Tomorrow night’s clash with Huddersfield Town is shaping up now to be an extremely important one for Dean Smith in his Norwich City tenure. After a disappointing away defeat to Hull there are real question marks surrounding the former Aston Villa boss and the direction of travel in which he is taking this squad. Danny […]
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WE MEET AGAIN… HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
The Premier League dream is over… again. City find themselves back in the familiar terrain of the Championship and a new fixture list full of old friends and foes. In ‘We Meet Again’ we look back at previous clashes between Norwich City and our upcoming Championship opponents. Big games, historic matches, significant milestones, and player […]
A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME – Part One
As I write this, it’s thirty years since the opening day of the very first Premier League season ‘A whole new ball game’ was how Sky Sports opted to brand the game and league at the time, showing, even then, their wish for football to have had its very own reset to year zero on […]
TACTICAL ANALYSIS: HULL 2, CITY 1
As part of MFW’s coverage of the new Championship season, the newest member of our team, Richard Becker, will be casting his eye over each game from a tactical and technical perspective, and giving us his view on what’s going wrong and (occasionally) right. He starts with the defeat at Hull… Overview Another disappointing result […]
Curse of the left-back … buying into Norfolk … and next door’s cat supporting Teemu
Before going to bed on Saturday night I ended the day in my traditional manner by looking at all four league tables in descending order. Nothing intrinsically new there of course. But lurking in the background were a couple of things we haven’t seen in many a moon. Everybody who doesn’t live in Cheshire or […]
Is our Teemu part of the solution? Or is he part of the problem?
There are plenty of theories going around as to why City are struggling, all of which have varying levels of validity. So let me add one more to the mix – Teemu Pukki. Now before the pitchforks and torches are lifted countywide, let me explain further. I’m not for a second saying that Teemu hasn’t […]
MATCH REPORT: Hull 2, City 1
City travelled to Hull desperate for a first league win of the season, with over 1,500 Canary fans packed into the North Stand of the MKM Stadium. The Tigers’ start to the season was positive, beating Bristol and Preston, before a slightly unsettling Carabao Cup loss to Bradford City in midweek Dean Smith made two […]
No belief… no confidence… a team that’s forgotten how to win. S&S on thin ice
Not for the first time, I need to choose my words carefully. I took an online kicking during yesterday’s game for suggesting that minute 43 was too early to unfurl the #SmithOut banners. My poorly made point was that we could yet go on and win the game and the landscape would shift but was […]
CITY v HULL CITY (A) – THE PREVIEW
No disrespect to my neighbours here in Hertfordshire, but their geography of eastern England occasionally leaves something to be desired. Knowing my beloved Norwich are visiting Hull, a number have suggested it’s an easy trip for the Canaries: “Just up the coast, isn’t it?” Well, not quite. It’s a gruelling journey physically; it’s also often […]
WE MEET AGAIN… HULL CITY
City are back in the Championship and it’s a very familiar fixture list that the Canaries face in 2022-23. But this being football, there will be a few new(ish) faces and, as such, an opportunity for a brief return of ‘We Meet Again’, the series that looks back at the history between Norwich City and […]
A win in the Carabao… a pearler from Lungi… heroics from Angus… and a Panenka!
I didn’t attend last night’s game and so hadn’t planned on penning a thought piece on events at the Carra. The fact there were no alternative ways of watching the action other than being there tends to render any comment I have on events even more futile than normal… and then Marcelino Ńuñez, in the […]
ACADEMY: The outlook for 2022-23
The new academy season is upon us. The Under-21s season started last Friday at home to Sunderland (at Colney), whilst the Under-18s kick-off their season away to West Bromwich Albion this week. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to document the academy season with MFW, and hopefully educate our readers on NCFC’s stars for the […]
VIDEO: ‘AN IMPROVEMENT!’ City 1, Wigan Athletic 1 | Norwich Talk
Dean Smith picks up his first Championship point as Norwich City manager. A 1-1 draw at home to Wigan with the star boy Max Aarons getting on the scoresheet as the Canaries displayed a much more coherent performance than that against Cardiff. We share our thoughts on the match and a few lines on Dean […]
Crossroads… the X29.. surplus midfielders… Dimi woe… and Pukki’s missing half-yard
Standing at the crossroads has become one of the most hackneyed of clichés over the years, usually referencing a sea change in the life of the person concerned who is forced to make the right call on an extremely difficult personal decision. I’ve heard it applied to Julius Caesar, Chairman Mao and a myriad of modern politicians […]
Our first point & our first goal. Thin gruel maybe but a step in the right direction
It was one of those something-for-everyone afternoons. For the pyro lovers, there was Carrow Road’s best effort yet; for everyone, there was a much-deserved ovation for our heroic Lioness; for the optimists, there was a performance that was infinitely better than its Cardiff equivalent, and for those who continue to demand Dean Smith’s P45, there […]
MATCH REPORT: City1, Wigan Athletic 1
Two-hundred-and fifty-five days into Dean Smith’s reign as head coach, we finally got to see a starting XI containing a player that he signed. There may have been some surprise initially that this was Marcelino Nunez, rather than Gabriel Sara but in hindsight, the clues were there in the press conference – not wanting to […]
VIDEO: ‘START THE NEW BOYS’ City vs Wigan Athletic – Preview | Norwich Talk
Norwich City host Wigan tomorrow in what is the Canaries’ first Championship home fixture in front of a packed-out Carrow road since April 2019. It was opening day disappointment, again, for Dean Smith’s side as they fell to the sword against Cardiff City with both teams fined for a lack of discipline. We preview the […]
WE MEET AGAIN… WIGAN ATHLETIC
The Premier League dream is over (again!). City are back in The Championship and it’s a very familiar fixture list that the Canaries face in 2022-23. But this being football, there will be a few new(ish) faces and, as such, an opportunity for a brief return of ‘We Meet Again’, the series that looks […]
CITY v WIGAN ATHLETIC (H) – THE PREVIEW
INTRO After falling to defeat in the Welsh capital last week, City host Wigan on Saturday in the early kick-off. Thanks for that one Sky Sports. Both sides come into this fixture having failed to win their opening game – City losing 1-0 to Cardiff City (more on that later) and Wigan drawing 0-0 with […]
Marcelino Nuñez is in the building…
So, our first ever Chilean has finally arrived. Last night, following some transatlantic jet-setting, Marcelino Nuñez was finally introduced as a City player amid the now traditional fanfare of slo-mo badge-kissing and name-on-the-shirt pointing. Whether this signing is a stroke of genius from Stuart Webber or another damp squib will only be revealed over the coming […]