Upon the arrival of Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe most of us headed to YouTube. Only the few with a penchant for the Belgian Pro League knew what we were getting but the rest of us had our appetite whetted at the sight of an attacking midfield powerhouse who had goals in his armoury.
On paper the transition from Belgian top tier to English second tier looked a fairly straightforward one but for reasons clear only to those in the inner-sanctum of Colney it was a slow burner. And then when he did find his way into the starting XI it ended in injury at Hillsborough – one of the the long-term variety.
Once fit again, the odd promising cameo was followed by a successful loan-spell at Rotherham but since then it has been a case of doing his best to catch the manager’s eye in training and in the odd game for the Under-21s.
Against Southampton his window of opportunity was upped from seven or eight minutes to nearly half an hour. And what followed was a model example of how to take your chance when offered it.
Part of the Vadis conundrum – as explained by Alex Neil post-match – is that he’s at his best when utilised as an attacking midfielder, the very position that Wes has made his own. But with Nathan Redmond not enjoying his best day in yellow and green a bit of jiggery-pokery meant that yesterday the Belgian could be unleashed where he is most effective.
And it must have worked even better than Alex had imagined it.
Even prior to his contribution to the goal (more on that later) he had changed the dynamic of the game. Instead of having to deal with Jonny Howson looking to get beyond Diemerci Mbokani or Wes using his trickery to unpick a lock or two, suddenly Messrs Van (it could have been you) Dijk, Fonte and co were tasked with dealing with one prepared to run at them.
They didn’t like it. Nor did they cope with it.
The piece of trickery that led to the goal – one he had replicated a couple of minutes earlier – was a perfect hybrid of power and technique and it was fitting that Alex Tettey should end the move with such a clean, crisp left-foot strike; the very antithesis of his much derided toe-punt at Old Trafford.
It matters not how they find the back of the net – just as long as they do. That yesterday’s was aesthetically pleasing was a bonus.
Aside from the performance of Vadis and the continuing goal-scoring exploits of Tettey – who clearly has the edge on Youssouf Mulumbu in the battle for the midfield ‘holder’ – there was still much to admire and even as recently as a month ago two consecutive clean sheets was the stuff of dreams.
The back-four is [whisper it quietly] functioning as a unit and despite being given a rough ride by Shane Long in the first-half, they rose to the challenge well in the second and barely gave him a sniff.
Seb Bassong, so often the architect of his own downfall by being over-confident in possession, stuck to the basics yesterday and rarely took more than two or three touches to keep the ball moving. And looked a better player for it. Next to him, Ryan Bennett has hit a rich vein of form and now looks at home in his Premier League surroundings.
Reinforcements are clearly still required – if Bassong and/or Bennett were to get injured there is little by way of cover – but now the decision for the gaffer is who to drop rather than who to leave in.
Robbie Brady’s reversion to left-back is an interesting one. Martin Olsson appears to have done little wrong but there is no doubting that the Irishman adds a different dimension by being equally comfortable in the attacking and defensive thirds. It also sets the scene nicely for the soon-to-be-fit Matt Jarvis to take up the wide-left berth.
And it would be remiss not to mention Gary O’Neil, who is no longer a the bit-part player of last season. His contribution is not eye-catching, nor is it spectacular, but he puts his foot in when it’s needed, he organises and he passes to those in yellow and green. Alex rightly sees him as a steady pair of hands, trusts him and it’s no coincidence that many of the good days are with him in the side.
Victory was sweet, especially given the painful afternoon we endured at St Mary’s back in August, and there was a certain symmetry in Saints ending the game with ten men just as City did, with Steven Whittaker seeing red for a professional foul.
That Sadio Mane decided to go AWOL from a team meeting and was subsequently benched also played into City’s hands given how instrumental he and fellow winger, Dušan Tadić, were in the aforementioned earlier 3-0 win. His late introduction yesterday had little impact on the game and the latter was only a peripheral figure throughout.
So, a good Christmas for City and it’s not often we have been able to say that. Nine points from a possible 12 and unbeaten in five at home; things are looking a whole lot rosier than they did just five games ago when that 1-1 draw with Everton saw us drop into the bottom three.
Let’s not shout it too loudly – remember the need for “equilibrium” – but 17 points from 18 games for the mystical 40 looks a whole lot more achievable now.
“Never mind the danger…”
Cracking article Gary things are definitely looking up
May I be the first to come up with the old cliché that Vadis is like a new signing?! He was in danger of joining the list of forgotten men. Not now. Deserves a start in the Cup next week. I’d certainly rather have him in midfield than Victor Wanyama that’s for sure. That’s the Wanyama who cost 12.5m and who’s been linked with Spurs. What was he thinking? More brains in a pork pie.
Yeah 17 from 18 required, and with struggling, relegation-threatened teams Newcastle, Sunderland and Chelsea still to come to Fortress Carra Rd.
Based on the defensive improvements and solidity since Bennett came in, I would be horrified and concerned if he was dropped instead of Seb when a new CB comes in.
Perfect set of results for us yesterday – even Watford are coming back into our sights now.
I thought Mulumbu was a certain starter once back from injury but Tettey has really upped his game, cut out the early season errors and found his shooting boots! 3 PL goals for us and each one a belter.
Defence is looking solid with the ‘new’ keeper outstanding. Good contribution from nearly all of the squad. Maybe the current group is not as bad as the doom mongers tried to convince us just a month or two back?
Bring on Abu Dhabi’s finest in the Cup.
Vadis certainly did look good yesterday, given that Wes is unlikely to play every game I suspect he may well get chances to impress in that number 10 role. Most pleasing of all is the fact that the team look settled, happy with the formation and tactics. One of the great strengths of the Paul Lambert team was the way every player looked to know exactly what they were doing all the time, it led to the sum being greater than the parts. We are starting to look like that now. Sure as anything we will have very difficult times before the end of the season but while this good period is going we need to keep it rolling as long as possible. When things do turn harder equally we need to keep sight of what we are good at, not just where we are lacking.
With the fickle nature of a true Norwich fan I swing further towards hope of staying up quite confidently
OTBC
Good post Gary and some good follow-up points. Great to see Vadis finally earning his chance and delivering. As Paul says he could be like a new signing and will be interesting to see if AN still feels the need to persue Naysmith from Everton. Personally I’d like Vadis given his chance and rather the reported 8 million figure quoted spent elsewhere such as a striker.
From a broader perspective, AN finally seems to have the balance right. The defence in particular seems to have settled down and for that I think Ryan Bennett is key – a no nonsense centre half who seems to have helped bring the best out of Bassong. Who’d have thought at the beginning of the season that seemingly fringe players like Rudd, Bennett, O’Neil and Vadis could prove to be key to our survival bid….just goes to show if you are professional, committed and work hard you can turn things around. One or two others fringe players in the squad should take note….
Thoroughly enjoyable game yesterday and attacking intent from both teams. For me, Redmond needs to be replaced by Vadis in the starting line up, as he offers so much more,especially in being willing to run at defenders.
I agree with Paul in that we have some tough games ahead, but I’m no longer dreading them and can look forward to the rest of the home games in anticipation rather than fear and any points we pick up before the arrival of Newcastle should be considered a bonus. Our next 5 home games – Liverpool, Tottenham, West Ham, Chelsea, Man City. (I’m confident of picking up at least 4 points from these fixtures!!!).. We’ve also got away games at Villa and Swansea during that time!!!
We offer something different compared to most teams. We are very much a team whose sum of the parts are greater than any individual, no super stars but really good reliable players with enough flair but oodles of hunger & commitment to A N’s philosophy. For me Rudd has bought a positivity to the defense and Tettey is an inspiration.
Tough month ahead so us fans MUST stay behind the boys even when we lose. 37 points probably enough this season.
Back to back wins; and clean sheets! It’s great and I’m over the moon. But, there won’t be many teams coming to Carrow Road who are as accommodating as those two. Villa were shockingly bad. I didn’t see the Saints game but it sounds like they gave a us a helping hand.
This run gives us a good chance, though, and, as stated, it might help with getting some players in. Looking forward to the rest of the season.