For the first time since September, there is reason to believe Norwich City will return to the Premier League at season’s end. Three points off the top of the Championship, City’s 2-0 triumph in the Old Farm Derby keeps the pride of East Anglia in Norfolk, while rolling the Tractor Boys down to sixth-place.
Here are five things we learnt from the game!
It was more than a Derby match
Carrow Road on Sunday housed more than just a reverse fixture in the East Anglian Derby—it was a battle to inch closer to promotion and keep the opposition in the second tier. Norwich won, obviously, earning a “sweep” over Town and potentially put an end to the Derby in the future. (Let’s be honest. Most Canary fans would prefer to be in the Premier League to the Championship again). If anything, Sunday showed which team has the squad best fit for football at the next level.
League’s best form
City are beginning to round up points under manager Alex Neil like Bayern Munich does for Pep Guardiola (never thought they’d have anything in common). In 10 matches, the squad has produced 26 of a possible 30 points. That form, kicking in right at the moment the promotion race heats up, gives the Canaries momentum heading into the last dozen games. Keep in mind Derby and Middlesbrough, the teams above Neil’s men still have to visit Carrow Road.
Norfolk Pirlo
During a Canary Call segment earlier in the year, someone said Bradley Johnson was playing like Arsenal’s Jack Wilshire and deserved a call up to the English national team. Rob Butler, the show’s host, laughed and basically called the man a moron in nicer terms.Fast forward to the present and Butler has joined Bradley’s bandwagon, after the midfielder buried his tenth goal of the campaign into the River End net. Johnson, who recently signed a three-year extension, has been Norwich’s player of the season. All the praise is worthy, and the man himself has even said this is the best goal he’s scored (one match after he said the same following the 81st minute piledriver at Blackburn).
Bassong is back
I always wondered if former manager Neil Adams’ downfall would always be down to the exclusion of Sebastian Bassong from the back line. New boss Alex Neil has found the answer. Not to say that Adams wasn’t a decent manager, but one of the man gripes of his side was the shoddy defense, especially in the centre. Well, the Canaries have four clean sheets in their last six matches, which have all been wins. Bassong was always on the team’s roster (techinally). Now that he’s back in the squad, he’s been a big part of the decent spell of fortune. It could be argued that the Cameroonian international has been Neil’s biggest signing (Yes, he was always on the team, but he prevented a permanent move to Watford).
Promotion push
Now that Carrow Road has resembled more of a fortress than an opponent’s stomping ground. Ignoring the top two in the table, the remainder of City’s matches pin the side up with teams comprised mainly in the lower half of the league. With Wigan, a team creeping closer to another relegation, on Wednesday, then at Millwall on Saturday, more points loom on the horizon. Now it’s about Norwich focusing on themselves and letting the table do the rest.
