Let me take you back to the Manchester United game, and tell you about an off-the-record conversation with Paul Lambert.
I was working at the match. I hate having to sit in the Press Box and behave myself at City fixtures, but my choice was the Carling Cup final or Carrow Road and so it was no choice.
Crushed by Ryan Giggs’ late winner but lifted by Sir Alex Ferguson’s honest appraisal that Norwich didn’t deserve to lose, I composed and filed my report, exchanged niceties with friends in the hack pack, left the media room – and bumped into Lambert on his way to his car.
And here’s the thing. I was OK about the result, but he wasn’t. I was philosophical about losing narrowly to one of the world’s richest clubs, because I remembered that, two years ago that weekend, we’d had a single goal victory over another team from Greater Manchester – Oldham, in League One.
But Lambert was desolate. Away from the media interviews and with his guard down, he was utterly crest-fallen.
I always rage at the moaners and the snipers who, even this season, can find something to make themselves miserable before they phone Radio Norfolk or log-in to message boards.
Yet Lambert was less able to deal with a defeat than any of them. You’ve got to love the guy.
The truth though is that losing to United – or Leicester in the FA Cup the week before, or horrible Stoke in that dreadful game the week after – did not matter. And, far be it from me to lecture the manager, but all of us should spend more time contemplating the epic performances than this season’s few disappointments.
I mean, come on, how did City become so good that they could brush aside Swansea with 17 barnstorming minutes of second half magnificence?
How did we reach a situation where, before and after England’s Wembley defeat by the Dutch, there was serious, informed debate about whether our skipper should have played?
Above all, how is it possible that a mid-table finish in the Premier League is all but nailed on?
We are in danger of taking what has been achieved for granted, as just another chapter in the Norwich narrative. But it is much, much more than that.
Two years ago this month, Chrissy Martin scored that last gasp winner against Leeds at Carrow Road which allowed us to dream that we might win League One.
I’ve still got a framed picture of that goal in my cloakroom (classy!). But for Lambert’s City to have continued their climb as quickly as they have is the stuff of implausible fiction.
It is probable that, by the time the season ends, City will be about 60 places higher than they were when Lambert took charge.
No fans of any club have had such cause for celebration for decades because no manager has achieved anything like that in the modern era.
The last man to guide a club to successive promotions and land in the Premier League was former Norwich striker Joe Royle, who did it with Manchester City eleven years earlier. But the blue City went straight down again. Royle lost his job and had to take work in the county north of Essex.
The yellow City are staying up.
I say that with the certainty of someone who has seen all the clubs bunched near the bottom. I watched Wolves (boo!) implode at Craven Cottage last weekend. Their tactics, organisation and application were as poor as anything I have seen on my professional or leisure-time travels for several seasons.
Yet I was at Molineux on the final day of last season – “Survival Sunday” – when Wolves stayed up.
Five teams began the afternoon in peril of joining already-relegated West Ham in the bottom three. Two of them, Wolves and Blackburn, met in the game I was covering and when Steve Kean’s Rovers took a 3-0 half-time lead over Mick McCarthy’s Wanderers, believe me, it would not have been a good moment to engage any of the locals in discussion – tempting though it was to tell them how the former employers of Kevin Muscat can never expect my sympathy.
But Wolves hit back. By 87 minutes, they had scored twice which gave them an identical goal-difference to Birmingham. They would have stayed up on goals scored. But things might change…
They did. News came through that, in stoppage time, Roman Pavlyuchenko had scored his second goal for Spurs against Birmingham and Wolves were safe by a whole point. So too were Blackburn, of course, and Molineux became one big, mad party.
My own over-riding emotion was: “I really, really hope City don’t have to endure a Survival Sunday.”
Our joyous Championship season had ended 15 days earlier. We knew we were bound for the Premier League and – come on, let’s be honest with each other – the prospect of another 2004-05 was on our minds. In Lambert we trusted, but how would Holty and Co cope in the top division?
Now we know the answer.
Our club have given us three of the best seasons of our lifetimes. We owe it to Lambert and his players to acknowledge that and to continue smiling, singing and cheering.
It’s probably a good thing that Lambert is damaged by defeats, but the rest should not let them distract us from the utter wonder at what we have witnessed during his reign.
It’s one of the tragedies of the modern game and society that enjoying where we are is frowned upon as lacking ambition. What’s gone is gone, waste no time looking for context and savouring the successful journey so far, rather demand more and force ambition on all. It’s not about enjoyment, but success and the reflected glory and status that affords the individual.
Couldn’t agree more, Mick. And as I wrote in my latest blog THREE years ago this weekend we were losing a dismal game at Blackpool in our tailspin towards the bottom and subsequent relegation.
This articulates everything I feel about City over the last 3 seasons. Our achievement over this term is astounding on the pitch and nothing short of miraculous off it. Losing 7-1 at home to Colchester and being a couple of quid away from administration seems a long time ago.
Quite agree Mick. I tell people I meet who don’t me that my Club has made the most progress of all English teams in the past 2 seasons. They try and guess, usually saying, Utd, City, Liverpool, Spurs etc etc. None think of Norwich
Agreed…and I have high aspirations. I predicted a bold mid-table this year based on the dross in the premier league from about 7th or 8th downwards and everyone laughed at me. Although, I wouldn’t ahve flinched had we only just hit 17th. This journey has been well worth the wait, and we should sing, dance and cheer constantly…leave the low toned noises for your love of Ipswich and Wolves.
Remind me….this is the same Mick Dennis who defended the old regime to the hilt and who berated the fans for having the audacity to demand that Glenn Roeder was removed, and protesting outside the boardroom window when Glenn was inside having his feeelings hurt. If you want to lead the Norfolk Army, just watch which way they are marching and walk in front Mick. good to see you’ve got it at last! – Tongue firmly in cheek as I really enjoy your contributions.
Michael, my dealings with ‘the old regime’ convinced me, time and time again, that they were striving for what I wanted: success for NCFC. And in 30+ years as a sports journalist I have had sufficient close-up experience of other regimes elsewhere to appreciate ours (Did anyone watch the QPR documentary????).
On the night which led to Roeder’s dismissal, I was privileged to be in the ‘inner sanctum’ at Carrow Road and had a human response to the human story which unfolded.
So I wrote about it. That is what I do.
Some of the interpretations folk read into that piece were astonishingly wrong-headed.
At no point did I say that Roeder should have kept his job. I explained that Roeder’s remarks at the AGM had angered supporters and that the results were dreadful.
I didn’t berate our club’s supporters. I didn’t even criticise them, apart from describing the 200 gathered outside as “a mob” (definition: an unruly crowd).
But I did think what I witnessed had a wider significance than just a Norwich story; it demonstrated that whenever results are dire and a manager is axed, his family suffer with him and for him.
I have been in journalism long enough to know some would not like the tone or content of that piece. But I regularly upset supporters of other clubs, so it would have been hypocritical to shy away from writing a difficult piece about NCFC. And if I only wrote populist stuff, it would be worthless.
I don’t “seek to lead” the Yellow army. What a preposterous idea. I am proud to be a foot soldier in that army, paying to watch City home and away whenever I can, in any division. I don’t always agree with some of my fellow troupers and so certainly accept that some don’t agree with me.
OTBC
All very true. What we have achieved is remarkable. And though I was disappointed at the meetk way we gave up the FA Cup, the season has been a triumph overall. We must never forget those Charlton fans calling for Curbishley to go and the need to take the next step up in the season before it all unravelled at the Valley …
Mick,
No offence intended and I did say it was largely tongue in cheek and that I normally really enjoy your work – but your piece about your evening in the “Inner Sanctum” did strike a wrong chord with maybe more supporters than you intended. The Mob outside were maybe just supporters who felt that, finally, Roeder was reaping what he had sown but his appauling attitude to supporters especially at the AGM. Don’t suppose hios family were there to witness his performance that night.
For now let’s bask in the glory of what has been achieved since those dark days and hope that the lessons that appear to have been learned remain fixed in the memory of those at the helm, even if some of the senior personnel change over the coming months and years.
Who knows we could become the new “blueprint” to follow…….or maybe we’ll leave that one firmely buried in The Valley.