Feeling just champion

Norwich City FC are the 2018-19 EFL Championship Champions.

I say that, as it has not sunk in yet.

But it was in the news and everything, so must be true, right?

It has been one heck of a season, since the end of August, City have lost just 3 games, and just once this year.

We ended the season by winning eight, then drawing four, then winning the final two.

Job done.

Norwich won one more game than second place Sheffield Utd, and two more than 3rd place Leeds.

City scored 93 league goals, and with cup games scored 104, only one of four English teams to do that.

City ended the season with a goal difference of plus 36, just one less than Sheffield Utd.

City were 5 points ahead of Sheffield Utd, and eleven ahead of Leeds, and twenty one ahead of Middlesborough in 7th who just failed to make the play offs.

City were 63 points ahead of local rivals, Ipswich. A record when they played in the same division.

City were promoted, and Town relegated. Next season they will be separated by a whole division, as Town will play in League 1, the old 3rd division, whilst Norwich will play in the Premier League.

Norwich did not lose a game after February 13th, when they lost 3-1 at Preston, a game they could have won had they converted their chances.

City scored an average of 2.02 goals per game, and conceded just 1.24 goals per game. A recipe for success.

Teemu Pukki scored 29 league goals, whilst Vranicic scored 10, Steipermann scored 9, Buendia scored 8 and Hernandez scored 8. In total these players cost £2.5 million.

As Norwich celebrate wining the league, supporters of other teams will be in mourning as their teams are relegated. Notts County, the oldest football league team in the world, were relegated. Bolton Wanderers, can't be sure who owns them, and probably will have no players and have a matter of days to find the money to confirm they can fulfil their fixtures next season before they go out of business.

Such is the yin and yang of football, what luck gives one year, it takes the next. Since writing this blog, I have witnessed City being relegated to league 1, then back to back promotions, three seasons in the Prem, then relegation, and promotion, and relegation again, before two years selling our best players and back now back to the big time.

I have no idea what happens next, but having experienced and lived through the lean years, I will relish and rejoice in these times of plenty.

For a few weeks, we will celebrate in the warm glow of promotion.

And why not.

We are one City, strong.