First game of the season - Canaries pip Tigers amid controversial decision
City lost 1-2 away from home at Norwich City - but was it as bad as people seem to be making out?
Above: Quality following from City fans away at Norwich
Firstly, I wasn’t at the game.
I’m not sure how important that is, but I did watch the game from a sports bar in Majorca - so I feel I’m allowed an opinion on City’s unfortunate defeat away to Norwich.
I’ve kept quiet pre-season about all things City (as well as not podcasting with Tigers Blah for a long time too). The three of us - me, Rich and “Charlie” (of the “Likes of Hull City” fame) all agreed that the #hcafc hashtag was becoming tiresome, cliquey and everything we hated about social media.
Just an aside for a second - Rich and I started the podcast in lockdown for something to do and a way to talk about City. We obviously got loads of amazing guests on (partly thanks to Rich Gardham and Brendan Smurthwaite). It was a great thing at the time, but it just kind of run it’s course - we didn’t want to be recording episodes if we didn’t feel like it, and there were other City podcasts that did things more regularly than us too.
Personal things aside, it’s just easier if we don’t record anymore episodes - because if we all said everything that we wanted to say, we probably wouldn’t be very popular! We have talked about doing it again, but don’t want to be fixed on a date - it needs to just happen.
Anyway, I’m currently out in Majorca with the family and I watched the City game at a sports bar with my brother in law to be.
Some things stood out to me. I’m not sure if you’ll agree with them, but here they are.
Liam Delap looks like a very good player.
Delap scored a great goal to put us ahead that came from him hassling defenders and being a nuisance. He shrugs defenders off well and with a little bit of better luck from the refereeing side of things, he looks like a very promising player for us going forward.
We definitely got screwed by the officials with the goal - but we need to be smarter!
We’ve seen the still of the ball going over the line before it then comes back off Macca to go out for a corner.
Above: Well, it’s just embarrassing really isn’t it…
It wasn’t offside obviously, but the frustrating thing is it’s both the officials’ fault AND our fault too. Rather than just get back and defend the last attack properly, we were too slow to get out and block the cross before they end up scoring. The official SHOULD see the ball going out and give a goal kick, but somehow he hasn’t and we’ve conceded from a corner that should never have been.
The annoying thing is how people have reacted to this. For some, you’ve have thought we’d lost 5 or 6-1 (although under different circumstances, this could have happened!)
A good way to look at it is like the Sheff Wendies game against Southampton on Friday night. Did Saints deserve to win? Probably. Did they? Only just. It’s not about getting what you think you deserve, it’s about making sure the basics are done to ensure you deserve what you get. City didn’t do that in the last minute. Had they actually seen that corner out, and we’d have come away with a 1-1 draw I woild have been happy with. Fine margins in this league, for sure.
We have a manager who actually cares about what happens on the pitch.
Anyone who knows me will be used to the fact I lose my head on a football pitch. I hate losing. That’s all it comes down to really. Absolutely hate losing. I’m the same when it comes to City. I 100% know I shouldn’t let it ruin my day, but it always does.
Above: Definitely me to any referee when I don’t agree with him…
I can accept losing when we haven’t been good enough. I don’t like it - but can accept it. But when the game comes down to one decision - and a bloody simple one at that for the linesman to make - it makes it harder to accept.
Nothing will change, but the new rules they have brought in this season seem fairly ridiculous. Like, Liam Rosenior not being able to do a post match presser because he got sent off. Why? To make the officials untouchable, that’s why. Poor from the EFL. He can’t even say what he said to get sent off. It probably wasn’t a lot - he’s not known for losing it on the sidelines.
I’m with him though, 100%. If it was me when I was playing, I’d have probably two footed the linesman when he gave the corner - so I know how he’ll have felt, and all those City fans knew as well who saw the ball go out. I love it that he got sent off - that might be childish, but I don’t care. He really cares and was angry about an unfair decision. I hope he does the same again, too. Shota would have just stood there looking lost - at least he cares.
In Rosenior we trust - we forget this, learn from it, and go smash Donny on Tuesday. That’ll make me feel better.
Don’t expect one of these every week. I just fancied ranting.
UTT.