Blimey, where to start.
Well, first of all, it was a good result. Rotherham is never an easy place to go, as City discovered last season, and when you go there flaunting a Premier League badge on your sleeve you’re guaranteed an uneasy time.
But, by the sound of it, they coped well.
Only Seb Bassong, Graham Dorrans and Jonny Howson survived from the side that drew with Stoke at the weekend but it was still a line-up that screamed anything but ‘second string’, such is the depth of squad at Alex Neil’s disposal.
And they delivered. Good performances by Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe and Declan Rudd in particular will have done players and manager the world of good, and will have reassured Team Neil that if the current Premier League starters dip below the high standards they have set themselves then there are some more than useful alternatives out there.
And then of course there’s Ricky – him of the pre-match love-in.
There’s something about the Dutchman that appears to bring out the parent in us all – possibly to do with the fact it’s almost impossible to type his name without preceding it with ‘likeable’ – and seldom can I recall such unbridled joy and anticipation at the sight of a players name in a starting XI.
Yet, to be fair, on the night he delivered too. The job a centre-forward is to to score goals, be they 25-yard screamers or three-yard tap ins, and he did the latter successfully to win the game for City. We could ask no more.
That, by the sound of it, his confidence visibly soared as a result can only be a good thing for all concerned.
Of a slight concern to Neil will be that whatever combination of defenders he puts together they still find themselves vulnerable from set pieces; something that you can almost guarantee will be the subject of a session or two on the fields of Colney this week.
And then of course there’s Lewis. Oh Lewis.
It was an odd night in many respects, not least because the biggest story emerging between 7:45 and 9:45 didn’t occur on the Rotherham turf. Instead, if the Daily Mail is to be believed, it was occurring at Rotherham Central.
The game was less than fifteen minutes old when the paper broke a story of such astonishing detail, the only thing missing was the filling in the sandwiches purchased by Lewis in the buffet car (well, he hadn’t eaten since 3:45).
The gist of the piece appears to be that nasty old Norwich have refused to accept Bournemouth’s third bid for his services and when Lewis tried to call his current manager to tell him he’s just being mean, Alex didn’t answer the phone. Shocking.
As a result, in a bid to drive through the deal, Lewis apparently headed for the railway station in order to “head south” even though a smidgen of research would have told him to head in the opposite direction, given that his Bournemouth pals were playing in Hartlepool.
All of this is conjecture of course and is based on a newspaper article in which there were no direct quotes from Lewis or an ‘insider’, but if the chain of events were as described, if I were Master Grabban I’d be preparing my excuses. If there are two people in the footballing world you don’t want to upset it’s Alex Neil and David McNally.
Either way, you get the feeling the odds of Lewis becoming a Bournemouth player increased massively last night, and the opposite for his chances of training with the academy lads.
And it left a nasty taste.
Interestingly, look who’s next up at Carrow Road.
But if Grabban was the night’s villain, the heroes were, as ever, the Yellow Army. For over 1000 to make the trip on the archetypal wet, miserable Tuesday evening was astounding. I salute you all.
City’s prize for the win – a home tie with West Brom – throws up an interesting one given that Dorrans, Andre Wisdom and Youssouf Mulumbu all plied their trade their last season. It also offers a decent chance of progress in the competition.
Oh, and City’s second bid for Benik Afobe was turned down last night by Wolves.
I’m going for a lie down.
Good game by all accounts last night with Rotherham making Norwich earn their win the hard way. Good performances by Rudd, Wisdom, Vadis and RvW will do them all the world of good. As for the Grabban situation, IF reports are true then I’m quite frankly disgusted. He’s paid good money to do his job and has shown a complete lack of respect for the club, fans and most importantly his team mates. Think I would be too frightened to be ‘the fly on the wall’ at the next LG-AN meeting!
Good result for Norwich last night, I’m very glad RvW got a goal, if things turned for him and he started to be the player we all thought he was when we signed him it’s great news all round.
As for Lewis Grabban he gives Norwich a challenge. What I’d like to see happen is he is refused a transfer to Bournemouth and a loan move to a championship club is arranged and offered to him, no premier league for him. Oh the meantime Norwich definitely need a striker, even if we do end up paying over the odds. Grabban is clearly not interested and any involvement from him would be suicide for the club.
I suspect everyone will be watching very closely to see how this one unfolds.
OTBC
Great result last night wearing our ‘lucky’ shirts.
Reckon LG will be out on loan pretty soon if last night’s story is even half true, another season in the Championship awaits him. Probably thinks he’s better than he is and AN not impressed. Of course another scenario could be play him on Sunday? Stranger things have happened.
You should always have a large pile of salt ready when reading something in the DM (can’t bring myself to say its name)..but if true, then very poor form from Grabs. If he’d handed in a transfer request, he’d still be in the fans’ dog house but walking away from a match-day is strictly taboo.
Seem to remember Ricky jetting off before/during the Arsenal game but at least he hadn’t been picked. Pleased he scored last night – hope it’s the start of great things but… should CJ get crocked, I wouldn’t want to rely on RvW.
Clearly, LG has a temperament issue and has never endeared himself here but he is (was) our no. 2 striker. Scored vital goals last season inc. 2 against Ipswich, so he can’t be all bad.
Can’t see him being higher than third at Bournemouth. I think the paint will be peeling off the office wall at Carrow Road this morning.
Good solid win on a tricky night.
Not very exciting draw for us but certainly winnable.
was a tough game as expected, Rotherham were sure to have a right go at us, The defence again looked unsafe, only the heroics of Declan provented a large banana skin working.
As to Grabban. I would not bow to his antics, why would he ring the manager when I thought they were all in the same hotel. O Dear sob sob Lewis is not playing..
Make him Train with the youngsters then when window is closed ship him off to Inverness or a L2 club on loan. Disgusting attitude,some of what is wrong with the preier league… it isn’t as if he is a top class striker is it ? As the Palace game proved yet again.
There have been players over the years who have been treated shamefully and much much worse than this.. but did not resort to this little brat behaviour, Step forward Simon Lappin …
I agree with Paul (2), a season-long loan to a Championship side would be the best way to deal with Grabban’s petulance. He’s acted like a very spoilt child, and the worst thing to do would be to let him get his way (unless of course, you could guarantee that he’d be just as disruptive at Bournemouth, when he discovered that Callum Wilson was first choice).
Maybe we should offer him to Wolves, in part exchange for Afobe – though I don’t think Kenny Jacket would be any more likely to put up with his attitude than Sir Alex will be.
If Grabban does go on loan to the Championship, it won’t be to Rotherham. Clearly that place doesn’t agree with him.
Dave H. – he did play for Rotherham in 2011/12, but clearly the place didn’t leave a warm glow. Just me or does Steve Evans look like a cross between Tommy Docherty and Rab C. Nesbitt?
The McCormack transfer to Fulham sadly broke down the sense barrier for Champ. strikers. Afobe hasn’t done a full season at that level and is worth 10+ million?! Our much maligned CBs kept him very quiet last season at Carrow Road.
Austin would be worth splashing out on with his greater experience although it would stick in the craw to be helping QPR dig themselves out of their self-inflicted debt pit.
We should be talking about the football, not transfers which may or may not happen. Shut the damn window on July 31st in future.
Interesting opinions re LG, I’ve wondered if he is a fully paid up member of team Alex for some time. His goal scoring record is decent but fans have never warmed to him. I’d still like Chris Martin to return, anyone with me?
As Gordo (5) says “why would he ring the manager when I thought they were all in the same hotel. ”
Well, supposing he didn’t, but he and/or his agent gave the story to the DM themselves? That’s just the sort of “justification” they’d be likely to include isn’t it? “We tried to talk, but he wouldn’t….” In fact even if he did make that call the only way DM would know is if Grabban’s side have given them the story.
Would Bournemouth fans welcome Grabban’s return? Presumably if Howe wants him back that suggests he didn’t want to lose him in the first place, so the lad must have engineered the move to us. Can’t see their fans liking that much.
This all reeks of the Robbie Earnshaw saga whereby he kept professing “If I leave it won’t be my decision” whilst al along his agent was beavering away making everyone aware there was a non-promotion release clause and he’d like to be in a position to activate it.
While clearly Grabban has had his head turned by the bids from Bournemouth, many seem to be praising Ricky for his comparative loyalty but surely that stems from no other club being interested in his services? Harsh but fair?
Unfortunately, the Wolf has become a figure of fun outside Norfolk with a number of sardonic digs aimed his way on last night’s BBC 5 Live LC coverage e.g. “the lesser-spotted van Wolfswinkel” – Mark Chapman etc.
His almost untouchable status with a section of our fans is mildly amusing if difficult to fathom. Apart from being in the right spot in the 68th minute last night, did his overall performance really suggest a Dutch renaissance, even if suddenly up the pecking order?
Looking at things objectively Grabban is not a premier league first choice striker. He ‘s not with us and won’t be at Bournemouth. So take what we can for him and put it towards getting a striker who cuts the premier league mustard.
As tempting as it may be not to sell LG to Bournemouth and loan him out to a Championship club, I suspect financial matters will rule the day and Lewis will get his move.
Cambridge Don (11) – I don’t think you understand how the system works. It’s not that no one wants his services. It’s that he isn’t sending his agent out to find him another club. He worked hard to get to the Premier League, so why would he depart?
A lot of Norwich fans, myself included, don’t give him untouchable status. We recognise players who are working hard for the team and want to be here. I think most of the fans want to see him succeed, so they get behind him.
To answer your final question, yes. Although quiet in the first half, his second half performance was a massive improvement. He will improve the more goals he scores. As fans we try and get behind him. He’s a confidence player, after all.
Sky sports have highlights at this link which you can copy and paste into your search bar if you haven’t already seen it.
http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/9965941/rotherham-1-2-norwich?
Rotherham were unlucky tbh but we played some nice stuff in the final 3rd. No.29 looks particularly lively. 😉
Daniel – why would he depart? If he was here for not just the money, then he would be desperate to get regular first team action elsewhere surely?
Anyway, the way it works is while under contract, an agent cannot discuss transfer to another club until a suitor has made a bid and the current employer has given player/agent permission to talk to the suitor? Presumably that initial bid part hasn’t happened unless I missed the headlines.
Honestly, which other PL club would be interested with his record. Becchio was in the same predicament. So he’s stuck with us trying to prove he’s worth the EIGHT million pound price tag.
Sadly, he’s a player who doesn’t inspire confidence in me – or more importantly in the boss who hasn’t deemed him worthy of warming the bench so far this season in the league.
I wouldn’t boo him on the pitch but I look forward to him and you proving me wrong.
Sticking to the action on the field, well done to Declan Rudd who played a blinder and showed the agility of a panther..in pink.
The SS highlights did have us down as Nowrich – simple spelling error or a telling Freudian slip?
Ha! We may be Now Rich but I can’t see us spending 14m on Afobe, even after Grabban goes, which he surely will. I’d be more inclined to spend around that total figure on two new strikers. Young, talented, keen, but a bargain price because they’re unproven.
As for Ricky, in Sir Alex I trust. I don’t see a future here for him, but the wee man knows far far better than me.