Opinion: Why it's time to lay off Norwich City keeper George Long

Backward wind to the international break, and Norwich City social media was buzzing with positivity, energy and optimism about the direction of travel under Johannes Hoff Thorup.

The Great Dane’s high-flying Canaries had racked up 12 goals in four matches, swatted aside Watford, Derby County and Hull City in three successive Saturday lunchtime kick-offs and had us all daring to dream about where this exciting new era will take us.

Don’t get me wrong – that is unquestionably still the case.

But who knew an Angus Gunn injury and a politically-fuelled article could cause such chaos in the yellow and green ranks?

George Long, Gunn’s obviously inferior replacement in the Norwich net, has come under widespread criticism for his series of poor performances in the absence of City’s No.1.

And 24 hours ahead of his latest high-profile error at Preston, City X – formerly Twitter – was embroiled in a state of civil war after a fanzine article controversially took aim at a small section of supporters for plastering ‘far-right’ stickers at away games around the country.

Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinions and has the right to express whatever they see fit on social media.

But after such an overwhelmingly positive start to the season and feelgood factor developing around the club, it’s been disappointing to see that tarnished with abuse directed at both fellow fans – on both sides of the argument – and a City player.

Rest assured, this is far from me channelling my inner Baz Cooper – the local Hull City journalist who inexplicably hit out at City fans for giving Abu Kamara an entirely-deserved and firmly harmless rough ride upon his return to Carrow Road – or telling supporters they are unable to criticise.

George Long has come under fire from some City fans (Image: Paul Chesterton)

And absolutely – social media, and football more broadly, would not be what is without bold opinions, discussion and disagreement.

But with everyone at the club now pulling in the same direction and united behind Thorup, is there really any need for such anger and hostility both internally and towards our current goalkeeper?

To be fair, I understand the debate prompted by the widely-read editorial at the beginning of the week.

An article of that nature is inevitably going to ruffle feathers regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum.

But after Long’s latest slip-up in the City net at Deepdale, the volume of posts treating one of our own players like he’d suddenly triggered World War III felt a little bit over the top.

It’s impossible to dispute – he’s significantly below Gunn’s level and we are a much more vulnerable side when he plays.

And yes, you can argue he should have saved – although I still think that’s harsh, and it certainly wasn’t a shocker – Million Manhoef’s strike at Stoke ahead of his leaky Lancashire night three days later.

But given this is a player likely to start again against Middlesbrough at Carrow Road on Sunday, what good is there to come out of hurling abuse at a man so clearly lacking in confidence and self-belief?

There are certain fans who seem to target Long – and certain other players – with remarkable regularity, sadly and bizarrely making it their mission to disseminate negativity even when things elsewhere at the club are looking so positive.

Some of the defensive errors in front of him – both at Stoke and Preston – are conveniently overlooked to both back-up pre-conceived agendas and further fuel the unnecessary narrative of Long being the ‘worst goalkeeper to ever play for the club.’

Again, I agree he’s not great and is concerningly prone to regular errors.

But given he’s the one entrusted with the gloves in Gunn’s absence – let’s not forget, he was given a new contract by Ben Knapper just this month – is it really unreasonable to ask fans to get off his back and support him until the main man returns?

Thorup’s at the wheel and the future is looking bright.

So after a week of division and our very own goalkeeper getting hammered from all corners, let’s hope another home win on Sunday can help recapture the positivity, spirit and optimism that has characterised the early days of this era.