Ivana_rubyatitz

Great memories of a fantastic season - last year at university and I remember it all like yesterday.  I really bellieved we could do it after the home one over Villa but alas Man Utd shattered the dream the following week.  Still, as others have said, Premiership football was still interesting back then.  Not the money dominated fiasco it is now - what chance of another team outside the big four being able to repeat what we (and Villa) did that season.  Sky money has ruined it for the real fans. [:''(]

Classic - he even gets stretchered off the pitch with an ice pack against his head!  Contrast that with the way rugby players bash into each other 50 times per game and you begin to see why footabllers have a reputation for being prima donnas.  That said, the "fan" is a complete moron.

[quote user="Smudger"][quote user="cityangel"][quote user="Smudger"] hehehe Check your e_mail Cluck... You will get the full version of events on there....  [;)] [/quote]   Another Smudger/Cluck love in, pass the bucket. [/quote] Better than having a love in with MWJ''s...[:P] [/quote] Now this post thread has reached the intellectual level of the playground could we call it a day?

[quote user="Dicky"]I for one would love to see Dion as manager.[/quote] And what exactly would be achieved by replacing Grant with someone with even LESS management experience?  While you can argue Grant is not up to the job it is a fact he has been an assistant maanger at both Championship and Premier level with a team who enjoyed success in that time.  Dion is a model pro but he cannot claim the same. If we have to change manager the replacement must have a proven track record at this level of getting results on a limited budget - a sort of Dario Gradi character would be ideal.

Smudger - do you and your Dad ever actually discuss football and your views on NCFC?  Bearing in mind the fairly extreme views you  put across on here several times per day I cannot believe the poor man would have considered wasting his breath offering you a ticket in the first place.  Besides do you berate him for being a sheep etc or are you not too old for a clip round the ear! [;)]

[quote user="jamesg"] I could be wrong but it would appear that either his motivation has gone. [/quote] Huckerby on his day is a wonderful player and was a key part of getting us promoted (along with Crouch and the criminally disregarded Harper).  That said he simply has not looked at the races so far this season.  That Huckerby is erratic or lacks motivation however should come as no great surprise - look at his career history.  He has shown flashes of brilliance eveywhere he has been but never maintained it consistently otherwise he would be a Premiership star today not knocking about with us.  If anyone could fathom why this is out they would have a hell of a player on their hands. The trade off for having a Huckerby who can score goals like that one against Brum last season, Cardiff in our promotion season etc is accepting that every now and then you will have to accept periods of pretty average form.  As he gets older and slows down these periods are sadly likely to get longer and more frequent unfortunately.  Maybe he needs a spell on the bench, but to write him off completely seems extreme - he is afterall the most naturally talented player at the club today and one of the few names who other team managers would be relieved to see missing from our line up.

On paper this is certainly not the weakest squad in this division - but for whatever reason for the last three league games they have chosen to do a damn good impression.  Get the tactics right (442 formation), some midfield creativity (Fozzy/Smith back from injury), provide the service and support to Cureton (needs a big partner - Dublin rather than Brown who I now accept does not look like scoring) and get in a loan player to add competition at the back and I suspect we might look a tad more confident and much better (although still far from world beaters). The acid test for Grant now is how much of this list he can pull off as far as I am concerned.

Your question seems to assume people expected much more than that before we started the season - one of the reasons for the excited reactions from some posters on here is an unrealistic expectation level in the first place. Personally I always thought a mid table finish (which would have been an improvement on last season) was likely to be the best we could hope for with our squad and more limited means this time out.  Although we are currently playing some of the most clueless football I have seen in 25 years of following the club I for one still think that over a full season that is what we will achieve. Why my expectation level should be pitched at such a modest level considering the Premiership revenue we have frittered away over recent times, the transfer revenue we have received (and not spent) etc is another matter.[:(]

[quote user="ricky knight"]YES by a country mile, in my 40 yrs i aint seen a worst bunch.[/quote] By no means is it a squad of world beaters, but surely it cannot be worse than the Bryan Hamilton squad?  Low confidence, injuries, loss of form and some poor tactical decisions have created a woeful mix on the field yes, but in terms of ability this squad cannot be seen as worse than the likes of Derveld et al.

Both he and Murray looked solid on Saturday for my money and if these two link together OK that frees Dion up to play up front beside Cureton who looks like he needs a big man beside him. I have always felt Doc gets a rough ride - sure he makes mistakes but at Championship level he looks OK.  He would be hopeless in the Premiership due to lack of pace but as that looks unlikely to be a problem that will be worrying us any time soon I say lay off him.

I am not convinced that Earnie would be scoring either if he was here - our problem is a lack of quality supply.  You could have put Drogba and Owen up front for us on Saturday and we would have lost because there was no quality ball into the strikers.

My vote would be for Marshall, Semmy, Doc, Murray, Drury, Brellier, Spillane, Russel, Lappin, Dublin, Cureton Subs: Hux, Dave S, Martin, Jarvis, Gilks Think Doc is playing well at the moment (compared to any other option available if nothing else) and Murray looks OK beside him which gives us the option of Dion up front.  Cureton needs a big guy to feed off if last season is anything to go by so lets give him the support of the best man at the club for the job.  I would stick Brellier in on the basis I think he can improve and besides I suspect that against Scunthorpe there will most likely be a need to mix it in the middle and he offers that.  Rusty gets my vote of Jarvis who I thought looked even more lost on Saturday than the other muppets around him (he is young though and desrves another chance soon).  Hux looked either disinterested or unfit depending on your point of view on Saturday - either way keep him on the bench as a worry for the opposition.  If Dion starts to tire Dave S looks a natural replacement as the game wears on. I am going for a nervy 1-0 in a scrappy game which at the start of the season we would have expected to be a solid home banker.

[quote user="Smudger"][quote user="Pboro_Canary"] [quote user="gazzathegreat"]Where was this Smudger, on the radio?[/quote] If you look on the "I tried to stay positive" then Smudger gives you the answer - "I was talking to a Burnley fan in the pub tonight".  Maybe that guys initials were MWJ? [/quote] What when I was in a pub a couple of mins from the ground watching the game on Sky? I live only a ten minute walk from Carrow Road. [/quote] If you did actually bother to wander down to the ground after watching that shambles on the box then I am big enough to offer an apology (I think the urge to continue drowning our sorrows would have been too great for most of us).  That said, BlahBlahBlah may have a point in that attempting a discussion with anyone who had just paid to sit through that rubbish whilst you were possibly "tired and confused" after a session in the pub meant you were probably lucky not to get arrested - although had that happened I guess you would at least have conclusive proof you were there![;)]

[quote user="gazzathegreat"]Where was this Smudger, on the radio?[/quote] If you look on the "I tried to stay positive" then Smudger gives you the answer - "I was talking to a Burnley fan in the pub tonight".  Maybe that guys initials were MWJ?

[quote user="Smudger"] We will be in the bottom 3 in a few weeks time as I pointed out to MWJ''s tonight when he stated "that we aren''t in the bottom 3 yet" Still can''t actually berlieve that he said that... "we aren''t in the bottom 3 yet" I reminded him "that we are a club that should be going for promotion" [/quote] Was MWJ drinking in the same pub as you were watching the game in then Smudger?

[quote user="barlodona"] huckerby was poor as was cureton and drury, i love huckerby but i have a feeling he thinks he''s to good for the team and hes not just look at the results this season we have ahd with out him including the performance at city without him. [/quote] Hucks simply didnt look interested tonight and was badly off the pace - mind you his history at other clubs suggests that this sort of performance/behaviour should maybe not come as a surprise.  I hope he can turn it around because he is a class act and we are going to need him at his best over the months ahead. Bit harsh on Drury though who did make some useful tackles and blocks - in reality though it is unfair to single any one individual out for criticism as we were second best in every position.  

Truly dire today.  No creativity, no movement, no attacking threat (did we make their keeper make a single save?).  Confidence looks non-existant and we seem to have lost the ability to put more than two passes together over the last three games. And all this against a team that for an hour looked equally as bad until injury made them change things around.  You could see the goal coming a mile off, and frankly we could play all night and not come close to scoring. I''ve always felt we had to give it 10 games, but after the last three league performances I have had enough. [:''(]

[quote user="jimmy500"] If I were in PG''s shoes I would say to Brellier, you lost your place becuase you were suspended, the boy who replaced you was excellent and is going to continue in your place, you will have to fight to earn it back.  That should provoke a positive reaction from both players, Spillane to try harder to keep his place, Brellier to try even harder to win it back.  Its common sense. [/quote] Couldn''t agree more Jimmy - it was pure stupidity that got Brellier suspended and as an experienced pro he should not just walk back into the team (especially as his form so far has been mixed).  Over the next few weeks he is probably the better bet than the youngsters, but at this time they deserve to be given the chance to impress again this afternoon with Brellier on the bench and able to come on if they turn out to be phased by the atmosphere, opposition or Sky etc.

Yeah HHC, I seem to recall the club using the services of a sports pyschologist about this time (think we jumped on a bandwagon that had been started by the England cricket team and a couple of Premier clubs).  Whatever prompted the move it was not exactly a stunning success.

[quote user="we8wba"] the poster hopin for pique you really are hoping arent you! as he played in spanish top flight i doubt he;ll come midtable champ side [/quote] Sometimes people do get a little carried away we8wba - and if he wouldnt come to a midtable champ side it seems even less likely he would opt for one on the fringe of the relegation places at the moment! That said Evans or Eagles would be excellent additions - however as someone else said the worry is that Fergie insists on them playing every game regardless of form.  Mind you my Granny could probably get into our team on form at the moment so that might not be an issue[:$]

[quote user="Baron Bludgeon"] [/quote]     Is it just me or does this guy look like Jabba the Hut out of Star Wars?

[quote user="1st Wizard"] Under that Celtic loser Grant and his Tonto Duffey, we lost yet again, Grant is a 100%, fully paid up loser. [/quote] Wiz on 2nd September 2007 - "But, I''m convinced something must have rubbed off on Grant at West Ham, he isn''t crap as some would like to say. "  When can we expect your next opinion U-turn? [^o)]

[quote user="1st Wizard"] Under that Celtic loser Grant and his Tonto Duffey, we lost yet again, Grant is a 100%, fully paid up loser. [/quote] Wiz on 2nd September 2007 - "But, I''m convinced something must have rubbed off on Grant at West Ham, he isn''t crap as some would like to say. "  When can we expect your next opinion U-turn? [^o)]

[quote user="Michael Starr"]                   All available for free... let''s do it!!!  Michael Palin managed to pull an old skool team together in Ripping Yarns (I wonder if anyone gets that) [/quote] Don''t worry Michael I remember such classics as "Across the Andes by Frog" and "Tompkins Schooldays" - comedy classics

[quote user="1st Wizard"] Its bring back my old posts time again I see. Why the mods allow it beats me. It confuses the hell out of posters, and it just jams up the board. Check the dates on page 1 of this thread..............Jeez. [/quote] To be fair you must be confused yourself Wiz - but you do provide plenty of ammunition for them with your constant changes of opinion.  Still it would be a duller board without you!