Red Mist Curse Continues - Norwich 1, Charlton 1

Image © Charlton Athletic

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Norwich, and despite a pretty dire match today at Carrow Road I enjoyed my day out. Ten years ago I was a student there and used to go often for matches, although it did help that they let me in for a fiver!

Carrow Road used to be a pretty horrible place – the ground was okay enough, but the area was surrounded by derelict factories and warehouses. Ten years on and Norwich's ground is abound with nice riverside flats, shops, and bars – the stadium finally feels like part of the city, and it's nice to see the transformation.

Unfortunately for Charlton, Sodje decided to try and make both his legs part of a City player today, and picked up the eleventh red card of his career as a result. Eleven red cards!?!? That's one stat I was pretty unaware of, although the way he stomped off the field before the ref had shown a card was enough of an indicator of a temperament that has been well shielded up until now.

Charlton were actually putting in a classic away performance until that point – the workmanlike 4-5-1 stayed, but with my preferred midfield 3 of Zhi, Holland and Semedo. Zhi got us off the mark with some nice footwork after being found in space by Semedo, lashing home from the edge of the box for a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.

It was almost a carbon copy of the goal at Preston, and lifted a quiet away support to give the game the spark it desperately needed. Until that point, it seemed it wasn't just the fans who appeared weighed down with seasonal excess.

The turning point came only ten minutes later with Sodje's sending off, but Norwich still struggled throughout the game to break down ten men. Chances were limited to pot-shots and one excellent save from Weaver, but Roeder's side showed nothing of the form that had them unbeaten in 6.

Pardew introduced McLeod in the second half in place of an ineffective Iwelumo, but sadly the former MK Dons striker couldn't get into the game despite numerous opportunities. The writing is on the wall now for Fizzy Izzy, as he was unceremoniously subbed for Thierry Racon for the final few minutes.

Norwich eventually squared the match from a corner with 15 minutes remaining, but the tense finale which should have ensued never came to a head. The game simply petered out, leaving the travelling fans a long trip down the A11 to the Christmas leftovers.

I think we've found our level now in this division – despite my optimism earlier this week of being top-3 come the New Year, we clearly aren't automatic promotion material. Be it the lack of Reid, the stupid dismissals, the long-ball tactics... we just don't have the quality of West Brom or the doggedness to grind out a result like Stoke or Watford.

We'll be in the mix come May, but I'd be betting on a nailbiter in the playoffs if our season is to end on any kind of positive note.

Humble Pie of The Day: Quick mention for Paddy McCarthy – he's taken a lot of flack from me, but played really well today – keep it going fella!