Gunvald Larsson
Well-Known Member
This is the first season for a long time in which I have been able to go to almost all the home games. Work has previously restricted me to the odd game here and there. Retirement does have it's perks. As I have time on my hands today I thought I would give my assessment of the season and (as the Pink Un now has it's rating viewable for subscribers only) give some ratings/opinions. Here goes ....
Pre-Season
I was encouraged by the number of new signings that were brought in during the summer. I researched and watched (via YouTube) some of the players and thought we had done OK. Although Werder Bremen had been relegated Rashica and Sargent were highly thought of and seemed to be decent acquisitions. Tszolis was also highly thought of in Greece as some kind of 'boy wonder' so he seemed OK too. Lees-Melou had a decent reputation in France as a solid player who was capable of some creativity up front. Normann also had a decent reputation for his defensive and attacking skills and appeared to be another shrewd capture. Re Williams, I found out little about him but as he was a Man Utd player I thought he must have something about him. Finally Gilmour .... another 'boy wonder' and Scotland's 'star' in the Euros. All said, things seemed good on the incoming front. With regard to the outgoings, apart from Buendia none of them unduly bothered me as we seemed to have all bases covered re replacements.
End of the Farke Era
What a disastrous start to the season. Liverpool and Man City were always going to be a tough ask but the way we were brushed aside so easily had alarms ringing already. A 6-0 win over Bournemouth in the EFL Cup papered over some of the cracks as did a half-decent performance against Leicester. However, after that, performances dropped off considerably. City looked tired and devoid of ideas. None of the new signings, apart from Normann, made any kind of impact and, indeed, some of them looked really poor. Farke seemed not to grasp the idea that Farke-ball was, once again, not working in the PL. Passing out from the back only works if the players doing it are really comfortable with it. Even decent ball-players like Aarons and Hanley seemed to be lost. Defensively we were a shambles and in midfield Normann seemed to be fighting a lone battle. Up front things were no better. Pukki scored some goals but was getting little or no support. Farke seemed to have lost the plot as the team changed from game to game with no discernible improvement. The hard fought draws with Burnley and Brighton looked like a corner had possibly been turned but the wretched display at Chelsea and the bad defeat to Leeds soon put paid to that idea. I was a loyal Farke-ite and hoped he could turn it around. The win at Brentford followed by his immediate sacking really shocked me. The team had played quite well v Brentford and I had hoped Farke had finally got it right. The board had other ideas and he was gone. At least he went out on the back of a win. In retrospect it was the right decision. Despite the slight upturn in results the team looked very fragile and some players appeared to have lost faith in the manager and when that happens their is usually only one outcome.
Post-Farke
The recruitment of a replacement for Farke was a masterclass in poor communication between club and fans. Webber stated that he knew who he wanted the day after Farke was sacked when he heard Dean Smith had similarly been given the boot at Villa. The circus surrounding Lampard, Knutsen and Martin could have been avoided if the club had simply made a statement that Smith had accepted the job almost immediately. At the time I thought Smith was an uninspired choice. I surfed around various websites, checked out his CV and read comments by fans of his previous clubs. I was surprised and impressed by how highly everyone seemed to regard him. Anyway he was now the man in charge and he brought with him Craig Shakespeare, a man who had won the PL as a coach at Leicester.
The Smith Era Begins
Four minutes into Smith's first game v Southampton and we concede another sloppy goal. I remember muttering to myself, 'here we go again', but a seventh minute goal from Pukki soon shut me up. We weren't too good throughout that first-half but there was one noticeable change. Passing out from the back had gone. Smith seemed to suss out where things were going wrong and made a significant half-time substitution. He tweaked the formation and also replaced the woeful Cantwell with the energetic Sargent. Sargent had been the subject of some foul abuse following his bad miss v Brighton and for his supposed lack of talent. I have always rated The Sarge, he may not be Grant Holt or Iwan Roberts but he has energy and commitment to spare. His job was to stop Southampton's attacks down the right. He did this superbly and contributed massively to another hard fought win. This was the of a short unbeaten run during November. The team began to play with a bit more confidence and things were looking good for a change. Smith seemed to be performing some kind of miracle by turning a shambolic collection of individuals into a functioning team. Then came December.
Injuries and Illness
December was a disaster. Decimated by the loss of key players the team lost six in a row and scored no goals. Had the Smith bubble burst? The fact that City played matches when almost half the regular players were absent, while certain other teams had matches called off appeared odd to some, including me. The PL trotted out their rules re postponements etc but, as usual, they didn't seem convincing. All this led to our main relegation rivals having games in hand over us. Not a good situation, especially for a team on such a bad run as The Canaries.
The Mini-Revival
FA Cup Third Round. A hit and miss performance at Charlton finished with a 1-0 win. The rot had been stopped and there were encouraging signs that things were back on track. Rashica's long-awaited return from injury was rewarded with his first City goal. A two-nil defeat to West Ham was followed by three wins in a row. Two in the PL and another in the FA Cup Fourth Round. These performances were all solid and well-deserved. The defence was in good shape with Hanley and Williams being outstanding. The midfield was performing well with Lees-Melou finally showing some form. Up front Idah had been paired with Pukki and he responded with a goal and some fine performances. Rashica continued his run of good form and The Sarge scored his first two goals in the PL. The draw v Palace started well with a thirty-eight second goal from Pukki but a good first-half showing was negated by the team being over-run in the second-half with a penalty miss by Zaha and some good saves by Gunn saving City's blushes.
The Came Pep
The mini-revival came to a crashing halt with the arrival at Carrow Road of Man City. The billionaires from the North-West had thumped Farke's team five-nil back in August. They were also on a long winning run and were twelve points clear at the top of the PL. City put up a brave show in the first-half and were unlucky to be a goal behind. Hanley hit the post before Man City score their first goal. An early second-half goal seemed to knock out the Canary stuffing and four-nil defeat followed. I have to say that I felt four-nil flattered them even though they were by far the better team. For me, the match high-lighted everything that is wrong with the PL. Man City were in the doldrums when their Saudi owners arrived and pumped billions into the club. Now look at them. A class apart. The yearly salaries of a few of their players combined are more than our entire club is worth. A fair playing field? I don't think so. Oh, well .... it's only Liverpool next.
Review
An interesting season so far to say the least. Dismal performances. Farke sacked. Smith arrives. Instant improvement hampered by illness and injuries and a relegation battle influenced by other teams having far greater resources at their disposal. The incoming players have improved, especially Rashica and Williams. Gunn has gained in confidence and made some good saves. Hanley and Gibson have improved as a pairing but Aarons is having an inconsistent time. Normann has been missed but Lees-Melou, Sorenson and Placheta have stepped up when needed. Sargent will be a real asset to this club. I know I am in a minority but I think this lad can be a really good player. He is improving all the time and I just wish people would appreciate his qualities and not go on and on about some mistakes he has made. He reminds me of Dirk Kuyt. The old warhorse Pukki is still tucking them away and Idah is another who is improving. Smith and Shakespeare have, in my opinion, improved the squad all-round. They are doing a fine job and, if relegation comes, I feel these are the guys who can get us back up fairly quickly. Sure, reinforcements are needed, but we have the nucleus already to compete, if not in the PL, but in The Championship next season. I get sick and tired of the people who keep prattling on about us needing a billionaire owner etc. We are doing OK as we are. We have a good management team in place and the team is improving. Stop looking backwards or elsewhere. Look to our future. OTBC.
Ratings for the Season So Far
Krul - 7
Gunn - 6
Aarons - 5
Gibson - 7
Hanley - 8
Kabak - 5
Giannoulis - 5
Rupp - 5
Gilmour - 5
Byram - 6
Dowell - 5
McLean - 5
Placheta - 6
Rashica - 8
Normann - 8
Williams - 8
Lees-Melou - 6
Sargent - 6
Idah - 6
Pukki - 7
Tszolis - 4
Thank you.
Pre-Season
I was encouraged by the number of new signings that were brought in during the summer. I researched and watched (via YouTube) some of the players and thought we had done OK. Although Werder Bremen had been relegated Rashica and Sargent were highly thought of and seemed to be decent acquisitions. Tszolis was also highly thought of in Greece as some kind of 'boy wonder' so he seemed OK too. Lees-Melou had a decent reputation in France as a solid player who was capable of some creativity up front. Normann also had a decent reputation for his defensive and attacking skills and appeared to be another shrewd capture. Re Williams, I found out little about him but as he was a Man Utd player I thought he must have something about him. Finally Gilmour .... another 'boy wonder' and Scotland's 'star' in the Euros. All said, things seemed good on the incoming front. With regard to the outgoings, apart from Buendia none of them unduly bothered me as we seemed to have all bases covered re replacements.
End of the Farke Era
What a disastrous start to the season. Liverpool and Man City were always going to be a tough ask but the way we were brushed aside so easily had alarms ringing already. A 6-0 win over Bournemouth in the EFL Cup papered over some of the cracks as did a half-decent performance against Leicester. However, after that, performances dropped off considerably. City looked tired and devoid of ideas. None of the new signings, apart from Normann, made any kind of impact and, indeed, some of them looked really poor. Farke seemed not to grasp the idea that Farke-ball was, once again, not working in the PL. Passing out from the back only works if the players doing it are really comfortable with it. Even decent ball-players like Aarons and Hanley seemed to be lost. Defensively we were a shambles and in midfield Normann seemed to be fighting a lone battle. Up front things were no better. Pukki scored some goals but was getting little or no support. Farke seemed to have lost the plot as the team changed from game to game with no discernible improvement. The hard fought draws with Burnley and Brighton looked like a corner had possibly been turned but the wretched display at Chelsea and the bad defeat to Leeds soon put paid to that idea. I was a loyal Farke-ite and hoped he could turn it around. The win at Brentford followed by his immediate sacking really shocked me. The team had played quite well v Brentford and I had hoped Farke had finally got it right. The board had other ideas and he was gone. At least he went out on the back of a win. In retrospect it was the right decision. Despite the slight upturn in results the team looked very fragile and some players appeared to have lost faith in the manager and when that happens their is usually only one outcome.
Post-Farke
The recruitment of a replacement for Farke was a masterclass in poor communication between club and fans. Webber stated that he knew who he wanted the day after Farke was sacked when he heard Dean Smith had similarly been given the boot at Villa. The circus surrounding Lampard, Knutsen and Martin could have been avoided if the club had simply made a statement that Smith had accepted the job almost immediately. At the time I thought Smith was an uninspired choice. I surfed around various websites, checked out his CV and read comments by fans of his previous clubs. I was surprised and impressed by how highly everyone seemed to regard him. Anyway he was now the man in charge and he brought with him Craig Shakespeare, a man who had won the PL as a coach at Leicester.
The Smith Era Begins
Four minutes into Smith's first game v Southampton and we concede another sloppy goal. I remember muttering to myself, 'here we go again', but a seventh minute goal from Pukki soon shut me up. We weren't too good throughout that first-half but there was one noticeable change. Passing out from the back had gone. Smith seemed to suss out where things were going wrong and made a significant half-time substitution. He tweaked the formation and also replaced the woeful Cantwell with the energetic Sargent. Sargent had been the subject of some foul abuse following his bad miss v Brighton and for his supposed lack of talent. I have always rated The Sarge, he may not be Grant Holt or Iwan Roberts but he has energy and commitment to spare. His job was to stop Southampton's attacks down the right. He did this superbly and contributed massively to another hard fought win. This was the of a short unbeaten run during November. The team began to play with a bit more confidence and things were looking good for a change. Smith seemed to be performing some kind of miracle by turning a shambolic collection of individuals into a functioning team. Then came December.
Injuries and Illness
December was a disaster. Decimated by the loss of key players the team lost six in a row and scored no goals. Had the Smith bubble burst? The fact that City played matches when almost half the regular players were absent, while certain other teams had matches called off appeared odd to some, including me. The PL trotted out their rules re postponements etc but, as usual, they didn't seem convincing. All this led to our main relegation rivals having games in hand over us. Not a good situation, especially for a team on such a bad run as The Canaries.
The Mini-Revival
FA Cup Third Round. A hit and miss performance at Charlton finished with a 1-0 win. The rot had been stopped and there were encouraging signs that things were back on track. Rashica's long-awaited return from injury was rewarded with his first City goal. A two-nil defeat to West Ham was followed by three wins in a row. Two in the PL and another in the FA Cup Fourth Round. These performances were all solid and well-deserved. The defence was in good shape with Hanley and Williams being outstanding. The midfield was performing well with Lees-Melou finally showing some form. Up front Idah had been paired with Pukki and he responded with a goal and some fine performances. Rashica continued his run of good form and The Sarge scored his first two goals in the PL. The draw v Palace started well with a thirty-eight second goal from Pukki but a good first-half showing was negated by the team being over-run in the second-half with a penalty miss by Zaha and some good saves by Gunn saving City's blushes.
The Came Pep
The mini-revival came to a crashing halt with the arrival at Carrow Road of Man City. The billionaires from the North-West had thumped Farke's team five-nil back in August. They were also on a long winning run and were twelve points clear at the top of the PL. City put up a brave show in the first-half and were unlucky to be a goal behind. Hanley hit the post before Man City score their first goal. An early second-half goal seemed to knock out the Canary stuffing and four-nil defeat followed. I have to say that I felt four-nil flattered them even though they were by far the better team. For me, the match high-lighted everything that is wrong with the PL. Man City were in the doldrums when their Saudi owners arrived and pumped billions into the club. Now look at them. A class apart. The yearly salaries of a few of their players combined are more than our entire club is worth. A fair playing field? I don't think so. Oh, well .... it's only Liverpool next.
Review
An interesting season so far to say the least. Dismal performances. Farke sacked. Smith arrives. Instant improvement hampered by illness and injuries and a relegation battle influenced by other teams having far greater resources at their disposal. The incoming players have improved, especially Rashica and Williams. Gunn has gained in confidence and made some good saves. Hanley and Gibson have improved as a pairing but Aarons is having an inconsistent time. Normann has been missed but Lees-Melou, Sorenson and Placheta have stepped up when needed. Sargent will be a real asset to this club. I know I am in a minority but I think this lad can be a really good player. He is improving all the time and I just wish people would appreciate his qualities and not go on and on about some mistakes he has made. He reminds me of Dirk Kuyt. The old warhorse Pukki is still tucking them away and Idah is another who is improving. Smith and Shakespeare have, in my opinion, improved the squad all-round. They are doing a fine job and, if relegation comes, I feel these are the guys who can get us back up fairly quickly. Sure, reinforcements are needed, but we have the nucleus already to compete, if not in the PL, but in The Championship next season. I get sick and tired of the people who keep prattling on about us needing a billionaire owner etc. We are doing OK as we are. We have a good management team in place and the team is improving. Stop looking backwards or elsewhere. Look to our future. OTBC.
Ratings for the Season So Far
Krul - 7
Gunn - 6
Aarons - 5
Gibson - 7
Hanley - 8
Kabak - 5
Giannoulis - 5
Rupp - 5
Gilmour - 5
Byram - 6
Dowell - 5
McLean - 5
Placheta - 6
Rashica - 8
Normann - 8
Williams - 8
Lees-Melou - 6
Sargent - 6
Idah - 6
Pukki - 7
Tszolis - 4
Thank you.
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