Lets be honest...

[Budapest Canary 152]

Seeing our slow start to the season I was among those who thought we might need change. But then, hindsight is a big thing: our first five fixtures included West Brom, the Blades, and Leeds - all of them in August. Who was to tell then that these were to be our toughest opponents for promotion and the title?

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

This is getting like an AA😿 meeting...🤣

"Hullo, my name's Wardie, I'm a recovering anti-Farkeolic."

"Hullo, my name's CD, I'm a recovering Roederolic."

[littleyellowbirdie 2,507]

15 hours ago, Ward 3 said:

Fair comment!! After the Leeds game I thought it was time up! I'm happy to eat my words, DF has done an amazing job and realised pukki was the striker and not a man in the hole 

From Pukki's recent comments I think the club knew exactly how Pukki would fit in before they ever spoke to him. That was what convinced him it was the right club for him in the first place. 

[lake district canary 4,531]

You see this is what gets me - people writing off a manager when he hasn't even had a chance, with a squad when it has only just had some new players in.   People were sceptical about Pukki, quoting Celtic, yet he was not a failure at Celtic, he still scored 7 goals in 25 league matches for them and he was terrific at Brondby and it was clear if he was given the right kind of service he would score goals. Several Danish commentators said we were getting an absolute gem of a player.  We had Jordan Rhodes, a proven striker at this level and were gradually sorting the squad out and who was up to it - Pinto, Oliveira, Marshall etc.

So the negatvity was utterly, I and I hesitate to use this word, but it was stupid - a complete failure to understand what was happening, from assimilating new players and bringing in the young ones.  Also, Farke was never in any danger of losing his job at any stage and to think otherwise is stupid - and the I include the stupid media in that. Stupid.

The transformation was ongoing from day one last season, Farke seeing who was up to the job - and things improved through the season, except for Murphy and Oliveira.....and they were got rid of.  So we had progress.  Vrancic improved, the team improved making chances and that improved at the start of this season with Hernandez and Pukki starting to score almost straight away.

So why do people go off the deep end when things aren't how they want them?  Norwich fans are prone top being too negative too quickly - I've always thought that since I was a kid and may account for me pushing positivity when I can.  On the plus side, when things go well, like in the early 90's and under Lambert, Worthy for a while, under Neil for a while and now under Farke, the support is incredible. Maybe you can't have one without the other, but it did seem ridiculous that early this season people were calling for Farke's head.

I went to every one of the first few games, saw the problems, saw the good things and was immensely encouraged by what I saw. Hernandez, Buendia, Pukki, Aarons in the cup games, Cantwell showing his ability, Lewis etc etc.  I guess people are just impatient....maybe they will learn from what happened this season....... 

Football is unpredictable, never rule anything out, good or bad!

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by lake district canary

[Fuzzar 1,702]

Seems like Lakey's on his third Martini and lemonade already!

[lake district canary 4,531]

Lol, made one or two corrections...

[Capt. Pants 4,195]

If it were up to some on here we'd still have Alex Neil in charge. Thankfully we don't but that's just how fickle football is and long may it continue.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Capt. Pants

[CDMullins 436]

1 hour ago, Budapest Canary said:

Seeing our slow start to the season I was among those who thought we might need change. But then, hindsight is a big thing: our first five fixtures included West Brom, the Blades, and Leeds - all of them in August. Who was to tell then that these were to be our toughest opponents for promotion and the title?

Me and my mate waled out of Bramall Lane and agreed that we had just watched two very poor teams.

 

How wrong.....

[......and Smith must score. 1,332]

6 hours ago, king canary said:

Oh god are we doing this again?

Would have been happy for him to go towards the end of last season, thought he had earned more time after Leeds at home this season.

Shall we do one on who thought we should keep Alex Neil next?

I don't think it does any harm to look at things retrospectively.

I'll be the first to admit I thought the club should have called time on Daniel Farke's tenure after the first half dozen games this season. When he inherited the job it was clear there was a lot of work to be done. The football for the majority of that first season was very sideways tippy-tappy stuff and it wasn't until the last few games that we started to be more offensive and much less boring.

After the summer break and into this season the football by and large did look sharper. Trouble was winning only five points from the first six games which included perhaps the most woeful game seen at Carrow Rd in years, v Preston ( which ironically was won ) made me think that we weren't really getting anywhere.

It all then clicked and I'm so happy to be proved wrong. But football these days is dominated by short termism. I'm certain people were influenced too by the horrors of that last year of Chris Hughton's reign and felt we were heading back there.

When our next downturn in form inevitably occurs I hope I and others will have a bit more patience. The manager will leave either by being sacked or poached so I hope it's the latter.

Edited May 6, 2019 by ......and Smith must score.

[ROBFLECK 132]

23 minutes ago, ......and Smith must score. said:

But football these days is dominated by short termism.

Not just football , but that's for another thread on here...

[hogesar 9,615]

Never wanted him or the new structure out.

Also thought we started the season playing well but just not getting the results. The abuse some of our players and management and board got after the West Brom game at home was bizarre, was as if everyone saw the result but no one watched the match!

[lake district canary 4,531]

1 hour ago, ......and Smith must score. said:

 Trouble was winning only five points from the first six games which included perhaps the most woeful game seen at Carrow Rd in years, v Preston ( which ironically was won ) made me think that we weren't really getting anywhere.

 

Just shows you how people see things differently. I was at that Preston game and although it wasn't a great game, saw a team who were under enormous pressure to win and that Preston were no mugs. That we won it despite everything was a show of desire of the team to do win at all costsl - it kick started us and although we then lost to Leeds (despite dominating the first 25 minutes), we had at least got that all important first win after a difficult first three games (which all could have gone either way) and the rest is history..... 

 

[Red Rufus 56]

Sounds arrogant but it is clear to me that a large percentage of supporters generally and posters on here don't know much about football. Even during the first few games this season we looked okay quoting the West Brom game, the first 25 minutes against Leeds. In both games we looked good but were unluckily undone by individual mistakes. It was clear to me that the style had changed from last season, playing the ball much quicker with more long diagonals but once many have an opinion it takes an awful lot to change it!

[City 2nd 191]

Well if honesty is the key here, yes I couldn’t see promotion happening particularly after the scum away match when both teams looked like relegation fodder, and I couldn’t see Farke lasting here at all and hoped he wouldn’t. The brand of football at that point was pretty dire, as it had been the season before!  Hats of to Farke, and Webber and their staff,  following that town match we began to click and it all came together with a drastic change in the football we were playing which suddenly became quick,  eye catching and foremost,  entertaining. 

Thank you to all the players and Daniel Farke  and DOF Webber for one of the best seasons I can remember in my 60 years of supporting City. Yesterday was brilliant and I am just more than thankful I was there to witness it.