Can it possibly last?
I think it almost certainly could. They’re due a bad spell but all successful teams have those. Below them is a Junior Fergie team who as ever will be good enough for promotion but not good enough for the Championship; an Oxford team fumbling a little under a new manager; a Stevenage team who are doing remarkably well but are slowly drifting off the pace and a Bolton team who ate very good but who were well beaten by Portsmouth the other day and whose consortium likely don’t have quite enough money to make a push with signings in the next window. Indeed rumours grow that Wrexham have bid for their best player.
1 Like
Oh, I hope so, Nigel. 
Will be at Fratton Park to see them play Fleetwood on 23rd Dec.
Portsmouth have a young forward on loan from Norwich,Abu Kamara. I see he scored a couple at the weekend. Came on as a sub for us towards the end of last year and looked promising.
Kamara is getting better and better as the season goes on @JohnF. He’s clearly got talent and pace. The bit of his game that is still ‘work-in-progress’ is his final pass/finishing, but we can see that improving all the time. Seems a nice, grounded lad, too, when interviewed.
Over recent years, I’ve seen many loans at Pompey. With the odd exception such as Bazunu, most have been disappointing but Kamara and Alex Robinson who we have on loan from Man City look very good.
Glad to hear it as we are a bit short of decent strikers.
The reason I asked was the few times he came on as a sub last year he looked to me to be a better prospect than some of those who were getting game time in the squad.
Following the last couple of disappointing results, The Mighty Whites gave the Elland Road faithful an early Christmas present today, with a hugely convincing 4-0 win against Ipswich.
In complete control for most of the game, we turned in a slick performance, and narrowed the gap to second place.
We’re slowly getting there, after our poor start to the season.
M.O.T.
5 Likes
Farke weaving his magic again. Sorted the team out and producing exciting football. I’m very envious.
1 Like
As I’ve posted before this was always coming. Thoroughly deserved, Leeds shut down the midfield channels and were so quick on the transition and counter with that front four Town just couldn’t cope.
Trouble for Leeds is other teams watching will think we can’t be as open as Town were so they may well play the low press. As well as being bloody awful to watch, at this level it’s hard to break down.
We can beat anyone who comes to play. It’s the one’s who come to hang around in their own penalty area who cause the problems. Not only do we find it difficult to break them down, we often concede a soft goal which is even worse. Smashing performance today although Ipswich were a bit naive I thought.
2 Likes
Times two…
1 Like
I’m going to allow myself a “You’re just a bus stop in Cardiff” and a “There’s only one team in Wales.”
Credit to Newport. Played with a high press and came to win. Scrappy but compelling first half in which they were inarguably the better team in dreadful windy conditions. We had a bench with plenty of game changing potential but many of our fans agreed that we couldn’t see either of our midfield subs making a difference as neither would like or escape a high press.
They had 10 minutes of the 2nd half before we got the ball down; started to play and ratcheted up the pressure. We inarguably bossed the 2nd half and deserved a somewhat cathartic win. After winning with 10 men against Colchester we’re grinding out exactly the sorts of results which win titles.
Kudos to Sam Dalby who lived off scraps and yet made Mullin look amateur. Big kudos to young Max Cleworth who only made the team after O’Connell pulled up in the warm up. Although he had plenty of National League games today was his EFL debut and he was our MOTM by some distance. The kid has a huge future ahead of him.
Correct me if I’m wrong but you’ve lost 1 in 8 and you’re 2 points off a play off place. Why not enjoy that? The moaning about Delia is entertaining but you don’t seem to enjoy it enjoy it when they’re doing okay.
Eyes are focused on Leicester, Ipswich and Leeds but, as yesterday showed, no-one is unbeatable. No-one is going to run away with it. Southampton are on a great run but not making huge headway. A run like your last 8 games would see you pushing the door on automatic promotion.
2 Likes
A disappointing draw at Fratton Park yesterday against Fleetwood. Having taken the lead just before half-time I was hoping Pompey would come out in the 2nd half and play with the high-tempo, high pressing game that we did against Bolton recently, but we never got going and it was Fleetwood who took the initiative and grabbed a deserved equaliser. While Fleetwood have been on a dreadful run of results and are in the relegation zone, I thought they looked better than that. Very well organised, worked hard and were very strong in the air at the back. Despite many, many crosses in to their box I think the Fleetwood defenders won pretty much every ball. Also credit to the 94 Fleetwood fans who made that very long journey down to the south coast. They were noisier than their number would have suggested.
1 Like
It’s difficult to enjoy something when you can see how badly things have been handled.
We were debt free with a young team playing entertaining football. We are now an old folks home playing dull football with a huge debt.
I hope we manage to make the play offs but in over sixty years of supporting Norwich this is the first time I’ve not looked forward to attending games and I’m not alone in my attitude. The ground is half empty and the attendance figures inflated by counting season ticket holders regardless of whether they attend.
Fans are fed up with being treated in a condescending manner.
Counting season ticket holders as being in attendance regardless of whether they actually are has been standard practice across most clubs for many years. Not sure why that would be a complaint at this point.
The half empty ground demonstrates how fans are fed up with the current regime.
The ground used to be full come what may.
Fans have been taken for granted for too long.
I don’t expect us to be successful but I’d rather watch a team of ambitious youngsters than players well past their sell by date.
I hope our new sporting director has a badly needed clear out.
I’m fortunate that my nine year old grandson plays Saturday mornings which is far more entertaining.
John, I suggest a supporter’s holiday until the ownership situation resolves itself to your satisfaction. North of the border today, Kieran Dowell and Todd Cantwell were the best players on the park, each bagging a goal. They’ll play this Spring in Europe too!
Cantwell looks more substantial, physically and as a player, than he did in England. And this pains me.
Cantwell is not enjoying the creative freedom that he had under the previous manager but is effective nonetheless. Have yourself a happy Xmas and enjoyable few days until the 30th 