One Substitution - a Lot of Lost Faith

70 minutes on the clock. 0-0 at home against a newly-promoted side facing turmoil behind the scenes after the Chief Scout was let go and replaced by an unknown work experience kid. What followed was the most bewildering substitution of Hughton's tenure so far - and there have been some mystifying ones, that's for sure. Gary Hooper had been putting himself about, working for the team, making some testing runs in behind the defence, and appearing an increasingly potent threat. When Hooper's number is read out, the only expectation can be that Hughton is swapping like-for-like with van Wolfswinkel, surely? To stick to one up top with 20 minutes to go, and for that one to be Johan Elmander, was incomprehensible. In his post-match interview, Hughton argued van Wolfswinkel was lacking fitness. Lacking the fitness to play 20 minutes of football? If a football player is incapable of lasting 20 minutes on the football pitch, and you have no intention of giving him that kind of game-time if required, you simply don't have him on the bench. A lack of fitness is by no means an excuse for such an inexplicable substitution.

Half-time had left me worrying. Norwich were playing well, had the majority of possession and saw lots of the ball in attacking positions - yet we were still being held 0-0, at home, to Cardiff. An inability to score has grown from a minor burden to a major concern resulting in regularly dropped points. Hooper, who I was actually impressed with today, was unlucky with an excellent instinctive effort from outside the box that Marshall managed to reach with his fist; Leroy Fer was unlucky when he turned a corner back towards the goal, only to be cleared at the far post; and I'm still scratching my head as to how that goalmouth scramble ended up in Marshall's grasp rather than in the back of the net. Nonetheless, it remained evident we were going to struggle to score.

There's something I can't get my head round regarding Hughton's set-up. Arsenal away and Cardiff at home are too very, very different challenges. So why have we gone out with the same formation and the same team for both occasions? The only real reason for doing so would be if we'd have managed to get a result in the Arsenal game, seeing as you 'don't change a winning team'... We had lost 4-1. I understand Hughton doesn't want to break up the midfield three, but why not play with a forward three, as the likes of Arsenal, Aston Villa and even England do - turning the 'wingers' into 'inside forwards'. This would allow a more attacking shape whilst giving Hughton the capability of accommodating any of his attacking players into any of those forward roles. I'm not going to attempt to claim I have studied tactics or tested positions in training, as I'm sure Hughton has - but what I am saying is there should without doubt be a distinctive change of set-up between the two evidently dissimilar matches, whatever that change may be.

My criticism of Snodgrass this season has been extremely open, and increasingly regular. Today started off with much of the same, marked by corners failing to bypass the first defender and a golden opportunity to score that he's scissor-kicked wide. However, once Fer had turned one of his deliveries towards the opposite corner of the goal - Snodgrass began to perform. The scot ended the half having delivered some good quality set-pieces into the area, which was good to see, and having successfully turned the left-back inside-out on a couple of occasions. As I have maintained, I would have had Snodgrass dropped over the last couple of games - simply to give him some motivation to work his way back into the side and perform to the standard we all know he can. Having said that, today I would have had him in the side - with Cardiff presenting an opportunity to perform at Carrow Road against a 'lesser' opposition, with the possibility of a confidence boost following an encouraging display. Hopefully Snodgrass can build on this in the coming games, because one thing is certain, Hughton isn't dropping him. If he ever was going to, he would have done so by now.

A further concern comes with the exclusion of Nathan Redmond. Rested following an injury, Redmond has since only been introduced from the bench, producing more effectiveness during his cameo appearances than most of those that have featured from the start. I can't understand how Redmond hasn't made his way back into the first 11. Yes, there is the argument that he's young and playing him too much could actually have a negative effect on his development - but this is a player who hasn't started the last three Premier League fixtures. It's not like he's been ever-present in the side and needing a rest and some weight off his shoulders. Pilkington drifted in and out of the game, as he often does, producing some positive spells but equally going missing at times. If you have to pick two from the three, Redmond would be the first choice for me. Hands down, on either side.

After a reasonably positive first half display at least, I expected Norwich to push on in the second - to build on the lengthy spells of possession we had earned. Instead, I bared witness to a dire second half of football. The game was heading for a no-score draw long before the referee blew his whistle, which was exceedingly frustrating, seeing as Cardiff had so little to offer and were there for the taking. Without question, that was two points dropped. A point was simply not good enough.

What frustrated me more than anything today, mind, was our fans. I'm not one to boo players or a manager whilst the game is still in-play unless things are exceptionally bad, so despite my despair at the substitution that saw Elmander take up his lone-striker role, I did not join in with the 'you don't know what you're doing' chants aimed at Hughton. What was worse though, in my opinion, were the section that responded with a chorus of 'who the f*** do you support?' These fans have paid their money, and bother to turn up week-in week-out. So when such a questionable event happens - they actually have a right to voice their anger in my opinion, however wrong their opinions may be. To question their loyalty, however, was farcical. Not only did it do nothing to help the actual cause they were claiming to uniquely support (the team), it also presented the impression that we as a collective were content with what was being produced on the pitch. We weren't, and we shouldn't be. If one reflection of negativity was wrong, the other was ludicrous.

I asked many in attendance before the game whether they expected Hughton would be shown the door should we lose today. The answer was a unanimous yes, myself included in that judgement. That was not to judge Hughton on the last two games. In fact, I saw Chelsea as one of our best performances this season, unlucky not to come away with a point against one of the title challengers. Arsenal blew us away once we threatened to cause a scare through Howson's strike, but there was no expectation on Norwich and Hughton in that game. That judgement is based on the series of performances so far this season that has only resulted in two 1-0 victories and 6 goals, combined with the relegation-form we produced in the second half of last season. A loss to a lacklustre Cardiff side would most probably have made Hughton's exit a foregone conclusion, giving little to defend for a manager who is undoubtedly an excellent ambassador for the football club, but whose support is diminishing with each passing game. A 0-0 draw, on the other hand, reflects a result and performance that was bad enough to increase pressure and criticism towards Hughton, but not quite enough to force action to be taken, I imagine. Unfortunately, that leaves Hughton with the less-than-easy task of taking his Norwich side to Manchester City in hope of regaining some faith. I must admit, I have very little remaining.

Inspirational Hughton, or a Smokescreen Victory?

An interesting statistic popped up prior to the Stoke game - Norwich had scored the least goals and had the least attempts on goal in the entire league; yet if the league were to be decided by possession in the opponents half, we would be sixth. That more or less paints the picture of our start to the season. It's not that our overall play is too defensive, it's a distinct lack of threat in the final third that creates a worryingly limited number of chances.

The Brittania remains a tough place to pick up points, so credit where credit is due for Hughton. A fantastic first half performance saw us dictate the tempo of the game, hold on to possession, and pass it around comfortably. What it didn't provide, however, was an influx of chances. A great victory it was, resulting in a much needed three points following a set of strong results from the leagues 'lesser' sides this weekend - but a lingering sense of struggle in front of goal continues to burden Hughton.

Which is why the exclusion of Hooper on the back of a cup-brace was so questionable. A goal-scorer high on confidence and a team finding goals hard to come by appeared a perfect blend, did it not? Regardless, Hooper remained benched for ninety minutes, whilst RVW again produced minimal involvement and had all-too-regular problems with his ball control. As I reiterate from last week, the Wolf needs dropping. It's Hooper's turn for me. 

A goal however did come, through the impressive Howson - who's willingness to have a go (and usually a decent one, at that) is of great value in a side with creativity issues. Alongside Fer, the centre midfield pairing look extremely competent. Even Alex Tettey, who I've heavily criticised in the past, looked sturdy and deserved of his place in front of the back four. On the left, Pilkington was a dangerous addition to the side and looked comfortable alongside Olssen, who for me should be a regular starter following a confident display once given the opportunity to impress. 

At the back, Turner, Ryan Bennett and Russell Martin gave exceptional defensive shifts in the absence of Bassong - which was very pleasing indeed. As a collective, we've previously been known to expect almost inevitable defeat when faced with a Bassong-shaped hole in the back-line. Now it's a very different story, with both Martin and Bennett capable of stepping-up, and Turner leading by example. A clean-sheet which was rarely threatened, given the circumstances, signals a significant reduction in the reliance placed on individuals. Squad depth has improved dramatically without drastic changes to defensive personnel - credit to the coaching staff must be given for that.

With the high number of quality individual displays mentioned above, Snodgrass is the last player you would expect to under-perform - or so would have been said last season. This time round, he's had a woeful start to the campaign, which continued today. More often than not, his final ball was terrible, regularly wasting opportunities to carve out chances. Last season, we saw Snodgrass dancing round players with apparent ease, a sense of excitement when he received the ball at his feet, something very few of our players possessed. Now it's become more likely to see him fall to the floor. With (hopefully) the return of Redmond imminent, and following a positive Pilkington performance, I would like to see those two given a chance down the flanks. The modern-day winger is capable of playing from either side, with these two no exception to such a high level of expectation. Likewise with RVW, a potential spell on the sidelines could help Snodgrass find his form again. It worked with Hoolahan under Lambert, it even proved successful for Gary Doherty. Players need to know their place isn't guaranteed.

So, was that a superb Hughton-inspired three-points, or simply a smokescreen for a bleak start to the season? Regardless, a victory away at Stoke is a significant achievement that Hughton set out to produce, and secured the result. He's bought himself both time and confidence amongst the fans today, relieving pressure and giving the table (albeit insignificant this early on) a much healthier outlook. The quality on display from the vast majority of our side, alongside the commitment, desire and effort that they showed today, at very least puts an end to the talk of Hughton having 'lost the dressing room'. These players are still very much here to play for him, and that's exactly what they will do.

The next few games provide strong challenges for Hughton, and it will be interesting to see his approach. The likes of Chelsea provide an opportunity for Hughton to win a large section of the fans over, and assert his authority - he should be, and now will be, allowed to do so. I would like to see some bold decisions made during that time, mind. A few senior players dropped to the bench, with a full run of games for Gary Hooper, would be a meaningful start in my opinion. For the meantime, we can enjoy the rarity of a Norwich win away from home, which puts us level on points with Manchester United - a fact that couldn't be less relevant, seeing as United have already played Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City, but it's not often we get to mention it. European tour, anyone?