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"A lovely Hygienist" ACN Pod 150
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First Clement game was awful. A couple of us are keeping positive that there's still time to turn this around. The person actually at the game on Saturday is going to need to see these players actually perform somewhere near their best a couple of times to believe it. 2 home wins this week are essential. Can we do it?
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Transcript
Introduction and Season Overview
00:00:22
Speaker
Welcome to the Long Come Norwich podcast, where impossibly immersed imbibers of inch-by-inch misery mull over our imperfect, immovable, imminently imploding canaries and their embittered season. It was an impolite initiation for an already-in-battle Philippe Clement as he embarked on his first match in charge of the relegation certainty Norwich City, an emphatically embarrassing defeat in Birmingham.
00:00:45
Speaker
Claire, we're going down and there's nothing Clement can do about it. I love that that's a statement rather than a question. No question mark. The print the the punctuation is a full stop.
00:00:55
Speaker
It might be for you. No, I don't think it's a definite yet. We're certainly doing a very good impression of a team that um want to go down or look like they're going to
Challenges and Urgency for Improvement
00:01:06
Speaker
go down. And obviously, the more games that go on that we don't pick anything up, the smaller the margin for error is going forward. And you know The turnaround's got to be quick anyway, and it it's got to be even quicker. if we If we don't pick anything up in the week at home, then it is looking pretty terrifying.
00:01:26
Speaker
But the guys had three days with us, not even that with some of the players. And in all honesty, I hoped we would get a point at Birmingham, but i honestly didn't think we were going to get anything. It's a really tough place to go, even if we were doing well. They're really good at home. They've won their last two home games 4-0. So, you know, it was never, ever going to be easy, even if we were doing okay. And in our circumstances, you know, definitely not going to be easy. So we can't really tell after three, three days and a game away at Birmingham that nothing is going to have shifted that, that quickly, that significantly, but he's hopefully he's learned a lot and he seems like he's really up for the fight.
Clement's Determination and Team Challenges
00:02:08
Speaker
I loved his, um, post-match interview, um,
00:02:12
Speaker
He didn't look phased at all. he know He looks like he's ready for it. He knows what he's up against. He knew before he knew before Saturday what he was up against. um And he didn't look scared, which was something we were seeing with Liam Manning, who looked terrified towards the end. So it's not over yet. um We're not even halfway through the season. So we've got to pick up points quickly. But no, we're not relegated yet. And yes, he can turn things around.
00:02:38
Speaker
I hope. not On the... um the So ah two two points on what you said there. The first thing is um I didn't expect us to look you know like a great team after that very, very short, not even full week that he had with the players. I did hope that there would be some, and we talked about this last week, I yeah i did hope there'd be some shoots of green, some green leaves, something that looked different, something, even if it was five minutes here, five minutes there, it wasn't. I mean, it was worse. i mean it's worse It was the worst the worst I've seen us play. I mean, it was abysmal. was our worst defeat of the season, ironically, wasn't it? Well, I mean, it was, I would,
00:03:14
Speaker
result of what ah aside going number of goals aside uh we looked lowering confidence i mean obviously conceding that early was didn't help to say the least but we looked like we were going to seed from the first second like we looked that we it wasn't even like a good first three minutes um that that so yeah he he totally gets a pass in terms of birmingham ah but on his post-match comments, i was i and sort of his comments in his pre-match press conference as well, I am really concerned about how much he's leaning into um the the nine players who are out. yeah on the one On the one side, because...
00:03:55
Speaker
ah that excuse is not going to carry any water because of the players that are missing. And as in, they're not that good. And secondly, and i worry that he is putting too much stock in the fact that don't worry, we've got nine lads to come back. I've seen them lads.
00:04:14
Speaker
but Like Mahovo's decent, but ah none of the others are relegation scrap like fighters. Like that none of the others are. Our best attacking options are all fit. And we are not getting the ball to them. We do not have anyone injured.
00:04:28
Speaker
with the with If you are being incredibly kind, Diallo maybe will supply um Sarge, Fiskoran and Makama better. But other than that, the cavalry is not coming. And January is a long way away. And that's if we sign people on the 1st of January. We could easily be too far adrift by them. What reckon, and Pump?
00:04:52
Speaker
um Thank you for cheering me up. That's it it was It was easily... No, it wasn't easily. No, because this is that there's a pretty lu low bar to go from.
00:05:05
Speaker
it I think it is the worst that I've seen a Norwich back four play for some time. And I said it on our WhatsApp chat. Back five, please. You must you must not leave. Kovacovic was awful. He made a couple of smart stops. I thought he made a couple of smart stops. But yeah, ah he couldn't come from.
00:05:22
Speaker
come forward. He was, well, ah look, going to go through one by one in a minute. So you, you carry on and then I will eviscerate the entire fucking 11 apart from the four that like.
00:05:32
Speaker
I wonder if Kelly's in that. um What I will say is that, yeah, the the back four were genuinely woeful. I mean, it it was just, as I say, collectively and individually.
00:05:44
Speaker
I'm not sure I've seen us that disorganised at the back. Look, I don't think they had an awful lot of protection in front of them either. I think the the way in which we allowed Birmingham to get into wide areas was proper worry.
00:05:57
Speaker
But, and here's the mitigation for me, Birmingham were probably the best side that I'd seen us play this season, ah maybe with the exception of Kov. ah They just moved the ball really quickly. They moved the ball really, really well. They looked well coached. They looked well organised. And whilst they've got quite a few experienced players there...
00:06:19
Speaker
apart from a couple of lads, like I wouldn't say that any of them are well-beaters. Murray Gray is a very good player. Stansfield looked good. Weirdly, that you know the lad that we nearly signed um under Farker, what's his name, Marvin Dux, looked pretty decent in terms of his movement. Did you hear what they sang when he scored?
00:06:38
Speaker
No. we forgot that you could score. I'm not, I'm not sure. First goals. It was his first goals for Birmingham or first goal for Birmingham. Did he get one or two? I can't remember. Um,
00:06:50
Speaker
But we were really, really bad. But I thought Birmingham were definitely up there with with the best sides that we've played this season. And our confidence is absolutely on the floor. you know kind of There's this no doubt about that. So, you know, as Yaz said, the only way has to be up really, doesn't Well, no. I mean, it could go down.
00:07:12
Speaker
Well, i don't I don't think that we can play as badly. That may be a bold statement given the trajectory of our season. That's what I'm hoping. We can play as badly. We can't play worse. I agree. I don't think we can play worse. So what you're agreeing is... We cannot be worse. wouldn't put it past But to come to your point around, you know, the nine players out and, you know, kind of look, I think Mojovo, think Krizenรฉ, I think all, you know, definitely add value. I think Diallo adds value in terms of, you know, look, if it's Kellan Fisher at left back or Ben Krizenรฉ at left back, It's Ben Krasene, isn't it? Yeah, but what does that materially change? Krasene has looked just as feeble in defence as Fischer. I think that's harsh. I think that's really harsh. Fischer stunk up the joint yesterday, but... Yeah, he's been played out of position, I think, for Fischer. Krasene is a...
00:08:09
Speaker
<unk> as a fine fullback but what but but we had really bad fullback so if we put a fine i i in i would also say as well even if you give him a even if you give him a 10 lift with chris any that's not get us out of the shit we need to win like five games in a row lift diallo a little bit more creativity i would also say and this is a point that i'd i'd heard made elsewhere on another pod um and i and it kind of hadn't clicked with me um Philip Clement was in for Jose Cordoba ah at the same time that Norwich signed him, which I think, don't make that face, Thomas.
00:08:42
Speaker
um He is dog shit. He's better than Duffy. He's an upgrade on Duffy, isn't he? So would you have Cordoba and Darling? You're an upgrade on Duffy, Claire. You're an upgrade on Duffy, John. Yeah, well, I'm faster than him, so yes. But...
00:08:54
Speaker
yeah like you know There needs to be a change of personnel. There needs to be a change in you a kind of mentality shift. And sometimes it's new players. And but look, the point is Clement or maybe you know someone at Rangers saw similar things in Cordoba that that Norwich saw. And maybe there is a player in there.
00:09:12
Speaker
um So I think there are players that will come back and will improve our starting XI. Liam Gibbs, to be fair, you know, kind of I've been a real critic of Gibbs, but, you know, in terms of his endeavour and actually ability to get around a pitch, you know, kind of maybe he would have helped yesterday as well. There are players that... The thing is, though, like there might more players that are injured by the time they come back. He's also... That's my other concern. Yeah, we might have Sarge might be out. We don't know what's coming. Don't say that. They're not all going to be fit for the rest of the season. No, they're not. But I think it is incredibly harsh that we have nine, ten injuries. It is. It's probably expected that you'd have four or five at any one time. I think there are players that will come back and will marginally improve the starting XI. I also don't think that we'll play many teams...
00:09:58
Speaker
that played like Birmingham did on Saturday. It was the occasion
Upcoming Matches and Strategy Discussion
00:10:01
Speaker
as well. And we called it out yeah before we called it out last week. They absolutely did. So their new stupid Quidditch stadium, which is looks absolutely ridiculous, and which they're never going to fill. And then they've also got the, um you know, the 150th thing. Like it was, it was full by about quarter to,
00:10:15
Speaker
that were never so state it was full by it by about quarter two I mean, they were in this because they had, like they had, yeah, Mikhail Fossil was back. Fawson was back. Sorry. No, Fossil was right. First time. Fawson's our guy. and so Like they had like lots and lots of like, and like there's video of Jude up on the screen. like mean, it was, the place was absolutely. They had the little TIFO as well. They had the TIFO, which is generated by AI, i think. He was very confusing. and But, um yeah. yeah um No, so we we didn't play the occasion. and No, we didn't. And I think we've got a pivotal week here where, look, if we even if we just win the one of them and we have to win one of them, but there's there's no getting around that. We have to win one of those games at least and you'd hope that it's Oxford. Yeah.
00:11:03
Speaker
look Little mood shifts, they help. But Claire has made this point ad nauseum on every pod when we've tried to go, oh, this squad is shit. Claire has been very, I'm not sure they're shit. I think, you know there are some good players in there.
00:11:16
Speaker
They just, I think, you know, for me, the the issue is they are lacking leaders. They are absolutely lacking leaders all over the park. Harry Darling has regressed into you know something which resembles Shane Duffy. So then you've got two centre-backs who are completely appalling. um And it has to be baby steps. It has to be baby steps in terms of you know kind of confidence gaining. So I hope that's that's a win on Tuesday because, look, Oxford aren't any great shakes. We've played so many teams that you know kind of aren't brilliant, but but we have to register something. The one thing I will say as well,
00:11:49
Speaker
Well, the other thing I will say about um Saturday is I thought we were marginally like ever so slightly better in terms of chance creation, in terms of just taking a ball on when we perhaps wouldn't have done under Manning. We'd have maybe shifted it so side to side or, you know, we'd we'd have looked for something that wasn't there. I thought we were slightly more intelligent in terms of,
00:12:09
Speaker
The way in which we ran into you know channels or ran into different spaces or created space, it was a little bit better. We did have three or four reasonably decent opportunities to score goals. Now, look, Birmingham had like nine or ten that they you know that potentially they should have put away. Yeah. And they were three or four up.
00:12:29
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I don't know. They sat right back. of We had a great chance at 2-1. And that goes in and then, you know, it's a sliding doors moment, isn't it? um You know, but they defended that well. We didn't defend well at all. um But, you know, I'm looking, I'm just looking for slivers of light because, know, kind of ultimately yeah we we were bad. yeah There's no getting around that.
00:12:50
Speaker
But did the on on the confidence thing, the... um the The fans have lost confidence in the players. and the you know they you know So I'm stood there with 1,999 other fans, and they are the ones that have actually seen us win. They're the ones that have actually seen us get points, right? So in theory, the away fan base should...
00:13:13
Speaker
have maybe a little bit more confidence than than a home fan base. I know obviously lots of that there is crossover there. um But Kovacevic isn't looking the Norwich fans in the eye after the first goal goes in. You know, like he has to walk back in the direction to get his little towel. He has to walk back...
00:13:31
Speaker
directly towards the away fans and he's got his head down the entire time shaking his head it does not look like i watched him the whole way doesn't risk looking up doesn't want to catch because he was getting pelters um the so let's let's let's go through the team um kovacevic made a couple of okay stops yeah however he has completely stopped moving off his line because his confidence is completely sharp The number of chances that were created for Birmingham by him not coming and getting the ball in his six-yard box. that but He was letting the ball bounce and expecting Darling to deal with it or expecting Duffy to deal with it. I think it was their third goal, once-before-half-time.
00:14:12
Speaker
that that is that should That shouldn't have happened if Kovacevic just shows any kind of confidence and comes and gets a fist on it, which in the first few weeks of the season he was doing. It's another case of aggression. Now, I know he can make incredible saves. I've seen it this season at this level.
00:14:27
Speaker
So he's one where you think if you can get the confidence and if you can get the turnaround, I can believe that he can be one of the better keepers in the division in the second half of the season because I've seen him you know pull off worldies, sometimes two, three in a game. So I've seen it. So I i know he's got that ability, but clement and And obviously there's there's now disruption because you know Ben Napa basically said we without as many words that Tony, tony's the goalkeeper coach, is off. So we need a new goalkeeper. We're getting a new col goalkeeper coach. That hasn't happened yet. So he's he's sort of he's losing the person who's been his cheerleader up to now.
00:15:00
Speaker
So they need to get but around him and get him coming to claim things again because he wasn't a presence. like he was and He was a non non-factor. And as soon as they realised that, A, there was no pressure on the crosses for the first 20 minutes,
00:15:12
Speaker
Greg and and Sandsfield, they could just put the ball in, yeah know, doing that old thing of like putting their foot on top, putting the studs on top of the ball, rolling out of their feet and then picking where they wanted to pepper it in. You can't do that. Like over half of the championship have got wide players who, if you give them the opportunity to get the ball out of the feet and swing going ball out like nine times out of 10, it's going to be ah a painful ball. If you combine that with a goalkeeper who won't leave his line and he's scared and wants his defenders to, to deal with it, eight yards out.
00:15:39
Speaker
That's a recipe for disaster. And all three goals came from balls into the box that we did not deal with three or four times. and the marking was a bismal. So darling was nowhere near his man on multiple occasions. Um, we had a really good view, unfortunately, um of the big screen, the opposite us, um, uh,
00:16:01
Speaker
So we had the replays and they'd like a replay like five or six times. The replays are still going on well into the game restarting. and Fair enough, because it was them scoring. um and we And basically the entire away end was just at each replay picking out a different person who wasn't stood anywhere near.
00:16:19
Speaker
yeah a blue shirt in a box. And and it was Darling again and again. You know, Duffy is is remonstrating with everyone and and it's and it's never his fault. Like you see him in the flesh.
00:16:30
Speaker
he this The turning circle is so so slow. He plays the ball out to Stacey so slowly. Very, very rarely that both Kvacevic and him were loathe to pass the ball to Darling. Darling received the ball very like very rarely, which again,
00:16:44
Speaker
he He was the better of the two, him and Medic in the early start of the season. He was he was playing out with the from the back better and it was Medic that was giving us kind of heart attacks. um The two fullbacks, I mean, Fisher, one, he's shit at corners, so get him off corners. And and two, he was, i know he's out of position, but he was really poor.
00:17:07
Speaker
His best work came running forward. Ironically, he that that was he made two or three of, the best runs I've seen him make. But in defensively, he was he was dreadful.
Player Performances and Defensive Concerns
00:17:18
Speaker
But unfortunately, in the first half, Jack Stacey was all at sea.
00:17:23
Speaker
He was petrified to go and stand anywhere near Damari Gray, who is a very, very good player at this level. um But the and he didn't touch Damari Gray until it was 2-0. And then he goes flying in I don't know if it's because a message has come across to him from the or the bench or that he was listening to all of the people behind him saying, will you lay a fucking glove on that player? Why are you not hitting anyone? Why are you not getting involved? Because then he started sliding in everywhere and he got booked to whatever it was, like half an hour in, because he started flying into tackles all the time. It's like, if you'd have done that in the first five minutes, we don't go down.
00:17:54
Speaker
We're not one nil down after three minutes. Into midfield, Topic, I mean, he had a couple of runs again where, yeah to your point, Punt,
00:18:05
Speaker
There were a couple of times when he got his head up and ran into space and you thought, oh, okay, cool. Yeah, that's that's positive if you're going to start doing that. But too often the final ball was then actually, oh, I'm getting a bit far forward. I'm getting a nosebleed. I'll turn back and pass it back to Duffy again. We had them turned facing their own goal and ended up with the ball with our centre-backs several times in the first half because we were almost confident enough to do it. And then we got a bit scared because it meant we had to take on another player and we don't to we're already 2-0 down.
00:18:32
Speaker
and Kenny was okay. and But what i the reason that he gets one of the four passes more than anything is because of the...
00:18:44
Speaker
and he was the He was the furthest player backwards that showed any kind of passion, like any kind of passion. and he it This is hurting him. you know He loves his football club. He's won this league twice.
00:18:55
Speaker
He's just come off one of the nights of his life as a footballer, um never going to have to buy a drink in Scotland again. Not that I think he struggles to get hold of alcohol six, but like he's he never going to struggle to get hold of a drink in Scotland again, right? And then a few days later, he's he's been book brought down to that. And he was apoplectic in all directions. And rightly so. so and Sarge ran his socks off. Makama looks like a really good signing. We have to stop playing him on the right-hand side. Because again, if the Stacey's having a nightmare, Makama's not help, bless him. Like he was trying to get close to Gray and he did actually manage to force him back a couple of times. But he is not a fullback. He's not a right-sided player. He's not wing player. And that's a whole new skill set he's got to learn. He's a number nine. And so why we can't adjust the formation to play with those two next to each other. So the other gets a pass is Matty. I thought he had a relatively good game. Didn't do a lot wrong. Got very little service. Sarge beat four players maybe five times in the second half.
00:20:01
Speaker
I mean, that just it was it was almost like... there were so many times where he had done such a brilliant job that there was 40 yards between him and the next pink shirt because he, he had just got going on these mazy runs, trying to create something for himself. And to your point, Claire, about people getting injured, that was exactly what went through my mind on about 65 minutes on Saturday yesterday. Um, was, I am worried he because he was like really stretching for balls and like, like really, like he was really working hard and you think, ah, don't ping something in this game that we're clearly going to lose. Um,
00:20:33
Speaker
And then, ah is that my, that's three, that's it, that's my four. They're my four players. Short-tail completely hid, didn't come and find the ball, didn't come and get the ball, didn't help Fisher at all. Shame, because again, he was one of the few people at the end of the Manning era who seemed to actually feel like dribbling a bit.
00:20:49
Speaker
it was It was rotten. It was absolutely rotten. And um it was it was so clear from 20 minutes in that we'd all wasted our time.
00:21:00
Speaker
And the disconnect between the play. And yeah, we sang after we pulled one back and we went, ooh, and put our hands on head when we missed a couple of chances. But we all knew. we like you could you know, you can just tell, particularly in a way group, because such a smaller set of you. The collective feeling, the collective mood was so low and it was so despondent. um It was really, really...
00:21:24
Speaker
a really really miserable experience. And I was a lot more confident that we could get out of it on Saturday lunchtime. Just seeing how abject some of the players that we have got to rely on over the next few weeks to try and get us a point.
00:21:40
Speaker
I think you're right, Punt, in the whole stopped clock thing. I think we probably will win one of these next two games because like I know Oxford have picked up a few points recently, but they've got to be shit because look where they are.
00:21:51
Speaker
um And eventually we are going to get we are going to get win at home. like we've got to get a penalty or something might go go our way at some point. You know, they might get a player sent off. Someone might lose their head, right? You'd think eventually we'll get some luck.
00:22:03
Speaker
It's just whether or not Clement can turn that into something. but And the final thing I'll say on it is the other thing that worried me was his selection. So he's had right all week.
00:22:15
Speaker
ah You could have argued that Kenny starts on the bench, And Wright comes in because he hasn't seen Kenny and and like Kenny's captain and and might need ah might might need a break. And yeah, okay, if we lose 4-1 and Kenny isn't the team, you go, why did you not have your captain out there? But Wright, what has he got to do to get in this team? And then likewise, Duffy. I know that McGonville's been away on on on um international duty and apparently played really well.
00:22:39
Speaker
And I don't didn't don't think he's played very well when he has come in this season. But what what are you doing sending him out there? Do you not think though that, Maybe he having seen Duffy's performance on Saturday, especially the fourth goal, he said, you know, they've all got a white page.
00:22:57
Speaker
He is a voice in the dressing room. He's a big character. He's experienced. And that's why you put him in. That's what he said in the post-match interview. And you go, okay, but now having seen what he's seen, that is not a leader. His behaviour on the pitch, what he did for that fourth, I didn't really watch it. I was at work yesterday. I've only seen the highlights, but that fourth goal, the way he just, first he thought the goalie was come and get it. Oh, that was hilarious. When he was like absolutely miles away from it, then just stopped, then threw his hands in the air. like,
00:23:32
Speaker
what the what the hell are you doing like if he if he still thinks he's experienced and he's a leader and he's got the kind of mindset of the player that he wants on the pitch after seeing that on Saturday then I will be concerned but I truly hope that is actually the last we see of Duffy in in a yellow shirt um Well, a Norwich shirt anyway. He can go and play for Oxford or something, or Watford. Hopefully, it's actually a good thing in a way. Yeah, I think you're right. I think you're right that but this is just, he's no longer got a white page. He's got a page yeah full of red pen that's probably been scrawled by like a three-year-old. It's like the page is so fucked. It's it's unbelievable. Yeah. As you say, he was an absolute disgrace. like you know kind of That is up there with some of the all-time really poor Norwich City defensive performances. you it It really is.
00:24:28
Speaker
And the fact that we persist with him as a human being at this football club is a stain in a kind of you know on on Norwich City. there's There's no getting around that. you know he He has been a disgrace on the pitch, but he's been even worse off it. you know yeah He's shown who he is.
00:24:46
Speaker
He's shown who he is in, and you know, in seasons gone past as well, like arguing with with with with fans in in South Stand. Last season I sat there, um you know, in his versus, basically, he was ah um he was volleying abuse at some fan who was complaining that he wasn't moving the ball forwards or whatever. and you just think you i'm I'm sure it's really annoying, but you've got to block it out, lad. And yeah, he he's not, he is not, he, how he passed, i don't know how low our no dickhead test has gone, but how he passed whatever musters for, for, for like personality tests these days. That test had gone. We signed him and Ashley Barnes in the same window. I mean, you know, yeah that was no longer a test, was it?
00:25:24
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, he makes Ashley Barnes like a choir boy. But anyway, um going trying to be positive, um I think we'll ah enjoy the League One journey. like i ah honestly say i don't give up on that like Honestly, I can't. to be positive, we'll give up. I can't. I mean, it it it was, as i've got as i as I messaged you guys yesterday, that is as angry as I've been.
00:25:49
Speaker
he four Yeah, you you ranted. You were ranting. I hope that was cathartic. But its but the the point is, they are it was it was just how abject it was. It was how... it was how like Kenny was and angry, but sagege Sarge was was was showing his frustration by trying really hard to create something himself. And almost by going on these mazy runs, which a lot of the time got us way up the pitch and was very successful. showed a lot of great close control.
00:26:19
Speaker
he almost felt like he was trying to send a message to Clermont like what is this what you want me to do I have to like you know he made that joke in the in the press just before they sacked Manning like what have I got to do get the get the ball on the edge at the edge of the box and do it myself that sort of happened at Birmingham he was like okay fine I'll just do it myself then like but he looked so dejected it didn't help that they were all drowned rats either that's not you know it's not a great look it's not great to it's not ah it's very easy to look dejected when you're soaked through. So, yeah, what changes can he make? Let's try and be let's try and be positive then for Tuesday.
00:26:49
Speaker
and So, one, Oxford aren't great. Two, what changes do you want to see and make, Claire? Other than Duffy, you know, not even being in the 16 17, however many we get these days.
00:27:01
Speaker
ah I mean, he said it. that He can't really make many changes because of the players that are out. So, we're kind of stuck with who we've got. Duffy aside, hopefully, I mean, Medici, bless him, you know he's not any more mobile than Duffy, but at least his attitude's slightly, well, much more
Clement's Potential and Team Morale
00:27:18
Speaker
improved. So um I guess hopefully he'll be back in. um and And right, put Jacob in. He must be absolutely desperate to play.
00:27:31
Speaker
There's absolutely no harm in putting him in. And maybe put Kenny back at left-back and not Kellen because... he He didn't do great. As I said, I've only seen the highlights, but from what I saw, Kennan, he just looked he looked like a completely different player to last year. That's why i why I keep saying it. These are not rubbish players. They were not rubbish last year. Kellen Fisher was, what did he get like?
00:27:53
Speaker
second in the Second in the Barry Butler, I think. but i But this is the point I made on our group chat. like Was Johannes Hof Torrup just such a brilliant coach that was holding this massive shit show together and then suddenly like he falls out with...
00:28:09
Speaker
whatever players, you know, kind of, and it all, you know, kind of falls apart and he pisses off senior pros, which seems like that, you know, that's, that's what happened. Yeah. And, you know, the players do seem like they've probably got a little bit more, you know, kind of power than, than, than they should have at Colney. And look, this is, this is what's happened because we didn't have a strong sporting director, but there are that, I think I'm not saying that it's as simple as that.
00:28:32
Speaker
But what I would say is Clement does seem like he's a strong character. So if we need someone to get hold of this, if we need someone to... shake people, if we need someone to jettison, you know, kind of a really troublesome individual from the club, then hopefully Clement is that guy that will do it.
00:28:49
Speaker
But I think you're right, Clay. Like, right could easily come in. Kenny could switch to left back. I don't think it really matters who he plays at right fullback, whether that's Stacey or Kellen Fisher. you know it like You know, they're different players. I actually think there's probably an opportunity to, if we really want to attack them, is to stick Marcondes in the ten um Because I think he just, whilst I haven't been impressed with him this season at all, I think he'd link it a bit better than anyone else that we've got in the squad at the moment. You could have Chris Goren out on the left.
00:29:19
Speaker
Tom, know he'd be frustrated with it, but McCalm is still out on the right. I think he's doing pretty well there. And maybe he's suffering from the kind of first season sergeant syndrome where he's had to play wide right all the time. But he's doing a job for us, you kind of. an And he's he's showing some promise.
00:29:33
Speaker
But I think that as a as a line-up, might just get a little bit more. And, you know, who knows? Yeah, because Makama did well on the on the right in the, ah was it the Leicester game? he He was doing pretty well. I think he's having a good season. He had a tough game on Saturday. And I don't think we necessarily signed him as a nine. They did seem like they said he can play all the way across the line. It's just, he looks, he just physically looks like a striker, doesn't he? know He's imposing. Oh, yeah. You stick him up there. But also when he is there, when he is there, when they are within 10 yards of each other,
00:30:06
Speaker
good stuff happens. So you either go, well, let's, by all means, out out of position, he's the right-hand side. But then when we've got the ball, get him inside, get Chris Goran dropping in to to to or get him and Chris Goran to to slide slide right, whatever. Get the two of them closer together. i i To me, it just seems like he is such a handful in the box and he and Sargent seem to be such a threat when they're, you know like I say, next to each other, close to each other.
00:30:35
Speaker
the if we need Clermont to not be inflexible with his and formation, like, you know, to be fair, our last couple of managers, like where it felt like...
00:30:48
Speaker
um you know, tore up, we were ready to, tore up, we were really frustrated with how things dropped off and, and it, and no one could really put their finger on it. Um, Manning, things were all started off. So there was no confusion there. Um, it all just feels really rudderless at the moment. And yeah I wasn't as, you know, i I wasn't as exercised maybe before that performance as I am now, but we, it it feels like we are, um, at a real combustible point where,
00:31:20
Speaker
So many of those players, i I really mean it. Like the majority of that team, if they never played again, I would be okay. Because they they they would, I don't want players who can put in that lower level of, effort's the wrong word, because I do think there was application.
00:31:35
Speaker
But just to, I guess low confidence, but you're a professional footballer. Like it's your job to close people down. It's your job to tackle. It's your job to stay close. It's your job if you're goalkeeper to come and get a ball. It's your job as a centre-back to mark someone. I don't care how low on confidence you are. If we just get one win, i think that will shift. It's like, look at Liverpool.
00:31:57
Speaker
They won the the the Premier League last year. They were the best team in the whole country and they've lost six games out of seven. They lost 3-0 at home. like it's It's not just Norwich that are suffering from a lack of confidence. that It can happen to the best players in the world. you know So i just feel like if we just get...
00:32:17
Speaker
one win rather than repeated loss, loss, loss, loss. it Nobody can really deal with that mentally. It's very, very difficult when you get in that rut. So if we just get something this week, I think it will just shift shifts something inside their brains and just that little ounce of confidence creeps back in.
00:32:38
Speaker
the the thing that makes and make big difference The thing that makes me think, I don't necessarily think it will happen or believe or disbelieve it will happen um in terms of us being able to win Tuesday or Saturday. um But the thing that makes me think if we did win on particularly Tuesday, um that you could be right is that in during the Leicester game, when we were winning,
00:33:04
Speaker
it felt like there was quite a lot of unity again. And actually the players were starting to zip the ball a bit and you sort of, and Carrow Road felt healed for a few minutes or 20 minutes, whatever that period. And like, and we were singing and it was, it was good. Like it was a good atmosphere and and and it was loud and you thought, okay, this like just holding a lead for 20 minutes.
00:33:27
Speaker
That's all. That's all we are away from turning this run round. Or, you know, obviously you do then need to go go on and win the game. But just the fact that we were looking comfortable and yes, it helped that the other team were imploding and they were singing, you're not fit to wear the shirt.
00:33:39
Speaker
and that is ah the um The third and fourth ah Birmingham goals came as we were singing about past players as well, by the way. So we were singing about Emmy as the third one went in because he was obviously Villa. yeah and And then we were singing about Grant Holt when the fourth one. So yeah, it's, you know, yeah, ah yeah I don't know why that politics is made. But yeah, that this is it. We could, it could, it could turn ah if we were to get ah if we were to get a win and then follow it up. But you, you feel like you have to follow it up. Otherwise it was a bit like with Manny. it
00:34:13
Speaker
You knew that if we did win, if we had have held on and won that Leicester game, One, that could have relegated us because they might not have like changed in this November period and they might have held on even longer. and But you felt that even winning that game, he was going to probably have to win seven or eight almost out of the next 10 before the brittle confidence would come back. And that's my concern. My concern is you win you win against Oxford on Tuesday and you lose at home 2-0 or you lose at home 2-1 and don't play very well on the Saturday.
00:34:43
Speaker
And are they then exactly just as feeble and brittle and glass-chinned for the next game. You see what I mean? Like if they have adversity, if they go behind. Yeah, But I think we have... But the thing is, something had to change, right? And it has changed now. We've got rid of Mane. We've got Clem on in. know, we've got a character, right? We haven't had that in our last few head coaches. You know, you could probably argue that, you kind of Wagner was. You could possibly argue Torrop was in a very different kind of clinical way. But, you know, we've got a guy who seems like there's personality there. You might have made dentist, Torrop.
00:35:21
Speaker
I mean, Glenn would make a lovely hygienist. So, yeah, that would probably be fine. He'd be the one that would ask you what you're doing just as someone who sticks up it. can't answer you now. You know that I'm not going to be able to talk. Why would you just ask me a question? Yeah, would be his vibe.
00:35:37
Speaker
But we've got personality. We've got someone who actually, if you get that win, regardless of whether it comes on Tuesday or Saturday, I just think he's going to harness that energy. He's going to do something. And also, he's going to have his coaching in in there. you know like This was a team that...
00:35:53
Speaker
could not employ any of his ideas on Saturday, it didn't feel like, because was... were probably knackered from the beep test. Well, yeah, yeah well, it was a but it was interesting to see Wright try really, really, really hard on that. You know, he probably made the final two or three.
00:36:08
Speaker
um And they featured him quite a bit in that a video. You were like, that kid's starting on Saturday. Like, there there's no doubt about it. And then... Yeah, there was a lot of didn't questions about that and, you know, basically what... And then and then the fact that he went to a condo and not him... you know But you know like that is the the longer he's off the pitch, the better he becomes in people's consciousness. But i do think he's he's a good player and he should be at at least getting off the bench. Also, how much of the team on Saturday was from what's been gone prior to Clemon arriving? So Ryan, Gary and that, they were basically preparing the team for the last few weeks. Was it them saying these are the players that should be playing on Saturday because they didn't have time in the three days that they were there, to change an awful lot. So I don't really think it was fully Clement's team that we saw on Saturday.
00:37:00
Speaker
And he'll have more of an idea now of what his team should be, hopefully. Mm-hmm. i i don know know like I agree. I agree. Like, you know, it is. But but actually it's hard to see. It's hard to see. Well, because Connor has said this a few times in in and his pink and stuff.
00:37:20
Speaker
and Really going back seven or eight games, really. Like you cannot, you cannot see where the win is coming from other than the law of averages and the fact that there are other bad teams. in the Like yeah i can't.
00:37:34
Speaker
Yes, we created some We're not going to never win again, ever. So i will a win will come at some point in the rest of our supporting lives. I hope it's Tuesday and I hope it's Saturday. And I hope it is the the following. You're missing Tuesday, you're missing Saturday.
00:37:51
Speaker
choose Yeah, I can't do midweek games. It's a bit of trek. So, i mean, Tuesday would be wonderful. um And you feel like he can then get them in on Wednesday, run through stuff and say, see, the changes I made are right. And then Thursday he can work him really hard. Friday he can work him really hard. and And you feel like maybe they'll buy in that much more. If he loses his first two games...
00:38:15
Speaker
the players might not have the excuses of, oh, well, he didn't, you know, it's still early, it's still early. Whereas if he wins the second game and the first win at home, like the roof will come off if he wins on Tuesday, then, and he's presented to the fans and bloody blah. Then, one really important thing to continue our theme on this podcast, can we talk from a sartorial point of view? I was just thinking that. Was he, Claire, coming to you as fashion correspondent? I mean, you know I love him, so I'll Obviously, he your boyfriend already. So what is... will add it's not in a romantic sense.
00:38:52
Speaker
He hasn't got enough hair. He hasn't got enough hair for my liking. Thank you. I prefer bit more hair. Yeah, he'd go turkey go turkey or and get get a get fake stuff added or wear a nice toupee. But, okay, back back to the clothing. Very Did he wear what you were expecting? Very smart, he's turned out. Very smart. thought he gone suit like Rangers. I thought he was full on like...
00:39:14
Speaker
Marks and Spencers like proper. Well, I like Marks and Spencers. They're very good. I don't mind. I bought a jumper from there the other day and then realized how middle-aged I was when I was at the No, no, no. Marks and Spencers is very trendy, John. Get with it.
00:39:26
Speaker
they've had They've had a total turnaround. It's no longer middle-aged. They are. It's cool. The amount of times I've heard that about Marks and Spencers. Like, oh, no, they've had a total turnaround. Are you questioning my fashion sense?
00:39:39
Speaker
God, no. No. I'm i'm i'm just saying, Claire, right? I consider myself a middle-aged player. own a lot of Mark Spencer's clothes. ands is not allowed to question anyone's fashion advice. don't The only person he's less qualified to do that with is the me. I'm even further behind. Okay, so, yeah, if he if you can get that win, if he can you know you can get that momentum, you think that maybe he can get into the players that much more on a Wednesday and go, yeah, I know this should be recovery day, but I'm going to make you run as well. And Thursday, he can go, we're doing in a double session of fright. Do know mean? Because be like see, I'm turning this round. You've got to do what I say, even though it's going to be hard. So, yeah. He demands it. it was
00:40:17
Speaker
it was about It was abhorrent on on on Saturday. But i I just hope that we can those green shoots we didn't really see, And you have you are clutching at the strawiest of straws to say that, oh, okay, we because he mentioned in the post-match, there's a bit more fight in the second half. I haven't seen that. Birmingham just dropped right off. The game game was done. like you know They let us play because I think at one point we had something like seven corners in a row, but unfortunately, Kellen Fisher was taking them.
00:40:46
Speaker
And Kenny was from the other side. Yeah, Kenny's wasn't much better either. i was going to say, our corners were just rubbish. No, no, we are. Yeah, there there are some. it's It's one of those things where you you literally can't point at a single thing apart from Chris Goran.
00:41:02
Speaker
So maybe Chris Goran is the one thing that you can go... Why did he take him off so early? think it was... He did really ask. He said a number of reasons. Yeah, but what were those number of reasons? Did he look injured? That was what panicked me. I think he said, we're not going win this game. We've got a chance on Tuesday. I need him to start. Because he would have seen after an hour, he would have seen him, Josh, you know, McCalm as well, if we can get him the ball.
00:41:28
Speaker
they yeah they are They are the... if Keeping those three forward players fit are our best route to avoiding relegation. We need those three boys on the pitch as much as possible because they are all capable of scoring goals and create and creating chances for themselves. Imagine what we could do. So if we just sort out the shoddy defence, even a smidge...
00:41:51
Speaker
i Yeah, I think what we what we do about that midfield is, I mean, we we hit we've been bemoaning set CDM for so long. Obviously, we saw Skip in person not that long ago ah for Leicester.
00:42:05
Speaker
But whether or not it's Kenny plus another person, whether or not Kenny's at left back, whether or not you you know you you retire Kenny to the bench and
Transfer Hopes and Positive Predictions
00:42:13
Speaker
he's more of a club captain rather than to first team captain, whatever your opinion is, we haven't otherwise we are at least one body light.
00:42:20
Speaker
you know We're at least one. And and that was the case last season. Not physical bodies. That's the thing. It's just it's the personnel, though, that isn't it, that that play there? Yeah, that's what I mean. by but Sorry, I mean one player. like we that there is There is a... We do not have...
00:42:33
Speaker
that creative skillset. But we will bring people We will bring people in in January. i think he's already... i ah I think Clement's going to have a lot more say in this than Napa. I think he's already identified players that he wants. We've got money and money does talk. So people saying, oh God, why the hell would people want to come to Norwich? If they give them enough money, they'll come. um and they're going to be playing for, it we think, a decent manager. um And they'll have a release cause. Basically, people will come knowing that that they'll basically say, look, if you do go go down, yeah you're not getting in my way. i'm um ah you know I've already put enough good stuff Denmark France. And we'll need to sell anyway if we do. So, yeah.
00:43:13
Speaker
ah yeah well Yeah, to fund fund all the new people we're going to buy. um Cool. So let's have some guarantees for for Tuesday then. Let's Tuesday-Saturday double. So we've got two opportunities in our living room. and I want ah two scorelines. Oh, that was a lovely Daniel Farker phrase. Thank you. Yeah. ah We had it so good, didn't we? I'll have two scorelines. And I'm not even going to put pressure on you to guarantee actual scorers because it's that unlikely. So let's just go with scorelines.
00:43:44
Speaker
um Tuesday, we're going to win. oh We're going to 2-1. And we'll go to nil up and then we'll let one in um and we'll all be shitting our pants for the rest of the game. That's very gnarly. But we'll hold it out.
00:44:07
Speaker
we We'll get it. And then everyone will go mad because we've actually done it. Oh, on Saturday...
00:44:14
Speaker
I think I'll go with a draw on Saturday. Two all draw to QPR. So we'll get four points out of the next two games. I mean, that's ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. course we're not going to.
00:44:28
Speaker
We've got to keep being positive. Okay. Punt. We're going to win 3-0 on Tuesday. And we're going to be brilliant. No, we're not going to be brilliant. Obviously, we're not going brilliant. um i think we'll win I think we will win.
00:44:44
Speaker
ah is you know Obviously, there's no evidence to suggest that we're going to win 3-0, but you know i just it' it's the hope that gets you, isn't it? like i think I think he has to make some significant changes in terms of either the way we play or the personnel on the pitch, and I think they will have positive effects. i think you'll have players playing potentially for their place.
00:45:05
Speaker
um And I think that that might just be enough to get us over the line against Oxford. So look, I'm saying 3-0 in jest, but if we went 1-0 up early doors, there's no reason to suggest that that isn't eminently possible given the you know the individuals that you just referenced at the top end of the pitch. So we're going to win that three nil and then we're going to follow that up with a 1-0 victory against Kupi R. And suddenly we'll be right on the coattails of all those shits that we need to catch up to um avoid regulation now.
00:45:38
Speaker
OK, well, i yeah I obviously think we'll win 4-0 on Tuesday. It might actually come true. And I and i see i i completely agree that if we get the early if we get an early goal, I think we're going to get... ah What's going to happen is...
00:45:54
Speaker
they someone pulls Sargent down as he's about to score so we get the penalty and red card double and we are 1-0 up after 15 minutes and playing 10 men Shane Duffy steps up to take the penalty yeah and then everyone remonstrates with him says Shane you're pissed you're not actually playing go and sit back down in the
Conclusion and Hope for Turnaround
00:46:14
Speaker
stands he'll say sorry i got confused there I'm a knob and then ah and then on Saturday and we also will win and But I'm actually going to go five now and it's going to be ah one of those just crazy things where, you know, mad things happen in football and we're going to break records for no team has ever been this bad at home and then scored nine game nine goals in two games. And we are going to be scratching our head in a really joyful way and we'll be looking at who is in 19th and 20th and 21st and plotting which fixtures are going to get us back level. Will we be level with we'll be out of the bottom three by Christmas, we believe again.
00:46:52
Speaker
It's the hope that kills you. find how you go. Lovely.