Lambert Finds the Right Formula

A magnificent Norwich City performance saw them take all three points from the Reebok on Saturday. The thrilling encounter saw Norwich score two goals in quick succession towards the back-end of the first half. The first half dismissal of Ivan Klasnic meant Bolton played more than half the game with ten-men. They had chances though, most coming through their unsuccessful late siege on the Norwich goal.

The atmosphere at the game was created and upheld by the strong two-and-a-half-thousand travelling Norwich faithful and right from the offset, the Canaries looked a different proposition from the side that faced West Brom. A different XI was partially forced and in some areas it was tactical, but it the changes worked.

Russell Martin, who struggled against Wigan and notably against MK Dons, was selected for the centre half berth. In this unfamiliar position, Martin had a fine performance and managed to sub-due and dominate the infamously physical Kevin Davies. Despite Leon Barnett’s error, which saw Norwich’s concede their fifth penalty in as many games, the two looked an assured presence at the back.

The midfield saw a return for Anthony Pilkington and Wes Hoolahan, both of whom contributed to Bolton’s demise. Hoolahan was on fire on Saturday, plucking space behind the Bolton midfield paring of Nigel Reo-Coker and Darren Pratley, to control the game in Norwich’s favour.

The usually indispensable Andrew Crofts was not missed as Bradley Johnson picked up his defensive duties, giving Hoolahan a free licence to create. Pilkington on the left grabbed a goal but importantly, the width that he and his right-winged counterpart Elliot Bennett created, stretched Bolton and this ultimately created the pressure that secured the City win.

Captain and stalwart Grant Holt, was left on the bench, as the Welsh international Steve Morison was given an opportunity to start. The decision paid dividend for Lambert as Morison’s extra yard of pace forced the Bolton defence into rash decisions and if it was not for Zak Knights last ditch block, the ex-Millwall striker’s clever touch and turns in the box would have seen him score in the second half.

Paul Lambert seems to have discovered and implemented the right tactics for at least, Norwich’s away games. It was a brave decision to leave Holt out and perhaps the City captain has the right to feel aggrieved but Morison played well. The two wingers stretched Bolton and gave Hoolahan room to operate and find space. Despite this, if it was not for John Ruddy’s point-blank save to deny David N’Gog’s last minute header, Norwich would have only gone home with a point.

All-in-all, a top class performance and tactical switches saw Norwich secure their first three points away from home in the Premiership for seventeen years.

An Overriding Sense of Pride

                                              A Spirited Norwich Performance

An away trip to Stamford Bridge had pundits and bookmakers predicting an easy home win for Chelsea. The predicted dominance is embodied by Victor Chandler, where a betting man would find the odds of a Norwich win rated at 16/1.

Norwich City FC would temporarily confound their critics as they gave Andre Villas Boas' Chelsea side a real run for their money. On numerous occasions Norwich threatened the Chelsea back-line and in doing so, made John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic look like far from international pedigree.

Norwich sides of old would have crumbled in the Championship, after conceding early away from home, never-mind in the Premiership. This performance against Chelsea should fill every Norwich fan with pride; at how far the side has come since the dark days of Glen Roeder and because of the resilience shown. The final day 6-0 thumping at Fulham has been well publicised, yet thankfully, no remnants of that sides spirit remains. It may still be 31 games since a Norwich away win, but it is on the horizon.

Grant Holt has now scored in each of the four divisions and his performance has put to rest any scepticism, including my own, about his ability to perform in the Premiership. Darting and well-timed runs in between the Chelsea back-line saw the captain look like a young, pacey striker rather than a bustling and commanding target man.

More than once he burst through on goal and clever movement saw Holt find space in the Chelsea box, only for his free-header to be met by Hilario. A big physical proposition, Holt dominated Terry and his presence would see Ivanovic and Hilario collide, as he acrobatically hooked the ball into the vacant Chelsea net. THe Norwich number 9 was good value for his opening goal of the campaign.

Holt grabs Norwich's equaliser

This Norwich side contains no fear and even after the switch to 4-4-2, Kyle Naughton was not afraid to bomb forward to provide support on the right-hand-side and is proving to be a useful attacking option. Wes Hoolahan continued his early season form and provided a cutting edge that big-spending Chelsea lacked, until Juan Mata made a substitute appearance. Surely it is only a matter of time before Mr Trapattoni callsup the Irishman to the national side.

An academy graduate; Chris Martin also put in a spirited performance and could have grabbed himself a goal. Finding himself through on the right-hand-side of goal, Martin's low drive was parried by Hilario. Determined and spirited, Martin recovered to release the ball to Naughton on the edge of the Chelsea box and his subsequent drive was once again saved. Martin's eagerness to chase lost-causes whilst creating good opportunities embellished the Norwich performance.

After the substitution of Zak Whitbread and the switch back to the standard 4-4-2, this Norwich side proved that they have the ability to compete and survive in the Premiership. Their performance is one that us fans can take heart from, they gave Chelsea everything and could have taken the lead. Substitute Steve Morison, found himself clear of the Chelsea defence but was to have his shot blocked by England International Terry.

It has been mentioned in this blog before that Norwich lack a bit of Premiership know-how and unfortunately this was the decisive factor in their downfall. City 'keeper John Ruddy, had commanded his box and made a number of good saves in the game until once again, disaster struck.

For the third game running, Norwich can feel that lady luck and refereeing decisions have been against them. Three penalties and two red cards; Wigan's Franco Di Santo went down very easily in the box, Leon Barnett's tackle was outside the penalty area and in the Chelsea Ramires was going away from goal and perhaps Ruddy can felt harshly treated.

The ever-dependable penalty taker Frank Lampard, blasted the ball past substitute 'keeper, Declan Rudd. Then almost inevitably, with ten men, Norwich would come under pressure and the eleven minutes of extra time saw new 23-million-pound-man, Juan Mata slot home for Chelsea's third.

The Norwich City squad and management team will take great confidence from this performance, where on another day, one point or more could have been taken from the Bridge. Mistakes need to be cut-out and Norwich have and will be punished in the Premiership for defensive lapses in concentration.  Tightening up the defence is a priority and reinforcements will be needed to cover Ruddy's absence. When Norwich are a strong defensive unit, they have enough attacking quality to win games.

This performance will have made each and every Norwich fan proud to support their team. The only shame is that the side came away from the game with no points to show for their spirited endeavours.

OTBC.

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Disclaimer- picture is BBC.

Lacklustre Norwich Unceremoniously Dumped Out of the Carling Cup

                                  Fringe Players Fail to Threaten Starting XI


To be frank, the Carling Cup isn't held in high esteem by many Premier League managers; last night Mick McCarthy reiterated this by saying he was unaware of which round Wolverhampton FC were competing in. Playing poorly, or even losing in the Cup is not a big deal, nevertheless a 0-4 drubbing at home can be cause of concern for the fringe players involved.

Clichés idolise a cup run for reasons such as; 'winning promotes momentum' and that it helps to promote a 'healthy attitude'. Yet losing this game will hardly affect the Norwich squad, I'm sure the starting XI playing Chelsea this weekend will not think twice about the result. The biggest issue lies with the fringe players who failed to impress the supporters and Paul Lambert last night. As the manager stated, some of these players will make up the 25-man-squad, yet if the likes of Adam Drury, Aaron Wilbraham, Daniel Ayala, Korey Smith and even Russell Martin are called upon, I for one doubt their quality.

Norwich re-appear for the second half to a bemused Carrow Road crowd

Eleven changes were made from the side who played Stoke at the weekend, yet there was some Premiership pedigree on the pitch; Wes Hoolahan, David Fox, Andrew Surman and Zak Whitbread all started against Wigan. MK Dons fielded a strong side, with promising striker, Sam Baldock leading the strikeforce.

The entirety of the ninety minutes was disappointing from a Norwich perspective, especially those who had travelled hundreds of miles, yet nothing can be taken away from MK Dons. Slick movement saw the impressive Stephen Gleeson slip in former Canary, Luke Chadwick for his first goal of the night. Only a few minutes later, a mistake from Adam Drury saw Baldock thunder in a second from outside the box, leaving Norwich supporters bemused and shell-shocked.

Thankfully Jabo Ibhere; who had ran the Norwich backline ragged in the first half, was substituted at half time. Yet MK Dons continued to dominate. One long-range, effort from Andrew Surman was well tipped over by David Martin but Norwich chances were few and far between. One nearby supporter actually thought Wilbraham was a second-half sub, such was his anonymity. The half saw Chadwick team up with ex-Tractor boy Dean Bowditch, their quick interchange saw the former easily beat Declan Rudd, as Norwich fans began to contemplate an early night. The 13,000 strong Canary faithful had their misery compounded when Surman's woeful pass let substitute Daniel Powell to nip in for MK Don's fourth goal.

Norwich's performance was terrible; yet the players who performed the worst, are supposedly pushing for Premier League starting positions. Russell Martin, perhaps low in confidence after being dropped, had a frightfully poor game and failed to find any sort of form. Perhaps occasional bad defending can be excused for Martin's normally strong offensive game, yet in this tie he looked uncomposed on the ball and repeatedly delivered poor final balls. Norwich stalwart and legend Drury, who has been plagued by injuries, unfortunately looks past his best and struggled massively against Dons winger, Gleeson. Furthermore, recent loanee Ayala who not only struggled against the powerful Ibehre, got himself injured by half-hearted going into a 50-50 tackle late in the game. Not only are Norwich now a defender short, yet Ayala's commitment now comes under question. As for Wilbraham; the less said, the better.

There is no need to overemphasise the importance of this game, the Carling Cup could have provided a exciting cup-run for Norwich, yet the story of Birmingham City FC tells otherwise. Nevertheless, the fringe players performance will not only ensure that they stay out of the starting XI for the Chelsea match, but it asks question about their quality for participating in the 25-man-squad for the Premiership season.

Hopefully, if the likes of Ayala and Martin are called upon in the struggle for Premier League survival, their performance will resemble nothing from what was on offer last night.

Bring on Chelsea.





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Norwich City Cruelly Denied All Three Points against Stoke City

                                Last Gasp Equaliser Frustrates the Canary Camp


Paul Lambert and Norwich City were right to feel aggrieved after referee Neil Swarbrick decided to award Stoke City a penalty midway through the second half which also saw Leon Barnett given a straight red card. Despite John Ruddys fantastic penalty save, the decision turned the game onto-its-head. Subsequent Stoke pressure then culminated in the cruel, 94th minute equaliser, from Kenwyne Jones.

Norwich made six changes from their opening day draw at Wigan, as Anthony Pilkington, Elliot Bennett and Kyle Naughton were handed their first starts in the yellow Jersey. Meanwhile Stoke saw Dean Whitehead fill in for their well known, long-throw-specialist, Rory Delap. Refreshing formations saw both sides start with two genuine wingers in matching 4-4-2 formations.

Stoke started brightly as ex-Ipswich and villain for the day, John Walters, was threaded through on two occasions, once by the skillfull Matt Etherington and later by Marc Wilson. Nevertheless poor control and finishing  from Stoke's Europa league goalscorer, ensured that the game remained goalless. The first real chance of the game came twenty minutes into the game, captain Grant Holt's knockdown was met powerfully by Pilkington, yet a despairing block by the ever dependable Ryan Shawcross, who reminded Norwich that goals would not come as easily at this level.

The deadlock was broken in the 37th minute as Richie De Laet put last weeks mistake at the DW Stadium firmlybehind him, as his jinking run decieved his marker as he rose to head home newboy Bradley Johnson's freekick, sending the Norwich faithful into raptures. Stoke posed no real threat during the closing stages of the half as Jermaine Pennant's replacement, Danny Pugh spurned an effort well wide when he had far greater options available.

De Laet celebrating his first Norwich City goal

The second half would see the match turn in Stoke's favour as John Ruddy was forced to make a smart save in the 59th minute, as the ever-threatening Etherington dribbled around Naughton and fired a shot on target. Chris Martin also stung the hands of Stoke 'keeper, Asmir Begovic with a left foot drive in what was an otherwise quiet game for the locally born-and-bred Norwich player.

However, the real talking point came in the 62nd minute when Barnett was ajudged to have prevented a goal scoring opportunity by dragging down Walters and was controversially dismissed from the field of play. Referee Swarbrick awarded Stoke a penalty, despite the challenge being clearly made outside the box and a great diving save from man-of-the-match John Ruddy, down to his left, denied Walters and Stoke their equaliser.

Inevitably, following the sending off, Stoke started to take control of the game. Prior to their goal, Stoke's best chance had come from a Glen Whelan corner, which was flicked on at the near post and Robert Huth was inches away from equalising. Despite resolute and commendable defending by the Norwich backline, Jones' bullet header in the dieing embers of the game gave Ruddy no chance as he was beaten to his left handside. Tony Pulis' post-match claims that he could 'not believe' that his side did not score a 'hatful', are unfair on a Norwich side who performed well and would have won the game if it was not for Barnett's dismissal.

Jones rises to beat Ruddy and secure Stoke City a point.

Norwich have to be happy with a point against Stoke, who are now an established Premier League side who now play better football than the reputation suggests. Their success story is one that Norwich can admire and wish to emulate. There is no doubting that Norwich have the quality, temperament and determination to survive in this division, they just need a bit more luck and bit more Premier League experience to win football matches.

Bring on Chelsea.





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The tales of a Norwich City Football Club supporter.....

Lambert Epitomises the Canaries' Fighting Spirit

Lambert salutes the travelling fans

Heading every cross, and kicking every ball, Paul Lambert's seemingly inexhaustable enthuasiasm and passion epitomised everything Norwich City Football Club in the trip to Wigan's DW Stadium yesterday.

This hunger for the game is also evident amongst the fans as 4,500 of the Yellow Army took the hefty trip up to the North West and Lambert's passion saw the Canaries faithful fully repaid. A fiery comeback soon after conceding, saw the yellows draw 1-1. This sums Norwich FC up. They reclaimed 23 points after going a goal behind in the Championship last year and it is this resilience which has seen leading pundits such as Chris Kamara or 'Kammy', back us to survive.

After sampling the drinks on offer at the 'official' away pub, the Red Robin, me and my brother made our way to ground amongst a sea of yellow shirts. However. an electric atmosphere outside the ground and in the away end, could not contrast any differently to the somewhat despondent home fans.

Lager from the Wigans 'Red Robin'

After Victor Moses had turned Russell Martin inside out on numerous ocassions previously, it was Richie De Laet's mistake that allowed Franco Di Santo to burst into the box, only for De Laet to then drag him down in calamatious fashion. Ben Watson despatched the subsequent penalty to John Ruddys right-hand-side, nevertheless a rousing 'On-the-ball-city' saw the Norwich players rally. Upping the tempo Norwich new-boy, Steve Morison, beat Jordi Gomez and whipped in a cross which was only half-heartedly parried by Ali Al-Habsi. This saw the ball drop to Wes Hoolahan, who duly smashed the ball into the roof of the net.

Hoolahan despatching the ball past Al-Habsi to send the Canary fans delirious

An eventful second half saw Moses once again toil and turn the entire Norwich team onto their heels and at one point, he raced past five, only to be denied a deserved goal by De Laet's despairing blocks. A late scare from Watson saw Ruddy stand alike to spectator as the ball crashed against his right hand post. Clear-cut chances evaded Norwich, yet they were more than worthwhile for their point. A tame Grant Holt header; who looked out of sorts at this level, and a indirect freekick from Andrew Surman shaved the crossbar but for their possession Norwich created few second half chances.

All in all, the 10 hour round trip to Wigan was worthwhile and no doubt saw the 4,500 Norwich fans go home happier than the infamously quiet and subdued home contingent.

If the spirit and never-say-die attitude that the whole of the Norwich City squad and management team possess remains, and is maintained throughout the season, Norwich look in good stead for Premiership survival.






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