Fair review of Hughton/Adams decision on Guardian

[MancCanary 0]

In the "10 things to look for this weekend" section, number 4 is this:

"Norwich hoping Adams will reinvigorate Norwich’s attitude

‘Team spirit’, ‘belief’, and ‘confidence’ might all be abstract metrics that stay hidden from Opta data and league tables, but in the closing stages of a relegation battle, such things are often the difference between staying up and crashing out. Bradford’s survival in 1999-00 and Wigan’s escape in 2010-11 owed as much to these age-old buzzwords in the closing weeks of their respective seasons. Much of Neil Adams’s success as a youth-team manager with Norwich was based upon attitude rather than outright quality and in his first week in charge at Premier League level, he has already been banging the drum for improvement in this area. “We need people who are willing to give everything. That is the spirit, desire and determination these supporters deserve,” he said. Throughout the Premier League era, teams that should have been too good to be relegated but who lacked sufficient mental fortitude – Middlesbrough in 1997-98 and Newcastle in 2008-09 for example – have come unstuck. While many have questioned the timing of Chris Hughton’s sacking at Norwich, choosing Adams could be seen as a blatant attempt by Norwich’s board to inject some overnight gusto into a floundering side, much as Sunderland enjoyed with Paolo Di Canio last season. If a new-found attitude helps Norwich to a vital win at relegation rivals Fulham on Saturday, it could yet prove a canny appointment."