That ‘good’ feeling around Carrow Road has been lacking for too long now. It’s as though some supporters have decided we’ll settle for mid-table mediocrity with Ipswich Town.
The atmosphere against Brighton was not that of Norwich City. Last Saturday we clocked up the highest attendance in the Football League, yet you could hear the kiosk staff warming up the half-time hot dogs.
Why do you think for the most part of this season, we’ve dominated more games away from home?
Is it because of the increasingly vocal sceptics? Or, as I’ve been told, ‘realists’ who continue to spread the negative-Norwich virus throughout the home support?
It’s this attitude that needs to change.
We all want the team to do well and to continually progress each season. I agree with my fellow MyFootballWriter columnist, Andrew Lawn, who wrote a superb piece on why it’s so wrong to boo those wearing yellow and green at Carrow Road.
I remember the 4-4 draw with Middlesbrough back in 2005, when Adam Drury netted an injury time equaliser. It was one of my favourite Norwich City comebacks.
I stood up with my Dad, with 78 minutes on the clock and 4-1 down, and we bellowed out at the top of our voices: “We’re gonna win 5-4, We’re gonna win 5-4…” Most fans around us told us to sit down and shut up, but we didn’t. We carried on and we ended up with a result.
Afterwards, we were surrounded with ‘negative Nigels’ wanting to apologise.
An essential psychological element in any competitive sport is the belief you’re going to win. In my opinion, if the players aren’t giving you that belief, it’s part of the football fan’s role to give them the belief – hence the term ‘supporter’.
At the Brighton game, after Russell Martin’s goal, I heard the following in the Upper Barclay: “How lucky was that, bet he can’t believe it went in either…” This attitude needs to change but sums up where we are at as a football club right now.
But on the subject of Martin’s wonder goal. Wow. We haven’t witnessed anything like that since Alex Tettey’s thunderbolt against Sunderland . The skipper’s strike proves to me that our players have got the talent and ability in them to out-do even the best in the Championship.
The only negative, which I can’t ignore, was City’s shambolic defending against Brighton. The problem for Neil Adams is that it’s not just a case of swapping players around anymore, because we’ve been consistently poor at the back this season whoever has been selected.
If you look at most teams through their successful eras, most – if not all – have stuck with the same back-line. This is a real conundrum for Neil but hopefully with the return of Ryan Bennett we’ll stop conceding silly goals.
It was interesting to hear Martin’s post-match comments in the Gunn Club. He spoke about naïve tactics after scoring a goal to go ahead where we keep knocking on the door of the opponent. It’s actually probably a better option to consolidate and defend for ten minutes or so and let the storm pass.
However, despite understanding the potential downfall to our current tactics, we continue to play ‘the Norwich way’ – the definition of which is free-flowing attacking football.
With Mike Phelan – Adam’s new assistant – having started his City playing career back in 1985, he definitely has yellow and green blood running through him. Let’s hope he’s the catalyst that sparks the currently lack lustre team back to winning ways.
Having observed the Yellow Army’s reaction to the appointment via Twitter, and other social networks, it seems most people believe this is all part of David McNally’s master plan to replace Neil if it all goes a bit cold turkey at Christmas. But why are we thinking like this?
The club has backed Adams in the appointment of Mike Phelan. The underlying message here is to try and create a positive, winning atmosphere at Carrow Road. Something the players will hopefully react to and subsequently start to win football matches again.
As regards Russ Martin´s goal
Against Brighton last Saturday,
He who said, “How lucky was that…”
Hit the nail on the head, I would say,
For give him ten chances like that
I guarantee he´d miss the nine,
He´ll never hit another so sweet
With power and on the right line,
With regard to home atmosphere
It´s difficult, week after week,
When players have flattered to deceive
And nowhere near played to their peak,
With stupid mistakes costing dear
And point after point being lost,
There needs to be a radical change
Or else we will all count the cost,
And naturally Phelan is here
To help get us on track again,
But it would be naive not to think
That his presence won´t pressure Adams N,
And hopefully results will come
From the input Phelan will bring,
And then I quarantee the old ground
Will rock and the Y´Army will sing. OTBC
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Good write. only I thought Tettey scored against Sunderland
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Bleeds yellow and green? Well get him in then buh!
Megson. Gunn. Grant. Adams.
I gotta a Phelan this one might just work out!! Pfffft.
Internal problems will pull us lower than higher over the next free months. Which should’ve been foreseen before NAs appointment. Without unity and positivity at the club it’s a no go – and unfortunately that’s not something that football fans can fake. The majority were lost the day we heard the word ‘scour’.
Good news for Hucks and Iwan anyway.
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The skipper’s strike proves to me that our players have got the talent and ability in them to out-do even the best in the Championship.
A goal against Brighton proved that? A game we drew 3-3, against a struggling team. Did Tettey’s prove we were too good to go down?
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6 of one half a dozen of t’other comes to mind…
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Chris – it just feels you’re over simplifying it all. Great atmosphere’s, as well as poisonous ones, take time to build. Things don’t simply change if everyone is overly positive all the time – then the players would get comfortable in mediocrity.
Football, fans, views and beliefs change – it would be a very boring sport if we all happy clapped our way to victory every time. Start focusing on those letting the fans down, and not the fans being afforded a well earned and expensive opinion.
You purchase your personal opinion with the ticket, as well as the right to display your emotions however you choose (within the confines of legality and ethics of course). I don’t want people booing, but it comes with the territory when the board and players target instant promotion and look more like relegation candidates. I find it odd you feel it’s your place to tell anyone who boos they are unfair in doing so.
You and your Dad didn’t inspire that 5-4 at Middlesbrough by the way. It was a group of players who wanted it, unlike the bunch of overpaid fairies that have worn the yellow and green this season. There’s only so much you can take before it becomes hard work…I think you’re odd for being so dam positive if I’m honest!
Like many others, my positivity increases with positive results not sound bytes. It’s human nature.
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PS. No way did Adams appoint Phelan. You can’t honestly believe Adams had the power or sway to bring in a man like Phelan. That’s just silly talk.
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Interman (7): Just wondering whether you were one of the people who stated after Adams’ appointment that of course we’d now lose Ruddy, Olsson, Turner, Redmond, Tettey, Hoolahan…
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Interman, ‘look more like relegation candidates’? Last time I checked, and I checked about five minutes ago, we were three points off the play-offs. Lighten up, bor!
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