It’s been a somewhat strange start to the season but the strangest is yet to come if we manage to beat our bogey team this weekend. The year was 1986 when we last beat Fulham, 11 years before I was even born. Only the very lucky Norwich fans are able to remember getting 3 points against the Cottagers, but I feel that this weekend could be the time that this record changes for the better.
We currently lie top of the league and the standard of football we have seen so far could improve; something is different and that is the main reason why I believe this weekend could be different as we travel to the capital to take on Fulham. Thursday was a day full of rumours – the main one being Chris Hughton will soon be manager of Fulham. The Hughton reign at Norwich was one of prehistoric tactics and disappointment. Oh, and the countless losses on the road. So, if the Fulham faithful fancy any of the above then Hughton is your man, but if you want to remain sane and Championship status then veer away from the man.
Let’s hop to a more positive note; Neil Adams and his fantastic set of players. The season started so poorly at Molineux yet it seems that was a valuable lesson to learn – no team in this league will simply roll over. Since then we have seen fantastic wins against Blackburn and Watford to name a few and, of course, the epic away days that include the likes of Cardiff and Blackpool.
The most exciting part of this Championship journey is that it feels like it hasn’t even started yet and we have so much more to come. We still haven’t seen the defence-splitting ability of Jonny Howson or the poaching mentality of Gary Hooper. The spectacular form of Cameron Jerome and the incredible duo that is Alex Tettey and Bradley Johnson have left Norwich fans in awe but that is only half the package – we still have a lot more excitement to come.
The most recent moans coming out of Carrow Road is that that our home form has to improve if we want any chance of going back into the Premier League. I do partially agree with this statement. In our last 4 home games we have only taken 3 points which is simply not good enough. We are a team with Premiership quality that should punish teams in a ruthless manor, but something just hasn’t clicked. It seems that teams come to Carrow Road with the defensive mentality that Hughton employed, and we are struggling to break down a tactic that we played for 3 years. This needs to change soon.
Due to the class we have up front it was obvious that Adams would eventually try and utilise most of them. This just wasn’t possible in the 4-2-3-1 where only one striker could realistically be used, although we did try Lafferty on the wing which didn’t suit the Northern Irish man. To try and eradicate some of the selection headaches Adams was facing we switched to the 4-4-2 and despite being able to play both Grabban and Jerome, it seems the balance just isn’t there and the creative spark we had in the early stages of the season has been temporarily lost.
I would love to see us shape up in the 4-2-3-1 again that brought so much happiness and the most exciting football I have seen since the famous Lambert era. When we’re on form, the football we play is a beautifully constructed form of art.
Expected Team :
Our opponents this weekend haven’t had such a joyful season as us and lay in 22nd place with a miserable 7 points. The early days of the season saw Magath try and integrate the youth team players, but a lack of experience cost the team – and Magath – dearly. Academy manager Kit Symons has since come in and seen his team win 2 games against Doncaster and Bolton. As Norwich fans, we know better than anyone that it’s always good to have a man in charge that knows the club inside out and Symons certainly does at Fulham. He said in his press conference this week that Fulham will give Norwich ‘more than a match’ and will have an attacking mentality to try and grab a win.
As I said earlier, I genuinely feel that tomorrow could and should be the change of a miserable few years against Fulham. This Norwich City team is one of the best I have seen and Adams was right when he said it’s only time until we give a team a real hiding. Craven Cottage will be the destination where Adams’ men pick up all 3 points this weekend. Stay positive and lets get behind our lads. OTBC.
