The mere mention of the word ‘Keelan’ provokes a warm fuzzy feeling for City supporters of a certain age, and right now we all need as much warm fuzziness as we can get. So, with Ed’s permission, here again is his homage to one of the greats. *** Here’s a question for you. Answer in […]
Ed Couzens-Lake
It’s all in the mind. When ‘lucky to be here’ changes to ‘lucky to have me’…
I’ll start with a quote. ‘What is history, but a fable agreed upon?’ That’s the original. It’s been revised, redone and rehashed over the years but, whatever variant of it you may hear or read, the above is the mother lode, so to speak, of that well used phrase, one which is generally (but not […]
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Lies.. damned lies… statistics… & million-pound footballers
Here’s a beauty from our Ed from 2012, where he looks at football’s (then) new-found love of stats; in particular the one pertaining to the buying selling of players. Worth noting is the different direction this club is now taking in that regard, and how Ed’s summary of ‘a club that is on the up, […]
Match Abandoned (Air Raid): The tale of the last time Carrow Road fell quiet
A disappointing crowd of just 10,729 made their way to Portman Road for Norwich City’s Third Division (South) match against Ipswich Town on September 2nd, 1939, a typically rumbustious and end-to-end local derby that ended with honours even in a 1-1 draw. The Norwich scorer on the day, Billy Furness was, at the time, perhaps […]
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Not heard of Vasper, Gallego, Dennington & Ronson? Read on…
Peter Vasper. It’s a great name isn’t it? It sounds like one belonging to a 1970s TV detective; a man who likes to operate not only outside the law but also, with his unfeasible perm, heavily flared trousers and penchant for the naffest of the naff music of the time with the likes of Paper […]
ONE FROM THE ARCHIVES: The one where City were stitched up by some hungover Toffees
Now, you may have been expecting a preview of City vs. Saints, but given its postponement and the uncertainty over the remainder of the Premier League season (for obvious reasons), an online debate is currently raging around the fairest way to conclude this campaign. Obviously, we all know the only fair way is to cancel […]
ONE FROM THE ARCHIVES: The one where City played against nine Saints in the Cup!
‘One from the Archives’ is a new feature on MFW, designed specifically to titillate those with a love NCFC nostalgia, and is definitely not a cynical attempt to fill our pages on a day when they would have been free of fresh content (or would have contained content that would perhaps be a little too […]
Football will eat itself. So, the sooner the big four, five or six clear off the better?
I don’t know who coined the phrase about someone being so infested with a sense of self-importance that, if they were made of chocolate, they’d eat themselves. But I’ve always liked it. And it certainly applies to football at the moment. Because the game has become a sporting Mr Creosote, he of Monty Python’s The […]
NOSTALGIA: That day when our Flecky (and Andy) put it up ’em at Cold Blow Lane
Remember Andy Townsend? That ex-player turned ex-summariser who seems to have trouble remembering he once played in the yellow and green of Norwich City? Well, I have news for him. He did play for City. And I know this because he played in one of my all-time favourite City games. And let’s be fair to […]
THE VIV BUSBY INTERVIEW – PART THREE: A fallout with Bondy and the road to Stoke
In the third and final part of their interview, Viv and Ed talk Bondy, the move to Stoke and beyond. Ed picks it up from Viv being dropped by John Bond after the pair had a massive dressing room bust-up following a 1-1 draw at home with QPR… Four days later, Viv, who has, by […]
THE VIV BUSBY INTERVIEW – PART TWO: The route from Craven Cottage to the Carra
In part two of the trilogy, Ed picks it up with Viv still enjoying life at Fulham… Life was good for Viv down by the Thames. The culture of the club and the high calibre of teammates he was now playing alongside certainly brought his game on. “I grew up fast at Fulham. Became a […]
THE VIV BUSBY INTERVIEW – PART ONE: From Luton to a Cottage with Bobby Moore
It’s considered ‘good PR’ these days to bury bad news with a slightly more palatable alternative that helps to soften the initial upset felt. A well-trodden path that is referred to as spin-doctoring, a speciality that, amongst others, a certain Alistair Campbell has been seen to excel at. It’s not unique to politics of course. […]
Club? Country? Both? Join the debate…
Here’s a question for you, especially pertinent given we had three of our own strutting their stuff for the England Under-21s last night. Is watching England play, for you, as enjoyable as it used to be – if, indeed, it ever has been? I’m forced to face up to the fact that it isn’t for […]
‘Charlie’ Boyer – The man who ran for Super-Ted. A 1970s tale of a deadly duo
Charlie. Now that’s a proper footballers name. Charlie George. The sort of man who wound your dad up. Always a plus in my book. “Why doesn’t he get a bloody haircut? The yobbo”. Great player though. Extroverted and as liable to fall into a bottomless onfield sulk as he was to turn on a piece […]
NOSTALGIA: Favourite keeper? Woods, Green, a Gunn? Or the one called The Cat?
Here’s a question for you. Answer in your own time. Name a Norwich City goalkeeper. Preferably your favourite one. Ever. The names roll off the tongue like freshly laid summer turf, don’t they? The great and the good, as well as the very good. A yellow and green roll call of goalkeeping excellence. Kevin Keelan. […]
NOSTALGIA: Anyone for Hockey? A hard man who’d add steel to any soft underbelly
Picture the scene if you will. Norwich City are in freefall. After an unexpectedly good start, with sunny Saturday afternoons of football that smiled on England’s sporting greensward, all bright-eyed exuberance and passion, that joyous sense of adventure that you see with any new-born has engaged with reality, met it full on, and shot to […]
NOSTALGIA: The days of the twin-striker and City’s classic CrossBone combo
I’ve written on this site in the past of the steady disappearance from the game of the traditional striking partnership, once relied upon by clubs to get them the goals that won matches, points, trophies and glory. In fact, in many cases, teams were defined by their front pairing. Back in the 1970s, for example, […]
Into the Drink: From a Grimsby unknown to a Canary legend thanks to dear ol’ Ken
Ssssh. Let’s keep it to ourselves. The Premier League hasn’t cottoned on yet. But we know that we have ourselves a centre-forward with plenty of goals in his boots. Or head, knee, backside, elbow, chest and, dare I say it, groin. A true centre-forward, a goalscoring number nine (or ’22’), the man who would sell […]
One from the archives: Reds on the tele again… and Justin stealing their thunder
As we prepare to reacquaint ourselves with the Reds of Merseyside, it felt like a good time to delve into the archives and re-post an Ed classic. Also, references to good old-fashioned, bonafide, paper and ink fanzines may just be pertinent 😉 Once upon a time in the not so distant past, there was a […]
The John Ryan Interview: Part Three – A final hurrah in Manchester thanks to Bondy
In the final part of his trilogy, Ed chats to John about the latter stages of his City career and how, in a final twist in his time as a top-level pro, a surprise phone call took him to one of the English game’s ‘big boys’… John’s burgeoning development as a player meant that John […]