Tim Krul opens up

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9884653/I-imagine-noise-explosion-Tim-Krul-insists-Norwich-streetwise.html

 

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'Tim Krul remembers standing in the tunnel at Anfield on the opening day of Norwich’s last season in the Premier League two years ago and feeling concerned about how the night may go. ‘I could see our young lads looking at Salah, Mane, Van Dijk and the rest,’ the Norwich goalkeeper told Sportsmail this week. ‘I could see their faces and then it can be difficult to walk out in front of 50,000 people. Of course, that does something to your confidence and then suddenly you are two goals down.’

Norwich lost that game 4-1 and things didn’t improve an awful lot from there. Daniel Farke’s expansive but inexperienced side were relegated in last position. This weekend it’s Liverpool who once again present the opening challenge and Krul is confident things can be different.

‘We can all look at each other five minutes before kick-off and realise what we achieved to get back here,’ added Krul.

‘It will be a full house at Carrow Road for the first time in a long time and I cannot even imagine the noise, the explosion, that we will have.

‘Playing in the Championship in the pandemic last season was a huge challenge but we just took it by the horns. I remember playing Millwall away and we all were changing in a basketball hall. At Birmingham City, the changing room was like a pub. There was a bar in there! ‘But now with the fans back in, this all feels incredibly exciting. It feels like a privilege.

‘There are no excuses this time but equally there is no fear factor and I think we can ask a bit more from ourselves. ‘The younger boys have grown into men and we have added some top-quality players. We are better equipped.’

This interview was due to take place at Norwich’s training camp in York a fortnight ago. But a Covid outbreak in the squad put paid to the club’s plans. Farke subsequently said the problem wrecked his pre-season ahead of a daunting opening run of fixtures that reads: Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester and Arsenal.

‘That’s not an exaggeration,’ nodded Krul on Zoom. ‘We missed two games and haven’t had even one game with the settled back four or XI that we are going to start with against Liverpool. ‘It was a massive Covid hit. We had about 13 out at one stage. ‘When those fixtures came out I already thought somebody was having a bit of a laugh. People say it’s a good time to play those teams but I am not sure!

‘But I do think we are ready to be more streetwise this season. We all know this squad can play amazing football but there are other sides to the game and you can’t just play that same style all the time.

‘I remember last time beating Man City at home and then the next week going to Burnley thinking we would just roll them over. ‘They literally just stormed all over us, bullied us. ‘This time I think we will be more streetwise, I really do.’

Norwich’s approach to Premier League life last time round was questioned. The club didn’t invest heavily in players and appeared — from the outside at least — to have gone down without a fight. Crucially, though, they kept faith in Farke and the German, along with sporting director Stuart Webber, plotted an immediate route back as champions.

‘I have been here three years and have bought into the culture,’ said Krul. ‘If you see the training ground from when I walked in you would not believe it. I remember the gym basically being a conservatory. I was in there doing leg weights and water was coming in through the roof.

‘Now we have a world-class training centre and world-class stadium. Stuart Webber, the boss and the board clearly had a path and that involved investing in the infrastructure.

‘Yes, they made a clear decision that maybe did not help us two years ago as a squad, because we were definitely quality-wise not what we ideally should have been. ‘But the club was nearly bankrupt a few years before so I totally understand why they didn’t chuck £100million on players.

‘If you see the style we have played over the last couple of years it is the best football I have ever been part of and hopefully we can still add some more quality, like we have done by signing Billy Gilmour from Chelsea.’

The issue of sporting directors in English football remains a live one. Some managers welcome the support. Others don’t see it that way. ‘They are clearly on the same wavelength here,’ said Krul, matter-of-factly.

‘They bounce off each other. The manager says if you have a contract issue, go to see Stuart. Equally, Stuart is not going to tell a player he is not playing on a Saturday. ‘We are not at a club where a player can go behind the manager to the sporting director and tell stories of what is happening. There is no division and that’s amazing because I know a lot of clubs where it is done differently. Here, we have peace.’

Norwich’s recent history feels like a good fit for Krul, who is still only 33. He, too, has had to go backwards to move forwards. He spent a decade at Newcastle and became a Holland international before a knee injury sidelined him for more than a year.

When he returned, Rafa Benitez made him train with the academy players. A move to Brighton, where he hooked up with former Newcastle manager Chris Hughton once again, was enjoyable but he couldn’t shift Mat Ryan from the No 1 position.

Then came the call from Norwich who, in 2017-18, had just finished 14th in the Championship.

‘I was desperate to prove people wrong who thought I was finished after my injury,’ he explained.

‘It keeps me ticking, to show people I am still capable of being up there with the best in the world. ‘Benitez clearly didn’t want me at Newcastle but that actually kickstarted my love for football again.

‘At Brighton, I didn’t play much but it reignited my love for it. Chris Hughton eventually told me I was a No 1 and that I had to go somewhere and show people that. ‘So yeah, I took a risk coming here. It could have gone both ways. But I am lucky. It went up.

‘At Newcastle, I was No 1 for five or six years and started to take it for granted. I just drove into St James’ Park for a match like it was just a normal thing. But it’s a case of not realising what you have got until it is taken away.

‘Training with the academy when the first team are on the pitch next to you is ruthless and it should never have ended that way.

‘But going back to play them and getting the love from the fans — standing in front of the Gallowgate and hearing that from 30,000 of them — is why you do it. That means more than one person not believing in you. ‘You know, I have had 25 or 30 managers in my career and it would be a miracle if they all loved you. It’s just not going to happen like that.

‘These things shape you. You need to find motivation in life and those things may feel like a door is always closing in your face but it does make you more determined.’