So.....

[sonyc 5,517]

Then Ray, let''s hope we don''t have a dodgy satnav.

[Ray 111]

There lies my worry sonyc, I do hope I''m wrong or the sat nav has been re-booted/programmed.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

Sorry Ray, I just can''t see how Villa were the 2nd worst team we have seen here this season. Is it because of the expectations, with the players they have, and whom should have done better, that perhaps. tainted your view, or was it in fact that we played ''well'' ,not outstanding, and nullified them e.g. pressing comes to mind, especially towards the end, (and didn''t sit back) something we have not seen enough of?

With their forward line, on the pitch, towards the end, then you would think ''wow'' they surely ''must'' be good, but they got hardly a sniff, because..............??

Sheff Wed (bland) , Cardiff, Rotherham and Burton, immediately spring to mind for me, above Villa. We just did a job on them (eventually, granted)

[Ray 111]

Crabbycanary3,

You may be right, and I agree they were a step or two up from Brentford. I believe Steve Bruce said that was their worst performance (or words along those lines) he didn''t say it was because we didn''t allow them to play.

Either way, it was a step in the right direction for us imo, and every journey starts with one small step. Let''s hope we can take more than one step forward before we take one step back, I''d be happy with three or four forward and one back, that should be enough to put us in contention somewhere, somehow.

[morty 0]

Two wins and two clean sheets in the last three games.[:)]

[Rogue Baboon 0]

[quote user="morty"]Two wins and two clean sheets in the last three games.[:)][/quote]

If we can eliminate the idiotic performances like Barnsley then we will be fine!

[ZLF 274]

if the players commit and perform, then I am happy.

This was as professional as the first 45 at Barnsley was unprofessional (and in most jobs sackable) .

Until it happens on a regular basis it can only remain a weekly wait watch and see.

[morty 0]

Oh cheer up[:D]

[hogesar 9,671]

Win against Huddersfield, who are nothing special despite being above us and we should really be in the right direction.

But you can understand the reluctance to get carried away, particularly after Brentford.

[morty 0]

[quote user="hogesar"]Win against Huddersfield, who are nothing special despite being above us and we should really be in the right direction.

But you can understand the reluctance to get carried away, particularly after Brentford.[/quote]Feck that $hit, I love getting carried away.Last night proved so many things, to fans and players alike.The players are still playing for the manager, and if they work hard enough, we will all reap the rewards.

[PurpleCanary 5,558]

I came out as an Outer before the Brentford game. That may seem late to some fans, but then I try to put myself in the mind of a director, imagining that responsibility (as someone who has hired and fired people in real life) and weighing up all the arguments, including who the successor might be and whether they would be an improvement.There were subsidiary reasons but the main one (bearing in mind I have seen only one game this season) was that Neil seemed tactically out of his depth, and unable to make the most of a very good - in Championship terms - squad. Howson provides a good example.An integral part of our successful start, he missed the seven-game slump, including the five defeats in a row, and by his absence was perceived as crucial. But we have midfielders coming out of our ears. No matter how crucial (bearing in mind we are talking about a decent player rather than Messi or Bale, or even the one striker in a squad) a tactically smart manager should have been able to pick a side/substitutes and a formation and a set of tactics to adequately cover for the loss. In that basic task Neil failed.Yesterday, as I said before the game, with close to a full squad, he picked a team not to lose and/or to hold on to a lead. And the substitutions backed that up -Tettey for Mulumbu, and Naismith on rather than Hoolahan. All very sensible, but not a conclusive sign he is getting tactically cuter.

[......and Smith must score. 1,343]

[quote user="morty"][quote user="hogesar"]Win against Huddersfield, who are nothing special despite being above us and we should really be in the right direction.

But you can understand the reluctance to get carried away, particularly after Brentford.[/quote]Feck that $hit, I love getting carried away.Last night proved so many things, to fans and players alike.The players are still playing for the manager, and if they work hard enough, we will all reap the rewards.[/quote]Getting carried away too soon means further to fall Morty [;)]Working hard enough, but consistently, is the key. I made the mistake of thinking we might have cracked it in beating Brentford then made the mistake of thinking Barnsley would roll over too.After watching Norwich under-perform virtually the whole season so far probably the only sensible place to get carried away to right now is the lunatic asylum......

[hogesar 9,671]

[quote user="morty"][quote user="hogesar"]Win against Huddersfield, who are nothing special despite being above us and we should really be in the right direction.

But you can understand the reluctance to get carried away, particularly after Brentford.[/quote]Feck that $hit, I love getting carried away.Last night proved so many things, to fans and players alike.The players are still playing for the manager, and if they work hard enough, we will all reap the rewards.[/quote]

Ha, I know what you mean, but I done that after Brentford and woop-de-doo we were terrible again.

It proved we have a good squad that worked hard - you can never tell if they''re doing it for themselves though or if they''re doing it for the manager which is the point Greg Downs (really cheery fella, not) made. At the end of the day I don''t care which one it is as long as they continue to do it.

[Indy 3,300]

It was a solid performance and thanks largely to Pinto, he was superb, covered the back even when Bassong was beaten.

It was Pintos ball to Oliviera, not to mention Ruddy''s last ditch save.

Can''t grumble at the performance as Villa have hit some form but on last nights performance they look shite.

As for AN still not good enough for a club which is striving to stay in the top flight, he needs to be learning his trade at lower league.

Huddersfield should be another win, no doubt it''ll be the same team as Tuesday, deservingly so.

[Len 74]

Even if by some miracle we sneaked into the playoffs and went up Alex Neil is a proven failure in the top division. Last nights win changes nothing and he should be sacked before the transfer window opens. What will probably happen is that Neil will limp on a la Hughton and we''ll fail to finish in the top six.A good manager might get us into the top two. With Neil its practically impossible.

[OldRobert 38]

I was an ''outer'', and I still am, but that doesn''t mean I won''t enjoy last night''s performance, the 3 points won and hope for 3 more on Friday.

[morty 0]

[quote user="OldRobert"]I was an ''outer'', and I still am, but that doesn''t mean I won''t enjoy last night''s performance, the 3 points won and hope for 3 more on Friday.[/quote]Can an "outer" turn to an "inner"? Or do they just move to a temporary state of "Well he''ll do for now I suppose" until we lose again?[:D]

[Mickdundee 0]

It''s a win nothing more, the manager has still lost six games on the spin this and last season. I still want him gone. He got us relegated last season and has pretty much guaranteed we''ve missed autos this time.

[Bagster 101]

Well if we lose against Reading on boxing day then I will definatly be invoking article 50

[Tumbleweed 106]

Of course an Outer can become an Inner and vice versa. But it would be foolish to change from one to the other based on one performance against a team seemingly having an off day. As OldRobert said, let''s enjoy the win but in the bigger picture there is a shed load further to go on a consistent basis before I will celebrate the end of AN''s rocky period and his transformation into one of Britain''s best young managers.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Tumbleweed"]Of course an Outer can become an Inner and vice versa. But it would be foolish to change from one to the other based on one performance against a team seemingly having an off day. As OldRobert said, let''s enjoy the win but in the bigger picture there is a shed load further to go on a consistent basis before I will celebrate the end of AN''s rocky period and his transformation into one of Britain''s best young managers.[/quote]How many games without losing or what league position achieved, would signal the end of the rocky period?

[OldRobert 38]

[quote user="Tumbleweed"]Of course an Outer can become an Inner and vice versa. But it would be foolish to change from one to the other based on one performance against a team seemingly having an off day. As OldRobert said, let''s enjoy the win but in the bigger picture there is a shed load further to go on a consistent basis before I will celebrate the end of AN''s rocky period and his transformation into one of Britain''s best young managers.[/quote]Morty..................what Tumbleweed said in answer to your question.  He''s put it better than I probably would have done.[:D]

[morty 0]

So were Villa just having an off day then?

[OldRobert 38]

[quote user="morty"]How many games without losing or what league position achieved, would signal the end of the rocky period?[/quote]I have to be honest Morty, for me, I was quite a big fan but now he does seem to flounder about at times, not quite knowing what to do to put things right.  I wonder about his buying abilities where we  buy players and then don''t play them.  But it''s just my opinion, and what the hell do I know?  Then again I don''t think it''s restricted to AN, but that''s the other argument.[:)]

[Bill 1,788]

I fully support the manager and club (board).Not out of blind faith but the recognition that where we have come since May 2009 is nothing short of bl  oody brilliant. So much so that many are seeing it as a right that we should be in the PL  season after season.Maybe some should see the bigger picture. We are to an extent ''little ole Norwich'' given the limtations of the size of the club. That just means the fight is just that little bit harde, that''s all.And we will have the moaners and miserableist on here and at the ground. All of the latter are almost always the  original happy clappies''. Those who have tagged alomg in the last few seasons. Who are often more entertained by the giant flag waving that the actual game.However we are not even half way through the season.  In 2010/11 we were 9 points behind the automatic spot in late November, so it can be done.So regonise that pretty much the vast majority of league football fans would give their eye teeth to have a club like ours.Now, why not support it instead of endlessly whining ?

[FenwayFrank 2,459]

👍

[Indy 3,300]

I can''t remember who took us to the low point in 2009! We have to thank young Woy for guiding the floundering board in the direction of McNally, good job by him to get the right manager in after the appointment of Gunny......still let''s just take the good points!

We are sitting just outside the top 6, we have a very big wage with debt running up, we have a CEO who should be experienced enough, why did Wolves get rid of him is a question I''d be asking!

But heck back to the point, there''s times to say good job done by AN and last night was one of them, ground out a well deserved win, credit to him.

[hogesar 9,671]

I don''t think there''ll ever be a definitive amount of games to make me think AN is the right guy to take us forward but after a terrible run in 7 games, If we can win 7 of the next ten or similar surely that averages out to him doing a good enough job? We would be in the playoffs in that scenario.

I think the problem is this squad was capable of finishing in the top two if managed and encouraged properly. The fact that will now be a massive task is down to the poor run AN has been the figurehead of.

[morty 0]

[quote user="hogesar"]I don''t think there''ll ever be a definitive amount of games to make me think AN is the right guy to take us forward but after a terrible run in 7 games, If we can win 7 of the next ten or similar surely that averages out to him doing a good enough job? We would be in the playoffs in that scenario.

I think the problem is this squad was capable of finishing in the top two if managed and encouraged properly. The fact that will now be a massive task is down to the poor run AN has been the figurehead of.[/quote]Has any of what has been said in the few days, after the Barnsley game, changed your mind as to the reasons?I think there were harsh words said after Barnsley, Alex Neil talked about how they had to lose their arrogance, and rediscover their hunger.Early days I know, but it looked last night that a lot had been taken on board.

[Indy 3,300]

What makes people think AN is right for our club? We get a lot of why we want change but why should he stay?