Paul Lambert’s new contract at Norwich City, the length of which is unknown, is the least he deserves after the rollercoaster ride of the last 21 months for both himself and the club.
It is a ride which has culminated in the Canaries winning promotion to re-join the elite of English football for the first time since 2005.
Following relegation to League One for the 2009/10 season, Norwich’s start under Bryan Gunn was nothing short of humiliating. A 7-1 home defeat to local rivals Colchester United who, at the time, were managed by Lambert. Already 4-0 down inside 22 minutes, two fans decided they had seen enough and ripped up their season tickets on the pitch. It would come back to bite them firmly on the backside.
Lambert's arrival sparked a transformation at Carrow Road
A mere six days later and Gunn had been sacked with Lambert sounded out as the top target. 39 at the time, his best achievement was leading a fourth tier Wycombe Wanderers to the semi-finals of the League Cup where they lost to Chelsea.
Despite this, Norwich were adamant that Lambert was their man and eventually got him after he walked out on Colchester to join the Canaries – a move that later cost them £400,000 at a tribunal but money well spent considering what Lambert has achieved whilst at Carrow Road.
Lambert’s influence on the side was immediate with the team winning League One from Leeds
United with an attractive, passing game. The season that has just passed, however, has been the one that has placed Lambert, 41, into the spotlight as one of the best young managers in the country.
Lambert celebrates promotion at Portsmouth
Seemingly not content with establishing themselves as a Championship side, Norwich finished 2nd to Queens Park Rangers to earn back-to-back promotions: an achievement spearheaded and encapsulated by one of the key performers of the Lambert era.
After proving himself as a success lower down the leagues earlier in his career, Grant Holt was plucked from Shrewsbury Town for £400,000 having scored 28 goals in the 2008/09 season. He was to be an even bigger success at Norwich with 30 goals for the season in which they won League One and followed that up with another 23 in the last campaign.
His performances have seen him included in the Team of the Year for League Two, League One and the Championship in the last three years – a testament to the hard work he has put in to prove himself as a consistent goalscorer.
Grant Holt's goals have been vital to Norwich's progress
Arguably the biggest contributing factor to Norwich’s promotion was the amount of late goals that they scored. They won 22 points with goals scored after 80 minutes and although title winners QPR had the highest percentage of goals scored after 80 minutes, they were nowhere near as important as those that Norwich scored.
Over the course of the season, there was no doubt that Norwich deserved to go up. They showed three sides to their game towards the end of the season with a comprehensive 6-0 win against Scunthorpe United, a great comeback against an impressive Nottingham Forest and a gritty 1-0 win at Portsmouth which guaranteed promotion.
Norwich like to play good football and have gained a reputation for doing so but you feel that they will need to produce more of the ugly wins next season if they are to stay up. Following Blackpool’s example of all out attack could result in disaster though the general consensus appears to be that Norwich’s defence is a lot better than that of the Seasiders.
One of Norwich’s strengths has been the ability to get goals from all sources. The likes of Russell Martin, Wes Hoolahan, Andrew Crofts and, of course, Holt all made their contributions to the final tally of 83 league goals – the highest in the division.
Simeon Jackson celebrates scoring the goal that clinched promotion
Simeon Jackson also made a telling contribution towards the end of the season with 9 goals in the last 8 games of the season including the goal that sent Norwich up. It was Lambert’s faith in the Canadian frontman, who had been disappointing throughout the season, which saw the ex-Gillingham man come good at just the right time.
Other signings from the lower leagues proved themselves to be more than capable of mixing it with the best the Championship had to offer and now get to have a crack at the Premier League. Players like Marc Tierney, Andrew Crofts, and David Fox all came from League One sides and made the transition to Championship life seamlessly as the Canaries now aim to consolidate amongst the big boys.
Question marks will remain about whether such players have the quality to keep Norwich in the Premier League, many feel that there is a need for the defence to be strengthened as well as the purchase of a Premier League quality striker but Lambert will be given money to spend despite Norwich’s debts.
Lambert will have to spend that money wisely to make Norwich an attractive and competitive outfit in the Premier League. They will be one of the favourites for relegation but, having warded off interest from other clubs with the signing of this new contract, Norwich will have every confidence in Lambert that he can keep them up.
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