September - December

With the transfer window firmly slammed shut,  I knew these were the players who would make or break my attempts to help Norwich achieve their goal of avoiding relegation. After one point from the first 2 league games it was important we started to get some results before we entered that vicious circle of poor results harming confidence which leads to more poor results. A circle which it is so difficult to escape from.

However a win continued to elude us. We gained 3 consecutive 1-1 draws (against Everton, Newcastle and Stoke) which brought us to 4 points, with Kweuke (2), and Sidibe grabbing the goals, and through careful man management  I was keeping morale up. It didn't help, therefore, that we then drew Man Utd away in the Capital Cup and they chose to play a full strength side. Still smarting from our outrageous steal of a point on the opening day of the season, they ran out 3-0 winners.

                                                          
                           Yussuf: Became a 1st team regular when Tettey got a serious injury

At this stage I still wasn’t sure what kind of season it would be. We had only won once (and that against lower league opposition), and we really needed to turn some of our recent draws into wins.

Finally, away to Wigan on 29^th Sept, we secured our first victory, 2-1. Kweuke, of course, and Bradley Johnson providing the goals. (You can see them HERE ).

I was playing a 4-1-2-1-2 as my first choice with Ruddy in goal,  Garrido, Bassong, Turner and Stalteri along the back, Tettey (or Yussuf once Tettey quickly picked up a 3 month injury) as dm/anchor and 2 of Jenssen, Johnson and Howson in midfield.  The attacking midfielder was Wes Hoolahan and upfront Kweuke and a target man, Holt and Sidibe both battling to make the starting place their own. 

We were lower mid table but not mired in the relegation places, with 7 points from 6 games, and only one loss (but only one win!).

October saw  us picking up points against bottom ten teams, and getting nothing from top ten teams. We got a point at Southampton, and beat relegation bound West Brom 2-1 (Kweuke and Sidibe). We then lost to Tottenham and November started with us crashing 2-4 at Man City (Sidibe and Jonson)

Struggling QPR couldn’t match us with Bassong and Howson grabbing the goals in our 2-1 win and a nice little run continued with a 1-1 draw at Sunderland (Jenssen), followed by back to back victories at Swansea (4-0) Here and Reading (2-0).  The six goals being scored by Sidibe (3), Kweuke, Morrison and Bassong .  Sidibe really was having an Indian summer to his career and he and Kweuke were working well.

                                  

                                       Hleb: Shock return to Premier league with Norwich City                                                     

This was proving to be our best run of the season with 3 wins in 4 but things turned somewhat sour in December. 

West Ham shocked us 1-0 and while draws with Liverpool (0-0) and Arsenal  (2-2) Kweuke getting both) were creditable they were sandwiched with a 2-0 loss at Fulham where we were abject.

I had no real cover for Hoolahan and so spotting that Alexander Hleb's contract was winding down, I brought him in on a free mid-December to provide much needed competition.

We were a thin squad anyway, and it was no surprise that Tettey and Whittaker  picked up fresh injuries just days after returning from their previous ones, as I couldn’t ease them back as gently as I wanted due to the fixture congestion.  Squad players such as Jacob Butterfield, Ryan Bennet and Marc Tierney came in and did well. Tierney scoring excellent average ratings that enabled me to kick an under-performing Garrido up the arse, and Bennett showing real potential. 

Still with our thin squad hopelessly stretched, and me struggling to get 11 fully fit players onto the pitch, never mind subs,  the poor run  continued with a 1-0 loss at Villa and a 3-1 (Holt) loss at Man Utd.  As the January transfer window dawned it was a crucial time. I had to ensure the recent bad form did not send us into a downward spiral, and I had to somehow strengthen the squad, with the very limited resources I had at my disposal.

Next time:  Shock results, shock transfers and more