Norwich City secured a third season in the top-flight next year after coming through a testing campaign with flying colours. It was always going to be extremely testing for Chris Hughton in his first season in charge when he had to follow the footsteps of Paul Lambert who overachieved massively with the Canaries and then depart for Aston Villa in acrimonious manner. Yet, Hughton got about hi job diligently and started making some shrewd, if inexpensive signings, to bolster the core of the squad. Sebastian Bassong and Alexader Tettey were the standout new arrivals but Norwich got off to a poor start of the season. A hammering at the hands of Fulham on the opening day of the season was followed by a run of just three points gained and no wins in the first seven games of the season with Chelsea and Liverpool shoring nine goals in just two games against the hapless Norwich defence. But Hughton got back to basics with solid defending and hard work from midfield and the next game saw the Canaries get a big 1:0 win at home to Arsenal after a very industrious and determined performance. That victory instilled confidence in the team as a whole and they went on a brilliant run of form after that. They were unbeaten in ten league games and secured another major scalp at home in beating Manchester United. Three wins on the spin in December even lifted them up to seventh place in the table. The difference from the early weeks was that the players were defending much better as a unit and not allowing teams to get the better of them despite possessing superior quality. As a whole, Hughton made the team stronger than the sum of their parts and deserves a lot of credit for steering the Canaries through a testing period and making them as resilient and durable as any team in the league. However, they started to tail off badly at the end of December and that poor run extended well into the new year. The goal suddenly stopped flowing with Grant Holt not having a great season in front of goal and Anthony Pilkington losing his spark from earlier in the season. They went all the way until late February without a win despite losing only to Liverpool and Manchester United in a period from early January to late March. The only win during this period was a brilliant late comeback at home to Everton when they won 2:1 thanks to a couple of goals at the end. They were still not fully safe from the drop due to their mediocre run in the spring and a late and unjust 3:1 loss at Arsenal put them under real danger. However, they got a massive result at home to Reading and eventually confirmed their safety with a thumping 4:0 victory at home to West Brom on the penultimate game of the season. It was a brilliant way to do it but it was telling that this win was their only one all season in which they managed more than a single-goal margin. They will need a bit more creativity and sparkle up front next season but are in safe hands under Hughton who continues to build up his reputation as a fine manager.
