Camberwick Green<IMG src="http:new.pinkun.comforumsimagesline.gif"><BR>Breathe the pressure, Come play my game Ill test ya !!!<BR><A class=authorlink href="http:" target=_blank><A><BR>

You''d have thought that the support witnessed over the past 2 years despite the total dross on offer WAS supporting the team and it''s had no impact, indeed it''s only in the past 4 months that people have started asking serious questions. Sooner or later people will realise that the GENUINE reason behind the lack of achievement, and terrible results isn''t the fans, but maybe, just maybe the Management.

I''d hate to see a challenge he didn''t grow to then.....

Sorry but no. Having seen the previous 2 years, looking at the current squad, looking at the current management it makes no sense at all to say "well, yes those were 2 feeble years, oh well.... all is forgiven, lets start again". The point is, I want Nigel and the whole of his Management team out of my club, they are not the long term future, they do more damage than good, so why on earth would I want to get behind them. I do not support their tactics, their approach, their public announcements, I question their signings, everything about them is wrong. I have formed this opinion over 5 years, 10 games is not going to change it, even if Nige wins 8 of the 10 (very very very unlikely). For me the start of next season will simply be a continuance of the end of this, and the atmospheres at Carrow Rd will continue to be poisonous until the sole contributing factor - the Management is changed. I''m not saying boo players, but there is no way I''m giving Nigel maximum support next season. He''s had maximum support for 5 years, and throughout the last 2, and where has it got us?  It''s time to be a little bit tougher about the rubbish we accept. Nigel and his Management do NOT have my support, and I doubt they ever will again.    

Sticking your head in the sand changes things though doesn''t it.... If the fans can''t complain and raise serious doubt about what''s going on after this season when will they be allowed to??? It''s been disastrous and it''s down to one thing: The Management, injuries have been light (relatively remember squad size is down to Nige who was happy with it in August), transfers diabolical, tactics woeful...  This season has been throughly unacceptable, and there is NO evidence that next year would change, so get rid of the broken cogs.... You read Waghorn''s analysis of player of the year and have to laugh... a centre-half (Of a team with negative goal difference), a permanent crock who has played 25% of games, and a fans favourite who has been so under-par it''s not true.... that doesn''t smack of a decent side does it? strikes you of a team that is struggling beyond all doubt.    

Tremendous post by the old boy. "the only thing they didn''t budget for was the dismissal of the manager...(and team)" Sweet lord. isn''t that the truth.....  

Brilliant. Compare and contrast - Manager doing the usual (though suprisingly wrong track) banal analysis Vs International standard, Premier League forward (on loan - so no hidden agenda, ,probably wondering why the hell he came).

Absolutely no chance. There is no evidence even at this stage in the season that the Management team and squad have what it takes to deliver a challenge. The Management is bereft of ideas (lump the ball up to a midget....) and totally incapable of developing a team that can get results away from home (A feature of Nige''s 5 years in charge - even in the prmotion season it was built on home form with a few lucky aways thrown in, only in the last 1/4 season when we were up were any decent away results gained). There is nothing. NOTHING. on display now that suggests that next year you''ll see anything different to the turgid, dire, rubbish you see now. There is only a chance if 1 thing happens. The Management team leave. Then maybe there''s a glimmer.  

Valid point. But if we look at Scott Parker''s loan, it''s a different situation to now. Scott Parker joined a middle to lower table side, to get games. Which he did, and did well, but the Norwich team he joined was basically aimed at staying in the division, not challenging to get out of it - which is where we should be now.  Similarly with the Beckham loan to Preston... no disrespect but a team, at that time, at the wrong end of the division. Ashley Cole? ok he''s now an England international, but joined a Palace team that was struggling to survive and was full of kids, their goal was to survive and stay in existance, not get promoted. If that Ashley Cole had joined a top of the table side, he''d have been skinned week in week out.  That''s why I think it''s good for the kids to be loaned as it helps their development, but they''ll never be the difference between going up and not. For that you need quality pros, Jason Koumas for example - look at the difference in cardiff after they got him and Cooper and we need to be getting people that help us get back out of this league

No No No NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Enough with the "talented young premiership player" loans. Will we ever learn the lesson??!!! These kids are not up to the task, they are skilled without a doubt, but they don''t last more than 6 games, they can''t keep their form going, they get injured, they are simply not geared up for a championship season. David Bentley wasn''t able to complete a season in the division he came from - he wasn''t fit enough to play 25 games a season in the premiership, or able to keep form up. Dean Marney, likewise, nowhere near able to play even 30 championship games, gets injured, game over. The same will be true of Wright-Phillips. Not experienced or fit enough to survive in this division, and will be a total and utter waste of time. The types of players we need to loan in this division are the Kevin Harpers and the Coopers of this world, decent pros that can add something. Not promising, never played a game youngsters, that might deliver a cross every 6th game.      

Middlesborough accept transfer request from Mark Schwarzer..... Hmmmmm... who could the replacement be? Someone McClaren has worked with at England level maybe??!!! The two seemed very friendly both times we played them last season. Ooooooo-er..... the rest of the season with Ward in goal??!!!! God help us.   

I don''t think it does to be too pessimistic after just one game but there were some worrying themes to emerge: 1) Lack of sqaud depth. We have 2 injuries in the midfield and we''re having to resort to playing a centre half in the centre. That''s not good at all. Suggests the squad is very very thin in places 2) Nige''s selection of Doherty. Was it Shackell''s mumps keeping him out? or was it Nige making another "interesting" squad selection? I don''t know, but the defence looked poor, and that''s an ominous sign. 3) Again, the total inability to alter the team either tactically or with a substitution, given that we were largely under the kosh during the 2nd half until Coventry scored. Then bringing people on for 5 minutes. There were positive things too - I appear to be in a minority as I quite liked Hughes (He was covering so many holes, because he was playing with Charlton, he really was given a herculean task), Marney can cross a ball and is combative, and erm... I had a kit kat at half time which was nice. But overall Saturday exposed quite a few weaknesses that need dealing with. I also don''t buy comparisons to the championship season, yes in our first game there we gifted away a 2 goal lead and drew at Bradford, but a quarter of the way through that season, we improved the team beyond measure via the loans and signing of Huckerby. That''s not going to happen this year. And as for 4-0''s at Millwall, we really shouldn''t be in a position where we''re looking to emulate that season and squeak into the playoffs by one goal.

It''s a valid point, and I wasn''t particularly advocating buying "flashy" midfielders (I''ll admit that I was a bit anti-Hughes when he signed, but based on Saturday, I actually think that that''s a very good purchase). What I meant was, within Nige''s own squad if it came down to a choice between players, the good ol'' pro will win every time, over the more skilled player.  The sort of thing I meant was, over the past season or so: Edworthy instead of Helveg Holt instead of Safri Doc instead of Shackell That type of thing. I don''t buy that Nige has "favourites" per se, just that he favours a player that trains themself to death and will run all day, rather than the more gifted, ball playing, footballer. Maybe it''s because that''s the type of player Nige was himself.... 

Honest and canny when dealing with the board, capable but unduely negative at times, more reactive than proactive regarding substitutions. Places too much value on training hard and being an honest pro, rather than ability. Most successful manager in the last decade. Scope for manoeuvre limited by board at times. Genuine bloke.

How anyone can be happy with a squad so small and thin, that because of 2 injuries we have to play a centre-half in central midfield is beyond me.... There is some cover, and the players brought in look OK, but we have a squad of 23, 4 of which are keepers. So 4 outfield injuries and we can''t even name a full team with 5 subs...  Additionally everytime you read about a player''s versatility, for verstaile read "played out of position"... players have a preferred and best position, if they''re not in that position, they are less effective. I''m trying to stay positive but the fact that we''re starting a season with a squad already so stretched that Simon Charlton, hoest pro that he is, plays central midfield worries me.

I too was slightly disappointed reading about this so called wake-up call. A wake up call for whom exactly??? The fans are painfully aware of the task ahead, we don''t need a wake up call, we know how difficult it will be. Which is why Saturday was pretty dire, because it was a team we should''ve beaten at home but didn''t. Given that the majority of our squad are experienced Championship footballers, they shouldn''t need waking up either, especially following the friendly at Colchester. They should know all about this division and what it takes. The person most in need of a wake up is our Nige. When will he wake up to the fact that you have to play your best players, not those who have lost weight in pre-season, or honest pros that have trained hard. It''s precisely the same error as last season. I don''t know how unfit Jarrett was, (but if he could only manage 4 minutes, he shouldn''t have been on the bench), and so can forgive the selection of Simon Charlton in midfield on this occasion, and he did his best, it''s not his fault that central midfield is not his position and he isn''t quick enough to play there.  The selection of Doherty, however, is another matter. The central defensive pairing are a shambles, our left back gets targetted by every team we play (strange given that he''s "the best left back outside the premier league"... I''m beginning to doubt whether he''s even the best left back in our squad). Will Nige sort it out??? don''t know but if we start with Charlton and Doherty on tuesday, then Nige has not taken his wake up call, and is snoozing while the points drift by.

You have to say that you''re looking for at least 28 points out of September/October !!! If we could persuade Coventry to reverse fixtures, the start would be so much better.  Cov and Crewe at home will be a nice start before the tricky things begin.... Very Very nasty final game of the season too    

It''s a ridiculous expression. Made even more ridiculous by the fact that if it were a cup final, we''d choke in it anyway.... The fact that the players/management aren''t good enough to get anywhere near a cup final speaks volumes. Maybe the expression should be "the next 7 games are our FA Cup 5th round games"    

Beds... If this has been "a good season", I''d hate to see a bad one !!! Bly has it pretty spot on.  

Hurrah !!! more doom spin from the Chief Exec. OK firstly the cynicism. I''m not belittling the gift that G.Watling left the club, but I would ask whether he was genuinely going to call the debt in when it became due anyway. I suspect that it wasn''t. which is why, a few months back myself and first Wizard (I believe) were asking why we couldn''t spend some cash on a forward, because the ability to finance such transfers was always there within the club. Now the fun. Any debt write-off (whether realistically repayable or not) will enhance the balance sheet, no question. However, it''s entirely befitting of the kind of financial spin we get from the club that "no news is ever good news". As for operating costs going up because of the premiership. well yes, but netting against that are increased gate recepits from a sell out season with 25% more capacity than last year. The premiership may not solve all the financial woes, but it IS a gravy train, and given the excessive prudence of our club, you can safely assume we''re coming out of it profitably. After the servicing of any debts. Reading the accounts, as I have said previously, the club isn''t as perilously poised as the spin makes out. Yes we don''t want to go mad, but equally things are OK. Writing off the debt helps, would''ve been better if it were the debt to BArclays bank rather than G Watling though.         

Alas, that is Steve Foley''s catchphrase. When he was reserve coach he always ended his page in the matchday programme with "keep smiling and passing the ball". I believe that there are monks in the himilayas that have dedicated their lives to the following of this wisdom and philosophy.  

[quote]Is Jarvis going to make it ?Not if they keep messing about on that PFI deal with the county council they won''t...[/quote] : That''s shocking !!!!  

Jarvis won''t make it, if all he gets to do this season is train and then play reserve games. With the best will in the world he needs a sterner test than playing Coventry reserves... He should be loaned out to a Div1 or Div 2 side so than he can get actual match experience, learn the game, learn how to play clogging centre-halfs, learn what it''s all about, score some league goals. The guy has undoubted potential and ability but this season is a critical one for him, if he spends it not even getting on the bench, next year he''ll be 20 and will hardly ever have played. He needs to get match experience, realistically he''s not getting it at Norwich this season. GET HIM LOANED OUT !!! Otherwise it will be too late.    

I''m kind of with you - I don''t buy the "just happy if we don''t finish bottom",  "we would be lucky to survive", "we''ve come a long way be happy with that" line of thought though.... OK we achieved the goal of promotion as champions, you can''t just sit on that though and take that as your accepted level, you have to raise the bar and then say "OK, what''s next, we want to be a top 10 premier side in the next 4 years" and build on that. To be happy to not finish bottom, so presumably 19th is OK???, isn''t really a driving ambition is it. It''s time to build on what the club have got going not sit on it. It''s time to say we MUST finish 17th or higher, not I''ll be happy as long as we''re not bottom.... Yes the premiership was going to be hard and is proving to be just that, but so what??? That''s the league you have to compete in, that''s the challenge, that''s what we''re all aiming for isn''t it? to be a good team in the best league. I believe we will survive, I also believe luck has nothing to do with it. The players are putting in tremendous amounts of effort and out-performing any expectations I had. That''s why they beat Bolton (who remember, Man U and Chelsea couldn''t beat). I accept the club has come a long way, but it''s pointless looking back and being content now. The challenge has just begun. In reality we''re back to the level we were at 9 years ago, the struggle has just begun !!!          

Let them focus on Palace. If we can quietly draw away from the relegation battle and steadilly secure points, whilst the media talk about Palace - a team whose form is stuttering, so much the better. I quite like Dowie, he''s an intelligent bloke and blatantly a very very good manager. It''s probably for those reasons the media like him, and of course being in London helps....  

No. Bentley played brilliantly on Saturday and I hope he continues that form, but a direct swap???  I''d value green at £4-5m (the bloke is almost England''s national ''keeper), David Bentley has a lot of promise but at would probably be around £1-1.5m.