Ricardo's Report v Carlisle

[ricardo 8,034]

Apologies once again for lateness but Ricardo has been over indulging in the Celebratory Peroni''s and Norwich City FC has had to take a back seat in discussions about life, the Universe, the exsistance of God etc. It''s wonderful how a couple of glasses of Italian beer can produce such profound answers to all these things.However, I digress and back to this afternoons load of dross, all I can say is that it makes some kind of symetry to an otherwise wonderful season. We started with a load of absolute rubbish and finished in much the same style. How fortunate we are that it was the middle 44 games that made our season.On the way to the game I was pondering on some of the final games of different seasons. I remember losing 3-2 to Leicester and getting relegated and also beating Leeds 4-0 in a promotion season. Strangely what came to mind was a season way back in the mists of time that only a few old''uns on here will remember. What suddenly came to mind was losing 3-1 at home to Aldershot in the late 1950''s and the Pinkun headline  that read "Canaries End on Low Note". If ever that headline was apt then it was surely today because we were all hoping for a climactic party but unfortunately Carlisle refused to read the script and everything did indeed fall a bit flat.It was ultra cold for May at CR this afternoon and nothing City did was calculated to raise either the spirits or the temperature. After 5 minutes I was seriously pondering another 1-7 because we were so terribly exposed by every Carlisle attack. They seemed to cut through at will and their two quick forwards were creating mayhem in our penalty area. Askew looked totally lacking match sharpness and City could not seem to get off the back foot. Their first goal caught us square on the halfway line and their second came direct from a free kick that nobody attacked. Thank God this result did not matter because at no time did we ever look like getting anything today. Smith had one chance when he rounded the keeper after Martins quick pass but his final effort had no pace on it and was easily cleared. Apart from that our attack was easily dealt with by a confident Carlisle who hadn''t come just to play a bit part in proceedings.The second half opened with a bit more verve and Rusty had a 12 yard effort that looked for all the world destined for the bottom corner only for the keeper to make a magnificent save. Little did we know then that this would be the sum total of our efforts on goal because although we huffed and puffed we never looked like unsettling a competant Carlisle defence. Yes it was a pretty awful display alround but at least the after match celebrations were worth hanging on for. Perhaps we were expecting too much but today was truly a case of "After the Lord Mayors Show".It is hard to pick a MOM on that performance but I suppose Rusty was a least competant in all he did but the rest wouldn''t get more than a 5 from me. Chris Martin couldn''t get a shot closer than 20 yards and Wes couldn''t buy a pass with Gold Sovereigns. Hopefully an over indulgence in Peroni''s will wipe this game from the memory so I will now adjourn for another pint.Best wishes to all from Mr and Mrs Ricardo and that fantastic prescient cat, "Snowy". He warned me not to bother toay but the habits of 55 seasons are hard to break.

[I am a Banana 0]

I was thinking of a possible 7-1, but it was more like  a tranmere when the game was over after 7 minutes [:(]

[icehockeyhair 0]

Hope you enjoyed the Peroni! Thanks for the reports, given the lack of press coverage this season, I always look for yours

[canary cherub 1]

Thanks once again Ricardo, always enjoy your reports.

It sounded an absolute shocker, almost in "irregular betting patterns" territory . . .

 

[fonejacker 0]

I will miss my fix of Ricardo''s Report, August seems a long way off from now.....[:(]

[Mister Chops 7]

Good summary as always.  Yeovil turned up to play and we didn''t, it was disappointing to end the season on such a flat and sluggish performance.  Some will say the hard work was done weeks ago, and others (like me) would say that the players are on a weekly salary and none of them earned it yesterday.

[Robert N. LiM 6,299]

[quote user="Mister Chops"]Good summary as always.  Yeovil turned up to play and we didn''t, it was disappointing to end the season on such a flat and sluggish performance.  Some will say the hard work was done weeks ago, and others (like me) would say that the players are on a weekly salary and none of them earned it yesterday.[/quote]Looks like it''s not just Ricardo who was on the Peronis.

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="Robert N. LiM"][quote user="Mister Chops"]Good summary as always.  Yeovil turned up to play and we didn''t, it was disappointing to end the season on such a flat and sluggish performance.  Some will say the hard work was done weeks ago, and others (like me) would say that the players are on a weekly salary and none of them earned it yesterday.[/quote]Looks like it''s not just Ricardo who was on the Peronis.

[/quote]To be fair, they''re pretty near each other.  [:$]

[The Butler 0]

Thanks Ricardo as I had to miss the game again this week, your report has at least made me feel I was there.

Can you do cricket reports? as I shall miss my read of a Saturday night.[;)]

[......and Smith must score. 1,599]

Another great report Ricardo and thanks for posting them up on here regular as clockwork.Downing a Peroni or three is the best antidote for getting over watching that 90 minutes of nothing but luckily I was suitably groggy from a good '' Fat Cat '' session pre-match to care too much as to what went on during the match.After less than ten minutes I did think we might be in for another opening day avalanche of goals but the same scoreline, although painful, would have closed the circle on this strange season quite nicely......

[AndyCanary 0]

Kudos to the guy behind me who passionately sung after the first goal went in ''WE''RE GOING TO WIN 7-1''.... then with the same passion after their second goal ''WE''RE GOING TO WIN 7-2''.

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

......... but Ricardo has been over indulging in the Celebratory Peroni''s and Norwich City FC has had to take a back seat in discussions about life, the Universe, the exsistance of God etc. It''s wonderful how a couple of glasses of Italian beer can produce such profound answers to all these things.However, I digress and back to this afternoons load of dross.......

I wonder if a local brew would catalyse you to attempt an explanation for yesterdays load of dross?

[;)]

OTBC

 

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

[quote user="canary cherub "]

Thanks once again Ricardo, always enjoy your reports.

It sounded an absolute shocker, almost in "irregular betting patterns" territory . . .

[/quote]

We seem to be getting a bit of a reputation for absolute shockers, so maybe they''ll dry up from now on.....

OTBC

[ricardo 8,034]

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

......... but Ricardo has been over indulging in the Celebratory Peroni''s and Norwich City FC has had to take a back seat in discussions about life, the Universe, the exsistance of God etc. It''s wonderful how a couple of glasses of Italian beer can produce such profound answers to all these things.However, I digress and back to this afternoons load of dross.......

I wonder if a local brew would catalyse you to attempt an explanation for yesterdays load of dross?

[;)]

OTBC

 

[/quote]I have given it much thought Bly and I can only assume that the whole team were out canvassing for Charles Clarke in Norwich South. The defeat of Mr Potato Head obviously affected them very badly.

[gazzathegreat 0]

Thanks for the reports this season Ricardo. Brilliant stuff. Award yourself some Peroni from everyone on this message board.

Oh and don''t worry, Carrow Road is now a Clarke Free zone, it''s yellow, not red. Great end to the season eh?

[city-till-i-die 7]

[quote user="ricardo"]Apologies once again for lateness but Ricardo has been over indulging in the Celebratory Peroni''s and Norwich City FC has had to take a back seat in discussions about life, the Universe, the exsistance of God etc. It''s wonderful how a couple of glasses of Italian beer can produce such profound answers to all these things.However, I digress and back to this afternoons load of dross, all I can say is that it makes some kind of symetry to an otherwise wonderful season. We started with a load of absolute rubbish and finished in much the same style. How fortunate we are that it was the middle 44 games that made our season.

On the way to the game I was pondering on some of the final games of different seasons. I remember losing 3-2 to Leicester and getting relegated and also beating Leeds 4-0 in a promotion season. Strangely what came to mind was a season way back in the mists of time that only a few old''uns on here will remember. What suddenly came to mind was losing 3-1 at home to Aldershot in the late 1950''s and the Pinkun headline  that read "Canaries End on Low Note". If ever that headline was apt then it was surely today because we were all hoping for a climactic party but unfortunately Carlisle refused to read the script and everything did indeed fall a bit flat.

It was ultra cold for May at CR this afternoon and nothing City did was calculated to raise either the spirits or the temperature. After 5 minutes I was seriously pondering another 1-7 because we were so terribly exposed by every Carlisle attack. They seemed to cut through at will and their two quick forwards were creating mayhem in our penalty area. Askew looked totally lacking match sharpness and City could not seem to get off the back foot. Their first goal caught us square on the halfway line and their second came direct from a free kick that nobody attacked. Thank God this result did not matter because at no time did we ever look like getting anything today. Smith had one chance when he rounded the keeper after Martins quick pass but his final effort had no pace on it and was easily cleared. Apart from that our attack was easily dealt with by a confident Carlisle who hadn''t come just to play a bit part in proceedings.

The second half opened with a bit more verve and Rusty had a 12 yard effort that looked for all the world destined for the bottom corner only for the keeper to make a magnificent save. Little did we know then that this would be the sum total of our efforts on goal because although we huffed and puffed we never looked like unsettling a competant Carlisle defence. Yes it was a pretty awful display alround but at least the after match celebrations were worth hanging on for. Perhaps we were expecting too much but today was truly a case of "After the Lord Mayors Show".

It is hard to pick a MOM on that performance but I suppose Rusty was a least competant in all he did but the rest wouldn''t get more than a 5 from me. Chris Martin couldn''t get a shot closer than 20 yards and Wes couldn''t buy a pass with Gold Sovereigns. Hopefully an over indulgence in Peroni''s will wipe this game from the memory so I will now adjourn for another pint.

Best wishes to all from Mr and Mrs Ricardo and that fantastic prescient cat, "Snowy". He warned me not to bother toay but the habits of 55 seasons are hard to break.
[/quote]pretty much spot on as usual Ricardo[Y] i did have a great time pre and after the match tho so its all good...looking forward to beating Leeds and the Scum twice next season OTBC.....at least we have the world cup to keep our football habit going

[Superflash 0]

Who''s up for doing a whip round so we can send Ricardo off to do England''s World Cup reports for us?

[Lewie - Holt Our Saviour 0]

[quote user="ricardo"]Apologies once again for lateness but Ricardo has been over indulging in the Celebratory Peroni''s and Norwich City FC has had to take a back seat in discussions about life, the Universe, the exsistance of God etc. It''s wonderful how a couple of glasses of Italian beer can produce such profound answers to all these things.However, I digress and back to this afternoons load of dross, all I can say is that it makes some kind of symetry to an otherwise wonderful season. We started with a load of absolute rubbish and finished in much the same style. How fortunate we are that it was the middle 44 games that made our season.On the way to the game I was pondering on some of the final games of different seasons. I remember losing 3-2 to Leicester and getting relegated and also beating Leeds 4-0 in a promotion season. Strangely what came to mind was a season way back in the mists of time that only a few old''uns on here will remember. What suddenly came to mind was losing 3-1 at home to Aldershot in the late 1950''s and the Pinkun headline  that read "Canaries End on Low Note". If ever that headline was apt then it was surely today because we were all hoping for a climactic party but unfortunately Carlisle refused to read the script and everything did indeed fall a bit flat.It was ultra cold for May at CR this afternoon and nothing City did was calculated to raise either the spirits or the temperature. After 5 minutes I was seriously pondering another 1-7 because we were so terribly exposed by every Carlisle attack. They seemed to cut through at will and their two quick forwards were creating mayhem in our penalty area. Askew looked totally lacking match sharpness and City could not seem to get off the back foot. Their first goal caught us square on the halfway line and their second came direct from a free kick that nobody attacked. Thank God this result did not matter because at no time did we ever look like getting anything today. Smith had one chance when he rounded the keeper after Martins quick pass but his final effort had no pace on it and was easily cleared. Apart from that our attack was easily dealt with by a confident Carlisle who hadn''t come just to play a bit part in proceedings.The second half opened with a bit more verve and Rusty had a 12 yard effort that looked for all the world destined for the bottom corner only for the keeper to make a magnificent save. Little did we know then that this would be the sum total of our efforts on goal because although we huffed and puffed we never looked like unsettling a competant Carlisle defence. Yes it was a pretty awful display alround but at least the after match celebrations were worth hanging on for. Perhaps we were expecting too much but today was truly a case of "After the Lord Mayors Show".It is hard to pick a MOM on that performance but I suppose Rusty was a least competant in all he did but the rest wouldn''t get more than a 5 from me. Chris Martin couldn''t get a shot closer than 20 yards and Wes couldn''t buy a pass with Gold Sovereigns. Hopefully an over indulgence in Peroni''s will wipe this game from the memory so I will now adjourn for another pint.Best wishes to all from Mr and Mrs Ricardo and that fantastic prescient cat, "Snowy". He warned me not to bother toay but the habits of 55 seasons are hard to break.[/quote]I thought Wes, was one of the better performers on saturday. Chrissie was Awful though.

[chicken 0]

Good report as usual Ricardo.

For me it was almost like the first game of pre-season only without the battle for a starting position. None of the players seemed to really care about the outcome of the game and were thinking more about lifting the trophy at the end of the game. Sadly I think this even includes Lambert who seemed to make some pretty strange substitutions for him almost like trying to get people on the pitch for the supporters to give a cheers to. Forster was one of them, the result clearly didn''t matter - just a shame that no one seemed that fussed about the win.

As for performances on the day - Doherty proved again why he splits opinions. He wasn''t alive to the through ball for the first goal and only Askou got back to try and do something mildly defencive. Infact several times during the game Askou made some crucial last ditch tackles not to mention a clearence off the line. When Doherty is fully focused he can be one of the best defenders at Championship level but it seems like he has Bramble-esque moments where he switches off which tends to lead to dodgy tackles or grappling moves as he has to make up a yard or two on the player he is marking.

Hoolahan was disapointing for me. He had a lot of the ball and mostly found the opposition with it. A lot of skill and tricks on show but this is only ever any good if you do something with it and like I say he lost it more often than not. This wasn''t nessisarily all his fault as our options were pretty limited with no real width.

For me although we clearly weren''t playing with the motivation of the previous few weeks it did highlight the frailties of the diamond midfield. We lacked the width in attack needed to make some sort of progression when we had posession, the ball often having to go backwards and then route one. On the occaision that Russel Martin or Drury got forward we were caught short on the break when the move broke down.

The first goal was a combined team flop in that the midfield didn''t close down and the defence seemed in two minds of pushing up or tracking. The second goal appeard to be a combined defensive and keeping error. Whoever was marking Price simply didn''t stay goal side of him and allowed him to get near to the ball. I say near because whether he got a touch or not obviously threw Forster who looked as though he lost the flight of the ball in what looked as though could have been quite a simple save - it bounced over the line rather than going straight in. Forster is a great keeper but it just showed he has a few things to learn yet. He would have been better off coming towards the ball from the free kick and get a punch on it or try and catch it. It didn''t look that dangerous a ball when it came in and everyone around me was shocked to see it go in.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="chicken"]

 He wasn''t alive to the through ball for the first goal and only Askou got back to try and do something mildly defencive.

[/quote]

Well, that''s not true, is it?

Doherty read the danger and came to close it down.

Whereas Askou backed off and backed off letting Carlisle run at him. He never made his mind up what to do.

[chicken 0]

[quote user="GJP"][quote user="chicken"]

 He wasn''t alive to the through ball for the first goal and only Askou got back to try and do something mildly defencive.

[/quote]

Well, that''s not true, is it?

Doherty read the danger and came to close it down.

Whereas Askou backed off and backed off letting Carlisle run at him. He never made his mind up what to do.

[/quote]

Well I was sitting in the Jarold stand in line with the penalty spot at the N&P to my left. What I saw was Doherty desperately scrambling to get back and Askou left 1v2. Askou tried to show the player with the ball the outside whilst also knowing anything too jumpy would just lead to the player squaring the ball to the other player. It appeared that he was trying to hold the player with the ball up to allow time for the others to get back. Ofcourse their player squared it to his partner who duley sloted the ball home. Doherty only on his shadow by that time.

What was Askou meant to do - commit and the chap he was on was clean through with a touch and run. The term is ''jockey'' and thats all Askou could do and in fairness looking at the replay he almost did enough but although everyone was running back to help out no one actually went in after the other player.

I am not slagging off Doherty, just pointing out that when he is focused fully for 90 minutes he can be a fantastic defender, in a game like that you can''t really knock the players because it didn''t seem that most of them were really 100% up for it - and why would they be?

Personaly it was easy to see that the diamond wasn''t working and I would have taken out Hoolahan and replaced him with MacNamee and reverting to the 4-4-2. We just seemed to be a man down in midfield all the way through the game.

[GJP 79]

To be fair I''ve just now had to watch the replay again to be sure, it''s difficult at the games when you only get one look at it.

What happened was that Doherty came out to close Jason Price who was on the ball but Price laid it off to another player. As that was happening Askou was sort of running towards the goal with his back slightly to play, not ideal. When he did swivel round to try to face play he was never in a position to do anything positive with the situation. He didn''t try to stand up to the player/make the tackle but he never did enough to force him wide. At any level you often see it end badly when a defender just backs off without doing one thing or another.

It''s just one of those things. Had it been the match fit and in form Michael Nelson playing they probably would never have scored from that but Askou was rusty.

[chicken 0]

[quote user="GJP"]

To be fair I''ve just now had to watch the replay again to be sure, it''s difficult at the games when you only get one look at it.

What happened was that Doherty came out to close Jason Price who was on the ball but Price laid it off to another player. As that was happening Askou was sort of running towards the goal with his back slightly to play, not ideal. When he did swivel round to try to face play he was never in a position to do anything positive with the situation. He didn''t try to stand up to the player/make the tackle but he never did enough to force him wide. At any level you often see it end badly when a defender just backs off without doing one thing or another.

It''s just one of those things. Had it been the match fit and in form Michael Nelson playing they probably would never have scored from that but Askou was rusty.

[/quote]

I too watched the replay but it doesnt show the whole break where Askou went to the player with the ball. Even in that replay it shows that he is clearly the closest to him.

Having played in defence myself that situation is one of the most difficult. Do you get tight to the player knowing that a tap and dash would get him through on goal - or if he likes his gamesmanship clips you and goes down on the way through to get you sent off? Or do you jockey hoping that he tries to take you on and makes a misstake? Thats bad enough when one on one but when two on one all the guy has to do is square it anyway. I really don''t think Askou could have done anymore other than get tight to him and take the risk of winning the ball or allowing the player to get through and score. In that situation he seemed to try and close down the two options the player had but was unable to stop the pass.

As I said before - one of those guys is Doherty''s man so why do you see him storming 10-15yards to try and catch up and do something?

I am not a Doherty hater - I rate him but his main weakness is that he has lapses of focuse every now and then. Its what has stopped him being a better player. I think he is one of our best defenders at the moment. I would like to see more of Whitbread, I like Askou because he appears to know what to do with the ball before he gets it and isn''t scared of taking it forward or kicking it out if anything else is too risky.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="chicken"]

As I said before - one of those guys is Doherty''s man so why do you see him storming 10-15yards to try and catch up and do something?

[/quote]

Because he''d come to close down Price, the striker.

He''s a defender, the striker had the ball, he tried to defend against him.

If not Price would have been free to turn and run at the defence.

I think it was just bad luck that they broke against us and Adam Drury was left up the pitch so we had 2 attackers coming down that side of the pitch and Askou wasn''t able to deal with it/deal with it on his own.

Anyway, I like Askou as well. I think, in general, he defends pretty well, not so great with the ball though.