Cornwall Canaryfan

When living in Manchester area, I saw Oldham V Us on a miserable afternoon weather wise, probably November or January 1984/85. I think we ended up 4 - 1 winners but the most memorable thing that day was the totally outstanding displays by two young goalkeepers who were just started to be noticed by fans & national team managers. Were it not for a staggering series of amazing saves at each end the game could have ended something like 7 - 7. Not joking. Andy Goram was the young Oldham keeper (before the betting addiction started to distract him) & Chris Woods was ours. I can't say who was best we have ever had as I have only seen us on a weekly basis when I lived in Norwich from 1979 to 1983. I saw Keelan's last season & Chris Woods introduction to the side. Woods looked the business immediately, better than Keelan, who still looked solid but who was a relatively old player by then. We have been fortunate over the years to have many top quality keepers, all have been named in this thread. Unfortunately, we have needed them rather too often!

Football management thinking often baffles me at times to the extent where I am left wondering whether I have failed to grasp the bigger picture or my clarity of thought exceeds that of some of footballs 'movers & shakers'. Referring to the Mails 'Leading clubs monitoring Webber' story in this mornings edition, if there is any truth in this have those doing the monitoring actually noticed that, at present, Mr Webber's record outside of the Championship currently leaves a lot to be desired? I find it hard to believe that there is a strong desire among 'leading clubs' to have any more than a 'watching brief' in Stuart to see if the early potential, at Huddersfield & with us, develops to a point where he becomes a genuine contender for a top position. He has youth on his side for quite a while yet & I would like to see further improvement from him while still with us, turning us into a stable, regular Premiership side. If he can achieve this, then I would wish him well if he is tempted by new challenges with 'bigger names'. As things stand, I would be surprised to see him recruited by a leading Premiership club at the end of this season.

Todays article & interview with Kevin Bond bought back very happy memories for me. After a business promotion to Norwich in July 1979, my second home match at Carrow Road was the Leeds game in the articles photos. The first was the midweek game against Spurs on the Wednesday before, which I was taken to by my new work colleagues. The season started the previous Saturday at Everton where we won 4 -2. We then beat Tottenham 4 -0 at Carrow Road before also beating Leeds (still one of the best teams in the league) 2 - 1 top go top of the league, possible for the first & only time until 1993! I believe Kevin may have scored all 3 goals in that game, inc. an OG. If he didn't do it then I am sure he did it against someone else in the same season at Carrow Road. Edit - According to internet info. Paul Hart scored for Leeds so Kevin Bond must have scored all 3 in a later game. A pretty good introduction to both Norwich & Carrow Road. By the end of that Leeds match I was already a firm Canaries fan, which has blighted my life ever since!! PS - I also seem to recall that the new River End stand was not quite completed & did not open for a couple more home matches.

£100m pa doesn't mean you are then prepared to play for nothing. I know next to nothing about Argentina's domestic leagues but I would doubt anyone there could afford to pay him even a modest salary (by his standards).

If I were one of the worlds best ever players earning around £100m pa. I would probably have enough in the pension fund to avoid going to China & ending my career in a micky mouse league surrounded by people I couldn't understand. Given the difficulties PSG would have signing him I don't see him going there either. US would be my bet but I wouldn't discount City (Manchester variety unfortunately) as a good outside bet. Still young enough to test himself in a top league for a year or two & then off to US for a last big pay day. However, I doubt the big money will stop the day he does hand up his boots. Mr Beckham seems to have done quite well in retirement & he wasn't quite the player Messi is/was!

So now we know why Webber has been so quiet on our transfer activity. Will be nice for Pukki to have some real competition for his starting place.

I had always believed that O'Neil left because Chase offered him a substantial (£10m springs to mind) transfer budget as part of the deal to get him & O'Neil said he would take 3 months to have a good look at what he had before spending any money. When he went back to the Chairman for the money three months later, Chase reportedly said that he 'didn't recall anything about transfer funds being made available'. O'Neil's subsequent actions showed what he thought of that......... Dean Windass may have been one of the players O'Neil wanted funds for, but I can't recall exactly from so many years ago.

I didn't expect him to be with us at the start of next season but am surprised the deal has been done so quickly & at what looks to be a bargain basement price. The price of players we will want will undoubtedly increase as we will be viewed as a 'moneybags' club by many potential sellers. I suspect this means that a deal is, or shortly will, be done for Grealish so I wouldn't expect Villa fans to be jumping for joy just yet. Really struggling to see how this deal will benefit us in any way, shape or form.

Pretty much sums up my feelings as well. Along with Lewis, was the most photographed player in the EPL season before last. Unfortunately usually a yard or so behind the player snapped scoring against us. Did Barcelona show an interest in him on the basis 'Norwich conceded more goals than almost anyone else in the English leagues. That's the full back for us then'. As with most of the team, Max did not cover himself with glory last time out in the EPL. Along with Cantwell & Buendia, he has a lot to prove this coming season. All three really started to get their acts together last season, perhaps after Farke/Webber whispered a few home truths to them, & I really hope they are determined to make their marks this time around. Hopefully, with us! PS - Supporter since 1979 & Culverhouse is the best I have seen. If Max stays it would be great to see him better Ian. I really feel he has the potential.

I assume you are referring to his, err, 'undistinguished' spell with us a few years ago? I don't think Webber & Farke would be prepared to take a risk on a player who was so clearly overawed by the surroundings last time he was here...........

Awful timing for this to happen to him. Best wishes for a full & speedy recovery. At least he has Premiership football to look forward to as a consolation. Despite the fantastic season we have just enjoyed, it seemed to me, more often than not, we seemed to very rarely complete a match, even those we won, without someone getting injured & at least missing the following one. Just waiting for the headline 'Pukki out of Euros, breaks wrist in freak accident whilst lifting morning cup of coffee........'

Not familiar with Mr Vrancic's fashion sense. Do you mean he is a scruff or exactly the opposite?

That was the humorous/ironic point I was trying to make at DFs expense. Looked exactly the same as when in his working gear at pitch side.

Looked like he could have had on a horse blanket under his coat!

But for Maddison carrying us for the whole of his last season with us, we would have, in all probability, been relegated. As well as his undoubted playing ability, & as others here have said, he showed remarkable consistency which he has carried over with ease in the Premiership. Emi struggled in the top division &, prior to the new year, has shown nothing like the level of consistency & his hot headed reactions have let him down on more than one occasion. Sadly you have to learn that if you are any good, you will get kicked from time to time. Most of the great players learn not to over react & the better they get the more protection they get from the officials over time. I suspect the lack of offers for him (& Todd) in the last transfer window, brought on a reality check for both of them. Whether this was due to either Farke or their agents giving them a few home truths I suspect we will never know. What is obvious however is that since January both of them appear to have undergone serious changes of attitude, have been models of consistency & been very valuable to our promotion push. Their individual games have finally benefited enormously. In my opinion, they both wasted the Premiership season & the first half of this one, possibly evidenced by the apparent lack of serious interest in either of them in past transfer windows. With all club finances affected by the pandemic would you have taken a multi million pound gamble on either of them? Unfortunately I think this will all change in the coming transfer window. As things stand it would be terrific if we could hang on to both of them until at least next winters window. Back to whose best? Who knows. They are both talented players who are a joy to watch, especially in City colours! I think their styles are too different to make any meaningful comparisons but the end product is hugely beneficial to whoever they are playing for. I'm sitting on the fence here!

Saw the pictures of DF in the EDP report of his family day out at Banham zoo. Have to say that, dressed to the nine's, he looked so different from the figure we see on match days that I struggled to recognise him! Only joking Mr F. Extremely grateful for the job you are doing at Carrow Road. Long may you continue. May possibly be able to treat yourself to a new bespoke coat with your promotion bonus though........

Chris Lakey quoted Brentford manager Thomas Frank as saying that we could go all 12 remaining games undefeated. I don't see why we can't. After all we demonstrated remarkable consistency in last seasons run-in so why shouldn't we again? Seriously, I would hope for at least 6 wins & 4 draws &, on current form, would not put money against us doing even better than that.

I echo the sentiments here. When I lived in Norwich in the early 80's I bumped into him in Hughes (?) TV shop & just wanted to congratulate him on the fine job he was doing for us at the time. I thought he may be annoyed at the interruption when he was shopping but instead he stood talking to me for 15 minutes. A true gent. Happy Birthday Ken!

On the basis of what is shown in the video, he is displaying the first time control, accuracy of passing & quick, precise interceptions when needed, that have all been lacking on to many occasions this season. I hope a number of his team mates were taking note of this. Shame he is only on loan. Can only hope Spurs feel he would benefit further from a Premiership season with us later this year!

As some on here have remarked, it is virtually impossible to pick a best ever 11. Having followed City since 1979 I have probably seen more players than the majority on this forum. Yes, I am aware that there are posters who go back a lot further than me & it must be far more difficult for them to choose a best 11 than for me. The more players seen, the more difficult to select a best team becomes so I will not even try. However, there are two players who have received the briefest of passing mentions in earlier posts that I would have to give very serious consideration to. Martin O'Neill & John Deehan. Both were technically gifted players with the ability to turn a game on their own at their best &, on their not so good days, still able to receive, hold & distribute the ball effectively, even under pressure. Don't recall either of them having a real howler. O'Neill caught the eye with great close control & the ability to go past opponents with seemingly little effort whilst Deehan was less 'flashy' but able to conjure up chances for himself, & teammates, out of nothing. The fact that he also scored one or two goals was also useful as well! Didn't start following City until my mid 20's, when my company moved me to Norwich, so I had really grown out of the 'favourite' player stage by then. However the nearest I ever had to a favourite was Grant Holt. Apart from his obvious footballing skills, it was his sheer, relentless determination to put the ball in the net that made him stand out for me. Never saw him give less than 100%. A Liverpool supporting friend took me to Anfield in 2011 & in the first half Suarez was running riot. He didn't score that day but nearly destroyed the goal posts & bar because he hit them so often. He didn't stop running. At the other end Holty matched him stride for stride. Unfortunately he did not have the ball most of the time but he never stopped chasing what was looking a lost cause. He did not stop running after half time either & got the goal he so obviously wanted, coming from nowhere, with a bullet like header when surrounded by two Liverpool defenders & their goalkeeper. They all looked at each other, wondering where on earth he had come from! So Holt & O'Neill would be in my best ever 11 & possibly Deehan. The other 8 would be even more difficult to choose!

'Ashton had everything except blistering pace. If not for a tackle by Shaun Wright-Phillips of all players, I firmly believe he would have been the player to most closely resemble Alan Shearer that had emerged since. Such a shame for him' I agree with this word for word. I saw what was his last away game (possibly last game?) for us at Plymouth Argyle. Sadly he did himself no favours in my eyes as he was very overweight, very unfit & clearly not speaking to the manager (or many of his colleagues) by then. For such an obviously talented player I felt he really let himself down at the end with us & wondered if this attitude would have gone on to blight an England career had injury not caused his early retirement.

I sent my match comments to a friend 30 minutes ago & started with 'My man of the match would be Barden'. Mind you he should have been good. Lost count of the, mostly unnecessary in my opinion, back passes he received form Hanley. I think they call it 'on the job training'........... Either way, a really solid, confidence building performance from him. Well done.

I agree with virtually all you say. However I was not criticising the playing ability of Cantwell & Buendia. They both have the ability to become outstanding players wherever they go, but I stand by my criticism of their attitudes last season which, I feel, contributed little to the improvement of their own skills or the overall team performances. With the countries current economic problems, even the big boys becoming ever more careful of committing millions to new players. I understand that boards are increasingly looking at the attitude & commitment levels of potential new buys before spending big money on them. This may explain why neither player moved clubs during the last transfer window. The attitude that both players are currently showing is definitely benefiting us & the fact they they are both again enjoying their games must be good for them in attracting serious interest from potential buyers & will still be good for us in the higher transfer fees they will probably then command. To repeat myself from my first post, seeing out the current season with us & staying for another full Premier League season before looking for a move, will probably benefit both them & us. They are still very young men & a season playing for us must surely be better than warming the bench most of the time at a 'bigger' club?

Thanks for your explanation. I do have to say that I thought the point of a forum was both to add to an existing discussion & to create a new discussion to state ones own views & solicit those of others. Having been following this one for many years I have often felt like replying to threads, or starting my own if I felt no one was raising points that I considered may be relevant at the time, but have been too lazy to do so. I therefore reached the point when I felt there was no point having opinions if there was no one to debate them with other than myself, hence my finally joining in. I felt that my initial post should be a new thread to, hopefully, show my willingness to display some original thought rather than simply jump on the back of someone else's efforts. I was not deliberately trying to be controversial, & don't consider my post to be so, & was stating a couple of things how I saw/see them & expecting contributors to either agree or disagree with them, telling me why I am right or wrong. To be honest, I am disappointed that, so far, only one person has commented on the content of my original post. I was expecting a little more interest. Either I am, a - spot on & therefore not worth replying to, b - way of the mark & therefore not worth replying to or, c - discussing a subject no one has any interest in, which is disappointing but fair enough. Will see how things go from here!

You be country then boy?