Robin Sainty: Norwich City machine moving up the gears

There is no such thing as an easy game against a Neil Warnock side, and there were periods when the home team were able to generate pressure, but what was so impressive about City’s third league win of the season was the fact that they did so without ever really having to move into top gear.

New signing Adam Forshaw comes on at Bristol City in midweek (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

The day started well with Stuart Webber, who has had a wonderful transfer window, pulling another rabbit out of the hat in the shape of Adam Forshaw, adding another gritty character to the squad, and despite the worrying injury to Josh Sargent, the feelgood factor barely dipped as it went on.

From the sunshine of kick-off to the torrential downpour during the closing minutes, City looked in total control, and whereas they had looked tired in the latter parts of their two previous games they ended on the front foot at Huddersfield with only a linesman’s flag denying them a fifth goal.

The fact that the home stands were emptying well before the final whistle spoke volumes about how comprehensively Huddersfield had been beaten, and nearly all of the noise in the stadium came from the delirious yellow and green contingent, boosted by the insistent rhythm of the City Elite drum.

Everything is clicking at the moment, both on and off the pitch, and while that won’t always be the case, it’s a great time to be following City after last year’s trials and tribulations.

The beauty of what’s happening is that everyone has lifted their game this season. Dimi Giannoulis has been in and out of the side over the last couple of seasons but is now playing as well as he has in his Norwich career, while Ben Gibson, often the target for criticism in last season’s  fragile defensive displays, has formed an increasingly obdurate partnership with Shane Duffy.

Meanwhile, Kenny McLean, again often undervalued by fans, but never by managers, has been absolutely key and was outstanding at the John Smith Stadium.

Much of that is down to the fact that, now he has his own squad, David Wagner has created a system that everyone believes in and in which everyone has a clear understanding of their role.

That seems to have particularly helped Adam Idah, who looked all at sea last season, but who has now scored the winner against Hull and produced a goal and assist at Huddersfield.

Wagner has also succeeded in getting the best out of Przemyslaw Placheta, who set up Idah’s goal on Saturday before topping off a strong performance at Bristol City with Tuesday’s winner.

Placheta’s pace has always been a weapon, but in his previous stint at Carrow Road it was often directionless and saw him dribbling into blind alleys. However, Wagner seems to have given him renewed focus and if he can build on these performances, he could be a real asset this season.

Looking back at the squad with which Wagner got Huddersfield promoted in 2017 there were no real star names, just a tight, well-drilled group with a sky high work rate and a solid defence that took no prisoners.

That may sound familiar, but what Wagner also has at his disposal now is a much greater goal threat. Huddersfield scored only 56 goals in the Championship that season, whereas City already have 13 in four league games, with those goals spread between six different players.

Sargent’s injury won’t help with that, but the fact that City have moved on from being ultra reliant on one man to produce goals is a significant mitigating factor.

It is, however, an unpleasant reminder of how quickly things can change and therefore the current euphoria must be tempered with a fair degree of caution because we all know just how capricious the Championship can be.