A couple of months ago, when the outcome of Norwich`s season was still in doubt, I wrote an article for this site in which I suggested that the 2014-15 season should be considered a success. I pointed to the positive signs coming from the club – some great performances, the long-missing consistency, classy goals, the kind of passing football we expect and demand, the players playing as a team etc. If another season in the Championship was needed, it might give Alex Neil more time to mould the squad and the team in his own way, and be more prepared when promotion did come. Of course, that was never my preferred outcome, and I doubt the Middlesbrough fans will be looking ahead at another season in the Championship with great pleasure.
In the run-up to the game, there was a lot of talk of Norwich being favourites as we are a “premiership” side. Certainly, a large proportion of the squad and the team had played for Norwich (or other teams) in the premier league. Now that we`ve made it back to the premier league, this is being turned back around to show we don`t have what it takes to survive in the premier league since most of this squad were previously relegated. We`re the bookies` second favourites to go down next season! I`ve already seen plenty of articles suggesting we must buy extensively in the summer to survive.
This superficial approach ignores two important things. First, that an arguably weaker squad had two successful seasons in the PL before being relegated, and secondly, that managers can make quite a difference. Could a manager like Alex Neil have managed four extra points over the course of our relegation season, with the same players? I don’t have any doubts that he could.
Luckily, Alex doesn`t seem the type to be told what to do. He`s stated already that he won`t be performing major surgery to the squad, just adding a bit of “quality”. Looking ahead to a summer of speculation, transfers and impatience, here are the things I, as a fan with no relevant qualifications or experience, think are crucial for a successful campaign in the premier league.
1. Keep Alex Neil
Norwich took a gamble on Alex Neil. That gamble has already paid off. We know from bitter experience that successful managers can sometimes be poached by premier league rivals. I don`t expect anyone to come calling over the summer, but if Norwich start the season well it won`t be long before he`s linked with whichever bigger club is struggling at the time. He`s spoken of being aware that the board took a gamble on him, and hopefully he will want to stay to keep proving them right. The board need to do their part and make sure he wants to stay and so do the fans. He needs everyone`s full support, even if the season starts badly.
2. Keep the nucleus of the squad together
Russell Martin, who`s been around at the club for a while, has talked about the great team spirit in the club at the moment. That was visible on the pitch at Wembley with the way the players were interacting, even before the match swung in our favour. Just compare the body language of the players now to last season. Making big changes risks losing that and alienating the players who stay.
3. Only sell good players for silly money
The club`s attitude to transfers last summer was excellent, and I`d like to see that attitude continue. The two players sold for big money were divisive figures anyway – both talented but not necessarily team players. We`ve looked a better “team” without them, and they both went for the top end of what they were worth. It won`t have escaped your notice that both players have been relegated this season, with Hull and QPR respectively. I wouldn`t be interested in having either one back in the squad for next season, if they were available.
I don`t see high bids coming in for many of our top players this summer. There`s already speculation about John Ruddy, but I can`t see him wanting to leave to be second choice at a bigger club, when he would be guaranteed to start every week if he stays. Two other English keepers have just been relegated from the premier league, and he will fancy his chances of getting back into the England squad. I rate him highly, even though he didn`t have a brilliant season, and I hope he stays.
The other player who may attract bids is Nathan Redmond. He`s been talked about as a future talent for 2 seasons, without ever really sparkling for Norwich. Until the playoffs? I`d hate to see him sold just when he`s starting to make good on his undoubted promise. But if a silly offer was made, and I think it would have to be very silly, it would make room for the Murphy twins. They might be just as good, if given a chance.
As for the other key players, I don`t think a good season in the Championship would be enough to make a big club bid for them, and I don`t see us selling to a similar sized club.
4. Buy sensibly and buy quality
Alex Neil is already a Norwich City legend after just 4 months in charge, but one area where he remains unproven is in the transfer market. In January he proved that the squad didn`t need new personnel to improve on the pitch and get promotion. But the only player he did buy, Andreu, has barely featured. Playing with big transfer budgets is something he won`t have any prior experience of. One thing you can guarantee though, is that he`ll do his homework.
One thing in his favour is that he has a very clear idea of how he wants his team to play, and I think that will help him recruit the right players. Hughton liked to play a lone striker, but spent 12 million on two expensive strikers unsuited to that role (Gary Hooper and RVW). Adams had a scattergun approach to buying players, with some hits (Grabban, Jerome) and some misses (all the defenders he bought and loaned). If he had an overall transfer strategy, it is hard to decipher.
Which are the areas needing strengthening? I don`t see any gaping holes in what is already a large squad. I would have pointed to defence as our weak point, but the play-off final was a masterclass in defending. Still, it will be tougher against better opposition and a young, big and pacy centre-back would be high on my wish list, even though it would seem harsh to drop either of our current centre-backs. Stephen Whittaker attracted some criticism earlier in the season, but I haven`t heard those voices shouting so loudly recently.
I`ve heard people say (even on the train home from Wembley after he scored the crucial first goal) that Cameron Jerome is not a premiership-quality striker. It reminds me of what people said about Grant Holt, last time we were promoted. Cameron looks premiership quality to me – his finishing and presence are first class, he has performed brilliantly under pressure, and at 28 he should be at the peak of his powers. He won`t need much adjustment to the pace of the premier league. He`s capable of making goals on his own – just look at the goal he scored at Wembley. People forget that strikers do better playing for good teams and good managers – just look at Grant Holt`s goal tally under Lambert and under Hughton. I don`t see us playing two strikers in the PL, so I expect Cameron and Lewis Grabban to be competing for the target man role. It will need a very good striker to get above them in the pecking order. I don`t see RVW or Kyle Lafferty coming back to compete for a place, and I`m not sure that Hooper, however talented he is, fits into the AN blueprint.
Anyone who does come in needs to be a very good player to improve the team, or a young prospect.
5. Keep winning
Winning games is a habit, and it can be a hard habit to acquire in the Premier League. This is the advantage of coming up from a lower league – the habit of winning. That`s how teams like Bournemouth (and Norwich in the past) manage two consecutive promotions without dramatic changes in personnel.
None of us would have chosen relegation last season, but we have many more reasons to be optimistic now than last time we started a season in the premier league. We already have a good team, a quality squad and a great manager. What could possibly go wrong?
OTBC
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