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 !