What do Easter on terrestrial television and the early holiday period at Norwich City Football Club have in common?
More than we might think would be my answer and we must surely start with the small screen in order to gain some perspective.
Easter has become the traditional time for BBC #Channel27 to fight with SLY #Comedy1 over the screening of El Cid. They fight pretty hard because the loser is legally obligated to show Ben Hur at a time when Charlton Heston is no longer currently in favour with the average TV consumer.
I’d normally give El Cid a swerve but this year I’m going to actively seek it out in order to begin watching at something like 06:38:84 where his Crusading pals strap his maimed body to his horse in order that he may join the battle once more against the Moors.
Two great myths surround this Anthony Mann-directed epic from 1961 and the small screen versions are no different, dear readers, I can assure you.
The first said myth, that El Cid is a passionate Crusader when in fact he is a mercenary is normally glossed over as a mere bagatelle. The other myth – and I’m sorry for the spoiler folks, is El Cid had trouble steering his warhorse because he was dead, which I’m sure proved a bit awkward in terms of showing off his dressage skills.***
Doesn’t this remind you of the battered old light-on-weight destrier that is Norwich City? Only last weekend I pondered whether we believed City had a top-six finish in them and I certainly jumped the gun when I somewhat selfishly answered my own question with an emphatic NO!
And thus appear to have made a right eejit of myself.
However, I am pleased to have called this game wrong. Very pleased and I was most certainly not expecting the level of performance reached either.
This yellow and green beast of ours simply refuses to die. Time after time we have been written off – certainly by myself as much as the next supporter – but we’re still hanging in there.
It is pernicious behaviour on behalf of the football gods, who have teased and taunted us supporters like Zeus and Hera did to Jason and his fellow pioneers of the sword and sandals genre in that other former Easter TV movie, the originally-titled Jason and the Argonauts. Forget the remake, I’m on about the 1963 version with the [in]famous Ray Harryhousen special effects which were really, erm, special.
But this is Norwich and even now the waters are no clearer. Just when it looks like we might against considerably-stacked odds begin to think of taking on Boro or Luton in a brace of Play-off semi-finals, Grant Hanley decides to pick up an Achilles [characters from Greek mythology seem to abound today] injury. He went off in a great deal of pain and most educated observers are pointing towards a season completed early on an involuntary basis.
It’s the same story for Kenny McLean except his injury concerns a knee rather than an Achilles. I know and respect the views of many MFW readers concerning the Mayor but would contend that we are about to find out just how valuable he is to us. And that’s very valuable in my book.
Ben Gibson [hamstring] completes the unwanted triptych of those apparently attacked by Ray Harryhausen’s warriors from the Dark Side, so we’re forced to ask ourselves if a pairing of Andrew Omobamidele and Jacob Lungi Sorensen can see us through at centre-back for the remainder of the season.
Is Jon Tomkinson available on an early recall from loan at Steve Evans’s Stevenage? Probably not, knowing our current degree of expertise in that field.
City Head Coach David Wagner does have experienced duo Sam Byram and Isaac Hayden back in training after long-term injury absences:
“Sam Byram is back, roughly 10 days in training, Isaac Hayden has now had a week with us and hopefully they can train over the weekend. Maybe they can help on Monday, or at least against Middlesbrough, we will see. Two experienced pros, they know the game, they know the Championship as well.
“To turn a season which looks very disappointing into an exciting end, football can throw up strange stories.”
Young midfielder Liam Gibbs scored an absolute belter for City’s first goal after racing on to a volleyed through ball from Sorensen. I was genuinely surprised at the turn of pace from the lad and shots like his on Friday afternoon are simply not saved.
“Everyone performed really well – especially at the start of each half”, said Gibbs. “The fight and the spirit has always been there, but we’ve lacked quality. Today we went back to playing our way and it proved successful.”
It should be added that Gabriel Sara’s finish had Rovers’ keeper Aynsley Pears rooted to his goal-line as he flashed home from a tight angle following a pass from Onel Hernandez and the combination for the second goal was not far off that of the first in terms of quality.
*** History has long debunked the legend – for that is what it is, a legend – of El Cid. He did exist in the 13th century but according to Spanish daily paper El Pais he was not real, which kinds of explains his ability to ride a horse whether dead or alive. I think that’s what they said, anyway.
This exclusive MFW videoclip shows City in training to face Rotherham United at Carrow Road tomorrow.
See my earlier comment on Gary’s piece. Tomkinson is not eligible for a recall. Jayden Warner might well be on the bench having been mentioned by DW post match.
Hi Nick
I thought as much – thanks for confirming once more.
Cheers
Morning Mr P ..happy Easter. I too had written off the POs to the point of forecasting a 3-0 thumping at Ewood, not that I can hide that prediction it is on score guess league on Facebook. Not that I really care the result was quite outstanding, with two top-drawer finishes.
Big Andy O will have his work cut out on Monday, but then he should know Hugill’s way of playing and bullying. It is a case of Needs as Must, I would be more concerned if Hernandez was ruled out, he is the guy who can and does get us forward which has been missing while he was out.
It is time for Sargent to find those scoring boots again, nobody can fault the guy’s work rate, but he is a striker, who is rated on their finishing and goals tally. It is in there as early season form showed, but with both strikers having a combined tally of 21 at this point of the season is poor, teams below us in the table have players with more to their name. Friday was another game where the goals came from Midfielders, I recall other seasons where we have longed for goals from all areas to help ease the strikers. Now we have that but two misfiring strikers, three if you include Idah, who has 1 in 19 games. Still cannot see why he is so highly thought of behind the scenes,
Come Monday, fans will flock to Carra, expecting to see a performance similar to Good Friday’s , but if City carry on their usual form, a disappointment will be a general feeling ….yet again.
The excuse is already in place, Injuries. I hardly ever swallow that line, yes players are missed but the game today is based on a squad game, where each and every player should be capable of stepping up to the plate when called upon. 3 of those returning to training have hardly been regulars, Rowe, Hayden and Byram. I think Byram will be given the shout ahead of Lungi in the centre of defence, allowing him to be the defensive shield.
Still we should have enough in the tank for a home win, but the next game after that is another matter altogether
Sorry to chip in on Martin’s conversation, Lad, but you make a very good point around Sargent. I’d happily swap him closing down or chasing back a few times in the game for a goal or two. Without Pukki, this team looks *light on goals for me.
* Reverse psychology – they should now go and wallop Rotherham. 🙂
Hi Gary
A good old-fashioned Norwich 1 (Rathbone 94 og) Rotherham 0 will do for me!
Cheers
Hi Lad
Happy Easter to you too.
Onel really is a bit special when he’s on top of his game I would agree. Another area I’m with you is Adam Idah cos I don’t know what they see in him either.
A friend in Co. Cork told me a few years back now how highly the RoI set up rated him as a junior and this has come to pass as he is nearly in double figures now in terms of senior caps for the Republic. But I still don’t see too much there 🙂
I genuinely expected to be calling the last rites on season 2022-23 today but obviously that isn’t how it has come to pass.
Rotherham don’t quite have enough points to feel safe yet so it will be one of those nervy old games for sure, followed as you say by the small matter of a trip to Riverside, where we must start as second favourites regardless of what might happen tomorrow.
Cheers
Hi Martin
Pleased you did mention the El Cid second film aptly named the Daughters of El Cid very poor.
For my Easter viewing, I’ve watched a couple of Carry on Films starting with Carry on Abroad then Carry on Doctor classic British Humour.
Could that Carry on team do a football version with Carry on Canaries it would have you laughing and crying in equal amounts even pulling your hair out(I’m as bald as a coote) at times.
Friday’s game was how I was hoping city would be playing since Wagner walked through the door only without the injuries.
Tomorrow could be chalk and cheese or more of the same so it’s Carry on hoping for me that we can find a win without a defence.
How blessed are we or not VAR had a real fun day yesterday starting with a disallowed goal for Rangers V Celtic, then went into overdrive in the premiership.
Idah sadly needs to speed up his thinking process and notice what’s going on around him maybe turn him into a reverse of Chris Sutton at CB.
We all know Sutton as a striker but he started out at CB and I think it was Foley the under 21 coach needed a striker and tried him there and he took off
Top line should have read didn’t mention typo error again
You had me wondering for a moment 🙂
Alex, I think “VAR in overdrive “ did your other team the biggest favours. Two clear penalties for Brighton not given. The VAR official should be hanging his head in shame!
According to Sky today, VAR was right on the 2 handballs but got the penalty wrong and watching the streaming it was atough call for all 3 decisions
It was never a tough call for the penalty, when Hojbjerg stood on Mitoma’s foot, and Howard Webb has now apologised to Brighton on behalf of the PGMOL (I think that’s the third time this season they’ve apologised to Brighton for VAR errors). It’s not VAR as such that’s at fault, it’s the way they operate it, and the poor officials who review it. I’ve just seen Palace’s equaliser against Leeds, and it took them ages to see what was the player was clearly onside..
Hi Jim
I would heartily agree with you about Brighton and your comment on VAR: *It’s the way they operate it and the poor officials who review it*.
Cheers
Hi Alex
Would that be the one about the daughters of Sid James aka Carry on up the Crusades or something?
Chris Sutton was exceptional. After about half a dozen games my mate Keith said: *we’ve just been watching a future England centre half* and in all fairness I don’t think he was too far out with his assessment.
Can Idah do the same as Sutton but in reverse? It’s one of those unlikely scenarios that can never be ruled out until it’s been tried, but I doubt it will ever get off the drawing board – but this is football and you never know!
Cheers
I bet Chris Sutton regrets his England situation Martin.
Chris, as we see from his excellent Pinkun column is his own man, but sometimes it is just best to hold your tongue in the long run.
I remember one guy next to me moaning about Dave Watson (our Dave Watson) halfway through a match.
Watson then produced this superb turn when he looked trapped in by two opponents by the corner flag and played the ball forward brilliantly, so I said to the guy “that is why you are watching a future England centre half” 😂
It’s funny how these comments stick in the mind. I heard somebody say of Fashanu: *this lad’s got the lot so we won’t keep him for long* and when a young Darren Eadie burst onto the scene against Vitesse Arnhem it was just the same: *He’ll be off as soon as Chase smells the right money* 🙂
Wow Martin; some classy cliches, and some excellent comments.
The only way to sum up the current performances has to be “consistently inconsistent”. I’m at a loss to explain or even understand how we can appear so cluless one week…..and then put in a performance like Saturday’s.
Maybe this group (or at least the replacements) do have the cojones for the fight…
Hernadez was excellent; Sara superb; and is Sorensen the new Buendia/Crook?? Those passes which led to both goals were wonderful; great examples of a creator’s art.
As always, it’s the hope that kills you!!
O T B C
Hi John
You don’t get more cliches than are wrapped up in a UK Easter!
That’s an interesting comparison of Sorensen and Chippy Crook, but Sorensen covers far more ground and is much more physically robust whereas the rose tints tells me Crook would play those beautiful passes [long and short] just for fun.
Another Buendia? No, definitely not for me.
Plenty of cojones on display all round really, and not least from our man Angus.
Cheers
Big doses of lovely nostalgia there Martin.
Here is another Easter quote that applies to us, (for a few days anyway) ” Why do you seek the living among the dead?” There is no way I thought we would win at Blackburn and I like most of us thought the playoffs were dead, dead as a Norwegian Blue. Parrot that is.
My mate Marty went, as he would despite it being Good Friday, to hell with any humiliation that possibly awaited him. I even quoted Henry 5th to him😂 I thought he was so mad/heroic. Delete as appropriate.
But lets be honest here it was typical Along Come Norwich.
I hate to be a party pooper here, but I still think it will be a tall order, to qualify let alone win the playoffs. The injuries to Grant and Kenny are woefully timed. We could get through 1-2 games but Boro and WBA (is it me but do they always lose playing in green and yellow?) away is tough without Hanley in particular, and while Ben Gibson hasn’t had the greatest of season’s he is another big miss especially in those kind of games.
But lets get behind the lads on Monday💚💛, a win then really would make it interesting.
Hi Tim
Yes, there comes a time when nostalgia emerges to the fore, often I would suggest when it comes to football.
I think I’ve only quoted Shakespeare once on MFW and that was when Falstaff valued the attributes of some brigand or other as *not worth the price of a plucked hen*. I think my stolen barb was aimed at Josip Drmic, which kind of dates it a bit.
From the quoted figures there were some 1,799 who joined your friend Marty in some Good Friday thrillseeking and I am pleased that none of them could have been disappointed when they woke up yesterday morning.
Cheers
I’m happy to join in the unexpected optimism that Friday’s result has provided, but people booking hotel rooms around Wembley should remember a couple of things. Firstly, the inconsistency this team has shown all season suggests that we’ve still got a couple of poor performances to endure. Secondly, when we win at Wembley we always beat little 1p5wich in the semi final, which obviously can’t happen.
I really hope there are exciting times during the rest of the season. Fingers crossed!
Hi Don
Yeah, *unexpected optimism* is just about right, I would say.
If we do [massive IF] make it to the Playoff final it will have a tinge of the bitter-sweetness about it for me as I have the full set of *Norwich at Wembleys* to my name and I won’t be able to get to this one, thus breaking the personal chain.
And if anybody was struggling to come up with a definition of inconsistency I too think a look at Norwich City’s season will quickly help them out!
Cheers
I have to agree that after the diabolical display against the Blades, any lingering doubt about sneaking into the playoffs was totally banished!! I’d forgotten that this is NCFC and one with our top scorer on the bench and the striker’s role handed to a youngster who’s favoured position is as a creative midfielder.
These changes were against a dude above us in the table and with a decent home record, so I was reset surprised to find that we were leading after just 11 minutes. The pass from JLS (aka Sorensen!!) was superb and Gibbs: pace enabled him to outsprint the defenders and unleash a superb shot on the run that Pukki would have been proud of.
The 2nd by Sara was simply a thing of beauty and I’m sure none.of us would be surprised if SW was gleefully thinking that that finishe adds to his asking price in the summer.
We now face the remainder of the season without our captain and only one fit CB, so goodness knows what to expect from our patched up team.
PS – I have been critical of the Mayor many times in the past, but since the arrival of DW, when he has played well, it gives the other players a lift – on the other hand ..,..
Hi Ed
It seems positively eerie to think of Teemu Pukki belonging in the past, but that’s exactly where we are now!
At least he seems to have enjoyed buzzing around when he did make a lte appearance, and that can only be for the greater good.
We can only expect the unexpected with my major worry for today will be, somewhat absurdly: how will the players react to turning out at home?
By all accounts Carrow Road has not been a happy hunting ground for anybody this season, players and supporters alike.
Cheers
Hi Martin, it wouldn’t be Easter without Charlton Heston.
Kicking the holiday off with a great away win is welcome no matter what the circumstances. At the very least it makes Monday interesting.
The sudden injury crisis has put a damper on proceedings but let’s hope wagner can find some solutions.
Hi Chris
Wagner says it’s his job to come up with solutions, although I reckon it’s asking a bit much of him this time around.
He might get away with a Sorensen or Byram-Omobamidele pairing once or twice, but surely not for all six matches that are left to play in the *regular season*. Maybe Gibson is not as badly injured as it appeared at the time? Maybe Byram will feel a level of fitness at last? Can Isaac Hayden be a wild card at the death?
Too many questions – we’ll find out the answers soon enough.
Cheers