From this point the squeeze will pinch on whoever falters as the margin for error tightens. The teams that hold their nerve will win out in the end. West Brom wilted against Leeds, who themselves came up short at QPR. Our loss at Preston looks different after 3 wins since and suggests an underlying confidence. That may be down to DF's unflappable manner and man management, as MB suggests here: "A season of remarkable consistency has been emphasised by the emergence of numerous players that have swapped the squad fringes to front of stage, and such reliability has not come by accident." “It’s why it is so special,” said Godfrey, who made his first league start of the season at home to Bolton at the start of December – and has played every minute of City’s Championship campaign since. “The boss is unbelievable to work under because you know that he is fair and when you get your chance, if you take it he will trust you. That gives you such a great feeling. He won’t put any pressure on you and you feel like you can just enjoy your football under him, which I think you can see with all of us young boys. That is massive and credit to him." Let's hope that pays dividends over the next 11 games. https://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/ben-godfrey-on-daniel-farke-effect-1-5915521
Having had the privilege of seeing Godfrey playing for the Under 23s in the '16 - '17 season, I had high hopes that he could go on to be an influential player for us in the future. I also remember seeing him playing for Shrewsbury against Wet Sham in the FA Cup last year and I believe he got the MotM award. I fully expected him to be a natural replacement for Tettey - just shows how little I know. The performance of both CBs yesterday was immense and laid the foundations for our victory and I'm certain that their combined skills/dedication will be called upon many times as we tackle the hurdles in the final furlongs in our quest for promotion. Edit - I was reading through an exchange of texts that I had with a fellow fan in early/mid September and in one text I said that ourselves and 1p5wich were in danger of relegation. HOW wrong I was!!! I also think I saw that Morris is almost fit enough to start training after his ACL injury.
PD on the collective spirit driving City on: "Tim Krul’s near post double save five minutes from normal time averted a frenzied final push from the hosts in those closing minutes. That intervention earned a thumping pat on the back from captain Zimmermann. In one simple act you saw why this is such a collective effort. Why fans are flocking for tickets home and away to be part of what feels a special campaign in the making. You saw the team spirit and the willingness to put bodies on the line for the mate next to you. Norwich possessed skill and technical ability when Farke pitched up at The Den so early in his tenure. Now they also have deeper reserves of character and resolve. You need the complete package to earn promotion. With the wind in their sails and that tunnel vision Farke demands to avoid any distractions, it could be a while before he returns to The Den." This is the power and cohesion behind the technical skills and one-touch football which will hopefully carry us through.
From today’s MFW – ‘I actually welcomed the new structure on the simple premise that it couldn’t be worse than the mish-mash it replaced. I’d heard of Stuart Webber and was aware of his reputation and background. He remains THE key figure for us IMO. From what I can gather from MFW colleagues this infrastructure was put in place by an amalgamation of Ed Balls and Tom Smith. Finally what I really like about SW and DF is that we were told at the outset it would be four transfer windows for them to get it right.’ http://norwichcity.myfootballwriter...gainst-the-white-roses-of-yorkshire/#comments
About to leave for home following a longer than usual stay in London to see the Millwall game. Mrs1950 came for the weekend as it will be my last trip this season to see City hence the longer stay at our sons. Against Millwall I thought we played very well and nobody could argue that we didn't deserve to win as we were by far the better team. Against that it has to be said that a couple of lapses of concentration could have cost us a point against a better team but then it might have been that the concentration levels would not have slipped if we were playing a better team. Comparing the remaining fixtures of the top 3 it has to be said that we have, on paper, the better run in of fixtures so, in reality, it is all in our own hands if we are to get automatic promotion especially as the other two have to play each other We need to avoid the playoffs at all costs and I would have thought that another 25 points would avoid that fate. On the negative side I feel that we have got where we are a season or two earlier than planned but obviously we have to take the chance when it comes. Yesterday my Son had got us tickets for the game at Fulham. It has to be said that Fulham looked a far better team that we had looked the day before and of course Fulham are virtually certain to be relegated. If we go up it might be a question of just getting up for one season and using the money and parachute payments to make the Club financially secure and to boost the Academy for the future. As Fulham have shown, even spending £100m does not buy Premiership survival and, who knows, as Huddersfield have shown, hard work and organisation might get you a second year in the wealth zone.
I notice in the comment from MFW's Ed that he agrees with your prediction, JMF: "I see the latest ‘Super Computer’ prediction has us finishing on 94 points and 7 ahead of the Blades, so by my reckoning, we could be guaranteed promotion as early as Good Friday when we play and hopefully beat the Owls."
After watching the Everton - Liverpool game I think we could easily hold our own against that sort of football. I thought the prem was all about passing not hoofball.
I agree with you 1950, we were definitely a bit off colour. The only thing I would say is that Fulham felt very much like they played out of their skin to impress a new manager, whereas our side did just enough. I think other than the odd game here and there our players this season have been quite good at just doing enough. We were crap against Ipswich, but it was a comfortable result too. By contrast, in other games we have looked unbelievably slick. I maintain that Stiepermann is key. When he is on good form, we look good. If he is off colour, we tend to struggle as so much goes through him playing off Pukki. We’ve almost got our target man, small man the other way round.
Anybody seen the rumour that Bolton might not complete their fixtures? Potentially going bust in about 10 days. Players and staff told not to turn up to the training ground because there's no food?? Should that happen, I'd imagine we'd come out of it pretty poorly. I think all fixtures involving Bolton would be removed from the league table.
Horrible news if true but if you look at their results, it wouldn’t make a huge amount of difference as nearly everyone around us has beat them twice, it would just hurt our goal difference. The main changes are it would push Bristol City two points closer and Middlesbrough three points closer (but Boro would lose their game in hand)
I saw something about it on TV this morning and it is indeed terribly sad that any club has come to this. I guess with so many other (and larger) clubs in that area of the North West and also Rugby League is MASSIVE there.
DF on the lengths he went to in signing Pukki - https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwi...rke-reflects-on-teemu-pukki-signing-1-5917732 'Pukki notched his 24th of a stellar debut season in the 3-1 league win at Millwall that moved Farke’s men back top of the table. The Finnish international has been in prolific goalscoring form since arriving on a free transfer in what now looks a major coup. Farke and sporting director Stuart Webber took a punt on the 28-year-old but only after he proved how much he wanted to move to Carrow Road. “When I speak with a player you have to get a feeling and he was desperate to come to Norwich,” said Farke. “He already knew about our history and that we are a massive club and why it is a pleasure to wear this yellow shirt. “I told him how competitive the league is, how hard he had to work and what we are planning to do."
But neither Webber, Farke nor Mystic Meg could have predicted the impact he would have on our season / the league table.
True and interesting that Farke doesn’t attempt to claim he is responsible. There are plenty of other managers out there who would be trying harder to get the credit I think.
Another good article in MFW by Stuart Lewis on the pitfalls of predicting promotion. He also suggests that we do have one big advantage: "The next two months will be a severe test of nerve for all of us. But oddly in the light of their different degrees of experience, I have more faith in Daniel Farke than Chris Wilder or Marcelo Bielsa to keep his troops calm and focused. Jordan Rhodes says Farke is the best man-manager he’s ever worked with. And this season’s certainly been a masterclass in it. Having assembled a group of players to fit his philosophy and style – defenders in summer 2017, attackers in summer 2018 – Daniel Farke’s management of them has been superb. We now have a group where those in the team are performing at their limit, while those outside the team are giving full-throated support to them." That, of course, includes the fans and the overall 'togetherness' which has characterised this season. http://norwichcity.myfootballwriter...n-starts-now-please-put-all-calculators-away/
This says it all for me - 'We now have a group where those in the team are performing at their limit, while those outside the team are giving full-throated support to them." That, of course, includes the fans and the overall 'togetherness' which has characterised this season.
