Norwich 2-1 Saints - Match Thread

[Verbal]

13 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

 

Disappointing news.  I wanted Lampard at Norwich as much as I wanted Howe at Newcastle and Gerrard at Villa.

[Turkish]

.....

Edited 12 November, 2021 by Turkish

[egg]

7 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

Absolutely no surprise at all, Lampard thinks he’s better than a club like Norwich.

Whether he is or not is open for debate.

He's probably holding out for the Newcastle job when it becomes available in the new year. 

[Mattster]

3 hours ago, Jeremy Corbyn said:

Sky Sports now reporting that it's between Smith and Lampard but "neither is sure they want it".  The fact they clearly didn't have anyone lined up makes the decision to get rid of Farke after a win all the more bizarre.

Agreed - seems completely crazy to me, unless there is more going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. Norwich look nailed on for relegation, and with no incoming funds likely I think it will take more than a change of manager to prevent it. What they really need is a manager who can get them promoted again asap, and Farke has done that twice in the last 4 years, both times by winning the Championship. Is there really anyone better suited to the job right now, and who also wants to have an inevitable relegation this season on their CV? I wonder why Norwich seem so incapable of pushing on in the prem after promotion - they are on course for their 4th relegation from the prem in 9 seasons which is surely some kind of record.

[Dman]

10 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

Absolutely no surprise at all, Lampard thinks he’s better than a club like Norwich.

Whether he is or not is open for debate.

It’ll take a brave or desperate man to take that job. No chance at all they’ll stay up, so basically building for promotion in the championship next season. 

It’’s make or break for Lampard now. Norwich would have been a bad move for him. 

[nta786]

Norwich should give the job to their fans, perhaps find candidates on CanariesWeb or something.

I've love to see how it would play out

 

[fanimal]

Let’s have Dean Smith again please would be sweet to do a double on him

[LiberalCommunist]

That would be hilarious. But in all seriousness, I think he'd be a better fit for their long term. 

I do think they have made a big mistake sacking Farke though, I assumed they had someone 'great' lined up already.

This is just a mess now, after their best performance of the season. Bizarre. 

[Sheaf Saint]

4 minutes ago, fanimal said:

Let’s have Dean Smith again please would be sweet to do a double on him

If he takes it, I wonder if this will be the first time a manager's first game at a new club is against the same team that he only just got sacked from another club for losing to in his last game?  And if they win, how pissed would you be as a Villa fan if he could beat us with Norwich but not with them! 

[Badger]

22 minutes ago, LiberalCommunist said:

That would be hilarious. But in all seriousness, I think he'd be a better fit for their long term. 

I do think they have made a big mistake sacking Farke though, I assumed they had someone 'great' lined up already.

This is just a mess now, after their best performance of the season. Bizarre. 

Delia in the dugout ?

[Streaky]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

Delia in the dugout ?

Half time team talk " where are you"

[Baird of the land]

3 hours ago, SuperSAINT said:

 

I wonder if Lampard's off to Rangers. If you are in that limbo land where you don't want to be a yoyo team like Norwich's manager and the likes of Villa/Newcastle have zero interest in you, going to rangers and winning some titles might rebuild his rep might hold appeal.

[Toadhall Saint]

1 hour ago, Baird of the land said:

I wonder if Lampard's off to Rangers. If you are in that limbo land where you don't want to be a yoyo team like Norwich's manager and the likes of Villa/Newcastle have zero interest in you, going to rangers and winning some titles might rebuild his rep might hold appeal.

Plus get you some champions league experience- kind of

[HarvSFC]

At least we still have first dibs on the Chelsea youth.

[JRM]

Where is Broja for Albania tonight? 

[Sheaf Saint]

6 minutes ago, JRM said:

Where is Broja for Albania tonight? 

Out with a muscle injury.

[M271]

6 minutes ago, JRM said:

Where is Broja for Albania tonight? 

Muscle injury

[trousers]

1 hour ago, JRM said:

Where is Broja for Albania tonight? 

 

1 hour ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Out with a muscle injury.

 

1 hour ago, M271 said:

Muscle injury

One of those 'minor' muscle injuries that kept Stuart Armstrong out of the Saints  squad for 2+ months...? 

[JRM]

9 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

Out with a muscle injury.

Thanks, I hadn't seen that reported anywhere. Have they said how long he's expected to be out for? 

[eurosaint]

1 hour ago, JRM said:

Thanks, I hadn't seen that reported anywhere. Have they said how long he's expected to be out for? 

Bednarek not in the Poland squad either so I guess that he might be injured as well as Broja 😠

[SuperSAINT]

 

[John Boy Saint]

6 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

 

So was the “big news” that Super Frank had stepped out of the race get in quick face saving PR from team Lampard?

[TWar]

13 minutes ago, John Boy Saint said:

So was the “big news” that Super Frank had stepped out of the race get in quick face saving PR from team Lampard?

Or alternatively it was between the two of them and Frank pulled out so now they are offering it to Smith. It makes sense as Frank turned down palace in the summer and that is a much more appealing proposition imo.

[LiberalCommunist]

I bet the Palace fans are full of regret! 😁

[CB Fry]

In ten years time when he's signing copies of his autobiography in Waterstones Solihull, they'll be a chapter about how he regrets going to Norwich within a week of being sacked by Villa. 

Feels absolutely mad to me at all levels. 

[TWar]

1 minute ago, CB Fry said:

In ten years time when he's signing copies of his autobiography in Waterstones Solihull, they'll be a chapter about how he regrets going to Norwich within a week of being sacked by Villa. 

Feels absolutely mad to me at all levels. 

I guess you could say he has proven himself to be someone who can get a team promoted, maybe Norwich pitched it as "we know you are going down, get to know the team, do your best to raise value for those we intend to sell, and next season we will back you financially take the championship by storm".

[CamSaint]

Be interesting to see how Gilmour develops under Smith. Thought he had another good game for Scotland yesterday.

[CB Fry]

6 minutes ago, TWar said:

I guess you could say he has proven himself to be someone who can get a team promoted, maybe Norwich pitched it as "we know you are going down, get to know the team, do your best to raise value for those we intend to sell, and next season we will back you financially take the championship by storm".

Yes I get that, but I just think he's had four years of absolute triumph at his boyhood club, in his hometown, as a hero.

Within a week he is suddenly flat hunting in East Anglia, or living in a hotel and charged with turning around a completely different club. Also loads of pressure next season because Farke did deliver two amazing title winning campaigns. He scraped Villa up through the play offs.

But its not really about "football". I just think at a human level it's a bit mad for him to rebound that quick. 

 

Edited 13 November, 2021 by CB Fry

[John Boy Saint]

11 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

In ten years time when he's signing copies of his autobiography in Waterstones Solihull, they'll be a chapter about how he regrets going to Norwich within a week of being sacked by Villa. 

Feels absolutely mad to me at all levels. 

Or Mrs Smith piped up “if you think you are going to be sitting around here on a Saturday afternoon getting under my feet - kicking back on your compo - then you can think again Mr”

🤪

[Baird of the land]

Let's hope we can win so the fans can sing 'Can we play you every week.'

[Charlie Wayman]

13 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Let's hope we can win so the fans can sing 'Can we play you every week.'

That would certainly be an improvement on the usual Northam intelligentsia's chorus of YAWFS.

Canaries should have a good range of songs of their own

[Sheaf Saint]

3 hours ago, CB Fry said:

Within a week he is suddenly flat hunting in East Anglia, or living in a hotel. 

 

[LiberalCommunist]

Has this ever happened before? Being sacked, and then getting another job in time to face the same team?

I think we might just have won another stat. Go Saints. 

[Ex Lion Tamer]

12 hours ago, CB Fry said:

Yes I get that, but I just think he's had four years of absolute triumph at his boyhood club, in his hometown, as a hero.

Within a week he is suddenly flat hunting in East Anglia, or living in a hotel and charged with turning around a completely different club. Also loads of pressure next season because Farke did deliver two amazing title winning campaigns. He scraped Villa up through the play offs.

But its not really about "football". I just think at a human level it's a bit mad for him to rebound that quick. 

 

I'd have thought he could bide his time and get a better job than Norwich.

If Ralph hadn't managed to turn things around this season then I'd have taken him here

[JibMcdo]

Think Dean Smith is a below average PL manager. What are his teams good at? What’s his style of play? They were a Hawkeye error away from going down in their first season having spent £100m+, and were heading in the same direction again this season having spent similar. Think he had a lot to thank Grealish for as to being in that job so long.

Lets be honest we have battered Villa in every game we’ve played them in the last 3 seasons, even if we somehow lost at home last year, because we have a manager on another level to Smith who was tactically outclassed every time. I was happy to see he’d gone to Norwich and would expect us to play well on Saturday and have every chance of beating his side again.

[skintsaint]

7 hours ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

If Ralph hadn't managed to turn things around this season then I'd have taken him here

[SNSUN]

11 minutes ago, JibMcdo said:

Think Dean Smith is a below average PL manager. What are his teams good at? What’s his style of play? They were a Hawkeye error away from going down in their first season having spent £100m+, and were heading in the same direction again this season having spent similar. Think he had a lot to thank Grealish for as to being in that job so long.

Lets be honest we have battered Villa in every game we’ve played them in the last 3 seasons, even if we somehow lost at home last year, because we have a manager on another level to Smith who was tactically outclassed every time. I was happy to see he’d gone to Norwich and would expect us to play well on Saturday and have every chance of beating his side again.

I must admit I'm not a big Dean Smith fan. Besides being a nice guy I fail to see the clamour for him. Just usual press bigging up the Villa-supporting manager of Prince William's favourite team when his transfer dealings have been iffy, overpaying for a lot of players, and failing to strengthen areas of their team that needed strengthening. He was definitely riding the Grealish wave and selling him (though that was out of his hands due to the release clause) has definitely caught up with him. He did well to get to a cup final but even Puel managed that, and obviously the promotion but with much better players than the rest of the division. I rate Chris Wilder higher than I rate Dean Smith (and Norwich are a week late for him!). Villa made the right call sacking Smith though, and I actually think Gerrard's appointment was risky but smart. Villa will probably be OK this season.

 

I do think Dean Smith is a good fit for Norwich, nice guy at a nice-guy-image club, but Norwich lack much quality in their side for this division and they will go down. And as they are my wife's team, that pleases me slightly! 😈😈 Play Gilmour and they have a chance, but otherwise? Nah.

 

New manager bounce or not, we should still be beating Norwich on Saturday. Our defence has been tight this season and we've shown attacking flair in recent weeks. I actually think this could be our first 2 goal margin-or-better league win of the season. 2-0 Saints in one of the rare times in recent memory that we've won 3 league games in a row.

[Roo1976]

On 13/11/2021 at 10:33, CB Fry said:

In ten years time when he's signing copies of his autobiography in Waterstones Solihull, they'll be a chapter about how he regrets going to Norwich within a week of being sacked by Villa. 

Feels absolutely mad to me at all levels. 

Another big pay day .........................no brainer really . .

[CB Fry]

7 hours ago, Roo1976 said:

Another big pay day .........................no brainer really . .

Honestly by some distance the least plausible explanation. He had a long contract with Villa so would have been paid by them for the next two years anyway. He wasn't going to be hard up.

I am sure he has his reasons for getting back in so quickly but "it's a pay day" will be nowhere near the top of the list.

[LiberalCommunist]

He's concerned his relevance will drop off quickly. This could well be his last crack at the PL. 

Its kinda the opposite of backing yourself. Obscurity awaits. 

[austsaint]

17 minutes ago, LiberalCommunist said:

He's concerned his relevance will drop off quickly. This could well be his last crack at the PL. 

Its kinda the opposite of backing yourself. Obscurity awaits. 

I think you're on to something there.   An extended time out of management and he could fall into obscurity.   At least with Norwich he has a very outside chance of keeping them up and if he doesn't, they have a strong pedigree of bouncing back up from the Championship.   I'm not saying it's right but Smith doesn't have the marketability of an Eddie Howe nor the reputation (yet) for rescuing relegation threatened Clubs like the older types....Big Sam, Warnock, Pulis, Pardew etc.

[trousers]

On 13/11/2021 at 17:25, LiberalCommunist said:

Has this ever happened before? Being sacked, and then getting another job in time to face the same team?

I think we might just have won another stat. Go Saints. 

 

[Jeremy Corbyn]

As we all know forum polls are legally binding, so it appears they're actually pretty happy with Smith up there

[CAH61]

I really hope that Narrrch stay up at Villa's expense but i'm very much hoping that their recovery does not start until after saturday's match.

[CAH61]

1 hour ago, Jeremy Corbyn said:

As we all know forum polls are legally binding, so it appears they're actually pretty happy with Smith up there

 

He's still a decent manager that was on a poor run which happens to the majority of managers during a career, even Koeman here.

[jameslastfan]

Atkinson referee. Lee Porter VAR. Oh, marvellous.

[LiberalCommunist]

Could be worse. Shudder.

[John Boy Saint]

14 minutes ago, jameslastfan said:

Atkinson referee. Lee Porter VAR. Oh, marvellous.

Atkinson and Mason - we're a nondescript game with hardly anyone watching - Atkinson seems to rely on someone talking in his ear to guide him through games since VAR came in letting them tell him what he should have seen. Watched a few games and the pause before blowing up for a bit of naughty play is often notable with him on the whistle.  

[LiberalCommunist]

To be fair, before var was introduced I was pretty sure some refs were getting messages in their ear. Some very unnatural delays seemed to be frequent when undertaking decisions for a select few. Always made me wonder. 

[eurosaint]

Billy Gilmour was great for Scotland tonight so I hope that Norwich continue to leave him on the bench 😀 although with a new manager I’m sure he’ll be given a chance…