It’s a fair bet that every manager of Norwich City over the past decade or more has had to try and tussle with the expectations of supporters as they go about their business.
In fact, spread it a little wider: every manager of every club in the country will try and tell us all why we expect too much from him and his team. And we will all try and argue back that we know better. Because we do. We are all football managers.
The simple solution is to meet in the middle, but this is the Nescafe age where everything has to be instant. We want success and we want it now. If you pay your money you expect results. Even though we are dealing with one of the great imponderables of life: human nature.
At Carrow Road on Tuesday, Norwich drew 0-0 with Burton Albion. Norwich City is a team that many expected (there’s that word again) to do well in the Championship this season. Burton? Not.
Which is why being unable to break down the Burton player wall did not sit comfortably with many supporters.
There is a very visible split in opinion: some will be disappointed. They will point out the differences between the two teams, the clubs and the logical conclusion that Norwich should have won. They are not wrong.
But neither is the side which points out that there is such a thing as a work in progress, that Daniel Farke is new to the English game and is still learning, as are some of his players.
When you add so many new players to your squad it inevitably takes time for them to gel, to ‘get’ what the head coach demands of you and to act accordingly.
Then there is the argument that, hey, they’re well paid, well schooled footballers: how long does this take? And if it’s going to take a long time, why didn’t City go down a different route, one that would bring rewards more quickly?
It’s a good question: were there alternative solutions out there that would have been easier and more successful? This is one very big step for Norwich City, a sea change in ethos as well as personnel.
Are we prepared for the long haul, and is it any riskier than a short sharp solution?
Only time will tell. And then we will continue to argue...
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