Growing up in Forest Gate London E7, I had two uncles who would always be around my grandma’s house on a Saturday dinner time before they headed off to Upton Park.
A few times they took me with them except that actually meant that Pete accompanied me while Joe stayed in the Duke of Edinburgh (on Green Street) until well after closing time and rarely actually made a match.
On one of these occasions, I had been selected for my first game for my junior school and was told I would be playing at inside right. It was 53 years ago, and I was nine years old. I asked both Joe and Pete: what precisely does an inside-right do?
Pete said that when you’re running forward with the ball look to lay it off to somebody outside you, push it back if you’re blocked off or cross it if you can. If not, hit it towards the net and hope for the best.
Joey’s contribution was: ‘kick them before they kick you’.
That contrasting “advice” to a young boy kind of sums up our season to perfection.
Norwich City have had some extremes this season. We’ve faced teams who play occasionally wonderful, expansive football. We’ve also opposed quite a few kicking XIs. I’m not naming those because I don’t want to get MFW into libel territory.
But the last two fixtures we’ve had constituted Reading (let’s collectively forget about that one) and Wigan.
Neither of those teams fit into the picture I’ve painted above but bejasus they were/are fighting for their lives – without being dirty, overly aggressive or just plain downright nasty. A point from each of these fixtures? That’ll do for me.
We can call it fate, kismet or la caprice du chance but it was six of one and half a dozen of the other at the DW on Sunday. As in one dodgy penalty against us and an equally dubious assistant referee’s flag in our favour towards the death.
No complaints from me – Wigan well deserved their point. And they didn’t score from open play which will keep the morale of our back four solid.
We’ve now got Wednesday (probably out of the play-off picture) on Friday, then Stoke away followed by one of those kicking sides I alluded to earlier. No names, no pack drill. But they are safe in mid-table with zilch to play for. And as well as Stoke, Emi will be back for that one (if selected) although the full body armour required might weigh him down a little.
I am one of life’s great exponents of the art of panic. But that point at the DW means I can keep the beta blockers and other carefully-chosen sedatives in the bathroom cabinet.
Right now I see no reason to fret. Seven points clear of third with four to play? That’ll do for me.
Sure we’ve dropped off a bit but isn’t that natural at this stage of the season? Check it out with Mr Wilder if you don’t believe me.
Being a nice kind of guy I wouldn’t dream of mentioning the wreckage at a small, squalid town in Suffolk.
I’ll leave that to my long-departed Uncle Joe, who said after West Ham beat Arsenal with a Trevor Brooking header (!) in the FA Cup Final way back when:
“Ha ha ha. Ha ha f***inh ha. Ha ha!”
He didn’t like Ipswich either.
Now maths has never been my strong point (ask any poor sod of a schoolteacher who has been unfortunate enough to “educate” me in the subject) but I had a St Paul on the road to Damascus moment when I woke up yesterday.
While my maths is appalling, my arithmetic remains sound even if only from years of adding up rounds behind the bar in the days before the till did the job for you – and working in FW Jordan’s betting shop in London’s Commercial Road back in the 1970s.
It hit me like a Ben Godfrey tackle – we’re seven points away from third with four to play, yeah?
So if Sheffield United lose just one match and we win just one match during the final four games, we’re up!
I know their remaining fixtures look easy on paper, but so did Reading for us. Here’s hoping. Come on Forest.
As usual Martin an excellent read after our most recent point.
I must admit that I was feeling pretty miffed after Sunday’s match, but I guess you’re spot on when you say that officials’ decisions balanced each other out.
I see that Cantwell seems to have become the Boo Boys’ target, but no one was ever going to replace Buendia. At least Krul has silenced his critics with his save on Sunday.
I’m really looking forward to this weekend with the game against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday evening and taking my family to the Stoke beamback on Monday, as my younger granddaughter is really interested in football, playing for both her school and local girls’ team.
Hi Ed
Mr Linington’s decisions could be debated forever. There is a graphic out there that shows he could not possibly have seen the Godfrey “handball” incident and obviously awarded the pen on instinct alone. Harsh on us.
Equally I’ve watched the Clarke header that was ruled out half a dozen times and we were lucky to get that (ironically yellow) flag raised by the assistant. Harsh on Wigan.
Swings and roundabouts has never been better defined.
Enjoy the Wednesday game ( I will) and the Stoke beamback, which I might well sample myself, circumstances permitting.
ps an ex-neighbour in Coltishall had a daughter who went on to play (albeit briefly) for Arsenal Ladies. The village also produced Ben Wyatt who was part of our Youth Cup winning side, moved on to 1p5wich and then unfortunately disappeared from the radar.
Thanks as always.
Good to read a bit of perspective. If anyone had said we’d win 8 and draw 2 of our last 10 games we’d have been delighted, well we have. As Corporal Jones would say……Don’t panic!
Hi Andrew
Obviously there’s a few tummy butterflies just now – I have them too – but we have Emi coming back and so much quality on that bench.
Let’s hope Wednesday “won’t like it up ’em”.
Thank you.
7 point gap means we can enjoy the luxury of playing attacking, fun, exciting football, and hopefully win a few matches in the process. It’s Leeds and Sheffield Utd who must sweat over every result, not us.
We only need to match 2 of the results of Sheffield Utd in these final 4 games. That’s how close we are.
Hi John
Absolutely.
It’s not a case of so near but so far, just one of so near.
I realise the fun factor has slightly dipped in the last two games but as long as we get over that line – in whatever style we do it – I’ll be made up.
Thank you.
Another interesting read Mr P, I started for my school team aged 10, my old man would not buy me boots as he said I wasn’t good enough, two of my teachers clubed together and got me a pair so I could play, first game was against Litcham Primary, I got four in a 10-2 win.
I was down a little after Sunday, but sat for a while pondering, nothing like a good ponder. I keep going back to If you can’t win -Don’t lose and a point away from Home is a bloody good one. (forget Reading) It is still one more to the total and that point can mean more. (see below)
I still want to go up as champions, for various reason s-another reason I add to the list, is because it is Leeds. So from dropping 5 points, which I said before,over last couple of weeks, we can drop 6 and still be promoted as The Wilding’s from over the wall can only amass 91.on the board . We can get to the 92 mark with 2 wins.. But please let it be before the Vanilla game. Hate to there needing something,
Some changes are needed in the 11, The bench has to change come Friday no Mr Rhodes any Rhodes. I don’t think I have personally seen Onel have such an ineffective time, Todd looked like the game passed him by a few times, but he was never scared to get in there and stick to a job. Our passing was very poor by our own standards , mostly due to Wigwams very aggressive press. It did look a little nerves got frayed a tad, but the final outcome was still excellent
The one thing above all is we miss Emi – boy don’t we? Last 2 have shown that very clearly, nothing against the replacements, they simply cannot be another version of the lad. Not the first we have seen or rather heard this type of thing.
Take Hucks out and Norwich have little, or take Wessi out and City cannot tick. sure we have all heard them. Hope our scouting team can pluck another one from somewhere.
Hi Lad
As always you make some interesting points.
We don’t always deal too well with an aggressive press although we have the resources to cope with it.
Reading sat incredibly deep and that frustrated us. Wigan tried to stifle us by closing down like there was no tomorrow. We just about coped with both approaches.
If Onel has a bad day – which he did – and there’s no Emi that kind of compounds the problem as in where will that spark come from? We have no wide replacements for either of them tbh.
With Rhodes understandably unavailable on Friday I would love to see young Idah on the bench.
As much as I loved Wessi (and indeed James Maddison) Farke’s system should be able to continue to cope with their departures for the next four games.
Huckerby was a law unto himself – we’ll never see his like again – but I’d love to know how Adam Drury truly felt when the right side of the oppo rushed at him and him alone!
My first boots (Gola) came from a shop in Pevensey Bay, Sussex during a family holiday. Dad bought them for me knowing full well they wouldn’t see twelve months out. Kids’ feet grow. Rapidly.
Thank you.
Hi Martin
I will say it again another good read and summary.
Well Quo said it with Down Down so lets rejoice as they did when city had thst drop.
Ref watch confirmed the Penalty was a wrong decision as it came of his thigh and the offside was also correct as his complete left side was infront of our defence he also said that it doesn’t matter how much is showing he would still be offside.
Panic why panic we have faith in Team Farke yes we have missed Emi but as mentioned who ever came in was in for a tough time lets hope he has calmed down.
Sheff Wed will be playing for pride and Bruce will not want to lose at Carrow Rd so I expect another hard fought game and I hope Wigan can match their endeavours against Leeds.
It’s all in cities hands we know the Yorkshire lot will not surrender a point no matter what chances they have or haven’t got for the play offs or automatic promotion so city need to turn up the pressure and ein on Friday
Onwardsand Upwards
OTBC
Hi Alex
Intriguing thoughts on Wednesday: will they really try too hard to help the Blades out? The rivalry between us and 1p5wich is eclipsed in the steel City between those two.
I’ve a couple of Wednesday friends who are coming “down” for the match and I’ll be very interested to hear their views – Richard has already said they’ll give it a “good old blast” but doesn’t expect too much.
Steve Bruce was always a hero to our generation but that will be totally forgotten about on Friday. COYY.
Thank you.
I have just spent most of the day at a wake with 12 Sheff Wed supporters that will be at the game.
They travel by minibus said they don’t expect to much from the team as there season is over also they don’t expect Rhodes back next season they all said a fee gas been agreed with city, he sold his house and moved to norfolk.
The big question was will the find a pub in Fakenham and Taversham for stops before the get to Carrow Rd I assured them not a problem and to try Woodford beers
A good read Martin and I broadly agree with the sentiment but come on Martin (and Ed), let’s have it right in respect of the decisions by the officials. I was at the game and it certainly looked like a penalty at the time so it’s easy to see why the ref gave it if he didn’t see it deflect off Ben’s thigh and only saw the ball strike his hand. VAR may well have overturned that decision but it’s not yet in use so we have to live with that call by the ref. The offside goal was simply that – offside,as can be clearly seen from a TV replay and thankfully by the assistant ref at the time.
I’m struggling to see then how you both come to the conclusion that these decisions balance each other out, they don’t and never will and I’m pretty sure that Daniel would agree with me on that.
Hi Bob
I know where you’re coming from and “hands up” I wasn’t at the game, although I never miss at home and enjoy NCFC on the road as much as circumstances dictate (about three times a season!)
I stand by my statement that on another day the penalty would not have been given and later the offside flag might not have been raised – that’s where my “question of balance” emerges from.
Farke was quietly fuming about the penalty, agreed. But I’m among the first to acknowledge that if you’re actually at the match you have that little bit of extra insight.
Great comment and thanks for it.
Thank you Martin for a very balanced view of exactly where we find ourselves.
I’m amazed that so many fans are questioning Farke’s decisions . There haven’t been too many times whilst I’ve been following City where we’ve had a 10 game unbeaten run consisting of 8 wins and 2 draws. Yes, we haven’t won either of the last 2, but given his current form, how many of the teams in this division would not miss a player of Buendia’s ability? To make Todd Cantwell the scapegoat is not really fair since he is that much younger and less experienced.
Given what we had suffered to this stage last season, in all honesty how many fans would have thought we had ANY chance of being where we currently reside in the table??
Come on people, six points from 4 games is eminently doable. Plus, it’s only that tough if Wilder’s men win all of theirs, and given a couple of injuries and a possible suspension I think they might be making more changes that Herr Farke does.
We ARE going up!
O T B C
Hi John
Scapegoating young Cantwell is OoO. I don’t use social media myself but it’s easy to pick up on if you “know” a lady that does.
Todd was brought back into the team to do a job and from what I can understand was also told to cut out the “flashy stuff” that he occasionally provides.
I am genuinely the most pessimistic, most miserable ba$tard around but I don’t see our wheels coming off from here.
Equally it’s a shame for Sheff Utd to have two injuries (Basham, Sharp) plus the Egan suspension situation but that’s their problem, not ours.
Tettey, Hanley, Buendia, Leitner, Klose. Even Pukki for three games We’ve had to cope with the lot – and thus far we have..
Thank you.
Good read.
I’ve not seen anyone mention this on any other column… but the reason why I’m not panicing is due to our consistancy over the whole season, if you look at the form tables for the past 6 games (we are second to Villa,)
Look further back over the past 10 or 12 games we are top (Leeds 3rd / Shef U 4th)
Thats why we should all relax and enjoy the final 4 games, consistency wins you the league, nothing else.
Form: Last 6 matches (HOME AND AWAY)
1 Aston Villa 6 6 0 0 15 5 +10 18
2 Norwich City 6 4 2 0 13 6 +7 14
3 West Bromwich 6 4 0 2 13 8 +5 12
4 Leeds Utd 6 4 0 2 9 4 +5 12
5 Sheffield Utd 6 3 2 1 8 5 +3 11
Hi Jonny
As I said in the article I’m $hit at maths but your table makes some very positive viewing and I’m grateful to see it.
The problem is that for some folks the appreciation of an unbeaten run of ten games kind of dissolves when the last two have been Emi-less draws against bottom feeders.
But Reading did a job on us and imo Wigan seem far too good to go down. I thought that all those months ago when it took a late (Vrancic?) penalty to put them away.
We have indeed been consistent (since August ended. anyway)!
Thanks a lot for your comment.
Thanks Martin, for the light relief. It’s much appreciated. Your uncles sound like great characters.
A couple of hours prior to the kick off on Sunday, whilst taking dvantage of an otherwise empty house and the chance to organise my matchday viewing accordingly I stumbled across a bottle of herbal remedy pills, supposedly able to calm nerves, prior to exams etc. Pouring a cup of tea, I chugged the prescribed amount and then another one for luck and switched on for the preamble.
Judging from the evidence of my mental state come half time I can state quite categorically that the pills, available at by good chemist or health store are of limited value.
It could be that following Norwich City for a lifetime is a far more stressful occupation than taking a degree paper at the Kings centre or an interview for a dream job.
The euphoria bubbling under the surface just waiting to explode would be worth any amount of agonising, that’s for sure.
Hi Chris
There is nothing as stressful as following NCFC.
Supporters of other clubs might disagree but I think that anybody who goes through what we do deserves a kind of perverse respect. Maybe WBA and Sunderland supporters are on a par with us but I cannot immediately think of any others.
Apart from co-dydramol for my tooth concerns I don’t actually use tablets – the beta blockers are there for when I’m in “flight mode”.
Sure my uncles were characters – one was a squeaky clean, very good all-round sportsman (he’s still alive at 84) and the other captained the British Drinking Team (he died around 1988).
Cheers.
As with Gary’s yesterday, a good, sensible article Martin. Like you, I thought Wigan played really well and didn’t appear to run out of steam as most teams have tended to do against City. It will be great if they can perform at a similar level against Leeds on Friday but, as you say, it’s in our own hands so let’s keep the faith.
Hi Adrian
Keep the Faith (copyright Northern Soul, allegedly originating in Wigan) is something I am sure we will all do.
It’s so close now we can sniff it. Somebody somewhere (not on MFW) said they don’t expect Sheffield United to top our current total of 86 points.
I hope that guy knows something I don’t!
Thanks a lot.
Working in an East End bookies? I hope you got danger money.
I look through the tables and see other teams that have similar gaps to us and KNOW they’re going to be ok. I look at our position and find that Ying and Yang are squabbling like fury.
Hi Don
I’ve a soft spot for certain other teams (Spurs, Forest Green and even Leyton Orient) but I can only think of us just now.
The Ying and the Yang is a great thought. We have a genuine Chinese (not Hong Kong) symbol of it in our kitchen. It’s black and white and spins when the wind blows through the windows.
As for the bookie job Paco the guv’nor (real name Francisco) bundled me into the back squab seat of his MGB GT as he had to also pick up Colin the “Settler” en route.
I was seventeen and didn’t much care – what I earned in the day was almost exactly what I spent on the night.
Cheers mate.
Hi Martin
I’m not in full Corpoal Jones “don’t panic!” mode, more Sergeant Wilson laid back style, and certainly not in Private Fraser “we’re doomed” mode, which belongs (and has done for months) down the road at Portman Barracks.
For those of a certain age, I’m with the Batchelors’ big hit, I Believe.
I would like to see a change from the last two starting line-ups, though. While not being over-critical of Cantrell, I think he was a bit too easily brushed off the ball when in possession, and I’d like to see either Vrancic or Lietner in from the start. Having said that, I trust Daniel to make the right decision.
Hi Jim
I think if I were to be compared to any of the Walmington-on-Sea platoon it would be Private Walker.
Fag in my mouth, beer on tap when I required it and being “pleasant” to the temporarily deserted ladies at every opportunity.
I wouldn’t want to be any of the others apart from Sgt Wilson as Mrs Pike did look rather, erm, oh well we live in the PC world so end of sentence
Back to reality, yes of course Vrancic or Leitner should start. But Farke appears to be using Cantwell to keep the game plan going until Buendia returns. I would so much rather MV or ML slotted in and McLean was pushed into the role currently being played by Cantwell.
Que sera, sera.
Great stuff Martin.
The thought that came to me was your balance point. We did win and lose marginal decisions.
We know from our previous experience and from watching the lower Prem teams this season that next year it will be different. Next year we concede the penalty and the goal is onside.
Sadly, the Prem is institutionally biased against the smaller teams. Warnock may (may?) be an appalling man but he has been right to complain this season about the terrible but probably unconscious bias of officials. We’ve seen it so often and no, these things don’t balance out if you are a smaller club in the Prem.
That’s the world as it is so we should enjoy the place where these things actually do balance out over the long term whilst it lasts.
Hi Andrew.
Regrettably I have to agree with you about the PL and an institutional bias that seems very tangible.
I have never felt sorry for Colin W in my life but the Burnley match at the weekend Cardiff were treated pretty dismally. Ironically Burnley aren’t exactly one of the “big fish” themselves!
Thank you.