Simon Lappin, King Of Spain

[quote user="Chunky Norwich"] I love the sentiment of the post but we have to remember we''ve only played Fakenham, Dartford, Raith Rovers, St Johnstone, Airdrie, Dereham, a load of 17-year-olds from Manchester and Crystal Palace. When Crystal Palace stand out head-and-shoulders as the best team we''ve played so far, that says a lot. But yes, I am glad the winning mentality is coming back to the club and players are clicking. It''s also nice to beat Palace, whenever we play them. [/quote]   What St Johnstone as in the team which won the Scottish 1st division and are therefore SPL quality? also to correct you Man Utd youngsters were the best team we''ve played so far; Palace were awful!

[quote user="Romantic"][quote user="Danielt88"] [quote user="tribes"]Alan Lee ran his socks off when he played here. It''s probably a case of he doesn''t want to be where he is.[/quote]   True but if he wanted to convince us to buy him he failed. I am judging him only on last night and last night he was very poor. [/quote] Here''s the facts: Lee wasn''t at all good last night. One decent header. Holt worked his ass off and his tenacity and touch earned us a goal. We have the better man. [/quote]   I was all in favour of us signing Lee but on last night''s evidence we have done some good business there, Holt was streets ahead. Was only one game though. Agreed with just about everything the Palarse fan said, we weren''t amazing but they never seriously troubled us and we fashioned much the better chances. Palace are going down!!!!!!

Mooney was a a useless waste of space, Gow was alright but doesn''t have the pace of Whaley or Hoolahan. I think we''ve got enough midfielders, need another striker and the only one i''d like to see back who played last season is Lita.

Doc and Dejan or Nelson. Doc was commanding last night, really impressed with how he dominated both Alan Lee and Freddie Sears, also pretty obvious that he will start as he is the captain otherwise why not give it to another player. I think they''ll use Dejan as cover at least initially as he''s too old and injury prone to play every game. Askou is promising but he doesn''t look as good as either Doc or Nelson, was caught out a couple of times in the second half by the Man Utd IX and is not quite as tall or strong as either (I know Doc gave away a pen in that match but he was magnficent against Palarse).

[quote user="Lambo"]Marshall cost us 6 points through two god awful kicks alone, not to mention other areas he lacked goalkeeping ability in.[/quote]   Yes but he also probably saved us about ten with some quite exceptional shot stops. Theo looked good, although his distribution in the first half was a bit iffy. He was very confident, came out and caught pretty much everything that was with his grasp and made one very commanding punch in a crowded box. Saved a stinging long range shot which moved in the air quite a bit, was at a good height though. Also came out and closed down Freddie Sears and Victor Moses on a couple of occasions smothering the ball well. Looked alot less mistake prone than Speroni at the other end.

Here''s my run down for what it''s worth. Theo: Looked good under the high balls and saved the only shot that hit the target marshalled thedefence well very vocal, unlike Mr Marshall who ironically enough wasn''t ver ygood at that! so much for nomnitive determinism. Spillane: Genuinely impressive display, very physical, quick, good distribution and mad a number of excellent tackles. Not quite as inclined to go forward as Semmi but at the same time we never looked like we were going to get caught out on that wing. Also deputised very competently for Nelson in central defence. Will be a real asset next season. Docherty: Won almost everything in the air, showed some great positional work and totally dominated Freddy Sears who I thought would run rings around him. Also tracked back and dispossed Scannell and Sears on one or two occasions and made a great sliding tackle to block a shot from Victor Moses. Very assured performance, will hopefully make an excellent captain this season. Nelson: As with Doc, but distribution was a bit dodgy on occasions, needs to keep it short and simple or he will just hoof and hope. Drury: Solid defensively although was outpaced once or twice by their right back Clyde. One or two good overlaps but mainly stayed defensive. Maybe need to see if Whiggins is a better bet in the attacking line but can''t see him letting much past him on the standard of tonights performance. Whaley: Quiet first half although got himself into good positions on occasions the final ball was sometimes poor. Second half much better, linked up well with Holt for the goal which was top quality. Looked better when he came inside rather than down the byline as his crossing is not always that great. Definitely more of an attacking midfielder than winger but looked to have plenty of talent on the basis of tonight''s display. Tudur-Jones: Strong combative central midfielder gets on with his job wins most things in the air and provided good cover to the defence. Unspectacular skillswise but passing was fine, looked to have a good understanding with Gill. Gill: Good game all round won a lot of tackles and linked well with Hoolahan and Holt, some simple passes went astray but if he can iron out that crease he should be a very good league one player. Might look a little exposed in the championship, although saying that Palace played pretty much their first choice team so maybe i''m wrong. Hoolahan: Quiet start but mainly because Palace dominated the early excchanges due to Victor Moses. Once the defence and the two defensive midfielders began to assert themselves he shone through as an utterly brilliant player. His speed and technique in tight situations are breathtaking I lost count of the times he was able to jink away from two or three players surrounding him and spread the ball to the strikers or wide men. Man of the match by a long way. Also for such a small skillful player his commitment and desire to get stuck into the dirty work were as high as anyone on the pitch. If he stays fit then he will run rings around any team in league one. That''s the rub though, I can see him getting kicked all over the park by a lot of teams, Shaun Derry almost took his head off with an elbow/body check late in the second half (straight red in my opinion), a sign of just how frustrated he was with his trickery, I can see a lot of defenders doing the same thing. To Hoolahan''s credit he bounced straight back up, he''s surprisingly durable it would seem. Undoubtedly he will be a marked man from his time at Blackpool so we need to wrap him in cotton wool if he''s going to survive the season. If he does I honestly beleive he could take us up by himself. Martin: Good touch and technique made some decent runs and passes but didn''t really assert himself in the same way as Holt. He''s impressed me with his general ability but doesn''t look like a 20+ goals a season kind of guy. Also lacks a little in the pace department. Still would certainly play him ahead of Curo. Holt: First half of the first half looked a little ineffective and spent a lot of time on the left wing bizarrely enough, possible to cover the gap vacated by Hoolahan who was roaming far and wide. When he came more central and higher up the pitch he looked very dangerous, won a lot of the aerial balls and held it up well to distribute to the attacking players. He is surprisingly mobile for a big guy which was evidenced by him running down a lost cause to set up the goal, where he then nutmegged one, went passed another and then cut back to Whaley. Also showed some genuinely skillful touches to almost rival Hoolahan, one in the centre circle where he did some kind of dummy/cruyff turn or something to beat a player and start an attack was brilliant. Didn''t get many sights of goal as Palace were quite organised at the back but should be able to get hatful particularly if he gets decent service from Hoolahan, which he undoubtedly will. Subs: Otsemobor: Very impressive tonight, best 20 minutes i''ve seen him play, linked well with Whaley was eager to get forward and very solid in defence. Made one fantastic tackle to disposes Sears when he broke into the area (not due to a mistake just good play from palace). If he keeps to that standard then it would be very difficult to choose between him and Spillane for first choice. Lappin: Poor worst player on our side, he hugged the left touchline when he came on but doesn''t have the pace to do anything outside so cuts back where his lack of skill and poor delivery cause mean he often slows down or messes up promising moves. He has showed admirable commitment to the club but doesn''t look like he can cut it at all. I went to the Dartford and Manure IX games and have formed the same opinion of him each time. Also defensively suspect. Bright: Looked ok and was unlucky not to score but doesn''t look as strong as Holt or as quick as Martin (which isn''t saying much). Adeyemi: Not much time on the pitch and nowhere near as impressive as saturday. Looked very nervy and gave the ball away frequently. However the potential is there, can''t see him starting too often next season but will be a valuable squad player and could develop into something special. Overall I was very impressed with our performance, we never looked uncomfortable with the pace which Palace played the game other than the first 10-20 minutes when Moses ran the show. One thing I noticed was that our whole team was very organised and vocal. There was a lot of calling for the ball and all players taking note of their team mates postions and getting them to adjust if needed. We look like we have a team full of player ready to get stuck in and take responsibility for playing football. The team generally looked much more solid than last season both physically and tactically. I would put this down to the influence of Butterworth who did not leave the touchline once and shouted himself hoarse, he actually drowned Warnock out which is quite an acheivement. Our fitness levels looked superb as well with all players looking quick, lean and hungry to play which is a big contrast to last season.  If Palace represent a top level League 1 side then we should do very well next season. They were organised at the back but looked utterly toothless when Moses was taken off at half time. I think unless they get involved in the transfer market very soon then they will really struggle next season. This is why I don''t want to get too optimistic, although we were eventually able to keep him quiet he always looked dangerous and I think the scoreline would have been very different if he had stayed on the pitch (although arguably the same could be said for Holt). What is certain was that we certainly never looked out of our depth at any point. I look foward to hearing how we do against premiership opposition and even more to the first day of the season. However the potential problem I see is that if we are looking this good now then there is no reason that the other sides in our division won''t be just as competitive. Leyton Orient beat Newcastle 6-1 so if we are going by preseason result as indicators then they have got to up there among the leagues top sides. This is why I don''t want to get over optimistic, it will be a competitive league but I do belive that we will be among the title challengers. I think what sets us apart is the ability of Hoolahan, I can''t pass judgement on too many of the others yet but I can certainly see him being one of the players who will give us that little bit extra threat in attack and will undoubtedly be the match winner on numerous occasions. All in all the signs are encouraging and hopefully we can get through another game on saturday without being defeated and most importantly avoiding any injuries. My first game will hopefully be Brentford away and I cannot bloody wait!!!!! OTBC    

[quote user="Admiral Nelson"]I was impressed with Martin on Saturday.. looks like he has bulked out a bit and wasn''t being pushed about. A season in league 2 has done him a lot of good.[/quote]   Agreed, his touch is very sharp and his movement off the ball intelligent, was unlcuky not to get on the score sheet on saturday, brought a couple of good saves out of the Utd keeper. Although he hasn''t scored many in the preseason i''m more positive about him than Curo becuase he''s been hitting the target and as i said above his general play has looked good, Curo just looks too old, too slow and his radar is totally off.

Maybe it''s the weather making everything look more rosy, but moral does look very high in the players i''ve seen in the friendlies, a lot of smiles and everyone putting in 100%. Behaviourally we look a lot more confident than last season even in the better performances like vs Watford or QPR. I think we''ll have better idea of the answer to this question after tonight, think we''ll be competitive in midfield and defence as those players have had time to play together, but at the moment we lack the fire power to really push Palace close. Holt will need a little more time to get himself fit and develop an understanding with Hoolahan and Martin before he starts banging them in. Will be looking to the midfield to create lots of chances tonight but don''t see us putting too many away.

[quote user="Soldier on"]if the club has ambition billy sharpe is available at 400k and is prolific at this level.  Sign him up and maybe we will get somewhere[/quote]   Agreed, we should have 3/4 of a million plus to play with from the sale of Russell and whatever''s left over from Clingan. I would expect one or two more signings, if all that money''s not going on paying Hughes'' wages, he better perform for £7000 a week!

At a push yes, but we''d be lucky. Of the player''s Gunn''s brought in Hughes sounds like quality, particularly if McGee wanted to take him to Aberdeen and I think Holt could cut with most mid table championship sides as well, but can''t see any of the new arrivals being championship standard yet. They need a season to gell together to get them up to that level, which is unfortunately exactly what we''ve got. I do however feel that we''ve got a top 6 Div 3 side and that we will be up there with Leeds and Huddersfield challenging for automatic promotion come the end of the season. Won''t be surprised if it''s a slow start though, with so many new faces I can''t see us coming out of the blocks that quickly, will probably be october before we really start to see the team playing well.That said if we''re not top six by christmas or at the very least starting to win games then Gunn will have to go!

Got to be Holt plus, Martin/Maric starting, Cody on the Bench he''s not really fit enough or shown the form that warrants a starting berth. Curo in the stands, I admire the bloke''s commitment and effort but he couldn''t score in a brothel.

[quote user="PBTC"][quote user="Canary_on_the Trent"]I think Danny Simpson played on the right wing, now he''s a decent player, was on loan at Blackburn last season and has spent spells at Sunderland and Ipswich in recent seasons[/quote] It was Danny Simpson''s brother I think (Danny is a defender), not sure of his name. [/quote]   He looked decent whoever he was, very good positional play as well, drifted right out onto the byline during the second half and gave Drury a real run around, set up their goal and a couple of other good chances, you could just see that he was going to do some damage eventually.

Exactly!!!!! We have signed what 11 new players this summer, we have the makings of a half decent squad with the mix of youth and experience, so why not actually use the loan system in the spirit that it was intended and supplement the squad with talented players who need experience they can''t get with their own club. I know Roeder made a mess of the club, the team spirit and wasted a hell of a lot of money with his policy of loan signings but let''s not throw the baby out with the bath water, we''ve got almost a full squad of players permanently contracted to the club, so why not get a couple of decent youngsters in? I certainly wouldn''t be complaining if we got another player like Ched, Hucks, Crouch or Bertrand.

Was he their number Number 2? was playing at right wing. Looked extremely dangerous, very quick, good technique and good crossing, would be an excellent signing if we got him on loan.

Sign that boy up right now! if he keeps scoring like this then we''ll be in a fight with teams we can''t compete with financially!

Lowestoft Town - My hometown club FC St Pauli - The punkest team in football! a great example of  how a football team should be run (along with Barcelona, but they''re too succesful to really inspire passion, i''m a masochist), massive fan involvement in the running of the club which gives a genuine sense of ownership to the their supporters. A pioneering club in terms of anti facist, anti sexist, anti racist campaigning which they were a part of way before any mainstream clubs or football associations were forced to address such issues. Also they walk on to the pitch to the sound of Hells Bells by AC/DC and the celebrate goals to Song 2 by Blur, much better than the tripe they play at Carrow Road!!!!!

Train from london bridge or Victoria to Norwood junction, Thornton heath or Selhurst, it''s walking distance from all three, if you''re using the pope mobil for the night then I have no clue, I would suggest you try the football ground guide, Your Eminence.

[quote user="SS"]So £85 per person per night? I''m shocked the players share rooms! I know I certainly wouldn''t expect to share a hotel room with my colleagues. [/quote] Have you never been on tour? it''s common practice, usually a youngster and a older head are paired, it''s a method of building team spirit and helping the younger players settle in. I don''t know about premier league prima donnas but it''s always done by the top rugby union teams even at international level (eg on the recent Lions tour). I don''t see an issue with it at all, the whole point of the tour is to take the team out of their normal environment so that they eat, sleep, train and play together, it''s the only way to develop understanding between players in what is a very short preseason.

[quote user="Yelverton Yella"]I am sure there are many examples of waste hidden deep in the ledgers of the club but, personally, I don''t think this is one of them. If you are correctthat the budget for travel, accommodation and medical expenses was £800k it does sound quite high but, when you consider the cost of scans, specialist investigations etc., I would imagine that the ''medical'' element must have been a fair chunk of that; frankly, it seems a bit bizarre to lump medical expenses along with travel and accommodation. To return to the tour, the idea of taking the (vastly changed) squad away together to gel, get to know each other and work on some fitness and tactics for the new season seems eminently sensible- apart from the benefit of assessing the triallists and seeing how they fit in with the established players. As far as the reported costs are concerned, they actually sound pretty reasonable. It really does seem that some people will attack anything and everything, however irrational. I imagine that, if there had been no pre season tour, there would have been complaints about the lack of preparation and how Gunn does not understand the need to build a team spirit... For Heaven''s sake, there are enough easy targets to attack with the way this club has been run without resorting to mindless carping. [/quote] My thoughts exactly. To utilise an oft quoted phrase; "Bang... Nail... Head!!!!!!"

[quote user="olej"]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46063000/jpg/_46063268_lewingtondrawing.jpg[/quote] Micheal Nelson? Has he been a naughty boy?

Maybe wish should offer this Paul McVeigh a contract instead, doesn''t look like he lets a lack of heght hold him back! Could certainly hold his own against those big scary league one defenders every one''s talking about! http://www.mmauniverse.com/fighters/SS4434

[quote user="Nuff Said"]Seems to me we have our own version of Godwin''s Law on this board. As the length of a thread grows, the probability of anyone remotely positive being called Delia approaches 1. The probability of Bly calling anyone Delia IS 1. [/quote] You''re such a facist!

Lappin looks Spanish, he''s very swarthy

Me too, but I still feel that Chase is more to blame than Delia becuase he destroyed the club when it was at it''s zenith. Delia inherited a mess and other than bringing back Mike Walker and apppointing Worthington (although that was more by default than anything) her and MWJ have made things worse, but I still feel the real villain of the piece is still Chase. It''s all irrelevant anyway, we''re screwed and have to live with it until the cook finally finds someone decent to sell the club to, if she really is trying that is! Sorry if i was condescending, just fed up with little kids shooting their mouths off about things they don''t fully understand.

[quote user="singing canary"]i picked up a program this morning norwich city v f.c internazionale . we had lost 2 games out of 15 in the premiership sitting 3rd behind manchester united and aston villa. we had beatern everton 5-1 ... chelsea 2-1 ...leeds 4-0 drew with arsenal and drew with manchester city . say no more .... thanks delia .[/quote] I''m sorry but whilst Delia has done a lot of misguided things to this club on the past ten years and I am absolutely not a Delia lover, but I think you might find, if you consult your history books a little more closely, that it was in fact a certain Robert Chase who did much to ruin the club both in footballing and financial terms during that period e.g selling Chris Sutton, forcing out Mike Walker and Martin O''Neill (incedently we were second in dvision one when O''Neill left), pouring money into the ridiculous Radio Canaries or whatever it was called, selling Ashley Ward and Jon Newsome without informing then manager Gary Megson. It was in fact a cash injection from Delia and MWJ which saved the club at that time. We have slipped even further into the mire under their stewardship but to lay the blame soley at their door is ridiculous! A little too young to remember the "Chase Out" protests are we? Edumacate yourself! http://www.canaries.co.uk/page/History/0,,10355~1025328,00.html