One game did it for us.......

[Bradwell canary 109]

Norwich v Sunderland , this was a true 6 pointer.

If we had turned up that would have ensured another year of PL football at Carrow Road.

[AmericanNorwichFan 0]

The writing was on the wall long before that game.

[canaryfan68 0]

I think for me it was the Newcastle defeat where Alex Neil changed how we set up after this game.

We have discovered we are not a team set up to defend and we don''t do it well either!

[morty 0]

Agree. 3 points for us, 3 less for them, morale boost for us, crushing blow for them.After that defeat is when I started to have doubts about us staying up.

[Mason 47 1,373]

In terms of the run-in, I''d be inclined to suggest the manner in which we beat Newcastle did us no favours. It was almost TOO good and as a result maybe meant that the team weren''t as switched-on in the following games as they should have been.

In terms of the season, it has to be Stoke away. We were on a high, in good form, and dominating the game (even could/ should have been 1 up through Ry Bennett) then Gary O''Neil makes that challenge that still to this day I cannot comprehend the reasoning behind it. We go on to lose a very draining game and fail to win another game in the next 9. Terminal.

[morty 0]

Of course you could point at any loss, or various points in the season when we were lacking, as there are plenty to choose from.But a lot of people assumed we would beat Sunderland at CR, and how easily they beat us was the catalyst for the final outcome.I honestly think if we had beaten them it would have ended in us staying up.

[GJP 79]

Never truly recovered from Newcastle away.

[Essjayess 307]

For me it was Southampton away very early in the season, the writing was on the wall, indeed i wrote it on my wall "City did not turn up,defence statuesque, prone to amateur mistakes, liable to repeat in to many games this season".That is exactly what did it for us, the shame being even after all that, we were not much more than a couple extra wins from safety. If only  in maybe couple those games, such as Villa away, we had turned up and got the points as we should  have, the picture now would be a smiling Alex and a glum Big Sam.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

I was there and that Gary O''Neil tackle was hilariously stupid!!!

[Budapest Canary 152]

When our shot rate was 19-8 and corner rate 14-0 I would not say that we did not turn up against Sunderland. I still blame refereeing for that. Sunderland players knew they''d get away with anything within their box.

I agree the Stoke game was a turning point (we ought to have salvaged a point after the O''Neil red), and so was the 4-5 vs Liverpool. Getting nothing out of such a game is deflating.

[Jacko 0]

I had no doubts that we would be okay until we lost to Aston Villa. From that point onwards I stopped believing we''d do it.

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

No one game did it for us i have lost count of the points thrown away by late goals and individual mistakes the West Ham ans Liverpool games spring to mind 7 silly dropped points there for a start. Yes the Newcastle game changed our style of play but that was pretty early on and coming into the second half of the season we were in a decent place. The whole of the second half of the season bar the odd bright spot has been a disaster plus losing to all the bottom 10 sides

[Calle 16]

For me, the Stoke game was the turning point. I thought we were the better team and could go on and win it, until O''Neils red cars, which probably was the most obvious red card in PL history.

[Syteanric 1]

Villa away for me.

They were pap and we blew it that day

[Highland Canary 76]

August transfer window for me

[city4eva 207]

The one game that did it, was crystal palace and the disallowed goal

[Fuzzar 1,702]

So a variety of factors then...

[Kidderminster Exile 0]

No, not one game, what about Villa, West ham,Swansea,Man U, also refs decisions ,Could go on and on

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

Liverpool game, no question. Had we won that I think we''d have finished the season safe.

That game knocked the stuffing out of us and started a bad run. The timing was critical too, right after January with all our new signings.

[Nuff Said 5,088]

[quote user="Walt kills mike"]I was there and that Gary O''Neil tackle was hilariously stupid!!![/quote]I was there too, and my first reaction was to laugh as well, it was so unexpected.

[whoareyou? 0]

Definitely Liverpool game. Even a draw that day would have set us up well but you could see the players fold at the end of the match and stop believing they could get the right results.

[Discobolus 11]

Losing to Sunderland was the clincher and Chelsea losing to Sunderland after being 2-1 up was a real kick in the teeth.

[Norfolk Mustard 94]

Norwich 3-2Newcastle was a high - followed by quite the opposite away to Palace & home to Sunderland. Mindset-wise what happened those two games left me bewildered...

[Tumbleweed 106]

The loss to Sunderland has to be it. They would now be on 35, us on 37 and had they lost they would have been unlikely to have had the results they had since so may even have been down by now.

We were the better team against Sunderland in my view. The ref gave it to them, even if the pen against us was 50/50 how about one very good shout re MBo being hauled back by Kaboul and both Bassong and Jarvis pushed over in other incidents. Then the foud on Bassong for their second when we were chasing the game. Redmond hitting the post shortly after half time as well.

But our tactics and approach could still have been better, despite being the better team we looked a limited and ordinary team unable to exploit good possession and positions. We could, and should, have won that game. It was a repeat of the Play off final with everything in our favour. And we blew it.

When we lost that game I pretty much knew we were down, so I did my "crying" that night, not on Weds.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Of the many candidates, Newcastle 6-2 wins for me. We lost our momentum that day and AN had to change from his natural style. Wish we had kept the attacking football up. I think we would have had some big defeats but survived a la bournemouth.

[ricardo 7,339]

Regardless of all the other disappointing results it''s the Sunderland game that was pivotal. Reverse the result and look at the table.

[curious yellow 184]

1st game v Palace with the crooked ref set the tone.

Looked like we would survive till second game v Palace with Newcastle fan for ref and Klose injured.

V Sunderland at home where Allardyce was allowed to assault our players in addition to getting every decision.

Finished off nicely by Everton no show.

League was won by Leicester so who says cheats never prosper?

[shefcanary 2,383]

No, in the end this thread proves that in a long list of games we could of / should have won but did not. The fact is we need to identify why and put that right over the summer. I''m afraid far too many were caused by individual errors so the big question is that down to coaching or lack of ability. In hindsight, a bit of both. Naivety in the coaching set up and several players just cannot cut the mustard at Premiership level.

On the former, Neil has probably learnt some harsh lessons - he might have got away with it if he had better players in key positions. Now he needs to learn from his mistakes and probably look for a better right hand man!

On the squad, the usual suspects should not be in our long term plans, even if they can do a job in the short term! I''m sorry, but time to say goodbye to Martin / Bassong / Whittaker / O''Neill / Jerome / Howson even though they can do a job in the Championship - we just need to move on and for the sake of our long term aspirations need to buy players that can take us through the Championship and help us reach at least mid table in the Premiership. Easier said than done I know.

Others are salvable - Pinto showed his class in the last few games, I would really want to hold on to Klose and Mbokani. Will Maddison be the long term replacement for Wes as the latter’s legs finally gives up? If Klose does have a relegation clause, then we need to retain Tettey despite his knee problem - we were so fragile without him. If Klose stays and we get a good replacement for Bassong Tettey should still be a good squad player.

On the plus side we do have some good returning loanees who should have learnt some valuable lessons this past season; I think the Murphy''s will cause havoc in the Championship - Josh really was a star for the franchise and can step into Redderz'' shoes and Jacob has the makings of a good number ten once he fills out and will be good cover for Maddison. Thompson seems to be a good aggressive midfielder who will apply the grit in midfield, and Toffolo surely needs a longer run in the team. Even Morris looks much fitter for his season at Accies; he always did look a bit overweight, but has certainly trimmed down recently and has the ability a la Chris Martin - let''s hope his attitude holds up. With better service I think he could be a good goalscorer.

So just as last season at this time, the key positions to improve the squad remain a good centre half and a back up striker that Neil will use. Will the Board have finally learnt the lesson and not just recycle funds but actually invest for a change?

[Chip20 69]

Sure, in the microcosm of the run-in the Sunderland result was pivotal, but don''t forget we also beat them at their place earlier in the season, which was no less of a six pointer. As others have pointed out, we had dozens of other opportunities to add to our points tally to at least take it to the last day of the season and failed to take any of them. Too many points thrown away in the final minutes, too many no-shows against sides we thought we had a good chance of taking points off. Had we done what was needed in any one of those we would not have been in the position of needing to beat Sunderland. Yes, beating Sunderland twice would have been the most efficient way of retaining our top flight status, but there were plenty of points available elsewhere that we squandered. As has been said many ties already, we just weren''t good enough across the season.

[Guest]

I don''t think any one game cost us. But certainly the moment Gary O''Neil got sent off threw away all the momentum the team had built up, and they never got it back.