Juggernaut. Steamroller. Or maybe just simply awesome. And with squillions of quid to further reinforce them (as if it’s really needed). Yes, we’ll be up against Man Citeh twice next season. So welcome to the real world of the elite of the Premier League. We’ll have to swallow the occasional result like that ourselves next season […]
Self-belief and motivation: Two key components of Norwich City FC 2019-style
Back in the early 1980s I often had to work a 1400-2200 shift, or two to ten as the Old Bill called it. With a bit of overtime I often didn’t get home until midnight. No worries, I was well paid and the underground from St James’s Park to Buckhurst Hill ran until nearly 0100. This […]
Schadenfreude overload across the Canary Nation as ‘dirty’ Leeds denied by FLDC
My three favourite “words” of German are Farke, Zimmermann and Leitner. Very closely followed by schadenfreude, which we all know means deriving satisfaction from the misfortunes of another, often an old enemy. Which neatly brings me on to the play-offs, which have very recently taken on a whole new twist. First up I am so […]
An early look at where City *may* pick up points in next season’s Premier League
Chris Hughton’s demise at Brighton probably surprised nobody. Certainly not myself. Captain Negative does his stuff in the only way he can. Park that proverbial bus, aim for a 0-0 and a 1-0 is a bonus. If you’re lucky. No freedom for his players to express themselves and no creativity in his squad. Or at […]
The opening salvos have been fired. So… who should stay and who should go?
On the day that City have elected to release eight academy/development players, most notably including Tristan Abrahams and Pierre Fonkeu, I thought I’d take a look at who of a more senior level might be joining them in a mini-exodus from the Carra. Regular MFW readers will know that I’m a massive fan of The […]
I’ve witnessed four promotions but this one tops the lot. And this time we have a plan
For once in my life I listened to the whole of Sunday’s game against Aston Villa on Radio Norfolk. I really enjoy Chris Goreham’s commentary but am usually too nervous to hear it over the course of 90 plus minutes. Leon Barnett kind of tempted me to keep tuned in and as the Stoke v […]
With the feelgood factor off the scale, these glory days have to be celebrated
If you’re going to City’s Parade, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. 1969 was the last real year of the Hippie era and love and peace were everywhere. The sky was all one colour and the grass was green. The draft-dodgers, other longhairs and all like-minded folks congregated at Woodstock Festival in […]
Off we go to the land of Klopp and Pep, and this group deserves a fair crack at it
How bad has this season been folks? The rollercoaster ride is over and we no longer need anything at Villa, even though a draw to secure us the title and medals for the players would be the mutt’s nuts. I guess we’ll see two teams who won’t be trying too hard on Sunday – cos […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A seven-point gap between ourselves and promotion with five to play – we’ll take that
When I was a kid, we had the joy of Goodmayes playground, right next door to my junior school, Barley Lane. It’s well over 50 years ago now but I remember it well and with some kind of affection. There were swings, a roundabout and slides. The older boys used to love to ambush us […]
An Emitional afternoon for our brilliant Argentinian, but “we only need ten men”
Scintillating. Effervescent. Unremitting. Unconquerable. Indomitable. Flamboyant. Okay I’ve put the dictionary back on the shelf now having used six words, as in one for each of our remaining fixtures. As Kenny McLean said yesterday, the opposition simply cannot live with us. Sure QPR were as pi$$-poor a side as I’ve seen at the Carra in […]
Fitting in, working hard and truly running with the pack – Norwich City style
Mrs P and I own two terriers. I am well aware that several MFW regulars have dogs too and quite a few of you might relate to what is to follow. One of ours is a four-year-old Patterdale named Geezer after Black Sabbath bass player and rabid Villa fan Geezer Butler. The other is Minnie, […]
Shaken maybe but definitely not stirred, as City stride on. Zimbo’s all over this…
I can take James Bond films with the proverbial pinch of salt, particularly those that have been made without Sean Connery or Roger Moore. But if the Championship’s Manager of the Year runner-up walked into a hotel lounge, announced: “the name is Farke. Daniel Farke”, and asked for his Martini cocktail “shaken, not stirred”, it […]
Nearly time to batten down the hatches for that final push for the treasure
You don’t have to be a Bristol Rovers fan to love a pirate. Whatever our generation, surely we all love a buccaneer. Captain Morgan, Bluebeard, Blackbeard. Maybe Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Or even Long John Silver as portrayed by that old ham Robert Newton in the 1950s. I loved those old black and white […]
Top, five points clear and pretty much a fully-fit squad, but I’d take second right now
Flat caps, whippets, ferrets, Geoffrey Boycott. All slightly ridiculous clichés I know. But if you add in the weather conditions and the fact that we were battered like a piece of Harry Ramsden haddock by a very physical Rotherham side but could never quite be dipped into the fryer, you’ll know what I’m on about. […]
‘That’ flick… Marco Elliott… Beccles’ finest… sweeper keepers… and the final countdown
Let’s make the simple difficult. Let’s absolutely outclass a side for 44 minutes and then see Tim Krul do what he occasionally does, e.g. get closed down by a forward such as Fraizer Campbell and shank it to the edge of the box. One astute pass later and Marc Pugh hammers it home off the […]
A change of kit… a Zimbo-esque ref… the Man from Argos… and three points in the bag
‘Tense? I had to have an entire kit change at half time!’ That was a message I received from my mate Scott after Friday night’s game and in no way do I disagree with him. The conditions were dreadful, Swansea threatened to overwhelm us in the first half and the fixture tested our resilience to […]
Eleven to go. Let’s back the poppy of Norwich against the white roses of Yorkshire
What I absolutely love about Daniel Farke’s Norwich City is how difficult it is to pick a bog standard “Man of the Match” after any given fixture. In fact, it’s almost always impossible. Sure I’ve got a personal choice from Saturday’s efficient, gutsy and ultimately crucial performance at the New Den but it’s so close-run it’s verging […]