As a Norwich fan, you become hardened to disappointment but I think this season has to be up there as one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had over the years. Coming up we were magic. Unstoppable and unplayable. We had a manager who had embedded a style that was aesthetically sumptuous, and a Sporting Director […]
Where do we go in the short-term? Is there a temporary fix that can make us better?
The reports from Colney pre-Southampton were that the players were confident and that Farke was unusually bullish about his side’s chances of hitting the ground running after the enforced season hiatus. For 20 minutes, this looked well-founded. The Canaries looked sharp, and they were dominating possession. Obviously, there was some rust and we gave away […]
Be friends to our players (and each other). Lift them up. They’ll take us with them
We’ve just experienced the Caroline Flack weekend. Whatever you thought of her or her situation I think it’s safe to say we all had a “Seriously?” moment when we heard the news. She was a figure that most of us recognised from TV over the past 10 or 15 years, and despite all her recent […]
Headteacher’s Report: Andy H delivers his pupil-by-pupil half-term appraisal
After the excitement of the last school year and our incredible results, we have been given full academy status and are now competing with the best schools around the country. Our funding remains at a very modest level and so we are finding it difficult to meet the outstanding scores we achieved previously. Any donations […]
This is not prudence over ambition. This is all about believing in this group of players
With preparations for a season in the top-flight well underway – the 5-1 win at Luton confirmed this – it’s time to consider where we set the bar for Daniel Farke’s squad of freshly-minted Champions. A traditional approach for any promoted side is to target 17th and hope we overachieve and with the vast disparity […]
Two years of hard work, reuniting disillusioned fans with the club, tossed aside
Wow. Two years of hard work, reuniting disillusioned fans with the club tossed aside, as our own club applies a Premier League tax designed to hit those most loyal to them. As blindly opportunistic money grabs go, this one takes some nerve. With Delia’s cries of “Best fans in the world, they deserve to go […]
In Webber we trust – lessons of promotions gone by have clearly been learned
As a fantastic season ends, fans minds are already moving from celebrations to preparations. With the arrival of Patrick Roberts on loan and the uptick in random online signing rumours that usually accompanies kids being off on half-term, most fans have been channelling their inner Stuart Webber to identify what additions we need to make […]
‘Promotion Street’ – A simple tale of Norwich City folk…
Amidst all of the recent celebrations there have been a barrage of interviews and vox pops with staff, players and fans giving their feelings about the club. One of the recurring themes was how eventful it is being a Norwich City fan, and the phrase that was used most often was “soap opera”. Which led […]
Headteacher’s Report: Andy H delivers his pupil-by-pupil verdict on season 2018/19
First of all, let me apologise if the tone of this year’s report is overly sentimental. Maybe it’s the bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 I confiscated from young McLean talking, but I feel that this year, more than any other in my 30+ years of teaching, I’ve had the time of my life. Yes, I’ve […]
The evolution of Farkeball: long gone are the days of 4-4-2, and 4-1-4-1 is so last year
I considered starting this article with what has become colloquially known as a ‘humblebrag’. This is the dictionary definition: An ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement whose actual purpose is to draw attention to something of which one is proud. However, I’m not nearly modest enough, so I’ll just come out and say it: I was […]
The evolution of City’s defence – stemming from that very dark day at the New Den
For years Norwich City had an Achilles Heel at the heart of their squad. The reigns of both Chris Hughton and Alex Neil, promising though they both were at times, were fatally undermined by a soft underbelly that all too often presented itself to a grateful opposition to be lacerated. Other than a superb first […]
Headteacher’s Report: Andy H delivers a pupil-by-pupil verdict for the autumn term
Half-Term – December 2018 I must confess, when I first took a look at the pupils at the beginning of term, I was anticipating a very different set of half-term grades. A more unassuming low-key group of boys I had yet to see. Yet through the efforts of Herr Farke in identifying ways to motivate […]
Where did it all go so right? Was our friend Colin the catalyst for this amazing run?
George Best, in his post-playing days as an after-dinner speaker, used to tell a story that always produced a chuckle from the assembled audience. The gist was that after a successful night at a casino, Best called for room service at the penthouse hotel suite he was in, and the waiter promptly entered the room […]
Andy’s Q1 report (Part Four) – Goodbye to the Tractor Boys? Or maybe to Alex’s boys?
In the final tranche of his quarterly report, Andy looks at the sides who currently reside in the Championship’s nether regions. Who, if anyone, can escape? *** Rotherham United 3 wins, 2 draws, 7 defeats. Brentford 5 – 1 R’ham R’ham 1 – 0 Ipswich Leeds 2 – 0 R’ham R’ham 2 – 3 Hull […]
Andy’s Q1 report (Part Three) – Villa on the turn? Stoke ready for a charge? Brizzle upwardly mobile?
In part three of his quarterly review, Andy looks at those sides hopeful of a charge into the top half and beyond… *** Bristol City 4 wins, 4 draws, 4 defeats. Bristol C 1 – 1 NF Bolton 2 – 2 Bristol C Bristol C 0 – 2 M’boro QPR 0 – 3 Bristol C […]
Andy’s Q1 report (Part Two) – How will the Bees, Rams, Rovers, Swans, Latics and Canaries fare in Q2?
In part two of his quarterly report, Andy H looks at those sides hovering just outside the top six… *** Brentford 4 wins, 6 draws, 2 defeats. Brentford 5 – 1 R’ham Stoke 1 – 1 Brentford Brentford 2 – 0 SW A Villa 2 – 2 Brentford B’burn 1 Brentford 0 Brentford 2 – […]
Andy’s Q1 report (Part One) – Can the Real Madrid of the north finally see it through?
In the first of a four-parter, our Andy does his best Nostradamus and, based on the first quarter of the season, takes stab at how he thinks the Championship may pan out… *** With the Championship 12 games old, and proper football having ground to a crashing halt while international football takes centre stage, it […]
Many parallels to last season. Farke’s challenge is to avoid the October hangover
A year ago, just before the first international break of the season, Norwich produced one of the worst displays in recent years when they got thoroughly spanked by Millwall at The Den. Sitting on the coach home that afternoon from deepest Bermondsey, I penned a scathing piece for MFW, lambasting City for their lack of […]
Would a fully-engaged Nelson Oliveira with an axe-to-grind help City’s current cause?
One word that was used more than any other after City’s 1-1 draw against ‘that lot’: character. The team had character to get back into the game. To field our youngest ever defence in the second half in the heat of an East Anglian derby. Louis Thompson had character to stay on when injured. All […]
We are not the protagonists you promised Daniel. Instead it’s a team scared of making errors…
As Simon Hooper’s whistle brought a merciful end to another 90 minutes of Canary torment, this time at the hands of a dominant, if slightly (for me anyway), second gear, Leeds United, the pitchforks began to come out in earnest for the first time in Daniel Farke’s Norwich career. There have been rumblings before, as […]