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FAN FOCUS - 'We Need To Beat Sunderland To Stay Up', Says Pinkun's Peter Raven

Our weekly fan focus feature see's @GHSAFC91 talk to Peter Raven from Norwich fan site Pinkun ahead of this weekend's game against Norwich City.

Scott Heavey/Getty Images

How are you feeling after the Palace defeat, then? I must admit, I wasn’t really expecting that result.


I was disappointed with both the result and the referee but not the team's performance (well, apart from our ropey defence). I went into the game expecting a draw and, had it not been for a bizarre decision by the official, 2-2 would have been a fair result. It's in the past now and we move on to Sunderland.

Do you think that Alex Neil and Norwich City’s relationship is for the long haul?


I certainly hope so. City have a history of not being able to hold on to promising managers but maybe Alex Neil will look at what happened to both Mike Walker and Paul Lambert after they left Carrow Road for 'bigger clubs' and, hopefully, he'll want to build a legacy here. Our chief executive David McNally appears to have uncovered a gem and will do all he can to hold on to him.

What are your thoughts on the current striking situation Norwich face – who do you think will score the brunt of your goals this season? Or, better still, do you think you’ll sign a player capable of finding the net on a regular basis?


City definitely need a Premier League striker – but, they're not cheap, and if we fail to land one then we'll look to Lewis Grabban and Cameron Jerome for the goals.

Despite his miss in the first half, Grabban seems to be Alex Neil's first choice upfront and I believe he will get goals. Jerome also had a rewarding season for us in the Championship last season and looked to carry that on with a world class finish only for the man in the middle to chalk it off.

But, those two aren't enough and we need to get someone else in before September.

This summer you’ve signed Premier League players in Mulumbu, Dorrans, Wisdom and Brady. Do you feel that the squad you have this season will be strong enough to stay up?


Mulumbu impressed in pre-season but he's now out for two months with an injury and we have enough quality cover in midfield. To stay up, this squad needs a centre-back, a striker and, if I'm being greedy, a winger with pace. Norwich City's best signing, however, is still Alex Neil.

The only former Sunderland player currently on your books is Michael Turner – how has his time at Norwich gone? For us, he was ultimately maybe a little too slow but absolutely superb in the air.


Turner started well when Chris Hughton signed him back in 2012 but the fact that he was sent out on loan to Fulham last season - and the lack of pace you mention - means that we are unlikely to see him in a Norwich City shirt too often this season.

After watching the way we were picked apart by Leicester do you fancy yourselves to win this weekend or are you fearing an inevitable backlash from Dick Advocaat’s side?


I've picked out Sunderland as one of the teams we need to beat and look to finish above in the table to stay up.

Alex Neil remains unbeaten away as Norwich City manager and I expect that run to continue with a draw. I'll also be making the long old poke up to the Stadium of Light. It's my first visit there and a 500-mile round trip can drag somewhat if returning from a defeat.

Who in the Norwich team should we be particularly wary of, and why? (Just about anyone with pace can cause us problems, to be honest…)


I'm a huge fan of Wes Hoolahan - he makes City tick. When he plays well, City play well. Crowd him out of the game and City suffer. He had a decent game against Palace on Saturday and was making things happen so hopefully he'll enjoy himself this Saturday.

If it's pace you're worried about then Nathan Redmond will cause you all sorts of problems if he starts. The England Under-21 has started to add goals to his game - scoring in City's last three competitive matches (netting against Ipswich Town in a play-off semi and again in the final will always endure you to the fans). He started on the bench against Palace - I'll be disappointed if that's the case at Sunderland.

Similarly, who from the Sunderland team do you think you should be particularly wary of?


Jermain Defoe. Our fragile defence won't enjoy coming up against a striker of his quality.

And finally, give us a score prediction…


1-1.

You can follow @Pinkun on Twitter or visit their site - http://www.pinkun.com/home.

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