Will we stay up

[blacko 0]

Mickey Adams is quoted in todays EDP as saying the three teams who go up will come straight down. Obviously we will have to sign new players, probably in all departments, if not always as the main players, as back up ie. a goalkeeper. Having done that the one thing I think promoted teams do wrong is having this ''survival goal''. As long as we get to enough points to be 4th from bottom we will be happy etc.

We went to Everton in Jan and during the early part of the game we looked like we were a team who didn''t think we belonged on the same pitch as the Everton players. Yet as the game progressed we improved and in the end only one Everton player, Graverson, looked a different league to us. With a different linesman we may have got a result as well.

My point is if we go to the Premier league thinking that we don''t really deserve to be there. we wont. If we go and show what we can do, ie Chelsea at home in the FAC, then at least we will have a chance.

Keep the faith. OTBC

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Maybe there is a lot of truth in what Micky Adams said. But he did conveniently overlook teams like Birmingham and Fulham who did stay up at the first attempt, and even Ipswich were doing fine until they blew all their money and team spirit on fancy foreign players.

Why shouldn''t we do a Birmingham? They''ve built their success on hard work, the same ethic Worthy employs. Yes we will need a few new players, but we''ll have a fighting chance.

[A pompey yellowandgreen 0]

The thing is blacko, we have Worthy as our manager he is byfar the best. He gives Norwich lots of belief and he goes about his job the right way. I find it great that these other so called manages can come out with these stupid statements. Worthy doesnt do this, he is busy looking after our club not worring about others. M Adams may aswell have said were not good anough for this league so nor are Norwich. That must give his team lots of belief in staying up.

So Blacko i agree that we will need some new faces, but our squad is far more prepared for the premier than any other. We are the best team and we should give what we have a go. It has been said many times that we are all pulling in one direction from the fans all the way through to the board. Worthy will pick the right faces he will look for ones that will wear Norwich with pride and want to be a part of the team.

I am confident that we will stay up next year even if we only get a handfull of ok players.

O.T.B.C.

[Dirty Lyle 0]

While the Micky Adams story is a tad gloomy, he does make a valid point that established Premiership sides will always have an advantage over the promoted teams because of their sound financial base from the year on year Sky slush fund.

He is saying that unless you have Roman Abramovich or Jack Walker (Bernard Matthews?!)behind your club a promoted club will struggle to compete to get the best players. Witness various posters comments on Andy Reid. He would be a great signing for next year but if we could not offer him the level of wages that even Fulham, Charlton, Southampton etc could if they came sniffing. Unless he actually wants to be here like Hucks then he is an unrealistic buy.

What we do have is spirit and whilst that isn''t going to be enough to stay up on its own its a start. Micky Adams theory is accurate but City''s attitude will see them right.

[Tufnell Park Canary 0]

If worthy is able to make some shrewd signings over the summer then we have a chance of staying up. With our current tiny squad I doubt we have much of a chance - just think what impact a few injuries would have done to us this season.

Micky Adams may be bitter about Leicester''s poor season, but I fear he is right about this year''s promoted teams. Nevertheless, I will be praying for a number of quality signings and a good season for city in the prem- - I think you''re right to question the merits of only aiming for survival - it s seems to breed a notion that it is acceptable to get beat often instead of believing they can do well.

[Old Yeller 0]

Maybe we will set the Prem. alight, perhaps we''ll struggle, who can say? Certainly didn''t expect to be where we are now after Forest away this season, let alone a whole year ago. a lot will happen before anybody will go down from the Prem. NEXT year.
I think Mr. Adams has his own agenda and that we shouldn''t bother too much about what he says. Just enjoy the present and let Worthy look after the future.

[Chunky Monkey 0]

I think there is no better time to get promoted to the Premiership, given the fact that wage demands and transfer fees are more realistic these days and can loan players from other Premiership clubs (Forsell, Zenden, Smertin etc). Charlton are a prime example of how a well managed club can survive, and progress in the Premiership. I am given to understand that Charlton operate a wage structure whereby the basic wage is around £5k per week, with bonuses being paid based on goals scored, league position etc. Clearly we will not compete with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, but there are points to be had and given the work ethic and spirit instilled by NW, we may struggle but I reckon we have a fighting chance.

[Hayden 0]

To be perfectly honest I think we will be ok. I do not expect us to be champingon Chelsea''s heels or anyhting like that but I do not think we will go down. The players are very tight and this is worth a lot at the end of the day. If we have a few bad results the boys will hopefully pull together to get out of the rut. We just have to avoid the mercenaries. Personally I would like Nigel to buy experience in terms of frees and loans rather than spend millions like the scummers did. Team spirit counts for a lot, NCFC has it, Leicester do not.

[Peter 0]

Ok Mickey Adams is probably correct that any team promoted from Div 1 will struggle and yes be relegated.

However City have a better chance of succeeding than the teams promoted last year, they all tried to bolster their teams with overseas players, I don''t think Nigel will go down that avenue, other than the odd Dane or Swede, players with the English type attitude I do not expect us to go for exotic Africans or flamboyant Latins who do not meet NW''s work ethic criteria.

Leicester who used Administration to avoid their debts tried to build a new team with 10 new signings, we certainly need 4 or 5 new faces but not at the expense of destroying the team spirit.

Hopefully we shall sign Brits or Northern Europeans who are affordable who will do a job if we get relegated, the squad this season has been woefully short but we have got through it by not suffering too many injuries.

Whatever the outcome it will certainly be better than entertaining the likes of Grimsby, Rotherham, Crewe and Walsall, enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

[nottingham nick 0]

I have to agree with Old Yeller,
Living in Nottingham I had to put up with a lot of stick after last September''s game at Forest (dodgy keeper etc.) needless to say that I have for a few months been able to reverse this.
I look forward to Mondays, I wear my scarf everyday (its getting a bit warm) and look forward to hanging my scarf above my desk soon. Also I am getting yellow and green ribbon to go on my car.
We have had enough nail biteing over the last few weeks, don''t worry about May 2005, its a long way off.
The thing to do is be realistic, accept that survival is the key objective and build from there.

We have waited ten years for this don''t worry just enjoy it.

[Dirty Lyle 0]

Ive just read the recent posts on this thread and I want to hold my hands up - we wont need a sugar daddy to survive. There is a lot of sense written here and most of it is right.

1. Micky Adams is clearly disgruntled and doesn''t have knnowledge of the work ethic at Colney.
2. The squad needs to be bigger but we dont need to sign any Finidis to do it.
3. The current squad, with one or two execptions deserve the chance to prove themselves in the Premiership and will give 100% there as now.
4. The board have put together a solid infrastructure at the club capable of sustaining top level football and not done badly so far.
5. In Nige we trust.

Adams does NOT have a valid point. With both careful additions to and fostering of what we have we can develop into a Charlton, not a Leicester

[Thirsty Lizard 3,215]

I think there is another point about Leicester which no one has mentioned yet. They went into administration, but even when they came out of it they still had such large debts that they had very little money to spend to strengthen their squad, even though they had just been promoted to the Prem.

They brought in 10 new players, but if my memory serves me correctly they only paid a transfer fee for two of them and even then it was only about £300,000.

If (when) we go up our finances will be in much better shape than theirs when they went up so we should be able to strengthen our squad a lot more than they were able to do.

It will be a difficult decision for Worthy and the Board as to whether they go for good Nationwide players (like West Brom did when they were promoted last time), seasoned old dogs a la Sheringham, Ince & Irwin at Pompey and Wolves, or talented foreigners on shortish contracts like Bolton.

Personally I''d go mostly for the first option on the basis that if we got relegated we''d have a good chance of going straight back up again (like West Brom).

[Juggler 7]

Why do people assume that the promoted clubs will be immediately relegated from the Premiership? The facts do not support this. In 1999-2000 Charlton, Man City and Ipswich were promoted. Man City were relegated the following year but have since returned to the Prem. In 2000-01 Fulham, Blackburn and Bolton were promoted. They are all still there. In 2001-02 Man City, WBA and Birmingham were promoted. West Brom were relegated the following year but look like going back up again. So if we assume that West Brom will go up this year that means that only Ipswich from those three years promoted sides will be back in the First Division (assuming they don''t win the play offs). While it''s not looking good for the three that went up last year Pompey have had horrendous injury problems and still have a good chance of avoiding the drop. Although they might still have struggled Wolves have been without Lescott and Murray for virtually the whole season (not forgetting Kevin Cooper). None of the three have been left a long way behind with no hope of retaining their position. I''m sure that any team that goes about it in asensible way can have a good chance of surviving the first season and building from there. There will always be at least one "established" premier side that has a mare of a season.

[Herb 0]

I''d like to think we''ve got a decent chance of staying up. As already mentioned, financially the club is in a better position than most similar sized clubs in the prem.
We''ve got Nigel Worthington, a great team spirit, good discipline at the club, and a lovely new stand filled with supporters, not to mention some damn good players.
Think of the difference 25,000 full houses every week will make to the atmosphere - I think we averaged 17,000 in our last season at the top.

Personally I think its about time Southampton went down :) They were always just getting away with it a few years back. Bolton Middlesboro and Fulham look suss to me too.
If the supporters get behind the team like they have this season, even if things are going badly on the pitch, it''ll be like having an extra man on the pitch. Its a cliche, but its true, especially when you''re up against it.
With support like that, how can we fail? Onwards and upwards, and heres to another 3 points on Saturday.

On the ball City!

Herb

[FatMan Fat 0]

We will surive...only just...but we will survive. Then we will gradually establish ourselves in thesame way that Birmingham/Fulham have. Trust me..I know :-P

[sheded 0]

The key to this " will we survive in the prem " business is cool heads and clear thinking , and , so far, Worthy and co have got a grip of the situation ! ............. I predict we will have a good time in the prem .........enjoy !!

[YankeeCanary 0]

With respect to this type of thread most of the posters, understandably and quite rightly so, express the positive outlook for their beloved club. Many want to point out the difference between Norwich and those clubs that are not so well managed, don''t have as good a team spirit, don''t have training facilities like we do ( please ), or are in as good a financial position ( this is questionable ), etc, etc,etc.
As I have pointed out at great length on other threads, the likelihood of staying up over the longer term is remote, at best, given our current business model. I understand the euphoria at this season''s success. I feel it too, even though I am on the other side of the ocean. Now that promotion is all but assured, of course the logical next questions are "who will we sign?" and that which is posed on this thread, "will we stay up?"
Dream on, by all means. After all, this is what drives the passion of a football supporter. Just don''t lose sight of reality because this is where many euphoric supporters turn into complainers about what''s wrong if things go pear shaped. Often, nothing is wrong than
the reality of the size of the club we are dealing with. Take a look at what has occurred since the Premiership came into existence. There have been 35 promotion spots during those years occupied by 22 clubs. Today, 2 of those clubs are in Division Two ( three more are about to be ) 9 of the 22 are in Division 1, and 11 of the 22 are in the Premier. So let''s look at the 11 Premier clubs; Newcastle, Charlton, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Birmingham, Fulham, Blackburn, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Leicester and Wolves. Newcastle, of course, is a big club with massive support. The 5 clubs closest to the bottom of the table currently are all facing the very real prospect of relegation. The other 5 clubs, some of who many of us point to as successful models to follow, are only between 2 to 4 wins away from being in the relegation fight. That, and only that, is the margin of difference. Couple that with the fact that these 5 clubs have only been in the Premier between two and four seasons, and a realistic observer can only conclude, that participating in the Premiership, has been for many a game of musical chairs beween the top division and something lower. So is my message meant to be negative. No, on the contrary. It is a call to those 25,000 fans who can hardly get enough of the yellow and green presently to continue that attitude ( with good voice ) over next season and beyond, regardless of what happens. Then you will clearly demonstrate that Norwich City is a club that commands loyal, ongoing support of the level enjoyed by Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday.

[gazzathegreat 0]

the real question in response to a t****r like mr adams is what do we care what he thinks? Our club is light years away from leicester, as said previously, in work ethics, style (clue: leicester don''t have any), team spirt and of course, us the fans. Don''t know if any of you went there for our away game last year, but god, were they quiet, you would have thought they had been relegated, not promoted. Contrast that day to almost any of our home games, and all away!

Adams is rapidly joining that merry band of ''pundits'' the media just fall over themselves to employ, though asking anyone in the street would get a better answer, What he knows about football could be written on the back of the proverbial stamp. His team have to be one of the most boring, unimaginative bunch of dirty *******s to go onto a pitch, i hope they get what they deserve, they cheated their way up last time, leaving lots of unpaid bills and disgruntled creditors in their wake

as for a football team, do me a favour, they make west brom look like brazil

could be a good year, them and the gold scum going down

[AJ 1,359]

Adams is just idiotic, how can he asume this?
i mean all football teams play a different style, maybe because we dont paly the way he likes it, doesnt mean we wont stay up!

[If I had the wings of a sparrow 0]

Why do everyone say we need a large squad, we will be playing less games than we have been used to as we will have 8 league games less & miss the 1st round of the league cup. Worthy will go for a small squad with quality players coming in & if we can stay clear of injuries we will be fine.

[Dirty Lyle 0]

Despite impending relegation, Leicester are still in Europe...

Thanks to their efforts at La Manga Adams has an upcoming fixture in Spain which they will probably lose as well!