For me, the OP wrote a very well written and considered post that I also completely disagreed with. Just as I was about to put finger to keyboard and reply I read the above post which absolutely accurately describes what I think, so has saved me the time.
Correct, but just because the majority are behind Adkins and the team and have faith they can survive does not mean that those that don't can't put their point of view across. Just don't expect people to agree. It's far too early to form views on how the season will evolve after three matches.
There is always the accusation that the more positive fans are unrealistic, but surely most will agree that it is far to early to judge. Most 'positive' fans can see that we have taken a massive leap into the top league and have played 2 top sides and are about to play another. When we were playing last season, how many fans thought we could beat ManU, Man City and Arsenal? The answer would be none but the most rabid, so what has changed? We started this season with only 3 additions (Clyne, Davis, JRod)...Mayuka playing only a few minutes in game 3. Also have 2 GK, Yoshida and Ramirez yet to play. It's the negative fans who had unrealistic expectations. Let's give NA time.
What we needed on Sunday was to be able to bring on a couple of yard dogs - 2 pros who know how to play a game out. We turned our faces against any signing if a player was over 25 (Davis excepted, but he is hardly a yard dog). Murphy went to Blackburn, for example. He would have hustled Scholes in that last 20 minutes. It is highly laudable that we want a young fresh exciting team. I loved them on Sunday, but the opportunity to have a top team on the ropes with your foot on their throat won't keep coming around. The difference between Wigan and United is that the latter attacked us, and this always give you a chance. But once in front against a team like this you need the type of player we simply don't have.
as a norwich fan, you've trodden a very similar path to ourselves, but perhaps i can give you some reassurances! last season we started slowly. we were desperately unlucky in our first few matches, we conceded five dodgy penalties in our first five matches, all of which cost us valuable points. we matched chelsea at stamford bridge and but for some poor officiating could have won. we were all a little disheartened by it and feared a long, hard season. however, something suddenly clicked away at bolton. we won the match and from there it was lift off. there are so many similarities between our team then and yours now. i've already seen enough from your team to suggest you will not only stay up but stay up well. if you score goals you'll have a chance, that's for sure. the more streetwise you become, the easier you'll find the league. its that naivity which cost you on sunday but the fact you got yourselves in that position in the first place is what you should be most pleased with. have a little faith
Cheers! I think most of us still do. If we'd picked up even a couple of points we would all have been raving about our brilliant start. I agree a win and we will kick on from there.
Maybe Deano could have been the answer on this occasion, a bit of sideways backwards might have denied them possession!
Cork and Ramirez could have seen the game out for us and its unfortunate that neither was available. Everyone would like a Paul Scholes in their team, but unfortunately there aren't many of them. Neither Cork or Ramirez are old heads, but they're both capable of the hassling and playing jobs we would have wanted them to do. A more experienced and influential player like Murphy or Del Piero might do it better, but being in a position to have to see out a game against a top side like Man U isn't one we'd anticipate too often. On balance, I think buying younger and buillding a side to do more than stay up is the right thing to do.
The missing piece is one or two quality centre backs and a left back who can defend and who does not have a perma tan........
Come on people......Every view is valid. There are people who are feeling negative that is human nature. Just the same there are people out there that only think positive thoughts. Again those words ......Human nature. Neither are wrong just the same as any other thoughts. Expressing your thoughts either way on here is exactly what makes this Forum so popular. It is what we encourage. Dissenters should not be seen as negative the same as assenters should be seen as particularly positive. It is what it is just an opinion.
As a spurs fan I think I am genuinely neutral re Southampton. I think that there will be at least 3 weaker teams than you in the Premier League. I think that QPR, Reading and Villa will come lower than you come may. Your performances have been outstanding and you will pick up more than enough points to stay up. City are the League champions and you scared the **** out of them and it took the best striker in the prem to beat you on Sunday.
I'd say I'm probably some way in between the two sets of opinions, although probably a fair bit nearer the ''positive fans'' (although I dont like this labelling buissiness). The first thing to say is we've scored four goals in 2 matches against the top two of last season, I highly doubt thats a fluke. Its painfully obvious but score goals and you've got a chance and I think we'll score a lot of goals. However its our defence which worries me I don't want to single out players but the fact is most of the goals we've conceded have not been from unstopable play (United's second two). We need to cut out the mistakes or we will concede alot of goals this season. As for adkins I think hes made a couple of mistakes. Not getting another CB (I thought this was the outstanding priority of the window along with GK). Leaving Chaplow out was a mistake. HOWEVER Ferguson makes mistakes everyone does and if he does have to make mistakes then I'd rather it be against united and city. Anyway personally I think we'll be in somewhat of a dog fight this year. We have the potential to thrive in this league but it will be our ability to become ruthless like we did at points last season which will determine whether we stay up. Either way I hope the management structure remains the same because if we do have to come back up I think this experience will be massively helpful. Stay up this year and kick on or come back from a stronger posistion (anyone noticed how all of a sudden West Ham arn't relegation favourites this year).
Chaplow has been missed out by everyone here. He should be on the bench every game as he offers the energy and flexability that is needed at the end of games, he can be used as an attacking and defensive option. Apart from centre forward and centre back, I think he can cover every other position for the last 20 minutes
Good article. Well thought out. I'm in the middle on this one, however. I never would have guessed we would score 2 against the Man's. Unfortunately that only showed our defence is not where it needs to be. Fonte does not look up to it so I have my hopes on the new guy. Unfortunately he will get little time with the team before the next game. I think NA should have had a CM on the bench last time out. Once our CM's started getting tired they brought in their subs. We were no longer able to keep tight to them and prevent them passing it around. We just kept moving backward and allowing them to move the whole team closer to the goal. Bringing on forwards did little to stop that. A fresh CM to harass was required but none were on the bench. I think Cork would have been the choice but since he is out NA should have had Chaplow. I am still optimistic though that everyone including NA are learning and we might as well learn against teams where points are not expected to be gained (Wigan excepted). Hopefully by the time AV comes around we will have learned enough to get a lead and hold it with the right subs at the right time. By November we really need to be sorted out because there are a number of games there against teams we need to be getting points from.
We played the two best teams from last season, what did you expect to happen! Wigan are in rich form, they play as a team and it shows they know how to win a Premier League game at the moment. We still have a few new faces to blend in, hopefully Yoshida is solid to partner Jos, i think they could be very good together. Fox and KD look a little overwhelmed by the other teams, but don't forget we have young talent pushing them all the way, look how JWP has started, maybe in a few weeks, we will be raving about Shaw! And Finally we have one of the worlds brightest talents about to come and shake up our front line, if he settles well, and plays like he can, I see no reason with Ramirez, why we can't finish top 12. The season starts properly after the Arsenal game, we had a welcoming of fire, but we can't feel sorry for ourselves, the same grit and determination that saw us see out last seasons campaign will kick in and I believe other teams will be frightened of what we have to offer. This is why in my opinion, no alarm bells should be ringing, because the jigsaw is still to be completed in terms of our best team. I for one am relishing seeing Southampton Football Club back in the big time, and simply cannot wait for the points to roll in.
I agree with what you say about Davis, CB's and Fox, trouble is at this level one of the defenders being out of their depth can make the others look poor. For example, fox's decision making was poor against Utd and he was regularly out of position - you could say the same about Jos but is this because he was trying to cover for Fox? I'm not trying to take a pop at Fox though as I've seen him play well on many occasions and everyone has a mare sometimes. Every game is going to be tough this year let's just hope come April we are close enough to have a good chance of staying up. COYR
The season started on the first game and if we were looking at a plan of how we would do this year for the City and United games most people would have had us down for defeats and I would expect by more than two goals across those to games. It will be tight at the bottom and plenty of teams will get spanked by City and Utd and it may come down to goal difference. I'd say we have actually outperformed expectation on the actual result (which is what counts) don't look it just as zero points.
