With Norwich having to play Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in their last three games of the 2013/14 Premier League season, relegation seems a certainty. Everyone associated with the club is focused on escaping the trap door but one must be blunt and look to the future. What will the club do when the inevitable happens?
Of all the three teams to possibly go down, Norwich could be the club that are affected the most. They could lose key players that are either too good for the championship or have massive wage requirements; after all Norwich don’t have the financial backing that a club like QPR does, they can afford to buy and keep top quality players in a lower league. John Ruddy, Gary Hooper, Leroy Fer, Nathan Redmond, Wes Hoolahan and Martin Olsson are all players that would be likely to leave the Norfolk outfit in search for Premier League football.
However, one of this seasons flops could be the answer for Norwich should they be relegated. Ricky Van Wolfswinkel has thoroughly underperformed for the Canaries having only scored once. (On the opening day against Everton in a 2-2 draw) From what I have seen of him this year is that he lacks confidence in his ability, let’s not forget this player was brought to the Premier League for £8.5 Million for a reason. If Norwich can hold on to Van Wolfswinkel the step down in quality of football would mean that he’s both on the score sheet and regaining confidence. This is the reason I believe players such as Russell Martin, Wes Hoolahan and Grant Holt have been able to flourish in the Premier League having played their entire careers in the lower reaches of the Football League.
Norwich have to be wary of what can happen to clubs who don’t react well to relegation such as Wolves who lost key players such as Matt Jarvis, Steven Fletcher and Sam Vokes (for a combined fee of around £25 Million) and struggle to cope in the Championship. They finished 23rd and were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time since the 1988-89. Matters of the financial variety can ruin clubs for years to come with Portsmouth and Luton Town prime examples.
Norwich of all clubs is aware of what can happen once their Premier League status has been lost we need not look far back to the 2004-05 season when they came 19th and were relegated. The club went on to stagnate in the lower reaches on the championship (coming 9th, 16th and 17th over the next 3 years) before being relegated to the third tier of English football coming 22nd overall in the 2008-09 season.
There are some very minor positives to Norwich being relegated with the first being that the honest hard working fan can attend matches at lower prices. I know of people who have been driven away from Carrow Road over the past few seasons from inflated ticket prices with an adult ticket for a match against a top four side ranging around the £50 mark. Although this is a positive for the fan it won’t be for the club financially who will inevitably lose money and almost certainly quashing any faint hope of a stadium extension which was planned to commence after two full seasons in the premier league.
If Norwich do go down it is vital that they can hang on to one or two difference makers who can have a positive effect in the championship. As previously mentioned, Van Wolfswinkel could be a player to stay because he will not be in much demand come the end of the season. It is also important to remember who they are and what they’ve achieved: three solid seasons in the premier league. Norwich on paper are too good to languish and stagnate in the lower clutches of the Championship but football can be a funny thing.
A glimmer of hope will be that Norwich could still get results at Old Trafford and the Emirates and as Sunderland proved, it isn’t impossible to win at Stamford Bridge. Norwich aren’t relegated yet but they have a heck of a task ahead to avoid the relegation trap door.
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