Will we stay up?

[ReadingCanary 0]

PositivesWe''ve picked up 4 points in 4We''ve scores 5 goals in 4.Apart from the Southampton game... we''ve looked pretty decent.Brady is an improvement on JohnsonDorrans / Howson / Tettey / Hoolahan are all Premier League quality midfieldersRuddy looks to be back to his bestOlsson is back fit & we have Mulumbu to come backMbokani has all the attributes to be a decent Premier League strikerNegativesDefenders..... or lack ofGrabban / Hooper unsettledJohnson - who was clearly a massive dressing room influence is gone.Fans and some players (looking at their twitter messages) appear to be unsettled and shocked.

[Branston Pickle 3,638]

I hope so, and hope/expect the players and true fans to have a bit more stomach for it than some of the keyboard muppets on here.

All is not doom and gloom, defence apart we have a better squad than we had at the start of the transfer window - obviously we hoped it would be improved still, but it wasn''t to be.

[ReadingCanary 0]

I think what so many people find frustrating... is one decent CB and we would have a bloody good squad

[morty 0]

Yes.

[ricardo 7,347]

Anybody that can''t see that yesterdays shenanigans have tightened the odds against us is either not a serious gambler or bets with his heart rather than his head.I would never bet against my team but its difficult to argue that we are in a better position today than we were yesterday and surely that was the whole point of the transfer window.

[Highland Canary 76]

No, we have a championship defence that will be returned there in double quick time. What a farce.

[morty 0]

Haha, didn''t take you long Highland.

[Ivan Easter 0]

Yes

[Feedthewolf 4,844]

[quote user="ricardo"]Anybody that can''t see that yesterdays shenanigans have tightened the odds against us is either not a serious gambler or bets with his heart rather than his head.I would never bet against my team but its difficult to argue that we are in a better position today than we were yesterday and surely that was the whole point of the transfer window.[/quote]While I think your comments are valid, I still think Alex Neil has enough in the tank to defy those odds and keep us up. We had many more experienced Premier League players in our squad than Watford or Bournemouth to begin with, so gentle tinkering and minor upgrades were a more reasonable solution for us than for the other two clubs. That said, I''d be a lot more optimistic if we had spent a decent sum of money on a really classy centre back.

[Salopian 1]

I hope so, but it take all Neil''s powers of persuasion and encouragement.

We have potentially the leakiest defence in the division, with the majority of goals conceded due to defensive errors. We have strikers who are not striking. The midfield and defence can''t keep us afloat on their own.

The hopes?

- that Mulumbu will show us why he is highly regarded, that his fellow countryman Mbocky will get up to speed quickly, and our midfielders, including Wes, will quickly learn how to feed him.

-that Brady will show us what he can do further forward, with Olsson supporting him, and Redders continues with his renaissance.

-that defenders manage to concentrate and follow instructions.

In these cases we can survive, if AN produces good tactics and can inspire the team to confidence.

We can''t afford another collective "no turn Up" like that at Southampton, or it could be a slippery slope.

[Van wink 2,994]

No. We will concede too many goals.

[ricardo 7,347]

[quote user="Highland Canary"]No, we have a championship defence that will be returned there in double quick time. What a farce.[/quote]I don''t often agree with you Highland but the stats so far show the validity of your opinion. We haven''t faced any of the big boys yet but we are conceding two per game. That will relegate us with an absolute certainty.Maybe things will improve but the early signs are not good.We needed defensive reinforcements, we didn''t get them and January will likely be too late.

[Stone 0]

We definitely have one of the poorest 3 squads on paper and are sure to leak plenty of goals with our under-strength defence.

We will have to defy the odds to do it, but that doesn''t mean it cant be done!

[DEB (never forgotten) 0]

[quote user="Branston Pickle"]I hope so, and hope/expect the players and true fans to have a bit more stomach for it than some of the keyboard muppets on here.

All is not doom and gloom, defence apart we have a better squad than we had at the start of the transfer window - obviously we hoped it would be improved still, but it wasn''t to be.[/quote]

 

You hope/expext the true fans to have the stomach for what is sure to be an incredibly hard fight at such a critical moment in the history of our club, with the riches and rewards of continued premiership membership going forward from this season - but the magnitude of difficulty has been exagerated significantly, both as a result of our club''s failure to show ambition over the period through to yesterday and it''s mismanagement of players and club finance. Some ''muppets'' appear unwilling or unable to process the implications/importance of our transfer window failings in their closed minds. If we were to somehow replenish moral and confidence within the squad and go on to avoid relegation, it will go down as a truly remarkable achievement. 

[Buh 0]

You want a pat on the head and for me to tell you everything''s going to be alright

Sorry mate, no can do.

But if you think this is the defining moment of the season and you''ve got the rest mapped out in your head as a result of us not being able to sign people then you are sadly mistaken.

This is the premier league we are taking about here. There''s going to be all sorts of unpredictable drama and shenanigans.

It''s depressing that we weren''t able to sign as many people as we''d have liked, I don''t believe in conspiracies, so I''ll just have to see how it goes. Im not mad at fans because we didn''t get transfers. It''s a legitimate concern I can see we are lacking at the back but when alex neil is getting slated for attacking a game in a coule of weeks that''s really going to p1ss me off.

[Making Plans 936]

I don''t think so. We''ve played 4 of the easier teams so far and conceded 8 goals.A point a game is the absolute minimum requirement and after those 4 games we find ourselves with 4 points when it could have been 9 but for poor finishing and dozy defending, and I''m not including the Palace game.We should have buried Stoke & if we had turned up at Southampton, and scored the first goal, then it would have been a completely different game and we could have won that too.You cannot afford to throw away opportunities like that in this league and I''m fearful of what might happen when we meet some tougher opponents and the league starts to settle down.Right now I''d take 17th but I think that''s probably beyond our capabilities after we failed to strengthen sufficiently during the window.

[Canary Wundaboy 1,358]

No, while I have faith in our attacking play and players we''re not strong enough in defence and we don''t have enough cover. The moment Bassong gets injured we''re up the creek without a paddle.

[Van wink 2,994]

Are you pissed Buh, or am I?

[Essjayess 307]

As of now, no. It depends, sadly because we failed to to buy a single defender, we will need defence adds in January, as by Xmas i see City in the bottom 3. Even if we do add, we may to a Leicester City from last season or something similar, not a scenario i would look forward to.We have a good attack, good midfield, the best manager, but our defence will likely leak so many goals it will over ride all these other positives. Heart yearns yes, head leans to no.

[Canary001 0]

Big no , worst of the 20 squads , will finish bottom with Neil probably sacked with 4 games to go as the fools running this club try for a last ditch solution

[Stylish Canary 0]

nailed on for relegation with our defence.

[ruthers1 0]

Sky''s Carrow Rd reporter described Mbokani last night as a "1 in 2 man" however with us conceding 2 goals a game minimum he will need to be "2 in 1 man" to make any sort of difference! Eight goals conceded so far against 4 average teams - no striker on the scoresheet as yet?

We''ll be in the bottom 3 at Christmas for sure - then we''ll really find out what ''not wanting to come here'' really means.

To make matters even worse McNally doesn''t believe in spending money in the January window as he thinks prices get over-inflated!!

No, whichever way you look at it this looks like a train wreck unfolding slowly in front of our eyes. Doomed.

[Keith Scott 243]

Not now. Nowhere near enough quality or strength in depth at the back. No strength in depth or variation up top with only two strikers on the books who are wanted/want to be here, one of them is on loan, and they both play exactly the same role. Yes we can strengthen in January but by then there''s every likelihood will have one foot back in the championship. The NCFC boards virtually annual incompetence never ceases to amaze but this might be the most shocking example yet. They really have left the manager with an almost impossible task. Many trying to delude themselves and others that Alex Neil can turn water into wine. He''s very good, but he''s not that good.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

At best it will be a very close thing, i only hope that we are not cut adrift at christmas time. A lot depends on fine margins ie injuries a bit of good fortune and how the new signings do or do not settle in. As said before 6 points can be the difference between 11th and 18th. a lot will depend upon the 6 pointers starting with Bournmouth. TBO on paper i do struggle to identify 3 weaker squads than Norwich but it doesn''t always come down to that, attitude, team morale and guts etc etc goes a long way. If we are in with a chance of staying up in January the next window must be put to far better use than this one albeit everyone will be after players that can score goals and defend

[Feedthewolf 4,844]

A very reasoned response, Yorkshire.It''s tough anyway, and our failure to strengthen at the back has made it tougher, but it''s still more than doable.

[HazzaJet 252]

We''ve still got 34 more games to play, so it''s a whole case of wait and see. I know we have a weak defence and should have signed another defender this summer. Ollson is back soon which would let Brady play in his preferred position. If Mbokani or Jerome turns out to be the next Dean Ashton then I think we will survive. Lets not forget we played well in our first 3 games despite only winning 1. We were poor against Soton but I think we have to give Mr Whittaker the honours for that

[Capt. Pants 4,200]

We''ll have a fair idea by the end of October as the fixture list has been kind thus far. Win at least 3 out of next 4 home games then I think we''ll have a decent chance. If we don''t win them it''s going to be very difficult.

[Feedthewolf 4,844]

[quote user="UpperBarclay"]We''ll have a fair idea by the end of October as the fixture list has been kind thus far. Win at least 3 out of next 4 home games then I think we''ll have a decent chance. If we don''t win them it''s going to be very difficult.[/quote]Just wondering – do people think that our tend to accumulate more points than expected away from home will continue? Southampton aside, we''ve looked much stronger away from home than we have at home since Neil took over. If we can win three of our next four home games, I''d wager that we''d pick up a few bonus points on the road too, which could even leave us in the top half at the end of October.

[Feedthewolf 4,844]

*tendency

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

I fear for us away from home. With our defense I can see us get beaten requlary by 5 or 6, especially at the top clubs. Our defence is so weak.