"So close to being able to survive at this level"

[Derby Canary 3]

.........says Paddy Davitt. Perhaps a couple of decent signings in the close season would have made the difference!

Are you listening Mr Webber?

Sorry I forgot, we could n't afford it!

[Chumino 57]

Yes we are close, but no cigar.  I absolutely agree 2 or 3 shrewd key signings in the summer are the missing link. We were told that we couldn't afford it, so top 26 is the clubs ambition. So close but so far. On target. 

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

We could afford it because Premier League money was in the pipeline, player assets were high as were the certainties of full houses and lucrative sponsorship deals.

Against this the club had some liabilities, that daft bond issue (ok it was necessary at the time to get that instant money but boy if we hadn't have got promotion even those reduced pay outs would have been a massive sheet anchor,) and certain player pay offs that were necessary and also player bonuses that nobody would have grumbled about after last season's joy ride. We also had the 'no borrowing at any cost' ethos firmly established.

We just chose not to be too expansive with money and the losses that that year's accounts indicated why this approach was deemed necessary. They did not take in to account this current year's income as a reason not to splash out. It was a quite sensible approach in most supporters view. Who could have foretold the way that injuries have wrecked our season, plus, in truth the fact that quite a few of our squad are actually 'nearly men' when it comes to Premier League quality standard ie. they can hold their own and have their good moments but, by not being quite up to it for the full ninety, mean we end up losing from positions of strength. These facts have meant that we should, after all, have gone that extra mile in the transfer market. Hindsight.

Also Farke is still on that same learning curve re: the demands of PL football as he was when he first entered the English game over two seasons ago.

I confidently predict that if we do succumb to the seemingly obvious this season then we will have the set up, finances and squad to be a major force next season once again. Who can grumble at that?

Edited December 22, 2019 by BroadstairsR

[wcorkcanary 4,781]

9 minutes ago, BroadstairsR said:

We could afford it because Premier League money was in the pipeline, player assets were high as were the certainties of full houses and lucrative sponsorship deals.

Against this the club had some liabilities, that daft bond issue (ok it was necessary at the time to get that instant money but boy if we hadn't have got promotion even those reduced pay outs would have been a massive sheet anchor,) and certain payer pay offs that were necessary and also player bonuses that nobody would have grumbled about after last season's joy ride. We also had the 'no borrowing at any cost' ethos firmly established.

We just chose not to be too expansive with money and the losses that that year's accounts indicated why this approach was deemed necessary. They did not take in to account this current year's income as a reason not to splash out. It was a quite sensible approach in most supporters view. Who could have foretold the way that injuries have wrecked our season, plus, in truth the fact that quite a few of our squad are actually 'nearly men' when it comes to Premier League quality standard ie. they can hold their own and have their good moments but, by not being quite up to it for the full ninety, mean we end up losing from positions of strength. These facts have meant that we should, after all, have gone that extra mile in the transfer market. Hindsight.

Also Farke is still on that same learning curve re: the demands of PL football as he was when he first entered the English game over two seasons ago.

I confidently predict that if we do succumb to the seemingly obvious this season then we will have the set up, finances and squad to be a major force next season once again. Who can grumble at that?

I can think of a few that will.

[ron obvious 1,711]

Good post BrR. I reckon it's more the general lack of experience in the PL that's been the problem with our 'nearly' players rather than lack of ability. They simply didn't know how to cope with the uplift in level - on all fronts - when it finally happened; like most things in life the destination always contains surprises you can never plan for.

[Mr.Carrow 394]

Had Klose not been crocked I believe we'd be 6 points better off right now. The fact is that people moaning that we didn't sign another centre half are not factoring in that a centre half worth signing would not have come to be fourth or fifth choice.

[Nuff Said 5,960]

20 hours ago, wcorkcanary said:

I can think of a few that will.

Beat me to it 😂

[wcorkcanary 4,781]

3 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

Beat me to it 😂

It was like Broado was Emi  buendia  with the killer lay on and all I had to do was Finnish....like Pukki. 

[daly 551]

Not complaining but feel we have not learnt anything from previous experiences in TP.  One thing certain it’s 100% more difficult to get out of The Championship than stay in TP

[wcorkcanary 4,781]

17 minutes ago, daly said:

Not complaining but feel we have not learnt anything from previous experiences in TP.  One thing certain it’s 100% more difficult to get out of The Championship than stay in TP

By TP do you mean the PL, cos if you mean the TP  I have no idea  what you're on about, it's been the PL for several years now. 

[daly 551]

TP =  The Premiership  me living in the past

[sgncfc 1,330]

I don't think we are that close to being able to survive in all honesty. We are comfortably one of the worst 3 teams in the PL and although on our day, when the stars align and the opposition don't play very well we might pick up some points, the chance of us getting anywhere near enough is nil.

Like most of us I suspect I move between anger, disappointment and resignation. I think we are 4 or 5 players short; I never really thought this team had much of a chance of staying up, and the early injuries effectively killed any chance we did have and we also haven't had the run of luck which we had last year with late goals and some decisions going our way. It's still great to watch - just not quite as great when you lose as opposed to when you win playing this way.

Whether we can be competitive in the Championship next season will of course depends on who hangs around and how good the replacements are for those who leave, but everything moves on. I'd like to think that most will stay for at least another season but if we still insist on playing in a style almost guaranteed to concede goals everything will again depend on scoring more. At least we still have a club and it will have a healthy bank balance for once.

 

[Alex Moss 2,167]

14 minutes ago, sgncfc said:

I don't think we are that close to being able to survive in all honesty. We are comfortably one of the worst 3 teams in the PL and although on our day, when the stars align and the opposition don't play very well we might pick up some points, the chance of us getting anywhere near enough is nil.

Like most of us I suspect I move between anger, disappointment and resignation. I think we are 4 or 5 players short; I never really thought this team had much of a chance of staying up, and the early injuries effectively killed any chance we did have and we also haven't had the run of luck which we had last year with late goals and some decisions going our way. It's still great to watch - just not quite as great when you lose as opposed to when you win playing this way.

Whether we can be competitive in the Championship next season will of course depends on who hangs around and how good the replacements are for those who leave, but everything moves on. I'd like to think that most will stay for at least another season but if we still insist on playing in a style almost guaranteed to concede goals everything will again depend on scoring more. At least we still have a club and it will have a healthy bank balance for once.

 

Good god, MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

[......and Smith must score. 1,596]

Agree pretty much with all of this sgncfc.

The table doesn’t lie and being joint bottom with Watford and six points adrift shows we are we are on merit. Would argue that are chances of escaping the drop are better than nil especially if we can repeat the good form shown in the last two matches. Coupled with some January  additions we might yet make a decent fist of it.

If we are to go down let’s not go a Huddersfield and sink without trace.

[Indy_Bones 444]

Huddersfield didn't have the injury problems at the back that have plagued us the entire season.

Not having Klose was already a blow as he has the experience at this level and is a good solid defender, then you had injuries to Zimm, Hanley and now Godfrey (who'd already played through pain in a number of games this season). It's incredibly difficult to perform consistently when 3/4 of your primary CB's are unavailable through injury.

There's also been too little support from midfield at times, again heaping more pressure on the defence, and it's notable that we've looked better in this way since Tettey returned to the DM role alongside Trybull rather than McLean (who's also played better further forward to replace the underperforming Stiepermann).

There's still half a season to go, and if we can get just a bit more consistency and killer instinct at the right times, we'll be fine. Against Wolves we played them off the park in the first half, and of course, Pukki decides to have an off day (maybe due to his toe?) meaning we didn't capitalise on our lead, and going in at 2-0 or even 3-0 would probably have sealed the game. We've also had some poor VAR decisions and weak refs against us at times, and small margins can make a big impact in football.

Yes, we've been too naive at times, Farke's subs are frequently far too late (about the only major weakness I've seen from him as a coach), and there is the argument that if we had 15 million to spend on the French lad before the season started, why couldn't we have used that money for a couple of other signings such as letting Hanley go on loan and bringing in a better replacement?

I don't like making excuses, but the way I've seen us play at times this season has given me real belief we can not only survive, but improve, sadly we don't seem to have the same stamina as we did last season and the frequent goals in the last 15 mins aren't there as players seem absolutely knackered by the 75-80 minute mark in many cases.

Very much a learning curve for Farke and most of the players who deserved the chance to show if they could step up to this level or not, but I'm certainly not writing us off anytime soon, and without the injuries I think we'd be 6-8 points better off already, and much of the concern wouldn't be anywhere near as strong.

[vos 176]

I think we have displayed enough skill and quality to live in the Premiership although I agree earlier use of subs might have helped. The zonal marking has been a major weakness in that we line up in a static situation close to the goal keeper and big opponents are allowed a free run at the ball, are not jostled, and so able to comfortably rise above our defenders. The other  problem is that most sides have many big athletic players, particularly in midfield. In comparison we are lightweight in size in many areas of the pitch. This is partly the reason why Sheff Utd, not a great footballing side, are holding their own. We will have to perform exceptionally well to stay up, but sadly it is a fact that at least two big powerful players are required.

[Midlands Yellow 4,682]

Norwich are very much liked on opposing message boards. They just state the obvious that we’re brittle at the back and didn’t spend to improve the squad in the summer. 

[Mason 47 1,921]

We've shown real signs of getting to grips with this league and at times are showing up continental-level opposition (Arsenal, Leicester, Wolves) but I think by the time we work out how to make it stick for 90 minutes consistently it will be too late.

We have a couple of glaringly obvious weak points that are too easily exploitable, namely set pieces (And probably tack on 'crosses in general') game management and a lack of composure.

The latter 2 come with games and experience at the top level, but the aerial shyness is a dealbreaker and a strange one at that. It has been suggested that we have to mark zonally because we aren't a big team- but it was a problem for us on day one with Virgil Van Dijk being marked by Jamal Lewis, and it was a problem for us on Saturday with Sam Byram marking 3 players at a corner.

At this point I'd give traditional marking a go, just for curiosity's sake if nothing else.

[JF 694]

We are close but unfortunately every time we show promise we don’t build on it with points on the board. The displays now have to be turned into a regular points return to give us any chance, Starting with 3 on Boxing Day. There is still time to turn it around but so far too many good displays that deserved points have returned none. If we can buck that trend we’ve a real chance 

Edited December 24, 2019 by JF