Thanks to Teemi Pukki’s brilliance, Moritz Leitner’s composure and Todd Cantwell’s coming of age, the intricacies of the club’s new membership scheme appear to have been largely forgotten. And rightly so. This has been a swashbuckling start to life in the Premier League by City, two games characterised not so much by realpolitik as they […]
The VAR debate: A modern day necessity? Or a killjoy to the once beautiful game?
After a hectic opening weekend of Premier League action including a valiant Norwich City display on Merseyside and a quintessentially old school Manchester United romping, there’s only one thought that dominates my mind this Sunday evening: football is worse off with VAR. As we know, it was at the London Stadium where the farcical nature […]
It pays to be progressive, innovative and bold – as City and the ECB have discovered
England’s Cricket World Cup wasn’t really won on that glorious, sun-baked evening at Lord’s on Sunday. It wasn’t won by that magnificent display of batting fortitude by Ben Stokes, that nerve-shredding super over delivered by Jofra Archer or that unerring pick-up and bullet throw from Jason Roy in front of the famous old Grand Stand. […]
Time to drop the ‘loyalty’ debate. There’s far more that unites us than divides us
Measuring loyalty as a football fan is about as ambiguous a concept as they come. Critically, what does it actually mean? Is it away games attended? Is it the longevity you’ve held a season ticket for? Is it money spent, or time invested in your club? More obscurely, is it knowledge and an ability to […]
Who will be first up on August 10? And who would we prefer? A Man City or a Burnley?
Much like a Cadbury’s Creme Egg, we all consume the annual release of the fixtures in different ways. Some fans are largely indifferent, justifiably apathetic towards what can be perceived as a futile and premature attempt to rouse anticipation for the upcoming season. Some fans keep a watchful eye, not overly concerned but keen to […]
From The Valley to a ‘booze-fuelled balcony’ – A foot soldier’s tale
It all started at The Valley back in July. Despite not normally being anything like a pre-season enthusiast, a friend’s 21st in Guildford that necessitated changing trains in London made the prospect of an away trip in the sun difficult to resist. We lost 1-0 that day. Lost 1-0 to a side that had finished […]
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 […]
Let’s not just go up, but let’s stay there, and create a lasting legacy for this club
With just eight games to go, the prospect of promotion is rapidly transforming a romantic, abstract dream into something far more tangible. Such is the distance this team of yellow and green heroes have travelled, overcoming nearly every obstacle the division has placed in their way and cementing a four-point lead at the Championship’s summit […]
Let’s not underestimate the Stieperdude – no-one has a more key role in Farkeball
For those City fans out there who happen to be a follower of Test match cricket, I’m sure the name Shivnarine Chanderpaul will require little introduction. Chanderpaul, that brilliant yet unconventional accumulator of runs for the West Indies – 11,867 at an average of 51.37, to be precise – who had that endearing knack of […]
Wheels coming off? Not a chance. This City side is not about to go away
If these current City players are going to achieve immortality and gain promotion to the Premier League, posterity may well look back very fondly on that Jordan Rhodes goal on Saturday afternoon. In the face of adversity and Albion’s sustained high press, Daniel Farke’s heroes rallied, once again demonstrating their unwavering defiance and sending the […]
Now is not the time to lose faith. Defeat to Derby a mere blip in City’s fine season
The date was May 25, 2017, and Norwich City had some news to announce. News that fans were all awaiting. News that had been the subject of endless debate and speculation over the preceding couple of months. And, while the nature of that news was inevitable, its content was instead more unexpected. As we’re all […]
With tough fixtures looming, it’s the following few weeks that will shape City’s Championship destiny
When the Championship season draws to a close and the mandatory post-campaign reflection begins, it looks likely that the nature of that debate will hinge upon Norwich City’s fortunes over the next two months. What Daniel Farke and his side have achieved so far has been nothing short of extraordinary. As is well-documented, Farke and […]
As Southgate’s young lions roar, why are City unable to produce an England international of their own?
As England’s players rejoiced while the tune of ‘Three Lions’ bellowed out of the Wembley PA system, fans of Sunderland, Sheffield United, Barnsley, Queen’s Park Rangers and Milton Keynes Dons would have been looking on with pride. Gareth Southgate‘s array of young talent had just risen from the depths of potential UEFA Nations League abyss, […]
With Carrow Road becoming a fortress, is there more to City’s home form than Farkeball alone?
Over the past few weeks, much has been written on these pages of City’s remarkable rise to the summit of the Championship and the advent of the now-pervasively referred to ‘Farkeball’. Eloquent articles from multiple MFW heavyweights have sought to diagnose the reasons for our magnificent form, delving into the inner intricacies of City’s passing […]
After years of little progress, City finally look capable of uniting their fanbase
Ee-i-ee-i-ee-i-oh, up the Football League we go was the cry of the travelling Yellow Army at 1-0 up at Derby’s iPro Stadium last Wednesday, a song of jubilance and triumph not sung with such fervour by those who follow City since that glorious Paul Lambert epoch of 2009 and 2012. The following day, tickets to […]
Farke’s judgement continues to be vindicated as City begin to construct a winning run
The time is 4pm, and I’ve just parked at Didcot Parkway railway station. I’ve driven from Manchester – my new home for the following year – and am about to hop on the fast service to Reading to meet my brother before the game. As I wait for my train, I choose to check Twitter […]
A frustrating points tally but don’t write this City side off quite yet… give it time to gel
In sport, statistics will never tell you the whole story. In a simple and somewhat idealistic world, a mere glance at a football score, an assessment of a batsman’s average or an analysis of a rugby player’s try-tally would provide us with a comprehensive indication of what really happened. However, as many of those City […]
Barclay singing section an unequivocal success that should lay foundations for a more boisterous Carrow Road
As I scrolled through Twitter on my break from work on Wednesday afternoon, reflecting on what was a hard-fought but largely deserved victory for City the previous night, that resonant yellow and green icon caught my eye on the left-hand side of the screen. As anticipated, it was a tweet from Norwich City. The club’s […]
Farke’s developing City side can learn from Southgate’s fearless young lions
As I miserably trudged out of The Murderers pub at around quarter to ten on Wednesday evening, drenched in sweat and submerged in spilt beer – thanks, Kieran Trippier – I couldn’t help but take note of a few of the conversations that were unfolding around me. ‘That was our chance. We won’t get a […]
Unity a necessity over summer months as top brass continue to construct the squad they desire
Last Sunday should have functioned as a pleasant, enjoyable and relatively harmonious day out to round off what was been an unequivocally underwhelming season. On a personal level, it represented a day off revision, a day out in the Sheffield sun, an opportunity to meet some old schoolmates in their own university city and enjoy […]