Norwich City vs Barnsley (away) Saturday 10th December.

[morty]

​

Barnsley vs Norwich

Championship Fixture

Saturday 10th December 2016, Kick Off: 15:00

Oakwell Capacity 23,009

 

[morty]

Unchanged side surely?

 

[Fenway Frank]

Isn't this one hooge? 

 

[morty]

Isn't this one hooge? 

I guess so! The performance / result will settle the question of "Did we just beat Brentford because they were terrible?"

 

[bloodwagon]

Got to be unchanged, unless some ones  injured or sick.

Hopewe keep the same team as they deserve another crack. Lets see what that team can do against a better team

 

[rbf]

This one will tell us all so so much more

Than Saturday´s five nothing spree,

P. Heckingbottom will want them to score

Against his old NCFC,

And they´ve done fairly well since their return

To Championship life once again,

Their flame has dwindled but continues to burn

After a red hot start to this reign,

Last week´s impressive three-nil win at Brum

Says all anyone needs to know,

So we´ll need to work hard to keep home fans glum

And ours beaming with a warm glow,

I´d say a draw´s pretty much on the cards

Which  A. Neil perhaps wouldn´t rue,

Still keep us half looking onwards and upwards

So I´m going for a two-two. 

 

[dj161]

Josh in for Naismith the only change from last week, Naismith not even on bench

 

[Baggie192]

is this the end for Neil?

 

[Keckers]

Disappointing yet again. I would guess that answers the question Morty.

 

[Canaryboy]

Complete shambles in the first half.

Better after the break, but the game was already lost.

This has to be the end for him, how can we go on like this? 

 

[Baggie192]

Especially, since Roy Hodgson is available now. Depends on the board now

 

[Keckers]

And there lies the problem. The board. An absolute shambles. Well intentioned, maybe (I'm not so sure) but a shambles non the less. I hate seeing this happen to the club I love when it is all so avoidable. I genuinely fear we have thrown away the riches we won from our time in the Premier League and are on the brink of long term problems if we do not sort things out now. Too many players on too much money producing far too little guided by a management team that seem to have fluked their way into a job and are hanging on for dear life before the party in the boardroom realises that the house is wrecked and it's 5am, and they have to clear up before their parents get home at 9am. 

 

[Baggie192]

And there lies the problem. The board. An absolute shambles. Well intentioned, maybe (I'm not so sure) but a shambles non the less. I hate seeing this happen to the club I love when it is all so avoidable. I genuinely fear we have thrown away the riches we won from our time in the Premier League and are on the brink of long term problems if we do not sort things out now. Too many players on too much money producing far too little guided by a management team that seem to have fluked their way into a job and are hanging on for dear life before the party in the boardroom realises that the house is wrecked and it's 5am, and they have to clear up before their parents get home at 9am. 

It's a shame you have Moxey same mistakes, different club. Hodgson would be expensive, but he stablised us. He knows his stuff. he could get you up and stablise you. He changed the way Peace thought when he was owner. They would have to invest, but, can attract decent playing staff. I'm not having a go but it seems with like it was for us for awhile. All about the Chase. At some time you can't keep yo-yoing

 

[Keckers]

It's a shame you have Moxey same mistakes, different club. Hodgson would be expensive, but he stablised us. He knows his stuff. he could get you up and stablise you. He changed the way Peace thought when he was owner. They would have to invest, but, can attract decent playing staff. I'm not having a go but it seems with like it was for us for awhile. All about the Chase. At some time you can't keep yo-yoing

Couldnt agree more. I was completely underwhelmed when we announced Moxey but our problems are even deeper than just him in the boardroom. I would love to see Roy come here. Not because he's exciting but I think he would build and help us establish a long term stability. 

 

[Canaryboy]

It's a shame you have Moxey same mistakes, different club. 

He's probably happy being the affable yes man to the majority shareholders in return for his monthly wage. Like Neil Doncaster. 

 

[morty]

The games up for me.

I have backed Alex Neil, and I completely get what the board are trying to do in terms of longevity and stability, but yesterday was utterly inexcusable. Picked completely the wrong team and waited till we were two goals down to change it. Then admitted afterwards he felt pressure to pick the same team as the previous week, and feared a backlash if he didn't. What happened to the arrogant Alex Neil who would just go with his gut? And what happened to a coaching report against Barnsley, and maybe picking the right type of side, knowing they would bully us physically?

I have been to the last three away games, and genuinely saw signs of recovery, we were unlucky against QPR with the early sending off, but the overall play wasn't bad. Against Derby, I thought we actually played pretty well. Yesterday Alex Neil got it completely, and badly wrong. Yes it was better in the second half, but as usual, too little too late.

I mean Barnsley? Jesus Christ.

If we get badly rolled by Villa on Tuesday, in front of the TV cameras they have to let him go. Regardless of plans we are in absolute freefall, and I am losing confidence in Alex's ability to get us out of it. There are players that aren't doing him any favours, but unfortunately we can't sack them.

 

[Canaryboy]

There are players that aren't doing him any favours, but unfortunately we can't sack them.

But at the same time Alex Neil has constructed this squad and he had done that pretty damn poorly too. 

We know that a lot of our players have weaknesses, but how long can you keep saying that Bennett and Bassong aren't good enough when you are going into a game with no defensive midfielder. Its bloody obvious that if you are coming up against a team with a bit of pace who are good on the break that your centre backs are going to struggle if they aren't quick, and that's when you need somebody like a Gary O'Neil sitting in front of the back 4 to soak up some of the pressure and cover when a centre back is pulled out of position and to let the other midfielders get the ball down and play without being petrified to give away possession.

Most centre backs at this level are slow, because quick centre backs tend to end up in the league above. 

We've gone from playing two defensive midfielders away to Derby to none away to Barnsley. 

Alex Neil said that he'd picked the wrong team and it wasn't his tactics. What sort of comment is that, they are the same bloody thing, you either pick a defensive midfielder and tell him to sit deep and protect the back 4 or you don't. 

We've also got multiple players up the top who would show a lot more if they had a big man to play off, anybody who can hold the ball up and bring others into play, I think that's how you'd be getting the best out of the likes of Pritchard and Naismith. Glenn Murray would have done, even Chris Martin who went to Fulham (OK so he's not really a big man, but he can hold the ball up and bring others into play).

Ball going up to our lightweight attack, and coming straight back down through our lightweight midfield and then leaving our slow centre backs exposed. There are a lot of players in our team who possess a lot of talent, there are a few players who are probably past their best and need to be shipped out, but the biggest problem is a manager who doesn't know how to construct and use a squad with any sort of logic. 

If we could go back to just being a team which plays a a defensive midfielder every week to protect the back 4 and allow the rest of the midfield to get the ball down and play without being petrified of giving away possession, that would be lovely. A big man up top would be nice too. Nothing about the 'Norwich way' says that we can't have a big lump up top, a Iwan Roberts or a Grant Holt. 

 

[Canaryboy]

At least the match pies were a solid 8/10, and a sub-£3 pint in the Dove Inn near the ground after the game! 

 

[Gaffer]

He even said he didn't want to change the team that won 5-0 for fear of looking silly if he changes. If he makes decisions based on fear of looking silly that just shows how clueless and lacking self-belief and confidence he is. Neil Adams was doing better at this stage than AN and at least he was turning it round. The only direction we're going is down under AN.

 

[Canaryboy]

Well I'm also full of fear.

Fear that we're going to be stuck in this league for the next decade, with an exit through the bottom more likely than an exit through the top.

In the summer after promotion Alex Neil was critical of the transfer business of previous managers, implying that this is the reason he couldn't do much business that summer. That was a clear dig at Adams and Hughton. 

But it is Alex Neil who has handed 3 or 4 year deals to 30 somethings with no prospect of other teams being willing to take them off of our hands. 

Who does he think signed Lewis Grabban, the player that he sold to finance the Naismith signing.

Who does he think signed Nathan Redmond, the player we sold to finance the Pritchard signing. 

Every manager seems to leave a couple of pieces of deadwood which are lumbered with until they are paid off or their contract expires. Whether its Hughton and Van Wolfswinkel & Becchio, or Neil Adams signing Kyle Lafferty.

But I think Alex Neil has potentially been more prolific than either of those in lumbering us with players who will stick around draining our capital resources for years and affecting our liquidity. 

We've still got 18 months left on Andreu's contract, so Alex Neil has no right to criticise any previous manager for signing a Becchio or a Lafferty. 

We'll probably sell Brady in January to finance a couple of signings. Who do we sell after that? Howson? That's my fear, that this is the 2005 relegation over again, where we had 5 years of selling players and replacing them with inferior players.

Ashton to Earnshaw to Cureton.