Last season saw a Norwich City midfield that was over-hauled by the dominating figures of the Premier League. The men wearing the Green and Yellow seemed to succumb to the intensity of the best league in the world and the players it showcased.
Unable to quite match up to the quality of some of the best in the business; relegation was knocking on the door for City, an unfathomable concept, but one that the club would have to face.
New boss Neil Adams has since been given the chance to manage at the helm full-time after taking over from predecessor, Chris Hughton. The former youth coach seems to be in his comfort zone with the first team and has brandished his own philosophy on the side. One area that Adams has focused on is the midfield. The core to any side, the midfield plays an integral part to the structure and dynamics of a team. Understanding the balance between attack and defence, Adams has organised the middle men to protect the back four whilst giving them licence to roam and join attacks.
An unlikely partnership that has drawn the plaudits at Carrow Road this season; Bradley Johnson and Alex Tettey have been stand out performers for the Canaries thus far and have turned heads so far in the Championship.
The pair struggled to keep up to the pace of the Premier League, but both have since shown maturity and hunger to prove their doubters wrong as their consistent performances have resulted in a run of five games without defeat for Norwich City.
Adams has restored belief and breathed hunger and confidence back into the squad. The pair have been disciplined in their shape, protecting the two centre backs Michael Turner and Russell Martin whilst giving the forward men support to build attacks.
Their willingness to join attacks has been denoted through the amount of goals City have scored so far this season, eleven goals in six games so far shows the sort of philosophy Neil Adams is encouraging. Meanwhile, Tettey and Johnson have contributed three goals to the ever growing total.
Last season, fans pointed the finger at players such as Johnson for his distinct lack of passing ability; something that the Premier League took no prisoners for. However, it appears Johnson has worked hard on rectifying this limitation to his game. Johnson’s passing success percentage is around 83% a decent average for a Championship midfielder if you look at his average last year which sat at, 74%. Additionally, Alex Tettey has improved with a passing success rate of 91% which is up from 87% last term. It would be easy to play the “but we are in the Championship” card; however, it seems that Adams has identified their weaknesses and is now trying to get the pair playing to their advantages.
With players such as Jonny Howson and new-boy Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe knocking on the door for the coveted centre midfield spot; Johnson and Tettey will be very hard to be overlooked after their impressive performances.
It is refreshing to see their progression after the disappointment of relegation and that is something that speaks volumes of not just the quality, but also the character of a player.
A healthy headache to have for boss Neil Adams, I guess the old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes into play.
