- Leicester fans face a difficult reset following painful League One relegation.
- Norwich’s recovery proves lower league football can refresh struggling clubs.
- Teams avoid long stays by clearing deadwood and using young talent.
Leicester fans are probably hurting right now. As much as you don’t want the tag, Norwich City are relegation specialists.
What might surprise Leicester fans is that, in a bizarre way, relegation to League One can be a blessing
Refresh
As a Leicester fan, it might be tempting to scoff at this and say, “Well, we won the Premier League and the FA Cup. What can you, lowly flat county dwellers, teach us?”
In simple terms, we can tell you that if you can get out of League One at the first attempt it doesn’t have to be a disaster for your team.
Harsh lesson
Of course, in Norwich’s case, League One meant the severest of humblings as we lost 7-1 to Colchester.
It was at this point that David McNally and team were mocked for getting rid of local legend Bryan Gunn.
He brought in the upstart Paul Lambert, citing how there had been 10.5 per cent of the season finished and they needed to take action.
It was the equivalent of a Ben Knapper or Zoe Webber type statement.
It also proved to be correct.
The turnaround
Over time, Paul Lambert managed to clear the deadwood. Some of it was by default, as loan players from previous regimes were moved on.
What was put in its place was a young, energetic team that had been crafted for the needs of the manager.
It was similar to a situation that happened at Southampton, a team threatened with administration that went down to League One.
It can get better
What Leicester fans are feeling right now is understandable. The anger at the years of misplaced investment and underachievement have given way to frustrated apathy.
While it is painful now, this can be the point where a team rediscovers itself. Fans get to feel the rawness of smaller league clubs and a level of passion that can be invigorating.
But not for too long
That being said, Leicester do not want to spend too long in League One. It is about the approach, and no team should think they can just walk a league because they are the bigger club.
As a Norwich City fan, I’ve seen the team at the top European level and getting pounded in League One.
My hope for Leicester is that things get better for them!
