Jacko

There is no chance of this team making the playoffs. The first issue we have is that we have a deficit of 8 points to make up on Sheffield Wednesday and we''ve only got 27 points to play for. Realistically we would need to win at least 7 or 8 of those matches to stand any chance. Given that we''ve won once away from home since about October I think it''s almost bordering on dilusional to think this team is capable of form like that. The fact we''ve also got to play Brighton, Leeds, Reading and Huddersfield - 4 of the top 6 just makes the task even more unlikely. Particularly as we''re yet to register a win all season against a top 6 team. The other problem we''ve got is its not even like we''re chasing just one team now. Both Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday will have to slip up horribly to allow us through into the playoffs. Even Preston are better placed than us and would probably finishing above us. They''ve got a kinder run in and they play us at Deepdale. The priority now has to be being patient. Getting the right structure in place and appointing the right people into the right roles, including a manager who''ll work within that framework.

I thought in real time it was a clear and obvious red card. Having seen the club highlights on YouTube I still think it''s a clear and obvious red card. It''s not a malicious tackle. Djiks tries to step over the ball and protect it. But the execution is awful and in trying to protect the ball he effectively stamps downwards on his opponents shin. It''s a very dangerous and reckless challenge which could have caused serious damage. Alan Irvine thought it was a red card. I also thought Pritchard''s reaction was an indicator. He was right on the spot and knew Djiks was in trouble straight away. Our local journalists also think it was a clear red card with zero chance of success on appeal.

It''s now abundantly clear that AN is going to be here for the rest of the season and at least the start of next season, unless we slip into a relegation battle this season, which isn''t going to happen. Delia and Michael clearly feel a strong affinity towards him and it''s almost a parental style relationship between them. They brought him down from Scotland at 33 years old and he''s almost like a son to them, particularly as they don''t have children of their own and the football club has been an enormous part of their lives for the last 20 years. For those reasons, Rowett will be waiting a very long time to have stab at managing Norwich. Whether you think that decision is right or wrong is another debate altogether.

Once Olsson was in the final of his contract in the summer he held all of the cards. The reality is his new 18 contract probably contained a release clause of around £5 million. That was all the club could do in the circumstances. Prior to that contact we had a stark choice - either lose him for a nominal fee in January or for nothing in the summer. They''ve done the best they could in the circumstances. However, you can question how it ever got to this stage. Did we try to agree a new contract in the Premier league in 2015? Was AN consistently leaving him on the bench last season in the PL for a person who wasn''t actually a left back also a factor in him not signing a new deal at that time?

Expanding on some of the things Morty has said. Sometimes I think people make statements without knowing the full facts and often statements see generally largely ill-informed. I see that one poster has used Turner getting a new contract as one of his grounds to criticise AN. Turner''s extension was actually triggered when we won promotion in 2015. Therefore it was negotiated and agreed before AN was even at the club.

Basically any first team business the club do in this window will be completely reliant upon Brady being sold to finance it.

Always been highly rated. So it was only a matter of time before a big PL club took the plunge on him. Interestingly last year Spurs were trawling the lower leagues for the next Dele Alli. They regarded the three most talented youngsters in the football league to be Dembele (now at Celtic), Lookman (now at Everton) and Maddison (now at Norwich).

Accidentally signed up to the Cup scheme so I may as well go. Otherwise I wouldn''t have bothered to be honest.

Leeds in the League Cup was the point of no return for me. Totally different selection to Brighton but the team showed exactly the same deficiencies and themes- inability to defend set plays, lack of fitness and not being able to manage a game (against 10 men) when leading. That showed to me the problem was with the coaching staff and the management rather than individual players themselves. The fact that we''re still here in late December watching the same car crash repeatedly is just sad and embarrassing for everyone connected with this club.

It''s important to remember that''s the amount of time Lakey thinks the board will give Neil. He hasn''t said that''s how much time he thinks Neil should get. I think that''s an important distinction here. For what it''s worth I think Lakey is right. Neil has already said the board have told him to carry on and other indications from journalists there at the ground suggest he''ll get the Brentford game to save his job. I personally don''t think even our board could ignore yet another defeat in New Years Eve and the axe would simply have to fall then. In reality, of course, Neil is already a dead man walking. The crowd have totally turned to the extent that he''s now only ever one bad performance from things becoming totally mutinous. Something which he could only cure with an unbelievable sequence of results from here.

We won''t go down, largely because Blackburn, Wigan and Rotherham are so crap we will only need about 15 more points from here to survive at most. Even on our current run we will just about muster that. However, the fact we are even talking about that as being as possibility after being top in late September is an absolute disgrace. We need to get rid of AN, appoint a new manager with experience and effectively allow them to rebuild the squad in the hope they can challenge next season. I''ll get ridiculed for saying it but given the lack of know how and experience in the boardroom, for me the outstanding candidate would be Roy Hodgson. He''s performed excellently with clubs of our stature before and would offer a wealth of experience we desperately need. OK, he''s a short term option but management at Norwich City invariably is. Lambert lasted 3 years, Hughton 2 years, Adams 8 months and Neil has currently been in charge for around 2 years. Ironically the board have such a good relationship with him they could probably make this happen but they won''t.

I agree, but ultimately Southampton have a fantastic scouting and recruitment system which can be entrusted to find the next crop of players. I don''t have any faith in Norwich''s scouting team to do likewise sadly. That''s why an overhaul of the squad (whilst advisable) would also have been fraught with great risk.

I''m with Ricardo on this. It just shows how big a gamble sticking with Alex Neil is, because without parachute payments even just staying competitive in championship will be expensive.

An interesting read two years on and many of the central themes ring true today. However, I think the main problem with this is - if we had sold our best players, what faith would you have had in this club to recruit players of adequate quality to replace them?

Why? Weird comment.