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.
Wembley a fitting reward for the Yellow Army who were there when the dark depths were plummeted
As Malcolm Robertson said in his MyFootballWriter piece ahead of Wembley, you have to experience the crushing lows to value the vaunting highs. And, as Delia told the TV audience, Wembley was particularly rewarding for us because so many of us carry scars from dismal disappointments.
With a serious young Scot on the rudder, right now the austere approach works for the Canaries
It is certainly true that Neil is willing to change his men and alter how they are deployed. In Scotland he preferred 4-1-4-1. With Norwich, he has had success with 4-2-3-1, the much-loved diamond (4-1-2-1-1) and several variants of the 4-4-1-1 he went with against Forest.
Still twenty-one games to go, everything to play for. So, let’s be having you! We can do this!
There appeared to be a lot of confusion about how we should reorganise. Alex Neil was in the technical area, but Phelan, Three Lungs and goal-keeping coach Tony Parks were giving instructions too and Russ Martin, the skipper, made at least two return trips to the side of the pitch for clarification.
City board plan to have new man in place before Saturday’s trip to league leaders Bournemouth
McNally’s normal modus operandi is to consult senior players. He ignores extreme opinions but seeks to gauge the consensus of the sensible. Then he asks the manager what plans there are to address flaws or failings.
Silence from the board suggests that, for the short-term at least, Adams will remain in City hotseat
It needs to be remembered that the Barclay and Snake Pit were magnificent during Saturday’s game. The support was loud and stirring. From my season ticket seat in the Community Upper, it provided goose bump moments.
Let’s do things differently this time round. Let the City debate be constructive and without acrimony
If you think Delia and Michael don’t really care or understand, then you and I will never agree and I can’t be bothered with you. It would be like trying to reason with nutters who swear Elvis is working at the Vauxhall Caravan Park on the Acle New Road. If, however, you know that Delia and Michael have always striven to do the best for the club, then that is a proper starting point to consider the work of Neil Adams.
No pain, no gain. City now reaping the reward of Bowkett and McNally’s frugality
The first time I heard McNally speak in public – at a meeting of the Capital Canaries days after that 7-1 humbling by Lambert’s Colchester in August 2009 – he banged on about needing to reduce debts. He spoke more about that than anything else.