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Patches OHoolahan

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Everything posted by Patches OHoolahan

  1. I''m confident that had Fox had been playing all season, he''d have provided RvW with the ammo to score 30 goals this season, and we would be comfortably above Manure in the table rather than relegated. At least that''s how it works on football manager.
  2. Was one of my favourite players in the Lambert era, and I still feel he has something to offer. Not a complete player, but very good at dictating the pace of a game, and I feel it is something that we have been missing from our midfield. Now we''re back in the Championship I think he would be a very useful asset if properly utilised- someone like Zola would likely get the best out of him. That said if he is unlikely to play many games I could understand why he would move on, and I would wish him well. He helped create some great memories for me as a fan.
  3. Link to the story: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11709/9319424/transfer-news-crystal-palace-norwich-and-brentford-linked-to-caens-molla-wague I''d imagine Ewan Chester has been doing the scouting, or one of his network across Europe (assuming we have a network!). Can''t imagine they''d bring him in before a new manager was in place though. Of the 3 clubs in for him (us, Palace and Brentford) we might be best placed to offer him first team football, with the possibility of a promotion challenge (on paper anyway).
  4. An excellent question, I would imagine it might well be Martin, but that depends on who the new manager is, and what players we bring in/get rid of. It also reminded me of the number of leaders we had all over the park in our last Championship season- Holt, Crofts (captain at Brighton), Ward (captain at Coventry), Martin (occasional captain at Peterboro, later our club captain), and Drury (one of our former captains). Add to that Wessi, who often took the armband when Holt was absent, and Ruddy in goal, then we had a team full of leaders that season. Perhaps that''s part of the reason for our failure this season- not enough players willing to stand up and be counted when the going got tough.
  5. I''m warming to the idea of Zola as manager more and more. He''d bring an attractive style to our play, and I have a feeling he could bring us some success. He''d be a gamble, no doubt, but whoever we bring in will be. Obviously certain candidates have a better track record than Zola, but I think he''d bring the enjoyment factor back to Carrow Road, which has been missing for the last two years.
  6. Going back to the point of the Norwich way. Is there an argument to say that we should define how we want to see Norwich play now, rather than looking to past glories to shape our current style of play? I think there is some consensus that we''d like to see our side play quick, passing football with an emphasis on attacking, so why not make that the Norwich way? We won''t be known for a certain style of football, until we start playing it consistently, a la Stoke, Swansea, Southampton etc, and now is as good a time as any to start implementing a philosophy. I''d rather be entertained with good football against Championship opponents, than bored to tears by negative football against Premier League teams.
  7. I''m delighted the club are trying to establish a footballing culture befitting of the Norwich way. I, along with a number of other posters, have been banging on about this for a long time. The complete alteration in style from Lambert to Hughton contributed to a difficult transition period in the 2012/13 season, so I would love to see us play in a consistent style from one manager to the next, albeit with tweaks according to individual managers'' preference. Hopefully this means passing, attacking play, because lord knows how dull some of the football has been of late. This is an entertainment business after all.
  8. https://twitter.com/NCFC_Fan_page/status/466292460923420673/photo/1 Now which of them is the talented one?
  9. His name has been mentioned a few times on here as a potential managerial candidate. What do people think? Did well in his first season with WBA, and played good football in the process, but stagnated this season. Possibly unlucky to lose his job, but from what I''ve heard from WBA fans his situation was similar to Hughton- fans knew a change was needed, as their summer buys hadn''t worked out as hoped. Also rumoured to have fallen out with their Chairman Jeremy Peace, after he publicly bemoaned the lack of funds for new signings. He''s one that could go either way for me, might be amazing, might leave us in lower mid-table in the Championship with a few unwanted and expensive buys.
  10. Not completely averse to Lennon, but he exudes a sense of arrogance that reminds me uncomfortably of Roeder. I know self-belief is imperative for a manager, but not to the degree that it turns into contempt for fans.
  11. Just thinking about Southampton, they''ve invested loads of money, much more than us, and have come 8th. Swansea managed 9th place last year and a League Cup on more limited resources. Obviously the focus has to be gaining promotion next season, but in the longer term, realistically all we can ever hope to have as supporters is upper mid-table in the Prem, maybe a cup if we''re lucky and a subsequent European campaign. Aside from the depressing truism that there is a ceiling on our possible achievement, what do you really want from your football team? It would be phenomenal to win a cup, but thats not likely to be a regular occurrence, so really all I hope for as a supporter is for Norwich to play good football with passion, and to be entertained. For these reasons I would like to see a manager come in who will bring style and passion to our football club, because regardless of which division we''re in, entertainment and emotion (hopefully positive emotion) is the product which we are buying as fans.
  12. Well at least with Zola we''d play some decent football for a change, and we might get some entertainment. Probably not the most effective choice, but do we want success if the football is dull?
  13. Yes, 2nd. Quite frankly if we don''t get in the play-offs at the very least, next season will be a failure in my eyes- we need to take advantage of our strong financial position while we can.
  14. Thats disappointing both from an attitude point of view, and from the optimistic perspective that if he stays with us, he''d score a hatful in the Championship. Looks instead like it will be bye-bye Wolfie.
  15. Thanks for that Bluebird. I think that pretty much echoes my own thoughts on Malky- he would be likely to get us promotion, but the football will probably be dull. Interesting points re the amount of money he''s spent as well. I think I''ve always looked admiringly at his time with Watford and first season with you, where he seemed to achieve a lot with very little, but the wage and transfer figures you state are staggering.
  16. Just wondering which current posters were around for the "big bang" so to speak. Without checking join dates I would imagine Wiz (and his subsequent reincarnations), Morty, Zippers Left Foot, Nutty Nigel, Til 1010, Lappinitup and Jimmy Smith have all been around for a good while. Haven''t seen the likes of City Angel, Cluck, Smudger or Bly on here for a long time (admittedly my interest in this board fluctuates so they could well still post, perhaps using a different moniker).
  17. My concern is that if we get Malky in, which looks increasingly likely, his style of play won''t suit RvW. We''d do better with a big yet mobile striker in the Danny Graham mould (Becchio?), if we were to play in the manner I suspect Malky would advocate.
  18. Looking at both League 1 and the Championship here. As far as the Championship goes, I''d like to see Derby or Wigan go up. Aside from the 3-2 against Derby, can''t remember many particularly good results against either team in recent years, and could see both being strong contenders next season. QPR can throw all the money at wages and transfers that they want, it can''t buy them a team. I also think Brighton would be a nice ground to visit, and I don''t think they''ll be auto-promotion candidates next season. League 1, I think I''d prefer Rotherham to go up. We haven''t played them in a league game for years, and their new ground is supposed to be nice. Other than that it might be fun playing Peterboro'' but I''m not sure I could stomach being in the same league as Barry Fry and Darragh MacAnthony. Leyton Orient beat us in the FA Cup and the last time we played them in the league, so they''ve got the ominous beginnings of being a bogey team for us. If Preston go up they''d be in a stronger position to tempt Declan Rudd away, though I imagine he''ll probably be competing to be our first choice keeper at the start of next season.
  19. Portman King, I''ve seen a number of your posts, some of which have been well-reasoned, others provocative, but I must disagree on this point. Regardless of MM''s association with NCFC he would be a frontrunner for the job given his achievements with Cardiff and Watford (on a shoestring budget). I have my reservations about the style of play that he would adopt, but I am confident that he would bring success. I would still prefer Steve Clarke, but I would not be unhappy with Malky.
  20. Video of Malky''s apology to Tan here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSHaCzb3yYk&feature=youtu.be
  21. I would bet this is no coincidence. DM was probably on the phone after the final whistle at the Stadium of Light.
  22. Gingerpele, the idea is insulting to a lot of clubs in the lower leagues who have a proud tradition and history- why should they have to play against a reserve team with next to no support? It is also potentially very anti-competitive, if you think of the possibility of 10 B teams in League 1 occupying the top 10 places, then it would mean the 11th placed team getting promoted automatically if the proposed ceiling of no promotion to the Champ was introduced. This seems wrong on a number of levels. Also introducing another level between League 2 and the Conference makes it even harder to break into the football league proper, which is already difficult given the two-up-two-down system currently in operation. Think about it in these terms. Norwich were in League 1 relatively recently, how would you feel about us playing Spurs B team? Personally I would find that demeaning.
  23. http://wall.canaries.co.uk/Event/Canaries_Wall_2 Link to live text coverage of the presser. Russell Martin is the first sacrificial lamb, he must be getting used to this...
  24. We''ve been told before how much money its worth to be as high up the table as possible, so on Saturday it would be good for the coffers as well as morale if we gave Arsenal a good spanking, and guaranteed 18th place (sad as the thought of 18th sounds). So lets go out of the Prem with a bang, and give the supercilious pundits something to chew on.
  25. Now that the inevitable has been confirmed, and this slow-motion car crash of a season is finally coming to a close, our thoughts must turn to next season and how we re-group effectively. The Championship and even League 1 are littered with former Premier League clubs, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned, if we are to mount an effective assault on the promotion positions. We need to avoid "doing a Wolves" for obvious reasons, but equally there is a danger of the club stagnating a la Middlesborough/ Derby etc. First and foremost we need to bring in a permanent manager. Ideally this should be sorted within two weeks of season''s end at most. My choice for what its worth is Steve Clarke- he has shown he has quality at WBA, and his teams tend to play good football. Secondly we need to address our playing squad. Players of the ilk of Ruddy, Fer and Snodgrass will no doubt be the subject of offers, and I think it might be best to cash in if the money is right. Other big earners such as Bassong and RvW could well be off as well, which is for the best if they are not up for the fight of a Championship campaign. Others that I imagine might leave include Pilkington, who I''m sure could find himself a Premier League club in spite of his injury record, and Hoolahan who I believe will be off whether its to Villa or another side, because of his comments in January. I''d like to see us keep hold of Turner, Olsson, Redmond, Tettey and Howson, all of whom I believe could be targets for lower Prem clubs, but if they stay then we will have a strong core to build from. Regardless of who stays and goes, we need to settle the squad quickly so that we aren''t left with lots of work to do in the transfer market come the start of the season. Finally, we cannot let there be a hangover from relegation. I remember all too well the opening 3 games of the 2005/6 season where we drew each match with uninspiring performances. We need to come out of the blocks quickly, and try to maintain that momentum. One of the great qualities of the Lambert era was our ability to bounce back from defeat, we need to show that same resilience to be successful next year. I know all too well how tough the Championship is as a league, but I have little time for arguments that we should be looking to consolidate next year before mounting a serious promotion challenge the year after. We should have a squad that is capable of automatic promotion, and I for one will not be satisfied with anything less than a play-off place next year.
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