It was a typical New Year’s catch-up with mates in the pub. Tales of overindulgence, weight gain, and the annual competition to crown the most random Christmas present. My son’s new STATSports tracker vest didn’t claim the dubious accolade, but once we got past the petty sports bra jibes, it did prompt a lengthy discussion […]
It’s now up to us to turn Carrow Road into the place we know it can be
It’s always easier to highlight problems than offer up solutions. Over recent weeks and countless column inches, we have collectively dissected and debated the factors that led to the departures of Smith and Shakespeare. The more difficult challenge is to identify exactly what should happen next. This a challenge I’ve conveniently sidestepped in recent articles. […]
MyFootballWriter’s… A Christmas Carol
As supporters, we see ourselves as more than just paying customers. The relationship with our football club is completely different to any other business we use. But imagine if it wasn’t. [Gary, cue up the transition to the dream sequence, please]. ____ It’s the weekend before Christmas. After a long week, my wife and I […]
If Deano can turn this around fair play, but who genuinely believes that he can?
I’m slightly reluctant to submit yet another article, focusing on our much-maligned Head Coach and add to the hostile narrative theory. But I’ll try to remove any emotive vitriol and hopefully dispel the notion that those of us calling for change are rabid maniacs, who are out for his blood. So I’ll channel the spirit […]
Remember those heady days when Norwich fans weren’t seen as the Club’s enemy?
Gary doesn’t tend to allow his writing team to use the F word but I’m going to anyway. Farke! This isn’t a gushing eulogy on our long-since departed German but for those looking for reasons as to why there is such a disconnect between the club and its supporters, I’d suggest he remains a major […]
How can we unconditionally support an approach that we don’t fully understand?
As the criticism of Dean Smith’s Norwich intensifies, perhaps it’s natural that shots are fired back towards the dissenting voices. There has been a narrative playing out in some quarters that City supporters are unappreciative, expecting too much, and acting like spoilt, petulant children. That accusation is easy to shrug off when it comes from […]
So much more at stake right now than just this club losing its Premier League cash
As fans, we are ‘football junkies’ and our drug of choice possesses potent mood-changing qualities. Win, and all seems well with the world. Lose, and the misery hangs over us long after the final whistle, casting a dark shadow over those unfortunate enough to be in our presence. Positive results on the pitch convince us […]
When apathy overrides anger the slope is a slippery one. What is the point of it all?
You know it’s really bad when anger turns to apathy. When the final whistle that signals another abject home defeat is met with silence from deserted stands, rather than a cacophony of booing. Without condoning the actions of those who recently chose to vent their frustration outside the Directors’ boxes, at least it shows that […]
From praise and accolades to widespread disapproval and ridicule in just five months
A friend of mine recently boasted about completing a job application and when asked for his religion, he’d put down ‘football’. He didn’t get an interview. But in the same way that people choose to label themselves according to their religious beliefs, when we tell people we are Norwich supporters, it becomes less about what […]
When fantasy football turned into the stuff of nightmares…
Back in March of 2019, Dad and I walked through the turnstiles at the Riverside stadium, knowing that victory over Middlesbrough would create a seven-point gap to third-place, with just seven games left. “God, I hope we get promoted”, I said. “I know next year would be a total car-crash and we’d probably lose every […]
Hughton’s demise was a football decision; not to be confused with the issue around lack of opportunity for BAME managers
Brighton became the latest club to part ways with Chris Hughton and in doing so, encountered similar criticism to that faced by his previous employers, Norwich and Newcastle. The national media were joined by many ‘neutrals’ on social media to condemn the decision; the general inference being that those clubs which sit outside of the […]
MFW predicts: The Results – Messrs Lewis and Finbow take the gongs…
For most of us, Mario Vrancic’s late winner at Villa Park simply served to ease any remaining jitters and ensure the title-winning party started five minutes early. However, for those in the MFW team vying for our own accolade – that of Champion Tipster (for our predictions that have featured in every preview piece), the […]
An ode to Daniel and his men – ‘The most special of years’
The summer is over, a new season starting, Hope is diminished, through Madders departing. A rebuild, a project, a club in transition, Signs of improvement, the only ambition. Early defeats, against West Brom and Leeds, Dissenting voices, on the Twitter feeds. And radio phone-ins, a place for the moaners, To point their fingers at Farke and owners. Then to the derby; the same […]
Perspective is everything, but in the white heat of a promotion run-in? Forget it!
I don’t know about you, but the pressure of the promotion race has completely destroyed my sense of perspective. Early on in the season, with minimal expectations, I was fine. But over the last few weeks, I’ve come to view everything through a singular lens; one that is solely focussed on our club getting promoted […]
A salute to the Wigan 5,300, whether ‘regular’ or newbie – heroes all
Last time around, I mentioned my mate Jack, who supports Leeds, and I tried to counter his ongoing assertion that City have been lucky to climb to the top of the table. His other favourite ‘wind-up’ relates to the size of our respective fanbases, and in particular the travelling support. ‘Leeds would have taken more’. […]
‘Lucky City’… ‘given a ‘bye’ … ‘sinister forces’ … Can’t possibly be that we’re a really good side
Do you believe in luck? For me, it’s just a term that gets used to rationalise improbable outcomes. A suggestion that mysterious forces are somehow bending the rules of probability, when in reality, it’s just a matter of statistics. Or to put it another way… ‘Luck is probability taken personally’ (Chip Denman) According to pre-season […]
Soundbites and chest thumping? Or winning football matches? You decide…
With City sitting pretty at the top of the table, and an international break to savour the feeling, let’s talk about the ‘P word’. Popularity. News of Daniel Farke’s contract extension was greeted with general delight and it’s hard to think of a more popular City manager in recent years. (One name comes to mind, […]
It’s entertaining, it’s exciting, sometimes excruciating, other times exhilarating
At my grandparents’ house, there was a small model alpine cabin that would provide a rudimentary weather forecast. A tiny lady figurine would appear through a door on one side, if it was going to be sunny and a man with a brolly – much like Steve McClaren at Wembley – would emerge from the […]
Kudos to the City board for not taking their pick from the managerial merry-go-round
Let’s go back to March of this year; the 14th to be precise. Southampton announced the appointment of Mark Hughes as first team manager, a little over seven weeks after his sacking at Stoke. The Saints, in desperate need of someone to galvanise a talented squad of underperforming and relegation-threatened players, turned to someone who […]
Still some way to go before the game we all love is genuinely accessible to all
There’s always a risk in broaching a subject which, arguably, you’re ill-placed to pass comment on and one that is as complex and emotive as the issue of prejudice and inclusivity within football. However, on the back of Ian Wright’s two-part documentary ‘Out of Their Skin’ and Norwich City’s support of the Rainbow Laces campaign, […]