Today we said goodbye to one of the greats. One of our greats. And it’s fitting that his final journey included a funeral service at Carrow Road. Mick Dennis, who was a reporter on the Pink Un when Duncan Forbes was in his pomp, was asked by the family to give a eulogy, an honour […]
Farewell Big Dunc – the rock on which the modern version of Norwich City was built
Back in October 2013, when Big Dunc’s diagnosis was first made public, our own Mick Dennis wrote a moving piece that captured perfectly the inextricable link between Duncan Forbes and Norwich City Football Club. Dunc was many things to many different people: fearless centre-back… warrior leader… wise old head… mentor… Mr Club Cabbage… and friend. […]
“Something must be done!” But what is that something that will save future Burys?
Everyone with a Twitter account agrees about the expulsion of Bury Town from the Football League. Something must be done! Fans, MPs and journalists want: tougher rules about club owners more monitoring to stop clubs being run badly spread the money around more fairly oh, and an independent inquiry and, um, give more power to […]
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 […]
I won’t boo Lambert. Not Sunday. Not ever. Not least because that’s what he wants
Delia Smith turned to Paul Lambert after they had watched Norwich City’s dismal defeat at Brentford and gave him a blunt, five-word summation of the task he had accepted a few hours previously. It was Wednesday, 19 August, 2009. Lambert became Norwich manager that day, but too late for him to play any significant part […]
A one-man victory parade on Wearside… dancing in the Gents at Pompey… this is why we do it
The most dismal week of the 2,340 odd that I have spent caring too much about Norwich City was in 2013, as October became November. On the Tuesday night, the lovely Mrs Dennis and I watched a 4-0 League Cup defeat at Old Trafford. Four days later we sampled the delights of the M1, M6 […]
Patient, precise and productive possession: the embodiment of Norwich City’s new DNA
Which is your favourite of the three best Norwich goals so far this season? The 18-pass move against Villa? City’s third goal in the romp at Hillsborough? Or the 97th-minute winner against Millwall? Those three exquisite moves all extoll the boldness and belief that is surging through the club we care about. And each of […]
“You don’t know what you’re doing!” Except they do, and generally refs make fewer errors than players
Graham Poll was refereeing an evening game at Everton. When he arrived at Goodison, long before kick-off, he headed straight out onto the pitch; part of his pre-match ritual was always to take an early look at the playing surface and re-familiarise himself with the layout of the stands, the tunnel, the dug-outs and so-on. […]
MUSIC WEEK – From Welch Huw and his dodgy fags to the Gobstoppers Glee Club…
Belatedly, I must both thank and blame Huw, the Welsh lothario with whom I shared a flat on Thorpe Road in Norwich — in the days shortly after cave paintings. When Huw moved out, he took his record player with him, and the three of us who were left as tenants — me and two […]
Because you’re Wes.
Paul Lambert unwittingly provided a pithy summary of the Wes Hoolahan conundrum long before either of them had any connection with Norwich City. Lambert signed the mercurial midfielder for Scottish club Livingston in January 2006 — a controversial deal, marked by insults — and said: “He’s got a great left foot, and he’s a clever […]
Nobody can claim our board put prudence before ambition. They took a punt. That’s why we are where we are
A true tragedy in the NCFC “family” has surely reminded us all that football is just a sport. This might not be the place to talk about such things, but I can’t consider much else at the moment; the death of Simon Thomas’s wife, Gemma, at 40, just three days after her Leukaemia was diagnosed, […]
On Tales 3 day, Mick D looks back to the years and men who shaped the future of Norwich City FC
Part of the fun of compiling Tales From The City books comes when two or more contributors give accounts of the same events or deal with the same subject. Together they provide a much more complete picture. When I was editing Tales 3, for instance, I realised that Terry Allcock, Dion Dublin and Gary Doherty […]
Tales From The City volume 3: There is more that unites us than divides us
The stirring victory at Sheffield United was followed by their supporters abusing Norwich directors, assaulting our fans and tweeting incendiary messages. I’ve reported the worst Tweets to South Yorkshire Police. And, as the Yellow Army mustered three days later at Brentford — where the only danger was that those of us in the upper tier […]
The reaction of the rival sets of fans to the table of diners at The Crabtree told the story
It was just a pub meal: a group of colleagues dining together, along with two of their partners and a couple of friends. Norwich fans who saw the happy group at the big table at The Crabtree, in Fulham on Saturday night, took very little notice. But every Fulham supporter who walked past did a […]
Not a club in chaos, but one where the flaws have been identified, acknowledged and addressed
Delia and Michael are among the most experienced in the country at running a football club. And they are determined to “give us our Norwich back” — to ensure that once again it is a club rooted in its community, is a good employer and achieves as much on the pitch as is possible.
Handing the reins to Tom is not about nepotism; it’s about D&M doing what they think best for this club
Many newspapers were chasing Delia and Michael to “do a piece” to mark the 20th anniversary of their becoming City’s majority shareholders. The hack pack would not be put off the scent until they talked to someone, and Henry is a lovely guy, so …
Tales From The City 2 Live: Mix with the great n’ good, and watch Ed as his ‘Strictly’ fate is revealed live
There’s no City match at the weekend, but there is a big fixture at Carrow Road on Sunday (9 Oct): the launch of Tales From The City volume 2.
Debt-free… small profits… not skint… ‘wretched’ transfer window… investors… Mick spills a few beans
In that summer of 2014, Norwich sold seven and bought 16. They spent £2.7m more on the new men than they got for the ones who left. They offered handsome incentives to keep players at Carrow Road and entice others to join them.
Ed Balls: bullish, pugnacious, political bruiser, man of princple but, above all, a proper City fan
Ed is formidably bright and disarmingly charming in person — but didn’t earn his reputation as a political bruiser by ducking a fight. I expect the new chairman to be our pugnacious champion in meetings with the Premier League and others.
It’s time for the negativity to stop. Russ, Alex et al have done more than enough to be spared the moans
Brendan Rogers has been able to spend £312.8 million in three years but even before that wantonness, the inequalities of resources had grown and grown, so that Liverpool have won nine of the last 11 meetings with Norwich.