susie b

Just a general observation from Tuesday''s game: when Svensson came on the fluency and speed of our attacks seemed to increase, not least because of his ability to lay off the ball into the space he sees others moving into, and he doesn''t always do what the opposition seem to think he will do. Another plus, as some have mentioned, is that he seems to be a real irritant to defenders and does win us free kicks in useful positions. Bearing in mind who we are playing on Sunday, I think he has earned a start, but I trust Worthy to do what he feels is best in the circumstances. After all, he hasn''t got it wrong very often lately, has he?

I''m SO relieved to know that I am in good company today. I''ve been useless at work all day, and now I can''t face any food before tonight! If we do go behind tonight - heaven forbid - how great would it be to respond like we did against the Hammers by singing ''Top of the League and having a laugh''? Seriously, though, I think we have a huge part to play in all the remaining games so we need to make it LOUD, LONG and POSITIVE so everyone out there knows how we feel. (I shall even try and get the usual suspects in the City Stand to grunt a bit if I can. Hard task, but someone''s got to do it).

I think we all need to remember what Worthy said weeks ago, i.e. ''there will be plenty of twists and turns before the end of the season''. I''m convinced that he''ll be proved right. Whilst I don''t want to think about losing tomorrow, if it happens it will not be the start of a slide into oblivion, nor will it be the end of our chances of winning the title or of going up. I was talking to my boss at work today (a Hammer''s fan) and he thinks, as I do, that this division is really exciting this year because there are still so many teams with a chance of a playoff place, and a couple who could yet pinch an auto promo place, and most still have to play each other. I''m not sure if my nerves can take much more than the next ten weeks or so will provide, but I''m really glad to be feeling like this rather than contemplating mid-table obscurity and another season for sure in this division.

The situation will be even worse, of course, if they draw with the Blunts in the FA Cup next weekend! I read something on one of their fans'' websites this morning that said it might have to be played as late as mid-April. If things go ok for us between now and then it could end up being a good thing the later it is played, perhaps. What do other posters think?

I was about to ask the same thing, cityangel. As the date given for the wiping of yellow cards is, I believe, the last day of February, I would imagine all our yellow cards will now be wiped out and everyone will start from scratch again. Although I am disappointed that the game is off today and I really feel for everyone who has made the journey north, this could be a small silver lining in the snow-laden cloud for today, especially as most of our main rivals will probably pick up points and close the gap a bit. (Another possible upside could be that we will be fresher for Tuesday night''s big game than the Baggies. The downside could be that if they win today they will go into the game with more impetus than they might have done. Either way, we will have to show our professional qualities, as we have done many times this season).

I hope your first sentence proves to be right, a1, but more than anything I hope that all of our fans making the long journey get there safely and have something good to keep them warm as they make their way safely home again. How good would a win be before anyone else gets the chance tomorrow to do anything about it? That''s got to be a decent incentive, but it will be tough, no doubt. Wearing my positive hat, as I am for the rest of the season, I do think we might get a result, especially if we can go in level at the break. OTBC!

As the snow comes down outside, thoughts turn to the 2004 cricket season (?!) Just seven weeks to the first friendly, believe it or not. What has this got to do with Norwich Union, or the great Aviva as they are now called, I hear you cry? Well, they apparently couldn''t even stump up the cash to pay for a few bags of top dressing for their own cricket team who play at Pinebanks. They told the club rep. that he would have to find the funds out of the club''s own budget, something they have never had to do before. Best perhaps that we forget harbouring any thoughts of them having any input into City''s coffers, unless they find a few bags of unused grass seed left over from the bowl''s club''s allocation for 2003!!!

Sounds like another huge incentive to go up then! Imagine, a team full of players who positively love the club, living here, the fans, etc. Enough spirit to maybe stay up? Well, it''s a better start than having a scattering of prima donnas, don''t you think?

Hi Grinner. Please see my reply to Butch P on the thread ''Who would you like to see if we get promoted''. If you can say where you have heard this we would all love to know ''cos most of us really want this to happen...IF you-know-what becomes a reality in the near future. (The West Ham fans I met yesterday said PC was great when we played them at UP last year, and thought we might get him back someday). Sad to see him not make the pitch again today v Brum. What a waste!

Whether he''s back or not next week, it was fantastic to see him celebrate our goal yesterday with Hucks and the rest of the team. He has made it abundantly clear how much of a team player he is, in more ways than one, and deserves our utmost respect on and off the pitch. Good on yer, ''Conqueror of the Binners''!

Andrew, however much you would like to see Danny Mills back I don''t think Worthy would consider him because of his temperament/ disciplinary record, plus I think he would question whether he would be the right sort of person on and off the pitch to have here now. Butch, there must be a reason why you are making this statement about Crouchy and the ''agreement'' with Villa. I really would like it to be true, and so would many, many others who post on here regularly. Are you able to divulge any sources of info, or say why you seem so certain that such an agreement exists? (Someone on another site, only today, says that he knows PC''s agent, and the agent says PC doesn''t want to come back here). Who do we believe? (Certainly not a friend of a friend or anyone connected with an agent, I hear you cry!!!)

I just wanted to say ''hi'' to the group of eight or so WHU fans I walked down to the ground with today, in case they visit this site, especially as I mentioned it to them. I happened to see them get out of a couple of cars in Corton Road as I was being dropped off, and, seeing as they looked lost, I offered to show them a short-cut to the ground. Must say I haven''t enjoyed such good-humoured, friendly banter with a group of away fans for a long time. They were full of compliments for City and especially admired the way Worthy has got everybody really playing for each other and with such pride. They were also pretty convinced that the play-offs were probably their only realistic hope of making it this year, and felt, in honesty, that they weren''t quite ready yet. The best thing to hear was that, of all the teams in the top 10, they would choose for us to go up if they couldn''t, and that was because they think we have a decent, friendly club - which we all know we do, with bells on...and we''re proud of it! Did anyone else meet any Hammers'' fans today and share similar exchanges? (I''m hoping that there won''t be anyone who comes on and says they had the opposite experience, but I suppose all teams have their less palatable fans, hey?! We are no exception to this, sadly.

I hope we will at least keep the home strip for another season. The Hammers fans I walked down to the ground with today said it was the best strip in the division by a golden mile, and, no, they weren''t being sarcastic! (And I agreed with them).

I don''t know if anyone else out there has done the same as me but I recently made a New Year''s resolution to stop worrying about the things I can do absolutely nothing about. (This will apply to me personally as well as footie-related things). Since I made the promise AFTER the Bradford game - (as I spent the whole week before thinking about bananaskins and bogey teams, and we all know what happened) - I have enjoyed things so much more. The differences have included a) not screaming at RW''s commentary, but calmly repeating ''FOCUS, FOCUS'' when we are under pressure - much better for the blood pressure, b) visualising an impenetrable screen across the front of our goal whenever the oppo are on the attack - quite comforting really, and c) watching every second in a positive frame of mind as the action unfolds in front of me - means I''m getting more of my money''s worth than when I used to hide at times behind my hands or various items of clothing! Part of my new attitude means that I have faith in Worthy to pick the best 11 + 5 he believes can do the job on the day; I trust that the individuals who go out there will know exactly what is expected of them and will try their utmost to succeed; I believe that everyone in ''the shirt'' will be fully aware of what others may or may not try to do in order to stop us from winning. That doesn''t mean that I wouldn''t be disgusted and sickened to see one of our''s deliberately taken out by anyone else, but I am thinking back to when Millwall came here last year and, in front of our home fans, Muscat didn''t dare touch Hucks. In fact he was a bit of a pussycat that day. Anyway, worrying about it isn''t going to prevent it from happening if it''s going to...nor will it serve any purpose if it doesn''t happen at all! (Does that make sense? Several hours on the computer today have rather done my head in).

They are on a good run and their confidence must be high, especially with their run in the FA Cup continuing. However, looking at things as they stand, tomorrow is as near as it can be to a must-win game for them. It will do far more harm to them to lose it than it would to us. By saying this, I''m not suggesting that we will relax and take them lightly...NO WAY. They will be up for it, but so will we. The incentive for us to win this is HUGE in more ways than one, but maybe, just maybe, the pressure and expectation will get to them a bit more than it will to us. (We can but hope). The fact that many Hammers'' fans (including my boss) are trying to talk up a win for them leads me to think that, in reality, they aren''t quite as confident as they would have us believe. Still, if they win and are the better team on the day I''ll take my hat off to them, even though I shall avoid my boss for a bit, before giving him the old "you''ve got almost twice the number of players that we have...more money - Prem. parachute, recents income", etc. etc. routine! For what it''s worth, I think it will be a tight game (like v Blades) and will probably end up a draw...again worse for them than for us overall. Anyway, I''m really looking forward to it - OTBC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If this is a rant, cambscanary, I''d love to see you on a real bad day! Seriously, I think you''ve hit the nail on the head with your observations about team spirit, togetherness, etc. This is something that money can''t buy and several of our rivals would probably do anything to get ''it'' right now. (Read their fans'' messageboards if you doubt this). I''ve said on here before that I believe Worthy generally chooses not only the right type of player for the club but also the right type of person. This seems to be paying dividends for us, and, if we can maintain our support, even if the going gets a bit tougher, which it may well do, then we can and will play our part in whatever success is achieved (fingers crossed).

Several weeks back I was at a fundraising event for a local boys football team and Kevin Piper was the main speaker there. I left in no doubt that his blood is green and yellow. It was also interesting to hear that Mr. Brazil is often less than complimentary about his Ippo friends off camera! For me the jury''s out about whether there''s bias towards the southern county or not at Anglia. One week I might think it looks blatantly obvious, and another week it might not even seem to be an issue. I guess it''s very difficult to try to please everyone all of the time, but it makes me very annoyed if we don''t seem to be getting the recognition I feel we deserve. At least I can say, for sure, that I think the Anglia News coverage of local football is better (more interesting and comprehensive) by far than that of BBC Look East. Does anyone else agree? One place I have noticed bias, to a degree, is on the local Ceefax pages. Until very recent times we always had to share a page (p. 391 usually) with the moody blues, not just for match previews or reports, but also for news items. At last we seem to have broken free of them when it comes to things that are of interest to our fans and have nothing whatsoever to do with their fans. How about a separate page for previews and reports now? That would be nice.

How about ''Saturday Night''s Alright'' (for watching the Canaries on the Premiership), or ''Pocket Man'' ,or even ''I''m Still Standing'' (even though I''m supposed to sit down)? Will these do?

Some interesting points Mook. However, just a few questions to move the discussion on a bit. Is it possible that Crouchy isn''t completely happy where he is? Earning bucketloads of cash doesn''t guarantee it, even though it might seem to make the bench feel a bit more comfortable when Angel returns. Was Crouchy really third or fourth in line before he came here on loan? If he was, why didn''t he even make their bench in August? Are we really way below what he deserves? Perhaps in terms of level at the moment you might be right, but there are other things to take into account. Perhaps we are way below what Hucks deserves as well, but he wanted to be here for a combination of reasons, and one of them, I feel sure, was the love he felt from the fans. If Crouchy felt that same love too - and I don''t think it is too strong a word to use - then maybe he could feel that he deserves exactly that sort of respect in the future rather than the intermittent ridicule he has often received in the past. Any footballer wants to be playing in the team and if D O''L appears to be messing about with Crouchy''s present or future then many of us will continue to feel sorry for him because we like him and respect him. What he is earning and who pays him is irrelevant. The guy is human and has feelings, just like we all do. Sorry if this sounds anything like a rant, Mook. It isn''t meant to be at all. I respect the views of everyone on here, and their right to express them. I''m just glad to have the chance to say what I think as well. Look forward to your comments when you get a mo.

I''m with you cityangel. I feel so sorry for him right now and I would LOVE to see him back here sometime soon. I remember that someone on here said before Christmas that they had sat behind the man himself and his parents at a game at CR. His parents had apparently said how much he loved it here and how much being here was helping him progress. We all know that Worthy seems to go for the right ''people'' for our team as much as (hopefully) the right players. Crouchy is, without doubt, the right sort of person for us, although I suspect there will be some who think that we don''t actually need him now. (I would beg to differ, especially if we get into the P......ship - can''t bring myself to say the word just yet!)

There''s something in what you say, Mook. Ask any Ipswich fan. First season they were back up they stuck largely to the same squad that got them there and did really well. Next season they brought a lot of new faces in and...whoops! I know quality is very important, but togetherness, spirit, workrate etc. are things you cannot necessarily buy.

The presenter of the Five Live early evening show was saying that Crouchy hadn''t done so well recently in the Prem. (Where''s he been most of this season? Doesn''t he know he was here with our little family in Norfolk?) Anyway, within a couple of minutes some Norwich fans had contacted the programme to put him straight and to tell the Villa fans to start appreciating Crouchy just as we did for those all-too-short three months. It''s great to see him getting a chance and reproducing the form he showed here, but how many people really think he will be getting a look in when Angel is fit again?

As we are away and Wimbers are short on confidence, plus some of their best players have recently left, I think we might go back to the 4-3-3 like we had at Rotherham. If we do, I feel sure that there will be a bit more thought during the week as to how to help the defence out when necessary as they were rather exposed at times at Millmoor. I guess that reverting to this formation would mean McKenzie returning to the side, with either McVeigh or Jimbo making way (harsh on either of them). It will also be hard to drop Iwan after yesterday, even with Matty fit, but what a great headache for Worthy to have and a contrast to previous seasons!

I have just been reading some of the Blades fans'' reactions to their defeat on the Rivals board, and one guy has said that he is sick and tired of Mr. Warnock blaming referees, linesmen - (can I still call them that?) - and even opposition players for his own shortcomings. This particular fan makes it clear that he would respect his team''s manager far more if he could simply nibble at a piece of humble pie, admit a better team won on the day (which it did today) and say that he may have made some different and better decisions with the benefit of hindsight. Well done to the lads today, by the way. I thought it was a thoroughly professional performance in difficult conditions. More of the same next Saturday...PLEASE!

He is apparently able to play on both right and left sides. That could be very useful, especially as our squad is still pretty small in comparison to those of our rivals.