The lowlights of a terrible season

[Taxing 0]

I have only just read this so apologies to all if this subject has already been covered. I saw the title and thought to myself where do I start ? Ironically, Tim''s article was written just before the Charlton game which of course provided the most depressing day of our season. News of the Plymouth goal sent us Norwich supporters wild although I must admit that I looked at my watch and thought that there was a long time to go yet. Sure enough, as if scripted by a god who seems to have it in for Norwich fans and some terrible sin we must have committed in a  previous life, within minutes on cue Charlton scored a goal. The Norwich defence was as clueless, as helpless and as incompetent as it so often was during 2008/09 that it was nothing but consistent. So, we needed to get two goals and, again as scripted, we capitulated to a second goal. By that point 99.999 % of us knew that it was "Good night Delia, time to put the cat out" but just to rub our noses in it Charlton pop up for another easy goal. I could barely contain my indignation, 3-0 in thirty minutes, I was on the verge of leaving there and then but mindful of the distance I had travelled I decided to stay until the bitter end. Another 6-0 Capital humiliation was staring us in the face but in the end we made it to the final whistle with only another goal conceded. So for me and most of us I guess The Valley, a week ago yesterday, wasn''t the just the lowest light it was the day that the lights went out completely on the worst season in my life as a Norwich City supporter.

 

I didn''t go to the Watford game but was interested to read Tim''s observation that Roeder had Lupoli warming up for the whole of the second half as this is exactly what he did away at Reading whilst "standing impassively with his arms folded on the touchline" wilfully and seemingly arrogantly deaf to the chants of several thousand Norwich fans to bring Lupoli on. That was a game that could have been won but Roeder''s inaction, for whatever reason, backfired, Reading got their dubious penalty and whilst our players were still reeling with the injustice of it all, Reading sucker punched them with another goal. Coppell had rung the changes during that crucial second half when the players were rapidly tiring on a very muddy, quagmire like surface and was rewarded with a win and three points. In life, you make your own luck and if ever there was an example of that it was Reading away on a cold, wet, miserable, December day !

 

 

The lowlights of a terrible season

TIM ALLMAN, CAPITAL CANARIES

AS we approach the wake that is Charlton away, where our demotion to League One may well be sealed, I thought it time to reminisce on one of most dreadful seasons I''ve ever had the misfortune to endure.

For my sins I will have been unlucky enough to have attended 35 of our 49 games; the highs of which I can count on the finger of one hand. Of the bad days out, there are far too many to mention all at once, but here are my five personal lowlights of the season, in reverse order of course.

The FA Cup loss to Charlton was nearly as depressing as it gets. We lost to a team who had not won in three months, to a goal scored by one of my least favourite players in a morgue like atmosphere. The only consolation was that Roeder was history. One of the Capital Canaries was privy to a comment from the City chairman after the match saying "he''s gotta go", but did he let us know the good news? No, he didn''t.

Reading - a plastic new ground, built on a rubbish dump, accessible only by bus and these are some of the better qualities about the Madjad. Inexplicably, Roeder had not selected a forward in the starting 11 so we played a 4-6-0 formation on a swamp of a pitch. We missed some early chances, were stuffed by a dubious late penalty, and got soaked in the rain. A truly dreadful day, at a place I don''t want to visit again.

The home loss to Derby. I could have easily picked any one of a raft of mediocre home displays, but as I completely lost it after the game on the way to Morrisons, I''ve picked this fixture. We weren''t very good, could have got a point but gave away a dreadful goal to lose 2-1. In the second half, perhaps distracted by thoughts of managing England, Roeder decided to bring on Fotheringham and move Clingan to right back and we surrendered control of the game, and I almost surrendered control of my senses. A couple of weeks later I bumped into Roeder during a ground tour and to my eternal regret I bottled asking why he made that change.

I could have included either of the two Southampton games but I''ve gone for the away loss. Another half empty plastic ground at which we should have taken the lead, didn''t and surrendered meekly. The starting 11 featured one of the most dubious selections I''ve ever seen a Norwich manager make. OJ Koroma, who had hardly featured at all in the previous few weeks, was mysteriously selected and coincidentally it was the closest away game to his parent club, Portsmouth. That selection summed up everything that was wrong with Roeder''s loan player policy.

Losing at Watford wins hands-down as the worst moment of this season. City should have been three up in the first few minutes as Watford resembled a Sunday pub team after a heavy Saturday night. After missing several chances, we gifted Watford two goals and then watched Arturo Lupoli warm up for the whole of the second half. Roeder stood impassively on the sidelines with his arms folded and chose to make a grand total of zero substitutions. Vicarage Road is a horrific place, but to lose that game in the way we did was the stuff of nightmares.

I finally calmed down at 2.30am and fell asleep on the sofa after having had a post match row with Neil Adams on Canary Call.

It was awful.

[pennywise 0]

forest at home for me.. god i wouldn`t even know where to begin dissecting that awful afternoon last christmas [:(]

[Rustys 1st Touch 0]

We were very unlucky against Reading. Trevor Kettle gave a ridiculous penalty decision. Kennedy also got injured in that game which was disappointing cos I thought he was decent.If Roeder had of played a recognised striker we might have won that game with Russell missing two sitters.

[Taxing 0]

[quote user="Lupo Loop"]We were very unlucky against Reading. Trevor Kettle gave a ridiculous penalty decision. Kennedy also got injured in that game which was disappointing cos I thought he was decent.

If Roeder had of played a recognised striker we might have won that game with Russell missing two sitters.
[/quote]

 

It was Russell and Pattison wasn''t it ?

[Graham Humphrey 13]

Yeah I''m sure it was. Two great chances but the only real chances we made that day, a more positive formation and we may have beaten a Reading side who didn''t really turn up. Also it was atrocious weather and I had a flu-like virus (possibly flu, who knows?) at that time and I still went to the game and made myself feel even worse. Didn''t look good having several days off work sick but still going to the football. All in all a bad day.

[Rustys 1st Touch 0]

Yeah Pattison playing in behind Russell. Carl Cort looked way of the pace when he brought him in the second half.Think Roeders excuse about not playing Lupoli and Hoolahan was the pitch but it was still a ridiculous decison not to bring them on. Remember thinking before the game that Reading would trash us but they were nothing special really. Plus James Henry was excellent when he came on which was a surprise!

[JJ 0]

I was a bit lucky this season in that most of the games I was able to get to were the better ones (yes, we did have some good games!).  Apart from the obvious choice at The Valley, the Forest and Coventry home games stick in my mind.  Against Forest we absolutely stunk and was the first time the crowd really turned en masse towards Roeder.  The Coventry game was another miserable display, the last stand for Cureton and the day that the Fozzy/fans relationship imploded.   Even a couple of dodgy ref decisions masked the fact thay they pulled us apart second half, with bloody David Bell pulling the strings!  Think it was the last time Grounds and Cort played at Carrow Road too.

 

 

[Robert N. LiM 4,242]

The Coventry game was the one where it sunk in that we were going down. Absolutely awful. The wins over Cardiff and Plymouth got us back on track a little, but, looking back, we were dead and buried after that performance, which was talentless and spineless - a horrific afternoon.

[Rupethebear 0]

[quote user="Robert N. LiM"]The Coventry game was the one where it sunk in that we were going down. Absolutely awful. The wins over Cardiff and Plymouth got us back on track a little, but, looking back, we were dead and buried after that performance, which was talentless and spineless - a horrific afternoon.[/quote]

 

Agreed, Coventry at home, first half was the worst football I have seen at Carrow Road, in 35 years of going!!! Mind you we should have had a point if JC hadn''t missed the sitter...oh well....