At the halfway mark of 2015-16 with 20 points, Sam Jermy wonders whether we have learnt from the past and argues this is the key to securing the long-term future success all Norwich fans long for.
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The best word I can use to describe the feeling of being back at Carrow Road and seeing a slovenly, slender 2-0 win versus Aston Villa is good. Just good, nothing more or less than that. It was a good feeling coming out of the ground knowing we have all but consigned a rival to relegation. We deserved the three points and it lifts us up into 15th for a few days at least.
But although we are pretty much on par midway through, there are plenty of bunkers lying in wait for us in 2016 before we step out onto the green at Goodison Park in May. Hopefully things will be confirmed in our favour by then and thousands of the Yellow Army can enjoy one big party and dream of being a Premier League regular for years to come. There is plenty of work still to be done before that good feeling turns into ‘fantastic’, ‘unbelievable’ or whatever.
Prior to the game on Monday I pondered whether we had learnt lessons since the last relegation six-pointer I watched between Villa and Norwich. It was March 2014 at Villa Park, they had a messiah and a god on the bench in the form of Messrs Lambert and Holt and our starting line-up read as: Ruddy, Martin, Yobo, Bassong, Olsson – Johnson, Tettey – Redmond, Hoolahan, Snodgrass – Hooper.
For me, therein lies a problem. We are still going into Premier League games with Bassong and Martin who have proved on numerous occasions over the years that they are not quite up to the standard required. I have no doubt Bassong once was, and Martin has his days – but these are players we should have looked to replace in the starting line-up before now.
I worry big time about recruitment. Do we have what it takes to attract a better quality player?
Shaqiri to Stoke, Cabaye to Palace, Wijnaldum to Newcastle are all the calibre of transfers I am talking about. We couldn’t even entice Toivenen back in the day, and now he like many good men before him has fallen prey to the lure of Wearside.
Even with the likes of Watford, who leveraged their connections to bring Ighalo to Vicarage Road from Udinese, have somehow bought well and strengthened throughout the whole squad.
Can we now do the same going forward, starting with a strong January transfer window?
For what it’s worth, Robbie Brady has turned out to be a great buy… but even then we dallied about upping our initial bid in small increments even though Steve Bruce and Hull had named their price. Small-time mentality or shrewd bargaining?
Surely the prospect of playing Premier League football at Norwich is not such a bad thing for these international stars? Especially when the alternative is a Stoke or a Newcastle.
One suspects flashing the cash is the issue, something we are going to have to be prepared to do more often if we are going to have that sustained, long-term success in the Premier League just like new chairman Ed Balls talked about in his press conference.
But hey, apologies if this sounds a bit too gloomy after a win, it’s more me wondering how we are going to push onto the next level if we are indeed successful in finishing 17th or better this season.
If you like a bit of gallows humour, read on. Harry Vale, author of A Day in a Life of a Bookie, and long suffering Villa fan had this to say:
“Villa were awful as ever. We’ve got a pretty decent record against Norwich, so of course we were going to lose today. When you’ve got Hutton and Richardson in your team the best you can hope for is to keep the deficit to about 4 – mission accomplished. Again, we’re toothless up front, lightweight in midfield, and no one on the pitch really cares. The fans can’t muster up the effort to demand Lerner goes, the players have given up, and Remi Garde, well, Remi is a very handsome man.
“Norwich were occasionally pretty bad, but luckily Villa are always incredibly bad. All in all, another horrid game to watch and some free points for Norwich. I wish we could declare and just take the rest of the season off. I wish I could stop having to watch Bacuna, Richardson, Hutton, Westwood and Sinclair — useless, lifeless Subbuetto players cursed by a wizard to play for Villa forever more.
“Fair play to Norwich, unlike Newcastle, they actually managed to do the job and put another nail in our knackered, cheap coffin. They will comfortably take our spot as a mostly harmless and generally pointless member of the Premier League. I like Norwich. They are utterly unthreatening – like a homeless man’s dog, you just feel sorry for it. Feels like a million years since Benteke scored twice and we beat Norwich 4-1. Another time. Another life. Roll on May.”
If that doesn’t make you smile a bit more after Monday’s win, I don’t know what will.
OTBC
Re our purchase of Robbie Brady for half what Hull originally demanded: the answer to your question is shrewd bargaining. We’re not in the position of a Bournemouth or Watford, i.e. able to pay whatever’s asked or wheel & deal through a fancy network of ownership, and we got a fine player at a good price.
A legitimate criticism of our summer dealings is that, though we made big bids for other players, we couldn’t seal those deals. Nor is it going to be easy this time. Stoke, Palace and Newcastle may not look glamorous to us, but they’re established Premier League clubs with substantially greater resources to risk than we do.
We’re a club that backs its manager, and I’ve no doubt about the Board’s will to do so in January – nor about David McNally’s determination to make things happen if humanly possible. Fingers crossed that we succeed.
Brady was an attempt, at least, at shrewd bargaining based on the fairly obvious premise that nobody else was in for him. It’s worked out well thankfully because the price was pretty hefty in the end.
I agree with you about Bassong and Martin, although the latter is a much better player than many realise. Personally my view of him is guided by how people in the game, in the know, seem to view him. But no, neither are consistently good enough. I don’t think transfer fees are the big issue. I suspect what is more significant is whether we can we afford the salary budget to replace them.
I’m surprised you haven’t also commented on Wes’s continuing presence. He has his moments for sure, but I’ve never been convinced he really is Premiership class.
With Jarvis on board, and Naismith apparently keen to get a deal done I think Wes’s days could be numbered. If a Championship promotion contender came in for him in the transfer window I think we’d let him go now.
It’s going to be an interesting few weeks.
Great piece by the long-suffering Villa fan – even better if you read it out loud in a whining Midlands accent!
There seem to be some strong rumours on the transfer front at the moment. Let’s hope we can get the business done early,particularly the Naismith deal.
I am not convinced by Naismith especially if we are to continue with one up front. He has not got the pedigree to come in like Dean Ashton and score goals from the off.
We need to sign a central defender but who doesn’t? Bassong goes from excellent to lackadaisical. But he is no worse than Kaboul, Coates and other centre backs in other struggling teams. Where are the days when we bought a young man called Dave Watson who played like a veteran in his teens and early twenties.
I hope the positive noises from Carrow Road prove correct and reinforcements who make a difference arrive.OTBC
Further to my comment above, if we do two or three deals early, I hope we don’t get the usual whingers on the Pink’un forum arguing that it was all done in too much of a rush, and we should have waited for a better deal or player!
Brilliant. He feels sorry for us? No need.
Douglas (4) I too would love to go back to the days when we could pick off those not quite making it in top division teams – a young Graham Paddon, Dave Watson, Ian Crook, Mark Robbins and all the rest.
Trouble is that now there are 18 players to pick every week, not 11 or 12. And for the biggest clubs not 2 or 3 places available in Europe on a knockout basis but 6 or 7, with group stages et al.
I suppose you could say we tried it with signings like Ayala and Miguel, but clearly they weren’t anywhere near Dave Watson Mark II.
“…the price was pretty hefty in the end…” for Brady. You think? 7 mill is peanuts in this league. Why would Jarvis signing a permanent deal affect Wes? Jarvis is a winger. Odidja, Naismith and occasionally Howson play the number 10 role, but there’s no chance we’ll sell Wes. Makes no sense at all.
I’ve said on here before that Bassong worries me sometimes, but the fact is he’s been an ever-present this season and we’re in 15th at halfway. Our backline can’t be that bad, and it’s gonna be hard to add quality to it at good value. We live in a world where Mangala cost 40 million. Not sure I’d even want him.
The players that you list were never going to be realistic targets for us. Stoke have spent many years getting to the position to buy players like that, Palace have been able to fast track a bit more & Newcastle is simply a big club. The club took a punt on RVW & have been widely criticised for that since. We do need new players but we need to get the right ones at the right times and climb the ladder like Stoke & Palace. Players like Naismith & Walters (who I know has signed a new contract) are the right sort of players to target at the moment in my opinion.
PLP (8), position for position the signing of Jarvis doesn’t affect Wes, but that’s not what I said. I said “With Jarvis on board, and Naismith apparently keen to get a deal done I think Wes’s days could be numbered.” Naismith’s arrival is what might tip the balance – there are only so many places in the squad. I can’t see Neil paying that sort of money for Naismith if he doesn’t expect him to be a first pick.
Letting Wes go would be a surprise but as nobody has ever been talking about paying £8m for him I guess those within the game perceive a big difference in class between the two. And don’t forget most people would have agreed 100% had you posted in August “There’s no chance we’ll sell Bradley Johnson”! Strange things do happen.
And yes I do think that the price for Brady was hefty, based on the conditions at the time. He’s a wing-back who had just been relegated from our division (never a great recommendation) and who wasn’t being chased by any other club. The way he’s played since totally justifies the fee, no question.
The £7m of peanuts for RvW looked quite good at the time. Just didn’t work out though did it? That’s how it is sometimes.
Most of those clubs mentioned have one or two things to offer that Norwich can’t: location and/or big stadiums.
Palace & Watford: London lifestyles
Newcastle: 50,000 fans
Stoke: A footballer’s lifestyle in the north west – their squad all live alongside the stars of Utd, City, Liverpool etc.
What do we have? Thorpe Marriott?!
Cityfan (11) Norfolk and Norwich. It’s footballers with young families that come to Norwich and stay. So yes, if it’s just the bright lights you want, other places will attract. But if you want quality of life for a young family Norwich is hard to beat.
And as someone that was a single student in Norwich, it was still a great city to be young in, but that might be because I didn’t have any money!
Dave H (9) I wasn’t suggesting they ever would have been realistic targets for Norwich, but merely stating that those are the calibre of signings we need to be aiming for. Agreed on Stoke, years of constant mid-table finishes has allowed them the resources to aim higher now. Palace though, have only spent 3 seasons of the past 11 in the Premier League yet have assembled an eye-catching squad.
Cityfan (11) I suspect the lure of London may be a factor.
Have to disagree with you about Newcastle though, it’s a modern myth that they get ‘50,000 every week’ as Steve Taylor famously said on Sky just after 45,000 had watched a televised game at St.James’ Park……only 4 of their home games have seen attendances of +50,000 this season. So I will have to disagree with you & Dave H about them being a big club……they are just another relegation rival at the moment.
Thanks Sam. From memory, Palace’s first season in the Premier was similar to Watford in terms of numbers of players recruited. They were struggling until Pulis took over. Since then they have had exceptional results allowing them to fast track their transfer targets. I think we should plan for evolution as seen with Stoke and arguably West Brom – this could then see us in a few years aim for the calibre players you mention. The optimist in me does I do think that Neil could have the ability to fast track us.
From a very quick search, I’ve found something to suggest Newcastle’s attendance have consistently been above or around 50,000 for a over 10 years. For me they’re a big club & I understand why people are attracted to play for them. However, as you say, they are still a relegation rival!