for **** sake man. don't you pay any attention to what people write?! how long were fulham a top flight club before they became a solid mid-table outfit? maybe three, four years? and they were bankrolled initially - we are not! they are a good model to focus on now, because their owner does not pump silly money into it anymore. success is achievable and that's what we want to do - nobody, nobody at all is suggesting we are merely happy to survive relegation every year for eternity!! as proven midweek, if we get injuries (and we had six regulars out on tuesday night) we suffer. we could still have won the game but we aren't the same without just three of our better players - ruddy, tettey and hoolahan. we might only be four points off a champions league place as it stands in mid december but we are a million miles away from being good enough to finish above the likes of spurs, everton and arsenal. we can beat these teams on our day (as we already have done) but their resources are gargantuan compared to ours. the longer we stay in the division, the easier it will become and because the club is run sensibly, we'll have a good chance to stay up, compete and progress further up the table. its really not rocket science but seeing as your club has been run in such a haphazard way since evans took over, perhaps its not surprising you struggle with the concept of 'doing things well'.
The fans are SUPPOSED to be the dreamers. It's Chris Hughton who should have his feet on the ground. Why do Norwich fans always expect to achieve so little and aim so low?
"I'm not going to look beyond the semi-final - but I would love to lead Newcastle out at the final." - Sir Bobby Robson
how on earth is that any different to what we are saying? your argument is nonsense mate. so sir bobby was focusing on the semi final but hopeful of leading his club out for a final. how is that different from me saying we are concentrating on survival but once that's assured, who knows! of course supporters are dreamers but that doesn't mean they don't understand how football works! you don't need to watch much premier league football to figure out which part of the division you will find yourself come may. is it boring? a little bit - its not like the complete randomness of the championship. the best we can realistically hope for is a top 8 finish and a cup final. sadly, that is all your own club can hope for as well. we are both in the same boat, its just we are currently closer to achieving that than you are.
I am just glad that we have finally brought in a proper high calibre manager in Mick McCarthy and our future can only be positive from now on. We are average 2 points a game under Mick but I'm not naive enough to believe that we will make the play-offs this season! Progress for us will be a good solid finish and with the upward momentum that had been built up from this season we will definately push on to promotion with Mick next season. In Norwich's case it is tremendous what they are achieving in basically defying the laws of gravity but for how long they can carry on doing it is anyones guess!
Birmingham won the League Cup and were relegated, but at least they have something to show for it. West Brom, Norwich, Swansea, West Ham: All of these sides are capable of shaking things up because Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs are there for the taking at the moment. Alternatively find yourselves back in the Championship in a few years anyway having let the opportunity pass you by. I'm sure Delia didn't get into football just to coin it in by staying up.
i'm intrigued as to how you know the future. how do you know for sure that ww won't finish above these teams? i'm 95% sure we won't because i understand that my team isn't quite good enough to do so but nothing is for certain. oh, and i'd rather stay up this season thanks. staying up is absolutely the most important thing for my club right now because of the astonishing wealth it will bring. the club will be set up for decades to come. meanwhile, former league cup winners birmingham could very well find themselves in league one next season and are on the verge of bankruptcy. its done them no favours. anyway, its irrelevant - we are out now and its highly unlikely we will win the fa cup - so much luck required to win it. as stated elsewhere, we could finish 6th but we could equally finish 18th. i'm always amazed at how you think you can see the future yorkie. in my experience chatting to you, its not very often that you get your predictions right. in fact, i'm struggling to think of any...
good start, no question but still early days. some of the turnaround could be new manager bounce. even we got a bounce under glenn roeder going 14 unbeaten (i'm not comparing roeder to mccarthy, just an example!) you should get safe cos he knows what he is doing but your squad still needs major surgery. you'll probably finish around your usual spot in the upper lower half.
When have I ever said I can see the future? It's simple probability. You do get exceptions, like Fulham, you get exceptions like your miraculous rise over the last few years. But on the whole things play by the rule book over time. You know that. You really think you will be set up for decades? I don't believe that at all. And what I'm talking about is AMBITION. Why is that so hard a concept for you to grasp? Better not try win a trophy, that could get us in a real mess. Far better to sit here in the middle of the Premier League all comfy and cosy and safe.
Errrr...so you ask how Hampy can be so sure you you won't finish above those teams, but then you state yourself that you're 95% sure that he's right? So you pretty much think his prediction is correct!
for the love of god, please read all the posts yorkie said we should try to finish above them, not below them. my opinion is that we won't finish higher than the likes of spurs, arsenal and everton because they are blatantly much stronger than us - hence there is a minimal chance that with a few decent additions and those teams falter, then it is possible to finish above them. yorkie said we should aim to finish above them and of course that is the aim but its almost impossible and there is probably only a 5% chance we could finish above even one of those. bloody hell - what on earth are you lot smoking down there? do you still think its 1980 and any team can sign a couple of good players and win the league? three quarters of the teams in that league are chasing 40 points and that is as far as their ambitions go - then and only then do they aim higher. norwich are ambitious. however, we are not as off our rockers as you lot and are patient and understanding enough to realise that its a very tough ask especially when you have the lowest wage bill in the league and a small transfer kitty. we were favourites to go down in the summer. honestly, you lot are barking mad. absolutely no idea what life in the premier league is like these days... out of practice no doubt.
I have read all the posts, Hampy was talking about the ambitions/dreams of your fans, not the aims of the club, two completely different things... There was more than a few lot on your board earlier in the week saying that the loss against Villa was a chance of a cup win missed, I'm inclined to agree with them, but I could be wrong... You reduce the Beautiful Game to a seminar in Economics...
It's true, many were, which kind of nullifies Hampy's allegations about us 'northerners', doesn't it?
Absolutely, it was a chance missed. I can see why people would take the 'concentrate on the league' tact after that embarrassment but if you get to a Cup Quarter in the position you're in and you'd rather go out and concentrate on safety THAT'S where a lack of ambition comes in. Now, just to clarify, I didn't say you should try to finish above all of them, but out of those four sides there's no reason why one of them can't sneak into fourth spot this season. That includes Norwich although you would have to say Everton are obviously a lot stronger. Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool, Newcastle, those clubs are saying "Here you are smaller clubs come and take a pop at us this season!" That does not mean you should be doing it BUT in your position why the hell not? The answer coming from you is that to have the best chance of surviving you have to be scared of relegation even when you are the second form side in the league and you're four points of a Champions League place! I think a top eight finish and a Europa League spot is not out of the question this season but if you are up in mid-table then for Christ sake look upwards at what you could achieve rather than looking down all the time. In our far more dire and precarious position do you think many of us are still worried about League One? Of course not! It's a possibility still but not one that's worth dwelling on. It's a very sad day when a Town fan thinks more of your side than you do!
I think we would all have liked a day out at Wembley and a trophy but given the choice take survival and all that lovely SKY TV money. We can use it to buy better players that will take us to the next level.
