Norwich City: We Only Play One Half

Article by Colin Rowe

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It was business as usual on Saturday as Norwich came from behind to beat Blackpool 1-3, going top of the league in the process as Nottingham Forrest drew with Brighton.

The first half was characterised by yet another sub-standard 45 minutes of football leaving many Norwich fans close to tears before the Canary’s finally decided to play some football after going behind early in the second period.

To be fair, Norwich were very good for the final 40 minutes, it is just a shame about the preceding 50.

It is difficult to know what to say about the current state of our beloved club.

Under no circumstances can we complain about losing just one game in nine, or about four away wins on the trot, or about being top of the table.

However, the question remains as to why City only seem to turn up in the second half, or when they go behind.

Our first half performances against Cardiff, Brentford, Birmingham and Blackpool were all pretty horrible, but in the end Norwich collected 10 points from these games, which is a fantastic return.

Unfortunately, the points haul, combined with just one loss all season and being top of the league disguises the fact Norwich still look staggeringly weak at the back.

What worries most Norwich fans about this is it might not be very long until teams learn how to play against us and take advantage of our frailties during the first half and park the bus during the second.

Even if this does not happen and City get promoted back to the top-flight, there is no way we can continue to play in this manner against the big names in the Premiership.

Norwich fans must accept our defence is not our best area and we are going to concede goals, however, Neil Adams really does need to address these continuing first half no-shows before it starts costing us points.

On the plus side Josh Murphy really is starting to look like he is pushing for a starting place in the first team.

His appearance of the subs bench reignited City and his composure and the quality of his finish for the third goals was utterly fantastic.

The Canary’s face another mid-week game, this time at home to Charlton, a team as yet unbeaten in the Championship this season, although they have picked up six draws in nine games.

On the road especially, the Addicks are one-point-specialists, boasting four draws in four games on their travels so Norwich know they will be in for a tough time against a tough, well-disciplined defence.

This could be a worry for City fans, with the Yellows enduring stalemates in their last two home games.

On the injury front there is no bad news, although Murphy is having a precautionary x-ray on his ankle.

Jonny Howson, yet to feature for the first team in the league this season, was the player’s representative at the pre-game press conference, suggesting he might be in line for a starting spot, but in all likelihood Adams will name an unchanged team given Norwich’s fortunes so far this season.

Expect to see a similar starting line-up and tactical display from Norwich on Tuesday night, although let’s hope our first half display is better than in the last five or six games.

Predicted Line-Up: Ruddy, Martin, Hooiveld, Turner, Olsson, Tettey, Johnson, Redmond, Hoolahan, Jerome, Grabban

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