So Naughton’s not been allowed to stay out to play at Carra past May. It’s safe to say that’s a blow. But, nevertheless, he’s here until the end of the season so it’s not all bad.
It presumably means the money we had intended to put aside for the impressive full-back is now available to be spent elsewhere. On another full-back maybe? With Tierney struggling, Drury being Drury and De Laet being De Laet, we’re a tad thin on the ground. Continue reading
As a break from the usual inane, pointless and trivial drivel that usually is spewed onto these pages by me, (not the others, they’re great of course) I feel this post is needed.
The whole basis of the next few hundred words or so have been inside of me for weeks but for me being to scared to mention it whilst the season was so in the balance, it felt to be jumping the gun. This Norwich side, the 20 or so regulars that have pulled on the brighter-than-usual canary yellow this season have made me proud to be in any way connected to this club. Continue reading
I know, I know, we pay the money we can react how we want. I know I know, you’ve seen Donny’s last two results and you now know everything about Doncaster and how bad they are and Norwich should have won by at least seventeen goals. I know, I know we’re meant to be Premier League.
Or not.
Lest we forget this time last season we were in League One, and the year before that we were mercilessly getting beaten with inept performance upon inept performance. And Donny were in fact one of the most attractive teams to watch outside of the Premier League last season, with a very talented manager at the helm. They’re not a whipping boy scraping by in the Championship anymore. And we’re not supposed to be in the Premier League, if we were, we would be.
A very low-key performance didn’t yield a loss, in fact it could have been much, much worse for City. Forest dropped points at the league’s bottom club and we’re still within touching distance of second. Less than a year after promotion back to a league we haven’t finished higher than 9th since the Premier League days.
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Just when you think this season has had it’s fair share of crazy this season, Donny have brought in a note to try skip PE this week.
After shipping six at home to Ipswich and then a respectable three at Swansea, Doncaster have tried- in their words or to the effect- to do the rest of the Championship a favour by attempting to call off their trip to Fortress Carra. Lack of numbers, they claim.
They say having only 13 senior outfield players to pick from is unfair to the rest of the Championship by being forced to take such a depleted squad to a promotion chaser. Yet they did the exact same thing to Swansea just three days ago and humbly took a three-nil defeat without a shot in anger. And last time I checked, it only takes 11 to play football. We could even have a game of rugby league, they of all teams should know that.
But isn’t this what a youth system is for? Worst come to worst stick a youth player on the bus if need be. Were Donny in League One or Two they would go to their games regardless, fielding a goat at right back if they need to to fill a shirt.
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*Listening to Interpol – Interpol*
Twitter has descended into a playground for stroppy sportsmen. Darren Bent notoriously started the trend, but today, everything that has gone before is going to seem insignificant in comparison.
Well so Leon Knight reckons anyway.
The well travelled striker is going to, in his words, “be going wild on twitter all day FUCK RUSHDEN&DIAMONDS the crooks”. Libellous or not it seems, especially by the looks of some of his tweets. (I’ll let you find them ones for yourself…)
What is the back-story I hear you bellow? He was due to sign for Darlo but it’s falling (may well have fallen when you read this) through. Because, well, it seems he’s fallen out with more people than Joey Barton, but most importantly Rushden & Diamonds.
The canny club they, they got one over him instead. He was sacked, but they have initiated a clause in his contract and that he could not play for another team in England unless they went through Rushden and Diamonds until his contract would have expired.
Which would be next season.
*Listening to Arcade Fire at Reading*
It’s been a bit quiet around these parts lately. All I can say is I got Tiger Woods’d. He’s put himself in my life, won me over and I can’t stop myself from going back for more. I’m talking Tiger Woods 07 on PS2. Not that.
Yes I’m back on PS2, and what.
Anyway, yesterday was the day clubs are told to save their pocket money until January. Well, supposedly. And the loan window opens again soon for those lucky enough not to be in the Premiership so it’s a bit of a false dawn.
Cardiff and QPR can bring in even more quality players to help decide which of them wins the league and which will come second.
Come on Bellars, we started your career buddy.
My old haunt, Stoke, were the best, and most surprising movers in the window. No doubt everyone who reads this has some disdain for Jermaine Pennant, but he has something to prove in this division. Eidur Gudjohnsen in a Stoke shirt? He may be 31 but he’ll certainly do a job
And Marc Wilson impresses on every outing, getting shot of Lawrence in the process is canny business. At least Tuncay won’t look so out of place now he has people who know how to kick a ball to an appropriate target.
*Listening to Suspicious for the Winter – Empty Streets*
Well ain’t that a relief. It’s August and the football’s back.
Typically, Norwich failed to get off to anything like a flyer, but at least we are a full five goals better off than this time last season, eh? Optimism has crept up on me recently from somewhere, it’s sure to escape midweek when we no doubt crash out of the cup in something of a whimper. We’re no cup team.
The omens were against City from the off though, playing on TV and first game of the season are games rarely won by Norwich.
I think I may have missed something during pre-season, when did the rule come in that tackling was now outlawed? Not that anyone’s told Andrew Crofts though, especially last week against Everton.
Take Cardiff’s 1-1 draw with The Blades. Matthew Lowton, the next of their talented full-backs it seems, went in for a crunching 50-50 but was just beaten to the ball. Nothing malicious, just a good-old hard challenge from both players. Then over trots Premiership referee Peter Walton brandishing a red card.
It seems to have been getting worse year on year but this could be breaking point. Then again, maybe it’s because of last seasons jaunt in League One, where that would have been a free-kick at best.
When you take into account diving, feigning injury, getting other players booked and the like, football is in a very bleak way.
So excuse me while I watch Pakistan fail to catch a cold instead of that pointless game at Wembley. There are too many tears for me.
*Listening to When the Saints go marching in – Louis Armstrong*
There is a cruel reality in football called the Scottish Premier League. Indeed, for a player to move to it and claim it to be a step up can only mean he has been left with no other option. Well unless you had been plying your trade in the Conference or had another day job as a plumber.
So for Cardiff born Joe Ledley to move to Celtic in the summer and claim it to be a move in the right direction tells its own story. On his induction at Parkhead, Joe may as well have begged for mercy in front of the cameras as he rolled out the usual ‘Celtic are a massive club and I get to play in the Champions League‘ lines whilst holding back the harsh reality of the situation.
It can be further compounded by the fact that Joe arrived back at Cardiff Airport, less than a day after being filmed grumpily ambling through Glasgow Airport to take a look around. Not all that impressed then Joe? Ultimately it was a case of ‘Celtic?.. Does anyone else want me? No… I guess it’s Glasgow then…’.
Indeed when it became apparent that he would not remain a Cardiff player after that play-off final defeat to Blackpool (still feels like a dagger to the heart to say that), it all looked so rosy for Ledley. Roma were sniffing around, apparently willing to take a punt, with Premier League Everton and less desirable Stoke City also considering the compensation required to give Joe his chance at the Premiership.
*Listening to Rhett Miller – Question *
Aren’t you glad this season’s over with? Barring the lottery though of course, consisting of Steve’s Cardiff (probably) going up and any one of four from the top please, Rachel – of League One. The general concesus is that this season has been exciting. And it has. Sort of. The same way that Total Wipeout is. Low on quality but some cheap thrills due to the ineptitude of others.
Norwich 1 – 7 Colchester for example.
But it has been a season where Darren Fletcher makes the Team of the Year. Many appreciate him, I am not one I have to add, but few could argue- convincingly- that he is a star. Or anything that resembles a star. I can’t imagine any kids on the playground appreciate being given the name Fletch when playing as Utd.
Wigan have done their bit though, providing us with scores that, in rugby terms if not football, were pretty close. Only an unconverted try and penalty behind Chelsea, fellas. Not many teams can have had their opponents goals scored written out in letters more times than Martinez’s somehow-still-merry men.
They have to be team of the season, and Martinez manager for somehow retaining his job despite these hammerings. This a close run award with Rafa, nearly achieving that impossible Football Manager task of finishing in the bottom half with a top-four club and not getting sacked.
*Listening to Apollo 101 – Here And Now Ep*
Well, ain’t that a joke?
11 points taken down to a mere 10 because of one man. 10 against 12 don’t go. Football fans- even Leeds fans- everywhere must admit, Eddie Ilderton is the worst referee to grace the game. If he refereed a game I was playing on Pro Evo I’d be livid.
I wish I was Mark and getting paid to watch that.
Plymouth, Peterborough, Palace, Wednesday and Watford might want to up their performances so they’re not subjected to such abject displays from such important people. I say that as if they’re trying to get relegated, but you get the drift.
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