It is well-documented that Norfolk boasts a proud record of nurturing Nelsons. Two hundred and twelve years on from that pivotal naval victory off the coast of south-west Spain at Trafalgar, memories of our own Horatio are still employed, appropriated and instrumentalised as a means of evoking popular notions of both local pride and national commemoration.
Images of our parochial naval figure were embedded in First World War propaganda. Trafalgar Square’s Nelson’s Column was completed in 1843. Just over an hour’s drive west from Elland Road lies the Lancashire Town of Nelson, a civil parish named after one of our fine city’s most notable exports.
Forget Horatio and his intimate attachment to the city we all adore, however. In the current footballing climate, such nostalgia-eliciting manifestations of his legacy are rendered insignificant. Indeed, of the aforementioned places, Elland Road is the most pertinent for City fans, the location of our latest slip-up and the scene of our more contemporary Nelson’s most recent crime.
Oliveira’s latest showing for City was wretched, a performance characterised by an augmenting sense of apathy, greed and profligacy that functioned as nothing other than detrimental to our chances of departing West Yorkshire with the point we genuinely deserved.
Patience is wearing thin. While Oliveira’s impetuous manner was previously masked owing to his prolific exploits during the second-half of last season and the beginning of this year’s campaign, his ensuing lack of goals have only served to make his unsavoury attitude all the more conspicuous. His antics in recent weeks have functioned as an overt hindrance to Farke’s attempts to revitalise our season. He must change.
Social media is saturated with references to his indifference and ostensibly passive attitude that has become visible during home games. I didn’t make the trip to South Wales last Friday night, but from what my travelling brother informed me it was Oliveira’s rapacity that prevented us from going 2-0 up.
A week and a half earlier at the City Ground, his infuriating insistence on shooting from a series of bizarre positions frequently rendered periods of promising possession a waste. As a fan who has grown increasingly impatient with our slow and laboured build-up, I am all in favour of enhancing our directness and threat on goal, but such injudicious decision-making is irresponsible and futile.
Which brings us to Elland Road. Contrary to many ill-judged observations on Twitter over the weekend, City were good at Leeds, moving the ball around at a better tempo and creating considerably more than we did at Bolton or Forest. The below-par James Maddison had two golden opportunities in the first-half – both of which were, granted, created by Oliveira – while Alex Pritchard wasted our best chance. To those berating Farke, Webber, Delia or anything concerning the development of the current regime: on another day we could have easily won.
Despite Oliveira’s relative activity in the first-half, his exploits in the second verged on the unforgivable. Those of us at the game will recall his good work in escaping the challenges of the Leeds midfield, enabling him the space to advance and create a two-on-one scenario with the impressive Marley Watkins bounding forward on his right. The pass was obvious. If played with any degree of competence Watkins was through. Instead, he opted to intransigently keep the ball himself before being crowded out and becoming embroiled in an incident with the goal-scoring Pontus Jansson. Feckless.
Once I’d politely informed Oliveira exactly how I felt about his decision, I struggled to believe it could get any worse. However, with the clock ticking and City with multiple men forward, the striker’s botched attempt on goal represented the apogee of his stupidity and would have been better suited to the rugby ground three miles down the road. Selfish is a an understatement.
While Oliveira’s inability to behave in the interests of the team was not the reason City lost at the weekend, his failure to manifest any degree of footballing intelligence, awareness or responsibility was axiomatically harmful to our chances of departing the north with at least a point.
Of course, the principal blame lies with Maddison, Pritchard and the dithering Marco Stiepermann for their failure to convert opportunities and for the latter’s loss of concentration in allowing Jansson to escape him prior to the goal. However, Oliveira’s impulsive, unreasoned and self-centred decision-making is playing an increasingly inhibiting role in our season.
I do not dislike Nelson. In fact, I enjoy watching him play and his fervent desire to continuously create and make something happen. However, when this inherent sense of aggression and palpable willingness to disregard his team-mates comes at the expense of a more prudent, rational and effective option, something needs to change.
Only Oliveira himself will know if he is happy at Carrow Road. What characterised his performance at the weekend was less so much apathy as it was his selfishness and failure to further the exploits of his team. Bids may come in for him in January. If he does not change – and I hope he does –Webber and Farke will have to listen.
City in their current state have no room in the squad for egocentric and introverted individuals. With a crucial period imminent, we require a united group of hungry, determined and indefatigable characters who are committed to working selflessly and tenaciously for one another.
Oliveira’s City career is a tipping point. I can only hope that he realises and demonstrates the skill, pragmatism and awareness of his namesake who came two centuries before so he can turn his season around.
He’s a bit of an enigma, is our Nelson.
Not so long ago he was saying how grateful he was to be here on a permanent after an exhaustive series of loans.
Sometimes his body language and actions indicate quite the opposite.
Who’d be a manager?:-)
Now you know why he plays for Norwich and not Arsenal. Tommy ‘bad decision’ Trybull is up next.
I believe that Nelson has all the footballing skill needed to be an effective Premier League player. Unfortunately, skill alone is not enough to succeed at that level. It is becoming apparent why he was continually loaned out by Benfica and why he is now plying his trade at Norwich, rather than at a higher level.
His pathetic attempt at getting a Leeds player sent off at the weekend was one of the most embarrassing things I have seen in over fifty years of watching the canaries. As others have pointed out many times, there is no “I” in Team. As much as I have enjoyed watching him play football, regretfully I think for the good of the team, we need to consider any offers that come in for him in January.
He just does not seem cut out for a scrapping championship team to me,but if Nelson is sold what type and quality replacement would come in?That’s the question.
We all know the answer to that question Tony,
Articles like this and subsequent calls for oliveiras head on a plate or, as I heard on canary call a few weeks ago an ignoramous bellowing ” if he dunt wanna play for us. Sell ‘im” despite any evidence this is the case simply play into the hands of smiths lust to asset strip.
The likelihood of a £600 k replacement on a fraction of the salary met make the bean counter stone salivate but won’t do our prospects of staying up any good.
Nelsons problems stem from the bizarre decision of Farke on the opening day to leave him on the bench despite his hot form in pre season, which was in stark contrast to that of Jerome, the only other option. He duly scored from the bench and the subsequent furore saw him omitted for a further two games. It’s incumbent on the manager to manage his men, to get the best out of them. This obviously isn’t happening. By all means make Nelson a scapegoat for all the many failings of Norwich city but recognise that the sale of our best assets does not in any way benefit the team. It benefits those who inhabit the directors box, for whom football has become too expensive a hobby of late,
I don’t think Nelson is a scapegoat in many supporters’ eyes; merely an exceptionally frustrating player who pretty obviously has his own agenda just now.
The final 19 words of your post do it for me.
Hobby? More like a social club for like-minded friends, essentially funded by us supporters. A hobby normally means building Airfix kits, knitting squares into blankets for charity, that kind of thing. Not stuffing up a football club which suffers while you can show off to your mates.
The Smiths won’t be gone in my lifetime. But I might be as I’m just not prepared to back them for very much longer.
That Times interview amputated my yellow-and-green heart.
Don’t let the smiths destroy your love of the club Martin. That would be a terrible shame.
I feel you are unduly pessimistic in feeling they will be here forever.
You are right of course in your summation that they care little for the success of the club, I’ve known that for a long time. The times interview exposed that fact and showed them up for what they are.
That some people can still gloss,over the facts after that expose is one of life’s great mysteries.
Never mind the Internet, and forums, chat boards and the like, talk to real people out there, at work, in the street, in shops, offices, the gym, even carrow road. You will have to go a long way to find a smith supporter. Most re appalled at the direction of the club. Chase as vilified for less.
During the ninety minutes at the game or listening at home I will be staunchly behind the team and hoping for a win every time they cross the white line. I want city to go up this season, and stay up.
In no way does my support of the team mean I support smith or her works or her horrific doomsday vision of the club.
Norwich city football club is bigger than any person. Certainly bigger than Delia smith and her celebrity circus. Please don’t let her drive a wedge between yourself and the club.
I feel your pain, Will. Do you think he got carried away when he saw the sign that says ‘Nelson’s County’? Maybe he’s always had a touch of the egomania. Seeing the way he shoots from ridiculous angles, at first sight of goal, can feel like watching a kid in the park who overrates himself and simply isn’t happy and won’t give up a chance until he’s scored. He should’ve grown out of that by now. It’s a shame, because we all know the ability is there.
Noted Frank ?☺
It was something that happened before the opener at Fulham, his attitude that was bewildering to say the least. 1st game of the season , It has not been the happiest period for him that’s sure. What went wrong clearly doesn’t look to have been put right, papered over maybe . but not solved.
He is doing himself no favours at all, if he wants a move away, he is certainly going about it in the right way .. Instead of scoring goals and being a team player , he choose’s to be selfish, stupid and arrogant in all play, thinking other clubs will want him.
I lose patience very quickly with these spoilt so called professional footballers, they get good money, don’t have to stick with working 50/60 hours a week, claim tax credit or face Universal credit. Like many who pay to watch.
Either get your head right Nelson..and be a team player, or put a request in and go at the moment will will not be missed
Nelson wants to play for Portugal in the World Cup. We know that, and he knows that his best chance of earning a place is to get in a higher profile league than the Championship. Our problem is that we haven’t anyone to replace him.
But the thing is for him the World Cup is surely just a pipedream anyway. As Graham above says he’s not even competent at getting people unjustly sent off, and I can’t remember him winning many penalties under minimal contact. Aren’t those minimum requirements for strikers in the Portuguese squad?
Hi Will
A very good read and a breakdown on Oliveria’s faults.
Watching Sky today and seeing Naismith coming out and saying he is fit and not getting game time is strange he also said he will be looking at all options to see what is best for his career and needs to play, I am not the greatest fan of Naismith and basically thing we overpaid for him, Everton knew AN was desperate for him so upped the price, similarly to Oliveria he had a good loan period city came calling and Benfica saw a premiership club with money to spend and took city for a ride.
N-O isn’t a bad player just selfish he played in the Wrld Cup qualifications alongside CR and a few others his first cap in a number of years so his self esteem must have jumped of the richter scale.
His one intentions this season is to get into the Portuguese team for Russia and he needs to prove that he can score goals and affect games so just maybe he is trying to hard ad forgetting he needs the other 10 players to help him.
City don’t have a commanding captain figure who should during the game give him a talking to, Farke can shout as much as he likes from the touchline and at half time but with O-N can ignore it could city doesn’t have many options other than CJ this might be the time to try Abrahams or Fonkeu it just might show him he isn’t indispensable.
He might be looking for a move but who will match what was offered in the summer, Wolves were interested but are now looking at their ex player at Bournemouth so his price could be half unless that doesn’t come off.
I couldn’t agree more Alex B – I’ve been to several under 23 games at CR this season and have been impressed with the workrate and endeavour of both Abrahams and Fonkeu, but hey, I’m only a fan!!!
BREAKING NEWS ON SKY
SORRY one and all and going off in a different direction on this
BARNSLEY taken ver by joint USA/CHINESE Consortium why oh why.
My wifes stepfather is a Barnsley fanatic travels to all home games from Blackpool and all away games around Lancashire.
He is now in seventh heaven just had a text saying loads to spend promotion before norwich.
There’s no one out there looking to buy EFL clubs. You heard it here first.
How could we possibly compete with Barnsley? We’re so unattractive to,potential investment, remember?
Funny man David.
Who is the next club in the EFL to be taken over all are availabke at the right price except Little old Norwich.
Blinkered owners will take the club to their death beds and still haunts the club with pre -set conditions that Tom will not beable to change.
Apols for being off topic but had to reply….
I see part of the USA side of the consortium is Billy Beane of moneyball fame. It will be interesting to see how that pans out.
Unfortunately I see The Smiths actually claiming (perhaps in the Times) some form of justification or capitol from theirs and the boards recent decisions? Stating this is what they are trying to achieve and this is the way clubs of comparable size are being run these days.
Like I said, it will be interesting to observe.
Reality will probably be completely different though as Barnsley I can imagine will be aided by the Chinese assisting with the proverbial “pot to urinate in” cash wise.
Top scorers from last season ( more than one league goal)
16 – Jerome
11 – Oliveira
9 – Jacob Murphy
7 – Wes
6 – Pritchard
6 – Howson
6 – Dorrans
5 – Naismith
4 – Josh Muprhy
4 – Robbie Brady
We sold Jacob, Howson, Dorrans, and Brady in the summer – 25 goals
This season our top scorers looks like this, near half way through the season:
6 – Oliveira
5 – Maddison
3 – Josh Murphy
2 – Klose
4 players on one goal (including our key strike, Jerome)
Jerome can’t buy a goal, Wes is aging, Naismith is angling for a move. Maddison is going to be on a number of shopping lists.
Do we sell Oliveira now, at possibly a discounted price?
Good job you didn’t mark my English, Frank – I always thought gibberish was spelt with a “g” and my spell-checker seems to agree.
The manager’s (coach) job is to get the best out of the staff he has available and Farke is following AN’s lead in failing to do so. Some players are tough to manage that is the test of the manager’s skills.