When it comes to unfavourably timed clashes in football, Saturday’s match between Bournemouth and Norwich is well up there for the away side. After a frankly lamentable fourth round cup exit at the hands of Preston North End just a few days ago, the Canaries may well have to resort to some form of dark sorcery in order to match their seemingly indomitable opposition in a season which has seen the Yellows achieve little consistency since their opening few games. Moreover, it seems highly likely that Norwich will be under the management of Hamilton Academical player manager, Alex Neil (or as it will be if this transpires, ex Hamilton Academical player manager) after it was confirmed today that the two clubs have confirmed a compensation deal for Neil. While there has been no official statement of appointment from the club, it’s possible that they’re waiting for prime time news on Friday to boost fan morale immediately before the match. With this being a preview I won’t go into great detail surrounding the issue, but conveniently, our very own Jack Reeve wrote an article on it yesterday so be sure to check it out.
Looking at Bournemouth’s recent form, the Southern side are unbeaten in their last 15 league games whilst Norwich have managed just 4 without a loss in in the same competition. As avid of a Norwich fan as I am, on paper we should be torn to pieces. The Cherries have scored 54 goals in the 24 games that they’ve played this season after finding the back of the net only 60 times throughout the entirety of their last campaign. In addition, they’re 11 points clear of us and show little sign of reducing that gap. One of the few advantages we possess prior to this encounter is the fabled ‘new manager’ boost that invariably occurs when a club appoints another man to take the helm. Be it Phelan or Neil who’s on the touchline for this match it’ll surely bring a lift to both the players and our travelling fans – just look at what Chris Hughton did at Brighton a week or so ago…
On the injury front, there’s no real fresh news prior to this meeting. Odjidja-Ofoe is still out with a knee injury but Olsson and Tettey look likely to make a return after minor knocks. Regardless of the player selection available to us, predicting a team for this game is especially challenging as it’s difficult to know how the new manager will set up the team. Because of this, I’ll set out the team that I’d go for and see how close I get.
Predicted team:
Ruddy in goal is almost a certainty, but given the chopping and changing of our defence evidenced so far this season, no one in the back line is safe. I’ve made it repeatedly clear via various articles that I’m not a fan of Whittaker and that hasn’t changed – so Martin gets the green light from me. Despite losing in the cup with the CB pairing of Turner and Bennett, I’d keep them in. The two at peak performance are far and away our best two centre backs in my opinion and while they’re both fit and available we should be trying to get them to that zenith. There is a somewhat credible argument for Garrido to be given a shot ahead of Olsson given the latter’s poor performances, but it seems unlikely considering how long he’s been out of the picture. That said, I wouldn’t actually be all that surprised if the Spaniard made an appearance in the starting XI. Providing Tettey is fit, he’s surely a guaranteed starter. Since I can’t see both Howson and Hoolahan starting given the offensive prowess of the opposition, Johnson would be the most natural fit in the midfield triangle – while I’d back Redmond to play on the right wing ahead of O’Niel as I feel his attacking impetus will be necessary to balance an otherwise more defensive midfield. As much of a fan as I am of Jerome, he’s not been hitting the heights recently and since we have an excess of strikers I’d start Grabban in a sort of inside forward role (the role I’ve thought he’d play best in since we signed him). That leaves only a lone striker and for me that has to be Hooper. He’s been playing well recently (Preston excluded) and I’d prefer him to Lafferty any day of the week.
The verdict:
All things considered, I’m optimistic about life under Neil V2 (presuming he’s in charge for Saturday), but I highly doubt we’ll see a positive result in this game. The fact is Bournemouth have been a force all season and they’re on fire right now – I just can’t see anything other than a win for the home side. However, I hope we’ll give them a really hard time and limit them to a goal or two. Predicting a score line is a challenge, but best case scenario they get a 2-1 victory.
