Still on the miracle theme, DF promises hard work for survival: "Tottenham was a brilliant first step for what is the second part of the season. I can't guarantee we will stay in this league, but I can guarantee we fight until the last game day. Palace is another great opportunity to win some points at home and this is the mood we will prepare ourselves." It looks unlikely, but all we can ask for is that kind of commitment and balanced tactics like we've had in recent matches. If we can steer clear of injuries and continue to pick up points we could close the gap, but we need other teams to drop points to achieve that. Our fate is not in our own hands, but the first target is Watford and getting off the bottom of the table. Wins produce confidence and that is the key to our style of play. A win today would be a good start.
We'll it still is as there are still plenty of 6 pointers to play. The first one being the home game against Bournemouth on the 18th.
IMO a win today would be far more than a good start; or maybe I should put it the other way round, failure to win today would be the worst possible start. Palace average less than a goal a game, with the second lowest GF total in the league. How come they are sitting comfortably in 9th place with 27 points? Surprise, surprise, they can actually defend! Any chance of surviving playing as we are is predicated on our attacking play. Palace are pretty toothless, so all we have to do is score ........ isn't it? Clearly Lawro and his guest think so; they both have us down to win.
The BBC aren't so confident of a City win: "[Norwich] were the only Premier League side without a win in December, despite leading in five of their seven matches. The Canaries dropped 12 points from winning positions, the most by a team in a single month in Premier League history."
To make matters worse, Villa, Southampton and Watford all won today. If we fail to win our situation will be very bleak indeed.
At least this is a new month so we haven't further extended our December record. Just as a matter of interest, does anyone still want to insist that we are competitive in this league?
Meanwhile, Paddy Davitt has entered the tactical debate: https://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city...nchester-united-premier-league-test-1-6453807 He suggests an approach like that which we used at Leicester: "Norwich were circumspect, well organised and willing to counter-punch through the guile of Emi Buendia and the endeavour of Teemu Pukki. The Finn may not be risked as he looks to recover from hamstring and toe problems, but Adam Idah showed in less rarefied surroundings at Preston he possesses the same knack and composure bursting between centre backs to unsettle even the likes of a Harry Maguire." In addition to his pace and strength, Idah could offer another variation within our normal style. At 6'3", he can also operate as a target man up front, as he demonstrated with his glancing header just wide of the post at Preston. If we are forced into long kicks at times, at least he has a better chance of winning headers in the opposition half, from corners or from crosses. He can also play like Pukki though, so Buendia, Cantwell and Stiepermann (or others) can provide through balls for him to run on to. Given that this is a 'bonus match' where our expectations are low, I'd love to see him get a chance to impress.
In other news, it seems the injury curse is moving elsewhere for a change as ManUtd have up to 8 players injured or very doubtful for our visit. As well as that, "Aston Villa have just received two knockout blows that both goalkeeper Tom Heaton and first-choice striker Wesley have been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury. It is crushing news for Dean Smith’s side as they attempt to avoid an immediate return to the Championship, having just escaped the relegation zone."
I registered on the Telegraph site only to find every single one of their football writers saying we'll be relegated. It's a record -- the first time I've ever agreed with a Telegraph writer ........
Is this what everyone else sees for Friday press conferences before games? Just timelines without content?
It comes up that way because they report the presser in a series of tweets (why is beyond me). If you wait, the blanks should eventually reveal their Twitter content from the Presser.