What is the mood like around Carrow Road after the last few weeks?
Frustration probably sums it up, certainly outside the club. Norwich have lost five in the league on the bounce and went out of the EFL Cup at Leeds on penalties, after playing extra-time with a man advantage and taking the lead in extra-time. A growing number of supporters are demanding change but the board remain supportive of the manager, Alex Neil, to turn things around. The manager himself has made it clear during this current downturn the buck stops with him and he will be judged by results. On that measure, he is not performing and consequently there are growing calls from supporters for the Scot to leave. City’s annual meeting took place last week and it was arguably the biggest turnout of shareholders for many years who put some very testing questions to Neil and the board regarding matters on and off the pitch. Put simply, a win is vital at Carrow Road this weekend to lift the mood.
Were the fans expectations for an immediate return to the Premier League? Was that ambitions on shared by the club itself?
Yes on both counts. Norwich City’s management and board made it clear a return to the top flight at the earliest opportunity is the goal. To that end, they retained the vast bulk of the squad who came down last season - bar perhaps Nathan Redmond who joined Southampton in the summer. They had interest in a number of their other key players, the likes of Robbie Brady, who had such an impressive Euro 2016 for the Republic of Ireland, but they resisted any temptation to cash in and added to the squad with deals for former Brentford loanees Alex Pritchard and Sergi Canos and Portugal international Nelson Oliveira. Even though results at present are poor there is still a feeling this squad of players is more than good enough to push for the top six.
What has been the difference between the start of the season and the last few matches?
There was a feeling Norwich were just doing enough even when they were winning games, rather than brushing teams aside. Alex Neil has spoken recently about a sense of complacency that crept in when they won seven out of eight games and he was named September’s manager-of-the-month. That is no longer the case but they have found it difficult to halt the slide. Poor individual errors, particularly defensively, have contributed to defeats and getting beat has drained the confidence. Plus losing influential players to injury. It’s a vicious cycle.
Who are the key players for Brentford to look out for on Saturday?
Alex Neil showed loyalty to the lads who had been winning games at the start of this losing streak. Then he made six changes for the loss at QPR and another three at Derby last weekend so it is difficult to second guess which way he will go for Brentford. That said, they will need to be both combative and creative in midfield. Youssouf Mulumbu added some bite when he came back in at Derby after a two-month injury lay-off. The likes of Wes Hoolahan, Alex Pritchard and Steven Naismith are key figures if City aim to implement the possession style Neil favours. Jacob Murphy has been the stand-out player over the entire season to this point. A young, wide midfielder starting to establish himself after a series of loans in recent years.
What type of match do you expect at Carrow Road on Saturday?
Norwich tend to begin games under Alex Neil in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Like I said above, he likes to dominate the ball and territory and pin teams back. I wouldn’t expect him to deviate from that formation, it’s really a case of who he feels can deliver. There are senior lads now on the verge of coming back from injury and suspension so he should have some more options when it comes to selections. In terms of the type of game, most sides coming to Carrow Road have looked to sit deeper, frustrate and hit on the counter.