GenerationA47

He keeps putting them away, doesn''t he?  Have you already discussed his suitability or otherwise for the first team? Apologies if yes; if not then tell me more.

[quote]Lets face it, what do guys talk about in the pub? that''s right, footy and s*x, so why not spend a few minutes everyday reading and discussing it a little more (I mean football of course)? away, most o...[/quote] Oi! I happen to like talking about politics, religion, the weather and local traffic congestion.  (Sadly enough this is true... but mainly only the first two... and the second two only because I am green not just in footballing but also political terms! Global climate change and transport gas emissions, anyone? No, thought not...)  Also if I knew more about football/was a season ticket holder then I''d talk more about that on here, rather than just posting stupid comments as I normally do! But can someone reveal what a keyboard hero is - can you help me, Mr T, since you mention the phrase?

IIhtwoas, I reckon that for myself it''s a combination of your own motivation and the one you mention last.  However, could it be that deep down we do it because we all paradoxically have a need to express our egos in an anonymous outlet (any psychology students out there? I need your help!)...?

[quote]By the way, and when we storm up the table after Christmas and just miss out on Europe (on fair play criteria), I really hope that I too would have the guts to say I might have got it wrong before. I...[/quote] I suppose I might as well start out now: I realise my prediction league record, while not wildly optimistic andreally attempting to be realistic (so I''d get more points!), nevertheless shows I am regularly disappointed by seeing draws when I predicted a win.  So there you go, I''m in the "Forgive me! I was wrong!" camp too...

By the way, and when we storm up the table after Christmas and just miss out on Europe (on fair play criteria), I really hope that I too would have the guts to say I might have got it wrong before.  It''s a rare virtue, I wonder if I possess it!

 Nope... not me...!  Though I take absolutely no pleasure in saying it, I agree that many of us were a bit more ''cocky'' at the start of the season than we should have been, e.g. in assuming that in one of the 3 top leagues (as opposed to cup competitions) in the world, team spirit and commitment were more important than footballing quality.  In fact other clubs'' fans were rightly criticising some of us for it at the time.  I was even obliquely reprimanded around July/August by one poster on this very board, for criticising the way some sections of the local press (but not the Pink Un!!!!!) regularly contribute to these false expectations through their over-optimistic season previews. That''s not to say we shouldn''t be positive - we can definitely still hope to scrape survival (which is exactly what I''ve personally been hoping for from the word go, hence my slogan at one point of ''Livin on a Prayer''!).  But as for predicting us reaching mid-table, or beating Arsenal, etc. well... Besides, it only breeds the type of disappointment and frustration we are reading about now, which people tend to take out on others (the club''s board, the manager, the players etc. - anyone but themselves).  With the noble exception of your holy self, Saint! Never Mind the Danger!

What team does this young man play for then? I couldn''t work it out, as it doesn''t seem to be mentioned.  It even says "your manager" instead of the manager''s name.  Something to do with Arsenal reserves maybe, judging from the homepage photo? 

[quote]Of course the Club wants to go back down the Board & management have done nothing to keep us up. They decided that this season would just be 1 long holiday & they will go back to work in August next ...[/quote] "Of course the Club wants to go back down"!  But of course.  It''s the master plan to be relegated - Delia, Wynne-o, Nige etc. have all placed massive bets in Malaysia on us finishing with fewer than 10 points.  We''ll then buy up the entire Arsenal squad in July and storm back to the Prem in 2006, assured of winning it at the first go. Since I assume your post is dripping with pure sarcasm, nice work iihtwoas!   

Oh please, G Jim, that was just mean.

Ip*wich''s McKenzie Hang-Over - Its Most Humiliating Ordeal. Inspiring My Heart, Our Iwan''s Magnificent Heroes Outplayed Its Much-Hated Opposition. Is Matt Holland Off? - Ill Mood Hit Orwell. In Many Hours Of Industry, Muppets Have Only Incompetently Misused Honest Owners'' Investments. Mustn''t Harp On. It''s Mightily Humorous, Obviously! I''ll Mute Here, OK?

G Jim, I thought he was great too, the only problem being that once he''d scored that lovely goal, he thought he was even greater - his self-confidence started to exceed his ability and he wasted some good chances for the team on some selfish wayward shooting, as I saw it.  Maybe it was these mixed results that have kept people quietish on the subject?

Well, I probably don''t need to point this out, but while we can''t choose (or know) what language other individuals find offensive, we can choose to avoid offending them once we do know...   On the other hand, some people of different beliefs would find it equally offensive to assume the guy''s divinity, but that''s another story!  So the moral of the tale might, let''s all try to be nice to one another, whatever our differences in religious sensibility or relative fondness for robes and staffs On the ball City!

[quote]To add my two penneth worth, I personally feel that the club does want to stay up, but maybe the finances dictate otherwise. I am sure that most of you realise that the Johanssen deal with Charlton w...[/quote] Mr T, ne''er a truer word (or sequence of words) was spoken, in my exceedingly humble opinion.  What exactly would the board have to gain from going down instead of staying up, if they really had a straight choice as some people claim?  The board now appear to be the ones with the long-term view while we the fans seem to be becoming more and more short-termist in outlook, whereas before the season commenced we were all being gordon, sensible and prudent about the country''s, I mean the club''s, finances.  Please correct me if I am wrong, which is always a good chance, but perhaps some of the calls to smash open the piggy bank are a result of people''s falsely high expectations not being matched, and so they are trying to take it out in some way! I even thought I heard some boos at the 1/2 time whistle!  Shame on them - that''s not the Norwich way!  As if we somehow have a ''right'' not to be losing against as good a team as Everton are this season...

[quote]Nick, I had a couple of people email me about it after my previous posts on the subject - Yellow Belly and a friend of Meeky''s - and there were murmurs on this board from some other posters. I have c...[/quote] However the b@st@rds at the 3 Guineas didn''t get Prem Plus (shame they didn''t mention that when I asked the day before) so we watched it in the Warwick instead.  A jolly exciting game, I ended up very depressed BUT we''ve always got to remind ourselves: we (at least the realists amongst us) were never expecting to win 10 games and stay up by right; we can still get that big bonus if we are lucky, but if we''re not then...  We''ve always known we''re budgeting for going down, in a very sensible way which most people agreed with at the time it was originally made clear.  No need to criticise the board for that now, and no need to criticise our manger or players, the vast majority of whom are doing their best and trying their hardest in my opinion.  When I see them play like in that 2nd half I am very proud!

[quote]Off on my hols in 24 hours so I''m leaving your pinkun in the more-than-capable hands of the rest of the award-winning illustrious web team. I''ll try my best to update the prediction league post-Evert...[/quote] Oh, and as far as I''m concerned your team can take their hands right off my pinkun, thank you very much Peter, however skilled and customer-pleasing they may be.  (Honestly, the cheek of this guy!)

[quote]Hemsby again is it?[/quote] Surely California''s more likely, F.o.t.H. ... I do love these insider jokes, that some poor web tourist straying into our little piece of cyber-Norfolk would just scratch their head about.  How''s ye dickie bor?

[quote]How terrible would it be for us to still be in Div 1. Apart from the obvious, we would be competing in a hugely competitive league. Consider the teams who are or should be near the top of the divisi...[/quote] I can see what you''re driving at, NYC. I don''t think I necessarily go along with it, mind.  Are the Championship teams from last season that you have listed really obviously better this season?  It may rather be case of the relegated prem teams actually dropping in quality to Championship standard - and below - as happened with West Ham and now Leeds and Wolves (who never attained sufficient prem quality in the first place).  Hopefully this doesn''t bode ill for us should we go down this year (which is not a foregone conclusion, despite the headline statistics so far). The teams we were in theory most scared of last year (W Ham, Sunderland, Sheff Utd) turned out to be, while not pushovers as the results against them showed, still relatively beatable after all and there''s no special reason as far as I know to believe they or the other contenders this year would be superior to us this time round.  In other words, the open Championship division this year is probably more a case of levelling down than levelling up, so we would again well have been in with a good chance if we were in there.  Granted, we would have lost Greeno and possibly Huckerby, plus probably a couple of others, if we hadn''t been promoted this summer.  To this extent I can appreciate your point.  However, assuming we kept Worthie, which the board would have done a great deal to achieve, we can rightly have expected him to have pulled off another series of stunning loans and signings throughout the course of the season (whereas at present he is hamstrung by the premiership transfer rules and the going rates for minimum prem quality), as he continues over the years to grow in stature as a shrewd manager.  That scenario has a several uncertain premises and I accept there would be alternative projections, especially from supporters of other clubs, but to use a word that has been employed a lot in recent times in connection with the club, I have faith that we could have won it this season as we did last.

Nick, I had a couple of people email me about it after my previous posts on the subject - Yellow Belly and a friend of Meeky''s - and there were murmurs on this board from some other posters.  I have checked with the pub and they are definitely showing the match. See you there later today!

Happy hols then.  I hope you win an absolute fortune on the tables (and selflessly buy us a nice new striker in the New Year).  Good luck!

[quote]One better than GenA47: I was at the Norwich v Man City match in March 1995(we drew 1-1). The good news at half time was Ipswich were losing 3-0. At the end of 90 minutes, the score was rather differe...[/quote] Right Brum - actually eight better than me!  I remember that one!  Those were the days. I may even have been at the game but can''t remember precisely (well, it''s hard to think straight when you''ve got your head up a pink elephant''s a*se)

[quote]Is that you in the sunglasses and with the parasol then?[/quote] Yes, that''s right, Meeky!  The one behind the pink elephant.  (I still don''t know how it got in there or why it starting trumpeting out of its butt every time the referee opened his mouth.) Vince, on your advice I''ve given up and uploaded the damn thing as my personal photo.  Thanks for the help...  

[quote]Gen - you need to upload pictures to webspace. The picture requestor to find something on your local drives is misleading.[/quote] Vince - Don''t you ever despair of complete fools like me, and consider just resigning? I''d even gently took the p out of another poster before for similar crimes against reading instructions. Thanks for the advice anyway. Right, so... can I make this photo appear in my post without posting the actual link (since they''re not my photo pages)...? http://www.cig.canon-europe.com/preview/sharerec.html?album=BDB0652B371BC5199D119BF16BE86664&pictureIndex=4 I have my "really, really trying hard to learn and not be a muppet" head on - quick, before the strain breaks me...

[quote]Dude, it''s right next to the Station - the monstrosity on the right as you come out of the main station (passenger) entrance, usually full of undesirables and belting loud music into the rainy sky. S...[/quote] Yes. Well. Er, you''ll just have to imagine the photo then.

[quote]Oh now that''s a good idea! Where is the 3 Guineas? Gives my missus the chance to do a bit of shopping while I sneak in a couple of beers... I''m up for it.[/quote] Dude, it''s right next to the Station - the monstrosity on the right as you come out of the main station (passenger) entrance, usually full of undesirables and belting loud music into the rainy sky.  So tailor-made for us.  Bring lots of pies. Just so you''ll definitely recognise me, this is me (thumb in air, head obscured) at the Hawthorns last Saturday, as seen from my mate''s seat. See you there.  GenA47

I hate to be so predictable, but it''d be rude not to, so here goes: Since there are apparently even more Berks than I was aware of, why not come along to watch the game on the telly in the Three Guineas, next to Reading station, this Saturday around 12.45.  I am hoping there will be a good showing of a yellow hue for the Everton match!