Tense, nervous headache? You must be a Norwich City supporter. The Carrow Road jitters are well and truly back but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Many Canaries’ fans have been fretting about the possibility of the play-offs. Will City get there? What if they do and end up playing Ipswich? How will Norfolk cope?

Saturday’s draw with Swansea was an utterly exhausting experience.

Norwich City fell behind, went in front, failed to win and still ended up climbing a place to fifth in the Championship. The traditional lap of appreciation that followed the final home game of the regular season was a confusing one.

Supporters were not really sure what they were applauding. It wasn’t the victory that would have guaranteed a top six finish but, with Hull playing Ipswich later, it might still be enough.

By bedtime the surreal Saturday had taken another twist. Some City fans openly cheered on their biggest rivals, others couldn’t break the habit of a lifetime.

If Ipswich won it would amount to an Old Farm favour big enough to guarantee Norwich a play-off place. It would also take the Tractor Boys trundling to the front of the queue to join Leicester in the Premier League next season. The pulsating 3-3 draw just about kept everyone at this end of the A140 happy.

It has though left us with a long list of Canary caveats.

Norwich City are certain of a top six finish but they also aren’t.

Phrases like ‘all-but in the play-offs’, ‘barring a remarkable set of results’ and ‘unless there is an eight-goal swing’ will feature as yellow and green small print at the end of every sentence about David Wagner’s team this week.

All things being equal play-off preparations can begin for Norwich City. It’s difficult to find anyone bold enough to shout it from the rooftops though. A trip to a Birmingham City team fighting for survival on the final day means nothing is being taken for granted yet.

The margins are so fine that after 45 gruelling games it’s Adam Idah’s stoppage time winner on the opening day of the season and Christian Fassnacht’s scruffy late strike in the return fixture at Hull that have edged Norwich ahead.

It might be shredding the nerves but, let’s be honest, nothing makes football fans feel more alive than times like this. City supporters only need to think back 12 months to realise that the pressure of a play-off campaign really is a privilege (barring a remarkable set of results, of course).

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When the Canaries closed the 2022/23 campaign with a meek 1-0 defeat at the hands of relegated Blackpool there wasn’t much appreciation in the final day lap of the ground. There were more people involved on the pitch than in the stands. Norwich City had stuttered to 13th in the table. Only the opportunity to say a final farewell to the departing Teemu Pukki kept anyone in the ground.

Even with their flying Finn Norwich hadn’t scored at all at Carrow Road since February. This time around the final 5 home fixtures have brought 11 goals, an East Anglian derby win and the completion of a six-month unbeaten run on their own turf.  

Draws with Bristol City and Swansea haven’t quite been the final flourish that season ticket holders wanted. At times both matches have highlighted the room for improvement that still exists but if that wasn’t the case Wagner would not be relying on the play-offs to stand a chance of Premier League promotion.

It’s felt like the scenic route at times but City have achieved what felt like the very best they could possibly have hoped for this season (barring a remarkable set of results).

The play-offs (probably) await. It might be Ipswich but it’s more likely to be a Leeds team managed by Daniel Farke or Russell Martin’s Southampton in the semis. Any of those fixtures are going to be horribly tense for a variety of reasons.

I’m going to try and conquer the nerves by reminding myself that this is so much better than last season. That’s after I’ve stopped worrying about eight-goal swings and remarkable sets of results.

 

End of season myth

Is there a bigger myth in football than the one about teams ‘with nothing to play for’ being easy opponents?

It’s a lesson that Norwich City supporters were forced to learn the hard way. The infamous ‘Survival Sunday’ in 2005 when the Canaries were relegated from the Premier League after a 6-0 hammering at the hands of a Fulham team with, apparently, nothing to play for, still stings.

There are cases when teams struggle to rouse themselves to be at their competitive best once promotion and relegation are no longer possible but there are no guarantees.

The Carrow Road draws with Bristol City and Swansea City have illustrated the point perfectly. Both sides looked far more impressive and capable than when Norwich played them away from home earlier in the season.

In fact the Canaries’ 2-1 defeat at Swansea in October ranks amongst the most frustrating results of the campaign. The Swans looked there for the taking that night but it was when Norwich were on the crest of their own autumnal slump.

The visiting sides on the last two Saturdays have played with a fair amount of freedom. Particularly against Swansea there was a feeling that Norwich were reluctant to try too hard to force a winning goal for fear of leaving the back door open. When you are in the promotion mix any mistake could prove extremely costly.

Bristol City and Swansea knew that any errors at Carrow Road would still only mean a mid-table finish. The handbrake was off and both teams caused more problems for David Wagner’s team than many of the other visitors since November’s loss to Blackburn.

With Birmingham in the bottom three, Saturday’s regular season finale is bound to be a far more uptight affair.