Ark

So what if you think we need a new manager. We needed a new manager when Walker left, but in his last game in charge the fans gave it their all and City beat Swindon 5-0... Forget about the manager. Who wants the team to win??

I think the fact that Palace fans want Dowie out has to take the cupcake for me. Rick Waghorn suggested in his column the other week that this wasn''t the case and that therefore City fans were jumping the gun in calling for Worthy''s head... Dowie shouldn''t go (certainly not yet!) and ditto Worthy, this "new" revelation seems to show that all of us footie fans are a fickle bunch without an ability to sit back and look at the bigger picture... I would have to agree, because I know that I''m as guilty as many. When you invest so much of your life in supporting a team it''s hard to accept that, on balance, they are likely to fail more than they succeed (ie. finish mid-table or get relegated as opposed to finishing in the top six), and you''re always likely to look for fast fixes and magic formulas for instant success (some chairmen are as guilty as fans). But simple maths dictates... you can''t have 24 teams finishing the season as champions!

Just had a listen to Worthy''s post-match commments (available from the link below)... rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/norfolk/nigel_worthington_20050924_au_nb.rm I was more struck than anything by the fact that he was convinced that we were playing well and simply weren''t taking chances in front of goal... Now, in my view all managers make mistakes on the pitch, and one of the best things about Worthy was that he was always willing to admit when he was at fault. But for me, failing to carve out a single worthwhile opportunity in a match is more than just a problem with finishing... I have no problem with Worthy telling us that he''s in charge and that he''s the one who makes the decisions (although he didn''t put it well), I''d consider him a weak and indecisive leader if he didn''t take this stance... I''m much more worried by the fact that he seems to be starting to bury his head in the sand instead of addressing the his failings and the failings of his team.

Call me a fool, but I don''t get the joke... Maybe you just have a weak bladder?

I''m guessing this was partially inspired by my Worthy article on there... The world revolves around ME goddammit! ...added a few Wikilinks for you... But I''ve got a feeling the article will probably be deleted by the moderators/admin! Had to survive a vote for deletion to keep this valuable resource on local geography/history... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earlham_Road

Nice one MadDan, undermine my confidence in the level of intelligent debate on this board why don''t you... Made me chuckle tho! Bit about Flem was pure genius.

[quote]I was doing a little research on the manager that is ours and I came across somethinge which is only just ever so slightly worrying. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Worthington Nigel Worthington''...[/quote] Just thought I ought to add my own tuppence as I was actually the person who started the Wikipedia article and wrote that bit. I based it on the fact that when I was writing Canarycorner.com I got an email from the guy who ran the Blackpool site on Rivals.net saying how worried he was for our club when Worthington joined as assistant manager. He went on to explain how he''d ruined Blackpool, but I responded by saying that he probably wouldn''t become manager and we''d all be safe. I was terrified when the club initially appointed him manager, but as time went on I think he''s learnt a lot and proven himself to be a much better manager than we could have hoped for compared to our usual failures, especially in his abilities to work with the board, attract and deal with players and work successfully as a team with his more experienced coaching staff. Also in defence of Worthy, there are a number of other good managers out there didn''t necessarily make the best of starts to their careers - look at Steve Bruce''s relegation escapade at Huddersfield for example - one that they still haven''t recovered from, unlike Blackpool. Also on the "history repeating itself" note, even if Worthy was to leave us now in the position we''re in, we are actually 3 places ABOVE where we were when he took over from Hamilton 5 years ago.

[quote]He won''t be sacked but will probably go after this World Cup campaign whatever happens. I agree with Lawrie Sanchez on this - most of the calls for him to go are because he is not English. As I unde...[/quote] Some perspective... at last! There are only two qualifying matches left... Sven will manage England until the end of the current World Cup campaign whether we like it or not FULL STOP. Get used to it! For the record, I also agree with lawrie sanchez'' sentiments. Look at the title of this thread for a start!

Totally agree with northern canary. I don''t remember Brennan playing badly last season... I just don''t remember him playing full-stop! Apart from the odd substitute appearance he was pretty much frozen out to the bemusement of most fans... Even when everyone else was injured! Brennan''s form is no surprise. The surprise has been the lack of form shown by pretty much anyone else in the side. However, that''s certainly not to take anything away from the guy!!

Fair point well made. Exemplified by the old chetnut of Green vs Marshall.Having said that, it''s not exactly time to be resting on our laurels! Maybe it''s harsh judgement to expect another title from Worthy''s men this season, but we''re some way from even the play-offs on current form...

Ironically, they''ve probably now drawn a lot more public attention to their otherwise relatively anonymous pre-season fixtures over here.

I felt that Greeno''s command of the box was a breath of fresh air when Marshall left - always ready and willing to scream his lungs out at the defence (when necessary). And for once I found myself able to watch the team defend in the final third without having to cover my eyes. However, I''ll admit that mid way throught last season Green''s confidence took a massive dive, with such a poor defence in front of him and his lack of top-class experience this is quite understandable. It''s all about whether he has the character to bounce back now. But I still think he''s a massive talent and I''d be sad to see the club let him go without a fight (maybe £3million minimum), although I do have confidence in his deputies should he leave.

I''m Ahmad Barclay (yes, that''s my REAL surname!) - although all my mates do call me Ark. Set up Canarycorner.com when I was about 15 I think (now 23), actually worked updating this site too in its former guise as alt.Canaries back in the days of ECN. I''m now an architecture postgrad bum living and working in London.

[quote]He didn''t do too bad. Couple of dodgy kicks but his handling looked good. I''m not sure he made a strong enough case though to move above Calamity in the pecking order!!??[/quote] Dodgy kicks??? You people must have become complacent in this post-Andy Marshall world of plenty... A dodgy kick is one where at least one of the following rules is not satisfied... 1. The kicker''s foot successfully connects with the ball. 2. The ball goes beyond the edge of the penalty area. 3. The ball stays on the pitch. Greeno kept the ball at his feet for too long on a couple of occasions, but I thought that his kicking game was pretty good - picked out one or two great passes, although the team didn''t really capitalise on them - eg. by keeping the ball...

I say Helveg if he stays... and play him in the centre for chrissake!!!

[quote]Ricky i really disagree strongly when you say we wouldn''t have stayed up without him. I agree that you can''t blame one man, but it''s because he''s so crap that our defence was under so much pressure al...[/quote] I''m sorry shardy, but that''s a ridiculous thing to say. That kind of irrational statement undermines your authority to make an objective arguement.

[quote]It strikes me that since the Fulham match on Sunday that there has been an sudden increase in the numbers of topics and post slagging Holt off. It seems to me that he has been singled out, with the re...[/quote] Was with you on the bit where you said it was the fault of the team as a whole, and not just one man... ...but then you lost me by blaming it all on Francis. For the record, I''ve never been a great fan of Holt - except perhaps in the play-off season - and I picked him and Malky as players that were really going to struggle with the pace and skill of premiership football when we were promoted. However, I also struggle to agree with Shardy and his views. I''ve seen Holt harrass players for the ball on many occasions, and even though he rarely wins the ball, he does restrict their options and force mistakes. I agree with the passing and on-the-ball bit though - very frustrating - he''s just not a skillful footballer, and it often showed horribly at prem level!

Maybe they should build a statue at carrow road of "the fans" to pay a lasting tribute to our suffering in the name of the club

[quote]Not sure that I can agree with you on your first comment Ark about Worthy''s ability to learn and adapt. He might learn but I''m not convinced he knows how to adapt.Several posters have already noted th...[/quote] Some fair points made Morph, but the Safri substitution??? Are you seriously suggesting that Jonson could have single-handedly changed the outcome of Sunday''s game? Unlikely. To me he''s proven very little this season. And are you suggesting that a lacklustre and uncommited Damien Francis would have held his own all alone in the centre? Adapting? Quickly? Maybe not. It takes him a while to make major changes in the first team. But at the end of the day he''s ended up ringing pretty much all of the changes called for (Fleming being the only exception as far as I know). However, I personally see him as a top-notch man manager. He''s able to attract the right players to the club (a number have sited him and the coaching setup as a reason for joining), and I think his line has generally been firm-but-fair. Acceptable in my view. To my knowledge, the only time that Worthy has omitted a player based on misdemeanors off the pitch this season was Bentley, which I personally agreed with. If you let players misbehave, in time you will lose respect from all quarters. We can''t judge what goes on behind the scenes based only on hearsay alone.

Worthy has made mistakes this season. But he, and his coaching staff, have proven that they can learn and adapt to the unexpected, and even admit when mistakes were made. He is undoubtedly a better manager than the Nigel Worthington who won promotion with Norwich City 12 months ago. He must stay. And he must also bring in a new defensive coach over the summer!!

However, 27 of those 37 involve Norwich winning, which just goes to prove that we can''t rely on results elsewhere. Win and we stay up. Lose or draw and more than likely we''re relegated.

Just thought this might be handy since it sounds line all the direct onerailway trains are likely to be overcrowded (not to mention the hassle of the connecting bus from Witham!)... Via Cambridge/Ely - this is an accepted route with a straightforward norwich to london ticket, involving one change, and arriving at Kings Cross. Via Peterborough - worst-case scenario, will probably need to buy norwich-peterborough return and peterborough-london return (don''t think its too expensive). takes about 1hr30 to peterborough then only 1hr from peterborough to london on the GNER. Also arrives at Kings Cross. Hope that helps!

Got it! They probably won''t allow this, but if you put an accumulator on all of the other three teams getting relegated, wouldn''t that effectively a bet on Norwich staying up??

Here''s an interesting fact though... If anything other than a Norwich win happens tomorrow, the team that stays up will have set a record low number of points for premiership survival. (bradford stayed up with 36 points in the 1999/00 season, equal to the maximum that city could finish on)

Andrew, you can''t really read that much into it. It certainly wasn''t exhaustive of the possibilities. These are just a few of the combinations that would keep us up... norwich (L)* soton (L) palace (L) wba (L) norwich (D)* soton (L) palace (L) wba (L) norwich (D)* soton (D) palace (L) wba (L) norwich (D)* soton (D) palace (D) wba (L) norwich (D)* soton (D) palace (D) wba (D) norwich (D)* soton (L) palace (D) wba (L) norwich (D)* soton (L) palace (D) wba (D) norwich (D)* soton (L) palace (L) wba (D) norwich (D)* soton (D) palace (L) wba (D) norwich (L)* soton (L) palace (L) wba (D) norwich (W)* soton (L) palace (L) wba (L) etc. etc. etc. etc......