Iwan Roberts not only needs no introduction, he doesn’t need his surname. Just saying ‘Iwan’ is enough. Here is his chapter in the first volume of the Tales From The City trilogy, reproduced here with the kind permission of Adam Leventhal for the publishers and editor Mick Dennis. It was first published in October 2015 […]
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GUEST BLOG: Project Restart – but with a Liverpool hue
The flurry of MFW content decrying Project Restart has provoked plenty of discussion, mostly dissenting voices but the odd one in favour. One of those has been Liverpool fan Neal Widdows, who kindly offered to write us a piece explaining the argument for. Here goes… and please let’s play nice. Firstly, I’d like to thank […]
The carousel of the EPL… on which most of the hoi polloi really don’t seem to matter
And so the football carousel keeps spinning around.** Almost everybody riding it seems to possess a stronger sense of self-interest and hypocrisy than us football supporters who right now genuinely don’t know whether our ar$es are bored, punched or countersunk. (Ask a carpenter if you’re in any doubt as to what the three words after […]
GUEST BLOG: Five questions the EPL should answer before Project Restart can… start
The latest blogger to grasp the Project Guest Blog baton is Phil Huish, who has some searching questions to ask of the Premier League before their own pet project can safely begin… For context, I’m a City season ticket holder who lives in exile. Every match I attend includes six hours in the car and […]
If the Premier League really wants to take its ball home to stop City playing – let it
Before I begin, if you’re a Liverpool fan, look away now. I incensed so many of them last Sunday they’re not going to find this one any more soothing. Just go. Leeds fans too. And to that West Brom bloke who has questioned my parentage on numerous occasions over the last week … I really […]
GUEST BLOG: From Kent to Blackpool, via Gib, North Africa and the Fine City
A familiar voice for readers and commenters on MFW … our own Alex Bain with another guest blog, taking us on a tour, home and abroad, through the eyes of a football fan. Now in my 70th year, I was reminiscing about the games I have watched, the troubles I’ve witnessed and other things I’ve […]
Oh for a whopping dose of normal… but, for that, we will all be waiting for some time
Yeah, sure, we’re all bored wositless just now but while this horrible virus is around that’s nothing to really complain about in the greater context of things. I am sure we all have our own ways of dealing with this situation but I learned last Tuesday morning that life and indeed football must go on […]
GUEST BLOG: Memories of following City via the crossbar of my dad’s bicycle
In the latest of our series of MFW guest blogs, David Wild has been handed the reins and tells us of his formative years at Carrow Road, and the heady days of away fans in the old Barclay… The memory of my first Norwich City game starts with a crossbar seat on my dad’s bicycle, […]
GUEST BLOG: Football behind closed doors… seriously? Like fish with no chips!
One of the first to throw his hand skywards when the shout went out for some MFW guest blogs was Nick Buck – part of the #NCFC Twitter community. It’s his first time so… I am new so please treat me gently! I’ll start with with what is currently, a vastly overused phrase – ‘These […]
GUEST BLOG: The highs and the lows on the rollercoaster they call Norwich City FC
The latest in our series of guest blogs comes from regular MFW commenter Alex Alexander. His journey, as the headline suggests, has been very much of the rollercoaster variety. He may need his tin hat… So, where do I begin? Well, let’s start when I first got a season ticket, back in 2008, which meant […]
GUEST BLOG: The challenge of raising Junior Canaries when you’re 137 miles away
It’s guest blog time again and a familar voice for those who frequent the #NCFC world of Twitter. I give you Mr Kris Gunns, who takes us through the challenges of supporting City from way beyond the city walls… First, an introduction. I am a City fan of over 34 years; my journey beginning when […]
GUEST BLOG: A lockdown exit strategy that pleases everyone? Is there such a thing?
Another to grasp the guest blog baton was Scott Royal who, after nailing his colours to the mast, tackles the thorny subject of football’s lockdown exit strategy. All yours mate… Welcome to my first and possibly, depending on the reaction, only article for MFW. Just so readers know where they stand before we begin, let […]
GUEST BLOG: Cromer Town… Johnny Gavin… the 1959 cup run… & friendly family banter
Another MFW regular commenter who responded to the offer of a guest blog was Jim Davies, and he’s delivered us a touching tale of family and his love for Norwich City FC. Take it away, Jim… Football has been a lifelong passion for me. Fortunately, I have an understanding wife, who is quite keen in […]
Project Restart – a theoretical scenario…
The year is 2020. The month is July. Liverpool have just won their first league title for 30 years by beating Burnley 2-0 in an empty stadium in Sydney. At the final whistle, the only cheers are from the players. The cardboard cut-outs in the stand are oblivious to what’s just happened. Actually, it’s more […]
A trip down Memory Lane, looking at some of the Canaries’ greatest ever midfielders
It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I have a soft spot for Mario Vrančić. However, my admiration of midfielders started as far back as 45 years ago. Whether they be defensive, holding, central, attacking, or wingers, there’s a long list of midfielders both past and present that I have […]
TALES FROM THE CITY: Robert Fleck
Robert Fleck was leading scorer for four consecutive seasons for Norwich and player of the year in 1992. He had two spells at the club, making more than 250 appearances and scoring 84 times. His contribution to the second volume of the Tales From The City trilogy was perhaps the most surprising of all 33 […]
Where does football go next? There’s no understating the magnitude of this crisis
It’s only a game. Football paid off my mortgage. Football helped me regain my mental health more than once. Football has set my mood and provided the rhythm of my week since I was eight – which is 60 years ago this week. But it is only a game. So that is the context of […]
Call an end to this season. Now. Football is special. But it really isn’t that special.
Football is special, very special, to each and every MFW reader and writer. And for everybody who supports their chosen club, from Exeter City to Ross County and so many others inbetween. But in the current scheme of things, just how special is it – and should a special case be made for it? Well […]
Project Restart? Eh? The Premier League execs should rebrand it Project Rethink
It’s hardly a surprise that Project Restart has divided opinion. Everything does that today. Literally everything. Fuelled by social media’s raison d’etre of giving every Tom, Dick and Gary a voice on every conceivable talking point, the modern trend is to take a side, dig your trench deep and refuse to budge. Invariably the trenches […]
In the world of the Premier League, some are MUCH more equal than others
Are you sitting comfortably? Yes? Let me try to change that. Or at least, to paint a familiar picture in some more vivid colours. In a discussion on another forum about pay cuts and furloughing staff, I gently ventured the view that some Premier Clubs were in a different position from others. I was promptly […]