Patches OHoolahan

Unfortunately I can see us getting a tonking at Fulham. Magath has them a lot better organised than they were, and the element of surprise only gets you so far- we''ll still have a similar side to that which CH would have put out. Of course I''ll get behind Neill and the team, but struggle to see us winning on Saturday. I hope I''m proven wrong.

Would TC still share his "scouting thoughts" with us though?http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/emoticons/emotion-9.gif

Lennon, Mackay, Sherwood and Di Matteo are the names I''ve heard mentioned most often on here. Lennon seems like Peter Grant mach 2 to me, and I don''t respect what he''s done with Celtic with virtually no concerted opposition. Mackay is likely to produce the same brand of football as Hughton, albeit with more good will from the fans because of his history with the club. Sherwood, why? He won a few games with Spurs by playing simple football with good players, he''s been found out since then, and he''s far too mouthy. I also don''t want us gambling on such an unproven manager. Di Matteo produces defensive football, and is again likely to be similar to Hughton in style. Bielsa and Laudrup are the best candidates I''ve heard mentioned, but both are unrealistic if we''re not in the Prem. Similarly Rosler would be good, but I can''t see him leaving Wigan for us, unless we''re in the Prem and Wigan aren''t. So if what now seems like the inevitable happens and we are relegated, who do we bring in?

Cardiff and Palace rumoured to be in for Zaha in a permanent deal. If we stay up, then surely we''d be a more attractive proposition if he really is available? Don''t think that the wings are our weakest area, far from it, but if we were to get rid of Pilkington in the summer, then it''d be good to have another quality winger. Thoughts?

Feed the Wolf and eventually, after many many games he will score... In all seriousness though, I still hold out some hope that given more time, and the right service, he will be a regular scorer in the PL.

Dietmar Hamann''s Mayonnaise

Juan Velasco''s Tabasco sauce

Harry BarbeKEWELL sauce.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26857805 Berahino''s decided against legal action now...

I''d normally agree with you Dubai Mark, but don''t recall too many footballers taking legal action over such matters before, unless its all swept under the rug with a settlement.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26857805 Saido Berahino looking at taking legal action against James Morrison for punching him after their game against Cardiff. Surely this dressing room disruption can only help our cause on Saturday?

Just looking at our goal difference in relation to our rivals, and thinking about our remaining games (Liverpool in particular), we could really do with giving WBA a good drubbing like last season, in case survival does come down to goal difference. Here''s hoping we''re on our game and the Baggies have taken another early trip to the beach!

They''ve just dismantled Spurs, carrying on their excellent run of form. How should we approach the Liverpool game to give ourselves a hope of getting something out of it? The scousers are vulnerable defensively, but I think a gung-ho Paul Lambert style display would be tantamount to suicide against a frontline of Suarez and Sturridge. A similar performance to that Man City game would be ideal, but that relies on our defence performing heroics, and not conceding a stupid early goal as we are prone to do. Any thoughts as to how we can get something from Liverpool?

Must admit I''m not totally familiar with the facts of this case, but the ruling seems to provide a partial restriction, rather than an absolute prohibition on motorsports, meaning that the stadium is likely to remain open but with a reduced number of events. With that in mind, I would have thought that the number of games Norwich play at home would be insufficient to merit a restriction on our use of the stadium but you never know. There are dangers with reforming this area of law, and the courts have repeatedly rejected arguments based on the public benefit of the nuisance concerned, but most of the law in this area is common law, so legislation might serve to provide a more forgiving framework for sports clubs.

Haven''t seen it posted elsewhere but Jacob''s gone to Southend on loan for the rest of the season. The way that Loza has started down there, it should provide some useful experience of first team football. Southend fans certainly seem excited at the prospect of Murphy anyway. Phil Brown''s a half-decent manager as well, so hopefully he''ll have a positive impact on both players while they''re there.

Agreed Flecky. Many people on this board seem to oscillate between complacency and catastrophe on this board based purely on the last result. These next few games, particularly West Brom are crucial. We might nick a surprise result here and there in the final 4 games, but I don''t want us to be relying on beating Chelsea, Arsenal or Manure to stay up.

Caulker is a great shout, my only concern with him is cost, as I think Cardiff picked him up for £8m in the summer and wouldn''t want to make a loss on someone who has performed well this year. Don''t know anything about Arias, but the consensus on this forum at the moment seems to be that we need a new right back. For what its worth I''d like to see someone who could mirror Olsson in terms of attacking threat. That would be particularly advantageous if we look to utilise the diamond formation we played against Sunderland in the future.

Alternatively this thread could be titled clutching at straws for optimists but here goes: 1. Playing the big teams the players may feel less pressure and expectancy to win, so playing with greater freedom. 2. We have done well to stifle teams like Spurs and Citeh at home, and our style of play under Hughton suits that sort of a game where we frustrate the opposition before hitting them on the counter. 3. If we are still in serious trouble in these games, players might be thinking selfishly about being in the shop window, thereby upping their game (lets hope the inverse doesn''t occur- I refer to that as the "Damien Francis" effect). 4. The atmosphere when we have held our own against big teams has been superb, much better than when we struggle to beat or even draw with our relegation rivals, which in turn will hopefully inspire the players to greater heights. 5. We have the opportunity to help determine where the title goes this year, and wouldn''t it be great if we were the blip for Chelski, Liverpool and Arsenal that cost them all the title? 6. If we do get some surprise results, then it would be a big two fingers up to all the journos/pundits who kept banging on about our run-in. So after all that straw-clutching nonsense, here''s hoping that my optimism is reflected in reality come May, that we have stayed in the Premier League.

We didn''t deal with Villa''s predictably direct tactics. 3 of the goals were the result of quick counter attacks, which anybody who''s watched MOTD more than once this season will know are Villa''s speciality. Benteke produces a bit of magic, and we lose concentration, get rattled and rapidly concede 3 more. I have to say though, how boring were Villa to watch? Yes they gave us a trouncing today, but my God I can see what they''re complaining about, it was so dull. Not that we were any better today, mind.

We''re going to win 5-4... ahem

We played excellently against Spurs and deserved our win. Indeed we should have scored more than one goal. However I''ve seen a lot of overly confident posters expecting a win tomorrow. Villa aren''t playing well at the moment, but we can''t expect to just sweep them aside, we know full well that Paul Lambert teams don''t lie down easily(except in the cups). If we were to lose, the pendulum of supporter sentiment will swing from positive to negative in short order on this forum. I don''t expect a win tomorrow, nor do I expect to lose. I expect us to compete and give a good account of ourselves. Yes football is a results business, and Hughton will ultimately be judged on results, but to shift from being an "inny" to an "outy" (or vice versa) because of one game is generally naive. The only exceptions I would cite in relation to that would be a display of utter ineptitude where we get unexpectedly thumped at home a la Colchester, or Hughton going "full-Pardew" and nutting Benteke. So please people, try and be consistent. Judge Hughton and individual players on more than just one game. If you can''t decide on being an inny or an outy, come join me on the fence, its surprisingly comfortable.

Its going to be an exciting second half for my 5-4 prediction to come true...

As I said in the other thread, expect an RvW hattrick, and a 5-4 win for the Canaries.

Slight correction, now I''ve seen RvW is starting, he''ll be getting a hattrick.

RvW to come on and grab a match-winning brace, you heard it here first.