Ricardo's report v Spurs

[ricardo 7,339]

Warm and sunny and rather humid on the ride down to CR for the final curtain on a dismal season. Today I was accompanied by my grand daughters husband who whenever he has been with me before, has never seen us get so much as a single point. You may call me a pessimist but I had a strong feeling that he was unlikely to break that run this afternoon.

Once again there were a fair number of empty seats around me by the time of kick off but both sets of supporters were in fairly good voice as the game commenced with City attacking the Barclay End. There was a good little period where City won a corner and exerted a bit of pressure but when Spurs broke at speed there was some frantic defending before Hojbjerg rifled the ball over the bar with the goal gaping.

The visitors looked dangerous from the off and with the home defence looking square it was no surprise when they went a goal up on the quarter hour. There were appeals for offside as Bentancur raced clear and unselfishly cut the ball back to Kulusevski who slid the ball home off a defender. Hanley seemed unimpressed but VAR saw nothing amiss.

There were little flashes of good play from City when a quick move nearly got Pukki away and again when Raschica made an interception and made ground to the edge of the Tottenham box before firing a yard wide but as has been so often the case the home side looked distinctly second best.

The second Spurs goal just after the half hour was another one of those gifts that we have been giving away with such gay abandon all season. Tim Krul tried to roll the ball out to Norman on the edge of the box just as the City midfielder had turned his back and a Spurs boot quickly hooked the ball in to Kane who defly headed into an empty net.

At the half I was just hoping it wouldn't get too much worse and in any event most people around me had given up on the game and were watching their phones for news from elsewhere.

There was a spark of life from the home side as the second half began with Pukki winning a corner and then some good work from Aarons and Rashica that ended with a Pukki header but there was nothing for Lloris to get his hands dirty. When Spurs stepped it up again only desperate defending twice kept Son and Kulusevski from scoring. There was an on the line block and then a flying save from Krul but the defence was so fragile you could see it was just a matter of time before the dam broke.

Within ten minutes the visitors moved out of sight with three more fine goals. First Kulusevski dropped a shoulder and ghosted past Giannoulis before cracking a curling shot in off Kruls right post. Then five minutes later Son did more or less the same from the other side of the box and then whipped a second past Krul when left with time and space to net low from fifteen yards.

Some of our weaker bretheren had long gone by now but I stuck it out to the bitter end which was thankfully cut short when Chris Kavanagh mercifully tagged on the bare minimum of time added.

So ends probably the least enjoyable season I can remember. An ending that was more or less written in stone by mid September last year. I accepted the early losses to the big guns but when we put on such an inept show against Watford I could see from a long way out how this was going to end. The panic that ensued and the departure of Daniel Farke didn't help matters one bit. To a large extent our identity went out of the door along with the manager and  made things worse by throwing the baby out with the bath water. From that moment it felt like we were just treading water and today we finally sunk without trace.

However, one thing I have learned over the years is that it is all cyclical and nothing is down forever and that this down is just a rather unpleasant prelude to the next inevitable up.

Roll on next season, onward and upward. OTBC.

[Ken Hairy 3,759]

You could have just put '**** show'..... 😉

[ricardo 7,339]

2 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

You could have just put '**** show'..... 😉

You might not believe it but I have see far worse.😉

[Ken Hairy 3,759]

1 minute ago, ricardo said:

You might not believe it but I have see far worse.😉

Well, you are older than me 😜

Edited May 22, 2022 by Ken Hairy

[Billyboybunters 26]

Half expected to open it for the last one and just say s hite in big letters 😂

[ricardo 7,339]

Just now, Ken Hairy said:

Well, you are older than me 😜

Very true

[lake district canary 4,531]

4 minutes ago, ricardo said:

The second Spurs goal just after the half hour was another one of those gifts that we have been giving away with such gay abandon all season. Tim Krul tried to roll the ball out to Norman on the edge of the box just as the City midfielder had turned his back and a Spurs boot quickly hooked the ball in to Kane who defly headed into an empty net.

To be fair to Normann, he was in a position with two Spurs players right by him and would rightly have thought "no way is Krul likely to pass it to me"..... 

[ricardo 7,339]

1 minute ago, Billyboybunters said:

Half expected to open it for the last one and just say s hite in big letters 😂

I did consider it.

[ricardo 7,339]

Just now, lake district canary said:

To be fair to Normann, he was in a position with two Spurs players right by him and would rightly have thought "no way is Krul likely to pass it to me"..... 

He had already turned away just as Krul made the decision it seemed.

[Chichcan 147]

Nice report as ever

Did you stay for the “Lap of Appreciation”? 
 
I was wondering if anyone did and what the reaction was
 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by Chichcan

[ricardo 7,339]

4 minutes ago, Chichcan said:

Nice report as ever

Did you stay for the “Lap of Appreciation”? 
 
I was wondering if anyone did and what the reaction was
 

 

I was well into my lap halfway up King St by then.🚴‍♂️

[paddycanary 538]

Many thanks Ricardo. A truly shít season.

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

12 minutes ago, ricardo said:

Warm and sunny and rather humid on the ride down to CR for the final curtain on a dismal season. Today I was accompanied by my grand daughters husband who whenever he has been with me before, has never seen us get so much as a single point. You may call me a pessimist but I had a strong feeling that he was unlikely to break that run this afternoon.

Once again there were a fair number of empty seats around me by the time of kick off but both sets of supporters were in fairly good voice as the game commenced with City attacking the Barclay End. There was a good little period where City won a corner and exerted a bit of pressure but when Spurs broke at speed there was some frantic defending before Hojbjerg rifled the ball over the bar with the goal gaping.

The visitors looked dangerous from the off and with the home defence looking square it was no surprise when they went a goal up on the quarter hour. There were appeals for offside as Bentancur raced clear and unselfishly cut the ball back to Kulusevski who slid the ball home off a defender. Hanley seemed unimpressed but VAR saw nothing amiss.

There were little flashes of good play from City when a quick move nearly got Pukki away and again when Raschica made an interception and made ground to the edge of the Tottenham box before firing a yard wide but as has been so often the case the home side looked distinctly second best.

The second Spurs goal just after the half hour was another one of those gifts that we have been giving away with such gay abandon all season. Tim Krul tried to roll the ball out to Norman on the edge of the box just as the City midfielder had turned his back and a Spurs boot quickly hooked the ball in to Kane who defly headed into an empty net.

At the half I was just hoping it wouldn't get too much worse and in any event most people around me had given up on the game and were watching their phones for news from elsewhere.

There was a spark of life from the home side as the second half began with Pukki winning a corner and then some good work from Aarons and Rashica that ended with a Pukki header but there was nothing for Lloris to get his hands dirty. When Spurs stepped it up again only desperate defending twice kept Son and Kulusevski from scoring. There was an on the line block and then a flying save from Krul but the defence was so fragile you could see it was just a matter of time before the dam broke.

Within ten minutes the visitors moved out of sight with three more fine goals. First Kulusevski dropped a shoulder and ghosted past Giannoulis before cracking a curling shot in off Kruls right post. Then five minutes later Son did more or less the same from the other side of the box and then whipped a second past Krul when left with time and space to net low from fifteen yards.

Some of our weaker bretheren had long gone by now but I stuck it out to the bitter end which was thankfully cut short when Chris Kavanagh mercifully tagged on the bare minimum of time added.

So ends probably the least enjoyable season I can remember. An ending that was more or less written in stone by mid September last year. I accepted the early losses to the big guns but when we put on such an inept show against Watford I could see from a long way out how this was going to end. The panic that ensued and the departure of Daniel Farke didn't help matters one bit. To a large extent our identity went out of the door along with the manager and  made things worse by throwing the baby out with the bath water. From that moment it felt like we were just treading water and today we finally sunk without trace.

However, one thing I have learned over the years is that it is all cyclical and nothing is down forever and that this down is just a rather unpleasant prelude to the next inevitable up.

Roll on next season, onward and upward. OTBC.

I hope you are right about the future. I don't mind a few seasons in the Championship if it means getting back to basics. Stopping the ridiculous Sporting Director reliance. By all means someone working with the coach in more than a coaching role but Webber's record of recruitment has two or three successes but the rest were a mix of just not good enough to not too bad on a good day. Surely we cannot leave it all to one person to define our club. It has to be from the football side first and finance second.

[1902 1,167]

Thanks Ricardo. Not sure I could have brought myself to make the effort after this season.

[AJ 1,218]

I just hope Smith has enough to build on Farkes work. I've not seen anything to suggest it so far though

[astro 358]

2 minutes ago, AJ said:

I just hope Smith has enough to build on Farkes work. I've not seen anything to suggest it so far though

I can’t see any sign of it either. Playing Norman who is on loan, and pushing Sorensen into a back three when we had Zimbo on the bench, then bringing Rupp in when the game was already out of reach instead of giving one of the fringe players a run out? 
Our game plan seemed to consist of lumping the ball into the channels, and if that was not an option, playing the ball backwards or conceding possession. We can point the finger at our defence but I think any defence would struggle when you are defending for 80% of the game!

[AJ 1,218]

2 minutes ago, astro said:

I can’t see any sign of it either. Playing Norman who is on loan, and pushing Sorensen into a back three when we had Zimbo on the bench, then bringing Rupp in when the game was already out of reach instead of giving one of the fringe players a run out? 
Our game plan seemed to consist of lumping the ball into the channels, and if that was not an option, playing the ball backwards or conceding possession. We can point the finger at our defence but I think any defence would struggle when you are defending for 80% of the game!

I honestly have no idea what our game plan actually is anymore. We have zero identity under Smith.

Completely agree about the selection choices as well, although he's been continuing to play a very poor Gilmour/McLean combo most weeks despite absolutely no tactical or statistical reason to do so, so wasn't overly surprised to see it

Edited May 22, 2022 by AJ

[astro 358]

2 minutes ago, AJ said:

I honestly have no idea what our game plan actually is anymore. We have zero identity under Smith.

It seems the team have no idea what the game plan is either! For example, considering Rashica and Pukki have had a good number of games together now, they still play like complete strangers. 
To quote the great Barry- wos gorn on in trainun! 😂

[ricardo 7,339]

15 minutes ago, AJ said:

I just hope Smith has enough to build on Farkes work. I've not seen anything to suggest it so far though

My thoughts in a nutshell.

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

Mid-September may be generous Ricardo. Footballers are simple creatures.

Us fans knew that we were reliant on the Pukki-Buendia-Skipp axis. Players are no different. They know who is key. Key to the team, key to their careers. 

We wanted and chose to sell Buendia. We couldn’t replace Skipp. (Pukki has actually done remarkably in the circumstances I would suggest) 

Players are a judgmental and temperamental lot. The minute they knew Buendia was gone. When they trained for 5 minutes with Sargent. When they understood Tzolis’ callowness. 

This all takes players about 1 training session.

The frightening thing is - and you are welcome to correct me Ricardo - that I think the players have tried. They haven’t downed tools. They have - worryingly - just about done their best. 

They were massively inferior and ill-equipped this season. They all knew it before a ball was kicked. They are human. Players are street-rat instinctive too. With a fine nose for competitiveness (or otherwise).

I - bizarrely give them (and to some degree gnarled Smith) - some credit for sticking at it as they have. 

It is awful, awful, awful being obviously inferior every week in a league sport. Awful. 

Parma

Edited May 22, 2022 by Parma Ham's gone mouldy

[ricardo 7,339]

14 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

Mid-September may be generous Ricardo. Footballers are simple creatures.

Us fans knew that we were reliant on the Pukki-Buendia-Skipp axis. Players are no different. They know who is key. Key to the team, key to their careers. 

We wanted and chose to sell Buendia. We couldn’t replace Skipp. (Pukki has actually done remarkably in the circumstances I would suggest) 

Players are a judgmental and temperamental lot. The minute they knew Buendia was gone. When they trained for 5 minutes with Sargent. When they understood Tzolis’ callowness. 

This all takes players about 1 training session.

The frightening thing is - and you are welcome to correct me Ricardo - that I think the players have tried. They haven’t downed tools. They have - worryingly - just about done their best. 

They were massively inferior and ill-equipped this season. They all knew it before a ball was kicked. They are human. Players are street-rat instinctive too. With a fine nose for competitiveness (or otherwise).

I - bizarrely give them (and to some degree gnarled Smith) - some credit for sticking at it as they have. 

It is awful, awful, awful being obviously inferior every week in a league sport. Awful. 

Parma

I have never criticised the effort. Some have given more than others and I pick out Grant Hanley in this respect.

Yes, we needed replacements to make us stronger but we looked weaker from early on. Buying for the future is ok as long as you have what is required for now. We have made a habit of not having enough for the now.

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

3 minutes ago, ricardo said:

I have never criticised the effort. Some have given more than others and I pick out Grant Hanley in this respect.

Yes, we needed replacements to make us stronger but we looked weaker from early on. Buying for the future is ok as long as you have what is required for now. We have made a habit of not having enough for the now.

Farke knew it too.

Parma 

[ricardo 7,339]

15 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

Farke knew it too.

Parma 

In my opinion they hung him out to dry.

We would still have been relegated if Farke had stayed but I would have been more confident of building back. Throwing everything up in the air and hoping that it came down in a better place was always a risky strategy.  At the moment i fear that my bravado in saying we will jump straight back, is largely wishful thinking.

 

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

9 minutes ago, ricardo said:

In my opinion they hung him out to dry.

We would still have been relegated if Farke had stayed but I would have been more confident of building back. Throwing everything up in the air and hoping that it came down in a better place was always a risky strategy.  At the moment i fear that my bravado in saying we will jump straight back, is largely wishful thinking.

 

I agree Ricardo, though a part of me does understand why Webber did it. He had to rail against the ‘Little old Norwich’ mentality or become part of it - as he reasonably saw it. He also wasn’t ready to take the hit for the players not being good enough, the lightning rod of the head coach took that hit.

Trotsdem, Farke I think was right for us. He was rather special - and even if he wasn’t, we thought he was, which basically amounts to the same thing. 

We have no money. We have multiples too little to do anything meaningful at the top level without plenty of luck (including finding and keeping a weapon or two).

In those parameters Farke is and was the best of all possible worlds. The ceiling is financial more than sporting. You throw money at the Buendia’s and Skipps and pray for no injuries. You do it with a clear methodology. Particularly one that has brought previous success and is a rather attractive brand - to players, potential players and fans. And fans of other clubs. 

That is and was our apotheosis. I suppose I don’t blame Webber for railing against the glass ceiling. Though it all looks a bit delusional now, doesn’t it?

Parma

Edited May 22, 2022 by Parma Ham's gone mouldy

[Dean Coneys boots 1,398]

Webber threw Farke under a bus to protect himself and it hasn’t ended well. He should have left and Farke should have been given a better sporting director 

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

Call me an old romantic, though I do rather like the idea of Farke as our new sporting director….

Football is a funny old game of momentum. It lifts all boats. Sometimes what is wrong, is right for now. 

Parma 

[Parma Ham's gone mouldy 2,219]

42 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

Call me an old romantic, though I do rather like the idea of Farke as our new sporting director….

Football is a funny old game of momentum. It lifts all boats. Sometimes what is wrong, is right for now. 

Parma 

Just re-reading that last sentence… I suppose that could reasonably have been Webber’s rationale for appointing Smith…

…I wonder where that leaves us?

Parma

[The Raptor 1,199]

Thanks for another season of great reports. I'm always amazed by your ability to write something rational so soon after a game when I'm still in the 'well that was ****' or 'WE WON! WE'RE THE BEST TEAM EVER!' phase. 

Im back at Carrow Road tomorrow for the Norfolk senior cup final.  Pretty sure it won't be the worst I've seen this year!

 Bring on next season.

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

53 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

I agree Ricardo, though a part of me does understand why Webber did it. He had to rail against the ‘Little old Norwich’ mentality or become part of it - as he reasonably saw it. He also wasn’t ready to take the hit for the players not being good enough, the lightning rod of the head coach took that hit.

Trotsdem, Farke I think was right for us. He was rather special - and even if he wasn’t, we thought he was, which basically amounts to the same thing. 

We have no money. We have multiples too little to do anything meaningful at the top level without plenty of luck (including finding and keeping a weapon or two).

In those parameters Farke is and was the best of all possible worlds. The ceiling is financial more than sporting. You throw money at the Buendia’s and Skipps and pray for no injuries. You do it with a clear methodology. Particularly one that has brought previous success and is a rather attractive brand - to players, potential players and fans. And fans of other clubs. 

That is and was our apotheosis. I suppose I don’t blame Webber for railing against the glass ceiling. Though it all looks a bit delusional now, doesn’t it?

Parma

Parma, and when your prayers to a cruel deity get the predictable and justified answer in the form of not just injuries but suspensions and loss of form,  and the gaps in your Bielsa-style small squad are being hurriedly filled by callow academicians...🤓

[Sooty57 403]

54 minutes ago, Parma Ham's gone mouldy said:

Call me an old romantic, though I do rather like the idea of Farke as our new sporting director…. 

What a delicious thought. However I don't really think it fair on Farke, and I very much doubt he would entertain the idea.