Mr.Carrow
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Posts posted by Mr.Carrow
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What a couple of weeks its been for Danny Crow. Signs a pro contract and proudly tells the world of his allegiance to City, then plays a blinder against the scum! I like the lad already! -
GTG, i guess this argument hinges on what you class as `going too far`, however you seem to have implied from your desire to see an end to segregation that you regard any kind of passionate rivalry as `going too far`. As for your neat little summary of people who have `gone too far` at football, i trust that you are speaking with an in-depth knowledge of such people,rather than resorting to lazy stereotypes? I prefer my football loud,passionate and yes sometimes a bit confrontational. However i am quite prepared to accept-and not pre-judge-others who enjoy their football in a different way. Can you? I am afraid to say that your pleasant experiences in the home ends at other grounds has less to do with attitude or respect and is more to do with the fact you`re a woman. Read Rob Butchers report on his trip to WestHam last season as a good example. Football reflects human nature, as such its very much a `warts and all` experience, and you know what? I and many others love it precisely for that reason. -
GTG,in my opinion there is a good reason why football is by far the most popular spectator sport in the world and that has alot to do with the fact that it has a bit of an `edge`-it isnt polite and predictable, a game which is dull and uneventful one minute can be in passionate tumult the next.
I am afraid inter-fan rivalry plays a massive part in this and whilst of course it shouldnt be taken too far, it serves to intensify an experience that many enjoy because it gives them a buzz which is totally unavailable in their ordinary lives.
I dont think it should be taken too seriously-i know people who are extremely loud and partisan at football who are very sensible professionals outside it. The day the prawn sandwich brigade totally take over will be a sad day for football. -
Well said Campbell, a bit of sense at last. If Holt was so appalling how come our midfield totally bossed the midfield of a team which stayed up fairly easily last season?
The only time Pompey really caused us problems was when their strikers dropped deep and turned and ran at our defence. The fact is that despite their valiant efforts,our defence couldnt cope with the Pompey strikers height,strength and speed. They caused us very few problems from midfield, even the classy Berger being kept fairly quiet.
We all know Holt has limitations but as far as im concerned he has improved with every game (Liverpool debacle aside) and played a big part in outplaying a good Prem.side yesterday. To quote a relieved looking Pompey fan in the pub after the game "How on EARTH did you not win that,you were all over us!" -
Very unfair IMO 1st Wizard. Yes Holt has struggled so far and if we are now going to revert back to 4-4-2 he should (and i believe will) be the midfielder dropped to the bench.
HOWEVER, if our seemingly more attacking intentions come off on Saturday and we are leading well into the second half,as legs tire,i cant think of a better player to come on and get stuck in to ensure 3 points.
Obviously in an ideal world we would continue attacking and steam-roller teams by 2 or 3 goals but i think we have seen enough of the Prem to realise this just isnt going to happen.
Holt may not be worthy of a starting place but he will still play a major role this season. Try to see the bigger picture! -
GazzaTheGreat, can i ask you who said this about being able to sell 35,000 tickets in the Prem? Was it in reference to the planned future capacity of Carrow Rd. or just estimates based on percieved demand for big games?
I`ve felt for a long time that City`s potential support has often been well underestimated and with ipswich likely to be struggling for years to come, its pretty exciting to think that this potential may soon be realised.
It would certainly confuse your average national media pundit.....what on earth would they do with all those "nice little Norwich from the country"Type cliches they`ve relied on for years?! -
Not sure the sweeeeets mans back could take it.....!
Seriously though, the queues of frustrated,thirsty customers at half-time tell only half the story. I for one dont even bother having got fed up with it years ago, and i know plenty of people who feel the same. I reckon the club could double its beer sales if it could come up with a more efficient system.
I once went to a ground in Belgium (Circle Brugge i think) where fans bought books of `beer vouchers`in advance which certainly speeded things up, not having to mess about with money,change etc. I suppose forgery would be a problem but you would have thought that with the clubs high-tech ticketing system they could give it a go? -
I hope achieving your goal of winding people up has brightened your day up Yankee. Nice to see you have thoroughly absorbed the local culture when it comes to international relations!
Im now off to meet some friends in a lovely old traditional pub by the river, to enjoy some fine ales whilst watching the footy. The sun is shining, life doesnt get any better.....;-) -
I think the fact that you have gone to the trouble of starting such a ridiculous thread indicates that YOU are the bored one with too much time on your hands Yankee. -
Oh yeah Gazza, i missed a complete sitter there! West Brom were given 1500 tickets and they failed to sell around 300 of them. In fact there were several City fans moved from the away end that night because that was the only place they could get tickets. People around me were amazed at such a paltry turn out for such a huge game. In the programme that night was a comparison of the two clubs gates over the last ten years and on average they were very similar.
I actually have very little against W.Brom as a club, generally finding them one of the more friendly Midlands clubs with a decent, loyal support but im afraid Zlatans patronising comments smack of a very common arrogance and worse,ignorance when it comes to clubs the wider football world find convenient to catagorise as inferior. Im not going to get into a petty `our clubs bigger than yours` spat but it would be nice if other peoples opinions were based on facts rather than assumptions and preconceptions. -
A couple of questions for you Zlatan. How many times have you sold out the Hawthorns this season? An average attendance around 4,000 short of capacity in the wake of a glamorous season in the Prem, the windfall payments,several big signings and spending virtually all season in the top three is pretty pathetic. As has already been stated City have sold out the home areas of the ground for virtually every league game for the last 2 and a half seasons, on average about 4 weeks in advance but up to 10 weeks for big games. Capacity was increased to around 24,000 for the last couple of months of the season and this basically made no difference, games still selling out way in advance.
How many season ticket holders did you have this season? We currently have 19,000 with 2,000 more on a waiting list because we cant fit them all in! I doubt, given an average of 24,500, you had that many despite the positive factors listed above.
As for away support you had less than 2000 at Wimbledon, we had 3,500. Palace gave us 8,000 tickets because they knew we could sell them, why didn`t they do the same with you? Reading gave us 4,500 tickets which sold out in a few days, we pleaded for more but were told it was impossible due to season ticket holders, safety etc. so im afraid your boast of 8,000 is ridiculous.
I suggest you do a bit of homework before you get on your `big club` high horse then maybe you wont look so silly next time. -
I just hope the club are looking into the possibility of having BOTH- a hotel and some seats in front of it. Whilst i believe the board have done a superb job it can appear a bit on the conservative side sometimes-apparently there were a number of people within the club backing the building of a 6000-seat South stand rather than 8000. How ridiculous does this seem now?
As there doesnt seem to be any imminent building of the hotel, how about putting a temporary stand in the gap for next season? Considering we could virtually sell the current capacity out with season-tickets i think an extra 1000 or so seats will go no problem. -
Norfolk Dan, yes this is certainly a purple patch but last season was,lets face it, pretty dull+disapointing and we still sold out virtually every game often weeks in advance.
I certainly think that we would average 30,000+ next season if we had the capacity and whilst its fair to say there would be a drop if we came straight back down, there are ways of selling seats when demand isnt so great-cheap kids tickets, season ticket holders bringing a friend for a tenner etc. Judging by demand in recent seasons i think we would easily top 25,000 if we were challenging in the top 6 of the 1st div.
I must admit i have thought for years that City`s potential support has often been way underestimated. There are more than a million people in Norfolk+North Suffolk alone. Most of these people have an affinity with the area, are financially solvent and see Norwich as a fast-growing and vibrant capital. With the clubs mix of ambition,passion,spirit and common-sense over recent years i am not at all suprised by the boom in support, and i think it would take a disastrous change in fortunes for this to reverse.
However the board have earned our trust and i dont think they will risk the huge financial outlay of vastly increasing capacity at the expense of the team. We`ve been there before havent we?! I think the best short-term bet (as well as the new infill) would be to build some seats in front of the hotel if at all possible. This would probably bring capacity up to a respectable 27,000ish. Does anyone know if the club are looking into this? -
As if i didnt already feel puffed up and proud enough i have just read Mr Waghorn`s latest article on the Evening News site- fantastic,inspiring stuff and totally hits the nail on the head for me. If there are any doubters left, just have a read- something very special has been built at Carrow Rd and Colney, time to leave past miseries behind and CELEBRATE!!! -
Yep, the entire squad seem to be kept really fit under Worthy. Its also worth considering how few injuries we have had- maybe the extra fitness and strength the players have means that they deal with knocks and heavy challenges better? Another ten out of ten for the backroom staff. -
Too right Mook, it never ceases to amaze me that no matter how well the club is doing, a number (fairly large unfortunately) of `supporters` simply HAVE to have something to moan and get irate about. Usually its the teams youngest, most inexperienced players who bear the brunt- you know, the ones whose confidence is most fragile and easily destroyed. Very clever that.
Now its this demand that Worthy should air the clubs dirty washing in public every time there is a bit of a fall-out. What do people expect Worthy to say? "He called me a ******* ****, so i said **** off to the reserves till you sort your attitude out". What good would this do? It would simply lead to more acrimony at a time when people more than ever need to pull together and give the team a final push over the finishing line. IF Worthy came out and said a player had done something serious what do you think the result would be? Probably an irreparable rift between manager and player, unrest in training and abuse from the fans if that player is called upon to play. If anyone can tell me how this would help City win promotion i`d love to hear it.
I`m more than happy to leave that kind of man-management to Colin Warnock and Pardew and praise Delia that we have a manager who goes about his work professionally, thoughtfully and SUCCESSFULLY!! -
My first response is that Norwich isn`t trying to establish itself as a top 10 shopping destination- it already has according to many surveys which have been trumpeted in the local press. My reason for pointing this out is that for years there has been a major discrepency between the club (particularly under the previous regime) regularly coming out with statements like "we havent got the catchment area to attract big crowds and compete at the top level" and the owners of large shopping complexes,stores and nightclubs who have frequently stated that Norwich is the focal point for a very large population. If you havent been to Norwich for a while i think you would be amazed by the amount of development in the City centre- and these businesses tend to do their homework when it comes to potential customer base.
I think that with your points about peoples shopping habits you are getting a bit lost in the detail. Most big stores are open on Sundays, and there is no reason why a day out in Norwich shouldn`t combine shopping, football and a trip to one of the many new bars/restaurants. Believe me, for many people this is a very common itinary! I dont think its difficult concept to grasp that a packed, thriving shopping centre can only be a good thing for a football club which is 10 minutes walk away. Husband drops wife in City to do the shopping,then takes kids to football to keep them from getting under her feet- a slightly tired stereotype maybe but it happens alot! Niel Doncaster recently stated that the ground could have been sold out twice over for several recent games, and whilst i believe this may be an exaggeration, it does nonetheless indicate thet the potential for big crowds is there.
I have chosen to focus on this subject because it is the one i am most interested in, feel best qualified to comment on, and still believe to be the most important factor in the clubs future. The only clubs that can get by with 30% of their income coming from gate reciepts are those which gain 20million+ t.v. money in the Premiership every year. In terms of income from other sources, i dont believe clubs such as Charlton and Bolton have any revolutionary schemes which bring in vast sums of money over and above the main staples of t.v. revenue,gate receipts,merchandising,sponsorship etc. Indeed, i believe City are already ahead of the game in this field with Delia`s catering enterprise, the planned new hotel and the Malaysian connection. But then assumptions of levels of income from these sources are all based on BELIEF AND HOPE are they not? -
In my opinion any debate on the long-term future of a football club hinges on the level of support a club can realistically attract. Yankee`s doubts as to whether City could attract as much support as Charlton are understandable but i think a little simplistic. Of course, within say 50 miles of the Valley there are many times more people than within 50 miles of Carrow Rd-but there is also massive competition from a large number of other clubs from Leyton Orient to Arsenal, and anyone who understands football will know that once someone adopts a club, they very rarely change allegiance just because another club in the vicinity is doing well. In England the nuetral football supporter who drifts between clubs when they are doing well/badly is very much the exception rather than the rule. There are millions of people within 50 miles of Wigan, who have been having their best spell in years but their support has hardly grown at all.
I have always felt that City`s catchment area/potential support has been seriously under-estimated for years. Norfolks population is,i believe, 820,000. If you include the Northern part of Suffolk which contains a large yellow contingent the figure tops 1 million, and as we all know we attract support from much further afield than this area. As far as transport is concerned the roads may not be great but there are alot of them, and there cannot be many people within 50 miles of C.R. who cant drive or train to the ground within an hour, which is not unreasonable. Our only real competition is of course Ipswich who, with their financial problems, could be struggling for years.
Norwich`s shopping centre is now established in the top ten in the country, with new shops, bars and clubs seemingly opening every week. The often cited reason is that Norwich is seen as the Capital and centre by a large, fast-growing and increasingly wealthy population. If people flock to Norwich to shop and for nights out there is no reason, if the club is well-run, ambitious and successful why they shouldn`t flock to the football.
City have had huge crowds in the past and i see no reason why they shouldn`t again, in fact the only thing that has amazed me about the current boom in support is how suprised people have been by it. -
Sparky, someone figured out that a particular anagram of `Niel Warnock` resulted in the first name of `Colin` and a surname beginning with `W` which very much befits his general behavior. Suffice to say its caught on pretty well!
I initially put it in the title of the original post with asterisks, but the powers that be removed it. Oh well, at least `Colin` is doing his best to live up to his new surname! -
.......So our pleasant,fair-minded friend from the North is trying to turn the screw is he?
Well, if ever there was a good reason for the moaners to lay off the team on Saturday just imagine his smug face crowing and boasting at the end of the season if they overtake us........ugh!
Come on folks, lets put aside the petty squabbles and create a real bear-pit atmosphere. At least if the players dont perform we wont have given them any excuses eh? Please save the moans and groans for the traditional rant down the pub afterwards. -
Gazzathegreat, we cant "play flowing football more often" if teams come to Carrow Rd with the express purpose of not letting us.
If City had Zidane,Beckham etc. playing for us of course we should be expected to cruise past a limited outfit such as Gillingham, but the fact is that we are really not that much better than them. In their previous game the Gills drew 0-0 away to Preston (the same result we achieved at Deepdale), Preston were in good form,had a good home record, and the Gills had an injury crises. Reports of the game talked about the Gills frustrating their opponents, defending in numbers, breaking up Prestons passing game etc. Sound familiar? All the pointers were there before the game as to how Gillingham would approach the game at CR.
City were not `rubbish` in the first half as some people have said-it was simply a predictably scrappy game against a tight, defensive side with City trying to stamp their authority on the game. We started playing flowing football when the Gills were reduced to 10 men and Mulryne came on, who made use of the extra space with intelligent passes. Had they not had a player sent off Gillingham would have continued defending+scrapping, City would have continued desperately trying to win the battles and break them down, and the more ignorant element at Carrow Rd would have continued to moan and jeer, making a difficult situation even worse........ -
a1, Worthington was not having a go at the fans for being nervous but for the way they reacted to it. Is it really inevitable that nervous fans will start to moan and boo after 10 minutes and scream abuse at inexperienced teenaged players? What a sad attitude.
Grinner, the people who should engage their brains are the ones who seemed intent on destroying the players confidence very early in the game last night, rather than a man who has taken us 11 points clear of the play-off places. Such a shame he hasnt been doing his job isnt it.......?! It doesnt matter how much you spend or how many games you`ve been to, if you get on the players backs when you KNOW it can only have a negative effect you cannot call yourself a supporter. If people are going to behave like credulous imbeciles they have got to expect criticism and Worthy,and now Green are spot on.
I am sorry you are so unhappy at City being so successful this season Grinner, but you can always look forward to plenty of City defeats in the Premier to whinge about so keep your chin up eh? -
The ridiculous thing about this is that it was SO predictable. The build up to this game amongst supporters was exactly the same as Watford and Bradford "How many are we gonna win by","Hux is gonna have a field day" blah, blah, blah. The result of this attitude was a large percentage of the crowd turned up (yet again) expecting to be 3-0 up by half-time, and when Gillingham got stuck in and frustrated us (such a suprise!), the moaning starts.
When are some people gonna wake up and smell the coffee? WE ARE NOT THAT GOOD! We have got where we are mainly by working harder and being more committed and consistant than other teams in the league- though with the lack of gratitude on display yesterday they must wonder why they`ve bothered. How anyone can just turn up assuming we are gonna win after all the upsets this season is beyond me. It aint rocket science!
As for a sniper to take out the whingers, i have to admit i was so angry at half-time i would have been all for it! One thing for sure is that these people are not `supporters`. Any true supporter knows that in an important,tight,nervy match the best reaction is to get right behind the team as much as possible, if the players fail to respond THEN there is a genuine reason for moaning. The very WORST thing to do is start moaning and whinging after 10 minutes and a couple of mistakes, and then act all suprised and indignant when the players dont perform and the manager has a go at the crowd! -
Yes and we `should` have been able to beat Watford+ Bradford and West Brom `should` have beaten Rotherham and got more than a point out of 2 games against MK franchise......The way things have gone in Div 1 this season that kind of statement is pretty pointless. As for people already talking about a 12 point gap, if Wigan win and we lose it`ll be 6 points so it is obvious how big a game it is.
My point is that i remember exactly these kind of comments flying around before our home defeats and walking to the ground overhearing people talking about a 4-0 win + Hucks hat-trick. Its amazing how often in football over-confidence leads to a slap in the face.
Ive just been reading some reviews of the Gills 0-0 draw at Preston and,despite their injury problems, they sound like your classic tight,defensive,physical,frustrating side that we do still often struggle against. There is no doubt tomorrow is a potential banana-skin, thats not being negative or trying to make people nervous, just trying to point out that we can all have an effect on the result by creating a passionate atmosphere, rather than complacently assuming we are going to win as many people seem to approaching games like this.
Henderson and the Under 20`s
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