Scintillating. Effervescent. Unremitting. Unconquerable. Indomitable. Flamboyant. Okay I’ve put the dictionary back on the shelf now having used six words, as in one for each of our remaining fixtures.
As Kenny McLean said yesterday, the opposition simply cannot live with us.
Sure QPR were as pi$$-poor a side as I’ve seen at the Carra in many a moon and there’s no denying that. But we flew out of the blocks like Usain Bolt in his pomp and they were effectively blown away within twelve minutes.
That glorious diagonal ball from Ben Godfrey that found Max Aarons on the right led to great control and the sweetest of crosses which Emi Buendia (more on him later) swept home with gusto and aplomb.
Five or so minutes later the Stieperdude was given the freedom of Carrow Road to hit what I felt was a largely speculative shot. Rangers keeper Joe Lumley could only help it into the net. That was effectively game over with just 12 minutes on the clock.
Add in a monumental QPR cock-up whereby Buendia picked up the ball and unselfishly laid it off to Teemu Pukki who did the rest with the minimum of fuss.
There was still time for Tim Krul to save well at the foot at the post from Angel Rangel, who otherwise looked well past his proverbial sell-by date.
That was possibly the best 45 minutes of football I have ever seen from a Norwich City side. And that’s not said lightly.
To whatever level of credit they deserve Rangers seemed to show a little more application in the second half but their horse (like mine in the National) had bolted by then.
So onto that Emitional moment.
He got his usual clattering and I can recall at least two occasions when he had been cleaned out from behind. Friends claim there were four such instances, but I can only speak as I find and while the view from the Upper Barclay is excellent it’s hard to see exactly what goes on near the corner flag at the River End.
But I could clearly see what happened in the second half.
QPR sub Josh Scowen did a real naughty on Max Aarons and referee Scott Duncan did nothing about it. Zilch, nada, rien.
Latino temperament to the fore, Emi attempted to extract a measure of revenge. Whoops – it looked like studs up to me, although there was no actual contact. I cannot dispute the colour of the card although the assistant referee obviously gave the casting vote.
We probably shouldn’t have done but the Barclay all stood to applaud Emi on his “walk of shame”. The Snakepit did likewise. What a game he’d had.
So, Max Aarons is often like a winger during matches anyway and we’ve got Mario, Todd and Mo to come in during Emi’s likely three-match ban. Maybe that will result in some deeper crosses as a temporary replacement for byline trickery but who knows?
Drama over, Krul kept out a Darnell Furlong header and his right heel prevented a shot from Bright (the current influx of double-barrelled surnames flummoxes me) trickling in through his legs.
And then that wonderful denouement.
Christoph Zimmermann, who basically had bugger all to do all lunchtime and might as well have been in the pub enjoying a meal, launched a perfectly-directed missile and there was Pukki to seal matters for good and all with one of the best finishes I have seen in quite a while.
Cue the Barclay-Snakepit choir: “Going up up up” “We are top of the league”, “We only need ten men”, “Can we play you every week” and “We are Premier League”.
And as the understandably frustrated Rangers fans left early “Come in a taxi, you must have come in a taxi”.
I loved it. Almost every moment of it.
Three of us went to the black metal barrier at the very edge of the Upper Barclay to join the youngsters in waiting for Daniel Farke to arrive and join in the haka. We’re all big kids in our 60s and it’s not the first time we’ve done it lately!
I didn’t really need a dictionary for the intro (I don’t even possess one) but I’ll end with a different word for this NCFC squad: remorseless.
PS. Wonderful to see those CSF buckets getting well filled up. Well done everybody.
A great read on a Monday morning Martin and if Carling did football weekends …..
An emphatic victory on Saturday (the gloss sightly tarnished by Emi’s red card), but WHAT a night at the EFL Awards with Timmu and Max picking up the top awards – total cost for both around £100K I believe and as to their current value – probably somewhere North of £30M. WOW!!!
Back to Saturday’s game and yes QPR were poor, but as you say, how good is this NCFC team??? I think we’re all running out of plaudits for them and it must be amazing for Chris Goreham and the Archant reporters this season, compared to last. They must now look forward to every game, as opposed to almost dreading them last season
I’d a prediction that we’d score over 80 goals and finish in the top 10 – perhaps I should have had the ‘courage of my convictions’ and put that on at my local Betting Shop. The last time I looked at our promotion odds, it was 66/1 ON and we’re even odds on to win the title.
I’m really pleased to see that the club is providing a beamback of the Stoke game, as I’m convinced that’s when we’ll be confirmed as promoted (perhaps even Champions!!).
I’m sure I’m not alone in moaning that our final home game now kicks off at 7.30 on a Saturday evening, so the pubs will be packed when we just want to celebrate and assuming we go up, we don’t need the paltry £100K we get from Sky.
By my reckoning, a MAXIMUM of 10 points needed to go up as CHAMPIONS.
UNBELIEVABLE. 🙂
Hi Ed
Timmu, Max and Jamal deserved their recognition and I was very pleased with the generous comments from Chris Wilder and Billy Sharp too.
I know that Messrs Bailey, Freezer and Goreham are true City fans and believe Paddy Davitt is a Coventry supporter who has kind of adopted us. He writes like he has become a fan, anyway. What a fantastic job to have just now as you say!
The shifting sands of the Sky schedules gets on my threepennies too. 1930 on a Saturday really is a joke. We’d better get used to it!
I’ve said since early February that we need 90 points (for promotion) and later predicted we will get 95 and thus the title. Leeds can get “only” 94 even if they win all six of their remaining games. and Sheff Utd 95.
Thank you.
My threpennies are fine with the Blackburn switch Martin – it’s our bowls club’s green opening day, and I was struggling to work out how I could be at the club to make the draw for the members club competitions and still make the 3 o’clock kick-off. Problem solved! (I know, I’m just selfish, but hey, so what, now I’ll make the game!)
Having said that, I do prefer the proper Saturday 3 o’clock kick- off, but I guess the Sky switches are the price of success.
Hi Jim
Yes there is that to it: I guess-)
I’m sure your green is smoother than Carrow Road, but probably not by that much.
The pitch looks incredible for April!
Firstly congratulations to Teemu and Max for winning last nights EFL awards, both richly deserving them. Like DF I’m surprised the EFL team didn’t contain the other nine members of our wonderful team. I’m not going to comment on the manager award as I think we all know who should have won it.
Very good read Martin and like you in all the years I’ve been watching City I’ve never felt as emotional about a team as I do this one. I also stayed behind on Saturday to applaud the team and Daniel Farke. I hope after our last home game all the players and backroom staff are on the field to receive the gratitude of the fans who have been so richly entertained this year.
Definitely the best footballing side City has ever produced.
Hi John
I think those of our generation who have seen so many ups and downs over the (many) years very much concur that this is the best we’ve ever seen.
Oh to be a 14 or 15-y-o, for quite a few of whom this would be their first season ticket. What a feeling that must be!
I am sure DF and EVERYBODY will get a massive reception when the whistle blows for the final time at Carrow Road this season.
Thank you.
The very usual good Stuff Mr P. I agree with with you on Q Pee R . the worst team I have seen for a long while. But take nowt away from the lads, they can only beat what is in front of them. The way they went about it was pure joy to watch, Running out of words to use simply sublime at times.
King Kenny was so spot on, there were times their defence looked bewildered stood looking at shadows,
3 or 4 up can’t remember before or after Red, but we were criuising, yet the determination not to give anything away was very clear to see, perhaps summed up by a 60-70yard sprint by Teemu (god that man is fast, Teemu The Bolt) to get a tackle in and help the defence out,
MaxIum Arrons, leaving his position near to the back post, to cover behind Lewis, then split seconds later back in his area nicking the ball and finding a team mate, I cannot say I saw him move back, clearly Rangers players didn’t either.
I lost count of the times myself and the guy sitting next to me said “wow what a ball” Look at that for passing” Hell did he just do that” (Onel turning on a 5p piece) “Like watching Barcelona, – no it is like watching Norwich City” plus many others that got lost somewhere during the game.
Am sure I saw on the news of a open top bus in a small Suffolk town going round the streets, after a some limited success.
Could not get a ticket for the Reading or Sheffield games all hopes pinned on for Blackbum …
Thanks again Mr P yes in my 60’s disabled and still trying to dance uo and down at net bulge time
Hi Lad
On the money there.
It was indeed the best yet from Kenny McLean. Pukki’s burst back to cover when Aarons was caught up the pitch with Buendia in absentia earned him the biggest non-scoring cheer of the day and quite rightly so. He is quicker than generally acknowledged I would agree.
I don’t much like ascending the Barclay stairs and if the back is worse than usual I’m not ashamed to say I use the service lift.
Despite that rarest of wins, the gap is still 57 points.
I don’t care about that right now – I did enjoy joining in with the song though!
Thanks as always.
The 2nd goal may have been a speculative hit, Martin, but Marco didn’t half connect well with it! Rocket of a shot it seemed to me via the telly
Good shout Dan … wasn’t until I watched it again on TV on Saturday evening that I realised how sweetly he’d struck. A thunderbastard if ever there was one.
Hi Dan (and Gary)
Yes he did hit it well and true – speculative was the wrong word in retrospect – but I’d still be tempted to give keeper Lumley the assist.
I hadn’t seen the highlights until after I’d written this so please forgive me. One quick spin of Screeny McScreenface was the only playback I’d seen and I was too excited to take much notice of it tbh.
Stieperdude, I apologise!
agreed Dan. I was at side of south stand, perfect view if a little way away, but he hit perfectly, think it didn’t look that type of shot because it stayed very low all the way. When we score there isn’t a bad one amongst them
Not wishing to be a dullard but Emis’ tackle was unnessary and it does compromise the first 11. I personally thought before he got sent off that we probably could have subbed a couple of players as we were coasting at 3-0 but you could see that an injury or a booking was not far away….. OTBC
Hi Adam
I think Emi’s card was simply a case of “how much can a man take”.
My lot in the Barclay thought the same as you as in “three’s enough, let’s see some fresh legs doing the work”. but it didn’t happen. Hopefully it won’t turn to be to our cost. I doubt it will.
Thank you.
I wasn’t going to the game but on Monday my Dubai based brother said he’d come over if I could get a ticket about an hour before it was announced that Cue Pee Aah had returned a chunk of their allocation.
Leaving my house at 8.00am, we both knew that we should win but football pessimism told us it wasn’t a foregone conclusion. As it turned out it was a foregone conclusion and the contest was over quickly. At half time I thought there was a strong possibility we could score more than the 8 I saw City score against Sutton all those years ago.
Emi’s tackle was right in front of us. My initial reaction was red but yellow if the ref was generous. I felt gutted for him as he walked off- he absolutely deserves to be on the pitch when the glory is confirmed. I’m glad we still played some excellent stuff after Emi had gone.
The icing on the cake was the cleaning up at the EFL awards. I loved the interview with Jamal where he was asked who he thought the best ‘keeper in the Championship was-‘Tim Krul’ he replied. Best wide defenders? ‘Me and Max’ Best forward? ‘Teemu’
Hi Don
I wouldn’t have minded Emi’s red quite so much if referee Duncan had seriously punished what preceded it.
Like you I had a pretty good view of it and {in isolation} it was probably the right call, I don’t expect the EFL to be as generous to him in terms of his ban as they were – rightly so – at the Awards last night.
Anyway we start with eleven on Wednesday and Reading are not known as a dirty side.
Glad you enjoyed it – we all did.
Cheers mate.
I was feeling rough on Saturday morning, and didn’t even have the excuse of having had a heavy night. So I abandoned plans to zig-zag around a golf course and listened to Talksport commentary, which made me feel considerably better.
Even before Buendia jumped in on Scowen they were commenting about the attention he was getting, and the lack of cards.
Like the time added on issue, which I mentioned last week, my impression is that the EFL refs have been asked not to throw cards around like confetti and they have been fairly consistent in allowing a physical approach.
Up to a point I like that – some of the cards that are handed out in the PL are very soft, and often the result of exaggerated falls by players who are barely touched. But in some games, away to Blackburn being an obvious example, and Saturday’s another, leniency seems to have gone too far.
It’s frustrating that not only did Buendia take the bait but also that the QPR players who had been handing out the rough stuff were the first to complain bitterly about a challenge that didn’t actually connect with anyone.
Anyway, on a positive note, when I was last in the fine city in the autumn I had the foresight to book accommodation that allows me to get to the Good Friday game, not then having any idea where we would be in the league – but optimistic that we’d at least be chasing a play-off place.
I never thought I’d be wanting to come back the following week for a promotion party, but at 9.30 this morning I managed to secure a Blackburn ticket, so fingers crossed, that’s what it will turn out to be.
Happy days!
Hi Keith
I feel rough every morning, let alone Saturdays!
To be serious though you are quite right. The EFL obviously want the games to flow (even if only for the sake of Sky et al) but Emi got a load of stick as he always does.
He didn’t make contact on Scowen but I got the feeling he would have been quite pleased if he had. Pure guesswork on my part of course.
It’s just the inconsistency of referees that gets to me. Blackburn were thugs as Mo and Timm discovered to their cost as those challenges effectively ended their participation in this wonderful season. Yes, I know we have to face them again. But we’ll be wiser this time around.
I’m glad you got your tickets and let’s hope we all enjoy a happy Easter. I think we will.
Thank you.
Hi Martin
Another good read and summary of the lunchtime gane.
Like everyone it was very disappointing that Emi got a red card but a few times rescently he has been given a yellow that could have gotten him a red, we all love the way he plays and the skills he shows but his youthfulness sometimes is naive and once promotion is confirmed someone will have to have a word in his shell like and warn him next season it will not be tolerated by premiership Ref’s.
Leeds are trolling again after cities win some are funny saying QPR only turn up against them and no one else others saying they want Leeds to stay a championship club for the bigger gates they get, to me it is Leeds doing a Leeds as usual wether it pressure or expectation they blow it everytime there is a chance of going up.
Ref watch Dermit and Campbell have both agreed that Emi’s tackle was dangerous and Campbell says it looks like he is going for the player not the ball that is a bad accusation from a former player, It has been taken out of context Aaron was just fouled, he had been fouled just before that and not one had got punished so it was frustration and anger and a very big RED mist clouded his judgement.
Now for tge next installment on Wednesday Onwards and Upwards OTBC
Hi Alex
See my remarks to Keith (above) re Emi.
Although I don’t do social media myself I do read many clips/screenshots from it and Leeds are, well, being Leeds. If their fanbase is that nervous it can only be good for us.
After the EFL awards last night I have developed a fair bit of respect for Wilder and Sharp so you can imagine who I would like to come up with us. Clue: it isn’t Leeds.
Thanks as always.
Excellent as always Mr P.
A super Saturday performance, which then is (almost) surpassed at the EFL awards on Sunday.
Having now viewed both the Quest and iFollow highlights of the Saturday’s game, it seems astonishing that the QPR sub Leistner (how were we ever linked with him??), was not even booked for the four foul challenges which I counted. I don’t think that the EFL do retrosepctive punishments, but look at the way he totally cleans out Hernandez as Pukki scores his second goal.
As for the sending off, had it happened anywhere else on the pitch other than directly in front of the QPR fans, then I’m sure a yellow card at worst – and amazing that Freeman seemd to have at the very least a broken leg but made a miraculous recovery as the card was brandished.
So, on Wednesday we have another hurdle to overcome as we’ve never won without Buendia in the team…..we’ve only got Leitner, Vrancic or Cantwell to choose from!!!
Over to you Daniel!
Finally, I suspect that the Blackburn game has been moved to accommodate live coverage of the Zimmerdude (or whoever) receiving the Championship trophy. A 7.30 kick-off will make the Quest editors earn their monies that evening!!
O T B C
Hi John
Indeed we haven’t won without Emi in the side but that stat will be blown out of the water on Wednesday night.
As for Leistner from what I saw on Saturday we dodged the proverbial bullet if there was any mileage in those links (which were quite widespread admittedly) in the first place. Far too static to fit in with Farkeball.
I reckon the assistant referee was more influential in Buendia’s dismissal than the QPR fans, who had quite understandably given up by that point anyway.
You could well be right about the Blackburn switch – the vagaries of TV scheduling are beyond my ken.
Thanks as ever.
Have been going on about him for months now but Emiliano Buendia is World Class, and up there with the very best all round footballers I have seen pull on the Yellow & Green. We must enjoy him while we have him. I believe he is the galvanizing player in our team and others have emulated his work rate and 100% commitment. It is no coincidence we win when he plays, he is at times unplayable.
The rush of blood is him, to take that away you take 5% of the player away, Gazza was the same. and it’s that 5% that makes the difference.
I’m pleased it’s Reading next but they will be a tougher opponent than QPR for certain.
Your comment Martin, “I loved it. Almost every moment of it” brilliant summing up.
Hi Colin
Emi must be feeling gutted just now with the full, inevitable FA penalty enforced on him. I hope he doesn’t feel he’s let the rest of the squad down – to me he didn’t do anything of the sort
I remember Gazza developing at Spurs having cut his teeth at hometown club Newcastle. The similarity between he and Emi is indeed obvious although I could never picture Gazza on the wing. I doubt DF will be b*llock*ng him for his momentary lapse of reason (hi Floyd fans).
His absence against Reading might actually contrive to help us in a funny kind of way as we won’t (can’t) be as expansive as we were on Saturday.
I reckon DF has got two choices for Wednesday: either put Todd Cantwell in as a straight swap or alternatively bring Mo Leitner in to play alongside Tom Trybull and push Kenny McLean onto the flank to play in front of Max Aarons. McLean ostensibly has a good engine.
Thanks as ever.
I think you’ve nailed it re the options for Wednesday, Martin.
Have a feeling he’ll go like-for-like with Cantwell, but my preference would definitely be Mo in for McLean and then Kenny in a more advanced role.
Another good one, Martin.
I know you’re not a Twitter fan, and you don’t miss much – except the occasional genuine bit of humour. Today someone mocked up the Leeds website, displaying a message: “Sorry we’re busy at the moment. You are in a queue behind Norwich City and Sheffield United”.
I’ll put forward an unpopular view here. Buendia’s red card is unfortunate for him (and us) in the immediate future. For the longer term, though, it might be just what he needs. He has to curb his impetuous streak, especially if he’s to blossom at top level. This ban, in conjunction with Daniel Farke’s guidance, might help him face up to it.
Actually Stew I don’t reckon your view on Biendia’s card will be that unpopular at all – I certainly agree with you anyway.
He has sailed a bit too close to the wind on several occasions this season
and I’m slightly surprised he hasn’t seen red before now.
As for the Leeds humour – love it, as I did Cooky’s No Buendia No Problem item with pictures of Todd, Mo and Mario beneath the text!
Buendia and Mario of course!
Just maybe , Mr Freezer is on board cos we did so well by Madison. Still got back from golf on Saturday at 2-0 up , only missed ten mins or so , and how we didn’t score 6 in that first half is beyond me .
On Emi , yes it was a red , it could be a blessing , DF will now be able to have the chat that goes , hurt them by playing well , not by booting them .
Tha nks martin .
Hi Bernie
You make a very valid point about Emi’s red (see my reply to Stewart, above).
Nice wry observation about DF’s “chat” too:-)
Cheers