Ps I am very happy. We beat the team that will probably be in the top two - was expecting a thumping so am extremely happy
Chemistry not there yet. Troy's passes to Gray when he had a chance to be in on goal were overhit. And I wouldn't say plenty of sitters as both players have been injured for a good while this season. I seem to recall at one point we didn't have any fit strikers. Give them some more time (if we aren't getting anyone better in).
It's a real problem for our team who constantly miss so many decent chances. Gray characteristically missed two sitters, Deeney swings a leg and misses one, but the worst of the lot was Perica's. My god, he was just like a rabbit in the headlights and just didn't know what to do in that situation. Just side foot it past the keeper for god's sake. Only one shot on target was pathetic given the quality of chances we had. Anyway, apart from our woeful finishing (which will only ever improve with action in the transfer market) it was a decent performance. I'm relieved we won and that Munoz is not a car crash. The players were up for it and I thought he did well tactically. Norwich were subdued for much of the game, and Ivic's legacy of a well drilled defense served us well tonight, but we played with a lot more freedom going forward and players looked far happier away from the dictatorship of the previous guy. But for probably the best saving tackle you'll ever see (Masina) then it could have been just a point and I think people would be a little more disappointed. A lot of credit to the referee for not giving a penalty in that situation. It's early days, but tonight had a lot more positives than negatives. I loved the reaction of the players congratulating Munoz in the clips after the game. If Munoz can create that togetherness, and has some tactical aptitude then it could actually work.
Except 2nd most points in the PL in 2020 is not "went to ****". They did have a period of burn out not long after he got a long-term deal when they were crap, but that was partly due to having a very small squad - so far that slump looks like the blip/anomaly, while overall they've been very good under him.
Should have scored 3 or 4. Thier GK was woeful under pressure which helped a lot but that was a far more comfortable performance and entertaining viewing. Our defence man for man is above average until you compare to the challenging teams where it is on par, so if we can get some finishing going we'll be OK.
Surely you understand the analogy?? The Man Utd players hated Mourinho, he left and they suddenly became incredible, Ole got the job and they became ****, so **** that an eventually relegated Watford beat them. Not to mention a month or so back Ole was one game away from the sack if they didn’t beat Everton. Feel free to discount it as an analogy if you insist on being Uber pedantic though.
As long as Gray gets into the right positions in the box, and we win a penalty or 2 to keep Deeney's tally ticking over I will keep believing.
If I could summarise that performance in a single word I'd say: Encouraging. In slightly more, albeit drunken detail, like many on here I had strong doubts about the appointment of Xisco and that win was very important in allaying any potential fears. Obviously it's far too early to be fully convinced, but there were plenty of positives, some nice 1 touch passing that saw us get in behind a number of times (including Sarr unleashed at last, although there were still moments he could've tried taking on his man) and a good number of chances created (even if they did fall to Gray). Norwich had plenty of possession but struggled to turn it into meaningful shots (0.78 xG to our 1.9 xG) which is again credit to the system deployed today. Before the game I was nervous about our CB partnership but both played well enough (even if Wilmots challenge on Pukki in the area did have me on the edge of the seat). But if that's what Xisco can do after 6 days with the team then i'm excited to see what the future holds.
What I find weird is that Sky said Norwich had 16 attempts to our 7, but it seemed like they had hardly any actual chances? Also it shows how misleading the shots on target stat is that’s often used, we had one but we missed about five sitters.
I thought they looked like a carbon copy of their Premier league team last season they passed themselves into trouble and were poor playing against a high press, they also struggled physically and were easy to get in behind.
Has anybody got any stats on whether Deeney/Gray are the worst performing strikers in the Championship?
We did a fantastic job of frustrating him. He lost his focus and dragged a few shots which he'd have normally popped into the top corner.
Agree. Another thing all of Norwich possession was kept from dangerous positions for the most part, they found it hard to break us down as we got back in numbers and our shape was good. I know we can only beat what’s in front of us but Norwich we’re crying out for a big number 9 to come off the bench and deliver some crosses into our box ( which plenty of champ teams will do ) for all their tiki taki football today I think they could still be playing and not score. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Embarrassing that anyone wanted to wait and see before writing off Xisco, Pozzo disgrace etc etc. One win doesn't mean he's the right man either, but to out-think someone like Farke and outplay arguably the best side in the league, with about 4 training sessions, is very impressive indeed. Viva Xisco!
Not sure if it’s been mentioned already but I thought the ref was fantastic tonight. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Indeed. Norwich are a powerhouse in this league and the fact they didn’t deserve anything reflects on our good performance not that they aren’t good at this level.
You’d probably be slightly annoyed if you were a Norwich fan, but trying to be as objective as possible I think he handled Sarr spot on. No way was that third incident worthy of a second yellow, even though 5 minutes earlier he’d just given him a proper talking to about making anymore fouls.
Xisco has my absolute backing. Looks like he creates a good atmosphere. Pozzo remains indisputably an incompetent fool though.
Was inconsistent to me early on but I liked his common sense approach and also not too fussy. Overall he was good.
