2020 has been universally cr.@p. Day after day of doom and gloom. So my god we were due a good one.
Yesterday was a great one.
Of course, there was the small matter of the free world being spared another four years of lies, corruption and tyranny from a fake-tanned narcissist who lacks class, charm, credibility, compassion, wit, warmth, wisdom, sensitivity, self-awareness, humility, honour and grace, yet that was one but one facet of the greatest Saturday of 2020.
Other smaller, some would say insignificant, events occurred (and be warned, this comes from a very childish place):
Our nearest and dearest were kicked out of the FA Cup by a goal scored by an ex-City player.
Leeds, whose supporters have revelled in our demise over the last 12 months, were given a Premier League lesson at Selhurst Park.
Sheffield United, our nemeses of the last three seasons, were given the same treatment at Stamford Bridge and remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League.
King’s Lynn, the greatest threat to City’s dominance of East Anglian football, produced arguably their finest ever result to beat Port Vale and progress through to the second round of the FA Cup.
Oh, and Norwich City beat Swansea to make it seven games unbeaten and, in doing so, went joint-second in the Championship.
Not only did all of these events occur on the same day, they were all concluded within the same hour.
Some hour eh?
I could waffle on and bore you rigid on each, but I’ll concentrate on events in NR1.
It was a win that owed much to the continued excellence of Tim Krul after the Dutchman waged a one-man war on Swansea’s Jamal Lowe; three times denying the Swansea striker as the Canary Nation held its breath.
It’s all too easy to take for granted the fact we have a goalkeeper who makes saves for fun – that’s his job after all – and especially so when he does so without the flamboyance of others, but right now Krul is winning us points at a Teemu Pukki 2018-19 rate..
Back in the day, Kevin Keelan was my first Norwich City hero. Not a big man – certainly not by 21st century goalkeeping standards – but he made up for it by being agile and athletic, and if he made a save you knew about it. Dives were of the Tom Daley variety with added twists and flips.
He was brilliant but also a showman; the antithesis of Tim Krul.
But they have one thing in common: feistiness.
Whether it be an errant team-mate, a dithering referee or an opponent whose only crime is to be an opponent, the message will always be loud, clear and unequivocal.
Krul’s effect on this team goes way beyond his goalkeeping – Bryan Gunn had similar impact too – and right now City’s number one is close to being the pick of the 92.
But enough of the Krul love-in. Another hero emerged yesterday. A new one.
Eyebrows aplenty were raised on 68 minutes when Daniel Farke made a double change that ignored the tried and trusted names of Mario Vrancic and Jordan Hugill, and instead thrust centre stage the 19-year-old pairing of Bali Mumba and Josh Martin.
Farke called it nothing more than a “hunch” but it was one that worked perfectly; even better than how it played out in the model on Eddie Riemer’s iPad.
Steve Cooper had identified Jacob Sorensen as exploitable given the Dane’s obvious tendency to both sit tight rather than push on and not use his left foot; the Swans’ second-half dominance being largely borne of André Ayew moving over to their right and winning that mini-battle.
The dynamic of this contest was changed the second Mumba was introduced. No longer was Ayew able to be the dominant force, with the ex-Sunderland youngster giving the Ghanaian the choice of either tracking him or passing him onto a defender.
Ayew, for all his obvious qualities, is never big on backtracking and Mumba made him and Swansea pay. Big time. South American football writer and City fan Adam Brandon captured it perfectly…
For those remaining 22 minutes, mainly as a result of the impetus provided by Mumba but also with Martin dovetailing nicely with Max Aarons down the right, Norwich somehow wrestled back the initiative.
From it being Krul versus Lowe, the Canaries all of a sudden looked the most likely winners, all without ever really seeing the whites of Freddie Woodman’s eyes.
But it didn’t matter. Instead Marco Stiepermann, teed up by Emi Buendia after more good work from Mumba, finally rediscovered what his left foot was for and fizzed one into the corner.
Another late show, and within a minute of Sonny Carey hitting King’s Lynn’s winner in Stoke.
Beautiful.
It was an afternoon where all of Farke’s big calls paid off. Neither Stiepermann or Buendia could have complained if they’d been hooked in that 68th minute reshuffle – both had afternoons to forget aside from the one key moment that won the game.
While unashamedly being one of Stiepi’s biggest fans, I couldn’t help but agree with those on Twitter who were questioning why, after an afternoon of mis-controls, misplaced passes and Bambi-legs he was still on the pitch while Vrancic observed from afar.
But it was also a Carlsberg afternoon for Farke. Every big decision paid dividends. And some.
The decision to recall Christoph Zimmermann was one forced upon him by the injury to Ben Gibson but there was minimal impact on the quality of City’s defending with Swansea’s chances being created rather than being the result of defensive frailties.
For someone who’s been out for well over a month, Zimmermann was, in the circumstances, outstanding both with and without the ball (not something I excepted to be writing), helped in no small way by being partnered with an imperious Grant Hanley.
But credit to Swansea for coming to have a go. It made for a compelling game, the best one seen at Carrow Road this season by some distance, and the Swans will be there in the shake up at the end of the season for sure.
They’ll feel more than a little aggrieved they headed home with nothing, but the flip side of that is that our City found a way on an afternoon when they were tested to the limit.
And how nice is it that, for once, we’re spared the hand-wring and head-scratching that often accompanies the start of an international break.
For once we have time to dwell on and enjoy a good win. Let’s do that, as we celebrate the demise of the Tango Man.
Leave the Politics out, Gary.
Why?
There are plenty of places for political views to be aired and subsequent debate.
There are very few places to read about Norwich City.
It was one mention of one individual. You’re making it sound like a regular feature of my columns.
That wasn’t my intention. I always look forward to your match reviews and I appreciate that this was a momentous event. Just didn’t expect to read about your views on it/him on here.
Completely agree Dan. Gary is entitled to his political views, of course, but this is not the forum to be airing them.
Why shouldn’t Gary air his political views here? It’s his website. Football (and life in general) are inherently political, what with the BLM movement and Marcus Rashford shaming the government into feeding hungry children. In my experience, the first people to say ‘this isn’t the place’ are also the first to start screaming ‘cancel culture’ as soon as the BBC change their proms programme. And don’t get me started on those “if they’re going to take a knee then I’m cancelling my season ticket” brigade…
Wow gary your 1st paragraph makes you sound female lol have you got a authors name ?
Anyhow brilliant result clean sheet and 3rd or 4th best defence in the league Wow again just goes to show godfrey was not world class at all just ask everton 😁 just need to find a bit more cutting edge now but for once i am happy with farke and the team WOW .
For once? 🤔
And why would the first paragraph sound like a woman wrote it? He didn’t even mention the misogyny.
An excellent article Gary and I LOVED the headline. I’m sure we won’t get many Saturdays to surpass yesterday and SOOOO many stars must have aligned for all the events you mentioned to happen.
Krul has been absolutely immense this season and only two teams have conceded fewer goals than us (oddly enough one of them is our next opponents!!).
Isn’t it strange how the ‘Farke Out’ campaign has suddenly fizzled out like a ‘damp squib?’
PS – I’ve just seen a tweet that the Trump team held a press conference in the car park of a garden centre in Philadelphia, as opposed to the prestigious hotel of the same name!!
Well I LOVED this piece, Gary
And special thanks for the KK reference. He was my first NCFC hero.
So much to smile about now!
Cheers John … always keen to squeeze in a KK reference. Tim gave me the chance. Both sublime keepers.
Chris Woods and a certain Bryan Gunn weren’t too shabby either!!
O T B C
That was a great win for NCFC yesterday. Just the sort of result required as a building block for a successful season.
So pleased for Kings Lynn too. An early win in the Nationwide followed by a tough learning curve then coming back with their second league win propelling them up the table, and now a league scalp in the FA Cup. Well done Ian Culverhouse and the lads.
Ipswich need to take advantage of their status as a significant power within League One sooner rather than later because the longer they’re down there the harder it will be to get out, as the owner’s will and cash dwindles along with the fans’ enthusiasm.
You’ve said it all Gary. One of those once-in-a-blue-moon days, when it felt like Christmas had come early. So good, I got the 15 year old Glennfidich out last night.
The Beeb web site have got a brief highlights of the Lynn game, what a run into the penalty area to set up the goal!
Nothing wrong with the occasional childish indulgence from time to time.
Having witnessed how poorly our substitutions worked on Tuesday night, it was refreshing to see them pay handsome dividends yesterday. Farke is due some credit for getting this one right and it will be interesting to see his selections after the international break, assuming Xavier Quintilla and Sorensen are both back in the selection mix.
Gary, is suffering your political rants the price we have to pay to read your (always excellent) match reports?
You disagree with my take on the former president of the US, John?
Whether he does or not, is this really the place to be discussing it?
Wasn’t intending to discuss it tbh. Was my opinion. It’s an opinion piece and the thrust of it was around what a good day yesterday was (in my opinion) for a whole host of reasons. If you’re a Trump fan, apologies for hurting your feelings.
I, and it seems others, are quite content to read your thoughts on Trump. As someone said those that object are likely ot be the first to support the orange man.
Gary is using politics in a football analogy, nothing wrong with that at all. We all use every day life matters to compare with our love of football.
In fact that happens all the time on here, politics, the government, the premier league, FIFA etc.
Do we really want to be like Russia where criticism of Putin in any form can lead to a visit to a gulag or a visit from travelling lads who like visiting Cathedrals?
Many times on here I have disagreed vigorously with a point of view, but I would defend anyones right to their opinion as long as it is within the law.
Would Biden supporters be on here similarly annoyed if Gary was doing a comparison on The president elect and Roy Hodgson as being too old to do their present jobs ? don’t think so.
As for yesterday we did ride our luck somewhat but lets be honest we deserved to beat Millwall so it evens itself out over a season.
Tim Krul is worth his weight in gold.
Hi Tim – what a fine speech.
I too have put in a couple of lines about the demise of Trump in my piece for tomorrow akin to what Gary has done today.
They’re not prominent but nonetheless part of my take on yesterday and totally connected with the continuity of an article about football. It’s no left-wing collusion between GG and myself. Both pieces were independently generated and for the record I haven’t voted at all since 1997 when I backed Blair only to find out he was actually a Tory in disguise!
I dislike all politicians equally, but have always found Trump a bit too much for my sensibilities a la Warnock, Wilder and Steve Evans!
I think your comments were way over the top, yes. I would much rather stick to the football, particularly after what seemed a really important win after quite a nerve-racking watch!
Hi Gary
You forgot to mention that Sheff U gave scored less goal and have less points than city had at the same point last season yet no one is lambasting them like they were city but then they have spent millions more than we did.
Watching Quest ladt night it was good to see than the poison dwarf of a pundit said no penalty for Swansea and Murray agreed with him.
On the Pinkun in game reporting with DF, Paddy and Connor it is strange than no matter how well the team our playing you always get the same wallies complain and suggesting that Farke and team have no ideas on how to manage a game, if the other things in their lives get the same treatment I feel sorry for their families.
Cities next two away games at Middlesbrough and Stoke realky throws up differing styles of management Warnock has quickly turn Middlesbrough fortunes and Stoke after playing the long ball and out muscling every team are finally playing good football and with Ex city Gunn in goal getting back to his best just hope he has an off day on the 24th 2 draws for these could be good results.
Onwards and upwards
OTBC
Stay safe and stay healthy
So, once I’d got paragraph 3 out of the way, this was an enjoyable read. There is no doubt that last season is fast becoming a distant memory to this group and it looks like we are in for a decent season. The new signings appear to be quality and the others are finding their mojo again.
I know it probably helps us but what on earth are we doing playing international friendlies during a pandemic?? And 3 of them in a week? Madness of the highest order. 😒
Exactly what DF said on Friday re playing International friendlies.
Madness of the highest order.
#ainttnatthetruth
Not just the playing of pointless friendlies, but the ridiculous travelling to and from.
(Sounds like a Trump policy to me!!!)
O T B C
Hello everyone, hope we’re all safe & well. Great read Gary as always….
Not wanting to blow smoke up my bum here but after the Derby defeat last month I did post on here criticising the Archant message board doom dust posters who were calling for Farke’s head by saying there was no need to panic so early on and Farke needed the two weeks from that Derby defeat to the next game we played during the first international break to re-group the squad and work hard during that fortnight to get the season back on track, just like we did back in October 2018 with that fantastic performance at Forest that kick started our season. The same has happened here with a rewarding 7 game unbeaten run. Well done DF, the Coaching staff, sports scientists, physios et al, and of course the players…
Hopefully those Canary players involved in International football over the next 10 days come back to Conley fit and healthy and we go again with another tough run of back-to-back Saturday-midweek run of matches. Stay safe everyone. OTBC
Terrific win for us, but we were made to work for it. I do worry a bit that if we don’t create more chances and bag a few more goals, we will start to slip away, but I would have taken this position without question at the start of the season.. Perhaps it will be season of 1-0 wins and 0-0 draws instead of “you score, we score”. Perhaps the goals will start to flow and we will pull away from the pack. One thing that it is worth noting though – we are only at the stage (in numbers of games rather than weeks) where we lost to Stoke at home in 2018-19. It was after then that we really began to kick on in a big way.
Credit to Farke, he’s by and large been spot on with his substitutions lately, with the exception of the Millwall game the other night which didn;t quite come off. The fact he’s also managed to steer us near the top with a threadbare defence (albeit with Krul’s heroics) is pretty admirable too, especially after the horrible post-lockdown form in the summer.
Regarding the subs, I know one or two Sunderland fans up here, and from what they say, plus the usual comments to the local rag, Mumba was very highly rated on Wearside. The feeling during the summer was that he was sold too cheaply. I’m really excited to see if he can push on from his t
I know it sounds like a stuck record to keep saying that, but imagine what that finish would have been like with a full house present. It’s the only blot on a fine day.
You could be right about the tight games and narrow wins as opposed to our last championship campaign, and I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think a more pragmatic approach to game management would help us cope a lot better than last time if we found ourselves back I the Prem next season.
#FlushTheTurdNovember3rd
As far as I can see Gary has every right to express his mood yesterday. If someone wants to write in describing how yesterday’s win was spoilt by Trump’s loss, they are free to do so.
We were lucky to get all 3 points yesterday, and for some reason fortune seems to be favouring us at the moment. Long may that continue.
Loved the article Gary. You said what you feel. freedom of speech rules. A truly great day.
Who would have thought having a view on the worst US President of all time would prove so controversial? Looking forward to the first article after the worst Prime Minister of all time follows suit. I don’t think I’m going to have long to wait…
Anyway, great article. The best manager/head coach we’ve ever had is now adding a decent defence and grinding out wins to his CV.
All good stuff. Keep it up Gary!
Agree entirely with the football comments, but politics nah. If the USA want to make a big deal of a contest between a clown and a senile old man that’s their affair.
Great article Gary, including the intro… Swansea were without question the best team we have played this season. Had they focussed more on playing football, as opposed to some over enthusiastic ‘tackles’ they would probably have won the game but guess that was part of their tactic to disrupt us.
This three points makes up for the three that Wayne Rooney robbed us of a few weeks back.
Bali Mumba – not since I first saw James Maddison on the hallowed turf at The Carra have I seen such a confident and impactful talent. Easy to see why Daniel Farke has accelerated his development. If he keeps his head in the right place, he’s a future star without doubt.
Quite incredible over reaction from some to a couple of references to Trump! Great article Gary, enjoyed it all. Maybe some of these objecters will be submitting politics free articles for future publication..?
Agreed a great day all round – mention of King Kevin cherry on the cake. Worthy of a thread in itself. I’d throw in his penalty taking as opposed to TK’s saving.
Great read Gary. Given I used to be an Acting Returning Officer for elections I will continue to count and verify the US election references. It is close between DP3 and yourself. I will however confine my comments to football politics.
We started really well and finished well. In the middle Swansea got on top and we owe the 3 points to Tim Krul. We are grinding out results and managing games better than in 2018/19. Remember many games then were also won by a single goal. It was just that they were 4-3 or 3-2..
It was the first time i’ve had a chance to Mumba. He looks good going forward and his passing makes him a good fit for Farkeball. If he ends up as good as our last two young full backs that got early promotion into the first team then he will be another inspired buy by Webber.
I thought we missed Rupp in the centre of the park.
Placheta needs to find his scoring touch and he will become a great outlet for this team. It will be interesting to see who Farke picks when Hernandez is fit again. Similarly Stiepermann or Dowell?
If we can get three points from our next two away games then I think we will have had a start to the season as good as we could reasonably expect. That is especially a credit to the players and management given their form and mentality after relegation.
I think we will get better as the season progresses. My biggest concern would be losing Krul. Aarons, Buendia or Pukki in the next transfer window. They would be very hard to replace.
OTBC
Keep safe everyone.
An excellent read Gary, which had me chuckling to myself.
it was indeed a calls erg Saturday for farke, his decision to stick with stiepermann and Buendia, both of whom were poor, hugely in stiepermann case, was inspired.
Was it really a “hunch” ? If so it was a remarkable piece of intuition that brought Mumba and Martin into the fray. The pair, in particular Mumba turned the game instantly. I have to admit I was enchanted by the performance of Mumba. His ability to go outside or cut inside on his right foot, the step overs, the enthusiasm and the way he terrorised a decent international full back was heart warming.
Shorn of Rupp and Gibson in addition to the plethora of injuries I feared the worst.
The luxury of an opponent who actually tries to win and make a game of it made for decent entertainment. Even if it got a bit hairy at times.
Honourable mention too for Sorensen, although an outrageously square peg in a round hole he has more than held his own, which invites the question, how would he perform in his natural role?
A real mood lifter and without doubt the best result of the season.
Of course, the great thing about MFW is that we can have disagreements about various topics outside of football but we all agree on the most important thing – we all want what is best for NCFC.
I was disappointed GG used his column to speak about politics but he has absolutely every right to do so. As do I to to object to it. At the end of the day, we got 3 points, went level 2nd and continued the unbeaten run. And we can all drink to that. 🍻
Excellent article Gary and spot on in every way regarding the importance of yesterday. I heard the news of Biden’s election and was elated then and then we got the winner! Magic. Sad that a small minority can’t see or hear the roar of Trump going and us winning but there you are. Extremely well written as always. Thank you.