As the curtain comes down on what has frankly been a disastrous season for the boys from NR1, it has fallen to me to write the last MFW match preview, in which we face Tottenham Hotspur at 1600 hours promptly on Sunday.
Bad luck? Sins of a past life catching up with me? Probably not, more that the MFW preview rota pointed its finger my way.
As regular readers will know by now Spurs are my second team, which is the same for MFW regular Alex Bain, so I thought it only fit and proper to speak with him once more.
The scene is set as in we have zilch to play for but any remaining pride whereas the lads from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium only need to draw in order to secure that coveted fourth place in the Premier League.
So, what do us couple of semi-Lilywhites make of it all?
MP: Spurs only need a draw at Carrow Road to guarantee Championship League football. What approach do you reckon Antonio Conte will adopt?
AB: Hopefully he will be kind and not put out his full strength squad! For Tottenham not to qualify it would require them to lose to us and should they draw, Arsenal go on an unprecedented double-figure scoring spree against Everton.
I can’t see either happening. [Nor me, mate – Martin]
MP: I’m looking forward to seeing Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Hugo Lloris on the turf for probably the final time. Is there anyone else in the Spurs squad that you particularly like?
AB: I like to see Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura. Both remind me of Jimmy Neighbour. I also like Eric Dier and think he is vastly underrated by our international manager, Gareth Southgate. If Conte gets his additions then Spurs could be a surprise package next season
MP: Like seemingly everybody, I’ve got more than one Arsenal mate. Have you and if so has there been any gloating?
AB: Most, if not all, my Arsenal friends are long gone and those still around I don’t keep in touch with but over the years there has been lots of banter.
I could never live down being at White Hart Lane in 1972 when Arsenal clinched the old First Division title, then seeing them beat Liverpool in the FA Cup Final in the Crown pub in Stanmore.
MP: Many of your family must be very happy. What was their reaction to Newcastle 2, Arsenal 0?
AB: I have three sons and a grandson who all follow Spurs. Two of the four have been in touch and there was nothing but joy from either of them!
There was the anticipated, “We knew Arsenal would blow it as they’re a bunch of bottlers” of course 🤣
MP: We have recently tended to get a cup draw against Tottenham on a regular basis. What might happen next season if history repeats itself?
AB: A cup run would add to City’s meagre coffers unless a miracle happens over the summer, which I can’t see occurring.
I can’t see another City win on penalties, so if the tie did happen it will depend on the round and our league position but Conti likes to be in everything so I can’t see him fielding a weakened team – just another win for Spurs.
MP: Somewhat rashly and with no invitation from me, Alex offered his predictions for Sunday.
AB: Here’s what I reckon!
- 3-0 to Spurs, Son getting the goals to beat Mo Salah to the Golden Boot
- Manchester City to win the Premier League title
- Real Madrid to win the Champions League Final
- As for the EFL play-offs, Wycombe to beat Sunderland and Huddersfield to beat Forest.
MP: You admit you’re not top man on predictions Alex and I reckon you’ve got only one right 😂
In normal times the Player of the Season would have been announced on Sunday, but I was not ostensibly given an opportunity to vote. If I had my choice it would have been in favour of every Norfolkman’s favourite Finn, Teemu Pukki. At least some folks managed to vote and I’m delighted that Teemu was their choice.
Apparently, you could vote online via NCFC Official but I get decreasingly frequent messages from them and at no point was there any voting opportunity openly offered.
However, while I kind of understand to a certain extent that the powers that be at NCFC want to keep an extremely low profile right now, I find this situation bizarre.
What did they want? Intuitive semaphore signals, midnight Morse code on an Aldis lamp or did they just decide to keep everything as low key as possible between our confirmed relegation and the end of the season?
There is bad PR and there is bad PR. This is the nadir by anyone’s standards as the Barry Butler means so much to all of us. Look at the past winners and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
I’ve no alternative but to leave you with this. Even if you don’t like Led Zep, please listen to Robert Plant’s preamble. Although he is a lifelong Wolver, his comments from 1975 could easily refer to NCFC today:
Alex the Arse double was 71 not 72, wasn’t it? Sorry!
Hi Dan
What’s Another Year, as the carp song goes 🙂
Cheers
Typo on my part if it had been 72/73 I was stationed in Gibraltar from Jan 73 till July 75.
Norwich came out and played a couple of friendlies during that time not sure what years
Thanks for correcting an old man’s memory 🤣🤣🤣
We overlapped by a few months. ’70 to May 73 for me, working at Middle Hill, living at North Front.
Same here North Front first floor overlooking football pitch.
Knew Riggers from Rock Gun.
*The memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime*
I even got a tattoo of that to remind myself!
Another Floydian slip.
I’d love Spurs to go all ‘Spursy’ and for us to win-it would mean that we not only had more points than last time round, but more wins and, probably, the £2m prize that a 19th place finish would give us. The £2m might be the difference in keeping Pukki next season or not.
Of course, the idea we might win is pie in the sky. They’re far too good for us.
Hi Don
Spurs do a Spuresy wouldn’t surprise anyone but I just think most of cities squad is already packed and ready for a beach somewhere might be Costa del Yarmouth or Caister.
Conte will have them up for a fight
Thanks for the comment
I don’t expect very much *fight* from us – why change the habit of a season?
Hi Don
*They’re far too good for us*.
‘Fraid so.
In the approaching twliight of his career I have no idea what Teemu Pukki will choose to do but we have to bear in mind that if £2million comes into the Club only 1/3 of that amount will be released for expenditure on the pitch – and that’s being optimistic.
I really hope Teemu stays but I wouldn’t blame him if he moved on for a last hurrah somewhere else in Europe or wherever he chooses.
Cheers
Whatever the failings on the pitch this season, the PR and running of the club off the pitch has been shambolic – the Player of the Season fiasco is indicative of that. Something is rotten inside Carrow Road right now and the current arrogance towards its very loyal support is unsettling and baffling.
Hi Jasom M
And say all of us.
Webber says he likes to keep supporters informed and communicating with them helps to keep a happy ship well MS Delia is going down and none of the happy clappers are blaming her for lack of Investment league 1 next port of call
Thanks for the comment
More Port than starboard 😉
Hi Jason
It’s that horrible combination of arrogance and indifference.
When I originally wrote this I had no idea that the Barry Butler was awarded without an open vote – but what annoys me is that NCFC Official continue to send me messages about Delia’s Canary Catering while not bothering to inform me regarding something I really care about. You couldn’t find details on the Home Page either unless maybe a specific search would have unearthed some info. I didn’t try that to be fair.
*Shambolic* – oh yeah.
Cheers
Martin; sorry to bring this up, but isn’t it about time we had our one reverse Along Come Norwich moment this season??
In every other PL season I can recall we’ve been able to get something from one of the “big” teams. OK, this season we’ve never looked likely to, but with the possible loss to injury of both Chelsea’s next superstar, and give-a-goal-away-a-game Gibson it could happen. Plus of course after Monday’s no-show in the north east by their rivals, it’s about time Spurs got more than a little Spursy.
OK, that’s all a dream; 5 – 1 to the Whites I fear.
As for the PotS, what a complete and utter shambles this club has become. The whole PR and fan engagement is (like so much else) not fit for purpose. Everything there has gone downhill so fast since Joe Ferrari left/was pushed. The whole department is laughable, and please don’t get me started on the programme (sorry, matchday magazine).
I’ve no idea who writes some of the stuff in there, but the editorial and proof reading leave an awful lot to be desired. In previewing the last game against West Ham there was a paragraph highlighting some of their great players of the past; Bobby Moore; Geoff Hurst; Trevor Brooking and Billy Bonds. Not a single mention for one of the greatest players to have played for both the Hammers and NCFC in Martin Peters. (Was Billy Bonds really that much better than Peters??).
Only the one more thrashing to witness.
O T B C
Hi John
I’ve seen recently that NCFC have put out a story concerning Zimbo giving an inspirational motiving talk to some kind of student audience and that Adam Idah and Jordan Hugill have been out and about doing their thing.
Perhaps somebody there has been reading MFW!
I obviously cannot prove it but apparently Billy Bonds once had a bet with Frank Lampard snr to see which of them could be first to put out a floodlight lamp at Upton Park – the gantrys were lower in those days.
When Kevan Platt was responsible for the programme it was excellent. I don’t have a clue who is responsible these days but it sure has gone downhill rapidly.
Cheers
POTS became a huge embarrassment to the club and they did their best to bury it. Pukki is the ONLY player who comes out with any credit whatsoever. Remember, without him our joint top scorer is Own Goals with 2. Two!!! I bet no professional football team anywhere in the world has ever achieved such a humiliating nadir. A hugely appalling season. And utterly unforgiveable.
Couldn’t agree more Chris.
It is indeed appalling and unforgiveable, but exactly what will happen with the current “team” in charge?
There will be no discernable decline in season ticket sales since the waiting list is (we are told) so long. However, I’ve yet to see or hear what the uptake is for 2022/3.
I DO know someone who has had enough of this current fiasco and won’t be there for a while…..and it doesn’t hurt, even a little bit. And after 60+ years that’s the strangest thing of all .
O T B C
Thanks John. Losing current supporters and – even worse – alienating potential future supporters is gonna be SO damaging over the next decade or so. It’s SO short-sighted. Where’s the future? Do we want to just be a big-to-medium fish in League One? Is that it? Is that the ambition? Coz that’s where we’re heading.
Hi Chris – well said.
I feel kind of ashamed to say this but if, and I mean if, management and players or even ambulant board members have the cojones to do a lap of apprecition on Sunday I will not be staying on to witness it and that’s for sure.
As they’ve collectively shown no respect to me, I will return the *favour*.
I’m really not a vindictive guy but this season has left me with NOTHING to appreciate.
Cheers
Yeh, agreed, Martin. I read about the parades on the club site too – and wondered whether that was a wise decision. What do the club seriously think the fans are going to want to clap the players for? For embarrassing us, not only in the UK, but across the world? For tarnishing the Norwich City brand for years to come? For reducing us to irrelevant bit-players in the schemes of the ‘good’ and great? This season has been SO damaging to the club for YEARS to come. Utterly dreadful and utterly unforgiveable by those in charge. Things need to change…
Hi Chris
Unfortunately I agree with you. It’s one of the oldest PR maxims in the world, is bury it
I think the Barry Butler’s a bit more important than that though – even the year there was a fan movement to vote for Carlo Nash as a protest the vote still went ahead!
Cheers
I’ll never forget 6th Nov 2021 as at 6.34am I received the news of the passing of my dear brother, (Spurs supporter), 12 hours later D F’s departure also left me deeply saddened.
On that day we beat Brentford away 1-2, Spurs had suffered 2 defeats in a row and were about to draw 0-0 with Everton. Of course late afternoon on 6/11/21 was the day City lost its heartbeat, with Daniel Farke’s sacking whereas for Spurs, their heart was restarted as, earlier that week, Antonio Conte took over at Tottenham, what different paths we’ve taken since.
Spurs should win comfortably come Sunday and sadly it wont bother me because all I’m interested in is my/our club finding it’s way out of the hole it has entirely dug for itself. The running of the club top to bottom from what I hear and who I know has become shambolic, there is certainly discord in the ranks. They say a fish rots from the head down.
Tottenham Hotspur & Norwich City are both proud clubs with incredibly loyal fans. City were getting things right, Spurs were getting things wrong how quickly things change in football. I suspect next we play Spurs in the league at home will be after a root & branch overhaul in about 5 years time.
How lucky have we been to see Teemu Pukki and where would we have been without him? One of the all time great players for Norwich City.
Hi Colin
You make some very good points there for sure.
Webber cleaned a lot of things up when he came in and it worked for a while but his race is run while unfortunately the Smiths remain so I fear for our future.
I’m sorry to hear about your brother.
Thanks – good comment.
Teemus finnish agent has commented Teemus contract situation with Norwich. He said that Teemu wants to keep on playing top level games. In these situations there is first talk with the parent club which is right after the season.
I have seen some opinions that he has family living in Norwich and because of that he would stay. Family is to move to other places in todays world, there are international schools in basically every possible country and his kids are not my opinion yet in schooling age. Finnish players are journeymen and often people too and by that it means that they are used to changing their living places and actually are often willing to try new cultures. Right now we have national team squad players who are playing in Korea, India and Brazil.
My opinion has all the time been that he plays his last game in Norwich shirt vs Spurs on Sunday. Arsenal fans seem to have made social media videos and begged him to help Arsenal to get the champions league place. He has looked very relaxed in the last games and who knows maybe he can help Arsenal to get that champions league place. I would absolutely go now to see that last game if I were a Norwich fan.
Hi 1×2
Thanks for the background on Pukki.
Some UK people are happy to live and work abroad [like Alex & I who wrote the article] but many more are not 🙂
You and me seem to be in a minority here on MFW but I continue to agree with you that it probably would not be in Teemu’s best interests to stay at Norwich.
Kiitos
I think those MFW readers or columnists are in denial. Playing in the championship does not mean playing at the top level. When a player wants to leave there is no point keeping a player who does not want to stay against his own will. In theory of course Norwich can keep him 1 season, it would be complete idiotic and really desperate decision which would also take 1 season away in Teemus career. Even though he has been a very reliable player for Norwich, his playing is intense and he is an emotional player. I dont care mode would not be his first.
I think with Teemu it a case of *if you love somebody set them free* as the old song by Sting goes.
I’m sure he’ll make the right choice.
As you say Martin the POTS vote was in my eyes another complete cock up by the club.
I didn’t even see where I had an opportunity to vote. Saying that I think Teemu probably just beat Grant to it in my eyes, but it must have been very, very close. Teemu finished the season really well and that swung it for him.
However Grant would have been a deserving winner as well.
What where the club doing ? Probably frightened that the Chelsea fans would have voted Billy Gilmour POTS. Easy way out of that, bl**dy well ignore those votes.
Not even Billy himself would feel he is our player of the year, unless he is Alan Partridge in disguise.
On to Sunday. Brick-Brack time, but I hope it is a draw😱 After Arsenal’s cheating of the highest order in getting games called off on covid grounds, while loaning players out and really waiting for players to return from The African Nations Cup I do not want to see that un-sportsman like behaviour rewarded with 4th place and qualification for Europe.
After the joyous scenes last night at Goodison Park where Everton valiantly won the Relegation Cup in unique circumstances you can bet Arsenal now have a bye on Sunday as the Everton players will be celebrating this great achievement just like they did on May 26th 1985 a day that will live in infamy. Well for me it will !!!
Now I said “unique circumstances” in the paragraph above, but no it wasn’t quite unique was it, didn’t Everton come from 2-0 down to beat Wimbledon 3-2 at the end of the season to stay in the top division in 1994 ?
Heroic displays or big club getting favours ?
Now does this kind of thinking make me cynical ?
Hi Tim
Yes you are cynical. And so the bl00dy hell am I.
Your point about Arsenal and the African Cup of Nations is a very good one that I’d forgotten all about and you’d have to believe in unicorns and pixies to think the establishment doesn’t favour the *big clubs*.
Nobody over 50 will forget the Coventry-Everton game in 1985!
Cheers
Lots of cynical conspiracy theories doing the rounds today.
Liverpool to pay Wolves up to £10m bonus for Jota if they win the title.
Gerrard and other ex Liverpool players have cars waiting to rush them to Anfield once they beat Man C.
Kane has had a Delia Lasagne and is unfit to play on Sunday according to Lineker
Is the end-of-season rumours fun.
Ha!
The silly season starts in earnest at 1800 hrs tomorrow 🙂
As you know Mr P Spurs are my 2nd team, enough has been said in the comments of this post and the many,many others over the weeks. I am absolutely spent as to say anything else that hasn,t been said.
I am just so glad it is over, bar the inquests, and the funerals at Colney and Carrow, where they will bury the whole season as deep as they can get it. Shut your eyes put your fingers in your ears and hum Ting aling aloo with Earnie the milkman.. Carry on Corpl Jones, they don,t like it up em.
Getting my TV guide to see what is on telly while the game is on, even the Kardashian,s may win my vote
Hi Lad
I can honesty say that I have never watched one second of reality TV since an unfortunate encounter with *Big Brother* many years ago.
Strangely I might not be able to go today [rank bad hayfever and a chillier chill that Percy the Penguin has ever experienced] but if I do go the first thing I will do is a straw poll of my mates to see when we all think Webber might open his trap again.
I agree with you that right now it’s hard to know exactly what to say, at least is a progressive sense anyway 🙂
Cheers
Exactly this https://www.canaries.co.uk/content/gallery-may-food-and-wine-workshop
Well, Delia does get confused over her priorities sometimes 🙂
Supporters, no in this day and age they are customers. What do customers want shiny , glittery things to buy without thinking do I need it.
The smoke and mirrors marketing dept now push out plenty of happy shiny non stories . What happens on the pitch is a distraction to marketeers , they don’t like bad news so they bury it under lots of happy shiny non stories in their attempts to keep the customers satisfied.
Deputy sheriff said to me…….
Hi Bernie
All too true and it’s been going on for some time now.
I was involved in PR for more than long enough to know how things work but if you have somebody at the top who ignores almost every piece of advice they are given it must be an absolute nightmare to work for him/her.
Perhaps there was a reason why 65 was the legal retirement age for so long.
Cheers