CJ

Yellow shirt i am a ref and believe me a head lock is a red card , i love the way u say raising hands is red but head lock is not . I agree swinging an arm even if not connecting can be a red however the ref did not even caution the rotherham player who clearly irritated Grabban with an off the ball challenge

A punch to be a punch hhas to connect it clearly did not otherwise knowing players nowadays he would collapsed in heap. Replays look more likely to show he was just getting away from player by swinging arm to get out of headlock and it was aheadlock pictures clearly show it was for which there is no excuse and usually a straight red. Yes grabban reacted but who wouldnt to having your head pulled off for no reason other than trying to get ball . Only one person to blame I am afraid and that is ref

ok i am city fan but let us be clear the Rotherham player for no reason got Grabban in a headlock which Grabban was clearly trying to get out of. He clearly tries to push away from the player a punch very very unlikely as there is no reaction at all from the Rotherham player no bent stomach nothing doubt any real contact. Even if he dismisses Grabban he has to at least caution the other player arguably is a red too! Shocking shocking referee should not be in any league if there was no contact as seems likely should have been yellow only Grabban clearly reacting to awful challenge more like rugby than football

Alex is clearly looking for someone to replace Grabban who was great at chasing down running the channels and of course scoring . Neither Jerome or Hooper are of that type and presumably Akpom could be.

I hope recent departure of head in recruitment doesnt reflect on failure to sign this lad, clearly something bad has happened and McNally had enough

I notice in highlights that the ref while talking to assistant suddenly put his hand to his ear clearly getting a message , like many I would not mind if this was common practice but is not as we discovered with Ruddy against Derby. Alex should ask for report on the incident from FA as really was totally unacceptable not professional etc.

Oh you can blame him for last nights mess. The Johnson "goal" last night should have stood he clearly and his assistant did not see a handball and had given the goal. He allowed the players to take matters into their own hands by bullying the assistant who then suddenly remembered a handball she had not flagged for . And they wonder why players try to bully officials. As a ref myself I always say I can only give what I see and not use players acting etc to make decisions. After that reversal all the players knew the officials were really not in control which changes the game completely. Suspect in particular our defence was worried over soft penalty award . Where do the FA get these officials from, I have officiated many matches never made such a basic error, should ship both of them down to conference! I bet Ruddy is regretting not getting in th refs face after he was clearly held just before the Derby goal. Any wonder players surround refs after last night such pathetic weak officials who get paid good money need to be rejected plenty better ones in lower leagues believe me!

I was shocked when we appointed Neil Adams I was despondent when Alex Neil was appointed, I am sorry McNally still is living in his dream appointment Lambert days, yes they do happen but very rarely that is a relative novice comes good. Lennon or Phelan were the obvious choices experience solid managers and we do not give either a chance. I was hopeful Alex would prove me wrong but his tactics and subs recently prove Neil Adams wasnt so bad after all. The one thing most fans know is without a leader on the pitch we are going nowhere , we have struggled ever since Holt left and until we find someone else who gives a damn when the chips are down we are going nowhere. There are too many fat cats on the pitch who think the game owes them a living and Alex neeeds to ship them out and get some younger hungry players in who care!

It Does not matter how you go over it not only are the team not good enough neither is the manager, anyone who saw the team sheet knew it would not work Hools should have started so much for the play with no fear. Phelan is no mug and knew when Alex was appointed we were going nowhere

I never fail to be amazed at the different views on players. In my opinion and clearly several premier league managers Ollson is class and one of our best players. Left back is a tough position to play because of the large number of quality right wingers in this league and above, and yet rarely do you see anyone really troubling Ollson. He unfortunately almost due to lack of business in his position get drawn out of position too often as he did against Cardiff, who like many other teams put most pressure on our weaker right back position. Having said that like others I think he wants away and if his mind is really elsewhere as I think it was early in the season it is best to get best deal for us and him and move on. However Garrido in my opinion is no replacement anybody who went to Shrewsbury will tell you how awful he was and seemed not to care either. I know only one game but to me would be big risk .And therefore will need replacement. The next match is a must win and at least keep him for that whilst behind scenes sort out the deal if we must.

Well once again we get an awful decision from a ref , Howson was arguably not even a yellow won the ball cleanly then took the player out with trailing leg which was clearly not extended ie not two footed challenge, suspect ref making up for possible handball in lead up to our goal but as i say you can only give what you can see and even on replays tough to see. A sterling performance especially after Whits and Bennett injured. Just hope we can apply ourselves to "easier" games. Feeling this league wide open to team who can get a run together

I really do not know what to think this is another huge risk , what with mid season and some very experienced ex Prem players many playing below par . And you bring in another manager with limited track record and experience will he command respect of players, can he buy players in Jan window, what a mess this is. I love the fact that Lennon was being seen as risk since no experience in English League etc , Bolton seem to have done OK since he arrived with limited squad and not much money. This has all the stamp of another little Norwich appointment, God help the board if this fails! Phelan should have been given a chance at least knows squad and what we need to acquire and has bags of experience

What annoys me about the penalty call is the fact that if Martin had stayed upright you can bet the ref would play on and indeed Olssen later in the game got just as bad a tackle in the pen but tried to carry on and got nothing. i believe Lafferty in the W igan game got also as much of a trip stayed upright and also got nowt. As a ref myself the lack of context in a pen decision is also ridiculous at times eg there was no threat on goal and Martin completed his pass to another player OK . They say these decisions balance out over the season hope so because we are due many soft pen decisions etc

I am afraid Ruddy reflects the problem with many of the team in that last season they were playing in the big league with tough matches every week fighting for survival where any result bar defeat was good. This league is a completely different challenge and one I suspect many of the team struggle to motivate for, hence so often this season we play poorly to start with or until behind. There are so many other players out there who are desperate to get to Premier League just once, that is not so with many of our team who have been there and got the tee shirt etc The thing to be honest that really hacks me off is the lack of openness from the management from the appointment of Adams to Bassong being loaned to Watford where he straight away played in their back four !! I see little example of any club in this league being so generous to us. And then Adams really takes the biscuit with sacking first team coach after row over subs in Forest game which anyone near the bench could hear!!

like Hughton the board will let it drag on. Any ambitious club would have said after the last match enough is enough and moved heaven and earth to get an experienced manager who knows how to get the best out of a team at this level. The manager is the most important member of the squad as is proved time after time. I knew when I watched the Shrewsbury match we had real problems no one on display was pressing to a first team place and suspect the first team thought well no worries for me then! I am sorry but as I predicted Adams is simply not up to the job at present but suspect will take us to drop into bottom half before board do anything

Match after match anyone but the manager could see the defence is a shambles with little discipline there is no one in control Trouble is Adams now has to sort out this mess from weakness not strength confidence will be low . Whits should be dropped RM to right back and bring in a proper CB one of the ones we bought this summer!

I am sure the Adams faithful will all say a blip but as I said when appointed It is totally unfair to expect a youth manager to come in and get promotion in a season. Delia et al appointed him letting the heart rule the head believing that someone could just get us up again with bags of enthusiasm loyalty hard work and belief. Sorry this league is way tougher than that and there is a real possibility we are letting our real chance to bounce back go! After Ryan Bennett injury we have an average defence at best who too often do not do the basics right and yet Bassong is allowed to leave and slots straight into a team above us in the league! I do not know if Adams is having a laugh The team in my opinion is over coached a classic sign being this passing endlessly across the field trying to pretend they are at International level. And that is the crux of the problem too many players who think they are better than this league combined with no real leader on the pitch to sort mess out for Adams. It is going to be long season and doubt Adams will be here New Year.

I am fascinated by our ability t o loan out a player to a rival club for promotion for a short loan period. If he does come good will be to our detriment although we will get him back but will he accept being on bench again! If he fails how does it help us or him. I really thought he could get back into the team at least on bench as let be honest our defence is not looking assured but really I am surprised at this loan to a rival promotion team either very brave or very very silly!

As a referee myself I honestly think the sin bin would be a good idea especially at professional level, but maybe not for the reasons outlined by Platini. Yellow cards all too often are taken as " taking one for the team" to stop a good move by the oppo knowing full well breaks up play and still 11against 11 . In extreme cases and it happens a team can have over five players on a caution and the other side none with no real impact on balance of game. A sin bin would mean the team offended against would gain immediate benefit and this I think would be a real punishment

Well only time will now tell if Lennon can do a job in this league, but what it does show is that he almost certainly would have come to Norwich if he had been offered the job! It will not be fair to draw firm conclusions as he is joining a team at bottom of league with transfer window shut so difficult task for anyone. However I will watch with interest. I know that Adams is doing decent job so far but I am sure most fans will expect a swift return to the Premier League and I worry about his lack of experience I when the pressure is on

Having travelled a long way to watch this utter pathetic performance makes me realise we have little chance of maintaining our push for promotion if we have to rely on these reserves. I have to say pray that Olsen does not get injured as Garrido would struggle to get a game in Div 2 let alone our team. The entire lack of effort by the team also deserves mention no one seemed to be bothered to run offf the ball looked more like atraing or friendly match than a Cup match . And to be honest disappointed at Adams comments afterwards as did not reflect how pathetic the team performed and show respect to all those fans who travelled a long way. They put far more effort than the players did! Looks like a long season and mid table at best if we have to rely on these reserves to maintain our form!

He played what on paper looked like a strong squad that should be capable of performing, however the lack of effort by the entire tea m with the exception of Howson was nothing more than disgraceful! On this evidence we do not have enough depth in the squad to be considered serious promotion contenders as some of the reserves clearly are either not good enough or do not care enough to help us maintain our good start,

Hooper made no effort to stake a place in the first team, he looks well short of match fitness and did not look interested last night. He is at least two weeks away from fitness that is assuming he can be bothered which last night makes me doubt!

I do find this signing interesting and difficult to understand. If we get promoted this year he is unlikely to figure next year in Premier team so we are effectively banking on still being in Champs almost insurance policy if we fail. They must have seen something special here as so many youngsters at that age fail to mature and progress

It is such a pity there in reality is no quality reserve league , as we clearly now could put a good reserve team together every week now. Adams is going to have a real job keeping players match fit and the competition in most departments is good. The only surprise was not getting another keeper in and loaning Rudd out again , as he clearly showed against Crawley needs more match time.