So much for the season of goodwill. Well, unless you’re a Brentford fan of course.
I’ll swerve the obvious puns around gifts and presents but there’s no questioning that there is plenty of joy to be had when playing against Norwich City right now. We’re pushovers.
Championship managers are queuing up to have a crack at us. To be the next to set their team up to stifle our one-dimensional tiki-taka style and hit us on the counter. And most, let’s be honest, are succeeding. That eight-game unbeaten run seems an awfully long time ago.
In terms of performance level, last night’s first half was just about as abject and sterile as is possible in the Championship and, as pointed out by some respected Twitter voices, it could quite easily have been 5-0 at half time.
Angus was magnificent. What unfolded in front of him was a shambles.
That the second half was a slight improvement was scant consolation and despite Nelson Oliveira’s late consolation the Bees ran out comfortable and worthy winners. They were bright, sharp, inventive and energetic. The very antithesis of City.
Some will no doubt accuse me of being unduly negative – we’re in the formative stages of a project after all – but unless something changes year two of this project will be played out in the third tier of English football.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Many a Championship ‘giant’ – some much bigger than us – have fallen into the old ‘we’re too good to go down’ trap before doing precisely that.
Last night’s first half had ‘relegation fodder’ written all over it. The stench that lingered for most of the Glenn Roeder relegation season was in evidence again last night and it’s not nice.
Daniel Farke admirably took the rap but, along with Stuart Webber, needs to have a serious rethink over the suitability of his desired footballing style to the Championship. It’s simply not working. And, worst of all, there is zero evidence of it improving. In fact the opposite is true.
As alluded to at the start of this piece, there is no mystery as to how City will set up. The method will remain regardless. The formation may be tweaked occasionally, so too the personnel, but the method of attack will be unmoved.
Most of us, armed with a competent group of Championship players, would fancy setting up an XI to stop City functioning. Such is the precision needed for Messrs Maddison and Pritchard to play these intricate one-twos and slide rule passes to unlock their opponents’ defence there is virtually no room for error. And yet we’re error-ridden.
Our schtick is supposed to be keeping the ball. We’re not even very good at doing that at the moment.
All of which makes us comfortable to defend against, particularly with the alarming lack of width and reticence to put in a quality cross if they do find themselves in those wide areas. It rarely happens. On the one occasion it did they scored.
Most of the time however it’s futile attempt after futile attempt to try and thread an impossible pass through a packed defence that comfortably plugs any gaps and has no need to defend any more than the width of the penalty box; sometimes just the width of the goal.
It’s joyless and, I hate to say it, boring. Yet nothing changes.
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening. Same tactics, same outcome.
Some have poured scorn on the sections of Carrow Road that unleashed differing levels of venom in the latter stages but, unreasonable or otherwise, there is a lot of frustration out there at the current direction of travel and those with their hands on the tiller.
To have been so accepting of our lot is arguably part of the reason we are here in the first place so, while personal insults are off limits, those in power have to take any flak that’s going on the chin I’m afraid. Or do something about it.
I’m not about to get sniffy over a few chants. Football crowds with good reason to be unhappy have a habit of expressing their frustration.
So, leg one of our four-game road to redemption didn’t go as planned. It couldn’t have gone much worse in truth and now that Boxing Day trip to St Andrews looks doubly difficult.
In terms of where we go from here – at least in the short term – I’d suggest a line-up that includes Alex Tettey and Tom Trybull would be a reasonable start. And Jamal Lewis did enough in his late cameo to suggest that playing a left-back at left-back, as opposed to a poorly-converted midfielder, would also be a small step forward.
Also, from somewhere, Farke needs to unearth some energy and zip, because for a team that we’re told is super-fit they don’t half look leggy and sluggish.
And then we all cross everything and (if it’s your thing) pray. That, I’m afraid, is the best I can offer right now.
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But anyway… to all writers, commenters and readers of MFW, have a wonderful Christmas.
It’s a complete waste of time talking about team changes.
It’s the owners that need changing as they appear to be out of date and out of their depth.
The current fiasco is a direct consequence of their inability to fund a modern championship side.
Matters will get worse if they hang on to their hobby as during their watch every other team in the league has attracted substantial investment, meaning we can no longer afford players of the caliber required to compete in the championship.
There will be less money in future because despite stating last nights crowd was 26,000 those of us who attended know that it’s was nearer 20,000.
The gates are falling, the supporters depressed, the players look fed up, prachute money wasted, perfect recipe for relegation.
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And the parachute money was used to soften the blow back to championship mediocrity and not to give us the best chance of getting back. That highlights the owners ambition.
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How on earth can Delia and Michael be held responsible for the current malaise we find ourselves in? They, along with Balls took the initiative to try a new structure, much to the majority of fans approval, I might add. They, along with Balls, appointed Webber, experienced (and apparently successful) in the role of Director of Football. They did their bit, took a back seat, and trusted in Webber to do his.
I would ask, how on earth can Webber then appoint a complete novice from the 2nd Bundesliga, knowing we are in the last year of parachute payments, knowing how vital promotion is this year, simply because he got lucky once at Huddersfield, with David Wagner. Irresponsible, very risky, and a total lack of judgement, given the position he was in.
The current fiasco is a direct consequence of his appointment of Farke, and of Farke´s total inability to adapt to the rigours and demands of the English Championship.
The sooner they both go, the better.
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With respect you miss the point, they were appointed by the current owners in an attempt to retain ownership on the cheap.
It’s backfired and now they have to accept the blame for our current position, not the hired hands.
Time to sell.
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Totally agree,you cannot rip the guts out of a decent side,replace them with far inferior players and how naive to think that we can do a ‘Huddersfield’ , replication seldom works twice on any framework,especially this one,you do not have to spend big to get the sort of players to do well in this league,but ‘knowing’ the sort of football style that needs to be played is a must and I fear Herr Farke falls short ,January becomes very very important,time is running out
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i think that you have hit the nail on the head here !
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As usual Gary spot on with your analysis. If we who are not trained in the art of tactics can see it’s not working why oh why can’t those in the dugout not be alive to the situation unfolding before them. To cite nervousness as the critical factor is to accuse seasoned professionals of not just doing what they are paid to do – play competitive football!
I would query do we really need six defenders plus goalkeeper for home games? The void between defensive and attacking midfielders is too great, something that everyone else has sussed except our coaches! Why can be not be more expansive rather than defensive- no one scored goals in their defensive third of the pitch! A long ball occasionally may reap rewards you never know if you don’t try!
You are right in saying we are just to narrow going into the final third – a close relative calls it “funnel football”! I just hope Messrs Farke et all will throw caution to the wind, create a hunger ness and desire and have a right good go, otherwise I fear it will be a long cold winter.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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And a Merry Christmas to you and yours too Phil.
Cheers for nice comment and you make some very good points. ‘Funnel football’ (Kev?) is a perfect description and I couldn’t agree more on the overkill of playing with four defenders and two defensive midfielders at home. The maths tells us that we have just four attack-minded players in the side; most odd at home. And, yes, the occasional long ball into the channel is surely a must to vary our method of attack. As it stands they can defend as high up as they wish.
Best
G
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Hi Gary.
A great analysis of last nights game and as with all city supporters I hoped for a better start to the xmas period of games.
It is brave of Farke to come out and state it is his fault and not the Smiths, yes he is picking the team but as someone said a few days ago if you don’t have the finances to shop at Harrods and can only buy at poundland your selection if going to be poor.
We now have a dilemma according to some on the EDP match report last night with the supporters calling for heads to roll.
1) Where is the money coming from to pay the compensation
2) If Team Farke is sacked who is available to replace them
3) Again compensation if the new coaching team is from another club
4) With all the compensation will there be money for players to be signed????????
Going back to Farke he has been dealt a poor hand yes he must agreed to the players he has got but with injuries and suspensions his selections has been limited.
If the club can afford it pay Jarvis off, sell Naismith for what ever we can get that will release some wages.
Webber says he knows the championship but my biggest concern was not having a coach to work with Farke that had the league experience to pass on to him, he has come from a league that plays the same style to a league where there is so many styles of play and you have to adapt to each team and they all change wether they are home or away.
3 games 9 points for the rest of yhe hols
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Got to admit the noises I heard at the ground last night (not from the EDP) was for the Stowmarket Mafia to depart. I think most supporters are aware that not many Coaches / Managers could do better with what we have under the current restrictions. I’m constantly being told to “Keep the Faith”, “Have some patience” because it’s a “Work in Progress” – however, as has been stated elsewhere this “WIP” will be in Division Three next season………..
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we are going down to lge one at the end of the season unless changes are made now !
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This is futile and how some can pour scorn on those spending their money to waste it shows you everything that’s wrong with this club. I can’t even blame the board anymore, the fans are to blame. How can supporters even bring themselves to bore their own person with discussion of tactics? Yes, tettey and Trybull should play, but this is the same scenario we had with Hughton and Neil…the board are shopping at value and the fans tell them its all OK by turning up. The loyal and loving (aka imbeciles) fans are now our Achilles heel. Find a hobby, enjoy your children or write a novel. Life outside of football really isn’t that scary, because this is not football or entertainment. This is a play thing to a stubborn and fame hungry owner who I’d love to sit down and have an honest chat with.
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Yes, a good analysis Gary, and I agree with most of what you’ve written too. I sense some stubbornness on Farke’s part here, and he needs to get over it quickly. Not changing a losing side is not a motto I’ve heard before, and he’s inability to return Tettey and Trybull to the defensive midfield, when they were the pair that presided over our goalless streak, seems rather foolish obstinacy to me. As though he would still rather try and prove that Vrancic is a credible player, rather than just saying, what did I learn from earlier in the season that I need to do, if I want to make sure we have the best chance possible of winning this?. One of the things that also improved when T&T were on the pitch is more direct forward passing too, something we clearly need in greater abundance than is currently happening.
All in all, certainly time for another one of those pointed Stuart Webber conversations with DF. Very pointed.
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I’ve been saying all season that Farke is playing a system that cannot possibly succeed. When you factor in the self-serving board and Farke’s Football du concrète, the club is absolutely rotten and becoming unsupportable.
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Brentford opened us up with sheer pace, fluid movement and clinical finishing .When they weren’t doing that they were showing us how to play possession football.
Our players meantime looked confused, unmotivated and lethargic.
Farke says in post match summary that he over prepared his players for this game to the point where they were nervous and too motivated.
You can see what’s going to happen .The Board and Webber will dither and give Farke every opportunity to halt this slide until it becomes obvious that he cant.,
To us that’s now , to the Board etc its the end of March when it will once again be too late!
If only there was someone available now, who understands the Championship, has the requisite Borussia Dortmund connections to go in above the assistant coaches, and happens to be a legend at Norwich ………………………
No prizes for guessing, but one of his proteges scored a stunning winner for Bristol City v ManU last week.
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He will never return with the Smiths in situ. Bridges have been burned.
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Agree with your comments Gary, it was woeful last night against Brentford. To be taught a football lesson like that takes some swallowing.
As an enthusiast of the Webberlution even I need to start seeing the green shoots of something like a forward momentum in performances.
Farke really needs to come up with an alternative style of play as the current game plan has been sussed out comprehensively by each and every team we have played of late
The board have gambled big time, so like it or not that is what us supporters have to get behind to give it any chance of success. The alternative is to continue with the misguided thought that at a benefactor with the wealth of a middle eastern oil producing country or a Russian oligarch wants to launder billions of roubles through our club.
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Excellent points as usual Gary. Last nights performance ranked amongst the worst I’ve witnessed at carrow road and certainly started the festive period off in the wrong way.
From the opening exchanges it became clear we weren’t at the races as gunn delivered an atrocious goal kick straight to the feet of a no rushing opponent and the subsequent shot off the post and follow up wide gave us a glimpse of what was to follow. What did follow was a shocking display of at best half hearted dereliction of duty to the paying public and the club that employs them. Farke states there is no problem with morale in the camp – total and utter bull. The sulking, brooding, idle, woe is me attitude of the players seeped from every pore of the majority, Farkes turgid anti football bores the home crowd into total submission and the novelty has now worn off.
I’m sure that during the preceding twenty years we have had teams as bad as this effort, Hamilton, worthington, roeder, gunn all assembled what could be described as “teams” in the loosest possible meaning of the term. The difference being that the personnel that rogues gallery recruited were tenth rate in many cases. Several of our current mob will do very well for another club at a later, not much later in some cases, date.
I’ve seen some predictable bleating on social media today regarding the response to this latest effort by the support. How long has this been coming? At a good many other clubs the camels back would have snapped ages ago. At Norwich, when the boot does go in it goes in hard and with a suddenness that makes it seem all the more brutal. After all, the season tickets are priced at premier league elite levels so it should surprise nobody that supporters have become customers when the short changing reaches giant proportions.
While driving home I turned to the radio for the phone in to hear what others made of the mess. It all became a bit too much for me when it became apparent that a village in Yorkshire, probably Royston Vasey, was missing it’s idiot. The Delia out chants were so unfair, “she sells a lot of books over the country” . This is probably what Jeff is referring to above. A creepy love in.
There is no point arguing or disagreeing, or trying to get your points across. These people will forgive smith her husband and the nepotism boy anything. Including the complete and total ruination of the football club.
I note the national press have picked up on the anti smith feeling today. That’s going to hurt the brand.
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The number of believers in this glorious revolution would seem to be diminishing game by game. Farke seems to be quite stubborn tactically, a football purist with a limited knowledge of the English Championship. To be fair, it is possibly the strongest second tier in world football and he is clearly struggling to develop a more pragmatic approach that would achieve the desired results.
What now? Hold or twist? Seems a bit early to reject the experiment. Sack him and back to what? The usual suspects being touted with the job. Only problem with that is that the club has made it very clear that we are broke, and anyone coming in would know that they would have little money to play with. One thing is certain; Farke is running out of time and the patience of the fans is wearing thin. He needs a couple of wins, and he shouldn’t worry too much about how he gets them.
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Fully agree with your final sentence there re Farke. Clearly a decent man with a philosophy but right now it’s not working and he’s looking and sounding a beaten man.
I do seem to recall that when Webber arrived he said there were plenty of managers who would walk to Norwich to take the job. I think he’s right but that statement now makes his decision to employ a total novice look extremely risky.
At this rate it won’t be long before the Lambert chants start.
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Excellent appraisal Gary as per usual. I was not surprised by anything last night, O just the fact we scored. Thank goodness for Gunn in goal following in some great footsteps, or it would have looked much worse, notice I said look not could have been, Another 2 or 3 goals would not have been out of place or been an injustice.
We always laugh and say if nothing changes, we’ll stay as we are. But sadly we know that will not be the case in football, instead we can look forward to a life in League One again . Even that level may be too much for the set up we have,
Who is to blame, the players for not being good enough, I do not go with that, we know that the squad has players more than good enough. . Pritchard, Maddison, Oliveria, Jerome, Hoolahan Klose, Hanley etc There are not many clubs in this league who would not have them in their squad.
The coach. He does come across as a honest, decent sort of a chap, But very stubborn by the looks of it. Football is a game that will catch you out if you are not quite up to the standard needed. I think that is where we are with Mr Farke. He has been involved with the building of his squad or so we were lead to believe, he has had the vast majority together for pre season. Nowa half a season of games has gone by , where you would expect things to be improving . But we are seeing the opposite. The
The whole set up has no experience of this league or perhaps the english game, I hope Alan Irving would have hang around as he offered that much need input, but I give the man his dues, he didn’t want to be a bibs and cones man and I have this gut feeling that is what was more or less on offer.
The Board. They must take a very large share of blame, there have been many many mistakes over the course of their reign., Rioch, Hamilton, Worthington, Grant,Roeder, Gunn, Lambert, Hughton, Adams , Neil, Irvine and now Farke . there have been far too many mistakes made in some way with all these managers . There is no Munby or Doncaster to take the fall for them now,
The only thing consistent through of these seasons is the Stowmarket two , I am not putting all the blame on their plates. but everything to do with the club has been changed , managers, players etc, yet here we are again with another fiasco with relegation a possibility.
Had football clubs still carried on with a turnstyle only admittance, with small amounts of season ticket sales, then fans could not be taken for granted so easily. But while the money flows in from monthly payments etc it takes away that little urgency about empty seats and the board can afford to turn the deaf ears and shut their eyes .
Too many because’s Because a football director worked at so and so, Because Webber did it at Huddersfield, Because a German coach worked there, Because the style works in Germany
Yes what they have tried is brave and a bold step for a club struggling for money, but eggs in one basket springs to mind, now we cannot afford to take any out and to buy new ones.
This is Norwich City and things never seem to run that smoothly or go to plan, I remember on more than one occasion when a team who has not won away from home for months on end, then along they come to Norwich.
As the Four Tops once sung ” It’s the Same old Song”
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Farke utterly out of his depth, his post match interviews are getting more and more bizarre, if I were a player listening to his ridiculous ramblings I’d probably want to give up to.
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He sounds a beaten man. It’s noticeable as well that he is less visible on the touch line. Looks like he’s waiting for the bullet, however we all know it doesn’t work like that.
Good to,see there were no chants directed at Farke last night, which will concern the board. All the while the manager is getting dogs abuse on the touchline he is safe. It’s when the spotlight turns to the board when the manager should start making his exit plan.
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This isn’t the end. It’s merely the beginning of the end for the Smiths. The beautiful thing is, everything is cyclical and they won’t be around forever. Unfortunately In the interim we all suffer the slings and arrows. Time to take up a new hobby though, plenty of stuff out there to do!
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Sorry but the problem is not a lack of funding, that is the usual knee jerk reaction that all fans make whenever there are problems and it misses the point completely. This group of players are easily capable of finishing in the top 6. The problem is that they are managed by a man who is playing the game in a manner which would have success in the German leagues but has zero chance of working in the championship. I would never slag this board off for lack of investment but their decision making….well since McNally left that stinks. I went on record on here when this brave new world of football director and coach was announced and said I thought it was rubbish and nothing I have seen has made me change my mind. It is this that the board should be pilloried for not lack of investment.
The answer is simple. Revert to a standard British system of “manager in charge”, bin the pointless “football director”role which has power but no responsibility – and then for God’s sake recruit a manager with experience. That plus the players we have got will do the trick.
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Agree with a lot of that Boot. However, the installation of a cheap coach with a view to developing and selling young players in order to raise funds is the lack of investment which places a financial straight jacket on the club.
In the end, it all boils down to two people and their board of cronies.
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