Having been very critical of late – with good reason – of management and players, it’d be very unfair to not recognise a decent effort from either side of the white line. And last night was just that.
From Alex Neil’s team selection through to the sheer grit and determination of the players and via the non-stop second half singing of the Barclay, it was an evening that went just a little way – and there’s still a long way to go – to putting the ‘faith’ back in the faithful.
It’s a fragile peace though and if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the last couple of months it’s that this group finds it difficult to consistently produce the level of intensity and commitment needed to churn out results Championship-style. But last night as least confirmed those qualities are in there somewhere; something I’d started to doubt.
Yet there in all it’s glory was a midfield, led by the combative Youssouf Mulumbu, closing down, harrying and tackling to within an inch of its life while behind them Seb Bassong and Ryan Bennett did a passable impersonation of an old-style centre-back partnership who tackled, headed, blocked and, when required, put their bodies on the line.
And to watch a team that epitomised the term prima donna transform for the evening into a group of scrappers and battlers was joyful.
Whether they did it for themselves as opposed to the manager – as suggested by Greg Downs on Canary Call – or whether it was in direct response to Team Neil’s directions matters little. They did it. And it was good.
It wasn’t the beautiful game of course, it rarely is in the Championship, and I’m doubtful if the neutral watching TV audience was wholly enthralled but to those draped in yellow it offered up something very different to the fare we’ve become used to – even when comparing it to the Brentford romp.
Again it’s key to remain in Russell Martin’s famous equilibrium zone, and Villa offered little other than an unusual and unsuccessful brand of “power football”, (if this was them being resurgent I’d love to see them when they’re playing poorly) but we’ve had so many bad days of late it’d be just a little bit ridiculous not to revel in a good one.
Nélson Oliveria’s fine strike was reward for another industrious outing there’s something aesthetically pleasing about the Portuguese international’s first touch, particularly when it’s such an important component in the role of a lone striker. And three in three means that for now Alex doesn’t have a selection headache, even when Cameron Jerome returns to full fitness.
The shirt is Oliveira’s and while he keeps scoring it should remain that way.
Martin Olsson and Ivo Pinto are our two best full-backs, period, and hopefully any daft notions of tinkering with those positions are now dead; both offering defensive surety and the crucial ability to ‘join in’. And it’s no coincidence that the return of Pinto, along with Jonny Howson, has signalled a mini-run of two wins in three.
We missed them both – badly.
Graham Dorrans too deserves a nod. He’s taken some brickbats of late – not least from this column – but last night he bridled a voracious work-rate to his natural ability to pass and looked a better player for it. And the tempo of his passing was a notch or two higher than of late; that too being crucial in the improved rhythm of City’s play.
Finally it would be remiss not to mention again the role of the Barclay in last night’s proceedings, particularly after half-time. The noise was incessant and quite possibly the trigger for a very decent second-half performance.
On a few occasions the River End joined in. Weird. But more of the same on Friday?
So, an enjoyable one and we can now wallow in a three-day ceasefire. Which is nice.
A small step in the right direction, but it feels like we’re still only a couple of bad results from meltdown and, with the transfer window imminemt, what’s always a difficult time to deal, may prove impossible. Here’s hoping the Board have thought this through properly. The jury remains out for me.
FFS guys, it was a massive performance. Try believing in the team and have faith. Stick your neck out and grow a pair instead of siding with all the doom and gloomers. Love … an optimist xxx
No one is very surprised that when we match the opposition’s intensity and commitment we then do so very much better. Alex Neil has been talking of this for a while now so it’s very pleasing to see it delivered.
I really hope heads have been banged together and players will demonstrate they actually are quite good. No one in this division is perfect, players who did not give there all deserve nothing. Last night application was there and a result was well deserved.
In the interests of fairness Villa are having a very difficult time away from home, but Norwich are typically the team who obligingly stop that run for other clubs. I’m very glad this time we got the win. Let’s hope the application can be carried over to the rest of the season.
OTBC
Really good effort last night, more of the same please starting with Friday night.
Being in exile here in deepest Dorset I don’t manage to see my team very often but after watching last night on tv I think the term scrapers and battlers is appropriate. Nothing I saw convinced me that promotion is likely this season. Some good performances by Mulumbu,Pinto and Oliveria though.
As an aside I saw Yeovil v Barnet at the weekend with Barnet winning with their one and only shot on target. Starring for Barney was their captain Michael Nelson who played really well.
The noise from the Barclay was positive which inspired the team. Lets get behind the lads and do our bit on Friday especially as we are on the TV. A win Friday will certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons. Less expectation now may be we are best suited to be in the chasing pack as we were in 2015.
I’m with el dingo and Paul on this, how some people can try to find a negative (Canarycall ‘papering over the cracks’ blah blah) is beyond me. Having witnessed many home and away no shows that was a million miles away from those performances so for goodness sake just enjoy it. Unfortunately some individuals are so far down the road of wanting AN out that they’ve lost all sense of reason and on a similar note those that booed Bassongs name being read out last night seriously need to have a look at themselves. Utter morons in my view!
The noise from the Barclay was great, the main reason being that the guys who seem to orchestrate the songs or chants (somewhere at the back of the lower tier) actually sang some straight forward, better known ones that everyone knew, rather than some of simply awful droning that accompanies many recent home games like “17th of June 1902, Norwich city fc etc etc etc” Stick to the classics and we’ll build an atmosphere OTBC!
Not getting carried away here. Aston Villa were very poor, but you can only beat what is infront of you and three points in what is a very average Championship is extremely useful.
Greg Downs’ comments were very interesting. With the January window very close, it doesn’t do any harm to put in a decent performance, though there are too many players who would like to be somewhere else and too many players who SHOULD be somewhere else for my liking.
The fundamental problems still remain, though as far as on the pitch goes, it is in Alex’s hands he has been given an extra life to use. Off the pitch, however is more depressing.
I see this as a nothing season. We won’t go up and we (probably) won’t go down, due to the lack of quality in the division compared to recent years. There will be no net spend this transfer window, but if the club are going to move in a more healthier direction, it has to get shot of the players who want out, whether that means 1 or 2, or 5 or 6, they must be moved on and replaced with players with the right attitude.
The next game with give us a slightly clearer picture of what the immediate future lies.
On the one hand winning a few games is clearly an improvement over our recent form.
On the other hand our current situation dictates that win-loss-win-loss will not secure the ‘promotion, promotion, promotion’ that’s required. So it’s difficult to be too excited until we see a sustained run of wins.
Darren (9) & Dave (10) – fair comments.
Good article and comments – both on the positives of last night and the need for caution.
Clearly, we need a run of 4-5 wins out of 6. Still, encouraging that we’ve performed well in five of the last six halves.
After a quiet first half, The Barclay was magnificent last night. There’s no doubt in my mind that it helped sustain the players’ energy. Unusually for this season, we looked the sharper and fitter team in the last 20 minutes.
Stew (12) – Good point re the sharpness and fitness in last 20 minutes. Suggests it was fatigue of the mind rather than limbs behind the lethargy of November.
We think we’ve got problems?
I was shocked at just how bad Villa were. Still, it’s not about them and I thought we did OK. I like Oliviera, Mulumbu and Dorrans looked good together and Pinto has become a real asset.
However, Brady looked thoroughly off the pace and I would still prefer Klose in that defence.
Seems Pritchard has fallen completely out of favour, which is a shame as we can’t afford to spend millions on players and have them sit on the bench or worse.
See that Gary Rowett is now available, interesting.
Gary (13): Exactly
I have my misgivings about the way things are at the moment .. but I hope the way the owners of BCFC have just acted may give food for thought. “Trillion Trophy Asia Limited say” …. Call me old-fashioned (and no doubt our Board is in many ways) but I would prefer the control of our club to stay exactly as it is at least at the current time if this is the ‘other’ option.
Let’s keep a sense of proportion here, this was a much needed win and physically a good performance particularly in the second half. However, Steve Bruce’s own assessment was that Villa were poor at best! With the match on TV it was a chance for us exiles to make our own judgement rather than relying on Radio Norfolk’s. El Dingo (2) I would not call the performance “massive” but encouraging and Bob(7) I’m afraid I still hold the view that a change of manager is best for NCFC’s future. Let’s be fair though this was a team set up to battle and “not lose” and that was a successful tactic. However, with the talent available in our squad I will want to see a bit more football before my view changes. There were some good performances out there from Mulumbu, Howson, Dorrans and my man of the match Oliveira. Also the much maligned Bennett. Time will tell whether this is the start of a Renaissance or a temporary relief. Thankfully we get a chance to form a better judgement on Friday.
Clearly you watched a different game from me. The first half was abject, the second half just plain poor. Devoid of any real quality from either side. If that game is regarded as the foundation for the future, then my decision not to renew my season ticket is a sound one.
Tony (18) Am 99.9% sure we watched the same game. Low on quality but high on effort and grit was how I saw it – standard Championship fare. Qualities that have been very short of late in these parts.
But cheers for reading and taking time to comment. It’s all about opinions.
For once we did that thing we haven’t done for ages – earn the right to play. Grafted when we had to, passed well and kept the ball better when we got it back.
Don’t remember seeing Villa in our half for much of the second 45 but despite them being poor they were a relatively strong, athletic side, the likes of which we’ve struggled against this season.
Also, and most importantly for me, our game management was so much better throughout the match. In many ways it’s been that, not other teams, that’s been our undoing in 2016.
El Dingo (2) it’s not just about 1 game though, unless that’s the catalyst for the significance improvement needed over the next 25 gamea.
The automatics (while not impossible) look out of reach, so we’re facing the real prospect of play-off lottery and I’m not confident, given the repeated mistakes on and off the field we’ll make it if we stick as we are.
First half ‘abject’. Have you ever played in or managed a football team? Do you really think it is possible to come out, play a team like Villa (employing a conservative strategy) off the park and win the game before half time?
Lambert/Culverhouse knew a bit about winning games and game management and the prime objective was to be in the game after an hour. Last night a team low on confidence had a good shape, a good plan and were content to probe without over committing.
If you think that’s poor entertainment, go and watch something else. Second half we came out with intent and had enough to score two or three.
You think something better is readily available out there? Ask the Villa Chairman whether the money spent on McCormack was a good investment?
And as for people who feel that under performing in the Championship after relegation somehow justifies jacking in a season ticket, what sort of fair weather supporters are you?
The Yellow Army is better off without you.
OTBC.
Credit the large away following ( rather than the usual few hundred ) which for me kick started the Barclay.
Thought it was a thoroughly decent “away” performance. If that is the first small step needed then we should embrace. If we can replicate this performance in our next way game then we should have a chance against most of the teams in this division.
A shout out for Mulumbu, Pinto, Olsson and Howson, all were immense. Their drive and energy i thought was the difference between this and previous games.
Howson also as captain just gives us a bit more also.
Did Neil finally nail something, 45 minutes into the Barnsley game? Mulumbu and Dorrans, with Howson in front of them, looks like a decent midfield; and it would be nice to think that Mulumbu could finally start to be useful. There was always a decent player in there. Maybe Canos will get a run of games in a couple of years (I do realise that Mulumbu has had injury problems).
Olsson at left-back and Brady ahead of him? Well, duh, that makes sense.
I would expect the same line-up against Huddersfield, but who knows whether we’ll see it. It’s a little sobering when you think about how bad Villa were, but, as has been said, there was some real battling going on out there and that has to be a good thing. Another good thing is that we have a striker who is confident and in-form. How long has it been since we’ve been able to say that?