And Then That Happens…

Article by e-Norwich Correspondent Colin Rowe

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It has been the story of Norwich’s season so far. One step forward, two steps back. Time and time again a great result has been followed by a very poor one.

A draw at home to Everton, followed by a loss away at Hull. Victory at home over Southampton, backed-up by an abject defeat at Tottenham. A win over West Ham, followed by dire performance at Newcastle. Beating Palace was a prelude to a hammering at Liverpool. A dodgy Christmas period started so brightly with a win over West Brom. Victory over Hull and a draw with Newcastle before losing to Cardiff and now the both the 0-0 with Manchester City and the 1-0 over Tottenham have both been followed by poor results against West Ham and Aston Villa respectively.

It is hard to put your finger on what the most galling part of the Villa results was.

The fact our ex-manager has, yet again, gotten the better of his former club, Wes Hoolahan’s spectacular return (albeit the lacking celebration) to the starting line-up overshadowed by the result, Norwich actually taking the lead early in a match before letting it slip, or our defence, so stoic and steadfast against Man City and Spurs, collapsing during a 15 minute period which may have turned more than one member of the Y’Army to alcoholism.

A bit of realism is a good tonic in this situation. Benteke’s first goal was a world-class finish, his second a wonderful demonstration of the effectiveness of a powerful striker, Bacuna’s third was a great strike, although questions must be raised about the amount of space he had, while Bassong’s own goal could be put down as just one of those things.

The second half performance never looked like bridging the gap, but when a team is 4-1 down at half-time and has only scored more than two goals in a game once this season, a stunning comeback was never realistically on the cards.

However, none of this will detract from the inevitable realisation of how Norwich threw away, in a similar style to the game at Cardiff, a winning position when the Yellows were clearly on top and leading the game.

Norwich’s away form, particularly against similarly positioned teams, is becoming increasingly frustrating and the reasons for our poor defensive displays on the road are almost unfathomable.

How can a defence, unchanged from the clean sheets against the goal-scoring centurions of Manchester City and a rejuvenated Tottenham, concede six goals in two games away from home against teams in the bottom half of the table?

Personally I am not expecting Chris Hughton to be relieved of his duties before the Stoke match next weekend, if for no other reason than Norwich are still above David McNally’s self-imposed red-line, but with Palace, West Brom and Sunderland all with games in hand below us, this could quickly change.

All this, unfortunately, piles pressure on the team every weekend the Canary’s return to Carrow Road and if there is one saving grace it is Hughton’s uncanny knack of winning when he has to.

There are still plenty of points available this season. Home ties versus Stoke, Sunderland and West Brom are all winnable, which would leave Norwich requiring just one win on the road to reach the magical 40 points and with the away games to come at Southampton, Swansea, Fulham this is certainly not out of the question.

Possibly even a single draw away from home might be enough to keep Norwich up and who is to say the nightmare last four games might not see us pick up points against a Manchester United team with nothing to play for, an Arsenal team secure in the Champions League spots or a Chelsea or Liverpool who have seen their championship dreams fade.

As soul-destroying as the loss at Villa was what Norwich and Hughton must do now is ensure a win is achieved against Stoke next weekend to at least keep City away from the relegation zone and to kick start the final ten-games.

Years of heartache and disappointment force Norwich fans to develop a sense of optimism, because if we lose that what do we have left, and fans, players and management must all call on this now to keep Norwich in the top flight.

Hughton may not have publicly set a points goal, but every Norwich fan has and it's 12 points from the last 10 games.

On The Ball City

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