PETER STEWARD
25/03/08

Can anything positive come from a string of defeats?

As far as Norwich City are concerned the answer has to be yes - not once but twice this season.

A few weeks ago we were talking about the possibility of making the play-offs. That was little more than wishful thinking not rooted in reality. The reality was simple. Over the past few months the team has improved beyond all recognition, but to suggest that it is good enough at present to mount a serious challenge on the upper echelons of the Championship would be misguided to say the least.

In my first blog I mentioned being glad that defeat followed defeat earlier in the season as it seemed the only way of changing an existing management structure that just wasn't working.

Once the new manager began to sort things out false hope seemed to jump to the surface. Now we are all being slightly more realistic in understanding that a place in the top half should be the aim. It would be a false dawn to make the play-offs and this is now becoming evident. In reality it would just be a step too far too quickly. The re-building process needs to be properly constructed to help lasting improvement. Of course before that can really be achieved we need to take enough points to ensure that we are not once again sucked down into the relegation area. One point from the last 12 (before the match at Sheffield) just proves what a topsy-turvy season it has been.

The acid test of the new manager's ability will come once this season is over and the "quick fix" is no longer a viable option. Once safety has been achieved, and I firmly believe it will, the re-building process must start and there is no doubt that even more players will be leaving. It is quite right that this happens as fresh blood is still needed. At the present time the only consistent factor about the team seems to be its inconsistency. Too many holes still exist and quality players are still needed. How we need a quality midfielder with the ability to put his foot on the ball, dictate the pace of the game and with the ability to play searching passes. How we need a striker that doesn't miss open goals.

On the midfield situation. I have long been a fan of WBA's Jonathan Greening. Every significant move seems to go through him. He plays with a consummate ease, always with pace and with none of the hectic all action stumblings that pervade so many Championship midfields.

I don't subscribe to the view that these players are only available for grossly inflated prices. They do exist - some of tomorrow's stars are already playing in the lower leagues. All you need is the ability to find these people. Clubs with that ability can have the power to surprise. That's why rather unfashionable teams like Stoke and Bristol City could be playing in the Premiership next season. Together they prove that anybody can be successful given the right set of circumstances.

Which takes me onto another subject that seems somehow linked with success - the academy. The SCG has been discussing this aspect of Carrow Road life recently and the general feeling is that a club such as Norwich should have an active and successful youth academy set-up, but that at the present time it seems to be producing too few players of true quality and certainly nobody in the mould of a Darren Eadie or Craig Bellamy.

A number of former Academy members have forced their way into the first team squad but few if any have really established themselves. Some like Chris Martin shone brightly for a brief time before seemingly having to return to the drawingboard to re-assess their game.

So is it more difficult to come through into the professional game than say five or ten years ago. I believe that it is. The increasing number of foreign imports has made it more and more difficult to break into the big time. Young British players often only have the loan option in the lower divisions if they want to make their way up the success ladder.

There is no doubt in my mind that one Norwich youngster will make it. Damon Lathrope is a highly skilled midfielder who has already come to Roeder's attention. Lathrope seems to have an excellent "footballing brain". Such a player has to be nurtured and brought on slowly rather than being flung into a standard of football he is not quite up to at the present time. It will be fascinating over the coming seasons to monitor his progress.