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"Obviously Jove" ACN Pod 156
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Clare, Jon & Tom wang on about Wrexham and wishful think about West Brom. Could this finally be the week we nip out of the bottom 3?
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Transcript
Norwich's Recent Successes
00:00:21
Speaker
Welcome to the Long Come Norwich podcast and it barely feels bold to boast a bottom three breakout is beckoning after beating Wrexham aside with five wins on the bounce before being obliterated by the boys in yellow. And were we bothered by our bothersome bimbo sergeant busy briefing about being elsewhere were we bollocks. Instead we basked in the brilliance of our new winger whose debut bursts brought the assist for the opening goal in our big win in Wales while Makama boosted his already breathtaking scoring record with another bang on target. Can PC world save us? You better believe it.
00:00:52
Speaker
Claire, what more did we learn about PC and his peeps this weekend? Well, I mean, we continue to learn that Clement is just a marvellous man and more and more people are coming on board with that. I love him.
00:01:04
Speaker
bloody love him He's just, he's like a legend already. i mean, he he genuinely is though. Like he's his work ethic and the high standards that he has And ah ah today in the in the press conference, he said he is a perfectionist. I mean, that's fairly clear, but it's it's clearly translating onto the pitch and the players are buying into it completely. That performance on Saturday was, you know, yeah, we had to dig in. It wasn't pretty at times, but the energy and the dedication to it was was clearly there and two really lovely
Contrasting Management Styles
00:01:38
Speaker
goals. So,
00:01:39
Speaker
yeah i mean The players are all on board. The new player, um Ahmed, did a great job for the first 20 minutes. He kind of died off quite quickly after that, but he he produced in the first 20 minutes quite quite significantly. Clearly, we've got a good player there as well. form we're in, is it's...
00:02:00
Speaker
I think we'd be in the playoffs if if the season had started on the 18th of November. So we are we are not a relegation team at the moment. We're just stuck there because of the terrible three months we had under Manning.
00:02:13
Speaker
And I realised that our new player rattled the bar, which seems like an oversight to not put that into an intro full of Bs,
Defensive Strategies by Clement
00:02:21
Speaker
but there we go. we yeah um So Punt, but what what about what were the behaviours that you noticed that you felt were particularly worth calling out from from our win in Wales?
00:02:33
Speaker
Another B word. um we which just The thing is, I think the performance overall wilson like It was in fits and starts. It wasn't particularly gung-ho. The football wasn't particularly flowing apart from the goal. Makama's goal and Kenny and Slimane breaking out was just sumptuous.
00:02:58
Speaker
um But it was resolute and it was organised. And actually, Wrexham had us under the pump for for quite a long time of that first half, probably a good 25-30 minutes.
00:03:11
Speaker
But actually, their goal aside, which is really well taken and Vlad can do absolutely nothing about, did they really create anything, know, kind of of note in terms of chances?
00:03:23
Speaker
Not really. And I think that's that's the really positive thing about Clement right from the start.
Transformative Coaching
00:03:31
Speaker
is actually you really have to do well to break us down. And we defend our box and the spaces around our box very, very well. And there's there's almost a desperation around our defending in terms of, you know, to be desperate to get in front of the ball. And I kind of liken it to...
00:03:53
Speaker
Christoph Zimmerman and Tim Krull, almost when they had their little moments after someone had put in a flying save or a flying tackle. And they just, you know they're absolutely in love with the art of defending. Rory McConville, I mean, he's unbelievable, isn't he? Like really, you know, in terms of just seven out of 10 or eight out of 10 every single week.
00:04:13
Speaker
Yeah. So I think it's just... I don't quite know. i mean, obviously, you know, we are still up and down. We are still enigmatic as as a side. And we're going to be like that because actually it was such a low bar um that or a low ebb that that Clement took us over from.
00:04:31
Speaker
But a switch just got flicked after that Birmingham game and we just suddenly became really, really hard to beat all of a sudden. And I genuinely, from where we were,
00:04:45
Speaker
It is an absolute masterclass of coaching to pick up that side with how beleaguered we were, how how poor individually all of those players looked. Let's not dress it up. like you know There were times where, you know well, Tom, you made comments on the pods like a couple of players weren't even fit to you know to to play League One football. And and actually, it was difficult to disagree with it at that point, but we knew there was more in them.
Performance Highlights and Skill Demonstration
00:05:11
Speaker
um Sometimes Kenny was only okay. yeah. And he's the greatest player to ever play for Norwich. And in fairness, right, he was only okay first half on Saturday. You know, actually, I thought him and Mattson kind of struggled a little bit in that first half. you know, I mean, that the pass, the little backhealy flick thing, which I don't really know how he did it. I'm not sure he knows how he did it, but he did it. Yeah.
00:05:38
Speaker
And then the timing of the pass from Suleimane into Kenny as well. So he didn't have to break stride. It was just all yes so perfect. way it was the the weight weight of it was was gorgeous. and Yeah, I think yeah just on your point, I think you've you've hit the nail on the head in terms of the the difference watching Norwich. When we are under the pump against a team at either at home or away, and it's more impressive a away, of course, especially against a team who have whose supporters and players in that and environment are used to and getting their way and and winning recently, very, very recently, um to be under the pump, to concede possession, to feel like they are having a purple patch and we're going to have to you know weather the storm, which is going to happen in championship football for 23, 22 teams every season, usually have to, in every single game, expect a couple of 10-minute spells where you're under the cosh.
00:06:30
Speaker
They had two shots on target, Wrexham. i mean, that's the difference, right? It's the it's the fact that the're being under pressure 20 yards out or being under pressure 30 yards out doesn't convert routinely to, God, we could have conceded there or we nearly conceded there. Oh, crumbs, we nearly conceded there. It's that the amount of...
00:06:51
Speaker
times when you thought we were lucky to still be in the game in that first, like even when we were losing, the fact that it wasn't until later in the second half we ended up then going behind or whatever, that the the number of times we thought we got away with one. Whereas now teams are like, to your point, Punt, are probably having to craft opportunities and they, it you know, and early in Clement's reign, there was a frustration that we still were conceding when we did, especially Birmingham, to although we,
00:07:17
Speaker
we've all sort of agreed to kind of put that aside and almost you wish he was watching from the stands because that is, you know, that that that is the one result under him that felt of the furthest from from his kind of football. But,
00:07:30
Speaker
You always feel like those conceding those really ridiculously easy goals that are Sunday league goals, that that has got less and less and less. And we're not giving away such basic chances that that are purely of our own design. And it is the art of defending. that that's what That's what seems to have been instilled. And he's not done that with a new set of defenders. He's just done that with...
00:07:51
Speaker
the people that he's had available. And to be fair, he had that going before Cordoba came back. you know, it's not like, and Kreseni, you know, yes, they've come back and helped, but he did it with the players that the that the previous guy had had available to him. So that's an it's an amazing turnaround. and A word on on on Ali Ahmed, having a winger who has only had such a short period of time, Claire,
Transfer Talks and Team Strategy
00:08:14
Speaker
to adjust and acclimatise,
00:08:17
Speaker
And then having even a 20 minute impact where you rattle the bar and the the ball through for Slomani. Talk about a weighted ball. mean, it was, he hits it so hard. It was like a shot, but but it basically meant Slomani just had to put any contact on it and it's in. Yeah, he just had to direct it to towards the goal, didn't he? Because the pace was already on it. I mean, apparently he's settled in really well and is already kind of a big hit in the dressing room. So that's only going to be positive. And i think, you know, he did have a really great 20 minutes, but then I think Rex and Buck basically just kind of clattered into him as much as possible because they obviously realised he was a bit of ah an issue and ah and targeted him after that. And obviously he's not used to the English football and the championship, but I feel like he's definitely capable of learning very quickly. um You know, he is a,
00:09:03
Speaker
a Canadian international so he's played I think 20 games at international level which you know can't be sniffed at so I'm sure he will come good um and obviously I don't think he's like fully fit yet either I don't expect he would have played much more than the first half anyway but so so positive to see him doing exactly what we wanted him to do as everyone said we've got a winger and you know glorious it was too so yeah only better things to come I'm sure but a great start from him And 25. So banging is prime, you know, not not not within a year or two of losing pace, you'd hope. You know, if it feels like one for next season as much as as one to to create enough chances to keep us up this season. and But there was talk in the press conference today, were recording this Monday the 19th, the day before the West Brom game. There was talk in the press conference about incoming signings punt. And, um you know, clearly we still need some more. We need more quality. We need more chance creation quality.
00:10:02
Speaker
ah Are you disappointed that we are two-thirds of the way through January and there still hasn't been that creative sort of central midfielder that's come in, that 10 that we all wanted? um Disappointed would probably be be too harsh of a word.
00:10:15
Speaker
it kind of is expected in January that we're going to leave our business towards the end of the window. it wouldn't surprise me if we look at a loan optional or two. I know Clement has come out and said he's not a particularly big fan of that. But actually, we've got to move with the markets and the players that are available. And I do think you might see a couple of Premier League loans become available or, you know, just people who aren't getting football, but but actually might be seen as one for the future. That might be the type of player that we need to sign.
00:10:44
Speaker
It's interesting in the 10, though. i mean, for the first time, and Paddy pushed him on it in the press conference, for the first time he came out today and said he saw Schwartow potentially as ah ah you know as a central player and that he'd had to be kind of shoehorned into a winger because of the personnel that that we had available.
00:11:02
Speaker
ah I really like Oscar in central areas, you know, whenever he's kind of drifted and gravitating into those areas, I thought he's, he's looked more effective. Um, and Slimani was good there on Saturday, you know, and that really surprised me. Yeah. I mean, so I'm not saying we don't need a 10 because kind of think we do, but actually if we didn't sign a 10 between now and the, whenever it is second of February, um,
00:11:31
Speaker
I wouldn't be absolutely heartbroken. I think i think right now, if if the window furiously slammed shut right now, I still think we've got enough to keep us up.
00:11:45
Speaker
I think that Clement would get enough out of this lot. Now, think it would be close and I think it would be far too close to for comfort. And we definitely need a couple more additions in attacking areas.
00:11:57
Speaker
Well, not necessarily attacking areas, but just players who, you know, even if it's another central midfielder, someone who um can look to to play forward with purpose really quickly. I think that's the kind of thing that Clermont is looking for. He's looking for people to to release his wingers. He's looking for people to get on the ball and be brave. And we maybe haven't got enough of those on the pitch all at the same time. So... um Yeah, not disappointed.
00:12:22
Speaker
um I think it's expected. I think with this could go right up to the wire. I mean, Napa's kind of proven himself in windows as well. He he he wasn't, he's very different to the kind of methodical approach that Stuart Weber adopted in terms of getting his business done as early as possible in in the window. You know, Napa pretty much in every window has gone right up to the wire with some signing. So don't be surprised if we're, if we're sat here up till 11pm or whenever the deadline is, you know, kind of waiting for, for incomings. It, it,
00:12:50
Speaker
you know And if we get another Jacob Wright or McConville who were who were right you know at the back end of January, then it'll be worth the wait. Yeah, was thinking about someone with a profile of Wright, which then made me think about Wright and how, you know, do we feel that we've maybe given up on him being the the option, the the long the long-term outcome ah in number 10? Because you can't see him, so you know, supplanting either Kenny or Mattson for the main middle two. Can you, Claire? Yeah.
00:13:22
Speaker
Unless we get injuries there, I guess, and then he would he would have to. But I think um Clement said you know he he actually likes Jacob in the 10 role. He likes what he was doing there as well. I mean, it's good that he's kind of capable of playing in in a few different positions in the middle. But
00:13:40
Speaker
i've just id Obviously, it would be amazing if we did bring in more players and and beneficial, but the way that Clement has he's improved every single player in the team, every single player, and he's also brought players back in that were literally kind of outcast. Slimani was going to go He was going to get sold. McConville hadn't set foot on the pitch barely at all. you know He's brought plays in that we just thought weren't any good and were no benefit to us whatsoever. And now they're performing at a really top level. Slomani was excellent on Saturday in that role. And we'd all kind of just thought, oh, he's no good. He's going to go. but So we've kind of almost signed new players that were already there in in effect and increased you know that the squad lumbers in that respect. So yes, we probably do need a couple more, but I'm not going to be really, really angry if if we don't bring bring any more in.
00:14:41
Speaker
Do you think it depends as well what happens with the bimbo? I mean, what what about Sarge? if he Do we have to talk about him? Yeah, we do. Because i mean did I still feel like I'm surprised that we are and that that that storyline has played out as little as it has. I'm glad.
00:15:02
Speaker
Don't give him any airtime. Well, yeah, but I'm glad that we haven't. I'm glad there's not been lots of back and forth. But I would have liked us to be closer to yep, you're staying. He said, sorry, on we go. Or he's going, he really has thrown his toys of the pram. It's 17 million or you or you or you play with the under-21s for the rest of the year. you know that that's and yeah There was the Atanasio pointed tweet along the lines of, you know good great to see the committed players who want to be here whatever. So, you know, it's it's a really icky situation. It's, you know, it's cringeworthy and and and and and totally unnecessary and avoidable. um
00:15:41
Speaker
I'm not 100% sure that they did the right thing by drawing attention to it without trying to solve it. Maybe they did feel they'd already done everything they could to try and resolve it without going public with it from and from their angle. And obviously the retaliation was the Toronto and leak that they say, oh, he's not just doing it with with nothing there. There is actually an offer. I think it would have been better for Sargent's camp if the offer was a bit more exciting. You know, if it's Barcelona coming knocking for air.
00:16:11
Speaker
You know, you think fair enough that the lad's not quite up for playing Walsall because Barcelona's coming for him. Whereas, you know, you might get to play for Toronto in a few weeks. When their season finally kicks off and who knows if they'll be any good. They were shit last year. That wasn't really tit for tat, that kind of rumour.
00:16:30
Speaker
Maybe it was the Norwich camp that leaked it. They said, look, by just so you know, the interest is not high enough and it's not a very interesting, you know, we don't feel bad standing in his way going to Toronto. You know, we're not we're not crushing the dreams of the lad.
00:16:43
Speaker
um So i I thought we'd be further along with that. And I couldn't, I wouldn't want to, i mean, I'm not a gambling man, but if I were, i've just I've just spent a week in Las Vegas and didn't spend a pound in a casino. and if i If I were, ah and that's not true. I did buy drinks and food. I didn't gamble specifically. um I didn't want to be caught out for lying. and If I were going to put money on um what the outcomes are, I think- No one fact checks this pod. Otherwise your quiz would have been fucked for the start. It has been fucked. I would guess he stays and he's and he sticks in the under-21s. But then we've lost him, haven't we? This is what I put on Twitter. He's saying are we're not going to lose him in this window. And the irony is we already have because he's not in the squad.
00:17:26
Speaker
But this is the problem. So we have lost him. Yeah, but then come of February... if we haven't sold him, the situation has to get you reconciled. that There's no other way around it. for For the club, you've got a saleable asset who cannot sit and rot in the reserves or 21s or whatever it is.
00:17:46
Speaker
And for Josh Sargent, you've got a situation where... he's going have to have to eat the humblest of pie because there is a world cup around the corner. So it will be in everyone's interests to get that situation sorted. And I compared it last pod to the Buendia situation under Farca, you know, kind of post relegation. I think it's really similar.
00:18:06
Speaker
I think, look, I can see, ah can see both scenarios. I think if, If Toronto or another North American club get to a ah number that's north of 20 million, I think it probably happens.
00:18:20
Speaker
But if it doesn't, it it needs to get sorted. There'll be some difficult conversations, but he will have to be reintegrated. there's There's no two ways about that because you can't have, well, one, you can't go into the remainder of the season with with two fit strikers, one of whom isn't that fit. Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:37
Speaker
And has't hasn't scored many goals for us yet. And two, but it's you can't have him rotting like that you know because you know every week, every month that he doesn't play, his resale value just diminishes even further. So then that needs to be fixed.
00:18:52
Speaker
but But I think if there was a reconciliation, it's so much harder for Josh to do that climb down on the 1st of February when he hasn't got what wants than it is for him to do it now. yeah if he were If he were to do it when it's still technically possible to be sold...
00:19:05
Speaker
um i.e. in the last week or even in this coming week. It feels like that's not going to happen now. He's not going to do an early apology because he would, what why wait to halfway through the month kind of thing.
00:19:16
Speaker
But it feels like now the groveling polit apology will now be way less likely to be taken at face value because it it will be, well, yeah, of course you're saying sorry now, mate, because you're desperate to try and score some goals somewhere and we're the only chance you've got. He scores two goals in the next game and then suddenly, you know, he's on our mind and he's number nine again. you know like with thing was ele We are so fickle as football fans. We will forget it very, very quickly.
00:19:41
Speaker
On them Saturday, I can't remember who was might have been ah cant remember who it was that said It might have been one of the commentators, Ian Butterworth maybe, but somebody said something along the lines of, He's sitting at home watching this a brilliant win away at a really tough place to go. What is he thinking? Like, what is he thinking? I want to be there. I should be there. I should be on the pitch and celebrating with these boys. Like he can't have switched off his emotions in that way. So surely.
00:20:09
Speaker
he wants to come back and be involved in it. So the more he doesn't, the more it kind of really actually quite hurts. Like I can't understand where his mind is at, that he doesn't want to at least like get on the pitch and fight. If you if you're worried about the fat noise, you're going to lose your agency. rather is going to lose money if your value goes down if we get relegated to league one and you can leave for less money why don't you get on the flipping pitch do your job you're paid for and make sure we don't get relegated and then you can go for a lot more money and everyone's happy so i just I don't get it I genuinely don't get where his head's at
00:20:47
Speaker
Because i think you've hit now on the head that if he were to be, if he performs, Norwich are a selling club to um bigger clubs. And that has been the case for a very, very long time and is set to be the case for a very, very long time. And there is a really, really good, way not to go over all ground for a couple of pods ago, but now there's a really good precedent for you've been brilliant for us. You gave your rule and you were brilliant and it's the end of the season and you've had a better offer off it on you go. yeah you go with our best wishes um and a la Madison, Sarah, Buendia, every time you score or do something good, Norwich fans are delighted because we you know we you left ah in the right way. And i can't i cannot I cannot see how this ends well for him um because i to me, it doesn't they've already started their pre-season, the American clubs. like Surely if they had a... get a
00:21:44
Speaker
the the size of investment needed for, for, you know, MLS clubs don't tend to spend 25 million on strikers very regularly. The amount of money needed to go and get him, you feel like they would already have identified that and there would at least be talks in ongoing unless there is like another club involved. But I feel like the the club, I feel like that news would come out straight away if that was true.
00:22:06
Speaker
Because the agent would want both everyone to know there's two parties to push to push the price up. um And we already know the agent doesn't act with any grace because of this situation. So we know it's one of the baddies. There is mention of Nottingham Forest in the week as well, but that doesn't really play into his call. I want to go i canno cannot see any Premier League club thinking that he makes them better before the end before the end of this season. His his form isn't there. Yeah.
00:22:32
Speaker
Josh at the beginning of the season, yes, but he's scored two goals in the last however many games. He's had chances and he's snatched at them. And whether or not his mind has not been right in the lead up to the window, maybe whether his confidence has not regained at the same rate as some of the other players. Maybe Clement hasn't had as positive impact on him as some the others. Probably the fact that McCormick is doing so well and he's a bit like, oh,
00:22:58
Speaker
Maybe his nose is a little bit. I'm, you know, I'm sure he's really pleased for Joe, but his nose is probably a bit out of joint that he was like, I'm the number one striker and actually, no, you're not, mate. Not anymore. We've got a better one. And, but that's, that, that's the thing I can, and I can totally see us moving on from him ah and getting in. someone who who basically becomes back up to Makama like another big strong nine that replaces Sargent and is back up to Makama because you can't possibly say to Makama someone else is now ahead of you no no no so you you know it's a big yeah I I would have said it was if you'd have said to me at the beginning of November
00:23:39
Speaker
and from January onwards, McCarma is your first choice striker. i I'd have just gone like can't i just i started planning my League One away days. like like But you see what I mean? You can't have someone who's just come up from League One and got a couple of goals and and all of a sudden there's no Sargent and we have to rely on him.
00:23:56
Speaker
and And he's completely proven that at this level. i mean, that's the finish on Saturday... I mean, it was firm, low, right inside the corner, made the decision early, hit it in stride. you The keeper it isn't in a bad angle.
00:24:12
Speaker
It's just a great strike. Yeah. yeah that's And it's one of those ones, as soon as he hits it on the replay, you're like, pass it in. well on yeah look On the replay, you would, yeah. yeah way so Yeah, that was silly. But how does he sort his feet out?
00:24:26
Speaker
How does he sort his feet out when it comes across a body like that? It's such a a difficult art. I think that's coaching as well. I think he's been being coached really well by Brian Gary. and It's confidence. It's coaching. it's that it's It's that kind of flow state that confidence helps you get into. and I actually heard Ian Wright talking in the last few days about um hitting things first time and and the importance of trusting as ah as a top striker, trusting your instinct and how if you have got talent and you've already scored lot of goals in your career,
00:25:00
Speaker
That's all the more reason to trust your instinct because probably your first thought is the right one. And and how when when players start to take an extra touch and start to be on a bit of a bad run of form and in front of goal in particular, it will be because they want to really, really set themselves to make sure they get a clean strike off. Whereas when they're in a flow, they'll just go...
00:25:19
Speaker
almost a la Pukki, if the first bit I can get on this ball is the outside of my left ankle ball, I'll hit it with that. If if the first thing I can get is my left knee, i'll I'll knock it in with that because I'm in the form at the moment that as long as I've got forward momentum towards the goal, it's going in.
00:25:35
Speaker
and And yeah, I i feel that i feel that that's that's the flow state that McCalm is in at the moment. and he is He's hitting things and and he could have had another one, right, at the weekend. and There was probably a harder chance that he missed. Yeah.
00:25:49
Speaker
and But, you know, to then go back and then take a harder one and and put it away, that's the sign of a strike in form. And feels like we're on to ah onto an interesting interesting run of four interesting run of fixtures for the form that we are
Upcoming Matches and Strategic Analysis
00:26:04
Speaker
in. and You know, the way the the way the table stands...
00:26:08
Speaker
Portsmouth getting the win and Charlton getting a win means that we didn't make up the ground that we could do. They drew, they? Oh, won, Charlton and Portsmouth both won. But yeah know West Brom Blackburn both lost. me Blackburn haven't won the last five. bret West Brom lost three on the bounce and and then a win and a loss before that as well. So we've made serious ground on them. And, you know, if it's...
00:26:36
Speaker
if we could do if we can do something in the next couple of games, obviously the West Brom game tomorrow is enormous because if we hand them their fourth defeat on the bounce at a very disgruntled home ground, um then all of a sudden we are within a point of them and they are right down in the mire. Tom, thought we were down.
00:26:59
Speaker
You said were down. Yeah. but oh Oh, but now we're... oh right we still won't we still won't be a We still won't be above them, Claire, but we'll pull them down into the mire. We're only six points off about fifteenth now, you know.
00:27:13
Speaker
Well, but this is this is what I was going to come to. In terms of the fixtures we've got coming up, I think you can look up to 16th. and Swansea and I think just looking on the form over this season and just I think Southampton have just got too much quality to to to plummeting a bit at the moment yeah they haven't won in the last five I know but i I they were good and then they've since we beat them they've spiraled we ruined it well i think that i I think that you can go up to 16th and you can make a case that those teams are going to be around and and about and aren't going to go anywhere. And maybe one of Sheffield United, West Brom or Southampton will completely pull away. um But yeah, I think there's a lot of teams that are going to be in and around us. and
00:28:00
Speaker
We need to keep the momentum going. I don't think we can afford like a two, three game in a row without a point, which brings us to this huge game tomorrow ah and away at the Hawthorns. We then have Coventry at home on a random Monday night, eight o'clock kickoff. um And then we go to Middlesbrough. mean, it's a really, really tricky run. And then after that, we then have Blackburn and Oxford, both obviously in and around us. And then we have Sheffield Wednesday, who we owe, you know, putting right the fact that we're the only team to succumb to them all season. and So, yeah, I think it's a it it's a really, really positive looking set of kind of six fixtures we could do, i think, without having to play Coventry-Mindlesford back-to-back because I fear we might we might only come up with sort of one point between those two games. So let's have some let's have some guarantees for the for the biggie. So big bottom of the table flash.
00:28:59
Speaker
West Brom versus Norwich City. Claire, i want a guaranteed score. It's like the Premier League all over again. Relegation battle between West Brom and Norwich City. Not in the championship. um
00:29:12
Speaker
i ah i'm going to I don't think they're going to lose another game. for I think we're going to draw there. i really hope Mind you, I got the victory right at Wrexham, so let me be more positive. I think we're going to win...
00:29:29
Speaker
2-1 again. and um yeah, who's going to score? Obviously, Jove will score. And i think that Tony Springett will also score. He'll come on second half, score his first proper league goal.
00:29:49
Speaker
Well, Portsmouth don't play until Wednesday. They've got Watford on the Wednesday. So we you know a um a win, no, a point, because of the goal difference, a point would be enough to move us out of the bottom three, although they would have three games in hand.
00:30:05
Speaker
and You know, Watford's not an easy place to go away. And Blackburn, interestingly, tomorrow night are playing Swansea. So and we are right. If we were to get a positive result, in look well, usually that is the way, Claire, yeah. so ah either i either we are going to be pulling so keeping Swansea in check and all of a sudden we could be within five or three points of them, um or we could leapfrog Blackburn. If we win by a couple of goals, we leapfrog Blackburn. Blackburn. Let's not get carried away. Easy peasy.
00:30:35
Speaker
So it it could be ah it could be a massive night. it's It likewise would be a really bad bad one to to get to to lose. I think we go with a ah must not lose attitude. What say you, Puntalicious?
00:30:49
Speaker
Yeah, um I think we're going to do a draw. ah Take it, Desmond. ah Yeah, no, I wouldn't quite go Desmond. like it It feels to me like we might have another clean sheet in us. So let's go for a really drab nil-nil, which, you know what?
00:31:06
Speaker
I'm absolutely fine with and I would take on it right now. Yeah, I would take right now. Like, let's just get another point on the board. Um... because actually loads of people pre-Wrexham were going, oh my God, look at our fixtures. We've got Wrexham, you know, who are the in-form side in the division. Then we've got West Brom, who've just got a new manager. Then we've got Coventry. Then we've got Middlesbrough. We're not possibly going to pick up a point over those four games.
00:31:31
Speaker
And then suddenly we've got three in the bag. Another one on Tuesday just keeps us ticking over nicely. So yeah, I'm going to go for a rather tepid nil-nil draw.
00:31:42
Speaker
Okay, and ah ah can I have a a chance misser then if I can't have a goal scorer or a yellow card maybe? ah good good A good corner taker? you We haven't got any of them, have we?
00:31:56
Speaker
No. larry yeah i I was hoping maybe Ali Ahmed can take a decent corner. Juracek can take a half-decent corner. However, would would you start him or Tony Springer tomorrow night?
00:32:09
Speaker
Because his effort, Matei's effort off the ball is still just massively subpar. i think I think we... So I'll answer that coming on to my guarantee. And and I'm not just going to say 4-0. I am actually going to going to be a little bit logical and say that I think... I actually read a few lines from... Remember Pat Murphy, the BBC football correspondent who's West Brom fan and watches their games now he's retired?
00:32:37
Speaker
talking about how a bit how they he felt they were a bit unlucky and that performance would have got him a win against other teams and they may have got some winnable games coming up. Can't think who he thought of. And on come Norwich. um He's a good lad. i've met I've met him actually. I met him back in the days. He's bloody lovely gentleman.
00:32:53
Speaker
So anyway, I would say that... it's essential that we don't give them the first goal if there is one because of the whole new manager thing and because of the fact that yeah they must feel that there's a long-come knowledge coming, all these loose losses on the bounce and they're at home and it's a chance to pull away from a team in the bottom three.
00:33:12
Speaker
you know that they Their supporters will get super nervy if we can, you know if a team in the bottom three turns up and takes the lead, they really are going to start getting a bit aggro and they think, oh, come on, you're supposed to be the new manager that's going to help us here. so So I would go spring it.
00:33:28
Speaker
still have Ali Ahmed on the other side I would go spring it and then you can bring your RSEC on in the second half if you need to china to push to try and get back in the game if we needed to but no I would go Tony and I would be tempted to I'd be tempted to really really fly out the blocks at them if we can and and try and pile as much pressure be really really direct get the ball forward quickly make them really uncomfortable get them turning running towards their own goal and like try lots of those kind of tell Kenny, do lots of your sort of round the corner slide rule passes. Like keep trying to get them turned and get McCalmer and get Ali Ahmed running in behind. Because if we can nick that first goal, you know, we we know how nervy and awful it is when you're on a terrible run at home. And then a team that you think, surely this is the game we might be able to get something from. When they then take the lead, the boo boys come out and and it and it gets really, really nasty. So I think the first goal is massive. I think we get it and go on to win 3-1. Nice.
00:34:27
Speaker
nice And we're out with the bottom three and feeling very, very fruity. We're definitely going to lose now. That's not going to happen.
Reflections and Future Challenges
00:34:37
Speaker
Sorry about that. And then I don't know whether or not we'll have an opportunity to talk ahead of Coventry, um but it's, you know, i almost feel like they their form is, you know, really quite middling lately. Well, this is it. We almost don't want that though. We want, we beat the form teams. We play really well against the form teams. Like we want to like you like your Watfords and your Wrexhams when they, you know, both of those were, we got them at the right time in theory as far as they were concerned. Yeah.
00:35:03
Speaker
Now, if we're sort of projecting, I feel like if we go into that home game out of the bottom three, that could be a really, really great opportunity to put in a solid battling performance.
00:35:21
Speaker
and get at least a draw against them and show that actually we' a we're a mid-table championship team. We're not a bottom three championship team. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to we need to get a result tomorrow.
00:35:31
Speaker
As long as it's a draw, it doesn't do us any harm at all. Yes, if we lose, I will go back to being convinced we're going to go down. um Just say that now. i mean... that's that i will be writing in our whatsapp group um tomorrow at roughly this time i cannot believe that that clement isn't going to be able to do this for us and i tell you now i can't help it i can't help that i'm like this there is no there's no no logic there's no facts there's no suggestions every time we lose it's the end of the world every time we win the world champions then that's just the law we love you for it thank you someone finally um I just tolerate him. It's been eight and a half years of this. Yeah, I'm only in my first season of it. so yeah oh I'll grind you down.
00:36:17
Speaker
So a massive week. It's huge, it is. And I will try and keep my mood regulated either way. and Thank you for your time, Claire. I acknowledge you exist, Puntilio. Everyone else, come and let's go and get a win at the Hawthorns. Mind how you go.