Brentford show what might have been for Norwich City

As I made my way home from Carrow Road on Monday evening, nursing that all too familiar sinking feeling, Brentford went 2-0 up against Liverpool in the Premier League. 

The contrast in the progress of the two clubs since that evening on March 3, 2021 could barely be more stark. No fewer than eight of the players who started that fixture for the Canaries are still with the club. Remarkably it’s the same for Brentford. 

Yet while the Bees flirt with the top six of the Premier League, City are to quote defender Ben Gibson “sleepwalking down the table”. That alarming slide is happening a whole division lower down too. 

The three Norwich City starters to have left the club since that game explain part of the issue.  

Emi Buendia, Oliver Skipp and Mario Vrancic have never truly been replaced. They all brought different qualities to the party but a ball winning central midfielder and creative players with any sort of consistency are still conspicuous by their absence. It’s too easy to say that Norwich have failed to hold on to their best players. The sale of Buendia was inevitable and provided an opportunity to reinvest and improve the squad. It’s a chance that wasn’t grasped despite millions spent. 

Brentford may have held on to Ivan Toney but they too have had to deal with the reality of clubs with much larger chequebooks syphoning off their top talent. Promotion was achieved via the play-offs in 2021. If you look at strikers alone, Andre Gray, Scott Hogan, Ollie Watkins and Neal Maupay were all sold for millions in the seasons leading up to their eventual promotion. 

Teemu Pukki in action in the defeat to Watford on Monday (Image: Focus Images)

They even lost their manager in October 2018. A certain Dean Smith left to take over an Aston Villa team down in 15th place in The Championship. Thomas Frank was promoted from assistant to head coach and he was able to celebrate beating Liverpool 3-1 on Monday evening. 

It all brings into sharp focus the yellow and green crossroads at which Norwich City Football Club once again finds itself. When Smith was sacked last week, the accompanying statement talked about the need to achieve the club’s objective of “promotion to the Premier League” this season. 

That’s quite a task to dump on the desk of whoever does come in. It’s like the old joke about the tourist who asks someone in rural Norfolk for directions to Norwich and gets told “well I wouldn’t start from here.”.  

From 11th in the Championship a quick return to the top flight looks a long way off. It’s even further away when you consider the current run of three wins from 15 matches and one in nine at home. I suppose that is Premier League form by Norwich City’s recent standards it’s just that this time they’ve forgotten to actually get there before embarking on such a poor run. 

Financially we all understand that the club needs another Premier League cash injection. The past two bruising encounters with the big boys have certainly dulled the appetite for top flight football amongst City fans. Of course, they want to see their team compete at the highest level possible but many don’t really believe that they can as things stand. 

Perhaps the biggest lesson from Brentford’s relative success is that it wasn’t achieved by this boom or bust yo-yoing between Premier League and Championship. They gradually improved, had one or two near misses and looked much more ready for a tilt at the Premier League when they finally got there.  

All these ups and downs take their toll. There’s an argument to say that the new head coach needs to be the first brick of a Norwich City rebuild, especially with so many first team players out of contract at the end of the season. 

It’s made for a compelling if concerning festive season for the Canaries. It was one complete with A Christmas Carroll in the shape of a penalty from Reading striker Andy Carroll to earn his side a point. The Ghost of Christmas Present, Allan Russell, did his best in difficult circumstances as he replaced Dean Smith, already The Ghost of Christmas Past, at short notice. 

If you think this Scrooge reworking is pushing it, don’t forget that Stuart Webber’s first signing as sporting director was Marley Watkins. We’ll find out whether there has been a Dickensian learning from one’s mistakes when the Norwich City board reveal their Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. 

Idah’s year? 

The start of a new year means it’s time to indulge in what’s become a January tradition at Carrow Road.  

To predict the next 12 months will see the real breakthrough of Adam Idah as a key player for Norwich City’s first team. 

The way he swept home his goal against Reading on Friday night underlined what we’ve known for a long time. The Canaries have a striker with enormous potential on their hands. 

Could 2023 finally be the year Adam Idah makes his mark at Norwich City? (Image: Focus Images)

The 21-year old is now in a curious position. Awful luck with injuries meant he only played five times at Carrow Road in 2022. Yet he scored three goals. Only Teemu Pukki and Josh Sargent scored more for City at home in the calendar year. 

Idah burst onto the scene with a brilliant hat-trick against Preston on FA Cup third round day three years ago. It feels like he’s been part of the first team set-up for a long time and his 61 appearances suggest that he has. 

Strangely though the defeat by Watford on Monday was only his tenth league start. Even Liam Gibbs, who only progressed to the first team squad in the summer, has started more Norwich City league matches than Idah. 

The Irishman has always been so highly thought of at the club that he’s never been allowed out on loan despite interest from other clubs. He’s got pace, power and a real eye for goal. If it wasn’t for that recent injury record you would think that City would have to spend an awful lot of money in January to find a striker who has the attributes that Adam Idah possesses. 

So let’s hope that 2023 is Adam Idah’s year. I’ve said it over the past few Januarys so it’s got to happen eventually.