andyc24_uk

I reckon that's a close up picture of a wall somewhere within CR. Bit like a few years ago when they teased the half-and-half kit with a photo of the clock atop the stand. Question is, which wall and what does it signify...?

Yellow/green/black home/away/3rd shirts with this camo pattern on the sleeves? I hope that's not it but can imagine them going for something like that...

It's not going to be 10m though is it? Just because the tabloid rags are throwing a ridiculous figure out there, that's clearly not what the final price will be, assuming this deal has legs. Liverpool's people are throwing that value about, Webber is talking 20-25m to start; in reality the negotiations will begin and they'll meet somewhere in the middle - At a guess something like 14-15m plus Larouci who's probably worth about 5m and then some pretty hefty clauses based on future appearances and sell-on value. While I like Lewis a lot and would love to see him stay here, that would represent a decent deal and you can't really begrudge a young player moving to the champions in the same way as if he was being linked with say West Brom or Palace who aren't such a huge step up from where we are now.

Where on earth do you get the idea that I massively under rate him?! I literally said 'I don't want to lose any of the others'. Aarons is a fantastic young prospect - easily one of the best young players in the country. Your questions asked which 2 I'd be most willing to see go. My answer is Buendia plus one of the others, excluding Cantwell. Ideally none of them, but if a choice has to be made, there's an argument that we already have a good replacement for Aarons in the form of Byram. To be honest the more I think about it, I'd probably have to say Pukki for the second spot anyhow, just because there's a question over whether he's just out of form/confidence or if that foot injury has permanently cost him the half a yard of pace that's so crucial to what he did for us last season and the start of this.

Buendia, for all his talent and skill, has shown temperament issues this season and I'm not certain he's the type to put in 110% in a 2-game-a-week Championship slog next season when he's tasted the big time. If we can get good money for him - Minimum 25m - I'd not be averse to letting him go. The fact that we've brought in 2 new wingers (Placheta and Dennis) in the last few days and were actively chasing Dennis Man (probably still being discussed despite supposedly ending our interest) suggests Farke has identified wide players as a target area this summer, and I suspect that might be in expectation of Buendia's exit. I don't want to lose any of the others to be honest, but I can see arguments for all of them being the best (or 'least worst') to lose - We already have good replacements at the club for Aarons and Lewis; Godfrey didn't really make the top flight grade as a CB (I'm still in the camp that thinks he could be an excellent DM if Farke would play him there); Pukki and Krul are older and don't have the potential to grow. The only one I really don;t want to lose is Cantwell, I don't understand why some people on here dislike or don't rate him. His development is probably the only really bright point of the past season and I think he'll be absolutely superb next year.

I suspect rules like that would be suspended by the powers that be if there was a public health rationale - and rightly so I'd suggest. 100% in favour of anti-discrimination rules in general but these are unprecedented situations and surely people's health has to be prioritised over 'fairness'? If not, then I hope they can find some way to make it work for everyone so that at-risk groups can attend games as well while remaining safe and isolated from as much risk as possible - maybe dedicate one stand for older supporters only and have more stringent social distancing in that area?

Given that Covid-19 has a disproportionately high mortality rate in older generations, surely clubs are going to have to seriously consider an age restriction if they do start allowing limited numbers of supporters back into stadiums again? For example not allowing fans over 50 or so into the ground as they're in a significantly higher risk category? It would be a horribly unfair situation for long-time fans who've supported the club for decades, but putting aside the obvious moral/ethical issues of allowing such a risk, I strongly doubt clubs would even be able to get insurance coverage in the event an older supporter contracts Covid at a match and dies.

As the transfer window doesn't close until October, presumably the squad registration window will be open until then as well. There's an international break (possibly two depending when the window closes) before then, and given how things are going in the US I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see them pick an entirely foreign-based squad if they arrange any friendlies to avoid quarantine issues. It's therefore not inconceivable Soto might get a cap and possible eligibility for a work permit before registration closes... Could be that he goes out on an initial 2 or 3 month loan to the Netherlands to get his fitness levels up and hopefully do enough for an international call-up.

So apparently we're likely to see a 'brutal' clearout this summer with no room for sentimentality, as per Webber's comments. Given that, who of the current squad would you like to see go? For me : McGovern - Wasn't Championship quality 2 years ago. Time to give Oxborough a chance. Heise - Never good enough and definitely going. Klose - 50-50 on this. Hasn't been good enough since the restart/recovering from injury. But if he can get fit he's a very good player at Championship level, so maybe if he wants to stay, give him a chance to get properly fit between now and whenever the season starts and then see if he's good enough, if we bring in some defensive reinforcements and he's nowhere near the team try to ship him out on deadline day. Famewo - Farke has consistently preferred to play Tettey or Amadou out of position (and today a not fully fit Zimmerman) rather than give this guy a chance, he'll be almost 22 by the time the new season starts so it seems pretty obvious he's not going to make it here. Leitner - The writing has been clearly on the wall for a while now. Not sure whet he did wrong but clearly not going to play for Farke again. Rupp - Offers us nothing. Can't understand why we ever bought him in the first place. Vrancic - I really like Vrancic, but he's too injury prone, getting up there in years now and has been completely anonymous in the games he's played since the restart - and actually most of the season. Time to move on. Buendia - My controversial pick. Obviously a huge talent and from one perspective I'd hate to see him go, but his attitude issues have shown through increasingly as the season's dragged on. It doesn't seem like Farke is able to manage that very effectively, and he's arguably the most likely of our young players to get picked up by a bigger club, so if someone offers us a sensible fee for him I'd be tempted to take the money and reinvest in other options. Martin - Showed flashes of promise in his sub appearances, needs a season out on loan playing regular football at a decent level next year. Drmic - Possibly could score goals in the Championship, but honestly after the way he's played in the last few games needs a fresh start elsewhere. At 27 doesn't offer anything for the future, cant see much benefit in keeping him. Idah - Make or break season for him I think, he needs to be playing 90 minutes week in week out; potentially could be the breakout star of the Championship next season if things go right but if he's not going to get a LOT of game time for us he needs to go out on loan - at the very least to a League 1 side.

The question most of us were asking for about 170 of the last 180 minutes...

A combination of all to blame for today's pathetic steaming turd of a performance I think. The owners haven't provided enough funding to be competitive in the top flight. I'm 100% on board with not overspending and throwing money around like Villa or Fulham, but it was very clear we needed more investment in the summer and they didn't deliver. Ever since we got promoted it's felt at times like going back down and having another go at the Championship next year was almost the target, not a worst-case scenario. Webber's first team recruitment this year has been poor. Yes, hampered by the lack of transfer budget; Yes, our investment in young talents for the future will most likely prove extremely valuable in the next couple of years - Unearthing rough diamonds seems to be what he's good at - but Byram and possibly Duda and Amadou aside, the first team additions haven't been anywhere near good enough. It was painfully clear to more or less every single supporter that we needed another centre back, and Webber's constant refusal to hold his hands up and admit he made a mistake there makes it hard to take. Farke has done wonders in getting us where we are today and I have a huge amount of time for him. But he never, ever has a plan B. We've been shown up time and time again this season and when things don't work, we just keep repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again instead of trying something new. Partly he's limited by the players he has to work with, but it seems clear that it's also partially down to his inflexibility and rigid faith in a system that we just don't have the squad for at this level. That's something he has GOT to work on if he's going to make it as a top coach. The coaching staff clearly hadn't done their jobs properly in getting the squad back to fitness. Obviously circumstances were difficult and there's been limited options for training, but Southampton clearly managed to get their players something close to fit - Half our team looked as if they hadn't moved at anything more than a leisurely jog since mid March. The players - with the exception of Krul, who's easily player of the season IMHO, and to some extent Emi and Pukki - didn't show up today. It was embarrassing and pathetic - Farke talks about how everyone needs to give their all for the cause but clearly some of the players weren't listening, or are just there to pick up their paychecks. Probably Godfrey's worst performance for us? Klose looks exactly like a man who's not played competitive football for over a year. Trybull and MacLean proved that while they may be genuinely lovely people off the pitch, neither of them are close to being Premier League quality footballers. Drmic offered us nothing today and I can't see any reason to give him another start this season when Idah could be gaining experience in that time. I guess what I'm suggesting is there's no point everyone on this thread arguing about who's to blame for that shambles when the answer is 'All of them'!

I wonder if they'll completely rearrange the order of fixtures or try to stick with the original order as much as possible? Not playing Man City or Chelsea away in the last game would be hugely beneficial to us I suspect... It may be completely academic by then, but if we're still in with a shout of survival I would much rather be facing someone else on the final day.

Clearly, there's no way the league is restarting in the next couple of months but I don't think nullifying it is any kind of solution, nor something that's necessary. I really don't see that finishing it later in the year is an insurmountable problem. Just requires a bit of creative thinking and a couple of years of tight schedules and compromises. I'm assuming that the Nations League will be scrapped for the next couple of seasons so we don't need to worry about international weekends and that the FA gives clubs a bit of leeway with things like allowing teams to opt out of the Carabo cup or send youngsters like Liverpool have done this year. There are 38 games in a PL season, plus extra weekends required for FA cup etc. With a handful of midweek games, it's realistic to suggest the season could be completed in 35 weeks. This is how I can see it working : Mid-August/September 2020 - Current season restarts. The exact date depends on the health situation. 8-10 more weeks to complete the 19/20 season would take us to mid-October. Then, have a 2-3 week 'pre-season' break. 2020/21 season starts early November and runs until the end of May 2021. With the Euros in June-July followed by the Olympics, it would be necessary to split next season as well - again coming back in mid August for the last 5-6 games of the season, finishing mid September and taking the rest of September off for another short pre-season. (Bearing in mind the majority of players not at the Euros will have had a full 2+ months of pre-season already) 2021/22 season starts the first week of October and runs through until the end of June - Not a problem as the World Cup will be held in November/December that year, so finishing the season late won't be a problem. 2022/23 season starts mid-August after a 6-7 week pre-season; It will have to take a month off in November/December for the World Cup so again would likely have to end late, in June 2023. 2023/24 season again starts mid August after a 7-week pre-season, but with no mid-year World Cup break could be finished by the end of May 2024, allowing everything back on track again for an early-August start of the 2024/25 season. The biggest difficulty, of course, is with player contracts and TV rights. I think the TV deals issue could be relatively easily resolved by giving current rights holders an extra year on their deals for free and extending all contracts by one year. I can't see Sky, BT or anyone else rejecting that offer. Yes, this would cost a year of payments to the league, but it would kick the can down the road and be something everybody knows is coming; allowing clubs and the PL to plan ahead for it and spread the financial impact of lost revenue over the next few years instead of taking the hit now and likely also facing a huge compensation bill. The contracts issue I actually think is probably the easiest to resolve - If the season is to be finished later this year, it's in the interests of players and of FIFPRO to agree a universal, across-the-board contract extension of 4-5 months for all its members with expiring contracts. This summer is not going to be a good one for players to be out of contract whatever happens - I suspect there will be far fewer transfer deals coming up and many clubs won't want to take a chance on signing an out-of-contract player with the current uncertainty, so I imagine most players would be willing to agree to a short contract extension for the security. If they're determined to leave on July 1st then sure, they have every right to do that - but if the FA doesn't open the transfer window or allow new player registration until September/October then they would be rather shooting themselves in the foot by doing so. Yes, it's going to require some difficult decisions and there's going to be a financial impact regardless of what happens; but I think some of the doom and gloom about how we can't possibly finish the season is unfounded - It's entirely possible, we just need to accept that things are going to be disrupted and it's going to take 4-5 seasons before everything can be realigned back to normal again.

Love this verbal Sparring on here. It's great when everyone Co-operates.

Realistically speaking the cups are the only chance most teams have of winning silverware. Unless someone gets a Man City-style takeover, I honestly can't see anyone outside than the 'big 6' plus maybe Leicester even coming close to winning the Premier League in the next 20-30 years. If you're a mid-to-bottom half team like Newcastle, West Ham, Everton, Brighton or- dare I say it - even Norwich though, take it seriously and a cup run to the final in that time is entirely possible, especially if the bigger clubs aren't bothered. If our aim isn't to win trophies then... honestly what's the point of having a team? Is 'Consistently one of the top 26 sides in the country' genuinely the maximum extent of the club's ambitions? Surely not... Can you honestly say you would happy with that as a fan?!!

Looks to me like a perfectly reasonable post to end a year in which he started off in the reserves with people questioning his potential and ability to make it and ended as arguably the most exciting young English midfield talent in the Premier League? Encouraging others who may be in a similar situation to believe in themselves, ignore the views of Jobsworth Canary idiots who don't know what they're talking about and keep pushing for the breakthrough. Can't see how this in any way suggests he's going to Arsenal - I could comment on a Messi tweet saying 'Come to Norwich', doesn't mean it's happening.

If we were offered 45m for Aarons this window, I think the club would bite their hand off, brilliant player that he is. I don't want to see him go and if we're offered 20m I'd hope Webber wouldn't even bother to return the call, but 45m would change the complexion of this transfer window for us - It's probably not totally unrealistic in that scenario to suggest that half of that might be made available for new signings, plus we know there's a bit to spend already - We have Byram so wouldn't need to replace Aarons this window, and 25m wisely spent on the right players (namely competition for Pukki and a new CB) might give us a fighting chance of staying up. I doubt it will happen until the summer to be honest but wouldn't be quite so upset if that figure comes close to reality.

Krul Byram Zimmerman Godfrey Tettey Amadou Aarons Hernandez Stiepermann Vrancic Pukki Subs: Fahrmann, Trybull, Leitner, McLean, Buendia, Cantwell, Idah I could definitely see an argument for starting Buendia instead of Stiepi but honestly I think losing his starting spot for a game might be the kick up the backside he needs to start using his brain a little bit more under pressure. Bring him on after an hour instead of waiting until 85 minutes for subs and see what he can do when he has a point to prove. Aarons and Hernandez are going to be running the length of the pitch all afternoon wherever they start; but if they base themselves a bit further forward they'll hopefully have that little bit less ground to cover allowing them to get balls in for Pukki a little faster than has recently been the case. Everton's defence aren't the greatest or most mobile so I think that could make all the difference on Saturday.

Maybe we should offer them a friendly in the summer to mark 10 years since the FA cup game? Would send a few extra quid their way from ticket sales, we usually have a couple of matches against non-league teams anyhow and it's always good to build relationships with other clubs.

We desperately need a win, not just for points but for the morale it would bring. I'd even prefer a 3-2 defeat over a 0-0 draw I think, at least it would prove we can score and bring some belief passion back to the club. Watford at home is also likely the easiest game we'll have this season, so if there's any game to let Famewo prove himself it's this one - A new contract means he's clearly seen as a big part of the future, and playing Tettey and Amadou at the back just isn't working, it's quite clear now. Inexperienced-but-trained-in that-role must surely now trump experienced-but-out-of-position. A Tettey/Amadou screen in front of the back 4 would also be far more impressive - It's finally time to see them playing alongside one another. I think they'll work very well together and make life difficult for Watford to break through. I also feel we've been lacking something in the middle linking the defensive side to the more attacking elements - we were guilty of loose balls and uncontrolled passes in the middle third far too many times against Brighton, so Instead of playing 3 directly behind Pukki which hasn't worked for several weeks now, let's play Leitner (or Vrancic if he's fit enough or coming on after an hour if not) in a deeper role where he can create more opportunities and dictate the play a bit; and have Buendia and Hernandez to come inside more - They'll both naturally drift out wider anyhow and we have width provided by Aarons and Lewis's ability to get forward. Krul Aarons Godfrey Famewo Lewis Tettey Amadou Leitner Buendia Hernandez Pukki Subs : Fahrmann, Byram, Vrancic, Trybull, Stiepermann, Cantwell, Drmic We'd need Trybull to cover the DM role if either Tettey or Amadou had to drop back into defence for another injury or if Famewo proved way off the pace, so, unfortunately, McLean misses out for me despite doing nothing particularly wrong.

I wonder if DF sees potential in him to play further forward in Stiepi's role too? He certainly looks to have the footwork and eye for a pass to make that work...

We need 2 quality DMs in the squad with others capable of covering if necessary. Tettey realistically has at the very most one more top-flight season in him, if he decides to stay another year. Amadou and Kral would be a good long-term option there, with Trybull available to cover either of them but also free to play a bit higher up the pitch if both of them were available. Totally on board with this suggestion - of course we need defensive reinforcements but it's not an either/or situation necessarily. While we aren't going to be spending £30-40m apiece on bench warming players like certain other clubs are doing, bringing in 3-4 players for around £10m each is not going to be out of our reach this summer - We're debt-free and even if we come bottom of the league will take home £100m+. Are we going to throw money around? No. Will we invest wisely and break our transfer record several times over the next year? Almost certainly.

The most feasible way I can see to add a second tier to the City stand with a decent capacity would be to extend it back over the road, essentially putting Carrow Road itself into a tunnel with the new second tier overhead supported by pylons/support pillars every 30ft or so which would need to be anchored in that strip of waste ground. It would create a rather nice little colonnade along the side of the stadium for fans to walk along undercover. If something along those lines is indeed the plan, it may also fit with the comments about changing the car park - I suspect there may be some regulations about requiring direct roadside access to the stadium for emergency situations and/or for tall vehicles which may not be possible with a 'tunnel' along the City Stand, so perhaps the thinking is to reroute Carrow Road the other side of the stadium to run directly alongside the stand instead of curving around the car park?

Yep, got to agree with that lineup more or less. I'd possibly leave Stiepermann out as he really hasn't looked like offering much so far this season and I think a few weeks out of the first team will really push him to up his game; I'd maybe put McLean in there instead-but playing a little deeper to drop back and give an extra option for cover if needed. United are a fragile team whose confidence we can shake and give ourselves an advantage - The Mayor snapping at their heels will do a fine job of that, especially combined with Tettey bullying his way around behind him. Going to be optimistic, I think we'll win this. 🙂

Were we flush with defensive options I'd agree with you, but when we're starting a player in defence who (a) clearly doesn't have the required skillset to play there at this level and (b) is desperately needed elsewhere on the pitch where his particular talents can be much more effectively put to use, I think we need to take the risk.