Norwich City boss Daniel Farke dodges the manager of the month curse
Norwich Head Coach Daniel Farke during the Sky Bet Championship match at the Riverside Stadium, MiddlesbroughPicture by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd +44 7904 64026726/09/2017 - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Daniel Farke has avoided the manager of the month curse by doing something he hasn’t managed for a month - losing.
Bristol City’s Lee Johnson is September’s ‘chosen one’, beating the Norwich City head coach as well as ex-City manager Alex Neil and former Canaries defender Steve Bruce.
The SkyBet judging panels made it a Bristol City double by naming Aden Flint as player of the month, which relegated City midfielder James Maddison, Aston Villa goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and Wolves’ Diogo Jota to also-rans.
It’s the managerial choice which will perhaps create most debate – that the judging panel included former Ipswich Town boss George Burley will no doubt not go unnoticed in some quarters.
Johnson’s credentials were fine: the Robins took over as leading scorers in the Championship with 13 goals in six unbeaten games which yielded 14 points.
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Even more impressive was that their September fixture list included visits to Reading, Wolves, Norwich and Ipswich.
Johnson said: “It was a very difficult September on paper but the boys have worked fantastically well.
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“I accept the award on behalf of everybody, staff and players and, actually, fans as well because they’ve been part of our good form in September.
“We have a belief and work towards a process that in the end, we want the results, that’s the tip of the iceberg, the three points on a Saturday, and I’ve been delighted by the application of the players and the quality.
“We’ve scored goals and had numbers in the box, had a lot of energy to our play and given the fact there’s been tough games in there it’s been a great September for us.”
Burley said: “Lee has managed to balance sturdy resilience with attacking flair, culminating in a side who finished the month with the best goal difference in the Sky Bet Championship.
“Four wins and two draws against in-form sides have lifted Bristol City towards the upper reaches of the table with their hard to beat mentality.
“With an unbeaten run of 11 matches, Lee will be looking to build on their fine start to the season in the coming months.”
