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What's gone wrong this season?

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I got thinking whilst reading the Shackell thread (Dont listen to the ***** Shax) and how player of the season was brought into discussion.

Anyone else find it fascinating that despite our league position we could probably all name at least 3 genuine potentials for player of the season?

It just makes me wonder where it fell down this season, i don''t beleive in luck so i''m not putting it down to bad luck... So has it just been lapses in concentration at critical points in (critical) games?  or the fact that we feel we''re just the ''good guys'' of the league and therefore don''t make things easier for ourselves (e.g. the club could have appealed for a change of ref prior to a ball being kicked against Bristol)? 

Maybe the players lack motivation and therefore only perform in the bigger matches? This would make some sense when you consider the squad is made from players wanting or have previously played premiership football.  Therefore would it be worth placing a player like Cody into the team who in the short term would treat every match as an FA Cup final?

Maybe it is simply down to not having that clinical striker?  But then the stats don''t lie as we''ve scored at least the same as 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th positioned teams of the championship.

I appreciate that in reality it''s a combination of things, but then to address them you need to break it down one at a time.

So what i''m asking in a (very) long way is:

What for you is the single major mis-firing component in our squad this season that''s left us rooted to the bottom of the table?

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When I read the title I thought it would be quicker to write what hasn''t gone wrong this season.

I''d also point out that the three front-runners for PotS (Klingon, Pele and Croft) are there by default because everyone else has been crap.

The single biggest problem I would pin-point is too many players thrown in together in too short space a time. I think squads need stability and time to learn how each other play. How many of the squad now played in the last game of last season (I haven''t bothered to look this up so may embarrass myself)? The loan turn-over cannot be a good thing regardless of whether the loanees care or not.

I''d also put number two and three and Roeder knocking players'' confidences as well as holding grudges and the squad simply not being anywhere near as good as people think it is.

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[quote user="1st Wizard"]

[quote user="BGG YPOS"]Two words really, MOTIVATION and AMBITION.[/quote]

My two words?..............Glen Roeder.

[/quote]

Agree there Wiz, but they seemed to have put on a good performance against the bigger teams or when on Sky, my question to them is why?

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[on sky tv and against better teams we have a greater chance of being embarrassed, either in front of a live tv audience, or by being hammered. I think the lads mentally get more fired up when they know they could be shown up in a bigger way than normal.

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I think the whole club has problems we have majority shareholders who seem more interested in promoting their image than the clubs. We have a CE who is not interested in upsetting anyone and accepting middle ground, someone said earlier about challenging the D''Urso appointment, after his performance I would have thought the club would have challenged the FA never to appoint him again but according to our CE we are not allowed to do this ( Sir Alex doesn''t seem to think like this).  Unfortunately we could see D''Urso two or three times next season!

When Worthington arrived he said we had to get rid of the Costa Colney attitude what have we done moved further back to it than we have ever been.

Much has been mentioned before about off the field investments well personally I dont give a toss whether I can get a meal, a pie or a pint or even a coffee before a game I go to watch a game of football with players representing Norwich City giving their all, not Premiership periphials. Although I dont like it I realise that we wont win every game but there is absolutely no reason that the players cant give their all in every game exzcept that the attitude of those in charge and the CE permeates its way through and as long as we dont upset anyone everything is alright

In short I don''t think much will change until those at the top change and we get a more results orientated board.

 

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The fundamental thing here is that its not what has gone wrong this season - its the things that have been done wrong in previous seasons that have lead us in to what some (including myself) may say as an inevitable position.

Season after season of under investment in the team, making profit on player transfer activity season after season, poor management appointments, lack of direction from the board, over investment in off- field activities leaving a debt that can now only be serviced by player sales, lack of a real football brain on the board etc etc etc...

There is a very sad inevitability about where we are - and unfortunately unless their is significant new investment into club (and the team) we will get relegated and go into administration. I hope it isn''t this season (as the longer we hold on in this division it gives me hope for someone to come in and invest) but don''t kid yourselves folks if nothing changes at the top - there is only one way the club is going...and i''m afraid that is a realistic appraisal of the situation we find ourselves...

 

 

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An unsettled back four hasn''t helped - the teams that go on a run of clean sheets tend to have the same four at the back - week in, week out.  Shocking luck losing Kennedy and Stefanovic.  Roeder playing divide and conquer didn''t help either.

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in all seriousness though the two major problems that have cost us dear are

1. injurys to kennedy and stef who were starting to look quality together

2. and the failure to recruit a decent target man/powerful striker.

if theses factors had not been issues then i fully believe we would have been playoff chasing

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[quote user="BGGYPOS"]Two words really, MOTIVATION and AMBITION.[/quote]

spot on!

add to the fact that, despite what some might say, our players are simply not good enough. The defence is ill disciplined and this is evidenced by the number of penalties given away.

We can raise our game, as was shown against Brimingham and Wolves but many of our results have come against sides who have taken us too lightly (EG Ipswich) i dont doubt we have some good players.. but they arent better than the players in the other teams.

the league table doesn''t lie and anyone who thinks we have a squad capable of challenging is an idiot.

jas :)

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[quote user="Phil E Stein"]

To put it as concisely as possible: We Are Crap!

[/quote]

Yet we''ve put 8 goals past the league leaders in 2 games?

I don''t buy the doom and gloom theories myself, very few teams outplay us, and we actually perform better against the tougher opposition.

Why? I haven''t a clue!

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[quote user="Skijumptoes"][quote user="Phil E Stein"]

To put it as concisely as possible: We Are Crap!

[/quote]

Yet we''ve put 8 goals past the league leaders in 2 games?

I don''t buy the doom and gloom theories myself, very few teams outplay us, and we actually perform better against the tougher opposition.

Why? I haven''t a clue!

[/quote]

like i said, teams take us lightly "Its only Norwich... " the teams that say lets get at em are the ones that beat us.. we win when its offered to us.. we can''t fight our way to victory, in most games anyway.

jas :)

 

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[quote user="lincoln canary"]

in all seriousness though the two major problems that have cost us dear are

1. injurys to kennedy and stef who were starting to look quality together

2. and the failure to recruit a decent target man/powerful striker.

if theses factors had not been issues then i fully believe we would have been playoff chasing

[/quote]

you''ve hit the nail on the head there. during the summer it seemed we were signing defender after defender, i mean stefanovic, kennedy, grounds, bertrand, achibald-henville and omozusi all came in. i thought that was a bit ridiculous, seeing as at the time we already had a few defenders of our own. But so it turned out that we needed every one of them (bar TA-H) as well as sammy clingan to scrape together a back four. We''ve had terrible luck with our better defenders and it seems that a few of the not so good defenders struggle to make the grade. defence is clearly an issue that gunny has tried to address with shak and leijer, but we definitely need a thorough re-vamp at the back as we leek far too many.

Upfront, well everyone knows the problems we''ve had there, and cort is looking to be a prudent investment, as i hope mcdonald in the long term and killen and gow will be in the short term.

As pointed out in another thread, we seem to be ok at scoring goals, its just that we concede too many, we need to redress the balance to stay up - indeed it''s what we had to do last season, and we did it with that unbeaten run. just.

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we failed to keep a clean sheet in ANY game Kennedy played for us in his time here.. which says something to me.

Stef was the only decent defender we had.. whether or not he will ever play another match for us, torn knee ligaments at 35 years old... is open to debate.

jas :)

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Many things

1) No settled back four

2) No target man signed in Summer

3) No prolific striker (excpet the couple of months when Leroy was here)

4) Too many players (loans) coming and going not allowing the team to gel

5) Glenn Roeder

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[quote user="lincoln canary"]

in all seriousness though the two major problems that have cost us dear are

1. injurys to kennedy and stef who were starting to look quality together

2. and the failure to recruit a decent target man/powerful striker.

if theses factors had not been issues then i fully believe we would have been playoff chasing

[/quote]

Completely agree! But with Rodent in charge we''d never been playoff chasing....

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[quote user="barlodona"]SIMPLE: Whilst our midfield is one of the best in the league our defence is league 1 standard leaking goals for fun and making stupid mistakes.  And our strikers cant score plus the added fact that our team cannot settle with all the loan players coming and going[/quote]

(our defence is league 1 standard with the exception of doc)

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[quote user="jas the barclay king"]

like i said, teams take us lightly "Its only Norwich... " the teams that say lets get at em are the ones that beat us.. we win when its offered to us.. we can''t fight our way to victory, in most games anyway.

[/quote]

Let''s take Wolves as a case in question then, lost 7 games this season... The only defeats outside the top 10 was from us and Coventry... And we completely annhilated them.  The rest were from teams around the playoff zone.

You cannot seriously tell me that they put their guard down for lower opposition as it''s not factually, or at least statistically correct.  For you to make the statement as above you must have us down as being a laughing stock in the division, beyond that of anyone around us?

Personally, I feel the suggestion you''ve levelled at Wolves is more apt for our mighty club.  And i think that attitude comes from the pedigree of player we bring to the club... We seem on a desperate quest for Ex-Prem players, Ex-Prem youngsters etc.  We should be looking at players on the way up with an hunger, who see the likes of Doncaster, Plymouth and Barnsley as a challenge. 

I hope i''m wrong, because we can all accept a loss, but it''s hard to accept players not fulfilling their ability as they''re not motivated.

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For me it still all goes back to the summer and perhapes before. Glenn Roeder ripped the heart out of Norwich City. Far too many players departed in short a space of time. Some players who could had hung around for a while longer and done a decent job and to help provide continuity and stability over a transisional period were shipped out reguardless. Someone like Chris Brown I would put in that catorgry.  Then there was the purge of the backroom staff. This must have had an unsetteling effect all round, and they hardly had time to all find their feet, get to know the club, each other and the players. Then there was the the necesary team rebuilding job. The squad was left with so many massive holes with Roeders clear out. Looking back it looks like some of the decisions made in bringing players in were plain panic, because time was short and there were too many holes to fill. 

Was Koroma better than Brown or Henville better than Shackell. It was so clear at the start of the summer we needed a target man but that was never addressed.

I think that the rot set in this time last year with the second batch of loan players that Roeder brought in. The likes of Henry and Gibbs, who though definately inferior Roeder insisted on playing.

The time Glenn Roeder was here was a time of complete mis-management for me. Too much change for the club/team to cope with, with quick fix surgery replacing full time players with loans, and then loans with loans. No continuity, no togetherness. A squad devoid of big characters and leaders. A squad too small to provide competition for places and cover for injuries. A squad where square pegs have had to play in round holes. Where loan players have been brought in who are not fit enough or up to match practice and having to play catch up. Loan players who never played because they were not even good enough.

When you consider in certain cases the amount of loan players who have been brought in too cover just one position, surely it would had been cheaper and better for team building to have signed one player on full time for that position. 

This season has gone wrong because of Glenn Roeders arrogance and total mis-management.      

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[quote user="JohnoBono"]

For me it still all goes back to the summer and perhapes before. Glenn Roeder ripped the heart out of Norwich City. Far too many players departed in short a space of time. Some players who could had hung around for a while longer and done a decent job and to help provide continuity and stability over a transisional period were shipped out reguardless. Someone like Chris Brown I would put in that catorgry.  Then there was the purge of the backroom staff. This must have had an unsetteling effect all round, and they hardly had time to all find their feet, get to know the club, each other and the players. Then there was the the necesary team rebuilding job. The squad was left with so many massive holes with Roeders clear out. Looking back it looks like some of the decisions made in bringing players in were plain panic, because time was short and there were too many holes to fill. 

Was Koroma better than Brown or Henville better than Shackell. It was so clear at the start of the summer we needed a target man but that was never addressed.

I think that the rot set in this time last year with the second batch of loan players that Roeder brought in. The likes of Henry and Gibbs, who though definately inferior Roeder insisted on playing.

The time Glenn Roeder was here was a time of complete mis-management for me. Too much change for the club/team to cope with, with quick fix surgery replacing full time players with loans, and then loans with loans. No continuity, no togetherness. A squad devoid of big characters and leaders. A squad too small to provide competition for places and cover for injuries. A squad where square pegs have had to play in round holes. Where loan players have been brought in who are not fit enough or up to match practice and having to play catch up. Loan players who never played because they were not even good enough.

When you consider in certain cases the amount of loan players who have been brought in too cover just one position, surely it would had been cheaper and better for team building to have signed one player on full time for that position. 

This season has gone wrong because of Glenn Roeders arrogance and total mis-management.      

[/quote]

SPOT ON!

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[quote user="JohnoBono"]

For me it still all goes back to the summer and perhapes before. Glenn Roeder ripped the heart out of Norwich City. Far too many players departed in short a space of time. Some players who could had hung around for a while longer and done a decent job and to help provide continuity and stability over a transisional period were shipped out reguardless. Someone like Chris Brown I would put in that catorgry.  Then there was the purge of the backroom staff. This must have had an unsetteling effect all round, and they hardly had time to all find their feet, get to know the club, each other and the players. Then there was the the necesary team rebuilding job. The squad was left with so many massive holes with Roeders clear out. Looking back it looks like some of the decisions made in bringing players in were plain panic, because time was short and there were too many holes to fill. 

Was Koroma better than Brown or Henville better than Shackell. It was so clear at the start of the summer we needed a target man but that was never addressed.

I think that the rot set in this time last year with the second batch of loan players that Roeder brought in. The likes of Henry and Gibbs, who though definately inferior Roeder insisted on playing.

The time Glenn Roeder was here was a time of complete mis-management for me. Too much change for the club/team to cope with, with quick fix surgery replacing full time players with loans, and then loans with loans. No continuity, no togetherness. A squad devoid of big characters and leaders. A squad too small to provide competition for places and cover for injuries. A squad where square pegs have had to play in round holes. Where loan players have been brought in who are not fit enough or up to match practice and having to play catch up. Loan players who never played because they were not even good enough.

When you consider in certain cases the amount of loan players who have been brought in too cover just one position, surely it would had been cheaper and better for team building to have signed one player on full time for that position. 

This season has gone wrong because of Glenn Roeders arrogance and total mis-management.      

[/quote]

SPOT ON!

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[quote user="JohnoBono"]

For me it still all goes back to the summer and perhapes before. Glenn Roeder ripped the heart out of Norwich City. Far too many players departed in short a space of time. Some players who could had hung around for a while longer and done a decent job and to help provide continuity and stability over a transisional period were shipped out reguardless. Someone like Chris Brown I would put in that catorgry.  Then there was the purge of the backroom staff. This must have had an unsetteling effect all round, and they hardly had time to all find their feet, get to know the club, each other and the players. Then there was the the necesary team rebuilding job. The squad was left with so many massive holes with Roeders clear out. Looking back it looks like some of the decisions made in bringing players in were plain panic, because time was short and there were too many holes to fill. 

Was Koroma better than Brown or Henville better than Shackell. It was so clear at the start of the summer we needed a target man but that was never addressed.

I think that the rot set in this time last year with the second batch of loan players that Roeder brought in. The likes of Henry and Gibbs, who though definately inferior Roeder insisted on playing.

The time Glenn Roeder was here was a time of complete mis-management for me. Too much change for the club/team to cope with, with quick fix surgery replacing full time players with loans, and then loans with loans. No continuity, no togetherness. A squad devoid of big characters and leaders. A squad too small to provide competition for places and cover for injuries. A squad where square pegs have had to play in round holes. Where loan players have been brought in who are not fit enough or up to match practice and having to play catch up. Loan players who never played because they were not even good enough.

When you consider in certain cases the amount of loan players who have been brought in too cover just one position, surely it would had been cheaper and better for team building to have signed one player on full time for that position. 

This season has gone wrong because of Glenn Roeders arrogance and total mis-management.      

[/quote]

SPOT ON!

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We have been inconsistent.   The squad we have is capable of performing well in this league but is guilty of big game mentality and complacency,  which has lead to a fragile confidence being killed.

Players have been unable to reach a plateau of performance anything like their best week in week out which has led to EVERY position in the team looking weak and vulnerable,  across the back,  across the middle,  up front and crucially through the spine.

Kennedy has not been missed - doc early on was and I would liked to have seen more from a stef doc partnership,  however without a better stiking partnership holding onto the ball and the central midfield either creating chances or protecting the back 4 stef being fit alone would not have changed our position - he like every other player was completely inconsistent.

Poor management and bizarre tactics either caused or compounded this complacency. 

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4th Manager in less than 24 months, the same board of Directionless for over the last decade.....I think it is actually the plural of ''season'' - where it''s really been going all wrong.

But we may win an award for being a "Happy clappy family club - that''s much more entertaining than Bewilderwood."

"Mummy, oh do look at them funny clowns on that grass falling over and tumbling about in those brightly coloured yellow shirts! And can we have some asparagus tips and a bottle of Moet et Chandon...Oh, and some oysters for a scrummy halftime snack mummy? Please?" 

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