Feedthewolf

Yep, seems like a totally reasonable request that would be of benefit to a lot of fans, and speed up the process of casual fans locating their seats. Just tagging @GMF here in case he thinks it might be worth raising at the next panel meeting?

Hadn't seen any of the other ones, that one just popped up in my feed and thought I'd share as it's a subject matter very close to my heart.

I saw this on one of the Facebook groups and thought I'd share. Having also lost a friend to suicide recently, it's vitally important that we keep fighting the good fight and looking after our own. If you suspect a friend or family member is struggling, make sure you reach out to them – and if they say they're OK, it's absolutely the right thing to do to say 'Are you really OK? It's alright to tell me if you're not, I'm here for you.' OTBC x

They'll just keep on coming while people keep engaging with him.

Agree with all of that, except I'd be reluctant to play Forson deeper. He loves to take the ball on the half-turn and forge forward – he's been caught in possession loads in the last couple of games, so I'd rather he was doing that further up the field where he can make more attacking impact if he improves his decision-making and productivity. There's a lot more to lose if he's turning the ball over in deeper positions. As things stand, I'd probably be looking for Slimane and Kenny to sit deeper (assuming Slimane's injury is only short-term, here's hoping!), and then Schwartau or Nunez just ahead of them as the more attack-minded of the three. Then Sainz and either Crnac or Forson supporting Sarge. That still leaves good options on the bench: either Schwartau or Nunez, either Crnac or Forson, plus the unknown quantity that is Gordon in addition to the solidity and workrate of Gibbs, the wild card of Onel, the sensible support play of Fassnacht, or even the blunt force trauma of Bashley. And there's Forsyth and Myles beyond that.

Is that David's brother?

Completely ignoring him is the only possible way to make it stop. There's no way he'll stop as long as people are still engaging with him, as this is pretty much the only place he's not yet been banished/ostracised from.

Yeah, absolutely. We were in the same boat in 2017 though, when we brought Farke in, and that 'hard reset' didn't work out too badly. This current fall can be traced back to the appalling transfer business in summer 2021, and then the decision to appoint Dean Smith to replace Farke. We're still paying the price for those few months. I can see the logic that last season we had to try to 'grit' our way to promotion with our last year of parachute payments, but when that didn't work it was always likely to result in wholesale change. A new sporting director and then a new, young, untested head coach who's willing to try to instil a very distinct style of football with limited means – it worked a treat seven years ago, but we desperately need lightning to strike twice if we're going to wrestle ourselves out of Championship mediocrity (or worse).

Yeah, I don't think anyone would deny that losing Sarge would be a monumental blow. However, if we can keep him fit, hopefully the combined efforts of Sainz, Schwartau, Forson, Gordon, Crnac and Nunez, plus added solidity from Slimane, will be productive enough once the new lads hit their straps. And of course there are the old pros in Kenny, Barnes, Fassnacht and Onel to add a bit of extra ballast. An injury to Sarge suddenly heaps a huge amount of extra pressure on Crnac and/or puts reliance on an ageing and currently injured Barnes.

I've said in other threads that the lack of cohesion going forward is the biggest issue I've seen so far. The Oxford game was garbage, agreed. Against Palace we made a load of changes and were playing away to a strong PL side, so it's a bit more understandable. And against Swansea, Sainz had enough chances to win the game on his own, so I don't think it's fair to say we were 'toothless'. It could turn out to be a long and forgettable season; I'm not saying that we're definitely going to click and everything looks great. If Sargent gets injured we could be in a massive hole, and even if he stays fit we need to work out how best to create chances for him. Carrow89's comments were just ridiculous, though... the more I read them, the more they show a laughable lack of understanding of how football works.

Yep, I think most of us were watching a different game to you. I considered picking this little lot to shreds, but I've got better things to do with my time. Seriously, go and do some reading on football tactics; I thoroughly recommend Jonathan Wilson's Inverting The Pyramid as a good starting point. If you don't have the patience to understand how implementing tactics takes time, go and support Man City or something. Describing our best performance so far against Coventry as a 'hiatus' especially made me laugh 🙂

So basically, you agree with me about Kenny's versatility then? Either way, I'm delighted with this Stanley knife user manual excerpt. Scintillating stuff.

This conversation is going nowhere 😉

Well nah, not really. A Swiss Army knife performs lots of different functions, which is why I used that analogy.

He was signed as a number 8 who could also play as a 10 or on the right of midfield. That he's successfully filled in as a 6, a centre-back and even a left-back speaks volumes for his understanding of the game and footballing intelligence. It's only in the last year or so that he's been utilised as a defensive screen – and yes, as a unit we did concede far too many goals last season. I absolutely have some sympathy with the view that relying on Kenny shows that the overall quality of our squad has deteriorated in the past five years (see @Parma Ham's gone mouldy's posts about a lack of 'weapons'), but the fact that he's been picked week-in, week-out, by a variety of different managers, in a variety of different positions, surely indicates that he is part of the solution rather than part of the problem. A Swiss Army knife rather than a broadsword, if you will. Perhaps if we had more players with the intelligence, versatility, loyalty, drive and determination of Kenny McLean, we'd actually be in a much better position? Just a thought.

A very logical and reasonable counter-argument... I would expect no less from you 🙂

Cheers Jim, you saved me a job by deconstructing the utter bilge in the previous post 😉

We need to be patient, it really is that simple. Progress is never completely linear, especially in the maelstrom of the Championship. There's certainly an element of one step forward, one step backwards at the moment, but that's part of transitioning to a completely new style. The manager is also young and inexperienced at this level and will make mistakes. Constructive criticism is as acceptable as it is inevitable, but it'd be more reasonable to offer that over a bigger timeframe that half a dozen competitive games.

You don't need me to present the counter-argument here, hopefully you're smart and honest enough to be able to factor it in.

For such an intelligent, insightful and productive poster, your one-eyed campaign to denigrate Kenny McLean is utterly baffling. I just can't understand it. Despite the consistent backing of four consecutive Norwich managers and 40+ international caps, you use confirmation bias to focus on every single misplaced pass (which will always occur for any player), or structural failure in the team and pin it on Kenny. I don't think anybody really believes that Kenny has ever been at the level to be a regular Premier League starter, but his stamina, awareness and galvanising effect on the players around him has been a vital part of our squad for seven years. And we paid £400k for him. I know you'll never cut him a break, other than grudgingly accept that he's had a 'decent' game every now and again when other players took the limelight, but I guarantee we'll notice the gulf in our midfield when he finally moves on.

As I've said elsewhere, Hoff has been charged with radically overhauling the playing style and the age profile of the squad. Young players, mostly from abroad, coming into the hurly-burly of the Championship under a young manager who's only ever managed in the Danish league – it's a tough school. If you want instant results, you bring in someone in the Dyche/Warnock/McCarthy mould, and thankfully we're way too smart for that (although Webber's signings last summer were baffling, and very much of that ilk). This just isn't a setup that is likely to deliver immediate success; it's about embedding principles, taking baby steps, and using defeats as learning opportunities (Farke's early 4-0 defeat at Millwall springs to mind). But I absolutely agree that if Sargent were to get injured we could be in a world of hurt.

Worked well for Alan Hansen! 😉 All teams need a balance. But when Webber signed Duffy, Batth, Forshaw, Barnes and Hwang in the same window, that went totally against trying to build a side that plays good, progressive football. We've gone to the other extreme a bit with our signings this summer, but still have experienced pros like Gunn, Stacey, Duffy, Hanley, McLean, Fassnacht and Barnes in the squad to guide the younger players. I'd expect us to finish bang mid-table this season, 12th or 13th. But I'd rather commit to that and see a coherent style of play develop than try to batter our way into the top six with hardened old pros and dull managers like Smith and (to a slightly lesser extent) Wagner.

Yeah, absolutely. Waveney was up at 5am to travel across the country to watch us, so he's totally entitled to have a vent, even if it is a bit of an overreaction! Big props to everyone who made the journey today, disappointing result but hardly 'the players should refund the fans who travelled Nayul' territory!

Slightly more possession, slightly more chances. A pretty tight Championship match decided by an unfortunate own goal. Clearly the new attacking players (Forson, Schwartau, Crnac) will take time to acclimatise, it did look a bit disjointed in the final third which was disappointing. As to how long we give him, at least 12 games until we start looking at things in the round. And unless we're in the bottom six and sinking, we absolutely give him the season. Patience is a virtue in short supply among some Norwich fans, and while there is no guarantee that Thorup will come good a la Farke, a complete overhaul of the playing style and age profile of the squad is something that's extremely unlikely to click immediately.

No Slimane in the squad? Injured?