In The Cold Light of Day

[shropshire canary 0]

It was a very long drive home last night. Very long indeed.

It''s seemed so on several occasions this season, but last night was the toughest of the lot, and not simply because we didn''t get back until 1.30 either.

It''s a while since I''ve sat shellshocked on my seat at the end of a game (Millenium Stadium last time up I think) but last night I did.

The saddest thing too is that even at 2-0 up you felt it probably wasn''t enough and for the last 15 minutes (irrespective of being down to 10 men) you could simply see what was going to happen, and I''m afraid that therin lies the root of the problem as has been well covered by others in previous threads.

So as I sip that first dose of caffeine this morning and dive into the day ahead what can be the conclusions:

- It is highly unlikely we will stay up now - an obvious statement, and doesn''t mean that I''ll keep on believing we might but odds of 1/25 simply don''t get turned over.

- Providing we can keep all intact, we do have a front line now that can really shine in The Championship (Ashton was top drawer last night - Chris Sutton in his heyday season with us revisited), but we must not simply believe we can do a Charlton for sure: most don''t.

- Whatever happens there has to be a long hard look (and investment focus) on our midfield (unable to keep shape and track their men) and defence (words fail me at times - Siberski goal in particular was criminal). Solidity here and a greater closing down here is the difference between success and failure at this level, and we don''t have the personnel to do that job.

- Finally though, the sheer emotional roller-coaster that is supporting Norwich will never change, and nor would I want it to. The lows make the highs higher, and at least we know we''re alive!

 

[John King 0]

I think norwich were going to have trouble staying up from the start of the season really. Although it was nice to see them go 2-0 up, I was never expecting such a clean win. However, the loss was somewhat of a suprise.

This article might interest some of you:

http://non-tech-city.blogspot.com/2005/03/intelligent-football.html

[Canaries for Ever 0]

Shropshire Canary, you put my feelings into words exactly. We had a similar long drive home and totally concur with your thoughts during and after the game. No-ones going to stop giving 100% support but the feeling of sadness is hard to bear (even this morning).

[NavMan 0]

Shropshire - you have hit the nail firmly on the head when you said "even at 2-0 up you did''nt think it was going to be enough".  That says everything we all to need to know about our the confidence we have in the Midfield/Defence.  I thought exactly the same and when I told my wife we were two up she said whatever is going on and my reply was "we''ll probably still lose 3-2".  I thought Francis had a mare of a game and the defence (well words just fail me).  At 2-0 up and playing at home against a middle of the table club who havent got much to play for except a couple of places higher in the league it should have been enough.  That though is where our problems lie and I can''t see us fixing them in time to save our season.  

[a1canary 0]

gosh, john king''s a perceptive chap isn''t he!? he thought we''d have trouble staying up. how did he know? genius!

shrops, were you the guy sat on his own in the jarrold after the ground had emptied with a dark green ncfc woolly hat, lookin gutted?

i shared the pain, as did all of us, whoever it was. i''m still so gutted about it. can''t do any work today.

The midfield and our general lack of solidity is so strange. It was our strong point in div one but our weak point in the prem. Obviously its far harder but i never thought we''d go from being so solid to so fragile. It''s difficult to put a finger on but i put it down to our gung ho attacking. There are always huge holes available for teams to exploit, usually after half the team has been charging forward in attack. It''s no suprise that a skilful technical team on form like arsenal tore us to shreds at home, I''d like to see Safri given more of a go - i think his injury has been a real blow for us as he had looked so promising. But i have to say our defence can''t avoid all the blame. It has failed to settle from day one and i think if worthy had his time again he would have acted differently in the transfer market. Doherty may have been a useful buy but i really think releasing big malky was a mistake. Given the confusion and lack of leadership that has reined in our defence over the season, can you honestly say the malky wouldn''t have restored some order and discipline to proceedings?