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Cometh the hour, cometh the men? It’s the John and Jimmy show…

19th October 2007 By theexpert Leave a Comment

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There is a certain rationale in assuming that as a result of the Canaries' woeful performance at Loftus Road in front of the live TV cameras eleven days ago, the subsequent dismissal of Peter Grant from the managerial hot-seat and the time that has been afforded to the players to re-group so to speak, it can only get better from hereon in…

But as we know only too well after harbouring similar thoughts after the Wolves debacle, Norwich and rationale simply do not go hand in hand.

That said, there have been one or two things of note this week that does allow us to be hopeful that a turning point in the campaign just might have been navigated without a ball having been kicked in anger.

The first being the return to reserve-team action of Jimmy Smith.

This was the player, don't forget, who was signed on loan from Chelsea to provide the missing link in the City team.

The forward running, pro-active thinking, arriving-in-the-box-at-just-the-right-time midfielder who would get goals and provide a different dimension to the Canaries' attacking play.

In short, someone that would provide the balance to the ? theoretically – robust, anchoring, ball-winners already in the ranks.

Of course Smith subsequently got injured not long after arriving in pre-season, and with it what had hitherto been Peter Grant's 'master plan' promptly went flying out of the proverbial window.

Now he's back in contention for a first-team start, and not a moment too soon.

The second being the signing of John Hartson.

Others have tried and ? despite their best efforts ? generally failed to provide what the on-loan striker is virtually guaranteed to.

As physical as they come and someone who has played at the highest level, Hartson is a genuine target man in every sense of the word and someone who will score goals providing that he gets the right service, and so it might just mean that the City fans can make their way to Carrow Road tomorrow with a modicum of optimism despite the current predicament their side have placed themselves in this season.

With the managerial selection process taking its due course, it's left to caretaker boss Jim Duffy to decide how best to utilise the strengths of Hartson, and that will surely mean an insistence that the Canaries deliver quality balls into the opposition penalty area as often as possible.

But uppermost in his thoughts this week will have been how to create an atmosphere up at Colney to ensure that the Canaries take to the field tomorrow believing in themselves once again.

Tactics and formations and who to play and in what position are obviously significant factors that heavily influence the outcome of football matches, but this evident lack of confidence is the biggest obstacle that Norwich have to overcome if they are to turn this wretched 2007-08 season around.

There's no escaping the fact that City have looked scared to death at times in recent matches and have clearly not been enjoying their game, and so we can only hope therefore that the events of the past week or so will help bring about a change in fortunes.

Visitors Bristol City will certainly be no pushovers tomorrow, as after being promoted from League One last season they have made a terrific start to life in the Coca-Cola Championship.

The Robbins currently occupy fourth place in the table, have amassed 17 points from their opening ten league games and only suffered one defeat so far, and further warning is served to the Canaries by the fact that they can also boast the joint-best defensive record on their travels, having conceded just four goals from their five away games this season.


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