Where are all the threads..

[crabbycanary 2]

Blimey GP. You thought that getting an away point was frustrating, well you ought to be glad you weren''t around in the good old days!!

e.g 3-0 loss away at Wolves, 4-1 at Sunderland,6-0 at Man City, just a few I was at, now THAT''S frustrating!

[ZLF 274]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

What chances did we waste last night though?

[/quote]

 

You cant have it both ways Nutty,  if we didnt waste chances and only scored one goal logically we did not create enough?

 

I am with GP,   I do think the majority of people are thinking we are playing the right formation,  loving our defensive security & unbeaten run but are frustrated at the poor passing and failure to try and remedy that.     Most people were suggesting like for like substitutons to generate a spark for those players either tired or having a more ineffectual game,  rather than going gung ho,   subs does not mean abandoning a structure to risk a valued away point,  going 442 was not going to happen,  but swaps for morison / bennett would keep our integrity while giving fresh legs.  Morison has done better as a lone striker than a pair for us,  recognise a strength 

 

I have confidence that all the players we have on the bench will do a good job for us,   how can people think we have a stronger squad than last year and then fear a sub?     Does you fear at taking Holt of highlight your negativities NN??  [;)]      

 

     

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="Shack Attack"][quote user="Beauseant"]

I made the point in my EDP column the other week that we''ve moved on from Roy of the Rovers and are playing grown up football this season. Hopefully we''ll see a bit more grown up support too.

[/quote]

As much as I like you Beau a ''grown up supporter'' would not seek to dismiss what the previous manager did as ''Roy of the Rovers'' in an attempt to defend the present manager who can point to results as proof that his method is working without needing to denigrate previous efforts. We will succeed by combining the approaches of Lambert and Hughton and attempting to pass one off as better than the other is misguided in the extreme.

I saw a lot of reasoned posting last night which wanted us to be better in the final third from posters such as Gingerpele and LDC which far outweigh the one line ''Hughton is negative'' nonsense spouted by the herd. Join in with that and ignore the rest. As for the OP I didn''t think Holt and Hoolahan were that great last night. Holt put in a shift which is the least you should expect from any modern striker but although Nutty says Hoolahan was the most creative player on the pitch it is not saying much in a game so devoid of quality. I am regularly the most creative player in the garden when I play football with my kids but they just cannot read my passes [;)]

[/quote]

 

Fair point Shack. I wasn''t really trying to denigrate what Lambert did, because what he achieved was brilliant, as well as being exhilarating to watch. Perhaps my choice of words was poor, but what I was trying to get across is that there was always an element of "which Norwich City will turn up this week?" about last season. When it worked it was fantastic (Spurs away being a good example) but when it didn''t it was horrible (Fulham and Blackburn away for example). Lambert was an inveterate fiddler with systems and personnel, whereas Hughton has created a system that works and stuck with it and (barring injury) the personnel. The result is much greater consistency but loss of flair hence the "grown up football " comment, but I fully recognise that Hughton is building on foundations laid by Lambert.

[Mr Jenkins 0]

[quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

About how well we played tonight. About how Wes was the best player on the pitch tonight. How Holty was awesome and only a fantastic save stopped him scoring the winner. How the midfield and defence all but snuffed out Southamptons forwards who every one was saying would cause us so many problems. About how our unbeaten run has stretched another game. How we have got more points now than most were saying we''d have by Christmas.

 

Unbeaten in 8 now is it? Including wins over Arse and Man U and in the quarterfinals of the cup? Did anyone seriously expect better than that? I can''t believe the negativity on here. It''s like the results and performances haven''t happened. There''s just threads criticising and moaning. I really hope the players don''t come on here and read it.

 

[/quote]

Spot on Nutty. Twice we ''ve gone behind in tough away games while being under the cosh. Both times we''ve hung in and ground out a point without ever hitting top form. As a manager, if your team''s struggling (as we were early season) the first job is to stop the bleeding and make yourselves difficult to beat. Hughton''s done that and the next step is to increase attacking potency, but you can''t do both at once. Away from home you start with a point and look to keep it, anything else is a bonus. What you DON''T do is, having battled for 70 minutes, go gung-ho in the hope you might nick all three by gambling the one.

I made the point in my EDP column the other week that we''ve moved on from Roy of the Rovers and are playing grown up football this season. Hopefully we''ll see a bit more grown up support too.

 

 

 

[/quote]

What column do you right in the EDP Beauseant?

[nutty nigel 7,555]

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

What chances did we waste last night though?

[/quote]

 

You cant have it both ways Nutty,  if we didnt waste chances and only scored one goal logically we did not create enough?

 

I am with GP,   I do think the majority of people are thinking we are playing the right formation,  loving our defensive security & unbeaten run but are frustrated at the poor passing and failure to try and remedy that.     Most people were suggesting like for like substitutons to generate a spark for those players either tired or having a more ineffectual game,  rather than going gung ho,   subs does not mean abandoning a structure to risk a valued away point,  going 442 was not going to happen,  but swaps for morison / bennett would keep our integrity while giving fresh legs.  Morison has done better as a lone striker than a pair for us,  recognise a strength 

 

I have confidence that all the players we have on the bench will do a good job for us,   how can people think we have a stronger squad than last year and then fear a sub?     Does you fear at taking Holt of highlight your negativities NN??  [;)]      

 

     

[/quote]

 

Like I said. On Saturday we ended the game with three strikers on and salvaged a point. Last night we kept the point we had which I would rather than ending the game with three strikers risking a loss to get a win. I was concerned when Holt was subbed because we immediately were under pressure but once we played to Morisons strengths we were fine. And the Morison change was proved to be the right one to close the game out.

 

What wasn''t working that made you want to make changes earlier?

 

 

[ricardo 7,395]

[quote user="nutty nigel"][quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

What chances did we waste last night though?

[/quote]

 

You cant have it both ways Nutty,  if we didnt waste chances and only scored one goal logically we did not create enough?

 

I am with GP,   I do think the majority of people are thinking we are playing the right formation,  loving our defensive security & unbeaten run but are frustrated at the poor passing and failure to try and remedy that.     Most people were suggesting like for like substitutons to generate a spark for those players either tired or having a more ineffectual game,  rather than going gung ho,   subs does not mean abandoning a structure to risk a valued away point,  going 442 was not going to happen,  but swaps for morison / bennett would keep our integrity while giving fresh legs.  Morison has done better as a lone striker than a pair for us,  recognise a strength 

 

I have confidence that all the players we have on the bench will do a good job for us,   how can people think we have a stronger squad than last year and then fear a sub?     Does you fear at taking Holt of highlight your negativities NN??  [;)]      

 

     

[/quote]

 

Like I said. On Saturday we ended the game with three strikers on and salvaged a point. Last night we kept the point we had which I would rather than ending the game with three strikers risking a loss to get a win. I was concerned when Holt was subbed because we immediately were under pressure but once we played to Morisons strengths we were fine. And the Morison change was proved to be the right one to close the game out.

 

What wasn''t working that made you want to make changes earlier?

 

 

[/quote]Never mind Nigel, you can''t win with some of them. You have to realise that a lot of people on this forum are very good on Football Manager and think they could do a better job than Chris Hughton. Alan Bowkett told us last week what the job specification was and that was to keep us in the Premier League and as far as I am concerned  we have nothing to fear on that score. Personally I''ll take all the 1-0''s and 0-0''s over a 2-3 defeat everytime.With the money available next season it is obvious that this season is probably the most important in the clubs history. As long as we garner enough points I don''t really give a monkeys about the style or quality. If we succeed then it can be addressed at a later date  but if we fail then all the entertaining football in the world won''t make up for falling out of the league at the wrong time. We did a similar thing in 94/95 just as big money was coming into the game and that mistake took nearly 20 years and a close brush with administration before it was put right.Carry on Chris Hughton, ignore the idiots.

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="canarygirl"][quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

About how well we played tonight. About how Wes was the best player on the pitch tonight. How Holty was awesome and only a fantastic save stopped him scoring the winner. How the midfield and defence all but snuffed out Southamptons forwards who every one was saying would cause us so many problems. About how our unbeaten run has stretched another game. How we have got more points now than most were saying we''d have by Christmas.

 

Unbeaten in 8 now is it? Including wins over Arse and Man U and in the quarterfinals of the cup? Did anyone seriously expect better than that? I can''t believe the negativity on here. It''s like the results and performances haven''t happened. There''s just threads criticising and moaning. I really hope the players don''t come on here and read it.

 

[/quote]

Spot on Nutty. Twice we ''ve gone behind in tough away games while being under the cosh. Both times we''ve hung in and ground out a point without ever hitting top form. As a manager, if your team''s struggling (as we were early season) the first job is to stop the bleeding and make yourselves difficult to beat. Hughton''s done that and the next step is to increase attacking potency, but you can''t do both at once. Away from home you start with a point and look to keep it, anything else is a bonus. What you DON''T do is, having battled for 70 minutes, go gung-ho in the hope you might nick all three by gambling the one.

I made the point in my EDP column the other week that we''ve moved on from Roy of the Rovers and are playing grown up football this season. Hopefully we''ll see a bit more grown up support too.

 

 

 

[/quote]
 

What column do you right in the EDP Beauseant?
[/quote]

 

It''s in on Fridays (Robin Sainty)

[nutty nigel 7,555]

[quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="canarygirl"][quote user="Beauseant"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

About how well we played tonight. About how Wes was the best player on the pitch tonight. How Holty was awesome and only a fantastic save stopped him scoring the winner. How the midfield and defence all but snuffed out Southamptons forwards who every one was saying would cause us so many problems. About how our unbeaten run has stretched another game. How we have got more points now than most were saying we''d have by Christmas.

 

Unbeaten in 8 now is it? Including wins over Arse and Man U and in the quarterfinals of the cup? Did anyone seriously expect better than that? I can''t believe the negativity on here. It''s like the results and performances haven''t happened. There''s just threads criticising and moaning. I really hope the players don''t come on here and read it.

 

[/quote]

Spot on Nutty. Twice we ''ve gone behind in tough away games while being under the cosh. Both times we''ve hung in and ground out a point without ever hitting top form. As a manager, if your team''s struggling (as we were early season) the first job is to stop the bleeding and make yourselves difficult to beat. Hughton''s done that and the next step is to increase attacking potency, but you can''t do both at once. Away from home you start with a point and look to keep it, anything else is a bonus. What you DON''T do is, having battled for 70 minutes, go gung-ho in the hope you might nick all three by gambling the one.

I made the point in my EDP column the other week that we''ve moved on from Roy of the Rovers and are playing grown up football this season. Hopefully we''ll see a bit more grown up support too.

 

 

 

[/quote]
 

What column do you right in the EDP Beauseant?
[/quote]

 

It''s in on Fridays (Robin Sainty)

[/quote]

 

Did that replace the "Chirps" one? Or didn''t Crafty''s ever make it to the EDP?

 

[;)]

 

[ZLF 274]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

What wasn''t working that made you want to make changes earlier?

[/quote]

My view was always that a good performance and a point way was going to be an excellent result for us,  and thats exactly what we got.

 

Defensively we were excellent,   going forward we were not, we were not awful either but we did not look like scoring a second with our passing and movement off key.   I have said elsewhere all 4 forward players have had better games and can play better than they did last night as an attacking force - defensively they were strong.    I have already said that I agreed with all three of CHs chosen subs,  however I think making them sooner may have spruced up the attack and gained us a nice win. We could have safely brought on Bennett earlier for either pilkington or snodgrass without sacrificing defensive integrity (Elliot is very solid at this, probably better than those he could have replaced) and his extra pace may have brought us a different dimension as an attacking force,  ditto Morison for Holt.

 

Absolutely nowhere have I suggested even two up front let alone 3,  that was never the right option.

 

Ricardo - I can assure you I have neither played Football Manager (or similar) nor am I an idiot,   Your comment is atypical of you.  I have balanced opinion with praise and expressed my continued pleasure at the direction we are taking.  My apologies if my opinion is offensive to you.

[lake district canary 0]

If you went to the match - good on you - I was stuck up here in the frozen north looking at a grainy picture on the laptop.   Its always more of an occasion if you go to the match.   I have to admit that sitting watching the match at home it did appear that we are playing consistently well in defence and look solid at the back - but still don''t look potent in the final third - with poor deliveries and giving the ball away too easily.   Not a negative view, just realistic.    

The euphoria of an unbeaten run and a good away point is all well and good,  but the emotion of being there gives you a different perspective.   I was at Newcastle and there was a lot of negative stuff on here that was uncalled for - imo - and I responded to it - as I usually do.     My thread last night was not meant to be negative - it was more a case of saying how things are and where we can improve.      It almost goes without saying that all fans should be delighted at the progress made, but there are always some who will see the negatives.     From my point of view - often forced to look from afar - the positives are there for everyone to see.   We''re not playing that well up front, but still getting results - that is the positive.

 That means there is plenty in the team to come - an improvement in the forward play.   We know they have it in them.   Someone said if we get the attack as good as the defence we would be top three - well, I agree.    With the players we have there is no reason imo why we can''t emulate what WBA are doing this season.   The progress we have made in defence is a stepping stone to that, I believe.    If we do start improving in the final third  and keep the defence working well ( I see no reason why we shouldn''t) - then watch the canaries fly!

[ZLF 274]

[quote user="lake district canary"]

It did appear that we are playing consistently well in defence and look solid at the back - but still don''t look potent in the final third - with poor deliveries and giving the ball away too easily.   Not a negative view, just realistic.     



My thread last night was not meant to be negative - it was more a case of saying how things are and where we can improve. From my point of view  the positives are there for everyone to see.   We''re not playing that well up front, but still getting results - that is the positive.


 That means there is plenty in the team to come - an improvement in the forward play.   We know they have it in them.   Someone said if we get the attack as good as the defence we would be top three - well, I agree.    With the players we have there is no reason imo why we can''t emulate what WBA are doing this season.   The progress we have made in defence is a stepping stone to that, I believe.    If we do start improving in the final third  and keep the defence working well ( I see no reason why we shouldn''t) - then watch the canaries fly!



[/quote]

Not often I agree with you LDC but - absolutley spot on  [:D]

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,555]

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

What wasn''t working that made you want to make changes earlier?

[/quote]

My view was always that a good performance and a point way was going to be an excellent result for us,  and thats exactly what we got.

 

Defensively we were excellent,   going forward we were not, we were not awful either but we did not look like scoring a second with our passing and movement off key.   I have said elsewhere all 4 forward players have had better games and can play better than they did last night as an attacking force - defensively they were strong.    I have already said that I agreed with all three of CHs chosen subs,  however I think making them sooner may have spruced up the attack and gained us a nice win. We could have safely brought on Bennett earlier for either pilkington or snodgrass without sacrificing defensive integrity (Elliot is very solid at this, probably better than those he could have replaced) and his extra pace may have brought us a different dimension as an attacking force,  ditto Morison for Holt.

 

Absolutely nowhere have I suggested even two up front let alone 3,  that was never the right option.

 

Ricardo - I can assure you I have neither played Football Manager (or similar) nor am I an idiot,   Your comment is atypical of you.  I have balanced opinion with praise and expressed my continued pleasure at the direction we are taking.  My apologies if my opinion is offensive to you.

[/quote]

 

I bet you vote libdem Zip[:O][;)]

 

I don''t get what your point is. Before the game you would be happy with a point. The way we set out and contained Southampton ensured we got that point. Why make changes earlier if we are achieving what everyone seemed to want. Or would they be changes just for the sake of it?

 

And I don''t get the point you made about Holt. I was concerned when he went off but we quickly adapted and Morison closed the game out with the ball in the corners. I didn''t hear any fans frustrated about subs or tactics in the ground. I guess we would have preferred to come back with a win and so nearly did through Holty''s header. But all in all I have spent too many years going to no-shows away from home not to be happy with a committed performancre and valuable point.

 

 

[Yellowfuture 71]

Thanks will look out for it tomorrow

[GenerationA47 758]

Nutty, I too was surprised by the amount of dissatisfaction on here at the mo.

I can only say I''d like to think this criticism is mainly a reflection of how far we have come and how Hughton has once more raised our fans'' expectations... after a very disappointing start where even I thought we needed a change of manager (shame!)

Could it also reflect, dare we say, shades of arrogance re-emerging in a minority of folk... (& no, don''t mean the likes of you, GPele & others who are simply noting where we can improve! We all see that) The temptation''s there to imagine that because we survived one season, we''re entitled to consider ourselves an established Prem side (despite the trauma of losing a manager & having to re-build in the new one''s mould), and hence expect to beat the ''Norwiches'' of this season away, i.e. So''ton. Such an established side we can''t hope to be until we''ve cleared the debt and consolidated, in my view, and even then any result is possible on the day :-p

Admittedly the standard at times yesterday was low all round and our front five are still imperfect under the new system. But we still avoided the proverbial potential banana skin of this game - a fired-up newbie who were at home, starting a winning run, and arguably needed the win more than us. And there were some class moments from Tettey, Bunn, Holt, and the rest. Loved our passing & vision at speed... at times.

On a completely different question, to anyone else who was at the game last night, what was behind our Are you Chelsea in disguise songs? Presume some Clattenberg link...

[ricardo 7,395]

[quote user="ZippersLeftFoot"]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

What wasn''t working that made you want to make changes earlier?

[/quote]

My view was always that a good performance and a point way was going to be an excellent result for us,  and thats exactly what we got.

 

Defensively we were excellent,   going forward we were not, we were not awful either but we did not look like scoring a second with our passing and movement off key.   I have said elsewhere all 4 forward players have had better games and can play better than they did last night as an attacking force - defensively they were strong.    I have already said that I agreed with all three of CHs chosen subs,  however I think making them sooner may have spruced up the attack and gained us a nice win. We could have safely brought on Bennett earlier for either pilkington or snodgrass without sacrificing defensive integrity (Elliot is very solid at this, probably better than those he could have replaced) and his extra pace may have brought us a different dimension as an attacking force,  ditto Morison for Holt.

 

Absolutely nowhere have I suggested even two up front let alone 3,  that was never the right option.

 

Ricardo - I can assure you I have neither played Football Manager (or similar) nor am I an idiot,   Your comment is atypical of you.  I have balanced opinion with praise and expressed my continued pleasure at the direction we are taking.  My apologies if my opinion is offensive to you.

[/quote]Not at all ZLP, but in the end any other opinion than Hughtons about the way we play is just internet wanking. Lots of pleasure for the individuals involved I''m sure but its never going to make a rats arse of a difference to what happens in reality.

[ricardo 7,395]

* the word that was censored begins with w but means masturbation.

[ZLF 274]

You can be obtuse NN [;)]  what have my voting patterns to do with this?  why you have introduced that or came to that assumption or feel its some slight is odd ,  deflection tactics?  For clarity, and much to my fathers disappointment, (a tory to lib dem convert) I have never voted for the lib. 

 

I think its quite clear what my point was,  we had a point in the bag, there was the opportunity to win it if our forward play was more incisive.   It was clear that our  forwards were not quite up to it on the night so getting fresh legs on that could improve out ability to pass and or cross accurately was an option that we failed to exercise in a log risk attempt to win the game.   

 

 

 

[lake district canary 0]

[quote user="ricardo"]* the word that was censored begins with w but means masturbation.[/quote]

You mean w@nk?    (I bet that didn''t work.......)

[ZLF 274]

[quote user="ricardo"]* the word that was censored begins with w but means masturbation.
[/quote]

I agree it is all internet wasterbation and I am not arrogant enough to feel that my views in anyway influence either any individual who posts on here or what any one at the club may do.   This place is nothing more than a hosting place for apub discussion and opinion sharing - nowt more. 

 

 

[nutty nigel 7,555]

Lovely old job Zip. But no deflection although some of your posts on this thread have been akin to the trolling which you truly abhor[;)]

 

Back on topic. If I understand you right your point was that fresh legs could improve our chances of winning? My point is that uneccessary changes could improve our chances of losing. Neither of us can claim to be right because both scenarios are unproven. However, obtuse or not it was you that indicated he''d be happy with a point before we started and now it seems you were trolling because actually you wouldn''t be happy with anything less than a win.

 

 

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

About how well we played tonight. About how Wes was the best player on the pitch tonight. How Holty was awesome and only a fantastic save stopped him scoring the winner. How the midfield and defence all but snuffed out Southamptons forwards who every one was saying would cause us so many problems. About how our unbeaten run has stretched another game. How we have got more points now than most were saying we''d have by Christmas.

 

Unbeaten in 8 now is it? Including wins over Arse and Man U and in the quarterfinals of the cup? Did anyone seriously expect better than that? I can''t believe the negativity on here. It''s like the results and performances haven''t happened. There''s just threads criticising and moaning. I really hope the players don''t come on here and read it.

 [/quote]

When Captain Canary can dance like this, I''ll be happy.

[nutty nigel 7,555]

[quote user="Mister Chops"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

About how well we played tonight. About how Wes was the best player on the pitch tonight. How Holty was awesome and only a fantastic save stopped him scoring the winner. How the midfield and defence all but snuffed out Southamptons forwards who every one was saying would cause us so many problems. About how our unbeaten run has stretched another game. How we have got more points now than most were saying we''d have by Christmas.

 

Unbeaten in 8 now is it? Including wins over Arse and Man U and in the quarterfinals of the cup? Did anyone seriously expect better than that? I can''t believe the negativity on here. It''s like the results and performances haven''t happened. There''s just threads criticising and moaning. I really hope the players don''t come on here and read it.

 [/quote]

When Captain Canary can dance like this, I''ll be happy.

[/quote]

 

He was awesome Mister. Captain Canary doesn''t come close. In fact the only one I''ve seen in his league is our old friend Bertie Bee (who I still think could be your father-in-law[:O]).

 

[;)]

 

 

 

[CambridgeCanary 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Lovely old job Zip. But no deflection although some of your posts on this thread have been akin to the trolling which you truly abhor[;)]

 

Back on topic. If I understand you right your point was that fresh legs could improve our chances of winning? My point is that uneccessary changes could improve our chances of losing. Neither of us can claim to be right because both scenarios are unproven. However, obtuse or not it was you that indicated he''d be happy with a point before we started and now it seems you were trolling because actually you wouldn''t be happy with anything less than a win.

 

 

[/quote]

actually Nutty, there is strong evidence. A Finktank analysis in the Times of substitutions over the last 10 years concluded that a substitution was statistically more likely to hold or improve a good result than letting the team which had achieved that result. Keeping the team which had got the lead is statistically the worse way to keep it. That is counterintuitive I know but there we.

[CambridgeCanary 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Lovely old job Zip. But no deflection although some of your posts on this thread have been akin to the trolling which you truly abhor[;)]

 

Back on topic. If I understand you right your point was that fresh legs could improve our chances of winning? My point is that uneccessary changes could improve our chances of losing. Neither of us can claim to be right because both scenarios are unproven. However, obtuse or not it was you that indicated he''d be happy with a point before we started and now it seems you were trolling because actually you wouldn''t be happy with anything less than a win.

 

 

[/quote]

actually Nutty, there is strong evidence. A Finktank analysis in the Times of substitutions over the last 10 years concluded that a substitution was statistically more likely to hold or improve a good result than letting the team which had achieved that result. Keeping the team which had got the lead is statistically the worse way to keep it. That is counterintuitive I know but there we.

[CambridgeCanary 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Lovely old job Zip. But no deflection although some of your posts on this thread have been akin to the trolling which you truly abhor[;)]

 

Back on topic. If I understand you right your point was that fresh legs could improve our chances of winning? My point is that uneccessary changes could improve our chances of losing. Neither of us can claim to be right because both scenarios are unproven. However, obtuse or not it was you that indicated he''d be happy with a point before we started and now it seems you were trolling because actually you wouldn''t be happy with anything less than a win.

 

 

[/quote]

actually Nutty, there is strong evidence. A Finktank analysis in the Times of substitutions over the last 10 years concluded that a substitution was statistically more likely to hold or improve a good result than letting the team which had achieved that result. Keeping the team which had got the lead is statistically the worse way to keep it. That is counterintuitive I know but there we.

[CambridgeCanary 0]

Are

[nutty nigel 7,555]

That is interesting Cambridge. But to be fair we made substitutions. Just it seems not the ones folk wanted. It''s certainly the case that the substitutions improved the result at Everton. And it could be said that the substitutions last night helped keep the result. So what did the finktank have to say about substitutions if they weren''t the ones, or not made at the time some fans wanted?

 

 

 

 

[Alex Moss 2,165]

I rarely get involved in the tactical side of debates on here because I only get to a handful of games a season currently due to working weekends (it''s not the distance from Norfolk that stops me, believe me). I therefore follow us mainly on tv/online. But as someone who was at the game on Wednesday I can say Nutty''s totally got it bang on in this thread.

This Norwich team are so hard working, as hard working a City side as I can remember seeing in 30 odd years of supporting us - it''s all about keeping the shape and excellent organisation - something that would be lost sadly if the likes of Whittaker kept on hoofing it down the flanks, just hoping that one of our boys wins it first. Therefore it''s quite obvious that Hughton''s drumming into the boys the importance of ball retention (especially away from home) - and this is a great platform to build on. Unless of course you want Rome built in a day like Ginger Pele - who from what I can gather from his posts on this thread IS very happy with the side... but ISN''T very happy with the side ;-)

[Alex Moss 2,165]

....And it was a great away point. The Saints had Wes well marshalled at the back, but despite being generally being surrounded by 3 players everytime he got on the ball, I thought he worked tirelessly and gave them a right hard time, beating them frequently. Tettey also really stood out for me, very imposing and was always around to break things up down the centre. Holty also worked tirelessly all over the pitch, there is so much more to his game than goalscoring. Mark Bunn looked really solid and a safe pair of hands though I still think Ricky Lambert was the best goalkeeper on the night - some of his handling in the penalty area was simply world class