To the uninitiated, this may appear another case of Norwich just doing enough, and making tough work of a job that should have been comfortable.
And the uninitiated would be right… to a point.
But it ignores the fact that Daniel Farke was minus the services of ten players who have legitimate shouts for a first XI start. It also ignores the fact the preparation for this game was dominated by the Colney covid outbreak and that others, including Emi Buendia who played, are suffering from non-covid flu symptoms.
So I think we can forgive them for wobbling a bit late on when Cardiff, in search of a late equaliser, used the introduction of 8’4″ Kiefer Moore as a signal to try and recreate the Alamo.
It didn’t work and that City held firm and offered some sturdy protection to Daniel Barden was an outstanding all-round effort, and all on a day when those plucky little south coast Cherries lost at home to Luton.
The league table makes pleasant viewing right now, as does City’s points-per-game average; something to bear in mind a little further down the track if the current spike in postponements continues amidst the ongoing horror.
Aside from the winning of the three points there were several other smaller wins that will have pleased Team Farke immensely.
Jordan Hugill, the newly-appointed barber of Colney (he was responsible for Barden’s new look), produced his most effective 90 minutes in a City shirt when it was needed most.
It offered evidence that Farkeball can still live and breathe even without its Finnish fulcrum, and the flow and swagger of the opening 45 owed much to Hugill’s link-up play and ability to join in – something that hasn’t been obvious up until now.
While Hugill is not the type to complain or generally suffer from a lack of confidence, his best outing in yellow and green will have placated any lingering self-doubt around his ability to fit into this style of football.
All that was missing was a goal; one that was only denied him by an Alex Smithies save after a sweeping move that began with the ball at Barden’s feet.
Luckily Todd Cantwell was there to tap in the rebound; another who could argue he enjoyed one of his best ever performances in the yellow shirt.
We know he has the flicks and tricks and is technically one of the most proficient member of the squad. That’s a given, as is his penchant for being a tiny bit controversial and doing absolutely zilch to allay that notion, but now we should add ‘grafter’ to Todd’s list of qualities.
On a day when muscle and toil were needed to give the passing rhythms the chance to flourish, Dereham’s finest delivered, and in doing so offered Jacob Sorensen a level of support that has not always been there.
Yesterday afternoon must now be Cantwell’s benchmark, and it will not be lost on him or anyone watching how the boy wonder known as Harry Wilson was outshone, outbattled and outscored by City’s number 14.
But the heroism wasn’t just reserved for Hugill and Cantwell. It was sprinkled around with good performances popping up all over the place, starting with Barden on his full league debut.
The biggest compliment I can pay the lad is that I’m not sure too many tears would be shed if Stuart Webber’s quest to land us a back-up keeper proves fruitless. Early days of course, and a young keeper wouldn’t be a young keeper if he didn’t have the odd rick in him, but his calmness and maturity are quite something in one so inexperienced.
With Tim Krul only just coming out of isolation, I suspect Master Barden will be in goal on Wednesday night and the fact most of us would be cool with that speaks volumes; something helped by the fact he will have the two most dependable centre-backs in the Championship in front of him.
All of which adds up to a rosy picture, with pundits, experts and other notable voices talking of City’s quality, strength in depth and style being reasons why they are now in a position to squeeze the accelerator and open up a gap at the top of the league.
And therein lies the biggest threat to our promotion charge – complacency.
While the task will remain the same in the confines of Colney and the laser-guided focus will remain, it’s all too easy to expect the second half of the season to mirror the first as City overcome any hurdle placed before them.
But football’s not like that. And in this season unlike any other every win is that little bit more difficult to achieve compared to those earned in what’s now known as a ‘normal’ season.
Nothing should be taken for granted and that includes City winning games of football. There will be blips ahead and this won’t the straightforward coronation procession that many are preparing for.
Even though we are the best team in the league 😉
I’ve only seen the highlights on Quest, but the pundits in the studio were talking about how Norwich were a class above Cardiff, and the highlights showed plenty of attempts on goal that would have gone in against a less competent keeper.
A couple of points – why did Pack not understand that his two yellow cards were fully justified, having lunged in recklessly on both occasions and failing to get anywhere near the ball, and secondly, what can be done to stamp out the excessive shirt pulling that goes on these days? Can some clever kit manufacturer produce a range that allows the material to come away easily in a clump (it would be expensive, I know) so that the player being fouled wasn’t actually slowed down. I saw one game this week where a penalty was given when a defender fell into the ball while his shirt was being pulled, and the pundits after the game agreed that he was pulled down, but didn’t seem to think there was any significance in that. The shirt pull was the first offence, before the “handball”, and should have resulted in a free kick to the defending team. VAR reviewed it, but didn’t over-rule the penalty decision. Absolute joke.
If memory serves the England rugby team of world cup winning era 2003 or so had such a kit, designed to emphasise foul play, but it ripped so easily in the scrum that they stopped using it. Technically though it is certainly possible.
It’s down to referees to spot such things but in general they are of very poor quality – in fairness to Bournemouth, their sending off yesterday was completely ludicrous, and yet another referee impacting results
By far and away Todd Cantwell best performance to date. Hugill did really well. I also thought Kenny McLean had a really good game yesterday. For most of the game we certainly looked streets ahead of Cardiff, a game that had banana skin written all over it.
It was interesting to hear the Welsh I follow commentary yesterday, they were really impressed and envious of our teams organisation and capabilities. They also appreciated the Webber /Farke running of the club. It’s easy to become used to what a great set up we have. As much as the team has to avoid complacency then so have we as supporters. It would have been all to easy to be where Ipswich are right now. Why we aren’t isn’t luck but having the guts to be different long may it continue.
I really should have mentioned McLean, Delfie. Cheers for name checking him. Thought he was outstanding.
Hi both
I neglected to mention the Mayor for my bit tomorrow so somewhat shamefacedly I’m happy to agree with both of you in retrespect. Sorry Kenny.
I like Kenny in the Number 10 position. It also enables either Sorensen or Vrancic to play alongside Skipp behind them. That gives us nice options and I really do look forward to seeing Jacob in his favoured position.
With the new fella coming in at left back, may not be long before see that.
All looking good at present.
Your last sentence sums up the difference between the ‘Norwich way’ and the way that the majority of clubs in the top two leagues operate.
The Baggies sack their manager and recruit Big Sam and yes they had a win yesterday, but I’m not convinced that their first penalty was actually inside the box. I see they’ve signed Snodgrass – he’s certainly had a few clubs since leaving CR.
Another great article Gary. We are without doubt the best team in the Championship and as a fan, despite only being able to attend two home games this season, is so much more enjoyable than the ‘promised land’ of the PL. Whilst we are not as expansive as we were last time around we are a much stronger and robust team and agree with your comment about our CB pairing, although I would still like to see us bring in a reinforcement (which seems unlikely) as cover should one of them be absent. Unfortunately CZ is not the same level and hasn’t been as effective since his injury last season. Agree that it was The Dereham Deco’s best match in yellow and green but my cynical side wonders how much that is to do with the fact that it is January 🤔 If we can keep the current squad, with a couple of additions at LB (which seems will happen in the next couple of days) and CB (and possibly a GK, but only as cover for Screech…) As you ‘say’ we should be immensely proud of what SW and DF (and others) have achieved both on and off the pitch at this wonderful football club. OTBC
All things being equal, I agree, unless something unexpected happens on the injury front and our rivals suffer less. There are some dangerous teams that could thwart our goal to regain our premiership place in Swansea, Bournemouth, Watford and Brentford but we have stolen a march on them. Now I am going to ( just for fun ) predict our future. We will gain promotion back to the premier league but despite our classy silky skills in the championship we will again struggle. Ollie Skipp will have returned to Tottenham and we will suffer the same start as our last campaign and we will be bottom by Christmas. We will again be plagued by the rumours surrounding the departure of messrs Buendia, Aarons and Cantwell ( that’s if they havnt left by the end of this season ). This will also signal the departure of Stuart Webber and Daniel Farke as they finally realise they can take Norwich no further. We will again be relegated exchanging places with Sam Allardyces West Brom as we compete for the bragging rights over who is the most successful yoyo club between the Championship and the Premiership. In the meantime Ipswich will have battled their way back to the Championship after the departure of Paul Lambert and a sense of normality will resume between those Canary and Tractor Boys. Here’s to the future minus the pandemic. OTBC 🙂
What makes you think Big Sam will still be with the Baggies if he gets them relegated back to the Championship?
They gave him an 18 month contract which means they are not that confident of staying up. However they are expecting him to get them back up at the first attempt. If big Sam walks away at the end of the season, well that’s another matter.
Great read on a Sunday morning. Thanks, Gary.
I’ve only seen the highlights and listened to a couple of YouTube reviews. But it seems to have been another game when it was clear we are streets ahead of most of the Championship. Yet we only win by one goal and have a few scares.
Both of Pack’s challenges were bad and both were close to straight reds.
Pleased to see that Cantwell is putting in a shift. His best way to get in the Premier League is with Norwich. Hugill is looking like he now fits into Farkeball. Probably down to a lot of intensive coaching at Colney.
Still think we need another goalkeeper as there maybe other Covid cases, for example Barden. Getting the Greek left back in on loan looks sensible as it will give Farke a chance to assess him.
First target of the season completed …….. 50 points means we should be safe from relegation, lol.
Stay safe one and all.
Hi Gary
Followed the game on Sky and EDP.
The sad thing on SKY is that Merson was doing the commentary and said City are a good team but will need to spend alot if they intend to stay in the Premiership if they get promoted and the Ex City player Sherwood agreed and suggested that the Championship was the weakest in years saying Watford and Bournemouth are both weaker than WBA.
It seems the pundits that are ex city players just don’t want to give our team any credit even over coming a horrendous injury list and still playing quality football to win games.
This Pandemic has been a real leveler for most clubs and we must be grateful that SW got his summer signing in early doors 🚪.
Now the question is will we sign another short term keeper or a permanent one but that will I suppose depend on McGovern as his contract is up this summer, Nylan has indicated he is open to a short term contract but he has gad back surgery so it could be taking on another injured player that when needed isn’t fit only time will tell
Onwards and upwards
OTBC
Stay Safe and Stay Healthy 🙏
To be fair to the pundits, Alex, I’ve never heard either Dublin or Ashton anything other than enthusiastic for our performances and management. Sutton can be critical, but he’s usually fair in what he says. Sherwood and Townsend on the other hand, don’t usually have much to say in our favour. Merson at least isn’t one of our ex’s, so I just put his comments down to the effect his past has had on his brain.
You didn’t mention Danny Mills but then who would
Yes, Alex, I did miss him, but then again I try very hard to forget him!
Sherwood and Merson are both right. We are lucky that Leeds, Villa, WBA, etc, are not in the Championship and that has made us look even better than a normal season in the Championship – and we will need to spend loads of money to stay in the Premiership. And as for the top tier of English football that is exactly where Norwich should be. We were virtually a permanent fixture between 1972 and 1995 before we lost our way and finished 3rd in the Prem and would have qualified for on multiple occasions if it hadn’t been for drunk scousers running amok. If the likes of Bournemouth or Watford can hack it for several seasons in the top flight then there is no reason we can’t do so either.
Too much complacency all round…radio Norfolk sounded like they had booked the open top bus already 🙂 long long way to go the gap is only 4 now from Swansea where we still have to go and only 3 when Brentford win there 2 games in hand with them to play also.They think it’s all over! Not by a long chalk
Thanks Gary.
Am I alone in thnking that Covid really has turned football mad?
LiVARpool thought that £8m was over the top for Jamal Lewis, but they and their supporters are talking about £30m plus for Wilson…..
If that really is the going rate for him after yesterday, then there aren’t too many clubs in the world who could afford Emi Buendia (or come to that Todd Cantwell!!) right now.
3 excellent points ; thank you Luton; onwards to Wednesday!
O T B C
LIVARPOOL and their supporters are delusional they have the opinion it is only their players that are worth top dollar and any player they want the club has to except what they are will to pay
I think Mersin and Sherwood are correct if we wish to remain in the premiership.
If we do go up we will need to spend at least £50-£100 million. That’s if we retain our current players.
Where is this level of investment coming from?
I don’t think many will be happy if it’s another £750,000 and statement to the effect that we prefer the championship. This cynical approach lost us a lot of friends last time.
Good piece. We’re not there by a long chalk yet.
I can see that at GK we have youngsters a plenty Nyland until summer would make sense for us and him (family’s settled in the Midlands). CB with Omobamadeli getting more time and Famewo getting good experience out on loan maybe Zimbo is enough cover? FB is curious; but I guess having two mature (age/experience wise) loans with option to buy makes sense assuming they can play either side of the pitch with Byram liable to be crocked and Aarons maybe leaving. But strikes me they are both not used to playing in colder countries, coming from Spain and Greece respectively. Not sure if McCallum (loaned back to Coventry) is seen as Premier League material.
Good also to see our last generation of home grown Premier League players doing well (Madders, Godfrey) but sad for Jamal Lewis who is having a difficult time under our very own Steve Bruce!
Two points better off than the same stage on last promotion. But as you said, a place than many of us don’t like to be. But why is that? Fact is going up again will be another struggle unless the board show a huge more commitment than last shown on our last fleeting visit.
Frankly I can’t that happening.
So I guess we will be the most consistent yo yo club ever!
We are a long way from promotion , a lot can happen in the second half of the season . I don’t care whether the Championship is weak . That’s a load of crap, spoken by pundits who have to fill in time . You play 46 games against the rest of the league , if you’re better than them , you get promoted, if you’re not you don’t .Thus it has always been.
Next year is another season , one step at a time please. Either we will get it right or we won’t, that’s what makes the game so interesting. Money is part of the equation , but only part . Lots of teams have spent big and not made it . Let’s be honest for a club of our size 5 or 6 years in PL at a stretch is probably the best we can hope for .
We have a great club , well run at all levels . Many others look up to us , and have done for years . I should know , I live in Bristol.
OTBC
If or when promotion is secured the first order of the day would be to convince SW to sign another contract surely it would be worth his while to prove he can not only get promotion but stay up as well, if he left then who every took over and city stayed up would get all the credits
Btw the lowest points total for a third place team is 74 points – highest 89 – so we may need only 8-13 wins….
Makes you laugh most so called pundits are all failed managers they couldn’t even cut it at even lower levels, and their giving us opinions on games which their doing in retrospect, as for the Championship being weaker this season they say this every season , being honest I don’t give a toss what they think . On Merson how on earth he wasn’t the first to go I’ll never know he couldn’t even pronounce Huckerby saying Hucklebe want a pundit