1 win in 15 games

[Making Plans 942]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

if you had to handpick the opposition for our next 2 home games you wouldnt look too far beyond Swansea ,who are on the beach and who we have a good record against......and Reading who will be as good as down by then.[/quote]

And on that basis, if you had to handpick the opposition for yesterdays''s away game you wouldn''t look too far beyond Wigan, who were in the bottom 3, had the worst home record in the PL (and the equal worst home record in all 4 leagues) and who had conceeded at home in every game this season.Case rested.

[Striker 2]

Most of you on this thread are blind to the fact that were it not for Hughton we''d be a lot lower than we are. If we still had last season''s defence we''d already be down. With the resources (and players) we currently have it''s a miracle we are where we are. Yesterday was poor, and we lacked any idea, but we''ll still find enough points in the last 7 games to stay up. As I''ve said in another thread, with their run-in I genuinely fear for Sunderland. I think Wigan and Villa will get out.

[The Judge 0]

[quote user="AJ"]What on earth has changed since our 10 game run earlier in the season? Could Ruddy being injured really make that much difference?

God knows what is going on, but it''s no where near good enough[/quote]

Ruddy has been a big miss AJ but with the clean sheets and draws we have been picking up we can''t really conclude that his absence has been the main reason.

The other player missing from the current side that played in all games in that run earlier in the season is Whittaker and In my opinion he has to come back in the side. Appreciate Martin hasn''t done too much wrong I do believe Whittaker is a far better defender which therefore allows Snodgrass to pick up the ball higher up the pitch and do his work where we need him to.

There in another thread on the go about the wingers and lack of service to the front man. I agree this is a big problem for us at the moment, Snodgrass isn''t blessed with pace so he has to do his business higher up the pitch to be a threat.

Clearly our strikers are lacking goals but they need service.

Another absentee in recent weeks from that side has been Tettey. Despite playing 5 in midfield we still don''t seem to be winning many of the midfield battles the reason (in my opinion) is that Johnson is our only combative midfielder in the side and he his having to do too much on his own. For all his ''supposed'' composure on the ball Howson couldn''t tackle his way out of a paper bag I haven''t seen him have a good game for Norwich ( even including last season when people were wetting themselves over him).

Call it negative or ''safe'' but I would go back to the team ( other than Ruddy) that went on that run and play in the formation we deployed even at home. It is our best side so they all must be playing in these final few games.

[smooth 114]

Lambert always said it was the players once they were on the park and of course it is.

We have had the buffer and now it has closed up. We do have enough to get over the line with other teams floundering. But we need to actually do something ourselves.

Next weeks game cannot come soon enough we need games thick and fast as we need to get a win soon. In fact we need the win more than Swansea next week. No question we need to be at it 100mph. Put everything on the field. There is no excuse we need it more than Swansea. The players need to prove they are premiership players.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,803]

[quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

if you had to handpick the opposition for our next 2 home games you wouldnt look too far beyond Swansea ,who are on the beach and who we have a good record against......and Reading who will be as good as down by then.[/quote]

And on that basis, if you had to handpick the opposition for yesterdays''s away game you wouldn''t look too far beyond Wigan, who were in the bottom 3, had the worst home record in the PL (and the equal worst home record in all 4 leagues) and who had conceeded at home in every game this season.

Case rested.



[/quote]

what "case" ??, I''m in agreement with you?  but when we''ve won one away game all season we can''t assume we''ll pick up points anywhere away from home.

We''re still a difficult side to beat at home and we ''on paper'' still have the fixtures at home to get what we need but we MUST approach those games with a more offensive attitute

[Highland Canary 76]

We clearly need it more than Swansea. But yesterday, once again, we lacked ideas and quality in the final third. We also, in my opinion, lack urgency. I really do hope this apparent lack of urgency is down to poor motivation. Teams like Stoke and Villa will takes us to the cleaners if that is the case.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,803]

[quote user="Highland Canary"]We clearly need it more than Swansea. But yesterday, once again, we lacked ideas and quality in the final third. We also, in my opinion, lack urgency. I really do hope this apparent lack of urgency is down to poor motivation. Teams like Stoke and Villa will takes us to the cleaners if that is the case.[/quote]

if our gap over the relegation zone being cut from 10 to 4 points in the space of 2 rounds of matches doesn''t motivate us into moe urgency we''re in trouble..

[City 2nd 191]

Striker wrote the following post at 2013-03-31 11:50 AM:

Most of you on this thread are blind to the fact that were it not for Hughton we''d be a lot lower than we are. If we still had last season''s defence we''d already be down.

How can you justify such a statement with a goal difference of-19. A defence put together by Hughton who conceded 5 goals (as well as 4) far more times than the previous set up. Goals win games, and we had a striker who scored 20+ last season with many other chipping in! These players have not become bad players overnight, they are restricted by the all encompassing defensive suffocating tactics of Hughton

and his rwo totally inept coaching staff who prior to NCFC had little ir no premier league experience and had been sacked as managers in their own right for poor performances - and one to boot destroyed Holt at his club and sold him to a club in the lower reaches from whence Gunn saved him. One win from the last fourteen matches, one away win all season, beaten in the fa cup by a NON LEAGUE team dies not make us blind to the fact that we would be lower in league if itbwasn''t for Hughton, IT IS BECAUSE of Hughton that we are lower in the league!

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,803]

[quote user="Striker"]Most of you on this thread are blind to the fact that were it not for Hughton we''d be a lot lower than we are. If we still had last season''s defence we''d already be down. With the resources (and players) we currently have it''s a miracle we are where we are. Yesterday was poor, and we lacked any idea, but we''ll still find enough points in the last 7 games to stay up. As I''ve said in another thread, with their run-in I genuinely fear for Sunderland. I think Wigan and Villa will get out.[/quote]

????

Hughton clearly doesnt trust our players or believe theyre good enough to take the game to a team away from home where last season proves that they are.

We knew last season that we would ''have a go'' in any game ,home or away, it didnt always work but the stats show that by playing in a more attack minded way we won more away games ,scored more goals and most crucially of all.........had more points at this stage of the season

[nutty nigel 7,645]

[quote user="Highland Canary"]We clearly need it more than Swansea. But yesterday, once again, we lacked ideas and quality in the final third. We also, in my opinion, lack urgency. I really do hope this apparent lack of urgency is down to poor motivation. Teams like Stoke and Villa will takes us to the cleaners if that is the case.[/quote]

 

I bet you do.

 

 

[ellis206 0]

[quote user="City 2nd"]Striker wrote the following post at 2013-03-31 11:50 AM:

Most of you on this thread are blind to the fact that were it not for Hughton we''d be a lot lower than we are. If we still had last season''s defence we''d already be down.

How can you justify such a statement with a goal difference of-19. A defence put together by Hughton who conceded 5 goals (as well as 4) far more times than the previous set up. Goals win games, and we had a striker who scored 20+ last season with many other chipping in! These players have not become bad players overnight, they are restricted by the all encompassing defensive suffocating tactics of Hughton

and his rwo totally inept coaching staff who prior to NCFC had little ir no premier league experience and had been sacked as managers in their own right for poor performances - and one to boot destroyed Holt at his club and sold him to a club in the lower reaches from whence Gunn saved him. One win from the last fourteen matches, one away win all season, beaten in the fa cup by a NON LEAGUE team dies not make us blind to the fact that we would be lower in league if itbwasn''t for Hughton, IT IS BECAUSE of Hughton that we are lower in the league![/quote]

And what premiership experience did PLs coaching staff have? You can''t call our coaching staff inept when you don''t have a clue what goes on behind the scenes.

[city4eva 215]

[quote user="ellis206"][quote user="City 2nd"]Striker wrote the following post at 2013-03-31 11:50 AM: Most of you on this thread are blind to the fact that were it not for Hughton we''d be a lot lower than we are. If we still had last season''s defence we''d already be down. How can you justify such a statement with a goal difference of-19. A defence put together by Hughton who conceded 5 goals (as well as 4) far more times than the previous set up. Goals win games, and we had a striker who scored 20+ last season with many other chipping in! These players have not become bad players overnight, they are restricted by the all encompassing defensive suffocating tactics of Hughton and his rwo totally inept coaching staff who prior to NCFC had little ir no premier league experience and had been sacked as managers in their own right for poor performances - and one to boot destroyed Holt at his club and sold him to a club in the lower reaches from whence Gunn saved him. One win from the last fourteen matches, one away win all season, beaten in the fa cup by a NON LEAGUE team dies not make us blind to the fact that we would be lower in league if itbwasn''t for Hughton, IT IS BECAUSE of Hughton that we are lower in the league![/quote] And what premiership experience did PLs coaching staff have? You can''t call our coaching staff inept when you don''t have a clue what goes on behind the scenes.[/quote]

Judging by what goes on after they cross the line they clearly are

[City 2nd 191]

Ellis206:

You can''t call our coaching staff inept when you don''t have a clue what goes on behind the scenes.

Errrrrrr, ONE win in the last fourteen matches, ONE away win ALL season, knocked out of the English premier cup competition by a NON LEAGUE team, conceded goals to the extent of a -19 goal difference in a defence allegedly made better by the manager, and taken a team that scored regularly last season to a side that has scored FIVE since December, and a striker capable of 20+ premier goals last season to a mere five this, I think I have eve to right to call Hughton and his coaching staff inept. We are where we are because of THEM. The stats, quite simply, do not lie. Lamberts coaching and management was not borne from premiership experience, they are the ones who took us there in emphatic fashion deservedly so, and I know full well what I preferred watching. We cannot continually bury our heads in then sand, we are in a very difficult position now due to the failings of our team under the guidance of Hughton and his coaching staff and their preferred tactics.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,803]

spot on City 2nd

If Hughton''s philosophy was yielding results we''d all accept it even if it wasn''t pleasing on the eye. However if by continuing with a formula that isn''t working and an unwillingness or inability to change it were to send us down, would pretty much make him as unpopular a manager as we''ve ever had.....especially when we have players that we know from last season can score and cause the opposition problems if allowed to.

If the worst happened I for one wouldnt want Hughton here next season to be given to opportunity to bring us back as irreperable damage will have been done as far as he''d be concerned.

[Joanna Grey 0]

[quote user="Highland Canary"]Teams like Stoke and Villa will takes us to the cleaners if that is the case.[/quote]

Stoke are worse than us and in freefall, what makes you think they will be any more motivated?

[Helsinki canary 244]

Stoke are in no more of a free fall than us and Sunderland, both of which have a far superior goal difference. The 3rd spot will be filled by either us, stoke or Sunderland , it will all depend who has got the guts and nerve to get those crucial wins. Leaving it to draws will be too risky as we saw yesterday.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,803]

5 goals in the last 11 ,our manager''s answer is to drop our best striker to the bench instead of using a system that plays to his strengths and make him more of a goal threat.....this ,I''m afraid is a lack of coaching ability.

[ABC (A Basingstoke Canary) 26]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]5 goals in the last 11 ,our manager''s answer is to drop our best striker to the bench instead of using a system that plays to his strengths and make him more of a goal threat.....this ,I''m afraid is a lack of coaching ability.[/quote]

 

Ummm - just who is this "best striker" who is on the bench?

 

Can''t be Becchio, because he hasn''t really started a game yet,

Could be Jackson I suppose,

 

You can''t be seriously thinking of the captain can you? Thanks to his non performance in our last 2 games, when at the death he had the chance to win both games, what did he do? The word "fluff" comes to mind! For a striker who bemoans the lack of chances, he doesn''t seem all that keen to take them once they are presented to him!

So no, I wouldn''t classify him as our best striker. Definitely was in the last 3 years, but, a striker has to perform year on year - and cannot rest on the laurels of past successes.

 

And, before the excuses and apologists wade in, if you''re good enough, then you''re good enough. If the manager asks you to perform in a certain role, and you reckon that you are up for it, then if you don''t succeed, you can''t blame the manager!

[CambridgeCanary 0]

[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]

We showed more urgency in that 2 mins of injury time vs Everton than we did in three games worth in the Newcastle,Fulham and Southmpton home games where the players took it upon temselves to throw men forward and seize the 3 points........which is the ''real'' Norwich?....do we really believe they enjoy being shackled in the restrictive style theyre being forced to play in?

[/quote]

I keep reading stuff like this and wonder what parallel universe I am in.

Are you really suggesting our players don''t try to score? That they don''t want to win? That they try deliberately to avoid winning?

I have yet to see City start to attack, think better of it, turn round, give the ball to the other side and then rush back to defend because that is what they prefer. I have seen them many times try to break and try to score and try to win. Sadly, we have not succeeded as much as anyone would like but I do not see it for the lack of trying.

As for last season, the rewriting if history yet again is ridiculous. We had a great first Third pushed on by the adrenalin of two great season and the novelty of the Premiership. The second third was not as good but we did ok.

Come the last third, everyone had played us and knew what to expect. The adrenalin was gone and we struggled. The players were not good enough to sustain the skill gap and we showed it.

Nothing we have seen this season is any worse than last season''s Blackburn, Newcastle and Fulham away or Liverpool and Man City at home. even games we got results in like Wigan and Wolves at home were laboured and dire.

Hughton didn''t ruin these players. Like Lambert he recognised they weren''t up to it and had gone as far as they could. Hughton started to replace them. Lambert left to start again.

[ABC (A Basingstoke Canary) 26]

CC - thank you sir for your post. I was beginning to get alarmed that mine was a solitary voice amongst the "Worthy Outers" oops, I mean "Hughton Outers"!

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="ABC"]

And, before the excuses and apologists wade in, if you''re good enough,

then you''re good enough. If the manager asks you to perform in a certain

role, and you reckon that you are up for it, then if you don''t succeed,

you can''t blame the manager!

[/quote]Last season when Lambert played one up front, it was Morison that got the nod.  Most of the time Holt played it was as part of a front two. Part of the problem is perhaps his lack of pace and mobility.  Having said that, clearly he is not firing on all cylinders right now.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="CambridgeCanary"]

I keep reading stuff like this and wonder what parallel universe I am in.  I have seen them many times try to break and try to score and try to win. Sadly, we have not succeeded as much as anyone would like but I do not see it for the lack of trying.

As for last season, the rewriting if history yet again is ridiculous. We had a great first Third pushed on by the adrenalin of two great season and the novelty of the Premiership. The second third was not as good but we did ok.

Come the last third, everyone had played us and knew what to expect. The adrenalin was gone and we struggled. The players were not good enough to sustain the skill gap and we showed it.

Nothing we have seen this season is any worse than last season''s Blackburn, Newcastle and Fulham away or Liverpool and Man City at home. even games we got results in like Wigan and Wolves at home were laboured and dire.

Hughton didn''t ruin these players. Like Lambert he recognised they weren''t up to it and had gone as far as they could. Hughton started to replace them. Lambert left to start again.[/quote]First 134 wins4 draws5 defeatsMiddle 135 wins4 draws4 defeatsLast 123 wins3 draws6 defeatsEven based on the form during last 12 games of the season, we would have stayed in the premiership with 38 points.  And of course, we were safe at this stage hitting 35 points with 12 games to go.  We finished on 47 points.

[quote user="CambridgeCanary"]Are you really suggesting our players don''t try to score? That they

don''t want to win? That they try deliberately to avoid winning?

I have yet to see City start to attack, think better of it, turn round,

give the ball to the other side and then rush back to defend because

that is what they prefer. [/quote]We play extremely deep and we don''t commit men forward in attack.  We are very slow in attack and our passing from midfield is one dimensional and laboured.  We are an extremely predictable side as we play the same formation every game.

[CambridgeCanary 0]

Thanks Foghorn

I overstated the middle third but you show just how found out we were in the last third. There were just three good performances, Spurs and Arsenal away and Everton at home. Most of the rest were dire. Remember our hanging on desperately to best the awful Wolves?

I am fed up with the myth that last season was some golden age that gave Hughton a great inheritance. We were a team in decline and Lambert knew it. He also knew his motivational skills could not work a fourth season with the same players.

Let''s get over the line and see what else the summer brings

I

[crabbycanary 2]

[quote user="CambridgeCanary"]Thanks Foghorn

I overstated the middle third but you show just how found out we were in the last third. There were just three good performances, Spurs and Arsenal away and Everton at home. Most of the rest were dire. Remember our hanging on desperately to best the awful Wolves?

I am fed up with the myth that last season was some golden age that gave Hughton a great inheritance. We were a team in decline and Lambert knew it. He also knew his motivational skills could not work a fourth season with the same players.

Let''s get over the line and see what else the summer brings

I[/quote]

Agreed

[BOO 0]

If we carry on as we are and Sunderland start to play a bit getting over the line may not happen

[CambridgeCanary 0]

[quote user="Vanwink"]If we carry on as we are and Sunderland start to play a bit getting over the line may not happen[/quote]

If we carry on as we are at what 0.9 points per game then we will reach 40 points and will get over the line.

Your whole trolling theory is based on our form getting worse not that we " carry on as we are".

It''s a poor troll who doesn''t remember his own plot!!!

[BOO 0]

I am a very worried fan Cambridge nothing else, if we carry on playing as we have been and our rivals pick things up then we are down. Please do not put words in my mouth.

There are too many fans on this board who are unwilling to see the predicament we are in, and seem to think that if we ignore it it will go away.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,803]

[quote user="crabbycanary"][quote user="CambridgeCanary"]Thanks Foghorn I overstated the middle third but you show just how found out we were in the last third. There were just three good performances, Spurs and Arsenal away and Everton at home. Most of the rest were dire. Remember our hanging on desperately to best the awful Wolves? I am fed up with the myth that last season was some golden age that gave Hughton a great inheritance. We were a team in decline and Lambert knew it. He also knew his motivational skills could not work a fourth season with the same players. Let''s get over the line and see what else the summer brings I[/quote] Agreed[/quote]

you can break last season down into "thirds" all you like but the fact is we are well down on our points total this season compared to the same stage last........what other comparison can you make when comparing seasons?

Our final third , if you really do want to analyse it ,still contained a win a Spurs,a draw at Arsenal (do you think we''ll get one there in a fortnight?!) and a decent draw at home to Everton, could it also be that performances may have slightly tailed off because we knew we were safe? a luxury I doubt we''ll have this time around.

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="CambridgeCanary"]Thanks Foghorn

I overstated the middle third but you show just how found out we were in the last third. There were just three good performances, Spurs and Arsenal away and Everton at home. Most of the rest were dire. Remember our hanging on desperately to best the awful Wolves?[/quote]I know what you mean, but we were safe, and Lambert was messing around with the squad at that time.  For comparison, our last 12 games this seasonWin 1Draw 5Lose 611 points, worse than the last 12 games under Lambert.  Sounds like we have been completely "found out" under Hughton.

[nutty nigel 7,645]

[quote user="Vanwink"] There are too many fans on this board who are unwilling to see the predicament we are in, and seem to think that if we ignore it it will go away.[/quote]

 

I don''t think there''s anyone on this board who thinks that if we don''t pick up any points and our rivals do then we won''t go down. But I also don''t think that fans lovingly embracing such a scenario will make it go away either. What say you?