I have not been on here for the last 3 months partly because I got fed up with the anti Hughton hatred - he did his best but just wasn't good enough - but mainly because of personal circumstances. A serious illness to our daughter in law in Australia left our son and grandchildren in dire need of help. Mrs 1950 and I went out to help for 3 months and after a couple of weeks back here Mrs 1950 went out for another 3 months. With the sympathetic waiving of visa rules by the Aussie authorities she is now staying for a further 6 months but although the prognosis has changed from life threatening to life in an adapted wheelchair it is quite clear that permanent help will be required so the appropriate forms have been submitted which by the end of the year will change 1950canary to Adelaidecanary and put an end to 64 years of regular attendance at Carrow Road. In the meantime I can upset a few of you with my views as I see things a) Not worth going back over the last season as it is is over, gone, kaput and nothing can be changed except to say that, firstly, I heard more sense spoken on the Radio Norfolk phone in yesterday morning than I have heard for a long time and , secondly, a lot of the supporters frustration at relegation was made worse by the unrealistic expectations they had at the start of the season. b) Whoever the new Manager is the supporters have got to stop moaning even if they disagree with who it is. Personally I don't care who it is as long as he is a disciplinarian. For a variety of reasons this Club turns into a holiday camp under nice guys like Gunn and Hughton and we have always needed a hard man such as Saunders and Lambert to get players fit and boot a few backsides. Nobody will ever convince me that all of last years squad were as fit as they could be nor were they over concerned if they were playing badly. Under Lambert they took clean underwear in with them at half time if they played badly and also knew that he would likely haul them off if they didn't give 100% and we need that culture back. c) We do need Adams in the structure as a lot of our future success could lie with the kids he has brought through and Adams knows them better than anybody else. We need at least 5 or 6 of them in next years squad gaining experience and some match time. d) Most of last years squad will stay mainly because nobody else will want them - in fact there are a few who will probably have to be pushed out. The only one they must hang on to under all circumstances is Redmond. Anybody else can go IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT - which means not a lot less than we paid - which does cause a problem with the likes of RVW. e) Next year will not be easy. The Championship is not full of over performing small Clubs - at least half of them would describe themselves as under performing big Clubs who should be in the Premiership. Anybody who assume that we will walk into automatic promotion or the the play offs will probably be as disappointed as they have been last year. I think we need next year to regroup and I suspect that we will finish about mid table. Last year I said we would finish 5th from bottom and was obviously being over optimistic - although that wasn't what most of you called me at the time!! I hope that I am not being over optimistic this year.
Welcome back 1950, and I agree with most of what you say, especially about fan unity, discipline and bringing on youth players. I do think we need to keep as many players as we can rather than building a new squad from scratch with the need to 'gel' and all that. Anyway, good to have you back!
Welcome back you grumpy old bugger! Seriously midway, it's good to have you back, I'm so sorry to hear of your problems and hope you can find some comfort in sorting the help out as a family!
Agree 100% 1950. Sorry to hear of your family troubles,puts our winging re football into perspective. Regards to you and yours.
Hi, 1950. Sorry to hear of your problems, hopefully things will continue to improve for you. I totally agree with everything you have said apart from about Redmond. I would love for him to stay next year but the lad has to be the most overrated player ever to pull on a Norwich shirt. He produced one goal and zero assists last season, and, although the potential is there, he is to me nothing more than a young, fast Lee Croft. He CAN become incredible but there are so many players we have who are so much more important to us - Ruddy, Martin, Snodgrass and Hooper to begin with. Other than that though, terrific post.
His pace and control of the ball are excellent and his finishing and crosses can be pretty good, watch his hatrick last night for proof of that. He has torn the U21 apart for a year now, he consistently looks like one of the best players on the pitch. His issue is decision making, another season in the championship could be perfect for him with a bit more time and hopefully more freedom from our new manager. If you write talented 19 year olds off because they're not the finished article then you'll find that there are very few decent footballers left. There were time this season where he was the only player on the pitch who looked capable of making things happen, he's always dynamic compared with some incredibly static play we saw this year from the midfield. Very sorry to hear about your problems 1950 and you raise some good points agree with all of them
1) I know he's fast but that doesn't make him a good footballer. 2) I haven't seen the game highlights from yesterday yet but from what I've seen his finishing is appalling. 3) I'm pretty sure he was dropped by Gareth Southgate to begin with, so hasn't torn the U21s apart for a year. 4) Subjective, but to me he has not looked consistently like one of the best players on the pitch. 5) One of his issues is definitely decision making. 6) I'm not writing him off at all. 7) I agree that he was always looking to make things happen. Hope to see more of that next season.
Hi 1950 and sorry to hear of your family problems. Some excellent points raised in your post and for me THE most important one is b. We really need a manager who will give the players a rolloicking at half time if they are underperforming, but even more important IMO is that ALL the fans get behind whoever is selected as manager!!
Great to see you back 1950. Can only reiterate what others have said and wish you and yours all the best in a difficult time. I trust there will still be nubile young lady cyclists in Adelaide for you to ogle whilst you are blowing the froth off a few!
How you describe Redmond at 19, Hucks, is how people described Walcott and Huckerby at 19. His major strengths, such as speed and ball control, are natural abilities which cannot be coached into a player. His failings, such as decision making, can be taught and if somebody can teach him to just look and think quickly before deciding what to do - a job for Huckerby perhaps - just imagine his value in 2 years time. That is why I think it is essential that he stays. The likes of Russ Martin and Hooper will be valuable to us next year but as I said they will be still here partly because they can look forward to next season with the expectation of regular appearances and partly because on the evidence of last season nobody is going to make offers for them that are too good to refuse. Thanks for your kind comments chaps. At the end of the day you realise that family are the most important part of your life and how could we possibly allow our son to try and struggle through life with a demanding job, severely disabled wife and 2 young children. There is a slight possibility that an alternative solution involving another relative might be available but if not, and assuming our application for permanent residency succeeds, it will be hello Adelaide, better golf courses, brilliant weather, crap beer and crap football and goodbye to my beloved Norfolk, my visits to Carrow Road, rain and Humpty Dumpty beer. I'm fairly certain, Gandy, that there will be plenty of sights to behold - if all else fails I will head for the beach to see if I can spot the blonde in the latest Fosters advert.
There's a lot to miss about Norfolk but I'm sure 99.9% of the world's population would take Adelaide any day. You'll have a cracking time.
