• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

My Football Writer

My Football Writer Norwich City news… comment… analysis

Norwich City – news, comment and analysis

Find the best betting sites
  • Home
  • About us
  • The Team
  • Archives Index
  • Patreon
  • ADVERTISE
  • Contact us

A frosty one awaits Grabban as the the fallout from the New York stadium rumbles on

27th April 2015 By Rick Waghorn 12 Comments

Please share

A Monday morning summons to the manager’s office looks set to await City striker Lewis Grabban after his 26th minute dismissal found the Canaries squandering a gilt-edged chance to force their way back into the automatic promotion reckoning.

With Middlesbrough losing 4-3 in an equally extraordinary encounter away at Fulham, an away victory at the New York Stadium could have kept the promotion pot boiling right up until the final Saturday of the season.

Particularly if Gary Hooper’s spectacular second-half strike had yielded the most unlikely of away wins given City’s straitened circumstances numbers-wise.

Rotherham’s late leveller against Norwich’s ten men now opens the door for Bournemouth to claim the second automatic spot tonight when they host Bolton in front of the Sky cameras.

But in the immediate aftermath of that draw, much of the focus fell on Grabban’s early exit – and the automatic three-match ban that will follow his straight red.

That will rule him out of the Fulham home clash and both of the play-off semi-finals.

Should the video replays confirm that he had, indeed, thrown a sneaky punch in the midst of a tangle with Craig Morgan, he would be well advised to stick a cushion down his trousers on Monday morning as Neil prepares to deal with matters ‘interally’.

The words ‘high’ and ‘jump’ sprang to mind as the 33-year-old Scot pondered the effect of that early dismissal.

The player’s own lack of protest as the red card was delivered suggests he knew he had crossed a line – even before his manager reaches for the videos.

“Obviously Lewis [Grabban] getting sent off gave us a mountain to climb,” said Neil, whose mood cannot have been helped by the fact that 26 minutes earlier he had preferred Grabban to his top-scorer Cameron Jerome for that lone strike role.

Out went that plan; as did Wes Hoolahan seven minutes later – the sacrificial tactical lamb to accommodate Hooper’s arrival.

“If Lewis is deemed to be guilty then obviously that’s something that we will deal with,” said the Canary chief.

“And I will be extremely disappointed if that is the case.”

If a punch is seen to be involved then the manager’s amusement will be even less.

“No – I won’t be happy. At all,” he confirmed. “It’ll be an internal matter for the club to deal with. I will be speaking to Lewis and dealing with it.”

It was an afternoon of so many twists and turns – be it at Vicarage Road where the promotion party was on hold for 20 minutes or at Craven Cottage where Middlesbrough now find themselves similarly in the hands of Bolton Wanderers on Monday night.

The Cherries might choke. It is a huge night in the history of the small South Coast club. They could yet still leave a door open for ‘Showdown Sunday’.

The shame was that Hooper’s wonder strike didn’t take the headlines it deserved. It was a goal worthy of winning any game. To have won this one would have been the stuff of Canary legend for the 2,300 supporters there to witness it.

“The fact that we were leading the game with five minutes to go, I would have fully expected us to see the game out,” Neil told BBC Radio Norfolk.

The manager still enjoys an unbeaten record away from home since his arrival at Carrow Road in January – a remarkable achievement notwithstanding events of late. He has also won away at both Watford and Bournemouth.

It is the home defeats to the Wigans of this world that will hurt ever more.

Yesterday they were just ten-odd minutes short of another heroic away success until Jordan Bowery’s header cut City’s celebrations short and set Watford’s in motion.

“In the main we were looking relatively comfortable,” he added. “I think Rotherham had one clear chance. So, considering we had ten men for the vast majority of the game, I thought defensively we did well.

“But for the last goal they had a fortunate break of the ball and they’ve managed to score. So extremely disappointing from our point of view – particularly given the fact that we managed to take the lead against all the odds.”

Odds that had suddenly been stacked against City once the red mist descended. Coming on the back of the Alexander Tettey own goal that gave Middlesbrough the edge the other Friday at Carrow Road and the footballing fates have not been overly kind on the former Hamilton Accies boss.

“It’s particularly difficult to win games with ten men – especially away from home,” said Neil.

“But I thought we overcame that really well. But to concede that type of goal right at the end was extremely disappointing.”


Please share

Filed Under: Column, Rick Waghorn

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. colin mason says

    27th April 2015 at 7:47 am

    Lets stay positive since AN took over: P21 W14 D4 L3 that’s a 67% win ratio its an unbelievable effort in early January the play offs looked miles away we are the form team that no one wants to play. Fantastic effort lads, lets get behind them big time!

    Reply
  2. Gary Field says

    27th April 2015 at 8:07 am

    An interesting selection decision awaits Alex Neil, given the almost certain three game ban that awaits Lewis Grabban.

    He could go with Cameron Jerome, who is probably overdue a goal, as a lone striker, or, go with Hooper behind Jerome, at the expense of Wes, or, two up front?

    Reply
  3. Stewart Lewis says

    27th April 2015 at 9:38 am

    I’m getting obsessive about this, but we need to shake off all the recriminations, regrets and what-ifs – right now. We need an unfettered positive focus going into the play-offs, or we’re destined for disappointment.

    Colin (1) is absolutely right about our efforts and results since January. Let’s leave the recriminations to the fans of Derby, Ipswich and Boro, all of whom have spent far longer in the top two than we have.

    OTBC.

    Reply
  4. Stuart says

    27th April 2015 at 10:04 am

    Is it Saturday or Sunday next weekend ? Thought it was Saturday myself…

    Reply
  5. Douglas Millar says

    27th April 2015 at 11:41 am

    Lewis Grabban is not the only player whose indiscipline has let us down. Tetley’s apparent deliberate booking to get a two match band and Johnson’s stupid booking vs Sheffield wednesday have taken their toll on results and morale.

    Lets put the Fulham bogey to bed on Saturday and move into the playoffs in positive mood.

    Reply
  6. Stewart Lewis says

    27th April 2015 at 11:56 am

    Stuart (4)

    The Fulham game is on Saturday, 12.15 kick-off.

    Reply
  7. Nick Cullen says

    27th April 2015 at 3:19 pm

    Did Grabban get himself sent off in order to help his old pals at Bournemouth?

    Reply
  8. Cosmo P says

    27th April 2015 at 3:21 pm

    Stewart(6) – or quarter past ‘high noon’ when hopefully our goalslingers will shoot straight and defeat our sworn enemy..

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZil728hUy0

    Reply
  9. Stewart Lewis says

    27th April 2015 at 4:09 pm

    Cosmo (8) – perfect! If our play-off semi is against Ipswich, the league has indicated both legs will be 12.15 Saturday kick-offs.

    Reply
  10. Cosmo P(2) says

    27th April 2015 at 5:15 pm

    I’ve been waiting all season to do my ‘final showdown-high noon-Gary Hooper-goalslinger’ pun..not sure it was worth it.
    Stewart – let’s see if it works on that pesky mob from the wild west (of London) first.
    Nick(7) – he did turn out for Rotherham too (before Bournemouth) and so conspiracy theories are rife.

    Reply
  11. Stewart Lewis says

    27th April 2015 at 7:40 pm

    Cosmo (10): ‘High noon/Gary Hooper’ is brilliant – if I’d thought of it, I’d milk it for all it’s worth. Two more weeks, I reckon.

    Nick (7): No.

    Reply
  12. Mark says

    27th April 2015 at 7:43 pm

    Ref from Yorkshire obviously thought it was within the rules for the Rotherham player to have Grabban in a headlock.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FIND MY FOOTBALL WRITER ON

As featured on NewsNow: Norwich City news” style=

Norwich City News 24/7

#NCFC LATEST

tommykerrison Thomas @tommykerrison ·
41m

Wasn’t strange tbf why u left but if it’s that bad spill now not in 10-15years time when you retire #ncfc

Reply on Twitter 1622724380840148992 Retweet on Twitter 1622724380840148992 Like on Twitter 1622724380840148992 Twitter 1622724380840148992
footballzone__ The Football Zone @footballzone__ ·
46m

WEEKEND REVIEW #CHAMPIONSHIP

https://youtu.be/PokfwLupslk

#RFC #BRISTOLCITY #LTFC #BURNLEYFC #NCFC #BCFC #MILLWALL #SWANS #WBA #ROVERS #SUFC #QPR #PUSB #CCFC #UTMP #PNEFC #BORO #SCFC #RUFC #WAFC #HTAFC #WATFORDFC #HCAFC #SAFC

Reply on Twitter 1622723273594228739 Retweet on Twitter 1622723273594228739 Like on Twitter 1622723273594228739 Twitter 1622723273594228739
fan_banter Fan Banter @fan_banter ·
1h

Top six favourites to become new Leeds United manager as club sacks Jesse Marsch - https://fanbanter.co.uk/top-six-favourites-to-become-new-leeds-manager-as-club-sacks-jesse-marsch/

#watfordfc #ncfc #twitterclarets #safc #rufc #wafc #bcfc #rovers #utmp #bristolcity #ccfc #pusb #htafc #hcafc #coyh #boro #millwall #qpr #readingfc #twitterblades #scfc

Reply on Twitter 1622718024322260993 Retweet on Twitter 1622718024322260993 Like on Twitter 1622718024322260993 1 Twitter 1622718024322260993
canariesfc Norwich City @canariesfc ·
1h

Not a #NCFC window for the ages … instead, one that’s likely to only include ‘outs’ http://dlvr.it/Sj2B30

Reply on Twitter 1622716533771468800 Retweet on Twitter 1622716533771468800 Like on Twitter 1622716533771468800 Twitter 1622716533771468800
ppgprophet PPG Prophet @ppgprophet ·
1h

#Championship #PPGProphet #WAFC #WBA #WatfordFC #Swans #SAFC #SCFC #SUFC #RUFC #ReadingFC #QPR #PNEFC #Millwall #Boro #NCFC #LTFC #HCAFC #HTAFC #PUSB #CardiffCity #Burnley #BristolCity #BlackpoolFC #Rovers #BCFC

Reply on Twitter 1622716474723893260 Retweet on Twitter 1622716474723893260 1 Like on Twitter 1622716474723893260 4 Twitter 1622716474723893260
Load More...

Copyright © 2023 21VC Ltd | All rights reserved | Not to be reproduced without prior permission.

Disclaimer: The information on this website consists of personal opinions. Whilst we have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained on these Web pages is accurate and correct at the time of writing we do not accept any liability whatsover for any loss or damage caused by reliance on this information.

We do not accept any responsibility for information contained in other websites to which this site links. We strongly advise users to check any information before acting or relying on it.

Developed and Hosted by