Questions over tactics

Whilst the first half yesterday against Oldham was a delight, with Norwich dominant and Oldham not even having a shot on target, it was disappointing to see Lambert fail to reorganise in any logical way following Oldham's change of tactics.

It was clear that Oldham had the best of the last half an hour of the game, and but for two great saves from Fraser Forster, the result would have been very different. Yet, Lambert brought on a winger up front and succeeded only in confusing the team and we looked totally disjointed.

A good win yes, but as I wrote before after the Leeds game, for me there remain questions about Lambert's decision making.

Bloody useless ITV coverage

Reflecting on ITV and their coverage of the FA Cup game today versus Paulton Rovers, yet again it makes you realise how good the BBC and Sky are.

All the pre-match coverage was about Paulton. They didn't even do a run down of the Norwich team. The pathetic commentary (how many times did the idiot commentator mention that Norwich lost 7-1 on the opening day, that Lambert had been the Colchester manager, 10 days later he was Norwich manager ?), and only at 6-0 up did they actually start giving Norwich credit.

As for the game, didn't the last four goals show that when we started shooting, we scored. Why do we have this obsession sometimes with trying to walk the ball in to the back of the net ?

Overall, well done. Now if someone could train Darrel Russell to control a ball first time, we could be dangerous !

Vs Leeds United - First questions about the manager

Let's not blame the keeper for the loss today at Leeds. For me there were the first real question marks over Paul Lambert's decision making.

With 75 minutes gone, Darryl Russell should have been sent off. After already being on a yellow card stupidly gained for a pointless lunge, Russell spent the last 15 minutes carrying a passenger in midfield who could not make a challenge because he knew the next foul he did would be punished with a red card. What was the result of this ? A total lack of bite in the midfield and 15 minutes of hanging on which led to the Leeds goal.

The Sky commentators were raving about the Leeds sub ignoring the fact that in effect Norwich were playing with 10 men.

What did Lambert do ? Stood their with his collar up whilst three midfielders sat on the bench until the dying seconds.

I know the keeper will take the blame, but Lambert needs put his hands up and accept he got it wrong.

P.S. And let's also not get carried away. Leeds United are far from being a great side. If only every Norwich player except Holt didn't need at least two touches before shooting, the game would have been well won before the 92nd minute.

PPS. And less than 20,000 fans at Elland Road. A pathetic attendance. I wonder how many glory hunters will turn up if they go up ?

Returning to the fold

It is pleasant to see the Norwich revival in recent weeks including not just youth team players coming through our own academy, but also include those players who were, just a few weeks ago, being shown the door and encouragees to leave.

Gary Docherty, Wes Hoolahan and Darryl Russell have all played outstandingly well in the last few games and their experience will be vital to making out younger players better players in the future.

As for yesterday's match, the result was never in doubt for me. Even when they equalised, the crown stayed buoyant and nobody seemed to think that we still would not go on and win. I told people before hand we'd win every home game from this point of the season by at least two goals, and I will stick by that. There is a real momentum at Carrow Road at the moment, and long may it continue.

At half time I said 3-0

Okay, we benefitted from a sending off (and let's be honest, the guy should ahve got a straight red in the first half for an appalling tackle on Russell). But aside from a couple of shots in the first half, Orien showed little in the way of quality and were it not for their keeper making four outstanding saves, Norwich could have been home and dry long before the first goal.

But let's take nothing away from the quality of the goals.

Great finish from an angle from Martin. Super chest and volley from Holt. Spillane looking like Cristiano Ronaldo with an amaxing goal and a cool finish from Cureton.

There's a real spirit at Carrow Road at the moment and it really is a pleasure to watch them.

I have to say though I was really pleased with Cureton's goal. not just for him but because I told so many people it would be 3-0 that I was starting to feel annoyed I had not put a bet on.

Stupid comment from Charlton Manager Phil Parkinson

What a pathetic and puerile comment the Charlton Manager Phil Parkinson gave to the BBC after his team left Carrow Road with a lucky point yesterday. He said, in a nasty dig at Norwich and the 24,000 fans who attended, which is incidentally, a crowd size Charlton have not seen since they were in the Premiership (gloryhunters ????), that "he had never seen fans so pleased to get a point at home".

Perhaps he failed to see what the rest of us saw.

Charlton have abandoned their passing game, now relying on pace from wingers and a hoofball style which is winning them games in League One, but is not pleasing on the eye. They were extremely lucky that the referee seemed unable to see that one central midfield committed four fouls in the first half (two were going through the back of players legs) whilst Nicky Baily should have been sent off for his reckless off the ball swipe at Grant Holt. The referee apparently told Grant Holt he did not see it, but apparently neither did the 4th official (who stood three metres away) or either linesman.

So playing against a top of the table team, Norwich dominated the second half whilst Charlton remained without a yellow card despite reckless and heavy tackling going on throughout the match. Finally, in the last minute, when all hope was finally going, Norwich got a fully deserved equaliser, and still Phil Parkinson is confused why Norwich fans were so pleased with the result ?

Perhaps he might want to address his comments about fan behaviour to the Charlton fans who waded across their stand to attack Norwich fans when Norwich equalised ? Why did they act so violently ? Why were so many police needed to control the Charlton fans ? Why is he so concerned about Norwich fans reaction to scoring an equalising goal in the 93rd minute ?

I seem to recall this is the same Phil Parkinson who led Hull to a terrible start that nearly got them relegated (and in so doing so lost his job) only for Phil brown to win promotion to the Premier League with virtually the same squad. So clearly Phil Parkinson is not someone whose view we should take too seriously.

It's hard to beat 11 men and the ref

Just watched Norwich lose 2-1 to Franchise Dons on Sky TV. Very disappointed with the ref.

As the commentators pointed out twice in the opening 10 minutes, you should be yellow carded if you go straight through the back of a player's legs to win the ball. Franchise did this throughout the game and never got punished for it with a card. Is it any wonder that three Norwich players went off injured when the ref offered such little protection ?

Then there was the penalties.

Norwich, when leading 1-0 should have had a penalty (as the replay showed) whilst at 1-1, Norwich did not deserve to concede a penalty because the Norwich player did get a tough on the ball.

Sadly the score was 2-1 to the referee. What a disgrace !

A dose of realism required and delivered by Walsall

Leaving the dreary 0-0 match today against Walsall I was, of course, disappointed, but certainly didn't think the booing was necessary. Walsall showed that if you turn up with no intention of attacking, when the full backs never went beyond their own wingers (staying as a rigid back four throughout) and that if you come for a 0-0 draw, Norwich (and indeed most League One teams) might not have the guile and quality to unpick the defence. And that is something fans at Carrow Road must learn.

Commenting to my wife that I thought he booing was out of order, I received a torrent of abuse from another Norwich fans who started a tirade against the team, claimed that he could see better down Sloughbottom Park in Mile Cross any Sunday morning, and asked why we had signed players who are not good enough to pull on the yellow shirt. Naturally, I didn't let the ignorance of this chap and his aggressive manner disuade me from putting him right.

The main point this bloke was making was that we needed a central defender who could win the ball, had lots of pace and could confidently pass the ball out of defence. I pointed out that I knew exactly the player he required, but that as Rio Ferdinand was already contracted to Manchester United, he was unlikely to join us.

The bloke looked slightly dumbstruck and didn't seem to understand the point I was making. He seemed oblivious to the fact that Norwich are in League One, has little money and is reliant on Bosman signings so we are getting in the players that we can afford, not world class players capable of playing the in the Premier League.

A further torrent of abuse came about how useless he felt Nelson was in the centre of defence (a player who we felt did well today and didn't really put a foot wrong when defending), and I responded simply with the words "You need a reality check. We are in League One because we were not good enough for the Championship.". He wandered off muttering further abuse as another fan patted me on the back and said simply "Some people cannot gt their heads around our predicament".

Indeed.

Quel surprise

Walking up the stairs today entering Carrow Road someone said to me "Have you seen the team ?". When he explained who was in, who was out, I was seriously worried. Well, thank goodness I was wrong.

Otsemebor looked good, scored a goal, stopped dawdling and played well. Curetone looked good, slim, and much more mobile whilst the whole team looked solid. Yes, there is room for improvement in central defence with the new partnership needing time to bed in, but overall Norwich look full of goals and with quality crosses from McVeigh and marticularly Lappin, who was outstanding, Grant Hoult is guaranteed to add to his five already this year.

Overall, a big well done and a big surpise.

Excelent article on BBC website about Norwich and lambert

This is a great article about the current situation at Norwich. Well worth a read.

The real reason why Gunn was sacked

The fact that Norwich are still in negotiations with a new manager and did not have anyone lined up when they fired Bryan Gunn last week underlines what a useless bunch the board are at Norwich right now. But it also highlights why they sacked Gunn last Friday.

The truth of the matter is that they feared that a result in Norwich's favour on Saturday and tomorrow at brentford would prevent them from sacking Gunn. That in itself is appalling. The board feared Gunn becoming a success so got rid of him leaving the team rudderless and possibly in the position of losing points in vital games.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for Norwich ?

Apparently the rumours are that Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will be the new manager of Norwich. If true this is astonishing risk taking by the Norwich board. We need a manager who has the neccessary skills to get Norwich promoted. Instead we are likely to have a "name" with no managerial experience who could be great, but could equally be awful.

I wanted a Mark Robins type or Aidy Boothroyd. But this board really have not got a clue.

Update : Apparently the club Chairman has deined the rumour and says JFH will NOT be the new Norwich manager.

Gunn Gone - Right decision, terrible timing

I was one of the few who felt that appointing Bryan Gunn in the first place as manager was a terrible decision. Sentiment does not win you football matches and his record of winning gour out of 20 games since being put in charge has proved that.

If the board had sacked him on Sunday, I think we could all have said it was the right thing to do. But to sack a manager after a four nil win seems wrong somehow, even though I think in the long term it will probably serve the club better to have a new manager in.

On a personal level, I am enormously sad for Bryan Gunn. One of the reasons I didn't want to see him as manager was that I didn't want to see him with no role at the club in the future as Gunn has been a loyal servant of the club and it is sad that he now has no role to play at Carrow Road.

I heard someone on the radio say just now "We need a big name manager". Time for a reality check. We are League One, we have no money. What possible attraction would we be for a big name ?

What a difference three days makes

Wow. Yeovil nil, Norwich four.

Listening to the match on the radio it was clear Norwich dominated for long spells, and if they had taken chances as clinically as Colchester did on Saturday, it could have been seven or eight to Norwich.

Well done. Nuff said.

So bad it was almost funny

Well, I was wrong. I, like 23000 other Norwich fans turned up with so much hope only for this to evaporate in to thin air through a mix of terrible defending (Q - Who passes back to the keeper with a lob. A- Jon Otsebebor), sloppy goalkeeping, a failure to attack the first ball or attempt to win the second ball, no running and terrible management (why Bryan Gunn did you keep the same team for 60 minutes then only make two subs ?).

Things can only get better we hope, although with Southampton only nine points behind us on minus nine, things could actually get worse.

Reasons to be cheerful. 1, 2, 3.

Three reasons to be cheerful about today's kick off in League One.

1) Norwich have bought well. For years many fans have had doubts about the packing of the Norwich team with loan players who lack any commitment to the club whilst some signing have left a lot to be desired. Some of these signings have shown a real lack of loyalty in wanting to leave the club at the earliest opportunity too, so signing players who want to play for a team in league one, but who want to improve and get better is a positive thing. The signings of Grant Hoult, a prolific goalscorer in the lower leagues, Simon Whaley, a proper winger with a decent shot, and Nelson in defence (an absolute rock and hard as nails) gives the team a really good look already. Coupled with Matt Gill (a local who wants to play for Norwich who can add a bit off bite in midfield) and Tudor-Jones, the team has a strong spine.

2) We might see some home wins ! I've forgotten what it is like to see regular back to back wins at Carrow Road. We, like the team, had almost become used to losing home games on a regular basis. Without wanting to count any chickens or assume promotion, I expect us to do much better at home this year and that is a good thing.

3) 20,000 fans. We may have sold a few thousands less tickets, but home attendances will still be over 20,000 and I wouldn't be surprised to see 22,000 fans there today. This will intimidates some teams and will drive Norwich on. We have though got to learn to make more noise and really be the 12th man.

So, I am looking forward to this afternoon, even if it is in League One.

Stan Laurel

I used to work with the mother in law of one of Norwich's new signings, Matthew Gill, and upon Norwich signing him I was reminded of something she told me a few years ago when he was at Notts County.

He was described apparently by a fanzine as looking like Stan Laurel.

What do you think ?

Worryingly quiet on the transfer front

Yes, it is the holiday period, but some teams have already announced signings whilst rumours abound about players linked with various Championship and League One teams. But not Norwich.

The only news we have had in recent weeks has been the news that Norwich will rebuild "from the back" with a new goalkeeper and central defender top of the shopping list.

Whoever Norwich buy, and clearly it is a wise tactic to keep your powder dry when making signings, it is vital that they are in place for the start of the pre-season and don't join up with the club late.

I think though as soon as the club have made a signing many fans will feel a little more relieved.

Presumably Ledley King's famous "injury" is not so bad after all ?

Tottenham keep on telling the football world that after every game Ledley King's knee swells meaning he cannot train and has to rest his knee in order to play the following week.

Seemingly it must not be a bad as Tottenham implied.

P.S. Yes, this isn't Norwich, but Norwich City is too depressing to write about at the moment.

Bryan Gunn - You don't know what you're doing !!!

In a game that Norwich needed to win, the most important game for many a year for Norwich, Bryan Gunn decided to play centre half Jason Shackell as a left back. He played left back Simon Lappin as a left winger and brought in a youth teamer with virtually no experience of the first team to play on the right wing whilst a left winger and a right winger were dropped to the bench.

Sorry, Bryan. I feared this would happen. When the chips are down you should play square pegs in square holes, round pegs in round holes. What you don't do is think you have invented new positions and formations that neither the team nor fans have ever understood.

Another example clearly of why Norwich City deserve to go down.

My views on relegation

Can be read on my other blog HERE.

Not quite dead yet, but certainly having CPR

I was doing a first aid course the other day and it occurred to me that Norwich City were much like the victims (yes I know they are plastic and not real) I was working on.

Thankfully, because of Barnsley's inability to hold on to a lead, Norwich are still alive, just, but undergoing CPR and, in my opinion, look more likely not to survive.

Consistently crap referees

I think every football fan accepts that referees will not get it right 100% of the time, and once in a while you know they will miss a clear penalty. But for Norwich to be cursed by referees on such consistent basis who simply refuse to give cast iron penalties seems to be turning the whole question of referees competence in to a joke.

Again today two clear penalties and another one which falls under the category of "I've seen them given", were ignored by the ref who seemed in one case to be the only person (along with his assistant) in the ground who missed a blatant handball where even the Watford player's reaction was to look shocked as he listened for the expectant whistle.

As to the game, a well deserved win and an example of how Norwich can play when the press the opposition and don't sit back letting the other team dictate play.

Clingan Fears

I saw the Northern Ireland game on Sky the other day and was again impressed by Sammy Clingan who really does not appear to be out of his depth on the international stage and seems set to move on to bigger and better things next year irrespective of whether Norwich stay up or not. But every tackle he went for I was holding my breath desperately hoping that he wouldn't get an injury.

It is, of course, great that Norwich players get recognised on the international stage, but it can also cause real problems when smaller teams like Norwich could potentially lose there star players to injury and do not have the resources or large squad to cover for him.

Lappin up the praise

I was always a fan of Simon Lappin, a player in the Steen Needergard mould who knows his limits, does not try to do things he cannot do, and works hard and rarely turns in a poor performance. Yet after one game last year, Glenn Roeder decided he was never to play for Norwich again and would be got rid off.

So today, faced with a suspended Darrel Russell (and please don't start me on the idiocy of Darrel Russel getting himself sent off by petulantly arguing with the ref), and the clear fact that Mark Fotheringham is not fit to wear a Norwich shirt after his reaction to management and fans a couple of weeks ago, Bryan Gunn faced something of a dilemma. Step forward after 16 months out Simon Lappin.

Now I was not at the game, but according to all reports Lappin had a great game in the centre of midfield, and I am not surprised.

So well done Bryan Gunn and well done to Simon Lappin and welcome back.

Staying up thanks to Reading

The funny thing is about Norwich's recent good form is that it further highlights the club's reliance on loan signings and as one colleague pointed out, we "may I Reading a large favour" if we stay up.

With goals earlier in the season from Leroy Lita, and now from Mooney, it may well be thanks to Reading that Norwich stay in the league.

Now I doubt there are many people who would have said that 10 years ago.

I knew yesterady was going to be a bad day

We got the bus in to Norwich yesterday (£7 return for two people - it would have been cheaper to drive), and although I was not going to the match in real hope of a result, listening to fellow Norwich fans rewriting history on the bus really did tell me that it was going to be a bad day.

One so called fan, in particular, took great delight in telling a Coventry fan on the bus that "Delia Smith makes Robert Chase look like a saint". Now as bad as thing get at Norwich City, not for one moment can any logical clear minded fan believe that Delia's involvement with Norwich can be equated with Robert Chase's rule.

Chase took us from 3rd place and in Europe to relegation and being literally 30 minutes from being wound up by creditors, and where would the club be without Delia, her husband and Geoffrey Watling now ? There would be no club.

Yes, things are pretty awful at the club right now, but for any fan to suggest the Robert Chase would sort it out really does seem to be blind to the facts.

As to the match, oh dear. Pretty spineless, a lack of direction, apart from Hoolahan there is no creativity and sadly it is clear to everyone that we are doomed.

Jason Shackell back at Carrow Road

Well if nothing else, the return of Jason Shackell to Norwich on loan from Wolves until the end of the season will keep the block who sits behind me quiet as he has moaned since September about why he was let go.

For me the problem is that Shackell is inconsistent, is a very poor distributor of the ball and since the Premiership season where he played against Manchester United and marked Rooney out of the game, I cannot remember him have a good game.

I certainly wish him luck on his return and in many ways it is the perfect signing as at least he knows the team, he knows the training ground, and he knows about relegation fights.

Andy D'Urso - History of bad decisions against one team - Norwich City

I wrote a few days ago about the dreadful refereeing of the Norwich vs Bristol City match, a game where not only was a Norwich player sent off when the video evidence shows he played the ball, not only was a penalty given which was not a penalty, but one of the clearest penalties you are likely to ever see was not awarded for Norwich.


You might imagine this was a one off bad game, but actually it isn't.

Last year Andy D'Urso, the ref for the match last weekend, was by strange coincidence the the same referee who awarded Bristol City a free kick in the final minute of the game which Bristol scored from. The only problem was that he seemed to be the only person in the ground who thought it was a Bristol City free kick whilst fans, managers, players and video evidence showed it was Bristol City player who handballed it, not a Norwich player. So last like weekend, Mr D'Urso effectively awarded the game to Bristol City.

This is not the only occasion though that D'Urso showed such poor judgement against Norwich as I wrote about him before on my other blog.

The question is when one referee shows what appears to me to be consistent and almost pre meditated bias in his decisions against one team, why do the Football League allow him to referee that team's games ?

Andy D'Arsole

What an unmittigated disaster of a referee Andy D'Urso is.

In the whole of the 90 minutes he managed to miss 3 handballs by Bristol City, with one in the first half seeing the Bristol defender virtually catch the ball, then he sends od Gary Docherty and gives a penalty which replays now show Docherty kicking the ball, and then to make matters worse, he misses one of the clearest penalties you will ever see when Adam Drury was shoved over in the second half.

It was not just that he was unable to get the big decisions right. It seemed that anyone could hang on to anyone elses shirt at any point in the game and it was never a foul, with Bristol City taking full advantage by holding Carl Cort at every opportunity.

The chant 2-1 to the referee was really not far wrong.

Stop passing the buck

I was disappointed today with the lack of bottle amongst certain players, more than I was with Marshall's dreadful goal kick which led to Bristol City's second goal or with Docherty over his sending off.

When I write about taking responsibility, I mean that certain players were too keen to pass the ball back to the keeper or play pretty keep ball games in our own half of the pitch rather than hoofing the ball clear and for once trying to play the game in the other team's half of the pitch. time and again defenders and midfielders took the easy option when not even under pressure and decided to pass the ball back to the keeper rather than looking for a forward pass.

I will write more on this later, when I am less tired, and will also add my thoughts on the ref (who was awful), but I am too tired.

Bottle and fighting spirit

What a tremendous result for Norwich, drawing 3-3 away from home against league leaders Wolves.

To come back twice from a goal down against a team like Wolves says much for the spirit Bryan Gunn is starting to get in to the club.

Although the Southampton result last week was something of disappointment, four games and not a single defeat is a great start.

Change the manager ... same old players

What a shattering disappointment tonight's match against Southampton was.

Forty five minutes of super football followed by 45 minutes of laziness, silly schoolboy errors, poor marking, dreadful clearances and half hearted play.

What a let down.

Player ratings

Marshall - Solid, made no errors, let down by his defence - 7
Otsemebor - Failed to attack his opposite number, poor floated crosses - 6
Bertrand - Got forward well, looked better than Otsemebor but not spectacular - 6
Docherty - Who was to blame for the second goal ? Solid apart from a question make over the marking for this goal - 7
Grounds - Same as Docherty but lazy to make a pass and closed down too often - 6
Fozzy - A decent first half but anonymous in the 2nd half - 6
Croft - What is the point of Crofty if he fails to take on his full back ? We never saw the Croft from last weekend. 6
Hoolahan - Great goal, creative - 7
Cureton - Where was he ? Tried hard but anonymous - 6
Russell - Tried hard be largely ineffective - 6
Clingan - Stunning performance again - 9

Bryan Gunn

I wasn't sure if it was the right decision when I first heard that Gunny had taken over as manager, but as more comes out about the deal, I can see it working from almost every angle.

My greatest fear for Bryan Gunn was that he would become manager, and in two years time he would be reviled and hated if he fails, leaving him separated from the club which he so obviously loves.

But by giving him a short term deal it allows Bryan to stabilise the club and see whether he thinks he can do the job long term and if he is not ready to do it full time or if he fails, he can return to his previous job at the club and the board can find a full time manager to take over in the summer.

So all in all, a good move.

"Bryan, what's the score ? Bryan Bryan what's the score ? "

Norwich vs Barnsley - Round pegs in round holes

Well, I'm not going to be fooled by one result because today's 4-0 win was against a poor team who failed to really turn up. However, I am not complaing because Norwich showed a level of persistance and patience whilst also showing some real invention from Croft and Hoolahan.



The most interesting aspect though was the fact that Bryan Gunn had players playing in their best positions. Gone was Roeder's attempt to push players in to position they do not play well in. When Bell came on, he came on on the right. Cureton is not a right winger, and played up front whilst Hoolahan is great in the free role. Moreover, Russell showed why he is a great attacking player by providing a masterful performance in the role just behind the striker.



My team ratings ?



Marshall - 7 - Had little to do but was assured and distributed the ball well)

Otsemebor - 7 - Really supported Croft well and got forward quickly. Distribution can be a problem though.

Bertrand - 6 - Didn't see much of him but tried to get forward more than of late. Still looks a little lost without support on the left.

Grounds - 7 - Solid, composed.

Docherty - 8 - Solid, assured.

Clingan - 8 - Here's here, he's there, he's every ....... where !

Croft - 8 - Great display as long as he keeps going forward. There is though still a question mark over his fitness over 90 minutes. Yet again he looked tired after an hour.

Hoolahan - 7 - Inventive and got better as the game went on.

Russell - 8 - Does he ever tire ? Great performance.

Cureton - 6 - Yes, a goal, and you cannot fault his attitude and commitment. But he looked off the pace. Stick with him though.

Fotheringham - 7 - Fozzed the ball around well and linked things up. Much improved.

MOM - Russell

Time for some pride in wearing the shirt

One thing is needed today, pride in wearing the yellow shirt and some real spirit, something that has been missing for some time.

At least the club have made the right decision to appoint Bryan Gunn as interim manager because if he cannot instil some passion in to the players then there is no hope.

He's not worthy

I find it hard to believe that Norwich would seriously consider bringing Nigel Worthington back to the club as manager, but this is apparently what they tried to do.

I think it is clear to anyone with half a footballing brain that bringing managers back never works.

Howard Kendall had two comebacks at Everton which failed whilst we have seen mike Walker return and fail at Carrow Road. history is littered with similar disasters elsewhere.

The problem for me is that Worthington lost my trust long before he left and failed, in my opinion, to do the right thing and admit he could not turn it around.

Do I want him back ? No. For me, the choice should be someone with lower league experience,. an eye for a bargain, and preferably someone with some experience of the club. Mark Robins ?

Ginger Pele

Our very own Ginger Pele, known to us all as "The Doc", gets a mention on the Daily Mail website.

Sadly, we didn't make up this nickname, instead it was Spurs fans, not usually known for their hunour, who coined it.

Roeder gone - He told us so

Iain Dale, top political blogger, once a Norfolk resident and the man behind top West Ham blog "West Ham till I die" has a regular column in the Eastern Daily Press and would like to remind us that he told us so about Glen Roeder some months ago.

Well done Iain, yes you were right !

Come in Mr Roeder, your time is up

Actually, I don't dislike Glen Roeder. Yes, I gather he is a bit humourless and I think he can be too dogmatic. But at the end of the day he inherited a very poor squad and in my opinion, the squad we have now is a vast improement. The only problem is the erratic way they play.

For Roeder though the problem is that fans are losing patience. Another decent performance yesterday against a top team (and another narrow defeat) doesn't alter the fact that Norwich city level on points with teams in the relegation zone.

A cup run ?

Thinking about recent years and our repeated dreadful performances and results in both cups, I am already considering the fact that we have got a replay at home against Charlton as a cup run.

Yes, things are really that bad !