After losing a university bet that meant me and a friend would have to travel to Oakwell dressed as Teletubbies, it felt reasonable to think that we’d be the biggest laughing stock in south Yorkshire on Saturday afternoon. How wrong we were.
These are dark days for City.
Days when our manager appears incapable of selecting his most effective team for physical and quintessentially Championship away fixture.
Days when Sebastian Bassong and Ryan Bennett allow Barnsley’s Tom Bradshaw to ghost into our box and convert what was an innocuous cross.
Days when Alex Neil’s presence as City’s manager should surely be reaching breaking point.
But still City toil. We now sit a remarkable thirteen points off Rafa Benitez’s terrific Newcastle United side, just two and a half months after two late, cruel goals in the north-east prevented City deposing the Magpies at the top of the league. They have accelerated in their progress almost flawlessly since.
City? A meagre ten points from as many games.
It’s become increasingly conspicuous that Norwich’s alarming lack of form constitutes so much more than a mere blip. The problems are abundant and run ubiquitously from top to bottom, from Jez Moxey’s unremitting support of Alex Neil to City’s faithful so palpably manifesting their frustration in Oakwell’s North Stand.
The positioning of the away fans in front of the tunnel was so significant, fostering a sense of visibility in terms of our supporters’ augmenting disillusionment. Cries of ‘Neil, sort it out’ echoed around the rustic ground at 3: 45 on Saturday afternoon, a desperate plea from a group of followers who so ardently desire a convincing City win.
To our collective despair, the Scot failed to do so.
Whilst the employment of Martin Olsson and Youssouf Mulumbu at half-time significantly enhanced the threat City posed, such tactical change was ultimately futile. Neil is still yet to learn that Robbie Brady is not a left-back, whilst Jacob Murphy’s inferior brother Josh is fundamentally too afraid of physical contact to flourish at this level.
Josh resembled a nervous teenager on the left-flank at Oakwell, frequently delineating his reluctance to challenge for contested balls and functioning as ineffective going forwards. The selection of Alex Pritchard was equally as dumbfounded. For 45 minutes, City were a disgrace.
Similarly, the midfield duo of Jonny Howson and Graham Dorrans were consistently passengers in front of our brittle back four, most notably Dorrans who lacks the dynamism and enterprise that Howson possesses in such great quantities. Mulumbu should play more.
If Neil’s perplexing team selection – that seemed to completely undermine his midweek press conference – does not alert the board of his growing ineptitude, then surely nothing else will. City’s fielded XI on Saturday was symptomatic of a manager losing a sense of rationality and perspective at the helm of a side whose season is plummeting into oblivion.
Scenes were toxic at Oakwell. Such obvious aversion from City’s loyal following must surely go some distance in relinquishing Moxey’s seemingly oblivious stance towards our pain. The fans want change. City need change.
Yes, the introduction of Mulumbu and Olsson did manifest itself in the form of a considerably more convincing second-half performance, but Neil’s decision to not deploy the latter from the outset remains astonishing. Olsson has been one of our finest performers this season and is probably the best left-back in the division. Madness.
If Olsson has been City’s player of the season so far, Saturday’s star performer was unambiguously Nelson Oliviera. Jerome’s adept understudy worked tenaciously throughout, winning headers and holding the ball up before rocketing the ball past Adam Davies. At 2-1, City believed.
Norwich deserved a point. Our second-half performance saw us dominate the Yorkshire hosts, but such a point is meaningless. City’s first half – caused by Neil’s ineptitude in pragmatically selecting our most effective team – was a scene of pure chaos. Barnsley were rampant.
The fact that Bassong and Bennett remain our best two centre-backs – based on form – is so distressing for City fans. Despite his excellence at the end of last season before injury, Timm Klose has been culpable for too many of Norwich’s thirty-two goals, most visibly during our Amex capitulation. Defensive vulnerability remains.
Two pivotal home games await. City’s 5-0 thumping of Brentford last week may have suggested our return to form, but Steve Bruce’s developing Villa side are surely not going to gift our attackers with the liberties the Bees’ back four did. If they do not, City will get stung.
The televised nature of the Villa and Huddersfield matches is also significant, allowing the players to redeem themselves on a national scale whilst making the toil of Neil more accessible for the masses.
Like Barack Obama – admired globally but opposed more domestically – Neil seems to be perceived positively by football fans across the country but resented by those closer to home. And that resentment is justified.
City have been appalling of late, lacking any form of solidity at the back and often appearing lost going forwards. Division is augmenting between the views of the fans and those of Moxey and the board. The club appears to represent a footballing microcosm of the Labour Party.
Tuesday and Saturday should make this expanding gulf and disconnect all the more discernible.
Neil will have the chance to salvage City’s season this week. If he selects the right team, instils a renewed sense of motivation into his players and facilitates that critical winning-mentality, he may be able to do so. But, like all of us, optimism remains in short supply.
This next week looks set to define both Norwich’s and Neil’s futures in front of the nation. If our stalling season continues to snowball into an even greater mess than the one that already exists, even the site of two Teletubbies at Oakwell would appear less of a joke than City’s plight.
A good piece Will, the frustration grows week on week I guess. The perplexing team selections, in reality though, have been with us for much longer than this season. I think you are a little hard on Josh as I believe his confidence has suffered under this manager as will that of Pritchard, Canos et al. We need a change but the top candidates have gone and I suspect that that is what will keep the current incumbent in place for some time yet. I am still mystified by people saying that he is a promising young manager because they cannot provide me with evidence to that effect. Keep smiling.
This article should have never needed to be written as AN should of had his P45 long ago! His press conference yesterday told you all you needed to know that he hasn’t got his players ‘onside’ and they swagger around looking an exit. Who fault is that?
Alex Neil.
I always viewed it was a mistake to basically keep the relegation squad we had. I never shared the view with the likes of Mick Dennis, that this was a good thing. It wasn’t.
You are far better of having slightly lesser quality players who are hungry, than having so-called PL players who are overpaid and have nothing to prove. I think this has always been Archant’s Michael Bailey’s concern all season and he has been proved right too!
The club and squad has anthesis of what a club vying for promotion should be, adding the hapless board and manager, arguably both now out of their depth.
Obviously the board will act if the heat is instead turned on them before the manager, but NCFC is all fur coat and no knickers and If action isn’t taken very soon, League One – again it should be stated – could be staring us in the face.
Excellent article, I didn’t realise that the tubby noises were hiding such eloquence
This is a deeply frustrating time to be a Norwich fan. One of things I like about Alex Neil is his honesty, but when the honesty tells us the team ‘gave up’ that ‘the team are going through the motions’ I am deeply worried. Not that it has been necessary to be told- anyone who watches Norwich with any regularity will easily see this.
Given that the problems are clear, that most everybody acknowledges the team are gutless, not up for a fight, lacking leadership and endeavour on the pitch the question arises – what the hell is being done about it? What’s worrying, and I think is what will cost Alex Neil his job, is that no one seems to see any sign of things changing. That’s what hurts the fans. It should hurt the players but we don’t see it.
I don’t think it’s an outright talent issue- I genuinely believe this group of players are well good enough to challenge hard for automatic promotion. Something is very wrong at the club right now. I fear an extended stay in the championship is ahead of us.
My only hope is that if there are bad apples in the squad causing this they are identified and shipped out, whoever they are. Teams who do well in the championship invariably are pulling together, who demonstrate a unity of purpose. In short so much of what we are not.
OTBC
Currently suffering with man flu and having already been on an emergency dash up the city this morning for an urgent unexpected business matter so my mood is low.
Reading a first hand account from somebody who witnessed the farce that was Saturday afternoon doesn’t improve my countenance.
I like a writer who tells it how he sees it and makes bold
statements without feeling the need to sugar coat. The assessment of Josh and the central defenders is brutal and somewhat hard to argue with.
In conversation this morning the mood is black indeed amongst the support and Delia smith is displaying an arrogance and ignorance beyond all comprehension if she thinks this will end well.
I agree with #1 Cyprus Canary. An excellent article indeed.
For anyone out there who believes we may yet recruit Big Sam, I wouldn’t hold your collective breath.
It’s potentially a funny old night tonight, with no disrespect to any Teletubbies. I’ll be in Berghaus and Levis, hoping not to see anything comical on any level.
But as is the case with Will, optimism is in short supply at my end too. I’ve spoken to my mates before we meet up as I always do and positive expectation is at an all-time low.
If Alex Neil is going to get us out of this mess he really will have to prove it tonight.
Very true Martin. If Neil wishes to void the backlash of the crowd tonight, he needs a win, nothing less. Probably he needs to follow it up against Huddersfield with the same.
The board obviously see it differently and have dug their kitten heels in for a fight, one they quite clearly deliberately picked in the times interview.
My fervent hope is that if an adverse reaction is forthcoming tonight, that it isn’t exclusively in the direction of the manager, but also directed at the boardroom so as to cause the maximum discomfort and embarrassment on live television.
Even during the worst excesses of the smith regime, pre McNally when gunn was plumbing the depths of the third division, I cannot recall such despondency amongst fellow supporters. The feeling that we cannot do,anything about the situation bar watch from the sidelines as it unfolds is one of deja vu when it comes to Delia smiths reign.
Chris (7): Though I’m not an insider, I understand Delia was unhappy with the way parts of the Times interview came across.
I’m not sure she’s relishing a fight with our fans. Nor am I sure the Board is as determinedly behind AN as they appear (as long as they’re keeping him, they can’t and shouldn’t show any doubt about it).
We’ll see – hopefully not in a destructive way.
Chris-you feel very strongly about the current plight as I do ( and did ,when Chase was Chairman and being arrogant).
Are the Board blind to what is happening to us as a Club -do we really have to recourse to protests,chanting and “Board OUT”car stickers before they acknowledge there’s a problem!
We are a football club for Gods sake and if we are as bereft as I think we are of Board members who understand the game,there is little hope for the future .
Can we not at least get a supporters viewpoint into Board Meetings because there is every sign of a yawning Chasm between Club and supporters without something like this.
Someone like Mr Sainty could redress the balance.
The more times I read your articles the more I feel this great club of Norwich City is slowly but surely imploding…
Yes we did win last night, but did you really believe it was a convincing win? I certainly didn’t think so..!!! Every time Villa had the ball and moved forward over the half way line towards our Ruddy in goal.. the defense in dealing with the threat of Villas players and the ball was like watching a pin ball bouncing off the pins stuck rooted to the ground who just threw out a leg in hacking at the villa player with the ball or kicking the ball anywhere( forward, sidewards, backward or up in the air to no one in particular)it was so frustrating to watch, I think you will find that was villas worst performance since steve Bruce’s appt as villa manager and the team got lucky once again..
I’m doing the lottery this weekend, if I win the first thing would be to buy my missus the biggest diamond ring ever, secondly I would be back into Norwich making an good offer to buy NCFC….I’m not a foreign investor so who knows what could happen…..laters all…
I thought the team selection had more balance tonight and some individual performances were massive for Neil-Mulumbu and Oliveira in particular.
However Villa were surprisingly bad and we should have had several more goals and substitutions were overdue at about 70 mins.(Lafferty for Jacob on the night much earlier?)
Brady continues to be an enigma-imo we need to cash in on him ,recall Maddison and splash out on a decent keeper and centre back.
I think Steve Bruce’s assessment was right Villa were poor. However, give credit where it is due there were some decent performances on our side even if we lacked a bit of flow to the game. Keep smiling.