'Every positive is blunted by a negative'
- Published
Norwich captain Kenny McLean described their loss to Sheffield Wednesday as a 'shambles'
The world 'shambles' is often used during post-match phone-ins - but you know there's a problem when it's the club captain saying it rather than one of the callers.
Kenny McLean summed up the mood at Carrow Road after Norwich City's baffling 3-2 defeat at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.
The Canaries had been superb in the first half, playing the sort of quick one and two touch football that boss Johannes Hoff Thorup has spent the season attempting to instil in his players.
They were leading 2-0 at half-time and, despite a shaky start to the second-half, that two-goal cushion remained intact on the hour mark. Between the 64th and 76th minutes the Canaries capitulated, conceding three soft goals.
It means they have thrown away an extraordinary 30 points from winning positions this season. Had they held onto just eight of those they would now be in the top six.
They have been in front against every team in the Championship this season bar Preston, QPR, Portsmouth and Bristol City. They still have matches to come against the latter two.
Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United have all gone behind at Carrow Road but none of them have gone on to lose.
Only Leeds have scored more Championship goals than Norwich this season but an inability to manage games from winning positions has undermined their ability to get goals.
Borja Sainz is the Championship's top scorer and yet he didn't find the net at all between the end of November and 11 March. Every positive is blunted by a negative. That's how you finish up in mid-table.
Most Norwich City fans, even the ones who ring up the Canary Call phone-in, were anticipating a mid-table finish this season given the huge changes to playing style, budget and personnel.
By the middle of March they would have been expecting to see a side that had found its rhythm and was showing signs of a brighter future, rather than one still struggling to solve the puzzles that have plagued them all season.
