Big game for the coal mine birdies today v Middlesbrough. N'wich in 8th with 61 pts and a good +GD (12!), and the next 3 teams only have 62 (tho Rovers have yet to play round 41). If Sarge's team can catch the other 3 on points, only Millwall have a chance of matching or beating their GD. (weirdly both Rovers and PNE have negative GD despite higher point total.)
538 sees things finishing this way: 102 Burnley 87 Sheffield Utd 80 Luton Town 76 Middlesbrough 71 Millwall 69 Blackburn 69 Norwich City 68 Preston NE 67 Coventry City 66 Sunderland 65 West Brom But note (as @freisland did) that Norwich has a strong +GD advantage over all the likely competitors for the 5/6 promotion placements.
Seems like West Brom might be too much of a long shot, but we could still easily have 3 of the 4 playoff teams featuring a YA starter.
"Norwich Football Club were called the ‘Canaries’ because of the history of when the birds had come over with ‘The Strangers’ in the 16th century. The birds sang to the workers when working on the machines, as when the machines would make noise – the Canaries would reply, and almost act like ‘medieval radios’ and would keep the workers company throughout the night of work. Not only does this inspire the well-known nickname for the club; it also influenced the kits colour, and badge of the team. This is shown by the distinct ‘Yellow and Green’ attire that they wear when playing, as well as having a Canary standing on a football; which also relates to the fan’s jingle ‘On the Ball, City!’ being known as the oldest football jingle in the modern day."
Sargent starts! Norwich City (8th) visiting Steffen's Middlesbrough (4th). Let's see if Sargent gets the royal Dike treatment.
Scored: Josh Sargent goal ⚽️ Slots around Steffen pic.twitter.com/asch5CvbDh— USMNTrev (@Eyesandvibes) April 14, 2023 Trailing 3-1 near the half. ETA: Trailing 4-1 at the half.
12 goals for Josh this season isn’t bad. I’d be really pleased if he can finish with 15 considering he spent so much time on the wings. Hopefully the days of watching Sargent on the wing for club or country are almost gone forever.
Total disaster of a defense today for Norwich. They looked like four random guys thrown together for the first time. Beyond the goal, Sarge was very active and covering a lot of space as usual. This time he initiated most of the good moments for Nor'ich in the second half. I'd say he was their MOTM --but that was a low bar today.
Had he finished that rebound that Steff made a good save on, it would have been a highlight day for Sarge. He works hard, makes some good passes and gets in good position, he just doesn't finish enough to be next level. Hopefully he finishes out the season strong and drags the birds into a playoff spot. Pukki seems a bit out of gas.
Big game today: Norwich City (11th) visiting QPR (20th). 538 currently projecting this finish for season's end... 100 Burnley 89 Sheffield Utd 81 Luton Town | @ Reading | v Middlesbrough | @ Blackburn | v Hull City 78 Middlesbrough | v Hull City | @ Luton Town | @ Rotherham | v Coventry City 70 Millwall 69 West Brom! | v Sunderland | @ Sheffield Utd | v Norwich City | @ Swansea City 68 Coventry City 68 Blackburn (game in hand) 67 Norwich City | @ QPR | v Swansea | @ West Brom | v Blackpool 67 Preston NE 66 Sunderland 65 Watford (max points = 59 + 12 = 71) Any of the six teams in the lower group, including Norwich, could still make the playoffs if they caught fire and ran the table (or close to that, for some, maybe just 9 or 10 points of 12).
Josh starts today against QPR, and Pukki is not in the lineup so it's possible he's up top instead of tucked underneath. Echoing others - this is one to win if they want to make a serious run at the top 6 and give themselves a shot in the promotion playoff. QPR aren't that good, too close to relegation for comfort.
Behind at the break.#NCFC pic.twitter.com/zU0LWRZWDi— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) April 19, 2023