ron obvious

Because when he's played he's looked a far better defender than most of our others. Recurring injury is the problem, not quality, so wrong to lump him in with players who just aren't good enough.

Totally agree & if both parties are sensible I'm hoping a deal can be struck. Obviously his injury record is appalling, but it occasionally happens a player in his position finally becomes free of fitness problems.

This is what so many people do not want to admit. Too many think that you just decide on a player (or even several players per position) to fit your strategic approach & it' then becomes a straightforward purchasing process. It isn't. There are so many incalculable factors in football that, using an analogy from electronics I've used before, the noise is often far greater than the signal. Luck predominates, if you prefer. That's why so many managers fail after a while - especially those in clubs with limited financial resources. I do think our recruiting strategy needs to improve however. It strikes me that many teams are turning up at Carrow Road with players I've never heard of, & with no or little transfer fees having been paid, make our nascent 'stars' look second rate. I suspect trying to sign players like Tzolis & Rashica - recognised hot prospects - is a mistake. The only way for us to succeed is to unearth talent from anywhere & everywhere. An extensive & first rate scouting network is our prime necessity; I know it's a difficult job - everyone's at it - but we have to try. And we can do it, as previous experience has shown. It may mean signing more duds, but if they don't cost much then we can get rid; I wonder how many Marley Watkins would we tolerate for one Buendia or Puuki? That's a conundrum In itself. What we definitely don't want is any more Naismiths😟

Parma thinks he's just the sort of player we need to recruit. I can see his reasoning, but unsure the gamble would be worth it (every signing is a gamble, it's always a risk/reward decision). Certainly someone with his character traits would be ideal.

YES! YES! THIS! A THOUSAND TIMES THIS!! Well that was an absolutely amazing read. Post shmost - that was a philosophical essay, worthy of Bertrand Russell. Combined with the preceding post the two together made for the most absorbing, insightful twenty odd minutes I've ever spent on this forum. All I can say is that if I was on the board I'd move heaven & earth to get Parma involved (if there's any way he'd consider it), even if that meant ruffling feathers, in fact even if a complete plucking were necessary. Let's face it, we are in a plucking mess ...

So so sad to hear this. Inevitable but that doesn't make his loss any the less. Only saw him live once but he was uproariously funny &, when he played Sandy, genuinely touching. Terrified the life out of the missus but she still loved him. An amazingly talented man. R.I.P. Barry

Would have preferred Byram at CB. And wouldn't have started Idah.

I have to admit I was rather sanguine - too sanguine in retrospect - about the injuries to Gibson & Hanley. Kenny i always thought was a real miss. My feelings about losing our 2 CBs were that they are both rather cumbersome & not suited to our preference for playing out from the back, so Jacob & AndyO had potential to improve us. However I must say I think the lack of experience, both in working in partnership & in general, has made things worse. I'm not sure CB is one of Lunghi's stronger suits anyway, & I'd have preferred Byram yesterday; when fit he's still a very good player.

We've only those 3 very recently. And actually I only see Kenny as much of a loss; Hanley & Gibson make too many nerve-shredding rickets, in the short term I'd prefer our pairing on Friday (though perhaps the game to introduce them!) & in the longer term an experienced pro alongside AndyO (one who isn't error prone!!). I think the sort of mistakes they make cost us enormously in terms of morale, bur perhaps the biggest morale killer was Krul's bewildering pass out to a Burnley player for their first goal. Killed the match stone dead there & then, alongside the momentum we'd just started to build.

No, disagree. Sara produced a Buendia moment at the beginning of he 'boro match where he took out 3 players in one silky move. There are very few players in this division who can get anywhere near that. Sarge may be inconsistent, but he can produce some wonderful moments with a combination of tenacity, strength & skill. Nunez has also produced some terrific stuff. Pukki is still one of the classiest players around. Gunn has been excellent, Max is frustrating but it's still there; Dimi gets caught out too often but is still an excellent attacking full back. Onel is still the player most capable of terrorizing defences. Gibbs is showing real promise & Jacob is another class player, still improving. AndyO is extremely talented but young & raw to have the responsibility he carries at the moment. When it all comes together we're unstoppable.in a way that perhaps only Burnley can match. We just don't understand that other teams who may not be as good footballing sides know they just have to wait for our inevitable lapses.

What I find inexplicable is that sudden, massive increase in quality & determination in those first 2 away games. Both Coventry & PNE are now above us. Why did our heads drop so far & so fast again? Was it purely New Manager Bounce? Was it something the subsequent teams did? Was it a combination of all sorts of factors - injuries, individual form, luck, opposition quality ... It's just so frustrating, this team has more potential, plays better football, than any other team in this division. For about 10 minutes a match. I thought Wagner had solved the conundrum, but he patently hasn't. Not yet. And it's not getting any better.

i specifically meant after this match. I'm sure he was all full of bright-eyed bushy tailed enthusiasm at the idea of setting up his channel. Which makes his debut all the more impressive to me - a lesser man would have flunked it.

He's just started up his own channel. Possibly not the most auspicious time to do so 🙂 Whatever you might think of the content, his commitment & genuine passion for the club are indisputable. It takes a lot of courage to start something like this under these circumstances. Let's hope the rest of the squad are as embarrassed & determined to make amends as he is.

Byram for Jacob, Jacob as DM & Gibbs for Nacho. Marchinos looks solid but stolid - a slight upgrade on Sinani - so would give Tzolis a go. He at least gives flashes of goal scoring talent. However I don't think Onel is properly fit so might have to keep Marchinos & start with Tzolis instead of Onel.

First 6 minutes we absolutely battered them. Sara was looking like the reincarnation of Buendia. We looked a class above. But we didn't score. They initiate a slick passing move on the break & score. We're stunned. They weren't even in the game. Then it all falls apart. This is a pattern I've seen repeated throughout my time following Norwich. It doesn't happen every game - remember our first 2 games under Wagner? But it's something I've never seen other teams do on such a consistent basis. Is it because we play football so much better than most of the teams we come up against? Because we can dominate the opposition so much we have a sense of invulnerability? OK so we've missed one or 2 chances, but they wouldn't have been pretty enough anyway, we'll score that perfect goal we want to score very soon. It's coming, we all know it. What's to worry about? We're sooo much better than them how can they possibly score? oh look, they've got the ball back for once. Look at those inferior idiots, I bet they think they've got a chance of scoring ... Oh dear. We're shocked. Bewildered. How on earth did that happen? What do we do now? We try to rally. We make mistakes. Our semblance of confidence evaporates. If we're lucky the opposition aren't that competent we keep the scoreline down. If it's a good attacking team like 'boro on the other hand .... Last night was the perfect storm. Any more rain & I think the match would have been abandoned; the conditions suited their fast breaking attacking style to a tee & everything went right for them - the law of averages (Xg?) says they shouldn't have scored with every attack, but they did, & it can & did happen. We need players who realise that ANY team can be a threat if you don't stop them. It doesn't matter how superior our football is, if we don't score we will not win so DO NOT THROW CHANCES AWAY; we need players who can spot danger BEFORE it escalates & stop it at source. We need a bona fide leader, one with a footballing brain, experience & the respect of his team-mates. Incidentally, would Hanley & Gibson have made a difference? We'll never know. Their experience might have helped, but I've seen so many poor performances by them against this sort of team that I suspect not. We go again etc. ... Rant over.

So true. It comes down to character really, Smith was just too affable, didn't seem really that bothered, there was a sort of implicit shoulder-shrug in his reactions. Wagner just inspires a bit more confidence & optimism. Let's hope it's not misplaced.

Not that option available. Shame Hayden or Byram couldn't start.

Same team. Let's hope he changes it if it doesn't function very well (which I suspect it may not).

I predict it will be unpredictable as I do not have the googolplex of googolplexes of data at hand to provide a reliable model. I mean, will that third earthworm on the right 1.652 m to the left of the penalty spot throw up a sufficiently large cast to deflect the ball by the requisite 0.1 mm which enables their goal in the 53rd minute?? I keep going over the calculations but it's a tricky one ...

FFS it's football. I just want us to play well & win as many games as possible. End of story.

I feel sorry for Hanley but I have this nagging feeling it could be the best thing to happen for us. He's not the worst CB I've seen & he does have useful attributes - speed & strength among them - but like Gibson he is guilty of appalling errors which doesn't help team morale. And morale is the biggest problem; I think he's the wrong sort of character to lead a team. He's a dour Scottish pessimist at bottom, & I doubt the previous 2 PL adventures have done much to improve his outlook. Nothing wrong with being dour & Scottish, but you need a true fighting spirit to go with it, & to me he looks defeated before he starts, unable to galvanise those around him or inspire any belief other than in inevitable doom. Compare him to Christoph, a quiet, thoughtful chap who could nevertheless become a chest-beating leader when the going got tough. I may be overstating the case but I just don't see Hanley as the man to grab the team by the scruff of the neck & force the issue. Too much Private Fraser in his make-up. We need a leader. We haven't got one. Whoever replaces Hanley in the long term has to have that quality, they have to care, to have belief & not settle for second best. And if that makes them unpopular in the dressing room? Well ...

Interesting sub.

Buqqer

Formation?