Martin Penney

I’ve never been shy of saying I’m a bit of a pro/am chef so this revelation should come as no surprise to regular readers of MFW. One of the finest things I ever bought for myself is an old-fashioned, traditional pestle and mortar. Make your own garlic mayo? Put together a mix of your favourite […]

Our last encounter with Wycombe Wanderers so nearly turned out to be a Hallowe’en howler, when we had to rely on a peach of a Mario Vrancic free kick in the dying seconds of normal time to scrape a 2-1 win against a side who were adrift at the bottom then and are adrift at […]

At half time I bet most of us were thinking along the lines of *this is muddy awful* as City seemed second best in just about every duel and but for a sublime finish from Teemu Pukki we showed none of our usual class or rhythm. Pukki’s penalty was anything but sublime or classy and […]

I would ask MFW readers to join me in thinking about the moments in our lives when we have all been nervous. You know what I mean – a first date, taking your driving test, sitting exams you knew you’d done no revision for and, in my particular case, every single adult dental appointment I’ve […]

When I worked a bar back in the day one of the nicest guys I ever met was Bill Mason, who was head groundsman at the Metropolitan Police 3 Area sports & social club at Chigwell in Essex. All god knows how many acres of it, complete with massive stables. Bill and his small team […]

I know that a few of our MFW readers like to cook now and again when the stars are aligned. Quite possibly many others of us do too but I’m not nosey so I’ve never asked anyone who hasn’t freely offered up such information. But I’ve managed to stuff up all three of my favourite […]

Evidence of all sorts of things was put before us on Friday night in that very late kick-off against Swansea City and, while being no Sherlock, some of it proved to me irrefutably that we’re in a dip that might prove quite difficult to emerge from. As for the match itself, two major errors either […]

That was like watching the grass grow and paint drying while Waiting for Godot at the same time. Millwall versus Norwich City on Tuesday, February 2 has to be the most boring game I can remember since we lost 0-1 at home to a last-minute Terry Gibson goal against the original Wimbledon in, I think, 1988. For […]

We were Warlocked against Boro on Saturday. There’s no other way to describe it really as the old maestro of malice brought out every last card from his battered pack of Tarots to tell us our fortune. “We’ll start Yannick Bolasie for the first hour to tie them up and give them something to worry […]

We all have enjoyed life’s guilty pleasures over the years so I’ll admit to a few of mine. Finishing many a Scotland Yard nightshift in the early 1980s around 0700 and breaking my journey home at Barbican station to walk to The Hope on the edge of Smithfield market to enjoy a few pints with […]

Jordan Hugill has justifiably grabbed most of the headlines this morning following City’s clinical 2-0 despatch of Bristol City at a rainy and windswept Carrow Road last night. But it really was the ultimate team performance as Hugill was at pains to point out himself after the final whistle. As was Daniel Farke: “He [Hugill] […]

There is much to admire about Wales. The superb band that are Manic Street Preachers, the awesome and atmospheric beauty of Lake Bala and the wonderful Treaddur Bay just down the road from Holyhead come instantly to mind as does the warmth and unique humour of the Welsh people I’ve had the good fortune to […]

On the surface that seemed to be the most unremarkable match in many ways – a fairly routine 2-0 win over a Coventry City side who were certainly up for it but were never able to offer much of a cutting edge after an early double from Kenny McLean and Jordan Hugill. Sure we were […]

A thing of beauty is a joy forever, we are told by somebody no less eloquent than the famous pre-Victorian Romantic poet John Keats. No, I haven’t read the poem itself but that line has kind of stuck in my mind – and has rarely been better deployed than when considering Emi Buendia’s wonder strike […]

History repeats itself. I gave the UEA the privilege of my *studying* the subject there way back when and I’m sure that MFW’s Martin MacBlain, who teaches the subject at a high level in Bristol, would agree with me. No, I haven’t had time to ask him but I’d bet he does. This time last […]

Nothing is certain in life except death and taxes, the old idiom goes. Well despite our rather low-key 0-1 to defeat to Watford on Saturday evening’s *Sky Special* there is something else certain right now: the Canary nation will awake on January 1 to discover that we are still very much top of the league. Sure we might not […]

I’ve enjoyed a very chequered career when it comes to pub games. When it comes to Pool I was pretty decent and played regularly for a couple of pub teams over the years. I was no Maltese Joe but handy enough I’d like to think. My ideal wasted afternoon, after I’d retired, was spent in […]

If the City legend that is Darren Huckerby says it, then it would be churlish of me to disagree. As, unlike Hucks, I’ve got more than 280 characters at my disposal I will add that there have been far too many of this type of performance this season for there to be any element of […]

I’m pretty sure that not many Norwich City supporters would immediately associate themselves with the customs and history of the Royal Welsh Regiment. Except myself of course who for some inexplicable reason knows the connection between the regiment and the Canaries: the Goat. For any MFW readers interested in regimental mascots. for some incomprehensible reason […]

After a match like last night’s against Chris Hughton’s Nottingham Forest, it would be very easy to say that we did just enough for our 2-1 win, with *barely enough* doubtless the phrase of choice for those of a pessimistic disposition. I’ll push the boat out a little bit more than that and air the […]