YankeeCanary

Wizard, your sincerity is certainly matched by mine on this point. Now go and enjoy your Sunday meat and potatoes.

As a group we do tend to get sidetracked sometime from the original question on a thread. Let''s just look at what possibilities Worthy potentially might contemplate in the privacy of his own thoughts. Of course, it goes without saying that he is very focused on achieving success with Norwich so for those who may be so inclined, there is no need to say it. Let''s look beyond that obvious perspective. First of all, and presumably like most of us he will likely think about his ambition and the financial well-being of his family. Logically he would then evaluate the length of his current contract and the remuneration associated with that ( including any potential bonuses if promotion is achieved ). If promotion is achieved then presumably Nigel would consider the risk of Norwich being relegated at the end of next season and, if he''s a wise man, would probably conclude the risk is not a small one. Therefore, it is not a stretch for him to conclude that his greatest marketable opportunity to satisfy any ambitions and greater financial rewards may lie in wait during the next six months or so. He might well think about what big clubs are likely to be making a move during that timeframe and whether any financial offer from a big club might give him in three years what he could achieve at Norwich in six or more. So who might cause Nigel to lick his lips? Liverpool for sure where Houllier will be history if there is nothing achieved this season, definitely Manchester City where Keegan''s fate has probably already been determined, Everton where Moyes has gone from magician to reality, or possibly even as an heir apparent for Robson at Newcastle. Any other thoughts out there that might cause Nigel to lick his lips during the next six months?

Hi cityangel. At the risk of being called a party pooper, I have decided to align with Wizard and refrain from participating. My reason may be a little different than Wizard''s....he is concerned at predicting being a hex. My rationale is that I am far too likely too allow my head to rule rather than my emotion. For example as I began to enter my prediction I realized that my forecast of Coventry 2 Norwich 1 would leave me in a "conflict of interest" position. Even if I''m right I''m unhappy. Whereas if I don''t engage in the "game" and my expectation turns out to be incorrect I will be entirely happy. I am off to South Africa next week for three weeks of warm weather and golf and that may have interfered with my participation anyway.

It''s good, for the sake of the board, Wizard to generate a thread and keep the interest rolling. However, to suggest that any team in this division of under-achievers could worry the life out of you is lowering my opinion of your manly make-up. Most are having a hard time demonstrating any consistency. It''s so bad that you have to believe that even teams like Coventry and Stoke have to be eyeing the possibility of a playoff spot. If it weren''t for the sad demise of Leeds it clearly looks like the three teams that went to the Premier last season would be promptly coming back down. Goodness knows how this seasons complement will fare. And, as for city angel, while she came close to getting it right yesterday, her blinders will have her picking Huckerby to score in every match. Of course, this will probably mean she will be right some of the time. I think you and I should join the scoring prediction race next week and let that worry the life out of us.

Over the past couple of seasons I believe we''ve had occasions where confidence was lacking when it came to penalty kicks for us and who should be taking them. I personally believe ( and I hope I''m wrong ) that this race is going to really tighten up in the coming weeks. With players like Huckerby and McKenzie darting in to the penalty area quickly, winning a tight game may well come down to a penalty kick. Has Nigel got this sorted at this point because I remember the game where McKenzie was brought down and it sounded like Roberts and Holt were competing for the honours with McKenzie. In that game it did not make a difference but if the race does tighten up we obviously need our best foot on the ball. Which one or two players are designated at this point?

I''m in Chicago babysitting two-year old twingrandsons for two weeks...just me and them. Now this is really war. If I had time to come on the board for relief for more than this two minutes I would. You need eyes in the back of your head...you pull one out of the cabinet and the other one is pulling the oven door open. Shame of it is I don''t see a future Canary contribution from either one of them.

Calling old timers on this one....it''s quite possible my memory is starting to play games with me but what registers is either a one handed referee ( might have been one armed but he was definitely a bandit ) who I believe had a last name of Bond back in the fifties. You know how things can stick with you from childhood ( sometimes in a distorted way ) and this man was in control on a number of occasions against Ipswich. I think this fellow was from Lowestoft and he robbed the Canaries blind.

Against Ipswich, I think, in 1952-53 season...I think we won the game. I only remember one thing and that was if a little guy like Johnny Gavin could do so well then maybe I could too.

I think we already understand james but, in my opinion, MasterGreen is exactly correct. As much as we sometimes want to forget it football, ultimately, is a business. That means, at a moment''s notice, if the right deal is on the table one is always both a selling and buying club. To operate any other way means a club would have blindfold on and earplugs in...not very smart.

Hi Saint Canary, I am sorry to say the last time I got to see Norwich play was the season before last at home to Sheffield United when we lost 3-2 ( make sure you shout your lungs out so the same thing doesn''t happen to us on the 31st ). While I was disappointed at the result I was thrilled for other reasons. My nephew and his friend took me to the game which was at the time of the anniversary when many of the past players were present. I was introduced to a group of old timers, firstly Roy McCrohan who was part of that great experience in the the 58/59 cup run. Like all fans that were present during that time I can still name that team in my sleep. What was even more amazing was when I asked the players if they heard any more of Sammy Chung ( who had played at a different time ) and did they remember when he broke his leg in the game where many of us said that we heard that crack throughout the stands. Roy reached behind him and pulled Sammy over and introduced me. Turns out Roy lives in Florida and Sammy lives about an hour away from me in Philadelphia. It''s a small world for us Canaries. I would love to be able to see more games and I am hopeful I might be able to do that next season.

Of course we are all hoping for the best over the course of these six games but, Saint Canary, is it really being realistic to think we won’t lose one of the six games referred to here. Honestly, I don’t think it is. Hope, dream, by all means but if we want to be realistic it would be a stretch to not lose one of these. While I agree with the desire not to lose points to those that are competing for promotion, the ability to cope with the pressure of the last 5 of these games is all going to depend on what level of confidence we build up during the next 3 games. For sure, Sheffield United will be a tough game but, even if the worst happens and we lose, Norwich needs to come out of the starting blocks ( right from the first minute ) flying in the two away games after that at Wimbledon and Coventry, two teams that have great difficulty winning anywhere, even at home. It looks like Wimbledon have almost resigned themselves to their fate but we need those games, in my opinion, to put us in the right frame of mind going into the subsequent five games commencing with West Ham.

cityangel, I agree with you that messages need to be scrutinized and also the person should not have been named on this thread ( as I indicated on an earlier post ). Some message boards, as we know, contain filthy language whereas this message message board maintains a high and appropriate standard which is probably why so many of us like it. The people managing the website, in my opinion, do a very good job of managing the site and are very helpful to all posters as well in being very responsive. Where I separate from your opinion is putting the blame on the website folks for one slip ( compared to the many ****''s i''m sure they do catch ) and appearing to release posters from personal responsibility, particularly for those of us mature enough to know better. This message board is not a football stadium and has a connection to a newspaper. While you personally may not be offended it is better for the site standard to be appropriate for all readers, including young readers as Wizard points out. I hope no poster chooses to leave this great site and that each one of helps keep it as good as it is with respect to appropriate language.

Vince, an oversight on my part, one thing I would have changed in your note was naming the person who used the swear word ( perhaps you can use asterisks ). I''m sure this person is very nice in all other respects and, while it is good to have your message posted as a reminder to all, there is nothing to be served by naming the individual. Thank you.

Thank you Vince. If I had your reponsibility for writing the message on this thread I would have done so in a very similar manner as you have done. Nice to see us on the same side for once Wiz...we may well have other areas of agreement.

Gazza, I was disappointed with your response. I thought the question you asked ( on another thread I think ) was how you could improve, so I just suggested to stop swearing. That would be a fine improvement but, of course, if you prefer to use profanity in life nobody can stop you. I just hope the moderator reads this and uses good judgement to remove bad language from future submitted posts. If you don''t want input, don''t ask the question. Also, when you resorted to a threatening comment in your last message you are just advertising an additional character flaw. Most of us get rid of these flaws in our late teens. Possibly you are still at that stage. If so, please accept my apology.

I realize I''m perpetuating deviance from the thread but YUCKETY YUK YUK. I hope this clarifies any ambiguity you may have on the matter.

I''m too far away to form an opinion on Adam''s performance change but it does sound like it''s a subject needing pretty quick attention. By all accounts something is going on with Drury because prior to the captaincy almost everything I read about him was glowing. Although I hope there is open dialogue going on between Adam and Nigel as to what''s required ( if anything ) if such communication is not taking place it it certainly wouldn''t hurt for Nigel to initiate a quiet dinner with Adam to discuss. They are both big boys and, in their respective roles, can figure out what''s in the overall best interest of the team.

Special Norwich Management Meeting January 19th Regular Attendees: Delia Smith; Michael Wynn Jones; Neil Doncaster; Nigel Worthington Special Guest: President George Bush Delia: “We are honored today to have President George Bush visit us. Welcome Mr. President. You told me on the phone that you would share with us the purpose of your visit when you arrived here.” Bushy: “ Exactly right Delia. I hope you don’t mind if we all call each other on a first name basis. I prefer to be called Bushy...reminds me of being back at the ranch. I’m not much on protocol, so I’ll get right to the point. As you know, I hold the British people in the very highest regard and because of the support from Tony Blair and company, I wanted to make a gesture, aside from politics, of making a personal investment somewhere in Britain. I asked Tony if he could think of the most deprived part of Britain, a place that no one else seems to know much about, a place where proper highways don’t connect to, where the people are so isolated it’s caused them to be the most suspicious people in the land, a place where the people regard foreign to mean anybody or anything that exists outside of its county boundary, a place where people can find their way around blindfolded because nothing ever changes, a place where too many turkeys are allowed to rule the roost, but yet a place populated by people with a potential for passion without having anything to truly satisfy that passion. Tony told me that Norwich fitted that description to a tee. As you may know, I’ve always had a great affection for sports and I’ve owned baseball teams and the like, so I realize through personal experience that a great sports team can bring that kind of satisfaction to people. I was told that your football club is one of the most underdeveloped in England. That you have the potential to be one of the leading six football powerhouses in the nation except that a bunch of inebriated yokels want to hold you back in the dark ages.” Neil: “You say a mouthful Bushy” Delia: “ Be quiet Neil. I’ll tell you when to speak. So let me understand you Bushy. Are you saying that you want to invest in us or buy us outright?’ Bushy: “People always misunderstand American objectives Delia. I’m here to help....not take over. However, apart from financial investment, it does seem that change, in your case, is necessary to achieve the kind of success you seek. I do have a few ideas that may be worth pursuing. Actually one of the ideas came from something one of your supporters said, a fellow called Old Man Andy. He said that you have a place not too far from here called Diss....sounds like a perfect spot for UK DissneyWorld. We’ll put the highways in first, and then the theme park and a new giant football stadium beside it right after. Of course, we would want to have a new colour strip, possibly red, white and blue stripes. Something that would intimidate other teams. But we’ll talk about all this over a bowl of hot punch. Tell me how you got involved with the Canaries and your hopes for the club.” Michael: “ A few years ago Delia and I were planning to invest in Canary Wharf and the middleman we used was an incompetent. However, since we’re stuck, we’ve been trying to generate a return on our investment by getting the club promoted into the top division. We are in first place in our own division at the moment but a lot of us are nervous as to whether or not we can hold that position until the end of the season” Bushy: “Well then, spend, spend, spend to buy what you need.” Nigel: “Now you’re talking Bushy!” Neil: “We have no more money. We’ve even exhausted our Visa credit.” Bushy: “Let’s get real here. Pick up a few hundred American Express cards...no maximum restrictions. When the bill comes due you’ve already been promoted” Delia: “We don’t operate like that at this clu

Pincer, although a little presumptuous on my part, I believe that I must have been a key factor in bringing about this change in The Wizard. I brought all the badness out of him such that his evil juices dried up completely. However, I believe this a temporary thing as, by his own admission, he has a lifetime of emotional swings on his resume and you know what they say about history...it''s a good predictor for the future.

Stop swearing!

Mmmm.... even when I''m irrelevant I seem to draw quite a lot of heat. Perhaps I''m qualified to go into politics. I''ll make that my 53rd goal. P.S. Wizard, I''m quite surprised that the pictorial description from MasterGreen didn''t get one YUK from you.

Whoops! I have to make two apologies here. Sorry Grinner, my message has no relevance to your thread. I was reacting to what I read from cityangel ( what I read was different than what she actually wrote ). My apologies cityangel. You referred twice to what occurred in Division 1 "today". I twice failed to read the "today" word. Careless and, therefore, irrelevant on my part. I normally pay more attention to what''s actually said. I won''t comment further on your other question so as to not contaminate this thread. It will come up again elsewhere.

Sorry, but wrong call again cityangel. What Division 1 is repeatedly showing this season is the huge ( and growing ) gap between itself and the Premier. Dreams are fine when one is sleeping and also when trying to use football as escapism from the cold hard world of reality. If one is more determined, however, ( be that fans or football club management ) to seek a quality product that can perform competitively in the top echelon of British football let alone on the European stage, then a more radical and innovative approach is required. I have pointed this out previously and drawn the abuse of fans on this board almost universally. Fair enough, was my reaction to the abuse, the folks would rather trust chance and the possibility of the odd season here and there in the Premier. That''s fine, but let''s not pretend the product is different than what it is.

Excellent effort cityangel but I suspect Wizard will be sending us both back to Coventry.

MasterNagus, some may tell you it''s going to be okay but, obviously, nobody can assure you that it will be. I sense from the message board that a lot of supporters feel exactly the same way as you....looking ahead at the games we need to take points from and trying to will us to the end of the season and the Premiership. I think that is a recipe for maximizing the nervousness and minimizing the result. A better approach for all football fans as in life, tough as it is, is to think less about the joy of the destination and more about the thrill of the journey. Worthy''s job is to get the players focused on only one game at a time...no small task. As good as the Norwich supporters are, they can probably do better ( judging by some comments re the Bradford game ) and every individual supporter should take Worthy''s lead and go to Carrow Road for each single match determined to be as loud and supportive as possible from the beginning to the end of the match. The away fans appear to be doing an excellent job by all accounts. If the players and the fans give maximum effort through the journey then everybody can still hold their head high whatever the outcome. Enjoy the journey!