The Last Throw of the Dice for Norwich City

Article by e-Norwich Correspondent Colin Rowe

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The chants of ‘Hughton Out’ were certainly taken seriously by the Norwich board as the club parted company with the former Newcastle and Birmingham manager with just five games of the Premiership season remaining.

In one way this is a blessing as I no longer have to write about a dire performance at home against West Brom, but does mean I have to somehow justify the boards strangely timed decision.

There can be no denying Hughton and Norwich have not had the season many were expecting following last summer’s spending spree, with the sides defensive performances and away form being the main issues cited by the Y’Army faithful.

The West Brom game just happened to be the straw that broke the camels back and for the remainder of the season City will be under the stewardship of FA Youth Cup Final winning coach, current under-18s manager and former Norwich player Neil Adams.

So was this the right decision with so few games left?

If you were to ask most Norwich fans the answer would be yes, but listening to the “expert” pundits you would assume no.

The fact is Norwich’s current points haul of 32 is not enough to survive this season, which is why the Yellows were so desperate for a win against West Brom.

Having lost to the Baggies, and given our nightmare final four games, City now face Fulham in a must win, six-point, winner takes all sort of game.

Given their current away form it is hard to imagine a scenario where Hughton pulls a white rabbit of an away win out of his metaphorical hat, however, a new manager might just be enough to give Norwich a chance.

The new manager effect, where a team under new control instantly gets a boost in performance, is a slightly dubious concept, especially when you consider all of the bottom seven teams will not finish the season with the same manager as they started with.

However, the effect might be valid for one game, the one game which Norwich’s season now rests on.

Maybe, just maybe a new manager like Adams, with coaching and playing experience at the club, can get a little extra out of the side and get the much needed result at Craven Cottage.

So why do the pundits claim this was not a good call by the Norwich board?

Well it probably has a lot to do with the fact none of them watch Norwich week-in week-out and base their decision on the fact City are not in the relegation zone.

The fact is Norwich have been disappointing this season, particularly on the road, and have lacked initiative when going forward.

You could blame the players, but the main flaw always seems to be in the teams tactical approach to games and at the end of the season this blog will certainly be looking into this more deeply.

City have won twice on the road this season, which on its own is not a great statistic, but have conceded 15 goals in their last five away games.

Regardless of our win record or the number of goals conceded, the nature of these defeats away from home was truly frustrating for fans, with Norwich’s chosen tactics on the road being capitulation.

With this in mind, and our generally dismal record against Fulham, sacking Hughton at this stage might be the best tactical option available to the Pride of Anglia.

Whether or not Adams is the best option in the long-run is up for debate, but he might just be the man to give the team a much needed boost ahead of the Craven Cottage showdown.

Norwich fans should have nothing but respect for what Chris Hughton has achieved at the club.

He took over under impossible circumstances following the less than mutual parting from Paul Lambert, but guided the team to safety (just) last season and spent well over the summer, even if some of the players have not hit their desired heights.

Hughton is the ‘Nice Guy’ of football and nobody likes to see the nice guy fail to succeed, but the only way to judge people in football is by performances and the performances have been largely dire, while the appointment of Adams is reminiscent of Gary Monk taking over at Swansea, an attempt to get back the club back to its roots and the style of play which saw it get into the top flight in the first place.

Yes, with five games to go and a five point gap to the relegation zone might seem a strange time to sack your manager, but given the last four games Norwich’s season comes down to Fulham away and the fact is Hughton would probably not have won that game, potentially narrowing the gap to just 2 points with four games to go.

If Adams can do the impossible and snatch a win, City could be 8 points clear of relegation with four to play.

Now that is a huge difference.

There will undoubtedly be some fans and pundits who think Hughton should have been sacked sooner and maybe they have a point.

However, Hughton has improved Norwich’s home form greatly since the turn of the year and has racked up some important results against Manchester City and Tottenham.

The new manager effect does not tend to last for long and it has been kept as the final throw of the dice by the Norwich board.

So now next weekend all eyes will be on West London as Craven Cottage becomes the Alamo, the Last Chance Saloon, Little Big Horn.

Let’s just hope it is Felix Magath who plays the role of Davy Crockett and General Custer.

In Adams we trust.

On The Ball City

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