Ark

[quote]Anyone who hasn''t been slagged to death on this forum....Ah!we have a problem.....[/quote] Simon Charlton??

[quote]Calamity Craig Fluster Phlegm strikes again; I remember a couple of seasons ago when Phlegm was injured and it was Malkay, Kenton and Drury; clean sheets; good link with midfield/forwards. Then back c...[/quote] This season''s form aside, Fleming has probably been our most consistent player over the last five or so seasons, and he was about the only player who brought any solidity whatsoever to the defence in the days of Jackson, Marshall et al. And to claim Malky and Iwan were better servants? Fleming was at City long before either of them, and while Iwan showed consistency, Malky was all over the place til Worthy arrived. Yes, Flem hasn''t been up to the task since the first few games of this season, but let''s not re-write history shall we?

I''d interpret it to say that he''s pretty damn certain we''re already relegated - whatever he might say to the contrary. ie. if he thought we had a rat in hell''s chance he''d want as much backup as possible in our his already thin on the ground squad.Or... Perhaps he said it in hope that the "I''m open to offers" bit would be quoted out of context in papers and another club might come and offer him a job before he gets City''s relegation stamped on his CV.

[quote]"A win at palace would be kind of nice" KIND OF NICE??? IT WOULD BE BLOODY SUPERB MY FRIEND BUT WITH THE WAY WE''VE PERFORMED AWAY I CAN''T SEE IT HAPPENING[/quote] Is this the same team we''re talking about? They''re only 6 points ahead of us, and the pundits reckon they''ll lose the survival battle to Southampton. It''s true that we haven''t had a good record at Selhurst Park in recent seasons, but we''d only need a good performance and a little bit of luck to go our way to sneak something there, not a miracle.There''s no gulf of class between us. Anyone who saw highlights of their game the other week should know that it was mostly down to Man U that they failed to score against 10 men - they missed about 3 open goals.Fair enough "kind of nice" is a bit of an understatement, but it''d likely only be a consolation.

[quote]Francis isn''t the key, Ashton is. IF (and i''m confident he will) he''s still here next season we will have the championship''s best striker in our team and he WILL be the key to getting us back up, alon...[/quote] You don''t suppose that all three of those players (francis, ashton, huckerby) could be pretty damn important to us performing next season? - along with a number of others, not least the goalie (whoever it may be come August) and the likes of Shackell at the back. The defence are going to have to refind their feet quickly come next season if they don''t get any better in the remaining games this year. As for this season, its a ridiculously tall order now. I think it''s true that Man City was probably the crunch game - especially seeing how the results have gone against us since. Best hope is that we pull-off a few confidence-building wins between now and May and finish the season on a high (hopefully above West Brom at least!). I guess a win at Palace to pull them down with us would be kind of nice.

Basically... because we never win!

[quote]Out;Green - ArsenalFrancis - CharltonHelveg - Danish clubCharlton - Lower leagueFlem - Lowrer leagueDoherty - AnywhereMulryne - CelticMcviegh - CelticHolt - AnywhereSvennsson - Sweidish clubJonson - B...[/quote] I thought it was nice how you found a home for most of them whilst you were at it! Not sure what Celtic would want with McVeigh or Mulryne. I suppose the ''lil fellas might make good mascots.Bearing in mind how difficult it is for a team with 5-6 new players to gel - and quite how we could afford some of the suggestions for that matter (don''t forget we borrowed against the parachute payments to buy Ashton already) - we would, realistically, want to start the season with the best of what we''ve got left with new players waiting in the wings.Assuming we lose Green, Deano + Helveg (I think we should do our best to hold onto the latter as it''ll no doubt be a hugely cut-down fee we''d get for him), I suggest... WardCharlton, Shax, Flem, DruryHendo, Stuart, Brennan, HuxLeon, Ash Subs: Saf, Eddy, Jarvis, Svensson, Jonson On second thought... the squad does need a bit of a once-over with a feather duster. If we need a cull, then I''d like to see the following out to free-up the purse-strings... Holty, Doc (I''ve got a feeling he may be over-paid), Mullers, McVeigh.We desperately need defenders and midfielders coming in to replace the dead-wood - suggest two of each to start... all potential first-teamers. Our strike force ought to be the best in the Championship if we can hang onto all of the above.

Thanks, I was hoping someone would reassure me! Never been one for finances myself.

It''s just struck me reading your comment - this is probably nonsense, but bear with me. Perhaps Delia''s desperation for us to win on Monday stems from something that she knows and we don''t. Perhaps we''ve pushed the financial boat out so far with the signing of Ashton and co that we''ll be completely crippled if we go down. I remember hearing something iffy about how we were borrowing money against our parachute payments or something dodgy like that to make the signing. Perhaps the board have realised how financially suicidal that could be, and know just how desparately we need to stay up this season to avoid a mass-exodous over the summer. Or something like that. So Monday night''s outburst was actually one of the final, desparate, acts of an officer to save her sinking ship. Nonsense... ?

[quote]I see what you''re saying PK. If we lose 4/5-0 nobody will care but if we ground out a 0-0 draw it would be an incredible result. However, I can''t see us getting anything on Saturday. We will be pla...[/quote] I don''t think a draw is impossible, but it''s more likely we''d see another 4-4 than keep a clean sheet against Chelsea! Stranger things have happened... but perhaps not in football. Anyway, as fans, I guess its all about making the most of the next few games whatever the outcome. We might not be able to show up the team on the pitch, but we can definitely make the supporters look second-rate!

Can''t help but agree, as sad as it is, that a poor pitch can help to sway the odds. But at least it looks nice on TV.

We managed to score first for only the third time this season! (palace and blackburn home being the other 2) I thought that Stuart was one of the stars of the first-half - in attack at least - he was first to so many balls and put a number of dangerous crosses into the box (as well as the almightly spoon). Ashton - pretty much faultless in my view. Proved that the most important thing is to take any opportunity you get in front of goal - however hopeless your chances may seem! - I think it may have benefitted him in a way that Hux wasn''t on the pitch. The balance hasn''t been working up-front, but last night seemed more successful... I think the two of them and worthy need to figure out how they work best together. Nice to see Doc rested too. I''m sure there''s potential there, but he always looks a yard off the pace and doesn''t quite seem to have got the hang of man-marking (or zonal for that matter). Shackell and Fleming, not sure, both played alright individually, but there seemed to be a lack of communication across the back 4.

I only saw this on telly, so I''m probably not the best to comment. It seemed pretty cringe-worthy, but as far as I could tell, she was just doing all she possibly could as a fan to help give the players a kick up the backside. It takes a lot of balls (as it were) to stand up in front of the crowd like that, so I guess we should be proud in a way that the people at the top actually care so much about the club - although it''s difficult to look at it that way when you''re being patronised on live TV.

[quote]He drives a Cadillac Escalade. So will he come to Norwich? Don''t think so. This is Beemer and Volvo country.[/quote] Right on old boy. I think his name says it all!

twtd always had a nice little league predictor at the end of the season, but sadly they''re simply not in our league this season (as it were).

[quote]Thats a good point. But we have so many injuries that theres not much alternative[/quote] But Brennan''s not injured! I think that was fillet''s point. Why not give the poor bloke a chance! I''d personally like to see Doherty rested - so Brennan left-back, and Charlton reverted to centre to renew his previously solid partnership with Fleming. (anyone else see the correlation between Doc playing at centre-back and the goals we''ve been shipping of late?) Agree with earlier comments about using Leon as a sub. Huckerby up front could well prove a great link-up for Ashton to finally get into the game for us! Maybe a kind of 4-4-1-1 kind of job.

After snatching victory from the jaws of defeat on Saturday, Norwich are finally top a table for something other than their list of injured players. According to Football 365''s stats, City have gained more points than any other team in the Premiership from being in a losing position. In all three wins this season - Soton, Bolton and Brom - and five draws, Norwich have clawed their way back from at least a goal behind, "gaining" a total of 14 points along the way. http://stats.football365.co.uk/dom/ENG/PR/ptsgain.html Interestingly, Norwich are also up in joint 7th place in the Points Lost table, never having lost, and only having drawn twice from a "winning" position (a total of only 4 points lost). http://stats.football365.co.uk/dom/ENG/PR/ptslost.html However, both of these statistics highlight the fact that City rarely manage to score the first goal in matches, and reinforce to sentiment that we seem to be incapable of playing well until the odds are stacked severely against us.

[quote]I''m not sure I''ve got my head around the whole standing issue: - What exactly is a "well-designed and managed safe-standing area" ? - Will it cost the same to stand as to sit? - How will we stop th...[/quote] It''s pretty hard to answer most of those since a lot of it''s to do with how the individual club decides to implement it (obviously consideration would have to be made).What it is - Safe standing areas are areas where each person is allocated a specific space to stand with safety barriers at each row, avoiding a free for all, and ensuring that .There''s a good pic of a safe standing area from the Werder Bremen stadium here...www.truststfc.co.uk/safe_standing.phpCost - Completely the choice of the club. I don''t think you can fit many more fans in the stand than seating with safe-standing designs, so I guess the price would be pretty much the same.Hooligans - My personal view is that this is an unrelated issue. There are simply far more measures to deal with hooligans nowerdays - just look at the number of stewards and police at the ground on matchday.Standing Elsewhere - The rules would no doubt remain exactly the same as they are now for elsewhere in the ground. I think that this issue is all about the fact that supporters should simply have the choice to stand at matches if they wish. New terracing designs have been proven to be safe (if you can get something built with the building regulgulations they have in Germany it would have to be safe, trust me!), but at the moment it seems that the agenda is still set by what has increasingly come to look like a knee-jerk reaction to Hillsborough - a tragedy due as much to poor crowd control as the design of the stands.

Was about to start a new thread on this until I finally tracked this one down. I''m surprised there hasn''t been more debate on this since the club''s decision to back the campaign could potentially be a historic one. According to a recent online survey (link below), up to 80% of football fans would support a return of standing areas at football grounds, and I think it is about time that the government revisit the findings of the Talyor Report (published following the Hillsborough tragedy). There is evidence to suggest that well-designed and managed safe-standing areas may in fact be as safe as, or even safer than seating (obviously depending on the habits of fans). And there are a number of examples of european and lower-league clubs that have introduced such areas to their grounds. I think its about time that we all got in touch with our MPs to mention the Club''s support of fans on this matter. It''s easy with www.faxyourmp.com I personally think it would be great if the whole of the lower Barclay could be converted into a safe standing area! A few related links... www.safestanding.com National campaign for Safe Standing www.footballfanscensus.com/reports/Sample_Safe.pdf Survey of fans'' attitudes towards safe standing areas www.truststfc.co.uk/safe_standing.php Campaign by Swindon fans for standing at their new ground (includes pic of safe standing area at Werder Bremen stadium)

[quote]The difference is, as well as getting relegated the club sold most of the players who would have given them a shout of bouncing back (Ward and Newsome) in addition to all the other decent players that...[/quote] That''s a fair point, and I mention the word "dumb" in my first post. But I wasn''t trying to say he was the cause of City''s relegation. I just meant that the signing was a common theme in the season. I was thinking of things more along the lines of which pundits backed us for the drop that season? Who knocked us out of the FA cup? Did we get screwed by a referee in Portsmouth? (I know they weren''t in the Prem that season - but you get the point). Even other seasons - did the circumstances of promotion last season have anything in common with 85/86. Those "history repeating itself" kind of moments.

This is a bit dumb, but I had it in mind before noticing the quotes from Ashley Ward on the front page. Signing a star striker from Crewe mid-season, followed by Premiership relegation. Can anyone else think of any other such potential recurring themes?

Sure, tactics, formations, confidence have a huge part to play... But if you have players in the team that simply can''t cope with the pace of the game or pass the ball effectively, they''re going to struggle whatever the state of the other factors. Yes, Francis and Safri haven''t yet shown consistency, but at least they''ve shown skill, and potential - meanwhile Holt has consistently struggled to keep up with the game. btw I personally think that Mulryne is also likely to struggle as I''m not sure he really has the presence on (and off) the ball for this league, but at least he CAN pass.

I think what worries me most (and what was brought up in the first post and forgotten about) is that in the managers mind it seems that Holt can do no wrong - as far as I remember he''s yet to even be substituted this season. I remember a few years back when Iwan would never be substituted - there were even rumours that he had such a clause in his contract - and it seemed to be to the detriment of both his own performances and the team''s. Worthington has tried any number of midfield combinations - this season and last - but every single one of them so far has involved Gary Holt. I''d just say - especially if he''s going through a bad patch, which he IS - that the next one should be without him. My personal view (even before the start of the season) was that Holt simply isn''t good enough for this league, but which ever way you look at it, it''s time he was rested. As for the rest, yes, none have consistently performed, but Worthington has already shown that he is willing to leave them out of the side if necessary - even wonder-boy Bentley, yet still not Holt.

Also - I might have this wrong - but wasn''t it Mallorca that pulled out of a pre-season friendly with us a few seasons back, replaced by Borussia Monchengladbach (sp?) for Daryl Sutch''s "testimonial" (a crowd of 6000 turned out for a 0-0 draw from what I remember).

Only really know the name from PES to be honest. Another thing I remember of the team back then was that they had Argentina''s 1998 world cup goalkeeper Carlos Roa... And something about their stadium being on an island (I think).