As City fans this evening sit and look at the latest Championship table with ever-mounting alarm, there is one, small straw to cling to.
That there might be at least three more similar clubs in as sorry a plight – on and off the field – as the Canaries.
For while Nottingham Forest and Doncaster Rovers could claim to be trying to find their feet at the next level after arriving from League One this summer, Norwich now find themselves rubbing sunken shoulders with three kindred spirits in Southampton, Watford and Charlton Athletic. Three more ex-Premiership clubs; three more sides who have barely a win – or a penny – to their name of late.
Without them, City would be squarely in the bottom three after this afternoon's 3-2 home defeat by Swansea made it just one point in 12. With four of the next five games being away from home, Canary boss Glenn Roeder has his hands full – repairing the PR damage from Tuesday night's tetchy Annual General Meeting is just the tip of the ice-berg.
The forthcoming away trips to both Forest and Watford are huge, six-pointers. Psychologically, as much as anything else.
Tonight and Roeder was in a sober mood – insisting that there was “no magic pill” to cure City's many ills.
“There's hard work, though,” said Roeder. “They work hard anyway, but they have got to work harder. And we have to pick ourselves up.
“But it is galling when you only take one point from two home games when you could have quite easily – and I'm not exaggerating – have taken six.
“But we didn't. And we know that. And we have to find the strength of character to carry on working hard and not lose belief in themselves.”
There was, when all was said and done, an all-too familiar script at work in the opening period. The second one would, for 90 seconds, plumb new depths – no mean feat by Norwich's standards.
For as bright and inventive as the Canaries were, they still headed for the dressing room all-square. As ever, they had their chances to throttle the life out of the visitors – Lita heading over when free, Lita smashing the ball straight at Swansea's keeper when free… In fact the on-loan Reading man would have five headers in the opening 45; none were of the Preston variety.
Same old, same old for the luckless Matty Pattison. A minute before the break and the South African Geordie did everything right as he darted goalward, shrugged off his man and let rip from some 25-yards out. The ball arced low and true towards the far, bottom corner – only to ping back across the goal-line off the base of the keeper's right upright.
Half-an-inch the other way and Pattison would have finally broken his Canary scoring duck almost a year to the day since making his switch to Norfolk. But it wasn't; it flew out and away to safety – and left the home side still walking that fine line after the break. A tight-rope they were about to fall head-long off.
Nor could they have too many complaints about Jason's Scotland's 44th minute leveller as the darkness started to descend. They were just ripped open by some great, passing football. Besides, the Swans by rights had 'scored' moments earlier off David Bell's elbow. Scotland to be ruled 'offside' by a distant lineswoman was just plain wrong.
Not that that would have eased Roeder's mood at that moment in time; they'd got the break with the decision… and thrown their initial good fortune away two minutes later.
That, of course, was just the entree. Even the most battle-weary of Canary supporters could never have guessed what the first 90 seconds of the second period would deliver by way of the main course.
A decent, near-post delivery from a 46th minute corner set the ball rolling as Darren Pratley's flick on was deflected in off Bell – his second 'goal' of the afternoon.
Little more than a minute later and Swansea's superb movement was taking full advantage of Norwich's dazed state as Jordi Gomez' back-heel opened the door for the on-running Ferrie Bodde to drill home as a stunned silence descended. Few needing telling that one point from 12 was relegation form.
“I've been in here too often this year in exactly the same situation,” said Roeder. “It was the same against Preston. We've had two home games and taken one point. It's absolutely crazy.”
And all with Forest away next up. And live on Sky TV, too. Always brings the best out of the Canaries…
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