Home bankers?

[dpit 1]

Lots of talk about us missing out on our best chances of home victories in the West Ham and QPR games. We should be realising that there are no such things as home bankers in this league. Look at the points on the board not the fixture list. We will pick up points where we expect them. Spurs?

[dpit 1]

don''tt expect them

[norwichlovefc 0]

League in general is getting a lot more competitive. A lot less comfort no matter where you play, and I think we are going to see a lot less consistency in general in the coming years.

[Canary Willo 0]

Also, we drawed games at home to Wigan and Blackburn last year, which kind of cancels out these two draws, if we are all using last season as a barometer.

However, we beat QPR nad Spurs last year.... We also lost at home to WBA and drew with Stoke and Fulham at home, these may be opportunities to bring in maximum points this year.

See how it is a lottery to compare against last season? Each season will throw up differing results, or the same, guess it''s whether you look at life with a half full or empty glass. I''m just glad I don''t work with half the people on this board, what a mess the companies they work for must be in..............

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="dpit"]Lots of talk about us missing out on our best chances of home victories in the West Ham and QPR games. We should be realising that there are no such things as home bankers in this league. Look at the points on the board not the fixture list. We will pick up points where we expect them. Spurs?[/quote]I haven''t seen the phrase "home banker" used - that''s something you''d keep for Man U at home to Wigan.I have used the argument above to say we have a number of "winnable" (not the same as "easy win" or "home banker") home games which we need to be winning (not "should" be winning).I would say QPR, West Ham, Southampton, Reading and Wigan at home are winnable games compared to Man City, Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton.  If we struggle to beat QPR and West Ham, it''s reasonable to assume that unless things change radically we will struggle to beat a lot of teams this season.Frankly, I would be surprised if anyone thought different.

[dpit 1]

Agree with you up to a point Chops but we could well have been saying something similar this time last year when we had failed to beat Wigan and WBA at home (which it could be argued were at the time similar ''eminently winnable type fixtures'') and we ended up alright in the end. My point is that although we would all have preferred to take 6 points from QPR and W Ham, there isn''t necessarily a need for acute pessimism. Likewise, blind optimism won''t get us anywhere. We learnt our lessons last year by cutting down on the number of silly defensive mistakes that were costing us then. This year we are not making so many of those mistakes (Fulham excepted) but we need to begin to convert pressure and possession into goals. To be honest I think our main problem is one of form not lack of quality. Moro and Holt don''t have it (form) at them moment and both need either a backside kick or an arm round the shoulder (Hughton''s job is to decide which) and I firmly believe that Mr Kane, given some game time, will quickly build his confidence and provide us with a few goals.

At the moment my setting is cautious optimism, which may well turn into nervousness if we are in the bottom 3 at the end of October but that is some time off.

[Gingerpele 0]

In my opinion you can look at it two ways.

You can be optimistic, and assume were at least as good as our league position last season. So home games against QPR and West Ham are easily winnable. And having watched both games, they were both 2 points dropped. We have the better side on the day, we had more/better chances, we should have won both games (and regardless of penalty at QPR). Same with Spurs. After the game yesterday I was very very disappointed, after Fulham we went on and improved drastically against a poor QPR side, so was pleased with that. Spurs away was always going to be tough, and we got a point which was acceptable. Having failed to win two games we really should have won, I thought we most definitely wouldn''t do that again. But we did.

The second way, is just to think ''oh its a very competitive league this season'' etc. I don''t care, we finished 12th last season, same points as WBA and Swansea. So two teams on par, and 5 teams who stayed up below us, plus three teams who were in the league below. Why can''t we just go into games believing we are better than those teams? Because last season we were, we have only lost a couple of first team players, an gained 3/4 first team players.

Nothing in football is certain, games wouldn''t be played then would they. But in most games one team should win it, and the more of those you lose, the more likely you are to suffer. One point away at Spurs, one point against QPR at home, are both 2 points dropped from last seasons results in those games. So we now need to beat two teams we drew against (or some other way to make up those four points) just to make up those four points we lost this season already that we won last season.

[BroadstairsR 2,163]

Not getting at least one win from the last two home games is hugely disappointing, but hardly a yardstick of things to come. Comparisons with last season at this stage are trite as it is far to early and deteriorates into hair-splitting.

 

Apart from the imponderables (Zamora''s illegal goal, Morison''s involuntary donation of his shirt,) and one or two other near misses or saves and the complexion would be entirely different. It would only be appropriate to predict doom if we had suffered a Fulham in the subsequent games. We have not, to the extent that we have been the better team in three consequtive contests now.

 

We have had a degree of mis-fortune so far (and we did at this stage last season, I recall,) but this evens out.

 

Reasons to be cheerful, Part 1: We have been the better side in our last three games.

 

                                       Part 2: Yesterday''s team did not represent the limit of our resourses.  We have Butterfield, Tettey and Whittaker (who I think will be a good ''un, especially coming forward,) to see in action yet. At least one of those is capable at any time of adding that spark when needed. Kane can only get better. 

[paul moy 235]

[quote user="dpit"]Lots of talk about us missing out on our best chances of home victories in the West Ham and QPR games. We should be realising that there are no such things as home bankers in this league. Look at the points on the board not the fixture list. We will pick up points where we expect them. Spurs?[/quote]

So true. Results are so hard to predict in this league. The only guideline we need is that on average we are getting a point a game which gives us 38 points with a good chance of staying up. At the moment we are just behind schedule so we urgently need a win. Wins can come from anywhere as long as we have the right attacking attitude.... ie: the opposite to the capitulation at Fulham. 

As long as we are putting in the attacking performances and creating chances we should not have too much to worry about. The problem is that the longer we wait for a win the more that could sap team confidence with the knock-on effect that it gets harder and harder to win.   

   

[Pyro Pete 1,893]

Some good points made here. But yes, rightly or wrongly, you do tend to look at it and think these are points Norwich will have to find against better teams and possibly away from Carrow Rd. It is early days though. We did indeed start last season with an away draw against Wigan, a home draw vs Stoke, and a home defeat against West Brom. Scoring 3 goals in our first four games.Just like Lambert, Hughton will have to work out how to strike the right balance in his team to get wins. At the moment it''s a little cautious. Possibly understandable considering the drubbing at Fulham. Never the less, I do think he will have to be more bold tactically. For me, if we continue with this tactic of one main striker with the 2nd striker dropping into midfield, then Holt needs to be the man leading the front line. At the moment he is being used a battering ram and link man. Not unlike Wilby last season.  Holt is better than that, and needs to be given the opportunity to get into the penalty area more often, and in behind the opposition back line.   Jackson has not let us down with his pace. movement, effort and endeavour. But you don''t feel he will score regularly.