Really? I thought the 2nd half was much better from us. Chris Goreham raises the excitement level, so that helped.
I think he’s perfect for a late sub - a couple of really good knock downs today and his height definitely pulled the defence awry. Yes he’s not as comfortable on the ball or quick, but then if he were he probably wouldn’t be playing as a backup in the Championship…
I was still listening to the two Mackems. I guess that had a negative effect on my listening pleasure and inadvertently onto my eyes
I agree. He made a good assist previously and took up some good positions. The knock downs were good and he did his defensive work as well. He got 34 minutes today and that will help with his adjustment and help develop relationships with the other players. Give me
I think they were on sedatives - they didn't even raise their voices when we scored. I turned over to Canary Spring's stream with Chris Goreham late on and it was quite a difference. Preston Vs Hull finished 0-0 so we're now 1 point behind Hull and 2 points ahead of Preston.
He is a box player, someone who puts the ball in the net when a chance opens up for him. In all the minutes you've seen him play, how many key passes have been made to him? How many chances have fallen to him? How many shots has he had? I can't recall any player in a Norwich shirt try to get the ball to him, as opposed to aiming for Sargent, Barnes, Sainz or Sara. To quote one analysis of SVH's style of play: "Generally regarded as a poacher and a target man, the majority of Van Hooijdonk's touches are in the attacking third, especially within the penalty box, coupling agility, pace, and a keen sense of aerial awareness, with intelligent and well-timed runs, which exploit pockets of space." The real question is whether, under Wagner, we have any use for that type of player. Alternatively, is he being looked at with an eye to the future, under a different head coach?
Yep, we are now seeing more teams get effectively knocked out of the playoffs race. I think from here it’s likely that roughly 75/76 points will get you into the top six - so from our final eleven games, we need seven wins or six wins and three draws (or better!) For the challengers, that means Sunderland (and below) are almost certainly out of it as they would need 10 wins or 9 wins and 2 draws from their final 11. It’s even a tough ask for Coventry, as they would need 7 wins and no losses (or better) from their final 11 - that would require extraordinary form. Equally it’s West Brom’s to lose from here - they’d have to fail to do better than 15 points from their final 11. Of course, not impossible, but their form would have to collapse. So I think it’s likely we are down to a three horse race between us, Hull and Preston for the final playoff place.
Of the eleven we still have to play, Hull still have to play six (Birmingham, Leicester, Ipswich, Stoke, M'Boro, Plymouth) and Preston five (Birmingham, Leicester, Stoke, Rotherham, Plymouth). All three of us play four of the eleven (Birmingham, Leicester, Stoke, Plymouth). It makes for an interesting match up!
Hull, Norwich and Preston are all currently tied in the form table with 11 points from the last 5 games played, though we are ahead on goal difference. Remaining games: Hull(56): Birmingham, Leicester, Stoke, Leeds, Cardiff, Boro, QPR, Watford, Ipswich, Plymouth, Coventry (postponed tba) Norwich(55): Boro, Rotherham, Stoke, Plymouth, Leicester, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday, Preston, Bristol City, Swansea, Birmingham Preston(53): Southampton, Stoke, Plymouth, Rotherham, Birmingham, Watford, Huddersfield, Norwich, QPR, Leicester, West Brom Coventry(51): Rotherham, Watford, Huddersfield, Cardiff, Leeds, Southampton, Birmingham, Ipswich, Blackburn, QPR, Hull (tba)
Wagner said post match that McLean woke up Thursday unable to walk. Didn’t train for two days but with work in the pool the medical team managed to get him fit to play. Incredible he managed the entire game. He had an incredibly stiff back apparently
BBC Report: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/68389109 It was super tight at one end of the table, now it is super tight at the bottom, have you seen how close it is from 23rd up?
I heard he hurt his back throwing darts at a post from Robbie to get himself fired up for the next match
That was some time ago after I posted that we played better with Kenneth at LCB because that stopped him getting in the way further upfield. Next time Wagner put him back in midfield, whenever he pointed, it was with two fingers
There is much debate about the origin of the word Mackem, although it has been argued that it may stem from the phrase "Mak ‘em and Tak’em" - with Mak’em being the local pronunciation of "make them" and Tak’em from "take them".
