One other thing on this whole hindsight/foresight business

If you watch enough football, you can get a feel for the game - and I swear you can tell the general state of a team. I knew we were doomed throughout 2008/9: friends of mine tried to point to other sides, but there was a smell of death about us, and it happened.

Conversely, last season, because our initial run of games was so comfortable, I never got carried away, and was always thinking about just finishing 17th: though I was very, very encouraged by our displays at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford.

But then came QPR away. We were streetwise, cussed, and did to them what so many sides have done to us over the years, with Lambert putting Warnock in his pocket too. That was it for me. We were safe: far, far too good to go down, just as in a different way, we were obviously going up the moment we got Huckerby on a permanent deal in Dec '03.

We only had 25 points after QPR - but it was obvious we'd be fine. Whereas this season, even when we had the 10 game run, we were just scratching out results with a predictable style. Every single league win has been by one goal: every single one. And that'll never work for longer than in the very short term: we were always in trouble, and just papering over the cracks before an inevitable post-Xmas slide.

You can tell. You really can. I could in December 1994 too. An Arsenal supporting mate asked me why Norwich fans were on Chase's back despite us being 7th: I replied "mate, we're not safe. Not safe at all. Have you seen our run-in? And the thing is, we're s**t". He remembered that conversation come May.

This isn't bad luck: it's completely our own doing. And 1-0 wins over Arsenal or even Man Utd (the latter via a very, very good performance) don't mean that much: it depends on how hard it is for the team to win football matches. And therefore both on how much quality it has, and how the manager is setting up. I'd have expected McNally to spot this too; he doesn't appear to have done so until it was too late. :(

Posted By: thebigfeller on May 5th 2013 at 20:27:26

Message Thread

One other thing on this whole hindsight/foresight business (NCFC) - thebigfeller, May 5, 20:27:26
- One of the more bizarre phenomena this season (NCFC) - norway, May 5, 21:10:31
  - Yes, it has been bizarre... (NCFC) - Dandy Highburyman, May 5, 21:16:25
- Completely agree. Thought we would go down since about game 5 of the unbeaten run. (NCFC) - Tony Martin, May 5, 20:35:37
- a lot of our draws have been against teams (NCFC) - SCC 28, May 5, 20:33:51
  - Exactly. Because come the business end, it's dog eat dog (NCFC) - thebigfeller, May 5, 20:36:17
- PS. Oh, and this isn't a self-congratulatory post either. Far from it. (NCFC) - thebigfeller, May 5, 20:31:13
  - I think everybody knew we were struggling to score goals (NCFC) - mr carra, May 5, 20:47:48
  - if it was that obvious (NCFC) - Henclrikus, May 5, 20:41:35
    - I've been demanding we learn the lessons of 94/5 since October. We haven't. (NCFC) - thebigfeller, May 5, 20:46:27
      - Oh, and PS. Arsenal? It worked for Arsenal IN CUP COMPETITIONS (NCFC) - thebigfeller, May 5, 20:48:18

Reply to Message

In order to add a post to the WotB Message Board you must be a registered WotB user.

If you are not yet registered then please visit the registration page. You should ensure that their browser is setup to accept cookies.