Seven wins
from nine games ain't bad
Norwich City 2 Stan Ternent's
Burnley 1
Report by Hego
Much as Reggie Perrin was unable to visualize his mother in law as anything other than a
hippo, I still cannot get out of my mind a Claret collapse when the team goes two down. It
will take time, I guess, to change the horrors of years gone by, but things are obviously
getting better, as evidenced by the second half performance here where we were close,
spandex close, to a point! However, a defeat for the ‘unfashionable surprise’
leaders - but still top of the League.
The day began at some ungodly hour in autumn fog. Welcome
to the football season! It progressed by non-Virgin train, which not only left on time but
arrived on schedule too, leaving aeons to sample the wares of Norwich’s famously
splendid hostelries. Steady now, this could become a habit. The consumption of alcohol
during this period caused a disturbance in the time-space continuum, whereby chunks of
time seemed to literally disappear. I found myself somehow in Carrow ramshackle Road
before kick off with Alastair Campbell sat directly behind me. Obviously World War III
wasn’t about to start then if he was here.
The autumnal start to the day had progressed to bright
sunshine, which allied to a decent pitch promised great things, as the intoxicating spirit
of St Andrews mixed with the brewing industry’s finest specimens. Mr Paul ‘di
Canio’ Allcock was, however, about to spoil all this, the epitome of a man with all
the personality of a bureaucratic speak your weight machine. I think he should have been
on stage, as at least he would have known the plot beforehand. The Clarets took the field
unchanged from Birmingham’s Elysian field, plus the excellent Weller on the bench.
Naaarwich were largely unknown to me, with the exception of the Admirable on the bench of
course, and the oddball Iwan Roberts, otherwise known as the Space Goth from Planet
Bizarre.
The game had hardly begun when after some sloppy defending
around the Claret box, the ball was laid off to Holt, who smashed in an unstoppable 25
yarder. NTG didn’t move, and it became fairly apparent as the game went on that he
was not fully fit. The Clarets responded almost immediately with a Cooky effort from
distance, but the game was untidy with Naaarwich playing exclusively on the break and
Roberts getting the better of our defence. Coxy where are you?
The passing was pretty dreadful, in direct contrast to the
last game, but Taylor managed a good chance before Allcock made his most fateful
appearance on 20 minutes. Little played a one-two with Moore near the corner of the box
before being hacked down in the area (TV replays confirm). Allcock gave a free kick, which
the Legend hammered in to the wall, as he seems to have done for quite a while now. Back
to the drawing board, methinks.
Moore I then shot just over the bar (and later retired with
a groin strain) as did Little, but we were still not threatening the keeper. Moore A was
taken out by a bad tackle, which went totally unpunished, a situation which prevailed
throughout the match as Allcock struggled.
Half time brought out the Norwich samba group dressed in
rags and accompanied by assorted stuffed animals. Hope the Turf doesn’t get any ideas
from this one.
In the first attack of the second half we should have
scored, when a Davis cross was headed down by Taylor for Little to shoot from six yards.
Side netting, and a costly miss, as a few minutes later Roberts pushed the ball over the
line following a fairly limp effort at a save from the injured NTG. A great header by
Taylor was then well saved by Green before the Clarets replied with an Armstrong volley in
the box, cleverly crafted by a Weller headed flick from a Little corner.
The game became end to end stuff with Roberts continuing to
threaten in the air. Notman (hit the bar) and Holt had good chances on the break as
Naaarwich defended in depth with a flat back nine. Payton had a good chance, and
particularly so did Ellis from a Davis header during the Clarets’ siege, played with
ten forwards. But the deserved equaliser would not come to save a record and maybe give me
an opportunity to finish this screed with some splendid statistics.
All in all not a disaster, but a slightly tired performance
from the team, although the work rate remains high. Four undeserved bookings from a truly
abysmal referee who never kept up with the game, and injuries to Little, both Moores and
NTG, may cost us dearly in the long run. I think I have a suit with a higher IQ than
Allcock! Taylor and Moore A had good games, as to an extent did the Legend against the
combative Roberts, but we really do miss Cox. Ball didn’t show much, the dynamo
transformed into the domino in four days.
Team (4-4-2 -
initially): Michopoulos, West, The Legend, Armstrong, Briscoe, Little (Ellis 80),
Ball, Cook, Moore A (Weller 45), Moore I (Payton 66), Taylor. Subs not used:
Cennamo and Thomas.
Crowd: 19,849.
Referee: That
nice Mr Allcock.
More from this game, the home game
and this match last season
