Life as a Norwich fan is rarely dull.
It’s been quite a few seasons now since we were last a comfortable mid-table side and most of March and April now tends to be spent nervously calculating whether the final fixtures will carry us to promotion or relegation.
In that sense, togetherness as a group has rarely been an issue. Whether you love the manager or hate the manager, are pro-board or anti-board, it hasn’t mattered because at the end of the day we’ve always needed the points so badly that come 3pm on a Saturday we are all united in some fashion.
This season however is a conundrum. A watershed in the constant battle at either end of the table as City interchange two steps forward with an equivalent number in the opposite direction at every given opportunity. Not consistent enough to remain with the top teams yet not inept enough to spiral uncontrollably for too long. And the fans seem unsure, collectively, how to approach this state of unusual uncertainty.
The Wolves game had an other-worldly atmosphere. The build-up had seen a hyperbolic frothing in the local press and on social media over whether Paul Lambert would be cheered or not. “Will it be too much?”, “Will some people use it to attack Alex Neil?”, “Will it affect the players?”
As it played out it was less a storm in a teacup and more of a fart in a thimble. We had one early half-hearted chorus of “We want Moxey Out” (that would have been more successful if they’d eschewed singing in favour of a trail of sausage rolls leading away from Carrow Road), and a polite hand for Paul Lambert at the end of the game which he gratefully acknowledged.
But there was a tension in the ground throughout. Despite a really quite impressive show from the team, everyone off the pitch seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Poised for a calamity that never emerged. And until Ikeme’s dismissal and our subsequent successful penalty to take the lead against ten men, nobody could, or would, relax.
Tellingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Lambert was very aware of the mood of the crowd. His post-match comments repeatedly highlighted how conscious he was of the ability to turn Norwich’s own fans against them, and how close his team came to doing just that after their equaliser, and capitalising on the tinderbox housed within the Barclay, the Snake Pit et al.
That Wolves could have been anywhere near capable of that is astonishing, given the battering we had given them to that point. Fortunately the players were able to claw their way through regardless of the lukewarm enthusiasm on the terraces.
But travel back one week to Rotherham and it was a different story.
I made one of my rare excursions out of Nelson’s county to brace the journey north and watch another Nelson (the difference being that instead of losing his arm, heroically, this one lost his head, calamitously).
As sleepy and ham-fisted as City were for the first twenty minutes, following the goal, the sending-off and the post-Howson reshuffle, City battled admirably. Wes and Naismith in particular ran themselves into the ground and made a decent fist of dragging those around them along in mounting a valiant, if ultimately unrewarded, fight back.
Yet again the fans remained impassive despite the efforts obviously being made. A pocket even remained by the bar under the stand after half-time, not wanting to see any more and missed Jerome’s goal and City’s spirited exertions only to start singing “We want Neil Out” following Rotherham’s second.
That it didn’t catch on at the time was testament to the fact that those who were actually watching were too caught up in the match and willing the players on, albeit rather quietly. With five minutes to go, the disaffected gave it another crack and this time it caught on.
I don’t usually get too fussed with other people’s reactions. If you’ve paid your money, you have a right to your opinion etc but for me this was so hugely counter-productive as to be obtuse. The players were desperately trying to nick an equaliser. Alex Neil had thrown Klose up with Jerome and Lafferty and withdrawn the midfield. It was all hands to the pump.
Yet instead of being roared on by the fans behind the goal they were attacking, the fans were singing for the manager to go.
I’m not an Alex Neil true believer. Far from it. I think the likelihood is a continued AN tenure will probably yield a continuation of the snakes and ladders path that this season has already followed but if we as fans aren’t going to cheer the players when they need us and they’re really giving it their all, what’s the point?
If we can’t enjoy beating bloody Wolves why even go?
I made the point on Twitter that I was disappointed by the lack of support at the end of the Rotherham game, and was accused (by someone who hadn’t been there), of having my head in the sand because the equaliser would have only brought us a point and getting rid of Neil was worth more long term.
I understand the logic. I just can’t bring myself to join in. If it was 3-1 and we were stumbling around unconvincingly then it would have been different. But this is a team that despite its poor run of form still has some fight in it. And whilst they fight I will cheer.
Equally, I can’t say that I’m right to do so. And I think maybe a few people feel like this. We’re watching to see what happens rather than knowing for sure what we want to happen. And so whether the stands are full of cheering will rest with the players.
If their efforts are sufficient to get us off our seats, I think the vast majority will go with them, whether they believe in Alex Neil long-term or not. If they’re below-par they know what they’ll get.
And maybe that’s justice. The players have got us into this. It’s up to them to get us out.
You’re totally missing the point. This is a long term erosion of tolerance and a systematic disempowerment of the fans. Once they are disempowered, apathy sets in and it’s very, very difficult to rekindle that love and unequivocal support. I no longer watch football because this board have destroyed my connection to the emotional element, not the players. Shifting blame to fans is lazy.
i appreciate the balanced nature of this article after some of the more extreme comments frequently on the message boards.
City have underperformed this season but not by as much as many fans suggest. If a number of bizarre refereeing decisions had not been given, we would be even better placed.
Underlying many fans’ disappointment was the celebrated interview given by Michael Wynn Jones and Delia Smith to mark their long tenure as owners of the Club. What they intended to demonstrate as a determination to stick to stable British ownership as opposed to some disastrous sales of Clubs to foreign and fickle owners, seemed complacent and unambitious. It was then compounded by the statements at the AGM – not least Jez Moxey’s “Promotion, promotion, promotion” – which seemed to ignore the slide City were then on.
We will know more about the current Chief Executive’s abilities when the current transfer window closes. Let us not forget that the decline in City’s fortunes started with the lack of decent business by the Club in the summer window last year.
In a few weeks time we may know whether the current Manager and group of players have a future at the Club. In the meantime, lets get behind the team, starting with saturday’s game at home to Birmingham.
Great article Andy. I certainly thoroughly enjoyed beating Wolves; a bright spot in the patchiest season I can remember in a long time.
As I wrote yesterday, we are indeed watching to see what happens. It’s all we can do, but I for one would like to see some proactive communication from “those on high”.
Not about specific targets or releases in the last week of this dreadful window obviously, but an outline of what our aims actually officially are would be reassuring and might put an end to some of the conjecture.
Like you and so very many of us I never want our team to fail, but a bit of straight talking to redress the balance of that infamous Times piece wouldn’t come amiss.
There is some fight left in the squad. If only Alex Neil could maximise it we may still make the playoffs. Here’s hoping.
I notice that AN didn’t waste the opportunity on Talksport yesterday to remind everyone he recently won the Manager of the Month award and that the club were ‘unlucky’ to have been relegated last season.
When the Board and Manager are living in such a fantasy world, there is no wish to give them a impression that us fans are shallow enough to believe that one or two wins makes everything ok.
Well said Andy, I’m with you.
There are still huge problems with our management, for example why substitute one forward who couldn’t buy a goal on Saturday when he would have been up against a part-time ‘keeper for 15 minutes or so, and then stay one up against 10 men, and then have (probably) only one further effort on target – and that resulted in a goal.
Trouble is, if all you do is hate, there’s never anything else. They simply find another target. Alex Neil, Moxey, Delia, Russell Martin, Bassong. If all the haters put as much energy into supporting the team and OUR club you never know what might happen.
OTBC
Well said Andy. I got very confused on Saturday when NCFC supporters were chanting Moxey out. What exactly is his “crime”, other than the staged “interview” when he was really put out as cannon fodder. None of our “expensive” player contracts were created under his stewardship, but the responsibility of Mr McNally – who still seems to be something of a saint to most.
If only AN could accept that some of the blame for our current situation could lay at his door, I think even his interviews would come across as less antagonistic. (He still has some way to go though as we never tested their true stand-in ‘keeper. Surely the latter stages of Saturday was crying out for 2 up front and lots of crosses……but again, our subs were as per usual like for like with no change of formation.
O T B c
#5 Mike C: Your first point was good, and your second was probably better.
Very few of us are actually “haters”. The vast majority (in which I include myself) just want something to believe in. And we are being short-changed just now.
Anyway, excellent comments.
Jeff, I’m not sure how he can miss the point when as the writer of the article he can make any point he wants. Whether you agree or not, I think it’s an interesting view. In our recent run of games, I’ve not felt the players haven’t been trying – for me, this is always one of the critical factors in whether a manager should go. While they’re still putting in full effort, Neil is able to cling on & while that is the situation it’s a fair point to suggest we might as well try to enjoy it. I agree with you Jeff that the board have created this situation with various mistakes over the years, but for those who are still going they might as well support the players during the game in the hope it might help to inspire better better performances and results.
And therein lies the paradox of our great support and the expectations we carry with it.
Against 10-man Wolves we expect our team to pepper the goal with shots and win 6-1. Because the opposition is down to ten men.
Whereas logic would say, “we’re 2-1 up now, let’s mangage the game well, keep the ball and get the three points”.
Down to 10 men against Rotherham for most of the game, we still expect our team to win.
Whereas logic says…
Really nice piece BTW
I live in Atlantic City, NJ, USA. I was in Cape Town when I came out of the Jungle and picked up an English newspaper the first chance I got. What I read was this; The Owner Of The Norwich City Canaries says of his new draft pick in 2009 — “He’s a slick son of a bitch and my wife likes him too”. At that point in time I became a canary follower. Good Luck boys. I’m in the Yellow Army forever.