If Norwich fans weren’t optimistic about survival before the Newcastle game then they most certainly are now. Following last weekend’s excellent 3-2 win against the Geordies, there is a real belief around Carrow Road that Norwich are going to do one better than two years ago and retain their Premier League status in a season full of surprises.
Yes if we do manage to stay up, it will of course be overlooked by the vast majority as all the attention will be on Leicester. However, take nothing away from Alex Neil, he would have done a truly amazing job if we finish above the dotted line as that final ball is kicked at Goodison Park on the 15th May.
It has not been pretty but seven points from the last three games has given us more than a fighting chance heading into the final six games. Rewind just one month and we had just lost 1-0 to Swansea to extend a winless run to 10 Premier League matches and looked to be staring relegation right in the face. But credit to the board, they didn’t panic. They saw that Norwich had been putting in good performances but had been desperately unlucky not to have been picking up the points they deserved. Narrow losses to Chelsea and Leicester before a disappointing 2-2 draw against West Ham which Norwich should have taken all three points from had come before the trip to Wales. Alex Neil knew it was only a matter of time until we turned things around and he was right.
But throughout that disappointing winless run and despite Norwich putting in good performances, it would have been easy for Chief Executive, David McNally, to press the eject button on Neil’s hot seat and bring in a replacement that would be deemed worthy to stop the rot. Sometimes it works, more often than not it doesn’t.
Rafa Benitez is an excellent point in question. A vastly experienced manager with a Champions League winners medal with Liverpool, as well as managing the likes of Valencia, Chelsea and Real Madrid as of the start of the season has so far failed to inspire a Newcastle side depleted of self-confidence. On paper, Newcastle should easily be in the top-half of the league. Despite spending £80 million, they have been lacklustre throughout and seem all but certain to join Aston Villa in football’s second tier next season. In fact, had Norwich not taken all three points against the Magpies on Saturday, it would have been the biggest robbery since The Great Train Robbery in 1963.
Sam Allardyce of Sunderland is another one. Big Sam knows the Premier League like the back of his hand but he too has struggled to galvanize the Black Cats since taking over from Dick Advocaat earlier on in the season. As it stands, Alex Neil is the only manager in the bottom four clubs that has remained in the job and the Scotsman seems to be paying Norwich’s faith in him back with results at the crucial time.
However, the main point that I want to make in this article is that we must not stop here. The fans must get behind the team, home and away, in these last six games to really see the team over the line. We head to Selhurst Park to face an out of from Crystal Palace team who are now firmly in a relegation scrap, and if they lose to us and we draw level on points with a side that were pulling up all sorts of trees before Christmas.
But Palace are not our main test. By all means go to London and look for a win but if an opportunity for a point arises, we must look to take it. The biggest game of our season comes a week later against another North-East foe; Sunderland at Carrow Road. It’s simple. Win and we all but stay up.
At the moment, it’s hard to think about things with a 100% clear head. Newcastle, Sunderland and Crystal Palace all have a game in hand and until everyone has played the same number of games it does become all ifs and buts. However, I believe it is more important to have points guaranteed on the board than to have games in hand. Saturday’s win means survival is firmly in our own hands which is a fantastic situation to be in. I think even with a point in London and a win against Sunderland that we will need to pick up an additional point or two in the remaining four games. These come against Arsenal at the Emirates, Manchester United and Watford at home before a final day trip to Merseyside for Everton. Getting points against these teams are easier said than done but in a season full of surprises, anything can happen.
Lastly, the boys must make sure they don’t bottle it. We’ve been in similar situations before, Fulham in 2005, two years ago when one more win could have been the difference between relegation and survival. Even this season in games which Norwich have been winning; Liverpool 3-1 up to lose 5-4, West Ham 2-0 up to draw 2-2 and even Newcastle pegged us back twice from winning positions only for Martin Olsson to save our bacon although we were much the better team. Concentration is key and if the fans can get behind the players and keep them motivated by showing what survival means to this fine city then half the battle is done. We’re almost there, let’s see it through!
