Nothing is certain in life except death and taxes, the old idiom goes.
Well despite our rather low-key 0-1 to defeat to Watford on Saturday evening’s *Sky Special* there is something else certain right now: the Canary nation will awake on January 1 to discover that we are still very much top of the league.
Sure we might not be there on January 2 but I think we will, particularly with home games against QPR and Barnsley coming up next. Not that I’m taking anything for granted of course – you simply cannot do that in this league as we all know.
We just seemed collectively lacklustre all over the pitch and the realistic types amongst us will accept that Watford could have scored one, or even two more at a push. We cannot really complain – or indeed worry – too much as Daniel Farke said afterwards:
“When you’re lacking a bit in intensity in your attacking game and also lacking a bit in your awareness level in terms of defending, we then conceded out of a situation a goal that we never should have conceded.
“It was more like a simple crossing situation, we didn’t have enough pressure on the ball. It was also a bit unlucky, the cross was slightly deflected but in general we had an overload in our own box and lacked a little bit of awareness to defend the back post and for that they had an easy tap in”.
I find it impossible to disagree with him. Of course, the incident began when Max Aarons lost the ball much higher up the pitch when it was pounced upon by Etienne Capoue. We had rapidly regrouped but Ken Sema’s cross might have taken enough of a deflection to deceive Michael Govern who didn’t know whether to stick or twist.
In any case, the outcome was that Ismaila Sarr easily got in front of Jacob Sorensen at the far post where an empty net awaited him.
Lots of folks [including me] were praising McGovern and Sorensen to the hilt last week. Football works in mysterious ways 
We offered very little in the final third and despite the triple introduction of Mario Vrancic, Jordan Hugill and Ben Gibson and what is now becoming a regular switch to 3-5-2 on 67 minutes, we continued with our inability to prise open the Hornets’ nest.
Our best offering was a clever pass from Vrancic for Teemu Pukki, but while at the time it looked a stonewall penalty replays quickly revealed that Watford sub Adam Masina had got enough of his foot on the ball to justify referee John Brooks’ decision.
That must have been one heck of a call in real-time and as the old cliche goes, we’ve seen them given.
Credit to Watford. Their athleticism and particularly game management showed that these two teams are very equally matched in a general sense – obviously, we largely have more individual ability but they rivalled that with their organisation and physicality and certainly did not play Pulisball.
It will be interesting to see where Xisco Munoz takes them from here, although we surely have to concentrate on ourselves.
Nobody feels happy on the back of a defeat but it might do us a backhanded favour in that there is unlikely to be any complacency served up against QPR or Barnsley.
Losing at Vicarage Road is by no means a disgrace and two defeats in 17 is nothing to be concerned about.
I very much doubt it will become four in 19.
Well Martin, that was an interesting read on this cold and frosty morning and with the river Wensum (as well as other rivers) severely flooded and many families experiencing flooding in their homes. I wish that they will soon be able to get back to normal.
A very soft goal to concede at Vicarage Road and as you so rightly say, the scoreline should have been more emphatic. As has happened before several players had off days and Watford kept Emi very quiet and our defending resulting in the goal lacked the bite that we witnessed against Cardiff.
DDF summed it up really well in his articles yesterday (and again today) and we move on, with two very winnable home games. Let’s hope that we do indeed see that ‘normal service’ resumes tomorrow evening and QPR get a good shellacking to right the wrongs of Saturday.
Other than the 7-2 defeat LiVARpool suffered against Villa, they have conceded 13 goals and sit at the top of the table as we do!!
As more and more of the injured players return, DF will have some tough decisions to make as to his starting 11 and from what I’ve seen/read, there was no standout performer in blue (?) on Saturday, so at least his task will be a little easier,
I see Dowell has been the subject of several fans’ ire, but I seem to remember that only a few short months ago, that same ire was aimed at Skipp.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing!!!
Morning Ed
Andersons Meadow and Sloughbottom are pretty bad just now but luckily the water is nowhere near anybody’s house. New Mills Yard is the highest anyone can remember but not encroaching.
Watford did indeed keep Emi quiet and there was one particularly bad shin-raker on him from [I think] Capoue early doors that the ref should definitely have done something about.
Will QPR – or indeed Barnsley – get a hiding? I don’t know but six points from these two games would really send a message to the rest of the Championship.
Picking on Kieran Dowell is just plain daft. If anything blame Farke for selecting him. He was out for a long, long time and is bound not to be truly match fit – yet. But who does Farke choose to start when Dowell doesn’t have 90 minutes in him right now and Mario has always found it hard to last the full match?
I’m presuming Daniel will have a dinner time press conference today and let’s hope we get yet more positive updates.
Cheers
That’s a telling photo, a back line of five, but four between the near edge of the box and the penalty spot, with Watford effectively having two on two in the middle, but, also, plenty of space to attack.
A disappointing goal to concede when reviewed in detail.
Hi Gary
A disappointing goal to concede indeed.
I’m still not entirely convinced that Sema’s cross caught a deflection but [and I know it’s easy to say] I do feel that TK would have got his paws to it, deflection or not. Even so you’re spot on when you say it was 2v2 in the middle after the cross was delivered and we [okay, Sorensen] got nowhere near Sarr.
A great still from Gary G, I’d not seen it before.
Thanks
I did that one all by myself, Martin 🙂
So THAT’s why I hadn’t seen it before 🙂
Isn’t it odd though?
Had that been, say, Quintilla whipping the ball in and Pukki coming off the blind side of the defender, we’d have been calling it a well worked goal from a brilliant cross…. No mention of it being a soft one for them to concede.
Nor would we be admitting the cross had a slight deflection that took it into the perfect defence-splitting pass – which if Farke’s says it did I’m happy to accept. I doubt if Krul would have been closer to it than McGovernm, but I do think he would have been less on his heels and quicker to make himself big as Sarr got to the ball.
Fact is, the guy coming in from behind has the momentum of the run. Even if the defender gets there with him he’s still got to get the ball cleanly, and away from the goal. In the Championship at least, there are few defenders who would, in Sorensen’s shoes, have been sharp enough to beat Sarr to the ball without fouling him.
Hi Keith
Yes I suppose that’s a pretty good perspective on the Sarr goal but if Sorensen had been tighter on him he could have at least attempted to block or clear as he is right footed.
I hope they’re discussing this at Colney as we speak 🙂
Spot on as per usual Mr P.
Once Watford changed their manager (why do they always do it just before playing Norwich??), this unfortunately had a home win written all over it.
Too many City players appeared to have an off night at the same time….which is pretty unusual. However, whilst Buendia, Cantwell and Dowell are probably the most creative midfield trio in this division, we still do not have the physical presence needed in midfield against the Watfords’ of this league, nor indeed the majority of those in the Premier League.
Over to you Mr Webber!!!
O T B C
Hi John
Yes our lack of physical presence in midfield is obvious and is there to be exploited by teams who have the organisation and knowhow to do so. I think their 4-4-2 set up proved that – it’s not easy to get through two banks of four.
It’s kind of a trade-off I suppose, although Emi and Olly don’t shirk a challenge.
I guess the Watford boys wanted to prove something to Munoz and prove it they did so realistically we have to say fair play to them.
Two defeats in 17? We’re not ready for drowning yet.
Cheers
I think Kenny and Skipp did a reasonable job, physically. Where we were out-muscled was in the more advanced roles, Cantwell, Dowell and Sorensen when he got forward. It meant when we got the ball in between those 2 lines of the Watford defence, we lost the physical battle every time.
Maybe Onel would have added something more physical and direct?
Hi James
You make a very good point about Onel, who is often a right nightmare for defenders as he can be as unpredictable as he’s direct – if that makes sense!
Martin , for the first time , or maybe the second, I missed having VAR on the game. I know a very odd statement after the way VAR treated City last season. It was that tackle on Emi by Etienne Capoue with the score at 0-0. At the time , from the live TV picture it looked nasty and late, ie misjudged , but only worthy of a yellow. Then sky showed it from all handles it was plainly not late, his eyes were on Emi ‘s leg not the ball and the rake was down the full length of the calf. That should have been red, and if VAR had been there Capoue would not have been on the park to intercept Aarons pass..
Having said that Watford are a big athletic side with some skill and give us a reminder that we are a very skillfull side that lack a tad of physicality.
At the start of the season I would have taken away defeats at Bournemouth and Watford as long as we got the home result . So to lose both and still be points clear is no bad thing.
Hi Bernie
As I said to Ed [above] I can only agree that the Capoue challenge was a shocker, couple that with the fact that referee Brooks looked to be a bit of a homer and you know from that point on it’s gonna be a tough old quest and so it proved.
Yeah we’re still in a good place but we really need to exploit these next too fixtures and I sincerely hope we will.
Ta me ole Walrus
Morning Martin, and an early Happy New Year to you and yours.
I think we got what we deserved in the end from that game, we just didn’t look entirely up for it, and Watford proved (as did the Baggies yesterday) that a well drilled and organised defence can be extremely hard to break down, even when you’re totally on song, which neither Liverpool or us were.
Having said that, there were some refereeing inconsistencies which didn’t help. I thought the Pukki incident was a stonewall penalty in real time, though the subsequent replays proved me wrong. How the referee got it right without the help of VAR I don’t know. However, can you explain why it’s a foul and a yellow card for a player who can’t get out of the way of an opponent running full tilt at him, but no offence is committed when a defender deliberately steps in front of a player and body checks him, as happened to Max in the first half. That should have been a penalty. Sarr was given three “final warnings” after his yellow card. That referee seemed to think a yellow was sufficient punishment, no matter what a player did afterwards.
(Sorry if this is a repeat of a comment I tried to make earlier, but for some reason when I posted it, my Mac came up with “Safari can’t connect to this web site”, and I’ve had to resort to an iPad)
Hi Jim
I certainly can’t explain three warnings after a yellow and tbh Munoz should have taken Sarr off but knew how valuable he is to his side so didn’t. Farke’s had the same problem with Emi a few times and has managed it in the same way – except once, when he was hooked on about 65 minutes to ensure we finished with XI on the pitch.
As for the iPad thing I have had to use Sue’s once to field comments on an MFW article. The replies were a lot shorter than usual, believe me.
HNY to you and your folks too.
Hi Martin,
As you say we didn’t really reach the levels to cause the Watford defence major problems. Hopefully this was just a case of having too much pudding the day before the game!!
Capoue’s bad tackle on Emi early in the 1st half was only punished with a yellow card (100% red card challenge), later on Capoue nicks the ball from Max that eventually ends up in our net – Greavsie’s old tag line comes to mind, ‘Footballs a funny old game’!!
One other little observation about the game was the physicality of Watford, at times it reminded me of many of our games last season where simply put we didn’t have the muscle to compete, this appears to still be the case?!! Begs the question whether we would fear any better if we did get to the Premier League next season?
Cheers
John
Hi John
Yes that Capoue *tackle* is definitely this morning’s talking point from an NCFC perspective and a couple of mates [prominently MFW regular Alex B] messaged me after the game to say just how bad they thought it was.
Our CBs are all physical enough, particularly Grant Hanley, but take out Tetts and we have very little to offer further up the pitch in that respect.
As for the PL question I’m still optimistic but sticking to the *that problem that time* mantra for now.
Cheers
Troy Deeney said in Watford interview that Norwich played exactly how they thought before game. Their plan was keep Pukki out of ball by cutting passes to him, just once Norwich managed to get ball to Pukki in area where Norwich wanted and all know what happened next. Why that was clear penalty? Surely there was slight contact to ball too, but mainly contact was in Pukkis legs. Rule does not say that if you touch also the ball when tackling then its no matter what kind of tackle it is. If there would not have been any contact to Pukki, it would not be penalty. Pukki went down only because of that tackle. Also that situation was clear scoring chance and rule says that referee should probably give red card too. Maybe in England you want to play football in different rules, then dont use international football rules at all so everybody knows what is fault in english football and what is not (also players). Overall referees bad quality is obvious problem in english football, bad refereeing is almost always also against skilled players. That situation is perfect example how different football cultures we have.
QPR likely have played worse it should and Barnsley likely better it should. In both team defence plays finns against Pukki, Nicholas Hamalainen qpr is left back or wing back depending how qpr plays, Aapo Halme Barnsley is tall centreback who is good in set pieces. Hamalainen is part of Finland national team and I would like to see him start in national team because he has been good when he has played. Halme is u21 captain. Halme seems injured so he is out surely.
Hi 1×2
The thing about the *penalty that never was* is that Teemu Pukki didn’t appeal for it himself and the defender’s foot was on the ball before Pukki went down. I know that Pukki is rarely demonstrative but if he’d felt cheated he would have made his feelings clear.
We certainly do have a problem with referees in the UK – you’re quite right there. The huge problem is that so very few of them have ever played professional football and quite a few more not even at the amateur level that myself and many of my MFW colleagues have either and that is not a good recipe.
I’ve heard of Hamalainen and must have seen him play although I can’t really recall him but if he’s on the fringes of your international team he must be half decent. Aapo Halme is a new one on me if I’m honest.
We at Norwich are hoping Teemu gets a little night-time rest from the demands of new baby Ella 🙂
Kiitos
I don’t think the problem is referees it is endemic cheating. No one could referee a modern game now players dive for everything. As for continental refereeing standards anyone remember Schumacher on Battiston?
Yes I do remember Schumacher on Battiston as I saw it *live on the telly* at the time. Probably one of the worst acts of violence I’ve ever seen on a football pitch and doubtless like you I’ve seen a few..
So most of us seem to be agreed that it wasn’t a penalty on Pukki but probably was on Max; Capoue and even Sarr should have seen red and their goal was a bit lucky but that we didn’t play very well and deserved to lose. I’m not sure how all of those things can possibly be true, but whatever….
I’d like to think that QPR will see us at our best, but that’s not the way it usually works. I actually think that it’s a really big game for us – we need to show the same response we showed after the equally lamentable defeat at Luton; a scrappy 1-0 and 5 wins on the bounce will be fine, thanks lads.
Incidentally, stop worrying about what the PL will be like – if we do get back there we’ll have a different team and a different way of playing by then. The benefit of keeping the same management and coaching team with a little money added to the coffers.
Hi Stephen
Yes your first par spells out the thoughts of many really and I guess we’ll have to write it off as *one of those games* – there’s no other way to look at it really.
As for the PL you’re on the money when you say we would theoretically have a different team, but I’m not too sure about your different way of playing aspect. But that’s all hypothetical for now of course. And yes, QPR might not be the stroll some of us are expecting.
Good comment – thanks.
Hi Martin
A good read as usual and covers a poor performance from city.
Mr Brooks
As everyone has said missed a clear deliberate foul on Buendia that could have ended his season.
He also missed the Watford players thinking that they were either Leeds or LIVARPOOL both teams try to break up play by niggling fouls on the opposition better players, they rotate who does the fouls to limit the bookings and also to confuse the Ref on who is on a final ⚠️ warning.
Foster us as good as Krul and with the defence he has doesn’t get to much action to show it, with city having the lowest conversion rate in the league from chance made then setting up a high line for city to take pot shots from distance was the way to go and we will possibly see other teams set themselves up in similar fashion.
Farke
As you and others say we will now see if it is twist or stick some of the returning players have had good cameo’s for short periods and looked ready for starting a game but Dowell and co just proved that they weren’t at full match fitness so will DF revert to those that have ???
Do we have a soft underbelly possibly why Tettey didn’t start to add strength to the midfield for this game I don’t know, everyone else could see that city were physically out manned in midfield and I think Pukki needed a physical presence along side him for this game.
Well I will add my condolences to Chris Sutton for his loss 🙏 and will say the PFA should do more to help if all the stories are true.
Carlton Morris finally leaving or not in this transfer window or on a free transfer at the end of the season only time will tell.
Going to South Yorkshire after growing up in Cambridgeshire and Norwich will be a cultural shook, I lived there pre Miners Strike and after and it is a Football heartland but with so many clubs in a short distance there us big rivals and villages have pubs dedicated to 1 team only and you will not find supporters from any other team use it,
I will only wish him the best in his career except when he plays city.
Onwards and upwards
OTBC
Stay Safe and Stay Healthy 🙏
A Happy New Year to everyone and let’s hope 🙏 it is a better one than 2020
Hi Alex
Rotation of fouls committed goes back to the original Dirty Leeds, adopted by the Millwall of the 70s/80s and taken on by various others ever since. Hi Tony Pulis.
I should have acknowledged the passing of Mike Sutton – I met him briefly at a cricket match he was playing in many years ago {Vauxhall Mallards at Brundall?] and he seemed like a really good guy with plenty of time to talk and came across as very pleasant.
We went to Oakwell around 20 years ago at the end of the Worthy play-off final season while one entire stand was semi-constructed and they had temporary bogs. As I went in this geezer coming out said: *mind your head on the roof mate*.
There was no roof, just a clear spring sky.
If that’s where Carlton’s going I wish him all the best. They play proper football. I only know North Yorkshire so can’t comment on the ambience of the South at all.
A very big game tomorrow – we need that win.
Cheers mate
We probably need to get promoted and then get hold of one or two of the Watford defensive midfielders – assuming that they implode again. We were not physical enough last season, were terrible from set pieces and just simply not nasty enough for the Premier League. When Clough won the league title in 78 he bought renowned psycho Kenny Burns the previous summer. That is what we failed to do. There is no point moaning we need to get even
Hi Tony
Yeah I remember Kenny Burns. One of Scotland’s finest with all the finesse of an agitated weasel. If I had the choice I wouldn’t wish to reincarnate he or his like here.
As for Watford: don’t sulk, get even is a principle I would totally agree with.
Forget the thugs but we do need some substantial steel. Skippy doesn’t take any nonsense but of course he won’t be here next season and neither will Tetts. It’ll be interesting to see what we do in the summer window whichever league we are in.
Thanks