1. Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!

The 2019-2020 season.

Discussion in 'Norwich City' started by Walsh.i.am, Apr 29, 2019.

  1. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,075
    Likes Received:
    8,236
    Sad that you won't get to any more matches, 1950, but I'm 72 now and don't get to many matches either (living in Cornwall doesn't help!). Good to hear that you'll be posting more on here though! :emoticon-0148-yes:
     
    #521
    ncgandy likes this.
  2. JM Fan

    JM Fan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2012
    Messages:
    14,383
    Likes Received:
    4,633
    <applause>
     
    #522
  3. robbieBB

    robbieBB Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2011
    Messages:
    5,006
    Likes Received:
    769
    Rick 72, 1950 74, JM Fan approaching 70, Dave 71 ............ no wonder this forum is so civilised <cheers>

    PS. I'm 83 <laugh>
     
    #523
    ncgandy, JM Fan and canary-dave like this.
  4. SuffolkCanary

    SuffolkCanary Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    4,188
    Likes Received:
    2,549
    Representing the younger civilised members I’m 28! <laugh>
     
    #524
    JM Fan and robbieBB like this.
  5. goldeneadie

    goldeneadie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2011
    Messages:
    6,331
    Likes Received:
    1,301
    75 years young here.
     
    #525
    ncgandy and JM Fan like this.
  6. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,075
    Likes Received:
    8,236
    Good article by Andy Head about what we take into the PL:

    "We won the league because once the players had learned that system, they were often near-impossible to stop. Those players are still here. They all know the system. They’ll hit the ground running together. And while the opposition are better individually and the managers generally more experienced, a team of good players who know what they’re doing and work hard together to a plan is bloody difficult to stop."

    This is like our successful teams in the early 90s in the sense of being 'under the radar", except that this squad is full of international players, many of whom have played at the highest level. His comparisons with Leicester are tantalising, but that's the stuff of dreams:

    "Leicester won the title because they had a side that worked hard, and they had a style of football that worked for them, which all their players were comfortable with. They had no real stars, at least at the start of the season. Leicester did the simple things well, and they won a lot of games late on because they had great stamina, teamwork and a desire not to only avoid defeat, but to try and gamble and win games."

    We're not going to win the league, but we will surprise a few people as Farkeball hits the PL.

    Andy then goes on to evaluate our chances against the other PL teams and suggests that we should be aiming at somewhere around 10th place. There's more than a bit of yellow tinted glasses about his assessments, but he's not alone. Frank Lampard picked us to finish 11th. Time will tell!
     
    #526
  7. Farked19

    Farked19 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2019
    Messages:
    5,389
    Likes Received:
    3,952
    A 1952 model myself...this really is a codger's forum!
     
    #527
  8. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,075
    Likes Received:
    8,236
    Nothing beats experience! <laugh>
     
    #528
  9. SuffolkCanary

    SuffolkCanary Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    4,188
    Likes Received:
    2,549
    Hopefully our team will show that youth does :1980_boogie_down:
     
    #529
  10. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,075
    Likes Received:
    8,236
    Ha! Hopefully the blend of youth and experience will tell. <laugh>
     
    #530
    SuffolkCanary likes this.

  11. jaob

    jaob Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2011
    Messages:
    104
    Likes Received:
    61
    I'll be 64 around mid season. Don't get to many games these days but love what I've seen last term.
     
    #531
  12. ncgandy

    ncgandy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2011
    Messages:
    9,048
    Likes Received:
    3,873
    Twas a very good vintage! :1980_boogie_down:
     
    #532
    JM Fan and RiverEndRick like this.
  13. JM Fan

    JM Fan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2012
    Messages:
    14,383
    Likes Received:
    4,633
    From today’s MFW - 'Here’s the bottom line of Stuart Webber’s dealings. We don’t have more players than two years ago, or last summer. But we have a lot more players in genuine first-team contention. That’ll serve us well in the season ahead.'
    I see Martin Penney of MFW is also going to the 2 remaining friendlies!!!
     
    #533
  14. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,075
    Likes Received:
    8,236
    That "we have a lot more players in genuine first-team contention" from this window is the key to SW's strategy. We are enhancing the team which won the Championship with 5 new 'genuine' alternatives (including Idah), who are replacing players who hardly featured last season: Marshall, Oliveira, Husband, Pinto, Wildschut, Passlack). The deadwood is also gone. The only real loss is Rhodes (so far). The result is no 'squad players', just genuine' alternatives capable of playing at a PL level and a host of young players building towards the future.

    That enhances DF's options for the PL without blowing the budget. Had we brought in a £20m player, it could destroy the balance created and the overall synergy of squad hungry to succeed in the PL. With Tettey's lingering injury, we could use another DM option, perhaps on loan, but other than that we're ready to go. TalkSport calls this approach 'defeatist', which just shows how far behind most pundits are, living in the past with little insight into the future.

    https://norwich.vitalfootball.co.uk/norwich-have-a-defeatist-attitude-according-to-talksport/
     
    #534
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2019
    robbieBB likes this.
  15. toastehmonstah

    toastehmonstah Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2013
    Messages:
    533
    Likes Received:
    165
    The background for the away kit version was green so I don't think we can read too much into it - I'm more tempted to be led by this from the club shop

    please log in to view this image
     
    #535
  16. Walsh.i.am

    Walsh.i.am Well-Known Member
    Forum Moderator

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2011
    Messages:
    17,327
    Likes Received:
    8,160
    They clearly assume that Fulham last season and Villa this summer is the way forward.
    I wonder if they bothered looking at the final table back in May :emoticon-0112-wonde <yikes>


    16 Southampton 38 9 12 17 45 65 −20 39
    17 Brighton & Hove Albion 38 9 9 20 35 60 −25 36
    18 Cardiff City (R) 38 10 4 24 34 69 −35 34 Relegation to the EFL Championship
    19 Fulham (R) 38 7 5 26 34 81 −47 26
    20
    Huddersfield Town (R) 38 3 7 28 22 76 −54 16
     
    #536
    RiverEndRick likes this.
  17. RiverEndRick

    RiverEndRick Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    16,075
    Likes Received:
    8,236
    A good balanced technical assessment of our chances this season:

    https://statsbomb.com/2019/07/norwich-city-2019-20-season-preview/

    I think this is about right (survival in the cluster just above relegation). It's possible that our players will continue to improve and we push up into lower mid-table but for me, that depends on getting another DM in (as suggested in the analysis). Injuries will be another big factor, but our squad depth and quality will help us cope with those. I'd also feel more comfortable if we signed Rhodes, just in case Drmić's injury problems return. Srbeny could then concentrate on being an AM option.
     
    #537
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2019
    JM Fan likes this.
  18. CitySlicker2010

    CitySlicker2010 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    Messages:
    2,029
    Likes Received:
    582
    City Slicker 2010 is 72 so joins the septuagenarians on this forum. Really hoping that the lack of spend this season doesn’t mean money is being saved for relegation.
     
    #538
    ncgandy likes this.
  19. General Melchett

    General Melchett Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2012
    Messages:
    5,761
    Likes Received:
    3,065
    But if we go down with a whimper, they are all going to be able to smugly say they told us so. I don't believe we will, but we are not brilliant defensively, have a squad with very little PL experience as well as the manager.
    As an outsider, I'd strongly suspect we'll struggle. As a fan of City I think its very possible we could struggle. Even i think we have failed to signifcantly improve our starting XI, keeper and left wing being possible exceptions. And that should make us nervous. Bowen for me is a signing that would have shown real ambition. I'm sure we are ambitious, but its prudence laced with some ambition not the other way round. Not saying it's the wrong strategy, just it hardly looks good from the outside.

    Bah!
     
    #539
  20. JM Fan

    JM Fan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2012
    Messages:
    14,383
    Likes Received:
    4,633
    Oh ye of little faith.
    I was going to put a bet on that we'll finish in the top 10, but the best odds I can get is 10/1, so left it.
    I'm not expecting many points from our first 5 games, but then we bit a SLIGHTLY easier run of fixtures.
     
    #540
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2019

Share This Page