Following Lewis Grabban’s transfer to Carrow Road last summer in a record-sale for Bournemouth, there were a number of outcries from City supporters expressing their concern that the striker was simply a form player,so-to-speak. A justified claim, when Grabban’s club history and recent goalscoring statstics are taken into account, Grabban has played for clubs like Millwall, Rotherham and Bournemouth, joining all whilst they were still lower league clubs. However, it wasn’t long until such concerns were disproved by Grabban; He netted five times in his first five appearances, despite drawing a blank as 10-man City were resigned to an opening day defeat at the hands of Wolves.
As the season wore on, though, it became ever more apparent that the London-born striker could well be a form player, as effortless performances with even less reward became almost synonymous with Grabban. His season didn’t improve, even under the winning form brought by the managerial change after the new year, and the frontman could only muster a further seven goals in the league, in a campaign that ended, famously with the Yellows’ promotion back to the Premier League. But his final performances also included a bemusing red card in one of Norwich’s most vital games: an away stalemate at Rotherham. As a result, manager Alex Neil’s side lost crucial ground in the promotion push, many supporters holding the forward culpable.
With regard to the potential impact of Grabban, he has many strengths, despite being a generally frustrating player to watch. During spells of poor form, he tends to cut an antagonised and ambivalent figure who often wastes clear cut chances that usually appear easier to put in the back of the net and concedes aerial battles, as well as tussles with opposition defenders, which hardly play into his strengths.
Grabban’s uses when on form, however, consist of convincing link up play with midfield-magician, Wes Hoolahan, as shown by his goal against Huddersfield last December; helped by his Grant Holt-esque movement off the ball, as he runs off the shoulder of the defender with added pace, and an occasionally ruthless strike to finish off moves fabricated by the skilled City midfield, such as his audacious chip to score his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Watford in August 2014.
Conversely, Grabban lacks the raw strength to hustle the ball from a defender’s possession, highlighted by his struggle to overcome the presence of Scott Dann on the opening day of City’s Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace. On top of this, the striker was, at various points last season, completely non-committal towards competition for long balls and goal kicks, as he often made life easy for anyone marking him. If he wants to prove himself, Grabban will have a mammoth task to overcome the challenge he set himself, as his antics on the night of Norwich’s visit to Rotherham in the League Cup led to suspension, a lack of match fitness and an abhorrent reputation amongst the Carrow Road faithful.
To finish off, it is apparent that Grabban has the ability to score great goals, as well the lack of form that facilitates some glaring misses, his disciplinary record also makes him stand out as ‘the quiet maverick’ of the current Norwich squad, arguably leading to trust issues on the management side of affairs. And the arrival of Dieumerci Mbokani in recent weeks certainly sends Grabban down the pecking order, so much so that Kyle Lafferty, whom Neil sent out on loan in January, was included in City’s most recent match day squad against Bournemouth. When put into perspective, one could argue that Grabban’s inclusion could only benefit Norwich, as his sporadically reliable final ball is surely worth a few Premier League goals, which are certainly better spent at Norwich than elsewhere. On the other hand, Lafferty’s involvement is indicative of the assumption that the road back for Grabban is long, full of frustration and potentially too labour intensive for the striker to cope with, based on his onfield commitment.
Nevertheless, Grabban is a Norwich player and when potential losses of form and injuries are factored into the equation, there must be a chance for the forward to prove himself at some point.
