Pukki Blinders

I’d honestly absolutely love to see us do a Sheffield United away on them. Score an early goal and then ****house them for the rest of the game a win 1-0 😂 Can’t see that happening though, this is gonna be tough. A win here would obviously huge, but I’d take a draw all day long. Interesting there’s no DaSilva in the Brentford squad. Didn’t realise he was injured, big blow for them. I noticed some of their fans on Twitter are not looking forward to the prospect of their left-back Sorenson against Buendia and Aarons. OTBC!!!

In all honesty I'm pretty sure we, members of an internet forum, don't need to be giving Mario advice on how to take a free-kick 😂

I'm pretty sure the 2-0 win against Ipswich, where Lee Croft scored a screamer and Matty Pattison also smashed one in near the end was under Roeder off the top of my head. It was my first East Anglian derby so I certainly have good memories of that game!

If Cantwell is playing then I think we'll win, without him though I think it could genuinely go either way, but it will be really tight. We certainly have nothing to fear though!

Made hard work of it as per 😅 all that matters though is the 3 points. Absolutely huge win. Hard not to feel positive going into midweek with a 7 point gap to 2nd and a 10 point gap to 3rd. Emi and Aarons very good. Gibson and Hanley generally solid and another goal for Pukki. Hernandez certainly added something today, no doubt he's a real problem for opposition defences but really he should've scored at least once. Hopefully it's maybe just rustiness after not starting a league game in so long, but if it's something he can address there's no doubt he could be massive for us in the last dozen games. I have to say though, I don't want to spark another huge debate seeing as the last one has only just ended 😂 I know people will obviously point to the fact that one of our subs scored the goal that killed the game, but I really think Farke should have made his substitutions sooner today. I've understood him not making those early changes in some games recently but today we could've switched out Hernandez and Vrancic for Idah and Rupp from the 70 minute mark and it wouldn't have been to the detriment of the team, if anything the opposite, because look at the impact they had when they did come on. The fact is in the last 15 minutes or so before we scored, it was far too easy for bottom of the league Wycombe to work openings. If we find ourselves 1-0 up late in the game on Wednesday then we can't afford to do the same again, because Brentford will score if we allow them to have opportunities like we did Wycombe. It's one thing when those chances are falling to Daryl Horgan and Scott Kashket, it's quite another when they're falling to Bryan Mbuemo or Ivan Toney. But yeah, we won, which is what counts. Win again in midweek and I would almost go as far as to say our position will be unassailable. 5 straight wins has definitely given us some breathing room though. All the pressure is now on Brentford.

Definitely missing Cantwell, but even so we showed in the last 5 minutes of the half that if we do step up the tempo it causes Wycombe real problems. Going into the 2nd half as Wycombe begin to tire I’m hopeful we’ll see more of that. Done a decent job so far, controlling the game comfortably and on another day we might be a goal up. We’re probably a bit flatter than I’d like but we’ve just got to be patient, keep wearing them down and we should get our reward. Got good options to come off the bench too.

I don’t disagree with dropping Mario (though I do think the job he does for the team is underappreciated, he links the attack and defence nicely and is smart off the ball, allowing Cantwell, Pukki and Emi to get into positions where they properly can influence the play), but I don’t really see how he doesn’t justify his place in the number 10 spot but McLean does? Kenny has hardly played there and when he has, like Swansea away this season and a few games last season, he hasn’t really done anything of note and doesn’t seem to improve us as a team. With him playing so well and forming a great partnership with Skipp I don’t really see the logic in moving up the pitch. Fact is, we’ve been a much better team this season with Vrancic in it, and have won the last 4 games with him starting. He may not be the most impactful number 10 in terms of goals and assists but it’s no coincidence Farke has stuck with all this time. Maybe if Hernandez or Stiepermann hadn’t got injured, or if Dowell/Placheta had shown more when they’ve been given their chance it would be different, but at this moment I think Mario is the best option we have in that role.

We definitely shouldn't be underestimating Wycombe, and to be fair I'm sure Daniel Farke won't be. Yes, we should be winning this game but we all know how crazy this league is, and it was only a few days ago they beat 5th placed Reading. They also ran us close earlier in the season. They're far from the whipping boys of the division and we'll have to work hard to beat them I don't doubt that. Big opportunity for someone to impress with Cantwell out. If he was fit then it'd be a no-brainer to bring Onel in, but with him probably not fit enough either then it's a tricky call. The most like for like change for Todd is probably Dowell, but I don't know why I'm just not convinced by him coming in on the left-hand side, so I'd probably lean towards Idah or Placheta. I'll go with: Krul Aarons Hanley Gibson Dimi Skipp McLean Buendia Vrancic Idah Pukki Subs: Barden, Zimbo, Xavi, Tettey, Sorenson, Rupp, Dowell, Placheta, Hugill Obviously that's assuming Gibson is fit enough to start. If he's not quite 100% then I wouldn't risk him with Brentford on the horizon, but fingers crossed he will be. If Hernandez is fit enough then it'd be good to have him on the bench.

Real blow losing Cantwell. Been our best player in this recent good run, and arguably in the best form of his Norwich City career. Hopefully he'll be able to play some part against Brentford, but I'm not too optimistic. Big chance for somebody to impress in his place tomorrow.

Definitely a good day, will take 2 of the 3 teams directly below us losing every week! Now even if Swansea win both their games in hand (which isn't looking likely given their inconsistent form recently), they'll be 5 points behind us. Brentford 7 points and Watford 10. If we can beat Brentford on Wednesday, and win tomorrow as well obviously, then it would take a massive collapse from us to not go up automatically.

Wasn't great by any means and against a better side we may have been punished, but at this stage of the season you cannot argue with those 3 points. Birmingham made life really tricky for us in the first half. Pressed us well and stifled us every time we tried to move up the pitch. That all said we should have been comfortable. Great finish by Pukki for the opener but that penalty was just shocking. 2-0 up against a team in the bottom 3 would've been game over but as usual we have to make as hard work of it as possible 😅 Birmingham's goal was an absolute mess from our perspective as well. Skipp, Krul, Zimbo and Hanley all just getting it wrong. Brum sat off us more in the 2nd half and in all honesty I'm not really sure why, as what they were doing in the first 45 was effective and causing us problems, but it allowed us to get our foot on the ball more and gradually take control. A lot of jam involved in the 2nd goal but in a game like this we had no choice but to just grind out 3 points, and that's exactly what we did. Love that 3rd goal as well. Don't think anyone played particularly well, but Pukki would undoubtedly be man of the match for me. Despite missing the penalty you can never complain about your striker scoring a brace. Onel definitely looked lively once he came on too. All in all, massive win, 10 points clear, and now 5 days off before playing bottom of the league (who actually got a very good result tonight). Would be lovely if one of Brentford or Swansea could mess up tomorrow!

The perfect weekend 😍

In more recent years though for me it has to be Lewis Grabban. Watching the Sunderland Til I Die documentary he seems like an absolute pr*ck, plus the way he behaved that eventually got him thrown out the club (how on Earth did we scam Bournemouth out of £7m for him by the way 😂) was just disgraceful. Never misses an opportunity to celebrate in front of our supporters faces either. I think it was Forest's 2-0 goal in the 3-3 game a couple of years ago, and the reverse fixture where he put them 1-0 up, he stared down our fans and celebrated right in front of us as if he thought he was Cristiano Ronaldo and was celebrating in front of the Barcelona fans after scoring the winner in El Classico. Hilarious that in one game we came from 3-0 down to draw and the other we ended up winning after he gave them the lead. Marley Watkins, Alex Pritchard and Ben Marshall are all solid gold d*ckheads as well.

The guy was shocking. Ihiekwe could have been sent off for the challenge on Emi alone, but at the very least should've got 2 yellows for that foul and the one on Mario 5 minutes earlier. When you look at the incidents Buendia has been sent off for I don't see how what Ihiekwe did was any different, if anything it's worse. Just in general some of the decisions, not least the Pukki 'foul' when he was through on goal, were ridiculous. I'd probably be a bit miffed if I was a Rotherham fan as their disallowed goal was pretty soft. Maybe instead of pouring resources into VAR the FA should focus more on actually training their referee's? Surely if they're better to begin with then there's much less of a need for VAR?

Such a huge win. This was always going to be a hard slog of a game given how tough Rotherham usually make it for their opponents (and to be fair we did ourselves no favours spurring 3 or 4 great opportunities to make it more comfortable), but considering how other results have gone this ground out 1-0 win was so f*cking important. Real opportunity now with Birmingham and Wycombe next 2 games to give ourselves a huge advantage before we play Brentford. Thought Zimmermann filled in really well today. Have to admit I was a bit worried when I saw him on the team-sheet, he hasn't been overly convincing since he picked up that injury away at West Ham last season, but I thought he was generally very solid today. You could see what a huge difference not having Gibson made to our play today though. Rotherham knew Hanley wasn't comfortable going onto his left-foot so they forced him onto it as often as they could and there was a spell in the 2nd half we were really struggling to play out because of it. Defensively though Zimmermann did a great job. Have to say I would've liked to have seen subs made earlier. I don't think it would have done any harm to make a couple of changes but ultimately all that matters is that we won the game. So pleased with that, absolutely massive win!

Perfect results at the moment. Please God can we just get a second and kill this game. How is Ihiekwe still on the pitch??? Could argue it was a red card challenge for the foul on Emi alone before you even take into account he should have been booked 5 minutes before that.

I think that's a bit unfair to be honest. Kenny was fantastic in the first half against Coventry, as good in his role as Cantwell or Emi were in theirs. Yeah he wasn't brilliant in the 2nd but everyone's performance levels eased off as we tried to consolidate the win. Pukki and Buendia weren't particularly effective in the 2nd half either but no-one would ever suggest dropping them. I feel like some people are just looking for any excuse to drop McLean, which doesn't make sense to me because he's generally played very well this season. As I said in my post above, I think Mario has been an unsung hero last couple of games. He has done a superb job of linking the defence/midfield with our forward 3, and without him I think Cantwell and Buendia would have been far less effective. For me, If it isn't broke don't fix it, and our last 2 games have been 2 of our best performances of the season, so I don't see any reason to change the side for now.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. As much as I'd love to see Sorenson eventually get a chance in his natural position I think that Skipp and McLean offers us a really nice balance and they complement each other nicely. I'm not sure why we'd choose to drop one of them at such an important point, particularly as Kenny was excellent in the first half on Wednesday. I think Mario has been a bit of an unsung hero in the last couple of games. His role has been to get in the right place and link the play between the midfield and attack, allowing Cantwell and Buendia to move into and get on the ball in positions where they can really influence the game. It's frustrating that he can't really play more than 70 minutes but I think he has been crucial in the first half of the last 2 matches. Farke said himself Dowell needs to do more if he wants a run in the side, and until he shows us that bit extra then Vrancic keeps his place for me.

Superb performance overall. Emi was majestic and Pukki looks back to his brilliant best but Todd for me would be man of the match. Giannoulis was also excellent. With each game he plays he just looks better and better. Proper Championship test for him as well playing against a physical side on a shocking pitch and he passed it with flying colours. Kenny McLean was fantastic in the first half too. Great that Tim Krul/Martin Krul/Teemu Pukki/Teemu Krul has another clean sheet to his name. Great 3 points and Brentford losing was a huge bonus. After not scoring for 4 straight games we genuinely could've scored double figures over the course of the last couple of matches. 3 games against teams in the bottom 4 now before playing a stuttering Brentford 😃 Just shows you how quickly things can change in football.

Matty James, Gonzalo Hamer and Calum O'Hare between them committed 13 fouls, no booking. Hanley, Gibson and Cantwell committed 3 fouls between them and got 3 yellow cards 😂 James in particular made 3 or 4 challenges that could easily be a yellow and yet he still refused to get his card out. Obviously no harm done in the end but it was genuinely amazing that the ref just seemed to be determined not to book any of Coventry's midfielders.

Brilliant half. Pukki, Cantwell, Emi absolutely electric. Giannoulis looking great too. How we’re not 4 or 5 up is beyond me but I’ll definitely take 2-0, particularly given what a state the pitch is. Has to be said though while they pressed quite well and had a couple of early chances, Coventry have been pretty bad. Their defenders constantly look as if they’re running through wet cement. It could have all been very different though had Hanley been sent off when Walker appeared to be running through on goal. If I’m honest I think he’s a bit lucky to get away with just a yellow as I don’t think either him or Gibson are catching Walker. I do think though that we probably should’ve had a penalty when Pukki was knocked in the box, and how on Earth Hamer or James haven’t been given a yellow card is a complete mystery, James in particular has commited 3 or 4 cynical challenges mainly on Emi yet the ref seems happy for him to continue. Don’t do anything stupid and this will be another good 3 points. A big win similar to the one against Stoke would be nice obviously but as if this half is shocking and nothing happens I’ll take that too.

Don't you think young players would much rather join a club that have established themselves as a solid, sustainable club at Premier League level that, yes, relies on player sales to bring in money and can act as a stepping stone to go onto bigger and better things, but ultimately does it on their terms and only when it suits them? Rather than a club that can't establish itself in the Premier League because we feel we have to sell our players to big clubs regardless of what position we find ourselves in on the pitch or financially? Despite the fact we'll have a good amount of money coming in, losing Max Aarons following promotion would make us weaker going into a Premier League season, which surely defeats the whole purpose of this philosophy? It would be a constant cycle of: Sign talented young player > Get promoted > Sell player before the season starts > Get relegated because we sold said player making our squad weaker > Repeat. Isn't the whole point of this philosophy that it will ultimately benefit us? Staying up at Premier League level would be difficult to do even if we kept our whole squad together, let alone if before the season even starts we sell a key player, hence why you practically never see clubs doing it. Saying that it will benefit us long-term because it will show young players looking to join us that we can give them a good platform to develop and then eventually move on to somewhere higher up the ladder becomes redundant if we sell those players every time we get promoted and we go back to square one as a result, because we'd essentially be furthering young players careers at our own expense. The reward for this policy should be having the opportunity to establish ourselves as a solid Premier League side, like a Crystal Palace, Southampton or even Brighton, something we're never going to do if we 'have' to sell players whenever a big club comes calling. Talking of Southampton, they're the perfect example. For years they were seen as ultimate selling club, but every time a player did leave they made sure it was on their terms, and whenever they didn't want to sell someone, e.g Van Dijk, Holbjerg, Schneiderlin, they put their foot down and didn't sell them until it was right for them, even if that was 2 or 3 transfer windows later. If we sold Aarons, Buendia and Cantwell this summer to big European clubs, after gaining promotion, you'd be happy with that? Do you think it sends a positive message to players and teams around Europe that as soon as we get into the Premier League we're prepared to sell our best players? As I've explained above I really don't think it does. Whenever we have sold our prized assets; Maddison, Godrey, Lewis, it's been at a time where selling makes sense, like when we needed the money or following a relegation where we're looking to rebuild. Selling one of our best players just after we've got promoted doesn't make sense. For what it's worth, I love Webber and our whole philosophy under him, and if we did sell Aarons to a huge club like Bayern in the summer I could understand it. I'm simply saying that selling a key player after getting promoted is probably the worst possible time to sell someone, and as a result we should be hardening our stance. If our valuation of him at the moment is £30/35m, then it should rise to £50m once we go up, because we should be trying to deter clubs from poaching our best players, not just accepting that we have to. We didn't sell anyone last time we got promoted so why would we this time? If it doesn't suit us to sell, we shouldn't sell, full stop.

It's not though, is it? There's a big difference between allowing a young player to move on when the time is right and selling your best players regardless of what division, league position or situation we find ourselves in. How do you think the current squad would react if we got promoted and then sold Buendia, Aarons and Cantwell before the season even started? I don't think any player who is considering us as a potential home is going to be chomping at the bit to join if we have a reputation as an unambitious club who are happy to sell our best players year after year even if it is at the expense of progressing and getting better as a club. Fact is we have to strike a balance, and as Webber has said time after time when players do leave it will be on our terms. I don't think anyone's under any illusions about the sort of club we are. We do need to sell players to survive and it's a crucial part of our business model, but just selling them whenever we get a half-decent offer or when the player fancies leaving, purely because we have a philosophy of 'not standing in players way' isn't in our best interest and isn't going to help us long-term. The fact we turned down Liverpool's move for Lewis despite the fact he obviously wanted to move perfectly showcases that. When he eventually did leave, it was because we allowed it and it was on our terms. I'm not saying that if we go up Webber should just turn his phone off and tell Aarons, Buendia that they're not allowed to leave at any cost, but simply that because we've now been promoted and want to compete in the Premier League any club wanting to sign them will have to pay a lot more. I do think if we say to those players "Look, play in the Premier League with us this season, and then at the end of the campaign, regardless of what league we're in, we won't stand in your way of a move" then they would be understanding of that. Obviously the lure of a club like Bayern is huge, and you couldn't blame Max for wanting to go. If that was the case then we'd have to work out what was best. But, if we were to get promoted, our starting position as club should be that we do not want to lose anyone and aren't interested in selling.

I like to think that if we get promoted we wouldn't be willing to sell any of our best players. I know obviously £35m is a huge amount of money and probably a fair price for Aarons, but I just think it sends completely the wrong message, to both the fans and the squad, to sell one of your best players just after promotion, ala Bradley Johnson. Also I'm pretty sure the offer for Max we got in January wasn't from Bayern. Webber did mention it being from abroad but also said it wasn't the right fit and not a move that would work for him, which suggests it wasn't a European giant like Bayern. Have to say while I obviously don't want him to go and as I said above I wouldn't sell him even if we got promoted, it'd be a massively proud moment as a Norwich fan to see one of our academy products sign for one of the biggest clubs in the world for a huge fee. I think it'd be a move that would really suit him and he could easily become a world-class right back at Bayern. I do hope it's something we're not seeing soon though!