Canaries wings clipped

Andy Munro on Blues’ draw at Carrow Road.

I suppose there will be the usual ‘glass half empty’ dismal Jimmies who will bemoan the loss of a two goal lead but, on balance, I think the lads (and, yes, the manager) should be commended for an excellent result.

I certainly could see a six-nil drubbing with Cameron Jerome and Nathan Redmond getting a hat-trick apiece. However, let’s lay the Cameron Jerome myth to rest. He was never a Premier League-class striker and one magnificent strike a season set against a consistent missing of barn doors is therefore no consolation. Indeed, his finishing generally would have made Wes Thomas look like Jimmy Greaves. Playing as a lone forward, his touch was about as true as Oscar Pistorius and he now rightly plies his trade as a decent, but not exceptional Championship forward.

Blues opted for one up front with Demi Gray ‘in the hole’ – incidentally, a role that Nathan Redmond used to turn his hand to in tormenting clumsy central defenders.

Unlike Andrew Shinnie, Demi didn’t disappear down it and, as a bonus, scored. Let’s hope that we have a change of ownership before the January transfer window. Clayton Donaldson led the line superbly and, with luck, should have had both a penalty and a goal.

Admittedly, Norwich came back strongly but, at two-all, Blues held firm and could have pinched it at the death. David Edgar was superbly commanding at the back and hats off to Reilly for a typically feisty performance, even after such a long absence from the first team. Maybe, that’s a reminder to give the enthusiastic Mitch Hancox another blast.

One thing that I think is worth noting is that the Blues set of youngsters ie Messrs Arthur, Reece-Brown, Gray, Hancox and Reilly all performed well last season but the team suffered because of a lack of pace and physical presence both at the back and up top. If I were ruthless, I would say that these issues have been solved by Messrs Hall, Edgar and Donaldson. I would probably add Cotterill and Duffy as necessary replacement cover for Burke.

To me, the rest are much of a muchness and shouldn’t be allowed to block the progress of some exciting young talent. Incidentally, I continue to be unimpressed by the American Dream but at the risk of an awful pun, perhaps I’m being Petty.