Norwich City have been one of English football’s great yo-yo clubs in recent times, bouncing between the Premier League and Championship with seemingly joyful abandon since Paul Lambert first won promotion in 2011. After last season’s relegation heartbreak, Alex Neil’s men started 2016/17 in positive form, sitting top of the table in mid-October after a 3-1 win over Rotherham United.
Everything unravelled for the Canaries shortly after that though, with eight defeats in 10 games allowing Brighton and Hove Albion and Newcastle United a chance to stretch their lead at the top and, more worryingly, giving the teams chasing a play-off spot reasons to be cheerful.
With a few months of the season still to go, can Norwich fans hope to be watching the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United at Carrow Road next season, or does another season of second-tier football beckon?
Automatic promotion chances
Even the most optimistic of Norwich City fans would have to admit that a spot in the Championship’s top two is long gone after a poor autumn. Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle are in prime position for a swift return to the Premier League, while Brighton’s steady ascent looks set to culminate in a first spell in the top-flight since the early 1980s. 888sport have both sides odds-on to climb out of the division.
The play-off melee
The Canaries’ form in recent months has been so poor that even a play-off place now looks unlikely. With Nathan Redmond’s creativity still missed and Martin Olsson departed to Swansea, there is a dearth of width in the team now. The team also lacks solidity at the back – a hangover from their Premier League days – with Russell Martin ageing and Timm Klose failing to recapture his early form, although Championship specialist Cameron Jerome and summer signing Nelson Oliveira have weighed in with their fair share of goals so far.
Even if Norwich get their act together, competition for the four play-off spots is fierce. Ex-Premier League stalwarts Leeds United and Derby County are reaping the rewards of appointing experienced top-flight managers in Garry Monk and Steve McClaren, while Yorkshire clubs Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday play good football under the tutelage of foreign bosses David Wagner and Carlos Carvalhal. Barnsley, Fulham and even Preston North End – each of whom recorded damaging victories over the Canaries during their fallow period – cannot be ruled out of the equation just yet either.
Look on the bright side…
Each season there seems to be a team who sneak into the play-offs with a stellar late run of form and Norwich and Neil can take encouragement from the 2014/15 season, when 13 wins in 18 games saw them finish third and eventually win promotion through the play-offs. With games to come against all of the sides in their vicinity, save Derby, the Canaries could well be singing once again in May.
