First Post Ever - Recent Past & Possible Future

[Cornwall Canaryfan 16]

After following this forum for many years (& subscribing to the paper PinkUn since 1979) I thought it was about time that I actually contributed to it so here is my first post.

I have been a City supporter since my company moved me to Norwich in 1979 & I lived in the city for 4 years before being moved again to the Manchester area, ironically Horwich!

Was then moved once more, this time to Cornwall in 1986 & have remained here ever since. Never missed a home game when I lived in the city & saw quite a few away games living in Manchester (13 in one season without travelling more than an hour from home). Living an 800 mile plus round trip from Carrow Road has limited my home games to just 4 & away games to about 1 every season.

Following City from a distance I have several observations to make which are not intended to be controversial but may, hopefully, stimulate some further comment.

So, here goes:-

1                     Last season I saw about 75% of our games on the web/TV & was not devastated by relegation but was bitterly disappointed by the manor of it. Particularly the way, in my opinion, none of our ‘young stars’ showed any real sign of development to their games & appeared to have given up even before lockdown. The same mistakes were made in midfield & defence over & over again & neither players or management appeared to do anything to correct them. I thought the young players, who had all shown potential in the Championship winning season, would show signs of learning from their mistakes but just saw no evidence of this. They all, some more than others, seemed to have what I term ‘the Deli Ali syndrome’, I’m far too good for you lot so I’m not going to bother to put any effort in whilst wasting my time here.

 

2                     Linked to the above, were Cantwell & Buendia really so surprised that no one came in with acceptable offers for them at the end of the season? Could they not see that the difference in ability between them & Maddison was not huge. The big difference was in consistency. Maddison performed in virtually every match he played in & was the main player responsible for us avoiding relegation in the 2017/18 season. Cantwell & Buendia didn’t really perform well in more than a dozen or so games between them last season &, disturbingly, didn’t seem at all concerned by this judging from their on pitch body language. You can’t expect young players to play well in every match but I think they can be expected to give 100% all the time &, in my opinion, it was easy to see this was not happening.

 

3                     After the negativity of my previous points something positive! Recent performances have given real cause to be extremely optimistic about what the future could hold. The club is starting to believe in themselves again & actually look as if they are enjoying playing once more.  Cantwell & Buendia, in particular, appear to have realised that effort & enthusiasm both on & off the pitch produces results & is far more preferable, & fun, to spending time sulking about moves that didn’t materialise. Whether or not they stay with us, their careers will surely benefit from their current positive mental attitudes.

 

Speaking of Cantwell & Buendia, I hope they both note that of the high profile transfers away from the club in the past couple of seasons, only Maddison’s has been an unqualified success (although Godfrey looks as if he is rapidly establishing himself). They are both young men & could afford to spend another season with us (hopefully in the Premiership), enhancing their reputations further so that when they eventually do go it will be to a top club & not to one struggling to avoid relegation from the top tier.

 It should be win win for both them & us. I’m sure they would find the club fairly accommodating moneywise & they do need to ask themselves if they would be happy to risk ending up as bench warmers at a top half premier league club, spending the rest of their short careers as ‘nearly men’?

If we let them go now we will not get as much for them as we probably would at the end of the 21/22 season if they carrying on improving in the way they both appear capable of. Also we must surely be a better team with them & this would reduce the risk of again coming straight back down after a further season in the top league. Keep selling your best players & eventually we will not bounce back so easily when the team & management see no real hope of becoming an established fixture in the top division.

I hope this post has given you something to think about & comment on.

Hoping not to have totally alienated myself, I’ll end by wishing you all a Merry Christmas & winning New Year.

Edited December 23, 2020 by Cornwall Canaryfan
Spelling

[Vazzza 62]

May I be the first to say... binner 

😘

[Foxy2600 297]

May I endorse your conclusion.....

[TheGunnShow 5,932]

Horwich? You weren't involved at the old Loco Works there by any chance?

[Cornwall Canaryfan 16]

1 hour ago, Vazzza said:

May I be the first to say... binner 

😘

 

1 hour ago, Foxy2600 said:

May I endorse your conclusion.....

Thank you both for your well reasoned, thoughtful replies & the warm welcome to this forum.

Amazed you got my true identity so quickly.

I lived next door to Keith Robson for 4 years, went to numerous matches with him (including the players bar after the match) & had several evenings out with him & his best friends, Joe Royal, Alan Taylor & Clive Woods. In all that time they never guessed my true allegiance lay elsewhere.

I didn't expect everyone to agree with me but your replies certainly took me by surprise......

Nevertheless, Happy Christmas to the both of you.

Edited December 23, 2020 by Cornwall Canaryfan
Spelling

[Vazzza 62]

Sorry, just the standard initiation for a new poster 😝

[Cornwall Canaryfan 16]

49 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Horwich? You weren't involved at the old Loco Works there by any chance?

They were about a mile from me on Chorley New Road if I remember correctly. 

No, I wasn't involved. I worked in the far more glamorous insurance industry!

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Where in Cornwall? Sorry T2Cornwall as we are known.

[TheGunnShow 5,932]

17 minutes ago, Cornwall Canaryfan said:

They were about a mile from me on Chorley New Road if I remember correctly. 

No, I wasn't involved. I worked in the far more glamorous insurance industry!

Fair enough, usually when people went to Horwich at that point in time it was the Loco Works as Horwich was always a railway town, even if the station had been one of the victims of the Beeching cuts.

They might be building on it pretty soon. Not sure that's a good idea - Chorley New Road is chokka at the best of times.

[Cornwall Canaryfan 16]

In view of the first two responses I got perhaps I shouldn't say in case of reprisals!

Truro.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

16 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

Where in Cornwall? Sorry T2Cornwall as we are known.

2 Tiers? Pah! That's nothing, we've got 4 and rumour has it Leeds have got more

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

4 minutes ago, Crabbycanary3 said:

2 Tiers? Pah! That's nothing, we've got 4 and rumour has it Leeds have got more

We used to get more from the EU

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

7 minutes ago, Cornwall Canaryfan said:

In view of the first two responses I got perhaps I shouldn't say in case of reprisals!

Truro.

Ah, the big smoke.

[Badger 2,405]

Welcome Cornwall Canaryfan 👍

[Cornwall Canaryfan 16]

35 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

Ah, the big smoke.

You be country then boy?

[Foxy2600 297]

Thank you both for your well reasoned, thoughtful replies & the warm welcome to this forum.

Amazed you got my true identity so quickly.

I lived next door to Keith Robson for 4 years, went to numerous matches with him (including the players bar after the match) & had several evenings out with him & his best friends, Joe Royal, Alan Taylor & Clive Woods. In all that time they never guessed my true allegiance lay elsewhere.

I didn't expect everyone to agree with me but your replies certainly took me by surprise......

Nevertheless, Happy Christmas to the both of you.

As a Norwich City Fan in exile, I have been a Pinkun contributor for many seasons. A fan and spectator since 1973. I have only ever had the audacity to start one thread - and that was a Match Thread for teams with two or three ex-Norwich players in it. 

I would have expected nothing more or less than derision for starting a thread with no prior likes or contributions - especially one with a certain amount of controversy. 

But each to their own....... 

It would make me feel better to welcome you warmly and wish you too a Happy Christmas 😉

 

[wcorkcanary 4,329]

17 hours ago, Cornwall Canaryfan said:

In view of the first two responses I got perhaps I shouldn't say in case of reprisals!

Truro.

I'd  say  you got away lightly. 😇 Welcome.

Lovely town Truro. Great chipper at the top of one of the shopping streets, like the way they warn you about the  resident thieving seagull... always try to go there when I'm in town. Great coffee in that converted theatre or whatever it  is. 

[Europe_93 11]

19 hours ago, Cornwall Canaryfan said:

After following this forum for many years (& subscribing to the paper PinkUn since 1979) I thought it was about time that I actually contributed to it so here is my first post.

I have been a City supporter since my company moved me to Norwich in 1979 & I lived in the city for 4 years before being moved again to the Manchester area, ironically Horwich!

Was then moved once more, this time to Cornwall in 1986 & have remained here ever since. Never missed a home game when I lived in the city & saw quite a few away games living in Manchester (13 in one season without travelling more than an hour from home). Living an 800 mile plus round trip from Carrow Road has limited my home games to just 4 & away games to about 1 every season.

Following City from a distance I have several observations to make which are not intended to be controversial but may, hopefully, stimulate some further comment.

So, here goes:-

1                     Last season I saw about 75% of our games on the web/TV & was not devastated by relegation but was bitterly disappointed by the manor of it. Particularly the way, in my opinion, none of our ‘young stars’ showed any real sign of development to their games & appeared to have given up even before lockdown. The same mistakes were made in midfield & defence over & over again & neither players or management appeared to do anything to correct them. I thought the young players, who had all shown potential in the Championship winning season, would show signs of learning from their mistakes but just saw no evidence of this. They all, some more than others, seemed to have what I term ‘the Deli Ali syndrome’, I’m far too good for you lot so I’m not going to bother to put any effort in whilst wasting my time here.

 

2                     Linked to the above, were Cantwell & Buendia really so surprised that no one came in with acceptable offers for them at the end of the season? Could they not see that the difference in ability between them & Maddison was not huge. The big difference was in consistency. Maddison performed in virtually every match he played in & was the main player responsible for us avoiding relegation in the 2017/18 season. Cantwell & Buendia didn’t really perform well in more than a dozen or so games between them last season &, disturbingly, didn’t seem at all concerned by this judging from their on pitch body language. You can’t expect young players to play well in every match but I think they can be expected to give 100% all the time &, in my opinion, it was easy to see this was not happening.

 

3                     After the negativity of my previous points something positive! Recent performances have given real cause to be extremely optimistic about what the future could hold. The club is starting to believe in themselves again & actually look as if they are enjoying playing once more.  Cantwell & Buendia, in particular, appear to have realised that effort & enthusiasm both on & off the pitch produces results & is far more preferable, & fun, to spending time sulking about moves that didn’t materialise. Whether or not they stay with us, their careers will surely benefit from their current positive mental attitudes.

 

Speaking of Cantwell & Buendia, I hope they both note that of the high profile transfers away from the club in the past couple of seasons, only Maddison’s has been an unqualified success (although Godfrey looks as if he is rapidly establishing himself). They are both young men & could afford to spend another season with us (hopefully in the Premiership), enhancing their reputations further so that when they eventually do go it will be to a top club & not to one struggling to avoid relegation from the top tier.

 It should be win win for both them & us. I’m sure they would find the club fairly accommodating moneywise & they do need to ask themselves if they would be happy to risk ending up as bench warmers at a top half premier league club, spending the rest of their short careers as ‘nearly men’?

If we let them go now we will not get as much for them as we probably would at the end of the 21/22 season if they carrying on improving in the way they both appear capable of. Also we must surely be a better team with them & this would reduce the risk of again coming straight back down after a further season in the top league. Keep selling your best players & eventually we will not bounce back so easily when the team & management see no real hope of becoming an established fixture in the top division.

I hope this post has given you something to think about & comment on.

Hoping not to have totally alienated myself, I’ll end by wishing you all a Merry Christmas & winning New Year.

Last season could turn out to be 'the gutsiest move I ever saw' in football management.  To go up to the premiership with a team that 12 months earlier, having sold it's best player was probably hoping for mid table, play offs for the optimistic; and not add to it was pure folly.  A defence where 3 players were 21 or under was always going to struggle.  The difference between us and Sheff Utd wasn't as big as last season seemed to illustrate, a good start, physicality and experience.  What we lacked last time was experience and leadership (on the pitch).  Our best players were our youngest, but our eldest (Krul aside) didn't have the capacity / ability to do their own jobs and cover the weaknesses of others, let alone the confidence.  In the end, we ended up rudderless, the most demoralising watch ever, not because we were the worst Norwich team I've ever seen, but the one with the least hope of winning, and sad to see players that had over achieved left exposed.

It'll never be like that again, if we are fortunuate enough to gain promotion, there will be more experience in the dressing room, and more money available to spend on more quality reinforcements, and hopefully a bit more luck too.  For me, I can't find it in my heart to criticise Cantwell, Buendia or anyone else for last season.  Our maligned defence of last season is worthy of the individual price tags, but at the same time not a recipe for Premiership success, and while you can pick out poor performances or individual errors, policy was more to blame.  

Most of this squad, having experienced triumph and disaster together, feels forged and galavanised, which is why I feel confident of what lays ahead, for this season and the next.

[Cornwall Canaryfan 16]

7 hours ago, Foxy2600 said:

Thank you both for your well reasoned, thoughtful replies & the warm welcome to this forum.

Amazed you got my true identity so quickly.

I lived next door to Keith Robson for 4 years, went to numerous matches with him (including the players bar after the match) & had several evenings out with him & his best friends, Joe Royal, Alan Taylor & Clive Woods. In all that time they never guessed my true allegiance lay elsewhere.

I didn't expect everyone to agree with me but your replies certainly took me by surprise......

Nevertheless, Happy Christmas to the both of you.

As a Norwich City Fan in exile, I have been a Pinkun contributor for many seasons. A fan and spectator since 1973. I have only ever had the audacity to start one thread - and that was a Match Thread for teams with two or three ex-Norwich players in it. 

I would have expected nothing more or less than derision for starting a thread with no prior likes or contributions - especially one with a certain amount of controversy. 

But each to their own....... 

It would make me feel better to welcome you warmly and wish you too a Happy Christmas 😉

 

Thanks for your explanation.

I do have to say that I thought the point of a forum was both to add to an existing discussion & to create a new discussion to state ones own views & solicit those of others.

Having been following this one for many years I have often felt like replying to threads, or starting my own if I felt no one was raising points that I considered may be relevant at the time, but have been too lazy to do so. I therefore reached the point when I felt there was no point having opinions if there was no one to debate them with other than myself, hence my finally joining in.

I felt that my initial post should be a new thread to, hopefully, show my willingness to display some original thought rather than simply jump on the back of someone else's efforts.

I was not deliberately trying to be controversial, & don't consider my post to be so, & was stating a couple of things how I saw/see them & expecting contributors to either agree or disagree with them, telling me why I am right or wrong.

To be honest, I am disappointed that, so far, only one person has commented on the content of my original post. I was expecting a little more interest. Either I am,

a - spot on & therefore not worth replying to,

b - way of the mark & therefore not worth replying to or,

c - discussing a subject no one has any interest in, which is disappointing but fair enough.

Will see how things go from here!

 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Cornwall Canaryfan
Emojo keeps appearing for no reason

[Cornwall Canaryfan 16]

4 hours ago, Europe_93 said:

For me, I can't find it in my heart to criticise Cantwell, Buendia

I agree with virtually all you say.

However I was not criticising the playing ability of Cantwell & Buendia. They both have the ability to become outstanding players wherever they go, but I stand by my criticism of their attitudes last season which, I feel, contributed little to the improvement of their own skills or the overall team performances.

With the countries current economic problems, even the big boys becoming ever more careful of committing millions to new players. I understand that boards are increasingly looking at the attitude & commitment levels of potential new buys before spending big money on them. This may explain why neither player moved clubs during the last transfer window.

The attitude that both players are currently showing is definitely benefiting us & the fact they they are both again enjoying their games must be good for them in attracting serious interest from potential buyers & will still be good for us in the higher transfer fees they will probably then command. 

To repeat myself from my first post, seeing out the current season with us & staying for another full Premier League season before looking for a move, will probably benefit both them & us. They are still very young men & a season playing for us must surely be better than warming the bench most of the time at a 'bigger' club?

Edited December 24, 2020 by Cornwall Canaryfan

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

21 hours ago, Cornwall Canaryfan said:

You be country then boy?

Druth me ansum

[The Real Buh 3,423]

On 23/12/2020 at 16:52, Cornwall Canaryfan said:

After following this forum for many years (& subscribing to the paper PinkUn since 1979) I thought it was about time that I actually contributed to it so here is my first post.

I have been a City supporter since my company moved me to Norwich in 1979 & I lived in the city for 4 years before being moved again to the Manchester area, ironically Horwich!

Was then moved once more, this time to Cornwall in 1986 & have remained here ever since. Never missed a home game when I lived in the city & saw quite a few away games living in Manchester (13 in one season without travelling more than an hour from home). Living an 800 mile plus round trip from Carrow Road has limited my home games to just 4 & away games to about 1 every season.

Following City from a distance I have several observations to make which are not intended to be controversial but may, hopefully, stimulate some further comment.

So, here goes:-

1                     Last season I saw about 75% of our games on the web/TV & was not devastated by relegation but was bitterly disappointed by the manor of it. Particularly the way, in my opinion, none of our ‘young stars’ showed any real sign of development to their games & appeared to have given up even before lockdown. The same mistakes were made in midfield & defence over & over again & neither players or management appeared to do anything to correct them. I thought the young players, who had all shown potential in the Championship winning season, would show signs of learning from their mistakes but just saw no evidence of this. They all, some more than others, seemed to have what I term ‘the Deli Ali syndrome’, I’m far too good for you lot so I’m not going to bother to put any effort in whilst wasting my time here.

 

2                     Linked to the above, were Cantwell & Buendia really so surprised that no one came in with acceptable offers for them at the end of the season? Could they not see that the difference in ability between them & Maddison was not huge. The big difference was in consistency. Maddison performed in virtually every match he played in & was the main player responsible for us avoiding relegation in the 2017/18 season. Cantwell & Buendia didn’t really perform well in more than a dozen or so games between them last season &, disturbingly, didn’t seem at all concerned by this judging from their on pitch body language. You can’t expect young players to play well in every match but I think they can be expected to give 100% all the time &, in my opinion, it was easy to see this was not happening.

 

3                     After the negativity of my previous points something positive! Recent performances have given real cause to be extremely optimistic about what the future could hold. The club is starting to believe in themselves again & actually look as if they are enjoying playing once more.  Cantwell & Buendia, in particular, appear to have realised that effort & enthusiasm both on & off the pitch produces results & is far more preferable, & fun, to spending time sulking about moves that didn’t materialise. Whether or not they stay with us, their careers will surely benefit from their current positive mental attitudes.

 

Speaking of Cantwell & Buendia, I hope they both note that of the high profile transfers away from the club in the past couple of seasons, only Maddison’s has been an unqualified success (although Godfrey looks as if he is rapidly establishing himself). They are both young men & could afford to spend another season with us (hopefully in the Premiership), enhancing their reputations further so that when they eventually do go it will be to a top club & not to one struggling to avoid relegation from the top tier.

 It should be win win for both them & us. I’m sure they would find the club fairly accommodating moneywise & they do need to ask themselves if they would be happy to risk ending up as bench warmers at a top half premier league club, spending the rest of their short careers as ‘nearly men’?

If we let them go now we will not get as much for them as we probably would at the end of the 21/22 season if they carrying on improving in the way they both appear capable of. Also we must surely be a better team with them & this would reduce the risk of again coming straight back down after a further season in the top league. Keep selling your best players & eventually we will not bounce back so easily when the team & management see no real hope of becoming an established fixture in the top division.

I hope this post has given you something to think about & comment on.

Hoping not to have totally alienated myself, I’ll end by wishing you all a Merry Christmas & winning New Year.

Welcome to the layer cake

[splendidrush 700]

5 hours ago, Cornwall Canaryfan said:

I agree with virtually all you say.

However I was not criticising the playing ability of Cantwell & Buendia. They both have the ability to become outstanding players wherever they go, but I stand by my criticism of their attitudes last season which, I feel, contributed little to the improvement of their own skills or the overall team performances.

With the countries current economic problems, even the big boys becoming ever more careful of committing millions to new players. I understand that boards are increasingly looking at the attitude & commitment levels of potential new buys before spending big money on them. This may explain why neither player moved clubs during the last transfer window.

The attitude that both players are currently showing is definitely benefiting us & the fact they they are both again enjoying their games must be good for them in attracting serious interest from potential buyers & will still be good for us in the higher transfer fees they will probably then command. 

To repeat myself from my first post, seeing out the current season with us & staying for another full Premier League season before looking for a move, will probably benefit both them & us. They are still very young men & a season playing for us must surely be better than warming the bench most of the time at a 'bigger' club?

Little tip, if you're looking for responses, try keeping it a little shorter, too much to cover in your initial post,but most welcome nonetheless. 

With regards Emi and Todd, I feel you've answered your own question, that last year they were very young and had very little experience around them, and that's without all the injuries the Club had to contend with. 

From what we're seeing atm, it's apparent that they've both done a lot of growing up over the last year or so, hopefully we can hold on to them long enough to enjoy that maturity next season. 

[lake district canary 4,531]

Welcome, CornwallCanaryFan.

Ignore the noise and keep going is my advice, if you need any advice, that is! 

Merry Christmas 👍

 

[Midlands Yellow 3,939]

On 23/12/2020 at 16:52, Cornwall Canaryfan said:

After following this forum for many years (& subscribing to the paper PinkUn since 1979) I thought it was about time that I actually contributed to it so here is my first post.

I have been a City supporter since my company moved me to Norwich in 1979 & I lived in the city for 4 years before being moved again to the Manchester area, ironically Horwich!

Was then moved once more, this time to Cornwall in 1986 & have remained here ever since. Never missed a home game when I lived in the city & saw quite a few away games living in Manchester (13 in one season without travelling more than an hour from home). Living an 800 mile plus round trip from Carrow Road has limited my home games to just 4 & away games to about 1 every season.

Following City from a distance I have several observations to make which are not intended to be controversial but may, hopefully, stimulate some further comment.

So, here goes:-

1                     Last season I saw about 75% of our games on the web/TV & was not devastated by relegation but was bitterly disappointed by the manor of it. Particularly the way, in my opinion, none of our ‘young stars’ showed any real sign of development to their games & appeared to have given up even before lockdown. The same mistakes were made in midfield & defence over & over again & neither players or management appeared to do anything to correct them. I thought the young players, who had all shown potential in the Championship winning season, would show signs of learning from their mistakes but just saw no evidence of this. They all, some more than others, seemed to have what I term ‘the Deli Ali syndrome’, I’m far too good for you lot so I’m not going to bother to put any effort in whilst wasting my time here.

 

2                     Linked to the above, were Cantwell & Buendia really so surprised that no one came in with acceptable offers for them at the end of the season? Could they not see that the difference in ability between them & Maddison was not huge. The big difference was in consistency. Maddison performed in virtually every match he played in & was the main player responsible for us avoiding relegation in the 2017/18 season. Cantwell & Buendia didn’t really perform well in more than a dozen or so games between them last season &, disturbingly, didn’t seem at all concerned by this judging from their on pitch body language. You can’t expect young players to play well in every match but I think they can be expected to give 100% all the time &, in my opinion, it was easy to see this was not happening.

 

3                     After the negativity of my previous points something positive! Recent performances have given real cause to be extremely optimistic about what the future could hold. The club is starting to believe in themselves again & actually look as if they are enjoying playing once more.  Cantwell & Buendia, in particular, appear to have realised that effort & enthusiasm both on & off the pitch produces results & is far more preferable, & fun, to spending time sulking about moves that didn’t materialise. Whether or not they stay with us, their careers will surely benefit from their current positive mental attitudes.

 

Speaking of Cantwell & Buendia, I hope they both note that of the high profile transfers away from the club in the past couple of seasons, only Maddison’s has been an unqualified success (although Godfrey looks as if he is rapidly establishing himself). They are both young men & could afford to spend another season with us (hopefully in the Premiership), enhancing their reputations further so that when they eventually do go it will be to a top club & not to one struggling to avoid relegation from the top tier.

 It should be win win for both them & us. I’m sure they would find the club fairly accommodating moneywise & they do need to ask themselves if they would be happy to risk ending up as bench warmers at a top half premier league club, spending the rest of their short careers as ‘nearly men’?

If we let them go now we will not get as much for them as we probably would at the end of the 21/22 season if they carrying on improving in the way they both appear capable of. Also we must surely be a better team with them & this would reduce the risk of again coming straight back down after a further season in the top league. Keep selling your best players & eventually we will not bounce back so easily when the team & management see no real hope of becoming an established fixture in the top division.

I hope this post has given you something to think about & comment on.

Hoping not to have totally alienated myself, I’ll end by wishing you all a Merry Christmas & winning New Year.

Great first post.