Paddy's Pointers: Five observations from the relegated Canaries' 2-0 Premier League defeat against Aston Villa

1. Norwich City (R)

Mercifully it is over. Norwich City’s Premier League fate is sealed. The Championship awaits. Before then time to hear from Stuart Webber pick through the carcass of another wretched tilt at top flight sustainability.

Never previously in City’s proud history have they been relegated so early before the end of a campaign. Let that statistic sink in. A toxic epitaph to a season that was supposed to be different. Armed with a transfer outlay unlike any other seen before at Carrow Road.

But the final destination is the same as the desperate 2019/20 demotion.

Dean Smith will have to own the first relegation of his coaching career, but this is on Daniel Farke, those players, Webber and everyone responsible for the direction of travel.

Smith took 20 paces onto the Villa Park turf at the final whistle, when relegation was confirmed, to applaud the travelling support.

He trooped wearily along the touchline, head bowed, before shaking every one of his players’ hands at the mouth of the tunnel. Smith well knows he needs those Norwich supporters to accept the inevitable mea culpa that will come in the days ahead.

Then row in behind his bid to transform the culture and overhaul a squad which may look and feel very different when the real stuff begins again at the end of July.

Champions at Villa Park, 2018/19. Championship (confirmed) at Villa Park, 2021/22.

2. Nil point Normann

By no manner of means is this about singling out individuals. Norwich, collectively, have been well short this season. Too many errors, too many goals conceded, too few scored.

City should have patented the phrase ‘individual errors’ to bolster their transfer kitty this summer.

But given the fanfare that accompanied Mathias Normann's arrival, given how long City pursued him last summer and given how the platinum-blond, tattooed Norwegian international started in green and yellow much more was expected.

To see him off the pace, caught in possession, leaving his defence exposed – as he did on three occasions before the 20th minute at Villa Park – is to question what has gone wrong in the intervening period.

Of course those pelvic-related problems are chief among them. Normann himself spoke earlier this season while away on international duty about a pain threshold that made it difficult to even sleep, let alone throw his body into the demands of Premier League football. Eventually he needed surgery and a spell on the sidelines.

Maybe even all that uncertainty surrounding what happens next for a player contracted to a Russian club was a factor, given the horrific events unfolding in Ukraine and the geopolitical and sporting consequences.

Whatever the reasons, bar that tremendous ‘no look’ pass for Teemu Pukki to seal the win against Burnley recently it has been a downward spiral.

That one act in itself illustrated Normann is a quality operator. But it has not worked out for either party.

3. Oh Emi

Buendia may not have quite delivered the final blow, albeit his inadvertent touch did see a spiralling ball drop at the feet of Danny Ings to sweep home Aston Villa’s match-sealing second goal.

Smith spoke in glowing terms on Friday about a player those travelling supporters applauded onto the pitch. It has not happened for the Argentine master under Smith’s successor, Steven Gerrard.

But Smith also drew a pertinent parallel with some of Norwich’s own intake last summer when he discussed how difficult it can be for signings to make that transition from one club to another.

By common consent, none of Norwich’s signings prior to this Premier League campaign have consistently stepped up to the plate. That is a poor ratio, and inevitably leaves the recruitment open to fresh scrutiny, as part of the footballing inquest into another relegation.

It perhaps also should act as a cautionary note for what will be a different transfer quest, certainly in terms of financial outlay, this coming summer. Norwich have to get more right than wrong.

4. Byram ballast

In a season of gloom and ultimately failure Sam Byram’s return should act as a beacon.

He must have feared whether he would ever play again, after complications around hamstring surgery dating back to the previous Premier League campaign.

But Byram’s body has held up and his influence has grown as the weeks elapsed. To such an extent Smith entrusted him with a shift at centre back alongside Grant Hanley. A position he finished the previous weekend’s home defeat against Newcastle.

What that says about Ben Gibson, or his longer term prospects will become clear in due course. It certainly underlines Byram is seen as a vital piece of the jigsaw.

Particularly given a sense this summer might be the time for a parting of the ways with Max Aarons, should the planets align. In which case, Byram’s versatility, his experience and quality will prove invaluable.

Smith revealingly spoke in glowing terms about Byram recently when he highlighted just how good a footballer he had inherited.

He also looks like the type of character he could mould a new look squad around. Quite the turnaround from such a dark place.

5. Kieran is key

Kieran Dowell has surely shown enough in a fertile end to his season, on a personal level, that he has the technical quality and creative influence to be a feature in the Championship.

Dowell needs the right set up woven around him, maybe even Smith and Craig Shakespeare to light a fire under a player who always looks so languid in his style and demeanour.

But in and around some very highly rated midfielders in the Villa ranks, Dowell’s first touch, his vision and ability to execute did not look out of place.

There was a lovely cushioned ball that freed the overlapping Aarons to spark a big chance for Pierre Lees-Melou. His inswinging corners probed and prodded and led to Milot Rashica being foiled superbly by Emi Martinez.

There was also a free kick Hanley attacked that dropped for Brandon Williams to head over, before taking a high boot for his troubles. An incident Smith felt was a clear penalty not awarded.

In short, most of Norwich’s better openings had Dowell’s imprint on them. Certainly prior to the interval. Look around the rest of this current roster and there is a scarcity of the type of quality Dowell can bring in the final third.

The former Evertonian looked to have cemented his place at the end of the previous Championship season. He is making a compelling case to be in the XI again come the end of July and a return to the second tier.