‘It’s more difficult to stay on top, than to get there in the first place’ were the wise words of former USA Women’s player Mia Hamm, and her insight is proving more than pertinent upon inspection of Norwich City this season.
Hamm scored a staggering 158 goals for her country between 1987 and 2004, lighting up the Olympic Games of Atlanta, Sydney and Athens to prolifically and indelibly write her name into women’s football folklore.
And what City would do for her clinical exploits right now. Hamm’s insight into the ascent to greatness but the difficulties in sustaining that couldn’t resonate more with Daniel Farke and his players right now, a team with long-established defensive frailties but now one with a conspicuous lack of ideas or innovation going forward.
And that is why I’m starting to worry. Last season during that memorable promotion campaign, our inability to keep teams out – we conceded 57 goals, the eighth-most in the division – was more than made up for by our brilliance in possession, carving defences open with that distinctive passing rhythm that we all knew so fondly as ‘FarkeBall’.
And, while our defensive shortcomings this season have represented a regrettable continuation from last term, it’s going forward where there has – surprisingly, in my opinion – been change.
In short, I worry we’ve been found out. Of course, the chemistry and fluidity with which Marco Stiepermann, Onel Hernandez, Emi Buendia and Teemu Pukki interacted last season was more than enough to topple most Championship sides, but in this ruthlessly unforgiving Premier League it appears we are – put bluntly – simply too predictable and easy to play against.
Pass, pass, pass, lose the ball and a defensively incompetent backline exposed appears to be the order of the day at the moment, a trend seen now at Turf Moor, Selhust Park, at home to Aston Villa and most recently at the Amex on the south coast.
It’s becoming tiresome. Something needs to change.
And what the solution is I – and probably the vast majority of City’s loyal fanbase – do not know. I, like many, genuinely believed Farke’s idiosyncratic philosophy would continue to take many top-flight sides by surprise this season, simply being too quick, too slick for many defences to handle.
How wrong I was.
Most of all, we’re far too narrow. I wasn’t at Brighton, but by all accounts, there appears to be a collective reluctance among the full-backs to get forward, while that front four are just too reliant on Hernandez in providing any width. Given the hectic previous week he’d had and his admirable rush down to the seaside, that was always likely to be an ineffective policy.
Most worryingly, however, Pukki is being starved of possession and chances. It remains my long-held belief that he really is one of the most clinical forwards in the land and that if he gets chances he will invariably take them. However, at the moment, there really is an acute paucity of service.
This isn’t, of course, to brush over the defensive problems – obviously exacerbated by the presence of only one fit centre-back – but merely a realisation that the magical football that got us out of jail on many occasions last year has vanished.
It’s sad to see.
But, you know what, I still have faith. If there’s one thing we’ve learned since his appointment – referenced succinctly in Stewart Lewis’ cogent column – it’s that Farke and his team do have the ability to adapt, finding nuanced and unexpected solutions to problems that appear to us all as too well-ingrained to eradicate.
The start of last season was hardly a resounding success. Instead, the softly-spoken German took stock, acknowledged what was wrong, accepted he needed to be flexible and then made the according changes that prompted that remarkable rise.
With Stuart Webber by his side, I have every faith he can do it again.
And, while to many that faith may look blind and naive, I don’t think it is. Farke is a footballing guru, clearly a deep thinker about a game he mastered so memorably in the second tier. He is only a mere 11 games into his Premier League odyssey, and – just like the Championship – it was always going to take him time to find his feet.
So, with Friday night looming in what has already been sold in some circles as a season-defining clash, I believe we can refind our mojo and sparkle under the Carrow Road lights. While there have been early-season issues going forward, it is far too early to write this set of players off.
To apply the words of Hamm, Farke was the one who got us here. In my mind, he still has what it takes to keep us on top.
OTBC
Good article Will.
I could not agree more. Farke is a good fit with Norwich. He needs a fit squad. The players are still together by the looks of it. Given the financial results then you can see why we can’t afford to spend a shed load of money.
Why waste money on sacking Farke and his team of coaches, etc. When they are still good at their job.
3
Hi Colin
I agree the accounts tell their own tale, although I still reckon there was the potential to have spent around £20 million in the summer.
But we chose not to and we must live with the consequences of that decision. However that doesn’t mean we should go ape in January imo. It was interesting for me and a couple of others of us to be accused earlier in the week of “being scared of wasting money on another Naismith”.
That type of signing will never occur under Webber, so perhaps I should relax a little bit and wait and see what – if anything – transpires during the January window.
I totally agree with you that we should stick with Farke & Co and the odd one or two who are calling for his head certainly live in a different footy world to myself. They don’t appear on MFW but are certainly around in other quarters. Hey ho.
3
Well said Will,
I agree 100% that Farke was the one to get us here and hopefully be the one to keep us up. Management and the Head Coach said it would be a difficult season and we may go right back down but what they have achieved so far as been wonderful to watch as a supporter over the last year. Keep faith keep your pride in this young team and keep singing.
OTBC
2
What really annoys me is the transfer system.
Is there any other walk of life in which you are prevented from recruiting people as and when you need them, assuming of course that they are suitably skilled or qualified?
And in most walks of life it’s not as though you permanently face the threat of your staff being physically incapacitated by members of a rival company at any time.
I have never liked the transfer window, but if you must have one then closing it before the players have barely kicked a ball in anger is ludicrous. It’s not great for the biggest clubs, especially having putting themselves in a position where they can’t buy but their direct competitors in Europe can’t. But if it’s not great for them for those of us with more limited resources it’s a disaster.
I know one or two people suggest we should have picked up a freebie, but the only plausible name I’ve seen mentioned is Ashley Williams. Yet the fact that PL clubs weren’t exactly queuing up for him surely tells us all we need to know.
Likewise, promising as he is, it’s also a reality check that despite our limited resources Famewo wasn’t given a chance in the series of games after the Man City win. And that Belgian U-21 international is out in League One and not even an automatic pick there.
And no, I don’t see Webber paying over the top for another RvW or Naismith, but something’s clearly gone wrong with the Patrick Roberts loan – Hernandez was out for several weeks and the lad still couldn’t break into the team – and I don’t suppose he’s come cheap.
But as I’ve said before, better to struggle in the first 10 games than the last 10 – at least from where we are now we can only head upwards.
0
Belief in the Farke / Webber partnership can’t hide the deficiencies in the team though can It? We shipped over 50 goals against championship opposition last season and yet did nothing to strengthen our defensive line not even a change of formation or tactics. That is naivety! Also teams know how we play and so if they stop the service to Pukki they stop us scoring. We don’t seem to have the creativity in midfield to control the game this season. Leitner has demonstrated why his career had stalled and a number (too many) have shown they will struggle at this level.
Sack the manager? NO give him the tools to do the job! The injuries have been bad but are they the real problem? I don’t think so.
0