More often than not, a new manager will make an immediate difference to a team because the players that are involved generally put in extra effort as they attempt to impress. It says much about their professionalism, but it seems to be a footballing truism.
It was certainly the case during the East Anglian derby eight years ago today when Norwich City, who hosted rivals Ipswich Town at Carrow Road, had a new man in the dugout - Glenn Roeder.
The Norfolk outfit turned to the former West Ham United and Newcastle United boss following their decision to part company with Peter Grant. The Scot had paid the price for a run of form that had seen Norwich win just two of their first 13 league games, which unsurprisingly left them rooted to the bottom of the First Division table.
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However, Roeder's presence certainly got a reaction from the players, although they had to come from behind to claim a share of the spoils against the visiting Tractor Boys, who under the guidance of Jim Magilton sat in fourth position.
Norwich's Dion Dublin and Jamie Cureton both called Ipswich goalkeeper Neil Alexander into action early on, yet it was up the other end where the deadlock was broken in the 27th minute. Alan Lee flicked on Alexander's long kick for strike partner Pablo Counago. The Spaniard's first touch killed the ball, while his second was a perfectly delayed pass which returned the favour for Lee to roll his shot across an advancing David Marshall and inside the post.
In response, Jason Shackell turned Darren Huckerby's cross against the post, while Cureton was off target when well placed. Predictably, just as they had been during the opening exchanges, the home side were then punished for their failings in front of goal when Ipswich doubled their advantage in the 41st minute, albeit in fortunate circumstances.
Lee's free kick squirmed through the Norwich wall and broke for Billy Clarke. The young midfielder's initial shot was blocked by Marshall and by the time that he had reached the rebound, it appeared that the ball had crossed the byline. However, neither the linesman nor the referee awarded a corner and so when his cut-back found Counago unmarked six yards from goal, the forward tapped in.
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While the scoreline may have been against them at the break, Roeder was certainly getting the workrate from the Norwich players that had eluded his predecessor and they were rewarded nine minutes after the restart.
Centre-back Martin Taylor, who had only just arrived at the club on a loan deal from Birmingham City, raced to meet Simon Lappin's near-post corner and while his headed connection was not the cleanest, the ball squirmed beyond Alexander's reach thanks to a big deflection off Ipswich midfielder Owen Garvan.
Now back in contention, Norwich set about scoring an equaliser, which they should have done moments after Garvan's own goal when winger Luke Chadwick raced clear, only to be denied by Alexander.
Nevertheless, the Ipswich custodian was powerless in the 67th minute as Cureton finally discovered his shooting boots. Half-time substitute John Hartson glanced a header through for his fellow frontman. He raced away from the visiting defence and then lifted the ball into the far corner, showing all the composure that his display in front of goal had lacked up until that point.
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As the encounter drew to a close, neither side could be accused of settling for what they had as Lee had a goal chalked off for offside, while up the other end Hartson's volley forced Alexander into a one-handed save. Ultimately there were no more goals, although Norwich were reduced to 10 men in the final minute when Huckerby was handed his marching orders for a challenge on Jonathan Walters.
After the final whistle, Roeder had a message for his players: "That's the standard they've set themselves. If we don't get that in training as well, we'll stop the session and start it again."
His opposite number Magilton added: "If we'd defended properly we would have won the game. We were a bit lucky to be 2-0 up at the break but it could have been any score, there were so many chances at either end. Neil Alexander kept us in the game with some top saves. He's getting better and better and his confidence is getting better every week."
Norwich: Marshall; Otsemobor, Shackell, Taylor, Lappin; Chadwick (Croft), Brellier, Russell, Huckerby; Dublin (Hartson), Cureton (Smith)
Ipswich: Alexander; Wright, Wilnis, De Vos, Harding; Walters, Garvan, Legwinski (Haynes), Clarke (Roberts); Counago (Trotter), Lee
Liam Apicella
