budgiebird

[quote user="Long drives home"][quote user="cat farm"]a-malky b-lennon don''t read to much into the odds change today, they are just trying to make some more moneybefore malky is named.[/quote]  I believe the board want Lennon, but they are struggling to get him and that Malky is plan B. Time is running out for them and they are probably being forced into appointing Malky by Lennon''s refusal. [/quote]Alternatively Malky may be the number one choice but they have not been able to finalise the deal. Perhaps Moody''s move from Palace is a stumbling block, perhaps they want Malky to accept Adams as Technical Director and Malky is insisting on Moody and they have given Malky an ultimatum and a deadline.As for Lennon''s odds coming in, as second favourite, his price would naturally shorten in the market if there was a deadline given to Malky. It may be more about a deadline given to Malky than a realistic chance of getting Lennon.

The game he really needed to pull it out of the bag, we lost to West Brom.  Had we won that, we would have been 4 points clear of Fulham, two points clear of West Brom and level on points with Aston Villa.

If we get relegated, it was NOT sacking him well before now which was the huge gamble which failed.

I don''t think Hughton will regard it as a must-win game. If he gets a draw tomorrow then he will still be in a job for the next match and unfortunately that will probably be what shapes approach to the match and his tactics will reflect that.In the big scheme of things, it is more of a must-win game for the club and fans, but not so much for Hughton.

If he plays like he did today, in every match for the rest of the season, playing a major part in the build-up and scoring a goal, I really don''t care if he celebrates or not. He is paid to create chances and to put the ball in the net. Despite being overlooked and not played in most games this season, he still has the character and honesty to do what he is paid to do to the best of his ability. We could have done with a few more following his example today.

Relegation is always a bitter pill for fans to to swallow. Even when it seems likely from the very start of the season. Even if you know your team and squad is not enough to survive.  Even when your Board has recognised that you have problems and have thrown the managerial dice in a desperate attempt to change things around. Even when they have splashed the cash in the January transfer window in an attempt to turn the tide.BUT... if we continue the way we are going, there is an inevitability about the outcome of this season and the bitter pill of relegation is going to stick in the throats of thousands of loyal Norwich fans, making it impossible to swallow.Simply put, none of the usual criteria above apply to our club this season. When we kicked off last August, fans were extremely optimistic. The club had invested heavily to strengthen a squad which (slightly fortunately perhaps) had finished in a respectable half-way position. It was generally agreed that we had the squad and the individual players that were good enough to allow us to look upwards from our finishing position last term rather than nervously below. The Board has not thrown the managerial dice when the problems have been there for all to see. Instead they have dillied and dallied, voicing their support for the Manager but not having enough confidence in their support to back their opinion with hard cash in the January transfer window, as other clubs around us have done.The vast majority (myself included) have blamed Chris Hughton for his cautious and negative approach, but is it really fair to do so?Chris Hughton, probably scarred from what was generally perceived as harsh treatment from Newcastle, has been cautious and negative from day one at Norwich. It seems obvious by now that this is his nature. And indeed, from his perspective, this approach has been successful for him. He achieved a respectable league position last season, his approach has led to him being the third longest serving Manager in the Premier League. His negative and cautious approach which was there for all to see for much of last season appears to have the Board''s approval as was underlined in close season when they backed Hughton''s approach by spending far more money on new players than ever before. The criticisms of last season, defensive and cautious approach to games against weaker sides, poor substitution choices, lack of goals are all still there this season, but Chris Hughton is still Norwich Manager, so the message he receives is that his cautious and negative approach is acceptable and justified.From David McNally''s comments, it is fair to assume that the main measure that the Board use to judge Chris Hughton''s performance is that we stay out of the relegation places. Hughton''s negative approach achieved that aim last season, with points to spare, so from his point of view, why should he try to change his approach, even if he could change his natural cautious outlook?Hughton is the natural and obvious target for the fan''s frustration, but is it really fair? He did not appoint himself into the job. He has not changed his approach, which his employers backed close-season with hard cash. He has not set the criteria that he has to achieve to remain in a job and keep the support of the Board. While it is understandable for Hughton to be the focus of disapproval by the fans is it really fair to do so? The Board appointed Hughton. They seemingly approved of his natural negative and cautious approach, which was so obviously apparent last season. They are the people with the power to change the Manager and the fact they have not done so (and it is probably now too late) means that if the worst case scenario does happen, means that the blame should be laid firmly at their door.

Not sure Laudrup is the man for a relegation struggle.

Sadly yes, but there will be a silver lining... Hughton will boldly say that he has the squad to take us straight back up again!!

I am  sure the epitaph on our relegation gravestone will read..."But we are still 3 points from tenth!"

Yes, sadly it is too late now. The Board should have acted a long long while ago. People wanted to give him a chance at the start of the season, some people said 6 games and others 10 games. After 10 games nothing had really changed from the negative attitude of last season, but still some were wanting to give him more time, stating that various games were "must win games". Unfortunately when faced with a must win game, Hughton invariably changes his mindset and comes up with a result. Which explains why we are where we are now. The frustrating thing about it all is that when his job is well and truly on the line, he CAN pick the right team and motivate them to get a result, so why can he not do it in a match where his job is NOT on the line. The players obviously have the capability, Chris Hughton obviously has the capability to get a result when it really matters to him to do so. Unfortunately when his job is not under serious threat from the next result, he reverts back to being Cautious Chris.If he were to put as much determination into winning every match as he does into saving his own skin, we would probably be sitting in the top half of the table now.I don''t know if he is trying to fool himself or the fans, but if we had got the points he has said we deserve, in his post-match interviews this season, we would be top of the league. If he has convinced himself that we are consistently unlucky and consistently not getting the points our play deserves, then he is in denial and will continue to make the same mistakes hoping that his luck will change

Of course the Manager can and should be blamed.The OP asks where''s the blame on Hooper for making a suicidal pass across the defence? The point is Hooper is not a defender, he should not have been back helping out the defence. His job was to be up front and snatch the second goal which would probably have killed the game. I did not notice Hooper rushing back to help out the defence in the first half at all. Yet just 10 minutes after the Managers half-time talk, there he is in the left full-back position. Footballers generally play to instructions and although none of us can know what was said at half-time, it is fair to assume, with what we know about the Manager''s negative outlook, that the forwards were told to get back and help out the defence in order to try and cling on to our one goal lead.The Manager can and should be blamed for the team he picks. Our initial line-up was defensively minded. If you are playing the bottom club, then it makes sense that one of your central midfidlers has an attacking mindset and an attacking brief. Fer''s poor performances recently are a direct result of him being shackled too deeply in a more defensive role. He is at his best when he is attacking the opposition from the edge of the box and his impressive goal tally for previous clubs underlines this. Just look at the difference he made when finally released to come on and play in that role yesterday. Let us just hope that the clueless one actually manages to get a clue from the way that we went at Cardiff in the last 15 minutes once he finally decided to put more attacking players on the pitch and removed the defensive shackles from Fer to allow him to show what an a potent attacking force he is capable of being, when allowed.

One has to ask, what the hell was he doing in the left back position in the first place?

Should have been out long ago. Sacking him now would not guarantee survival, the decision has been left too late really. His team selections of late have been kicks in the teeth for players who have played well. Wes Hoolahan was man of the match against Cardiff and he was dropped next match. Russell Martin played his best match of the season against Man U and the next match he was dropped next match. David Fox was our man of the match against Fulham last week and he is dropped today. Where is the incentive for players to give their all and play well if their reward for man of the match performances is to be axed next match? I can think of nothing more certain to demotivate players.

Not a fan of Hughton, but if he is responsible for the effort put in by the lads today, then credit to him. It is a welcome 3 points, but we mustn''t get carried away. If we had had 27 shots, as West Brom did and lost 2-0 to a team that had just three shots on target all game, then I dare say that there would be a lot of people, including Chris Hughton, saying we did not deserve to lose. There was a grit and determination about our performance today and if we can produce that week in and week out then I will be happy to sing Chris Hughton''s praises and even forgive unexpected dropped points, although I do think the most important transfer target over the coming weeks should be a quality attack-minded Coach

Possibly, but I think the critical lack of belief is a lack of belief in the squad by the manager. If he had the belief in them that most of the fans have and allowed them to play their natural game and play to their strengths, then any self-doubt that the squad might have will, I believe, rapidly disappear.