We have to talk about the championship

That’s it. The big night as Norwich City faced their toughest championship test yet this season. The challenge that could get them out of the way. Not that head coach Dean Smith would have agreed.

He’d played the age-old game of pre-game platitudes, shattering the assumption that some teams in the second tier could actually be better than others. Do you consider the journey to third-placed Reading to be a tough game? Smith liked to emphasize that every league game is tough.

Well, to be honest, no, it’s not.

There had been times in the last 11 games when Norwich won while barely crawling out of second gear. Also at Reading and despite the game’s ‘tough’ record, Norwich were allowed to get away with a poor first half before improving marginally after half-time and taking the lead before eventually earning a 1–1 draw.

It’s a recurring theme this season. Norwich are yet to put in a good 90-minute performance and yet the latest draw has taken their current unbeaten run to nine. That’s more than any club in the top five leagues in English football.

Norwich are now trailing leaders Sheffield United on goal difference only. You’ve taken more shots than anyone else. At Reading, Grant Hanley became Norwich’s 13th different goalscorer that season. Norwich’s ball possession figures are excellent, comparable to