Survival far from Secured

Dion Dublin told the media this week that he thought Norwich City’s Championship survival is far from secured and, as usual, our 38-year old talisman hit the nail slap bang on the head.

This weekend’s Championship results could not have demonstrated much better just how much work is still ahead of Glenn Roeder’s hits, misses, maybes and loanees, before they can go and sun themselves in far warmer climes than Norfolk.

While we were giving Chris Coleman a nice, easy and much needed three points at the Ricoh arena, Preston and Sheffield United both scored excellent away wins over play-off chasing Charlton and Plymouth respectively and Sheffield Wednesday were gaining a vital three points against QPR.

Now we all know how open, unpredictable and exciting the Championship has been this year but this means that we are only seven points clear and once again closer to the relegation zone than we are the play-offs.

Wednesday also have two games in hand on us, as do Middlesbrough’s conquerors Cardiff, and Sheffield United, Coventry and Barnsley also all have a game in hand on us.

Scunthorpe and Colchester also have a game in hand on us but I think they are as good as down now and that means that the visit of Gerraint William’s team to Carrow Road on the 22nd has got to be all three points.

I think our minimum points target from our last nine matches has got to be nine points, giving us a 55 point finish, 10 points more than the usual 45 point target due to the incredible competitiveness in our division this year.

So let’s have a look at where those points might come:-

• Stoke (H) – L
• Sheffield United (A) – L
• Colchester Utd (H) – W
• Bristol City (A) – L
• Burnley (H) – D
• Ipswich (A) – L
• West Brom (H) – D
• QPR (H) – W
• Sheffield Wednesday (A) – D

Now this may be slightly ‘glass half empty’ sort of thinking and a very disappointing end to the season but within this set of poor results are the nine points that I think would definitely keep us in the Championship.

Can Roeder and his managerial team get back to the sort of form that kept us 13 games unbeaten though?

With three of these teams chasing automatic promotion, two of them chasing play-offs and two battling relegation, there is absolutely no chance that our players are going to be able to coast through until the end of the season.

We need our big players to show their cards now to make sure that our safety is secured as soon as possible. Cureton and Evans will need to start scoring, Fozzy is going to need to find some creative form, Shacks must take advantage of Doherty’s two-match ban and most importantly of all Darren Huckerby must finish his fantastic Norwich City career with a flourish.

It’s going to be an interesting final straight but unless Glenn can get all of his boys to pull their collective fingers out, it won’t just be their Norwich City futures that they will be fighting to save but the Club’s as well.

Glenn Roeder has earned every Canary fan’s trust since he came in and hauled us away from the foot of the table though and I believe he can mould a much more positive end to what was so nearly a disastrous season.

If Roeder can force a top-half finish out of his current squad he will have worked nothing short of a miracle and I’m sure that by the time the carnival of opening day football rolls around in August, he will have us stronger, faster and more organised than any City team has been in years. Kick it off……

 

For those of you who don't know, I present a Championship podcast on www.footballfancast.com.

Click here to have a listen to this weeks show:-