Two goals from England’s Wayne Rooney and two more from second-half substitute Juan Mata condemned Neil Adams’ Canaries to an all-too predictable 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford – and sent them spiralling ever nearer a return to the Championship.
Fulham might have been held to a 2-2 draw at home to Hull City; Norwich might still be one point clear of the bottom three. But the Londoners have Crystal Palace at home on the final day of the season. City have Arsenal at home.
And in between lies the small matter of Chelsea (a).
Norwich barely laid a glove on United as Ryan Giggs’ managerial debut proved something of a walkover. Or if they did, the game was long over as a contest.
For while the Canaries might have held out for the first 40 minutes until Rooney opened the scoring from the penalty spot, thereafter they were just spectators as United relaxed, pushed the ball about with a level of confidence rarely seen from the Champions this season.
Adams’ ability to change the course of the events this season was always going to be open to question – if only for the fact that was his hands were tied by having the same players at his disposal as the departed Chris Hughton.
And he had prised a spirited response out of them in the 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool. Today, however, and two goals either side of the break took any wind out of their sails and it was all-too much plain sailing.
As City’s stand-in boss went in search of a way – any way – to throw a spanner in the works of the Giggs party, so he again opted for change in that much-troubled central striker role.
Out went last week’s scorer Gary Hooper, in came Ricky van Wolfswinkel as Adams desperately sought some sort of lifeline to cling to.
Of equal note was the continuing absence of team skipper Sebastien Bassong; once again it was Michael Turner and club skipper Russell Martin who were left to hold the fort in front of John Ruddy.
As expected, Old Trafford rose to greet their new, temporary manager after this week’s dismissal of David Moyes. It was, of course, the last thing that the Canaries needed; the trips to the North-West are long and arduous enough without having to make up the numbers at someone else’s party.
Despite promises of a fast and furious start to the latest managerial reign at Old Trafford, it was all rather subdued from the home side.
As Adams himself is fast discovering, you are still left to work with the same players with the same failings. And by this late stage of the season, teams are where they are for a reason – and United look half-paced and shapeless. Certainly when compared to the title challengers now some 20-odd points distant.
But as events unfolded, even that was all-too good for the visitors.
Shinji Kagawa spurned an early chance before Norwich’s defensive frailties reared their ugly head again. Phil Jones’ cross was regulation; somehow is skipped through to the far post where Steven Whittaker’s clip on Danny Welbeck gave Rooney his moment from the penalty spot.
It was despatched with ease as the England striker continued to look the sharpest tool in the United box. A fact he repeated shortly after the restart with a skidding 25-yarder that pinged in off the base of Ruddy’s left-hand upright.
Whatever rescue plan Adams might have conjured up in the dressing room at half-time was out of the window as van Wolfswinkel got nothing out of either Vidic or Ferdinand. Not for the first time, the Dutchman looked a boy against two, Premier League men.
Two goals to the good, with Old Trafford in good voice, United were now wholly in command of the occasion and began to treat their visitors with footballing contempt. Ruddy, in particular, was going to have his hands full keeping the score to two as the trapdoor beckoned ever wider for the Norfolk side.
Van Wolfswinkel disappeared after 57 minutes; another afternoon to forget as Johan Elmander arrived seeking to ruffle a feather or two.
It mattered little. Ruddy palmed out another Rooney effort; the ball was duly recycled and Jones’ cross was slammed home by the newly-arrived Mata to end the contest.
He would add a second – United’s fourth – as they continued to tease and toy with Adams’ increasingly ragged troops. Elmander would at least offer one shot; but it was all-too little, too late.
Bradley Johnson would stretch David de Gea from distance; it was City’s second shot on target. Martin Olsson would see a deflected effort drop back down onto the top of the bar.
But in every reality Norwich were long gone; it was consolation-only stuff.
Arsenal at home with the full might of the Carrow Road crowd behind them now looks their only hope.
For a very long time I was in two minds with Chris Hughton, I did, however, conclude he was taking us down some weeks before the board. Sadly for Neil Adams it is a case of too little, too late. As I left Carrow Road after the West Brom game I no longer thought we had any hope of staying up, but enough of what has been.
My mind now turns to what the future holds, Championship football looks exceedingly likely and how to lift the team to fight and gain promotion from that notoriously tough division. I suspect we will be able to keep most of those we want to, I think Ruddy will go, Bassong and Fer, with maybe Snodgrass or Redmond attracting interest. I hope all stay and the board have the courage to invest what money they possibly can, enable the new manager, whoever it may be, to strengthen and hit the ground running. Maybe the club can learn some lessons, maybe we will come back stronger.
Not for the first time the future of the Canary nation lies with David McNally and co, I wait with much hope and interest to see what happens
OTBC
Absolutely totally & utterly hacked off with the Premier League & it’s emphasis on Mega bucks clubs who we don’t have a prayer of competing with. Sick to death of TV pundits ignorant comments about our club, biased Refs who only give decisions to the big clubs, mercenary foreign players only here for the money.
Let’s get back to proper football, with goals & excitement & Canary hero’s, with players who care, & want to play for the club. We saw it with Worthington when he dumped Iwan & Malky when we won promotion, the heart & soul went out of the club. History repeated itself when Grant Holt was sold & our talisman left the club to journeyman & also rans. Over to you McNally, you created this mess, now get us out of it.
Dreadful performance against a below average Man Utd side. For me the most damning fact was the lack of yellow cards. The least I would have expected was some physical battling and some commitment. Once we went behind I wanted to see some passion, some flying into challenges, some anger, some character. We got none of that, not even frustration, not a single yellow card. Really poor….get some fire in the belly!!
..and the day had been going so well with Ipswich falling short and Hull gatecrashing Fulham’s party.
Bad luck stalks poor form and low confidence (disallowed goal + gifted penalty) but we then dutifully played our role of sacrificial lamb at the crowning of grandmaster Giggs. The polished up red Ferrari hardly needed to get out of 2nd gear in truth.
Adams’ honeymoon period lasted 2 games and 40 mins and is now in serious danger of looking more Terry Connor than Tony Pulis.
Only the most blinkered of optimists can see 4 points coming from Chelsea/Arsenal..and I ain’t one of them.
(2) Can’t believe you are banging on about Holty still as though that was the main reason for our decline – ask Wigan and Villa fans if they are grateful for his services now he’s past his peak.
(3)I’m not sure confusing indiscipline for passion is a good measure of things. More a chronic lack of firepower and leaky defence.
Hi Russell, sorry don’t misunderstand me I don’t want indiscipline but passion is a pre- requisite for any side. We should have been in their faces yesterday and playing like our life depended on it. If a team plays like this they are bound to concede a couple of bookings (as teams do against us) as the odd tackle is mis-timed. This didn’t happen yesterday not because we timed every tackle perfectly but because we didn’t get stuck in. Three yellow cards and a 0-0 would have been preferable in my view. I have no problem with Adams but it was always a mistake to appoint someone with no experience to try to turn this round, a mistake that has been made before of course with Gunn, Connor at Wolves…..and indeed with Giggs if Man U go down that route as we will see the first time he faces any opposition at all. Yesterday was as bad as anything seen under Hughton in my view, I wish Adams well but fear for the worst.
Any reference to Connor is insulting and not relevant. Who on earth really believed we would get something at Old Trafford? To say Adams is like Connor is just ridiculous – he had more time than Adams and didn’t have to play the best teams in the UK in his run in. We were never going to win at OT after Moyes’ sacking and it’s not as if Man Utd are an appalling team – in fact they are still the champions and quite capable of beating anyone if they put their minds to it. When you go down at OT it’s hard to get back in the game. The hype that surrounds their supposed ‘decline’ is nonsense.
This season was lost long ago, with pathetic defeats to Cardiff, WBA, West Ham, draws against Stoke and Cardiff (H) and gutless losses to Fulham and Villa at home. That’s 21 – 21! points we could have quite easily secured if we’d had any tactics that allowed us to attack with any sense of what our forwards are capable of. Judging us on defeats away to one of the biggest clubs in the world is equally pathetic.
Chris Hughton bought ‘big’ players with no idea how to play them and he messed up by not surrounding them with equally talented players. Our defence has been embarrassing all season and our midfield seriously lacked options, despite the numbers. Hooper and RVW must be wondering why they bothered. I’ve watched almost every game this season and the service to them has not even been bad, it’s been non existent. And crosses don’t count, before you argue.
We laud Snodgrass and Johnson for their ‘fight’ but frankly their contribution to others has been minimal – they make their own luck but haven’t really been any good at bringing others into play – and I say that despite admiring Snodgrass for his tenacity and bite and no little skill – but we have watched so many individuals look like they have no idea what their team mates are doing.
We may have had great expectations but many experts predicted we’d go down. Now I understand why.
A comparison with Connor may indeed be insulting depending on your point of view but it is highly relevant in the all important fact that neither had any experience in managing in senior football – same with Gunn. The results are the same – to expect someone with that lack of experience to take on their first job in the toughest league in the world is asking for trouble…and that is what we have got. I’m afraid I think that your entire first paragraph is “ridiculous” to use your term but that said I entirely agree with most of the rest of what you have said in particular the second paragraph as to where the season has been won and lost. Judging the team on a defeat at Man Utd would indeed be “pathetic” but commenting on the patent lack of fight and effort of the team is nothing of the sort.
The reference to TC wasn’t meant as an insult – both he and Adams are fine footballing men – the comparison reflects (as Boot-7 says) that both were essentially ‘thrown in the deep end’ without any significant experience to do the job asked of them.
Connor had 13 games but 5 of those were against top 7 sides including the top 3 for that season, so not a totally unfounded analogy.