Home   >   Musings   >   Premier League preview No5: Norwich City

Premier League preview No5: Norwich City

By on August 16, 2013

Norwich City’s season coming season looks, well, promising-ish following their transfer window mainly centering the signings of Gary Hooper and Ricky van Wolfswinkle.

Norwich City

20130816-204208.jpg

Norwich City’s signing of Dutch forward Ricky van Wolfswinkel is a win for everybody, except Norwich opponents.

 

In: Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Sporting Lisbon, £8.5m), Martin Olsson (Blackburn, £2.5m), Nathan Redmond (Birmingham, £2.2m rising to £3.2m), Javier Garrido (Lazio, £1.275m), Carlo Nash (Stoke, Free), Leroy Fer (FC Twente, undisclosed), Gary Hooper (Celtic, £5m).
Out: Leon Barnett (Wigan), Grant Holt (Wigan), James Vaughan (Huddersfield), Tom Adeyemi (Birmingham), Olumide Durojaiye (Falkirk), George Francomb (AFC Wimbledon), Chris Martin (Derby), Korey Smith (Oldham), Jed Steer (Aston Villa), Marc Tierney (Bolton), Elliott Ward (Bournemouth), Declan Rudd (Preston).

Most of Norwich’s topsy-turvy Premier League campaign last season hardly deserved the 11th place finish Chris Hughton’s side won, but for one little two month stretch beginning mid-October. Norwich, mainly caught by their disastrous away record better only than relegated sides Queens Park Rangers and Reading, were lucky to have their final tally of 44 points, which would have had them desperately fighting against relegation any other season, at the end of the season land them a mid-table position.

Although Hughton’s side was the sixth most successful club in the Premier League at home during 2012/13, their record of only two wins and seven losses on the road was second to worst. Except, of course, during that one run between October 16th and December 16th. During the ten matches squeezed inside the Canaries run they won six and drew four, securing exactly 50% of their points for the season. Arsenal and Manchester United were among Norwich’s victims, while a stunning goals-per-game average of 2.20 in those ten matches dwarfed their average of 0.79 goals a match over the other 28 matches of the season.

This campaign, although a run of form as good as their stretch last season will likely not strike Norwich, Hughton must depend on good form and and an improved attack to survive. Thankfully for Canary supporters, Norwich have had a successful transfer window which has seen them bring in Celtic’s Gary Hooper, for around £5m, and Ricky van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon for £8.5m. The pair will be essential to Hughton’s attack, already suffering from the horrible loss of Grant Holt to Wigan Athletic.

Hooper, who scored 63 time during his three seasons with Scottish champions Celtic, proved himself to be constantly prolific, and is lucky to be alongside Norwich’s club-record signing Van Wolfswinkel, a 24-year-old forward able to quickly adapt to a new club and league. The big-name buys also signals a potential tactical change, with Hughton having the option to move out of the 4-4-1-1 formation he largely sided last season.

Although a switch to more attacking based style of football could suit the new side, Hughton has identified a single most important aim for the coming season, which, as he explained this summer, is “Making sure we start next season’s Premier League in the division, that’s always the objective.”

Last season’s position: 11th

Alex’s predicted position: 14th

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.