Kirkstall Yellow

I have to admit that, all in all, I’m quite satisfied with our transfer window dealings and our start to the season. It was a shame to lose Pilks, but from the rumours that circulated around that time, it appeared that his heart really wasn’t in it. If it is true that he had been angling for a move for over a season, then cashing in when he has just one year left on his contract is a good bit of business. With Redmond and Murphy also challenging for his favoured position I think his opportunities would have been rather limited this season even if he was able to stay injury fit. Snodgrass and Fer were always going to leave. Always. Snodgrass will be a big loss down that right hand side, and with only Elliot Bennet for cover I wonder if we will find ourselves short on that side later in the season. There has been a lot of criticism towards Snodgrass for slowing down play, or failing to convert some good chances, but I suspect a lot of that was due to Hughtons cautious approach to attacking. That and Snodgrass’ lack of pace! Regardless, he will be a loss for us. And sadly he will also be a big loss for Hull after that horror tackle from Joey Barton on his return to the big boys league. It was good to see so many Norwich fans wishing him well. As for Fer, at least we had a world cup goal scorer, eh! One for the record books. I wonder whether he would have had the heart for Rotherham (A) on a cold Tuesday night? I think he could have done a bit better than QPR too. I would have preferred to see him go to a slightly more progressive club like Southampton. Surman had a very good pre-season and there was serious talk of fresh terms on the table so I was a bit disappointed when he moved on. I can fully understand why he has though. Our midfield is our strongest position, and he really would have struggled to push his way in on a regular basis I feel. Then, If we found ourselves playing the elite again next season, I think he would have been in the same situation he was under Hughton, shipped out on loan to a mid table championship team. I’m sure Eddie Howe will get the best out of Surman at Bournemouth and there he will thrive as one of their bigger fish. Best of luck to him. Ricky. Where to start! For a moment or two there I really thought he was going to stay and stick it out. His record last year was bad. Really bad. But he IS a quality player. I hope that shows through on his year at St Etienne, although I’m calling it now, I doubt we’ll see him in a yellow shirt again. It’s a shame, I had such high hopes for that boy! We all did, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. I think perhaps again, Mr Hughton has to take a bit of the responsibility for that one. He played him through the pain barrier at the start of last season, which let to his mid term layoff towards christmas after which he seemed like a lost child in a crowd of very strange grownups. Then he persisted with him even though he was bang out of form, only draining his confidence further. I also think that perhaps the club put a bit too much pressure on the lad but milking the ‘highest transfer fee ever’ and ‘beware of the wolf’ campaigns. That all said, it shouldn’t have mattered. He should have buried some of his chances. He should have been provided with more chances but his team mates. Nothing we can do about it now. Becchio is a curious case. But I always thought he looked sloppy when he was on the pitch for us. Living in Leeds I have heard a lot of stories about Becchio being woeful with his feet, but being fantastic in the air. The biggest criticsm leeds fans have of becchio though, is that he was only ever any good when the defender was tight to him. When he was given that extra half yard, like in the premier league, he was too sloppy to use it and the defender invariably mopped up the mess and cleared the danger. I hope he finds his scoring boots at Rotherham. If Seb really did say ‘are we supposed to know who you are?!’ after the squad were introduced to Adams for the first time, then a huge credit should go to Neeyul for being string enough to relegate him to the reserves. Now is not the time for people with egos and bad attitudes. He hasn’t gone because clearly no one wants him. If he can sort his head out then he would be an asset in this league, but I suspect that he will stick it out in the b team and leave on loan or in january We’ve signed well. I think we have been astute and it looks as though we have paid out less that we received. That’s good business anytime, but particularly after relegation, providing the new recruits perform. Cuellar has had a sloppy start, but he lacks match practise. He will be a solid backup. He wont be the last defender in the world to score an own goal on his debut! I thin Miguel could go either way, he could be a goliath, or he could be an Ayala. We need to see him play to judge that one. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping it’s the former. Jos Hoovield will be a very good player at this level I suspect alongside turner and Miguel, Ryan bennet will have his work cut out after his return from injury to force his way back into the team. I suspect his signing signals the return of martin in RB, which may be no bad thing. O’Neill will provide some experience and a calm head to our midfield when called upon. I think that is essential, and he has looked good during his brief cameos so far. Thompson and McGrandles I had never heard of, but appear to be ones for the future. I hope they develop well and can force their way into the team like Murphy, rather than stagnate and leave like Butterfield. Lafferty looks good, and has good presence. I’m not sure he would cope too well a division further up the ladder though. But he is definitely a good option to have around the place. I wonder whether he really is the ‘uncontrollable womaniser’ he was portrayed to be, or if tat was just a line to appease the fans of his former employers. Either way, warn your daughter if she off out to riverside! Grabban. 5 in 5. Don’t really need to say any more than that. Great to have him with us, I hope his form continues. I think keeping the likes of hooper, redmond, ruddy, olsson, tettey and howson have also been crucial. We have a very solid squad at the moment, and let hope our current form continues. And what has happened to johnson! He was a bit of a liability at the top table, but the championship he seems to glide through. Good on him. I think he will be up there for player of the season again if he continues in this rich vein of form. So far Adams is proving the critics wrong. He has got the points on the board from a tough start to the season and we are one of the early pace setters. Cardiff (a) will be a real test and I hope that we are able to get at least a point out of that game. We owe them one for last season! I’ve been impressed with his substitutions, the return of last minute foals and his willingness to experiment when things aren’t going to well. (3 at the back at wolves, anyone? That was a Lambert move!) I really hope he can be successful for us! Anyway, works almost finished, so I’m off to the pub. Happy Friday everyone!

5th November 1994, City 0-0 Everton. It was cold. and mark robins kept taking quick free kicks.

You need adobe, so you can''t use safari. Last time i checked (it was a while ago) the norwich club app didn''t support the radio feed either. But, there is a way round it! If you download the puffin web browser, which does support adobe it should work fine. (you can even get a free version too!)

Ha, yellownets, I really hope he scores on saturday so we can all get on that chant!!

I really hope he impresses Neeyul during pre-season. I have always thought very highly of surman. From what I''ve heard from Bournemouth fans, he was very good last year in a more central position so it will be very interesting to see what he can do if given another chance here! the other reason i like surman is that autocorrect tries to change his name to superman.

Assuming no one else leaves: Ruddy Whitaker, Bennet, Martin, Olsson Bennet, Howson, Fer, Redmond Grabban, Hoops and dropping grabban for Tettey is we need a 451. easy. where did i put old Neeyuls phone number...?

Actually, seeing those mock ups, the purple looks pretty good. good work mason 47.

I heard that it was Adrian Chiles.

Thats incredibly pessimistic, Bethnal. And I agree entirely!!

Hooper - Stay RvW - Go (loan) Fer - Go Bassong - Go Snodgrass - Go Redmond - Stay Pilkington - Stay Hoolahan - Go Olsson - Stay Becchio - Stay Tettey - Stay Ruddy - Stay

I met david bentley in Chips Away in Wymondham on the day of the Arsenal game at carrow road that season. He was driving a purple Ford Ka. True story.

England 0-2 Italy England 2-2 Uruguay England 2-0 Costa Rica we finish 3rd in the group because suarez scores a hat trick against costa rica. (wow, 2 years of Chris Hughton really has destroyed my sense optimism and blind faith!)

I got Chile in my sweepstake at work so i''m hoping its them. (it won''t be them) Belgium Maybe?

As the dust settles after a disappointing season we are starting to show signs of life again. Neeyul wasn’t everybody’s first choice, but he is our manager now and I hope he has a successful season. In Holt, Robson and Royle I hope that we have a capable team able to deal successfully with failings of last season. They are making all the right noises lets hope they back that up with results on the pitch. We are clearly trying to set ourselves up in a longterm mould akin to that of Swansea. We appear to want to win with attacking attractive, entertaining football. That is no bad thing, but will take time to show through. We are going to need to win ugly on more than one occasion next season if we are to once again grace the upper echelon of the English game. The key is not just making more chances, but taking them as well. I was surprised, and heartened, by the speed at which we moved for Lewis Grabban. I am sure he will make a valuable contribution to our cause next season. Sadly, many high scorers in this league fail to replicate such sparkling form the following season, but I would like to think he will certainly chip in with more than his fair share. I just don’t think we should all get our hopes up and expect another 22 goals out of him next term. It will be very interesting to see who stays and who does. I suspect we will lose at least one or two that we would have preferred to stay. I find it hard to believe Snodgrass will still be here in august, as much as I would like him to be. Bassong, Fer and potentially RVW could be the other high profile casualties of relegation. But if we are able to keep a hold of ruddy, olsson, turner, howson, and hoops I think we will have a very solid spine to build upon. I am feeling a lot more optimistic about the championship than I was a few weeks ago, but then a lot can change in a very short space of time in football. One thing is for certain, its not going to be easy!

yep!

Ha, If we appoint Joe Kinnear in any capacity I''m not leaving the house until he''s sacked!

I would absolutely love Rhodes here, but sadly I just can''t see us matching the asking price, and him wanting a sideways step when i''m sure one or two lower end prem clubs would be in for him. i''ve got my fingers crossed, but i''m not holding my breath.

i''d like RVW to stay, but i just can''t see it. and realistically, if he struggled with the physicality of the prem, he''s going to have a nightmare in the championship. I think hoops, on the other hand, would be in for a storming season at that level. but we need to keep him! thats the problem!

I would start with Bassong and Fer. Those are the only two i wouldn''t mind leaving at this stage. Then I would be looking at those players who don''t have the commitment to the cause. sadly, i suspect players like Tettey, wes, pilks and RVW will be on that list. (not that i want any of them to leave.) I would also be looking at Snodgrass. Again, not because i dont want him to stay, but because he has 1yr left on his contract and his head WILL be turned during the transfer window. He won''t fancy a season in the second tier if he can jump ship back to the prem. we need people desperate to fight for the cause. I would like to see us fight hard to hang on to as many as possible though. especially Olsson and Hoops.

Thats good news. Shame about Fox though. I liked him.

Neeyul, eh. To be completely honest I was a bit surprised when I got the news last night. Although in my heart I was hoping for a leftfield appointment, someone incredible, someone no one had even mentioned before (you know, like when we signed Tettey), I was expecting a Malky or a Lennon. Especially as Lennon had just walked from Celtic. I would not have been particular enamoured with either, but a new, hard talking, fresh face in the dressing room would probably have been no bad thing. Judging by McNally’s comments on Radio Norfolk, it appeared that, at that stage, our Neeyul was far from the first choice. He cited Adam’s lack of experience which implied that there were other names they were keen to pursue first. So that suggests to me that we were turned down by at least one candidate higher on that wish list. I suspect if we had beaten west brom and stayed up Neeyul would be getting a ‘thanks but no thanks’ speech. Fine margins, eh! The question is why were we turned down. We have (some) money to spend, a good squad (until the vultures are done), and stand a good chance of being in the top 6 next season (surely..?). Rumours circulating tend to involve ‘relegated from the premier league’ and ‘couldn’t agree financial terms’. But perhaps there is more to it. Perhaps the board are trying to dictate a little too much with their desire for ‘the norwich way’. Something like that doesn’t develop overnight. Unless your named Lambert. Perhaps our prospective candidates didn’t want to be told how to make the team play by the board. Afterall, you need to alter your tactics for the team you face. Everyone knows that. Look at chelsea v barca. Perhaps those fabled candidates didn’t seem too keen on a technical director overseeing their job either. As useful as that may be for consistency between regimes. You can understand why it could make a prospective manager feel a little uncomfortable and undermined. We’ve seen it happen at other clubs. The problem is, and although we rarely do agree, there was no unanimous choice from the fans. Everyone had/has their opinion and there is a lot of disagreement. I just hope that it doesn’t bubble over too soon and we give our new man a chance before the Neil Out campaign begins, which it will, inevitably. But enough of that. We have Adams in charge now so lets think about what he brings to the table. He’s keen. Obviously so. He loves the club which I’m sure impressed Delia. He knows the squad and the youth setup inside out. He will have had time to thoroughly plan out his vision for the future. In many ways he has the most experience of all the candidates in the sense that he HAS managed Norwich City and knows, first hand, all the problems that we have and that we face. I’m sure he gave a glowing and enthusiastic performance in his interviews and I’m sure that he has a solid plan for how we can improve. And I bet you anything he is eager to play more attractive football, regardless of the boards insistence. I just wonder whether he will have the lure, and the charisma to keep our biggest talent, and bring in the new blood we need. That said, Hughton had a certain lure, and look where that got us! Someone posted on here after the Chelsea game speculating that perhaps Neil had put himself in the shop window with that performance. A ‘look what I can do’. Knowing full well we needed 3 points, he did seem happy with the draw. But for me its what that result means that is the important thing. It means that Neil can alter his style for the threat we face, and can go toe to toe with the best, tactically. Maybe. And, while nowhere near enough, I’m quite sure that point didn’t go unnoticed by the board. It showed grit, discipline and tactical astuteness. He had a plan, he stuck to it, and had Snodgrass buried his late opportunity we’d all be raving about his tactical genius. The second half against Liverpool was very good, and we showed a glimpse of what we are capable of. I would hope that that is the standard which he intends to build upon, whilst all the time having the opportunity to win ugly if need be. You don’t get promoted from the championship without grinding out a few results! So maybe Neil Adams has got it. Maybe he’s the exciting, young, attacking, free flowing football manager we all want. I mean, if Lambert had been an ex player promoted to the hotseat we’d all feel like this too, right? Maybe Neil can pull something out of the hat. He has shown glimpses of what he can do tactically in his 5 games in charge, and against tough opposition. Hopefully dropping down a level will afford him the opportunity to cut his teeth in (slightly) more forgiving circumstances. I’m going to get behind that man 100%, and we all need to if we want the club to have a successful season. Lets see where he can take us, and what he can really do. Lets face it, we all want a new Lambert. Preferably a homegrown one that wont ditch us for a ‘bigger club’ in the midlands. What if its Adams. What if… One thing is for certain, he needs to hit the ground running or he’ll be getting his P45 by Christmas. And, anyway, I bloody love singing ‘Hello, Hello Neeyul’. Bring on the Championship!

Gutted. I bloody love that chap! I can understand why he wants to go though.

Absolutely. I can see him getting picked up by a lower end prem team though. I''m suprised we let his contract run down actually. I guess the plan must have been: stay up, get in a couple of very good defenders, sack off turner.

I agree that we should try to keep him and hoops. i think they would be a formidable strike partnership in the championship. All my chums in leeds tell me that Becchio only scores with his head, so perhaps we need to work on our crossing!

Thanks for the updates sussex yellow, much appreciated!