Smith didn't "blame the fans"; that was how his comments were portrayed. What he actually commented on was the atmosphere at Carrow Road; specifically, he pointed out that the time when the team most needed the crowd to get behind them was when things weren't going well, precisely the times when such support was notably lacking. He was mystified as to why, when the supporters had the power and opportunity to help the team, no such help was forthcoming. He never "blamed the fans" for any of his or the team's shortcomings, he just issued a plea for the crowd to help, rather than exacerbate the difficulties by turning on the players. Wagner has repeatedly made the same plea. Gozo's question is legitimate and needs answering. This is the record under Wagner (Championship matches only): Home: P 7 W 3 D 1 L3 Pts 10 Away: P 8 W 4 D 3 L 1 Pts 15
Yeah I haven’t seen anyone else blame the fans except Smith. I think it’s a psychology thing, the players are still nervous at home and not playing consistently as fluently as Wagner would like. But if you look at Wagner results only, he has three wins, one draw and three losses at home. And two of the losses were against Burnley (who have confidently carved through pretty much everyone) and Sheffield United (in a torrid game in nasty conditions). Not great, but not really all that bad - scraping into play-offs with that form, or much better if you chalk off the results against the top two.
Smith said he was glad the next game was away from home , meaning he didn't like the home fans reaction to the poor displays & "the fans were waiting for the team to fail" as an excuse to get on Smith's back. Robbie has obviously spun it as Dean being the victim . https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/202...d-coach-has-no-regrets-over-criticism-of-fans
Much like a chef blaming the diners on Trip advisor for all the 1 star reviews & criticism for the quality of food served. "The customers wanted the food to taste like **** as a way to have a go at the chef ".
The home support must come down to what the home fans have seen over the past 4 years - a tough first year in the PL with Farke - lots of losses, then they missed the highs of a promotion season due to covid, so next thing they saw was another collection of batterings in the PL and this season the team haven’t performed as the fans expected. So realistically the home fans haven’t really witnessed consistently good home performances and results in the stadium since 2018/19 promotion season. I don’t think this is a defence of the atmosphere but it certainly must contribute to the feeling in the ground subconsciously
Pukki not scoring since September isn't anything to do with the fans & neither are the poor performances. I would say that most opposition sides expect Norwich to have most of the possession & on paper better players so sit back & try to nullify our play. If they score first then it very often resembles a cup tie where they spend the entirety of the game with everyone in their own half . We don't have enough creativity to unlock a stubborn defence, if we score early the opposition is forced into attack & more space opens up. In away games their home support insist they take the game to us & we cope better . SuffolkCanary has a valid point that those 2 soul crushing Premier league seasons with the covid season without fans sandwiched between them , has made Carrow Road a pretty miserable place to go. I usually get to at least 4 games a season, I went to game 1 against Wigan in a drab 1-1 & haven't bothered again , it just wasn't enjoyable & the kids were allowed to play with their phones for the second half. The ticket less app , warnings about conduct & language with a grass line to report fellow fans for behaviour & cashless shop & food outlets made me feel more of a consumer given the permission to be there rather than a part of the fabric of my club that I've spent decades supporting spending thousands on tickets & merchandise etc. There are no massive characters on the pitch like Iwan, Holt , Bradley Johnson etc that get the team pumping & atmosphere in the stands. Many just pick up their bloated salaries & shrug after failing yet again to score at home in a season that could still bring success. The only two with any fire in their bellies are Hernandez & Sara . I'm going to the Under 21s game on Sunday 23rd to see if there is anything on the academy production line but as far as first team matches it's not worth the hassle or expense for the slim chance of entertainment. It's improved since Wagner took over but most fans still feel short changed by the garbage served to them over the last few years
DD wrote: The ticket less app , warnings about conduct & language with a grass line to report fellow fans for behaviour & cashless shop & food outlets made me feel more of a consumer given the permission to be there rather than a part of the fabric of my club that I've spent decades supporting spending thousands on tickets & merchandise etc. Obviously I'm not in the UK, but I think this is a wider problem with football and not just a Norwich issue - fans are no longer fans, but consumers of a product. Perhaps it's an even wider problem about a society where everything is marketed and monetarised, and nothing has any value any more. EDIT: Or maybe I'm just an old git complaining that it's not like it was when I were a boy.
Before I used to give my kids a tenner to buy a pie or drink at half time & I would take the youngest for a piss. Now you have to give them your credit card . Last season I was watching Man U & they had a system failure so couldn't process payments for half time drinks & food . The kiosks wouldn't accept cash so nobody got served , all the food was binned & nobody got a pint . Also if your phone runs out of battery then you don't have your tickets , easily done on a long away day without a charger. Yay progress
Yeah we need more heart, the promotions, thrashings, covid promotion more thrashings have taken their toll. A lot of the senior players carry the scars of it. Wagner has us going in the right direction, but we need someone who can galvanise the team on the pitch. I used to be a lifeguard at the UEA and Grant Holt started to go swimming for rehabilitation to recover from an injury. Norwich had hired the lane and there were a few of them there. He must have liked swimming as he kept on going after he was recovered and yes he did all the swimming that was required, but he loved to mess about, you could see the positive influence he had on the players. They were enjoying themselves whilst getting the job of hours of fitness work. No matter how big the cheque most will fight harder for a mate than money.
On the plus side Gunn has taken his chance as number 1 & looks solid & Omobamidele & Sorensen thrust into the centre back places looked quite comfortable. For me I would give up on Pukki he's history & look at giving Kamara more minutes with Sargent as the striker, Idah has been pretty poor . I still believe we can make top 6 but tomorrow will be a big test like Millwall & Blackburn, win tomorrow & confidence will grow lose & the players may just throw in the towel .
How did you rate your chance of getting him out of the pool if he got into difficulties Zog ....... ?
I'd have kept him afloat to then let someone bigger and stronger than me to help haul him out. Alternatively if I had have whispered Ipswich are 1-0 up against Norwich I reckon he's have rebooted like the terminator!
