League One Betting: Norwich nightmares

English Football League / Frank Gregan / 12 August 2009 / Leave a Comment

"When the team sheets were exchanged the gaffer said: 'We'll never have a better chance of beating them.' We were 4-0 down after 35 minutes."

Norwich fans shouldn't despair after their nightmare start - Frank Gregan believes the Canaries can still go up this season. Meanwhile, our man reflects on some of the low points of his many years in the game...

Ten days before the season started Norwich manager Bryan Gunn was probably feeling optimistic. His side had lost their last three games of the previous campaign but after strengthening his side in the summer he must have been confident that they had a fighting chance of bouncing straight back.

They won their final pre-season game, away to Championship side Crystal Palace, before spending 10 days preparing for the all important first game of the season at home to Colchester.

Forty-five minutes into the new season Gunn's players were shell shocked players, 5-0 down at home to their East Anglian rivals. I would have liked to have been in the dressing room purely as a study into human behaviour and to see how both the players and management reacted.

I don't recall ever being 5-0 down at half-time, certainly not at home but like everybody else who has been in the game a long time I have had some horrific experiences along the way.

Whilst working at Manchester City, I remember a game against Arsenal when they left out Henry, Vierra, Adams, Dixon, Pires and Silvinho. When the team sheets were exchanged the gaffer said something along the lines of: "We'll never have a better chance of beating them." We were 4-0 down after 35 minutes.

As a manager, I remember looking up at the electronic scoreboard in the corner of the ground at Scarborough: there were eight minutes gone and we were 3-0 down, we stemmed the tide, dug in and played ourselves out of the hole. We got beat 5-0! Away from home on another occasion we were 4-0 down at half time. There really is no point throwing tea cups, the players are getting battered on the park and they are looking for some respite and some guidance in the dressing room - not another hiding. The game had gone but we decided that in order to get some pride back we had to win the second half. We played really well, hit the woodwork a couple of times but didn't score and the opposition got one late on when one of their lads curled a peach into the top corner from a free-kick.

The bottom line - porobably a couple of letters short - is "it happens." Norwich certainly suffered that fate on Saturday - the 'keeper had a howler and it is now all about how they respond. That one result was dreadful but they are still more than capable of mounting a challenge this year.

They have been traded as low as [5.2] to win the League and were available to back after Saturday's hiding at a steady [15] having been traded as high as [17] in the immediate aftermath. They had a great second half at Yeovil last night winning 4-0 in the Carling Cup and that caused their odds to be reduced to [11]. That is still a very big price given their pedigree and looks worth a wager with a view to an in play trade later in the season.

The stand out bet in that division is for Leeds to be promoted and a match in the region of [1.85] should be attainable. After everything that the Elland Road faithful have had to endure lately they are entitled to a little respite. Bryan Gunn will still be having nightmares about last Saturday and wondering what kind of performance his players are going to produce away to Exeter this week.

They should be heartened by the midweek win and the recommendation is to back them at [2.68] or bigger.