Great point shocking defending

[BW 0]

pele that''s totally wrong. i am over the moon with the point i just feel we need to tighten up at the back and our mid need to take more control in the middle of the park. I think we are fantastic and never have i seen a city side with this much courage.

[Gingerpele 0]

Ok, fair enough. But maybe just consider the fact the Liverpool players ARE better than our players, thats why they are at Liverpool and not Norwich.

What Lambert is doing, is turning a bunch of decent players into a very good team/squad, while a team like Liverpool seems to rely on individuals like Suarez performing without quite the same sense of it being all about the team.

Suarez would quite frankly be embarrassed if he wasn''t able to get the better of Barnett, if you were going to rate the players out of 100 like they do on Football games, Suarez would be in the top 80s, Barnett low 70s, thats just how it is.

I get that you want us to tighten up at the back, and take control in the midfield, and I just think at the moment to expect a higher level of performance from our players is just asking to much. They are playing really well, and showing they are all good players, but there not that good (yet?). Hopefully we will continue to develop over the season, and what we''ve seen so far isn''t the best they have to offer. I just think your ''negative'' comments, are maybe just coming a bit too early in the season, if we haven''t progressed in another couple of months, then yes its time to call for improvement, but now i''m going to mention how far we''ve come blah blah etc etc you all know the drill, but its true. How many premiership games did our squad have between them before this season? I imagine Drury has more than the rest of the squad put together....Players like Morison, Holt, Jackson, C.Martin, Crofts have moved up 4 divisions in 4 seasons, others have been playing low divisions in recent seasons, to be honest before last season there wasn''t even that much Championship experience in the squad compared to some other teams.

I know your happy about the result, and I suppose its not fair to tell you not to say what your worried about/what the team need to improve on, but I just think your asking a bit to much at this current time, just give them the rest of the season to develop, and then next season we will be even better :)

[yellow blood 0]

OP weren''t you moaning about people talking up Europe earlier this week and now you want our midfielders and defenders to outclass world cup strikers? You are deluded...

[BW 0]

Ok fair points all round. I just felt from what i saw today our center backs and naughton once looked out of position too much and positioning is something any professional player can do to help defend. Thats my main worry because i know they can position themselves better i have seen it in other games including against man united and chelsea who have high level players. Just my feelings i know everyone else think barnett was great today maybe i just look at players more when they are off the ball.

[Brighton Yellow 0]

OP not at the game then?

[GJP 79]

As many others have said, Leon Barnett was awesome today.

 

In general this season his form has been brilliant, arguably our best player so far.

 

Russell Martin has been getting a lot of praise and credit recently which I didn''t think was entirely in proportion. Infact I''ve seen it suggested on here that Leon Barnett''s good form has only been because he''s had Martin playing alongside him.

 

I would suggest Russell Martin''s good performances owe more to the fine work of his defensive partner than the other way around.

 

(I think Martin struggled a lot more than Barnett did today)

[BW 0]

Wasn''t at the game brighton as most of you will know i work abroad almost year round so only get to go to occasional games when in UK however i managed to watch it over here so saw what went on.

[K Lo 226]

All thise talk about shocking defending. The bottom line isLiverpool 1 - 1 NorwichWho would have bitten someone''s hand off at the shoulder if they''d''ve been offered that this morning?

[Robert N. LiM 4,464]

I thought Leon was man of the match, partly because Suarez gave him such a torrid time.

He was up against a far superior player, who made him look foolish a few times, but he stuck at it so well, put his body on the line and did whatever he could to stop him scoring.

A bit like our whole team.

We were overawed and outclassed in the first fifteen minutes and yes, hold the phone, Liverpool are better than us. We could have been stuffed out of sight if they had taken their chances.

But.

We never give up. We hassled and harried them, and our passing got better as the game went on. Fox and Johnson had poor games by their standards but even they muddled through and gave it their all.

A performance of pride and guts, well worth the point on that basis alone.

The fact that people are criticising aspects of the performance just shows how far we''ve come.

Well done boys.

[Norwich or die tryin! 0]

Fu¢k me. This time 2 years ago we lost at Tranmere. Cheer up.

[Rob Sims 0]

apart from everything that''s been ''discussed'' in the thread so far. the op in my opinion is wrong, norwich conceeding one goal at anfield is a triumph, regardless of how haphazard it may have appeared during the game and this result for me has been one of the most satisfying points we''ve earned in recent times.

im absolutely chuffed to bits with a point, i dont think our immediate rivals for 17th spot will get a point there. incredibly proud! barnett was my man of the match, several crucial blocks & tackles.

i love the fact holty got on the scoresheet and i am also impressed that lambert decided to go for it and keep morrison and bring holt on to try and get something when it looked like it could go horribly wrong!

all in all as you''ve probably guessed, im elated!

[Morisons Prozac 0]

[quote user="Time For Heroes"]Fu¢k me. This time 2 years ago we lost at Tranmere. Cheer up.[/quote]Oh christ I still have nightmares about that game. One of the the worst refereeing performances I have ever seen.

[Mr McGoo 0]

Better wizard...Bloody pillock more like, I personally didn''t think our passing was that bad and I couldn''t understand why they were having so many shots on goal with a team like theirs I mean that suarez he''s pants isn''t he what did he cost again couple of hundred thousand was it. It was a great team performance we could have buried our heads after the first 20mins but we didn''t we tried our best and in the end I believe we got exactly what we were owed. There''s gonna be bigger teams with better squads that go there this season go one down and the floodgates will open. I''m proper proud of our team tonight as I have been each and every game this season. The traveling fans deserve a special mention as for large parts of the game you couldn''t even hear the scousers. Playing like this I can see 6points for next two games amd quite possibly the same for arsenal aswell. Otbc!!!! Mom for me ruddy superb display I never thought he was that bad when he first came but I never believed he would turn out to be this good. He''s earnt us countless points this season. We''ve got a cracking team that shows up most of the "overpaid" lazy players that''s in this league!

[Mr McGoo 0]

In fact I don''t even know why I''ve risen to the bait its YET AGAIN an attention seeking post from the usual suspect in future I shall just avoid any posts in which you''ve started. Its the only way to deal with people like you then you''ll get bored and move onto another forum or change your I.d

[BW 0]

Sorry mate but read all the posts on this thread i have explained myself and i just feel why be happy with a good performance why don''t we want to strive to get better all the time. It''s what i believe the game is about. Even if we were top of the league been in the champions league for a few seasons i would want us to be as good as barcelona. Im just saying we can play better and we will.

[Mr McGoo 0]

Well you must be the only Norwich fan that wants us to do well then. I think its a bit out of order to start a thread to criticise after a hard earned point away at Anfield. You could of come on started a thread like " ruddy great keeper" but you didn''t did u? Everyone want us to win every game anyone who watched the game knows the defence was a bit shakey. Were still learning this is new to most of the team. But we did the job didn''t we I''d have taken a point pre match were 7th in the premier league did u think we would be saying that after 9 games I didn''t. Infact I didn''t think us,qpr or swansea would be where we are I was thinking we''d all be fighting it out between 15th and 20th. But I''m extremely sure we''ll be staying up barring serious injuries\suspensions its great to be getting the points cos we''ve got a tough last few games to the season

[BW 0]

All norwich fans want us to well you moron. There is no point having a personal vendetta against me just because i say if we want to stay up we need to improve in certain areas. We won''t be so lucky next time. That doesn''t mean i think we played bad i think we played out of our skin but were sloppy at times, understandable how hard liverpool pushed us but we can make our life easier by being in position and passing to our players calmly not rushing things.

[Ruddygore 0]

Why use such emotive words as "shocking" in the title with regard our defence then? Because you are a) An attention seeker and b) Wrong.

So many Premiership Teams go to Anfield and just try to close up shop, 10 men in their own half etc. Lambert took us there to try and get something out of the game, without fear.

You talk of the defence being "sloppy" at times while at the same time saying that it is understandable given how hard Liverpool came at us especially in the first twenty minutes. That is how Liverpool misjudged us. They thought that they would overwhelm the little team from Norwich and get a cricket score. And yet they didn''t score until the last minute of the first half. If we were so sloppy tell me how many goals Liverpool scored from set pieces? A hatful? No. How many times did our "sloppy defence" catch them in the offside trap, stepping up as a unit? Yes, 5 or 6 times.

A sloppy defence going to Anfield would have lost us the game by at least 4 or 5 goals or more so they weren''t sloppy. They weren''t out of position, what they weren''t was out of passion either, attacking defence at times too and bloody well organised.

You don''t get too many touches on the ball playing Liverpool or any of the top half Prem teams so after the first twenty minutes the team dug in and had some very good possession, making Liverpool chase the ball. Don''t know what the stats were but we looked anything but rushed and out of our depth and the score reflects that.

But even saying all that this weekend should be about celebrating a point, not criticising the team so what are you? An attention seeker or just plain wrong? Or are you a Binner?

[smooth 114]

Well for us to get anything yesterday from this fixture we were going to be on the ropes, have last ditch challenges, pull off some class saves and hope a team that can spend millions at will have an off day.

They did and we managed to pinch an equaliser, a great point where Lamberts words of ''heart and desire'' are appropriate. We are never going to play them off the park and at anfield they will have space and the movement of a title challenging team.

There was some great last minute lunging challenges to clear the ball, and for the first 15 minutes Liverpool came out on a stormer, which didn''t have the effect of tiring us out or making us lose confidence.

The team can be proud of that performance take that energy into training because we can forget about it now. It is in the past, time to think about Blackburn and the massive game that it is.

We are at home, I certainly consider this as a massive game for them and one for us if we are to look solid ofr 17th place. Picking up points against the teams who will be around us is the most important thing this season. We should never get complacent after a result like that. We need to push on.

[Yellowfuture 71]

Any team in the Premiership would have struggled against Liverpool in the first 20 mins. they were outstanding and none of  our players have ever had to face up to anything like that before, huge crowd and all the emotion as well.Just remember where we come from, as the commentators did annoyingly frequently yesterday, but it is true and considering our inexperience we were superbe. Yes we made loads of mistakes but that is inevitable, the test is whether we have learned  lessons and crucially whether we are able to improve as indeviduals and as a team as a result, I think we all know the answer to that  dont we!   

[kdncfc 27]

I thought we defended brilliantly, fully deserved the point we got and could have nicked a winner. Let''s not forget that we also managed 12 shots on goal ourselves which was a very decent amount considering who we were up against.We have now been to three of the top clubs in the country and conceded a miserly six goals in total, plenty of more established prem clubs will concede twice as many. I can see us winning a few more away games against the lesser lights this season and taking points off the big teams when they visit our place, absolutely lovin it.

[ryan1992 0]

[quote user="Better Wizard"]Sorry mate but read all the posts on this thread i have explained myself and i just feel why be happy with a good performance why don''t we want to strive to get better all the time. It''s what i believe the game is about. Even if we were top of the league been in the champions league for a few seasons i would want us to be as good as barcelona. Im just saying we can play better and we will.[/quote]

So you don''t think we have made enough improvements over the past 2 years? 2 years ago on this weekend, we beat Swindon Town at home 1-0, now we are drawing at one of the biggest teams in Europe, and you are talking like we lost to bl00dy Accrington! Did you expect us to win at Liverpool Today? Suarez has been named one of the best forwards in WORLD football, he didn''t score against a team made of 7 players who were non league a few years back. we are currently the 7th highest team in England, behind just Man Utd, City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and Newcastle, all massive clubs, and above Arsenal, Villa, Everton etc. Be proud!

[grantroederdisaster 0]

Resilliant performance but lets be honest if Liverpool would of had their shooting boots on we''d of been dead and buried before half time!

But, you have to put the ball in the back of the net. Man U rode their luck against us earlier this month!

[ZLF 274]

To be honest I dont think Liverpool were outstanding in that opening 20 minutes - I think Suarez, Kuyt and Bellamy were; their movement and pace was outstanding and Suarez was as inspiring as Messi.

Our midfield was overpowered but theirs, not one cross matched pilkingtons cross for holt for terms of quality of ball in to the box. Downing & Henderson? I would have Pilkington ahead of either every day.

Look at the numbers of interceptions blocks and tackles made - our back 4 were immense today, against as TRULY world class player at his best.

[star_manic 0]

watched the game here in gainsborough, east midlands. i was the only canary at the start, several pool supporters. at half time the opinion was that we were lucky to only be one down, but by the time holty scored city were gaining new admirers and the opinion of the neutrals at the end was that we were a force to be reckoned with in the premiership, and even the pool supporters (well some of then) said that city were a decent team.  i thought ruddy was supurb but was suffering from adrenalin overload as all his kicks from hand were far too long for morrison and later holt to get a head too them.

[Aggy 758]

A lot of people saying only conceding one shows we defended well.... they hit the bar, the post, missed a couple of absolute sitters, and Ruddy pulled off a couple of top class saves.

On any other day, they could have scored 7. Yes, they didn''t, and it is not our problem that they didn''t, we got the goal we needed to get the point, and the bottom line is that the players should definitely be applauded for picking up a point at anfield. But we didn''t defend well.

Barnett was poor in my opinion. As Wizard says, got rolled by Suarez far too often. A lot of naivety there as well; for example, Downing on the right wing. Downing is a (very) predominantly left footed player. We continuously allowed him to cut in onto his left foot rather than showing him down the line on to his weaker right.

Yes, great point that was pretty much a bonus (had they finished better and scored 5 i wouldn''t have been overly bothered - who cares, it was Liverpool!) but we did not defend well in my opinion whatsoever.

[BW 0]

Finally some other fans without the norwich blinkers on. And just because i said our defending was poor doesnt make me a binner loooool. I am over the moon with the point lets go into the next game and get a win as it''s...only blackburn ;)

[Ruddygore 0]

No, you said our defending was "shocking". It''s a fact that you always seek to promote negative points about whatever facet of our team appeals to you at the time. Your hyperbole is designed to get attention and when you get it you grizzle like an Ipswich fan.

Our defence was far from shocking and while Liverpool had chances it was our defence and John Ruddy along with their abysmal lack of knowledge on where the goal was that kept them to one goal.

I just think that you have a problem with everyone else being happy.

[lake district canary 0]

Aggy wrote :

"had they finished better and scored 5 i wouldn''t have been overly bothered - who cares, it was Liverpool!"

- Not much of a fan in my eyes if you don''t mind being beaten by 5, by anybody, whoever they are.

Same goes for BW if he thinks our defending was shocking - you''ve succeeded in having a long thread with lots of posts, but you won''t have made many friends - but maybe you''re not bothered about that.

[ryan1992 0]

[quote user="Better Wizard"]Finally some other fans without the norwich blinkers on. And just because i said our defending was poor doesnt make me a binner loooool. I am over the moon with the point lets go into the next game and get a win as it''s...only blackburn ;)[/quote]

So why is it shocking defending when one of the worlds best forwards gets past our defenders a few times? If Messi was playing for them, and took it past Barnett a couple of times would you say he was defending shockingly? Barnett has been a solid, solid player since being here, but some people just can''t praise them. If we won 3-0 Yesterday you would moan we didn''t score 4!