How good is Josh Sargent? In scoring the winning goal for Norwich City against Sunderland on Saturday he proved himself capable of being a strike partnership all by himself.

The 1-0 win felt like something from the old school. Even the pristine playing surface at Carrow Road started to cut up in places after a succession of torrential downpours during the game. The number nine on the back of Sargent’s shirt was smeared with mud as he went about trying to break the deadlock.

It’s quite unusual to see that now. Most pitches remain billiard table perfect even during the harshest winters. There was a time when any player whose kit wasn’t dirty enough at the end of a game would stand accused of not having tried hard enough for the team.

Those were the days when everyone played two strikers. It was simple. When I first started going to football nearly all the clubs fielded a 4-4-2 formation. No-one questioned it. There would be one big, tall awkward bloke up front and one smaller, nippier striker alongside him. The big man would do all the battling and the heading thereby allowing his partner to get more of the goals. It was Robert Rosario and Robert Fleck in the late 1980s and early 90s for Norwich City.

When Ben Gibson lofted a ball into Sunderland’s penalty area with the score at 0-0 and 80 minutes on the clock on Saturday Sargent first rose to Rosario a flicked header into the six-yard box. He then suddenly regenerated and produced a powerful finish that Flecky himself would have been proud of.

Saturday’s win was an exercise in patience on and off the field. Football tactics have evolved over the years but in times of panic us fans do tend to go back to our roots. David Wagner playfully suggested in our post-match interview that English football supporters can be summed up with the phrase “put it in the box”.

He delivered the line with such an impressive flourish and English accent that one can only assume has been honed by having had it shouted at him many times over the years.

Kenny McLean sarcastically applauded a section of the South Stand for their reaction to one sideways pass. Two promotions under Daniel Farke haven’t been enough to end the Carrow Road culture wars for some who still, to borrow a classic commentary line from John Motson, would rather watch the Crazy Gang than the Culture Club.

The fact that feelings are running high at times during games is a good sign.

City have something to play for and however long and winding the route has been there are 11 games to go and a play-off place is on the line. This can be the best time of year to be a football supporter because, when there is something to play for, everything means so much. It’s far more preferable than the slow petering out into mid-table that was unfolding a year ago.

Sargent has now scored in all of his last seven league appearances at Carrow Road. With Adam Idah having been loaned out to Celtic, Sargent is now the youngest of the three centre forward options available to David Wagner. New signing Sydney van Hooijdonk was born exactly a fortnight earlier than the American.

Despite his tender years this is already his third season in City’s first team. It’s worth remembering that he signed for more than £8 million so, although there are never any guarantees, you would hope that sort of money would lead to a good return of Championship goals.

His first two seasons were blighted by often being stuck out on the wing. Teemu Pukki was the main man and was, understandably, usually the striker. What got lost a little bit in the emotional farewells to the flying Finn last season was that Sargent outscored him 13-10 in the 2022/23 Championship.

Maybe they should have played up front together more often. That’s what I’d have done. 4-4-2, get in the box. Simple.

 

Only Fools…

Last season Marcelino Nunez raised a few smiles when it emerged that one of the phrases he’d learned in his first season in England was ‘lovely jubbly’.

Much has been made of Norwich City’s underwhelming away form this season but perhaps it has also been influenced by watching too much Only Fools and Horses. Stay with me on this one.

The Canaries have won seven away games in league and cup this season. Two of them were at Bristol City. Right next to Ashton Gate is a block of flats that is famous for being used for all the external shots of Nelson Mandela House. If you add in the FA Cup win at Bristol Rovers three of the seven have been in that city.

There was another at QPR in the EFL Cup. Where is their home ground? Shepherd’s Bush which is where Del Boy and Rodney live and it doesn’t end there. One of the most famous episodes of Fools and Horses was called ‘To Hull and Back’. Where was Norwich’s most recent away league win? Yep. Hull City.

That just leaves Cardiff and Huddersfield. There is a book called ‘The Complete A to Z of Only Fools and Horses’ written by Richard Webber. Admittedly this is more of a stretch but Stuart Webber left Huddersfield to come to Norwich and his last game as sporting director was that win at Cardiff.

We need to find a link with Middlesbrough quickly to stand any chance of a win tomorrow night.

At least if Bolton end up playing Norwich City in the Championship next season they should have no problem beating the Trotters. A cup draw away at Newport would also come in handy. Their ground is called Rodney Parade.