Damo

The post above doesn''t really reflect the shape of the formation! It would be a 4-3-3 with wingers, but I''m sure you''ve guessed that.

Judging players on the ability they have, and not their current form... Ruddy Whittaker Bennett Bassong Garrido Howson Johnson Fox Bennett Pilkington Holt On paper, I really like the way this looks in an attacking sense. I''ve gone for Whittaker over Russell Martin because I think the Premier League may be a step too far for Russ. I remember seeing Garrido play in his Man City days and remember him being a solid defender. Turner, I just don''t trust. The "block" he put in for Fulham''s third is stuck in my head. It was pathetic. Ryan Bennett seems to have quality and needs a good solid partner next to him. The passing ability of Howson and Fox in the middle, with Johnson playing the role of the ''enforcer'' could work a treat. I think we miss Fox. A lot. His ability to find a forward pass is so important to us. Finally, Pilks and Bennett in advanced roles on either wing. On their day they are fantastic players who can really cross a ball. Holt, an obvious choice perhaps. I shan''t go into it. Reverting back to a 4-4-2 for away games and/or games when we''re up against a particularly pacey winger so the midfield can cover the fullbacks which are otherwise exposed by the formation above.

I highly doubt the panic buy angle. Completing a full transfer for someone that is under contract just seems like it would take more than 3 days (since Fulham). Personally I believe this is a good signing, and it''s a different one than we''re used to. He''s pacy, very strong and good in the air. It baffles me how a majority of our fans are writing him off already, seeing as we have been crying out for pace at the back for as long as I can remember . Let''s remember that Spurs saw something in him when they bought him as well. Hardly a poor team are they. 

It all depends on how likely Mcnally is to hold his hands up and say "I made a mistake on this one." IF that''s what it comes to. It may not be a mistake yet, time will tell. However, I do find it frustrating to watch the Man CIty V Southampton game and see Southampton play with much less fear than we did yesterday. Granted they''re not seeing a lot of the ball, but when they do, players are bombing forward in support. Obviously The Saints haven''t received the memo stating that you can''t go to a team of Fulham''s calibre or higher and attack. Rookie''s.

I think you''re right. Seeing your team get destroyed 5-0 is not easy to take, but it''s a marathon, not a sprint. A similar time last season I remember seeing Manchester United beat Arsenal 8-2. The same Manchester United then lost 6-1 to Manchester City that same season. Teams have these days even when a manager has been there for years upon years. I''ll allow myself to be more concerned when the team has had another stab at it. Pick yourself up and dust yourself off boys. There''s a long way to go yet.

Any links to where I could hear the interview?

I think we''d all agree that this result (5-0 Fulham) was not on the agenda. As the fifth was rifled in I was starting to hope there was some form of new "Mercy Rule" that been enforced this season that I wasn''t aware of. Alas, this wasn''t the case. On the day Hughton was announced I remember thinking that this was somewhat of a safe option. Doesn''t really venture outside of 2 formations and likes to stick to set in-game tactics. Safe. Almost as if we were trying to get a manager as different from Paul Lambert as possible. So, Hughton has come in and made a few signings. Nothing to really shout about - Snodgrass perhaps being the exception. Aside from the signings, he has kept a majority of the squad from last season that performed so well. This is what brings me to the following conclusion: --The tactics he is using are wrong-- My logic is pretty simple. If you use the same team from the last season which performed well and they perform like that, something aside from the line up is wrong. Now, I don''t know what you guys think, you may well disagree, but I did not recognise that team out there today as the Norwich City that I know and love. I appreciate that each manager has a style of football that they like to encourage and that is their right; in fact this is probably very important. However, today had no definable style. Sometimes an opposing team plays so well that they force you to re-think your tactics. That is understandable, but did Fulham really play amazing football? I don''t think so. Yes it is the first game of the season, but let''s not forget that pre-season should give you ample time to work these problems out. I would actually suggest that our pre-season performances warned us of this potentially happening. I can''t say that I can remember a pre-season match where we played really good football. 2 of those matches were Peterborough United and MK Dons. My main concern now is that Hughton does not really know what the best tactic is. He hasn''t stumbled across it during pre-season, and there isn''t time in this league to just hope it comes good. There are other concerns from this performance that bothered me, apart from the deeper lying issue of managerial ability: -Tierney looks like a player that hasn''t played football in a long time. Completely out of his depth and at fault for the first 2 goals. -The lack of communication between players was shocking! There were several occasions where the Fulham players came up behind our players and just strolled away with the ball. -Successful attempts on goal. Possibly down to the formation, but even the attempts on goal were incredibly tame. -Russell Martin has highlighted the same thing he did for the majority of last season; Premier League is too much for him when played at RB. I love Russell Martin, but have to admit that he leaves a lot to be desired at this level. At RB anyway. I could probably go on, but then I would be going back to tactics and the way Hughton has implemented them. As I''ve already said, you may disagree, but now I''m worried. Going into this game I had a very open mind. Now, I''m not so sure.

[quote user="Skerritt"]Seeing as PL has signed him for villa, surely he would have wanted to take him to Norwich. For 3 million, the price seems a bit steep and personally I would have much prefered Gunter for 2 million so am happy that deal didnt go through at Norwich.[/quote] I''m not sure on Gunter - he''s quite volatile. Also, I haven''t really seen him set the Championship alight so I question whether he would pull up trees in the Premiership. What interested me in the Lowton signing was the fact that he was signed from Sheffield United. I''m almost positive that Lambert stated there was no more talent to be had from the lower leagues, and that we had poached it all already.

[quote user="city4eva"]He resigned, why do they owe us anything, We didnt have to pay him any wages after he resigned so didnt cost us anything. IMO no compo due[/quote] http://www.canaries.co.uk/page/NewsDetails/0,,10355~2793911,00.html The second paragraph states pretty clearly that we did not accept his resignation. Did Lambert try to resign? Yes. Did we let him? No.

Culverhouse and Karsa have recently been round the various office''s of Carrow Road saying their goodbye''s - something even Peter Grant did! I remember that day from my time there a few years back. It''s a nice touch from a much loved management team and something I would have liked Lambert to have done (which I''m assuming he didn''t). It doesn''t necessarily mean that they''re off to Villa, but it would be a shock to me if they weren''t. I guess that means the compensation figure has been agreed upon OR the person who told me this is feeding me lies...I''d prefer the latter, but can''t see them staying and working with Hughton if he is appointed.

I actually don''t think 4 million is that derisory. It would be if clubs weren''t aware of his desire to leave, but they are and as a result we need to be prepared for these offers. A few clubs will be wanting to test our resolve right now. They know as well as we do that a player without the desire to play is an expensive waste of time and space. Like it or not, when Holt goes, it will more than likely be for an amount similar to this. Personally, I think the sentiment of us, the NCFC fans, is adding about 2 million to his valuation.

I wouldn''t be particularly happy with this, but on the other hand, there could be worse appointments. With reference to what somebody has mentioned, I don''t think this would be a sentimental appointment. With McNally at the helm, there really would be no room for sentiment. We all know what McNally is like and I have 100% faith that he would recruit the right man for the job. If that happens to be Malky, so be it.

My personal highlight was him blaming Ward completely for the loss to Liverpool. I love this guy!

[quote user="Graeme Miles"]Supposing for a moment Johnson is a dirty player, he did know about Sagna''s bad leg, the position of the plate, and he did have intent to do damage - I''m pretty sure that after the incident you would see him look over his shoulder to check he had left Sagna on the floor. At no point does he look back, at no point did he intend to hurt Sagna - as others have said he''s not even aware of the incident.....[/quote] I don''t think the Johnson is a dirty player either. More importantly, I don''t think someone that struggled to spell "breath" when insulting Joey Barton would know where to stand on the leg to break it in the same place.

It''s much easier to slate Ward, as his mistakes led directly to goals. Bennett had an equally poor game over the period of 90 minutes. His mistakes led to pressure on our team as a whole - he played poorly, just in a different way. I do agree with the criticism of Ward over the past month or so. Unfortunately the standard of the Premier League seems a bit too much for him. Also, to reference a point someone made previously, Lambert may have that "Blind Spot" for a player, but it''s not something that even the best haven''t had. Sir Alex Ferguson and Eric Djemba Djemba springs to mind.

With 3 games left of our season, the season is coming to an end, and we''re virtually safe. It''s been a season full of fantastic performances with a few disappointing one''s thrown in, but this is our first season in the Premier League after all. Which brings me to my next point, with an unsteady end to the season, perhaps it''s time for us as supporters to get a bit of perspective on the nature of these losses. The last two results in particular have drawn a lot of criticism towards the team. Yes, the performances haven''t been breathtaking, but put them into context. Man City: suddenly back in with a shot at the title due to Man Utd''s slip up. Arguably the strongest squad in the league. We had just secured a win that all but confirmed our safety; pressure off perhaps. The players, and management team, had not been in this kind of position (playing a world class team who are battling for the Premier League title while we relax in safety), since the resurgence of our fine club. Premier League = steep learning curve. Blackburn: Other end of the spectrum, low end of the table but still with a massive prize to fight for; Premier League status. This game was always going to be a massive challenge for us. Blackburn would have marked us as huge opportunity for 3 points. Never underestimate how hard a club will fight for their lives. I think we have all been guilty of getting ahead of ourselves a tad. Some people have even mentioned Europe next season...Come on. Don''t get me wrong, this season has been an amazing achievement - assuming we stay in the league - but we can''t afford to get carried away. It''s that kind of thinking which blows losses out of proportion (refer to the last week''s worth of posts about how poor our attitude has apparently been...). I am certainly not saying that people are not entitled to an opinion, far from it. I''m just trying to encourage a bit of calmness. Enjoy the rest of the season!

I''ve heard from a few people that there may be tickets available via buy back tomorrow. Due to the match being a 12:45 kick off, does anyone have any idea when these would go on sale? My brother is back home temporarily from New Zealand and I''m trying to get him a ticket but it''s looking unlikely at the minute! Cheers

I see what you mean. It''s strange, but in top of the table clashes I think you need more composure than you do adrenaline and brawn. That''s just my opinion though. Take nothing away from Tierney though. I think he''s been great since arriving - he has dislodged Drury after all. Although at times against Swansea he did look like he was short of idea''s which led to him being dispossesed. It wasn''t his best performance.

Have to agree with this too. We haven''t played against many teams that have their wingers switch flanks often. I think it was a case of showing Swansea a bit too much respect if you know what I mean. We were far too willing to let them play their game. They on the other hand knew that if we were given time on the ball, we could fashion an opening and cause them problems.

I completely agree. I think credit should go to the back 4 for helping him along though. They''ve been pretty solid and in a majority of matches have left Ruddy with little to do. He''s gotten so much more confident since the back 4 improved. His shot stopping is really impressive, and his kicking is getting better; despite some awful backpasses. The quality I lke about Ruddy isn''t even his goalkeeping ability! Despite the stick we all gave him in the beginning, he seems to love it here. Look at him when we score, he goes mental!

I''m glad someone else saw this; I couldn''t believe it! What more do we have to do to get some recognition?!

Don''t get me wrong, I''m becoming as edgey as everyone else, but I''m not hitting the panic button just yet. Yes, last night''s performance was laclustre to say the least. And yes, a majority of our performances within the last month have been below par. I firmly believe that since Southampton we have needed a deserved defeat. Before people go crazy at me, "Defeat?! You''re crazy! BINNER!" Just hear me out. We''ve been playing poorly recently, you can''t deny that. Yet somehow, we''ve still been accumulating points (17 from 24, discounting last night). We''ve become complacent and let''s face it, a little bit cocky. Believing that we can brush aside the lesser teams with ease with little to no effort needed. When I say we, I don''t mean management or fans, I mean a selection of players. The loss last night can hopefully put the cat among the pidgeons and force the players to pull their fingers out. I for one hope they are nervous. I hope they feel the way we do right now and up their game. This is not a dig at them, far from it. They have been immense this season, no question about it. Unfortunately, it seems the 11 point gap we formed at the top was a signal for the players to relax and take their foot off the pedal. Lambert will know from last night who is up for the fight and who isn''t. I also firmly believe that we will give Charlton a hell of a game. Come on boys, let''s give a performance at Charlton like we did against Colchester away.

I had the pleasure of working with Gossy for a year, and I can honestly say he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. The guy always has time for you and always has a story to tell. My highlight of working with him was getting to kick a ball about with him for 20 minutes on a soaking wet day whilst waiting to show a group of kids around Carrow Road. You''ll always be a legend Gossy. Thanks for everything.

I''ve seen his name mentioned a few times around here; with most people thinking he''d make a good addition to the squad. He''s scored 17 goals this season, 15 in the league and is 25 years old. Personally I think if Lambert is interested at all, then it would be a loan with the view to a permanent deal. It''s well documented that Lambert prefers loan players that he would sign at the end of their stint. Now it seems Milwall have confirmed their interest, even Colchester were mentioned at one stage. Do you guys think a move for him to us would be a good one or a pointless one?

I agree with a majority of that, maybe with the exception of Spillane. I thought he was beginning to show some real form before he got injured, and he would easily keep Semmy out of the team. He put in some great performances and personally I think he could solve our right-back issue if he can keep fit.