Well then, another Saturday, another disappointing defeat.
Norwich lost to QPR 2-1, meaning it’s now been six games without a win for the Canaries.
Before the match, Norwich fans were stunned by a starting line-up with six changes from the 3-2 defeat to Leeds at home. This means that Norwich have had 17 different players starting over the last two games. Neil’s desperation is starting to show, he is trying everything and anything. Last week, he allowed Kyle Lafferty near a football, the thought of which previously would have made him tremble. Of course, Laffs scored but Norwich lost the game. So, being the tactical genius that he is, he did the obvious thing and started Nelson Oliveira up front. Nelson Oliveira with no league goals to his name. Nelson Oliveira, who has been featuring for the U23 side more than the senior team.
Yes, Norwich fans have been calling for change, but by change we mean maybe trying out some youngsters or shaking up the formation. We don’t mean dropping our best centre-back for someone who has played about one non-terrible game in two years. It seems that there is only one change left to make for Norwich City, and that is the man at the helm.
Neil’s inexperience is showing, and flaws that he could get away with having when he had the strongest side in the Championship and he was exciting and new are now starting to show. One of his biggest problems has always his dreadful substitutions. Often he can bring on the right players but at completely the wrong time. He is obsessed with making changes in the 85th minute or later as if they will have any impact on the game at all. I can think of numerous occasions where a substitute hasn’t touched the ball or played one or two passes. His mindset seems to be ‘Give it ten more minutes’ and then proceeding to wait 20 before making the change, at which point we’ve conceded again and there’s no point. Furthermore, he doesn’t react to changes from the opposition. When they bring on a pacy forward, he doesn’t think to add in a player like Ryan Bennett or bring on a defensive midfielder to bolster the holding line. This has cost us on multiple occasions, and led to goals, points dropped and defeats that could have been stopped with one little change.
Neil seems like a brilliant young prospect, and I have no doubt that he will go on to do great things and be one of the best British managers in the game. However, he doesn’t deserve a fast track to the top, he needs to learn his trade and work his way up the leagues, gaining experience. Maybe in ten years time we’ll see Alex Neil managing a strong Premier League side, but even then I won’t regret letting him go because in helping him learn, what could it do to our club? We aren’t a stepping stone, and I wish him all the best but I have to say that I think it’s time.
Neil Out.
