A former favourite at Carrow Road, Elliott Bennett is still backing Norwich City to challenge at the top end of the Championship table this season.
Norwich City have won just 2 of their last 13 games in all competitions, a record which has seen them transform from automatic promotion contenders to a team clinging on to a place in the top half of England’s second tier. The quality in the Canaries squad is obvious, and in an exclusive interview with HITC Sport, former Norwich winger Elliott Bennett told us he expected a return to form at Carrow Road.
Closer to the bottom 3 than the top 2 in terms of points. That is the harsh reality of where Norwich City are after a dreadful run of form which has left them with more defeats than any other top half team in the Championship. A rampant 5-0 victory over Brentford was the turning point, it was hoped, but it has not turned out that way, with Alex Neil’s men having lost 3 of their last 5 games since that win.
Despite their poor form, former winger Elliott Bennett told us he believes the Canaries have one of the top three squads in the Championship right now, and as such, he expects to see a resurgent Norwich City in the second half of the season.
Elliott Bennett in action for Norwich City vs Tottenham
Bennett spent five years under contract at Norwich City, playing a big part in two midtable finishes in the Premier League in his first two years at the club, before a nasty opening day injury effectively ended his time in Norfolk.
When asked how he would sum up those 5 years overall, the 28-year-old said, “Absolutely fantastic. It was a real rollercoaster with some very good and very bad times, but the whole city loves football there and you feel it. The first season in the Premier League in particular was fantastic and beating Tottenham away.”
The win at White Hart Lane that Bennett refers to unsurprisingly has particular resonance for the wide man, who scored the winning goal from outside the area in a 2-1 win for the Canaries, one of only three goals he scored for the club.
Bennett is now playing in the Championship for Blackburn Rovers
Given that Bennett was something of a regular at Carrow Road, playing 36 games and 27 games in his first and second season at the club respectively, yet just 16 in the 3 years which followed, it would appear that his season-long knee ligament injury had a huge impact upon his time at Norwich.
When asked just how big an effect he felt it had on his time at Norwich and his career in general, Bennett said, “It had a massive impact, but these things happen. I can’t moan as I’ve been very lucky in my career.”
“It’s a long season when you’re out injured, and I knew I wasn’t at the required level when I first came back after my injury. What happened [his departure from Norwich in the summer of 2016] had to happen.
Elliott Bennett celebrates promotion at Brighton & Hove Albion
Despite his injury, Bennett doesn’t believe he has ‘lost a yard of pace’, as is commonly said of pacy players following a long term injury. “Since my injury I’ve actually clocked my highest ever top speed at Blackburn, so it’s possibly worked the other way. When you’re not playing you have a lot of time to work on your legs.”
With regards to Norwich’s poor fortunes recently, Bennett said, “The Norwich squad is top three or four in the Championship. I’ve been surprised by their recent form but then that just sums up the Championship, you have no right to win and every game is difficult. But there’s enough quality in that team for them to go on a run.”
The Canaries certainly need a run; now 7 points off the play-off’s and 17 points off the automatic promotion places, Alex Neil’s men are surely now just playing for a top 6 place and a repeat of their fantastic second half of the season and play-off heroics in the 2014-15 season.
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