Only eight games in and it’s fair to say that things couldn’t have started any further from different than it was back in the 2013/14 season, which saw Norwich City relegated to the Championship. For two midfielders, their input in just a number of games is yet another exciting prospect for manager Alex Neil and the Yellow Army.
Nathan Redmond and Wes Hoolahan have been two of the most familiar names on the team sheet in the past year, with both having a successful year in City’s one-off season in the Championship. And whilst some may be apprehensive to look at Championship form when it comes to the Premier League, for these two players last season couldn’t prove anymore crucial.
For Hoolahan, the Championship presented itself with an opportunity for the Irishman to make up for the game time he had missed out on the previous season. Scoring five goals and having 10 assists to his name in 29 appearances, the 33 year old made it clear he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.
The impact of Neil’s arrival on Hoolahan became apparent when four of those goals came once Neil made the switch to East Anglia, whilst the appointment of the Scottish manager also saw the Irishman tally up half of his total assists.
Having started all but one of City’s games this season, Hoolahan has ensured he will most definitely remain in the thinking of Alex Neil’s mindset for the time being. He has set the Premier League by storm – a cheesy yet true phrase.
One goal and five assists, he has already bypassed his previous season in the top flight at this point by a mile and in three starts time, he will equal the number of starts he accumulated two seasons ago. And despite his 14 substitute appearances that season, Hoolahan suffered when getting goals and assists – even eight games in, Hoolahan is close to equalling the number of fouls suffered. This statistic in itself shows the danger Hoolahan may have lacked when it came to the opponents defence making errors and misjudged challenges on the midfielder.
It seems that at 33 years old, Wes Hoolahan is ensuring age is just a number and has found a manager – albeit only a year older than him – who gets the best out of him. He is en route to having his best Premier League season, with the Irishman looking to reach previous records early on and to any City fan, that prospect is more than exciting for the club.
As Redmond, at 21, he is very much at a different end of the spectrum to Hoolahan, with his career at Norwich so far being a reflection of his development.
Brought in having impressed in Birmingham City’s first team, Redmond’s first taste of Premier League football saw the England U21 player tally up 34 appearances – 23 of which being starts. However, his statistics failed him. With over 65 shots at goal, there was understandable disappointment when less than half hit the target, with only one resulting in a goal. He also had three assists to his name. Eight games in, Redmond had contributed to the Canaries season by scoring one goal.
His return to the Championship the following season would see him find the form, which would later see him become a Playoff hero. His six goals and 13 assists are already impressive, and being fouled 51 times is a repetition of the danger he can cause. Unsurprisingly, the change in manager in January also saw Redmond gain five of his six goals and seven of his 13 assists.
The winger showed no sign of stopping his playoff form from the previous season. From the offset, he has played a part in four goals, contributing three of his own and assisting Russell Martin’s goal against Stoke City. And eight games in, Redmond has already equalled the amount of shots (14) and shots on target (5) that he had tallied up at this point in his debut season at the club and to see three of his five shots on target hit the back of the net, maybe the fans won’t be looking in despair at his ratio of shots ending in goals.
Despite dropping to the bench in recent matches, it’s this form and his international form, which surely doesn’t make it foolish to be hopeful for the season and the future when it’s regarding Redmond’s input into the squad.
With optimism surrounding the season for these two players, the challenge lies with where the two players will fit into the squad.
For both Hoolahan and Redmond, since Neil made the switch from Hamilton Academical, the two players started 10 games together – the majority coming towards the time of the Play Offs.
It took over a month under Neil before Hoolahan was able to cement his place in the starting line-up, with Redmond the regular fixture until February 21st.
It was perhaps this change that saw the beginning of Neil’s most cherished formation – the lone striker, first initiated by Lewis Grabban before Cameron Jerome took over the prized role.
It was ultimately the inclusion of Hoolahan to support the lone striker, that saw Redmond become only an influence from the bench for consecutive games. It was, furthermore, Graham Dorrans’ demotion to the bench that saw Hoolahan and Redmond finish the campaign in the starting XI, for his inclusion saw the exemption of either midfielder on most occasions – if not, it was Alex Tettey or Bradley Johnson who were sacrificed.
This season sees similar complications to the last – it’s technically a battle of the best of City’s midfielders. Alongside last season’s regulars of Hoolahan, Redmond, Dorrans, Howson, Tettey and O’Neil, City fans have seen the arrival of Robbie Brady, Youssouf Mulumbu and Matt Jarvis. And with both Brady and Jarvis raising optimism amongst the fans for their performances since they joined the Canaries, and Mulumbu set to return to training and ultimately the squad in the coming weeks, the battle gets even tougher. Not forgetting, Martin Olsson’s return to the squad will undoubtedly see another switch up and another battle commence.
With it common knowledge for Neil to prefer the lone striker role and with the strikers at Neil’s disposal being able to fulfill that need, there is a potential likelihood of seeing Hoolahan feature more often in the hole. For Redmond, the future of the lone striker role may leave uncertainty to some extent – with recent line-ups seeing Howson move out to the wing – however, his ability to play in this formation last season will work in his favour and so will his recent success with England’s U21s.
The team, which lined up against West Ham and Leicester, could have been a major hint at a potential squad, with Redmond dropped to the bench on both occasions.
Redmond’s exclusion at West Ham saw Hoolahan re-enter the squad to fill in behind Jerome, whilst Brady was placed on the wing to make way for Olsson’s return to the line-up after recovering from surgery. However, with Jarvis unable to play against his parent club, the change was seemingly forced, as Jarvis and Brady returned to their previous positions for the game against Leicester and Olsson being an unused substitute.
Both matches saw the Canaries fail to pick up all three points, despite most fans being hopeful when it came to playing these teams. It wouldn’t surprise many if a change in line-ups maybe in the waiting.
However, what we know now is that we’re only eight games into the season and there is an abundance of time left for City’s manager to decide who will play the crucial role in the middle of the pitch for the Canaries. However, if statistics are meant to be believed, Hoolahan and Redmond have done no harm in challenging for their place. When comparing the 2013/14 season to this season, in a small period of time, there are noticeable changes which can only excite the fans.
