Norwich City at home Carabao Cup match thread

[Top Robin]

40 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

You ran out of patience with him after about 2 weeks, if you even had any to start with.

Still, maybe it won't be long until you can start hounding the next one out.

It was about 10 games when I knew that he was going to stabilise us but not get us promoted. 

Unfortunately even the stability looks dodgy now.

[petehinton]

3 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I can't help but think the money spent - fees, wages - on Cornick, who has never really done it for me, Mehmet, who's gone backwards since coming here, and TGH, someone not wanted by a club in the same division as us, might have been better spent on acquiring one genuine attacking central midfielder. 

Now that is the manager's call, not Lansdown's. 

Far too early to say on Mehmeti….some were saying better than Semenyo after his first 2 games. Will we sell him for more than we bought him for in years to come? Definitely, imo. Cornick, jury’s out still. Want to see him centrally. 
 

We did try to sign the lad from Bolton on a perm, long term deal and got offered the same to stay at Bolton. It happens. TGH is a really good player, and was forced to leave WBA because of their money issues. I’m sure if Pearson could’ve, that would’ve been a perm too. 
 

Absolutely none of these will be solely Pearson decisions. They’ll be Alexander and Tinnion choices too, so definitely not managers call. 
 

Managers call, rightfully, as we can all read between the lines is that we need more reinforcements with the Scott money. But he isn’t going to get it. 

[Red-Robbo]

2 minutes ago, FNQ said:

Are you serious?? If so who’s the ACM that you’d have in mind that could possibly replace the three squad places?

As Cornick is regularly subbed, it seems he's already replacable. 

[MelksRed]

Key line in NP's post match....."in other areas we are not quite as blessed".....he knows we need investment....but has no funding to work with. 

[Son of Fred]

6 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I can't help but think the money spent - fees, wages - on Cornick, who has never really done it for me, Mehmet, who's gone backwards since coming here, and TGH, someone not wanted by a club in the same division as us, might have been better spent on acquiring one genuine attacking central midfielder. 

Now that is the manager's call, not Lansdown's. 

I think our new wage cap hugely restricts who we can bring in - ok,I agree that monies spent on the Cornicks & Mehmeti's could certainly have been far better utilised on what we really needed - but then your shopping in an area that brings a player earning a higher salary..

Catch 22!

[RedEyez]

57 minutes ago, Charlie BCFC said:

Naismith was our best player imo, thought Dickie did well but Tanner for me needs to be dropped. Poor on the ball and has started every game this season so is overdue a rest 

For sure. TGH will start Saturday 

[Cidre Monita]

17 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

You sound as chippy as a Rovers fan, are people not allowed to have a different opinion to you without your sarcastic comments?  

Haha do you ‘smell gas’ TVT?!  The standard go to lazy response to a well made argument that is difficult to argue with given the current situation. This is a forum so of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I was merely having an opinion on you opinion. 

[Red-Robbo]

2 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Far too early to say on Mehmeti….some were saying better than Semenyo after his first 2 games. Will we sell him for more than we bought him for in years to come? Definitely, imo. Cornick, jury’s out still. Want to see him centrally. 
 

We did try to sign the lad from Bolton on a perm, long term deal and got offered the same to stay at Bolton. It happens. TGH is a really good player, and was forced to leave WBA because of their money issues. I’m sure if Pearson could’ve, that would’ve been a perm too. 
 

Absolutely none of these will be solely Pearson decisions. They’ll be Alexander and Tinnion choices too, so definitely not managers call. 
 

Managers call, rightfully, as we can all read between the lines is that we need more reinforcements with the Scott money. But he isn’t going to get it. 

So Pearson has no say in player recruitment?

Is there anything he does do?

I mean, we are allowed to say his three up-front with Cornick and Mehmeti either side of Wells or Bell doesn't look like it's working, right? 

[FNQ]

2 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

As Cornick is regularly subbed, it seems he's already replacable. 

Everyone is replaceable, but who’s the one ACM that you have in mind that could replace three?

[petehinton]

Just now, Red-Robbo said:

So Pearson has no say in player recruitment?

Is there anything he does do?

I mean, we are allowed to say his three up-front with Cornick and Mehmeti either side of Wells or Bell doesn't look like it's working, right? 

No he will be involved of course, but I’m saying it’s not going to be solely down to him. 
 

The front 3 set up is definitely an issue. They’re far, far too far apart from each other in the home games. That needs to be a coaching focus. Not helped by losing Tommy for 3 months, 60 minutes into the season of course 

[Numero Uno]

6 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I can't help but think the money spent - fees, wages - on Cornick, who has never really done it for me, Mehmet, who's gone backwards since coming here, and TGH, someone not wanted by a club in the same division as us, might have been better spent on acquiring one genuine attacking central midfielder. 

Now that is the manager's call, not Lansdown's. 

……….and then people would be berating lack of competition in other areas and saying we put all our eggs in one basket. If said midfield player got injured for three months we would be in a worse position than we are now. To get adequate numbers and quality needed to challenge the top half requires money to be spent. That money isn’t available. You could argue with our injury situation it’s just as well we got the numbers in first?

I think it’s obvious that Steve is setting things up for a sale of the club and is keeping the purse strings tight. That’s his prerogative but rather than be up front and say it he is hiding behind a mantra of we’ve got a better squad than Luton had last season. Do we really?

I doubt that the current situation is what was sold as the Year 3 plan to Nige when he took the job. The fact he hasn’t moaned about his lot up to the end of last season suggests he knew what he was getting into. However, having developed Scott, earned the club £25m and isn’t seeing much of it to bring that quality addition you speak of, he’s probably wondering whether he was sold a pup.

[MelksRed]

 

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

Is the plan to become a Championship Academy? developing & feeding young players to the football market?

 

 

You have to remain in the Championship to be a championship academy.......I think we will have a long drawn out season....possible relegation battle but would expect to survive. Its certainly not going to be the promotion push season that the pre-season bluster suggested. 

Key line in NP's post match....."in other areas we are not quite as blessed".....he knows we need investment....but has no funding to work with. 

SL needs to be careful....NP close to the end of his deal.....could walk if not given appropriate support. Especially as it is known that he is now considering life after football. NP has secured championship status whilst shedding drift wood, sorting the team and revising the pay structure in line with his gift.....

 

Seems always the way that we get to a good position and then fail to capitalise on the gain.......disappointing but not unexpected. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by MelksRed

[westonred]

Personally i would try and get rid of Cornick Memheti King (only a bit part player) to try and get a transfer kitty.  I think Tanner would have been sold after the additions McCrorie and TGH but injuries cant let that happen at the moment.  In a BBC interview last night NP was asked if we would be bringing anyone in before the window closes he abruptly said No,  he didnt sound happy about it at all. I'm sure he will leave at the end of his contract, he wont put up with the broken promises anymore

https://twitter.com/i/status/1696639411755081972

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by westonred

[MelksRed]

1 hour ago, Jeez said:

Is the plan to become a Championship Academy? developing & feeding young players to the football market?

 

 

You have to remain in the Championship to be a championship academy.......I think we will have a long drawn out season....possible relegation battle but would expect to survive. Its certainly not going to be the promotion push season that the pre-season bluster suggested. 

Key line in NP's post match....."in other areas we are not quite as blessed".....he knows we need investment....but has no funding to work with. 

SL needs to be careful....NP close to the new of his deal.....could walk if not given appropriate support. Especially as it is known that he is now considering life after football. NP has secured championship status whilst shedding drift wood, sorting the team and revising the pay structure in line with his gift.....

Seems always the way that we get to a good position and then fail to capitalise on the gain.......disappointing but not unexpected. 

[View from the Dolman]

1 minute ago, westonred said:

Personally i would try and get rid of Cornick Memheti King (only a bit part player) to try and get a transfer kitty.

How much do you really think Andy King would add to the "transfer kitty"? Unless there's something I'm missing about Saudi Arabia coming calling with £10m.

[Calculus]

1 hour ago, johnheadbcfc said:

Twice the player is a stretch mind

Fair enough. Bell is a lot more useful than Mehmeti on the left, and I'm not even a fan if Bell's. 

[westonred]

1 minute ago, View from the Dolman said:

How much do you really think Andy King would add to the "transfer kitty"? Unless there's something I'm missing about Saudi Arabia coming calling with £10m.

I'm talking wages

[MelksRed]

Not quite sure why my post is showing twice.....

[Numero Uno]

1 minute ago, westonred said:

Personally i would try and get rid of Cornick Memheti King (only a bit part player) to try and get a transfer kitty.  I think Tanner would have been sold after the additions McCrorie and TGH but injuries cant let that happen at the moment.  In a BBC interview last night NP was asked if we would be bringing anyone in before the window closes he abruptly said No,  he didnt sound happy about it at all. I'm sure he will leave at the end of his contract, he wont put up with the broken promises anymore

I think this almost certainly what will happen unless something changes in the next window. I don’t see Nige walking away mid-contract unless Steve cans him tbh but he has no need to continue the job under its current restrictions. Let someone else have a go and enjoy retirement with his family.

You would hope after 20 years plus of the same owner that we would have a relatively seamlessly run club where everyone knows their role down to the last full stop on the contract. Do we ****………

[firstdivision]

33 minutes ago, Cidre Monita said:

First proper manager we’ve had for years and he’s been starved of funding. As I said in a previous post NP has kept his part of the bargain which SL has seemingly reneged on. It annoys me that NP will ultimately be made the scapegoat and a lot on here will applaud that ,frankly, I believe, through their own ignorance. Please understand that SL is the one constant in the historical and ongoing underachievement of our club. 

Thanks for your articulate response by the way. 

We've spent 14 of the last 16 seasons in the Championship, which compares very favourably with our history.

 From 1965-1981 we were in the top two divisions all the time.

Before that, you have to go back to the period before and after the First World War to find a better run than now. So basically, this is our best consistent spell in terms of which division we are in for over a hundred years. The things history teaches us, eh?

[pillred]

2 hours ago, TV Tom said:

What's this got to do with Lansdown ? this is NPs team, his players, his tactics yet he keeps on getting off relatively scot free after every poor performance (of which there has been so, so many during his tenure)    

He does seem a bit bulletproof with many on here, I have made no secret of my lack of enthusiasm for him, sure he has had a bit of a mess to clear up but has now been in charge for over 3 years, The team and tactics are basically his now and I'm not particularly impressed with what I'm seeing, if this carries on much longer even SL patience will wear thin.

[TV Tom]

1 minute ago, pillred said:

He does seem a bit bulletproof with many on here, I have made no secret of my lack of enthusiasm for him, sure he has had a bit of a mess to clear up but has now been in charge for over 3 years, The team and tactics are basically his now and I'm not particularly impressed with what I'm seeing, if this carries on much longer even SL patience will wear thin.

Agreed, last season you had the likes of Luton, Coventry and Blackburn fighting for promotion and they barely spent a penny on transfers between them, their managers made the most the most of what they got. 

[Red-Robbo]

21 minutes ago, FNQ said:

Everyone is replaceable, but who’s the one ACM that you have in mind that could replace three?

Funnily enough, as I do not work professionally in football, I don't have a database of who may or may not be available.  Thing is, we have staff at BCFC who do that, and I don't believe that there would be no one available or affordable in the entire world of football who could play the role of linking our defence and deep midfield with our forwards. Because, you see, we aren't really doing that at our club at present - the pitiful number of goal attempts per game shows that.

So, would I rather have had one really useful central player than three who all fulfill roles that can be done by other players already here (one of whom, tbf, hasn't yet had time to show what he can do), well, yes, I would. 

It's hypothetical anyway, as we've got who we've got. We can't time-machine them back. 

[Cidre Monita]

8 minutes ago, firstdivision said:

We've spent 14 of the last 16 seasons in the Championship, which compares very favourably with our history.

 From 1965-1981 we were in the top two divisions all the time.

Before that, you have to go back to the period before and after the First World War to find a better run than now. So basically, this is our best consistent spell in terms of which division we are in for over a hundred years. The things history teaches us, eh?

So you are happy with that? The likes of Luton, Brentford et al in the Prem and that sleepy little retirement home Bournemouth signing our best young players. I was saying to my mate that I actually prefer the old days in the early 80’s when Terry Cooper was in charge and we didn’t have a pot to p*** in. Who would have thought back then we still wouldn’t have made the promised land some 40 years later even with the involvement of a local billionaire. The things history teaches us, eh? 

[mozo]

29 minutes ago, petehinton said:

Far too early to say on Mehmeti….some were saying better than Semenyo after his first 2 games. Will we sell him for more than we bought him for in years to come? Definitely, imo. Cornick, jury’s out still. Want to see him centrally. 
 

We did try to sign the lad from Bolton on a perm, long term deal and got offered the same to stay at Bolton. It happens. TGH is a really good player, and was forced to leave WBA because of their money issues. I’m sure if Pearson could’ve, that would’ve been a perm too. 
 

Absolutely none of these will be solely Pearson decisions. They’ll be Alexander and Tinnion choices too, so definitely not managers call. 
 

Managers call, rightfully, as we can all read between the lines is that we need more reinforcements with the Scott money. But he isn’t going to get it. 

Just to chip in, I'm in complete agreement with everything you say there...

Just on Mehmeti and TGH, I've said a few times that I'm worried that we're signing players with potential but not players for a push up the league.

Totally agree that in theory (if we don't let their contracts expire...!) we should see a profit on those players and others, such as Roberts and Knight. 

I think it's fair to say that we entered this season with expectations of pushing on and upwards, and naturally there's going to be frustration if it turns out that the majority of our recruits actually needed a year or two to develop into good Championship players.

We're unlucky with McCrorie though, albeit even he is untested at this level.

[The Dolman Pragmatist]

1 hour ago, westonred said:

1 Shot on target in 90mins again it was Just another game that shows we are desperate for a Big mobile unit up front. The money has dried up and we are getting turned down by players from Bolton and the Irish league. Experienced players we have/had havent/wont sign new deals Kalas HNM Diedhou Vyner We cannot even fill a bench for matches these days which looks embarressing and small time The matchday experience is not good at the moment as we have replaced a lot of our better players with players who are not yet of Championship quality and then when they become championship quality we sell them. Something needs to be done about this shambles as we will be fighting relegation all season and the crowds will drop.  SL if you read this please come and address the fans in the media and tell us your vision for the future

Not everything is solved by bringing in yet more new players.  How many players has Pearson brought in since January?  Cornick, Mehmeti, Dickie, Roberts, Knight, McCrorie, Gardner-Hickman.  Have I missed anyone?  The issue for me is that we are under-performing with the players we do have, which is an issue for the manager and coaches, not the owner.

[Red-Robbo]

29 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

……….and then people would be berating lack of competition in other areas and saying we put all our eggs in one basket. If said midfield player got injured for three months we would be in a worse position than we are now. To get adequate numbers and quality needed to challenge the top half requires money to be spent. That money isn’t available. You could argue with our injury situation it’s just as well we got the numbers in first?

I think it’s obvious that Steve is setting things up for a sale of the club and is keeping the purse strings tight. That’s his prerogative but rather than be up front and say it he is hiding behind a mantra of we’ve got a better squad than Luton had last season. Do we really?

I doubt that the current situation is what was sold as the Year 3 plan to Nige when he took the job. The fact he hasn’t moaned about his lot up to the end of last season suggests he knew what he was getting into. However, having developed Scott, earned the club £25m and isn’t seeing much of it to bring that quality addition you speak of, he’s probably wondering whether he was sold a pup.

 

If my auntie had ... etc. Hypotheticals.

Fact is, the three players people complained the most about last night were Pearson signings. Tinnion does the background availability stuff, Alexander - in consultation with the owner - sets the budget, but Pearson brought them here.  I'd argue that neither Mehmeti nor Cornick have been success stories and they've had quite a lot of gametime now, each.  Tanner, the other current whipping boy, is not as bad as people make out and has been MOTM in the past. We know he can do it, he's out of form. 

He can't spend what we need and I'd agree with everyone who says new ownership/new co-owners/an injection of at least interest in building the club up, is needed much more than a change of manager.

But Pearson makes mistakes. He's very stubborn at acknowledging them to himself as well. I don't think he's beyond criticism on that front. 

 

[Major Isewater]

33 minutes ago, MelksRed said:

Not quite sure why my post is showing twice.....

It’s that good. 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, CraigBCFC10 said:

The midfield is a big problem at the moment. We are pedestrian and so easy to play through. Williams, James and King are literally the same player. No ball winners, sideways or backward passing.

I haven’t got a problem with BCFC using the “Brentford style” of selling our best players for a good price, but the bit SL has forgotten is when they sold Ollie Watkins they bought in Ivan Toney from Peterborough to replace him. You can’t sale a player of the quality of Alex Scott and not replace him. I think watching Sykes playing as a number 10 last night shows the issue we have. We are completely toothless going forward.

Heard an interview with the Brighton CEO recently about how they ran their club. He said that they buy players cheaply, with the intention of making them far better and selling for a huge profit, BUT, they recognise this will take at least two transfer windows and so they replace their better players two windows ahead of them leaving. It makes it a seamless transition.

[2015]

I am astonished that we have received £35 million in Scott and Semenyo this year and we won't adequately replace them. That is not how you progress a team in this League!