Got To Love That Winning Feeling
It was nice to see the back of a torrid January and start February in the right way. Unlike the Wolves game the City players managed to get the tables to turn and, largely thanks to Mr Huckerby, we got the win we deserved.
There are plenty of positives to be taken from the game for Peter Grant, notably the performances of our two new Scots and the showing of togetherness from a new Norwich City team that Grant is beginning to mould to a hard working and determined Championship outfit.
It is vital for next season that these new beginnings start to grow at a rapid rate, to go into next season with a strong group who are ready to give their all to push towards the play-offs. Those positions are now very much beyond City for this season, even Crystal Palace’s dramatic late surge up the Division One table in the 2003/04 season under Ian Dowie, was four points better off at this stage of the season.
From the lowly depths that we have so nearly sunk to, a top-half finish would be a good achievement but whether that happens will surely depend on if the ‘bit’ can remain well and truly between Darren Huckerby’s teeth for the rest of the season.
Hucks has been on fire recently and has really taken on the role of talisman since Earnie’s injury. Losing our top-scorer has given the squad the kick from behind that they have badly needed and will hopefully have brought them together and formed a camaraderie that has perhaps not been present at Colney for quite a while.
Next Saturday’s trip to Luton represents our first chance to do the double over a team this season, after we beat the Hatters 3-2 at Carrow Road in August. With Mike Newell’s men also at the wrong end of the Championship table and only five points behind us, it would be a great three points that are very much within our capabilities.
Monday’s draw away to Chelsea probably represents the end of our FA Cup adventure for this season but with the pressure off and the glamour tie available, the Blackpool match offers a nice piece of respite and a good opportunity to carry on our improvements, especially if we beat Luton next week.
Who knows though, with the pressure off us and very much on Jose’s men, we might just be able to muster some FA Cup magic, let’s show Blackpool what we’re made of first though!
Peter Grant’s two signings this week have given the Gaffer a lot of credit in my eye’s, as he has shown he has listened to the fans and brought in players that will hopefully tick the right boxes and all on a shoe-string budget.
Lappin will hopefully not only just improve our strength on the left-side of the pitch but give us a threat from set-pieces, something we have all moaned that City have been very poor at in recent years.
In bringing Fotheringham in and allowing Robinson to leave Grant has also shown that he is building for the future and that he agreed that we needed a different type of midfielder, one who actually does something on the pitch and can create with attacking passing.
Let’s hope they both become as popular successes and shrewd signings as our last unknown signing from north of the border, Gary Holt.
Rossi Jarvis played his first 90 minutes for Torquay yesterday and according to Torquay’s message boards he was all the rave of the Radio Devon commentators and some of the comments I read were “pretty good actually, contender for man of the match, he is a clever player” and “nothing wrong with someone trying to actually win the ball for once!” All of which sounds very encouraging and Rossi will be playing for England’s Under-19’s against Poland at Bournemouth on Tuesday, so let’s hope Rossi continues to develop.
Another loan star is Andrew Fisk, who scored for the second game in a row for Keith Webb’s seemingly back on track Kings Lynn team and seems to have cemented a starting place in the team, as he well should of if he is to have a future in the game.
Andrew Cave-Brown was on duty for the Scotland Under 19’s in a tournament in Spain where he will take on Austria tonight (Sunday) and Ian Henderson played 90 minutes of Rotherham’s 0-0 draw against Brighton, thanks to a defence ‘well marshalled’ by Craig Fleming.
Let’s get the Green flag flying high again!!!