It’s almost two years since I interviewed Stuart Webber for these pages. It was before we appointed – and in most cases before we’d ever heard of – Daniel Farke. We now know that Daniel was top of Stuart’s list, but very different names were on our lips. Thank goodness it was, and is, Stuart […]
Norwich City, your examination starts now. Please put all calculators away
I’ve an important message to help my fellow Norwich fans preserve their sanity. Do as I say, not as I do. Are you scouring the remaining fixtures, trying to assess how many points we’ll get from each game, then doing the same for our rivals and attempting to work out where it means everyone will […]
Dramatic highs and lows over the past decade – but success this season would top the lot
Someone recently said to me: “You must really be happy – City top of the league, and you predicted it all”. If only. They were referring to an article I wrote here on 5 September after the 1-1 draw at Portman Road. In it, I argued for patience with Daniel Farke, saying that I saw […]
Special City teams, the changing Premier League – and why we need technology
As regular readers will recall, I sometimes like to start articles with a trivia question related to something I’m going to discuss. Today’s is this: of the 22 clubs in the inaugural Premier League (1992-93), how many are still in the PL today? As a secondary: are any of them no longer in either of […]
We know about lies, damn lies and statistics – but sometimes stats DO tell the story
As I write, City have played 22 league games out of 46. A fair point for a half-time review. Others have given well-deserved praise to individual players, and to Daniel Farke and his coaching staff. I’ll take a slightly more statistical slant. But first, a question to ponder while you read. Who is the only […]
Daniel Farke may be getting national recognition, but I still have a thing or two to teach him
That headline may be greeted with open-mouthed incredulity – especially by the Capital Canaries players I managed in the West Fulham Sunday League. But I stand by it. You see, Daniel doesn’t always get it right. He’ll sometimes say, for instance, that he’s “pretty pleased” when he clearly means he’s very pleased. It’s because he […]
Farewell to Steve Stone. He saw us through turbulence to calmer waters, and with a smile
A disclaimer to begin: this is neither an investigative article nor a gossip column. I’ve no scoop on the reasons behind Steve Stone leaving the club. My speculation would have the same validity as everyone else’s (ie. very little). However, Steve has been a key part of Norwich City’s journey and changes since 2015. His […]
Against the odds, City find form and harmony – and the opposite elsewhere. It’s all rather paradoxical
How quaint the ways of paradox At common sense she gaily mocks Readers of a certain age and schooling will instantly recognize The Pirates of Penzance. Gilbert’s paradox, in that case, involved contracts and birthdays, but he might just as well have been talking about football. In particular the past few weeks of Norwich City FC. […]
The Nest is progressing and we should be proud of it. Now it just needs a little more feathering
You may think, as I did, that you know the Community Sports Foundation. And you may be, as I was, a bit wrong. I thought CSF was largely, if not exclusively, about giving young people a chance to play sports. Nothing wrong with that, of course – but it turns out CSF is about much, […]
Win, lose or draw – for the moment, let’s hold off judgement on Daniel Farke
I could have written this article last week, or the week before. Your expression at this point may be similar to my wife’s. “What??? City play a derby, and it makes no difference to what you think?” Nope. The bottom line is this: I said before the season we should give it 20 games before making […]
PNE PREVIEW: Alex and his mojo, a club on the up and yet another ex-City keeper at Carrow Road
With Preston the next visitors to Carrow Road and City desperate for that first win, I spoke to Dave Seddon, lifelong PNE fan and sports journalist with the Lancashire Evening Post… *** First, Dave, thanks for joining us. An obvious point of interest for Norwich fans is seeing Alex Neil in the opposition dugout. He […]
The challenge of creating Fortress Carrow Road – and the pros and cons of social media
“Were they at the same game?” It’s a question we might well ask of the EFL specialist paper (!) which reported City coming back “from 2-0 down” at Birmingham. But it’s also a question that springs to mind reading social media and online forums – and indeed, reaction to Gary’s match report here. In a […]
LUTON REPORT: The skirmishes are almost over. Farke is preparing his troops for battle
One of my clients once decided to carry out a worldwide survey of its staff. As consultant to the project, I was to join the third meeting of the Working Party. This sounded interesting, not least because the first two meetings had been in Rio de Janeiro and Singapore. So, what would be the location […]
Plenty to discuss about Norwich City on this forum. But not just here….
Certain thoughts are better left unthunk – Woody Allen I have a really bad idea. If I follow it through, I’m on a hiding to nothing. Yet it’s fair and right. And having thunk it, I can’t unthunk it. It concerns my wife and Norwich City. She’s willingly proofread all of […]
“It’s a pleasure to be here”. Jordan, I hope the pleasure will be ours
I confess: I have a bias here. If there’s one player I’ve coveted for Norwich City longer than I did Dean Windass, it’s Jordan Rhodes. For most of the past decade, I’ve yearned to see him in a City shirt. In our Premier League days we could probably have afforded him, but his lack of […]
Our family: fractious and overwrought at times, but bound by a fierce and shared passion
Family love is messy, clinging, and of an annoying and repetitive pattern – like bad wallpaper P.J. O’Rourke Norwich City forums, even ours, fit the description painfully well. A visiting Martian coming to MFW (as he no doubt would) might be forgiven for missing that we’re drawn together by a powerful, shared passion – in […]
MUSIC WEEK: A journey from ABBA to Wagner, with some Bs along the way
The music I love comes with surrounding stories – tales of excess, groupies, illicit relationships, drugs and early death. Yes, it’s classical music. But first, following in the footsteps of my fellow writers, a bit of nostalgia for the music of my formative years. Given the attractions of nostalgia, I may not get to Mozart […]
Stand by for some more unknown quantities joining Norwich – and for youth having its fling
Well, here we go. The transfer window is open, from now til 9 August. Stuart Webber, we know, has been making his plans for some time and laying whatever groundwork he can. Though we have a spectrum of views about the state of our club, I think we all share a sense that this window […]
Growing old irresponsibly, chess strategy and the challenges facing Norwich City
Much as I’d like to cling on to a different view, the truth has become inescapable. I’m old. (You didn’t think I was going to turn against our club there, did you? I’ll come back to that, but for now….) The players I now watch in the yellow-and-green could be the grandchildren of those I […]
Not a memorable season on the field. But a historic one, with its share of highs and lows
OK, let’s get this first bit over with. The changes at Norwich City a year ago were far more radical than the club had ever made before; more radical than most clubs will ever make. In the wake of that, an up-and-down first season was inevitable. The good and bad of this season – and […]