CANARIES' SHAKY PERCH

SAM TODO EXAMINES NORWICH CITY'S DIFFICULTIES IN HOLDING ON TO THEIR TOP-FLIGHT STATUS...

THE start of the current Premier League season was one to forget for Norwich City.Two draws and eight defeats - including 7-0 and 5-0 losses to Chelsea and Manchester City respectively - meant that even a first win of term (a 2-1 victory at Brentford) at the 11th time of asking wasn’t enough to spare their two-time Championship-winning coach from being told to ‘Farke off’ prior to the November international break.

Such a poor return to English football’s elite, coming so soon after the sale of playmaker Emi Buendia to Aston Villa and nearly two years on from a campaign which saw Norwich finish bottom of the Premier League pile with 21 points, led to accusations the Canaries were only singing with the big boys for the parachute payments that come with relegation.

In truth, though, the Carrow Road club have struggled to hold a topflight tune ever since a calamitous end to a season over a quarter of a century ago.

That 1994-95 term commenced with the then-British transfer record sale of Chris Sutton to form a title-winning strike partnership with Alan Shearer at Blackburn Rovers, which followed on from Mike Walker - the man who masterminded a third-place finish in 1992-93 - departing midway through the previous campaign for an ill-fated spell in charge of Everton.

Despite those setbacks, Norwich - by now under the management of Walker’s assistant, John Deehan initially seemed set for another strong showing.