For obvious reasons, I’d anticipated giving the Carabao Cup only a light touch on the pages of MyFootballWriter this season but then they go and win two games. Both away, both tricky, both against Championship opponents.
How can we ignore that?
By Norwich City standards, this is a proper cup run.
We don’t expect to win it – Man City probably will – but nothing bad comes from a run in either of the cups in the same way nothing bad can come from getting in the habit of winning football matches.
And somehow, from somewhere, it’s threatening to become one – a habit that is.
The transformation has been nothing short of astounding, even if does eventually go south. Unbeaten runs must end sometime. But this iteration of Norwich City bears not even the slightest resemblance to the one we were forced to endure at the back end of last season.
Nothing is the same. Not a single element of the Class of 2023 remains even if some of the personnel do.
David Wagner has more than justified the calls for patience and has managed to successfully extricate himself from the undignified muddle that was season 2022-23.
With the benefit of hindsight, it feels as if we underestimated the damage done by Dean Smith and Craig Shakespeare, and that Wagner had no option but to hold his nose and just do the best he could with a squad that was the complete antithesis of the type he desired.
Not just physically, although looking back it’s clear they were not even close to having the energy and zip that a Wagner team needs, but also they were fatigued of the mind. The thinking was muddled and confused, and the joie de vivre was non-existent.
Now they are visibly enjoying their football just as much as we’re enjoying watching them play. It’s infectious.
There were some easy wins to be had for Wagner, which he duly delivered, but there have been some intangibles that none of us could have foreseen.
When I say easy wins, I don’t mean they were easy easy, but virtually all of us agreed that to turn a group that was, at best, lily-livered into one with some cajones, there needed to be big characters added to the group – no-nonsense types who wouldn’t tolerate anyone operating at 99 percent and who have no time for bowed heads and drooped shoulders.
Enter Ashley Barnes and Shaun Duffy.
Unspectacular, yes, but Stuart Webber and Wagner knew what they would bring and how important their influence would be, both on the pitch and in the dressing room.
You could argue that Jack Stacey and Christian Fassnacht offer something similar. While neither is as demonstrative as the two older heads, both are calming and steadying influences to those around them and fall very much into the ‘been there, done it’ category.
But it’s the intangibles that have made this start to the season so thrilling and unexpected.
Przemyslaw Placheta unexpectedly stepping up and pushing himself to the forefront of his head coach’s thinking is something none of us saw coming, along with Dimi Giannoulis transforming consistently into the player of whom we’ve seen only glimpses.
And last night, handed the left-back stripes for the night, Sam McCallum stepped into those same boots and delivered, chipping in with a vital assist along the way.
But there’s even more.
The way the goals are collectively celebrated and the way they appear to celebrate each other’s successes as much as their own. Small but vital changes. And a sea change from the niggly, tetchy, and dispirited group we watched just four months ago.
As ever, the caveat. We’ve still played but six games and plenty of teams get off to fliers before thudding into the buffers, but right now this looks and feels good.
Of course, the bad news comes in the form of a prolonged absence for poor Josh Sargent – another who appears a different player in this new-look side.
While it offers an opportunity for the also-rejuvenated Adam Idah, it does leave us exposed in the striking department and just an injury to either Barnes or Idah away from needing a major re-shuffle. Let’s just hope the straight bat played by Wagner to any suggestion of making a late bid for striker reinforcements is merely him publicly showing faith in his current group.
Let’s hope we get to see Sarge again in 2023 but I have my doubts. That, however, is football and we mustn’t allow one setback to impinge on what has been a thrilling August.
Let’s enjoy it and ignore those who deem us unworthy of some good form and who claim we have ‘no right’ to be this good.
OTBC.
Another win Gary. A nice feeling to have ground out another win and Placheta after three years showing he may at last do a job for us. Am sorry for Josh but we need to at least loan a striker for a while or all good work could go to pot with another injury.
£4 million for Kenny – I would have snapped their hands off. I’d have Lungi in there anyday of the week. Had he have been fit I think Kenny would be gone.
Roll on Saturday – I’m going for a 2-1 win for us.
I would have agreed with you before this season – he has frustrated for 2 years now- but Wagner has done an amazing job of sorting out his mindset and focus and he has been excellent so far this year and crucial to our play. That said – For Sure will be a VERY good back up in a few weeks once fully up to speed. Lungi is amazing, I agree. Hope he is back soon.
You’ve got to hand it to Placheta. Sent away on loan, got seriously injured – if anyone’s head was going to drop it was his. But no, he’s got his head down in the other sense, worked hard and earned his chance. The result – a lovely swivel and shot (with his weaker foot) to win the game.
And his response? Give the credit straight to McCallum who’s excellent control set it up. I can’t imagine Tzolis reacting like that, can you?
As you say Gary, lets run with this very good upturn. Interesting you mention the damage done by Smudger and Shakey. How the squad looked at times was shared on the terraces, a total lack of real interest. Whether the lure of some good golf courses was the draw for S&S, we will never know. It certainly doesn’t seem like the football was.
I was not over the moon with Wagner appointment, was prepared to give the benefit of having his own window and pre season with the squad. The work he and his back room team has done is outstanding, the players who remained bought into this and those bought in have taken hold and running. Long may it continue.
A -rejuvenated Adam Idah – not sure I can go as far as that yet, the lad has had countless times and just fades away. The best thing that has happened for him is one Barnes storming Ashley. If Barnes cannot get Idah firing, then I don’t know who can – reminds me a little of Iwan and Bellamy. Let’s hope the same result can be found as well.
I do still feel we need a replacement striker. Like you, I sense it will be a fair old while before Josh hits the first team. This is his third ankle injury since being with us – one before last season, one during WC and now.
Can they put metal plates in to strengthen? I used loads of bandages in my playing days
My first pair of football boots covered my ankles and was told they helped strengthen that area and also protected the Achilles from being targeted by others scraping their studs down them.
The boots today give no support or protection and aren’t boots in the true sense of the description.
With all the ankle injuries, you would think that someone would take the old style boots and give them a modern twist, including the higher ankle protection
Funny you should say that Alex, but quite a few of today’s boots do have ankle protection, although not perhaps in the sense that ‘Billy’s boots’ did 🙂
https://www.prodirectsport.com/soccer/p/nike-air-zoom-mercurial-superfly-ix-elite-x-mbappe-ag-baltic-blue-white-mens-cleats-1001621/
I was just thinking about Billy’s Boots this morning Gary. Good old Dead-Shot Keen. (We’re showing our age here methinks)
Haha, indeed we are mate. Roy of the Rovers was the must-read of its day in my household.
Those Nike boots are weird. They obviously don’t lace up and tie off, they look as if they’re just slip-ons. Speaking as one who started off in the old style boots with high ankles, I don’t think they gave much support to the actual ankle if you turned it, as Josh did. They did help absorb the odd kick or two from the Brian Thurlow style full backs in those days, but they did inhibit your ability to run a bit. I for one couldn’t wait to get my first pair of “continental boots”, as they were known.
Leather studs with nails that were hammered in. Clogs more like.
The famous photo of England walking out at Wembley against Hungary in 1953 shows the difference and no wonder we lost.
I was always brought up as a Fulchester fan myself.
Hi Gary
An unseen game – no streaming that I could find but Bristol had the better possession so says Auntie at the Beeb, so we’re learning to win the hard way and long may it last.
14 attemps and only one goal – a poor conversion rate that could come back and bite us later in the season, so with the Gingerbread Man out for a prolonged period I am an advocate for bringing someone in.
The goals have been spread so far this season – again let’s hope it lasts but someone did mention all teams need a centre point that leads the scoring charts and will young Rowe continue in this golden run?
Anyway, well done to the lads last night and I will agree with Pearson when he said City are a very good team but poor judgement in his defence let his team down and his forwards must learn to pass to the player in the best position. He singled out Mehmeti who I think was a City academy player as one that ignored Wells who had a tap in but went for his own glory.
Sky Correspondent who did the Stoke V Rotherham game last night said with Norwich up next and after a 6-1 drubbing things are looking bad for Rotherham. I just wonder if this is the ACN moment
Sargents injury is a dark cloud – he was the ideal focal point for the teams style of play and with Barnes in his ear was going from strength to strength. Fingers crossed for a quick recovery but Christmas is a long time away and it could derail the season.
Idah has blown warm and cold but he has all the attributes required, hopefully with Barnes guidance and growing confidence he can be the man we need.
Got to get another striker in for cover – hopefully we can pull off a Huckberyesque Peter Crouch master stroke. Weren’t Klopp and Wagner besties ? Who is coming through at Liverpool?
Plan B
Fassnacht also played through the middle at Young Boys very effectively