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"Boyzone Sideways Punch" ACN Pod 90
42 Plays2 years ago
Welcome to the Along Come Norwich Christmas Special 2021, there's not been that much footy lately so we bring you a double helping of the quiz and two of the jolliest Nodge chatters in the ACN stable / manger. Merry Christmas from all at ACN towers x
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Transcript
Introduction and Christmas Greetings
00:00:21
Speaker
Welcome to the Long Come Norwich podcast, a mostly mellow, maybe mediocre, metaphorical microcosm of the maze of moods of Norwich City fans, and we mean you the merriest of Christmases. It's our Christmas
Guests and Missing Football Action
00:00:31
Speaker
special, and there's not been that much to talk about on the pitch lately, so who better to fill the space than a couple of our favourite canary waffle makers, Edie and John Rogers.
Nostalgia and Carrow Fair
00:00:42
Speaker
First up, it's Christmas. Did you, Edie, spend your hard-earned brand guru cash on the fair down at Cararone?
00:00:49
Speaker
I really, really wish I had. Sadly, my booster appointment coincided with its opening. And I just rendered unable to do anything. Or I think, because I'm a huge fan of back in the day, Great Yarmouth, Louis Tussauds, House of Wax, Arm of Parma Mini Golf, and then a tour around the Ghost Train, which is equally sad. And that's my ideal day out. So this would have been so up my alley.
00:01:17
Speaker
But so I've just been experiencing it sort of remotely, which I guess is perhaps the best way for this sort of
Clarifying the 'John' Confusion
00:01:25
Speaker
thing.
00:01:25
Speaker
It doesn't seem to have gone down well, does it? John, did you manage to get yourself down there? No. Did you see how you... Oh, which one? See, this is the problem. We've been talking about the festive fair at Carrow. No, he means which John? Oh, right. We fought in the first part. So, for the purposes of this evening...
Mini Golf Center Experience
00:01:44
Speaker
He'll call me. ... he'll only be known as Pun, and John will only be known as John. So, John, tell us, did you manage to get yourself down there? I haven't, but interestingly, I used to work for the Einel Palmer Golf
00:01:56
Speaker
My first ever job was working on giving out balls and clubs. What a life that was.
Critique of Carrow Road Winter Wonderland
00:02:04
Speaker
I'm so jealous. We wouldn't be. It was horrific. Oh, I was going to say you must have run that town. Well, it was absolutely horrific. But I didn't go and to the car park stroke winter wonderland that was Carrow Road's Christmas fair, do they call it?
00:02:22
Speaker
They went between Winter Wonderland and Christmas Fair. There was some inaccuracy or inconsistency in how it was described. I don't think that was the issue. Right. I did see a floppy tree on Twitter and I saw a very angry man trying to sell pizza to people who didn't want to buy pizza. Apart from that, it looked horrific. But I love that time of year when people like, oh, marketing is like, oh, come on, Twitter.
00:02:47
Speaker
most amazing winter wonderland of joy. And you get there and it's mud and someone spraying shaving foam about the place trying to make it look Christmasy. I thought we'd have been lucky to get shaving foam though. It's weird. There was not one bauble. There was no tinsel. It was advertised as, and I quote here, the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit. And actually the most redolent phrase that came out of the reality of it was uneven plastic surface sprayed with water.
00:03:17
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there's probably a few, probably a few parallels that we could draw between kind of how fit for purpose, Norwich City's performances have been overall in the Premier League and some plastic, what look like children's play mats sprayed with dirty play mats sprayed with water.
00:03:37
Speaker
It's the sad, lonely Christmas trees with no baubles or no tinsel. It just reminded me of that Friends episode where they buy Phoebe all the trees because they were all lonely and they weren't going to get taken home. Why would you not decorate a tree? It's ridiculous.
Norwich City Match Analysis
00:04:03
Speaker
Let's turn our attention to the very little amount of football there's been of late, but there has been a couple since we last poddleted.
00:04:11
Speaker
the United performance, let's start there, a huge number of positives and it's one of those performances that, okay, well let's phrase the question this way. So Edie, I thought it was one of those performances that therefore buys the manager and the players a buy for a follow-up bad performance, i.e. Villa. Do you feel the same or are you a bit more critical?
00:04:37
Speaker
No, I mean, that Manchester United game, I came away just doing that kind of like boy zone kind of sideways punch of you gone. Yeah, you know, didn't fall over. Well, yeah, it was very much, there was a lot of spirit. There was various stages, some silliness, yes, as is entirely on brand for us. But in terms of like the energy put in, that's all
00:05:06
Speaker
I think that at this stage in this year, that's all we really want to see from the team. It's just kind of not giving up and just going for it and just keeping pushing and pushing. So I think you're entirely correct on that. I think by the time we got to the villa game, it's just kind of really properly sad and dismal. And you know, is it Bournemouth used to have the Robin Reliant, that if you performed badly, you'd drive home in it.
00:05:37
Speaker
I think there's been various versions of that at football clubs around the country. I remember Robbie Savage used to have, I think Robbie Savage bought a Citroen C5 or something, either at Blackburn or Derby, one of the clubs he was at. I think I saw that once on Sky Sports desperately trying to fill some spare time. That's where I was just thinking, I genuinely want to see some participants in that game sit on the carousel of the Winter Wonderland slash Festive Fair.
00:06:07
Speaker
in shame with their knees under their chins just for maybe an hour. Who do you think was most at fault then in that villa performance? Who were you imagining knees under chin? I think a lot of them, I don't think it's really fair on all of them to say a lot of them, but it's like this chemistry thing that still isn't happening.
00:06:34
Speaker
It's just not working. I mean, this is where I'm kind of hoping that the little enforced disease break will perhaps give everyone the space and time to get to know each other a little better during training, or that's all I can think and hope for. Is that what you've branded it as, the enforced disease break to you? Yes.
00:06:50
Speaker
So, John, you know, you and I sit very close to each other, so we've got very... At the ground, can I just add that? Yeah, yeah, at the ground, but it's socially distanced by several rows. We can't even hold hands, too far apart. If you look at the... If you look at from the same view as me, it was...
00:07:09
Speaker
two of the most Jekyll and Hyde performances of, you know, recent times. I mean, in terms of back to back, wow, we've got a real chance. What's together in a spirit against all the odds. We didn't have our four players. We've now got a lungi playing centre half to just a few days later.
00:07:30
Speaker
It looked like the Norwich, reminded me of the Norwich Bournemouth League Cup game. It looked like a lower league team being pulled against a Premier team. Do you think that's too harsh? Apart from the six goals, obviously. It's a weird time to kind of judge the team, I think, because of where we are with Covid, obviously, and this player's coming in, coming out. I don't think he's kept the same side for a while, I don't think, or at all.
Team Lineup and Performance Challenges
00:08:00
Speaker
I don't think, just because of injuries and because of illness, etc. So it's hard to judge what he thinks his best side is. When I say he, obviously I'm talking about the current manager, which is the new Daniel Farka, which is also called
00:08:15
Speaker
It's just one of the quiz questions, by the way. I've written it down. What, Dean Smith? Yeah, no, down. Give that man a point already. John's been prepping me quite heavily, but there's going to be a quiz later on. Look up the manager's name. Like, yeah, you should be okay with that. I didn't want to spoil one of the quiz questions as well. No, no. Well, thank you. That's so thoughtful. You can tell that you are your pod royalty that you know. Exactly. I'm trying. Always thinking of production. I just think it's a really strange time to judge the best team and best at how we're playing. And obviously when we come to the Villa game, it was
00:08:47
Speaker
As I said, if you brought your booster, you would have got a game. It was just, it was a strange time to be watching your team with Sam Byron blessing coming on in the middle of the park. And I was so pleased for him to get back on the pitch. We're not pleased for him to play playing in the center because we literally had no one else. No one else to go in there. We had, we had.
00:09:07
Speaker
What was it? Dowell didn't come on, did he? I mean, and that was kind of a defensive mid-field place, but there could have been a bit of a shuffle for him to go into that space. Maybe Kenny could have dropped back. I don't know, but maybe Dowell's not the player that Dean Smith wants to kind of use in the future. I don't know. I'm kind of rambling a little bit because it's so weird at the current moment to know where we stand as a team. But the United game, to go back to that, I thought we played really, really well. We didn't deserve to lose. I think everyone agreed that both Man United
00:09:37
Speaker
kind of the Man United side as well as the Norwich side. And if we can continue with that level of performance with a stronger side, I'm not as worried as I was when Daniel Farker was in charge. So it's a strange time.
00:09:54
Speaker
Yeah, I think it was just quickly looking. It looks like Southampton and then Wolves was the only time. No, Cantwell didn't play either in both of those. So, no, just confirm what you've said. He hasn't picked the same 11 twice yet. And I think that's partly because he doesn't know. But one of the reasons he doesn't know where his best 11 is is because I don't think he's had the same
00:10:21
Speaker
60 I don't think he's had 16 of the same players available for two games in a row and through kind of whatever reason illness and form of Quite and so it's I feel I feel
00:10:37
Speaker
I still feel the confidence that I felt at the end of that United game as Edie referred to it. Was it the sideways boy's own punch? Whenever a boy's own is mentioned, it reminds me of Roy Roy. I like the magazine boy's own.
00:10:55
Speaker
Yeah, but whenever I hear Boyzone, whenever I hear Boyzone... It was a dance move. Yeah, exactly. That's what I thought she meant. And I just thought it was just Edie being Edie. And again, we were within three minutes and we had the podcast title. So that's Edie maintaining her run there. But whenever I hear Boyzone, it reminds me of Roy Waller calling them Boys One.
00:11:18
Speaker
which was the thing that he did. So that made me happy. So thank you for that. So anyway, you're actually on the podcast as well, so you should probably have a turn. Is the United game the reason that we should be really, really positive about the fact that whenever Mr. Smith's had an opportunity to make us look fantastic?
00:11:40
Speaker
and had a good amount of squad or to be fair even during that game he had so many challenges so with that in mind you know should we be thinking about the United game with this kind of almost two weak gaps before we fall into these other games and being really confident or should we be thinking looking at that villa
00:11:57
Speaker
situation where yeah we were really Covid hit but that's probably what we're going to be like for the rest of the season because it's going to be a really disrupted season and we've got a threadbare squad so oh my goodness let's go clutch our pearls.
COVID Impact on Norwich City
00:12:11
Speaker
Which side of the fence are you on?
00:12:13
Speaker
Neither, but thank you for cheering me up that the rest of the season is going to be like that, Tom. That's very good of you. Cheers, mate. I find this really difficult to wrestle with purely on the basis that it's not black or white. It isn't one or the other. I think there's a lot of mitigation in the Villa performance around not only the fact that Covid hit us, and I thought that one of our best players against Manchester United was Lucas Rupp, who gave us loads of energy in the middle of the park.
00:12:42
Speaker
And then he wasn't present for Villa. But coupled with that, we had players that were either in the starting lineup against Villa or were on the bench who were symptomatic. And I don't know whether they've subsequently tested positive for COVID or not, but there was clearly some kind of virus or something that was going around the squad.
00:13:02
Speaker
that the fatigue levels will have really kicked in. And I just think, yeah, all right, we all turned up and we expected a performance after Manchester United. And that's probably why it felt significantly worse than maybe it actually was. Because second half, didn't think we were actually atrocious. We were in the game. We were building. I would say of Dean Smith's tenure thus far,
00:13:28
Speaker
There's plenty of positives. He's really impacted games when he's looked to change them, which I think is something that was often a criticism that was leveled at Daniel Farka. The defensive structure is way better than it was under Farka and also the desire, and we saw it in his early training sessions, actually, if you watch the YouTube videos, the desire to stop crosses or just snuff an attack out or
00:13:52
Speaker
or just block a shot. We defend our own box way, way better than we did under Farka in the Premier League. And the players seem visibly buoyed by him. So I think that there's loads of positives to take from that. And I think we can take that into the rest of the season. But we keep coming back to the fact that we can't score many goals and we're finding it difficult to create chances. And I hope, and I've said it here before, that I really hope that the absence of
00:14:20
Speaker
Roshitsa in the absence of Norman once those two players are back that actually they're the kind of players who will drive us on, who will take the game to the opposition and will probably make us play slightly higher up the pitch and subsequently hopefully create a few more chances because I don't think it's as binary as
00:14:38
Speaker
Oh, look, we need another striker or we need another attacking midfielder, or I think we need to find a formula with the attacking players that we've got.
Team Strategy and Player Roles
00:14:46
Speaker
And that's that's also been a hallmark of Smith's struggles, I guess, thus far, is that he's had actually most of the attacking three midfielders that he's played or, you know, the attacking two or three midfielders that he's played. Most of them have been available for selection every game, apart from Jollis and Machitza, but he's rotated.
00:15:05
Speaker
Poeta, he's rotated Dow, he's rotated Cantwell, he's searching for that formula and we need to find that, we need to find that really quickly, otherwise this season will be over by the end of January, you know, we need to pick up points and we need to start scoring goals, but that's just saying stuff that's very obvious.
00:15:23
Speaker
Yeah, I always like it when you point out the obvious, but I actually think, I don't think you're, um, I sort of alluded to earlier, but I actually don't think that he has experimented that much. Um, with regards to specifically with the attacking midfield, I think he's, again, I don't think he's had, I don't think he, he hasn't got a fully fit.
00:15:43
Speaker
fully informed campwell And so he hasn't had him available and also he hasn't really had a fully up to match speed dowl either as John mentioned earlier, you know He's not he can't be fully matched fit in terms of you know, he's hardly played
00:16:00
Speaker
and he has to keep chopping and changing what he's doing. Recently he's had to chop and change with regards to not having Norman, so therefore that potentially affects how he wants to set up the front three or the guys in and around Pookie because he's got a
00:16:16
Speaker
bearing in mind that I can't give them up to people who I know aren't going to track back at all or don't give me that side of the game at all. So, I mean, yeah, you mentioned PP. I thought he was terrific. Shemi was great against United, and he got a proper full size of the ground, standard innovation when he went off, and deservedly so. I really did think that was a fantastic performance. I do think even though he put in a real shift and was really bright,
00:16:46
Speaker
I do think there's some coaching that needs to happen there, but you think, well, that is one for the future. I can't help. And I'll come to you with this, John Rogers, whether you think I'm being slightly negative. And I don't want to be. So I really want to be supportive and with, what is it, 19 games left, believe that this is doable or 21 games left, sorry. Did bad mental mass there.
00:17:15
Speaker
But do you think that we've just got too many players that are potentially going to be good in a couple of years at the moment?
Transfer Strategies and Player Potential
00:17:22
Speaker
We've done that quite often, to be honest. It's buying players that don't necessarily kind of are either going down in their career, I'm thinking about Naismith and that sort of signing, or coming up in their career like Solis.
00:17:37
Speaker
But there never seems to be one, because I've had this theory that Roshika and Sargent both got relegated, didn't they? And we bought them. So their whole aura and their mentality was pretty negative at the time. And we never seem to buy a player that's coming up like Dean Ashen when we bought him.
00:17:58
Speaker
Or, oh, I can think of other people at the top of my head now. There was a couple of players that we bought. Well, I would say Huckabee and Crouch. Just actually for the Premier League. And Liam McKenzie was another one who was kind of got that arrogance about him and a bit confidence, but they don't seem to have it. And I do think once again, we're talking about January being able to kind of needs to change our season again and
00:18:26
Speaker
Do we start looking at Stuart Weber and the signings he brings in? Because everyone was so excited at the beginning of the season, like we were two seasons ago where everyone was excited in the summer. Then we get to January and we got to have some players come in and we're going down again. And I just want, when's the last time we bought a play for the Premier League that absolutely ripped it to shreds? I know it's difficult. I know it's not, it's like, it's not like clicking your fingers and getting a player and it just changes the whole,
00:18:57
Speaker
kind of control of the way we play and how it controls games.
00:19:02
Speaker
like Emmy did in the championship. I know they cost money, but there never seems to be a point that we don't need anyone in January. And I think January is going to be the turning point unless we get players in that. I think we need number 10. I think we need a holding midfielder. And we probably need another fullback. I don't think we need any center backs. We've got enough of those now, haven't we? But we got to the point where we need to kind of think about who we're going to bring in again. I don't want to be that team.
00:19:33
Speaker
Yeah, I completely agree. When you think about it, a few names were popping to mind with regards to impactful signings, and they're all championship. Pookie, for example, he was bought, and then by the end of that season, seemed like the greatest signing that anyone had ever made. But again, it's in the championship. It's very difficult to think of a player who we bought once we'd already got Premier League status confirmed.
00:19:58
Speaker
either in the summer or later on, who instantly, even after 10 games, we looked at and went, well, he's fundamentally made us better. We've strengthened almost sideways. There's been some people we've added who look solid. So Doran's looked solid. And we've added people who were kind of decent without massively kicking us on in terms of ability.
00:20:25
Speaker
And I think with regards to what you said about number 10, I still think Campwell's good enough because I've seen him do it. I've seen him play in the Premier League.
00:20:40
Speaker
and look arrogant with reason. Look like there's a reason for him being arrogant and he's backing up his performances. I've seen that. That player is in there. I think he can be a number 10 in the Premier League for a bottom half Premier League number 10, which is not
00:21:00
Speaker
damningly faint page at all. I mean, that's, that means you're, you know, one of the best 20 number 10s playing for their football in England at the moment. Um, I definitely think he's got a ceiling, but I almost think he has to be played there. And he, I almost think with him, we gotta just keep playing it. We've got to play him into form and keep believing in the fans need to keep off his back. Um, I find that I find the whole, I heard, um, Rob Butler talking about this after the most recent game, I think. Um,
00:21:28
Speaker
I agree with him that I find it really bonkers the general kind of fan relationship with Campbell. I've always been on the side of cutting him slightly more slack, rather than believing his ceiling is higher, rather than those who are like, oh, well, he's a local boy, he should be trying harder than the rest, and almost quicker to jump on him. I don't care what he posts on Instagram, and his sort of athlete,
00:21:55
Speaker
Nonsense that he's from a generation of athletes who and that there are loads of them that that's they that's a normal way to behave and that you know he's a different generation from me for goodness sake i'm an old fogey now and from that point of view.
00:22:11
Speaker
So I just, I kind of just put that down as well, that's behaviour that yeah, I don't really understand it, but it's got absolutely nothing to do with his ability on the football field or what my kind of how I review his performance and what I believe he can add to the team or the squad. So yeah, I'm a bit baffled by why he's not being persevered with, just simply because
00:22:36
Speaker
unlike dowel unlike um gilmore even although he's not a 10 um camp was the one person who you think well i've i've literally seen it i've seen him play brilliantly against the best of the best in the premier league on several occasions a couple of seasons ago he's had loads of games in the meantime he's definitely stronger he's bet he's better physically now than he was a couple years ago um and he should be being played into form as much as he can because he could be
00:23:04
Speaker
he could be inverted commas like a new signing if by the end of january we've turned him into a fully fit confident number ten we've basically got ourselves a real especially if raschica then stays fit for the second half of the season what a fantastic attacking two we've got them behind pookie but i do think we have to say that between sergeant and solace
00:23:29
Speaker
neither of them are this seasoned prospects enough in a goal scoring point of view and Edo looks like he's gone backwards in confidence which 10 substitute appearances might do that for you. Yeah, what do you think Edo? Do you think we need another striker? Tom, that's 20 million quid isn't it?
00:23:48
Speaker
and I get what you're saying with regards to do we need to look at where but it's his success rate in terms of the number of players he has signed I actually think statistically stands up pretty well because I'm not in a Premier League though I don't think you know he's got any
00:24:05
Speaker
Credit in the Premier League? No, not in the Premier League. No, that's a fair comment. I'm thinking about, he hasn't signed that many players with regards to, it's not like he's had, he's not signed that many players above a certain level, he's not signed that many players above a million, really. And those he has haven't worked out in the main. Now, I don't think that you can write off either Sargent or Zollis as Premier League footballers,
00:24:31
Speaker
from even middle of next season they both to me look like they have got the qualities in what they've shown us so far to be a squad player in Premier League and with Zolish there is clearly that high ceiling there where he could be a really great European player but
Team Dynamics and Integration Challenges
00:24:52
Speaker
neither of them are for now. We had this conversation two or three pods ago where I said with maybe some choice language, what are we doing then? That's right. I think you were on, actually. It was when, or was it Zoe who got upset? I think Zoe was really annoyed about it.
00:25:10
Speaker
Basically, he'd just come out and said, you know, you need to, you know, get off these guys backs, you know, you know, they weren't expected to be contributing, you know, 38 games this season, you know, and they're having to play more. And we thought, well, why'd you buy them then? Why have you bought people who can't be expected to contribute this season? Surely you should have concentrated on people who
00:25:28
Speaker
are going to be contributing this season and if we've got any spare cash brilliant let's get a couple of bargains if we can for next season the season after to help us you know get resale value but realistically everyone's value goes down if we get relegated so surely it would have made more sense to focus on the massive skipped shape hole um i thought he played really well last night in that in that cup game that i saw a little bit of
00:25:50
Speaker
You know, we've got a massive skip shape hole, which you haven't filled. Norman looks like a fantastic signing, which each looks like a fantastic signing. It's incredibly frustrating that they're now not available. But going back to my original question, Nidi, do you think that we have to kind of draw a line from a Zollis and Sargent point of view and go, they might be great next season or the season after, but we really need someone to help Pookie now, goals-wise. Yeah, it'd be lovely to have someone to just pop up and shove some food into
00:26:22
Speaker
the goat, the mouth of the goat. But like, who was this magic person? Like surely if that magic person existed, they would have been located, you know, previously. It's sort of, I don't know, it's, I just thought there would be more partnership in some of the players that were coming from previous partnerships. It's almost like as if all these people don't know each other.
00:26:50
Speaker
So you just get another stranger who is another stranger chucked into the mix. I think it was just a hope that you're kind of buying. This is how I buy crypto. I will literally pick 10 things knowing that one of them will shoot off and be stratospheric. But obviously the rest of them will kind of chug along and go down.
00:27:12
Speaker
you might not necessarily get the stratospheric one so it's that kind of feeling of randomness where maybe certain parties made it look a bit easy to get Buendia kind of like glowing radioactively with success. Maybe there was this idea of all right okay well let's buy another
00:27:30
Speaker
bunch of random people and one of them will just be amazing. And none of them quite work, which I still reckon it's a lot to do with induction and settling into this area and COVID in terms of feeling part of things. I think I've been sergeant watch on Instagram. He is still not saying on his Instagram profile that he plays for Norwich.
00:27:55
Speaker
And it's, you know, we're quite far into the season now. And, you know, it would be nice just a bit of bio update. It's equivalent of like your other half having it as it's complicated on your on their Facebook profile. It's at this stage, you are going to take a look at that sideways.
00:28:14
Speaker
What a sconce. Yeah, that is weird. I mean, we are eight days away from eight calendar days away from him being in his second calendar year at the club. I mean, it will be the second year that he would have played at the club. And he's he's like hours, right? Like he's not even online. So that is that is odd.
00:28:32
Speaker
really, really pictured when they were signing him. I was really so excited because it looked like he was the kind of odd bod that we absolutely take to our hearts and then fired up by all of the love. He kind of just sort of the synergy happens and everyone's cheering him. He's scoring an absolute shit ton of goals. Super duper. But I just sort of I just feel like the minute McLean just commented screech underneath the
00:29:00
Speaker
introducing it. I was just like, what is, I know that's funny, like Banta, Bantasaurus, Ash Bishbury, but is that the way to greet a new co-worker who doesn't know anyone and doesn't know the area and is a bit kind of like, this is a really big deal to them.
00:29:17
Speaker
These are racehorses. Look at Cantwell. Cantwell clearly has the yips. That dude's got the yips. He's been through such an emotional roller coaster, regardless of whose fault it is and who's been doing what and saying what and what's happened with this disastrous collapse of that relationship. He's clearly not performing at the top of the standard. And I don't think it's fully physical fitness. It can't be. Because they would have named a limb.
00:29:46
Speaker
Yeah. Shoulder. Rib. Rib
Player Performance and Potential
00:29:50
Speaker
isn't a limb. Name a limb. Is that one of the quiz questions? It is. Oh, I wish. Because I can name all the limbs. I don't know if you can. I bet there's like a niche thing that you don't realize is a limb that's actually a limb. Like the fact that skin's an organ. Festigial tear. It's a tiebreaker. Yeah. You're so weird, Eddy. Okay, so we've already got a podcast title. You don't need to keep coming up with these weird exercises, right? Okay, so, Punt, what do you use at Boyzone?
00:30:16
Speaker
What do you want us to do then? Because you're the fan police. Do we go into our Turkey or Tofu substitute dinner on Saturday feeling that warm glow? Because you sat on the fence and I'm not going to accept that. It's in either raw. It is black or white.
00:30:36
Speaker
Are we feeling going into our arsenal and then the kind of the remaining games? We've got just over half a season to go. Mathematically, there's comfortably enough points. We are still only two results away from being completely in the thick of it. And obviously, that's kind of net. We need to get two results when those around us don't. But looking at some of the differences in the bottom half of the table,
00:31:02
Speaker
It there is it's feast or family in the Premier League this season the gap between the haves and have nots seems bigger than ever and I don't just know that doesn't necessarily me financially because there's a lot of people who've got loads of cash in the bottom end the Premier League as well, but Yeah, like I say, just look at the look at the gold references It just goes to show that when people have beaten they are getting being put away this season by the better teams and
00:31:25
Speaker
come on tell me should I be feeling like everything's gonna be okay Dean Smith to save you or are we gonna be you know a championship podcast again albeit hopefully a five-time award nominated one rather than just a four-time award nominated away I think
00:31:42
Speaker
If you're going to make me put my money somewhere, then you are then I'm going to place it on us being relegated. But I still expect Dean Smith to extract enough out of this squad to say that we're going to be competitive between now and the end of the season. And I think we will be close to it. So if there is, you know, a couple of unexpected results that we pick up, then it's it's highly plausible that we could stay up because there are a lot of well, there are a few dreadful teams in this division and we are one of them at the moment. And if we can get any kind of form
00:32:12
Speaker
and sustained form for let's say five, six games where we get three or four half decent results.
00:32:18
Speaker
I think we can clamber out of it, but at the same time, it does come back to, you know, goal scoring. And you talk about maybe playing Toddy for an elongated period of time. I don't think we can carry Todd Cantwell's 50% performances for an elongated period of time. So I wouldn't necessarily be in favor of that. He wasn't even at 50% for that game where they started him and he was dreadful. Now I get some of that is Matt Sharpness.
00:32:46
Speaker
I'm with Edie, I think some of that is psychological as well. I mean, I said it on this podcast a long time ago that I think we should have sold him when we got relegated because his stock would never have been higher and I stand by that. I don't think his stock will ever, ever be higher than that.
00:33:03
Speaker
because he's a player who scored a few goals in the Premier League but actually probably put in performances one in three games you know possibly one in two if we're being really generous there is an absolutely terrific player on his day there but I would rather I don't think Todd Cantwell is the future of this football club
00:33:19
Speaker
And I just think that it's probably gone a little bit too far between fans and player to maybe ever really restore that relationship. And I'd probably rather say, you know, based on your logic of saying, all right, let's play Toddy till he's good. Let's play Zollis till he's good. Let's play Sargent till he's good. Let's play Reshita all the time, because I think they're the players that
00:33:39
Speaker
if we stay in the Premier League. I don't think we need to play Rashid too. Rashid too was already good. As far as I'm concerned, Rashid too was normal. Go back to what you just said. Go back to what you just said. No, because I've not seen it, Rashid. It's theoretical. I've seen it with Tony.
00:33:55
Speaker
But I don't think we're ever going to get it back with Todd. I think that's where I'm at with him now. That's as much of an up in the air as could Jollis actually do it on a Wednesday evident.
00:34:10
Speaker
Yeah, and I'd much rather gamble on jollies than I would talk that well now. But why? Because going back to what you just said, he's gone too far with the fans now. What has he done? What have I missed? What has happened? At no point have I seen anything where he's gone, I don't want to play for this club. He hasn't handed in a transfer request. He hasn't done loads of things that loads of other people like Houlihan and other people that we love, Crook, and all these other legends have done way worse than what he seems to have done, other than, you know,
00:34:38
Speaker
look being quite generationally different to a lot of the kind of Norfolk football community in terms of how he behaves on social media or whatever and maybe courting a bit of controversy. I don't think it's anything to do with his social media. I think he knows. What's he done then? What's he done on the pitch? He's bagging around deer room looking for balloons. Well, this is it. Even that, he's stuffed up.
00:35:01
Speaker
like that would have looked go out there find the balloons give people presents let those people say on social media how brilliant it was and then sit back and bask in the newfound love don't then post about how great it feels to help people like just someone needs to sit down
00:35:21
Speaker
Yeah I know, but what's happening here is you've got a young man who is basically mimicking what a lot of other people do on Instagram, street fashion, rap lyrics. However, all the rap lyrics are about how hard people work.
00:35:36
Speaker
And he's sitting in a private jet and posing. And this is a COVID era. People are losing their jobs. People are struggling to get into the stadium to watch their team play. And it's just not gelling. And we are a team still who were set up by Daniel Farker, who had a very, very solid understanding.
00:35:57
Speaker
of the relationship between fans and the team and how both communicate with each other. And I think it's just the chemistry of the communications of what's happening here. It's never going to succeed. It's never going to bring the love. And yeah, I mean, he should be actually given a bit of space to express himself.
00:36:17
Speaker
I'm not particularly furious about what he has been posting but it's very ill-advised if like him you want to be building a brand which he clearly does or he wouldn't be doing what he's doing so it's just all a bit of a mess.
00:36:32
Speaker
There is always baggage around him. There is always a circus around him. I think that's the point. I don't dislike Todd Countwell. I just think that he's not for this football club for the next three or four years. And someone, I can't remember, I think it was Matthew who sometimes comes from this club. Why? I don't get why. And he said, hang on, let me finish. But I think that
00:36:50
Speaker
He doesn't, his particular kind of theory on this was that Todd Cantwell hadn't fallen out with Daniel Farker, Todd Cantwell had fallen out with Stuart Weber potentially, and this
Player-Club Relationships
00:37:04
Speaker
might have been around the contractual stuff, kind of he's, I think he's out of contract this summer, but we've got another year's option possibly, or it might even be that he's out of contract this summer, and that's a lot.
00:37:13
Speaker
You know, there's lots that there's lots just hanging in the air that needs to resolve itself. And, you know, yeah, he might sign a contract and he might be brilliant again. And I would love to be proven massively wrong. But I just, there is, I think that's the only way I can put it. There is always a circus surrounding him. And I don't think we need that circus when we're fighting Premier League relegation.
00:37:36
Speaker
But you said before Edie made her point about building a brand that you don't think it's got anything to do with social media. And then you said, oh, yeah, there's that as well. But I'm just asking for a super simple, simple kind of give you've mentioned circus. Give me something concrete. If you take the social media out, which is what you said is not involved.
00:37:56
Speaker
So give me a non-social media example of circus of Todd Cantwell. His fallout was Farka. Well, yeah, which I put almost solely at Farka's feet. I think he managed that. Yeah, you did, but I absolutely don't. Yeah, but you know, it depends on who tells you what. Exactly. Farka's job is to have a together team that's fighting Premier League, fighting for Premier League salvation.
00:38:23
Speaker
So for him to either scapegoat or allow communications to go out that seems like there's been a fallout and this player is the bad guy, as far as I'm concerned, irrelevant of who is trying to
00:38:38
Speaker
feed their sources to get that story out the most, and relevant to what your opinion of that is, because realistically, it's probably only about four or five people who genuinely, honestly, know the answer to that question, and they'll choose who they tell and what version of the story they tell. And it shades of grey with that, isn't it? Listen, I've got no doubt that Farka probably didn't cover himself in glory dealing with that situation, but Toddy was a hit of a knob. Of course he did.
00:39:02
Speaker
Yeah, but the point is, as far as I'm concerned, the second, and this is what I don't get about the horse gone too far with the fans thing, the second that the manager goes out the door, and the club seemed to get this by scrubbing Farka from all of the, everywhere at colony, everywhere from Carrow Road, not having any of the kind of retrospective pictures of the game that he won just before he was fired.
00:39:25
Speaker
I moved his stickers on the seats in the Berkeley. They do need to update Bing though. If you use Microsoft search engine, it still says he's the manager.
00:39:33
Speaker
Well, yeah, they're probably going through priorities. There's probably, there's probably more people that look at the, uh, look at the stickers on the seats, the Berkeley that are using Bing as your search engine. Um, but yeah, if you have Sargent's Instagram profile as well, there's probably more people that look at that. I'm like the watcher. I'm sorry. So, but this is it. I just, I don't, like, I don't, I've only, I've been in the same room as Campbell a couple of times. I don't think I've actually ever met him. I don't think I've ever spoken to him. Obviously he's not been on the pod. Um, Pardon? Name drop.
00:40:03
Speaker
Well, no, it's not. It's the opposite of that. I've literally not met him. I've not spoken to him. If you want me to get into this, I've met Toddy when he's had a picture with my eldest and I've watched him be interviewed at one of those social club evenings and he came across as a really emotionally mature
00:40:24
Speaker
together guy and you know if i see him in interview i think he holds himself really well if i see him on a football pitch i'm not sure he holds himself really well all the time but there is no denying that there's always something going on with tod campwell and does that detract from you know us being as good as we can be as a football club i think maybe it does and so that's why i would say look cut your losses we might still get 15 million for him move him on invest that in the playing squad
00:40:51
Speaker
What was going on last season then? I don't remember there being much Cantwell bants last season. I don't remember just being a key part. What about the start of the season when he's been an absolute dickhead? Yeah. Well, there was a few weeks where Farka was playing, I'm Farka, everyone needs to bow to me, I am God, and he was doing that piece and it rubbed some of us out the wrong way, other people like him for it.
00:41:13
Speaker
And again, depends on who you talk to. But after a very short period where him and Emmy were, you know, put on the naughty step, it seemed to be a head down season that, look, in order to get to where you want to be in your career, it's easiest for you to do that if you're in the Premier League. So bust the gut to get us into the Premier League. And then that was done. But what I was going to get at before is irrelevant of your opinion of who's right and who's wrong of that whole situation.
00:41:43
Speaker
As soon as Farkas out the door and Dean Smith's in, it should just be a blank sheet of paper. Effectively, that's the whole point of having a new manager. Is that how it works when you've got a sporting director? I don't know. We've never worked under this model, have we?
00:41:59
Speaker
Yeah, I get it, but the new manager's balance is all about that, isn't it? Go on, John. We should move on, but let Mr Rogers have his views. I was going to say, I said this on a different podcast, but I did mention once that I think that Todd enjoys being a footballer more than playing football. I heard you say that, and I thought it was brilliant when you said it. I thought you were absolutely on the money.
00:42:25
Speaker
It's not that's not very good because I'm sure he absolutely adores playing football. It's more of a case. He's kind of Unfortunately got swept up in being a Premier League footballer who you don't see you don't see Max Ahrens
00:42:40
Speaker
get much involved in the social medias and sponsorships and things like that. So there is a different level that Todd is doing, but I was really pleased that he got a chance to start in the first game that Dean Smith, he put me in the starting lineup. And he was dreadful. He was really, really poor. And I hadn't obviously played football for a while. But people, that was one of the main reasons, him and Billy Gilmour was one of the main reasons why Farka got
00:43:05
Speaker
removed because that that kind of that one wasn't one of the reasons because people are so what was and Todd playing what's happened with him they obviously they've fallen out they need to do this needed that when he came in he was garbage he was absolute garbage that came and he went and dropped out the next game and then he started against someone I can't remember who it was it might be the wolves I don't know sorry I don't know but again he the performances weren't then if if Todd was literally
00:43:31
Speaker
changing our season on the pitch single-handedly, he could literally
00:43:38
Speaker
stick his knob onto Instagram, and I wouldn't care. He just can do whatever he wanted on Instagram, and it would be fine. But if he's not playing really well, and he's enjoying that kind of, I'm a Premier League footballer type thing, I don't know. It's a bit clumsy what I said. It's a bit clumsy what I said. It is, but I remember you saying it, and I get the logic behind what you were getting at.
00:44:04
Speaker
And I guess my whole point is, and again, I'm not, you know, I've got no skin in the game with regards to Todd Cantwell. I just, to me, it's always just seemed that there is, and like this might be the circus element that you're talking about, but there just seems to be a...
00:44:21
Speaker
like almost like a chip on the on fans shoulders about him that there isn't with other players and maybe he invites that because he is more present in between match days across whatever means he's available maybe it's because he's the the localist of the lads that we've got
00:44:37
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, I don't think it's anything to do with him being local, to be honest with you. I find it really weird that he's local. Every time I drive past Durham, it freaks me out that he's from there because he never, ever expresses the Christmas
Previewing the Arsenal Game
00:44:50
Speaker
activity. That's the first time he's expressed any kind of link.
00:44:53
Speaker
to Norwich. Everything else is all about anything that isn't Norwich. So, and whereas normally the fans tend to take people to heart, they could be from Timbuktu, but if they kind of like embrace Norwich as a concept, then that's where the love affair begins. Whereas Todd Cantwell, I think, you know, God bless him, and he would, wouldn't you, if you'd grown up in Deereham, you know, you would love to experience things that aren't Deereham.
00:45:19
Speaker
But in terms of building a relationship with local fans, he's not that local in terms of his outlook or his expression. It's very much about anything but.
00:45:31
Speaker
OK, well, let's let's look forward. I don't think that depending on who's available, Covid-wise, he's necessarily going to be starting that many games coming up, which I think is a shame. Let's look at Arsenal. John Rogers, what is the score going to be in the upcoming Arsenal game? Should it go ahead? Blimey.
00:45:52
Speaker
What's the score going to be? It's going to be 2-1 to Arsenal, probably. But it'll be really good because we scored a goal, so we cannot enjoy that. So something to look forward to. We're going to score one goal. And when we do score, we'll all play the music and we'll go, oh yeah, remember this music? That was good. We haven't scored in five games now, have we? Something like that. Or one goal in five games. That was away at Newcastle. It was a good goal. It was a wank of a goal. I loved it, the way that people just... No wonder when you score a goal like that,
00:46:20
Speaker
It wasn't, because it was an equalizer and we were trying to get back in the game. Everyone just runs off the ball and gets it and jogs back. I wanted a proper celebration, isn't it? It's a shame. I did a proper celebration in the living room. Yeah, we did, but the players didn't. I wanted some knee slides. There we go. So I don't know, we're going to lose 2-1. That's all right, isn't it? Well then, everyone, we're going to lose 2-1.
00:46:41
Speaker
Is it one of those games, because Arsenal are banging form, so is it one of those games where actually the performance is more important than the result that we put Villa behind us and again we put more on tape to suggest we can get out of it? It's so weird how well so far Norwich seems to perform against teams that you'd expect them to do worse against, if that makes sense.
00:47:09
Speaker
So it might well be a steel sharpened steel kind of business. That's what I'm hoping for. I don't know, it won't be too spanky. There will not be much of a spanking. But it will be also kind of like you will see a lot of the holes again being exposed. You'll see a lot of light shining out through the various vacancies in setup.
00:47:36
Speaker
I think 2-1 feels pretty much correct or perhaps even like 3-1 to be a little bit more kind of prepared for sadness. But I think it's going to be one of those games where you come away thinking, well, that was fair dues, as opposed to, you know, why did all of you run around randomly, cause chaos, and then just give up with 20 minutes to go?
00:48:05
Speaker
I think they'll be fighting the dog for this one. Well, I hope so. Punt, I mean, can you follow that innuendo-laden preview? I can never follow Edie in that respect. But what I can say is, look, we've got history of playing all right against Arsenal at home, so I will go 2-2. Todd Cantwell will score one, set one up, and be Melonaj. There you go. I will be insufferable. You're going to need a montage for that.
00:48:35
Speaker
That's a young man waiting for his montage and if his montage comes before this game, I will be delighted to see it.
00:48:43
Speaker
What about the fact that we could win it? What about the fact that it is actually... Is that it? Is that what we're going to go with? What about if we could actually win it? Wouldn't that be... We could win it. For supreme Covid protection reasons, I'm not going. And it's really difficult. And I wanted us to just address it before we move on to the quiz because
00:49:08
Speaker
I think there's a few people in the same boat who have got kind of Christmas events with family that they couldn't do last year and you know depending on where the what we're seeing that person on that day and that person on that day wherever you're seeing the oldest or crumbliest person you're seeing and Boxing Day might fall the wrong side of kind of how you're desperately trying to avoid Omnicron and trying to
00:49:30
Speaker
trying to stay healthy. So on balance of weighing everything up, I've made the difficult decision that I'm not going to go on Boxing Day because I just think I need to try and shield a couple of people that I'm then going to be seeing from it. What about you, Punt? Have you made a decision on that yet?
00:49:47
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not going to go. It just feels really weird. The reason I'm laughing, I'm not going either. Well, I'm just of a view that football should just stop for a little bit and we can't
00:50:03
Speaker
in my mind we can't underplay the influence that football has on all of our lives and how reflective football is of wider society and it just feels like we should just stop for a little bit you know be it in football be it um you know kind of in our wider lives it's
00:50:23
Speaker
Look, I mean, I work for the NHS, so I don't really want to go on record massively about this, but this is a period where most of our experts are saying that hospitals could be overwhelmed. We look at something like Liverpool versus Athletica Madrid as a super spreader event.
00:50:40
Speaker
And yet, we are still entertaining the idea that there are going to be capacity crowds at football. And I completely get everyone's desire to go to the football because you miss it like a limb if you don't go. But at the same time, I just think for the sake of a couple of weeks off or a month off from going to the football, I'm fully prepared to do that until this latest wave has passed us through.
00:51:06
Speaker
You know, look, the only reason the Premier League are continuing with this nonsense is so they don't upset rights holders, so they don't have to pay back broadcast revenues. And it's just, it's bullshit, like absolute bullshit. The government should have been a lot stronger and should have come out on it already. But anyway, that's me.
00:51:22
Speaker
Can I add something to that? I think it's quite interesting. No one's actually, I haven't personally heard anyone just say it's okay if you don't want to go to the football, you don't have to have a big long, not you just did John, but a long speech about the reasons why you don't want to. I personally don't feel safe where I sit, so I don't want to go to football. I love football. I love North City. I love going. I've got a season ticket, had one for a very long time. At the moment,
00:51:48
Speaker
It's okay if you don't want to go to the football and I think more people should hear something like that and just be understanding that there is a bit of a funny bug going around at the moment that we need to kind of keep away from. Stiffles. Yeah, I mean, I just want to, I know, I'm not going to go and I probably won't be going for a little while.
00:52:07
Speaker
I actually missed them at the Man United game because of it as well, because I've got people in my family. As I said, I'm actually doing the speech now of why I'm not going, but I won't do that. I don't need to do this. It's all personal, and I don't think people should be hung up too much about it. I mean, you wouldn't go to theater, you wouldn't go to anything, you don't want to go to football, don't go to football. Yeah, I think the pandemic of when we couldn't go to football for a long period of time,
00:52:32
Speaker
football happened, Norwich actually did well without us being there and has maybe helped some of the people who maybe have you could describe a sickness of needing to go to football and it being such a crucial part of their soul and Punt and I are similar in this that if Norwich especially if Norwich playing at home on a Saturday then the entire family and friendship groups that since we've been born basically know that well we're not going to see Punt or Tom Biggy on
00:52:59
Speaker
on Saturday because he'll be at football. And it actually kind of almost, like you said, John, it helped a lot of people realise that, oh, you can just not go. It's okay. They'll still let you back in again. It's okay for there to be other stuff. We can't live in a society where things are assumed to be mandatory unless they're banned.
00:53:23
Speaker
Yeah, like the whole thing is supposed to be that we've all got freedom and personal choice. And actually, just because something is being allowed to happen doesn't mean that that's fine or safe, or that everyone is supposed to cast aside their own worries. So
00:53:39
Speaker
this is where personal choice and also respect for football maybe you are of the belief that taking your potential germs to football and your beloved fellow fans isn't perhaps the nicest gift to give them because like you wouldn't go to the theatre like you said and you don't feel the love that you do to your fellow theatre goers that you would for your fellow supporters
00:53:59
Speaker
Yeah, well that's part of it. You mentioned the theater. I've got a family member who's very heavily involved in theater and I'm not going to show that he's suffering badly from not getting enough ticket sales that they really rely on in panto season in order to fund the theater for the rest of the year.
00:54:21
Speaker
is a bit rich for me so sorry I don't feel comfortable bringing my kid there and then a few days later turning up at Carrow Road and so that's kind of that kind of hypocrisy is part of it but also you mentioned not feeling safe where you sit John I think part of it is also to do with who you do sit in and around so the Villa game I think I've mentioned him on here a few times I'm fairly confident he doesn't listen well there are a few lads who sit around me who do listen
00:54:49
Speaker
And the guy sits next to me at football declared he's never been tested. He doesn't really agree with the testing. He told me that at halftime. So I stuck my mask on. And I just thought, I mean, you know, as I say, I mentioned him before, you know, he's the opposite to me in terms of political divide and, you know, Trump supporting Brexit wants Farage to come back and save us. And, you know, everyone's allowed to have different political beliefs and go to football. And that's completely fine. But
00:55:17
Speaker
But when you know that that is the mindset of what you're dealing with in and around you, it does make you think,
00:55:31
Speaker
How many other people aren't being tested? Because I, completely naively, was under the impression that, well, no one would be, no, who, they won't be able to get in there, will they? He won't be able to get in there, will he? He won't be able to go to the game unless he's tested or he's factored. Well, me and part of me thinks maybe he won't be there then, because it will be, he's one of the kind of, it's my freedom, it's my right, you shouldn't need to do this. He doesn't do that, he doesn't,
00:55:57
Speaker
But he doesn't boo the taking of the knee. And he doesn't got a problem with that. And it's really hard. And he liked Todd Cantwell. Well, the first time, he doesn't like Todd Cantwell. And the first time, the first time he, the first time we did, we did the knee in person, obviously, because it had been happening for a long time with us not there in absentia. And I was almost sort of rubbing my hands like, I really want to have an argument with you about this. And he was, you know, he just sort of nodded and there was no, there was sort of no reaction at all. I was like, oh, that's disappointing. Like this, based on everything else you told me, you're supposed to hate this.
00:56:26
Speaker
Why are you okay with the quality? He hates the Human Rights Act. He thinks we should rip that up. But yeah. Right. I'm on his side now. Let's go. Yeah. He wants to know why we still haven't come out of it all these years after Brexit. He said that two home games ago. It's really quite the entertaining package. Can you point him out next time for me? Yeah. He's a lovely man. He seems a really nice man. I made up for podcast reasons.
00:56:54
Speaker
He seems like a really lovely man. No, I can confirm. I've sat in Parsley's seat. He's a really lovely man. He's just got a different view to the world than us and a lot of the people who listen to our podcast and that's fine. Just as long as he doesn't sneeze on people.
00:57:10
Speaker
But this is it. It's one of those things where it's that he's a physical manifestation of not being in my echo chamber, you know, because it's just like, oh, come on, physical manifestation of echo chambers. Come on. We need to go to the quiz because it's like this is we've reached the point now when we've gone for Brexit manifestations. I want to kick Edie's ass at the quiz. OK, that's fine. That sounds like you have.
00:57:35
Speaker
You've gone 2-1-3-1, punter said Desmond, and I've gone with a 1-0 win. Do you write all these down, just in case one of us is right? I only ever remember if I'm right. That's the only thing. Just write someone down. And as you well know, I always skew way more positive on here than I do. I don't know if you've ever been right, mate. No. I'm an idiot. Right, it's time for the quiz.
00:58:15
Speaker
So you've got one minute to answer six questions. There are two rounds, because I didn't think we would prattle on as much as we have tonight. So there are two rounds. The first one is all about Norwich City, and the second one is generic football, although it's mostly sort of Premier League-y.
00:58:31
Speaker
Because it's Christmas, I've made it nice and easy. So you'll get loads and loads and loads of these. Now Edie, you're going to go first in both rounds. And Pont, would you be kind enough to time, please? Certainly so. Edie, your six questions. Remember to use your passes widely. Your minute starts now. Who wore the number 30 shirt in the 2015 playoff final for Norwich?
00:58:59
Speaker
Fucking hell. I know, I know what the answer is. Oh, well, someone had better share the answer because it's just... I'll take a pass. Number two, what year, what year did Neil Adams take over as Norwich manager? Oh, that was, I'm afraid that was during, and this is a very long story, my long weekend, my lost weekend of Norwich. So that's, I'm stuck. Okay. Question three, in what competition was our highest attendance ever recorded?
00:59:29
Speaker
at home. I know that one. Is it Milk Cup? No. Who scored the first goal for Norwich this season in any competition? I genuinely can't remember. It's all a massive blur. Let's have a think. Just guess Edie.
00:59:44
Speaker
I can't guess. It's like, it's like a blur. Like I can't remember any goals. Number five, name one of the three players. Oh, okay. Well, you only got three, four of your questions. It's absolutely fine. I was never going to get them right. There's two, but there's, there's two rounds. So, you know, there's still a chance for you to have.
01:00:07
Speaker
Okay. It's my turn. It's your turn, Jon. You said you wanted to kick Edie's arse. Yeah, you just waited up. You need one. Okay. One minute. Remember, use your passes if you get stuck and you lost weekend or a blur moment starts now. Who wore the number 23 shirt in the 2015 playoff final for Norwich?
01:00:34
Speaker
Can I have me play? No. What year did Paul Lambert join Norwich? 2012. No. Who has scored the most league goals in a season for Norwich? I think I know that one! Robert Fleck. No. Who opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first game of the season?
01:01:00
Speaker
Who opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first game of the season against Norwich? That's who we played. Who scored it against Norwich? I know, but, erm... Oh, Christ. Oh, money! No. Oh my God, could you have said that any louder? Name the only defender with 15 appearances so far this season.
01:01:17
Speaker
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01:01:35
Speaker
I knew the answer to the first ones. That's not fair. No, yeah. Right, OK. Punt. Look how angry he's getting, isn't it? No, I genuinely tried to make them easier. Not Punt's ones, obviously. So, Punt, your time... I will say, you're really quiet. I know I'm not...
01:01:53
Speaker
I didn't hear that through the answer, that's right. Oh, you heard the question. I didn't. I had to repeat twice, but if you want to... I'm very meek and wild. Call me a liar. John Punt, your time starts. Hang on, are you timing this? Do you get a go as well? You time yourself, I trust you. I don't want to time myself. I'm recording. All right, but John Rogers, you can time... Let me get the timer thing up, I want it sufficient. I doubt very much that this will be free and fair, but I don't care. When do I start from the second you start talking or when the answer's finished?
01:02:21
Speaker
Now you start as soon as I say now. Okay. Your time starts now. Who wore the number 27 shirt in the 2002 playoff final for Norwich? Mark Webbers. Correct. What year did Mike Walker leave the club second time? 1997. No. In what competition did we suffer our biggest loss in 1908?
01:02:44
Speaker
Oh, fucking hell. The League. The League. No, sorry, I can't accept. Name one of the referees Norwich have had twice this season. Simon Hooper. No. Who has made the most substitute appearances this season? Oh, fucking hell. Josh Sargent. No. Who is the next Northern team we face in the League?
01:03:08
Speaker
Don't know, pass. What year did Mike Walker leave the club second time? 98. Correct. In what competition did we suffer our biggest loss in 1908? Division 3. No. Name one of the referees Norwich have had twice this season.
01:03:23
Speaker
Um, Oliver, Michael Oliver. No, I only had him once. Who has... Can we just keep that? Yeah, we can. Yeah, the buzzer, that's much better than any at the same time. I've copyrighted it, so of course. At the halfway mark, you are currently winning with two. Just to run through the answers, because people who are listening... There's lots of answers. Can I have a go at that one that I thought I knew? Because, like, just out of 50,
01:03:50
Speaker
So who scored the most league goals in a season for Norwich? No. Was it you and Roberts? No. Oh, no, I don't know it then. Was the first one the shirt Clint Easton? No. No. So the 2015 playoff final. 23. That was Olsen, surely. It was Martin Olsen, yeah. What do you mean surely? Don't talk to me about that, John. Clint Easton didn't play for us in 2015. No, the first one, the 30th.
01:04:19
Speaker
Oh, no, number 30. He still didn't play for us in 2015. Let's have several songs. This is like being on an uneven plastic mat sprayed with water. I'm just saying. Put your ice plates on for round two then. Neil Adams. Can you get closer to the mic for me? I'm being serious. I really can't hear what people are saying. Okay. Can you hear me? Can you hear me, John? At least you have a levels look. I think it's a lack of respect. I think that's the issue. What did Neil Adams, Neil Adams took over in 2014?
01:04:49
Speaker
Yeah, I knew that one. The competition with the highest attendance was the FA Cup, Leicester 1963. It was Jollis who scored the first goal for Norwich this season, that was against Bournemouth. There were two questions I didn't even get to. You already got Olsen, well done pun. Lambert joined Norwich in 2009. Ralph Hunt has scored the most league goals for Norwich, it's 31.
01:05:13
Speaker
Diogo Jota scored the opening goal for Liverpool in the first game of the season. Hanley is the only defender with 15 appearances this season, and the next Midlands club we are facing is Leicester on New Year's Day. 27, you got... You said Northern. No, that was yours. Leicester isn't Northern.
01:05:32
Speaker
No, it isn't. It's Midlands. That's why the question was Midlands. You said Northern. Oh, you said Northern. You definitely said Northern. No. You've fucked me right over. No. Punts won is who is the next Northern team. And that is evident. You got Mike Walker. It was the Southern League that we lost our biggest. Our biggest loss was against Swindon. I couldn't just accept League. And then we have had Robert Jones, Darren England, David Koo, Andy Madley and Jared Gill at twice.
01:05:58
Speaker
and so far this season. That was a bastard of a question. It was hard, wasn't it? But then I did try and, you know, I knew it was Edie and Jon, so I had to try and make yours as hard as possible. So Edie, round two, you're only two points behind. And now we're moving off the team you support. So this could go really well. Your time, Edie, starts now. Which Welshman has scored the most Premier League goals? Michael Owen?
01:06:23
Speaker
Number two, name a player to have featured for both Arsenal and Sunderland in the Premier League. I don't know. I have no idea. OK, who plays their championship football at Select Car Leasing Stadium? Select Car Leasing Stadium. Yeah. What league? Please help me out. Championship. Is it Reading? It is Reading. Nice. Oh, fuck off. She's got my heart. Nice. Who is the manager of Millwall?
01:06:51
Speaker
I don't know. Okay, who used to play at Leeds Road until 1994? Leeds. It isn't Leeds. Job needs to come on the quiz every week. Like a hype man, just for the quiz. No, I'm sorry. Okay, which team are this season's Premier League second highest scorers? Leeds. Why did you just keep whispering Leeds?
01:07:17
Speaker
Time. Okay, time for me. So, it isn't Michael Owen. The Welshman that scored the most... He's fairly Welsh. I do like that. It's just like... I was thinking it's a trick question because that's the kind of shit you pull. It is. Yeah, you're absolutely right. He's a bit Welsh. Okay, so he's Ryan Giggs. He's a bit Welsh. I win in his name. Ryan Giggs.
01:07:40
Speaker
You could have had Arsenal and Sunderland players, Andy Cole, Justin Hoyt, Mark Poon, Niall Quinn, sorry, Nick Caspinta, Sbestian Larsen, loads. I would have got Andy Cole. The manager of Millwall, you know that, don't you, John? No. Or Terry Rowett. And of course, Leeds Road used to be where the people who now play at the Gale Farm, formerly McAlpine, play.
01:08:07
Speaker
That's just a noise. Lorny's not on the pod. We're not going to get good questions, mate. How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field? How does field?
01:08:31
Speaker
Right, John Rogers, you are currently behind by only two, so I believe in you. Oh my God. Do some quick guessing and we'll see if we can get through all six. Your time, John, starts. Now, name a player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League for Leeds United.
01:08:48
Speaker
Tonyobawa. Correct. Name a Brazilian to have played for Spurs in the Premier League. Pass. Who plays their championship football at Kingston Communications Stadium? Hull. Correct. Who is the manager of Stoke City? Oh, shit! They're bloke.
01:09:08
Speaker
Uh, one except Nathan Jones. No, who besides for Norwich used to play at the nest in London? Oh, I don't know. Which team? Brentford. No, which team, not Brendan, which team has conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season so far? Newcastle. Yes, name a Brazilian to have played for Spurs in the Premier League. Uncle Brazilian. No, who was the manager of Stoke City? Oh, come on.
01:09:36
Speaker
How long have I got left? Michael O'Neill? Yes, who's a London team that got birds on their badge? Who got birds on their badge? Yeah, that's why they were playing at the nest. Oh, that's a... Gemory, I see, I'm gonna go again. I couldn't hear what he said, and no idea you said that.
01:09:51
Speaker
I didn't say the birds on the badge bit first time. He was giving you a clue. I was adding that in to try and... Oh, well they are then. You used to give me all the clues from the start. I don't tend to give... Not how it works. I don't tend to give clues to... Have I done well, by the way? You've done really well. You said that a London club was called Brendan, but you're still winning, amazingly. I'm in Brentford. I got excited. You've got Tony Bower, who scored hat-tricks against both Ipswich Town and Wimbledon.
01:10:17
Speaker
Listeners at home, you could have had Bamford, Bridges, Canton, Arfaldo, McAllister, Stracken, Verduca, Wallace. Apparently. Uncle Brazilian was wrong, you could have had Venetius, Royal, Gilbert, Bovino, Aurora, Paolino and Sandro. So you've got, you've got, you've got, you've got Hull City, you've got Michael O'Neill, you've got Newcastle, so four is fantastic out of six. And Palace was the other team that were at the nest in London.
01:10:41
Speaker
What does this mean? Do I get something at the end of this? Well, probably. So, Punt, you are two behind with six questions left. Good news. John Rogers, the person who is currently in the lead, is going to be timing you, so I can only imagine this will be completely free and fair. Just remind me again, what words you say when we have to start? Now. Going. Which London club besides Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal have won the league? Cup.
01:11:13
Speaker
Erm, Crystal Palace. Incorrect. Name a Belgian to have played for Liverpool. Belgian. New pass. Name a player to have featured for both Arsenal and West Ham United in the Premier League. Oh god. Josie Ben Aoun.
01:11:31
Speaker
Yes. Who plays their league one football at the Abbey Stadium? Cambridge United. Correct. Who used to play at the Victoria Ground? Stoke. Correct. Name one of the teams with a minus 10 goal difference in the Premier League currently. Leeds. No. Which London club besides Chelsea Spurs and Arsenal have won the League Cup? Brendan. No. Name a Belgian to have played for Liverpool.
01:11:59
Speaker
I should know that. Oh, what's his name? I can't even remember his name now. Don't matter. He's done it. He's done it by one point. Well done, punt. That's excellent. So a QPR. Has he won? Yeah. I rig it every time. He needed three to win.
01:12:19
Speaker
You were two ahead, right? My heart was going like a rocket. Can we just slow down a bit? Are you sure he won? You've really enjoyed this. You've really enjoyed this after going, oh, I don't know about the quiz, but you're loving it. Who plays a Cara Road John? Oh, well done. What's Timu Puke's name, Timu Puke? Well done, point.
London Football Clubs and Quiz Segment
01:12:40
Speaker
Bullshit. I actually gave him three points for that one. Yeah, so which London-based club besides Chelsea Spurs and Arsenal, the one that he cup is QPR? Easy. I did think we'd get the Belgian ones, because Christian Benteke and Simon Minoulet are really obvious ones, and then you've got Origi as well.
01:12:56
Speaker
Origi was the one I was trying to think of and couldn't remember his name. There were 16 different Arsenal West Ham players, but you got them included, Lansbury, Wright, Wilshire, Ali Adiyeh, Hartson, etc. Diora. You got Rehaimas United, you got Stoke and currently Watford and Southampton have got a minus 10 goal difference in the Premier League. However, because it's Christmas and one point isn't enough of a victory for it to be kind of free and fair and everyone knows it's definitely right, John and Edie are still in the chance of being Christmas champions because we're going to move to a tiebreaker.
01:13:26
Speaker
oh my god so i'm going to come to you first ad and i want an exact minute and then i will come to you john rogers with an exact minute and then punt you with an exact minute an exact minute for what i'm going to tell you the fucking question in a minute have you ever seen any kind of quiz before what guess is like bamboozled
01:13:47
Speaker
right that's two friends references what minute what minute was zollis's second goal against bournemouth give me the minute of his second goal please according to soccer base please edie was that like don't go on bing dumb early one i'm not going on bing
01:14:14
Speaker
That's cheating. If you think that I go on search engines, how do you think I managed to maintain this excellent performance? I don't know. Did you say soccerbase.com? Is that what you said? It is, yes, soccerbase.com. Chris Gorham uses it, so it must be good. Was it the really early one?
01:14:35
Speaker
So I'm going to help you see the second goal. So I missed that bit. Okay. It's really quiet, isn't he? Okay. I just like literally, it's just all a massive blur. Do you need to send someone round? I'm just... Can you smell burning toast? I'm 33.
01:15:01
Speaker
Okay 33, John Rogers, what is your specific minute for the Jollis second goal against Bournemouth? 34. I'm going to go with 61. Okay and John Punt, I need an exact minute please. No, I know it's second half because he scored one at one end and one at the other.
01:15:23
Speaker
What have you gone for, John Rogers? I'm telling you, you have to listen. Oh, right. You're too quiet. Um, 70. Uh, punts won it because he's only four away. Um, so it's, uh, so I shouldn't have been so audibly displeased. Sorry, John. Um, so, uh, it was the 66th minute. So. I've just explained so much because I ate a massive pie at halftime and then I fell asleep. Okay. One minute, one minute, one minute.
01:15:49
Speaker
What? Is it closer to the 67th minute or the 60? What was it? 60? It was 66 minutes. So was it close to the 65 or was it close to the 60, like the end of 66? Oh, you're 28. Oh, you are 29. You are reaching, mate. You are reaching now. I don't have the second. I don't have the seconds available. However, I was going to go for 63 then I panicked and went 61.
01:16:13
Speaker
However, I think the spirit of Christmas is that we should hand it to the best performer. And that is definitely John Rogers. So you've entertained me the most during the quiz, John. So therefore I don't want a pity win.
01:16:30
Speaker
Thank you for spending your time with us, Edie. Thank you for spending your time with us, John, Rogers. Pont, I acknowledge you exist. Sorry it's been a bit slapdash, but you know, it is Christmas. Wherever you're spending it, whoever you're with, whoever you're missing, we wish you the merriest Christmas. We'll see you next year. Mind how you go.
Season Reflections and Technical Difficulties
01:17:17
Speaker
This is what the rest of the season is going to be, i.e. people coming in and out of Covid. It's going to be another disjointed... I can't hear you anymore, Tom. And therefore, we probably don't have the squad to compete. Silence is golden. Is he gone? He might have gone. He might be on mute, although it doesn't show he's on mute. He doesn't normally drop off. He might have stepped away, although he normally mess... He might have turned to be him. He normally messages...
01:17:46
Speaker
Yeah, he hasn't, he hasn't messaged, he usually messages if he's like, oh, is he's just set fire to the greenhouse, oh, he's gone offline. Okay, we'll give him a minute. This is gold, this is where the people want, this is what they want. They don't want silky smooth, they don't want silky smoothness, they want, oh, it's gone wrong, what are they gonna do?
01:18:08
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I'd sometimes put little snippets on the end of little outtakes on the end of pods. Can you quickly just send us all the answers to the quizzes? So when you do it...