Stick or Twist? Always a dilemma and one faced by Dean Smith in advance of the trip to Molineux. He promised a strong lineup saying that he valued the cup, so it was something of a surprise to see four changes from the game against Watford – five by the time kick-off came around. A […]
Farewell Farkeball. We loved you dearly but it’s finally over. Time to say goodbye
With no match report to write this week, there has been an opportunity to spend a little time reflecting on the season so far, to reflect on what went so wrong for Daniel Farke, and what has changed under Dean Smith. Before I get into the meat of it, let me stress this is little […]
MATCH REPORT: Watford 0, City 3
This natch report comes to you from dizzying heights – both literally and figuratively. I watched the game from Aspen Colorado, a breathless 7800ft above sea level, and at the end of it, City are in the equally breathless position of outside the bottom four albeit having played extra games. You didn’t need to be […]
MATCH REPORT: City 2, Everton 1
So admit it, you forgot what it feels like! I walked across the streets of New York, on my way to a rendezvous with the New York Canaries in the Football factory, with a feeling of trepidation. Was there any conceivable way that the result would be anything other than another defeat? The team selection […]
FA CUP MATCH REPORT: Charlton 0, City 1
So first an apology. My match reports are usually written within moments of the final whistle. For various reasons, yesterday that wasn’t the case, so the report isn’t quite as in-depth or detailed. Secondly, a bit of perspective. Given the December that we have endured, there were two priorities: First to score a goal, and second […]
MATCH REPORT: Palace 3, City 0
When the team sheet landed at 2 o’clock, it had the feel of a selection made from the last players standing. 6 changes from the rout on boxing day, no Teemu Pukki on the sheet, two goalkeepers and one sub short on the bench. I feared the worst. For the opening minutes, City looked bright. Within […]
MATCH REPORT: City 0, Aston Villa 2
I’ll start tonight’s match report by listing the meaningful efforts on goal by City. Now for the rest of the game. As performances go, it is easy to exhaust the list of superlatives to describe how awful the first half. Shapeless, listless, languid. I could go on. From the kickoff, Villa looked like a side […]
MATCH REPORT: City 0, Man Utd 1
Trepidation. That was the overriding emotion of a day where for once, I wasn’t counting the minutes until kick-off. Quite the opposite in fact. The news from the Friday press conference was hardly encouraging, with cagey references to an indeterminate number of players awaiting PR results. Man Utd, rejuvenated under a new manager. It had […]
MATCH REPORT: Spurs 3 City 0
Ever had that recurring nightmare? You know the one, where everything is in slow motion and no matter what you do, whenever you have the dream, you cannot affect the outcome. The one that happens every weekend. Daniel Farke struggled to find the right balance between defensive solidity and attacking potency in the latter days […]
MATCH REPORT: City 0, Wolves 0
Ten days into the Dean Smith regime, for me, his second team selection was always going to be more telling than his first. Would the likes of Todd Cantwell have suitably impressed the new man in a week on the pitches of Colney? Does Hanley keep his place in defence? The questions were answered and […]
MATCH REPORT: City make it two wins on the bounce as Smith kicks off with a win
So much seemed to have changed since I sat down to pen my words on the City victory at Brentford. Daniel Farke gone. Dean Smith in. Todd Cantwell and Billy Gilmour in from the wilderness and a feeling of cautious, careful optimism around Carrow Road. The feeling lasted precisely three minutes. Other than a brief moment where […]
MATCH REPORT: Events aplenty since but on the green stuff, a first win for City!
[James wrote this piece prior to last night’s news – Ed] The players formed up in the centre circle. The crowd fell silent and as the trumpeter sounded the last post, I cannot have been the only Canary fan wondering if this would indeed be the last post for Daniel Farke. Fear not. Perhaps buoyed by […]
MATCH REPORT: Another day, another defeat, this time by an ordinary Leeds
After the dismal performance last week, everyone connected with Norwich was expecting both a reaction from the players and changes to the team. They got both but ultimately City were left with exactly the same. Nil points. When the team broke, there was something resembling incredulity from many City fans, with what looked like a back […]
MATCH REPORT: Things turn ugly for City as they get hit for seven at Stamford Bridge
As football matches go, this was a tough a watch as you will ever get as a City fan. Few expected Norwich to get anything from this game, but equally few could have predicted such abject misery. City were unchanged, the game plan was clear. Keep it tight. Be tough to break down. Don’t concede […]
MATCH REPORT: A point and another clean sheet for City but a chance missed for three
There was a sense of cautious hope, some may even say optimism going into this game. Farke resisted the clamour for the darling of the national media, Billy Gilmour, to be included and elected to play an unchanged side, apparently citing the lack of time that the squad had had together since the last game. The […]
MATCH REPORT: Finally a point on the board for City with a Turf Moor clean sheet
Ignore the noise is the Farke mantra. It is fortunate that he is able to heed his own advice. The noise this week told him that so far this season he had made too many changes, or that he needed to make sweeping changes, switch to 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or even 4-4-2. In the end, Farke […]
MATCH REPORT: An all too familiar script, and all too familiar outcome at Goodison
Cut. Copy. Paste. From any of the games from two years ago. An all too familiar script, and all too familiar outcome. Daniel Farke retained the formation from the midweek game with Liverpool, Kabak coming in for Omobamidele, Williams in for Giannoulis. But it was immediately obvious that this was far more a 5-3-2 than […]
MATCH REPORT: Too easy for Liverpool. “Porous at the back. Blunt up front”
Given that Daniel Farke had barely a day to work with his players since the capitulation to Watford, it should come as no surprise to any Canary fan that, once again, there was a familiar theme to this defeat. The Sky commentator summed it up in eight words. Too porous at the back. Too blunt up front. […]
MATCH REPORT: No City heroes as Hornets make it five on the spin against Canaries
‘You got me monologuing. The words are from the villain ‘Syndrome’ in the Disney Pixar Film ‘The Incredibles’, but could equally be applied to Daniel Farke after his pre-match press conference this week. Regrettably, there were no superheroes at Carrow Road today, nor anything Incredible. Despite his passionate defence of his players, Farke made changes […]
Another Emirates disappointment as City succumb to the inevitable messy goal
So that’s it. The extended pre-season is over. It’s down to the real games next week against Watford. Daniel Farke has a history of transformation in the post-international break period. Perhaps it was expecting a bit much for him to pull off the same trick this time, particularly with several players away on extended international duty […]