Canaries suffer hammer blow with new record
NORWICH saw relegation from the Premier League confirmed yesterday lunchtime following their 4-0 defeat by West Ham.
Daniel Farke’s side sit bottom of the table with 21 points from 35 games and have not picked up a single point since football returned under Project Restart.
Six straight defeats has seen them concede 15 goals and score just once in what has been a miserable campaign for the Norfolk club and they have now become the first team to be relegated from the Premier League five times.
The relegation sees Norwich overtake Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Crystal Palace in the unwanted books. They all have four relegations from the top-flight to their name.
Yesterday’s defeat leaves them with just nine points available to close a 13-point gap to Watford, who came from behind to beat Newcastle.
Farke and his side have mustered just five league wins all season, with the most recent of them arriving at home against Leicester in February.
That 1-0 victory at Carrow Road remains one of only two league victories for Norwich in 2020.
Norwich won promotion to the top flight last season by winning the Championship in style, ending their three-year absence.
But limited spending in the transfer market has cost them dearly and despite beating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City earlier in the season, it has largely been a disappointing season for the Canaries.
No team has scored fewer than Norwich’s 26 goals this term or shipped more than Norwich’s 67 goals against.
Chris Sutton led the condemnation of his former club’s limp surrender, tweeting: “That was a gutless performance from Norwich City … the players should be embarrassed with that today.”
In his analysis of the first half yesterday, in which Michail Antonio scored twice to give West Ham a 2-0 lead, Sutton again took aim at the Canaries.
“If my Under 15s defended like Norwich, I’d be having a right go at them,” he said.
Following a 2-1 defeat by relegation rivals Watford on Tuesday, Farke refused to place the blame on his players as to their fate, but days later it was confirmed.
“Of course we are disappointed with the outcome but the lads tried everything which is possible for their individual quality level,” he said after the Watford loss.
“I’m a bit disappointed with a few mistakes or not using chances or not being effective enough, but I’m far away from blaming my players.
“I have to back them, they will develop and learn from this season.”
After their relegation was confirmed, captain Alex Tettey was lost for words.
“It’s very hard for me to talk. That was a tough game for us. We came out trying to be positive,” Tettey told BT Sport.
“For all four goals, we can’t defend like that. Even teams that are struggling will punish you. That’s what happened today we got punished for every mistake we made. As I have said before, it’s not been a club that has well-established players worth £40-50 million.
“When you are trying to compete in the Premier League it’s always difficult. We have been in games, but we haven’t had the character and the bodies to get enough points.
“It’s been a tough journey. It’s a young group and now we will take that experience with us.”