Mentality

[Samwam27 527]

When we got thumped 6-2 at Newcastle, they''d won 0, drawn 3. lost 5

When we lost to Villa 2-0, Villa had won 1, drawn 6, lost 7

When we lost to Palace (we haven''t won there for 20yrs!) CP had won 0, drwn 3, lost 9

Shows something about our mentality against the poorer sides. Frustrating compared to the games against Arsenal, Everton, Man U, Liverpool etc

Just watched MOTD, and it was by no means a poor performance, but once again we completely lack any threat up front. Our strikeforce is nowhere good enough!

Onwards and upwards for a home game against Sunderland!

[Jim Smith 2,319]

We have almost single handedly consigned ourselves to a three way shoot out for the two relegation places with our poorly timed and pretty spineless defeats at Swansea, Bournemouth and now Palace. All three were on the verge of being sucked in until we rocked up and handed them three points at a crucial juncture.

Newcastle seem to be going quietly but it''s now absolutely and utterly crucial that we beat Sunderland next week. Perhaps if he plays our best player rather than leaving him sat on the bench it might help. Schoolboy tactics again yesterday from Neil with the subs.

[Van wink 2,994]

You''ve got a fair point there Jim, we''re all trying to wave away the disappointment of yesterday and focus on the importance of the Sunderland game, quite rightly, but our failure to drag Palace into the pit really was a missed opportunity.

[Samwam27 527]

Their defense looked solid, but thought their keeper look very dodgy, but again we hardly tested him!

[smooth 114]

Have to agree with all the above.

We were likely to be in this position at the start of the season, certainly with limited signings we were. We also were going to be relying on other results, felt I was looking at those in january, or poor managers such as SM at Newcastle.

So we are where we are and have a massive game against Sunderland. Huge game, where we need some quality to get us goals and put them to bed. We will need points in our remaining games, Watford at home seems the best opportunity.

If we stay up we will add quality to this group who hopefully can take us up a level or at least not have us with as much anxiety before and during Norwich city games.

Roll on next weekend and let''s get it right. No excuses it has to be the perfect winning 90 minutes

[Highland Canary 76]

We went long too quickly yesterday which caused few problems for the Palace defence. Allardyce is the master of the relegation scrap; let''s hope we don''t wish we''d learnt from him come next Sunday.

[Horse Renoir 1]

Nothing to do with mentality imo. It''s just they all play us on the counter which this core of players haven''t ever been able to cope with, even in the Championship.

We struggle to break teams down and are vulnerable on the counter so it makes sense that our better results this year would come against better teams who play more in front of us and leave gaps for us to exploit.

I''m more confident about the Utd game at home than Sunderland next week for instance.

The PL has shifted in style in the last couple of seasons, our squad was built to play patient possesion football but it just isn''t that effective in this league anymore. We badly need some simple pace and power in the next transfer window

[Guest]

Jim, just out of interest, which club do you manage? Your assured, yet oh so patronising attitude towards our manager (who most fans would agree has done a more than decent job in the time he''s been here) make me think you must have achieved something at a similar level.

You make it all sound so simple, so I''m sure you could get on the phone to Alex and let him know where he''s going wrong.

[Nuff Said 5,142]

[quote user="Ian"]Jim, just out of interest, which club do you manage? Your assured, yet oh so patronising attitude towards our manager (who most fans would agree has done a more than decent job in the time he''s been here) make me think you must have achieved something at a similar level.

You make it all sound so simple, so I''m sure you could get on the phone to Alex and let him know where he''s going wrong.[/quote]I think you''re saying you missed his tenure as England manager.

[Jim Smith 2,319]

[quote user="Ian"]Jim, just out of interest, which club do you manage? Your assured, yet oh so patronising attitude towards our manager (who most fans would agree has done a more than decent job in the time he''s been here) make me think you must have achieved something at a similar level.

You make it all sound so simple, so I''m sure you could get on the phone to Alex and let him know where he''s going wrong.[/quote]

Would be happy to. He did a decent job last season. This season he''s been ok but nothing more. hopefully he''s learning and will develop the ability to make substitutions that impact positively on a game.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Ian"]Jim, just out of interest, which club do you manage? Your assured, yet oh so patronising attitude towards our manager (who most fans would agree has done a more than decent job in the time he''s been here) make me think you must have achieved something at a similar level.

You make it all sound so simple, so I''m sure you could get on the phone to Alex and let him know where he''s going wrong.[/quote][:D]

[Katie Borkins 1]

It wasn''t you AN was seeking out after the winner v Newcastle was it Jim?

I used to sit near this awful old bag in the Watling Stand who would keep yelling "ten yards too deep Norwich!" even when we were 4-0 up and had our CBS camped on the halfway line.

I think everyone has their pet "expert" subject. Jim''s is substitutions.

[Jim Smith 2,319]

Substitutions and Wes! ;-)

[sgncfc 1,228]

I still can''t believe we lost at Villa, and that was over two months ago! What a difference those 3 points would have made. The worst PL team in history, yet they beat us quite comfortably.

[Guest]

I don''t think anyone would dispute that AN has made mistakes over the course of the season (the line up against Villa away being one of them IMO), but let''s not pretend that it''s simple to get results at a club like Norwich in this division. I can''t imagine there''s too many managers who a) would have achieved more, and b) would have considered coming to Norwich.

I''m also a big Wes fan, but I believe when the manager brought him on against Newcastle he was absolutely dreadful (whereas Naismith was excellent), so perhaps that had some bearing on his decision.

Incidentally, I found this to be quite an interesting concept [;)]:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindsight_bias

[mrs miggins 0]

His decision on the subs earlier in the season when we lost 6-2 to Newcastle I don''t think I can erase from my mind, just mindboggling. However lets not forget that he''s generally done well this season despite having a $hit budget compared to most teams in the league, especially Newcastle.

In the words of the True Geordie; ''Who else could spend £80m and get worse? Only Newcastle."

[Samwam27 527]

Totally agree Miggins. Have always said I think we need to stick by AN (even if we do go down as he is learning, and has limited strength in his squad this season)

My only gripe would be how often other teams make subs and they make an immediate impact. Can''t think of too many occasions this season when ours have changed the game!

[Guest]

Maybe the effect of substitutions has more to do with the quality of the respective squads though?

Even Sunderland had several internationals on their bench today.

[Van wink 2,994]

Agree Ian.

We do have one of the weakest squads in the PL and don''t have the luxury of a quality striker to come off the bench.

Our bench yesterday was good and would have been fantastic in the Championship, but it''s not the sort of bench that''s going to strike fear into the opposition.

AN has done a fantastic job with this squad, I thought we would go down but now feel that we have a fighting chance of being here next season. If he does achieve that with this squad he won''t have to prove himself to anybody.

[Guest]

Totally agree Vanwink.

That said, I feel we are only a few signings away from being a decent team at this level. *If* we can beat Sunderland and stay up, then hopefully we will be able to push the boat out and get a 10/15 goal-a-season striker at this level.

[sgncfc 1,228]

Sunderland were very poor today against Leicester. Allardyce has already started to build them up for next week just like Benitez did. That went well, didn''t it?

I think Sunderland will be so nervous we could find a few holes if we have a go at them. They have to win - their manager says so. Let''s get some pace on there - Redmond will scare them to death and occupy at least two of their players at all times.

Leicester showed us how to beat them. Keep it very tight and then hit them with pace. I only wish we had a Kante - he never seems to be anywhere but where the ball is.

[Well b back 3,208]

We have ( probably ) the smallest budget.

Its strange what expectation does. If at the beginning of the season the pink un message board would have been offered with 5 games to go

1. 4 points clear of the relegation zone

2. Still to play Sunderland and Watford at home

3. One team already relegated

I bet most of us would have taken that and been hailing AN as a wonder manager

[mrs miggins 0]

As long as we don''t reveal our team 24 hours before kick off we''ll be fine. That is the deciding factor.

[Guest]

Kante really is a magnificent player.

[unique 435]

Since beating Norwich, Villa have lost eight consecutive matches, scoring just three goals and conceding twenty-four.

A win against Sunderland will go a long way to burying that feeble performance and poor result at Villa Park, which, more than any, has kept our relegation fears alive.