Alex Neil refused to stand down as Norwich City manager last night despite the club’s supporters demanding his sacking after losing at home to Huddersfield Town for the first time since 1969.
Norwich would have climbed to fourth had they won but were instead sunk by two first-half goals from Elias Kachunga, the German striker on loan from Ingolstadt.
Supporter frustration boiled over midway through the second half when Neil decided to withdraw Nélson Oliveira, who forward who had appeared most likely to deliver an equaliser.
It was met with cries of “you don’t know what you’re doing” followed by an appeal to majority shareholder Delia Smith to “sort it out”. If that message was not clear enough then the boos at the end and chants of “We want Neil out” left no one in doubt.
Yet Neil, the 35-year-old who took Norwich back into the Premier League four months after taking over in 2015 only to be relegated last season, made it clear he would not resign.
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“No, of course not,” he said. “I will not be making a decision to leave because the only time you ever fail is when you quit and I have never quit anything in my life — I’m not going to start now.
“I don’t think where we are is good enough, from me or the players because the one thing that always happens is people look for the scapegoat and being the manager you are always going to be it, which is fine. But everybody has got to share responsibility.”
The game began in a flurry of excitement with Oliveira squandering an excellent chance, Kachunga heading in Huddersfield’s opener after five minutes — though he was marginally offside — and Jonny Howson supplying a Norwich equaliser a minute later, also with his head.
Huddersfield took a hold on the game from that moment. Captain Tommy Smith set up Kachunga for the second, just as he had with the first. This time it was an old-fashioned toe-poke that beat Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy.
Huddersfield also suffered a blip after an excellent start to the campaign under David Wagner but they are now back up to third. “I wasn’t born in 1969!” the German said of Huddersfield finally winning away to Norwich. “But we have had a few of those headlines so far this season. It’s nice for the stats freaks and our supporters.”
Teams
Norwich City (4-2-3-1): J Ruddy — I Pinto, R Bennett, S Bassong, M Olsson — G Dorrans (sub: S Naismith 65min), Y Mulumbu (sub: A Tettey 46) — Jacob Murphy, J Howson, R Brady — N Oliveira (sub: C Jerome 65). Substitutes not used: M McGovern, R Martin, W Hoolahan, T Klose. Booked: Pinto, Dorrans.
Huddersfield Town (4-2-3-1): D Ward — T Smith, J Stankovic, C Schindler, C Lowe — A Mooy, J Hogg (sub: P Billing 81) — E Kachunga, K Palmer, R van la Parra (sub: M Hefele 90+2) — N Wells (sub: H Bunn 77). Substitutes not used: J Coleman, T Holmes-Dennis, M Cranie, J Payne. Booked: Mooy, Wells.
Referee: J Linington.