Its funny how quickly opinions change

[Hotdog 0]

Last week everyone was upbeat (except smudger) about the new season and how our new signings would propel us to a good finish in the league and now a couple of days later after one poor performance where most of our team didnt even play and its all doom and gloom again. Come on guys its only a friendly, i know we need them and everything  but theres no need to expect the worst just because we lost one game

[Canary in the Forest 0]

The truth is probably somewhere between the two-another mid-table finish

[ricardo 7,395]

[quote user="Hotdog"]Last week everyone was upbeat (except smudger) about the new season and how our new signings would propel us to a good finish in the league and now a couple of days later after one poor performance where most of our team didnt even play and its all doom and gloom again. Come on guys its only a friendly, i know we need them and everything  but theres no need to expect the worst just because we lost one game[/quote]

 

A little taste of reality was bound to shatter some of the ridiculous claims being made on here last week.

Truth to tell is that we are unlikely to fare much better than last season. We have made a few welcome editions but we still need that decent central defender and creative midfielder.

If we adopt a wait and see policy when the weaknesses are obvious to all we will only have ourselves to blame when things go tits up.

Players of championship standard should not be playing second fiddle to conference players, friendly or no friendly.

[TwoSheds 0]

Freindly or no freindly,it was still against a conference side who themselves are in the same situation as us with players coming in and out and just coming back for training.

need i say anymore?

[beelsie 0]

Hotdog ! IMHO the thought that any game can only be a friendly is a poor way of regarding any competition/game that involves athletes who earn a living from just being competitive. The fact that such individuals can just turn up and just go through the motions is abhorrent to me.  Many say preseason games are there to acclimatise the players to one another, to try different patterns formations etc.etc.  Yes! they do all of these things, but they should show pride in performance and effort in contention after all there were guys there to watch, and we made the effort to support them, is it too much to ask for a bit of effort that represents at all times the spirit that should at all times be inherent in NCFC players. OTBC.

 

 IE : poor performances and lack of effort can easily become habitual.  Evidence from the past three seasons comes to mind.

[In Dubious Battle 0]

it was a friendly and we lost oh no!!!! forgive me if i don''t go into panic mode

[Saint Canary 0]

[quote user="beelsie"]

Hotdog ! IMHO the thought that any game can only be a friendly is a poor way of regarding any competition/game that involves athletes who earn a living from just being competitive. The fact that such individuals can just turn up and just go through the motions is abhorrent to me.  Many say preseason games are there to acclimatise the players to one another, to try different patterns formations etc.etc.  Yes! they do all of these things, but they should show pride in performance and effort in contention after all there were guys there to watch, and we made the effort to support them, is it too much to ask for a bit of effort that represents at all times the spirit that should at all times be inherent in NCFC players. OTBC.

 

 IE : poor performances and lack of effort can easily become habitual.  Evidence from the past three seasons comes to mind.

[/quote]

Well said Beelsie.

We have seen plenty enough half hearted, dis-interested performances from this set of players over the last couple of seasons already.  Friendly or not these games are designed to get the players ready for a tough season of 46 Championship games, not a kick about at play time.  

 

[Matt Morriss 69]

OH MY GOD!!!!I literally cant believe the reaction to saturdays loss to Exeter.Why on earth anyone is taking any notice of this result and using it to predict our fortunes this season is beyond me.IT WAS A FRIENDLY. OUR FIRST ONE. MEANINGLESS. WE HAD DOHERTY IN MIDFIELD AND EAGLE AT RIGHT BACK FOR GODS SAKE!!!!!!Does this not tell you that nobody was taking it seriously? Do you think the players and management really wanted to win this game? No. The purpose of this game was no different to training and Colney. Just another game of football to shake the rustiness.Anyone who thinks the result was important and posts on here as such is a complete fool and doesnt know there football.

[Grando 263]

when have pre-season friendly results ever had a bearing on actual league performance? Especially the first one. Not being rose-tinted or anything, but relax everyone, you can''t read anything either way from this. Similarly if we had beaten Exeter 8-0 it wouldn''t mean we''d be dead certs for promotion...

[Ginja 26]

The season we were in the play-offs, I seem to remember us losing 2-1 to Divison 3 Peterborough and we didn''t score any of the goals...The season we got promoted, lost 1-0 to Northampton in the Carling Cup...Lets be realistic, its one game where the manager was going to experiment vastly to see what happens, the result means nothing, friendlys are all about the experience.

[blahblahblah 2]

Given the sheer number of players not available for any number of reasons - I can''t see how anyone can form any opinion about the first team on the basis of what happened.  It''s not as if Eagle is going to start at left-back, or Doherty in midfield in August :[quote user="Peter Grant"]“Julien Brellier has done all his fitness work, his fitness tests but I still think he''d missed out on some leg-work and the only way that he''s going to get that is by doing some fitness work back home."“Jon Otsemobor was the same. Though he''s done all the work, with him missing the end part of last season there''s a bit more work to get into his legs yet.“Same with the goalkeepers. Hucks (Darren Huckerby) had a slight strain which someone said he had last pre-season on his groin and then he missed the Coventry game through it.“And Dickson (Etuhu) was at the dentist before training yesterday morning and was at the dentist during the night, so then I get a phone call at quarter past seven to say he''d been up all night again so that''s the reason Dickson''s out.”Which only left two more. “I''d said to Simon (Lappin) at the end of last season - and I''d forgot all about - that his sister gets married today and I think he was a bridesmaid. And I''d promised him he could go up for that - he''s fine.“Fotheringham has his blisters which Neal (Reynolds) thinks are too raw to put any pressure on, but typical Fozzy he was first to the airport this morning, hoping to go but he was sent home - he''s not allowed to train on them today, but they''re a lot better.“And that was the reason why we were short of bodies - and that''s why I had to move it about.”[/quote]Dicksons'' teeth sound painful.  Get well soon.

[Norwich R Us 59]

i agree that this was only a friendly and its nothing to get too down about

BUT

It does seem to highlight our lack of depth when it comes to defensive cover. I mean, from all the players missing, only one was a defender (otse, assuming colin is no more), so surely this is an obvious indication that our defensive cover within the squad isn''t up to the required standard? Personally i think our first choice defence is a glaring problem let alone the 15 year olds who will be asked to deputise in the inevitable hour of need. 

Granty, I think you''re doing a good job so far, but this area will turn out to be a real hinderance, AGAIN!

SORT IT OUT!!!!!!!

[Smudger 0]

[quote user="BarclayMan artist formerly known as BarclayBoy"]OH MY GOD!!!!

I literally cant believe the reaction to saturdays loss to Exeter.

Why on earth anyone is taking any notice of this result and using it to predict our fortunes this season is beyond me.

IT WAS A FRIENDLY. OUR FIRST ONE. MEANINGLESS. WE HAD DOHERTY IN MIDFIELD AND EAGLE AT RIGHT BACK FOR GODS SAKE!!!!!!

Does this not tell you that nobody was taking it seriously? Do you think the players and management really wanted to win this game? No. The purpose of this game was no different to training and Colney. Just another game of football to shake the rustiness.

Anyone who thinks the result was important and posts on here as such is a complete fool and doesnt know there football.
[/quote]

The fact that we had the Doc in centre midfield (a position he occupied on more than on ocasion in competitive matches last season) and a girl at left-back says an awaful lot I think you will find.

Why are we having to field the Doc in centre-midfield in any match that we play in (whther it is a freindly or not)???

Quite frankly such line up''s are an embarrasment to the name of NCFC.  [:$]

[Syteanric 1]

i dont care we lost to Exeter, i also woudnt of cared if we had played Gilks and Marshall upfront.

 people need to understand the ehole point of friendlies before panicking.

jas :)

[Norwich R Us 59]

[quote user="Smudger"]

Why are we having to field the Doc in centre-midfield in any match that we play in (whther it is a freindly or not)???

[/quote]

 

So he covered more ground to sharpen his fitness. Do you never read anything?

[Norwich R Us 59]

[quote user="Smudger"]

Why are we having to field the Doc in centre-midfield in any match that we play in (whther it is a freindly or not)???

[/quote]

 

So he covered more ground to sharpen his fitness. Do you never read anything?

[Smudger 0]

Has Grant never heard of sending him on a run during training then ''Norwich R Us''?

Pre season frendlies are not just there for getting fit and sending out pointless team formations that will not be used come the league campaign...

oh I forgot, that''s right Granty has actually played the Doc in centre-mid on more than one occasion last season hasn''t he?  Well, well, well silly me!!!  [:$]

In case you are reading Granty... I know that you are still learning the ropes bless you... but you do not play rubbish centre-backs in midfield at any time... IS THAT CLEAR ENOUGH FOR YOU???

Players should be learning about their team mates in pre-season matches... not having to learn how to cope with us playing a big ginger lumbering oaf in centre-midfield!!!

[blahblahblah 2]

[quote]In case you are reading Granty... I know that you are still learning

the ropes bless you... but you do not play rubbish centre-backs in

midfield at any time... IS THAT CLEAR ENOUGH FOR YOU??[/quote]Good to see that you''re still taking the P out of Patronising Smudger... [:)]

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,033]

I wonder if it would have been a "meaningless friendly" if we had put our "first team" out and won by a country mile. You can bet your bottom dollar there would have been loud claims of a top 6 finish etc etc.... but then it would have been a positive post which turns opinions into fact!!