Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Long Come Norwich podcast. Frustrating foul-ups forged ferocious frights following fluctuating form in this week's fixtures. Fickle folk fretted that Burnley was a fluke, feeling flurry at flimsy frailties found at the Potteries. But fabulous fortitude flashed into focus during Saturday's formidable foray at the Blades.
Speaker: Fluid footballers flourished, forcing fierce foes to falter, while Big Phil found fine finishes from his firing forward line. Chris Wilder frankly confessed post-match that few could foil our phenomenal, fear-inducing, fully-functioning front four.
Speaker: Claire, not everyone agrees if we're actually good or not yet. It's been the sort of inconsistent week that makes you threaten to mute a fellow podcaster. Yes, apparently it was. um Yeah, we don't really know whether we're up or down at the minute. It's all a bit discombobulating, isn't it? But then again, I'm not sure anyone in the championship...
Speaker: knows where they're at of the minute because it's as a league it's kind of been all over the place and literally anyone appears to be able to beat anyone so it hasn't settled down yet but we've gone from a lovely high last Saturday to what was an incredibly frustrating evening on Tuesday i i went to bed kind of angry after Tuesday's performance and which I don't often do, but it was so frustrating. And then you just think, oh, this is going to be a tough old season. And then we go to Saturday and do that. So now we're all marvellous again. Yeah, it's difficult to know where we're at, but certainly i think yesterday was a lot more, looked a lot more like us of last season. um and I think we'll start to settle down now, hopefully, and kick on. But then I said that last Saturday as well. So who knows? Yeah.
Speaker: Well, so it it does feel like the championship is trying to prove the whole anyone can beat everyone and all the championships are tricky league to predict. Like more than ever, these first five games, the, you know, who looks good for two weeks, then concedes for the next week to who was botting them or whatever. and There's been some really eye-raising and results. And I think we all just need to learn that no result is eye-raising.
Speaker: and And maybe towards the end of November, and we might have some kind of idea of who might be good. Because, you know, a couple of the teams that we've played who have looked half decent have struggled everywhere but against us.
Speaker: And likewise, you know, some of the teams that have been getting pasting have then and then kind of rocked up and and walked past teams who, you know, have beaten the teams to beat that beat them. It really very odd. It's all over the place. It's only five games and because we've got this run of games for another and have a couple of weeks, it means that you know there might be a semblance of of things settling down. Punt, one of the things i wanted to pick up with you is... um not only could we not agree whether or not the overall performance is good, this early season, we don't seem to have consensus as to which players, when we are having an off night, are having an off night. And I don't just mean the three of us. I mean, you know it's quite, like people say, oh, Chris Eni was great. no, I thought Chris Eni was awful. But sadly, I thought Fisher was having a stinker first half. You were in person and said thought it was great. So it it does seem to be really discombobulating to Nick Clare's word.
Speaker: I didn't think Kellen was great, but I thought he was perfectly so serviceable and certainly an improvement on his first two games. um So I will say that. and And yeah, and you conversely thought he was, I think probably you use the words absolutely toilet or, you know, kind of worse. I think honking what I went with. Honking. There you go. There you go. Yeah. um But I thought Kellan was fine. I thought the whole of the defence over the piece were were fine. um Jose took a little bit of time to grow into it. I think actually it it was quite difficult because we were exchanging messages at half time and...
Speaker: There was that up until we got our second goal, right? it I think it's an accepted consensus that Norwich were struggling. um Pella and Kenny were just giving the ball away at will.
Speaker: Kellen gave it away a couple of times. Cordoba gave it away two or three times. We were getting silly yellow cards. It it felt like Sheffield United were starting to assert themselves on on the game almost through...
Speaker: the fact that they'd started to press us in a way which was causing us a few problems, but actually we we were making our own mistakes as well, you know, kind of. So... it was ah It was a critical stage of the game for Anis to then just go and do that brilliant backheel and Mo. with have Have you seen the I just wanted to to touch on this. Have you seen the angle from like kind of behind Toure where Slimani is just in view and he's already celebrating the goal before Mo slots it? Yes. It's beautiful. Both arms in the air. He hasn't even made contact with the ball yet.
Speaker: Absolutely. And I was like, how confident... How confident. I mean, and, you know, and look, that was the archetypal Mo Torre finish, wasn't it? You know, kind of it was really just sprint onto it, have a look, slot it home.
Speaker: um But no, yeah, you're right. it's It's almost as if people don't quite know what Norwich are yet, which is really weird given the whole summer was built around consistency and, you know, kind of making sure that um that we we went into this season, you know, on the foundations of last.
Speaker: And yeah, we haven't we haven't quite clicked yet, but it felt to me like, and I've heard this said elsewhere, that we were as as close to last season in the second half of Saturday as we have been all season. I think that's that's incredibly accurate. It We exerted the kind of control on that match that I wasn't sure we'd been we'd be able to at Bramall Lane at ah this kind of embryonic stage of the season.
Speaker: And I think a lot of that was purely, again and we talked about it on the last pod, the two lads at the back looking imperious because they did second half, you know, in in Rari and um and Jose. And then Kenny and Pella, I don't know what Clement said to them at halftime.
Speaker: Going back on a couple of things you said there, Punt. Firstly, at Stoke, I felt that that that where you've said that there was a um you weren't sure they'd be up for a Bramall Lane battle ah this early in the season and be able to stand up to it, at Stoke, I felt that they weren't up to it and they were really easily rattled. And that was why I was getting so cross and firing off group messages sometimes.
Speaker: in the podcast chat on Tuesday Stoke because I just felt that they were being, it was men versus boys, as I saw someone say on social media, they were or every cheap free kick, every cheap time-wasting trick, um you know, not taking the right options to stop getting in the crowd onside, all of the things that you would think a Clement coach team would be better than. um seemed to not be there. And then in the first half, again, on Saturday, it seemed again like we were being really easily rattled, getting shitty bookings.
Speaker: and It was interesting how good Cordova was second half. And on the stream, I was watching the Sheffield United local commentator, said he'd been imperious and said he'd been incredible. And I was thinking at half time, I thought he was dreadful because that he had given the ball away a lot in the first half.
Speaker: But then in the second half, yeah, he was terrific. he He really did play well. And it's amazing how comfortable we were when they tried to get up ahead of steam. I think we are we are a football club this season that is just so much more comfortable when someone actually tries to attack us. We seem to have a better we seem to be better set up for that. So with the games we've got coming up, Claire, um against Birmingham and Middlesbrough, you would expect both of those are going to fall into that category, aren't they?
Speaker: You'd expect so because, yeah, they're both going to play their own football and and and play good, decent football anyway. We are definitely struggling against the teams like Stoke. um And it was unfortunate that that they scored their goal. It was a kind of lucky deflection off one of our players for them. to score it and then they just sharp shop and they did it very well but we really struggled to get through that whereas you feel like Birmingham and and definitely Middlesbrough there's going to be more space um and it's yeah we're very much more suited to just let let them have the ball and we'll just attack well in the second half yesterday um we turned the ball over
Speaker: a lot um really pressed them so so well I thought Pella looked really great in the second half yesterday back to his best um having been a bit iffy prior to that um yeah I think I'm not going to get overconfident again because I fell into that trap last week but you'd imagine that the games coming up this week are more suited to the way we are currently trying to play yes
Speaker: But punt, is that is that something that Clement can fix over the course of the season where we have an answer to unlock a low block, to unlock you know people parking the bus? Because there's been a couple of times this season where when we've given a stupid goal away or a good goal has been scored, we've the other team seems to know all they need to do is shut up shop and which and that's the end of that. um i thought I thought Clement's comments were interesting about that, though, because I think I can't remember if was Conor or Paddy, but they put that to to him pre-Sheffield United. They said, oh, look, actually, are you going to have to get used to teams parking the bus? and And he really quickly batted it off and said, no, they didn't park the bus.
Speaker: They pressed us high. You know, kind of like, he didn't consider it a parking bus issue. To answer your question, I am... I think it some of it is a personnel issue. I think had we had Paris Magoma, had we had Jovan McCarma, had Antti Cernach maybe been a little bit fitter, I think there might have been a different kind of personnel switch that that could have switched the game in our favour. I do think he missed a trick against Stoke in terms of the introduction of Jacob Wright was, well, you know, far too late. And and actually, know,
Speaker: He really came to the fore for, I don't know how many how many minutes he came on for on Saturday, but he looked properly lively and like you know physically. He's gone up a couple of levels. And ah Claire, I think it might have been yourself that said, oh, maybe right in the 10 for recently.
Speaker: Yeah, it's all my doing. exactly Exactly. Clearly, he listens to you. I don't know how you've got his ear, but you you absolutely Because he's my husband, that's why. Yeah, yeah absolutely.
Speaker: But... It's, um yeah, i ah but to come back to the point, ah like I actually, I don't think we should be getting too high on the Sheffield No, actually, no, we should get really high on the Sheffield United second half performance, but I don't think we should get too low on the Stoke performance because I ah genuinely think it's one of those games where had we have drawn it or had we have shaded it I don't think we'd have been bad value for that. Like Clement was at pains to point out um ahead of the game that he was like, well, that if you, if you look at the expected points output or whatever that is, you know, based I'm guessing that's based based on XG.
Speaker: um We should have had seven points. So then put on Sheffield United where, you know all of our numbers were better than theirs from what i understand. We should, by rights, have 10 points. And I'm guessing that would probably put us in, you know third or fourth at at this point. Oh, okay. Second. There you go. So i don't,
Speaker: I don't know. I i mean, i I think, look, it is very much... Sorry, because of goal difference. But i mean, basically, second second, third, fourth and fifth ah and sixth have all got 10. So, yeah okay you're yeah, you're in the playoffs, yeah. but um But at the same time, like i I think this stage of the season is is particularly...
Speaker: ripe for people shitting the bed at results. I i think there's the... Definitely. And that is... A certain person in this in this podcast. that was That was not directed at a certain person in this podcast, by the way. That was that was directed at fans in general of every seat every team in this division because the championship will do it. It will chuck up um very weird and wonderful results and then people will think it's the end of the world. And and it's...
Speaker: Just simply not. But if I think if we look in the round at Norwich City's five league performances thus far, The only one that I was like, oh, shit, we're in trouble, like if that continues, is Millwall. And I know loads of people were frustrated at Stoke and and for the reasons that you said, Tom, in terms of maybe physically not being quite at the races, but I think it's really fine margins. I think actually if you're know yeah there's pellas like pe you know you get another out of Pella or Jose doesn't give the ball away in a certain moment or, you know, we win a header or it doesn't deflect off Jack Stacey's shin. Brooks has missed three chances in our games. Yeah, he's got two really, really presentable chances against Stoke, which both of those go in. We come away with three points and everyone's thinking this start of the season is magnificent. It changes the Millwall game. if if it If we go in at 1-1, it changes how it finishs the game.
Speaker: So I think it is really fine margins. I think that Millwall was a terrible day um you know in terms of performance levels and probably the worst under Clermont. And actually, I thought about this afterwards.
Speaker: I'm not sure there were many performances that bad under Liam Manning. you know And that's a really, really low bar. Blimey. So you know we were I thought we were terrible that day. Maybe you've forgotten. Yeah. Well, we we always... Your therapist has done their job.
Speaker: there was a pattern There was a pattern with Manning. We usually only lost by one one or two goals, usually. And we'd play well for a little bit of it. and Whereas with Millwall, we didn't play well for any of it. We were just shite for um the entirety of the 90 minutes. But yeah, I mean, I think that the point I'm trying to make is...
Speaker: i I think our league position is slightly false at the moment. I think we should be slightly higher than we are. And actually, the performances haven't been terrible. And in in in moments, the performances have been pretty presentable, pretty palatable. So, um yeah, I'll take it.
Speaker: So Claire, what are we going to be dealing with going forward? do we need to How do we not sit the bed at at results? Do we need to be buckling in for not rising to the top eight until after Christmas? Or or you know do you think that... that expectations were so high that it's just taking us all a bit of a or taking some of us a bit of time to get used to the fact that oh hang on we need we need to give them time to get up to speed physically because we were told that they've had a good pre-season and that Clements had them doing double sessions so what what would be your advice to those of us that that may be a bit impatient that we aren't as good aren't as good as we thought we were going to be
Speaker: what Yeah, I think expectation level was definitely high. But then it was at the beginning of last season as well, and that spectacularly came crashing down around us. um i've got Also, I think part of the frustration we're feeling so far this season is that last season after Kermont took over, we were so excellent away from home, and then we've had two kind of poor...
Speaker: away performances obviously not including yesterday and it's a bit like oh we've sort of gone a bit backwards here because that that was something we were so so good at last year so but i think we just every every team in the league is finding their feet at the minute and I think we just need to keep ah sort of that in mind that we're not the only ones struggling at times and then appearing brilliant at others it will level out And we will find our ah position. i think ah think by sort of end of November time, we'll know exactly where we're heading. Nobody at the moment is running away with it either. At this time, sort of last season, I think Coventry were already...
Speaker: sort of clear, if if I remember correctly. And nobody's doing that so far this season. So we're definitely still in with shout of even automatic if we if we carry on the form of yesterday. You know, if we settle down quickly now, i think that eighth position, does open so much more up given what happened to us last season and how far down we were at Christmas and what happened in the second half the season, I don't think you can ever fully give up at any point in the season because nobody would have expected that turnaround. So anything is possible and it's still the beginning of September.
Speaker: So just everyone needs to just chill. That's it. that's Yeah, just chill for now. It's definitely a better start than last season, isn't it? So we're already on to a win there.
Speaker: Yeah, and the the frustration with the inconsistencies is you've seen Perla Mattson be incredible. You've seen Brooks take chances as well. You've seen how creative Oscar can be. So when you then have a... And and you've seen us, ah particularly when I think Harry Darling makes us better for this, but you've seen the way that we have been careful clever seen out games and and been well versed in the dark arts so it's just the naivety of of how easily we we lost on on tuesday how little clear yeah it didn't seem like us at all i think that was so frustrating and Yeah, and and and you know the Burnley performance, speaking personally, I really bought into it because that was like the Clement team I expected. you know We were so fast going forward. and we were We looked like we were going score almost every time we got the ball.
Speaker: and um the And in defence, we just looked super competent. So it was a fantastic finish. But other than that, you know... it was There were relatively long shots or things from corners that you know teams are going to create from corners at every level. yeah yeah You get chances from corners against Manchester City, against Arsenal. You get chances from set pieces and you just try not to give them away in the most dangerous areas.
Speaker: and So that was sort of the team I expected. But I just felt ah really let down by that performance. Actually, I think more so than the Millwall game because...
Speaker: I had the Millwall game, we hadn't we hadn't pulled up any trees against West Brom. We'd been really unlucky, I thought, but it just made me think we may be you know maybe actually we're not and we're actually very good.
Speaker: and And maybe Burnley are just that bad. And having looked at know performances since then, I think Burnley really might be that bad. and i think Yeah. like By far and away, the best team we will be playing, like the team we're playing on Wednesday at home to Birmingham City, um that they look decent based on and the fact that they're only just above us.
Speaker: But if you look at the teams that they have played, including beating the tabletoppers, although that was in the League Cup, they also finished their pre-season against Barcelona, by the way, and which is quite a quiet claim. and But yeah they drew with Sheffield United who we away and we know that that's a tough game and to your point, Punt,
Speaker: you know You've seen games like the game against Sheffield United end up in a draw frustratingly for Norwich before. Drew Bristol City, who are going really, really well. um They beat Wrexham away.
Speaker: And then they've drawn with Southampton, who are no mugs. And they've just drawn today with Wolves 2-2. So, you know, that would have been a tub-thumping, Derby-ish atmosphere. I know they're not quite you know quite the rivals with each other. out his Villa that's main mainly them and Wolves hate West Brom. But, um you know, that's a real, that's that's a decent start to the season. they They've they faced some tricky some tricky sides.
Speaker: And ah to to only, um you know, to be undefeated as they are, it's It's going to be some ask. So my hope is that they are full of confidence and um and they do attack us. And that gives us the opportunity with with Misaba and and Brooks to um to go flying down the wings at them. So let's let's let's take a ah moment to talk about Misaba because he has started the way that all Clement signings seem to start, which is world beater within minutes, Claire. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, he definitely fits the mould perfectly. um
Speaker: he just looks like he's played for us forever, doesn't he some it's a really i just I love him. i love his smile. i love the way he plays. He just brings so much more to our game as well. It's it's really exciting to see see him playing. And also, I just want to add, he had black boots on yesterday. don't know if you noticed that.
Speaker: Footballer wearing black football boots. His feet were moving too fast for me to see him. so I don't know. I don't know. It just really stood out to me that he was. was like, oh, my God, that's so weird. It's so odd to see that these days. But, yeah, so you can have a look back now and see that. But I don't care what boots he's got on. He's got a little magic feet and long may that last. I mean, he he offers us a different type of winger. um i think youre almost to Diallo, it was nice to see Diallo come on and have a couple of runs. And I almost felt like Diallo was doing a Misaba impression when he came on at the Blades, you know, because effectively he was he's just watched...
Speaker: a left winger be super direct and getting his head down and running and taking people on. And it just causes panic. The last thing you want is to have your hips turned and be back in, you know, running back towards your own goal, trying to shepherd someone, you know, out into touch.
Speaker: with With that kind of pace, it's it's frightening. And um Brooks is a very different type of dribbler. He's more about changing direction, as we talked about last pod. he's less head down and and and charge, but it's ah it's a really interesting combination.
Speaker: ah Do you feel that they're a part... Well, no, not do you feel, pun, I am excited for the potential partnerships that we don't yet know about. So for example, it might be that Magoma and Masaba yeah start to play telepathically in a few games time. It might be that Oscar, Misaba and Brooks become an incredible kind of three behind whoever the the striker is.
Speaker: Misaba to me though is currently one of the first two or three names on the team sheet pun. Ooh. I mean that, yeah, that's a yeah Yes, absolutely. Because then prono because of end product. And his goal was so weird um in in the actual ground because he hit it. It flew in the top corner. It was the the wrong end for the Norwich fans. And he didn't quite know whether it had gone in. And it was this really stilted celebration because he didn't celebrate properly either. like It was almost like... Did you see him talk about it, though? He said he didn't want to antagonise the Sheffield United fans because he used to play for Sheffield Wednesday.
Speaker: Maybe he should have told his mate Mo about that. that's not that's all right like the memo for home burns yeah but But it was such a weird celebration. But clearly he knows where the back of the net is. And that directness that you talk about, Tom, was...
Speaker: almost everything that we'd been missing last season. ah It's interesting you talk about relationships because can't remember if we said it on the last pod or I was saying it to a mate recently, but um they were kind of bemoaning Slomani a little bit, who was actually great in in patches on Saturday.
Speaker: um But I said, well, Slomani always struck me as a much better player when Ali Ahmed's been on the pitch. And it's almost like, you know, you're just trying to find those those foils for people. and And something that, you know, as you were saying that, I actually started to get excited about it I was like, who's going to be Jovan McCarma's foil? Because, I mean, when that lad comes back and we've got a little bit more of that...
Speaker: bulldozer-ish kind of attitude that we might need. Because I thought would have been much more suited to Tuesday, Stoke game than Mo. Absolutely. Him and Magoma would have unlocked the door, I think. Did he not get two at Stoke last year? Yeah. I think you're right.
Speaker: Wasn't one of the goals the one where effectively a centre-half is basically hanging off him, like with with like holding shirts, shorts, everything, and he's just shrugging him off and knocking it in? I i think that's the goal that I'm thinking of.
Speaker: Yeah, I'll have to look it up. But he would have been he would have been much, much more suited to that game. Would have been an entirely different game. How far away is he now? He's training again, isn't he? He's full training. Yeah, he's back in full training. and boy He did score at Stoke last season. And I only know this, Claire, because I was fact-checking you. We got off to a better start than last season and we actually didn't. We were seven points after five games.
Speaker: But... I know the point that you were trying to make in so much as we are in much better shape than last season. Yeah, yeah. yeah Well, yeah. yeah but were No, but we are in better shape in terms of performances. You know I mean? um But yeah, Makama did score there last, um just the one. We drew one one. Yeah.
Speaker: But yeah, I mean, you know, just look, imagine if Jovan sparks with, i don't know, Matthias or something, you know, in ah in a two man forward line or, you know, Paris suddenly finds a foil and and and then, you know, he starts to fly. i mean, it's, we've got so many options in those front areas now that ah it it almost feels like game by game, know,
Speaker: Phil is just going to have a look and have a tweak. And obviously he's rotating them now, you know, to try and keep them all happy and to try and keep fitness wise, you know, kind of minutes in the bank because people are still working towards full fitness. But it it does absolutely feel like we've got some frightening combinations. And Chrissy Wilder even talks about it, you know, kind of little sad man, Chrissy Wilder afterwards, who was very, very busy about apparently offside goal.
Speaker: the poor little ham sandwich, then, you know, decided that it it was, you know, that we had the best front three in the division or one of the best front threes in the division. So that is high praise from um someone who... From Matt and Samwich.
Speaker: Yes, exactly. wouldn't have mattered if it was offside or not. We still would have beaten them. So, I mean, you know, get over it. Exactly. did you um so In terms of the looking ahead, then it's a really interesting run of games that we've got coming up now. and We sort talked about it a bit previously and i I really thought that we were able to set ourselves up had we have beaten Stoke, which I still think were there for the taking. I think they're awful, Stoke. and So this Birmingham game is is, for me, right in the balance because it's
Speaker: Football's not played on paper, so I've heard. and But on paper, that they are going to be the the trickiest test. um But then you know at home, under the lights, with with with them trying to come out on site, I think it could be interesting. and We could go for it.
Speaker: um What about you, Claire? What are your guarantees for Wednesday? for wednesday Yeah, it it is going to be a tough test.
Speaker: um I'm going to stay say safe and say it's going to be one all. um Well, they are draw specialists, Birmingham. They are draw specialists. Four of five had have been draws.
Speaker: Ah, well, there you go, you see. We'll have another one. But i think we'll I think we'll come from behind. They're going to score first and we're going to equalise. So it'll feel more positive for us.
Speaker: Well, if they get one, they might actually push for a second, which might help us. Yeah, yeah, yes. Who is going to score it? ah ah I think Jacob Bright will come on at 60 minutes again and he's going to score a goal because he played really well when he came on yesterday and deserved a goal and looked he had a good few chances. It was unlucky. So I'm going to say Jacob is going to score the equaliser. So quite late on, we're going to equalise and we'll go home happy with a late draw. That'll give us something momentum-wise to take up to Middlesbrough if it's that way round. What say you, John Plump?
Speaker: ah I say we are going to win 2-0 and I think it's going to be a brace from a recently reinvigorated Oskar Schwartow who will be brought back in from out of the squad. i I think this might be a little bit of a masterstroke from...
Speaker: from bam Big Phil. It's just dropping out players every so often and then bringing them back in. like It probably won't be part of the squad now, at but it just feels like he's maybe giving general reminders to certain personnel that they look, come on.
Speaker: um Yeah, Oscar's going to score a worldie and a tap-in um playing in the... I think actually, weirdly enough, I wonder... I don't i think he might come in on the left and Masaba might not start just purely because he's still playing his way into fitness.
Speaker: And you want what, he wants then start Masaba at Borough? Yeah. Because but really bo's Borough is then a legit tricky, tricky game. that is That's going to be tough up there. um Okay, i I think we lose against Birmingham because I i don't think they'll keep getting draws. And so I think they're due a win.
Speaker: I need to now see Clermont coach his players to back-to-back performances because and what he's shown me this season is that he can't.
Speaker: So let's see that he actually can. And I'm not going to be fooled into being optimistic. wish you could see my face right now. like Well, he it's let's see it let's see him do it. Let's see him do it this season. i've seen him do it last season. Saw him do it for months at a time last season. You're saying let's see him do it, but then you've predicted that we lose.
Speaker: So he's not going to do it No, exactly. So until until so we we we got the performance and the result on Saturday. And what this season has taught me so far is to therefore expect disappointment on the next game. Oh, see. Okay. So show show you know i i want ah obviously I want to be proven wrong and start predicting 4-0 every week. But i can't I can't psychologically go into a game with expectations as high as they were at Stoke and be let down like that again.
Speaker: I don't like that version of Tom. Well, it's their fault they should have won against Stoke or played better. and then But conversely... Hey, mate, when have you ever used facts and data yeah yeah to base your opinions? Rational thought. This is very weird.
Speaker: It's very odd. i was surprised I was surprised by how angry I was at the Stoke game and it was down to expectation management or lack of my part. Is this because I said I was going to mute you?
Speaker: And now this is how you're behaving. I'm sorry. i take you all back. but did Don't apologise, Claire. Do not apologise. Effectively, as i so as I said that night, I now need to see until i'm until i um ah yeah until I believe that this team can genuinely do it, and i'm going to i am going to rely on needing to see back-to-back performances and results, which they haven't so far done this season. So let's see it for the first time.
Speaker: What it does mean, therefore, is that we will win 4-0 at Middlesbrough on Saturday. so Because we because if we we're going to lose against Brum and then everyone's going to be cross and then we're going to be going, oh God, now we're back down in 15th again. oh it's all terrible. Imagine if we do that all season.
Speaker: Well, this is what I said on Tuesday night. This team absolutely stinks at mid-table. This team stinks of flattering to deceive, flat-track bullies. If you're down to 10 men or if you're in a bad run of form like Burnley or whatever, um if you know if we get a rub of the green with an offside, if we get the rub of the green with a... Hang on, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on. Previously ah previously unbeaten Sheffield United, one of the hardest places to go to in the championship, and we've just turned it on. like no That's not flat-track bullying, is it? ah No way. No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker: I'm saying this team, to me, strikes me as a team that is going to have that type of season where ah we will flatter the seed with some results like that. Full stop. Capital letter, new sentence. We will um be flat track bullies. We will beat teams who are having a bad time and will run road our luck when we run luck. But when we have a team like Millwall... who are really well coached, really up for it, loads of energy, loads of savviness, a team like Stoke, who are crap, but know the dark arts and are willing to kick us up in the air. They weren't crap the other day.
Speaker: I can't help that. I'm just talking about the team that I saw. I don't think they were crap against either. I thought they were really, really well organised. Yeah, I am. Yeah, but I don't give flowers for well organised. You can be well organised in the Anglian comm. It doesn't mean that you're good team.
Speaker: so Anyway, that's that's where i'm that's where I'm at until and the players show me otherwise. I have to just protect them. my disappointment until these, these, this season's Norwich show that they can go on a run, then I will believe they can go on a run. and I want silly, silly, like hopelessly optimistic Tom back. So I hope they coach you back into that. You're as discombobulated as the performances. I've said, I've said four nil Saturday and that will be a, um,
Speaker: Fisher hat-trick. What's your... Birmingham, I'll guarantee a Cordoba own goal. I feel that he has... Oh, Lord.
Speaker: I feel he's got a he's got another red card coming soon. and He's going to be suspended soon, the number of bookings he's picking up. Did he get one on Saturday? he Rory's turn. you Well, Rory's probably not going to play, is he? Because he looked like he had concussion.
Speaker: Yeah, that was that's why he seemed to be taken And he couldn't see. So i I doubt he's going to be playing on Wednesday. Yeah, cordoba didn't Cordoba didn't get a yellow. So, I mean, I think dar i mean i think Darling's played some some good stuff. I mean, he he suffers from... He was in the Millwall team. and So, you know, that that was poor.
Speaker: But, you know, i I think he earned his his his um starting berth by rights. You played really well in pre-season. Clement thought that he was deserving of the shirt. So and that's what obviously he's seen and what he's decided to go with. So I don't feel there's a massive drop down, but I do think McDonville, we are a better team with a fully fit and not concussed McDonville at the back.
Speaker: um So what's your guarantee for Saturday, Claire?
Speaker: I think, oh, I can't predict a win at Middlesbrough as much as I want to. I'm going to go the opposite to you. You think we'll get hammered? No, no, no. I don't think we're going to get hammered. I'm going to say it'll be like 2-1. We'll be in the game, but they're just going to score more goals than us.
Speaker: And yeah, it's going to be a decent performance, but they're just going to nick it. So you're you're predicting a one-point week, which again would have us yeah yeah down to about 16th. Despite earlier saying we'd be more suited to playing these teams because we can play our expensive, fast-paced football, yes, we're going to get one point. It's almost like my source that we don't know what what what to make of this team, isn't it? I'm just plucking. have no clue.
Speaker: I'll just turn up and whatever happens, happens. punt so turn up Look in your punty crisper ball and tell me what's going to happen on on Saturday at Middlesbrough. You two sicken me with your negativity. It's just shocking. I said 4-0 on Saturday. That's not a negative. Half-heartedly. Yeah, exactly. That was just for the bants. Yeah, my 4-0 is like a 1-1 draw to you lot. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, 2-0 against Brum. Oscar Schwartow brace 3-0 against Borough. Oh, my goodness me. With Antti Cernac scoring off the bench.
Speaker: Wow. There's no evidence for that at all, by the way, but, you know, just... No, the the evidence point be far yeah evidence points to us turning up at one of them really well and the other one being a disgrace and really frustrating. and So eventually, I do think i do think eventually Clement will turn it round, as in the inconsistency, because as we were saying in the first kind of 15, 20 minutes of today's pod...
Speaker: the the quality that is there. And again, that was one of the most frustrating things against Stoke was how easy it was for them to nullify us. And you think the the embarrassment of riches that we've got, and how slow the tempo was and how Clement didn't do anything about it.
Speaker: how how how many substitutions you are allowed, how obvious it was that the type of game Stoke was going to play. And don't know what he's smoking if he thinks they were put pressing us high. Because if you watch the last 20 minutes of that game, it's the Alamo. It's just it is basically everyone behind the ball and we then slowed right down. So they might pressed us bit in the first half whatever. But in this in the second half, when we needed quick passing, lots of movement across the front line, people dragging their markers out of place to make rooms for reverse balls and overlaps, which is how you break down that type of kind of entrenched defensive position.
Speaker: We did none of it. We just lumped balls into the box without Jove up there. And we went and they said, thank you very much. Anyway, so... let's i think I think that's part of the frustration as well, is that um we haven't really got any excuses for bad performances this season because largely our squad is completely fit, apart from Jove. But we haven't had Jove for so long, we can't really include him. And that with either and also we've got two strikers who've scored six goals between us in five games. So woe is me. we are other two Our other two great goal scorers are really fit. exactly. So we can't, there's no excuses.
Speaker: We've got a great manager. We've got a great squad to the point of leaving Oscar out just for squad rotation, which is insane. And we've got no injuries. So the only excuse is that we were shit on those days. Yeah. We've only been shit on one day. One day. Okay. I'm very negative about you. We're very doom and gloom for the minute.
Speaker: It was not. Stoke was dreadful. It's just because it's Stoke as well, isn't it? Stoke was further away than Sheffield United, which was a terrific away performance. And despite, you know, being under the cosh for 20 minutes, which you should expect at competent championship away grounds, of which Bramall Lane is one,
Speaker: and You have to expect to be to be made to look a little bit ordinary by some teams in the Championship who are at home and and and you know they're up and they're they're they're coming at you. and You do have to expect that. and I think the the that's the sort of performance where you accept 15, 20 minutes of being off it when half time comes, a couple of changes come and just the professionalism and the way we dealt with it, the way we executed the decision making was so, so sound in that second half against Sheffield United.
Speaker: All the way down to not trying to waste time until the very, very end. I loved the fact that we had the ball in the 80 minutes. mid-80s and even late 80s, and we were still going for the box. We were still going for another goal. And it wasn't until two minutes have added on time, or at least the first minute have added on time, only then did Chris Curran and that start to go to the corner. And I thought, yeah, that's right.
Speaker: He had a look like, oh, is there someone on? Like there was a first instinct to to play the pass. And then it's like, oh, no, actually, it's not really on. I'll i'll go to the corner now. So no, yeah, I think we were very front foot in that second half. And I i wonder whether that's...
Speaker: the team and Clermont's realisation that that is when we are at our best, like when we actually really, really go for teams and go for the jugular. We do have players to hurt anyone, anyone in this league.
Speaker: um Yeah. I think that's where, if we're talking about shitting the bed like we did earlier in the seas um earlier in the pod, that's where Clermont shit the bed this season is Millwall, where he was far too worried about Millwall and he wasn't focused on our output.
Speaker: And actually every time, He's focused on our output. We've been just fine. So, um yeah, two wins, six more points, onwards and upwards.
Speaker: Well, that sounds lovely. i I look forward to that. And you can all get your refunds for your match tickets, should that not happen, at johnpuntbettingsyndicate at gmail.com. Thank you so much for your time this evening, Claire. And John, as ever, I do acknowledge you exist.
Speaker: Let's hope that that consistency to match the clear quality and excitement we have in our front line comes to the fore in the next few games. And who knows? We can still have a bit of a cup run.
Speaker: Mind how you go
