Andy Head

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 – […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Three league games and a Carabao Cup match into the new season and Daniel Farke’s second season is off to a tepid start. The fact that none of the league games culminated in a win, and that our one point garnered so far would have been zero points but for a last-minute intervention by Onel […]

Despite a glut of all things football throughout this World Cup summer, the arm hairs are already rising in anticipation of Saturday, August 4th. The day of fresh slates, new heroes and untarnished dreams yet to be rudely awoken from. The City squad appears to be set, although I imagine there may be a Maddison […]

Around 60 minutes into the World Cup semi-final I knew we were going to blow it. The missed chances of the first half were haunting us and Croatia had tweaked their formation. Alli, Lingard and Henderson no longer had the ball but spent their time filling space and trying to make it difficult for their […]

In my final analysis piece based on the information generated from last season, I wanted to look at the formations and tactics employed by Daniel Farke and reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Farke made a statement when he joined that he wanted to establish a way of playing that everyone would recognise as […]

In my last article I looked at the goals that Norwich scored and conceded last season which gave us a glimpse into who is helping create goals and who was responsible for letting them in. Now it’s the turn of the defensive midfield area: The Engine Room. Daniel Farke employed a variety of formations last […]

In part one of three, Andy takes one final look back at the stats of last season… ****** As regular readers will know I love a bit of analysis. And as year one of the Farke era has drawn to a close, we aren’t going to rip the plans up and start again as we […]

I always find the wait between the end of the playoffs and the release of the fixtures for the following season an interminable marathon. Whilst I’m happy enough to have the break from attending games for a while, the total limbo of not knowing what lies ahead is something that doesn’t chime well with me. […]

Period covered: 2017-2018: Last year’s Ofsted rating of vastly underperforming created a situation where the school board had to act decisively, and they appointed a new head of department Mr Webber, and a new class teacher in Herr Farke. Their actions this year have begun to address the issues that undermined our school last year, […]