What a reaction to the derby from both the team and the gaffer!

Its the intentional reverse psycology we employ on this board.
I think we will get hammered next game..........

 

Correct and sadly it's the next and more 'winnable' games that really matter in making results like today worth the sweat.

You just haven't gained from that hard work if you then limply lose fixtures you are more expected to win.

The irony is, with the personnel NUFC has we're probably more likely to be able to surprise teams that attack us and leave gaps – rather than a struggling team playing physical with men behind the ball to nab a point.

If Norwich play like that, much like Sunderland did, I'm not sure our 'continental' squad has the ability to rough it out...

 

Actually, I don't think Norwich will be a struggle - as long as the heads are down and we don't tinker too much with the team. Sissoko has found his position in this league, he is a modern right sided attacker. Gouff is one of our best at the moment as well, simply replaced Jonas but is a more direct threat. That fitness guru seems to have worked wonders for him. It seems to be working and I think Pardew has genuine options from the bench - Colo on if any defender is struggling, Ben Arfa for either a wide player or Shola, Anita to steady the ship. It's frustrating, because if we had that one decent CF instead of Shola - he's doing ok, but imagine we were going 4-4-2 with Ba or Lukaku alongside Remy??

I'd be unsurprised if West Brom got a point, though.

 

The players need to understand that against small clubs like Sunderland they need to stay switched on for 90 minutes.....

 

Bit insulting, that.

To Norwich.

 

We should not be underestimating the oppo in the next two games. If this season has taught all fans anything, its there are no givens in the PL. We need to knuckle down and just stick to the basics wich have served us well over the last two games. Thinking "we should beat Norwich", has egg on face written all over it. They are home games which I would hope we will take point sfrom, but I never expect anything. Hull was the prime example of that. There was an air of arrogance among the fans in the stadium that day and it transmitted onto the pitch. Hopefully we've learnt our lesson, team and fans.

 

Best thing to think is we COULD beat Norwich, not SHOULD. It's an optimistic approach to the game that's needed, but no over-confidence. Optimistically, I like how we're set up, I like what the flanks are bringing to the game, I like how Tiote/Cabaye are clicking, I like Remy's threat. It's good to feel optimistic about this side. If we get turned over, be disappointed, comment on mistakes, but we've all got to stop the knee-jerking.

One thing I will be confident about - we're not going down.