NewNestCarrow

For a few seasons the Springall boys used to sit (near me) in the old Main Stand; above the tunnel, about four rows from the back.

I am guessing it ebbs & flows, depending on talent already at the club. 2019/20 saw the following Academy recruitment: Adshead (Rochdale, £300k; 0 first-team apps) Bushiri (Belgium, £?, 0) Fitzpatrick (Sco, £350k, 0) Mair (Sco, £?, unused sub ) Nizet (Belgium, £nom, 0 ) McAlear (Sco £250k, 1 sub) Omotoye (London, 4 subs) Tomkinson (USA, £?, 3)

Kamara, Rowe, Springett & Warner have all been with NCFC for nine years or more. Which I think reflects well on the club's long-term scouting & development. It must be remembered that the pool of local talent in E Anglia is small [Beds, Cambs, Essex, Herts, Hunt, Nfk & Sfk combined have less than half the population of Greater London (6.8m v 14.8m)]. And the Norfolk pool is absolutely tiny. Of the 1263 footballers to have represented England just SEVEN were born in Nelson's County

You are not the first to believe Chivers was a loan, but he was actually a perm signing.

Southwell & Davitt also noted that the entire team were substantially below par. It was Barnes' worst display since his arrival but I don't hear anyone suggesting that he be dropped.

Maybe, but the OP thinks so little of Idah that he would select an orthodox midfielder instead!

Delap has a full season in the Champs already under his belt, and has played for Citeh in the PL (against Norwich, ironically) Scarlett has a full season for Portsmouth under his belt. I agree, in general, that the NCFC Academy is under-represented in youth squads but I don't think Rowe's very short-lived form puts him straight into the U21s

We have eight or ten squad players who need minutes in their legs and who also need the opportunity to put presure on those getting into the first-team ahead of them. Would you rather they got these minutes: a) against the Chelsea U21s, in a stadium that is 90% empty (or played at a training complex). in a competition where there is no jeopardy of relegation / promotion? OR b) in the LC, where it's win or go home (metaphorically) and playing in a stadium that might be 50% full?

Chivers was not a loan. We bought his registration from Servette and then dumped him after just five months. But, agreed, he was a disappointment. I suppose there are only so many bargain-bucket signings that pay off.

This kind of situation - pandering to fans' groups in the name of atmosphere - is what led to long-term Palace ST holders being evicted from their centrally-located seats because they weren''t deemed hip enough to be part of the Holmesdale Ultras section (see also Celtic's Green Brigade and their belief that they can do whatever they want) A slippery slope.

Yes, they are Newsquest. But like the Main Stand, the River End and the Barry Butler Trophy, some things retain a previous name!

I don't get to write this very often, so will emphasise it in the appropriate manner: "IT LOOKS LIKE ARCHANT REPORTED THIS A WHILE AGO" 😃 https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/23343443.norwich-city-canaries-legal-governance-director-leave/

A -19 balance would be significant if all other metrics were equal. But they are not. Over the last ten seasons NCFC's Win/Loss numbers are in the negative, likewise Goals For/Against. It is illogical to suggest that the pen-count should be any different.

And their Chairperson shouldn't hide behind a private social media account. The Trust represents *some* fans, in much the same way that Proud Canaries represents *some* fans.

Stats for the last 10 seasons, to end of May 2023 Games played = 478 (162 wins, so 34%) Pens Awarded for NCFC = 52 (42%) Pens Conceded by NCFC = 71 Those figures don't suggest much bias.

I very much doubt that. The Athletic don't publish match reports for all 92 clubs, so why would they pay someone to be in attendance?

I can't imagine anyone would make that kind of massive commitment. Not even the BBC do that. The Athletic has around 1.3m subscribers and still loses aorund $30m+ per year. Their coverage of 'minor' teams is only going one way.

I gave up at that point. It's like he's playing 'Where's Waldo' with any interesting tidbits.

Original tie at Portsmouth on the Sat, replay took place the following Thursday. Imagine the horror of having to organise annual leave & travel at such short notice?!! (of course walk-up train tickets were affordable in those days)

Officially 43,129

Over 43,000 for a weekday-afternoon kick-off. Prob the fullest CR has ever been (the 1963 record gate was after the South Stand had been enlarged) Shockingly there were 269 complimentary tickets given out that day. No wonder the club was in such a state.

So you don't think the outlay far outweighs the benefit? You don't think that spending big on (arguably) unnecessary infrastructure is a route sure to make an owner unpopular with fans? You think that NCFC can fill thousands of new seats with tourists & lounge-types, paying £300+ per match? And what is this "ulterior motive"?

ETHICS = IRRATIONAL HATRED OF THE CURRENT NCFC BOARD

Disagree. The most pertinent point is that some fans will use any old, thrown-together (misleading) data to continue to find fault with their football club. There isn't even any need to be forensic about it; just 20 mins' work has shown me that a QPR ST in their equivalent of Barclay top tier seat is £749 for an adult, £507 concession. The worst seat in their Main Stand is £628 (£386 concession) Anyone with an ounce of objectivity knows that chart of ST prices was just half-arsed & incomplete humbug. Even you know it.

In early July the club sent me an email reminding me that I was to reuse last season's ST Suggest you check your Comms settings or your old email folders!