This Weekends Comments

[KeelansGlove 0]

You can understand Svennson waffling on that we don''t need another striker of course its not in his interests especially as he is the likeliest player to lose his place but Worthingtons comments are much more worrying. I have said it before and at the risk of being a complete whinger I will say it again. I have been watching Norwich City for about 30 years and in all that time I have never seen a team so obviously unable to compete in the league they are in.

Some will point to this "gulf" in quality between the Championship and Premiership I personally don''t see it, in fact I am staggered by just now mediocre most of the teams appear to be.

Fulham were dreadful if they had any less self belief they wouldn''t have turned up at all, time wasting from the first minute, but did we manage to at any point put them under pressure ? No.

We paid good money for our season tickets and with the best will in the world we are being seriously short changed Svennson and Mckenzie are just not up to life in the premier league as a combined total of 2 goals shows in 16 games. Mckenzie is another Holt (always gives 100% percent, unfortunately 100% of what he has is not premiership quality) Svennson and Mckenzie were bought to get us out of the 1st division I think the jury was out on both last season in terms of if they were good enough for us last year, this year there is no question. If we have to sacrifice our place in the premiership lets at least go down fighting.

To say quality strikers are out of our price range is not an answer all the other clubs in all the leagues are faced with the same problem something must be done. I sam beginning to think Worthy is seriously out of his depth in this league both in terms of the team he puts out and tactics and while Im not one of the Worthy out brigade (primarily because we couldn''t afford to get rid of him nor could we get anyone better) he seriously needs some help and advise from someone who has managed at this level.

Goodbye Leon and Matt, Hello someone who can score goals.

If we are just too poor to buy a decent striker lets give the kids a chance, they cant be worse than what we are playing at the moment.

[KeelansGlove 0]

Is it because I waffle on with long posts that nobody can be bothered to read that nobody replies ? Ok I ''ll get my coat.

[First Wizard 0]

[quote]Is it because I waffle on with long posts that nobody can be bothered to read that nobody replies ? Ok I ''ll get my coat.[/quote]

You leave that coat where it is KG!. I''m with you 100% mate.

Maybe they don''t reply because they''re too thick, dumb or towing the ''yes'' party line and even worse, keeping the bloody blind faith.

When Chase went, I foolisly believed things would change, it looks like we were both wrong!.

The boardroom still spouts garbage and spin!.

[Camberwick Green<IMG src="http:new.pinkun.comforumsimagesline.gif"><BR>Breathe the pressure, Come play my game Ill test ya !!!<BR><A class=authorlink href="http:" target=_blank><A><BR> 0]

I''m with you too, well with most of it...  I think McKenzie has got something about him though, just that the chances he''s getting aren''t really the best, he needs to run at players, or be put through.

Fulham were a poor team. We have to beat these teams at home and now thats both the Fulham and Palace games gone. The gulf in class isn''t that great, it''s killer instinct and attitude that is different. Witness Hucks putting the ball out when we were 1-0 down at Fulham had a player "injured". Lack of killer instinct.

[bananaman 0]

I don''t think Keelans Glove mentioned the board at all there Wiz, but you somehow managed to shoe-horn a reference in!!

Frankly, if I was Them, I wouldn''t give Worthy my money either - he doesn''t seem to have a plan for team shape at all.

We have thirty strikers and no wingers, three keepers, two dwarves and a donkey in central defence and no perceivable tactics.

What does everyone expect? I wouldn''t give him my money, not on his most recent showings. And if he does spend another £1.2m in January looking for "the one", I would be horrified.

He will only play him out of position too, then drop him and never put him back in the team.

[kennyfoggo 0]

I can see certain similarities between then and now

..no money to spend.. can''t stregthen team, but have a lovely stadium

and same old spiel coming out of the carrow road PR machine....

when will supporters realise we are still being lead up the garden path..

[ZLF 271]

KG you are right that the standard of players are not what we want to watch on a week by week basis and when you looked at the squad from day 1 we were always going to be struggling for 17th spot - in many ways we are on target for that or thereabouts.

I too have frustrations with Worthys ability to get the best quality out of his players or tactically get the structure right. He continues to play too many hard workers and the results will not improve until they are out of the side. The only bit of his job that he is doing well is getting the effort levels right - which is not enough for premier survival.

I am not convinced that the problem will be resolved by a new striker. Our most threatening player is isolated on the wing. At the end of the day we simply do not create enough chances that that job goes to the midfield - I cant recall Leon or sven missing a simple chance on sat. This is on top of a div 1 defence that is seriously out of its depth and cant keep a shape. Worthy has refused to change this (injuries excepted) despite having a proven (albeit not in the prem) international defender in the squad who he continues to play out of position in midfield. No cover for Damo is another sin - we have too many Ray wilkins type crabs rather than a midfielder who will get in the box to support the strike force. At the end of the day the team needs strenthening across and up and down the pitch. Where is the coaching on defending, passing or movement - its not evident on the pitch.

I dont know how much spin the current board is giving - for all I know they may be pushing the boat out by confirming £1.2m, or they may be pocketing the profits. I suspect the truth is somewhere between. What I feel is that they do have the club at heart and like us do not want to get relegated - perhaps I am being naive Wiz. However the clubs around us HAVE spent mult millions with no more success than Worthy with the budget he had. Worthy is not using his current squad to their full potential (why no run outs for very talented youngsters like Jarvis or Shacks?) - until he does this why should he have any further cash?

Is changing worthy an option? Of course but my view remains no,(Curbishley was poor in his first prem season) but buying in some prem managerial experience for 6 months may be cash better spent than on Peter Crouch.

OTBC

[westoncanary. 0]

KG, I do agree to some extent. I was one of the "give Leon a chance" brigade, and honestly thought that once he scored one goal, the floodgates would open.  This hasn''t been the case but he can change things when he comes off the bench.  He is still young and learning, don''t forget this time last year he was still at Peterborough, and hadn''t even made his famous debut.

Svensson shows the player he can be too seldom for me, he has Prem experience already (limited, granted), and should be starting to pull the strings by now.  Perhaps now could be the time for McVeigh to step forward and prove himself at this level, if Worthy is willing to take the chance. 

I am still feeling flat after Saturday, I honestly thought we would win, and with THAT run of games coming to a close felt we had to get all 3 points.  Bolton next, they are on a bit of a slide so will be fired up, we need to be the same from the start or we will have no chance.

OTBC

[bananaman 0]

Young???The guy is 26 for christ sake.

[Robert N. LiM 4,243]

Seems we were pretty terrible on Saturday, but I can''t believe some of this. The board as bad as in Chase''s day? The board "pocketing the profits?" Really? What Chase did to the club was horrendous and unforgivable; in comparison we don''t know how lucky we are with the current lot. I guess there''s an argument for pushing the boat out in the hope of survival, but Leeds, Bradford, ipswich, Barnsley etc etc are all pretty good counters to that argument. The conspiracy theory stuff is just astonishing.

Sorry not to be more cynical, but I do believe that the board want what''s best for the club. If we want to be successful in the Prem long term, a decent ground is a must. So is not going out of business. Seems to me that the biggest problem is that, for one reason or another, the summer signings haven''t improved the team. From this distance not sure whether it''s Worthington not giving them enough chances (Safri, Doherty at the back, Helveg), or whether they haven''t taken them (Bentley, Jonsson, Helveg).

otbc

[Robert N. LiM 4,243]

Sorry, ZLF, I''m guilty of selectively quoting you. I think we probably agree...

[KeelansGlove 0]

Be careful what you wish for !! LOL,

Ok firstly I would not compare the current Board to he that cannot be named or any of his henchmen of course they want what is best for NCFC. What they are prepared to do about it is another matter.

I am worried about Worthingtons management skills at this level but more worried about the quality of some of our players.

And the small town "were not worthy of being in this league" card really does get on my nerves.

[The Bunny 305]

Jonson is the striker we''re looking for. Yet another player who did well in Euro 2004 (scoring against Denmark), but apparently not good enough for Norwich city.

Perhaps in a few more weeks Worthy will actually start him in his natural position. Having said that, with all the injuries in midfield, there''s not much chance of that.

[silver fox 0]

Why are so many posters anti McKenzie when he is clearly putting in more effort than most on the pitch, and has hardly been given many starts.  Had Svensson put in the same effort to close down the Fulham defence on Saturday they might not have had such an easy time of it.  Roberts use to do it all the time and it forces the defenders to hoof it upfield or into touch for a throw in( look at our defenders).

McKenzie wins more than his fair share of headers, creates more chances for his fellow players, tests the goalkeeper, pressures the opposition for the full 90 minutes, and given the chances will score more goals.  I know people are expecting him to score more goals but let him at least play alongside a striker who has the same commitment and see how he gets on.  Try McVeigh, Jarvis, Henderson, Bentley or even Jonson and see what difference it will make.

[bananaman 0]

What if the team had passed the ball to the strikers'' feet?Who would have done better then?Svensson of course, because he has basic ball skill and control. It''s not a case of how far can you run, it''s a case of what you do when you get the ball.

[BedsCanary 0]

If it weren''t for the current board then there wouldn''t be a Norwich City Football Club. Why can no one see the bigger picture? Look at Charlton and where they''re at now. They came up went back down then came back even stronger. Now they are one of the only four or five clubs in the league that run at a profit and are becomming bigger every year. If we spent ludicrous money on a striker and still went down we''d be screwed. It''s too big a gamble. If we do go down (which we probably will) then we are undoubtably far too good to stay down and can look forward to another championship winning season followed by another crack at the prem with steady finances and a better team.

Some people just can''t see past next Saturday I swear to god

[0ridgemanddMMyyyy0Falseen-USTrue 0]

I''m pleased Mr W was satisfied with the work ethic and committment at the weekend. I''ve just sat through the reserves losing to Leicester committment first class, work ethic first class (headless chikens in abundace), skill - now this is where we come unstuck, passing average, ideas lacking. Encouragement from the bench nil.

Before anybody says these are only youngsters there were four internationals in our starting eleven (the younsters gave everything).  

I still believe our players are good enough to retain premiership status but we need a change in our coaching staff. We have a Swedish international a Danish international (the best defender in Euro 2004) unable to impress at Norwich why because we are not passing the ball to feet there is minimal off the ball movement. Every time a ball is played in the air it becomes a 50 - 50 ball. Work ethic + committment are only part of the equation skill and understanding are other components. Just think what Ian Dowie done at Palace I wonder if he would accept the under performance of some of our players.

[KeelansGlove 0]

Beds , yes I can see past next saturday and quite frankly im not sure I can see past the end of the season as it may prove to be the longest few months of my life.

Can everyone stop spouting about the "Charlton" model, for every Charlton there is a Watford, a Barnsley, a Sheffield Wednesday.

Lets get real I would say the odds on us gaining promotion next season are somewhere in the region of 10% at best, after all look how much better our squad is than last season and take away Francis and Greeno and add another year onto Flem, Charlton, etc.

We will see how much better we are than a championship team when we play West Ham won''t we (Like we did against Bristol Rovers)

Honestly Unless we get a huge crop of youngsters come through that can cut it in the premiership I dont see the point of aiming for promotion again anyway, we cant afford any premiership quality players so we will be faced with a similar situation.