Huckerby suggests the curtain is coming down on his City career. One, final home game awaits...
Sun 20 Apr 08
Canary hero Darren Huckerby gave what appeared to be the first of, no doubt, many farewell speeches yesterday - suggesting that next weekend's crucial home clash with Queen's Park Rangers would be his last at Carrow Road.
"Looks that way, doesn't it? All I can tell you is what I know - and at this present time it looks like I will be leaving," the 32-year-old told radio reporters straight after yesterday's 2-1 home defeat by title-chasing West Bromwich Albion. "But no hard feelings - that's life," Huckerby added.
City's two-time Player of the Year - long since assured of a place in the club's Hall of Fame - is, of course, out of contract this summer. Rumours have long abounded of a possible Indian summer in the United States with a spell alongside David Beckham at LA Galaxy being one reported destination for the Canary favourite.
For his part, Norwich boss Glenn Roeder has insisted that nothing has been decided yet; that contract talks with the likes of Huckerby, Gary Doherty and skipper Mark Fotheringham would only begin in earnest once the Canaries knew for certain which division they would be playing their football in next season.
This latest defeat - coupled to a win for Leicester City away at Barnsley - has ensured that City's fate remains firmly in the balance; defeat at home to Rangers and the Norfolk side will be looking squarely down the barrel of a League One gun a week later when they travel to Sheffield Wednesday for the final, decisive game of a long and invariably fraught season.
The fact that next weekend's game will also be Dion Dublin's last at Carrow Road as the veteran striker prepares to bow out of the professional game after 20 years of sterling service merely adds to the emotional mix that awaits everyone next weekend.
Whether Huckerby now knows for certain that another new, Carrow Road contract is not in the pipeline or whether he was simply saying his farewells just in case remains a moot point. In fairness to both manager and board, the potential financial fall-out of a drop into League One probably forces all concerned to put talks on hold. In the meantime, however, Huckerby can do little more than presume these next two games will be his last.
The fact that City could yet be banished to the third tier of English football on Huckerby's last game for the club is all too grisly a prospect.
"I don't want to play the last couple of games thinking that we could get relegated - that would be unfair on me and unfair on the lads," said Huckerby, well aware that the Canaries are in this position for a simple reason.
"We're in this position because we haven't won enough games," he told Radio Norfolk, clearly desperate that four, glorious years in a Canary shirt do not end on an all-time low.
"Hopefully, we can get ourselves out of this situation and I can look back at this as probably being the best part of my career," said Huckerby.
Will it be an emotional day for you next weekend, was the next question.
"Of course it will - like I said, I've had great, great times here," said Huckerby, whose exploits - on and off the field - in that title-winning season of 2003-2004 were the stuff of legend. Respect between player and fan is obviously mutual; the prospect of Messrs Dublin and Huckerby doing their laps of honour around Carrow Road next Saturday with the Canaries still needing a result from that trip to Hillsborough will, for many, be too much to bear.
An afternoon of high drama awaits. Part 2 >>
