please log in to view this image Hey Sports Fans! Welcome to the CanariesSoccer Match Center, Live from The DeliaDome. [video=youtube;GstVB6u2QiY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GstVB6u2QiY[/video] ------------------------- Hey Sports Fans! Saturday see's Canaries face-off-against Baggiez in a mid-table matchup which could go some way to deciding which franchise finishes closer to (or, dare-I-say-it, even within) the European-Soccer-Series positions. Whilst Canaries aren't safe yet, their recent form and general performances have led to many observers tipping them for a top-10 finish. Coach Hughton: âIt is not being negative, but for a club like ourselves, it is about keeping as big a gap as you can between us [and those at the bottom].There is no shame in saying that, it is a reality for clubs like ourselves. But our form at the moment has deserved it. We are a team which has to work very hard for the points we get, so there will be no getting carried away." Last time out Canaries defeated Latics Two versus One in a matchup which saw them enjoy the lions share of the soccerball and score-attempt-opportunities. Ultimately the converted-score-attempts were taken by A. Pilkington (who has been on fine form of late) and W. Hoolahan with an outstanding upperbody strike for a baller only 5ft6 in height. please log in to view this image Baggies currently sit P6 in the EPL, one position and one ballgame-point above Canaries - however Baggies have played one fewer matchup. Key to their success so far this series has been an effective style of soccer inspired by Coach Clarke which mixes pass-plays with physicality and off-the-ball route-running. Last time out in the EPL Baggies hosted Coach Allardyce's Hammerz Franchise in a matchup which ended Zero vs Zero. Coach Clarke: "We didn't quite do enough to get the three points, as the home team, the onus is on us but nothing really fell our way. We spoke about keeping a clean sheet before the game, we haven't had one for a while. 'It's stopped the run of defeats. That's a positive.There aren't many questions on that game, are there?' Point taken, gladly, it would seem, all round." Baggies and Canaries are defying expectations to be as high in the Divisional Standings as they are, however this has been the result of hard work and quality soccer. Expect this matchup to be low-on-score-attempts but high on quality soccer as the two de-fenses will look to out-battle each other in order to ensure their offense has the best chance of securing all three ballgame points. This sure is going to be a great Soccer matchup, so fill up your Coca-Cola⢠tankards, get your hot-dogs and grab a seat for this smash-and-grab matchup, brought to you exclusively on Not606! An Announcement: It is with equal sadness and happiness that I am anouncing my resignation as purveyor of Faux-American-Themed Match Coverage for Not606. I intend to see out 2012 (big games versus Chelsea and Man City) and will formally offer my resignation to Dave and Maestro on January 2nd 2013. My reasons for this are twofold: 1) I've been writing these for almost four seasons now, we've been on a hell of a ride and I feel that now is the right time to hand over the reigns as we enter a new chapter as a football club. 2) It's only fair to give others the opportunity to have a go in keeping with the openess and freedom this board encourages. I hope that my resignation will be accepted, and may I say that it's an honour to have been able to write these for you for the last four seasons.... ... in the meantime, WE'VE GOT THREE MORE BALLGAMES TO WATCH, please log in to view this image SO LET'S GO TEAM CANARIES AND GRAB SOME BUDS!
Shame you want to stand down PC i think a lot of people will miss these. I propose that we have a Rota, at the start of each month we people get assigned each match if we did that I'm sure we would all like to see these threads come up from time to time.
Was browsing West Brom forums to see their take on the game as their board on here is dead. Came across what I thought was a great match thread. Bit of a mouthful, but if you can be bothered is a decent read. In the highly unlikely event that the world ends this coming Friday (top Health & Safety tip: keep your towel handy and eyes peeled for Vogon construction fleets), there'll probably be a few Albion fans looking up at the looming shadow of their eternal doom, shaking their heads, and departing this mortal coil with the final words: "Ar towd yow Steve Clarke ud never last till Christmas." Because let's face it: if you're going to be a doom-monger, you may as well keep monging that doom until you can mong no more. But those of us with our feet planted firmly on the earth - looking optimistically into a future that stretches far beyond the next few days - have already got our hands full. We'll be busy clearing the car parks for combine harvesters and sticking a ploughman's lunch on every pub menu, because Chris Hughton's Farmy Army are coming to town, and in our last home match of 2012, we should be ready to give them a real industrial welcome. Norwich are one of those clubs whose fate seems oddly tangled with Albion's. It's not just that their ascent to top flight football for the first time in the early Seventies was catalysed by former Albion men like Ken Foggo and Colin Suggett, or even that it was masterminded by Ron Saunders, a name which would eventually become notorious at the Hawthorns for all the wrong reasons. The links stretch through decades. In 1973, a Norwich win at the Shrine all but relegated the Baggies for the first time since the Second World War. In 1979, a draw at Carrow Road pushed Albion up to the top spot in English football for the last time in the club's history. In 2005, the Canaries very kindly kept 17th place in the Premier League warm for us going into the final day of the season, before graciously stepping aside and allowing us to finish there instead, making Prem history as the only side to survive after being bottom at Christmas. And prior to that, in the early 1990s, Norwich formed a side that not only helped to define the fledgling Premier League, but also introduced to each other a few gentlemen who'd go on to play a key part in resurrecting the Baggies at the turn of the Millennium. But before we talk about Albion's Lazarus act and how it was influenced by the Canaries, it's worth having a glance at the achievements of Nineties Norwich. The team assembled by Mike Walker - including Bryan Gunn, Mark Bowen, Jeremy Goss, Mark Robins and Chris Sutton - were serious title-contenders through the inaugural Premier League season, and in October 1993, became known throughout Europe after beating Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in the UEFA Cup. They were the only British team ever to do so; the stadium closed in 2006, and goals from Goss and Bowen ensured the Canaries an enduring place in the history of European club football. However, triumph over Bayern was the beginning of the end for that Canaries side. Three months later Mike Walker was on an express train to Merseyside to manage Everton, replaced in the hotseat by, surprise surprise, a former Albion man: John Deehan. By the following January, most of the talent had been sold from the club, and when goalkeeping stalwart Bryan Gunn broke his ankle, the writing was on the wall. Despite being a healthy seventh in the table at New Year, just one league win in the first five months of 1995 sent Norwich plummeting fast. In April, with time running out, Deehan resigned and let his right hand man try a last-ditch effort to save the club from relegation. It failed miserably; they accrued only one point under the new gaffer's guidance. So, who was this managerial moron who sealed the Canaries' fate? Surely after what happened at Carrow Road, no other club was ever desperate enough to avoid relegation that they let this jellybrain loose in the dressing room with a month or so left of the season? The answers are, of course: a) his name was Gary Megson, and b) yes; five years later there was a club exactly that desperate. Megson had been part of the Norwich playing squad in the twilight years of his career - mostly a cover player, benchwarming in matches like the historic victory over Bayern. Still, he must have held those days fondly in his memory, as two of his earliest signings for the Baggies were his Norwich teammates of that era, Ruel Fox and Andy Johnson. Just as Walker's hard-working journeymen had done wonders for the Canaries, so Megson's equally dogged warriors scrapped their way from last-day survival, to the play-offs, to automatic promotion, using every ounce of experience they'd gained between Bavaria and the Brummie Road. Our pork scratching had acquired a vital coating of mustard, and it was enough to knock out any team that came near us. Fast forward another ten years. The Norwich City visiting us on Saturday are, once again, an uncanny reflection of West Bromwich Albion in many ways. They're running on principles of financial prudence; they survived their first season back in the Prem with Paul Lambert's philosophy of we'll-score-more-than-you, but new boss Chris Hughton has sensibly decided that some Hodgsonesque tightening of the previously sieve-like defence is the key to second season survival. The Canaries continue to play to their strengths in attack; strong wingplay from Pilkington on the left and Snodgrass on the right delivering pinpoint crosses; fantastic aerial ability and killer instinct in front of goal from the likes of Holt and Morison; and one of the most underrated attacking midfielders in the league in Wes Hoolahan. Defensively, the Mulumbu-like Alex Tettey sits with Bradley Johnson in front of the back four, who've been bolstered by the introduction of Sebastien Bassong this season -no mean goalscorer himself. I fully expect Norwich to follow the same road-map that Stoke and West Ham have used against us in sitting back and trying to hit us on the counter; if Billy Jones is at right-back for us, Hughton will more than likely get Pilkington to run at him, possibly utilising Garrido on the overlap. Olsson and McAuley will need to stand up and be counted for every cross that comes in. Otherwise, we can expect a tenacious pressing game from the Canaries, who'll look to maintain a strong defensive line and frustrate us, as has happened so often recently. What can Clarke do to combat this? I have to admit that I wouldn't mind seeing a start from Lukaku or Fortune as lone striker; as legendary as Shane Long has been so far this season, defences are starting to get wise to him and mark him out of the game. I feel it wouldn't hurt to throw something at Hughton that he may not expect; wear down the Norwich back four with strong hold-up play, and then maybe hit them with the pace of Long and Odemwingie in the last half-hour. But I'm not the gaffer, and I'm certainly no expert. We'd all like to see a return to winning ways, and thirty points for Christmas would be fantastic, but our injury problems, suspensions and tactical handicaps are no small obstacle; realistically, a second consecutive draw here would be far from the worst result we could get. And so to the video vault. In spite of the rich veins connecting the two clubs, matches between Albion and Norwich aren't always the world-beaters you come to expect from other fixtures. But that's not to say you won't find a few old delights in among this collection. With goals from Cyrille Regis, Ian Hamilton, Andy Hunt, Paul Peschisolido, Paul Groves, Paul Raven, Neil Clement, Lee Hughes, Jason Koumas, Sam Sodje, Diomansy Kamara, Ishmael Miller, Kevin Phillips, Robert Koren, Zoltan Gera and Peter Odemwingie, this is West Bromwich Albion versus Norwich City. Enjoy the clips, and post your Norwich thoughts, memories and predictions below. From the new606 website.
that's a cracking read minty, thanks for posting. some grear nostalga in there and megson bashing. what's this new606 rubish though??!
Not sure mate, seems after 606 closed down posters dispersed to different websites, which is a shame as would be nice to have a decent contingent from all clubs on here! Sorry for inadvertently advertising a rival forum!
Just looking at the number of posts for each club on new606 and it seems only the baggies have decent amount of posters. Need to get them to migrate to not606 where they can interact with outsiders.
Agree with Bath - these threads have been high five awesome CS - would like to see them pop up on a rotation scheduler if the good lady allows.
I would love to write these on a rota maybe once a month. That new606 article is exactly the sort of thing it'd be nice to see on here - Thai's effort was top drawer the other week.
Tweet from holty @Grantholt31: Training done now back to Carlisle see the family. All the best to the boys today. #3points Seems like he's not playing.
Fingers crossed Kane is back in contention then, assuming Morison starts, having only Jackson on the bench would worry me slightly.
