On the face of it,with only man utd being successful at the Etihad since Everton came away with the spoils in 2010 and Norwich having such a wretched record against man city,a home banker was on the cards. Man City started slowly as has been their want of late,both recent visitors west brom and Wigan should've been well ahead before City got into their stride,and Norwich started on the front foot with the excellent Houlihan in particular grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck and dominating yaya toure in the middle of the park. The movement up front from Pilkington and the industrious Howson was stretching Lescott & Richards and the opener from Pilkington had been coming. Norwich's inability to hold on to that lead must have been a concern as Rodwell swept the ball home to ensure parity going into the break although Norwich had much the better of proceedings The crowd was particularly flat,understandably after the recent FA cup loss and the appalling shenanigans with the ousted manager,the very popular Mancini which the club need to repair the damage with the supporters very quickly Norwich began the second half in the same vein as the first,bright and vibrant mirroring the 2000 canaries behind the goal from the yellow & green teletubbies in the top tier to the bananas and littering of inflatables in the bottom one. Both team and supporters were on form and it was no surprise when the urgency of Norwich enabled them to take the lead following a flowing move and finished off by the poacher Holt unmarked at the far post Outbreak of the Poznan behind the goal didn't last too long as Rodwell finished off a solo run to beat Ruddy from a tight angle to get man city back on terms against the run of play. Fittingly the game was won by an even better solo goal by Howson who weaved through numerous half hearted challenges to slot past joe hart for a well deserved winner Norwich missed a couple of other gilt edged opportunities to wrap up the game,preferring to leave their supporters sweating until mark Halsey blew the whistle on the match and his refereeing career. Without wanting to be too unkind to Mr Halsey,I feel he's a ref of a dinasour era where the 50/50s go the "big" club and the clear penalties he turned down you felt would probably have been given at the other end.Having been both the "big" and "little" club over the years the difference in how we are treated is unbelievable at times and I for one would much rather a level playing field Norwich supporters sang we are staying up into the Manchester sky at the end,but it was a performance of a team who shouldn't have been anywhere near the drop zone even taking into account the lacklustre performance of the deposed champions It will be an interesting summer to see how each team recruits to get back on track after poor seasons and I look forward to my next visit to carrow rd no doubt via the Compleat Angler Regards PPLF
Who do you want in charge mate? Clearly it won't be Kidd. He must say everything behind closed doors as he didn't look at all animated on the side lines.
I wouldn't mind Rafa to be honest Don't know much about Pellegrini but whoever it is needs to get these prima donnas working for them rather than against them
Your neighbours have shown that you can win things with stability and with trusting British players. So would you prefer a Brit manager or do you think it takes a manager who has tried other leagues in other countries?
Stability with managers seems to be the media ideal at the moment but Wenger and Moyes are the only other one who you could consider as a top club being stable and they've not won anything between them for nearly a decade Chelsea on the other hand chop and change on a whim but are much more successful so it's hard to know which is the best way,although most supporters yearn for stability Main thing I want in a manager is getting them to play with pace and urgency Sick and tired driving home from places like st Mary's when the players efforts haven't come close to mirroring the supporters
Thanks for your honesty and even evaluation of the game. It's been a hell of a week for your club but you'll be back to challenge United next year.
I sort of agree about the stability point you say PaulPower, it's not just Man United that have been successful over the years. I think one of the top managers in Europe at the moment is Jurgen Klopp and am surprised he hasn't been mentioned much, although he does have 'Wenger's replacement' written on his forehead due to his approach to the game. I liked Mancini, I don't think he is a bad manager at all, I just think you have a weaker team than you did last season. Simple as that really, I don't feel that your bench is as good as it was last season, especially in attack options. Do you reckon Guidetti will feature much next season? I am surprised he didn't this season to be honest.
Guidetti hasn't been fit enough to play so far,only has a couple if starts for an hour all season in the reserves Some viral infection
Probably the best opposition opinion I've read from a "big club" fan. Say what you like about their newfound riches, at least they've broken the monopoly and (at least one of their fans) haven't lost their understanding of what it's like not being in that clique
With vanwolfswinkle coming in,how will Norwich utilise him? Presumably holt will make way and Pilkington would play off him?
No one really knows. Holt is at his best with a strike partner, so it may well work playing both of them.
Holt appears to be a lazy player,I imagine he's flagged for being offside a lot? Might be wrong just the impression I have of him? How has Javier Garrido done for you? Would much rather have him at the Etihad than Kolorov,far better defender
Holt has had an up and down season - started poorly following his transfer request and resultant new contract and has suffered from the system CH has chosen not suiting him. I think most NCFC fans would say that one of Holt's strengths is his work rate and the inspiration that this gives to his colleagues. I honestly thought he'd lost it a couple of months ago when he looked thoroughly fed up and was coming off the bench alomst looking to get himself sent off. The past month has shown him more like his old self and suggests that he still has plenty to offer the club. as a previous poster has said he would, if given the chance, be a good foil for the new boy. Garrido started off well and has been mostly good but tailed off a little in 2013. hopefully him signing permanently will give him the stability to kick on and become a solid member of the team in the coming seasons.
Holt is the very opposite of a lazy player. He works incredibly hard - I'm surprised you have that opinion of him given that it was in part him relentlessly closing your defenders down yesterday that helped us regain possession so often. He does get caught offside, but I'd say less often than most strikers (Morison, who we sold in January, was always being blown for it). Holt's actually, a relatively complete player, though obviously he doesn't excel at any one particular attribute, other than perhaps bullying defenders. I'd say his weaknesses are pace, his tackling can go awry, his shooting from range, his left foot and his tendency to go down a little too easily/unnecessarily. I would agree with Norfolkbhoy, but actually I would say Garrido has had, on balance, a very, very good season. He did have a dip in form, as did much of the team, but looks to have recovered it in the last couple of matches. I also think his poor performances often came from a lack of support from his winger. Our only issue is he is a tad slow, but then if he wasn't he would probably be somewhere other than Norwich...
Funny how people see players differently I thought it was Houlihan Howson & Pilkington rather than Holt with the industry As I said,could be wrong though,it can seem different watching it live rather than on the TV with the replays and different perspectives you can get
thank you for your very honest assessment of the match Paul. makes a change for an opposition fan to give an unblinkered view. hope your new manager is the business.
You're not wrong - they did all work very hard and it is a feature of our squad. Holt just gets the thankless task of chasing down lost causes, whereas I suppose that pressing from midfielders actually has a bigger effect in getting the ball back.
This snippet from the Daily Fail is pretty accurate:- Thanks for an unbiased and fair assessment, PaulPower
