Can Neil turn this around?

[FCC 76]

I''m not sure he can, but even if relegated I would stick with him.

[Martin Bryant 0]

sorry, turn what around? this is the norwich thread isnt it?

be real! norwich are newly promoted, our aim is to avoid relegation, we "shouldnt" be beating top 4 teams like Tottenham,

this isnt football manager the game, norwich will struggle unless they spend 200million like the top 4 clubs do... be real.

[Cumbria Canary 0]

I thought he could but I''m beginning to have my doubts. This is certainly the biggest test he''s faced in his short managerial career.  I still think he has it within him to become a good manager, and the club should stick with him, but he needs decent support because, among other things, the constant team changes and strange tactical substitutions are not helping. What''s more worrying for me is the lack of zip and aggression in our approach. Tottenham man for man are better than us, but you would expect us to try to compensate by a greater work rate and closing down and making life difficult. But I didn''t see much of that tonite, especially in the first half. A gap is opening up between us and the group above so Saturday really is a must win.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Good points, Grant.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Crispy"]Spurs are literally the best organised team in the league right now. [/quote]

Was more impressed by Leicester when we had them at home earlier in the season.

[Move Klose 303]

Why shouldn''t we be beating tottenham.

[Highland Canary 76]

It was August''s failure, and the underperformance in the easier first half of the season, which will see us relegated. Failure tonight is only as expected.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

If he can and i have my doubts then he will need at least 6 more points by the end of this month. The board will have to make a decision with about 10 games left to stick or twist. There is only point in changing if you bring in better a repeat of the Adams type fiasco would be a total waste of time.

AN has his attributes but a good manager builds from the back and i cannot remember a poorer defensive season and we have had some pretty bad ones.

For me i would see what happens at Villa and Swansea, lose both those and i would get rid and move on. Get Lambert back or Pearson

[lake district canary 4,531]

Giving up on the manager is the easy option. Easy to say he''s out of his depth, easy to say he doesn''t  have the experience.  Players can give up on the manager too (I''m not saying they have, or will) and again that would be the soft option. It''s going to be a battle - and always was.  Getting the right players in was always going to be difficult - and yet look at the players we have brought in - some real quality.  It may be tough at the moment, but there is still time to get things right - and I would back AN right to the end - because he has earned the right. Stick with the man and the chances are he will see us right, so be careful what you wish for - and even if we are relegated, we would need him next season.

[BroadstairsR 2,163]

I have serious doubts that we will be able to avoid relegation.

The defence is a mess and whereby we have strengthened the CD position, questions are already being asked about the new RB. Not a good sign.

I too would stick with AN should the worst happen. We should be a strong Championship team as things stand, but who will we lose and are these youngsters ready should we have to sell a few?

[norfolkngood 1,086]

he has no system players not motivated ( if they are not showing it )

never seen so many underperforming bassong and Olsson look like they can not kick a ball last night

Redmond has lost all form RM is a disaster never the best but solid

better mangers get players running through brick walls over performing

look at Robert huth not a great CB but happy knows his job knows his system

people say oh Leicester rich owner a lot of the players are over performing are not expensive buys that is down to the manager

[Jim Smith 2,317]

I feel relegation is highly likely having seen several of our recent performances. I don;t think Neil is the main person to blame if we do go down because (i) relegation is always a possibility for a club like us in the prem and (ii) he was badly let down in the summer transfer window when we failed to give ourselves the best chance of staying up. If this opportunity is wasted I therefore believe the board are culpable - again.

However, I also think Neil has struggled and currently I don''t think he''s showing himself to be quite the managerial genius many claimed him to be after he took us up. He''s no Adams or Gunn but I really feel that since the away game at Newcastle he has made a lot of mistakes. Regularly dropping Wes, Persisting with Martin at CB, the constant chopping and changing of the team and formation, consistent failure to get to grips with the defence, ineffectual subs (they never make any difference), sitting off the opposition one week, pressing the next. We look disjointed, there is no understanding or fluency because we have different combinations in key areas of the pitch every week. I don''t think we really have a style of play and the defence seem to be deficient in some of the most basic skills as it has been all season. The players look frustrated and that is now manifesting itself in unprofessionalism as we saw with O''Neil''s red and Tettey''s yellow last night.

I think the writing is on the wall but if we are to have a chance of staying up he needs to go back to his style of play and we need to be positve like we were pre Newcastle. There was not a huge amount wrong then and we were creating lost of chances and giving ourselves the opportunity to win games. Right now, we are not doing that often enough.

[norfolkngood 1,086]

dare I say it but eddie howe has shown you stick to your system /game plan people know what their jobs are it pays off in the long run

[Norfolk Mustard 94]

We don''t seem to have a game plan or system - it''s easy to criticise, but the Eddie Howe philosophy is a good observation. It generally enables a steadier ship.

[norfolkngood 1,086]

what annoys me is the dug out they are not standing on the touchline reorganising after they have seen the other teams set up ,

they seem to set the team up and just leave it as it is and see how it goes

I worry about AN but I would also ask what the coaches mcavoy / gary holt bring to match days

[Tumbleweed 106]

I don''t expect us to beat Liverpool or Spurs but it is not unfair to ask for credible performances. No disgrace in losing at any time to anyone in the division providing we feel we are getting the basics right. But we haven''t just had bad days against those two, we''ve also failed to turn in credible performances on a regular basis, such as at Watford and Bournemouth, capitulated at Stoke and had to cope with what I regarded as a bit of a bonkers line up against Man City in the Cup which really burst our feel good bubble. Too many no-shows for me and even nicking a point here or there in these games is looking a forlorn hope.

When assessing what might or might not happen in the next few months one has to look at the way the form is "trending". And while AN could indeed turn it around, we seem to be a pale shadow of the side which started brim full of confidence. Sadly young Nathan seems to epitomise this- in and out of the team, on the right, in the centre, doesn''t know who will be behind him or next to him one game to the next. No surprise he is finding it tough.

As I see it the one tangible and easy step which AN could take is to just pick one team and stick with it for the next 10 games. Hope they build some cohesion and fluidity. The only exception to be injuries and suspensions, get O''Neill in to cover for Tettey for two games and then just run with it.

If not then I fear that AN may tinker us down and undo the hard work from last season. Just as the pot of money explodes, and as in ''95, we are in some danger of missing out.

[Row D Seat 7 0]

I didn''t even contemplate questioning Alex Neil, until after the Liverpool game. Naismith''s comment regarding the lack of communication on the pitch at 3-1 up really stuck with me. It was very concerning.

Last night, we were never in the game. The second half was only better because Spurs had taken their foot off the gas, plus Dele Ali had been removed. We were just poor and totally void of ideas.

Wembley was fantastic, Alex Neil sparked much needed life into this club last season, but I feel the Premier League experience has come a little too soon for him, unfortunately. At least that''s how it feels when watching our team week after week.

He won''t like being questioned so it''s up to him to prove to us that he is the man to keep us in this league. I think the biggest shame is, if we are relegated, the whole Wembley experience is tainted ever so slightly because we''ll no longer just remember the great day we had, but we''ll also remember how the next year, we were just relegated anyway.

Also, people keep saying, namely Charlie Wyett at The Sun, that Benik Afobe isn''t a Premier League striker. Looks like one at the moment, doesn''t he?!

[ncfc fan 0]

No I don''t think he can. I think its now come to the time for the directors to give him a warning, say 3 games and if he doesn''t get results he will be out!

He done wonders in Scotland in his previous life but has done absolutely nothing for us!

Having said that Delia has been very quiet the last few months. Maybe she should sell up and leave??

[norfolkngood 1,086]

he didn''t get us promoted then ?

I am not his biggest fan and think he is out of his depth BUT

he has earned the right to have a good go if not the season because he got us up

the only thing I would say is people blame to the board for summer but I would also say AN has not got the very best out of a lot of players

ruddy , martin , bassong , Redmond , Olsson any of the strikers , have all gone backwards and playing nowhere near they way they should be that''s 5 players that are performing lower than they every have now that''s not the boards fault

[Barry Brockes 147]

We''ve had a couple of tough games which we probably didn''t expect to win but our performances in both have been shocking. If there is no improvement in the next two games and if the Board are serious about our staying in the premier League there is no room for sentiment. Sadly, Neil and his team now appear to be out of their depth and McNally should be on the phone to David Moyes whilst there is still hope with twelve games to go.

[im spartacus canary 0]

The apparent lack of fighting spirit among the players is scandalous, like Cumbria said there is no zip and willingness to get in the oppositions faces it is absolutely pathetic and inexcusable. Yes spurs are much better but we offered no more of a test than colchester did in the cup ! We were bullied in every area of the pitch. The players should be ashamed of themselves they are conning the fans and conning the club.

[JF 694]

For anyone saying we shouldn''t be beating teams like Spurs, well of cause we shouldn''t on paper but football isn''t played on paper. With confidence and a hard work ethic the gap in quality is easily breached, just look at Leicester. Unfortunately lately we have neither in our game. It''s the management teams job to get them playing with both Saturday

[Capt. Pants 4,226]

4 points from our next 2 games as a minimum to stop the rot. Lose on Saturday then I don''t see any way back. AN might gradually start to lose the fans as he''s a bit all over the place at the moment.

[ricardo 7,384]

[quote user="Capt. Pants"]4 points from our next 2 games as a minimum to stop the rot. Lose on Saturday then I don''t see any way back. AN might gradually start to lose the fans as he''s a bit all over the place at the moment.[/quote]The eventual fate of every City manager who hasn''t moved up or moved on.You can never be quite sure of when the crunch comes but when it does there will be no denying it.I don''t think he is in ant imminent danger but things can turn quickly and should we lose at Villa and against West Ham it could very speedily go tits up for AN.I sincerely hope not but it becomes a "what have you done for me recently" game and past triumphs count for nothing.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

[quote user="Tumbleweed"]I don''t expect us to beat Liverpool or Spurs but it is not unfair to ask for credible performances. No disgrace in losing at any time to anyone in the division providing we feel we are getting the basics right. But we haven''t just had bad days against those two, we''ve also failed to turn in credible performances on a regular basis, such as at Watford and Bournemouth, capitulated at Stoke and had to cope with what I regarded as a bit of a bonkers line up against Man City in the Cup which really burst our feel good bubble. Too many no-shows for me and even nicking a point here or there in these games is looking a forlorn hope. When assessing what might or might not happen in the next few months one has to look at the way the form is "trending". And while AN could indeed turn it around, we seem to be a pale shadow of the side which started brim full of confidence. Sadly young Nathan seems to epitomise this- in and out of the team, on the right, in the centre, doesn''t know who will be behind him or next to him one game to the next. No surprise he is finding it tough. As I see it the one tangible and easy step which AN could take is to just pick one team and stick with it for the next 10 games. Hope they build some cohesion and fluidity. The only exception to be injuries and suspensions, get O''Neill in to cover for Tettey for two games and then just run with it. If not then I fear that AN may tinker us down and undo the hard work from last season. Just as the pot of money explodes, and as in ''95, we are in some danger of missing out.[/quote]

 

Capitulated at Stoke ?  What planet are you on ?  Unless you''re referring to O''Neill''s red mist sending off, but you can''t blame the rest of the team for that.  The 10 men who stayed on the field battled away for the whole game and were unfortunate to come away with nothing.