It’s time for Norwich fans to rekindle their love for Lewis

Marmite – you either love it, or you hate it, or so their advertising campaign says. Norwich fans reading this are probably nodding their heads at this point knowing exactly where I’m going with this so, without further ado, I’ll say it. Lewis Grabban. He divides opinion, to say the least.

I’m not going to take the approach of lecturing fellow Canary fans on what’s right and wrong (not yet, anyway…) because if I did, I’d be a hypocrite. After Grabban walked out on the team prior to the Captial One Cup clash at Rotherham, did I want him out? Yeah, I won’t lie. Was I full of faith and enthusiasm at seeing him starting against Arsenal? You bet your mortgage I wasn’t. But, Grabbs wonderfully left me with egg on my face. He coolly took his chance, slotting past Cech to equalise for Norwich and send them on their way to a more than deserved point.

Grabban celebrates his goal against Ipswich last season.

Would he be my main man up front after that? Probably not, no. I’m not a fanatical member of the Kyle Lafferty fan club as some are, but I still prefer one of Cameron Jerome and especially Dieumerci Mbokani up front for City. Yet, Grabban is going to be playing a role for Norwich City this season. He was wrong. He was out of line. He paid for it. He was dealt with. Alex Neil doesn’t seem the sort to have put Grabban back in his side, had he not worked hard and wrestled his way back into the good books. Furthermore, again I’m about to look like a massive hypocrite here, I was gutted when Lewis got injured during our promotion push last season.

Like it or not, Neil has shown that Grabban can be an effective member of his side. We aren’t a team of superstars. We don’t have that genius gem of a player, Wes Hoolahan aside obviously, who is going to score a bucketload of goals and power us up the table. This season is going to be a squad effort. Every single member of that side will have a role to play, I’m certain of that – therefore of course, that means Lewis Grabban too. He’s going to be turning out for Norwich this season. He’s not going to go away. Alex Neil trusts him. He can score goals. He can put in a decent shift up front.

It’s really time to let things go – this is where the lecture part comes in. Grabban didn’t come into our homes and defecate on the carpet, he didn’t kidnap your sons or your daughters, he made a mistake, he was a ‘silly boy’ as Neil put it at the time. But that was August. It’s now December. It’s done. It’s gone. Grabban scored against Arsenal. He got us a point. He did well. I’m sure he’ll do well again other days this season. Forgive. Forget. Move on. Trust Alex Neil – the other genius at our disposal.

For a man that’s scored twice against Ipswich, you’d think there’d be a little more love for ol’ Grabbs. But a few more goals here and there and I’m sure he’ll get everyone back onside.

One of the great things Alex Neil did last season was restore a really positive atmosphere around the club, which obviously was rather helpful going forwards. It’s time to get that back. That includes a little love for Grabbs.