The surrealism of Norwich City’s Wembley win still hasn’t really sunk in for most, but preparations are undoubtedly already underway behind the scenes, across the club, for survival in the 2015/16 Premier League season.
Naturally the bookies have already decided that Norwich, Watford and with a bit more lenience, Bournemouth are relegation fodder. The Premier League has got even more lucrative in the season Norwich were absent and all the teams have become stronger.
I have complete faith in Alex Neil and his managerial prowess as we look to secure Premier League survival; with that being said, here’s 3 things Norwich City must do, to achieve this goal:
1. Take maximum points off our fellow promoted teams
One of the main reasons that our first season in the Premier League (2011/12) was so successful was the fact we took 12 points off of our fellow promoted teams, QPR and Swansea. While there is no such thing as ‘easy games’, especially in the Premier League, points are going to be a lot more scarce than our foray in the Championship. It will definitely be crucial to get as many points off the teams we know we can beat. We showed last season that we can put Watford to the sword and that Bournemouth are not invincible.
2. Sign ‘Alex Neil’ style players
We’ve seen little of Alex Neil’s transfer policy so far at Norwich, with Graham Dorrans and Tony Andreu being at either end of fan opinion. We do know the sort of player he likes though: honest, hard working, no-nonsense type players. It would be hard to see players like Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Leroy Fer fitting into his system. Obviously it’s hard to know a players attitude from the outside, but I like the sound of some of the players we’ve been linked to, players like Yousouff Mulumbu, for example.
3. Maintain as much of the style which made us successful as possible
Alex Neil’s Canaries deserved all their plaudits as the young Scot employed a fast, high pressing attacking game with the Canaries. Maintaining the high pressure, the marauding full backs and freedom of movement will be a luxury in the Premier League and while certain aspects may be lost, I hope we distance ourselves as much a possible from the defensive, ‘no plan B’ game plan of Chris Hughton. Still, I’d like to see us really get in the faces of Chelsea, United and City.
