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A second 45 with nothing not to love – a very welcome Carrow Road rarity

A second 45 with nothing not to love – a very welcome Carrow Road rarity

16th February 2023 By Martin Penney 23 Comments

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We have a new contender for the Best Norwich City 45 Minutes of the Season award after that second-half performance at Carrow Road under the St Valentine’s night floodlights, which fittingly gave us the opportunity to fall back in love with our team and celebrate with David Wagner at the end.

Wagner does not seem to do the pseudo, the contrived or the downright goddamned full-on Trump-style PR offensive. He does genuine celebrations that allow the supporters to join in with the sheer joy of a first Carrow Road win in time considerations only usually employed by Captain James T Kirk & Co.

Even after he and the players had left the Barclay, Wagner and Gaby Sara walked slowly towards the dugout, drinking in the satisfaction of the moment and not forgetting to high-five some lingering fans as they reached the tunnel.

If there is any discord in the squad it did not manifest itself either during the match or immediately afterwards and speculation regarding the absence of Teemu Pukki was kind of silenced when Chris Goreham asked Wagner to clarify and was told that it was to give Teemu a rest and he, Wagner, was minded to bring him off the bench. However, at the halftime, break Teemu felt a slight muscle twinge so didn’t appear in the second half but is expected to be fit for weekend selection.

There was nothing not to like in that second 45. Its immediate predecessor had reeked of another Carrow Road cock-up, with Angus Gunn begging to be dubbed “son of Dracula”. This not suggesting that Bryan possesses any Transylvanian heritage but more that Angus has been watching too many Tim Krul horrors.

Needless to say, our rapid reply to Jacob Greaves’ opener was most welcome and I couldn’t give the proverbial simian’s about the massive deflection off the same player that added Kieran Dowell to the scoresheet once more. Any shot on target is praiseworthy our Kieran, so you did the right thing and got your just reward.

This was such a team performance that it is not really an appropriate occasion for singling out individuals but I have to make the case for my chosen triumvirate, beginning with Onel Hernandez.

Our Argos-loving Cuban showed all that has made him a firm fans’ favourite with bursts of sheer pace, twisting and turning and that superb assist for Dowell when he laid the ball back with a precision that isn’t always present in his game. But my highlight was a lung-busting run to get back and rob a Hull midfielder of the ball in what seemed like nanoseconds, although Mr Spock would probably excuse me of being illogical.

The boy from Brazil who is Gaby Sara might have been inspired by his song to make his finish look so effortlessly easy. It wasn’t simple, as anybody who has seen it from behind the Barclay goal will testify. He is looking better by the game and the more involved he becomes the better I like it.

And then there’s old Pointy McPointface, the Mayor himself. He didn’t put a foot wrong all night and some of his long “quarterback” passes were quite something to behold. Maybe Kenny McLean only reaches this standard when given time on the ball, but even so he runs Onel close for my MotM award.

You could easily argue that Hull were poor, failed to employ the usual compulsory high press against us and looked dead on their feet at times, but it’s the oft-quoted case of only being able to beat what is in front of you. And we achieved that in some considerable style.

Another happy lad was the Man in the Stands, Don Harold, who said afterwards:

“Well, that ticked a few boxes. A home win, not losing after going behind and a good performance, especially in the second half.

“Hull looked the epitome of mediocre, but they would have gone above us if they had won. Apart from the goal [which was, inevitably, avoidable] they didn’t offer much of a threat and didn’t press high up, which suggests they hadn’t done their homework.

“This was the most cohesive performance from Norwich at Carrow Road for months, perhaps all season. Sara, Hernandez and Idah all had good nights and, after a quiet start, the crowd got involved. It was worth missing Valentine’s chocolate for.”

The closing note is from me and addressed to Hull City’s flame-haired agent provocateur, Ryan Woods:

If you think it’s smart to shush the Barclay and the Pit after 15 minutes, consider how many times you will be asked the question Ginger, Ginger what’s the score? as the game progresses.

No way am I prepared to join the ABBA bandwagon, so I’ll leave you with this. If you wanna hear a voice, Patti LaBelle will never disappoint:


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Filed Under: Column, Martin Penney

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Comments

  1. Bernard+Owen says

    16th February 2023 at 8:59 am

    Extra extra read all about it ,Norwich City win a home game for the first time since Oct 2022.
    Martin has covered a lot of the good points and I’ll just add that if Gabriel Sara keeps on improving he’ ll have the world on a string in footballing terms.
    We also saw a vision of life after Teemu, for when we go out separate ways, as we will , and it wasn’t as bad as I had feared.
    Now off to Wigan , and don’t fall off the pier.

    2
    Reply
    • martin penney says

      16th February 2023 at 9:20 am

      Hi Bernie

      You must be in a good mood this morning – glad to see the creativity has spread from the pitch to the supporters with Eric Blair meeting Neil Young.

      Wigan are battling hard, very hard, and Saturday will not be easy.

      Cheers

      Reply
  2. Herr+Cutz says

    16th February 2023 at 9:56 am

    When we gave away our usual sloppy goal I thought oh no here we go again, lots of possession and no result. But no we score 3 and it could have been a lot more, when we do win we do it in style. Do we have a goal keeper Coach these days?

    Reply
    • martin penney says

      16th February 2023 at 1:01 pm

      Hi Cutty.

      So true.

      Yes we do have a GK coach, one Ed Wootten. Trouble is Krul is old dog, no new tricks while Angus must find it bad for his confidence to be alternately picked and then dropped. Don’t ask me which one will play at Wigan!

      Cheers

      Reply
  3. AlexB says

    16th February 2023 at 11:12 am

    Hi Martin

    Well Rachel Welsh passed away and if I’m right she once dated Peter Osgood when he was at Chelsea not on loan at city another icon from the 60’s gone.

    Will Barden be the No1 next season or will Gunn Jr follow Cantwell to Rangers seems some papers are already saying £7m plus add ons plus a call up for Scotland, Pickford has to many lined up behind him for our young gun to get a game so jump ship if I was him Hanley and McLean will be doing their best on both accounts.

    Wigan Pier and Sinani on Saturday well at least one Sinani is unavailable for this one but has started his previous games but been hooked at halftime, Malone seems to be getting a fighting spirit out of this team so as you say not an easy one to pre-judge and just maybe some of those pundits might see city as winning this one.

    No news from our esteemed board of directors on the share issue this might drag on till the season end unless someone breaks rank and leak a nibble to the EDP behind a paywall or would they go open just to hack the powers that been.

    Onwards and upwards

    Reply
    • martin penney says

      16th February 2023 at 1:10 pm

      Hi Alex

      I agree Gunny should give both Rangers and Scotland some very serious consideration although I have read £5million plus considerable add-ons and personally I feel we’d be lucky to get that much in Webber’s till from any sale.

      This could leave Webber with neither a #1 or #2 keeper at the end of the season simultaneously, which is hardly ideal for the Club, unless Wagner knows something – or more importantly somebody – that we don’t.

      There was a very interesting late comment from Ennis Pipe this morning on my Monday article about the share issue – it’s worth taking a look.

      Cheers

      1
      Reply
    • Jim Davies says

      16th February 2023 at 4:42 pm

      Alex, I believe they have to announce details of the share sale within two weeks of the issue, so you may not have to wait until the end of the season.

      Reply
      • AlexB says

        17th February 2023 at 10:37 am

        Thanks I just thought that they would drag out any announcement till the very last moment didn’t realise there was a time schedule on this things if they were kept in house so to speak.

        Reply
  4. Tim Ball says

    16th February 2023 at 12:33 pm

    An excellent win Martin. I think we have started to see signs of David Wagner’s ideas getting onto the pitch. I feel he is more Klopp while Daniel was more Guardiola, either way it is a vast improvement on Deano’s days I have to admit.

    Funnily enough this is how I remember Deano’s old Brentford team, I am starting to wonder if his heart was ever truly in this cause, perhaps as has been said too much golfing🏌🏻‍♀️.

    But fortunately that is all in the past. The David Wagner era has begun.

    But for me Tuesday night invoked the great wingers of City’s past thanks to one Onel Hernandez, they were Kenny Foggo, Ruel Fox, Dale Gordon and the Darren’s. I hope I haven’t left anyone “great” out.

    And in those days when the wingers were worth their weight in gold there were some scary opponents like Tommy Hutchinson (Coventry) David Wagstaffe (Wolves) and John “Halftime Fag” Robertson ( Forest)

    To me Darren Eadie was the best out and out winger I have ever seen play for us, Darren Huckerby was more than just a winger he was an No 10 or even a brilliant support striker. Without his injuries Darren Eadie would surely have played for England.

    Whether Onel Hernandez will ever go into Canary folklore like the above is a mute point because on Tuesday night he was unplayable. Brilliant.

    Although we were poor at Bristol City on Saturday their right back mentioned in an interview after the game that he had to be on his A game when we brought on Onel for the second half.

    It is a long while since I have seen a wing display like that by a Norwich player.

    Keep it up Onel.

    Reply
    • martin penney says

      16th February 2023 at 1:18 pm

      Hi Tim

      Congrats on getting Dean Smith into the same sentence as Jurgen and Pep – I would have struggled to do that!

      Jimmy Robertson is a good shout too. He was a fine player. Just out of interest, Johann Cruyff allegedly smoked 10 a day.

      I don’t think Onel will join the greats you have mentioned but he can be a very exciting player on his day as Hull found out to their cost. Wagner can be quoted as saying he reckons he can get even more from him – let’s see but at least it bodes well for the offer of a new contract.

      It’s in and out, but he often contributes his fair share defensively as well.

      Cheers

      1
      Reply
      • Jim Davies says

        16th February 2023 at 4:39 pm

        How many fags a day did Kevin Drinkell get through?

        Reply
        • martin penney says

          17th February 2023 at 8:55 am

          Hi Jim

          Quite a few by all accounts!

          Cheers

          Reply
    • AlexB says

      16th February 2023 at 4:00 pm

      Hi Tim
      You missed out Jimmy Neighbour who we got from Spurs for £70k sold him to Wet Spam 3 years later £150k sadly nolonger with us.

      The Klopp/Wagner links go back to their playing days together, Klopp would drive them to training and they talked about their plans and style of football, Wagner said he was Klopps best man at his wedding and spent every spare minute taking about how to press in football even on his bachelors night.

      He was also the coach at Dortmund with Klopp teaching the academy how they wanted them to play.

      1
      Reply
      • martin penney says

        16th February 2023 at 6:17 pm

        I saw Jimmy Neighbour play a few times for both clubs and I must admit I didn’t really rate him as highly as I did any of those on Tim’s list.

        I simply might have seen him on some off-days of course.

        Reply
      • Tim Ball says

        17th February 2023 at 1:00 am

        Of course Alex 😱 how did I forget Jimmy.

        A brilliant lad, as you say no longer with us.

        I find it sad that on The Big Match Revisited that so many players of those days are no longer around.

        I did know Wagner and Klopp were close but not that close.

        Reply
        • martin penney says

          17th February 2023 at 8:57 am

          I used to love The Big Match. I think everybody liked Brian Moore 🙂

          1
          Reply
        • Gary Gowers says

          17th February 2023 at 10:58 am

          Oi you two! … I wrote about this the day before young Connor posted his piece on the Pink Un. Here … https://norwichcity.myfootballwriter.com/2023/01/05/the-david-wagner-story-so-far/

          Fancy missing it and quoting Connor instead!

          (Only joking… he told the story much better than I did 😀 )

          1
          Reply
          • martin penney says

            17th February 2023 at 11:30 am

            Ah, plagiarism.

            It’s slightly one up on publishing an uncredited c&p job from the Erpingham Examiner I suppose 🙂

    • AlexB says

      17th February 2023 at 10:35 am

      Here’s there story if interested

      https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.pinkun.com/news/23230371.norwich-city-story-david-wagner-jurgen-klopp/&ved=2ahUKEwj-_PXorJz9AhVSMMAKHYX-BtQQFnoECCAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw32zBXfueLI_5p-GIs-kdAz

      Reply
  5. 1x2 says

    16th February 2023 at 4:25 pm

    I watched the Sheffield United-Middlesbrough game and again Boro impressed. The main difference was the attacking quality. This time Boro attacked mainly from the left, so Marcus Forss role was more defensive. He wants to score goals, so he didnt look happy after the game to his role. Comparing them to Norwich is difficult, but their attack looks most impressive in the championship. Norwich ex-loan Ramsey played a couple of minutes.

    I found it interesting how mr Wagner commented about Pukki during the after game press conference. Basically he asked Teemus personal opinion, does he accept that he will not play. Then he said that of course Teemu would play some part of the game. Teemu got injured or “injured”, no one knows. Im 100% sure that he clearly has your biggest wages. When he wrote his new contract with Norwich, he was selected as the best player of the championship. He was that clearly + he scored an incredible amount of international games goals. Only a complete moron agent would have accepted something like 50k per week deal.. Norwich would save money by keeping him as the injured list. Its also possible that Teemu decided that he is now injured and will not accept that he would sit on the Norwich bench at all. Norwich has a history with fights with their players. Drmic and Cantwell obvious ones, Buendia forced himself out. Norwich have made a new contract offer to Teemu, which does not seem to interest him. I want like most people entertainment and would not mind seeing Teemus I dont care mode because its fascinating. It would also be something new to Norwich fans.

    Reply
    • martin penney says

      16th February 2023 at 6:29 pm

      Hi 1×2

      I agree with you that Teemu will be most unlikely to sign a new contract here at Norwich but David Wagner comes across as a very honest type of guy and just now I am happy with his explanation for the absence on Tuesday.

      Yes indeed Pukki in *I don’t care* mode would be a new one on us supporters, but I reckon we’d be more pi$$ed off than fascinated 🙂

      He is a hero here and surely would care to remain so for what is effectively slightly less than three months. He might well have a definite place to go to already and he surely wouldn’t want to show any new destination that he can have a bad attitude if he wants to, whatever he might be feeling inside.

      Many, many clubs in England have a history of stand-offs with their players – it is by no means just Norwich!

      Kiitos

      2
      Reply
      • Tim Ball says

        17th February 2023 at 12:43 pm

        Personally I don’t think Teemu has gone onto the pitch playing for us giving any less than 100% Martin.

        Look at how frustrated he looked in the time Dean Smith was here. Not the sign of a player who has given up on the club.

        Not like Nelson Oliveira did. He stood so bloody still one match I was thinking of putting in planning permission !!!

        Reply
        • martin penney says

          17th February 2023 at 2:33 pm

          Yeah our Nelson definitely had all aspects of the cliched Latino temperament!

          Reply

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