Much talk has been surrounding Newcastle and their promotion charge but Alex Neil’s men have the chance to show that they can be the side to beat this term.
Norwich City manager Alex Neil
Much of the talk of the Championship has been surrounding Rafael Benitez and his big spending Newcastle United side as they look to be the big boys in the division and gain promotion back to the Premier League, but it is another recently relegated side that lead the way at the top of the second tier.
Alex Neil’s Norwich outfit joined the Magpies in suffering the drop along with Aston Villa last term, and with nine games gone it is the Canaries who lead the pack with 20 points, four clear of Newcastle.
It has seemed as though Benitez has perhaps undermined the challenge of The Championship somewhat with defeats to Fulham, Huddersfield Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers – showcasing their vulnerabilities in defence.
Wolves’ Matty Doherty celebrates with teammates after scoring his sides first goal
Newcastle United are of course a big club with rapturous support, who were always set to be the side everyone wants to knock down when they were relegated. In contrast, Alex Neil’s side are experienced in gaining promotion from the the second tier after going up in the 2010/11 season, while Neil also guided the Yellows back to the Premier League in the 2014/15 campaign.
A large majority of that squad have stayed around and they certainly know what challenge they face and will no doubt have the stamina to last a gruelling campaign, and this week’s match between the two sides represent a chance to demonstrate their quality and understanding of the division.
Wednesday night’s match at St. James’ is a real opportunity for Norwich to make a statement of intent to the league to show that they mean business once more. The Geordies have been the talk of the division so far but given where Norwich sit in the table they will want to be regarded as a challenger to their promotion hopes.
And a good result on Tyneside will certainly make that statement very clearly.
Norwich City’s Graham Dorrans celebrates scoring their second goal
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
