as I get before every game, as long as City play to something reasonably close to their best, and get it right mentally, I cannot realistically see anything other than a win. It won''t be easy though, and if you offered a sloppy flukey 1.0, I''d snatch your hand off! What worries me more is the upcoming home banker banana skins against Gillingham and Stoke. I have a bad feeling about those...

If we''re talking fantasy football here, this is what I would loved to have happened... A certain Mr R Ferdinard from Man Utd getting his nine month ban, but it applying only to Prem, Euro and Internationals. Mr Fergusson, in wanting to keep his player fit, playing and involved in a first team, sends him off to the First Division leaders, somewhere in Norfolk. If only. I assume our Nige would have noticed such a loophole...?

Nice theories on where the points will come from, but football never works that way. We were dead certs to beat Bradford at home remember! Think two points from the away games at Sunderland, Cardiff, Palace and Reading is a tad pessimistic. There''s no reason we can''t win at all those places on our day, but I''d take 7-9 points from those games. Also predict we''ll lose one ''home banker'' before the season is out, Stoke or Gillingham probably. And I call you pessimistic! Anyone noticed how many of the teams in the promotion / play-off frame are weakening their sides? Sheffield Utd selling Brown and having Ndlouv playing in the African Nation, West Ham losing James, now Sunderland letting Micheal Gray go Blackburn. Its a damn good time to be City fan. For once, I think it''s time to be positive. Too often we''ve worried about what other teams can do. I don''t think we realise to what extent other sides and supporters worry about US. A mean defensive unit AND creative committed midfield AND quality strikers. We may criticise the side from time to time, but it must look pretty daunting from the outside. Let''s be honest, the players we had on the bench on Saturday would be automatic choices at many first division clubs. Despite the fact that it will not be the easy three points some think it will, roll on Wimbledon I say.

Leave our bor Roy alone. John Motson he ain''t, but what his commentaries lack in polish and professionalism, he makes up for ten times over in passion and energy. You know when City score he is just as over the moon as any other supporter. Must admit though...I do take it with a pinch of salt when he says anything like ''its an open goal and he must score'' Roughly translated this means ''he has picked the ball up at the Ferry Boat and is dribbling thru Riverside, dodging kiddies and shoppers...close to the ground now and coming in thru the River End turnstile....has 34 defenders left to beat and the ref has made him use his swinger...'' And so on That aside, we luv ya Roy

Bah humbug. I can''t be doing with all this speculation. I''m a bag of footballing nerves already this season. The plan against Sheffield Utd is simple: Start the game like West Ham did at Bramall Lane three weeks ago. Play 3 up front, unsettle them, exploit their weaknesses (pace, mobility) get 3.0 up by half time. Then, end the game how West Ham failed to do - by defending the lead. Half time would see reverting to 442 (Iwan and Hux up front, Brennan on for Leon, toughing up the midfield) and we sit back and watch them pump increasingly desperate high balls up to the Peschosolido midget bloke. Or to put it even plainer: WE SCORE MORE GOALS THEN THEM Simple on paper isn''t it?

To suggest it''s a bad idea to open up these seats is crazy. I''m a member of 12 years, season ticket holder (lower barclay) for several of those years. The only reason I no longer have a season ticket is that my work often involves working Saturdays. As it happens, I have this Saturday off and will be moving heaven and earth to get a ticket tomorrow morning. Just because some of us can''t get to Carrow Road every game (I''ve been to as many away games as home, this season...) it does not make us any less loyal, passionate or glory seeking casuals. If I get a ticket for Saturday, I will be in the New Stand singing and screaming my heart out. I hope others sitting in the New Stand do the same (I know some of the Barclay D/E block boys are moving with just that in mind!) The 3000 tickets going on sale bring extra revenue in when its needed (Hucks, McKenzie et al don''t pay their own wages!) and if that means 800 extra coming down from Yorkshire, then so be it. We''ll just have to be louder!.

I always rated Notman. Much as some hate to admit it, any player coming through the ranks at Man Utd and being a fringe player in their first team, has to have a certain amount of quality. Mulryne has it too, even if it does go missing too often. However, I can''t realistically see Notman having any role at City, or any other club at this level. Sadly, I think the injuries have mounted up that little bit too much, and as good as the footballing brain might be, if the body isn''t up to it, it isn''t going to happen. I hope he proves me wrong, but either way, I know we all wish him well. And for one with only a relatively short City career, he supplied one of those everlasting magic moments at Cardiff.

This is a weird season. It''s like the tension of the 120 minutes of the Play Off extended over a whole nine months. In all honesty, EVEN in the Birmingham game, I''m not sure I ever truly believed it could happen! Too many years of supporting City kind of gets you used to let downs and clutching defeat from the jaws of victory. Yet, this year, this mad year, I do have a feeling that it could happen, and it''s the first time I can say that genuinely hand on heart, since relegation. So why can''t I just enjoy it? I''ve waited for the traditional Christmas slump, and it didn''t happen. I''ve waited for the traditional sale of the best players, but instead have seen quality walking into the Club, instead of out. I''ve waited for a promising run to disintergrate into a run of defeats, and generally, that hasn''t happened. So why am I so damn nervous about the run in? Maybe its looking at the fixture list and seeing the next few games - Sheffield Utd, West Ham, WBA and Scum at home. Rotherham, Coventry, Wimbledon, Sunderland and Cardiff away. If we can take 9 points (10 or 12 obviously better!) from the home games, and 3 or 4 wins (9-12 points) from the away games, I think we could honestly start thinking about being home and dry, as on paper at least, there''s nothing too daunting in the last 10 games. The next few games more than any other hold the key to the season. Can someone tell me it''s going to be ok? Please? from the away games

Nick Barmby? Not for me, personally. Good player on his day without question, but in the role he would be playing (ie, either wide or in the ''hole'') I think we already have enough options - Huckerby, Mcveigh, Henderson, Rivers, Brennan. With the possible exception of Rivers I wouldnt say Barmby is better than what we already have. Far more pressing is a big target man to take the pressure off Iwan and cover Svensson''s injury. And Barmby certainly isn''t that!

Lots of good posts here recently concerning team selection / formation. It''s bloody difficult isn''t it? An indiffererent - ok, awful - performance against Bradford and we''re all going back to our hypothetical drawing boards. Mulryne and Henderson have been particularly under the microscope. I think the thing that often gets lost in our assessments / opinions is that, as fans, we are very keen to judge players at their very best OR very worst. This is why the Mr Consistants of football very rarely grab the headlines. Does anyone remember the ''Butterworth solid at back'' headlines during the european run? No, of course not. Because ''Ruel outfoxes United'' simply makes better, more exciting copy. So, for what it''s worth... Mulryne: Best passer, set piece guy at the club. Can''t tackle for toffee and can often be outfought and bypassed in scrappy games where the opposing midfield is packed and intent on defending. Having said that, he came on and turned the game around at Stoke. So, logic is out of the window on that one. Henderson: Superb talent, but does struggle with inconsistancy. But it''s easy to forget his youth and relative inexperience. What''s he played...20 / 25 first team games ever? For my money, he is still a better option than Rivers wide right as even when he''s having a bad game he shows willing and effort. I think playing McVeigh wide right, with Brennan on the left is another option, but that''s a whole other debate I''m not getting into here Francis: Ball winner, fighter, mixer, stopper, with a flair for goal. But you then sacrifice Mulryne''s potential for match winning passing and set pieces. Rightly or wrongly, Holt seems undroppable, so it leaves us trying to fit two players into one position. What do you do? Rotate? Pick horses for courses? Give one a lengthy run in the side and lose the attributes of the other? Play one or the other, then sub at half time if it isn''t working, thus shattering confidence? It sometimes seems that if Mullers is picked to start, we have complaints about having no ball winner or defensive midfielder. Put Francis in, and Worthington is accused of not playing with flair and attack in mind. He probably earns in a month what I earn in a year, but I''m not sure I''d want Worthington''s job! Not easy is it. And that''s just the midfield. I''m not even going to mention striking partnerships or defensive formations. Ultimately, it all comes down to 11 players - WHOEVER they are - playing well and gelling on the day. If 2, 3 or 4 of them have a ''mare....well, it happens. No coaching methods can cater for it happening, and it does happen to the very best. The successful teams are simply the ones who can live with, and bounce back, from the off days. And let''s face it...we weren''t exactly stunning against Nottm Forest at home, but scrap a 1.0 win when we could have easily been 3.0 down, and everyone goes away happy. I don''t recall massive debates after that game. Yes, we''d like Derby and Cardiff every week but it isn''t going to happen. Those games will not win the league. Grabbing a point a Stoke, or somehow contriving (undeserved) late winners against Reading and Derby wins leagues. Bradford has gone, forget about it, get over it. The next test in a season that is throwing up tests every five minutes, comes on Saturday. I repeat again words I said here during the Huckerby saga - just believe.

Hmmmm...so let me get this right. The same people who were begging, pleading and screaming at the board to sign Hucks at all costs a matter of three weeks ago, are now getting on his back after one indifferent performance? Interesting. Fickle lot aren''t we? As I write this, the Premiership on Monday has just shown highlights of Man Utd v. Newcastle. Van Nistleroy, Scholes, Giggs, Shearer, Jenas, Robert, Dyer....couldn''t manage a goal between them. Guess they''re all crap too, right?

Is it only six days since Hucks tore Cardiff apart? Jeez, it seems like six years. Today could be the day. Believe people, just believe. How apt it seems that this afternoon I am off to see the final Lord Of The Rings film. Emersing myself in a world of struggle, conflict, drama, heroic battles, glory and triumph. Glory and triumph that could be just round the corner, in Norfolk as it is in Middle Earth. Amen. Believe.

First things first: Will those responsible (yes you - quite rightly hanging your heads in shame) please lay off with the criticism of big Iwan. I agree with you all, and we all know Iwan is not really a first team option anymore, but some of the criticism he has received here recently has been nothing short of disgraceful. What short memories some of you have. Iwan came to this Club and played through a painful injury for the best part of a season without a word of complaint, even when the crowd were getting on his back. In the following seasons, he proved himself (again) as a quality goalscorer. This of course culminated in the goal at Cardiff, but you all seem to have forgotten that if it were not for his goals in previous seasons, we would all have been watching second division football, not getting to within a penalty shoot out of the Premiership. I wonder if the ''supporters'' currently tearing Iwan to shreds are the same ones who booed and jeered Bryan Gunn for the last year of his first team career? Remember what happened when you all got your way on that one. Andy Marshall, anyone? No, I thought not. Even with his dodgy legs, the diminishing pace and movement and penchant for pulling centre halves to the floor, Iwan Roberts still offers more to this Club than the likes of Clint ''Hows my hair'' Easton and Mark ''70 minutes gone I''m knackered Nige'' Rivers. So, lay off! Now to the real meat of my post here. I have watched the board closely for the last couple of weeks, absorbing all the arguments and counter arguments regarding the loan trio. I''ve kept quiet, until now. But with Crouch gone, and Hucks confirmed as following him very soon, I can''t keep quiet any longer. But first, a short quiz: Which provincial Football Club once shocked the football world by qualifying for the UEFA Cup and beating Bayern Munich, only to sell the team and get relegated within 18 months? Which Football Club acquired the services of a young manager from Wycombe, who rebuilt a shattered team, and took them to a prominent position in the First Division, then failed to back him, resulting in his departure and collapse of the team? Which Football Club, currently on target on target for automatic promotion from Division One, have let their best chance of Premiership football in ten years slip away in the last week? The more astute among you may have spotted the connection. The answer is the same to all questions. You support the team in question. Don''t you? Three times in ten years, Norwich City have clutched defeat from the jaws of victory, mediocrity from success, anonymity from glory. Not a very bright picture is it? Now, I do not doubt for one moment that the safe, conservative posters here are sharpening their keyboards as they read this, ready to admonish me with their best Gordon Brown approved soundbites about ''financial prudence'' and ''not rocking the boat'' and blah, blah, blah. Some of them may even dress up their lack of ambition by quoting (incorrectly, by the way) Monty Python movies. To them I say: RUBBISH I do not for one minute claim to have any privileged access to the financial situation at Carrow Road. I assume that all the party line towing doom mongers DO have such access, as they seem pretty confident in their assessments of why the Club can''t do this, that and the other. Sadly, they seem to struggle a bit on what the Club CAN do, but I digress.... Nor do I claim to have a magic wand with which to attract and retain quality players to Carrow Road. But I do know, with the loan trio gone, the current squad is good enough for mid table, at best. If that''s the way it''s going to be, that''s fine. I can live with that. What I find harder to swallow is the shallow claims of ambition and targets and wanting success, which