albyella

It was only 4 weeks ago we suffered 3-0 down against Plymouth - so tonight will be a good indication of how the team has progressed.

Roeder, Clark and Stephenson - seems ok to me.......

[quote user="mozzaman"] Ez all. Am marooned in London tonight and am concerned that there is no available medium through which I can watch/listen to the game. Radio Norfolk doesnt work online during live matches.. Bah! Any ideas?     [/quote] Yes, it''s frustrating living away from the area - why doesn''t Radio Norfolk work online during matches, is it to do with broadcasting rights?

[quote user="Salahuddin"]but then who would get to sit on the Board, and what happens when not everyone has their opinion put forward, it is a good idea but would have to be very carefully orchestrated[/quote] Yes it would have to be very well orchestrated - maybe even a representative committee who would authorise the views for the board member. Will be interesting to see the "take-up" on this, if people take this seriously, then it could gain some momentum....."tall oaks from little acorns grow"

Interesting proposition Blah, and actually something I would be interested in. Whether 10,000 fans is a bit optimistic I''m not sure, and there would have to be some serious tactful negotiation to get a place on the board - this would be encroaching on a "comfort zone", for which there may be some stiff resistance. Anyway, best of luck - you can count me in.

I don''t condone booing of other countries Anthems, and I don''t take part in it either - I was at the Israeli & Russia games, and there was only the usual small element of narrow minded idiots doing that, but at this game the Croatian''s ramped it up by their actions - I don''t defend the indefensible, but I am stating the reason why there was a larger section taking part in the booing - I enjoy the "acceptable" banter between supporters (whether at club or international level), but this was something different...

[quote user="kick it off"]I am Polish, but live in England.... MY perception of your qualifying campaign is that you have been awful. Tactically inept, Poor personnel selections and an awful attitude have cost you. The English press need to learn when to keep their mouths shut. It is their complaceny and subtle racism that makes English fans appear arrogant, whilst this is clearly not representative of all fans, some seem to believe all the crap the press write. The press make England out to be world beaters, but they aren''t. Every time England qualify, the media is filled with crap about how a dove flew over a clifftop in North Devon at 3am on a full moon and this is an omen England will win the world cup etc. It''s ridiculous. England expect to win everything, but do not have the quality of players or the fight, passion and pride to win anything. England do have a few decent players, but they are a poor team and rely too much on individual contributions and not on a team performance. The players look arrogant and conceited and they think they have a right to win. They do not treat teams with the respect they deserve and are punished for it time and again. usually it ends with a lucky escape or a miracle to see them through after poor performances....they had their miracle on Saturday and they blew it last night. The England fans i would just like to point out - were disgraceful last night, booing the national anthem of the Croatians. This is so disrespectful and for that gesture alone, they got what they deserved last night. If a team from another country booed God Save the Queen then there would be uproar, with the press describing them as animals etc etc.....on that note also and to illustrate my press point, The Daily Mirror on monday ran a feature on the front page of its football pullout - Owed By England: Award Israel players OBE''s for their services to the country after saving our campaign and helping us qualify. A) this is ludicrous. B) bit premature don''t you think? The England team needs a complete overhaul. Green in goal for me, the others cant cut it. defensively - England were awful last night, everytime Croatia went forward they looked like scoring and England didnt know how to handle them. midfield - Gerrard and Lampard....Cant cut it. They do not deserve a starting place, they don''t care enough. Should never start in the same team anyway as they cant play together but they do nothing to warrant a starting berth in my book. SWP is far too small and lightweight and his final ball is terrible. Beckham is past it, although decent performance last night, not that thats sayiong much!!! forwards - rely far too much on rooney, without him you are clueless. Crouch is a joke, despite his good performance last night and his record of goals for England, he screws everything else up! he cant header, and he struggles to lay simple passes. Owen - what has he done since he was 17? He had the one good tournament and has hung on to that reputation for 10YEARS!!!!   he is useless, but there dont seem to be many alternatives worringly for you!! [/quote] The reason for the booing, my Polish friend, is that prior to the match a group of British servicemen just back from Afghanistan were introduced to the crowd, and they walked around the edge of the pitch - when they got to the two sections of Croatian fans, they received a massive amount of abuse and gesticulation. So, before sitting in your ivory tower, try familiarising yourself with the facts behind the matter...

[quote user="......and Smith must score."] Is any City supporter on here really that bothered about what happened last night.........? We''ve got a huge pile of the smelly brown stuff in our own back yard to clear up first.  [/quote] I am City over England any time, but I am ENGLISH and it was ENGLAND playing last night, and Norwich didn''t have a game - so what''s your point???

Sepp Blatter has come out with the suggestion of limiting foreign players within a team - I for one welcome that again. Of course, it''s good to get a mix of top foreign talent to increase our own players experience, but not good when in some cases 90%+ of a team is foreign - maybe 4 or 5 foreigners would be acceptable. Personally, I hope this proposition is accepted - it would certainly create the incentive for all clubs to invest more into their youth and academy structure (instead of this "I want, therefore I will buy" attitude of some clubs), which would be good for the local communities as a whole, and ultimately it would make for a greater number of talented players to be available at National level..... ....or maybe I am in lalaland, brought on by reflection of last night''s shambles and the prospect of a long, tough season ahead for NCFC

[quote user="Web Team - Pete"] Oh well, every cloud.... The FA should now be on the phone to Jose. [/quote] "Many a true word spoken in jest...."

1st half was dire, whole crowd shell-shocked - only player(s) that showed anything at all was Crouch (on his own, with no support) and SWP (ran his little heart out). I have never experienced a Wembley so subdued at 1/2 time. 2nd half was rocking - like him or not, Beckham DID make a difference, and not just the inch perfect pass through for Crouch''s goal - he was back defending and clearing the lines. However, I don''t know if it was seen on TV, but after our 2nd goal, McClaren was up and waving the players back to defend for a draw - this when the Croatians were all over the place and we could have pushed for a 3rd. At the end of the match, the only 2 players to come across and thank the fans were Beckham & Crouch - the rest just walked off. So, totally deflated this morning, expect McClaren will be gone by lunch time (£2.5M pay off, he must be hurting.....) BUT, roll on Saturday with renewed optimism

Great person, great player - 57 is far too young. RIP Graham.

Gazza wrote: I think to be honest the board are very very rattled, as in Delias''s outburst at the AGM when she used to term idiots. She was sitting just a few feet away from me and looked very worried, as did all of them, Munby was really quiet that night and Doncaster even fluffed his lines a couple of times. Surely they must have realised their approach heading a football club had to go downhill eventually. Of course there would be willing investment if they ever took their blinkers off and went looking. But do they really want any powerful outside interest and does anyone want to invest their hard earned with Delia telling them what to do with it? Please post your reply so we can all read it? I have had a thank you from Neil D for my email, and my thoughts are noted - he has invited me to call him, which I will. Once I have spoken to him I will copy him with my intended post, as I want to ensure it is balanced and factual - if I were in his position I would be concerned that any communication could be misrepresented. If he requests that I don''t post anything regarding the conversation, then I will honour that - I think that is only fair.

A good email Gazza - if nothing else, we are ensuring that the feelings of true fans are being aired. Maybe we won''t get an answer, but regardless of anyone''s opinion of Neil D he is an intelligent man who holds a high office, so these types of communication will not be ignored (I know he read mine as I got a read receipt). Throughout the many years of supporting NCFC with a passion, I cannot remember ever feeling so despondent about the future of the club. In my opinion the major shareholders need to bale out and allow serious investors to move this club forward again - they are out there (as the folk down the A140 know), but the comments from DS about finding "idiots" to come in and invest just confirmed the patronising view that is being taken at the top. If we end up playing League 2 football, I would still be there when I could (almost exclusively away nowadays) but the good folk of Norfolk and beyond deserve better than that. 

I consider myself to be an "average" poster, not too aggressive one way or the other. But, sometimes the heart rules the head - anyway, I have put pen to paper (email actually), below is a copy - if I get a reply, I will post it on here......I can''t believe things have got so bad that I felt the urge to do this....   Dear Neil As a lifelong supporter, and a businessman, I like to think I can form a balanced opinion of the current affairs within NCFC. However, the current situation does have me worried to the point where I feel I have to express my concerns. Norwich City FC is an institution in Norfolk (and for exiles such as my family and I). As a club and county, we have experienced the high’s and low’s that is normal in football – through all of it the supporters have been the backbone of the club and pound for pound must rate as some of the best in the country. In any business, prudence is essential for stability and longevity – but football at this level is not just any business, and prudence has to be considered with a duty to be ambitious. I could write “War & Peace” about this, but I appreciate you are a busy man and would not have the time to read it – therefore, I ask that you seriously consider with the board which direction you intend to take this club. If prudence is the priority, then I fear this club will suffer as it has probably not suffered before. I believe this would result in lower level football, which in turn would mean lesser gate attendance, which would ultimately lead to reduced revenue – it would be a self-perpetuating spiral downwards. Ambition may not mean instant success, but if the custodians of the club show willing and if success is a long time coming at least the supporters will understand the intent and would continue with the support that is the envy of many “larger” clubs. So, I urge you all to take a long look at your future plans and back NCFC with investment – anything less would be abhorrent in my opinion. The real mark of intent from any management will always be apparent when things get tough – this probably applies more in the football industry than any other. To take charge and run a football club requires a sense of adventure as well as the ability to feed the club when situations dictate. It is critical that running a football club is not viewed as simply a “nice thing to do” – anyone who takes the decision to be involved in the owning/running of a football club must be prepared to have deep pockets, and to provide when there is a genuine requirement. We have all enjoyed the highs of premiership football, but to experience the personal and financial satisfaction that goes with it there has to be real commitment – without it, I fear this institution will wither and die as we know it, and that would be a travesty and something that I would not be able to have on my conscience should I be in the position to be able do something about. Kind regards

There are a lot of players around nowadays who are prepared to take the money and live on their "percieved" status - if we have them, get rid of them, whoever the hell they are.....

Now GR knows the size of the task in front of him - Sunday was an "impress the new boss, local derby" game, last night was business as usual. I know I am searching for positives, but now he can get on with putting it right, he has seen how players perform when played out of position etc. Personally, I think he won''t be too disenchanted - he has seen how they can perform (Sunday), so he does have something to work with. He has inherited some decent players, and I am sure he can get better organised with the right players in the right positions and I still think we can build for next season ......in this division. 

[quote user="Steelsilver"]can pigs fly?[/quote] Spider Pig can.....

Fair play to them, they were lucky to come out of that game with a point and they know it - nice reading on a Monday afternoon.....

I work with 2 x Arsenal, 2 x Chelsea, 3 x Wycombe, 1 x Watford and 1 x Slough (??) supporter, and without exception ALL commented on the excitement of match, but most importantly the committment shown by the whole team, the willingness to give it all and the "HIGH STANDARD OF PLAY" - and believe me, these guys were just waiting for us to slip up again so I could receive some momentous stick...to a man (actually 1 is a woman), they cannot believe we are bottom of the stack. I know exactly what the response will be from some corners of this site, so to those who bang on about ineffective players and this would only be a one-off I say this --- to perform that way testerday, the players had to have it in them. If they have it in them, then it needed a decent manager/coach to bring it out of them. If it can be brought out of them, then they can repeat that performance - simple logic really. I for one am proud of the way the team and supporters performed yesterday, I am doubly proud of the way we didn''t fold at half time and came out with renewed ambition - and I am revelling in some optimism that we can fight our way out of the relegation zone and at the very least start next season in this division.

[quote user="lucky green trainers"]looks like we''re getting a professional backroom operation together, who are all singing from the same hymn sheet.  city are at last doing the right things and getting the basics in place, hopefully we''ll be repaid with the right results.  gotta be good for the club - can''t imagine newcastle would have a numpty in charge of their reserves??? [/quote] I had a read of the NUFC sites, they hold him in high regard so no, I don''t think we have a numpty

[quote user="Canary Ben"] Have heard norwich are in talks with him for the coaches role,   Dont no much about him. Does any one no if this is a good move??   [/quote] He is after assistant managers job - a link.. http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/Lee-Clark-on-way-out.3441377.jp

To talk to Norwich, with a view to joining GR''s staff - this on a text to my mobile from Sky Sports.....

[quote user="dr livingstone"] The club is getting on for £17m in debt, the board is under fire for putting too much emphasis on prudence and not enough on ambition, the majority shareholders are ready to sell up - “anyone who can find idiots like us to put money in and get nothing back can have this club tomorrow” said Delia Smith. interested to read this in chris lakey''s report. has she fell out of love with our football club ? and as for putting money in and  getting nothing back, i thought she exchanged her loans in to shares. so when she sells if its for the right price ( cant imagine she would sell at the wrong price ) she will be quids in. any thoughts. [/quote] Unfortunately, she does lack a bit of subtlety sometimes and her "idiots" statement is another example - HOWEVER, everything has it''s price and value, and she is a business woman. Getting the shares in her back pocket signals an exit strategy in my opinion.......

[quote user="Smudger"] [quote user="albyella"]I hope there aren''t too many guests signing on here from other clubs, because we must come across as a moaning, whingeing, bitching, belly-ache arse of a set of supporters. So we have Glenn Roeder - what, did you think Murinho or Jewell or Alex Fergusson or Wenger was waiting for the job to be available?? - good luck Glenn, I am right behind you 110% and if you manage to keep us in this division this year, then you will have done an incredible job. For those who are whingeing and tagging him "rat-boy", then actually you ought to p**s off and watch Jackanory....or better, go out to play and see if you can learn how to make friends.[/quote] lol watching Jackanory is much more fun than watching the crap that is on offer at Carrow Road under Smith & Co these days I bet.... You seriously think that Roeder will save us from relegation... your knowledge of football is no existant to say the least!!!  [/quote] Keep chewing the liquorice a***hole !!