Wolves Tamed by Assured Canaries

Norwich City have seemed to turn a corner numerous times this season, all too often it’s quickly transpired that it’s into a dead-end. If yesterday’s performance against a Wolves side with promotion aspirations of their own is anything to go by, we might finally be on the right track.

A third consecutive win, another clean sheet and this time there can be little criticism from any quarter as we thoroughly dominated a direct rival for the play-offs. There were no lapses to allow them an easy route back into the game, we remained disciplined and professional throughout. There can be no accusations of flat-track bullying here; Wolves are a useful side, yet we made them look, well, like Blackpool.

The return of Sebastien Bassong has been instrumental. Since his return I’ve even stopped moaning about Russell Martin playing at Centre Half and while I’ll always insist that he’s better at Right Back, maybe he’s just needed the right partner all along. Bassong is head and shoulders the best centre-half at the club and his maraud forward and defence splitting pass for Olsson was something to behold. His return has not just coincided with regular “clean shits” but also with John Ruddy electing to take every opportunity to distribute the ball from his hands rather than kicking. It’s working well. Bassong’s comfort on the ball helps but with Ruddy’s kicking being about as reliable as Tiger Woods’ driver at the moment, it means we’re far more likely to retain possession.

It’s also testament to a renewed confidence amongst the team. The defenders are all comfortable taking the ball and playing between each other but then there’s also Alex Tettey who is always available, dropping short, carrying the ball and keeping it simple. The mobility that he offers with Howson in the central positions make us fluid and difficult to pick up, while Johnson continues to impress in the left-sided berth and Redmond offers a different set of problems entirely on the opposite flank. Tettey was my man of the match against Wolves, we always seem a better side with him in it and he was everywhere yesterday. Johnson ran him close and Grabban was impressive again but Tettey bossed the midfield and gave us a platform to play on.

With Gary Hooper offering a masterclass in dropping-off and seemingly having his boots coated in superglue and the aforementioned Lewis Grabban looking a different player; it’s little wonder that results are coming. The improvement that Grabban has shown in the last three games has represented a remarkable turnaround. A player that looked lost, disinterested and presumed to want-away now looks sharp, hungry, incisive and most of all dangerous. Just a few short weeks ago I stated that Jerome should be the automatic choice and it looks far from as clear cut now. We have three strikers that are scoring goals, Bradley Johnson rapidly approaching double figures from midfield and a bench that Wes Hoolahan couldn’t even get off yesterday. There’s a long way to go but if the goals keep coming and this renewed defensive strength holds out, we’re going to win plenty of games from here.

The worry is that the inconsistency that has blighted this season will return to haunt us.

Yesterday didn’t give the impression that it was likely, though. Indeed with Charlton thumping Brentford 3-0 at the Valley, even the 2 goals surrendered in our midweek “blip” were given a positive spin.

That result ensured that we ended the day in the top 6 but with Bournemouth dropping points and Derby and Middlesbrough having cup distractions this weekend, the top two – temporarily at least – look tantalisingly within reach. It is still a huge ask but all we can do is keep winning our games. We’ve got to play Boro, Ipswich and Derby at home and still have away games that look very winnable indeed at Millwall, Rotherham and Brighton amongst others. If we do our bit, the rest should fall into place, it’s imperative that we don’t lose to those teams around us and what we started against Wolves must continue at Watford next week.

They’ll pose a different threat with their pace and in-form strikers but while they look dangerous on the front foot, you have to believe that we have the weapons to hurt them at the back. It will be interesting to see if Alex Neil chooses to go with the same team again, they did little wrong yesterday to suggest that changes were imminent but as I mentioned, we do have strong options.

The gaffer keeps ironing out the little problems that get identified. The defensive frailty, the ostracised players; we’re even scoring goals from corners! Yesterday’s performance was as assured as anything we’ve seen at Carrow Road this season, perhaps Neil’s biggest task is to ensure that we match that performance level on a weekly basis. It won’t be like that every week, the nature of the Championship tells you that there will be some potholes to navigate before we reach our destination. If we turn in the level of effort that we put in yesterday though, even when we don’t play well or things don’t bounce our way, we won’t lose many.

Alex Neil, to his credit, has instilled a confidence and belief in the squad. Since we turned in that lacklustre display against Brentford, we’ve taken ten points from twelve and kept three clean sheets. We’ve put in gutsy, hardworking displays that have been complimented by periods of real quality. The team goal that we scored against Blackpool, the desire and mental-strength to go out and find the winner having been pegged back at Charlton, the “put the basics right” display at St Andrews and then the swagger and comfort of the dismantling of Wolves.

Perhaps we’re finding that consistency, maybe our quality is shining through? We can hope so but the questions will be asked again the next time we take to the field. With fifteen games to go, the old cliché about one at a time has never been more apt, with a lot of the top teams to play, realistically our destiny is still largely in our own hands. If Alex Neil can keep us playing as we did yesterday, we could still have a big say on the top two.