As a Norwich fan, you become hardened to disappointment but I think this season has to be up there as one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had over the years.
Coming up we were magic. Unstoppable and unplayable. We had a manager who had embedded a style that was aesthetically sumptuous, and a Sporting Director who had acquired a squad of lovely lads and technically proficient footballers who we all adored.
12 months later and it’s a very different landscape.
I don’t think any of us expected so little last summer in terms of squad investment, but we trusted in Webber’s assessment that the newly-minted champions had the momentum and the mojo to cause a few upsets against the big boys. We felt Farkeball’s fluidity would be irresistible, even against the best teams in the world. So we gave our lads a crack at it.
While we’ve had no luck with injuries or VAR, that was naive. Of both Webber, and ourselves. But it seemed like the right call at the time.
Farkeball worked initially and Newcastle and Man City felt the full force of that initial momentum even as our horrendous run of injuries kicked in.
But it got found out. Teams worked out quickly that if you press high and stop us playing out from the back they can’t then play longer balls as they have no physicality in the attacking half.
Increasingly as the season wore on, we made more errors while passing out from the back, and our forward players saw less and less of the ball. A recipe for disaster.
I’m speaking now as if the season is over, and how we wish it was. A promotion winning season is great at expunging memories of relegations past and the pain of watching your team play pointless fixtures long after the fat lady has made her intentions clear. Every game is an arduous, predictable torture right now and a reminder of what might have been.
So where do we go next season?
I have faith in Farke. As much as I have disagreed with some of his selections this season, he has not had an over abundance of tools at his disposal. Some of that is because we chose not to recruit, and some of that is because we were very unlucky with injuries. If he did have a Plan B that involved, say, three centre backs, then at no point this season could he have utilised it through no fault of his own.
While his substitutions still come too late for most of us, and his faith in some players seems unjustified, from a player’s perspective, he seems to be a coach that really backs you and gives you the opportunity to come good (although Mo Leitner and Mario Vrancic may take issue with that assessment).
It’s part of the reason that I don’t think we’ll have trouble recruiting before next season though. He’s a coach that players want to play for.
Farkeball as we know it needs major tweaking though. While Championship teams won’t have the ability to neutralise our ability to play from the back, coaches will watch our tape from this season and know how to at least limit us.
Our shape will be determined partly by who we have in the squad. While Sam McCallum may be a like-for-like replacement for Jamal Lewis, Sam Byram and Max Aarons are very different full backs, and Byram is unlikely to provide the width to allow Buendia to tuck in the way he likes to.
Buendia is one who may well not be here, so it remains to be seen whether Danel Sinani cutting in from the right onto his dangerous left peg is the answer, or whether we need a straight forward right-winger.
Lots of questions that we can’t answer at this stage, because we just don’t know who will or won’t be here.
One thing I will say, having experienced multiple relegations, is that going into a new season saying “oh, he should be okay for this league” about a player who has had a shocker the year before doesn’t work. Never has, never will.
And as optimistic and loyal as we were coming into this season that our lads were good enough to carry on their momentum, we cannot be so naive to think that the same group who are losing week in, week out and getting their arses kicked, will simply wander out of their malaise and collectively be able to mentally recharge and win the Championship.
Some of the departures at Colney this summer will be enforced financially and that’s expected. What Stuart Webber also needs to do is be absolutely ruthless and rip apart a squad that every one of us fans has an incredible amount of affection for.
Plodding on with players for sentiments sake or based on glories of two years past won’t work. As we’ve seen with this relegation campaign, not everybody is capable of the fight when the chips are down or there is expectation on us.
That doesn’t mean we lose respect or admiration for their past achievements, but we have to be practical and build a new Norwich City. We have to become fearless again, and we won’t do that with a set of players that right now looks terrified every time they concede a goal.
Webber has to get the balance right this summer, and the psychology has to be reset as soon as possible. If he gives Farke fresh bodies and fresh minds I’m confident he can provide some fresh ideas.
Boy do we need them.
An excellent read Andy and an accurate summary of our dreadful season. I’m certain that a great many of us fans just wish for the season to end and those players who want to depart do so and we pocket some serious funds.
We also need SW/DF to get their recruitment mojo back that brought Pukki and Buendia to CR
and who knows, they may even be given a slice of the inbound funds from the sale of several of our top and highly sought after assets (if you believe the ‘red tops!!’ that is).
I had high hopes that the squad that got us promoted were good enough to keep us up and the early signs were very encouraging with an amazing victory over Citeh and Newcastle. Sadly, there were to be very few other victories to follow.
Many a goal was conceded by an error when ‘passing out from the back and unfortunately our game was built on that, so it was inevitable that we would start shipping lots of goals.
Our cause was not helped by some opposing GKs having an outstanding game – Patricio from Wolves and Heaton when we played Villa at Villa Park. As you rightly point out, VAR did us no favours and it MAY have improved by the next time we ‘dine at the top table’.
Our inability to fight back after conceding the first goal is something that never happened last season and needs to be addressed.
Once Pukki picked up his toe injury at Leicester, he was never the same player. I just wish he’d learn to occasionally get some height on the ball when he goes for goal, as several of his goal-bound shots have been stopped by the GK sticking out a boot.
Who stays and who leaves is anyone’s guess and I’ll be glad when the transfer window closes and we can get on with the serious business of trying to win games.
I generally think it’s wise to have a clear out after relegation. There’s no point in making players stay if they’re disillusioned, lacking in confidence or unable to perform at the required level. Of the promotion squad, I think Krul, Handley and Zimmermann have enough ability and strength of character to be kept on (although I would be surprised if there are no top flight clubs across Europe thinking that Krul wouldn’t be a good signing). Of the rest, I think we have either had the best out of them that they have to offer, DF won’t play them or bids will come in that will be hard to refuse.
We have some more good youngsters coming through. Idah looks to be of the age, ability and physical stature to be very high in the pecking order for a top end (hopefully!) Championship club, Martin looks like a possible developing into a probable and there have been good reports of some of the players out on loan. A few more signings to go with the ones we’ve already made and we can use the short closed season to purge this horror show and look forward to the next season with some optimism (maybe).
Hi Andy
According to Webber he recruitment team scrutinise every player prior to him and Farke making the final decision on them so why after all this work do the sign an okd fashioned English CB in Sean Raggett, every loam move he has been praised by the club for his decision making, commitment amd leadership skills yet never a peeka boo of him in a city shirt.
The club has to make up it’s mind whether to take up an option on an extra year or release him for me take the option and give him game time till January to prove himself if not let him leave early to find a new club.
This summer we had the chance to purchase players this money was squandered on loans
1 Fahrmann was £3m plus his full wages he left after 5 months
2 Amadou was £9m plus his full wages he left after 5 months
3 Roberts no amount was mentioned but yet never played and left after 5 months
So none of these were a success so come January we went for another big loan in Duda no loan amount has been mention except we are paying his full wages again.
With Amadou the full loan fee was going to be taken off any deal done for a permanent move, but as with Fahrmann no refund was given for the loans being cut short and both players have gone out on other loans earning their clubs more money.
We have as supporters all moaned about expensive purchases in Naismith, Wildschut and Van Winkle costing city in access of £20m but no one screams about the loan fees we paid for the fees we have paid out we could have got Rhodes on a permanent who wanted to play for city.
A very good assessment Andy.
What a shame that so few of last season’s successes have managed to step up.
Personally I really thought that Mo Leitner would have been a big player in the PL; how wrong can you be??
The biggest disappointment to me is that despite being so poor collectively in 2020, it seems that at least half a dozen of our regular starters will be snapped up to warm the subs benches in the PL next season……whenever that may be!
Good one Andy – I enjoyed reading that.
As I said on my own bit earlier today I can’t wait for the End of Term report – it won’t be that easy for you this time around but I bet I’ll enjoy reading it as much as you will writing it 🙂
Good thoughts well expressed, Andy.
My parallel musings – some similar, some different – are in the pipeline.
Good read – Raggett was mentioned. I can’t believe he hasn’t had a chance here. Watched him play for Lincoln in their big cup run against Premier teams – he was outstanding and on the score sheet. Better than a couple we have here now at centre half. Apart from Vranic please get rid of the other midfielders: Trybull and McLean and Duda.
Hi Andy another good read along with Martins fine offering. Norwich have since the return of football behind closed doors become the footballing equivalent of the limp handshake. The performance against Brighton was as far removed from the glorious days of “Farke ball” as it is possible to get. It was gutless, toothless and lacking in anything resembling enthusiasm or passion. We have weak players and look a weak team.
I have always been supportive of living within your means but the club needs to give Stuart Webber and Daniel Farke the wherewithal to improve the quality of the squad. We need to upgrade in many positions in terms of strength on the ball, decision making and leadership on the pitch to allow our more creative players to blossom. As others have said this seasons incoming players have not cut the mustard. The loan players have been really poor,
Drimic, leitner, Trybull, McLean need to be shipped out as they are a busted flush.
Cantwell, Aaron’s, Godfrey, Krull, Tettey, Hernandez and Byram have done well and have always seemed to give their best. Buendia, Pukki, And Lewis have all struggled at times with Jamal looking terrified of passing forwards.
I feel sorry for Vrancic and Stiepermann as they haven’t really been given a proper go at this level.
It is and I have supported the principle of living within your means the right thing to do.
But this club must now seek significant investment for the future starting with the next transfer cycle. We have a fit for purpose recruitment framework that is trying to source good players but my god they must be frustrated. There are only so many bargains in the basement.
Amadou £9 million? Where did you get that figure from?