So, what changed?

[morty]

Taking away the fact the opposition weren't particularly good, what made the difference today?

Cueller in defence? The return of Bradley, breaking up play? Hoopers good shift? Super Jonny having his shackles removed and being allowed to surge forward? Oneill starting? Phelan's influence?

All of the above?

Even when Wigan had a bit of the ball, we looked calm and composed.

Obviously it all means nothing if its a one off, but this result could be potentially huge, in confidence for the team, but also for the man picking it. He made changes, and they actually worked!

 

[splutcho]

Certainly wasn't Johnson, we won in spite of him. Terrible as per usual.

 

[Yellow Fever]

I have to disagree, Splutcho. Though not our MotM necessarily, BJ had his second highest Whoscored rating in his 10 matches this season at 7.24. Like others, he kept a good balance between attacking and defending and that was the key to today's win, IMO. O'Neil did the same and Tettey played the stopper in the centre as Howson was allowed to range forward when appropriate. It was just the sort of disciplined performance I was hoping for and perhaps Phelan contributed to that. 

 

[Din]

I don't think anything changed in particular. I think it was mainly a case that Wigan were pretty poor rather than we were great. The majority of teams in this league would've ended up getting something out of that game. Cuellar though was impressive, and on the 2 occasions he's played we have looked more solid. I would prefer to see him at the back with Turner though, because as we all know, Russell Martin isn't a centre back. I also love the fact that Hooper is getting a run in the team. I love the way that he operates. He's very calm on the ball, and he's superb at bringing others into play. Him and Jerome are the perfect partnership really, it's just a shame that Jerome has seemed a little bit out of touch in the last few games.

I also thought that on the whole Johnson was good today. As you say Yellow Fever he knew when to go forward and when to stay back, and made some good challenges as well. There seems to be a lot of negativity around Johnson from Norwich fans, and I'm not really sure why. In Hughton's first season at the club he was one of our best players, and although his style is sometimes a bit rough if you like, but on the whole he's a very good player to have at this level. 

 

[Lake District Canary]

Communication.  The players looked much more aware of where each other were - the defence in particular looked more organised and closer together as a unit, with midfielders in closer attendance to close down gaps.  Much better from that point of view.   That kind of communication has been missing in recent games and is a must for good teamwork.   Better passing and moving also better as a result of that improved communicating.  Nice one touch passing and working triangles.  Quite simple stuff - may well be Phelan's influence at work already. I hope so. 

 

[GJP]

Probably have to wait til next weekend and beyond to know what we can take from today.

Any win is a good one but we need to back it up by winning at home next time out.

We've narrowly beaten a poor side, sterner tests await. I would like to see Turner back for those but somebody had to be the fall guy.

 

[Dubai Mark]

Well for the first time in several matches the team actually looked like they knew what they were doing......compared to last week's side that looked like a select eleven put together for a testimonial and absolutely no game plane.... a big improvement. We also did play at a higher tempo, albeit only slightly, particularly in the first half. Small step, but an important one.......  

 

[Highland Canary]

To be fair it felt more like watching a match at Eaton park than in the Championship. One noticeable change was we didn't play out from the back - Ruddy launched kick after kick. This had the particular advantage of not losing the ball in our half for a hange. Maybe we've been looking at McCarthy after all.

 

[morty]

To be fair it felt more like watching a match at Eaton park than in the Championship. One noticeable change was we didn't play out from the back - Ruddy launched kick after kick. This had the particular advantage of not losing the ball in our half for a hange. Maybe we've been looking at McCarthy after all.

If it works, it works. People can cry all they like about wanting football played the "Norwich" way, but first and foremost, it should be effective.

It will be interesting to see how he approaches next week at home, where we will be expected to be a lot more on the front foot.

 

[morty]

And I really think people should stop trying to degrade the result citing how poor Wigan were. I think on recent form we were in a much worse state, and probably under a lot more pressure to win than they were.

 

[Dubai Mark]

Fair comment Morty, it was a game where the points mattered a lot more than the performance regardless of who or how we played, and there were some improvements. How we got in this situation is another topic of course..............lets now hope we will regain confidence and momentum now under NA and his new mentor

 

[Canaryboy]

Was anybody else impressed with Cuellar? I think there is a time and a place to pick him, particularly when Bennett is fit, but he has a lot of composure doesn't he? I thought he showed a bit of class, people forget that he was once an £8m player! 

Perhaps having a smooth operator at the back did its bit in calming peoples nerves? 

 

[morty]

Fair comment Morty, it was a game where the points mattered a lot more than the performance regardless of who or how we played, and there were some improvements. How we got in this situation is another topic of course..............lets now hope we will regain confidence and momentum now under NA and his new mentor

It wasn't a Wimbledonesque performance by any means, yes it was direct, but there was also signs of better cohesion and organisation, also a bit of confidence, players looked calmer on the ball.

Could all be wishful thinking, and next week will tell, but we may just have sorted a lot of things out in training this last week.

 

[morty]

Was anybody else impressed with Cuellar? I think there is a time and a place to pick him, particularly when Bennett is fit, but he has a lot of composure doesn't he? I thought he showed a bit of class, people forget that he was once an £8m player! 

Perhaps having a smooth operator at the back did its bit in calming peoples nerves? 

Can't argue with a clean sheet away from home!

And yes, I think his experience was telling.

 

[TA Canary]

Wigan are a very poor side is what changed.

Our last three wins were against Blackpool, Bolton and Wigan so I'm not quite ready to celebrate when we only seem to be capable of beating the worst sides in the league. Sometimes not even that.

Next week will be the test, let's hope this is a turning point.

 

[lyb]

Wigan are a very poor side is what changed.

Our last three wins were against Blackpool, Bolton and Wigan so I'm not quite ready to celebrate when we only seem to be capable of beating the worst sides in the league. Sometimes not even that.

Next week will be the test, let's hope this is a turning point.

All sides that are beaten by Norwich must be poor, almost by definition, at least for some.

 

[eatonparkboy]

Haven't seen anything of the game as I got home late Saturday but delighted when I switched on the PC to get the result. And I was delighted that I didn't have to worry about should Adams be our manager etc. It was three points away from home, a clean sheet and staying in touch with the leaders.

And despite all last weeks posts and the varied opinions of everyone, the performance and some players performances are being questioned.

What the hell were they going to change in a week? Probably the result and they achieved that. And if they can accumulate a few points in the next few games and maintain some continuity, the confidence may return and the style of football also. We have pilloried Adams and certain players all week. Now isn't really the time to continue with it.

 

[Yellow Fever]

All sides that are beaten by Norwich must be poor, almost by definition, at least for some.

As Alexander Pope said, "All is jaundiced to the jaundiced eye" and that is certainly true of some of our 'fans' at the moment. If we lose, it's all Adams' fault and if we win it's 'the other team were poor'.

 

[Din]

Was anybody else impressed with Cuellar? I think there is a time and a place to pick him, particularly when Bennett is fit, but he has a lot of composure doesn't he? I thought he showed a bit of class, people forget that he was once an £8m player! 

Perhaps having a smooth operator at the back did its bit in calming peoples nerves? 

Yeah he has impressed me in the 2 games he's played in the league this season. I don't really understand why he was dropped after the Forest game as he looked superb. He is very calm on the ball, and although he doesn't have bags of pace, he was very good at reading the play.

I have to say though, I'm hoping that he starts alongside Turner rather than Martin for the Huddersfield game. I'm not sure whether or not he has the aerial ability to deal with Holty, and Russell Martin certainly doesn't. Turner is the only one that will be able to deal with Holt out of our centre backs. I will be a little bit worried if we see Martin and Cuellar line-up at centre back on Saturday. 

 

[ZLF]

we played a very poor team was part of it;   we won very few tackles, created very few chances and had maybe 3 shots on target.   We did have better movement but its hard to really see much difference between this and last week in terms of performance.

BJ was poor - rarely tackles or wins the ball back having appeared to give it away every other pass.

Plenty to be grateful for  - but still so much work to do.