Well, it couldn’t have been worse than Plymouth. The only way was up and, as it transpired, it was actually okay. Decent even.
The trouble with 6-2 defeats or the like is that they erode trust, as in the trust we have in the players. After a bruising 2022-23 that was in hellishly short supply but with points on the board early on and after a couple of good performances, it had slowly started to return. And then came Home Park.
So there’s a rebuild job to be done and a bright yet unsuccessful showing at Fulham coupled with yesterday’s win suggests it’s underway.
Still early days but there’s an element of comfort in David Wagner’s assertion that they identified specifically what went wrong in Devon and are convinced it was a one-off.
Here’s hoping.
To be fair to Wagner, the decision to make just the one change from last Saturday was ballsy, especially after some decent individual performances in midweek, but also justified.
City’s determination to start on the front foot was helped by a compliant Birmingham, who were happy to sit in a mid-to-low block and allow us to have the ball.
Far be it for me to tell John Eustace how to set his team up, but having witnessed our team’s ability to implode, I’d have been sorely tempted to ‘have a go’ in the opening ten minutes while they were at their most vulnerable and fragile.
But no… luckily the Blues were happy to allow City to have the ball and in doing so those early touches helped rebuild the confidence and offered them the chance to build a solid platform from which to go and perform.
And they did.
It ended up being one of those rare afternoons where at no stage did it feel like City would lose the game – aside maybe for those few fleeting seconds early in the second half when Jay Stansfield saw the whites of Angus Gunn’s eyes but lucking planted one into his chest rather than the back of the net.
Had that gone in, the mood would have altered significantly but Angus standing tall was vital, especially as only a few minutes later City went up the other end and scored the first goal.
Goalkeepers who concede six and who are not blameless in doing so are entitled to feel a bit shellshocked and wobbly, so fair play to Gunn for an assured display and a clean sheet. It will have done him – and the rest of us – the world of good.
The goals when they came were both quality, but even in a first half that grew increasingly stodgy as the minutes ticked away, there were still moments in front of goal that promised of more to come – particulalrly when Adam Idah, on the half-turn, thundered a grass-cutter centimetres wide of John Ruddy’s left-hand post.
But whatever was said in the Norwich dressing room at halftime worked. From the get-go, from the moment Kenny McLean hit that raking forty-yarder onto the laces of Przemysław Płacheta, the tempo was set.
The ball was shifted two beats quicker and, as a result, the fluidity improved – exemplified perfectly when Płacheta rolled one into the path of Dimi Giannoulis who, rather than take a touch, clipped an inviting cross into the danger area.
As a result, Gabriel Sara was able to find himself a yard with his late run – enough time to bury that unstoppable header past Ruddy.
With their tails up, a second one looked inevitable, and with Hwang Ui-jo having entered the fray in place of Christian Fassnacht, the Korean produced his best touch so far in a Norwich shirt to cleverly flick one into the path of an onrushing Jon Rowe.
What happened next was, as James described in his match report, prime Dale Gordon.
The step-over, the dropped shoulder, the crisp left-foot strike. The Jonny Rowe of August had returned.
Inevitably, the Blues came out and had a go – they had to – and did create one or two dangerous moments; most notably when Miyoshi sent three defenders into Morrisons with a cut-back before thundering one against the crossbar. Gibson and Duffy had to buy tickets to get back in.
But, overall, it was nothing like the dying minutes against Stoke when we were waiting for our net to bulge. In the main, the defending was composed and the game management was on point – again the complete antithesis of the Potters’ visit.
So, a better day – one that went some way to healing the wounds of Home Park.
We’re not there yet. We still look a way off being contenders but at least the ship is steadied and a sceptical Carrow Road felt re-engaged as the post-match olés went up in front of a bouncing Barclay.
One week ago, a win of any description felt a million miles away, so we’ll take it.
A win’s a win etc, but I don’t want to get carried away again. There seemed to be a lack of confidence in the first half when a stodgy looking Birmingham seemed there for the taking, but we had no zip whatsoever about our play. We looked like a team of parts that hadn’t gelled.
After half time it improved in spells, but through a combination of sloppiness and lack of said confidence we still managed to serve up a handful of dangerous situations that better teams will take.
It felt for me that the game might be defined by our mistakes rather than the quality we clearly have – we looked better when we actually used the pace we have.
Maybe the Plymouth hammering is to blame, but we looked subdued at times, and a bit like several players still aren’t sure of the structure. Fingers crossed etc. OTBC
Hwangs flick was of the highest quality.
😗
Hi Gary
A win is a win as said by Dave Cole but and a big one at that is is the wasted chances.
I did read that creating chance was the hard part surely the hard part is finishing those chances or at least it is for city at this present time.
So up next is a mid week travel to Swansea who have two good strikers Lowe and Yeats both averaged 1 in 3 last season and on the same this season so far so a pair for Wagner to be wary of.
Let’s hope the travelling supporters aren’t too inconvenienced by the Rail strike on that day or could the club sub the coach fares ?? at least it’s on the sky Red Button.
Hi Gary
Question
Over the years City have lost game due to very poor Refereeing or VAR decision.
Yesterday the boot was on the other foot for a top 6 Premiership club in Liverpool now an ex player come pundit says even after the goal was ruled out and a free kick awarded once the error was noted the decision should have been reversed.
Is this the next step in the continuous march for the top clubs not to lose games using VAR as a tool to get games replayed till the correct decision in their mind is awarded.
Referee abuse sadly is part of the game but as supporters prior to VAR it was human error and welived with it, now with VAR you have a combined hunan and technology errors surely we have to learn to except errors as part of the game.
To reverse decisions once the game has moved on no matter what league or club just doesn’t work and PGMOL making apologies in less than a minute of a game finishing just adds fuel to an already awkward situation.
Alex, that offside wasn’t the only poor decision in that game. The first yellow card for Diaz(?) was a joke, the Spurs player tripped himself up. The straight red for Jones was contentious, but in my opinion, correct. Even if he did skid off the top of the ball first, he was high and not in control of his actions. I appreciate that you’re a Spurs supporter, but yesterday the officials and the technology were in their favour.
You might also like to look at the two officials involved. Our dear friend Simon Hooper on the field, and Darren England of Southampton penalties on the VAR. says it all, the two most incompetent members of PGMO.
My question was that should decisions as Carragh suggests be reversed one the game has moved on.
Following City and Spurs doesn’t make one jot of difference to me once a decision has been made then live with it and get on with the game.
Yesterday it went in Spurs favor but how many teams ever get a correct decision at Anfield but Carragh will never call them out as he has done at Spurs, or the Wolves one against Man U.
I will agree Alex, that Liverpool (and Spurs, Man City, United, and one or two others) have benefited from somewhat dubious VAR decisions, and that the Scouse with one of the most irritating accents on tv is reluctant to say the least to disagree with anything that goes in Liverpool’s favour. The same goes for Shearer and Linneker on MOTD for anything involving Newcastle, Spurs and Leicester. The “old boys’ club” is too strong, and tv needs to get rid of them and use independent pundits.
Also, a brief edit – it was Jota, not Diaz, who got the incorrect yellow yesterday. My bad.
Simon Hooper…..rubbish ref!!
’nuff said.
O T B C
I don’t know why we have of late played the first half in such a pedestrian manner.
No movement in midfield means the back four have nobody to pass to and as a consequence we get very close to giving goals away, especially as neither of our centre backs fill you with confidence when they have the ball at their feet.
Second half was a different matter. I don’t know what Wagner said but maybe he should say it before kick off.
There was more movement and greater pace second half resulting in goals.
I hope from now on Forshaw joins the mayor as a holding player and Sara plays the 10 role where he’s more effective.
It’s that hole in midfield that causes our problems. Sara is a keen 8 and Kenny a reluctant 6; both like to get on the front foot and I’m not sure either have nailed who has to sit in and shield the front four.
We tend to get suckered into casually loading the front line, leaving big holes in the middle, and you can see teams waiting to overload whichever of Kenny or Sara is stretching to fill the holding position. At times yesterday I could be 4 on 1 – better teams will spring the trap like Leicester did, even though we changed formation to match them.
Maybe Forshaw is more naturally for the role.
Can only beat what is in front of us, so grateful for the three points and clean sheet. But I get this horrible feeling another mauling is always just around the corner. Any team who cares to play as Plymouth did can expect a decent result against us. Birmingham had shown a little early season form, I didn’t expect them to sit deep on us .
Swansea may be a little different .
Thankful for a win in what was very much a must win game. Don’t believe the rubbish about a long season and many more games to play, after last week the ship had to be steadied.
Listening to the post match radio phone in with Butler and lapdog I felt that had been watching a different game. In typical hyperbolic fashion butler described City as ‘brilliant’. Decent would be a more apt description.
We managed 2 good goals, hopefully kickstarting Sara and Rowe after lean runs. The clean sheet, even against a poor side will help our ailing goals against column.
Regarding the var farce at spurs, if Darren England is getting some stick then I fpr one won’t spill any tears.