2 weeks Ago
With the final international break of 2024 upon us, how quickly things can change - and we are only one third into what is already a rollercoaster of a season. Previously I looked at the relief of finally getting through a hectic transfer window before the first break and then the highs of full-on “Hoff-ball” after a 4-0 win against Hull in October. After three points from six games since then and suddenly only being three points from the relegation zone, that feel-good factor seems a lot more than just five weeks ago.
That six-game spell started with three draws where the team were lauded for their spirit and comeback qualities. Some warning signs were perhaps not heeded, with those courageous drawn games of October merging into toothless and disappointing defeats as the Canaries limp into the next break in club football. A lot has already been written and discussed on the flood of injuries that have built up through this spell, while Kenny McLean’s absence was very much self-inflicted, however much you might like to debate the severity of what was at the end of the day a reckless challenge.
Those absentees were replaced by players returning from injury themselves or still adapting to the challenges of Championship football. Any team which loses its backbone of players from the trusted goalkeeper, through its (double) midfield engine room on to its goal- and work-hungry international striker, may well be likely to struggle. However, the way the team and its coaches were unable to compensate those losses, shows that there is still a lot of work to do in terms of building the squad, something that is of course a long-term process.
While new acquisitions will always be the subject of much conjecture, some of the new arrivals in the current squad are still adapting to the rigours of championship football, also a key part of building the right squad given our club’s current philosophy. Few “purpose built”, but older, signings were incorporated for the current campaign. Borja Sainz has kicked on at City this season (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) I remember watching Borja Sainz in an Under-21 game at Carrow Road just over a year ago, when he was struggling to get into David Wagner’s team.
His lacklustre performance didn’t give the impression that he would ever be more than a player with potential. Fortunately, the patience shown has been rewarded this season and I hope that will be the case with some of newer signings from this campaign. Right now, time isn’t a commodity that we have in abundance.
A few results are needed to steady the ship and hopes hinge on returning players after the break. Attention will now turn to whether the coaching team can reenergise the team when they get back at West Bromwich Albion in a couple of weeks’ time. That is a very different challenge to setting up a side for the start of a season.
With a trip to The Hawthorns never easy, the home games against Plymouth and Luton may be the better opportunity to rekindle performances as we head into the relentless winter period of the Championship. That is something that our Danish coaches and some of the new arrivals are also going to experience for the first time. I am sure training on Christmas morning and New Year’s Eve is something that you really must live through to know what this phase of the season is really like, both as a coach and player.
On the positive side, we appear to have a good football coach at the helm, and I would like to think that JHT will find ways and means to get that feel-good factor back around Carrow Road in the coming months. I will be back in the Fine City for those games against Plymouth and Luton. Germany expects!.
