Norwich horror could be making of wee Gilmour

THERE’S no point in listening to the Captain Hindsight brigade telling Billy Gilmour he shouldn’t have gone to Norwich City in the first place.

It’s done now. He went and that’s it.

He had Norfolking chance in the first place going to a side that was inevitably going to be fighting relegation but the decision was made and he has given it a go.

The last thing he needs is the smart Alecs saying I told you so.

And you know what? Gilmour’s experience in No Man’s Land might actually turn out to be a good thing. It could be the making of him.

It won’t feel it right now. He struggled to get into the side at first under Daniel Farke when they were making their howling start to the season and then, when he did get his chance, the gaffer got the dunt.

New man Dean Smith has actually hung his hat on the playmaker – but now the Norwich natives have turned nasty.

Ooh scary. This is the lot who needed a rocket up their backsides from Delia Smith remember.

But it still wouldn’t have been nice for the lad to hear chants from the stands telling him to impolitely off back to Chelsea. Hopefully the angry mob will get what they asked for.

Going back to Stamford Bridge would make sense to all parties. It would get Gilmour out of a toxic relationship and it would give Chelsea another top player at a time when Thomas Tuchel is pulling out his hair over injuries and Covid concerns.

But Gilmour shouldn’t be down in the dumps about his time ploughing away over in farming country. He didn’t deserve the treatment he got, goodness knows what the Canaries were squawking about.

People in Scotland have been watching the wee man a lot this season to keep tabs on our golden boy. He might not be pulling up trees every single week but he’s playing alongside a fair few planks of wood.

It’s also no bad thing occasionally to sample the other side of football.

So far it’s been roses and rainbows for the kid. He was billed as the next big thing at Rangers. He earned his sensational move to Chelsea and any time he got a game he received rave reviews.

And what about his impact with Scotland?

Gilmour has quickly established himself as the first name on Steve Clarke’s teamsheet. He ran the show against England and it was a mega blow when he was ruled out of the Croatia

This is the lot who needed a rocket right up their backsides from Delia

game due to Covid. This is just the start for him. We’re now going to build Scotland around this lad.

The lesson learned? Football isn’t always a breeze. Gilmour is a tough cookie.

This experience will only toughen him up though. He will kick-on in his career. He’s got the tools to eventually be a smash hit at Chelsea – hopefully in the second half of this season.

And one day he’ll be back at Carrow Road, dropping a shoulder and sticking the ball in the back of the Norwich net.

There’ll be two choices and it won’t be to stay or go. It will be to either celebrate with a smile – or stick up two fingers at the morons who chased away their best player.

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