Ten points from 12 and a poignant nod to the Canaries who left us in 2024

To all of you, a very happy new year. Six points from six, undefeated both at home and away. In any case, the

Canaries have had a strong start to 2025.

I walked the short distance to Kenilworth Road on New Year’s Day. It took me less time to drive from my temporary

residence at a friend’s house to my place of employment in Luton than it did to walk from my parking space to the

ground.

Oddly, just a few weeks prior, I had driven past the earth for the first time. At first glance, I thought it resembled a

cow shed.It wasn’t a misunderstanding.

Before kickoff, the stadium announcer pleaded with the home crowd several times to “bring the noise.” His cries

appeared to be ignored.

Going somewhere that wasn’t a brand-new stadium was enjoyable to me in part, but I also wondered, “How the hell

did this lot get to the Premier League?”

There was a football game among all of this! I have to say that I feel much less about the game now.

Johannes Hoff Thorup made it clear post-match that he intended to be more direct. The ploy was clear from the

kick-off where the ball went all the way back to Angus Gunn, who chipped it long aiming for the barrel-chested Onel

Hernandez, wide on the left.

The inaccuracy of Gunn’s kicking may well be a key factor in his seemingly inevitable second departure from the club

– a shame given that he is widely regarded as among the best ‘keepers in the division. Maybe not in the eyes of Ben Knapper.

I thought City did well, manoeuvering the ball out from the back. The injury to Anis Ben Slimane though caused City

to lose a little of the control they had in midfield while simultaneously introducing more threat up front as Ante

Crnac came on as a replacement.

City had a rough start to the second half; Luton held them for a considerable amount of time before the visitors,

dressed in the best third kit, started to pose a threat again.Marcelino Nunez broke the impasse with a casual strike,

and the Chilean leaped to the top of the hoardings with joy.

Although the midfield star received most of the credit, the win was largely due to Shane Duffy and Callum Doyle’s

complete control over the formidable threat posed by Carlton Palmer and Elijah Adebayo. The former Canary was

fortunate to avoid a yellow card for a two-handed push on Gunn after the City player taunted him during the press

conference.

Josh Sargent wasn’t quite ready to come off the bench, Borja Sainz might be suspended for up to six games, and

Slimane could be sidelined for up to six weeks. With Ashley Barnes back at Burnley, City appeared to be lacking in

attacking alternatives, so Lewis Dobbin, a recent loan signing, joined Kaide Gordon and Onel Hernandez on the

bench.

The game got off to a rough start, but after ten minutes, City started to take more and more control.

With two forwards committing forward for the whole of the match, Frank Lampard had set up Coventry to cause City

some harm.His strategy paid off when Sainz’s pass went wide and he was sold short. Coventry grabbed the ball and

started to move it diagonally across the pitch in a manoeuvre that looked like it was from a rugby match.

This knocked City off their stride and it wasn’t until the start of the second half that they were able to seize the

initiative once again.

Coventry were more content to sit back and hit City on the break but the home side gradually applied more and more

pressure.  It looked like one of those days where they would never score – City’s final tally was 24 shpts.

Thorup rolled the dice with his substitutions, the final being the boldest. Off went both fullbacks. Kenny Mclean

dropped in to make a back three, while Dobbin and Gordon manned the flanks and Hernandez played through the

middle.

There was even a place for forgotten man… Amankwah Forson.

And boy did he stake his claim for more game time.

It was in the 91st minute that he hit a delicious looping, curling shot into the top corner for 1-1.

Then, three minutes later he hit a shot from almost the same spot, this time a low one albeit with a deflection to send

Carrow Road into raptures of delight.

I can’t recall the last time City won 10 of 12 points during the holiday season, which was a good run by any standards.

It is even the more impressive because the performances were not quite convincing.

After the little diversion of an FA cup match against Brighton, City will need to perform at their peak to maintain the

upward trend of the previous three weeks when they go to Leeds and Sheffield United.

Delia and Michael led a heartfelt remembrance of all City supporters, former players, and players who died in 2024

at the beginning of the Coventry game. Their names were displayed along the edge of the field. The entire minute was

met with flawless applause from the audience.

In light of that, I’ve selected.

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