Norwich City: 6 Observations from Newcastle Loss

Norwich City lost 1-0 in Sunday's football action. However there were some positives from the game, and as always plenty to analyse. So with that in mind I have put this slideshow together to review the game.

In a slight change to the usual format, there will be six pointers. As ever, get in touch with any comments through the available channels. 

Early Goal Put the Canaries on the Back Foot

It is fair to sat that Newcastle had the better of the play early in the second half. The Toon Army taking the lead did not come as a massive surprise. However, it just made the job for the Canaries a lot harder, as it was never going to be an easy place to go and get a result anyway.

The lesson here is to keep things tight early on, and not give away early goals.

Lone Striker May Not of Been the Way to Go

As a Norwich City fan, I have learned to always expect changes from Paul Lambert. Changed were justified after the below-par performance against Wigan Athletic in the last league game. However, Lambert is a positive man, and it was unusual that he chose to play only the one striker. 

Jonny Howson Did Well in the First Half

Nevertheless, one of the reasons Lambert may have elected to have used the lone striker was to give the space for Howson to run in to. It appeared that in the first half, Howson was given licence to run forward at every opportunity.

In fact, it was one of his forward runs that led to arguably Norwich City's best chance of the first 45 minutes. In any case, this was a much approved performance from the former Leeds United player, than what was seen in his last appearance away against Stoke City.  

Subs Came Too Late in the Game to Impact the Match

The decision to introduce Grant Holt and Wes Hoolahan into the game was undoubtedly the right one. However, it was a surprise that he waited so long to make the changes. So much so that I was beginning to  wonder if those changes were going to happen.

Norwich City had a very good spell early in the second half, making the changes at that point may have made things more uncomfortable for Newcastle.

John Ruddy Underlines His England Credentials

Ruddy put in a fine performance on Sunday's afternoon game against Newcastle. He produced at least two wonder saves to keep the Toon's striker at bay. It remains to be seen if the Norwich City goalkeeper will get the chance to fly to Euro 2012.

However, it is hard to argue against him being England's second best goalkeeper right now. 

Is Paul Lambert Alreadly Planning for Next Season?

Lambert has certainly been making a lot of changes to his team lately. As I have mentioned in previous slideshows, he may sometimes tinker a bit too much.

However, maybe the reason behind it is to prepare his squad for next season. Clearly, a lot of big decisions will need to be made on who stays and who goes. Furthermore, Lambert needs to decide what his first choice lineup will look like next season.

The Norwich City manager may feel he can afford to experiment, with his team on 36 points and 14 clear of the relegation zone. However, he should keep in mind that the club stands to make more money the higher they finish in the league.

In addition, it would be disappointing for the fans, if the club were to finish in lower mid-table, having spent much of the season in the top-half of the table. Furthermore, they (Norwich) will not want to allow fellow newly promoted team Swansea City to finish above them.

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