Robert N. LiM

Only the barest of excuses needed to post this masterpiece. Works so well in superslowmo with the defender and the keeper sitting down in perfect synchronisation. I didn't choose the music.

Yeah, I've never really understood what people watch football for if it's not to watch players like him. Wes, Crook and Emi are my top three Norwich players of my watching life. The order depends on my mood that day.

That's so funny, I've often had the opposite thought - how far he would have gone if he'd played 10 years earlier, when players were less drugged up to the max super-fit and there was a bit more space for players like him. He would have been such an asset to our 90s team.

The trick with these Batth puns is not to faucet

Huge if true

Nothing personal against @cambridgeshire canary, who I'd describe as, like the Earth in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 'mostly harmless'. Just don't like these myths that develop a life of their own, like when people say Idah has scored x goals in y appearances, ignoring the fact that virtually all those appearances were brief run-outs as a sub.

I enjoyed this. Not sure the self-certified 'big' Vince has ever had his (presumably commensurately large) a$$ handed to him in quite such an elegant way.

Depends what you mean by 'defence' - just the four guys who play at the back, or the defensive structure of the team as a whole. My argument is that the reason we concede so many goals is that we are really vulnerable to the counter attack because we have so many players pushed forward when we attack (including both full backs) and no defensively minded midfielder in the team. Sure, there have been some individual mistakes by members of the back four, but I think we defend poorly as a whole team. I don't think 'the defence', ie the back four, is the main problem. I think it's a coaching issue and the way the team is set up as a whole, which is why Wagner is on very thin ice. Obviously it's all about opinions and you might disagree, but I hope this clarifies what I meant.

Is it Ashley Barnes in the Leicester game? This is only sort of a joke.

Going to say it again, when Wagner made that change we didn't have enough subs left to bring Batth on as a straight swap for Gibson as well. The idea that McLean is 'ahead' of him in the CB rankings is just nonsense.

We might have the worst defensive record. But I can't believe we have the worst back four, or anything like it. Personally I'm convinced it's a structural problem in the team, which a decent coach should be able to sort out. If Wagner can't do it, they'll have to bring someone else in. It might come at the cost of us being a bit less of a threat up front, but you're absolutely right we can't go on conceding two (or more) goals a game.

Watford seem to have a bit of a number over us, so think it'll probably just be nine points.

Brilliant post, @repman - always enjoy and learn from your stuff on here. cheers

Exactly. Personally I think we'll be just short of the playoffs, but I'm not sure I care very much given that this is not remotely a PL-ready squad. Obviously this might come back to bite me, but I'll be astonished if we're anywhere near a relegation battle as lots seem to fear. The frustrating thing about Wagner is that this squad should be doing better than it currently is. But looked at another way, that's a big opportunity for a new SD and new coach.

Yeah, I enjoyed my trip to Goodison - lost an FA Cup tie in the Worthy years. It was the 'you fat b*stard' game where Everton pretended that the word 'fat', aimed at the assassin-faced baby Wayne Rooney was actually a racist slur aimed at, iirc, Joseph Yobo. But it definitely felt like a proper football ground. Ok - will save my worst grounds for next week 😉

Really like these threads. Makes a nice change from discovering what people think about Webber or Essex Canary again.

Miss the old grounds, I have to say. Upton Park for a midweek game was a pretty special experience. Liked the Dell. Probably my favourite City away day was to Bramall Lane just after the Bayern win. Among the new stadiums, the Tottenham Hotspur stadium is stunning. The one-tier home end especially.

Glorious contributions to this thread, @nutty nigel. Love it.

Apart from Onel all the time.

We just need @Parma Ham's gone mouldyto keep banging on about his positional indiscipline to ward off any potential suitors.

I can't. (Still trying to work out whether that sentence should have been preceded by 'Fortunately,' or 'Unfortunately'...)

What is his natural position? I'm not sure I have a clue anymore. Is he an 8, do you think?

Well even in the midst of what has been a very disappointing season so far I have loved watching Gabriel Sara and Jonathan Rowe. I don't get to many games but in the last two I've been to live, Sara has scored a brilliant goal right in front of me in both of them. And there's nothing better than watching a young player breaking through in the way that Rowe has done. Do they make your list of NCFC greats? No, of course not. But in terms of 'fond memories of gracing the yellow and green' then yes, I'd say so. (Wouldn't put Nuñez anywhere near those two, but even he's already had two really memorable moments - his panenka penalty and the goal that's about to happen in my avatar...)

Funny though, isn't it? With the benefit of hindsight would you want it any different? A few years scrabbling around in the PL with 11 behind the ball trying to stay up, or the adventures of Alex Neil and Farke's teams? I'd definitely take the latter, but I guess lots wouldn't. But the examples of Burnley and Stoke confirm that the role of financially out-muscled team in the PL, doing what's necessary to survive, doesn't keep people happy for long either...

My point exactly.