Hackney Canary

It’s an interesting one for sure. After they won the game before last, I thought their blip was over. Then they lost yesterday, and the blip starts to look like it might become a Devon Loch implosion. What does it mean for us? Well, on the one hand, I reckon they’ll come out all guns blazing. It’s possible - they’re still a damn good side, and we’re pretty rubs defensively - we get overwhelmed. On the other hand, they will - rightly, in my view - be ****ting themselves about the prospect of ending up in the play offs having been so far ahead, and the crowd will be too. Ride out the first 20-30 mins and I reckon we’ve got a great chance 👍🏼

Totally agree. Their player went down like he’d been shot, keeper called on the trainer. It seemed to me it was of a piece with several other ‘incidents of exaggeration’ by their players, where they sought some kind of advantage or delay. On this occasion, it backfired on them big time, and I for one enjoyed it immensely.

Agree with all of this. Definitely feel the general cynicism about the Premiership, and about football more widely. Every year, it’s less a game and more a product, and less and less accessible to clubs like ours. That’s why the Farke years were so genius - he, the club, and the supporters bought into the idea that what mattered above all was the club and the way it represented itself - from the style of play, to the atmosphere and attitude of the supporters. Think of the great work Along Came Norwich did, and TNC for that matter. I loved all that and it played a part in creating an identity that for a few brief years made it seem as if we knew what we were about. For what it’s worth, I think the club - and Webber deserves credit for that - got the strategy exactly right: appoint a charismatic coach, develop a style of play that we stick to from top to bottom, promote youth and get the fans on board. If you ask me, that’s the approach we should go back to and see if this time we can hold our nerve, relegation or no relegation. And with that, I promise to stop talking about the past. Here’s to the future, which can be bright!

Maybe we should start a support group…

I think this is a really interesting observation, OP. I’ll be honest and say that I left 5 mins early today and I reckon I’ve done it 5 or 6 times in the last 18 months. Before that, I wouldn’t have been seen dead leaving early and I was happy to give scowling looks to those who do. Hell, I even stayed till the end of *that* Colchester game. Today, as I was leaving, I thought that it was a bit embarrassing, me leaving like that, not being willing to stay and cheer the lads after a comprehensive victory, and not even having anywhere pressing to get to. So, what’s it all about? I can’t say I have an original answer, nothing groundbreakingly new. The only thing I can say is that, for a multitude of reasons, I’m just not feeling it right now. Of course, I want us to win, I want us to get in the playoffs, I want us to beat Ipswich and I want us to go up - but it isn’t getting my juices flowing, not in the way it once did. Farke’s part of it - call me a ****, but I don’t think I’ll ever quite get over his departure and everything it brought to an end - but also it seems to me that we’re in a bit of a holding pattern as a club. We’re not quite sure about Wagner, we’re not quite sure what the investment from our friend across the pond will bring, we’re not quite sure where we’re heading. We’ve got some fine players - Sara, Sargent, Sainz, Nunez - but would you call any of them talismen, in the way you might Wes or Grant Holt, or Emi or Madders? I’m not sure I would. None of them feel like they’re here for the long term, none of them feel like they quite get the club, but perhaps that’s because they are, like me - and perhaps a few others - not quite sure what the club is at the moment. I suppose that’s another way of saying we have a bit of an identity problem - a stark change from the Farke years. It can - and almost certainly will - change, but for now, for me, it’s not quite happening. All that said, the OP has made a very good point. We’ve got an opportunity here, to salvage something quite special out of a very flat period in our history. In some ways, that would be as good an achievement as anything we did under Farke - I mean, got not be great and still go up? So, thanks OP. You’ve provoked me into giving my head a wobble. I won’t be leaving early again this season. Time to stand up and be counted. And maybe even to make some noise. OTBC.

I feel for him. He’s clearly a technically accomplished footballer - what was it our old chief scout said? that he was the most Daniel Farke footballer he’d ever seen - but he’s never had a run of games in his best position. If his return to fitness allows Sara to play a more advanced role, I’m all for keeping him. My hunch is that we haven’t seen the best of him yet. And he’s Danish too, probably the most likeable nation in the world.

A little bird told me the other day that the person Knapper really wants is Carlos Cuesta, one of Arteta’s assistants at Arsenal, but has been told it ain’t gonna happen while Arsenal are in the mix for the title. No idea if there’s any truth in it, and perhaps it’s an obvious connection to make given Knapper’s previous life. He’s 28 years old, speaks six languages, has worked at Atletico Madrid & Juve as well as Arsenal, and is widely described as a prodigy. If he comes here, regardless of his qualities as a coach, he sounds (and looks) like the kind of man I’d happily allow my daughter to marry.

Perfectly put. There will be others who don’t feel the same, but we lost more than a manager when we lost Farke. For me, we passed up a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build something meaningful, something that went beyond results. I’ve been a season ticket holder since 1985 and I’ve never felt as proud of the club and what it seemed to stand for as I did during the Farke era. I loved Stringer, Walker, Lambert and the success they brought and the football they played, but Farke was a different prospect altogether - a philosopher manager who understood that the meaning of football lies beyond results and trophies and has to do with community and togetherness and respect. And he showed that in bucketloads after the game yesterday. Plenty will laugh at that, but if football for you is Manchester City and Newcastle and dodgy money from here there and everywhere, then you can have it. That’s not sport; it’s barely even a competition. We lost an absolute diamond when we lost Farke, and I don’t expect to see his like here again.

Have to say I’m surprised by the number of posters who think Farke is wrong here. For me, Farke’s approach is 100% right. If a player publicly reveals a lack of commitment to the club, or shows disrespect to the ethos of the team, the manager has to act.

I can see why the TNC boys can sometimes rub people up the wrong way, but I’d say that was a pretty accomplished interview. Jack, in particular, seemed very much in control of what he was doing and how he wanted the interview to go. And his Twitter response to the comments about his weight was bang on. And Zoe came out of it extremely well. Totally different to the way I imagined her. Full credit.

I think this is probably true. I’m by no means a massive Kenny defender, and I’ve probably moaned at him as much as the next fan, but the truth of the matter is that every manager he’s played under has found it hard to do without him, and the current one has made him captain. He’s mobile, tenacious, can pass, tackle, head the ball and shoot to a very good level of proficiency given our level. He also - quite literally - holds his hands up every single time he makes a mistake. I don’t say he’s the best midfielder in the division, but he has - over a significant period - done a job for us. And he never hides. I’ll miss him when he’s gone. It’s also pretty obvious we don’t have the money for an upgrade.

Good luck to the pair of them. They’ve both given us sterling service, probably the best years of their respective careers. Absolutely no drama for me.

I’d say this is somewhere near the truth. SW has always banged on about how he has replacements lined up for every role, including his own. (Obviously, we know that didn’t work out too well woth regards to DF, but still. So, he resigns in March. Identifies his own replacement. Works behind the scenes with that person on new signings, perhaps with the intention of not going anywhere just yet. That would account for the shift in strategy. Maybe. Then, Leeds or Sevilla (or whoever) say, ‘Come on, Stu. Time to **** or get off the pot.’ Obviously, he ****s. Announces his resignation. Meanwhile his replacement has probably just announced, or is about to announce, his resignation. Expect an announcement within the week. Maybe. Who will it be? Well, if Webber is involved in sourcing his own replacement, he has a tendency to hunt in familiar waters. By which rationale the new SD will either come from Dortmund II or Huddersfield. Maybe.

This is appalling. Utterly appalling. Can’t keep the ball, can’t find a man, can’t track a man. Everyone looking around wondering what they should be doing. After the years spent laying the groundwork of a style and identity, Webber has spaffed the whole thing up the wall. The longer Smith’s tenure lasts, the clearer Webber’s abnegation of responsibility becomes. Absolutely raging. Thanks for listening.

I’ve only got NOW TV - will it be available on there?

I’ve always had a soft spot for Newcastle, and its fans, who always seemed proper and authentic in some old fashioned way. Yesterday I looked across at them with nothing short of contempt. Fans have choice and power. Newcastle fans, like some others before them, have chosen to accept blood money in exchange for success. They have exercised their power in support of something deeply, deeply problematic. They have rendered themselves meaningless as a football club and have become a diplomatic play thing, an instrument of a murderous regime’s soft power. Sod ‘em!

This is the heart of the matter. The recruitment last summer was appalling. Not necessarily because of the quality of the players (although we can all see that wasn’t great) but because it introduced a wholesale change of system that bore no relation to the philosophy of the head coach and the system we had committed for the preceding four years. As a consequence, we effectively sacrificed the best head coach we’ve had in years, abandoned our principles and now look an absolute ****show. I’d dearly love to know what Webber’s thinking was and the extent to which he involved Farke in that thinking. Take Gilmour as just one example. Why sign a player like that when last time round in the Premiership Farke effectively froze out Leitner, who was pretty similar in stature and style? It boggles the mind. At the same time, I do think we need to give our collective heads a wobble. We’re in a pit, for sure, but I still take pride in the idea of our model, the determination not to sacrifice financial integrity in pursuit of the big league. Sure, I wish things were different, but most of all I wish the Premiership hadn’t become so corrupted by dirty money from Russia and Saudi - and elsewhere for that matter. It’s not sexy, but it’s what I believe. One way or another, we’ll build again. I just wish we could turn back the clock to last summer and have a word with Webber before he embarked on a Football Manager-style ego trip. OTBC.

This is amazing! No update on Sorensen though.

Tell that to the kids of today and they won’t believe you!

I’d love to have Ceefax back. Used to watch the cricket score on there as a lad after school. (Before having a lump of coal for tea).

Apols if this is common knowledge, but do we know the detail on Lungi’s injury and likely time out? Can’t find anything on the internet (as I believe it is called).

Pleased to see this thread. Have similarly been advocating Sorensen’s inclusion, but thought after Villa I might have made a terrible misjudgement. However, while others were more prominent yesterday, I thought Jacob was unobtrusively very good. He might not be the most athletic, but he reads the game very well, his positioning is strong, and doesn’t panic in possession. He seemed to have time, when we might imagine another player might panic. Most of all, he’s got a brilliant way of getting a foot in at just the right moment; several times he nicked possession in a very tight spot. He’s not perfect, but he can definitely do the job of DCM for us, and would like to see him continue as one of the double-pivot, even - and perhaps especially - when Normann returns. I can imagine that as a pairing that gives a defensive platform, while also giving Normann the chance to push on a bit. Promising signs. Separately, went to the game like many with a sense of creeping despair. Came home not feeling quite so bad. At this point, I’ll take it.

I think the recruitment strategy quite rightly has to come under scrutiny. It’s interesting to wonder on whose promptings certain players were signed. There was a lot of chat after the last relegation that we had failed to sign players with the strength and athleticism required in the PL. Also, in that premiership season we had a mercurially talented, but lightweight, midfielder - Leitner - in whom Farke lost faith in the first instance because he couldn’t compete physically (it may be true that other issues came into play after he lost his place). Regardless, it always seemed strange that after that our marquee loan signing was Billy Gilmour. Now, I like Billy, think he has a lot of talent, but he doesn’t have the strength and drive to pull us out of a game like last night, and without some protection he can go missing in a game in the same way that Leitner could. My point, really, is whose idea was he? Farke’s? Webber’s. And what was the plan to use him? I don’t quite get it. Look at the other signings and ask what the plan was: Tzolis - fail, a big risk bringing in a young lad and expecting him to shine. If they thought he wasn’t for now, why sign him for £10m in a season with so much riding on it. Sargent - fail. I love his effort and think he offers us something in terms of stickability, but in the box and around he is shocking. Unbelievable, in retrospect, to sign a striker with his numbers when we knew we had to give Pukki a hand. Lees-Melou - fail. I like the guy. He’s decent, but is he an upgrade on what we have? No, not really. Rashica - success-ish - the second best of the bunch, offers a real threat, but still hasn’t scored or directly created anything. Still, he can operate in the PL. Billy - half and half. Clearly talented, clearly willing, now he’s in the team, to get stuck in, but lightweight. Normann - success, but probably arrived too late. He’s got a bit of everything. Injured at a disastrous moment. Kabak - hmmm…. One good game, one nightmare. Can see why we signed him, but what has he changed? Been unlucky with injuries and the like, but looked panicked last night. Williams - decent, combative, but how did he fit with January’s plan to bring in Giannoulis? Seems like we’ve sacrificed the latter on the altar of the former and done it pretty quickly too, which doesn’t cast good light on the strategy. All in all - and I accept we’ve had bad luck with injuries, Covid - but that is not a strong record of achievement on current evidence. Webber has to be the one responsible. I’d say two of the signings, in the context of our situation and needs, are genuinely shocking: Sargent and Tzolis. Nothing against the players, but for what we need, in this crucial season, they represent a very expensive wasted opportunity. It’s incredibly frustrating. In 2 or 3 games recently we’ve deserved to win, but haven’t had the quality to get over the line. Take 6 additional points from those games - absolutely plausible - and we’re out of the bottom 3 and right in the mix. But we didn’t and now we look well and truly sunk. Happy Bloody Christmas.

Slightly surprised by the relentless negativity. If we want decent coverage of our football club, by local journalists with connections to the club, who care about keeping the fans as much in the loop as possible then, in this day and age, we’ve got to pay for it. The alternative is something like The Waveney Advertiser for sport, with a couple of paragraphs of content for every chunk of ads. Of course, people can make their own minds up, but I reckon Paddy, Dave and Connor do a decent job. Connor, in particular, is capable of first class stuff - his work on BK8 was excellent, and his piece on the Norwich model, the nature of football and investment was genuinely superb and picked up on by a lot of front rank journos, including Rory Smith and Max Rushden. I say be as grumpy as you like, but be careful what you wish for. Anyhoo, I’ve signed up and paid up. Happy with what I’ve seen so far and looking forward to more.

‘And so I said, “why don’t you bring on Lees-Melou at half time?”