The Tigers can end their long wait for a Carrow Road victory this weekend when they face the struggling Canaries and under-pressure boss Liam Manning
The form of Norwich City and Hull City could not be more stark as the two clubs prepare to meet in front of the television cameras on Saturday lunchtime.
Norwich, and their under-pressure boss Liam Manning, have lost their last five games in the Championship with just two wins this season, and only crisis-club Sheffield Wednesday is below them in the table.
Normally, for a club so strong on their own patch, losing all five Carrow Road games this season has understandably not gone down well in Norfolk, with Manning under mounting pressure and some fans keen on protesting against his management and sporting director Ben Knapper.
There was a school of thought that the Canaries would sack Manning ahead of Saturday’s game, but it looks like he’s been given a reprieve for the time being. All is not well at Carrow Road.
Compare that with Hull City, who will arrive in Norfolk unbeaten in five and with one defeat in their last eight games, and in their last away outing, ended Birmingham City’s 26-game unbeaten home record.
But for a 91st-minute equaliser on Saturday, City would have made it four wins on the spin for the first time in four years, and that’s with a depleted squad missing the likes of Oli McBurnie, John Lundstram, Liam Millar and Mohamed Belloumi.
Get money on a home win, I hear you say?
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Well, you could understand why. City have a wretched record at Carrow Road. They’ve lost their last four and were thumped 4-0 last season, and in truth, it could have been double. Since a 3-0 FA Cup win in 1972, the Tigers have managed just one win and that came back in 2010. It’s fair to say that City have some grounds they enjoy going to up and down the country, but this is most definitely not one of them.
History, however, is there to be changed. What’s happened previously should have no bearing on what happens this weekend. Sergej Jakirovic will not care a jot about records; he’ll be focused on winning the game.
Rarely will City have gone to Carrow Road with so much frustration and unhappiness around the home stands. They’re in dire form, and you fancy that should the Tigers get in front, the home crowd will turn. No doubt early on, they’ll be right behind their side and be as passionate as usual, but if the away side scores first, it could get ugly.
City simply have to take advantage, and not afford their hosts a leg-up and a chance to stop their losing run. They’ve got themselves into a good rhythm, there’s momentum in their form, and they simply have to capitalise on it.
We saw at Watford how easy it is to throw away a game when you’re on top. A goal up at the break and with fans chanting for their manager to be sacked in the morning (he has since gone), City produced a limp effort in the second period and lost.
That cannot be allowed to happen against Norwich. If City have genuine designs on challenging for the top six this season, these games must be dealt with professionally. The ‘Typical City’ tag that fans use simply cannot be slapped on their head.
Of course, this is the Championship, and anything can happen, and it usually does at Carrow Road, but if the Tigers can come away with a positive result this weekend, then it might just be another sign that this season has the potential to be a memorable one.
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