Norwich City Season Preview: Something special is brewing at Carrow Road

Chris Hughton of Norwich City. (Getty Images)

Carrow Road, the first day of the 2009-10 season. Norwich City’s first game, after being relegated to the League One, turned out to become one of the darkest days in the history of the 111-year-old club.

The debacle of the record 7-1 home loss to East Anglian rivals Colchester United was exacerbated by the sight of two fans invading the pitch, only to rip their season tickets apart in full view of 25,000 capacity crowd. No surprise then, that, six days later their manager, Bryan Gunn, was sacked.

Since then, The Canaries have risen like a Phoenix.

And it is rather ironic that the manager of Colchester on that fateful day, Paul Lambert, was instrumental in their growth, in more ways than one. Lambert became the new manager, replacing Gunn.

Back-to-back promotions after winning the 2009-10 League One and then finishing second in the 2010-11 nPower Championship, meant Lambert’s men were plying their trade among the big boys of the English Premier League in the 2011-12 season. They finished in a commendable in 12^th place.

Lambert soon left for pastures new and took over as Aston Villa manager in 2012, and was replaced by Chris Hughton, who successfully negotiated the second season syndrome and finished one place higher in 11^th.

That means, Norwich City are the most improved team of the past four seasons. So the natural question that comes to mind is, ‘what next for the Canaries’?

Judging by the transfers (both in and out) made by the club during the off-season, the canaries are set to fly high. If not soar like an eagle, then certainly higher than last season, perhaps to the promised land of European competitions.

It started way back in the middle of March. With safety almost guaranteed, Norwich started to plan for the next season and bigger things. A deal was struck with Sporting CP to sign Ricky van Wolfswinkel for £8.5m, a massive amount that shows massive ambition given the position of the club and the player.

Norwich were clearly struggling for goals and ended the season with just a measly 41. Therefore bringing in a young striker, who over the last two seasons has scored 45 goals in all competitions, makes perfect sense.

Gary Hooper, another proven goal scorer at Celtic and Scunthorpe has been brought in as well. Given his goal scoring prowess and performances in the Champions League last season, at a fee of just £5m, he is a steal.

Hooper can do the unthankful job Grant Holt (who joined FA Cup winners Wigan Athletic) did for Norwich last season. The Englishman is equally good in the air and has the ability to hold the ball up. This will allow the nifty van Wolfswinfel the space he needs and move into goal scoring positions.

Gary Hooper of Norwich City warms up during the pre-season friendly against Brighton & Hove Albion at The Amex Stadium on July 30, 2013 in Brighton, England, (Getty Images)

Bringing in strikers is alright, but Norwich’s midfield struggled last year to create chances for their forwards. They seem to have recognised this short coming and have made some astute signings to overcome it.

Imposing Dutch midfielder Leroy Fer joined the club on a four-year deal from Twente FC, while youngster Nathan Redmond was signed from Birmingham City for £2m (plus up to £1.2m in additional payments); they will provide stability and creativity respectively.

Although primarily a box-to-box midfielder who loves to defend, Fer managed to score 12 goals for FC Twente in 47 games, which shows he has an eye for goals too. With all the big name, big money signings that Hughton has made, it is Redmond that can actually turn out to be the best deal.

Redmond has loads of potential and is one of the few players who can hold his head high after England’s disappointing campaign in Euro Under-21 Championships. The winger is a massive coup for Norwich, with a potential eight-figure resale value.

Then there is also the inspired piece of business in form of Martin Olsson. Still at an age where he could go on to improve, Olsson can provide a very important ingredient that was missing in the Norwich set-up: pace.

Javier Garrido is good at left-back and crossed the lofted balls into Holt many times last season. But now with the change in strikers, there could be a change in the system too. And this is where having Olsson as an option will come in handy.

As a left-back he could possibly replace Garrido and also can double up as a left-sided midfielder when needed. Olsson and Redmond on the left wing have the potential to challenge Everton and Chelsea for the best left back-wing pairing in the League.

The likes of Simeon Jackson, Korey Smith, Mark Tierney, Elliot Ward, Chris Martin, Tom Adeyemi, George Francomb, Lee Camp, Jed Steer, James Vaughan, Leon Barnett and Holt, however, all departed the club.

Holt aside, no other transfer is significant to the fortunes of the club. And even Holt, with his mighty presence and almost legendary status among the Canaries, has been more than adequately replaced.

Another slight issue is the goalkeeping department. John Ruddy is more than capable but, his back-ups are not up to the mark. A long-term injury to Ruddy (like last season) could be detrimental to the Norwich cause.

There is always a risk associated in terms of cohesion when significant amount of changes are made to the squad very quickly. That could prove to be their Achilles heel. If the manager and the squad can negotiate that and gel quickly as a team, the fans at Carrow Road are in for a treat.

With the acquisition of players, who have European competition experience, and cutting of the ‘dead-wood’, who had been with the club during its time in the second/third division, Norwich have made a clear statement of intent.

After a 12^th and 11^th position finishes, they are aiming for the next level of progression. The dream of playing in Europe next season might be improbable but not impossible. But they will have to overcome some steep hurdles along the way.

Everton will take some time to adapt to the Roberto Martinez’s style while Merseyside rivals Liverpool are a side in transition. And Swansea City’s beautiful football has been caught out, and teams will know what to expect of them.

Norwich have an outside chance of qualifying for the Europa league. But if they come unstuck in the league, they are bound to cause a few upsets in the domestic cup games. And if they make it all the way, they could well make it into Europe.

Norwich’s opening fixtures are Everton (home), Hull City (away) and Southampton (home); all three games are winnable. If Norwich can get off to a perfect three out of three start, they can certainly throw the cat among the pigeons and give evidence to the tag of being dark horses for Europa qualification.