Ricardo's report v Arsenal

[ricardo 7,349]

Ricardo was expecting no miracles on the stroll up to CR as the discussion centered around Arsenal''s awesome array of talent. If somehow we might scrape a point the weekend would however take on a golden glow. The return of Turner in central defence was the only surprise as City lined up with just Holty up front.The early exchanges looked promising as Pilks skidded a twenty yarder just wide after a nice move. Then down the other end a lightening Arsenal attack saw Podolski fire wide from an angle on the left. If anyone had said that that was as close as the Gunners would come to scoring in the first half I don''t think it would have been believed. City gave up a lot of possession but Arsenal were closed off down the flanks and despite some lovely close passing were unable to prise an opening in the City rearguard. With Tetty and Johnson in front of the back four it looked more solid than any time this season.On twenty minutes Tetty picked up a loose ball 25 yards out and responded to the crowd''s cries of "shoot" with a low stinger that Mannone could not hold. Holty was on hand to calmly slot the rebound home and bring the crowd to their feet and Ricardo began to think a point may just about be a possibility. Arsenal stormed back but despite a couple of corners they looked pretty toothless. It could have got better for City had Wes not had rush to head when rushing a free-kick from a position that was tailor-made for a Pilkington strike. Even so, if Turner had been able to direct his free header from a corner it might have been dreamland at halftime.The second half began with very much of a continuation of the first. Arsenal still battering at a locked door with very little likelihood of getting through. As the minutes ticked by you could feel the crowd begin to believe and things started to get quite noisey.  Ref Probert who had had a decent game so far blotted his copy book with a couple of needless bookings for Holt and Wes but City we looking very assured in possession and often broke well when the Gunners misplaced a pass. Oxtail-Chambermaid put in an appearance on 65 minutes and immediately broke down the right only to run into a Bassong tackle and that was pretty much the last we saw of him.Holty managed to break away a couple of times and flashed a shot wide from 20 yards then really ought to have done better than finish with a weak lob when a power drive would have been the better option. CH used the subs to eat up time as first Bennett was swapped for Snoddy then Holt and Wes for Moro and Ryan Bennett. Ruddy made a fine save from Arteta as the Gunners finally got one on target and when 5 minutes extra were signaled Ricardo had already chewed his glooves off and was nearly up to his watch. Arsenal went for a desperate last throw of the dice and Bassong did brilliantly as Gerhvino almost broke through on the right. The crowd were in full voice as OTBC rang round the ground and the last of Arsenal''s long range efforts flew harmlessly into the stands as Proberts final whistle was lost in the bedlam.MOM is impossible to call as everyone played their part with immense performances all round. Holty scored his goal and was a handful all night, Wes was mercurial and everywhere, Johno and Tetty strong in the tackle while Bassong and Turner were immovable at the back and Ruddy safe as houses. It was a tremendous performance and one that really nails it for me. Come May, we will be nowhere near the dreaded trapdoor. So three superb points and the bonus of 1pswich losing in the last minute have brightened Ricardo''s weekend. If Carlsberg made weekends they couldn''t make one better than this.[;)]

[Dusk1983 0]

Great report Ricardo. [:)]

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

Nice one as usual and a few points you made echoed my own from watching on stream. Particularly the chance for a Pilkington punt and that Holt lob. Holt is a lot, but a lobber he ''aint.

 

My MoM? Holt. You could see that the Arsenal defence were nervous of him from the start and I feel this  helped undermine their performance as a whole. Tough call though.

 

Healthy enough now then Ricardo?

[Timmah 0]

Norwich beat Arsenal 1-0.

Ipswich lose to a last minute winner.

Frankel retires as the undisputed, unbeaten champion of the turf.

Carlsberg don''t do days, but if they did....

[newyorkcanary 14]

Great job Ricardo. So jealous of the other Ny Canaries who were on hand to witness the win.

[Gingerpele 0]

Nice to read a Ricardo''s report after a win!

Great day, won £150 thanks to AP McCoy on Bondage. After watching Frankel show his class. Barca are 3-0 up now as well. Make that 3-1, fantastic dive from Riki, he well and truly fooled the ref.

[ricardo 7,349]

[quote user="BroadstairsR"]

Nice one as usual and a few points you made echoed my own from watching on stream. Particularly the chance for a Pilkington punt and that Holt lob. Holt is a lot, but a lobber he ''aint.

 

My MoM? Holt. You could see that the Arsenal defence were nervous of him from the start and I feel this  helped undermine their performance as a whole. Tough call though.

 

Healthy enough now then Ricardo?

[/quote]ecstatic mate enjoyable glasses of wine are passing my lips as we speak. Football never ceases to surprise even after 58 seasons. Gotta love them Canaries.

[ron obvious 1,501]

Excellent as always Ricardo. Many thanks.Any comment from the fabulous feline??

[ricardo 7,349]

[quote user="ron obvious"]Excellent as always Ricardo. Many thanks.Any comment from the fabulous feline??[/quote]He''s never had a moments worry, unlike me.He''s gone out to terrorise the mice but will be back for match of the day.

[Bill 1,788]

it''s been along while since we have had an atmosphere like today

 

often games like this are a bit nervous crowd wise, but even before the goal the crowd were well up for it

 

not sure if that''s the right way to describe it, but it just seemed like being at the races when your horse has cleared the final fence and is in the lead

 

so, so much believe today, both on and off the pitch 

 

 

 

ps I wonder how many more Spurs cup tickets we will sell this week - and I wonder how many threads we will now get griping about the ticket price ?

 

 

 

 

[blahblahblah 2]

I remember our conversations from the championship Ricardo. I bet you''d never thought you''d see the day we''d beat the Arsenal again. We haven''t beaten them since Boxing Day 1984. Mick Channon was in the team that day.

[ROBFLECK 132]

Thanks Ricardo, couldn''t have described it better myself.

[Sussexyellow 55]

Thanks for the report Ricardo. A good read as always.

Definitely a Carlsberg weekend as far as I am concerned.

COYY

[ricardo 7,349]

[quote user="blahblahblah"]I remember our conversations from the championship Ricardo. I bet you''d never thought you''d see the day we''d beat the Arsenal again. We haven''t beaten them since Boxing Day 1984. Mick Channon was in the team that day.[/quote]Yes Blah, I remember it well John Deehan scored just before half time, happy memories although that was the season we got relegated by Coventry winning their last three games after everyone else had finished.

[Sussexyellow 55]

Let''s not tarnish today''s result with memories if Coventry''s Everton assisted miracle escape. Still hurts.

[Bill 1,788]

"We haven''t beaten them since Boxing Day 1984"

 

eh ?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZG3-gh3UHs

 

 

 

 

[Timmah 0]

At home....

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

A couple of questions for you, Ricardo:

Was the starting line up our strongest. I think it is if Turner plays as he did today.

When did you last see such a disciplined and well organised defensive display from Norwich? I don''t think we played that way under PL and before that we were poor. It might be back in Worthy''s promotion season but I don''t know when.

If we can organise and be solid like this going forward we have a chance to survive IMO.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Last season the big scalp at home was Newcastle. Now, after our worst start we have one of the top four. In that sense it is the most prestigious home win since Man Utd in 2006.

[ricardo 7,349]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]A couple of questions for you, Ricardo:

Was the starting line up our strongest. I think it is if Turner plays as he did today.

When did you last see such a disciplined and well organised defensive display from Norwich? I don''t think we played that way under PL and before that we were poor. It might be back in Worthy''s promotion season but I don''t know when.

If we can organise and be solid like this going forward we have a chance to survive IMO.[/quote]Yes RH, it was a highly disciplined performance. I''m not a lover of 451 or 4411 but against teams of the calibre of Arsenal you have to play that way to stay in the game. Obviously the big advantage last night was scoring the first goal so we didn''t need to change things and chase the game (Liverpool).I thought we kept our shape throughout and restricted Arsenal to very few chances. For me, every City player did their job simply and effectively and didn''t try anything they are not capable of. In short it was a perfect team performance. No doubt CH will play this formation against the big boys but I think he might take a different approach against the lesser lights of this league.

[A Load of Squit 5,135]

Is that Alan Brazil (far right) celebrating Holts goal?

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

In my paper report Wenger virtually said that they had under-estimated us yesterday.

 

Indeed, some of their preparation seemed a bit lax. Apparently they flew from Luton airport to Norwich.

 

It was 14 minutes in the air.

 

I would have thought that it would have been quicker and less stressful to coach it up the A11 from North London rather than mess around getting to and from and in and out of airports. Some teams do seem to make a meal out of coming to our sticks. Does this advantage us at times? 

[Buncey 1]

[quote user="ricardo"][quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]A couple of questions for you, Ricardo:

Was the starting line up our strongest. I think it is if Turner plays as he did today.

When did you last see such a disciplined and well organised defensive display from Norwich? I don''t think we played that way under PL and before that we were poor. It might be back in Worthy''s promotion season but I don''t know when.

If we can organise and be solid like this going forward we have a chance to survive IMO.[/quote]Yes RH, it was a highly disciplined performance. I''m not a lover of 451 or 4411 but against teams of the calibre of Arsenal you have to play that way to stay in the game. Obviously the big advantage last night was scoring the first goal so we didn''t need to change things and chase the game (Liverpool).I thought we kept our shape throughout and restricted Arsenal to very few chances. For me, every City player did their job simply and effectively and didn''t try anything they are not capable of. In short it was a perfect team performance. No doubt CH will play this formation against the big boys but I think he might take a different approach against the lesser lights of this league.[/quote]Ricky, the formation was the same but the setup and tempo was a world apart yesterday. We had a belief that we could win yesterday and we pressed Arsenal high and hard and harried them all game. Our goal originated from us winning the ball in their half and all game long Arsenal were having great difficulty building from the back. That positivity got us that first goal, and for once we were chasing in a game for the right reasons. Us, the fans, knew this too and the atmosphere was the best in a long time. I have no doubt that it gave the players a second wind at the end.

[blahblahblah 2]

Thankyou for that city1st, how often did Adams make a howler like that for our 4th ? Almost never.

[PurpleCanary 5,554]

[quote user="blahblahblah"]Thankyou for that city1st, how often did Adams make a howler like that for our 4th ? Almost never.[/quote]

 

It was, I am pretty sure,  the first day of the no back pass to the keeper rule, and Adams got caught in several minds and panicked.

[Cosmic Twin 187]

Another great report, Ricardo. Thanks!

[Phillip J Fry 0]

[quote user="PurpleCanary"]

[quote user="blahblahblah"]Thankyou for that city1st, how often did Adams make a howler like that for our 4th ? Almost never.[/quote]

 

It was, I am pretty sure,  the first day of the no back pass to the keeper rule, and Adams got caught in several minds and panicked.

[/quote]

The no back pass law was introduced in 1992 so you''re probably right about Adams hesitation.

[Dubai Mark 0]

Yet another good report, thanks Ricardo. This was a case of everything slotting into place and a demonstration of how to play as a unit, as a team, terrific stuff. Their defence simply couldnt handle Holt with Hoolhoop buzzing around behind him and our defence, backed up by our hard working midfield made their attack look ordinary, fantastic!

[blahblahblah 2]

Excellent memory PC. How come I never remember all this stuff ? :).

[Badger 2,405]

Thanks Ricardo - always a good read