Alex Pritchard’s 71st minute penalty abruptly ended Alex Neil’s honeymoon at Carrow Road this afternoon as the new City chief saw his charges slump to a 2-1 defeat to play-off rivals Brentford.
Hit hard by a rash of midfield absences, City were never at their slickest best against a hard-working Bees outfit.
With Watford running riot against a hapless Blackpool, the result left the Canaries four points off the play-off places.
Of greater interest now will be the fact that City are now eight days away from seeing the transfer window slam shut on them. On this performance and result, Neil will have every good reason to splash the cash and trust fresh blood to restore much-needed momentum to Norwich’s season.
For all that was said and written in the run-up to Neil Adams’ ‘resignation’, the Norfolk side were still seventh in the table. Tonight they sit eighth. Hence why Neil will be very keen to get back on the front foot again before the doubters start to gain even greater sway.
“The bottom line is that I had one central midfielder who was fit,” said Neil afterwards, inevitably quizzed about the team selection that found Steven Whittaker asked to hold the fort alongside Bradley Johnson.
“To be honest, I thought he was a bit harshly treated,” added the Norwich boss, whose learning curve is proving to be ever more steeper.
“He was asked to play a role that he’s not usually accustomed to playing and I thought he worked his socks off for the group. I didn’t think he did particularly poor – to be honest, he was the least of my concerns today.”
It was the overall level of performance that worried him more; that and the greater desire on offer from Brentford.
“I just don’t think we played well enough,” he told BBC Radio Norfolk afterwards. “The majority of the team did not play well enough.
“We didn’t do well enough in any area of the pitch. I didn’t think we had enough attacking threat; we didn’t dominate the ball well enough in the middle areas of the pitch and defensively we didn’t do well enough when they were attacking.”
Work to do, in short.
With the new Canary chief still without the services of the suspended Jonny Howson and the injured Alexander Tettey, so the additional absence of Gary O’Neil found the luckless Whittaker being pushed into a more forward and central role ahead of a set back four.
Whether it had the desired effect or not was something of a moot point as Norwich coughed and spluttered their way badly through the opening half. It proved to be an odd decision. Albeit enforced, seemingly. And a brighter, sharper Brentford would take full advantage.
There was as much interest on the bench where two former loanees returned to stake their claim for first team inclusion under the new broom instituted by the Neil regime.
Elliott Bennett’s return to his Brighton roots was always billed as much about getting the winger game time post major injury; more problematic has been the future of former skipper Sebastien Bassong who found himself exiled to Vicarage Road under the previous administration.
This weekend and Neil’s promise of a clean slate found him named among the substitutes. Quite what reception the Carrow Road faithful would afford him should his services be required was another matter.
Given the problems afflicting the Turner-Cuellar partnership, that question might have to be addressed sooner rather than later.
As for the game itself, the manager’s hopes of making it three wins out of three for his tenure received an early blow 20 minutes into the first period when the Bees stole into the lead via Peleteiro Ramallo.
In fairness, the West Londoners advantage only lasted six minutes before Redmond’s recent rich vein of form extended to a goal – one that will have steadied a few nerves around the place as Norwich struggled to make light of their midfield changes.
The Wesley Brigade would not be too amused to see the former Rangers full-back the nod ahead of the mercurial Dubliner; the counter argument would, as ever, revolve around the soft centre that invariably leaves. Johnson would have to be at his tireless best to make amends – if you run with just the two in the middle.
Quite what teenager Conor McGrandles might add to the midfield mix at this level remains something for the future. For now he would have to be content for another outing on the bench.
The interval brought the first change of the afternoon as Bennett replaced the tetchy Lafferty whose first half had ended with his seventh booking of the season; his ninth if his two for Northern Ireland are included.
City now had two, natural wingers adding both width and pace in the hope of then servicing the needs of Cameron Jerome and Gary Hooper. It was whether the combination of Johnson and Whittaker could find the guile to match their natural grit.
The home crowd would make their judgement plain come the eventual change.
Hoolahan had by then already arrived to deliver the missing guile and possession – only for his appearance to be over-shadowed by events in the City box where, not for the first time this season, Carlos Cuellar conceded a penalty.
Andre Gray drew the foul; Pritchard converted the penalty. The Bees were buzzing and Neil had been handed his next managerial challenge – to prise at least a point out of the contest from the game’s remaining 20 minutes.
Lewis Grabban would replace Whittaker for the game’s final ten minutes as Neil looked for someone, somewhere, to offer the inspiration Norwich required to at least haul themselves level.
Russell Martin would see a header blocked; Grabban see an injury-time effort saved.
Five minutes of added on time failed to make a difference as Brentford held on to a big, big away win in their chase of the Premier League dream.
As for Norwich, it was a weekend that produced more questions than answers for supporters and new manager alike.
Football is about opinions but doesn’t extend to cheering off Whittaker. Call yourselves fans?
A little time to reflect, yet I remain cross writing this at 1945. Alex Neil is right, we were poor in every area of the pitch, especially midfield where I felt we simply didn’t compete. It wasn’t just Whittaker who had a dreadful afternoon, Lafferty was very poor in my opinion too, although none did well, Redmond and Johnson were just less bad.
Brentford were neat and tidy, they passed ok, but I can’t help but think a midfield of Johnson, Tettey, Howson and O’Neil would have disrupted them and given us a platform. Today it didn’t happen at all.
What was worst of all, in my mind, was a reliance on long ball ‘hoof’. I didn’t like it and they did it badly at best.
Really disappointed tonight. Norwich were miles below par, really bad day.
Let us hope this is an aberration, if we continue like this I shall regret renewing my season ticket.
Even if I will still go….
OTBC
Did we scour the whole of Scotland to find a manager who thinks Whitaker can play in midfield? Has he met Wes yet or even considered different formations?
Last time we went up we played Hoolahan in behind Holt and Chris Martin. They scored a sack full between them. I’m sure he could do just as well as he did back then with Hooper and Jerome. Its on days like today Wes is needed. This talk of him not being physical enough! Well that didn’t matter last time we got promoted did it? To play Whittaker centre-mid rather than change formation to accomodate Hoolahan is baffling to me, especially for a home game where we should be out for blood from the start.
‘Were never at their slickest best’. To quote Roy Walker from Catchphrase – say what you see Rick. The performance was dreadful, disjointed with no cohesion. The opposition played for each other and looked as if they knew each other and had a common goal and bond. We didn’t. I don’t want to bang on about big and small clubs, we’ve been on the other end of that often enough, but the wage bill for hooper, Ollson and a couple of others would easily knock Brentford’s into a cocked hat. Thankfully given rptime this is something will sort out. I have no truck with being beaten by a better side, but not a more hungry side. That’s indefensible.
Phil has taken the words right out of my mouth. This is why I’m already thinking the board as made another faux pas.
Playing Whittaker in midfield is crazy, wen you’ve got Hoolahan and young McGrandles on the bench.
We need an additional injection of youthful swagger, energy, & desire as currently provided by Redmond, to complement the experience of Johnson, Jerome & Martin. It’s a shame Louis Thomson is on a year long loan as he is exactly what was missing on Saturday, no way would Pritchard have run rings around him. LT’s brother who looks a very useful ball playing young centre back would be an improvement on what we currently have.
I’m afraid I think Lafferty is a loose canon, I have never seen a NCFC player throw opponents to the floor in every game he plays, nothing very subtle about it either, on one occasion in front of yours truly he grabbed the opponent by the head and chucked him to the ground. Not fit to wear the shirt.
I’m excited by the new manager, but it’s pretty obvious he will need time to find out exactly what he has in this squad, and time is running out. Everyone seems unanimous that we got what we deserved against Brentford, and I think the players must take the responsibility. Regardless of formations, tactics, or players out of position, if the team isn’t collectively ‘up for it’ nothing will work. They weren’t up for it yesterday, and that is inexcusable.
The treatment of Whittaker by some ‘fans’ was also inexcusable. Like it or not we’re gonna need him in the coming months. Why dent his confidence even more? I have no problem with booing the team after the game though. The players need to get the message that the fans will not accept a lack of effort.
I hope the City players got home last night, watched the outstanding performances of Boro and the magnificent Bradford, and felt thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Mark (5) agree entirely, Rick you are way too kind! This game has been a bit of a turning point for me. I felt until today that given some team cohesion and confidence we should have more than enough to get promoted – I know different this morning. My son is trialling at Brentford accademy currently and it is run by former Barcelona coaches. To be honest Brentford did a passable impression of a second rate Barcelona yesterday, closing down quickly when not in possession and passing along the floor quickly to willing runners when they got it. They looked really good and we were very lucky the score was not worse than it was.
Norwich on the other hand did a passable impression of a second rate Sunday pub team, hoofing the ball aimlessly forward to an offside Jerome and until Wes came on we had nothing to offer at all. To call our back four inept, slow and ponderous does a disservice to inept slow and ponderous people everywhere – simply awful!
Finally, it’s not the injuries, Brentford had a couple of key ones as well – we had midfielders available but chose to leave them on the bench. Johnson in front of the back four with Wes behind the front two was too obvious a call to get wrong and either McGrandles is good enough or get him out of the squad until he is, age is not the issue. Alex, you’re not in Scotland any more old chum and you are going to have to raise your game significantly on yesterday’s dreadful showing.
Still say we have too many mavericks who think they should be playing in the premiership. To those I say ” You have to earn that right, there is a good reason you are playing championship football ! ” Hats off to Brentford, honest, hard working and plenty of skill with it, thoroughly deserved win. I lost count how many times our forwards held their hands up to show they knew they were offside as the ball was hoofed forward. At one stage 3 of them were performing this gesture at the same time, were they too tired to track back ? Look at yourself in the mirror guys, this IS the championship !!!
Also, I am sick and tired of seeing Lafferty get needlessly booked what seems like every game, he is a liability. One goal ( good as it was against Cardiff ) is a poor return for an international who can not keep his discipline in check !
Initially Lafferty seemed exactly what we needed. Almost could’ve filled the hole left by Grant Holt – powerful, physical, passionate. But I agree he’s actually a liability. Basic common sense goes missing. Russell Martin, in the last few minutes last week when we were desperate to see the game out, and he goes for a wild shot which sails over the bar, instead of keeping possession. Grabban yesterday, conceding a needless free-kick on the halfway line, handing Brentford more valuable seconds. Hoolahan as well, a great chance to cross late on, and he decides to take on three defenders instead.
Like Geoff Boycott would say, there’s more brains in a pork pie.
Not Whitaker’s fault yesterday. He is a full back being asked to play in midfield with only one other midfielder beside him against a team with a decent midfielder who was running rings round us. Yes, Pritchard is a half decent player but did we really need to give him most of the pitch unchallenged to prove it? If most of the crowd could see that it wasn’t working, why couldn’t Alex Neil? We didn’t just need to get Lafferty off we needed to swap him for a midfielder able to provide creativity and support for the other two who were struggling on their own. If McGrandles isn’t up to the first team yet, get him out on loan and get some experience. If he can’t make it into the team in those circumstances he might as well. Pity we didn’t stick with Adams and Phelan, just as they were getting things right. As for Neil claiming he has 6 points out of 9, who is he kidding? The points against Bournemouth were down to Phelan and Holt so he has 3 out of 6 from 2 home games and we nearly threw those away.
Football brings many opinions and strong emotions, but the behaviour of our crowd DURING matches is a big part of our problems over the last couple of years. The treatment of Whitaker yesterday caused me to angrily shout ‘Call yourselves supporters! That’s pathetic’. I heard a few mumbled replies of ‘We pay all this money so we can say what we like’ thus showing a total misunderstanding of the role of the crowd. How is the groaning at every mistake, and now the jeering of players, going to improve anyone’s performance. Carrow Road used to be a happy place to go to, even when success eluded us. What would some of the current crowd have made of Ken Brown twice leading us into relegation and the Barclay still singing that we would take more care of him? The atmosphere has become dominated by miserabilists (who, perhaps, reflect the state of the country). We need a rallying cry from Delia in ‘Come on lets be ‘avin you’ style but nowadays even our local saint might get jeered off. The crowd, more than the players, are putting me off what has been one of my favourite activities for over 40 years. For goodness sake lets get behind the club and save our complaints for the pubs and messageboards!
I cheered when Whittaker was taken off, not because I dislike him or want to knock his confidence purposely. I did do because the manager at last swallowed his pride and made the decision to abandon what was an awful decision to play him there. Should have done it sooner rather than let Whittaker suffer for longer. We do pay our money and deserve a say, as much as we have to support the team. The difference between the 21st century and the mid 1980s is the cost of supporting the team and the wages of players. The increase in both has made fans feel distanced from modern players and managers, and thus less likely to show the solidarity afforded to Ken Brown. And it’s tripe to suggest a frustrated fan isn’t a true supporter because they are unhappy.
Lets be honest, money has killed the game, that’s why we don’t enjoy it so much. If Norwich don’t get promoted we’ve failed. If Man City don’t win the prem league and finish 2nd THEY have failed. If Arsenal, Man Utd or Liverpool do not qualify for the champions league THEY have failed…..and why……MONEY ! 5 seasons ago we were in league one, on the verge of administration therefore why are we not celebrating the success of sitting comfortably 8th in the championship, financially secure. Unfortunately I do not have the answer, 50 years a supporter and I’m not enjoying it so much either !
I like the honest answer from Cheep and, hands up, nothing that I can disagree with apart from that the’say’ has to happen after the game.
Kevin (14), You’ve summed up my view perfectly. Carrow Road has become a place where ‘fans’ get on the team’s back at the first sign of any shortcomings, and isn’t anywhere near as much fun as it used to be.
The price of tickets is no excuse. Having had a season ticket for x years is no excuse. Supporting the team only when things are already going well isn’t really much use to anyone.
Given that the club has only been in the top flight for four of the seasons since relegation in ’95 (twenty years), there’s no reason to believe that we ‘should’ be there, or that we ‘should’ be challenging at the top of the Championship after relegation.
For being prepared to step into an unfamiliar position against a decent side in an important match, Steven Whittaker should be applauded for his effort and flexibility, not jeered for one or two errors when he’s doing the best he can.
I didn’t see many players sprinting back to cover Whittaker, when he lost the ball on the edge of their area and they scored having taken it all the way down the pitch.
What did worry me was that Brentford seemed to want it more than us. I’ll happily (perhaps not happily) applaud the team when they’ve given everything and lost.
Whether the cheers/jeers were directed at Whittaker’s performance or the manager’s decision to play him there is irrelevant. It was unnecessary, harsh, petulant and ill-judged. Whittaker may have given a 5-out-of-10 performance, but he was surrounded by teammates who gave exactly the same only with fewer excuses. We need to rid ourselves of this impatience and sense of entitlement.
It’s sad that supporters are losing their enjoyment of a day out at the club they love just because of the behaviour of other supporters. No guarantee of satisfaction is printed on the ticket, whatever the price. Not every team can be successful every season. We have to accept that as part of supporting our team. The hard times just serve to make the good ones all the sweeter.