Dirty Lyle

As some of the aforementioned "new blood" I would like to contribute to this thread in memory of its one of its creators. Even so I will play safe as a virgin PUP believing that the players will be motivated this by this week''s events and expect a NORWICH win against Barnsley.  Three points and a victorious week on this thread would be fitting at the end of a such a sad week. Good luck P''boro 

Have to agree. It would be perhaps the toughest assignment at the club currently but I would hope that GR is on the hunt for the replacement DD at the moment though. He cannot go on forever... While he does though all power to him, he is still a class act and sometimes looks far, far better than those on the pitch with him - both for and against. We are very fortunate to have him and I would hope serious consideration is given to inducting him into the Hall of Fame even though he has been with us for only a brief period. I don''t understand why he was not more involved with England in his prime.  

Fair enough Lyle but ; Is Marshall good enough to be the number 1 at a Premiership team vying for a place in the Top four and potentially Champions League football? Also, although 2.5m is too good to turn down, can we afford to put the unproven Gilks in goal bearing in mind our precarious position?   If Man City are prepared to pay £2.5m for him I don''t care whether he makes their team or not (he has played Champion''s League before though...) I rate Marshall but the money (assuming no sell on fee due to Celtic) would pay for a very useful striker or two. As you say Road, Gilks is unproven - but, conversely, he may well turn out to be a better prospect than Marshall if some faith is shown in his abilities. Its lucky we have such an experienced goalkeeping coach like James Hollman on board to advise the management in this sit-you-a-shun... Oh, wait a minute....    

Highly unlikely. He would be going there as 4th choice behind Hart, Schmeichel and Isaksson.   Unfortunately, Road, I think you are wrong. It would provide SGE with the opportunity to send Hart out on loan - Schmeichel already is. I say cash Marshall in as £1.5m is a good profit in half a season and means we can blood Lewis at long last... Oh...      

Especially when he cannot get in their team...

I promised that would not post here again until I saw City win again in the league. I am an away season ticket holder... enough said.   The fact that Palace want Dowie out is laughable and shows how fickle us fans can be. NW will pull the situation round here (Watford 2nd half and Ipswich prove that). We have the best squad of players in the division and now NW appear to have discovered the formation to exploit our talents effectively. IMO the fans calling for the head of the manager still have the bright lights of the Premiership in their eyes. Nothing wrong with that we must put in the hard work "below decks". The competitive nature of this league has taken a few by surprise. It was never going to be easy.   

Great work on the new board people - an improvement.BUT! I can''t seem to access the Control Panel. I have tried clicking and waiting but nothing happens. Is there another way of altering your profile?Thanks in advance.

Flick, I think we all have to brave at a time like this and comfort ourselves with one thought, like the seasons, the rumours will return.

Wasn''t he part of the that Italian U21 side that promised so much but ended up living on PASTA successes. He''ll end up in hot water, you mark my words... Sometimes I make myself cringe! He''s not the boy for us though.

I moved up from 278th to 11th over the weekend... And it gives me no pleasure whatsoever - I am going back to predicting our glorious victories.

Don''t be concerned about the media. If they think that the opposition had a poor performance when they drop points to us the next team will not be so concerned. The path to survival is paved with varying degrees of underestimation from those we play.

My old ma told me to never refuse an invitation to go out and get drunk so I shall be present from around 3 in Squares. I dont have a ticket to the game but I have seen the last three games so cant complain. Look forward to meeting you all and seeing Temp again...

Im a bit more recent Macho, 97-2000. I did live on Barrack Road for two years though (the road running alongside SJP for the unintiated) but Wednesday was the first time I had been inside the ground for a match. Have to agree top place to live and I intend to move back there in about 2 years. Unlike the Man Utd fans (who were up for a fight after leaving OT) I went out drinking with the Geordie boys just like the old times and felt very welcome. Great place, great fans (maybe a little quiet!)

For what its worth (largely agreeing with Jim), considering NW''s comments about a positive attitude I believe we will start with Green Drury, Fleming, Charlton, Eddie Hucks, Francis, Holt, Jonson (Helveg if MJ is too tired) Leon, The Doc I imagine I am not alone in predicting that our first clean sheet of the season will not be forthcoming on Saturday so I say attack. Leon''s guile, the height of The Doc and the incisiveness of Hucks, we can''t fail!!!

As the Doc looks comfortable-ish up front might NW be hunting a new central defender? Just a thought but I for one wouldn''t be surprised to see it happen. After all we were searching for an out and out target man and appear to have one.

Given that Bellamy has indicated he still has feelings for Norwich and now is thining about leaving if Roonaldo rocks up, how about a sly 500k bid Nigel? lol.

What super experience. I have just returned home after going "walkabout" after the game. I was sitting to the far left of the Norwich fans as you would look at the pitch just across the aisle from some very large and quite upset Geordies. Still, had a great night out after and then yesterday spent on Quayside visiting some of the waterholes from my Uni days. Newcastle is, I reckon, the second best city in the country. Oh, the team didnt do so badly either! :-)

Ensure their coach breaks down on the A11 (I don''t mean be so nasty to Wenger that he cries) thereby resulting in Arsenal forfeiting the match. Even though I am a City optimist and this the Battle of the Champions there can only be one result if they turn up on time - can''t there???

If loan signings count Kevin Harper came from Pompey

I decided I would add my thoughts having read other''s opinions of the match on Saturday. A number of things stood out. 1. The general arrogance about the place - both city and club. Whilst walking to the ground from the car (albeit in City shirts) we were treated to comments along the lines that we had never been to a big city before and should be in awe of the place. At the ground, we were frisked (as I believe everyone was) and a security guard asked to inspect our "theatre" tickets. I know the place is called Theatre of Dreams or some nonsense but for an 18 stone gorilla to be asking to see theatre tickets was comical and just a bit Disney (ironically, Mickey and Donald both made a half time appearance.) 2. Inside the ground. Why do football clubs and other establishments employ people who don''t have a clue how to pour a pint of lager properly? Just a small point, but I''m sick of enduring a three inch head on a pint of lager. They do it to annoy me. Also, their catering staff were found lacking in the sense of humour department when I ordered a prawn sandwich to go with my pint. Guess they might have heard that one once or twice before. 3. The OT crowd. As an OT virgin I was amazed at the lack of atmosphere the ground created while at the same time being impressed and above all proud of the continous noise the travelling 3000 produced. I feel the onus is on the core 1000 away season ticket holders to encourage the away support to produce similar efforts for the rest of the season. If we sing louder each time we concede we may effect the flow of the game. Saturday was a great example of the negative and positive effects a crowd can have on a game. "One nil and you still dont sing!", "You''re only here for the Champions" etc etc. 4. The team''s performance. Time to be a bit controversial. I don''t thnk Helveg played too poorly at all. Man Utd are a forceful attacking side and the majority of defences will be under pressure there this season. Helveg doesn''t overlap as Eddie can but whatever positive distribution there was in the first half came from Helveg as he settled quickest and had the most time on the ball out of our players. The first half reminded me of the first 25 minutes at Everton last year. We were a little overawed by the occasion and it took us the first half on Saturday to realise we could compete with Man Utd. I was impressed with our fans who after another of Sven''s errors on Saturday were singing his name. With the negativity surrounding his performances at the moment it really must have given him a boost and was a refreshing change from the boo-boy/moaner brigade. Having said that I would give the Doc a start on Wednesday up front with Leon to replace him if Plan A fails. 5. Half time. Was that really Bertie Ahern the Irish Prime Minister drawing their half time lottery? Does he not have better things to do on a Saturday evening - governing his country perhaps? 6. The second half. Alan Smith scored a super goal and I have to admit to being concerned as we conceded so early on we may have succumbed and let in a couple more. However, we stood firm and started to run the game as Francis became more and more apparent in the centre. He is definitely a big game player, perhaps having his best game last season against Everton. WLY looked lively when he replaced the largely anonymous Jonson (he''ll get better) and deserved his goal. Once it was 2-1 the nervousness seemed to leave the players and they realised they could live with their hosts. Man Utd individually were better than us but collectively over the last half an hour there was only one team interested. 7. In conclusion. If the team play like they did for the final 30 minutes of that game for the rest of the season we will stay up - no question. I have never felt so proud walking away from a football ground. The fight, commitment and desire was there - it was promoted with us, you see

Thank you Gen for your kind appreciation of the hard work that was involved in choosing my team name. You will note from the league that I still have no points. This comes from an inability to predict that we will drop points. IMHO my predictions are all accurate but the scores of the previous two matches have been wrong. I shall be vindicated in the end...!

Im 25 but will be 28 in approximately 3 years. Can I have a prize also?

Once the Doc signs we will have the whole GB & Ire international set. Assuming Greeno gets his deserved cap soon we will have current international players from all the home nations and Eire. Knowing NW''s track record I am amazed at some posters willingness to write the Doc off. NW can make underperformers achieve (Rivers, the exception which proves the rule). Doc was a star at TH until he broke his leg. It took him some time to recover, naturally enough. During that period the Spurs fans, starved of success, made him their scapegoat - much as we did with Rivers and Easton. This had the effect of knocking his confidence, he is still only 24 but his ability nor his commitment (which not even his harshest TH critic has doubted) has not been affected. If we are patient and support him he will gain in confidence and thrive becoming the player he was promising to be before his injury. We have signed a very good player with height and some pace who will be an excellent acquisition for years to come. Support+Patience=Confidence Confidence means Premiership 2005/6

The Spurs fans hate him and are glad to see the back of him. BUT he can play CB and striker - NW logic strikes once again. Why buy two players when one will do? He was a regular last season so it looks like a solid piece of business, Nigel, well done.

I have seen the Jan Koller rumour and have to say I think it would be worth pursuing. If NW wants to continue to play with a big''un and a quick''un up front (there are other ways of playing but if Nw is happy then I am too...) then he would fit the bill as he has great experience and isn''t afraid to get stuck in. The old chestnuts of wages and fees are clearly a hurdle but should they be overcome Koller would be a perfect target man to fit into NW''s current tactics.