The Project

An unbeaten pre-season. Managerial changes. A record home defeat. Ten new signings. A New Chief Executive. Ex free-kick specialist Phil Mulryne to be ordained as a priest. City fans could not have expected the start of their League One campaign to read so like a script for Sky One’s Dream Team.

Bookies had tipped the Canaries for automatic promotion from their lowest league position for over fifty years. Pre-season suggested they were right to do so as City claimed the scalp of Premier League outfit Wigan, as well as a respectable draw against Ole Gunner Solskjaer’s young Manchester United side. Add to this the acquisition of the 08/09 League Two Golden Boot, Grant Holt, and the odds continued to fall.

Things are rarely that straightforward in the English third tier. Ask Leeds.

An embarrassing 7-1 drubbing at the hands of local rivals Colchester United on the opening day of the season was, unquestionably, the catalyst for the dismissal of cult hero-cum-manager Bryan Gunn. The one-time City goalkeeper took over late last season, but, despite bouncing back with a 4-0 away win at Yeovil in the first round of the Carling Cup, was swiftly shown the door.

His successor, Paul Lambert, had masterminded Colchester’s goalfest at Carrow Road. Lambert also presided over the Wycombe Wanderers’ famous Carling Cup run of 06/07, when the unfashionable League Two club were eventually defeated by Chelsea in the semi-finals.

Lambert’s Carling Cup heroics were not to be recreated this season, as City were outclassed and outgunned 4-1 by Premier League Sunderland. Slick finishing proved to be the difference between the two teams; Andy Reid’s sublime chip over a flailing Ben Alnwick conveying the disparity.

Carrow Road’s trophy cabinet now switches its focus from Carling to Johnson’s Paint, in an attempt to satisfy its thirst for silverware. A 1-0 win against Brentford, courtesy of a goal from Chris Martin, a JP Trophy winner himself with Luton last year, cemented a place in the second round against Gillingham.

Perhaps the most noticeable contrast between Lambert’s side and Gunn’s, are the figures in the goals against column. Three consecutive clean sheets, including a 2-0 win at Hartlepool and a 0-0 stalemate with Walsall, would suggest that the notoriously leaky defence of old has been patched up.

As we go to print, high-fliers MK Dons and Charlton are next in line. City will be hoping to maintain their recent defensive record and continue their ascent into the top half of League One.

JOSH CLARKE
CANARIES CORRESPONDENT