One announcement made by Norwich City over the weekend tended to fly under the radar as we were engulfed with the predictable close-season flood of rumours concerning who’s arriving, who’s leaving, and Turkey’s top two [sorry Besiktas fans, it’s true] continuing to fight over Milot Rashica.
We’re opening a pub in the Lower Barclay.
That’s right, a pub, and it’s going to be called the Lion and Castle. Here is some of what Norwich City FC had to say about the new boozer:
“We’re calling time on the old Lower Barclay bar and opening a great new pub at Carrow Road – a place for supporters to enjoy getting together with family and friends before and after the game and for everyone in Norfolk to enjoy.
“The pub launches on July 21 and mixes the club’s heritage with the need for a bright, welcoming local pub. It will serve craft beers and the club hope it will appeal to everyone, not just football fans.”
There are promises of loads of TV screens and two Beer Walls, aka Wonderwalls, where you pay by card and pull your own pint. A new lager will be on offer, as in the originally named – not – Lion and Castle.
Along Come Norwich co-founder Jon Punt said in the statement: “The club say they will open it up to some away fans after the game, which is great – Norwich fans are a friendly bunch towards most away fans, we have much more in common than that which divides us.”
I wholeheartedly agree with Jon here. As regular MFW readers will know, I love to get comments from supporters of other clubs and I have met some great people during the course of putting together MFW match previews.
Like every single one of us I have friends who support different clubs and a bit of banter always makes the day that little bit brighter, but, being me, there has to be a big BUT.
The first person I shared the news with wasn’t slow to react, I’ll readily admit to that. Said Gent can be a bit curmudgeonly and excelled himself by barking at me: “Home fans + away fans + booze = Big Trouble” as he walked away to go about his Monday morning business.
The whole concept of the Lion and Castle deserves discussion, and if I were the captain of Scumbag College on University Challenge Does Pubs, I could not choose three better team-mates than my MFW Posse members Alex B, Bernie Owen, and Herr Cutz.
As City fans, we all know what happens when the recruitment goes threepennies up but in this case, I haven’t let MFW readers down – what the four of us don’t know about pubs between us probably hasn’t happened in one.
So it’s all yours lads. Whad’ya reckon?
Alex is up first – and he isn’t even happy about the name of the pub!
“Surely a better name would have been the Canary and Castle? Is this another outlet for the Delia catering franchise, did the club need another bar?
“A place to meet prior to the game and reflect after the game open to both home and away supporters? Who’s going to be the referee or have the Boys in Blue not got enough to do after a game? [there now seems to have been a U-turn on letting in away fans before the game – Martin]
“So we have over-priced selected cask beers and a self-service Wonderwall for up to 600 punters. Give me an old Lacons pub with traditional beers served the traditional way any day of the week, please.
“It just seems the priorities are screwed up. There’s no replacement Sporting Director or news on the share issue but let’s get more money from the supporters whose finances are already being squeezed.”
Oh well, maybe Cutty has got something positive to say. Let’s find out.
“A family-friendly pub ain’t my cup of tea, especially on match day. Raucous banter, literally soaking up the atmosphere prior to kick-off, was more my style but I guess times they are a changing.
“Politely sipping a beverage while waiting for my big whopper, looking at large screen TVs, and pretending to ignore the kiddies is not on my ‘must do’ list.
- “Will there be Bouncers on the doors and plastic drinking containers?
- “Will rival fans pay each other compliments in a genteel atmosphere?
- “Will there be unisex toilets?
- “Will it encourage friendly songs and ditties to be sung during the game?
- “I particularly wonder, who came up with this idea?“
Cutty also wondered whether the pub would be open on non-match days and for normal pub hours. Since he offered his views the Club has opened a dedicated webpage The Lion and Castle | Norwich City Football Club (canaries.co.uk) and this kind of answers his question, saying:***
“The pub will only be open on matchdays to begin with, with doors open three hours before kick-off until late. These opening times apply regardless of kick-off time.”
It offers a little much-needed guidance about away supporters too, saying:
“Away fans will be able to visit the Lion and Castle post-match on a game-by-game basis. Any changes will be communicated via club channels.”
Further clarification on who is actually allowed in before a game has also emerged and it isn’t good news for those who want to pop in for a pre-match pint as it’s restricted to those sitting in the Lower Barclay, with the rest of the world only allowed in after the match:
“The pub will be open for Lower Barclay fans only pre-match and then open to all supporters once the stadium bowl has cleared post-match.”
So it’s over to Bernie to see if he likes the concept:
“A new pub for Norwich located within the hallowed stands of the Carra. Large enough to hold 600 people and with the glorious intention of having supporters from both teams meet up for a pre-match sherbet.
“I notice an innovation from across the pond, a beerwall, a system to maximise profit with no human to serve you which saves on all those wages and minimises product loss.
“One thing I’ve always appreciated in a British pub is the chance to try a wine glass full of a beer you have never tried before. This is built into the cost of a barrel of real ale and is accounted for by the brewer in the price of the barrel.
“Beerwalls allow no tasting, so tough luck if you pull yourself of a pint not to your liking. And beware when these places are busy as it’s so easy to be knocked or knock into a rather large opposition fan and spill half his beer.
“Now let’s look at the chances of opposition fans gathering 75-100 strong in the Lion and Castle and having a little harmless banter with 3-400 Canaries. Would any other pub within walking distance of the ground countenance fans mixing before and after the game – and would Old Bill’ allow it?
“I know the directors mingle in the directors’ lounge, but the most serious problem they can have is running out of vin rouge.
“Finally it’s that term ‘craft beer’, which usually translates to overpriced fizzy keg and/or canned beer. It scares the bejesus out of this real ale fan.
“I guess my pre-match beer will still be in the Coach and Horses.”
So the Posse guys, all of whom thoroughly enjoy real ale, aren’t really that much in favour of the innovative Lion and Castle.
It’s up to yours truly to try and balance things out a little. I’ll try my best but must point out that at the end of next week, I will have been alcohol-free for a year. It tends to be like that when your hepatology consultant tells you, “One more drink and you’re dead – possibly before you’ve even finished drinking it!”
I wish ACN all the very best with their involvement in this project – I’ve always enjoyed what they’ve done before – and it’s time for the litmus test, which in this case is a rather obvious: would I use it myself?
Well, I’m straight out with my answer: NO, I wouldn’t use it. I’m at an age whereby traditional pubs are all I want – where I know people, can take one of the dogs with me if I choose, know who else will be around to yarn with, that type of thing.
In the last year I have regressed to the point that I only go to the pub to meet friends on a pre-arranged basis, that type of thing.
BUT the adolescent Martin Penney would probably have feckin’ loved the Lion and Castle. Maybe to have a quick pint after a game with your matchday mates before you all head your separate ways home, talking away with the game still fresh in everybody’s mind.
The young me would definitely at least have tried it. Probably by the age of around 25, I’d have grown out of it, but it would have been just fine by me while it lasted.
The security will have to be spot on and I don’t know if it’s even doable, to be honest, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing the venue all the best.
***The Lion and Castle will be opened at 3pm on Friday, July 21 by Stephen Fry. Tickets are available via the usual NCFC channels.
I should really close out with Wonderwall but I’ve been a bit heavy-footed with the Oasis pedal lately so here’s a similar-themed effort by a band in which no member ever drank alcohol or abused substances of dubious origin 
Well Martin looking forward to a pint or two in the new boozer the much maliigned webber has managed to bag us a few quid from a player who’s not put on a norwich shirt for four years well done forr that . Expect he’ll use the money to stock up the new bar 🍸 🙄
Hi Kev
*Expect he’ll use the money to stock up the new bar * – you naughty moose, you!
Webber might have put the add-ons in the Maddison deal with Leicester, and as you say fair play to him for it, but it was Alex Neil who signed Madders in the first place for something like £250k.
He scored once every four games for Leicester, a guaranteed 10-a-season midfielder.
Good luck to him at Spurs – and I reckon he’ll need it!
Cheers
Think your decimal points in the wrong place Martin I heard we out bid Liverpool, Spurs for him at £2.5m
I knew I was wrong as soon as I saw your comment just now – I got mixed up with Ben Godfrey!
According to TM [I know, it’s TM] the figure was £1.25 million from the Sky Blues, which makes us both wrong exactly £1 million out!
Maybe I’m just getting old and like your good self back in my younger days I might have had a couple after a game then moved on to the Sam&Herc or one of the other long forgotten night clubs that the city had.
Restricting it to the lower Barclay prior to kickoff could work not sure that it will be a gathering place after the game, a few hardy drinks possibly but it’s wonderwall will kill the atmosphere of a local.
Where would the banter come from with no the barstaff and who’s going to stop bad behaviour. What next pitchside BBQ to a Delia Recipe?? It’s a wonder that the club hasn’t become part of the franchise or did I miss that being announced??
Hi Alex
Yeah I sarcastically referred to the football club as a subsidiary of Delia’s Canary Catering last week so I know what you mean!
I don’t know what will happen about the place being used by the community at large – it seems like they’ve already changed their minds about some of the details.
A wonderwall and blaring giant screens don’t sit well with a convivial family meal with the kids and they’ll soon discover that they can’t have it all ways – maybe things will be quieter on non-match days but I don’t see people really using it much, although it has to open to be put to the test first.
Another reason I won’t be going that I didn’t put in the article is that Mr Richens seems to finds us supporters a nuisance and I wouldn’t want to upset him with my unwashed presence – so I won’t 🙂
Cheers
Hi Martin
Directly opposite the old Bloomfield Rd was a club owned by the Football club and was basically a working man’s club.
Match day was another thing all supporters were welcome after the game but didn’t open prior to the game, many of the players would use it as their local.
Just down the road another club on Talbort Rd was the Brian Londons 007 Club another footballers haunt
The NUR or ASLEF [can’t remember which] club at Watford was run on similar lines but couldn’t have been exactly the same as it was well over a mile from the ground.
Those were the days, really!
ps back to Wonderwalls: I lived in Blofield for many years and at one point The Globe was run by a guy called Bryon who wondered why his restaurant was always empty.
Us locals tried to explain to him that it was probably because he had a heavy metal band live in the other, much bigger, bar every weekend evening!
If it’s open 3 hours before kick-off that puts it at a 9am opening time on a Sunday morning for the Millwall game. 🤔 good ‘ol Sky.
Hi Jack
Oh gawd!
Yes, you’re quite right 🙂
Always good to hear from a David Bowie fan [surely I’ve got that right?] – give my regards to Manhattan Chase!
Cheers
A couple of words about Teemus transfer to Minnesota, which is hugely disappointing of course. First of all, Teemu was brilliant again in his 20 minutes participation. He didnt get more assists to his stats, but should have got 2 if the quality of Daniel Håkans would be better. Håkans did score a hat trick but come on there was nothing impressive about his hat trick. He and Suhonen actually almost spoiled those scoring chances and after a brainless ping pong shooting ball finally went to the net. There was a 2-1 attack situation where Teemu again showed his brilliant level as a player. You cant give a more perfect pass to your fellow team mate, but like I said there finally came a goal but Teemu lost his statistical assist. Teemu still leads the whole euro qualification assists table by his 4 assists, which honestly should have been 6 after the San Marino game. Glen Kamara was the man of the match.
I wrote here before that Teemu should quit playing in the national team if he goes to MLS. We cant just do it, he is way too good as a player. I think there are 5 other finnish players in MLS right now, we can easily play without them. To me and to many others I have talked with, he seems better as ever and finally plays the way he should. I blame his personality, that he has been forced to play as a striker who just waits a pass to get a 1-1 situation against the goalkeeper. What a waste of skills and football IQ this has been! Now his playing is so perfect, any of those Denmark, Slovenia, Northern Ireland, San Marino were not able to handle him. He simply destroys opponents defensive blocks with his challenges and his assists are unbelievably good. What a shame overall, that he has been able to waste his club career so badly. He never reached anywhere near where he should have been reached.
Hi 1×2
I remember quite a while ago ow that you and I were considering what Teemu might do and you said, amongst other things, that he should be wary of the USA because of both the relatively poor standard of football and also the prevalent gun culture over there.
You added that Teemu is a great family man and deserved to do what he wanted to do for a change and I remember agreeing with you.
It seems he’s chosen the USA after all where he will link up with fellow Finn Robin Lod. I hope they are friends, it would be awkward if they are not 🙂
At Norwich we will not be able to replace him on a like-for-like basis . There is too much that is unique about Pukki to make that possible.
We have to move on but that will be difficult because behind the scenes things are getting even worse for Norwich than they were the last time we spoke.
Kiitos
Martin, I suppose Norwich are going in a completely different direction than before. I have often claimed that too many managers in english league football are not able to change their tactics, so they start to transfer players. Norwich can very well become second Huddersfield. Your fan base will have a hard time to accept that especially right after Pukki and Buendia era. Leeds, Leicester and Soton got relegated so for sure the level in the championship is higher than in some years. On the positive side, you have derby games again vs Ipswich. At least those games I will 100% sure want to see!
Robin Lod is the only one to be blamed in Teemus transfer. It was a known worry, but like always you want to believe that nightmares would not happen. Their fans obviously are very much waiting for his play there, expectations are very high. He should also save their manager Adrian Heath job and carry Minnesota to the playoffs. Playoffs? Isnt it such a strange word in football? I dislike that completely in football. Robert Taylor (Inter Miami) claimed in the interview that mls would be in the same level with the championship. He has not played in the championship. I dont believe it, sure there are players who could play and play well in the championship. MLS problem is tactical. Leo Väisänen (Austin) commented that there is huge difference in playing tempo between swedish allsvenskan and mls. On the other hand allsvenskan is tactically way better and that in the mls there is easy to find huge spaces where to pass and open opponents defense. Finnish league by the way is 1 of the most tactical leagues you can find. Euro cup draws put finns and northern irish clubs to play against each other. HJK-Larne and Haka-Cruraders are clashes of very different philosophies, so very welcomed games in many ways.
That’s interesting, specially the bit about Robin Lod.
Adrian Heath doesn’t have the best of repuations in the UK as a manager, although he played for several years for Everton where he was very popular with their fans as a player.
It is impossible for me to evaluate the standard of football in Northern Ireland as their games would be very hard to find, except the national side of course, who as far as within the UK is concerned are a very poor fourth to England, Scotland and Wales.
A new pub when so many are closing, a brave venture. A new name perhaps, The Trusty Parrot, The Brave Budgie, The Canary‘s Revenge.
Hi Cutty
The A47 has/had the Canary & Linnet at Little Fransham and Mr Keatley has the Fat Cat & Canary, but I reckon that based on its location, the old Highbury had one of the best names for a pub in the Corner Pin.
Few people know this but the excellent Coach & Horses on Thorpe Road was thus named because that’s what you’ve always been able to drive through our defence.
Cheers
I have no strong views about the pub. I might (but probably won’t) go in after a game but I definitely won’t use an automatic beer dispenser.
What I do object to is the fact that the football industry makes huge amounts of money from the alcohol industry, but I’m not to be trusted to drink a pint whilst watching a game.
Hi Don
You could still take plastic glasses of Cruzcampo, San Miguel or whatever it was into the Son Moix when I watched Real Mallorca in the early Noughties.
It’s true to say say that many, many folks ended up wearing each other’s beer, me included 🙂