Opinion
Robin Sainty
The travelling Norwich City fans at Anfield – they're the ones who are forgotten and left out of pocket by late fixture changes – Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
There’s something a bit surreal about going to a game in Liverpool.
Having braved Storm Eunice, I arrived at my hotel to find it full of Scandinavians carting bagfuls of gear from the club shops and sporting their brand new scarves and hats, and even at 11pm on Saturday evening we were still spotting people in their football colours wandering around Liverpool One as if the game had yet to happen.
I suppose that’s a real testament to the Premier League’s efforts in selling the game around the world, and it’s easy to see why the thought of losing the geese that lay those golden eggs to the proposed European Super League generated such panic.
Then, of course, the fans whose vociferous opposition to the formation of a yet deeper money pit for the few helped the league keep its prize assets were praised to the skies and much was made of how valued they were.
However, last weekend the Premier League demonstrated once again how much it really cares about those fans by moving City’s game at Elland Road, which was just three weeks away with tickets already having been sold, so that they could squeeze in a rearranged televised fixture for Leeds on the Thursday evening.
The Premier League actually sets itself approximate dates for announcing fixture changes, but then routinely ignores them. For example, its date for advising fans of fixture changes in March was January 24, yet the Leeds game was rearranged on February 19.
That ridiculously short notice will mean fans losing money through cancellation of train journeys, hotels and parking and will the Premier League reimburse them? Of course not; they’re just collateral damage.
THE SMITH EFFECT
There is no doubt that Dean Smith is starting to have a profound effect on this Norwich City team now, with greater aggression and tactical flexibility increasingly apparent.
At Anfield the 4-3-3 line-up switched smoothly into a 4-5-1 when Liverpool were attacking, but both Milot Rashica and Josh Sargent were quick to get upfield and offer attacking width whenever City won the ball back.
Rashica is really starting to look a class act and caused the Reds more than a few alarms as his pace and exceptional balance saw him slaloming past defenders and his goal, albeit deflected, will do his confidence the world of good.
However, the big bonus for City is the fact that Mathias Normann seems to be fully fit, because his power and ability to play penetrating passes is going to be absolutely essential if the Canaries are going to have any chance of beating the drop.
In fact, the midfield as a unit functioned well last week, and while Billy Gilmour is still prone to get knocked off the ball a little too easily, his skill on it came to the fore against Liverpool, while Kenny McLean never stopped running and was the springboard for several breakaways.
Brandon Williams has become a popular loan player with Norwich City fans – Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
However, the undisputed star for City was Brandon Williams, who had the tough task of handling Mo Salah but carried it off with considerable aplomb while still finding the time to make his trademark surging forward runs. It was difficult to imagine another loan player being as affectionately received by City fans as Ollie Skipp, but Williams is coming close.
Nevertheless, despite the quality of some of City’s play and the huge commitment from every player there are no points on offer for effort and the rest of the weekend’s results meant that City ended up in a worse position than they started, so that a run of wins is now essential, with the back-to-back games against Brentford and Leeds looking pivotal.
Unfortunately, City are currently paying the price for their limp performances in the first 10 games of the season, and it is going to take a monumental effort, as well as favourable results elsewhere, to see them climb to safety.
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