I wrote a few weeks ago of the effect a World Cup has on your everyday football supporter and how, for a few weeks at least, we feel the need to share the passion normally reserved for ‘our team’ with the national team.
What a load of codswallop.
Little did I realise England’s tournament would last last just five days (almost six if you include the 21 hours when the Italians had England’s fate in their hands) and we’d be effectively out of the tournament before the Germans played their second match.
The much talked about low expectations with which England entered the tournament – which paradoxically raised them – were wholly justified, and the ‘success’ of progression to the second phase was beyond them.
And by the time City’s nemesis extraordinaire, Luis Suarez, entered the fray, much of the promise shown in Manaus had evaporated. The positives were quickly replaced by the age-old English failings: An inability to keep the ball, a lack of invention and a defensive soft centre.
For City supporters it was all too familiar. Many took to Twitter to remind the nation that for the Yellow Army it was just another match and the sinking feeling that accompanied it was, for us, merely par for the course.
As ever, it was the hope that killed us. The despair we can handle… just about.
And which, bringing it back to closer to home, is something to think about when City kick-off at Molineux on August 10.
What are we expecting to unfold between then and Saturday 2 May 2015?
If we anticipate a brief stopover back in the second tier that culminates in promotion back to the land of milk and honey are we just setting ourselves up for a fall?
Or, given a debt-free balance sheet, parachute payments, a good crop of youngsters and a squad full of Premier League experience should we be bracing ourselves for a Lambert-esque charge to glory?
Because, ultimately, it boils down to the ‘expectation’ word again. And it’s that which will go a long way to defining the mood of the Canary Nation over the next eleven months.
With the spectre of ‘little Norwich’ still hovering over Carrow Road following the appointment of Neil Adams, the chances of a united Yellow Army currently seem some way off – and an unconvincing start to the season would do little to help.
Of course the aim should be to bounce back at the first time of asking – and to not do so at the first attempt would quickly see City subsumed amidst the gaggle of clubs fighting to get out of the Championship – but history tells us it’s a big ask.
Because, of the last 85 clubs relegated from the top flight, only 21 have bounced back first time, which – by my usually flawed ex-accountant logic – says 1 in 4. The odds are not in our favour.
We already know to our all-too-painful cost how difficult it is to bounce back and we’re one of a growing number who have not only failed, but headed further southwards in the seasons that followed – usually the result of not realigning finances to Championship levels.
And while I’m not suggesting that as a possibility for City – the club is at least in a good place financially right now – it is a stark reminder of how quickly things can change in football, especially when the parachute payments dry up.
But, regardless, it is going to be something of a slog. If thirty-eight games in the Premier League felt a bit like a sprint, the forty-six games of a Championship season are going to feel more like a 3,000 metre steeplechase. Plenty of hurdles and the odd water jump along the way.
If anyone is anticipating plain sailing they are destined for disappointment. But equally, a squad that last season conjured up – amongst a load of dross – some good performances at home against Spurs and Man City and away at Chelsea, should have enough wherewithal to compete with the best the Championship can throw at it.
While away days in the North-West and London invariably began with trepidation and ended in disappointment, this season there should be nothing outside the city walls to be feared; every game an opportunity to earn three points.
That much I do expect.
If, along the way, Team Adams can embed a style of play that is both pleasing on the eye and effective, then I suspect the Yellow Army will gradually get on board. Better still if we can see a pattern of play emerge that will become a familiar one.
One of the failings of Chris Hughton’s tenure was that, particularly in season two, there was no obvious method to City’s play. No sign of a system – one in which every player knew his job, and those of others – and no obvious way of playing by which the Class of 2014 could have been identified.
While I’m sure it wasn’t all off-the-cuff, that’s how it felt.
If Adams can achieve that much, and his team can play with a desire and intensity that suggests they care, that will be a good start.
And if, amidst some good, progressive football, a serious crack at the top six can emerge, then I suspect we’ll all start to feel a little more united.
All well and good on paper of course. Now just the small matter of delivering it.
Hi Gary,
To be honest, I have absolutely no idea how we will perform this year, we still have no idea who will leave, who else will come in, or even who will be head of recruitment and who will be technical director!
Until everything is in place, anything can happen, we can only hope for the best and die in our support!
OTBC
“Didn’t live up to the promise of Manaus”. There’s one problem with promises, they can be unfulfilled, or broken. Ok, that’s two.
If we were to go by the management’s original “promise”, then we are to go straight back up. The method of promotion not mentioned.
For me we should be on-or competing for automatic promotion. This is our best shot for the foreseeable future. Strongest squad. Best finances. Highest levels of fan support.
If we’re outside of the playoffs then we’re just another Championship club settling back into mid-table existence. I believe we’re better than that.
I agree that there are still too many unknowns to make an accurate prediction, but my expectation at present is hoping for a top 6 finish if the yellow army can come together as one again.
The squad looks unbalanced with soft hearted dead wood a plenty. We’re talking a good game ( a McNally speciality) but will end up mid table.
A sad air of inevitability about it all any hope that was built up soon started to disappear. Just hope that the season facing us isn’t the same. But a lot depends on who departs and who replaces them. If Adams can restore confidence and play to the strengths we have more than enough, for auto.
I feel Steve’s comment is slightly harsh, especially on McNally. There is still an awful lot of talent in the squad, especially with the youngsters & the signing of Grabban was nothing if not positive. I among others had raised eyebrows when Adams got the job, however, we all have to start somewhere, the board obviously believe in him, keep the players that do also & ship out the ones that don’t. If we can show our faith as fans behind Adams & the players, with little bit of luck along the way, top 6 should be achievable.
We should have been looking at promotion as a minium expectation , but after messing up the managerial appointment to Gunn like proportions i can only see a mid table finish and probably defeats to Ipswich to put the icing on it .
As others say, it’s fair to reserve our judgement a bit at this early stage of the transfer window. But we can make some observations on what we do know and the indications we’ve had since May.
I was less than thrilled at Neil Adams’ appointment, but the team of Adams/Robson/Holt/Royle looks purposeful and balanced. And no gamble there: not only are they all impressive individuals, they all have a record of working successfully with Neil.
Another known (and not to be underestimated) quantity is David McNally, who I was afraid would leave after relegation. Two things we know for sure we won’t get with McNally: he’ll never promise promotion in any given season, but he’ll never settle for mid-table existence either. Instead, he’ll focus his considerable skills and energy on setting us up for the best possible shot at regaining our Premiership place.
The signing of Grabban is surely encouraging. The greatest fault in our transfer dealings last year was a failure to sign appropriate strikers for our status; that’s clearly being addressed. There’ll be plenty more change, I suspect, including departures that fans will lament. We should perhaps have a bit of realism and trust about this. The Board is not looking to weaken our squad, but there are players it’s better to sell at this stage – either because their mentality isn’t right for the challlenge ahead, or because we can make more relevant signings by cashing in on them.
Gary rightly points out the sobering statistics – the odds are strongly against us bouncing straight back. But there are some things in our favour, both financial and in the new broom sweeping Carrow Rd. It may take a little while for everything to fall into place, but it seems to me they deserve some faith from us.
Interesting statistic, Gary, your 1 in 4. But I’d like to know a bit more about the 25% that have gone straight back up – what characteristics do they show? Finances relatively in order, team not seriously weakened on relegation (ie no big sell off), players up for the challenge of regaining promotion?
It would be interesting to know – and I speculate if you analyse the characteristics of that 25% that our own odds start to increase too…
Phill (7) – it always astounds me that comparisons are made between the appointment of Adams and the appointment of Gunn. Not only were there quite different circumstances but also a huge difference between the two men in terms of coaching experience.
I will admit Adams wasn’t my first choice of boss but instead of bleating about how bad the decision was – it has already been made and we can’t do anything about it – how about we focus our energy on supporting the players and the manager.
It’s early days to say where we will end up, but the aim has got to be to get to a position where we could get promoted. We have the resources and some of the playing staff to do this already. The right signings and a good integration of those signings into the squad and the first XI is going to be crucial.
If, however, the current level of negativity from some supporters even partly gets to the players, then frankly mid table is all we will get and all we will deserve.
2014 has been an horrific year for an English Norwich fan, so surely it can’t get worse can it?
Top 10 would be a realistic place to start with the team showing the pace and passion of a Costa Rica or a Mexico. Good start would be great but not vital – last time we dropped from the top (2005-6) we drew 3/lost 3 of our first six games but still finished 9th, comfortably above Ipswich – I’d settle for that scenario in 2014-15. That would give us a platform to improve the following season. I hope we take the FA/Carling Cups seriously for a change and have a go in them.
Sounds treasonable but I think a direct return to the PL would not benefit the club other than financially – just like the England team, I suspect we’d just struggle along out of our depth and achieve sweet FA.
Fer just scored for Holland from a position (6 yard box) we rarely (if ever ?) saw him get into with City last year – a sign that the strategy and not the players was the problem ?
Not necessarily ADC (12). If Fer wasn’t in that position someone else was, Johnson probably who has a good record with his head.
But how often did any of our players put a cross of that quality into the box?
In truth Ron Davies would have struggled to score with the balls we putting into the penalty area last season.
I’m caught between fear of the massive task Adams faces, a hope that he is shown patience, and a firm belief that we really must go for promotion at the first attempt. The last time we won promotion we never lost two games in a row, but that kind of consistency will be much harder this time if the squad has a massive overhaul. For that reason I hope we retain most of our players.
RvW should leave. Not that I think he’s a terrible player, or that he won’t score goals if we play to his strengths, but purely because he is the living embodiment of last season’s failure. Other than that, I think there’s a great benefit in a squad of players who are friends, and know eachother’s game.
The most encouraging comparison I can think of with England is that neither team is that far off. If England had defended that one goalkick properly they’d still be in the World Cup. If Norwich had beaten Brom at home, (or if Snod had scored that pen, or Stockdale didn’t make that save etc etc…) they’d still be in the Prem. Small margins.
I believe we CAN see progression and the beginnings of a new identity under Hodgson. If we see the same thing early doors under Adams we’ll be on the right track.