Norwich Season Review
It’s ended up being a great season for Norwich City but not many of the supporters would have said that before the last two games of the season which ended up resulting in 2 wins.
Personally I went to 18 home games in the league and 14 away in the league which I hope gives me a good feel about how the season went.
A criticism of Chris Hughton is that too often the team has been set up in a defensive manner which has left the goal scoring at a premium. I don’t necessarily agree with that train of thought though. I would agree that at times the formation hasn’t suited the players (in particular Grant Holt who has had to go out wide far too often this year which means that he hasn’t been in the right goal scoring areas).
For me the main issue is that the full backs haven’t been allowed to roam forward as much as last season and in that sense I can agree that maybe some aspects of Hughton’s “game plan” has been erring on the defensive side. Because of the full backs not going forward as much the likes of Holty and the other strikers who have been tried upfront this year have drifted out wide more than last year.
One of the best aspects about Chris Hughton’s first year in charge is his eye for a transfer. Goalkeepers Lee Camp and Mark Bunn joined the side alongside defenders Steven Whittaker, Seb Bassong, Michael Turner and Javier Garrido who all played their part in shoring up Norwich’s defence and I’m pretty sure that if you asked the average Norwich fan about these players they would have good things to say about them. Center half Bassong won the club’s player of the year which was voted by the fans.
Midfielders Jacob Butterfield, Robert Snodgrass and Alex Tettey signed for the Canaries and all made their own impact- except Butterfield who is still only young but has a lot of potential. Robert Snodgrass finished 2nd in the club’s player of the year running.
The two strikers: Kei Kamara who was on loan from Kansas in the MLS and Luciano Becchio made little impact (in my opinion) but bearing in mind we’ve played in a more defensive style this year and have played one upfront in a lot of games their impact was always at risk of being limited. Kei Kamara had a great personality that the supporters liked but if we’re being honest he just didn’t have the ability.
We’ve had some great results this year (wins away at Swansea and Man City and at home v Man United and Arsenal) and the club ultimately finished in one of its highest ever positions of 11th so one could say it has been a really good season and I’d agree.
Improvements for next year: a proper cup run. I had a great away day on the terrace at Peterborough United on 3rd round day in the FA Cup but I would like to go to Wembley one day so if I could ask for anything from next year it would be to see Norwich playing at Wembley.
All in all this has been a good season for Norwich and with highly rated young striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel on his way to Carrow Road this summer the future is looking good.
The last word goes to the Norwich City under 18 youth side who won the FA Youth cup this year. I was lucky enough to go the home and away legs of the final and I have to say, the young lads did brilliantly against a side that were widely tipped to win the cup competition.
Samir Osman
Personally I went to 18 home games in the league and 14 away in the league which I hope gives me a good feel about how the season went.
A criticism of Chris Hughton is that too often the team has been set up in a defensive manner which has left the goal scoring at a premium. I don’t necessarily agree with that train of thought though. I would agree that at times the formation hasn’t suited the players (in particular Grant Holt who has had to go out wide far too often this year which means that he hasn’t been in the right goal scoring areas).
For me the main issue is that the full backs haven’t been allowed to roam forward as much as last season and in that sense I can agree that maybe some aspects of Hughton’s “game plan” has been erring on the defensive side. Because of the full backs not going forward as much the likes of Holty and the other strikers who have been tried upfront this year have drifted out wide more than last year.
One of the best aspects about Chris Hughton’s first year in charge is his eye for a transfer. Goalkeepers Lee Camp and Mark Bunn joined the side alongside defenders Steven Whittaker, Seb Bassong, Michael Turner and Javier Garrido who all played their part in shoring up Norwich’s defence and I’m pretty sure that if you asked the average Norwich fan about these players they would have good things to say about them. Center half Bassong won the club’s player of the year which was voted by the fans.
Midfielders Jacob Butterfield, Robert Snodgrass and Alex Tettey signed for the Canaries and all made their own impact- except Butterfield who is still only young but has a lot of potential. Robert Snodgrass finished 2nd in the club’s player of the year running.
The two strikers: Kei Kamara who was on loan from Kansas in the MLS and Luciano Becchio made little impact (in my opinion) but bearing in mind we’ve played in a more defensive style this year and have played one upfront in a lot of games their impact was always at risk of being limited. Kei Kamara had a great personality that the supporters liked but if we’re being honest he just didn’t have the ability.
We’ve had some great results this year (wins away at Swansea and Man City and at home v Man United and Arsenal) and the club ultimately finished in one of its highest ever positions of 11th so one could say it has been a really good season and I’d agree.
Improvements for next year: a proper cup run. I had a great away day on the terrace at Peterborough United on 3rd round day in the FA Cup but I would like to go to Wembley one day so if I could ask for anything from next year it would be to see Norwich playing at Wembley.
All in all this has been a good season for Norwich and with highly rated young striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel on his way to Carrow Road this summer the future is looking good.
The last word goes to the Norwich City under 18 youth side who won the FA Youth cup this year. I was lucky enough to go the home and away legs of the final and I have to say, the young lads did brilliantly against a side that were widely tipped to win the cup competition.
Samir Osman
Comments
Post a Comment