MATCH REPORT

Relegation is never supposed to be welcome. There is supposed to be a gut-wrenching, sinking, dread when your team finally drop down a league. A feeling of despair.  These emotions generally result from some sort of crushed hope. That last day or week of the season where your team needs to deliver a critical result, […]

And so to the penultimate game of the season.  Dean Smith rolled the dice again with a switch to a 3-4-3 formation to match up with Wolves.  Ben Gibson was given a chance to redeem for his errors in a three-man backline, with Kieran Dowell given a chance once again up front. The atmosphere inside […]

You know things are bad when you are dreading a game of football. After the limp surrender against West Ham, there was little prospect of anything other than another defeat with the only question seemingly how much of a hit would be taken in the goal difference column. Dean Smith rolled the dice. Tim Krul, […]

That’s it. It’s official. It’s over.  We are back in the Championship. For some reason, it feels like a relief.  Perhaps numbed by the despair of previous relegations. Perhaps because, like Christmas, we have known this is coming for so long now it is no longer a shock to the system. On his return to […]

If ever there was a game between the financial David and Goliath of the Premier League then this was it.  A match-up of ethical ownership versus the morally corrupt. The haves and the have-nots. For those who crave change in the business model at Carrow Road, this was the perfect illustration of their reasoning. Newcastle United has […]

A few years ago, a close friend left the military after 20 years. I didn’t see him for a while but when I did, gone was the regulation haircut, replaced instead with a fop of hair that would not have been out of place on the head of the member of a boyband.  It’s part […]

The Amex Stadium is famous, or perhaps infamous, for being out of town away from any bars and clubs.  Norwich City arrived on the South Coast looking to drink in the last chance saloon.  They didn’t find it. The team selection had more than a whiff of ‘which eleven are fully fit’ about it. At […]

Another game. Another defeat.  Games to play are reducing. The Championship is waiting. This was a game that City could have, should have had reasonable expectations of a point or 3 against a side on a poor run of form. Grant Hanley was missing with Covid with Gibson deputizing whilst Dean Smith elected for a […]

At times like this, it seems a little frivolous watching football, even when Carrow Road was bedecked in Yellow and Blue. There was always the hope that the football might prove a welcome distraction. Alas no. Dean Smith said that this wasn’t a must-win game, but it was a must-not-lose game.  We lost.  Presumably, he […]

Norwich City were knocked out of the FA cup by a comfortable Liverpool side last night, Lukas Rupp scoring the Canaries’ goal in a 2-1 loss. City had started with energy and quality when they visited Anfield 12 days before this tie, and history repeated itself in the opening exchanges. Teemu Pukki had the first […]

It is rare that I sit at my laptop after a game at a loss what to write. I truly thought that, after the recent improvements in City’s performances, I wouldn’t have to dig into the set of superlatives that spring to mind after this performance. How wrong I was. Dean Smith made no changes […]

A week after a somewhat undeserved scoreline, if not result against Manchester City, most if not all Canary fans were expecting a similar outcome against Liverpool, before the real business begins once more.  Even more so given the news about a prolonged absence for Adam Idah, so much the catalyst of the recent mini-revival.  Jurgen […]

Norwich were comfortably beaten 4-0 by Manchester City at Carrow Road, goals from Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden securing a routine win for the champions. Norwich head coach Dean Smith had described the match as “a challenge and an opportunity” when previewing it, and his charges appeared to have the same attitude going in. After […]

It says a lot for the journey under Dean Smith that there is a feeling of mild disappointment after a draw against Crystal Palace. Barely six weeks ago, a draw could barely be contemplated – to suggest three league wins on the bounce would have been ridiculed, yet that’s where City were for much of the […]

Stick or Twist? Always a dilemma and one faced by Dean Smith in advance of the trip to Molineux.  He promised a strong lineup saying that he valued the cup, so it was something of a surprise to see four changes from the game against Watford – five by the time kick-off came around.  A […]

This natch report comes to you from dizzying heights – both literally and figuratively. I watched the game from Aspen Colorado, a breathless 7800ft above sea level, and at the end of it, City are in the equally breathless position of outside the bottom four albeit having played extra games. You didn’t need to be […]

So admit it, you forgot what it feels like! I walked across the streets of New York, on my way to a rendezvous with the New York Canaries in the Football factory, with a feeling of trepidation.  Was there any conceivable way that the result would be anything other than another defeat? The team selection […]

City were dealt yet another blow in the survival stakes last night, losing 2-0 to a comfortable West Ham United at the London Stadium. There was a cautious air of optimism among the travelling Norwich fans after they had seen a 1-0 win over Charlton on Sunday, but the Hammers’ bright start reminded them what […]

When the team sheet landed at 2 o’clock, it had the feel of a selection made from the last players standing.  6 changes from the rout on boxing day, no Teemu Pukki on the sheet, two goalkeepers and one sub short on the bench. I feared the worst. For the opening minutes, City looked bright. Within […]

I’ll start tonight’s match report by listing the meaningful efforts on goal by City. Now for the rest of the game. As performances go, it is easy to exhaust the list of superlatives to describe how awful the first half.  Shapeless, listless, languid.  I could go on.  From the kickoff, Villa looked like a side […]