One more point

As you will read in my next post, Norwich are nearly promoted.

This is big news, at least in Norfolk, and in Chez Jelltex.

What has made this season all the more sweet is that it is all so unexpected. I mean, Norwich City are not rich, don't have huge sums to invest in players. And there has been a complete restructuring of the playing side of the club, after the relegation in 2016 and the subsequent failure under Alex Neil to get a straight return to the promised land of the Premier League.

There has been a complete turnover of the first team squad is just about the only player left two years on from that failed promotion campaign.

Here is a list of the players that have left in the last two years:

Alex Pritchard Jacob Murphy Johnny Howson Cameron Jerome Graham Dorrans Decal Rudd Kyle Lafferty Ryan Bennett Michael Turner John Ruddy Steven Naismith Russel Martin Seb Bassang James Maddison Josh Murphy Marley Watkins Wes Hoolahan.

Those are all first team players or squad players. Some let go because they needed to play at a higher level, other because they were on high wages and the club could not afford to keep them.

The club could have easily gone back to the transfer market, bought in a load of loans or similar replacements, and recruit a manager who has been part of the usual merry-go-round like Big Sam, of Tony Pulis or whoever.

Instead, the club recruited Huddersfield's Chief Executive, Stuart Webber, with the brief to what he did at the Terriers. He recruited Daniel Farke, who was the manager at Dortmund B, and began to recruit players form the German and Spanish lower leagues, then to blend them into a team.

Meanwhile, former City manager, Neil Adams returned to coaching the youth and academy team, which.

Last season was one of transition, with players coming and going, hints of good things were also tempered by some poor results, but come the end of the season, Norwich were in no better position than they had been a year before.

More activity on transfers, with less than £4 million spent, and with things not improving, there was very little expectation that this would be anything other than a repeat of the season before.

As ever, the fans were restless, at least some of them were, demanding "names" be brought in, and a manager to return the good times to Carrow Road.

The season got off to a slow start, and by the time the first Old Farm derby with Ipswich, there was only a few points between them, and during the game, Ipswich took the the lead with Norwich snatching a later leveller. Neither side looked that impressive, and if you would have told me that come the end of April, one team would be 60 points ahead of the other, I would hard to say which would be relegated and which would be promoted.

Town went with promoting a manager from the lower divisions, and recruiting players from there too. It did not work out well.

Meanwhile, Norwich began to play better, though losing a few games until the beginning of October, we lost to Stoke at home, 1-0.

From then on, things began to change, with a series of games where City came from behind to snatch late winners, turning draws and defeats into wins. And By Christmas be challenging at the top of the table. Not one to get carried away, there was always a bigger game to come. New Year came with Derby winning at Fortress Carrow Road on Boxing Day, Norwich would lose just one game between then and today., likewise Sheffield Utd would too, whilst Leeds would lose nine games in the same time. And so it turns out that the ability to turn defeats into draws, rather than just losing is the difference. Norwich are 12 games unbeaten, but the last four of those being draws, but in drawing rather than losing, is the difference from being one point from the brink of promotion, to still needing maybe four points or more to ensure promotion.

And that is where Norwich are, just one point needed from the last two games to be mathematically certain of promotion. Just three points from being champions too, whilst the media darlings of Leeds need a major miracle if they are to avoid the playoffs.

And our rivals, Ipswich were the first English team to be relegated this season, winning just five games so far all season, and with Sheffield Utd and Leeds to play. Norwich are 60 points ahead, that's twenty more victories.

I can say this with good confidence, we will never see a season like this again.

And we have no idea what next season will bring. We will lose games. Many games probably. But we will score goals, and maybe surprise many. But we would have done it with spending less money on players each year than some Premier players earn in a month.

These are crazy days, and some of which I can say we will never see again, and will talk about well into our dotage. Tales of how free transfer, Teemi Pukki came and screwed 29 (and counting) goals in his first season with us.

Onwards and upwards, and without a sugar daddy to bankroll us. We will probably embarrass ourselves, but we won't bankrupt ourselves int he process, and those that got us here will be given the chance to shine.