a_skwared
I thought the fact u guys pitched up and came for a point at nearly all costs made for a an average game .. shame really i expected more after some reports given over the season... but blaming stoke is ollox !
We had 2 wingers on, two front men and we had no quality ... bit harsh me thinx considering we tried to make all the runing but Norwich defended well !!
Thats football aint it !!
Dont get too caught up in what the morons with a pen say...
Anyway gl for the season Norwich have done enuff .
I think it's a misunderstanding of Norwich's team selection and the way you played which probably made it seem like we were playing for a draw. Considering we have never played for a draw- not at Man City, Utd or Chelsea, it would be very odd to think we would go to the Britannia only going for a draw.
No, what happened was Lambert selected a team that he thought could confront your boys and try and beat you at your own game (like he did against Swansea). Lambert will have honestly thought we could win this and the team selection with Bennett, Pilkington and the new boy Howson reflected an aggressive line-up.
This went badly wrong for a few reasons: your guys were fired up, there's no doubt about that and to a man played hard and aggressive, never giving our players time on the ball until we brought on our best passer Fox when it was too late; the wind played a big part in disrupting this choice of tactic- we tried to do the long ball and no passes found anyone, Holt was quite anonymous courtesy of being on his own and your defenders cleaning up; because of the team selection and formation it was difficult to try a passing game, especially as your players were so fired up they were on top of it all; finally I know it's probably annoying but the ref played a big part- being real fans you lot were probably at the stadium, but time and again the commentators were saying how your players weren't booked despite the Nth little tackle etc. We tried to play this game, but our players weren't good enough and inevitably got booked.
As for whether this was a terrible game- I think independent commentators made it quite clear it was awful, not just Norwich fans. It really was awful to watch. But I don't think that takes away from the fact that what little good football there was, 90% came from Stoke. Again, it sounds like a lame excuse but the wind obviously had a massive part and punished both teams- neither of us could find a way through because long balls were going wayward and just being kicked out, throw-ins were impossible to be accurate. Anytime that either team tried to play it on the floor, a foul came in and the ref didn't clamp down on it enough. Fact is, you were the much better side and yet only won 1-0, which clearly shows how bad the conditions were for both sides
All in all, I don't think any Norwich fan can blame your lot exclusively for such a terrible game to watch, especially as we played so badly, but neither team really helped the spectacle. Ultimately, you were very good value for the win and it never looked in doubt. I just hope we put up a bit more of a fight next year, because honestly we are better than that. I also think with better weather we would have better chances from BOTH teams that would make a more exciting (and closer) match.
Also, I hope I speak for all Norwich fans in saying we look at what Stoke have achieved with great respect and it's something we aspire to in our own way- real fans for a real club getting success. Any Norwich fans who think we can just turn up and beat Stoke because we perceive our way of football as "better" are either naive or have very short memories
