MATCH REPORT

A week is a long time in politics they say – just ask Liz Truss. In football, the opposite is true. The relentless nature of the league-cup-league cycle crammed between international breaks meant that the City players had barely drawn a breath since the humiliating performance in the southwest. An improved performance midweek passed in a heartbeat, […]

There are some games when you watch in disbelief and wonder what exactly is going on. Yesterday was one of those. Before describing it, the first thing that has to be done is pay tribute to the 1622 City fans who made the long journey to Plymouth. They deserved better. But they could be heard until the end. […]

My work travels take me all over the world. Usually, I find a way to watch City when I can’t be there in person. This week I was in a small industrial estate in Farnborough and the signs weren’t promising when my hotel, despite having a ‘Sports Bar’ with multiple screens insisted that they would only […]

City fielded an unchanged side for the return to action after the break. Carrow Road was rocking and City started like a team who had spent two weeks hurting after the defeat at Rotherham. It started inside a minute, a superb Gabriel Sara ball to Jonathan Rowe on the left, he touched it to Dimi Giannoulis […]

City fans headed to the New York Stadium bleary-eyed after the latest transfer deadline day for many a year.  The upshot was two unknown strikers and an experienced defender in, balanced by the much-expected departure of Andrew Omobamidele – only his destination proving to be a surprise. It was not the only surprise awaiting Canary […]

Remember all the nonsense in the World Cup break last year? How City were going to come back a different animal?  As we all know, that didn’t happen, at least not in a positive sense. However, after a pre-season under David Wagner, City have genuinely been transformed. A game against Neil Warnock’s Huddersfield was never going […]

So here it is, a new season. New hope and new expectations after a dismal 24 months of football. There were only four starters on the pitch who also started the dismal final game against Blackpool, yet the City team still had a very familiar ring to it. Shane Duffy, Jack Stacey, and Ashley Barnes were […]

I’m not sure what the away pub was called near the Hawthorns, but for sure it should have been the Last Chance Saloon. An afternoon when City could finally cross the state boundary, away from the heady cocktail of a Premier League dream and back into the Championship land of prohibition. Team selection looked in part […]

The only people with a tougher gig than me were the 20,000 or so City fans forced to endure yesterday’s game at Carrow Road. All I have to do is find some words to describe it On the face of it, that’s an easy task. Read the QPR write-up. Delete the City equalizer. If you […]

First things first. I was lucky enough to miss Friday’s horror show. As I drove home, I listened to the first 10 minutes on TalkSPORT2. It was a close run thing which was worse – the game or the coverage.  Then I remembered good old Radio Norfolk on the medium wave and got my answer. […]

After the loss to Sheffield United last week, many City fans were resigned to missing out on the playoffs. My conclusion was that City had players who could improve that performance, but that they were on the treatment table. I was half right. The surprise inclusion of Onel Hernandez looked set to give City the […]

The final break of the season is over and the final run-in has begun. A still-depleted City faced an obdurate Sheffield United side. If they expected a battle, then they weren’t disappointed. The game started slowly, with both sides seemingly unwilling to take any early risks. Even so, City won a corner after three minutes after […]

Today’s report begins with a bit of Paddy Ashdown-style hat-eating. The most promising news out of Carrow Road this week was that, despite my prediction at the end of my last report, Marquinhos had had his red card overturned and was available for the Stoke game. Given his less-than-stellar performance against Huddersfield, you can see […]

It was a night for reunions at the John Smith’s Stadium. David Wagner and Stuart Webber returned to the club that established their names and reputations, while Jordan Rhodes and Waghorn (Martyn not Rick) both played south of the border, each remembered by City fans for very different reasons. And of course, there was Colin […]

The talk going into this game was how Norwich had only beaten one team in the top six all season. That team was Millwall. It was also how Millwall had scored more goals from set pieces than any other in the league. And how this could be the defining moment of City’s season. Win and […]

If there is one thing you can say about the post-Dean Smith Norwich City, it is that you genuinely don’t know what you are going to see.  International internet meant that I only saw around half of the Wigan game. That was enough.  Contrast the two most recent midweek games. You could watch them all […]

Let’s face it. Burnley was always going to be a tougher test than that posed by either Coventry or Preston. And so it proved. From the off, the Burnley game plan was evident – you may say a taste of City’s own medicine.  Their backroom staff had obviously done their homework on City.  They deployed […]

The planets aligned for me this week. Not only was I in the UK and not working, but there was an away game within striking distance AND easily available tickets.  As a result, I got a break from Canaries TV over sketchy hotel internet connections or the ‘wisdom’ of  Andy Gray on Bein sports. Instead, I had […]

As I write this, I’m having to reach for a metaphorical book of superlatives, unused for quite some time now.  Spoiler alert. In 90 minutes, David Wagner delivered more from his team than Dean Smith managed in what was a miserable last 14 months. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the starting lineup was Tim Krul […]

So the start of a new era at Carrow Road.  Having only held one training session, it was always expecting a lot from David Wagner to have much of an impact on City but, as they say, it’s the hope that kills you. From the off, there was a lot to like. While City weren’t quite […]