Mark Lawrenson's Match Preview

[Saint Canary 0]

"How important are these three points going to be at the end of the season? This is a massive game on the opening day of the season.

I fancy Norwich at home, but in reality this is a Championship match in all but name."

I hope us and Palace both stay up, I think most pundits would be a lot happier if the PL was reduced to 16 teams and no-one could ever be promoted into it! Sorry but we won the 1st Div by right of being the best team and we deserve to be where we, we earned it!

[birminghamcanary 0]

Glad someone else read that!! Wasn''t a good start to the day reading that. The more comments I here from Lawrenson, the more I think he is unaware of football other than the prem. Whenever he talks about div 1 teams (sorry, can''t get used to new names!) he knows nothing about them and when the teams get in the prem, he talks about them as if they don''t deserve to be there!

[Jonny Raceway<P><FONT face=Tahoma><EM><STRONG>When playing Target Darts always put your best foot forward!<STRONG><EM><FONT><P> 0]

We should all realise by now that it''s far safer for the ''pundits'' to predict our imminent return to sender than to stay up. The press could make for some harsh reading over the coming months both pre and post match. We all know that collectively NCFC have the ability to survive. Let''s sit back, enjoy and hope Lawro, Motty, Hansen et al will be choking violently on their humble pie come next May.

JR

[0Amarillo<P><FONT color=#cccc00 size=4><EM> º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Amarillo ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°<EM><FONT><P>ddMMyyyy0Falseen-US<P><FONT color=#cccc00 size=4><EM> º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸ Amarillo ¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°<EM><FONT><P>True 0]

"but in reality this is a Championship match in all but name."

What fabulous insight. Is he really suggesting that this fixture was played in the first division last season, and apart from the fact that we''ve both been promoted its still the same fixture?

But hey, isn''t it the same as saying of Arsenal v Chelsea in the Champs League last year "this is a Premiership fixture in all but name". Stone the crows, but he''s right.

Most pundits don''t know their a***s from their elbows - remember that Joe Royle was one at Euro 2004.... I rest my case.

I guess its because we see the same team week in week out, so we know what they''re capable of. Most pundits see all sorts of teams from time to time, so only have an idea (and often a pretty vague one at that) what the team is really like. Even less so of 1st Div teams that they have seen twice on TV. If they''re going on the Reading game last Easter (was that the last time we were on TV?) then we did look pretty average in that game....but that''s not Norwich at home, or at our best!

[susie b 0]

Perhaps Mr. Lawrenson would prefer it if the points from tomorrow''s game are carried over to next August into the Championship where both teams are guaranteed to be after their humiliating displays over the next nine months! Honestly, I''d be more than angry if it wasn''t quite so pathetic and predictable. As with my technique of waving at drivers who make rude gestures at me (for apparently no reason), I am finding it quite cathartic to imagine the messages I shall post on various sites and letter pages if...sorry, WHEN, they are made to eat their words!

[Gunn Rack 0]

I seem to remember 11 or so yrs ago watching Norwich ''slay'' Notts Forest at the City Ground 3-0 when one of the main chants was ''Alan Hansen..what a w***er'' when we were sitting at the top of the prem following him making us favourites for the drop at the start of the season.
Lets hope history repeats itself!

[susie b 0]

In tomorrow''s Telegraph Alan Hansen doesn''t have us in the bottom three for his predicted relegated clubs! However, before suggesting that we don''t repeat the chant you mention, Gunn Rack, perhaps we had better see what he has to say on MOTD! Chances are he will blot his copybook fairly quickly, possibly even this Saturday!

[Mello Yello 2,278]

I seem to remember he shaved his "tash" off after losing a bet, which concerned some club perfoming better than he had anticipated. Well, I hope he shaves off all his body hair, including his "naff" barnet when we stay up! Pundits are on these footie progs to give their personal opinions, they didn''t give us a hope in hell in Europe when we were drawn against Bayern! Time to ram it down these overpaid pundits throats! I can''t wait to see us on MOTD, it will be somewhat better than our little exposure against ''Evertown'' in the FA Cup last year.

We will stand up and be counted, it''s been a long time coming!!! Y''ARMY! ;~)

Oh, and "Keep the Filth!" sorry...Faith....

[shropshire canary 0]

Remember that Hansen and Lawrenson learned their punditry together in the Liverpool back four so you can only expect the same sorts of views.

Humble pie is a dish best eaten cold - I''ve plenty stored in my freezer for May, and I''ll be ready to post some to BBC, Sky and Fleet street as was!!

[funny old game 1]

''come on''
Who are you all trying to kid, I think he & others like him are making a fair point, come next May if we finish 4th bottom and palace are a couple of points below us we will all be chuffed, so stop being so bloody touchy about everything that being said if its not blindly biased toward us, most of you have said in other posts that we should expect a stuggle,

so what new?

Its probably more accurate than a champions league place, let these ''experts'' have there say, thats their job. We ARE capable of finishing above the relagation places if we play to the best of our ability consistantly and stay injury free, SIMPLE FACTS.
now...
Get a thick skin,
Get down to FCR & ENJOY the whole experience, its goona be fun

[USAcanary 0]

Guys, you have to remmember these people write columns because they can`t get a
REAL JOB in football.
If they knew so much or were such experts, clubs would be lining up offering them a job.