Big hand for Deano

[Dean Coneys boots 1,531]

The improvement in this team is unbelievable- all credit to Dean Smith who has masterminded this and given us a fighting chance. Where were these performances in first half of the season though? Same players but totally different looking team 

[Google Bot 3,921]

Amen, was a different dynamic when we scored today - it didn't feel a rarity to cherish as it has previously, and that's very telling.

We seem to shift gears better under Smith and I think that's better at this level, less about having the ball and more emphasis on what we do with it.  But reacting as the game changes and not staying within that same gear is key - you have to go with the other team and step it up.

Still a lot of work to be done on ball retention though I don't know if that's a confidence hangup still or what - "Are they doing it in the soccerbot, neyul?!"

 

[Branston Pickle 4,131]

Improvement was clear for all to see (if they bothered looking) up until the Villa game where we were derailed by covid and injuries.  There’s more purpose to our play and the players seem to know their roles more, so we look better in defence and a much better threat up front.  The annoyance is that we had that run of games where we were barely competitive 

[Mengo 850]

18 minutes ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

The improvement in this team is unbelievable- all credit to Dean Smith who has masterminded this and given us a fighting chance. Where were these performances in first half of the season though? Same players but totally different looking team 

Night and day as they say

SaS thank you 👍🥳

[hogesar 10,708]

4 minutes ago, Branston Pickle said:

Improvement was clear for all to see (if they bothered looking) up until the Villa game where we were derailed by covid and injuries.  There’s more purpose to our play and the players seem to know their roles more, so we look better in defence and a much better threat up front.  The annoyance is that we had that run of games where we were barely competitive 

Exactly. The only time we havent looked competitive under Smith has been when he's had up to 10 first team players out injured. That didn't stop the likes of the OP continually posting blaming him, Webber, the board and /or our players.

[NCFCInnit 52]

Shakespeare is a pro too. A good double act, like the old days

[lake district canary 4,813]

44 minutes ago, NCFCInnit said:

Shakespeare is a pro too. A good double act, like the old days

Quite something to have a Premier League winning coach at Norwich.

[Monty13 2,731]

Such a shame we had those injuries/Covid absences. Genuinely believe we’d have 1-3 more points.

Smith and Shakespeare have completely changed how we play, in general we’ve been harder to beat, streetwise and more confident.

Still a very tough ask to avoid relegation but at least we aren’t giving up without a fight.

[cambridgeshire canary 7,778]

2 minutes ago, Monty13 said:

Such a shame we had those injuries/Covid absences. Genuinely believe we’d have 1-3 more points.

Smith and Shakespeare have completely changed how we play, in general we’ve been harder to beat, streetwise and more confident.

Still a very tough ask to avoid relegation but at least we aren’t giving up without a fight.

If only we had got those 3 points we deserved from Newcastle and the point we also deserved from Man United too..

Edited February 6, 2022 by cambridgeshire canary

[Nora's Ghost 157]

Getting rid of Farke's tippy tappy nonsense was vital if we had any hope of survival and the hiring Dean and Shakey the best signings in years.

 

Keep the ridiculous emotion and sentiment out of the club and we might just bring the good times back to Carrow Road.

[Nuff Said 5,932]

1 hour ago, lake district canary said:

Quite something to have a Premier League winning coach at Norwich.

Mike Phelan wasn’t that long ago.

[yellowrider120 908]

13 minutes ago, Nora's Ghost said:

Getting rid of Farke's tippy tappy nonsense was vital if we had any hope of survival and the hiring Dean and Shakey the best signings in years.

 

Keep the ridiculous emotion and sentiment out of the club and we might just bring the good times back to Carrow Road.

Agreed. Problem is the ousting of Farke was many weeks too late! OK so S&S were not available then but a new manager might just have created the bounce and nous that was so missing under the 'God' that was Farke.   

[Capt. Pants 4,973]

Farke should have gone after the Chelsea humiliation, but then we wouldn't have got Deano.

It took our new players far too long to get up to speed and maybe that was a fault of Farke's and his coaching team, but there's night and day in the quality of their performances. 

Still a huge ask for us to avoid relegation but Deano has given us a chance and if we do go down we look in safe hands to bounce straight back.

And he hasn't even signed any players he wants yet!

[NCFCInnit 52]

Can't rule out that Smith and Shakespeare wouldn't get poached back to the Premier League. Relegation would hardly be blamed on them.

[NCFCInnit 52]

would get

[Indy 3,471]

18 hours ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

The improvement in this team is unbelievable- all credit to Dean Smith who has masterminded this and given us a fighting chance. Where were these performances in first half of the season though? Same players but totally different looking team 

Indeed and the turn around started with fringe players, Placheta and Sorensen. Very positive, like I said at the start I didn’t think he’s was an improvement on Farke, but really like him as a person so wanted him to do well. He’s a genuinely nice guy as was Farke. Well done Deno, let’s see if you can keep this up.

[keelansgrandad 6,680]

Yes, the difference in application is clear to see. Not going to knock DF though. That was his style. Not his fault it wasn't suited to the EPL.

[pete 368]

Deano has got a bunch of misfits who until recently had been playing as individuals now play as a team.  And a team that looks as if they are a PL outfit. 

[Gordon Bennett 907]

22 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

Farke should have gone after the Chelsea humiliation, but then we wouldn't have got Deano.

It took our new players far too long to get up to speed and maybe that was a fault of Farke's and his coaching team, but there's night and day in the quality of their performances. 

Still a huge ask for us to avoid relegation but Deano has given us a chance and if we do go down we look in safe hands to bounce straight back.

And he hasn't even signed any players he wants yet!

I would say that's often par for the course when bringing players over from Europe who haven't played here before unfortunately. Also our disrupted pre season and the cancelled friendlies will not have helped at all.

That said I think its pretty clear we have a better head coach in charge right now as much as we all love DF. 

[Christoph Stiepermann 1,256]

The best compliment I can give him is that he is comfortably a PL level manager. As a yo-yo club that spends more time in the Championship than anywhere else we are very lucky to have him

[Mengo 850]

3 minutes ago, Christoph Stiepermann said:

The best compliment I can give him is that he is comfortably a PL level manager. As a yo-yo club that spends more time in the Championship than anywhere else we are very lucky to have him

👍👍💥💯. Good fortune impeccable timing. Thank f**k .

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,611]

The real work starts now.

Fantastic turnaround, sure, but with the help of a nice slice of luck (for a change).

Everton and Watford played at the right time, and Wolves clearly lacking motivation in the cup. That's not to discredit, but beat a streetwise Palace, and there's no doubt this team has turned a corner. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by Creedence Clearwater Couto

[Christoph Stiepermann 1,256]

Just now, Creedence Clearwater Couto said:

The real work starts now.

Fantastic turnaround, sure, but with the help of a nice slice of luck (for a change).

Everton and Watford played at the right time, and Wolves clearly lacking motivation in the cup. That's not to discredit, but beat a streetwise Palace, then there's no doubt this team has turned a corner. 

Definitely a degree of luck without a doubt, but I would argue that we've made our own luck by being defensively resolute enough to not concede early and keep ourselves in the game long enough to earn that luck. Before we were always 1-0 down so early most of the time to the point the games were always gone by the time we found our way into it. 

A game will ebb back and forth and both teams will get lucky and unlucky at times, but if you're already 1 or 2 nil down before you get a foothold in the game it doesn't matter because the game's gone and Smith and his team deserve so much credit for coaching us into a more effective unit that can defend properly and stop teams playing while also allowing us to offer a threat going forwards. 

That's my long winded way of saying you make your own luck