When I was around eight or nine one of my favourite attractions was Woolies in the High Street. In my case, that was Ilford High Road but I guess for many MFW readers the equivalent would have been on Rampant Horse Street [which Mrs P remembers but I do not] and later St Stephens Street […]
Archives for August 2020
The brief phoney war is almost over. Now all eyes now turn to Kenilworth Road
It’s not often you get the chance to watch almost four hours of City playing live, so it would have been rude not to… even if their were friendlies. That the club was even able to field two full-strength teams without relying on some under-23s is an achievement in itself – but they did, even […]
NCFC Quiz – International Canary captains
A bijou quizette, Canary folk. Can you name the Norwich City alumni who’ve captained these proximate international teams? England – 1. Initials ‘MP’ – A classy midfielder and graduate of West Ham’s famous academy in the 1960s, he scored for England in the 1966 World Cup final. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City, […]
VIDEO: Kits… Pre-Season… & Mr. Jordan Hugill…
Welcome back to Norwich Talk – the official MyFootballWriter YouTube channel – for our first video in what seems like a while, following a little break. Today we have a catch-up on all things Norwich City as we approach the start of another Championship campaign. We chat about: the new kits, Jordan Hugill & pre-season […]
As the saying goes… ‘Time for some new heroes’
‘Sorry, but I must have missed your tenure as England manager.’ Indubitably, the Rodent’s most infamous quote. Yet it was a rather different quote of his that struck me. It’s relevance still resonates today. ‘The only difference is that it won’t be in a Norwich shirt, but I’ve had a couple of targets in mind […]
It’s all different this time. And yet, somehow familiar…
A Champions League final in August? That’s just weird. City playing pre-season games? Well, not so much. A month later than usual, it’s true. And without fans, even the diehards who turn out for such fixtures. Even so, much of it has a distinctively familiar feel. New players, new kit, substitutions and goals galore, very little to read into […]
Champions League Final Canaries?
The most prestigious club competition in Europe is undoubtedly the UEFA Champions League (formerly the European Cup); a mixed league/knockout format tournament. You may be familiar with it. And the most prestigious game within the tournament is, obviously, the final. Those interested will have watched Bayern Munich beat PSG 1-0 on Sunday night to win […]
Xavi Quintilla, from Argent… Spain. From Barcelona’s La Masia academy in fact
Among ten new faces to come through the doors at Colney this summer, was Villarreal left-back Xavi Quintilla. Other than a ‘sensational’ piece in The Athletic, he’s largely gone under the radar. So… In this piece, I will be taking a look at his history and what we can expect to see on the pitch from […]
As the PL record-holders, have we yet learned what it takes to avoid the drop?
We Norwich fans have gone through the ringer, haven’t we? We are holders of (probably) the worst accolade available: the Premier League’s most relegated club. Five times we’ve gone down. Five. I’ve been around for four of those campaigns so you’d think I’d be used to such disappointment by now. But I’m not. At the […]
Hugill brings with him a Plan B – something denied Herr Farke in the Premier League
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” This was Mike Tyson’s brutal but beautifully observed critique of his potential challengers while he was in his menacing mid-eighties pomp. Considering how Norwich City was repeatedly left nursing a bloodied nose when toe to toe with some of the Premier League heavyweights (and, to be honest, lightweights) […]
When a rumour becomes an ‘incoming’ – Gibson still ongoing but Hugill is aboard
Rumours. Don’t you just love ’em? In the past week, they’ve revolved around two leading men, as in Ben Gibson and Jordan Hugill and I must be honest enough to say that one I’d embrace at the Carra and one, erm, I wouldn’t. Gibson has had a torrid time with Burnley and is on record […]
A 6-0 win… a quarantine furore… a German training camp… & a useless algorithm
I can never get too excited over pre-season wins. Essentially they’re just exercises in honing the players’ fitness and putting some miles in the legs. This is why, in a Victor Meldrew style, I didn’t read too much into the 6-0 win over MK Dons at Colney on Friday afternoon. Of course, nothing bad can […]
“Sustain the Game” -the Football Supporters’ Association’s five-point plan
None of us could have imagined at the turn of the year that anything could break the annual cycle of football seasons bringing joy to some and despair to others, and plenty for all of us to chew the fat over during the cold winter months. Now however the old certainties have been torpedoed by […]
Take the High Road: Part II – When Norwich and Aberdeen collide
This is a tale of two cities. Don’t worry. This isn’t going to be “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” and given this year has already seriously out-performed on the “worst of times” score, 2020 can just jog on. The two cities are Norwich and Aberdeen. But via a […]
Take the High Road: Celtic & Rangers – The Canaries connection
Whether you take the high road (or, indeed, the low road) it’s difficult to deny there is a well-worn trail between the cities of Norwich and Glasgow. Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers, legendary rivals from Scottish football’s smokiest crucible, boast an impressive history and share a heated passion for the game sufficient to shame even […]
Promotion: And How To Do It…
There’s a question. So, how do you get promoted? The best guide to the future is always the past; so, as Norwich City have been promoted to the Premier League four times, if we explore what went well on those occasions, we’ll have a better idea of what might work again. But first we need to explore […]
VIDEO: City to sign Spurs’ Oliver Skipp on loan
Hats Off To Errea And NCFC Marketing For Their Classy Nod To 2011/12
I’ve probably got as much previous as the rest of us for sometimes sitting on that wooden garden dividing boundary, but not this time. I simply luurve the new home kit and I will be buying our new shirt quite early this very Monday morning from Fan Hub in the City while I hope you […]
Just 27 days and it all starts again! But can City recreate the spirit of 2014/15?
So, the players return to training tomorrow, just three weeks and a day from the guns falling silent on our Premier League experiment of 2019/20. Weird times. That gives Team Farke 26 days to lick this sorry bunch into shape and get their bodies and, more importantly, minds ready for a Championship campaign that promises […]
Premier League – Goodbye and Good Riddance
City sauntered into the Premier League in style with an unexpectedly outstanding 2018/19 Championship title win. Daniel Farke’s side blew the competition away (yes, even Marcelo Bielsa’s much-vaunted Leeds side) with an attractive, attacking brand of football. After scoring 94 goals and gaining just as many points, the team paraded the trophy around the streets […]