corbs

I remember when I first stood on the Riverend Terraces as a boy. One of my abiding memories was the negativity of some of the people around me. At first it shocked and surprised me, but I soon learnt that these men (always men) were mostly disappointed in themselves rather than in anything going on out there. In simple terms it was their problem. Years later the book ''Fever Pitch'' described a similar sense of sympathy for the same type of people who came to Highbury to moan. Now not only do we have to tolerate them during the game and in the pub, but they appear all the time on forums like these. Bless.

If you want a balenced view of where we are at, just talk to fans of other clubs. I doubt if you could find anyone who would describe our club as rotten and spiralling downwards. Fans know football is about ups and down, and City are on a slight down in terms of league position but more widely they are in a good place right now in terms of finance, fan base and ownership. Of course rationality goes out the window when one is unable to face reality, which is why Bruce is under pressure at Villa and the entitled fans fight among themselves.

Owners are accountable for where we are, so they take responsibility for failure and they deserve acclaim for success. At Norwich we have had plenty of the latter, and as a fan I hope for more. Currently we are about par for a medium size provincial side with a good tradition.

I''ve never called for any Norwich manager to go. On reflection I was wrong not to do so with Roader and the loanees. I''ve disagreed with appointments (e.g Gunn) but I''ve always been oddly loyal once the gaffer is appointed. Maybe this was coming of age in the Bond, Brown, Walker, Worthington era. In those days you only had to listen to the pub bore or the River End moaner now and again for your unplanned dose of negativity. Today of course there are the key board minority, within the online minority who rattle on about subjects they clearly know nothing about, preaching about ambition from the hollowness of their own limited world view. Chat to most fans in most parts of Carra and you find most folks are fairly realistic and knowledgeable.

We have made mistakes and we find ourselves middle of the 2nd Tier (where we were when I was a kid) . We are in good company as the the 2nd Tier increasingly looks a more competitative and exciting division than the prem, and the T.V companies are slowly picking up on this. My WBA pal said his first game back in this division (a home defeat to Bolton) allowed him to experience the best atmosphere at the Hawthorns for years. Keep right on ................

And I wouldn''t be in the least surprised to find out that he''s a shirt-lifter, which also doesn''t help on the man-management front - do you often make public insinuations of sexual abuse? I hope you know a good solicitor.

Where I was sitting there was general agreement that the newly laid pitch looked really magnificent.

Farke is current incumbent. Before that these football experts were trying to hound out Hughton and Neil. Both decent managers, much like Farke.

Shockingly I agreed with Paul Ince recently. The Champs is the toughest division in Europe. It feels to me we have entered a new era, one where remaining in the Championship may be our main aim. I came late to the party so I''ve only be going regularly to games since 1976 (although I started going in 71). We appear to be in a similar league position to when I first watched us, although I believe these are very different times. Last season I enjoyed many aspects, having a foreign coach, the emergence of the younger players, and the skill of Maddison and Murphy. I recent weeks I have come over with ''Reeves'' syndrome (post transfer depression) although I am told it is not fatal and as long as I continue to attend events at Carrow Road the symptoms can be kept under control. I do worry that I may not be able to identify with the new re-vamped team. I remember watching our enjoyable game last year at Craven Cottage trying to recognise our players. I doubt we will reach Roeder ''loan'' proportions but i do like to support players coming through (Lewis) and players one feels familiar with (Hoolihan). It was great having a Norwich born player in the side last season.

In anticipation of next season, I would be quite happy if we finished around about where we finished last season as long as certain components were in place. I am thinking of places for young players (Lewis, Godfrey, Onel), the same commitment as last season (Hanley, Zimmerman) and a clear out of the players we don''t need (Paper Mache legs et al) and some bold signings from Germany of lower league. Doing well on a budget is ambitious!

In recent years we have all become online experts on football with our views on the ownership, infrastructure and accounting. Much like Brexit, and the ''will of the people''. Of course very few actually understand much about the reality of running a football club and vote according to their own limited prejudices. Sort it out!

Whether you hate socialists from suffolk or not, at least be consistent. If you feel the current scenario is lamentable and synonymous which ''little ol narwich'' (choose cliche of choice) then fair enough. But at least give credit for the amazingly good years we have seen as well. I still maintain that for a small provincial city we have punched above our weight - and we have no devine right to be highier in the leagues than Plymouth, Exeter, Grimsby, Luton etc etc. Personally I''m not very interested in who owns the club, as long as they have the clubs interests at heart. Chase was a NCFC fan who increasingly did not have our interests at heart. The current owners clearly do and they love the club, actually quite rare today. Apart from Gibson at boro, not many owners in this mould.

The premiership has become very dull, apart from the relegation battle. Unlike the list above we know the title and the top 4 spots will go to the large conurbations, Manchester, London, Liverpool. It was ever thus. Regrets, I have a few - we would of won the league in 93 if we had brought in a loan striker towards the end of the season (my friend thought Ian Dowie would of scored maybe 4/5 goals and that would of done the job).

I''m off to Birmingham for my hols next week. Keep with with the programme, keep the faith and remember when we had super twins playing for the City Club - because you won''t ever see it again.

Nepitism, eh Docky; sounds painful! Good to see support for a Greater Norwich.

Norfolk reactionaries are ok though eh!

Confirms what we already know, we have over achieved and same 6 or 7 clubs always at the top with the odd blip (us in 93 and LCFC recently). Time for some mid table 2nd tier, get with the programme, dudes.

I think the club should publish what each player earns in the Annual report. We should be open and transparent about wages. Fans have a right to know in my opinion, as directly or indirectly we pay the wages to a large extent. Taxpayers pay my wages, and taxpayers can access what I am paid via Freedom of information. NCFC is a private company, but I am a shareholder.

Hans....bur....y.

When its time to go its time to go.

Enjoyed alot of the season. Pride in the performances against AFC & CFC. Also the manager, and the honestly of the group. For me watching from a mid table position is a luxury, nothing appears too important, and defeats don''t hurt so much. For me avoiding the hurt is not unimportant....and like my dreams, they fade and die.

Its all been said before. No one is denying anyone the right to Boo hoo. Its up to you if you want to indulge in that type of thing. I always go back to the same point, and standpoint when I used to be in the old Barclay. If you are at a match and hear (away or home) the oppo''s Booing their team - what do you think? You think "great" as you know its undermining their team. Likewise if you are 3-0 up and you hear the opposing fans singing in raucous voice, cheering on their team, showing loyalty and love, and a refusal to be dominated - what do you feel? I know what I feel - respect. As many have said the clue is in the word ''supporter''. Personally I think a lot of our crowd are not supporters. A few games ago I was berated by 2 ''friends'' I''ve Known for 40 years, we had all been to the game, but I was berated and mocked "did you actually pay to watch that shit". I did, and will do so, unlike those 2, the freebe brigade.