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This whole season is starting to stink. Alas, it's an all-too familiar smell as well.

19th October 2008 By Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

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Stan should have known better than to have raised his hopes to anywhere above 'We're doomed…' However, as football fans around the world do, only a few short weeks back he began to imagine better times lay ahead.

Get this drivel, scribed by yours truly, a mere month back after what has proved to be the only decent performance of the season to date.

'Is this the turning point we have craved for so long? Is this where we begin the new phase in Norwich history? Will we look back in years to come and nod sagely at the mere mention of Home Park?'

Err?. No, seems to be answer to that little beauty.

Since this, how shall we put it, 'high point' of the season, City have gained a glorious four points out of 18, scoring a truly magnificent two goals in the six matches along the way.

 
Any number of 'We were unlucky…', 'We have injuries…', or 'We didn't take our chances…' is going to disguise the fact that this is utterly unacceptably, undeniably crap!

On top of all this, as if merely to compound the gloom, City's name is now tarnished by allegations of match-fixing. Although Stan, believes and hopes, with all his heart, that we are not complicit in any way, the spectre casts a long shadow over the club.

The response of the Football Association and Derby in declaring that it was wrong for MPs to raise this issue in the Commons has merely incensed Stan more. Maybe the FA don't appreciate the enormous impact that this sort of thing has on fans.

Stan's become used to watching rubbish over the years, but were it to be proved that more Machiavellian reasons lay behind some of this dross, the fundamental tenet on which Stan's love for the game was formed will have been terminally undermined.

Maybe, Norman Lamb and Ian Gibson, as fans, understand more than the stuffed suits exactly what the implications for us all would be, should wrong-doing be proved.

Meanwhile, back in the West Country, the Asian gambling markets could have saved themselves a lot of hassle and just bet on us duffing up and not scoring. We started brightly, picked up a couple of injuries and then defended a set-piece like a bunch of amateurs and lost.

If I'd been the bookie I wouldn't even have given them 2-1 on for that!

If it wasn't so tragically predictable, it would be funny. We are simply not good enough, and at present have the smell of Leicester 2007/2008 about us. The individuals within the squad should translate into a half decent team, but for whatever reason they simply don't.

All fingers seem to be pointing at the loan players. Will they go crashing into a 50/50 ball for the Norwich cause?

Will they go that extra 5% that is the difference between 1-0 and 0-1? Are they bothered at all? Kennedy looks like he is, but he's injured anyway. Bertrand?? Mmm .. Maybe. Sibierski??. Next!

The logic of improving the quality of the squad by loans to gain advantage in this league has been proved.

Birmingham went up a couple of seasons back using this method, however these signings were bolted onto a decent spine, incidentally containing a certain M Taylor.

 
Due to the rotation of players, injuries and generally lacking quality in certain areas have we haven't got close to such luxury as a decent spine. What's more, we look unlikely anytime soon to resolve this. With no money to spend, exactly what happens come January?

Stan has also become increasingly worried about the lack of clear chances we create. Roeder continually bangs on about missing hatfuls of them, but from Stan's Championship-watching experience what we are creating are at best half-chances and there is not the quality at this level to consistently score these.

It would be interesting to see what percentage of Championship goals are scored from within ten yards of goal.

City don't seem capable for getting the ball into these areas with any accuracy or threat. Sadly we aren't Manchester United. We don't have Rooney and Ronaldo at our disposal.

Glimpses of goal rarely get punished at this level, and especially by players who seem to be frozen with fear when sight of goal materialises.

Stan accepts that he's being particularly down beat, but he really believed that he'd said good-bye to this sort of disharmony and despondency when we limped across the finish line last season.

Sadly, it looks like being a long, hard winter ahead both on and of the field, and after the dreadful four years that have preceded it Stan's cupboard, like City's, is looking increasingly bare.


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