Season Preview: The Championship

Norwich City Norwich

The Odds – (Via-William Hill)

League Winners: 10/1

Promotion: 3/1

Relegation: 25/1

The Background

An underachieving season which proved to be all too much for Norwich, even if they were close to staying up. The Canaries were a mere three points behind West Brom (forgetting goal difference). 4 points or just the 18-0 win required against Arsenal would have been enough in the end for the club. But it wasn’t to be for the East-Anglian side. In a season where negatives were a regularity, there were the occasional positives such as the signing of Leroy Fer. However the signing of Ricky Van Wolfswinkell proved to be one of the biggest flops in recent Premier League history. In the end, although Norwich went down they were undone by their final four fixtures… Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal. In fairness, a point out of the four games and a very credible fight against Liverpool in a 3-2 loss at least gave the Canaries fans something to think about.

The Transfers

Lewis Grabban and Kyle Lafferty both have signed for the Canaries and are both seemingly welcome inclusions to the squad. Grabban was much needed by the Norwich faithful as goals were a serious problem last year (their top league scorers, Hooper and Snodgrass, only managed six each). Lafferty also fits the bill after he joined as he offers even more striking options since moving from Italian club Palermo where he scored 11 goals in 34 games. Robert Snodgrass however has left leaving a huge void for a new winger to fill after he moved to Hull for £7 million. Despite him leaving, the money received is enough to keep the club going and bring in new faces.

bournemouth-lewis-grabban

The Star Man

Leroy Fer will be a very influential player for Norwich should he stay or even go. If Fer was to leave, the central midfielder’s performance at the World Cup against Chile in and games throughout the Premier League season would attract suitors for a sizable price tag, leaving Norwich with a healthy budget to bring in reinforcements and reinvestment. If Fer were to stay, his powerful dynamic performances in the centre of midfield would run the show for the club and could easily help to lead them back up to the big time. His shooting, passing and heading are prized attributes and, as a central midfielder, you couldn’t ask for much more, could you?

fer

The Gaffer

Neil Adams does not have a very long managerial record, or a particularly good one. In fact he has a 0% win record but that can be partly put down to a lack of matches. He took over last season and somehow masterminded the Canaries to manage a 0-0 draw against Chelsea at the Bridge. Similarly to the fans, it’s hard to know what to expect from Adams.

The Verdict? 8th.
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