My Football Writer Norwich City news… comment… analysis
Norwich City – news, comment and analysis
It was not, he insisted, the whole story of the night's game. There were, he conceded, other faults at work.
But as City's caretaker boss Jim Duffy looked back over that 2-1 defeat to Burnley, his finger pointed firmly at two, big penalty decisions. One given, one not – together they condemned the Norfolk side to their sixth defeat in their last seven Championship games and ensured that any incoming manager would find his new charges pinned to the bottom of the table. <br …
Bit by bit, name by name those lining up for an interview start to emerge.
Simon Grayson's name popped up today; he fits certain bills – in that he's bright, young and hungry for success.
And he has a promotion to his name.
Geraint Williams doesn't have a promotion to his name, but he has a tenth place finish in his first season in charge at Layer Road and the Us already look a fair bet for another season of mid-table safety – not something that you …
Afterwards, Lee Croft was his usual diplomatic self. ?Very disappointed,? was as strong as the 22-year-old got when quizzed about his omission from Saturday's starting line-up against Bristol City.
Opinion on the terraces, in the bars and across the message-boards will probably have been rather more forthright.
And as the Canaries head for Turf Moor this evening with the Carrow Road club at its lowest ebb spirit and league-wise for a generation, so many an eye will …
There's a reason for every decision that is made.
To the untrained or inexperienced eye, it might not seem obvious and it might indeed seem puzzling to say the least, but there will be some logic involved somewhere.
However, playing Darren Huckerby on the right side of midfield when he's clearly happier and better suited on the left, and when you've got a more than adequate alternative for that particular position ? and one of the few performers actually able …
For City caretaker boss Jim Duffy it continues to go from bad to worse after it was revealed this afternoon that both Adam Drury and Dion Dublin will miss tomorrow's clash with Burnley at Turf Moor.
Drury limped out of the Canaries' latest miserable reverse on Saturday against Bristol City and Duffy admitted to the gathered press at Colney earlier today that it was in fact a calf injury that forced his early departure from the pitch.
Initial reports were that the …
As Norwich City's quest to find a new manager gained an ever more urgent edge after this weekend's 3-1home defeat to Bristol City, so the club's selection panel could have done worse than to have sat and watched Robins boss Gary Johnson at work.
The diminutive former Yeovil boss clearly doesn't rule through fear; he doesn't have the physical stature to back that up – nor the icy, far-away stare that a Bruce Rioch would add to his particular personality brew.<br …
It's probably safe to say that the short list for the 'hot seat' at Carrow Road got shortened by one after this defeat.
The same failings of the Grant era were visible, questionable tactics and a real sense of a team without a heart.
A lot of hope for our chances of climbing out of the mess we find ourselves in was pinned upon the belief that we do actually have a half decent team, it was just that they were being stifled from playing to their full potential by …
The race for the managerial vacancy at Carrow Road took a couple of intriguing twists this weekend with one-time bookies favourite Chris Coleman effectively ruling himself out of any move amid a claim that Paul Jewell was unavailable to work for anyone until November 1.
Both men have already been widely linked to the Reebok vacancy; both continue to be linked to the Norwich post following the recent resignation of Peter Grant.
Jim Duffy's hopes of securing the …
If City caretaker boss Jim Duffy thought Lady Luck might be any more kindly disposed towards him than she was to his pal Peter Grant, yesterday's events would have knocked that hope well and truly on the head.
For if Scott Murray's sliced second goal off the base of both uprights three minutes after Darren Huckerby's leveller weren't proof enough as the Canaries slumped to a 3-1 home defeat to Bristol City and duly dropped even further into the relegation mire, Adam …
With no wins for over a month and no goals in more than nine hours of football – and most alarming of all no indication whatsoever that City might be about to prevent either of those two statistics from growing – prior to kick-off yesterday all thoughts and speculation concerning who is eventually going to replace Peter Grant, the AGM, Delia selling up or potential new investment could be put aside for 90 minutes.
Because the only thing of real significance to the Canaries supporters …
A 25-yard hit-and-hope effort from substitute Scott Murray and a third from Lee Trundle deep into injury time condemned Norwich to a bitter 3-1 home defeat against newly-promoted Bristol City.
Darren Huckerby's first goal of the season eight minutes from the end had briefly given the Canaries hope of a priceless point, but three minutes later and Murray was taking aim from distance and – courtesy of both uprights – was grabbing his third goal of the season. On each occasion the …
There is a certain rationale in assuming that as a result of the Canaries' woeful performance at Loftus Road in front of the live TV cameras eleven days ago, the subsequent dismissal of Peter Grant from the managerial hot-seat and the time that has been afforded to the players to re-group so to speak, it can only get better from hereon in…
But as we know only too well after harbouring similar thoughts after the Wolves debacle, Norwich and rationale simply do not go hand in …
When Peter Grant took over the helm at Norwich City, the club's directors could have been forgiven for thinking they'd employed the man with the Midas touch.
Inspirational and passionate in his job interview, he backed that up with compelling evidence on the pitch. A 1-0 win at Birmingham City was followed by the same scoreline against early season leaders Cardiff City.
Two wins, no goals conceded; it seemed too good to be true. Sadly that proved to be the case.<br …
City's principal shareholder Michael Wynn Jones last night gave a fascinating insight into just what a gruelling physical and emotional process appointing a new manager is – and hinted that Canary fans may yet have at least another ten days to wait before the outcome of their latest quest is announced.
“This is my third (managerial appointment) and I can't really say that I've enjoyed any of them,” said Wynn Jones, whose 11 years as a director have seen the board appoint …
Newly-elected Canary director Andrew Turner gave the clearest indication yet that money must not be allowed to be a problem in the great managerial hunt as the dust settled on last night's Annual General Meeting at Carrow Road.
Turner and his wife, Sharon, were both unanimously elected to the board by the shareholders in what, as ever, was a far less stormy meeting than some had either hoped or expected.
The Central Trust founder used the 15 minutes of formal …
For now – and events may yet change again in the next ten days – keep your eyes on events at the Reebok.
Because according to my pal oop north, Norwich and Bolton could “both be fishing in the same pond…”
Sure enough there's Paul Jewell's name is pretty near the top of the bookies' list given that he's about eight miles away on the back-end of Wigan and sat twiddling his thumbs; and there's Chris Coleman. Ooh, and there's Steve Bruce.
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City caretaker boss Jim Duffy this morning admitted that he was ?thrilled? by the opportunity that now lies at his feet, but equally insisted that Saturday's Championship clash with Bristol City was about far, far more than him.
The 48-year-old former Dundee and Hibs boss is now firmly the centre of attention after last week's departure of Peter Grant.
And while the Canary board continue to decide where their next managerial move lies, Duffy has the chance to …
If anyone expected fisti-cuffs at this evening's Annual General Meeting at Carrow Road, they would have walked away disappointed.
Ditto, anyone who thought this evening's preceedings would have shed new light on the race for the Norwich City manager's job – other than the fact that the current caretaker Jim Duffy can handle himself very well in such circumstances.
He was direct, robust and to the point. It may well have won him a few more fans.
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City star Darren Huckerby insisted it was business as usual up at Colney this week as the Canaries desperately try to kick-start their season into life against Bristol City on Saturday.
The 32-year-old, two-time Player of the Year has been struggling with groin and hip problems all season and revealed that he underwent an injection in his hip last week in a bid to ease the nagging problem.
Norwich, likewise, could do with a big fat needle slammed into their tender regions …
From a distance it would appear that caretaker boss Jim Duffy must be all things to all men at Colney these days – from manager, to first team coach to chief bottle-washer, the 48-year-old former Dundee chief must surely have his hands full.
For with no coach since Martin Hunter's exit and no manager since Peter Grant's departure, Duffy casts a lonely shadow up at City's training HQ – hence the determination of the club's liason officer Bryan Gunn to ensure that …