Yesterday was a good day, and when was the last time we were able to say that?
Of course it came with a caveat that City played against ten men for 87 minutes, but there are plenty of occasions in the not too recent past when they’ve failed miserably to make a man advantage count.
That Watford were put to the sword in such clinical fashion is to be applauded (and was applauded…) and the ease with which they were swept aside displayed a hitherto unseen ruthless streak.
How many of us turned to our Carrow Road neighbours yesterday to question their ability to overcome ten men? I did.
And on the subject of confessions, in conversation with fellow MFW columnist Kevin Baldwin at half-time, we agreed that forty-five minutes was ample time for City to concede an equaliser, probably from the boot of Troy Deeney.
Fortunately we were were both gloriously wrong.
As ever, the trick when playing with an extra man is to shift the ball at pace and to make the pitch as big as possible. City did both well, and at the heart of it was the unlikely figure of Bradley Johnson.
In truth, the bearded one has been in my sights for some time with his wayward passing often a cause of extreme frustration, but afforded the extra half-second that the Championship offers and with Watford a man down he made superb use of that time.
His passing, both short and long, was bang on the money and to cap it with such a beautifully crafted opener was a perfect way to mark one of his best performances in the canary yellow. More of the same and everyone wins.
Lewis Grabban’s first goal in City colours – a deflected but exquisitely executed chip – was equally as welcome and it was interesting to hear afterwards the ex-Bournemouth man remark that Heurelho Gomes’ penchant for straying off his line had been noted pre-match. With Johnson’s goal being of a similar ilk Team Adams can claim a couple of assists.
The third goal – an Alex Tettey howitzer – was less subtle in its execution but just as glorious. The Norwegian had a good one yesterday and looked like someone comfortable and happy in his surroundings. Which is just as well.
With Leroy Fer seemingly, and finally, bound for Shepherd’s Bush the need for a settled and ‘firing on all cylinders’ Tettey increases. He looked the part again and, as some have remarked, potentially looks more suited to the challenge of the Championship than Fer.
In reality, the second the Dutchman’s header hit the net in Brazil he was off. And therefore it’s better for everyone, if it is to be the case, that it’s concluded sooner rather than later. The last thing Adams wants is £8million burning a hole in his pocket on September 1 with no chance of spending it.
With Gary O’Neil doing the very thing we all expected – calm, collected, neat and tidy in possession – and Jonny Howson yet to enter the fray we are reasonably well equipped in the central area, even minus the power and athleticism of Fer.
But while I’m sure we’ll all wish him well on his journey west, I can’t help but wonder if his agent couldn’t have set his sights a little higher than QPR. Or, maybe it’s just my less that wholesome view of the individuals at the helm of said outfit.
Either way, I’m sure he’ll be a success and hopefully Arry and co will be nothing more than a stepping stone for him on his way to the next level.
Among several other good performances yesterday – including the return of Wes’ dancing feet – the standout one came from Kyle Lafferty. While his starting position on the left caught most of us by surprise, in fairness to Adams it worked.
It seems, despite his height, his strength is on the floor and he showed fleet of foot aplenty throughout. Couple that decent technique with a desire and willingness to work his socks off and it all added up to an impressive home debut for the Irishman.
Something tells me he’s going to revel in the white hot atmosphere of Portman Road next Saturday lunchtime and will add some ‘Grant Holt’ to the occasion. I think they’re going to hate him – and I can’t wait.
But before all roads leads to Ipswich we have the small matter of Blackburn at home on Tuesday night. And I’m expecting a more raucous atmosphere.
Whether it’s the remnants of the relegation hangover or if it was Watford being reduced to ten so early on, but Carrow Road was hardly jumping yesterday – even in the face of a 3-0 win and new goal music that presumably attempted to turn the old place into Ally Pally (Note: It didn’t).
Perhaps Tuesday night under the floodlights will be different.
But, either way, we’re finally up and running and so is the Adams era. Although I doubt he’d admit, that first win for the new City boss must have been a huge relief.
And hopefully it’ll be the first of many.
___________________________________________________________________________
Thanks again for those who offered MFW their starting XI for the Watford game. In the virtual world of the Football Manager Parallel Championship City were also victorious – winning 4-0.
The team – based on the consensus of MFW readers – was as follows:
—————————————— Ruddy ———————————-
Martin—————-Turner————— R Bennett ————-Garrido
————————- Tettey ———– Johnson —————————-
——————– Grabban ———- Wes ———- Surman —————
—————————————–Lafferty ———————————-
Good article as always Gary but most importantly a good step in the right direction by City. Johnson in particular was impressive – as you mentioned, his passing and shooting (heads down in the top row!) ability has been questioned by many, but yesterday he looked the complete deal. Lafferty looked good but Redmond for all of his pace and trickery still lacks that ability with the final ball and the decision making that goes with it. Can’t help that feel a season in the championship will do him good. Will naturally be sad to see Fer go (assuming he does) but good luck to him and Surman also if rumours are true. Can’t help thinking with Leroy that he’s better than QPR – let’s hope a goos sell-on clause. Main concern is that we now look slightly low on numbers – Pilkington gone, Surman and Fer to possibly follow, Bunn, Beccio and Bassong looking to go….will leave only 17 senior pros.
When we bought Johnson and Howson (Snodgrass too) part of the reasoning was that they were top players at Championship level and were hungry to prove themselves in the top division. Occasionally they did so, but not often enough.
So it should be no surprise if they once again prove their worth in the Championship.
As for Fer I’m not convinced he will do particularly well. Talented and athletic he maybe but he watches the action from 5 yards away too much. For all their money it wouldn’t surprise me to see QPR and Fer back in the Championship next year.
What I’m hoping for this week is having unloaded 3 or 4 players (assuming the Fer and Surnam deals happen) we have some targets in mind to replace them.
With near enough a 50-game season we must have more than just Fer, Howson, O’Neill, Tettey and Johnson to dominate central midfield. It’s energy sapping, they take a lot of knocks there, are bound to pick up some yellow cards, and need cover. We have to win the ball there and recycle it to Wes, Redmond and the front men.
Some fans seem to be trying to make out we’ve brought in £30m but only spent £8m, so must spend the rest, or whatever the numbers are. It’s not that simple anyway. More to the point is players valued in the £4m – £5m bracket who are willing to play in the Championship for our level wages are probably few and far between.
Whilst I can understand why we haven’t yet reinvested the various fees we’ve received or will receive I do hope we will see a couple of good classy buys in the next week or so.
Good points by Keith B (2) on finances. While reassuring to hear from the Board that we don’t have to sell, it was misleading in that the wage bill needs to come down substantially. Transfers – which by the way cost a lot of money on top of the headline price – need to take that into consideration.
Having said that, Keith’s right that we need to build up the numbers a bit if Surman and Fer are going and people like Bassong and Becchio aren’t going to contribute. Take the point about midfield, but for me the highest priority remains central defence. A left winger wouldn’t come amiss, either.
Surman left out of the squad on Saturday, same as Pilkington for Wolves, yet Fer comes on as sub. Suggests to me that Surman is on his way and no Fer deal yet done. Could the Sky report be one of Harry’s tricks to put pressure on?
Great article again, Gary. I was at the match on Saturday – so many pluses to take from it. Bradley Johnson’s brand new passing game got him the Man of the Match award, but for me the guy who should have got that was Rafferty. He may have started on the left but in reality was playing all over the pitch, racing back to defend in our box whenever necessary, and creating many openings at the other end. Other than perhaps spending a little more time in the opponents’ box, his was a revelationary, stand-out performance, and I was one of the many on my feet when he was taken off.
As a passing thought, how many of our heroes have been journeymen who have eventually settled happily in the Fine City? Ewan Roberts, Darren Huckerby, Grant Holt: perhaps Kyle Lafferty will be adding his name to that honourable roll.
On the subject of Hucks, I was treated to lunch in his lounge (so to speak) by a great friend of mine, a former Cup Final refereee, now in his eighties. I introduced Darren to him, and they spent a good few minutes discussing football in general. He demonstrated, in my friend’s words, what a fine ambassador he is for the club.
All in all – a great day out!
It’s hard to evaluate the performance, given that we were playing against ten men for virtually the whole game. I’d have taken a battling win by the odd goal against 11 over that. It felt like a pre-season warm-up, and as such it might feel like a shock to be playing against 11 when Blackburn come to town.
That said, there will be some confidence flowing. Lafferty indeed looks like a man on a mission. It’s interesting that he’s one of that rare breed – a British based player prepared to play overseas. Time spent in Palermo may well be responsible for the technique he showed, not that I wish to make assumptions. I thought it was odd that he played out on the left as much as he did. A couple of times he put balls into the box when there was an absence of someone like him on the end of it. Redmond can be very frustrating. On the one hand, when he got the ball it seemed to put the opposition on the back foot immediately, one the other, he never did anything decisive or effective.
The patience aspect of our game was fully on display. Things were certainly not rushed. This was a source of frustration for some fans (my Dad included) but I was glad to see the team take its time and wait for the right opportunity.
Had Watford been a bit sharper they might have taken advantage of a couple of panicky moments at the back for Norwich. All in all, though, it was a decent performance. I just hope that we can readjust to playing against a full-strength team tomorrow night.
It seems odd that Fer came on as a sub if he’s to be on his way. If a deal is imminent Adams could’ve given someone else some game time (Loza? Murphy?), since the points were in the bag by that point. But after the final whistle Fer was doing the rounds applauding the crowd in a way that suggested he wouldn’t be seeing them again.
For me the most refreshing part of the game was that they had located a weakness in the opposition, created a plan to exploit it, and successfully executed upon it. More please.