And in the master’s chambers, they gathered for the feast. They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can’t kill the beast**
That line from an old song most us will know really well sums up a frustrating night on Tyneside for Dean Smith, his squad and the 1,200 brave souls who went to St James’s Park on Tuesday evening to see the Canaries take on a faltering Newcastle side still to pick up their first win of the season.
Ciaran Clark’s ninth-minute dismissal for hauling down Teemu Pukki as he raced through on Marvin Dubravka’s goal looked like it had offered an amazing opportunity to put away the Magpies but turned out to be one that was not exploited as a combination of resolute defending and a slow, laborious transition through the thirds saw City fail to land a glove on Newcastle when we might have expected more urgency.
How we could have done with a fit Milot Rashica or Todd Cantwell in that situation, but they were unavailable so Dean Smith had to try and find a way through with what he had on the bench. This led to the introduction of Pierre Lees-Melou for Christos Tzolis at the break followed by Dimitris Giannoulis for Brandon Williams in an attempt to give us some extra width. It was then followed by a straight swap with Adam Idah replacing the ineffectual Josh Sargent.
We’ve all seen Billy Gilmour playing basketball in his own box and although some folks query the penalty decision I don’t I’m afraid. Don’t hold your hand up like you want to answer a question in primary school in your own box and expect to get away with it Billy cos, guess what? You’ll be penalised for handball.
Tim Krul was so unlucky. He read Callum Wilson’s penalty to perfection but just couldn’t get enough on it as it clipped the bar and dropped over the line. Suddenly we were not just trying to break the Geordies down but were chasing the game.
Luckily Giannoulis provided a measured cross for that man Pukki to volley home with his less-favoured left foot and parity was restored. PLM had a decent chance to win it as he broke free but Dubravka got his angles right and his left leg diverted the ball behind for a corner. It came to nothing and that was that.
“It wasn’t until we scored our goal actually that we moved the ball with any tempo or pace. We double switched it and Teemu has scored a wonderful goal but we didn’t do enough of that after the sending off so we didn’t get enough big chances.”
Thus spoke a refreshingly honest Dean Smith, who isn’t afraid to make an early change or two and fair play to him in that respect. And several other respects too of course.
Here are two selections from my post-match inbox:
*That was an accident waiting to happen and our record of no premiership wins when playing on a Tuesday continues. It’s now 15 in total. We only came to life once they scored and replacing Tzolis with PLM at halftime added nothing to our attack but Dimi replacing Williams gave us some pace up front* – Alex B.
*Hi Marty. 80 minutes against 10 men. Clueless. To go one down was careless, the response to that slow . After Pukki scored we had a go. Should have had a go before Pukki scored* – Bernie O.
But on reflection was the result really that bad?
We remain four games unbeaten, with eight points from 12. We’re still very much in touch with the clubs immediately above us although we have got a couple of *difficult* games coming up as in Spurs away and a seemingly rejuvenated Man U at home.
Rashica and Mathias Normann already look like key players and I understand the former travelled with the squad on Tuesday so let’s hope his groin strain is of the very minor variety. Normann we should know more about later this week.
And as a couple of jokers suggested: *Would we have lost that under Daniel Farke?*
I can’t help but laugh at how a couple of the nationals picked up on Auntie Delia being pictured apparently fast asleep in the stands but Newcastle is a long way to go when you’re 80 
**And, as if you didn’t recognise the lyrics already, this is worth watching just for the crazed look on Joe Walsh’s face!
Good morning Mr P on this damp and chilly morning here in Norwich.
Until TC has proved to our new Head Coach that he deserves to at least be in the match day squad, I’d like to see Dowell start in place of Sargent. I’m afraid he reminds me of a young puppy running around trying to please it’s owners, but lacks the skill to provide a worthwhile end product.
I’ve no doubt that the NCFC coaching staff can rectify that, but I’m really hoping that he will be missing from the stating 11 on Sunday. DS in his match summary was brutally honest and at least he now has an extra day with the squad before travelling to the ‘new’ White Hart Lane for our first there since that unforgettable FA Cup victory!!
MB in his match report felt that we should have had at least one penalty and I’m sure that Gilmour will have learnt from his unfortunate error,
We now head into a very tough run of games and let’s hope the laboured display by the boys in Yellow and Green on Tuesday serves as the motivation that they need to play with the intensity that they showed against Wolves in ALL future games.
HI Ed
Just got back to the City from Mundesley and we have a sunburst. It’ll be a brief one.
It will be a tough old December indeed but everybdy has to face everyone else at some point. It will be interesting to see what we make of it.
Not so sure about Dowell as a direct replacement for Sargent. He’s got far more skill but much less energy. Tipping point stuff I guess.
Spurs will NOT be easy!
Cheers
‘You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.’ So it proved at the weekend when so many former Canaries returned to celebrate 25 years of Delia & co.
I think we would have been better off if Pukki had scored and Clark had stayed on (he’s a pretty poor defender). Newcastle would have had to attack which would have provided more chances for us to attack. However, it was a must win game for them and a don’t lose for us, so it was a better night for us than them.
Four unbeaten games providing 8 points has given us a foundation to build upon. December’s fixtures are a step up from November’s but we’re in a better situation than many of us hoped for a month ago.
Onwards and upwards
Hi Don
I’m no fan of the Eagles and their ilk but I have to say this track is magnificent. Can’t think of anything else by them I like though!
DS said the same as you but there was no advantage to be played so it didn’t work out that way but I still don’t understand what was in Ciaran Clark’s head when he did that
It’s gonna be a tough old December.
Cheers
Hi Martin. It’s a shame Tim Krul didn’t get the luck he deserved with that penalty. A slightly thicker contact, and it goes over the bar. Apart from that, he didn’t need to get his knees muddy. Toon never managed another shot on target.
Not a great game, both teams will be in trouble this season, and even “the richest club in the world” won’t manage to spend enough in January to save themselves. (I’m not sure if that’s their new official name, or are they “Eddie Howe’s Newcastle”?) We do need to see if we can relax the purse strings in January and recruit another striker, however. Our midfield players also need a bit of coaching in the art of finishing.
Hi Jim
Dunno if you saw the clip but Krul was pure class at the final whistle when he went over to the Newcastle disabled area to give a young lad his shirt.
That is something you cannot buy.
I know the Mags had *Eddie Howe’s black and white army* banners in the Gallowgate but is he the right fit for them?
Only time will tell and I’m happier to have Dean Smith.
Cheers
Hi Martin
Great read and love the Eagles track.
Rumours are Newcastle wants Aaron’s come January so will he want to jump from one relegation battle to a better paid one with Eddie the Eagle Howe only time and a big £30+m will tell.
I just wonder if DS has an eye on a Villa player who has refused to sign a new deal a 20yr old striker but surely we already have enough raw talent we now need an experienced striker to get the best out of Pukki.
Hi Alex
Yeah we tend to sign for the future [profit] when we probably need a couple of experienced PL players in January. Mind you we needed them in August…….
Max can do a lot better than Newcastle and probably will.
Cheers
If Newcastle offered us £30M+ for Max Aarons, I would snap their hand off.
He is always massively involved in slowing the game down on the wing. Too pedestrian for my liking.
Hi Daniel
To my mind Max has been superb for us since day one which seems a long time ago now – and incredibly he’s still only 21.
Does he deserve to leave? Yes, more than anybody since Madders.
But for me, not to Newcastle.
Just my opinion.
Cheers
Another striker is needed from somewhere, that’s for sure We also need Rashica and Normann to get and stay fit to give us any hope.Cantwell will hopefully get back in the squad and regain his form.Without these players plus Pukki it will be a long hard winter.Tzolis and Sargent’s former clubs must be still laughing at us after getting their huge transfer fees off us for that pair!
Hi Tony
Fair point about Sargent and Tzolis is certainly not the boy wonder we were led to believe although I think both of them could yet prove useful in the Championship.
I’m pretty sure we were aware of Normann’s history of pelvic concerns when we loaned him so as you say let’s hope he achieves a constant level of fitness soon.
Mind you that’s a dodgy old area to attract a strain as in kind of central to the player’s ability and well being. You can leave a leg out of a challenge but not your pelvic region!
Cheers
Some players need a lot longer to settle when in a new country. Sargeant seems to be fine but Tzolis is definitely struggling with the move to England at the moment.
You’re right – it isn’t an easy ask especially for a youngster.
We had a casita in a non tourist part of Mallorca and stayed there sporadically over six or seven years and while it was wonderful in its way there were difficulties that we couldn’t have coped with as teenagers.
A different country might be intimidating for anybody without the dedication and resolve to assimilate the language. I found it very difficult myself.
Marty, the fickle finger of fate? Vanilla get rid of a damn good manager just as we have a vacancy, just to make the decision hard Danny gets us our first win. One of the Fates spinning for us and another against us. Deano gets us a lucky win and then two draws both of which we could have won., seems like the third weird sister is undecided as to which way to spin for us. But as you say we’re still in with a chance which we didn’t have a few weeks ago.
Hiya Cutty
The Thane of Fife had a wife, but we’ve got Sleepy Delia & Michael. Oh well.
Looking at the fixtures I don’t expect too much from December but I hope I am proven wrong with the results of course.
But at least there’s life in the old talbot yet. Beating Man U would be quite something, even if only to deflate the ego of #CR7.
Cheers
Cheers
Towards the end of the Wolves game Chris Goreham was making the point that some of the players were beginning to tire – not surprising given they’d worked much more intensely than under Farke to get the ball back, without having had a chance to build up that extra fitness. I guess it would have felt like they’d played 30 minutes extra time. It sounds as though that may have caught up with them a little bit on Tuesday.
The other point re these two games is what a difference it makes when Pukki has no time to think. I’ve got a feeling we’ve commented on this before. A couple of times early on Saturday he was through and hesitated, particularly the second one from Gilmour’s pass when he could have have trusted his left foot and shot first time. Compare that to Tuesday when he had no choice but to do exactly that. His left may be weaker, but not much.
Just for once I picked up on your lyric – I’m stuck in the 70s when it comes to pop/rock so rarely know anything beyond then – and immediately thought of “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave”. Is that how Delia (allegedly) sees the Championship?
Hi Keith
You’re spot on there about the lag between Wolves and Newcastle which proved to be really quite significant.
As for the Eagles lyric many have tried to explain it online to no good effect. I’m not into the band myself but consensus seems to be: yeah, try and leave the lifestyle but we all know you won’t because you can’t.
Which brings us neatly back to your point about Delia & the Championship 🙂
Cheers
I am hoping Idah will get a run in the team in place of Sargent. He made a telling contribution blocking in his own area shortly after coming on and as Shearer said in commentary “he gave defenders something to worry about “.
The longer we go the more the DF replacement seems justified.
Hi Cyprus
To me Idah is a conundrum as I’ve simply not seen enough of him to make a judgement one way or the other.
I know RoI manager Stephen Kenney thinks very highly of him but quite how he was rated by Daniel Farke then or Dean Smith now I cannot begin to fathom.
Cheers
You get games like this, especially mid week, mid season. The difference this time is we came away with something which bodes well for the rest of the season.
Four games in and Dean Smith has lifted my spirits. We look a tougher, better organised team who will be harder to beat. He’s making the most of the hand he’s been dealt.
We do need extra fire power which will put pressure on the board.
Hi John
I think Dean Smith has indeed lifted our collective spirits but he will be very conscious that there is still so much work to be done.
Sorry to say I don’t see the Board forking out for said extra firepower in January, but you never know. I guess it will depend on whether they sell Max or not.
The only thing I know is that I don’t want Jordan Hugill’s loan at WBA terminated – my Brummie mate tells me he’s been abysmal all season!
Cheers
We’d have taken 8 points from those 4 games before they started. I’ll take another 8 from the next 4 too.
Hi sgncfc
That’s a great way to sum it up – I agree for sure 🙂
Cheers
Afternoon Martin have to say that it’s two points dropped Tues there’s only likely to be three or four chances of an away for us and this was one big chance missed poor football all round slow and ponderous really disappointed can’t afford only to take one point from game like that against relegation rivals and be happy was totally pissed off with it reminds me of all the costly draws when Worthington was in charge that we should have won and the 22 with Newcastle that season should have been comfortable win and we went down by one point see man it’s need to be sharper for the man utd game see you then 😂
Hi Kev
Yes of course we’re disappointed but there are times in the past [both recent and historical] that we could actually have contrived to lose a game like that.
Who the f*** are Man United? I guess we’ll find out next weekend.
Please be kind to the FIFA, UEFA and media god that is #CR7 – we wouldn’t want to give him any unnecessary stick, now would we?
Cheers
As has been said above, I think the sending off in a strange way probably helped them more than us. I would have preferred to have been 1-0 up against 11 (or even maybe 0-0). Without doubt, it remains difficult to play against 10 men – they re-organise with 2 deep sitting banks of 4, which totally negates any pacy forward. Consequently any threat from Tzolis was lost. I’ve not seen any highlights other than the goals and PLM’s late miss, but heard post match that we too could (or maybe should) have had at least one penalty ourselves. (Why we don’t have Gilmour patrolling the edge of the penalty area, or, shock horror, on the half-way line at defensive corners I don’t know!).
Still; I look back on it and think for us it was a must not lose, whereas for them it was a must win – so mission accomplished with what by all accounts was a below par performance.
Personally, I feel we are in a much better position now than at the start of November. Just a shame that Wolves couldn’t do us a big favour last night.
The next run of fixtures look challenging, but we’ll have had 2 days longer to prepare for Sunday than Spurs; Man U continue to blow hot and cold; and DS & CS will know rather more about Villa than Villa will about us!
O T B C
You’re right – it isn’t an easy ask especially for a youngster.
We had a casita in a non tourist part of Mallorca and stayed there sporadically over six or seven years and while it was wonderful in its way there were difficulties that we couldn’t have coped with as teenagers.
A different country might be intimidating for anybody without the dedication ability and resolve to assimilate the language. I found it very difficult myself.
Cheers
Hi John
I’ve inadvertantly copied my reply to Daniel [above] to you. Sorry mate I’m useless on a tablet 🙂
What I intended to say to you is that I can remember the good old days when Butterworth or Polston would hoof it up to Sutton in the centre circle who would control it and spread it out to Foxy.
Ruel would pelt down his wing, sling it over and we had several rushing on to the cross, including Chris Sutton himself, of course.
Nobody plays like that any more but it was great fun to watch at the time.
Cheers and sorry for the c*ck up!
Norwich lineup changes offers different type of players, but not really anything else. Depending of opponent its how mr Smith sees it. Pukki, Krul and Aarons play always, that is obvious to your managers no matter who they are.
Norwich has now scored 8 goals (Pukki 5, central defenders 2, defensive midfielders 1) in 14 games. Its easy to see where problem is? Its exactly area where Norwich bought new players, I said that before that those players are not effective. In january Norwich should target better quality players who are able to play with Pukki. I would be afraid that it will come too late, there is too many games before january transfer window. Good thing is that defence is now way better and settled and that your clearly best players are striker and goalkeeper. Once again, there is no idea to try to cover something you cant cover so to make team better its more important to try find new players to make weakest areas better.
Hi 1×2
I think our chances of signing anybody in January are pretty remote really and many of us fear an injury to Teemu Pukki – as much as we do not wish to talk it up with words!
We do not have too many players who stand out like Pukki and Krul so you are quite right once again. I would say that only Max Aarons is on that same level and most of the rest trail a little bit behind their levels of consistenent performance.
The defence seems to be much improved as you say but will that be enough for EPL survival?
We shall see.
Kiitos
I really hope we don’t see Josh S in the starting line up again. At least until he gets some coaching on how to kick the ball! He is a great option to have coming off the bench when the opposition are starting to run on empty. Bring him on at 60 mins and let him run and hassle like a terrier for the last half an hour. Josh could be our super sub!
Could we get Hugill back in January? An oven ready striker who could be vital in the second half of the season. Although Idah may well be just as good, better?, in the long run but right now we need someone ready baked.
At least we are back in the mix for staying up. We all feared we would be relegated by Xmas. We could actually stay up the way things are going at the moment.
Hi Tim N
We have a pair of Terriers, one being an incredibly intelligent Patterdale and the other a completely scatty Jack Russell.
Which one will Josh Sargent emulate between now and May – I dunno cos I didn’t sign him. He seems like an extremely expensive gamble to me right now.
Personally I don’t want Hugill back, but even now I’d take Jordan Rhodes.
Funny old world, this football, innit?
Cheers
Hi Martin excellent summary.
I was bitterly disappointed with the draw after Clark was sent off but thanks to a Pukki Christmas Cracker we at least didn’t do a Along Come Norwich.
I just hope these younger summer signings start to come good very soon Martin.
At the moment it is a little bit like The Emperor’s New Clothes with Stuart Webber in the roll of one of the dubious weavers. One thing about Norfolk folk is that they are very rarely fooled.
I am like you hopeful that Sargent and Tzolis could come good in The Championship, but for the now we need Rashica and Normann fit big time.
For Spurs I would go with Pukki and Adam Idah up front but if Dean Smith is reluctant to go two up top in an away game which is understandable, what about Dowell just behind Teemu ?
I said yesterday that Sargent, Tzolis or for that matter Rashica do not look full of goals at this level and as we all know goalscorers at this level are so hard to find.
This summer I would have liked us to have gone for a “Glen Murray” type, he certainly played a big part in keeping Brighton in the Premier League in those early years of their last promotion.
Someone who has experience of the EPL, a bit like Dion Dublin did for us at the end of his career.
Hi Tim
It’s quite funny really as the last thing I would ever have wanted would have been a Glenn Murray or a Ricky Lambert but just now? Maybe.
I doubt Adam Idah knows if his ar$e is puched, bored or countersunk right now as he’s never going to be first choice or even second tbh. A loan away would seem sensible to me but we’re so thin on the ground in terms of strikers I doubt that’s a genuine possibility.
I like the line about the *dubious weavers* – I’ve not heard that one in over 50 years!
Cheers
Hi Tim
It’s quite funny really as the last thing I would ever have wanted is a Glenn Murray or a Ricky Lambert type but just now? Maybe.
I doubt Adam Idah knows if his ar$e is bored, punched or countersunk right now as he’s struggling to becomen Pukki’s back-up and below Sergant in the pecking order right now.
Even now a loan might prove beneficial for the lad as he needs to find his feet.
I like your line about the *dubious weavers* – I’ve not heard that one in 50 years 🙂
Cheers
Dean Smith has had a great start as we have been competitive in all three games. We have taken 5pts when it could have been at least 2 more. I think he has found most of his preferred 11. Krul, Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Williams, McLean, Gilmour, Normann, Rashica and Pukki. The only slot left is right sided attacker. If you look at that side there are not many goals in it. Given we will have little to spend it is going to be hard to solve the goal scoring problem. We might have to take a punt on a lower league striker.
We will need a lot of clean sheets to get out of trouble so that we maximise the points from any goals we score. December will test our defensive unit including Man Utd when Williams will not be available.
My glass is filling up but not quite half full yet.
Hi Colin
It will be very difficult without Normann and Rashica on Sunday – as if it wasn’t difficult enough already!
You are right about the clean sheets but some of our opponents possess awesome firepower so I’m with you in terms of *how full is my glass*.
Two huge tests coming up.
Cheers
Hello Martin, a great read and some thought provoking responses.
Had you told me before a ball was kicked this season that we would go four games unbeaten I would have taken issue. After the forced diet of defeats which culminated in the worst start in top flight history it feels like heaven. In reality though, it could have been so much better. It took a stroke of genius to wrest a po8nt away from a depleted and abysmal Newcastle outfit.
As has been highlighted elsewhere, the loss of Normann, rashica and cantwell exposes the squad mercilessly. Pukki made two significant interventions. One removed an opponent from the fray, the other rescued a point. With the continued absence of Normann and rashica conformed and the cantwell question unanswered, the loss of Teemu is unthinkable and would render us totally toothless.
This far, (dean) smith has done a pretty good job. Quite how he maintains the good run into,December is anybody’s guess, we carry so little threat. Yet again we find ourselves heavily reliant on a core of championship standard players and some who are struggling to hit that mark. It’s as if somebody has been sleeping on the job.
Hi Chris
I can read between your lines at the end of the comment and understand what you are saying. I would feel better if I knew what the endgame actually is but can only assume that we are expected to be cuddly, cosy and a rollover for the big boys.
One of our terriers is like that but the older male one is far more resilient and intelligent – he doesn’t mind his tummy being tickled, but only if he trusts the tickler and is in the mood.
Dean Smith has done remarkably well thus far but how long will it last?
A long time I hope but my underlying concerns surrounding NCFC remain.
Cheers