Norwich vs Stoke (Home) Saturday 21st August

[The Great Mass Debater]

If thats the chance we're talking about then personally I wouldnt consider it a dreadful miss. Having watched it via stream I had the benefit of seeing it from different angles. Butland did very well to read Howsons pass and came out superbly to close the angle. Jerome wasnt really set right and had to shift his balance to get the shot off. Butland did very well in closing the angle and did enough to put Jerome off for me. Had he not done that Jerome might have been able to take a touch and put it away. Butland also made superb saves from Dorrans twice and Redmond. Heading has never been Hoolahans forte but it was a good opportunity. Sadly these moments can be the difference between relegation and survival. We ended up rueing the squandered points early in the season last time. Hopefully it will not prove the same this year, but thats the reality of the Premiership.

For me it was just a superb performance by Butland in the second half.

A number of times in the past we seem to have been thwarted by outstanding goalkeeping performances. As much as I rate Ruddy, its been a while since I felt we owed the points to him, and several times I've felt like Ruddy has had a mare and been beaten when he shouldnt have been, undoing all our hard work. Derby and Charlton last season springing instantly to mind. Not just Ruddy either. Wet-tissue paper Lee Camp at Wigan also fresh in the memory. Keepers will always make howlers, but it rarely seems to be in our favour. I can only really think of the Southampton keeper letting in Snodgrass' free-kick in recent years.

We will have to add Butland to the list.

Thats Marshall, Stockdale, Butland, which ones have I forgotten?

 

[GJP]

I thought only Grabban missed chances. Who knew?

 

[derehamyella]

wasn't so much a miss rather good keeping, keepers do not always have to touch the ball to do their jobs, same a defender just doing enough to put the player off, thought he did that well today along with some awesome saves.  Thought we did well, this isn't a Pulis side,  they have spent money and have some darn good players. We got a point and were on top for long periods, yes would have been awesome to have a couple go in.  But I would be worried if we were not creating chances at all.  I believe we have players who can and will put them away...  would like to see another defender

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

He had a good one-on-one chance but it was hardly a dreadful miss. As you say, great goalkeeping was the only reason we didn't win that. I can't help looking at the Bournemouth game though and thinking, Callum Wilson... the one that got away.

Grabban out, Wilson in. Good deal for them really. Think Wilson chose Bournemouth as he would have played first team football with them having sold Grabban. Look ing at us as the other option he had plenty of competition for a first team place so you can see why he chose Bournemouth.

Still, on the positive side, referee the only reason we didnt win against Palace and Butland the only reason we didnt win today. With better luck we might have had 9 points from 3 games. We've been the dominant side in all three of our first three games, so even though the points arent there the performances have been, so we have every reason to be optimistic.

I thought we were sloppy and second best in the first half, which is slightly concerning, but the turnaround was great and very encouraging.

We've not dont much wrong so far this season and probably deserve more of a reward for it. We will inevitably hit a poor run though and that will be the real challenge or Alex Neil as in his managerial career he's never really had to deal with that I dont think. Have every confidence in him though

 

[GJP]

Butland made some saves but we were wasteful infront of goal.

 

[eatonparkboy]

I normally wait till Monday to comment as I like to see repeats, highlights etc. But today I make an exception as I am delighted with the start we have made. The only downside of today was the final score which was down to several poor finishes and some outstanding goalkeeping.

But as long as we keep creating chances, I for one will be delighted. And I'm sure some will go in with  bit more frequency. 

While I thought we let Stoke dictate the first half somewhat because we didn't play with the tempo we used in the second half, which I though we totally dominated, we were in control for the most despite them having more possession overall. We used ours better.

I did appreciate Ian Dowies comment that we do miss Johnson as he was almost a second striker last season but also realise, the quality of the opposition has risen.

And when Ollson is fit, I am looking forward to seeing Brady, another good performance, link up with the midfield without having to cover so much ground. And I think that might lead to Howson making way unless he takes the Wes role.

Thank you AN for keeping your promise about attacking and entertaining us.

 

[splutcho]

I can't see Howson being dropped. Too important.

 

[Din]

Can't believe we didn't win that in the end. First half was relatively evenly matched, but Stoke just had that extra bit of quality both off and on the ball. Second half though we were completely dominant. Butland made a number of fantastic saves, in particular the save from Jerome's overhead kick towards the end. Even if you take out the brilliant Butland though, our finishing was poor. Jerome should've scored when he went through on goal, and Johnson should've done better when he skied his chance towards the end.

For us I thought Dorrans was our best player for the second home game in a row. Redmond was a constant threat as was Jerome, and Robbie Brady is looking completely worth the money we paid. Had the difficult task of marking Shaqiri today, but overall defended well against him, and was also effective going forward. For Stoke Butland was obviously their man of the match, but Shaqiri was also quality, and Diouf caused plenty of problems for Martin. As for Stoke's goal, I sit practically right in line with where our defensive line was from the free-kick, and I couldn't tell whether Diouf was offside or not. From the players reaction though I would guess he was on.

Couldn't believe the difference in the Stoke team from the side we played a couple of seasons ago. Determined to pass it out from the back every time, even getting themselves into trouble sometimes. They've invested really well in their squad, particularly in the attacking side of their game, and are now undoubtedly an established Premier League side. With that in mind a point is by no mean the worst result in the world. Obviously disappointing though that we couldn't win considering the chances we had. It was a really good game though with 2 sides wanting to win the game, and there is certainly a lot of positivity to be taken from this, as well as our previous 2 games. All in all 4 points from 3 games isn't too bad, even though we could've had more. If average that same amount of points per game we'll end up on 40 points exactly, which would be enough to stay up.

 

[ZLF]

a well earned point which was both all we deserved and an unlucky outcome given the second half.

It is getting a bit consistent now;  Poor finishing being focused on now but if we are going to struggle to score we have to stop the habit of conceding soft goal through the cb position;  every game so far;   not a concern last week but it has cost us points in both home games.

Buckland had a great game and stopped us scoring;  we have to concentrate at cb for th whole game as they are costing us points.  A new cb just as crucial as a striker - we currently have to score at least 2 to have a chance of winning.   

 

[Dubai Mark]

Thanks James. Yes, a day when three points would not bave flattered us at all. Right from the start you could see Butland was on his  game, he looks top level based on that, and on another day we would have ckme out of that game 3-1 or even 4-1. 

 

[TA Canary]

Stoke's goal was entirely Tettey's fault but we do have a habit of letting in soft goals, especially from set pieces.

Should have won this but can't complain too much after 4 points from 3 games. Watching on a stream I was getting pretty annoyed with the commentators praising Stoke and Shaqiri, especially in the first half, when they hardly offered anything except for the goal. We held them to only 6 shots, just the 1 on target, the stats show this was a game where Stoke was lucky to come away with a point.

 

[dj161]

agree with that, I dont think stoke offered too much reallym Shaqiri got a good assist for the goal, but dont think he did too much else, gave a decent effort but didnt exactly look like a world beater to me, though it was his first game so wouldnt say he wont be a great signing, but as you said stoke were lucky to get a point here, had we taken some of our chances we could of won by 4 or 5

 

[eatonparkboy]

a well earned point which was both all we deserved and an unlucky outcome given the second half.

It is getting a bit consistent now;  Poor finishing being focused on now but if we are going to struggle to score we have to stop the habit of conceding soft goal through the cb position;  every game so far;   not a concern last week but it has cost us points in both home games.

Buckland had a great game and stopped us scoring;  we have to concentrate at cb for th whole game as they are costing us points.  A new cb just as crucial as a striker - we currently have to score at least 2 to have a chance of winning.   

I don't think many of the teams in the Prem have any better defenders than we do. To blame the CB's for the goal is wrong, it was Tettey's fault. And to think that Butland was MOTM sums up Stoke's defence, which was all over the place.

I agree our defence is brittle. And I think that won't alter no matter who we bring in. There just isn't a decent CB around that we can afford.

 

[Wiz]

We wuz robbed!

 

[GJP]

I do wonder why Tettey was left marking (or not) their biggest threat.

 

[Keckers]

I thought we were the better team across the whole 90. They may have had more possession in the first half, but how many chances? Thought the ref was one sided, especially with the cards. He was mugged by their players falling over more than once, one of the worst being against Dorrans which happened right in front of me. 

Had a new season ticket holder sitting behind me today. Gave a really bad radio style running commentary of the game, which hacked me off, but then came up to me in the queue at half time and asked why I wasn't being as vocal as the first game. Cheeky tw@t. Then proceeded to tell me that we were lucky to still be in it and that the ref was not being mugged by them, quite the reverse. Had to cut off the conversation there before I lost my rag with him. What an arrogant swine. 

If you're on here mate, cut out the commentary. We don't need it. We have eyes. We can see what's going on. 

Rant over. Sorry. Really annoyed me yesterday. 

Hats off to Butland. What a performance. Could have been 4-1 easily on any other day. Loved how many chances we created. Finishing not where it could have been but I'm filled with confidence and thought the team put in a real shift yesterday in sweltering conditions. 

MOTM for me was Wes. Outstanding work rate. I'm normally critical of him but thought he played a blinder yesterday. 

 

[Canaryboy]

There just isn't a decent CB around that we can afford.

There are CB's in the Championship that I'd consider....

Michael Dawson for a start. 

 

[GJP]

There are CB's in the Championship that I'd consider....

Michael Dawson for a start. 

I agree.

But if you get anyone decent (like Dawson) they want to come to be in the team. Are we going to drop the captain? 

 

[Scott]

Ruddy 7 - solid, one mistake but apart from that good game

Martin 7 - solid game, good goal. One of his best games in a while

Bassong - 7 - again solid game didn't fault once

Whittaker 6 - linked up well with Redmond but didn't do an awful lot, had an okay game

Brady 8 - if you find Shaqiri please return to Brady's pocket

Tettey 8 - muscled the midfield and led by example

Redmond 7 - did well, good assist

Howson 6 - had an okay game, not his best

Hoolahan - 8 - my MOTM played a blinder, everything we created went through him

Dorrans 7 - had an okay game, should've scored

Jerome - 7 - hustled and bustled Stoke's defence, held up the ball well, unlucky not to get on the score sheet

Overall we played very well and should have won but for some very good goalkeeping, it could have been 3-1, 4-1 if we managed to finish our chances. Positives are we are creating against some established Premier league opposition. Neil has got this, we will stay up this season.

 

[Din]

I'd have Dorrans at an 8 and Tettey at a 7, but apart from that I agree with your ratings Rocky.