One only has to flick between Channel 5 and BBC1 on a Saturday night for a brutal reminder of the gulf between in quality between the two top divisions. And I’m not just talking about TV production and presentation.
One is silky smooth (unless Sunderland are playing), the other is crash, bang, wallop.
Right now we’re all loving ‘crash, bang, wallop’ of course – and so we should – but that City are now two points clear at the top of the division without getting even close to playing at full throttle is telling, and riddled with irony.
For City to snaffle even a single point from any given game in the Premier League, the team and its constituent parts need to operate at 100 per cent and enjoy a decent dollop of good fortune along the way.
The elite of the elite can cruise along at 60-70 per cent and pick up points for fun; those less fortunate most certainly cannot. And, let’s face it, when it comes to the have-nots we’re King.
But here we are, with two points worth of clear water between us and the rest, having offered up a performance that by Alex Neil’s admission was below par; the Brewers of Burton proving every bit as obdurate, resilient and buoyant as we had been promised.
Yet for the third consecutive home game City found a way to get the job done.
We’ve been reminding each other of the potential for ugliness over the next seven months, and so it comes to pass (especially when playing at home).
Yet amidst said grind there were fleeting moments of beauty and there was always enough there, even in moments of tedium and central defensive slapstick, to suggest that City had enough in reserve to make it five wins on the spin.
That Jacob Murphy added to his ever burgeoning goal tally came as no surprise whatsoever, but for him to be joined on the list of goalscorers by Messrs Olsson and Pinto merely added another layer to an already slightly surreal afternoon.
Equally, there is no taking away from the fact that right now goalscorers are popping up all over the show and with Cameron Jerome in dire need of a break (or two) in front goal it’s a trait that’s both healthy and, right now, vital.
Less than healthy however is the back-four’s point-blank refusal to deliver their manager a clean sheet and between now and 7:45pm on Wednesday evening there is much work to be done on the fields of Colney if Dwight Gayle and co are to be kept at arm’s length.
A repeat of yesterday’s Keystone Kops defending simply won’t suffice.
Timm Klose, him of Norfolk Tourist Board fame, looked for all the world like someone ambling through the sands of Mundsley Beach during what was a nervy and uncharacteristically hesitant afternoon for the Swiss international but such has been his impact he has several credits in the bank. He just so happened to use one of them up yesterday.
Russell Martin, for his part, rose to the challenge and on this occasion was there to offer support to a colleague in need; mopping up pending danger caused by the recklessness of others on several occasions.
And, as one who had questioned the manager’s decision to jettison Ryan Bennett in favour of the skip, I should confess to having some humble pie thawing on the worktop. It’s probably time for me to accept that as a Championship centre-back Russ can cut it.
But our Timm wasn’t alone. Others struggled too.
Robbie Brady – the saved penalty aside – looked a shadow of the energetic hussler-bussler who ripped it up in France ’16 and currently has the air of one whose summer break wasn’t quite long enough to fully recharge the batteries. But he’ll come to the party at some point – and we’ll be an even better side for it.
As a collective City were just missing that little bit of pizzazz and energy normally associated with a team that’s about to top the league, the latter of which will almost certainly be needed if they are to emerged unscathed from the next two away games.
Molineux will just be Molineux – as unpleasant and seething as ever – but it’s Wednesday’s trip to Tyneside that will hopefully confirm that the scars of last season have finally disappeared.
18 October 2015 was a watershed afternoon for both manager and club with a 6-2 mauling, played out live on national TV, being the pivotal moment in City’s gradual and painful decline into the Premier League’s nether regions.
It was then that, for literally the first time in his Norwich tenure, Alex Neil questioned his own judgement; the decision to withdraw Alex Tettey in order to ‘go for it’ being one that has been analysed to a standstill.
The rest unfortunately is history – but Wednesday night offers the manager and those players present a chance for redemption; one they will be desperate to take.
We’re top and only firing on three cylinders but if that fourth were to kick in prior to locking horns with Rafa and co that would be good.
#Never mind the danger…#
Alex Neil is certainly one who takes his time to integrate new players into the first team – Ivo Pinto though we bought him in January has only started playing regularly this season. However, I would wager a little that we will find our fourth cylinder more consistently once Alex Pritchard plays more regularly, instead of just warms the bench.
Although it may be sacrilege to say so, I’m not wholly convinced of Wes as a regular starter any longer; he is fine when we are playing well, but when we are not, he is isolated, and it is not him who gets us going again. We need to move the ball quicker and with more control, more consistently, and I’m not sure Wes is the key to that.
And at the back, a return for JR soon too? McGovern isn’t good enough to be deserving of all the Championship starts at the moment, and its Ruddy who has had the recent clean sheet, not McGovern.
Centre backs too far apart too often and full backs given licence to operate more like wing backs always gives the opposition the opportunity to counter attack down the channels. City will always give teams a chance playing this way, but, hey, it would be boring otherwise to batter teams 3-0 or 4-0 each week!
Spot on Gaz (2) and, as you say, the issue of centre backs being too far apart is borne of both full backs advancing. Take away the comfort blanket of Tettey, throw in an off colour Klose and that’s what you get. But… who cares 🙂
Conventional wisdom is don’t read too much into league tables until you’ve played 10 games. But we can be sure that whatever happens after the 10th on Wednesday we will be in a pretty good position.
There is justification for all optimism – but it does need to be laced with a little caution.
We need to remember that the only top 6 team we have played beat us. And only one of the teams we have beaten is in the top half of the table.
So the fixtures have been kind to us so far. Fair enough we’ve done what we need to and bagged the points, can’t ask for more than that – found a way to get the job done, as Gary puts it. It also means that experienced battlers like Dorrans and Howson are currently getting the nod ahead of Canos or Pritchard.
But in cricket they say you should add 2 quick wickets to your score to see how good it really looks. So imagine losing to Newcastle and Wolves, whose other games are against Rotherham and Wigan respectively, and whilst things will still look good they will be considerably tighter at the top than they are today.
For various reasons – not least our battered pride from last season’s visit – I think we will get something from Newcastle, especially if Tettey is back (and can last the game).
The Wolves game is the one that we may struggle in. They have a comparatively short midweek trip to Wigan – not much further than us going to Peterborough – and an extra day to recover. But maybe we’ll just send the “reserves” who did so well at Goodison….
That we are only firing on three cylinders doesn’t worry me. It will come. I don’t think many teams are really firing on four. As the season goes on the struggling teams will need wins, need to be more open. Then it will be easier to pick them off than it is now.
Just one thing though. On the off-chance that at some time this season we have to face a penalty shootout – with 2 cups and potential play-off matches it’s quite a strong possibility – can we please practice them?
Got to agree Gary, far too far a part, sometime Jerome is to far away from his supporting midfielders. I said to my friend, that we are top of the league (which means little this time of the season,) and not playing that well wht on earth can they achieve when the gears kick into place from front to back
We look a good team with the ball when Olsson and Pinto are in the team. It was after Pinto’s injury at Ip5w1ch that we stopped dominating that game. They give us width and numerical advantage in midfield. But, yes, they leave us vulnerable to counter attacks.
It will click when the murphy’s play together. The fans, club and team are screaming out for them to have an outing together. I didn’t appreciate Brady quite obviously laughing at missing his penalty either. Martin…why oh why do you defend him when he cant defend himself? He cleared up a few but had already absolutely messed up around twice prior which, granted, is below his average levels for any given game. I feel sorry for Bennett and would force my way out into a team that wants to play me and stop using me as a scapegoat if I were him. We have to accept that Neil can’t select teams accurately, particularly at the back, so we have to terrify them going toward. I genuinely believe the pace of the murphy’s alongside wes and Jerome will be the perfect tonic. “They’re two of our own!”
Jeff (7) – Thanks as ever mate for commenting – genuinely appreciated – but think you’re being a tad harsh on Russ. Just my opinion though (and as others will confirm, I’ve been a critic in the fairly recent past).
Happy we are winning & top of the League BUT I fear a reality check awaits this coming week. I think we are top despite , not because of AN’ s team selection , tactics & substitutions. It seems proven that
CJ as one up front doesn’t work , ( he’s a tryer & a runner but not a natural finisher ) TK looked half the player with Martin along side him instead of Bennett , & the midfield has looked unbalanced since the sale of BJ. We have 25 million pounds of AN ‘ s purchases not getting a game , & I don’t recall a game changing substitution ( except as a result of injury ) all season
Despite this we are still winning , top of the Leauge & on course for a top 6 place at least. Funny old game football ! or as the real Sir Alex once said ‘ Football , bloody hell ‘ OTBC
“We have to accept that Neil can’t select teams accurately, particularly at the back,”
No we don’t have to accept that Jeff.
OK, you prefer Bennett to Martin; you’re not alone, but nor is it unanimous. I think most of us accept that in terms of physical attributes Bennett is the more natural central defender. Trouble is he doesn’t have much of a football brain. Martin does.
Martin also has the ability to influence others. Mental attributes are just as important to a manager as physical ones. Surprisingly perhaps Martin also seems to carry a much greater threat at set pieces than Bennett.
Can you imagine Bennett having the wit to be able to switch to a position he rarely plays at a moment’s notice, and then play a blinder, as Martin did at left back against Cardiff?
Neil knows what he’s doing, which is primarily picking a side that’s got the mental strength to stand toe-to-toe with the many hard-working teams who are going to make life very difficult for us, and ultimately allowing our quality to win the day.
As for Bennett “forcing his way out”, well perhaps he will. But it doesn’t sound to me as though there’s a queue of managers lining up to take him off our hands – certainly not managers at or above our current level. I wonder why not.
Good piece, Gary – and respect for acknowledging the positive attributes of Russ (which for me shone through yesterday).
The other under-reported aspect of yesterday, in my view, was the continued excellence of Jonny Howson. He covered every blade of grass many times over, making important defensive interventions as well as supporting attacks. Contrast his lung-busting run to cover a second-half Burton breakaway with Kante’s capitulation in the build-up to Arsenal’s third goal against Chelsea.
True, it’s still early days. But “league position means little at this stage”? Not sure we’d be saying that if we were in Villa’s place.
Couldn’t agree more Stew (11). Howson’s continued excellence, as you put it, is something we’re all guilty of taking for granted. A fine player with no frills.
Alex Neill bigger headache will be how to keep all the players happy. An almost impossible task, which Paul Lambert seemed to achieve as he kept rotating the squad and seemed to have plans A-F. Players always kept coming back, so they always felt they had a chance.
However, Lambert did not have the luxury of having two Norwich XI’s that were almost as good as each other. The Everton game showed that and it is unprecedented to that degree in all my time supporting the club. Neither of those XI’s are good enough to stay in the PL as they make too many errors, but we are not in the PL and we can always work on that later.
I would suggest that Norwich actually have a squad that is too big once you factor in the type of players we have. Can you ever have a squad that is big enough? Well, we know the club isn’t awash with spare cash and Brady, for example, is surplus to requirements for my money and I would cash in in January – if someone is out there. Ditto Naismith and one two others.
I’m not as convinced as some that promotion is a foregone conclusion . The club has to be concise and clever how it spends its money and how that reflects in the squad. We wouldn’t get an A* on previous efforts, but it wouldn’t take a lot for everything to come together, THEN we may have a squad that can survive and thrive in the PL. It just needs some careful work on and off the pitch…
Are we all guilty of taking Howson for granted? I’ve seen at least one article this year dedicated to Howson which included numerous comments agreeing on how good he is. He may not get the attention in the media, nor from other clubs but I wouldn’t say he’s undervalued by Norwich fans.
Welcome to The Championship! Worth remembering I think we had 20 points from 9 games under Neil Adams then we had a bad run.
Our home form is key. AN is very good away and we are hard to beat as his record proves. The fans have massive role to play at home and our support could be the ‘missing’ ingredient.
Would love to see Murphy’s both play together and Pritchard in for Wes. Our squad is exceptional so we should be fine.
Interestingly last time we were in the division at this stage under Neil Adams we were top too. The others around us have changed but its a very similar looking table.
14-15
1 Norwich City 9 6 2 1 +12 20
2 Nottingham Forest 9 5 4 0 +10 19
3 Wolverhampton Wndrs 9 5 3 1 +5 18
4 Watford 9 5 2 2 +7 17
5 Ipswich Town 9 5 2 2 +6 17
6 Derby County 9 4 4 1 +7 16
As with this season we were not always playing well or totally convincing but we topped the table by a solitary point. Now I don’t think this team and this manager will fall away or be as erratic in the same way that the class of Adams did in 2014-15. But with Adams we were at that point twice as well off in GD as this term. That season we lost the next game to chalton (Then 7th) and didn’t win for 5 games dropping to 6th before a win vs Bolton and then 3 loses and a draw before the next win vs Wigan. By which point we’d dropped to 8th and were 8 points off the top!
16-17
1 Norwich City 9 6 2 1 +6 20
2 Huddersfield Town 9 6 1 2 +4 19
3 Brighton and Hove A 9 5 2 2 +6 17
4 Reading 9 5 2 2 0 17
5 Newcastle United 9 5 1 3 +10 16
6 Birmingham City 9 4 4 1 +4 16
So it has been a good start but can Neil succeed where Neyul failed? Bit early to say but I think/hope so. But its a funny old division and lose to Newcs and Wolves and the nerves will start jangling again and the questions over Neil will start up again. What ever comes next, I’m glad to have the points on the board and if we can have a bit more of Forest away rather than Cardiff at home, we’ll be there or there abouts come May.
Bah!
General M (16) – excellent stuff!
After those first nine games in 2014-15, we accumulated only 17 more points from 15 games before Neil adams was replaced. A horrible run, but those first 20 points gave Alex Neil something to build on.
Boy, did he build on it.
Pinto and ollsson are in my opinion the best full backs in the league. It’s hard to believe that Neil barely used olsson last season. its worth remembering too that pintos replacement at half time in the Derby managed to have one effprt cleared off the line and smacked another one off the post.