It’s been an odd season for City. It had started so brightly: that late, great Nelson Oliviera equaliser in the west London sunshine on opening day capped off an enterprising attacking performance, instilling those present with a fervent sense of optimism that Daniel Farke was capable of leading something special in his maiden season in English football.
What followed so acutely underwhelmed: hammerings at Villa Park and the New Den combined with laboured performances at home against Sunderland and Burton Albion provided us with a more realistic representation of this City side; a ‘work in progress’ to use a common cliché but one that seemingly required an alarming amount of surgery.
Then came the turbulence: that magnificent run of September and October, which included memorable trips to Bramall Lane, the Riverside and – of course – Portman Road, followed by the watershed that was the Emirates that triggered a period of hapless form that led to many writing our season off.
A few wins and multiple draws later, and here we are. Fourteenth place, 47 points and ten shy of the Bristol City-occupied sixth place. The season appears a write off. Indeed, given City’s chronic inability to score goals, it probably is. However, with a fortnight saturated with winnable-looking fixtures ahead, dare we dream?
Four games in eleven days await City, starting under the lights at Carrow Road against Nottingham Forest tomorrow night and culminating back there on March 17 when Reading are the visitors. A trip to Hull and a rescheduled journey to Barnsley separate them.
What I’m writing may well be an exhibition in irrational, unjustified optimism, but is claiming that anything between nine and twelve points is viable really that ridiculous?
City have momentum. Granted, I wasn’t present for what sounded like yet another painful stalemate last Saturday against Bolton, but Farke’s employment of width through Josh Murphy and Onel Hernandez in the first-half sounds as though it fostered a long-awaited sense of creativity. Moritz Leitner missed a sitter. On another day with slightly more clinical finishing, we would have won.
City were magnificent at Molineux. Twenty-three minutes in and two-nil down, many of us 600 travelling fans feared the worst. A different set of players may have crumbled. However, a towering Christoph Zimmerman header – he was superb that night – revitalised us and led to a second-half of utter domination. The pride that that Oliviera late-show evoked was unparalleled. City had earned their point.
This team are capable. Just cast your eye back to Ashton Gate, Griffin Park (twice) and the iPro last month. What about those trips to Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and Reading, victories that led to a September that even Earth, Wind and Fire would look back nostalgically on. On our day, we are a difficult outfit to beat.
Credit to Farke. Under his leadership, he has manufactured a defence characterised by solidity and dependability as opposed to the fragility and horrors that we became so accustomed to last season. Although in doing so he may have inadvertently jeopardised our attacking threat, such a limitation has been one that has been overcome by the magic of James Maddison on such a multitude of occasions.
Four wins in our next four is not an unviable prospect. City lie above all of our next opponents in the current Championship table. We have not lost since January 20. We will enter the period fresh following a recovery-conducive ten days off. We have a striker who has been instilled with some degree of relative confidence. The players are hungry.
One thing this city side possess in so much abundance is character. The desire to succeed among the squad is so visible, with even loanees such as the remarkably competent makeshift right-back Harrison Reed celebrating every win, point or goal with such palpable animation.
Stuart Webber and Daniel Farke have constructed a team that care, a group of players who appear truly united and are willing to put everything on the line for their yellow and green cause.
The next eleven days really will define our season. Three or four wins may place City tantalisingly close to the top six. If Farke’s men demonstrate that collectivity, resilience and savviness of that super September, anything could be possible.
Whisper it quietly, but this season may not be done just yet.
OTBC
I consider myself as optimistic as any fan and I’m certainly a committed member of the Farke/Webber project. I think there’s too much to do for the playoffs but I think it’s right that we look at these 4 games and target 12 points. I’d certainly be disappointed if we got less than 10.
5
At least Forest play football, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow night after the boredom of Bolton.
We do struggle against the lesser sides so tbh as much as I’d love to see it I can’t envisage 10 from 12. But you never know…
Next season will be key for Webber-Farke and just like you (and so many of us) I’m right behind them.
2
Norwich have no chance of reaching the top six places, or of even seriously challenging for them. The four upcoming games you highlight as all being winnable, are precisely the sort of games that Norwich have historically always failed in, and there is absolutely nothing in this current squad or in the management team, that give grounds for hope that that situation will change. We´ll end up this season somewhere between 10th and 14th, in my opinion.
12
How awful it must be to support Chelsea or Arsenal and how lucky we are to have something to get excited about, even if it’s just a day dream. Not our ‘Darkest Hour’ but Churchillian positivism nonetheless Will, I like that!
Takes me back last game of the season in 2002, sitting in the old South Stand playing Stockport, (I think) and we made the play- off’s on a one goal margin over Burnley, fantastic memory so ready to repeat the experience.
NB. Man City won the Championship that year so there’s always hope!
0
Come on, is this Norwich you’re talking about? 12 points from 12 with our scoring prowess? It’ll likely be no more than 8. Home draws coupled with away wins. OK so maybe Forest will turn up wanting to play a bit, they’ve been in the goals in their last couple of matches, maybe they’ll give us a chance. But this is Norwich against teams you think we should beat. We’ve never been good at winning those.
Until we are mathematically unable to catch 6th place, we have a chance, do I think we can or will take it? Not on your Nelly! We still don’t know how to regularly craft good chances.
Bah!
9
Agreed. We’re not threatened with relegation so, in my view, we should really go for it this month.
Who knows, on April 1st we may enjoy our Easter Eggs that little bit more. Given the date, I hope it hasn’t proved that we’ve been chasing Fools’ Gold (I’m going away to think up some new cliches).
By the way, has MFW got a whole new bunch of readers? The thumbs ups are into the 40s on some comments-not for any of mine obviously.
4
I think the pattern of the last 7 months is unlikely to miraculously improve. We’ve been poor at home and very good away. We have been mid-table almost all season and that is where we’re almost certain to finish.
12
You can’t write off a season that has never been ‘on’. We are currently mid table fodder and almost certainly will end the season mid table fodder. Farke’s football is an experiment in testing patience, though some have expressed it in four letter terms.
Many harp on about next season, but I cannot see much of a difference as the way we play is boring, unattractive and largely ineffective. There are certain similarities with Farke and Hughton, as they both need high quality players to make it work, and that just isn’t realistic or feasible with the budget Norwich City has.
The only positive I can take this far is that the finance aspect needed to be sorted out, which it is, it’s just that we have pay a huge price on the pitch against the very easy to play against Norwich City.
It doesn’t have to be this way, but for the moment we’re stuck with the project – for better or worse.
13
Realistically we are only playing for sixth position. Fifth and 13 points appears a step too far. Ten points to catch isn’t impossible, but the real issue is the 8 teams ahead of us also vying for one spot. It only requires one of them to have better form than us and it’s game over.
I would like to see is get four wins on the bounce though 😉
12
Four winnable games, eh, Mr. Jennings ? Ha!
0