Your football team will break your heart, but you don’t know that at the beginning. In April 1998, when I was six, I went to my first Norwich game; we played Huddersfield and won 5–0. Two weeks later, my dad took my sister and I back to Carrow Road, this time for Swindon Town; again, […]
Archives for April 2019
Perspective is everything, but in the white heat of a promotion run-in? Forget it!
I don’t know about you, but the pressure of the promotion race has completely destroyed my sense of perspective. Early on in the season, with minimal expectations, I was fine. But over the last few weeks, I’ve come to view everything through a singular lens; one that is solely focussed on our club getting promoted […]
Cut-price heroes on cusp of the Prem via a route both improbable and beautiful
Norwich City: W25, D13, L6. Sheff Utd: W25, D10, L9. Leeds Utd: W25, D7, L12. It is City’s draws that are taking them up. Effectively Daniel Farke’s cut-price heroes have drawn six games that Leeds lost. The very first match of the season set the tone. At St Andrew’s, Birmingham scored in the 89th minute […]
Fret not folks, we are UP. Two celebratory dead rubbers to come. Going up up up…
As we were struggling a little, ostensibly collectively tiring and finding it increasingly harder to pull the boat to shore Brentford and, more poignantly, Sergi Canos threw us a lifeline. Well, a bit more than a lifeline really – that result has helped us to achieve our dreams and justify Daniel Farke’s philosophy – as […]
Norwich City’s 2018-19 season? It’s like something out of a movie…
As I write, we’re not promoted – but we’re very close. In the end, the reason we’re close is a difference between ourselves and Leeds. Nothing to do with fluent football; all to do with character. In the cauldron of promotion and facing dogged opponents, we’ve dug deep and kept our unbeaten run intact. Despite […]
Canaries on the brink – a modern day fairy-tale being played out in the Fine City
Wow… none of us will forget the Easter Monday of 2019 in a hurry. And who would have guessed that the City hero to emerge from the day would be an ex-Canary. Sergi Canos we salute you. I’ve been banging the ‘let’s do this ourselves and not rely on favours from others’ drum for some […]
STOKE PREVIEW: Unpredictable Potters between City and their date with destiny
When it’s Stoke up next, it’s a no-brainer as to where to turn – so, as ever, it’s to my old mate from our Metro Sport days, Mr Matt Meir. Here are his thoughts on the Nathan Jones era, why Paul Lambert is no longer in the Potters’ dugout and accountants’ notepads… So, Gary Rowett […]
A curate’s egg… a seething Farke… a dodgy official… flags in the UB… and a point closer
Good Friday? It was a bit like the curate’s egg – good in parts. Forest had a player very harshly sent off which enabled the Wilderbeests to cruise to a 2-0 win despite the lack of Messrs Sharp, Egan and Basham. Then followed the miracle of Elland Road wherein Wigan played for 75 minutes with […]
City’s shot stopper extraordinaire is leading the charge both on and off the pitch
Back in Norfolk for the first time since Derby Day, I took an unconventional route to Carrow Road on Friday afternoon. After a swift visit to see my granny in Gorleston, I boarded the 17:03 service from Haddiscoe – long story – and made that pre-match pilgrimage into the Fine City. The immediate chat from […]
Mario and Tim to the rescue against lively Owls – City doing it one point at a time
The River End was a tetchy old place last night. Around me, Stiepermann became the new Cantwell. Mo took some too; too “flicky and lightweight”. And Onel is apparently “simply not good enough”. An alien dipping into Carrow Road for the evening would never have guessed we were destined to end the night a minimum […]
GUEST BLOG: Glory (hopefully) awaits but it should come with a health warning
Today we welcome Phil Withall, an Aussie-based Canary who will be familiar to the #NCFC Twitter community. Phil eloquently offers a note of caution for when/if the P-word becomes a thing. Enjoy… It’s a Tuesday evening in Brisbane. I’ve just re-watched the Wigan match, City were fortunate and unlucky at the same time, but they […]
OWLS PREVIEW: The Ipswich way… Brucey’s digger… concrete foundations… and a repugnant beast
Ahead of tomorrow night’s potential p-word clincher – but probably not – for the second time this season I have been chatting with James Marriott from the fine The Wednesday Week podcast. And what a top lad he is… So… how’s the podcast going? Am guessing there has been plenty to talk about this season, including a late dart […]
A salute to the Wigan 5,300, whether ‘regular’ or newbie – heroes all
Last time around, I mentioned my mate Jack, who supports Leeds, and I tried to counter his ongoing assertion that City have been lucky to climb to the top of the table. His other favourite ‘wind-up’ relates to the size of our respective fanbases, and in particular the travelling support. ‘Leeds would have taken more’. […]
Eyes on the prize people – now’s not the time for conflict or civil war
Football is a game of opinions. Everyone has them, whether they travel miles and miles to watch their team or choose to follow their heroes via their radios every week, kicking every ball from the confines of their living room, or follow City via the internet. Football, being the inclusive game it is, allows those […]
Leon Barnett: “Hughton was more cautious and wanted to make us harder to beat”
In November, the footballing world was rocked by the news that ex-Norwich City defender Leon Barnett was forced to hang up his boots at the age of 33 due to a heart defect that put his life at risk when playing the game he loves. Barnett was an integral cog in Paul Lambert’s Norwich team […]
No reason to fret. Seven points clear of third with four to play? That’ll do for me.
Growing up in Forest Gate London E7, I had two uncles who would always be around my grandma’s house on a Saturday dinner time before they headed off to Upton Park. A few times they took me with them except that actually meant that Pete accompanied me while Joe stayed in the Duke of Edinburgh […]
City edge closer to the prize but Cook’s Latics make it a nervy one in the north west
In keeping with the UK 2019-style, yesterday lunchtime’s 1-1 draw in Greater Manchester had a polarising effect on the Canary Nation. Those of a positive disposition perceived it as another step closer to the ultimate goal. A point, a vital point, which at least matched the result of Wilder’s wobblers and maintained the gap, with […]
WIGAN PREDICTIONS: The prize is huge; trust Farke’s lads to get the job done
So, you probably know how it works by now. In the week, or very occasionally weeks, before a game, we get in touch with a contact from the opposition and arrange to either chat with them on the phone or send over a few questions that will form the backbone of the MFW match preview. […]
‘Lucky City’… ‘given a ‘bye’ … ‘sinister forces’ … Can’t possibly be that we’re a really good side
Do you believe in luck? For me, it’s just a term that gets used to rationalise improbable outcomes. A suggestion that mysterious forces are somehow bending the rules of probability, when in reality, it’s just a matter of statistics. Or to put it another way… ‘Luck is probability taken personally’ (Chip Denman) According to pre-season […]
Cedric: “Football gave me so much but it also nearly killed me…”
In the UK, men are three times more likely to take their own lives than women. A startling statistic, one that desperately requires improvement. Mental illness is impacting too many people, some of whom feel they have nowhere to turn and nobody to talk too. Particularly in young men, the statistics around those suffering in […]