The last time the Canaries made the trip to Blackpool, the home side had three sides to the ground, one of which was a temporary golf stand. Now they have four – proper stands too – and since our last visit have enjoyed a spell in the Premier League, like us. We find ourselves once again competing in the Championship, but with the home side in a far less stable position.
With fewer than the required 18 players only days before the season start, Blackpool’s prospects weren’t looking great. The lack of investment has and is continuing to show on the pitch; they’re currently 2nd bottom while Norwich are just one place off the top spot. With that in mind then, you would only expect one result. But Tuesday night’s experimental second side catastrophe against Shrewsbury was a reminder that if a team plays together, they can win games regardless of quality.
Anything short of a win and I will be disappointed.
Blackpool’s only two points this season have come in the last three games. You could say they’re on a bit of a run, or perhaps they’ve just not been quite as bad as usual. Either way, they’ll be expecting to get beaten, which, can sometimes be the key to playing under no pressure, as Norwich have displayed in previous years.
None of the starting XI who faced Shrewsbury midweek did anything to further their first team claims – some even worsened their chances. Elliott Bennett repeated the poor performance he produced on the opening day, while Lafferty wasted a golden opportunity up front and nearly saw red. While Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe isn’t a winger, he struggled out wide and Howson played one of his poorest Norwich City games. His attempt to defend as Collins headed the home side into the lead was simply deplorable.
So, the Shrewsbury defeat needs to be washed out the system, forgotten, and replaced with a hunger to get back to winning ways. Hopefully we won’t have to wait until the lads have had their half time oranges and a stern team talk from Adams, before bulging the Tangerines’ net.
The last meeting between the two sides was in the 2008/09 season, where Blackpool won 2-0 at Bloomfield Road. Goals from Ormerad and Charlie Adam in the second half confirmed the victory in front of an attendance of 7,505. You have to search back to 2007 to find the last Norwich win, which was at Bloomfield Road too. That day the Canaries were victorious winning 1-3 with two goals from Dion Dublin and 8 game loanee Martin Taylor.
Predicted Team:
Verdict:
Potentially difficult if we retain the defensive frailties that were our undoing to Birmingham, however with the quality in the squad, you would fully expect us to beat a struggling Blackpool side. Although Hoolahan didn’t play very well last week, I think he could be crucial in a midfield that is likely to dominate throughout the game. When he gets the space he is magical – it’s when he doesn’t have the privilege to play the game at his tempo when he becomes a liability.
Prediction? 2-0 Norwich.
