So far so good for City’s main summer signing
The summer transfer window was a very frustrating one for the majority of Norwich fans. There was a number of targets that we failed to sign after an array of attempts on a range of players. Alex Neil himself was probably more disappointed than anyone else.
However, it appears that our biggest summer signing was in fact, Robbie Brady. If you had told a Norwich fan after the Wembley final that this would be the case, they probably wouldn’t have been too happy. However, despite the £7m outlay and the long drawn-out transfer saga to sign him, he is now looking like superb value for Norwich.
So far, he’s been an ever-present in the Canaries’ side. He has played every minute of Norwich’s eight Premier League matches and it’s not hard to see why. Even though he is naturally a left midfielder, Brady has played seven of the eight matches on the left side of defence, rather than further up the pitch.
Left-back may not be his preference, but you would not be able to tell that after watching him so far this season. He has taken to the position with consummate ease and has arguably been our best defender so far this season, which, is perhaps an unfitting compliment given the rest of the defence has been sub-par.
There have been numerous occasions this season where Robbie Brady has made timely blocks or tackles to deny opposition players getting goals or chances; he has really looked the part.
Despite playing so well at left-back, he was supposed to be only filling in for Martin Olsson, who was still recovering from an injury at the start of the season. The Swedish international returned from injury last week to play against West Ham and Robbie Brady was in turn pushed forward to his more natural midfield position. There, he proved his worth inside the first ten minutes, intercepting a Mark Noble pass, flicking the ball over the defender, before slotting the ball past West Ham ‘keeper Adrian for his first Norwich City goal.
Alex Neil would have been delighted to see the Republic of Ireland international get his goal from midfield, but, for the subsequent visit of Leicester to Carrow Road last weekend, Brady was sent back to left-back. At first it was a puzzling decision from the Canaries boss. Playing a team that are so good on the counter, having a more natural defender with less of an incline to go forward, such as Olsson, seemed a better option. He did this in order to fit Jarvis in, which is perhaps testament to how good the West Ham loanee has been.
Set piece deliveries have become a staple for City’s attacking play since the addition of Brady. He has put in some fine balls into the box for Norwich this season, yet, due to the lack of finishing from our forwards this season he has yet to register an official assist. It could however be argued that his short corner and shot combination directly brought about Russell Martin’s opener at Sunderland.
Robbie Brady’s toughest test as a defender came in just his third game for the club. Norwich faced Stoke City at home and Brady was tasked with defending against former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan winger Xherdan Shaqiri. A lot of Norwich fans were worried about this match-up. It should have been the Stoke fans that were worried. Brady kept Shaqiri quiet for virtually all of the game and was superb for Norwich. He then proved his defensive worth again in the win over Bournemouth at Carrow Road when Callum Wilson looked like he was about to prod the ball in with ease from five-yards; Robbie Brady came in with a challenge out of nowhere to block the shot and get the ball away for a corner, preventing an almost certain goal. It was probably one of the best tackles I have seen from a Norwich player in recent times.
It is safe to say that there is still much more to come from the Irishman, and if the start to his Norwich career is any indication to his future performances then the £7m we paid for him is going to seem like a bargain. If he continues in the same vein as the first eight games, he will be a real asset for Norwich this season in attempting to retain their place in the Premier League for next season.
Once Martin Olsson starts to settle back into his left-back berth and Robbie Brady gets more of a chance up-field then I believe we will see the best from Brady. Being further up the pitch will enable him the chance to show more of what he did against West Ham and will give him the opportunity to put more crosses into the box; something that would be very beneficial I think, if Mbokani is given the chance to play upfront instead of Jerome.
In conclusion, I think that Robbie Brady has settled in fantastically well and looks to be a superb addition by Alex Neil. He may not be the superstar striker or rock-solid centre back that we are desperately wanted during the summer window, but he could be equally as important in keeping Norwich where they belong: The Premier League.
Out of the following, which two would you prefer to see in the LB/LM positions respectively?
- Martin Olsson
- Robbie Brady
- Matt Jarvis