Hi everyone. I hope you're all well and are having a great day. I'm a member of a Liverpool forum called Kopblocks. We have a regular feature before every match whereby someone volunteers to visit another forum and ask the locals some questions about the match and their season in general. I volunteered to come here because I always enjoyed watching Darren Huckerby play as a kid and his prime years were with you fellas. Without further ado, I'll get asking. 1) You had two highly impressive seasons, when Lambert brought you up and then last season as well, finishing 12th and 11th respectively. Where has it gone wrong this year? 2) What are your realistic expectations for the rest of the season? 3) Who would you like to get the manager's job on a permanent basis? Are you happy with Neil Adams for next year, or is there someone else? 4) There was a lot of talk about how much good business you did last summer. Who, of that crop, has performed well? And who do you wish you hadn’t signed at all? 5) It’s coming to the end of the year, and award season. Who are Norwich’s Player, Young Player, and Most Improved of the Season? 6) If you could bring one player from your past back to improve your team, who would you pick and why? What would they bring to your team? 7) If you could choose one player to take from us, who would it be? And who would you like to send back in return? 8) What are your best and worst memories of playing against Liverpool? 9) Where will it be won and lost for you on Sunday? Who are your danger men? 10) And finally, what are your score predictions for the game? If you could answer these, that would fantastic. You lot are also more than welcome to come back over to our side and ask some in return, if you wish to. Or just come and hang around in general, it's always nice to have some other fans around to discuss things with. Thanks guys.
1) It's been a combination of lots of things this season. Generally when we have played well in games we have still often conspired to draw or even lose. Add alot of injuries to key players for much of this season, some poor referee decisions at times and the resulting lack of confidence the players and fans have after this and now we are in a position where it looks very difficult for us to win any of our final 4 nightmare fixtures. 2) I would expect us to put up some fight in these final 4 games but it is very difficult for me to see where the 3/4 points we need to stay up will come from so I fear we may be finished. 3) I'm amongst a minority of Norwich fans who actually wanted to persevere with Hughton so he would of been my ideal man to get us out of the Championship/continue to build a Prem team next year. The only long term replacements I've heard which seem to be plausible are Malky if we go down or Neil Lennon if we stay up. Honestly neither of those fills me with much excitement and if Hughton was persecuted for what many of our fans felt was negative football then I can't see either of those 2 being popular in the long term. If Neil Adams somehow manages to keep us up this season, then my God, he deserves the job on a permanent basis. 4) Ricky van Wolfswinkel arrived as our most expensive ever signing and with enormous expectation upon him which was further fuelled by him scoring in the first game of the season. He has been very, very close on a number of occasions but he has not scored since then! Gary Hooper was also a large investment who has also been disappointing in terms of goals delivered. It doesn't help that both these guys have often played alone up top in front of a team very poor at creating clear cut chances but I'm sure we are all familiar that your centre half has scored more goals than all our strikers put together this season. Not all the signings were that bad mind you. Leroy Fer looks decent for the price we paid for him and Martin Olsson represents a very astute piece of business and is one of maybe only 3 players it could be said has had a good season for us. 5) Robert Snodgrass is my player of the year as he is literally our only source of creativity as well as being better at defending then most of our bona fide defenders, our top scorer (or thereabouts), hardworker and genuine all round good guy. The only players who come in consideration are Martin Olsson and Michael Turner, the latter who has been excellent every game but we have missed for a long time because of injury. Young player is easy: Josh Murphy. This guy has come up through our youth team and is making big waves here in Norfolk. A winger with bags of pace and a few tricks with an eye for goal. Watch this space! Oh and he also has a twin brother called Jacob who is pretty useful too. It's very difficult to pick a most improved player in a season where we seem to have gone backwards so the only player I can opt for is Michael Turner. When he first joined Norwich last season he made costly mistakes and some fans got irate with him. I honestly can't recall him putting a foot wrong at any point this season and its no coincidence our defence looked much more fragile in the months without him. 6) I'm only just in my 20s so have never seen any of the Norwich greats play in my time so it may not surprise you that I am opting for Darren Huckerby. A player who can take the game to the opposition, score goals and make chances from nothing is just what we need right now! 7) It's probably a bit of a cliché to you guys but I am going to pick Luis Suárez. We would give anything to have a striker who can create his own chances out of nothing and link up with others. As Norwich fans we well know that he is the best player in the Premier League. He isn't the most clinical and many would question his temperament and antics but it is impossible not to admire his obscene skill and ability to score wonder goals all the time. 8) As I said earlier I am too young have many memories of playing Liverpool until the last few years. Those that I do have are of our defence running away from Luis Suárez as he scores obnoxiously good goals against us by the buckload. The only happy memory I have is in our first season back in the Premier League drawing 1 - 1 at Anfield thanks to a Grant Holt header. As for a worst memory, see every other time we play Liverpool. 9) We will certainly need a plan to stop Suárez adding to his amazing goalscoring record against us because in our past encounters our defence has just backed off him and encouraged him to shoot from distance - the results are well documented. It's not that Suarez is your only goal threat of course but he needs another mention. Considering the dribbling ability and pace in your side and our clumsy defence you will probably be getting quite a few dead ball opportunities. We will also need to defend set-pieces much better than we have done lately considering you have the peerless and evergreen Steven Gerrard behind them. We will need to stop giving the ball away cheaply also because we know what a threat you are on the counter-attack. Get this right and we will also need to find some way to start scoring goals, something we haven't in a few games now. My understanding is that Liverpool's defence is vulnerable but our attack is rather innocuous and lacks pace and I just can't see it troubling your back 5. 10) After all I've said it probably won't surprise you that I am going for a comfortable 0 - 2 win for Liverpool. I would love to be wrong but I can't see your 10-odd game winning run coming to an end here.
1) It is a bit of a myth that we had a good season last season. A poor season was masked by an unbeaten 10 game spell just before Christmas. Injuries have played a factor but we didn't sign the creative player we needed in the summer and this has led to a lack of chances created. 2) I have no expectations. Anything other than 4 defeats and relegation would be a bonus. 3) No idea yet. It depends which division we are in. 4) I wouldn't say any of the signings have been bad as I can still see RVW and Hooper coming good if they had some service. Garrido for me was a pointless investment. 5)Player: Olsson; Young player: Is Howson still young? if not Murphy; most improved: nobody really. 6) Somebody who could create chances and pass the ball: let's say Ian Crook. 7) Suarez so he couldn't score a hattrick against us every time! other than that, any of your midfield or forwards would be welcome as you have scores 67 goals more than us! 8) Best memory for me is that game in May 1993 that finally pushed us to the brink of Uefa qualification (with a little help from Arsenal's double cup victory) or winning 2-1 in 86/87. Worst memories are too numerous to mention but the last 2 seasons hold few happy memeries. 9) Unfortunately I think it will be won and lost in our penalty area. The words danger men and Norwich don't belong in the same sentence this season. 10) Norwich 0-3 Liverpool. Hope i'm wrong
1) You had two highly impressive seasons, when Lambert brought you up and then last season as well, finishing 12th and 11th respectively. Where has it gone wrong this year? I am not sure anything has gone wrong THIS SEASON. The cracks first appeared in January 2013, and the 11th place finish was perhaps somewhat flattering. Sadly, nothing changed this season despite some new players at record breaking transfer fees. 2) What are your realistic expectations for the rest of the season? 4 defeats and relegation, unless Arsenal have a bad day on the final day of the season. 3) Who would you like to get the manager's job on a permanent basis? Are you happy with Neil Adams for next year, or is there someone else? A hard one to call, but perhaps Uwe Rosler if he could be tempted away from Wigan. Having said that, I have no problem with seeing what Neil Adams can do at the helm, but the board need to act quicker if it goes pear-shaped again. 4) There was a lot of talk about how much good business you did last summer. Who, of that crop, has performed well? And who do you wish you hadn’t signed at all? Olsson has perhaps been the most consistent. Leroy Fer has done well at times, as has Yobo, other than that, the 'new kids' have not really made enough impact. RVW can return to mainland Europe today if he likes. 5) It’s coming to the end of the year, and award season. Who are Norwich’s Player, Young Player, and Most Improved of the Season? Norwich’s Player - Tough call, maybe Olsson Young Player - Really tough call, we don't have many of them. Johnny Howson (if he is young enough to be included) or Alex Tettey. Most Improved - None of them. Everything seems to have gone backwards 6) If you could bring one player from your past back to improve your team, who would you pick and why? What would they bring to your team? Chris Sutton - a natural goal scorer - we badly need one of these. 7) If you could choose one player to take from us, who would it be? And who would you like to send back in return? Suarez - for the same reason as above, and you can have RVW or Elmander (take your pick ) 8) What are your best and worst memories of playing against Liverpool? Worst - Suarez hat-tricks in recent seasons Best - Beating you at Anfield in the early 90's 9) Where will it be won and lost for you on Sunday? Who are your danger men? Danger men? Don't worry about that. Snodgrass has the ability to create chances but not often enough. A free kick from him is our best chance in most games now. The pace of some of your players will probably create havoc with our defence, which should see plenty of chances carved out for the Reds. 10) And finally, what are your score predictions for the game? Norwich City 0-3 Liverpool (Suarez hat-trick - again!)
1) You had two highly impressive seasons, when Lambert brought you up and then last season as well, finishing 12th and 11th respectively. Where has it gone wrong this year? Too many things to list. I think last season Hughton made no attempt whatsoever to do anything except defend and he was OK at that. This season he tried to open up a little because he realised this was a requirement by both the board and the fans but he simply didn't have a clue how to do it, so we lost our solidity without gaining anything back in return. He didn't have the ability to take us forward and the board didn't take decisive action and sack him early in the season. 2) What are your realistic expectations for the rest of the season? Finishing on 32 points and being relegated, unless Arsenal have fourth place sewn up and play a reserve team ahead of the Cup Final. 3) Who would you like to get the manager's job on a permanent basis? Are you happy with Neil Adams for next year, or is there someone else? No idea. I don't think we can really discuss this until we know officially where we will be next season. Whoever it is has to start all over again and flush out the fear of failure that has been instilled into all of our players. Also very hard to look to the future when a totally unnecessary relegation is staring us in the face. We shouldn't be in this position and that makes it hard to take. 4) There was a lot of talk about how much good business you did last summer. Who, of that crop, has performed well? And who do you wish you hadn’t signed at all? I agree with others that Olsson has kept his form (despite a painful injury that will require surgery in the close season). He is class. Fer is also class but hasn't been as consistent. The strikers have been a disaster but then even Holt struggled under Hughton. He hasn't a clue how to make the most of his strikers. I don't even think he cares all that much. 5) It’s coming to the end of the year, and award season. Who are Norwich’s Player, Young Player, and Most Improved of the Season? Snodgrass is a very popular call among my fellow supporters. For me, he works hard and does some good stuff, but I'm not sure he actually improves the team as a whole much. He tries to do everyone else's job and also he slows down our attack because he has zero pace. (But then Hughton wanted our attack slowed down so that we stood less risk of being counter-attacked.) So personally, in a poor field, I'd go for Olsson. Young Player - Josh Murphy, for sure. Most Improved - Nobody. Players don't improve when Hughton is their manager. He drags them down to his own level. 6) If you could bring one player from your past back to improve your team, who would you pick and why? What would they bring to your team? Ian Crook, by a long way. In my opinion one of the most underrated English players in my long lifetime. Genuine class. A player like him would have created the chances we didn't create this season. (Although Hughton probably wouldn't have played him because he didn't break up enough attacks and he was creative, something which Hughton deeply mistrusts because it cannot be controlled.) 7) If you could choose one player to take from us, who would it be? And who would you like to send back in return? I don't really want any of your players. I want a team of players that are greater than the sum of their parts without any superstars and prima donnas. That's the only way Norwich can compete with clubs who have your financial clout. (Not particularly accusing any individual player in your squad of being a prima donna - just saying that a 'great' player would probably unbalance our side completely. We have to succeed in a different way.) 8) What are your best and worst memories of playing against Liverpool? Too many humiliations over the last two seasons to think beyond them. 9) Where will it be won and lost for you on Sunday? Who are your danger men? As Thai and Kent point out, we don't have danger men. But at least I hope we won't be supine any more. I'm hoping for a wonder display from John Ruddy and that the butterfly that was RvW at Lisbon suddenly emerges from the caterpillar he has been with us. 10) And finally, what are your score predictions for the game? I actually think we will manage to score, but unfortunately you will score a lot more. Maybe 1-5 or 1-6. As I said, all I am really hoping for is some fight and some guts and a little hope that next season will not see the dour, defensive, negative, clunky, fear-ridden football we have had to endure for the last two seasons.[/QUOTE] As you can see, Marsupial and I have very different opinions about Hughton and perhaps this has been another problem this season - a split in the fans between those, like DM, who felt that Hughton was slowly taking us forward, and those like me who felt he was simply not competent at Premiership level and was taking us backwards. This can't have helped and I hope we can all get behind whoever the new permanent manager is and whatever league he is working in.
