I didn’t start following Norwich City until promotion in 2011 (feel free to judge). So I wasn’t around when Simeon Jackson completed his hat trick versus Derby at Carrow Road. But, if there was ever a time for that “utter chaos” in these last four years, Bournemouth took ‘the biscuit.” Late last week I put together a story discussing the Norwich future, post-Neil Adams and post-Bournemouth.
I was completely incorrect on my predictions. Nonetheless, I thought it was important to share how important this Cherries result was, along with the Alex Neil appointment. It read:
Let’s be honest, Saturday’s result didn’t really matter. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but that’s not the point.
Regardless of the X-X result away to league-leading Bournemouth, the biggest news surrounding the weekend was the arrival of Alex Neil as the new manager.
Sure, fans can get frustrated at another loss, putting Norwich 14 points back behind the Cherries, but that’s one fixture in this overly lackluster campaign. And if the inevitable does take place and City fails promotion, Saturday is hardly the match fans will reference as the turning point that made the difference (Wolves, Reading, Nottingham Forrest, Middleborough come to mind).
Moreover, fans will remember is the appointment of Neil, who will begin his tenure for, what hopefully will be, the long run.
Thankfully, I stand corrected. And while there should be an emphasis on expressing how fresh Neil’s appointment was, it’s important to reiterate how crucial the Bournemouth result was as the season progresses.
Ignoring the loss at Reading and the FA Cup exit, December/early January has been a solid spell for Norwich. Other than Kyle Lafferty, all of the forwards returned to form, or at least scored, restoring confidence. And then there’s Bradley Johnson, the engine room of the midfield, who has played his best football for the club during the same time span.
At a time when the club was desperate for change, it got it, and established momentum during the “dog days” of the season. One point out of the promotion playoff, and eight points off the league leaders isn’t the premium position in a race for the top flight, but it’ll do.
The Bournemouth match restored hope that this year can still be the one City fans expected it would be during the early stages of the season when we found ourselves top of the table after 7 games.
What made the 2-1 win at Dean Court so special was how easily the score line could’ve flipped. City had to play the league leaders, on the road, with a new manager and with 10-men after the Johnny Howson tackle—and they won. Just at the precise moment when all promotion hopes were slipping away, they managed to press on and creep closer towards promotion.
This past Saturday will become the day Norwich fans will reference as the turning point that made the difference. It’s not as if Alex Neil descended from the heavens to be pitch side and command his squad he still hadn’t trained with. (Unless you consider the Director’s box heaven?) But he took over his team with a half hour to spare and produced exactly what was necessary—three points.
On a day when everything was supposed to come crashing down, the opposite happened. And suddenly, there’s a reason to believe, again.
