It should have been more.
No, not a hasty knee-jerk reaction to a side that has just had to settle for just a point after playing for more than an hour against ten men. An opinion that when analysed impartially and rationally in the cold light of day is surely difficult to dispute?
Of course there is valid reason for taking the alternative viewpoint and highlighting that this was against a side that in all probability will be contesting one of the top six places at the end of the season, and one at that remained resolute and disciplined throughout the contest with eight of those nine outfield players encamped behind the ball at all times… and accordingly interpreting this a decent point for the Canaries.
But things have changed considerably here at Norwich in recent weeks, and it is indeed to City boss Glenn Roeder and the Canaries' credit that it has – that we can now even dare to think about bemoaning a draw against a top six side when not so long ago we would have been jumping through hoops if Norwich had so much as managed to cross the half-way line!
So for me this was a missed opportunity to notch up another victory and improve what still remains an excellent recent run of form, it has to be said.
Norwich were off-key, I'm afraid, for long periods of the game today.
On the counts of energy, desire, positive intent and honesty, once again not a problem. The Canaries could rightly be happy to say that they could indeed tick all those boxes.
But when the visitors demonstrated that they were going to be happy enough to defend their one goal lead with 60-odd minutes still remaining and rely on an occasional counter-attack if and when the opportunity arose, too often City could not come up with the answers to trouble them.
Just like against Sheffield United here at Carrow Road a couple of weeks ago, Roeder again deployed the Canaries in an unbalanced formation whereby he had three central midfielders and only one wide player.
But as was evident against the Blades, when that one wide player happens to be an on-fire Darren Huckerby it matters not a jot whether you're balanced or not in midfield. Huckerby can be a one-man attacking unit when he plays like he did that day ? the rest just sort of fit in around him.
But when he's as below par as he was today, the lack of symmetry across the middle of the park and the limitations and shortcomings of the system become only too apparent.
City had no outlet wide on the right, and accordingly they became too predictable when they were in possession.
It needed someone to provide something different. Another dimension if you like in order to trouble the visitor's rearguard. Someone to run beyond the strikers, someone to dribble or pass the ball with deadly accuracy past the Charlton defensive unit and then someone clever enough to be in an effective position to receive it.
But too often, no-one was able to provide us with a solution to the problem.
?Huff-and-puff? is too much of a derogatory term in this instance, seeing as Norwich did eventually hit the back of the net and if there was going to be a winning side then it was only ever going to be Norwich, but there was room for improvement all the same.
It could… no, I'm sticking to my guns… it should have been more.
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