A view from afar; what's changed of late and what shows little sign of changing at all...

Weds 28 Oct 09

For many a reason, this season is in danger of passing me by.

For the first time in the better part of 17 years , I've ended up very much the outsider looking in to events at Carrow Road.

I've done a couple of games and a handful of trips up to Colney for a Press conference and that, basically, is it.

Tis pretty much Tom's show now. So any observations I might make are based on little more than distant impressions; that and having been round the block too many times to mention in those said 17 years.
But certain points haven't escaped my notice.

Like Norwich's new-found ability to dig out pretty ugly 1-0 wins as and when the situation demands.

That's different.

Having a decent lump up front who should be good for 25-plus goals this season – that's different.

And having a couple of kids floating about the place that are already doing a man's job – that's different. In years gone by, their form has been temporary – class, likewise.

This time round, however, and the likes of a Korey Smith deserve great credit for the level of consistency he appears to be hitting in his first, full season as a pro. That's a sure sign of genuine class.

And that's different.

What's not different, of course, is the level of support the club still commands – even in the third tier of English football, it continues to amaze.

Nor is the ownership of the club any different to what it has been for the last 13 years; Delia Smith and her husband, Michael Wynn Jones, continue to be the club's principal shareholders – just as much as there continues to be endless speculation as to who the club's next owners might be.

Or owner.

I'm always ready to take a call, was the message from the club chairman this week as he revealed that Keith Harris' quest to find a knight in shining white armour continued to draw a blank.

And in the absence of said saviour, the club would continue to make do and mend as best it could; ever mindful of the financial pitfalls that litter the path ahead.

Not that bagging someone off The Sunday Times Rich List is any guarantee of success.   Part 2 >>