[themaclad]

LAST TIME OUT



FORM GUIDE

NORWICH CITY 14 PNE 7

MANAGER

DEAN SMITH

Managerial career
After working as a youth coach at Leyton Orient from January 2005, Smith was promoted to the role of assistant manager toward the end of the 2004–05 season.[8] He attained his UEFA Pro Licence in 2008, alongside classmates such as Roy Keane, Brendan Rodgers, and Ian McParland.[9] After a poor run of form, Smith left Orient in January 2009, along with long serving manager Martin Ling.[10]

Walsall
In July 2009, Smith returned to his first club, Walsall, in the role of Head of Youth.[11]

Smith was appointed caretaker manager of Walsall on 4 January 2011, following the dismissal of Chris Hutchings. Seventeen days later he was announced as permanent manager of the club until the end of the season.[12] Taking over managerial duties with his side nine points adrift at the foot of League One, Smith managed to steer Walsall out of the drop zone before the season's end.[13] On 29 January, the "Saddlers" recorded their best league result since 1986 by beating Bristol Rovers 6–1, in what was Smith's first win in charge; the three points also took Walsall off the foot of the table, though they were still seven points short of safety.[14] His team made up the difference over February, and a 1–0 win over promotion chasing Southampton on 1 March saw Walsall climb out of the relegation zone for the first time since October.[15] They ended the season one point clear of Dagenham & Redbridge in the drop zone.

He let fourteen players go in summer 2011, including: Darren Byfield, Jonny Brain, Clayton McDonald, Paul Marshall, Matt Richards, Steve Jones, Aaron Lescott, David Bevan, Julian Gray, and Tom Williams. He then signed goalkeeper Dávid Gróf; defenders Mat Sadler and Lee Beevers;[16] midfielders Kevan Hurst,[17] Claude Gnakpa,[18] Adam Chambers, and Anton Peterlin;[19] and striker Ryan Jarvis.[20] Also during the campaign he boosted his squad with loan signings Dave Martin,[21] Mark Wilson, Andy Halliday, and Florent Cuvelier.[22] His side lost just one of their first five league games, but then picked up just three points from their next seven games. They beat Preston North End on 15 October, but then picked up just four points from their next eight games. From 26 November, they were beaten just once in nine matches, but became the division's draw specialists as seven of these nine games finished level. They finished the campaign in 19th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

In summer 2012, he offered professional contracts to youth team players Mal Benning, Ben George, Aaron Williams and Kieron Morris.[23] He continued to add promising young players by bringing in 21-year-old winger Ashley Hemmings, 19-year-old former loanee Florent Cuvelier, 19-year-old winger James Baxendale, 20-year-old defender Paul Downing, 19-year-old striker Connor Taylor, 23-year-old striker Febian Brandy, in addition to 32-year-old right-back Dean Holden.[24][25][26][27][28] He also brought in full-back James Chambers, twin brother of Adam Chambers.[29] He also brought in a number of players on loan, including: Karl Darlow (21), Sam Mantom (20), Aaron McCarey (20), and Craig Westcarr (27).[30][31][32][33] Mantom was made into a permanent signing in January.[34] Smith signed a new two-and-a-half-year contract in October, keeping him at the club until summer 2015.[35] This came after the club announced a £10,000 profit on the previous campaign as Smith's 'Total Football' approach yielded a mid-table position for the young Walsall team, in addition to praise from pundits and fans.[36][37][38] A poor run of results saw the team slip to just above the relegation zone in mid-December.[39] Walsall recovered to win four of their five games in January, as Smith was named as Manager of the Month.[40] They ended the season in ninth place, six points outside the play-offs.

During a fine start to the 2013–14 season, Smith, affectionately nicknamed "Ginger Mourinho" by the Walsall fans, took the club to an unlikely promotion push.[41] He masterminded a win at Molineux against Black Country derby rivals, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and also ended winning streaks by table-toppers Leyton Orient and Brentford.[42][43][44] The club could not sustain their promotion push however, and ended the campaign in 13th place. Smith released top-scorer Craig Westcarr at the end of the season, along with Troy Hewitt, Nicky Featherstone, James McQuilkin, and Shane Lewis.[45]

He took Walsall to the 2015 final of the Football League Trophy, a 2–0 defeat to Bristol City, which was Walsall's first appearance at Wembley Stadium.[46] At the end of the 2014–15 season he largely kept his squad together, the most high-profile player to be released being Ben Purkiss.[47] He was given a Special Achievement Award by the League Managers Association (LMA).[48]

Walsall started the 2015–16 season well, with Smith being named as League One Manager of the Month for August 2015 as the club ended the month at the top of the table.[49] Walsall rejected an approach for Smith from Rotherham United in October, describing him as "fundamental to our future plans".[50] Smith signed a new 12-month rolling contract on 16 October.[51] He was named as Football League manager of the week after his side came from two goals down to beat Gillingham 3–2 on 24 October.[52] However six weeks after signing his new contract he left Walsall for Brentford with the "Saddlers" fourth in the table; at the time of his departure he was the fourth longest serving manager in the Football League.[53]

Brentford
Smith was appointed manager of Championship club Brentford on 30 November 2015.[54] Brentford finished the 2015–16 season in ninth place, during which time Smith sold Toumani Diagouraga and James Tarkowski for a combined £3.6 million.[55] In building for the 2016–17 season Smith signed 18 players, including Romaine Sawyers (free transfer) and Rico Henry (£1.5 million) from previous club Walsall.[56] The "Bees" finished the season in tenth place, and Smith said he wanted to bring in more players in order to push for the play-offs the following season.[57] He signed a new one-year contract extension in February 2018.[58] Brentford finished the 2017–18 season in ninth-place and were "widely regarded as the Championship's entertainers" after Smith built an attractive passing style of play on a shoestring budget.[59]

Aston Villa
On 10 October 2018, Smith was appointed manager of 15th-placed Championship club Aston Villa, with John Terry as his assistant coach.[60][61] He was named as the EFL's manager of the week after overseeing a 3–0 win at Derby County on 10 November.[62] He immediately managed to reinvigorate the "Villans" attack, and only a controversial injury-time equaliser from local rivals West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns denied them a place in the play-offs by 7 December.[63][64] Villa's form dipped dramatically in the three months after Jack Grealish was sidelined with a shin injury picked up in that match, but on 2 March, Smith gave Grealish the captaincy on his return to the first-team and the 23-year old inspired an important 4–0 victory over play-off rivals Derby County.[65] Smith was given that month's Championship Manager of the Month award after achieving five wins in five games, including a victory over Second City derby rivals Birmingham City.[66] On 22 April 2019, Smith led Aston Villa to break an 109 year old club record for longest winning run after defeating Millwall 1–0 at Villa Park to make it 10 successive victories in 10 matches. The record had previously been held at nine straight wins.[67] On 11 May, Smith oversaw his 18th win with Aston Villa as they came from behind to beat West Brom 2–1 in the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-finals.[68] Three days later, Villa came from behind at West Brom to win on penalties and secure a place in the play-off final.[69] Villa went on to win promotion to the Premier League with a 2–1 victory over Derby County.[70]

The club spent a net total of £144.5 million to bring in 12 players in the summer 2019 transfer window: Jota, Anwar El Ghazi, Wesley, Kortney Hause, Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Björn Engels, Trézéguet, Douglas Luiz, Tom Heaton and Marvelous Nakamba.[71] On 29 November 2019, midway through his first Premier League season with Aston Villa, Smith signed a contract extension lasting until 2023.[72] In the EFL Cup, Villa advanced past Crewe Alexandra of League Two and four Premier League sides in Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool and Leicester City to reach the final at Wembley Stadium; they lost the final 2–1 to Manchester City.[73] In the league though, Villa were four points deep inside the relegation zone with four games left to play of the 2019–20 season, but pulled off what he called a "magnificent achievement" to clinch survival on the last day with a 1–1 draw at West Ham United.[74][75] He elaborated by saying "I thought we used the pandemic really well. We've been solid defensively, we have looked strong and managed to stay in the Premier League."[76]

Smith strengthened the squad in summer 2020 by signing Matty Cash (£14 million from Nottingham Forest), Ollie Watkins (£28 million from Brentford), Emiliano Martínez (£17 million from Arsenal), Bertrand Traoré (£17 million from Lyon) and Ross Barkley (season long-loan from Chelsea).[77][78][79][80] On 4 October, in the third game of the 2020–21 season, Smith led Aston Villa to a 7–2 home win over Premier League champions Liverpool; this was the first time a team had scored seven goals past the top-flight champions in 67 years.[81] A win against Leicester City then gave Villa their best start to a season since 1930.[82] On 26 December, Smith oversaw his century of competitive games as manager of Aston Villa with a 3–0 victory over Crystal Palace despite his team being reduced to ten men for the majority of the game due to Tyrone Mings' first half dismissal.[83] Smith was named as Premier League Manager of the Month for December as Villa conceded just one goal in their five league games.[84] He made one signing in the January transfer window: midfielder Morgan Sanson from Marseille for £14 million.[85] Aston Villa ended the campaign in 11th-place and Smith was keen to strengthen the squad further.[86]

In preparation for the English record transfer of Jack Grealish to Manchester City, a deal worth £100 million,[87] Smith brought in summer signings Emiliano Buendía, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings for a total fee of £83 million.[88][89][90] The club also signed former player Ashley Young on a free transfer from Inter Milan,[91] and for the third time signed Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe on loan.[92] On 7 November 2021, Smith and Aston Villa parted company after a run of five straight defeats in the Premier League. Chief Executive Christian Purslow stated that the decision was made after Aston Villa had not continued to improve in the 2021–22 season as they had done in previous years.[93]

Norwich City
On 15 November 2021, Smith signed a two-and-a-half year deal to become the new Norwich City head coach, replacing the outgoing Daniel Farke.[94] He won his first game in charge, a 2–1 victory over Southampton. The game made him the first manager to take charge of successive Premier League matches against the same opponent.[95] Norwich climbed out of the relegation zone on 21 January with a 3–0 win at Watford, having beaten Everton at Carrow Road six days previously.[96] However the "Canaries" went on to win just one more Premier League game and were relegated in last place at the end of the 2021–22 season, though relegation was actually confirmed with four games left to play.[97]

NORWICH CUTURE

Let's Eat Grandma are a British pop group formed in 2013 by musicians Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth. They released their debut studio album I, Gemini in 2016 through Transgressive Records. Their second studio album, I'm All Ears, was released in 2018. Let's Eat Grandma describe their music as "experimental sludge pop".[6]


History
Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth were both raised in Norwich, a city in Norfolk. They originally met in reception class when they were four,[7] and began making music together at 13. They originally began creating music as a playtime activity, with their first songs being titled "The Angry Chicken" and "Get That Leg Off the Banister".[7] Their band name is taken from a grammatical joke meant to emphasize the importance of comma placement.[8] They became members of the local Norwich music scene, before they caught the attention of the musician Kiran Leonard, who passed their work on to their future manager.[9]

Their debut album, I, Gemini, is composed of songs that were mostly written when Rosa and Jenny were younger. These songs include singles "Deep Six Textbook", which is about playing truant, and "Eat Shiitake Mushrooms", which was inspired by some graffiti the girls saw while walking around town in Norwich.[7] The album was released by Transgressive Records on 17 June 2016, and received positive reviews in NME,[10] The Guardian,[11] Pitchfork,[12] and Q.

Their second studio album I'm All Ears was released 29 June 2018, and was preceded by the singles "Hot Pink",[13] "Falling Into Me",[14] "It's Not Just Me",[15] and "Ava".[16] I'm All Ears received widespread acclaim from music critics, and won Album of the Year at the Q Awards.[17]

On 20 September 2021, the duo released a single, "Hall of Mirrors", accompanied by a video.[18] In November 2021, they announced that their third album, Two Ribbons, would be released in April 2022, containing 10 songs, and released the title track and music video the same day.[19]

Walton also produced the song "I Really Want to Stay at Your House" for the video game Cyberpunk 2077[20] which would go on to feature prominently in the 2022 anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.[21]

[themaclad]

In The Dressing Room

Ryan Lowe will be able to call upon the same group of players which beat West Brom 1-0 on Wednesday night.

Sean Maguire made his first start of the season in that fixture, coming through almost 75 minutes unscathed, and he’ll be looking to hold on to his spot.

Andrew Hughes returned to the squad after missing the Sunderland game through illness, and he’ll be hoping to make his 150th appearance in PNE colours in this game.

A Look At Our Hosts


Having been crowned champions in their past two Championship campaigns, Norwich City came down from the Premier League at the end of last season with the knowhow and experience of how to get back there.

Managed by Dean Smith, the early signs suggest they are on track to return to the promised land, after beginning the campaign with an impressive average of two points per game.

They’re in fine form heading into the weekend, going unbeaten in their last nine league games, with seven of those games ending in victory.

Going Head To Head


Games played: 56
PNE wins: 17
Draws: 18
Norwich City wins: 21
Last meeting: PNE 1-1 Norwich City, 2nd April 2021

One To Watch

Forward Josh Sargent has been a revelation for Norwich City so far this season, with six goals to his name already.

The United States international arrived at Carrow Road in 2021 from Werder Bremen with huge potential, but the youngster wasn’t reaching the sort of goalscoring figures which he was perhaps hoping for – often having to settle for a place on the wing.

However, he’s been given more chance up top so far this season, while also spending time out wide, and Norwich have certainly felt the benefits of having both Sargent and talisman Teemu Pukki in the same side.

Match Officials

Dean Whitestone will referee his second PNE game of the season this weekend.

Whitestone was the man with the whistle when Brad Potts scored a Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month winning strike against Luton Town in a 1-0 victory in August.

The referee, who has shown 21 yellow cards in seven games this season, will be assisted by Mark Russell and Andrew Aylott.

MACS VIEW

Our unbeaten away record will be severly tested in this one against Norwich, the hosts are near the top and have been on ecent recent run, two good forwards in Puki and Sargent. The last time they played Covid restrictions limited the crowd to 2000 we drew 2-2.
Will accept a point as a good result. The coach from Preston eaves at 7am, I will not be on it, cut and paste match report only

[themaclad]

Norwich City 2 Sargent, Sara Preston North End 3 Riis 2 Parrott

Norwich City fell to defeat at home to Preston North End, losing 3-2 at Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon.

Josh Sargent opened the scoring after only two minutes, but Preston would go into the break level through Emil Riis.

Riis would put the away side in front in the second half, before Gabriel Sara's first goal for the club brought the two sides level.

The points would be Preston's, after Troy Parrott's deflected effort found its way beyond Tim Krul for the winner.

Dean Smith named an unchanged side from Tuesday night's draw away at Reading, with Liam Gibbs keeping his place in midfield.

The Canaries got off to the best possible start, scoring the game's opener after only two minutes through Sargent. The American latched onto the ball and fired low and beyond Freddie Woodman.

Preston would register their first attempt on goal through Ali McCann, whose curling effort was well over the crossbar.

Sargent then came close to adding his, and Norwich's, second. After some great footwork to beat a couple of Preston defenders, his shot forced Woodman into a smart save.

Teemu Pukki had two chances in as many minutes to double the advantage. His first effort was palmed away by Woodman, before a lifted effort rolled wide of the post.

Norwich's lack of clinical edge would come back to haunt them, as Riis rose highest from Robbie Brady's cross to head in the equaliser.

Marcelino Núñez was next to threaten, unleashing a twisting effort that went just wide of Woodman's post.

The Yellows started the second half on the front foot, as Pukki surged forward. The Finn couldn't find a teammate in the area with his cross, however.

Gibbs registered the first shot of the second half, but his effort lacked the bend to give the Preston goalkeeper any trouble.

Despite a positive start to the second half from Norwich, the away side would take the lead. Alvaro Fernández teed up Riis, who side-footed beyond Krul.

Sargent went close once again for the Canaries after some pinball in the Preston area, but saw his volley saved by Woodman.

Just before the hour mark, Norwich should've been level. Pukki's first touch set him up perfectly, but his shot lacked execution and went wide.

Krul was called into action to keep Norwich in the game. Troy Parrott's long range effort forced the Dutchman into a good stop, with Grant Hanley eventually clearing the danger.

And the Canaries would level with 15 minutes from time through Sara. Pukki did brilliantly to jink his way beyond a Preston defender and cross into the box, which Sara raced onto and fired into the top corner.

But the game wouldn't be level for long. Parrott's deflected cross into the box, which took a deflection off Gibbs, wrong-footed Krul for Preston's third.

Onel Hernández came close to finding an equaliser for Norwich, but would see his volley tipped over the crossbar by Woodman.

Kenny McLean thought he had rescued a point for the Yellows, but the referee had already blown his whistle after a foul in the build-up.

Norwich City: Krul, Aarons, Hanley ©, Omobamidele, Byram (Sara 46), Gibbs (Hernández 81), McLean, Ramsey (Sinani 58), Núñez (Dowell 72), Sargent, Pukki.

Subs not used: Gunn, Gibson, Hugill.

Goals: Sargent (2), Sara (76)

Bookings: Byram (29)

Preston North End: Woodman, Fernández, Cunningham (Hughes 79), Whiteman, Lindsay, Browne, Brady (Woodburn 67), McCann (Ledson 82), Storey, Riis, Maguire (Parrott 46 (Johnson 82)).

Subs not used: Cornell, Diaby.

Goals: Riis (25, 51), Parrott (80)

Bookings: Brady (44), Fernández (55), Storey (64), Johnson (90)

HT: 1-1

FT: 2-3

Venue: Carrow Road

Referee: Dean Whitestone

Attendance: 26,062

---

[Lord Snooty]

Haha. Norwich fans calling Preston tinpot. 

[themaclad]

Haha. Norwich fans calling Preston tinpot.  

We get it a lot

[themaclad]

This is Dean having a rant blaming the referee and us for everything but failing to mention a shocker of a tackle which shoud have led to a red card for a home player, amazing parachute payments can make you myopic