Norwich - back from the game

[Schards#2]

you could be aldershot fans. that would give you something to moan about.

Indeed

However, I suspect that Reading fans who presume to know what is going wrong at Aldershot and who sit in judgement of the Aldershot fans opinions are few and far between.

For me, I'm actually quite enjoying this season as every game is a challange played out in front of big crowds against some quality opposition, though yesterday was pretty poor. You have to be realistic and look at things from the view that we are comfortably the worst team in the division and every point gained is an achievement. It won't keep us up, but that's the reality.

[Schards#2]

I think one person saying the word tw@t hardly constitutes a thread becoming abusive! Slightly over sensitive there - everyone else is simply expressing their opinion.

I guess a lot of us don't really see the value in spitting feathers over what is happening this season. I come back to the same point....what did people actually expect?

"Championship team in playing like championship team" shocker.

Before you ask I am a STH & I did go yesterday. I said to my other half how shit the game was but we've just got to get behind them & hope our fortunes turn around.

I don't recall saying the whole thread was abusive. Other than, I agree with pretty much everything. My main criticism would be our handicapping our already weak squad by the exclusion of decent players for non footballing reasons.

[St Pauli]

For me, I'm actually quite enjoying this season as every game is a challenge played out in front of big crowds against some quality opposition, though yesterday was pretty poor. You have to be realistic and look at things from the view that we are comfortably the worst team in the division and every point gained is an achievement. It won't keep us up, but that's the reality.

I think this is the only thing you've ever posted I agree with.

It's also nice to not have away fixtures that inevitably include Palace, Watford, Boro, Coventry, Cardiff etc. again, and again, and again.

[Cypry]

Fair point Cypry, but don't forget this was Norwich, and a pretty poor Norwich this season.

Hang on though, this is a Norwich who struggled at the start but whose recent form has been anything but poor - last 4 games:

Arsenal (H) - win
Villa (A) - draw
Spurs (H- Cup) - win
Stoke (H) - win

7 points of a possible 9 in the last 3 league games is hardly poor?

[MmmMonsterMunch]

I think one person saying the word tw@t hardly constitutes a thread becoming abusive! Slightly over sensitive there - everyone else is simply expressing their opinion.

I guess a lot of us don't really see the value in spitting feathers over what is happening this season. I come back to the same point....what did people actually expect?

"Championship team in playing like championship team" shocker.

Before you ask I am a STH & I did go yesterday. I said to my other half how shit the game was but we've just got to get behind them & hope our fortunes turn around.

I don't recall saying the whole thread was abusive. Other than, I agree with pretty much everything. My main criticism would be our handicapping our already weak squad by the exclusion of decent players for non footballing reasons.

Not really sure Guthrie is the Messi everyone is making him out to be though?

[RoyalBlue]

Fair point Cypry, but don't forget this was Norwich, and a pretty poor Norwich this season.

Hang on though, this is a Norwich who struggled at the start but whose recent form has been anything but poor - last 4 games:

Arsenal (H) - win
Villa (A) - draw
Spurs (H- Cup) - win
Stoke (H) - win

7 points of a possible 9 in the last 3 league games is hardly poor?

Trouble is, every time we drop points, someone comes up with an argument as to why we shouldn't be surprised and that getting a point (when we do) is really good. So just who can be be expected to beat in this league?

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Fair point Cypry, but don't forget this was Norwich, and a pretty poor Norwich this season.

Hang on though, this is a Norwich who struggled at the start but whose recent form has been anything but poor - last 4 games:

Arsenal (H) - win
Villa (A) - draw
Spurs (H- Cup) - win
Stoke (H) - win

7 points of a possible 9 in the last 3 league games is hardly poor?

Trouble is, every time we drop points, someone comes up with an argument as to why we shouldn't be surprised and that getting a point (when we do) is really good. So just who can be be expected to beat in this league?

No one!

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Knowing Reading they'll surprise us & nick 4 pts off Utd & City in Dec.

Football is a funny old game sometimes.

[PieEater]

It was dire yesterday but then I think back to playing Walsall and Northampton and think actually it wasn't too bad. The problem is that these are the games we need to win at home, but Norwich came with a game plan, got in our faces stopped us playing and ground out a point. A bit like we did to a lot of teams last season.

I'm psyched up for either another half season or another year without a home win to ease the pain of this season.

[Snowball]

Gained a point on Villa, still above them,and a game in hand

Unfortunately we are three points behind them, or in other words a minimum of three games at this rate.

ONE game if we beat them.

Simple facts are we gained a point on them yesterday. I'm frankly not interested that they scored 2 and were winning 2-0. They LOST.

As things currently stand, beating Villa (not saying we will) would get us out of the bottom 3. Our game in hand is against Sunderland who
look to be in trouble also.

IMO, though this lack of a win is a worry, the games where we are not getting beat in normal time tells me more.

We lost 3 of our first 4 Prem games and had to equalise late on to get a draw against a very ordinary Stoke

1-1
2-4
1-3
0-1

also in there was a pretty dire performance when we squeaked home against bottom-of the championship Peterboro

Since then we have

3-2 QPR Away (Cup)
2-2 Newcastle Home
2-2 Swansea Away
0-1 Liverpool Away
3-3 Fulham Home
4-4 Arsenal (Cup)
1-1 QPR Away
0-0 Norwich

That's one defeat (defeat with Guthrie playing) in 8 games over 90 minutes

(without Guthrie BTW, that's WDDDDDD over 90 minutes)

For me it's obvious we are settling in and the win is coming. Our rivals have ever-worsening GDs, ours is steady, and comes almost completely from two games

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

For me, I'm actually quite enjoying this season as every game is a challange played out in front of big crowds against some quality opposition, though yesterday was pretty poor. You have to be realistic and look at things from the view that we are comfortably the worst team in the division and every point gained is an achievement. It won't keep us up, but that's the reality.

We're not great, and we are unlikely to stay up, but I don't see too much evidence of us being "comfortably the worst team in the division".

We've drawn a lot of games. It's unlikely that we'll finish with 23 draws, so the odds are we'll see a more regular mix of wins and losses. When you look at those drawn games, we weren't usually the team hanging on, so I'd say we're not that far away. It's not as if teams are taking us to pieces with ease.

[sandman]

you could be aldershot fans. that would give you something to moan about.

Indeed

However, I suspect that Reading fans who presume to know what is going wrong at Aldershot and who sit in judgement of the Aldershot fans opinions are few and far between.

For me, I'm actually quite enjoying this season as every game is a challange played out in front of big crowds against some quality opposition, though yesterday was pretty poor. You have to be realistic and look at things from the view that we are comfortably the worst team in the division and every point gained is an achievement. It won't keep us up, but that's the reality.

Just LOL.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

For me, I'm actually quite enjoying this season as every game is a challange played out in front of big crowds against some quality opposition, though yesterday was pretty poor. You have to be realistic and look at things from the view that we are comfortably the worst team in the division and every point gained is an achievement. It won't keep us up, but that's the reality.

We're not great, and we are unlikely to stay up, but I don't see too much evidence of us being "comfortably the worst team in the division".

We've drawn a lot of games. It's unlikely that we'll finish with 23 draws, so the odds are we'll see a more regular mix of wins and losses. When you look at those drawn games, we weren't usually the team hanging on, so I'd say we're not that far away. It's not as if teams are taking us to pieces with ease.

We're really not that far away. We just need something to fall for us. I was willing Alfie to do his usual cameo yesterday & get an 89th min goal by scrambling it over the line or something.

Something like that has to happen soon & we will get that win.

[Snowball]

You like a stat Snowball.

We currently has 6 points from 10 games, extrapolated to the end of the season, that produces a total of 22.8 points, lets round that up to 23.

I said last season that the first six games don't tell us much. 75% of our defeats were in the first 4 games (Guthrie playing)
and our only other defeat was also with Guthrie playing.

So if it's stats you want, without Guthrie we are undefeated in 90 minutes WDDDDDD and that equates to 9 points from 7, more than enough to stay up.

We've drawn 5 (all without Guthrie) out of our last six and are clearly improving, IMO. One defeat in our last 8 games in normal time says we don't need much to reach safety

[Royal Lady]

You may LOL, but in the same way everyone keeps saying we will improve, with the squad of the likes of QPR surely they can improve too? We have no real depth and I just can't see us strengthening the team to any great in January. Who would want to join a team that may be firmly rooted in the bottom 3 by then?

I applaud people's faith that we will come good - at the moment, personally, I struggle to see it and hope I'm proved wrong.

[Cypry]

Fair point Cypry, but don't forget this was Norwich, and a pretty poor Norwich this season.

Hang on though, this is a Norwich who struggled at the start but whose recent form has been anything but poor - last 4 games:

Arsenal (H) - win
Villa (A) - draw
Spurs (H- Cup) - win
Stoke (H) - win

7 points of a possible 9 in the last 3 league games is hardly poor?

Trouble is, every time we drop points, someone comes up with an argument as to why we shouldn't be surprised and that getting a point (when we do) is really good. So just who can be be expected to beat in this league?

I'm not arguing that getting a point is "really good" - just pointing out that Norwich haven't recently been looking poor, and in that context, if we can compete with them whilst putting in a below par performance, then we should have hope that things are moving in the right direction...
I'll be more worried if we can't turn a team like Sunderland over - they started well but since the start of October have been LDDLL...

[Snowball]

The difference yesterday was Legs.

OVERALL he had a bad game, but in fact it was patchy.

He had some very good moments and some dire ones

Had he been his average solid player, we'd've won.

Still only one defeat (at Anfield) in our last 6 Prem games

[MmmMonsterMunch]

You may LOL, but in the same way everyone keeps saying we will improve, with the squad of the likes of QPR surely they can improve too? We have no real depth and I just can't see us strengthening the team to any great in January. Who would want to join a team that may be firmly rooted in the bottom 3 by then?

I applaud people's faith that we will come good - at the moment, personally, I struggle to see it and hope I'm proved wrong.

I don't think people are absolutely sure we will stay up or come good though, just trying to be positive rather than writing them off when there are 28 games left.

We have 10 more games before the transfer window opens.

If we end up around the 17 point mark by end of Dec we are not cut adrift at all & could very well stay up & Brian can work his usual January magic!

[pea]

I thought it was an excellent game and enjoyed seeing two great defensive performances

[MmmMonsterMunch]

The difference yesterday was Legs.

OVERALL he had a bad game, but in fact it was patchy.

He had some very good moments and some dire ones

Had he been his average solid player, we'd've won.

Still only one defeat (at Anfield) in our last 6 Prem games

Agree with that actually - he wasn't good yesterday. I still do not get picking Gunter over Cummings at all but maybe I am missing something?