Why East Anglian football should be the envy of other EFL clubs this season

Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United are all flying high.
Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United are all flying high this season. Credit: PA

Well, what can you say about a performance like that?

Despite the freezing temperatures and frequent snow flurries at Carrow Road, Norwich City's 7-0 demolition of Huddersfield Town was so good you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching Brazil!

Some people on social media called it 'the best Championship performance ever' while Canaries' legend Darren Huckerby described the first-half display as 'the best 45 minutes I've ever seen playing for or watching Norwich'. And he should know.

Whatever your opinion, you couldn't fail to be impressed with the quality of the football on show - especially during the first-half.

The link up between the front four of Teemu Pukki, Todd Cantwell, Kieran Dowell and Emi Buendía was scintillating to watch as time and time again they combined to open up the Huddersfield defence like a knife through butter.

If anything, the eventual 7-0 scoreline flattered Huddersfield.

Norwich City's Kieran Dowell celebrates scoring against Huddersfield Town. Credit: PA

Anyone who's watched Norwich this season though will tell you that a thrashing of this magnitude has been on the cards for a while, and but for better finishing, could have happened before now.

As it was, it all clicked to spectacular effect on Wednesday night, and even the most pessimistic of Norwich fans will accept that promotion back to the Premier League is now inevitable.

In fact, it could be sealed as soon as Saturday if Norwich win at Derby County and Brentford and Swansea both fail to win their matches at Preston North End and Millwall.

And it's not just Norwich who are looking up.

In League One, Peterborough United are sitting pretty in second place and Cambridge United are top of League Two as we head into the business end of the campaign.

In Peterborough's case, their impressive recruitment has once again paid dividends.

Jonson Clarke-Harris (centre) has been in blistering form for Peterborough United this season. Credit: PA

They've had some fantastic strikers down the years at London Road with Dwight Gayle, Britt Assombalonga and Jack Marriott having all starred for the club before being sold for big fees.

Ivan Toney was the latest to come off the production line - joining Championship side Brentford following his hugely impressive goalscoring exploits last season.

Losing such an important player would derail most League One sides, but Posh have unearthed yet another gem with Jonson Clarke-Harris' 26 goals spearheading their promotion charge.

Their forward-thinking scouting department has also managed to pluck some of the best talents from non-league, as illustrated by the emergence of classy midfielder Jack Taylor who has made a big impact since joining from Barnet.

Smart recruitment has also helped Cambridge United open up a healthy lead in League Two, with striker Paul Mullin enjoying a dream season in front of goal having joined on a free transfer.

Paul Mullin has scored 28 league goals for Cambridge United this season. Credit: PA

His 28 league goals have already seen him smash the U's record for goals in a season - not bad for a player whose previous best tally was nine!

Much of Mullin's success has been down to the brilliance of veteran Wes Hoolahan behind him who is showing no signs of slowing down.

In fact, at the age of 38, he's older than 35-year-old boss Mark Bonner who deserves enormous credit for Cambridge's resurgence.

If they manage to seal the deal, they will be playing in the third tier for the first time since 2002.

Even clubs who are not immediately involved in the promotion picture have been catching the eye this season.

Incredibly, MK Dons boast the third-highest average possession share in Europe -with only Barcelona and Manchester City ahead of them.

They also set a new British record in March when they scored a goal against Gillingham that consisted of a remarkable 56 passes.

Elsewhere, Luton Town have done brilliantly to reach a comfortable mid-table position in the Championship despite their limited resources, and Stevenage recently went more than 10 hours without conceding a goal (that's the equivalent of nearly seven matches!).

Of course, it's not all been plain sailing.

Ipswich Town have endured a turbulent time on and off the pitch in League One, but despite their stuttering form, are still in with a realistic chance of making the play-offs.

Even if they don't get promoted this season, I'm sure that they will come back firing next season under the excellent management of Paul Cook.

A club of Ipswich's stature and size shouldn't, and won't, be in the third tier forever.

Ipswich Town are still in with a shout of making the League One play-offs. Credit: PA

At the other end of the League One table, Northampton Town are involved in a battle to avoid the drop, and there's every chance that one, if not both, of Colchester United and Southend United could be relegated from League Two.

As for Norwich, they will be desperate to make a better fist of staying in the top flight than they did last time, and you wouldn't bet against them.

You can guarantee that fans of other clubs will immediately say "oh, they'll just come straight back down again" once promotion is sealed, but the truth is the Canaries are far better equipped to stay up than they were last season.

Although they won't go mad in the transfer market this summer, there will certainly be more money to play with than last time, and a few quality additions could make all the difference.

Being a club from East Anglia, that 'bump on the egde of the country', Norwich are used to being written off.

But as this season proves, that's just how our clubs like it....

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