Ark

Interesting thread. I think the biggest question mark that hangs over Lambert at the moment is his ability in the transfer market. All of the key performers this season have been signed by previous bosses (with the exception of loan-signing Forster). So, he''s certainly proven that he can make the most of what''s put in front of him, but can he build on that to mount a decent challenge in the Championship? (IF he achieves promotion!)Personally, I really hope that he takes a long-term view to building the squad rather than relying on the loan market to make a quick impact on the league table. I think Glenn Roeder proved that relying on loan signings to make up the backbone of your team is unliklely to turn you into real contenders... and will be a case of burning money rather than investing it in new talent.

Was just looking at a Leeds message board, out of interest, and came across this thread:http://www.motforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19390It''s amazing what a difference three league games can make. There are a couple of their fans saying that a home defeat by Colchester is inevitable (entirely ignoring their recent win at Man U and draw at Tottenham).... and few seem confident of getting many points at Carrow Road, The Valley or St Mary''s.Can only hope confidence among the Leeds playing staff is this low! (and that City''s players can keep their heads when all around them are losing theirs).

[quote user="Jimmy Smith"]1 win and 2 losses for them and us beating them at Carrow "Fortress" Road and they''ll be ours![/quote]Assuming we win every game... Nothing wrong with positive thinking I guess!

[quote user="Legend Iwan"]If taken seriously, surely it''s Hucks again. No one else who has moved on has had Norwich supporters buying shirts from the team they''re now playing for.[/quote]On that measure, Youssef Safri surely deserves a mention for the Moroccan flags fluttering around Carrow Road a couple of years back!

[quote user="Romantic"][quote user="The Butler"]I thought he had a good looking girlfriend. You just can''t tell can you[:$] [/quote]AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That''s brilliant! Because Brighton has a popular scene amongst gay people... and so if you go there you''re gay... which is embarrassing AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That''s great! Gay! Brilliant! HAHAHA! Beacause it probably means he''s gay! Because it''s Brighton! And they''re all gay! Brilliant![/quote]And there was innocent old me thinking it was a lewd reference to helping Brighton to "stay up".

[quote user="hairycanary"]just beat wycombe 6-0 today as well [/quote]I was going to post the same message. They looked excellent in the highlights. Could easily have scored 9 or 10 but for a few guilt-edged misses and sharp saves... and no sign of a single clear-cut scoring chance for Wycombe. Yet another team making a credible challenge for automatic promotion!Whole top half of the league is still incredibly tight. Great run of form since we made it into the top 6, but still only 3-points clear of 8th place.

[quote user="I.S."]Agree entirely. Think he has made a big difference since coming back to fitness, and is a really dominant player at this level. Disappointed for him that he couldn''t take his chance against Leeds, but delighted that he is not "sulking" as many suggested, but in-fact working hard for the team.[/quote]Perhaps his one-to-one with Lambert was about saying that nobody benefitted from Darel staying on the sidelines. The club were paying a lot of money for nothing, and he was unlikely to find a favourable move elsewhere when he wasn''t playing... I imagine Lambo said that a move away from Carrow Road isn''t out of the question, but that in the meantime he needs to be in the team, giving 100%, for the benefit of all parties (club getting their money''s worth; Russell in the shop window).

[quote user="I am a Banana"]a defeat and its a roller coaster of a season?? OH my when man utd lose 1 game after 3 straight wins their season also goes pear shaped [;)] of course it does! [/quote]I''m not talking Man U, I''m talking Norwich... Whenever we go on a good run of form, we have a habit of rubbing it all out with an atrocious loss (Man U don''t seem to have that problem). So, if we win three games, but then suffer a 3-0 defeat at Leeds or Charlton without a single shot on goal, then it suddenly seems as though we''re back at square one. A road trip to Wycombe no longer seems like three points in the bag. That''s what I mean by a "rollercoaster". But I think a win at Leeds could help to break the mental cycle... in the same way we managed with a few straight wins over the xmas period when we got promoted to the Prem. 90% of it is a mental thing.Anyway. I know, it''s just one game of football, and in terms of points across the season it means pretty much nothing... But I''m saying mentally it''s a very important one... and from that perspective it''s come at a very good time! (Plus... people always look back at the season retrospectively and talk about turning points... and if Leeds end up winning the division or getting automatic promotion, people are bound to talk about this game... even if it ends up being a false dawn.)

Technically it should be our toughest challenge of the season... It''s not exactly a "make or break" game, but it''s an excellent benchmark.And when better to face the challenge... off the back of three straight wins (two away from home), and when we''ve just broken into the play-off places.- A win and we''re serious automatic promotion contenders.- A well-earned draw and we''re serious play-off contenders.- A defeat - especially by more than a single goal - and I''d say we''re in for a serious rollercoaster of a season.I know you can''t really judge a season by a single game... but I think mentally this is a really important one for the team (and the fans).

Four consecutive 1-1 draws. Well... it''s not a losing steak, so it can''t be all bad. Plus it makes City a guaranteed banker on the pools!!

Central Trains... even worse on a Sunday. It''s optional for their staff to work on Sunday apparently, so they rely on voluntary offers to fill their rota. I had a friend who''d travel Nottingham to Lincoln most weeks and it was routine for at least two trains to be cancelled before he finally got one. It''s like they see weekend schedules as an awkward hassle raher than a legally-binding pre-cursor of their contract to operate trains in the first place.You can get your money back... but only if you had a seat booked on a specific train that was cancelled. Otherwise try the small claims courts :-)Alternatively, if you have a 30-day return ticket and the outgoing wasn''t stamped, you can return your tickets within that period and get a full refund minus £5.

[quote user="we_8_ipswich"]IMO it would be much helpful for the board to say which manager we are going for instead of just telling us nothing...we need a proven manager intrested in what others think [/quote]I couldn''t disagree more. Look at what happened when the FA announced that they were talking to Scolari for the England job..I just don''t see the benefit. If the board announced who they were speaking to, disgruntled fans would turn it into a negative whoever the candidates happened to be. Also, I don''t think the potential managers would be happy with it (the club would effectively be announcing all of the managers they turned down). Others may well choose to steer clear to avoid the potential bad press.

AJAX RAID NORWICH RESERVES FOR DEFENSIVE TALENTAn April 1st headline in mid-July... But SO ridiculous that it could only be true!

A friend over in the US sent me this link....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe4s49zjG10Roberto Carlos eat your heart out! Pitty he could never pull off one of those for us at Carrow Road....

[quote user="Attack Barclay 2nd Half"]Oh come on.....dubious? The guy''s hopeless, any chance to offload him has to be explored.....[/quote]Yeah... I was inclined to think that we let him go for a trial cos we were pretty much happy to offload on a free... HOWEVER... That really begs the question of why on earth Champions League-bound Ajax would consider him. I''m just confused! (And the longer he stays there on this "trial", the more likely it would seem to me that they''re actually keen on taking him)On the player-swap front... here are all of Ajax''s defenders and midfielders outside of the squad numbers 1-11 (I''ll assume they''ll be well out of the picture). Looks like they''ve got an embarrassment of riches in midfield...13     MF     Edgar Davids15     MF     Laurent Delorge17     MF     Jan Vertonghen18     MF     Gabri20     DF     George Ogăraru22     DF     Robbert Schilder24     MF     Mitchell Donald25     DF     Gregory van der Wiel26     MF     Jeffrey Sarpong27     MF     Vurnon Anita28     MF     Michael Krohn-Dehli29     MF     Olaf LindenberghI say we take Edgar Davids on trial... If he doesn''t make the grade we take back Colin =)

Anyone know what''s happened to Colin? Is he still on trial in Amsterdam? Are Ajax going to pay anything for him? Are they going to send us a left back and/or centre back in his place??(I find the idea of a player under contract at one club going for an extended trial at another very dubious indeed... We''ve now started pre-season and still no sign of a decision one way or another! What happens if they send him back to us?)

Just thought I''d say that I''ve been impressed by Waghorn''s new site:http://norwichcity.myfootballwriter.comBarely looked at the old rickwaghorn.co.uk (awkward, inaccessible and everything seemed to require a subscription!), but the new format seems good and the news and transfer rumours have been rolling at an impressive rate - has a much better summary of the rumours doing the rounds than Pink''Un since he probably doesn''t have the same kind of liabilities for mis-information as Archant.Anyway... seems he''s setting a higher bar to compete with this site, so should be fun to see how Pinkun.com ups its game this season!!

I remember watching one of those season-by-season football history series on the BBC a few years back (Match of the 70''s, Match of the 80''s, Match of the 90''s), and tuned in with interest to the 92/93 and 93/94 seasons. They interviewed Jeremy Goss and he couldn''t stop referring to "little old Norwich" (I''m pretty sure those were his exact words!)... but then again, I suppose we were competing with the likes of Bayern Munich and Inter back then... and I don''t think anyone could argue that we''re anything other than minnows on the European stage... And before anyone slates me for that, I don''t think anyone other than an ardent fan would refer to Wolves et al as being anything different at that level.

I think that''s pretty harsh... Four or five years ago he was probably just about the best young English keeper around, but since then he''s been plagued by injuries, lost form and struggled to find regular first team places in the Prem. Having said that, he''s probably still better than Gallacher. However, I''d be more worried by his injury-proneness than his ties to Ipswich.

[quote user="jas the barclay king"][quote user="Ark"][quote user="jas the barclay king"] the Beeb should never of got rid of Barry Davis mind u... [/quote]Now there was a true legend... I think he retired with dignity rather than being forced out though. He still does one-off events from time to time... including Wimbledon last year.[/quote] remember his commenatry of Dennis Bergkamps winner over the Argies in 98?   jas :) [/quote]Not specifically... But apparently he did once say: "The Dutch fans look like a huge jar of marmalade."He had/has an unrivalled ability to fill a commentary box... Somehow doing the job of commentator and co-commentor all roled into one! (although, I guess a co-commentator can be more of a burden than a lift in some cases... David Pleat and Mark Lawrenson come instantly come to mind...)

[quote user="K Lo"]You sort of have a point. I mean, where would be the fun if the Binners were in the Conference and we were in the Prem. I''d rather we be in the same league and then give them a good hiding twice a year.[/quote]Have to agree with this part... It''s fun to have a "rivalry", but if its not competitive then it''s not really worthy of that name. Wouldn''t the sweetest victory over Ipswich be in the Championship play-off final, the FA cup final or (okay, this is pushing it) the final of the Champions'' League. Now those would be ALMIGHTY bragging rights!Which was the better rivalry? Liverpool vs Everton back in the 1980s, when they consistently vied for first and second spot in the league? Or Cheltenham vs Gloucester, where the former is in League 1 and the latter is two divisions below the Conference??

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]the Beeb should never of got rid of Barry Davis mind u... [/quote]Now there was a true legend... I think he retired with dignity rather than being forced out though. He still does one-off events from time to time... including Wimbledon last year.

[quote user="Smudger"][quote user="Mook"] Do you honestly think Motson, Alan Green or Jonathan Pearce have ever kicked a ball in their lives? NO!! They''re just fat blokes with a penchant for stats. I didn''t think her commentary was any good, but it''s still a damn sight better than anything Motson has ever yelped. With any luck, she''ll blaze a trail and we''ll get more and better quality female commentators to give the men a run for their money. I don''t see anyone complaining about Gabby Logan??? [/quote] They may be a fat bloke with a penchant for stats but I am sure that in some stage of their lives they have probably kicked a ball about in mens football? Yes that may have been only Sunday Morning Park Football... but even at that level you gain some knowledge of how to play the game and the physical stresses & strains that physical competitive activity against other men can place one''s body under...  Something no ''lady'' has any real idea of I''m afraid... and until they compete on an equal stage with their male counterparts then they never will have either... Like I said if she wants to commentate then she should commentate on womens football (monkey tennis)... As for Gabby Logan she is c**p too!!! [/quote]I was out just this evening playing football with a mixed bunch of guys and girls.Perhaps you have some kind of valid point to make, but you just sound like an idiot when you come out with this kind of bigoted nonsense to go with it.

In fairness, Huckerby ISN''T really a left winger... Certainly not a NATURAL left winger. He''s proven that. If he was one then I think there''d be some grounds for a call up.At best, he''d come in and do a Trevor Sinclair. Have a few good games out of position, but then eventually show that he''s out of his depth against the big teams. To be honest, I''m not sure Hucks could do a useful job for England right now... He''s a great player no doubt, but he''s not the player that England are missing right now.

Did anyone else notice the subtle German flag on the right shoulder of the new England shirt... Black and red stripes with a gold umbro badge underneath. I thought it was a top-notch wind-up from a German designer til I remembered that Umbro are a British company. Either way, I think it''s a design classic!