Ahead of tomorrow’s fixture against Sheffield United, a game being billed as the ‘Disrespect Derby’, I caught up with Sam from the Dem Blades blog, to try and put all ill feeling to rest and make friends.
To begin with Sam, and a huge thank you for joining me, one thing all Norwich fans are itching to find out the answer to… Is Chris Wilder still violently tapping his watch?
Yes!
Now we’ve established that, let’s talk about the game that’s being billed as the Disrespect Derby. I think a lot of Norwich supporters find the whole situation rather comical. Is there a genuine hatred for ‘Little Old Norwich’?
I’ve always hated (in the footballing sense of the word only) Norwich for reasons of Darren Huckerby. Rob Earnshaw didn’t help either. Nevertheless, ourselves and the Canaries have enjoyed solid support, home and away, for as long as I can remember so the ‘disrespect derby’ as me, you and around six other people are calling it, has developed into new, loud rivalry.
I like a rivalry. You don’t get it with ‘plastic’ teams like Bournemouth or Wigan or Reading and, if it’s the only positive thing I can say about Norwich, then I’m out and proud: you aren’t Reading.
Haha, I don’t think anyone is compatible to Reading in that sense. Cast your mind back to the last meeting between the sides, Norwich obviously nicking a 0-1 victory at Bramall Lane, what was it that got the Blades so agitated?
Unitedites were antagonised because of the ‘Norwich Way.’ Blades, like all football fans loathe any time-wasting outside of their own. Nobody time wasted like ‘your lot’ last year. As soon as you nabbed your goal, every Norwich player was keenly aware of Farke’s plan: take your time, waste every possible second you can. Granted, this was your right. But it riled us. As did the ref’s lack of action on the matter. (I just checked my blog from that game, I described Maddison as a ‘floor-to-floor’ midfielder – pretty apt).
It clearly riled Chris Wilder… see watch-tapping episode. Obviously, in the reverse fixture, we got our ‘revenge’ and even managed to waste a little time ourselves, The Norwich Way.
Interestingly, I was at QPR away last weekend where the Blades picked up their first three points of the season. At 1-2 up, in the dying embers of the game, we played fast and loose with the referees watch: falling over, taking the ball into the corner, changing throw-in takers – general time wasting. And we sang it…
Take your time, take your time Sheff United
Take your time, take your time I say,
Take your time, take your time Sheff United
Playing football the ‘Norwich way.’
Other than Ipswich, not sure how many times Norwich are sang about in a negative context. Is the ill feeling towards Norwich still there?
Yes.
Now we’ve become friends, let’s talk Sheffield United. Obviously with the transfer window now have ‘slammed shut’, how do you rate United’s business as a whole?
Ask this question ten days ago, and I might’ve been nervously optimistic. Ask me now we’ve just signed Oliver Norwood, I am optimistic. Ask me at the end of the window once we’ve signed a striker – I’ll be very optimistic. The ‘soft’ transfer window has made everything a bit strange. Our business has happened later than I’d like, but I like the signing’s we’ve made – especially Oliver Norwood who has two promotions on his CV – I want more though and trust Wilder to deliver that.
Chris Wilder – a man more than happy to play the role of pantomime villain that former Blades manager Neil Warnock also enjoys – has proved to be a hit in the red side of Sheffield, Can he maintain or even improve the job he did last season?
It will be very tough for Chris Wilder to better our finish last season. This is because of resources at the gaffer’s disposal and nothing to do with Wilder’s ability as a manager. That said, he has a remarkable record over the past few seasons. He doesn’t know what it feels like to be ‘down and out’ and he has a taste for winning.
Add to that, the fact that two of our most important players (Paul Coutts and Kieron Freeman) were injured for most of last season and are now on the comeback trail, the result is a stronger squad. We lacked that last season – a squad – and I am hopeful that Wilder can use the players effectively over this long, hard, slog of a season. Perhaps he’ll sneak us into the playoffs.
Sheffield United impressed, particularly early on last season for the way they operated under Wilder. They were also impressive at Carrow Road in January. Who is your star man that City need to be wary of tomorrow?
United are a team, not a group of individuals and should be treated as such. That said, John Fleck is one of the top ten best players in the league and will boss the midfield – no doubt about that. Wilder has tried to play without Mark Duffy – in the hole behind the strikers – and I would say that most opposition fans cite him as our danger man. Other than that, Billy Sharp has 2-in-2; you can never rule him out.
Finally, what’s your prediction and line up for Saturday?
I have a feeling that it’s going to come together for us this weekend. Both sides have conceded six goals in the league so far, Norwich have scored a couple more than us. Perhaps I should be more nervous. I’m not, I’ll go … Sheffield United 3-1 Norwich.
Dean Henderson
John Egan – Richard Stearman – Jack O’Connell
Kieron Freeman – Oliver Norwood – John Fleck – Enda Stevens
Mark Duffy
Leon Clarke – Billy Sharp
Thank you to Sam for joining me, even if he did stitch me up in the reciprocal piece on his site. Let’s hope for a friendlier game and Norwich will strive to be there according to Chris Wilder’s time schedule…
***
Mystic MFW
City’s foot-shooting against the Baggies saw our panel face the ignominy of getting beaten by Albion fan, Jonn and (even worse) Siri’s random scoreline prediction. It’s ‘early days’ but Steve’s phone tops our rankings after being awarded a bonus point because it was only asked for a random number between 0 and 3 and couldn’t possibly have predicted that we’d ship 4 goals.
What about this weekend?
Penney predicts: I’ll be honest and say I don’t expect us to tough it out this time round. However, we have acquired the gift of Hernandez so who knows? I’ll go for 2-1 to the side managed by possibly my least favourite football manager.
(Sheff Utd for those who wondered).
Andy assumes: Both sides are still searching for their identities this season. I’ll wager that neither comes away hugely satisfied. 0-0 draw.
Gaz (G) guesses: I hate it when this happens, but head is ruling heart. With Wilder getting increasingly so, I can see the Blades exposing our current penchant for individual howlers. Evil 1, Good 0.
Cookie concludes: It’s either ‘tight but toothless’ or ‘potent but porous’. Having leaked goals aplenty, I reckon DF will revert to the former. Still got a sneaky feeling we’ll nick a goal, waste time and give them more reason to dislike us. 0-1 City.
Stew suspects: A tough one, and a big test of our resilience. We’ll stand up and be counted; Krul will be strong, Rhodes will cause the Blades problems. 1-1 draw.
The oppo’s opinion (Sam): I should be more nervous. I’m not, I’ll go … Sheffield United 3-1 Norwich.
Siri says: ‘I don’t really talk so much as issue forth electronic speech triggered by user interaction’. 0-1
| Siri | 2 |
| The Oppo | 1 |
| Andy | 0 |
| Gary | 0 |
| Martin | 0 |
| Steve | 0 |
| Stewart | 0 |
Join the ‘fun’ by adding your predictions in the comments below. We’re keeping track and will publish a regular monthly update with the ‘full league table’.
Special mention to Keith B and Volcanopete who forecast a West Brom victory last time round.
Gaz F grunts – my oh my, Twitterblades really get into a lather about nothing, don’t they! While I’d love us to nick another 1-0 win, without the dynamic Yanic, I really see us struggling here. 0-2 to the Wilder ranting Blades.
Some Blades do mate. Like all football fans, we have our nutjobs.
I’m a pensioner btw. Been watching the Blades for half a century. I’ve seen some very good teams down the years and I’ve always had a respect for Norwich City. I’m going back to the days of when you had a guy called Kevin Keelan in goal. I don’t think Norwich were one of the highlights of the past 50 years, but you’ve had some great players and good teams down the years and there’s never been any ill-feeling towards Norwich as a club.
However…
That performance last season in Sheffield was atrocious and shameful. It’s not about us losing 1-0 – we lose to many clubs more easily than that. But the general unsporting nature of Norwich’s approach to that game, from arriving late, to coming out late for the second half, and wasting as much time as possible from first whistle to last, was appalling. I’m sorry. I know all teams like to waste a bit of time. We do it as well – we did it last week at QPR and I don’t like it, it’s unsporting. But never, in 50 years of watching some good and some not so good teams, have I ever seen a team take it to the lengths that Norwich did last season. It was the worst example of poor sportsmanship I’ve ever seen from a visiting team.
So believe me, this isn’t a case of some Sheffield United fans “getting in to a lather” over nothing. As a football fan, you should have been ashamed of your team and manager for the way they conducted themselves in that game.
Some years ago, under Warnock, we got caught up in the infamous “Battle of Bramall Lane” when it turned into civil war between us and West Brom. That was appalling and shameful on our part, and as a fan I was totally embarrassed by it and didn’t attempt to defend it one iota.
I feel that any decent football fan should be prepared to speak out when their club commits such unsporting acts.
Of course, it’s easy just to pass it off as other fans getting into a lather about nothing. But if you love the sport of football and are in the slightest bit fair-minded you may just have seen that contribution from Norwich last season as being against the principles of the game and sportsmanship.
It was lovely to give you a taste of your own medicine in the comfortable victory that followed at Carrow Road later in the season.
Now I hope that you may reflect on that in a different way and that your team and your manager come to Sheffield tomorrow prepared to play in a sporting way.
This is all getting a little bit ridiculous.
Thanks for contributing ‘Griz’ but what a load of hypocritical nonsense. *Every* team does it – some better and more subtly than others – but running the clock down and taking the sting out of the game when you’re winning away from home is all part and parcel. Your lot did *exactly* the same thing at Carrow Road in January, except we didn’t have a red-faced, hyper-ventilating manager in our dugout whipping the locals up into a frenzy (something we’re quite proud of).
Also, we didn’t have ‘fans’ lining up outside the visitors’ section waiting to take pot-shots at your fans as they departed the ground. The over-reaction by Blades’ fans – who were expecting to win that afternoon – followed by the pathetic and childish response from your manager added up to an edifying site and (from this end) was more than a little embarrassing.
This guy actually talks about his own team doing it, then carries on criticising Norwich for doing it. Football fans are so one-eyed that it’s genuinely saddening.
Boro did it at Carrow Road in the season’s run-in when we made the play-offs. Yes, it was very frustrating to watch (and yes, it made the win at Wembley a little sweeter), but all teams do it. Even the unimpeachable Sheffield United, as confessed by one of their fans above. The point is, you move on rather than moan about it for the best part of a whole year.
Ben K’s conjecture: Norwich to go 1-0 up, Chris Wilder’s head to explode.
I will also say this: I very much like the look of Dem Blades Blog. The match report on the QPR game was very entertaining.
Oh the hypocrisy!
One of my abiding memories of visiting Bramhall Lane is in the year we were relegated to league one. The Blades scored fairly early on and in Sam’s description above:
“As soon as you nabbed your goal, every Norwich player was keenly aware of Farke’s plan: take your time, waste every possible second you can.”
… all you need to do is replace Norwich with Sheff Utd and Farke with Colin. Though you might also add that Sheff U had a multi-ball system at the time. They took “multi-ball” literally, so that every time the ball went out, two came back on, thus halting the game even further. The referee actually caught on and stopped them using it, but that’s about all he did The irony was that we were rubbish anyway and they could have probably scored 2 or 3 more if they’d really tried.
In my experience the Club itself is one of the most unfriendly to visit as an away fan – as some of our fans discovered last year when they were attacked. Was anyone was ever actually punished for that? (I know there were arrests, but can’t find any follow-up reports). Barnsley, Rotherham, Huddersfield, Wednesday, all very welcoming, but not the Blades.
I’m sure Sam and many other individual Blades fans are thoroughly decent guys, but I think the club itself sets the tone; the fact that they like managers such as Colin and Wilder probably tells you all you need to know.
Anyway, after what I saw last week I reckon that we will tighten up a bit, play for a less open game and nick a late goal for another 1-0 win.
City 4-2 Sad northern moaners, I just can’t see us keeping a clean sheet the way things have been going, but with them similarly porous at the back hope springs.
I suppose we can’t really blame them, we seriously took the wind out of their sails at the time, it was a very reasuringly streetwise and cynical performance from us after a very dodgy start to the season and don’t we still hate Wolves after one bad tackle………..vicious assault many years ago?
Bah!
I recall all the Sheff Utd trolls spamming MFW comments when we lost at Carrow Road earlier in the year. Remarkably likeable individuals. Expect more of the same. I hope it’s a sad draw tbh, my sensitive cast can’t handle all the bashing of keyboard abuse from across the ethereal social networks should Norwich win or lose.
Sam sounds like a half decent fella.
I fear that if we defend like last week we’re done for.
However, Daniel has done it before, so defence to tighten up; Hernandez to have another half decent game; 2 – 1 to the yellows.
1-1 with Rhodes equalising for us late on.
Having lived in South Yorkshire for a few years in Hoyland /Elsecar a Saturday night is for fighting comes to mind pubs and clubs are all known for which club they support and the abuse throw isn’t for the weak and you maje sure you give the enemy a wide berth on your way home.
For some reason I think Farke just might throw a 3 man CB for this game and that could turn the game in citues favor.
My Prediction city to win 2 – 1
Horrible place, went there once many moons ago, tea/coffee thrown over away fans (some said it could have been urine as nobody knew the difference) miserable load of gits,. Then a few seasons back, one bloke was encouraging his son to throw things at us in the disabled area. Then outside 4 of them came at us while I was pushing my mate in his wheelchair. Never again.
We went to Wednesday, totally different all round two chaps help push my mate’s chair, and a steward went and got us a cuppa.
Always the same with the poorer relations, they bitter
We will score goals if we play to our strengths up front but who will be the rock that has so far been missing in midfield? I hope we go three at the back with Godfrey in front of them. I will go for a 2 – 1 win voting with my heart this week. Now where did I put those rose tinted specs?
Hi response on the Dem Blades Blog is ‘interesting’ and might be offensive – see #1 at: https://dem-blades.com/2018/08/17/eh-levels-a-testing-conversation-with-the-other-side/
Seems a nasty piece of work. Definitely fans who have a massive chip on their collective shoulder.
I thought I heard that Sharp went on loan yesterday (to Sunderland?). I hope so.
Sad and puerile. Not worth the time and trouble to challenge. And no negative reflection on Connor, of course.
We move on.
2-0 to city