As most had expected, Norwich passed the test of the Tangerines in flying colours. Blackpool, who remain bottom of the table, proved no match for the Canaries who breezed past them courtesy of a Hooper hat-trick and an exquisite late free kick from Nathan Redmond. Four-nil the scoreline, three points the prize, and once again Norwich are within touching distance of the play-offs. But, and as Norwich fans know all too well, that can easily change if they fail to beat Charlton on Tuesday night.
Too often this season Norwich have been inconsistent – it’s the fundamental factor as to why we’ve failed – solve that and we’ll easily make the top six. But regardless, it’s a big month; opportunity to take 6 points from 6 against lesser opposition in Blackpool and Charlton, as well as really test ourselves and reel in our competitors – Watford away and Wolves at home will certainly offer that.
I’m very much a believer that momentum is key in football, and the thing is, we’ve rarely managed assemble a run of results that ends up threatening the top – perhaps moments under Adams but even that was short-lived. However, looking at the fixture list, and then returning gaze towards the table, you can’t help but think that this month may be make or break. Get your act together once and for all, Norwich City.
This month may really offer us the platform to push on into the play-offs. It’s all about going (and to quote an overused football cliché) from strength-to-strength. How does approaching the derby on the back of an unbeaten run sound? It’s sounds a little mad to be honest, but it’s perfectly possible, especially if we play to our potential. Beat Charlton, and the confidence will grow. Then a home game – win that and it will grow again… Yes, it’s a lot of ifs. It’s relying on us to actually string some victories together. But it’s not a ridiculous thought by any means. Could such a run begin on Tuesday?
Last Game
Unlike the previous week at Birmingham where City enjoyed large spells of possession but failed to find the target, the positive energy this week was converted into positive outcomes. Hooper eagerly raced away for the first, slotting past Parish with ease. Next came a wonderful, flowing, seamless City move – the kind that is associated with your Arsenals or Man Citys. Quick, complex interplay on the edge of the box between Whittaker, Grabban, Hoolahan and Hooper was finished by the latter, who cut the shot across the keeper and into the far corner. City were certainly in the driving seat. When Grabban went down under the challenge of Peter Clarke, Carrow Road looked to referee Simon Hooper who offered his namesake the opportunity to complete a well-deserved hat-trick; an opportunity that was grabbed with both hands, placed on the penalty spot, and fired into the bottom left corner. Norwich coasted the rest of second half and even offered new signing Tony Andreu his debut, simultaneously saving Grabban for our midweek match versus Charlton. Redmond finished things off with the pick of the bunch; a Snodgrass-esque free kick which curled right into the top corner of the Blackpool net. Scintillating is just one word that could be used to describe it.
I’m not going to get carried away, it was only Blackpool. And frankly, they’ve been rubbish this season. But unlike some particularly interesting characters on Canary Call, I look at that as a ‘job well done’. Thoroughly professional in all departments, and that allowed us to rest some players before the end of the game ahead of this next fixture.
Reverse Fixture
Norwich and Charlton of course met earlier this season at Carrow Road, in a game which also followed a Norwich win over Blackpool.
The visitors that day were rather lucky to leave with any points, let alone all three, having yielded just 39% of possession all game and a total of 2 shots on target. Jackson’s effort in the 86th minute somehow found Ruddy’s right-hand corner. It was a sucker punch directly in the stomach. Norwich had no time to respond; nothing left to give. And this all came after some – dare I say it – terrible refereeing decisions. Appalling, in fact. At least two handball claims were wrongly turned down, and considering Mick Russell’s excellent positioning it was fairly shocking to see how poor his judgement was in comparison. Wow; it’s getting me angry all over again!
Anyway, that should be incentive enough for Norwich to win on Tuesday night. To get some sort of payback for a very much underserved loss.
That unlikely away victory for Charlton encapsulated what was a high point in their season. They had acquired 18 points in just 10 games, and were sniffing at the play-offs albeit in an ‘early-doors’ Championship table. Now, 19 games later, they find themselves slipping quite rapidly towards the Championship floor. Since that late September fixture, they’ve managed just 15 points in 19 games – a ratio of 0.79 points per game – a glimmer of their early season form (1.8). In fact, nothing quite demonstrates their downwards spiral than the table below. 
You’ll notice Norwich are playing Charlton at their weakest point all season; they haven’t won in 12 games, and scored just 7 goals in that period. At the other end, it’s been a little busier; shipping 5 to Watford, 3 to Ipswich and spattering of others elsewhere. They did manage a 2-2 draw against Blackpool back in December if that’s any indication of how this game may unfold. But the more you look, the more you realise that anything less than a victory for Norwich will be an utter calamity.
Charlton – Form: L L D D L
Vetokele has provided most of the goals this season of the few that they’ve managed to score (8/26), while Tal Ben Haim has been an ever-present and significant asset in the centre of defence, playing every minute of every game bar one match. Guy Luzon most recently opted for a traditional 4-4-2, preferring strikers Church and new signing Tony Watt to the aforementioned top scorer. In fact we’re likely to see 6 or 7 changes to the side which played at Carrow Road back in September, this partly due to Charlton’s business in the recent transfer window.
Predicted Team: Unchanged other than Sebastien Bassong who will likely still be injured.
Verdict: I’m feeling pretty confident. If we can replicate some of the flowing football we produced against Blackpool, we should be fine. I don’t even think we reached top gear in that game, so there may be a bit more to give if things aren’t going to plan. Unfortunately I can’t travel down to this one with it being midweek; I am however predicting a 0-2 victory. OTBC.
