Don't know where 'Gozo' came from in my post but I hope you're right, Robbie. The proof, as always, will be in the pudding. Hayden is a great signing, it's just a pity that his injury, then subsequent knee problem has meant him missing the pre-season and now another month. The loss at Cardiff has put us under pressure now and that isn't an ideal situation to bring Sara and Núñez into. Gabriel has also missed the pre-season through injury and Marcelino has only been here for days after a long flight, so I suspect any inclusion will probably be from the bench.
I agree with you on Hayden, Robbie, but the problem is that you’re rude, abrasive, refuse to back down when you’re demonstrably wrong, snarky and humourless; so you can claim Dunc is falsely misrepresenting your position, but it’s you who play a big part in that misrepresentation because of your style and so it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that Dunc responded that way, because it was the implication of your post. If you would just try to be a bit more accommodating of other people’s views, which includes being more flexible and accepting that your own views are just views, not facts, you might find other posters are a bit more willing not to shoot you down when you write something obnoxious even though you don’t see it and perhaps don’t mean it that way. That, I’m afraid, does mean that at some point you’re going to have to show a bit of grace and admit you’re wrong on things. Just a thought.
It's just very odd that you only praise players that no longer play for us like Leitner or Skipp or players that have never kicked a ball in a Norwich shirt yet. I hope the new signings play well and I also see the merits of players already here like Hanley and McLean. The new signings could turn out to be better than what we have or turn out to be useless. Any positives you post about Norwich is a needy "I told you so " or thinly veiled attack against the previous manager who took us to two Championship titles . Dean Smith has yet to achieve anything of note as manager, since Farke was sacked we haven't seen much of an improvement. I sincerely hope he does better than Farke's last two Championship seasons but for me the jury is still out . You Pedro de Alvarado wannabe.
People apparently expect the pudding on the table before the chef has even got the ingredients together. He only found about half of what he needed already in the pantry.
This is a blatant lie. He’s been in post for nearly 9 months and he had a squad which won the Championship. Virtually no squad, especially not one with financial constraints, is perfect, ever.
If Smith hasn't "got the ingredients together" by now, then he and Webber have failed. Clearly, with four midfielders leaving, that was our priority and that has been met by three coming in and Gibbs being brought into the first team, though I'd like to see another option at DM given Hayden's injury problems. With a squad of 22 senior players and 6 young players, he's got three more senior spaces in what is being called an 'overinflated squad'. We have more than a full complement at all positions (ie. at least two players at each position) and he's expressed his satisfaction with players coming back from loan to fill previous gaps (your missing 'ingredients'). Personally, I'd like another CB, but if he feels Tomkinson is capable of filling the fourth slot, then I'll have to respect that.
I'd have to disagree that Smith inherited a squad that won the Championship, the squad he inherited was vastly different after bringing in circa 10new signings and missing it's crown jewel in Buendia, a key defensive piece in Skipp and also having an off colour Cantwell who was no use to him last season.
This assumes a) that the chef knows which ingredients are required b) that the chef can make the pudding if he is given those ingredients. Maybe he's not capable of a soufflé; maybe he should be deep-frying fish and chips at Joe's Caff.
I object to your first sentence. Maybe you'd like to withdraw it. I don't recall Rashica, Tzolis, Sargent, Lees-Melou, Gilmour or Normann winning the Championship. Nor do I recall e.g. Buendia, Skipp or Vrancic in last season's squad, nor for that matter, a fully-firing Cantwell. All of which is anyway beside the point. Neither the Championship winning squad, nor last season's, were built by Smith to play the style of football he favours. He wasn't even able to start his rebuild in January.
My "missing ingredients" wasn't a reference to filling gaps. It was referring to having the right kind of player to implement Smith's brand of football. Hence I don't agree that Smith and Webber will have failed if Smith hasn't now got everything he wants. That's like saying that Farke and Webber failed because they didn't sign Pukki and Buendia in the summer of 2017. The squad has been pruned since it was said to be far too big; nobody is saying that any more, certainly not DS. I agree that we could do with another CB (Smith-approved) and another option at DM. (Re. DM, we could make ourselves really unpopular in Chile by putting in a bid for Nunez's friend and former team mate, Ignacio Saavedra (23). He and Nunez have developed together through the youth teams and apparently have a great understanding. Much of the team's attacking play started with a Saavedra pass out of defence to Nunez )
I think it’s in the spirit of responding to your style, so ideally I would have liked to retract it but feel morally that it should remain. Especially given the nature of your misleading reply.
I saw City in France and thought we were in for a good season. Everything else I have seen or heard makes me fearful. We just do not know. We do not know how Smith will line up or set up. We do not know how the new players, the returning loaned out players and the youngsters will fit in. How many times have we had orgasms over a new player who has turned out to be crap and the other way round.We can all have our opinions, views, hopes or fears but wouldn't it be wise to give it 10 or 15 games before declaring Civil War?
From the sounds of things DS is still looking for more players to add. Specifically, a forward thinking player/ "creativity" in the window. Wonder if that could be to replace Tzolis or Springett/Rowe should they go on loan? He mentioned that we lacked someone to "unlock the door" vs Cardiff and that although we have players capable, we are looking to get another in. Funny that he specifically mentioned creativity as, despite agreeing that we are lacking in that area, I would have thought another DM is required. Hopefully, they are working on those areas too.
Looks as if a loan deal for young Ramsay from Villa is what he may have been referring to? But it was "players" not "player", so defensive reinforcements may be on the agenda as well.
Surely not Jacob Ramsay? He was well in the first team picture for them last season, I think he has a younger brother though
Not very keen on this as we'll be expected to play him rather than our own players (Cantwell, Dowell, Gibbs or Sinani). Shades of Gilmour all over again.
So we loan out a 20-year-old for whom we paid about 9m because he 'isn't ready' for the Championship and loan in a 19-year-old with no real record at all who presumably is. This sounds logical.
Aaron Ramsey not in Villa U21 squad today - on the move? Who knows how the move turns out, but it's not that many summers ago that we loaned in a 19 year old with no record at all (Skipp), and let four players in his position leave (Tettey, Thompson, Adshead, Sitti). That turned out ok. In this particular case, I don't think Ramsey and Tzolis are comparable, Rick is right to be worried about the gametime of Gibbs, Sinani, etc (to which I'd say competition is always favourable, and it might allow Gibbs to go out and get loan experience himself and play far more minutes). Tzolis is a winger/creative wideman competing with Rashica, Dowell, Cantwell, Sinani, Rowe, Springett, Hernandez for one spot in the side - assuming Sargent/Idah play the other side with a slightly different role. He also wasn't chosen by the current manager. Getting gametime in a lower pressure environment might be exactly what he needs.
