Remember when they told us one of the drivers behind Project Restart was to boost our morale?
Well, how’s your morale this morning?
Since that first ball was kicked against Southampton, it’s not just been the stadiums that have been soulless. City’s lack of quality has been laid bare for the watching nation to see but more concerning has been the dearth of heart and energy.
We don’t look like a team that’s straining every sinew to extricate itself from relegation. No fire and brimstone.
Instead, to us on the outside at least, there appears to be an acceptance of their fate. An exercise in going through the motions until the inevitable happens. An inexorable slide back to the Championship with the bare minimum of resistance.
And it’s really hard to watch.
Team Farke will most likely have data that shows the players have run as many kilometres as their opponents and some graphs to show that their physical shape is also comparable but in reality, we don’t really compete. Not in the way we so want them too.
Okay, so against Man Utd in the FA Cup we played quite well and did that glorious failure thing in which we specialise, but there’s been nothing remotely glorious about any of the three league games.
In each game, we’ve come up short, and not just a bit short. Zero points from a possible nine. Eight goals conceded. None scored.
Incredibly, we’ve barely lost any ground on those above us, with the bottom six yielding just two wins from the 24 games they’ve played or, to spin it another way, accumulating a collective total of 11 points.
But let’s not get bogged down in this, ‘if only we can muster a win we’re still in this’ nonsense. There’s no evidence whatsoever of us mustering a draw let alone a win. And while we’re at at, let’s also draw a line under ‘the best team ever to be relegated from the Premier League’.
Little has happened since the turn of the year to suggest this is even remotely close to being true.
Looking specifically at last night if I must, it’s hard to be angry with Tim Krul for his schoolboy error – even though we have every right to be. He’s been outstanding this season, thankfully, and already has both hands on the Barry Butler trophy.
What Krul really needed was his teammates to rally round and help him out, as he has done them on numerous occasions this season. But no… nothing. Just some more sloppy tracking back that enabled Granit Xhaka – hardly known for his goalscoring prowess – to open his account for the season.
We were to offer more generosity of that ilk later on when we afforded Cedric Soures – a full-back not renowned for his goalscoring – a chance to score within minutes of making his Gunners’ debut, but not before Josip Drmic had put the horror in horror show with a pass so careless and carefree it wouldn’t have looked out of place in an under-10s Saturday morning kickabout.
No wonder Aubameyang was smiling. Two gifts, neatly wrapped in yellow and green paper.
It should be said the second-half, despite producing the same number of Arsenal goals, was significantly better than the first and a change in shape to a back-three did have a positive impact on the performance if not the scoreline but, let’s be honest, by then it was game over.
Adam Idah was the obvious plus to emerge from the wreckage and given Teemu Pukki’s very clear struggle – for whatever reason that may be – there can surely be nothing to lose from giving the Irish youngster a start.
Mr Drmic has had a few chances to impress but since the restart has looked so far off the pace we may as well be playing with ten. Idah’s earned his chance.
But it’s unfair to pick on Drmic alone. So many have looked out-of-their depth, including, oddly, Kenny McLean, who prior to lockdown had been one of our better players.
He, along with others, has struggled physically to cope with the intensity and it’s long been established that a midfield shield which comprises him and Tom Trybull is unfit for purpose.
And with that in mind, a few random notes I scribbled down during the first half in the order I wrote them…
- Not strong enough
- Lacking in physicality
- Timid
- Tepid
- Losing too many (all) 50/50s
- Overwhelmed in midfield
- Possession conceded cheaply
- No belief
- No tempo
- Wasteful
- Lightweight
The very obvious theme is around oomph and our lack of it. All season, even on the good days, it’s been a huge struggle to compete physically with just about every other team, so it should have been no surprise that with Alex Tettey being asked to play as an emergency centre-back, we were extra-lightweight in the centre of the pitch.
But it’s not just in the engine room. All over the pitch we get bullied. We lose out in tackles. We get caught dithering. It happens far too often and if there’s one thing that needs addressing in this window, when it really kicks in, it’s that. We need technicians of course – Farkeball demands it – but we also need to be able to match those who try and out-muscle us.
Naturally, the blame game has begun and, disappointingly for me, Farke and Webber are in the sights of some. Both, of course, have made mistakes and by their own admissions are looking at 5 or 6 out of ten seasons, but they were handed a near impossible task.
To keep this squad in the Premier League armed with the most minuscule budget imaginable (by PL standards) needed the stars to align, but they’ve done the opposite. Almost everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong, starting off with an injury crisis that’s robbed Farke of, at any time, having a full squad to pick from.
The gods haven’t been kind but we’ve also been the masters of our own downfall. To have lost 22 games in a season while not once gaining a single point from a losing position, comes down to more than just technical inferiority.
This is just grim.
A tough few weeks for us, the fans, will be followed by some even tougher ones for Stuart Webber as he tries to put together a squad that will be Championship-competitive. One that will no doubt be stripped of some of its best players.
Good luck, pal.
Sadly, a correct assessment of where we are, Gary. There have occasionally been depressing periods towards the end of the season in the past where you felt you’re slowly being drawn into the quicksand, but that’s normally around the time a manager’s death knell is sounding. This doesn’t feel like that. And that’s because Farke has delivered to expectations. A paltry uncompetitive investment has delivered a paltry uncompetitive return. Expecting anything else was just wishful thinking. Ultimately the survival of the club is more important than one glorious season (ask Portsmouth or Wigan, bless ’em) so perhaps we should be grateful for that.
Gary, that makes grim reading but you’re spot on.
Why are the likes of Rupp and Drmic given game time over the likes of Vrancic, Hernandez, Idah and Josh Martin – not sure what Farke sees in training but whatever it is I and many others see no positive evidence of it on the pitch.
You have to question our fitness levels too – not a shadow on last season
Just want this season to end now.
Farke is lucky there are no fans allowed inside Carrow Rd at the moment as I fear he would be getting a rough ride and rightly so – little miracle my @rse
Not been here for a while. Life intervened…
Of course Farke is in the firing line. How can he not be? His public pronouncements after yet another thrashing are predictable, unchanging and, to me, insulting. Does he believe what he says? Hopefully not, because it is rarely an accurate reflection of the match. Time for honesty. Not being good enough is only tolerable if the players try hard enough. They haven’t been anywhere near on it. That is what is galling. The Team, with a few exceptions, have clearly already given up. When we fall behind the fans know it is over, because the players tell us so. Their standard collapses even further. The next three matches will tell us everything we need to know about this team, even if it is only likely to confirm what we already know. I desperately hope not, but nothing even hints otherwise. The fans deserve a huge reaction from the team after this latest embarrassment. Come on, go down with honour, carried out on your shield. At least that. It is indeed grim.
Back in the day if you didn’t die with your sword in your hand you were prevented from entering Valhalla and forced to hang around for evermore as some kind of wraith.
Vikings would often press discarded swords or axes into the hands of the dead and the dying, hoping for the best for their mates in the afterlife.
Our afterlife is the Championship and the last thing we will need is a squad of wraiths.
They are certainly dieing with something in their hands Martin. Unfortunately, it isn’t their swords.
Wallets perhaps mate?
That’s a cleaner reference than what I guess you meant.
My take tomorrow is remarkably similar to Gary’s today :-;
‘Twas meant to be a )-; at the end – one of the dogs jumped on me as I sent it. Which can happen!
No arguments with that assessment Gary. After the blessed relief of a defeat not entirely off the Richter scale of embarrassment, normal service has been resumed.
Farkes insistence on playing inferior midfielders, while leaving the likes of Vrancic on the bench, is baffling. Try something new, McLean and trybull aren’t working. Buendias mind is obviously elsewhere, as are those of a few of his team mates.
No matter how much Farke wants to point to stats alluding to kilometres covered, it’s a fatal you that city are putting in sufficient effort. Effort encompasses a many facets, chief among them the ability to concentrate fully on the job in hand. I’ve seen more care and attention from a seven year old with attention deficit disorder. The same bone headed errors again and again. Pathetic.
The tendency to overplay in dangerous areas, supposedly the trait that makes us so good to watch, is one of our biggest, although not the only chink in our armour. When a team is propping up the league, it might be considered beneficial to get the ball up the pitch and turn the opposition round occasionally. To that end, why not start idah and Hernandez against Brighton and hit them on the counter with pace? We might even score a goal.
The effect on so many Quickfire defeats, with virtually no time to recover from the dissapointment on the morale of supporters is clear and could well prove damaging in the longer term if and when the gates are opened for crowds to return.
This has been a total disaster of a season. One where very little attempt has been made to cover up the intentions of the ownership to maximise the revenue while minimising any expense, take relegation with a pinch of salt, spin a load of BS platitudes to,the hordes regarding the umpteenth relegation and plan for cheaper championship football with the coffers laden with premier league money.
Had Farke kept the club up this season he would have achieved a feat arguably better than his promotion season, which came with both hands tied behind his back. For that he should always be lauded. The way his most golden of gift horses has been examined dentally is a disgrace and an insult and completely indefensible, although doubtless some will try.
Yet again and probably in the most damaging manner yet, the club and its support have been totally humiliated and in front of a global audience of billions to boot.
I listened to the phone in after yesterday’s game and heard the excellent Richard Balls talking a whole lot of good common sense while hitting the nail squarely on the head. He summed up the opinions of every city fan I speak to. We are all heartIly sick of this relegate rinse repeat crap. One day we simply will not return and then we will be in serious trouble.
Robert Chase was vilified for selling players. He wasn’t even half as prolific as the current incumbents and enjoyed vastly more on field success.
When this most awful of seasons draws to a close, or more accurately put out of its misery, some very hard questions are going to be asked.
Thank you Gary for this rude awakening, a complete $h1t show if ever there was. Good god almighty Tim Krul what were you thinking ? We were doing ok up till then and Josip Drimic brought Shakespeare to mind:
‘The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare’s early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity’,
And I hate to say this but could we give Teemu a rest and let Adam Idah step up to the plate, what’s to lose.
Positives: I thought Tettey did well in his makeshift position and Cantwell deserves a much better team.
There’s no getting away from it though, this was an embarrassment. I watched the second half of West Ham and Chelsea, thinking that West Ham must surely be on the brink but there is a vast gap between them and us, they showed that not only do they have grit and determination but they possess the necessary skill to haul themselves back, unlike us Villa and Bournemouth and yes I fully appreciate the difference in budget.
Rant over, I look forward to next season and the possibility of not drowning in our own inadequacy.
Hi Gary
Luckily I don’t have BT so didn’t get to watch this game.
Reading Connors in game was depressing and the sky pundit Samba made it worse he praised city a few times for some effort and the changes Farke made but was it too little to late only time will tell.
On the in game report and FB today there are cries for both Webber and Farke to go but the biggest shout is for the Smith’s to sell up as they are turning city into a laughing stock.
We keep hearing no one is interested but Wigan is in administration and are reporting 12 groups are wanting them, WHU not for sale but 4 groups are supposed to have made enquiries and Newcastle if not sold to Saudi have another American group waiting with £300m to buy them.
So the no interest is or could be the owners wish not to let their last vestage of Celeb Status go.
Holding on to something you can’t afford just for the sake of it will ruin any and all the good things and times they have achieved.
Last nights football wasn’t the nail in the coffin just the lid places on for a fit, none of the teams around city have kicked on but that could change and we really are wasting a good opportunity to stay up.
Onwards and upwards
OTBC
Keep safe and well
I am not someone who gets angry about football often, but last night was really terrible.
Now that relegation is pretty much confirmed, I hope for the rest of the season DF uses only players who look as though they want to play or look capable of doing their job. For me, this means EMI, Teemu, Drmic and TT don’t get picked-Onel, Idah and Vrancic would be the first names on my team sheet for Saturday.
Our midfield is non existent when we don’t have the ball until it gets as far as Tettey. No team would aim to absorb the pressure Norwich invite upon themselves. It’s no wonder we give so many goals away with mistakes, it’s what happens when you’re under constant pressure.
I can’t wait for this season to finish.
Thank you Gary for reporting what I expected.
Not being a BT Sport subscriber I’ve not yet seen any of the game.
I spent my time from 6 yesterday evening watching a DVD entitled “Expect the Unexpected” – aka the highlights from last season.
OK, we are playing teams of a much, much higher calibre….but those in Yellow and Green showed a real desire and passion for what they were doing and asked to do. That has certainly NOT been the case since the beginning of project re-start. So many seem to be pale imitations of themselves, almost as if they’re playing not to get hurt/injured. Are there really that many deals already sorted for 2020/21?
As Martin alluded to earlier this week, our talisman from last season appears shot to pieces. OK, he like all the others, is missing out on the Euros, but given his current body language he would be Finland’s major liability.
Yes, other teams at the bottom are also struggling, but at times during their games they do attack, and sometimes trouble the opposing goal keeper. Have we honestly done that since the re-start??
We all know it was a pathetic (by PL standards) budget with which Webber and Farke had to work, but in all honesty is Drmic better than Idah; Rupp better than Vrancic; Duda that Steipermann??
Not much more to say really; just a sad, hollow feeling of total disappointment…and the dream of what might have been.
O T B C
That’s spot on Gary, particularly your list of random notes, the lack of fight,passion and a attitude of over my dead body is what’s really hard to take. I don’t buy the injury excuse because the only injured player we really are missing is Byram who is the only transfer success that Webber has had recently, the others Klose,Hanley and Zimmerman are good championship players but not good enough for this league .
Farke and Webber have done a poor job in the last 12 month’s, Webber’s recruitment has been a real let down after his previous successes, we’ve brought in players who have contributed nothing to the squad. Farke for his part has obviously been dealt a poor hand but and it’s a valid but has not reacted at all to change games and seems to play the same way in every game,we are so easy to work out and play against, and worst of all he now seems incapable of motivating his team to at least TRY and compete in games.
It can be done on a budget just look at Chris Wilder and Sheff Utd
In fairness Martin, Sheffield uniteds transfer budget dwarfed that of Norwich City. Not difficult to do I know!
Hi Martin
Once the season is over some real changes need to be made.
Can you put the blame on Webber and his recruitment or Farkes ability to get the best out of this team, last season they played out of their skins and deserved a go at keeping city in this league but in both transfer windows why was the funds given to strengthen the squad and that is down to 2 people only, could Webber have got better players with a bigger budget or did he waste in on high profile loan recruits that didn’t work out.
I was going to comment but so many, especially you Gary and Chris have already covered what I was going to say.
If there is no change of owner soon we are going to end up in a lower league local derby. Truly depressing all round.
To think that we thought Chase was bad!
Whilst it’s true that we didn’t spend a lot, what we did spend was spent very, very badly and when we expected our players to step up a level, they couldn’t – unlike Sheffield Utd’s players, who showed their commitment to the way they play from day one.
We were lucky last season – played some great stuff, but got lucky a lot of times. We also got lucky at the start of this season in the Newcastle and Man City games (they both missed absolute sitters at 0-0) and we all hoped it could continue. It didn’t though. Not only did our good luck run out, we got bad luck with injuries. We’ve been shown to be a Championship team playing in the wrong league.; too east to beat with nothing to offer to scare or surprise anyone.
Yesterday’s defeat to Arsenal followed the same pattern as so many games this season. The management teams’ apparent inability to see what is blindingly obvious to almost every supporter will be their downfall, unless they change. It is always losing the supporters which starts the rot – get rid of zonal marking, play people in their best positions, respond quicker tactically and with substitutions, get every player busting a gut. That would keep them in a job, relegation or not. If they don’t do that I fear the “noise” will get very loud, very quickly.
My morale is good, certainly one of the best of any year in the PL. More relaxed now than with any other impending relegation.
Your Little list gary sums up my View on Emi trybyll and mclean perfectly this season no guts or fight in any of then same ol norwich in relegation trouble no fight passion under any manager over the years