Chunky!

Hehehe, I think the only reasonable excuse there could possibly be is: Norwich are playing in the most important game since the play-off final, and I would like to watch it please darling! At least thats what I said to my gf!

I think thats another great thing about the club!The players attitude towards the fans, for the most part, seems to be excellent.Gary Holt, from my experience, is a legend. Made my little cousins day when I took him to see norwich at home.All the players seem happy to have a crack and sign stuff.

I doubted Shackell, I said maybe he was a bit of a gamble, but he played well tonight. School-boy errors, as my sunday-league coach describes, you know your man, pick him up, don''t do stupid tackles! I don''t see how the coaches or management can make players pick their men up, why don''t the players do the simple things! We got two good goals, and at least one preventable goal, and the fact Jonson got himself sent off is just plain stupid! We should have won tonight, 20 minutes gone, we''d won the game, and even with the first good goal, we should have won 2-1 or 3-1 or something, but instead we threw it away. I''m a very positive person, but its going to take alot from here! Chunky. OTBC!

he doesn''t cover enough to be a winger at this level, however up front he looks dangerous until he shoots! OTBC! Chunky

If we can produce a display like the one we did at everton, I don''t see why not!People talk like we''ve been awful every game recently, we played well against everton, we should have got something from the game but our (pretty dire) finishing let us down.If we play the "bad" man city, then we''ll get something I hope!If we play the good man city, then its slightly harder work, but I''ve seen the current squad cut it against big teams, and I have faith that if the entire team plays at their best for an entire game we might get something!OTBC!Chunky

I for one am not trying to say that Norwich aren''t making mistakes, but what I''m saying is, people are expecting far too much. We should have got something from the game on Saturday, but its not constructive. Saying a player could have done better isn''t a crime, saying a player doesn''t always give 100% is ok, but what I have a problem with is the very nasty and targeted critism of certain players and staff where it isn''t needed. It seems some people in the Norwich support on Saturday were in the same group of fans as certain people on this board. Lets all get behind the boys, and hope we can do it yet! Otherwise we need to understand ripping the team to bits at the end of the season isn''t the best plan! OTBC! Chunky

Well said Saint, I typed up a similar long post last night and it never made it on here! You forgot the whole, get rid of worthy and his team threads too! I for one never thought this would be easy, and the only way we were ever going to stay up was with luck, it just hasn''t gone our way, so another season of building is in order I think, and so does Worthy and hopefully the board. As long as our (thus-far) very sensible board and management team don''t listen to some of the morons that have had their 5 cents on the board I think all will be well next season and we''ll back in the premiership before long! OTBC! Chunky

This is getting out of hand! Admittantly, Charlton was caught out for the first goal, but the blame today for at least 2 of the goals lies with Greeno, someone who is above criticism for most of our games.  Admittantly the defence isn''t right at the moment, but I don''t think its the choice of players as such, I''ve seen the same group of players play excellently at Everton and other such games. Its consistancy, it seems that if it isn''t one person making a mistake, its another, Charlton has been excellent this season, and he made a mistake, and then Greeno.  The fact is, if either Hucks, Deano or Brennan had taken one of their chances by the time blackburn got that goal we''d have been in an entirely different game!  As soon as the first goal when in the game changed and we were on the back foot. I really do believe Worthy was trying to get us some new defenders in the window, but imho, I think we''d have to pay alot of money to get someone who is a genuine step up from what we have, didn''t West Brom pay £1.5million for Chaplow from Burnley?!  And as for playing Shackell, I''ve heard mixed reviews, but I don''t think unless he''s very ready, we should be risking his confidence now. What I find the most disturbing is this sudden change within the supporters, at least on this board, from constructive to destructive criticism.  Its just not what we need, we knew it would be hard, and we knew we had very little spare cash for players and that in all probability, we''d still have a rebound season this season, and yet there are people on here who still believe that we should chuck Worthy out, spend £15 million we don''t have and risk the future of our club!  The transfer funds next season should be used to shore up the defence and to add someone else with an already-sharp eye for goal (as well as Deano).  I don''t believe its wrong for fans to criticise the club, it needs to be done, and there are areas for criticism in our current performances, and I think alot of this is just down to the fact that we are still learning, we''ve not been in the premiership for 10 years and its changed alot, but its the type of criticism and the very short term memory people have that I think is wrong.  And this sudden, he made a mistake, drop him lark is simply stupidity. Keep the faith, it might still happen!  OTBC! Chunky

SkySports have some, they post them from time to time.Come with a nice big skysports logo, and the match details, but generally decent OTBCChunky

I think it might be a good idea to start to ignore this thread, its getting a bit out of hand. Its turned from someone fishing for complements/spitting their dummy out into one big back-patting/back-stabbing exercise. Its getting a bit boring now folks, we''ve all declared what we think, maybe we should just let him be until he decides he isn''t valued enough again. This board is about Norwich City folks, not Wizard''s dummy spitting. OTBC Chris

I think the phrase that probably sums this up is the old playground one. Don''t give it if you can''t take it! Your robust, verging on outright harsh dealings with others are your own doing. You create these discussions and set the tone, and now you''re unable to deal with them you''re about to up and leave. Don''t try and be a martyr, we all know its attention grabbing. OTBC! Chunky

Hehehe, well maybe they did! I know how hard it is, even at a local league level to play in defence with a dis-organised midfield. 4-3-3 in the prem probably isn''t the answer, we just don''t have the quality to make it work. OTBC! Chunky

Just FYI, all who have been slagging off the Doc and Flembo! Having not seen the match on Sat, or the highlights, I remain but a neutral in this great scheme of slagging players off. :-) However, for the record, I''d prefer the explanation that it had more to do with our shape in midfield than the defenders themselves. The Doc is in both sky''s and bbc''s team of the week, and Flembo is in sky''s team of the week. OTBC! Chunky

First things first, are you some kind of troll?Assuming you''re not, what ARE you talking about? I live in Barrow-in-Furness, and I''m a bit of a closet Barrow fan (my dad is Barrow born and bred, my mum is from Flitcham). The local BBC Cumbria radio station plays all the local Rugby and football results and its rather stupid of you to suggest that nobody cares about such results! If they removed the Barrow results from Radio Cumbria, I''d be rather annoyed! I don''t really care about Carlisle (only League team in cumbria) and the fact they have the non-league results on is always helpful.Maybe you should be a little less selfish!OTBC!Chris

At times yes, at others no!At everton the defence was excellent, however its clear that in certain games our defence has been appaling! It may be due to the setup of the midfield or other things, but its something we need to sort!OTBC! Chris

I have to disagree, last night was a solid defensive performance, and truth be told, we were unlucky not to get anything from the game. It was a group of mistakes by people rather than one person making a single mistake that led to the goal, and we looked dangerous all game, Ashton and Hucks linking together worked really well, but what cost us the game was our complete inability to take our chances! Hucks missed a sitter, Ashton missed a sitter too and we didn''t work Martyn enough with the shots we got off. Also, we were denied a clear penalty, which hardly helped! I hope last nights game will serve as a point to stop people on here continually moaning about Gary Holt, he covered every inch of that pitch last night, and we were hard to break down and solid (for the most part ) when defending. We look like a much better team with him in the middle skills or no skills, he even got a shot off at one point. (gasp!). We gave a very good account of ourselves last night, and for me, it was on par with the performances I saw early in the season, against Man Utd and Newcastle. On a plus point, Stuart looked the part, he had a few good touches and was very composed on the ball, a good starting performance considering he hasn''t played much recently. On a negative point, West Brom and Blackburn like the kind of physical play we often struggle against. OTBC! Chunky!

You had to say it didn''t you! OTBC Chris

Maybe, I really can''t remember. I just read/watched it and found myself agreeing with what was said.All his passes are short and easy, he never gets forward and just sits there, sound familar at all? If you''re a holding midfielder and you can''t play a long pass safely, you play a short easy one!Gary Holt is the best option we have in this position and will be until Helveg or Safri come back, at least with Holt you know what you''re going to get, even if it is only shedloads of running and lots of short passes.OTBC!Chris

He''s a grafter, not the best player in the world but he gives his all and does a job for the team. All teams have one, even the best. In some teams they can play brilliantly too, but as a general rule you need one. Examples! Robbie Savage - Nuff said! Patrick Viera - World Class too Thomas Graveson - Good distribution Claude Makele - I watched an article on tv, his opta-stats say he''s "average", but he does the job, short passes all the time, always behind lampard letting him go forward. Holt and Francis, the way forward till a grafter who can play better comes in! He''s also a job bloke, comes out early for signing stuff etc! OTBC! Chris

This whole thing is really getting beyond a joke! I''m fed up of people going on about how fans aren''t real fans because they left 10minutes early, or because they looked shocked when we went 4 - 1 down and other assorted indicators of "loyalty". Who cares? The fact of the matter is, Norwich have a full ground *every* week and there is an incredible waiting list for season tickets. This needs to stop! Its just childish "my dad''s car is bigger than your dad''s car" style arguments. Nobody needs to question anyone else''s loyalty, if they''re at the ground, they''ve paid and its up to them whether they sing or not. I couldn''t bear to watch Soccer Saturday when we went 3 - 1 down and I can understand people who didn''t want to watch. This is exactly the time we need to be thankful we have a full ground, not turning on each other and players because they had to leave early or wanted to leave early. Its not the kind of attitude that benefits us or the club or the players. Its just childish. If people feel the need to prove they are the "better" fan we should be adult enough to let them have their minute and then laugh at them (off the board, not by posting) at their fragile little ego''s. OTBC! Chris

I am!I haven''t got my tickets yet, but my auntie should be sending them sooner or later!Going to the Everton game as well.

I have always been a norwich fan, until I started working two years ago I never had the money to watch many games, and when working I only managed a few games last season, Bradford (2-2, I nearly cried!), Burnley, Preston and Everton. This season, I have found a relative who is a season ticket holder who helps get me tickets, I''ve made it to or am going to Liverpool, Everton, Man Utd, Man City, Blackburn and Bolton. No, I don''t have a season ticket, no I''m not a member since my auntie stopped buying it for me, but I am a big fan. I''ve always thought that the Norwich fans were the best in the world, the Northern canaries were so welcoming when my friend and I turned up in a random pub in Bradford last year. It sickens me to see "fans" sat here slagging each other off for leaving a game early, they paid its up to them if they leave early. The people who regard themselves as "elite" fans (if thats the right word) are simply coming across as idiots who rate the size of their commitment to the club in terms of minutes spent singing OTBC, it doesn''t make you big or clever. For the record, I have to live on £1000 for 10 weeks, 100 quid (on average for train, ticket, ale and food) is alot to spend 3 times a term! I don''t regard myself as the worlds biggest fan nor the most committed, but I am committed to dancing naked in the town fountain if we stay up! OTBC Chris

Firstly, I am a massive Worthy fan, I think that he has done us proud over the last few seasons and the improvement in the work ethic and team-sprit has been fantastic! And I believe the worst thing we could do now or during next season is to replace him! Our squad, with the exception of 2/3 players, isn''t middle of the table class, this is something we can''t remedy, we can''t afford to go and buy 3/4 players who can give us the instant jump we need, and we don''t have the money or a reckless board to get the millions we''d need to buy those players this season or before the start of the season. On this board (and 606) in the last couple of weeks, there are have been a number of "what-ifs" and "what when''s". The fact of the matter is, if anyone seriously thought staying up was going to be easy, they were out of their minds, the 3 teams who came up have struggled and if we do stay up, it will be through luck and hard graft, and we will still be in the mix for relegations next year barring some major miracle. Now to my what-ifs.... Quite simply, the worst thing we can do "if" we go down is start playing around with the management or squad, we need to take what we''ve got and build, not wreck everything the club has built in the last 2/3 years, we''ve made the jump from middle/bottom of Div 1 to top Div1/bottom premiership, now we need to give worthy and co the chance to build again. Yes we need to buy players, and yes its agongy watching players being outclassed at times and wishing we had the money to fix it, but even *if* we could convince someone like Redknapp to come here, how can we afford to buy players willy-nilly? We can''t, and thats the main issue. Give Worthy some more time and money to continue building the squad and we''ll see where we go then and then deal with the problem if it ever appears, we''ve all seen the class that helveg, safri and jonson have started to display now they''re settled, and even if they do make (lots?) of mistakes, they are all part of the process we need to start now, whether we stay up or go down, building a solid (and larger?) squad to support an effort next season or the season after at making a push into the bottom to middle of the prem. And, as a final message, to all the people who knock worthy and his tactics, I think even Worthy makes mistakes, and yes, sometimes his apparent inability to critise players in public is *very* frustrating, I ask you to do one thing, name one manager, given our budget and reputation, who could do better? He''s a young manager, and the continuity we need next season can only be given by Worthy and the management team. Any attempts to break up the management would cause much more damage that the short-term gains we (might) see. OTBC! Chris

If we want to establish ourselves as a premiership club we do need to form a long term plan, and part of that plan should include provision for the scenario where we don''t spend next season in the premiership (I know, I shouldn''t tempt fate!). Bringing in anyone who might do a quick fix then be tempted by a larger club would be a great loss to the club, Worthy has proved he has the skills and loyalty we need and if the fans and board continue to support him my naive side would hope he has some attachment to the club too. :-) The team he''s built and building will become "a Charlton" and unless something goes seriously wrong, the club''s management and board have my and I hope everyone''s full support.OTBC!Chris

I think they would, though I can''t see why!?Worthy is doing a good job in my opinion, the signing of Dean Ashton is a major coup (although the board have a hand in that too) and with the limited resources available the job he''s doing is the best expected. The worst thing we could do right now is sack Worthy, he''s turned us around since he started and the team he has built may well be enough to keep us up!Why do a West Brom or a Southampton, yes a new face can change things, but only if you have the resources to change a team or groups of players!OTBC!Chris