The most wondrous aspect of Norwich City’s romp to the Football League title last season was that it was a triumph for doing things the right way. Being smart beat money and muscle. And so, for me, amid all the disappointments of yet another dismal demotion, one detail stands out as the bleakest: it looks […]
Column
Dropping the goldfish bowl…
I once had a goldfish. I called him Daniel. I never thought I’d have him for long. This is a tale of effort, hardship, achievement, reward, and disappointment. (Actually, I don’t need to tell you the tale, as I’ve just done so – like they did with the Hollywood trailer for Free Willy.) But, the […]
The silly season is upon us – rumours aplenty of ins, outs and 50% pay cuts…
With what could be called an assist if we push the boundaries a little bit, Onel Hernandez set up Emi Buendia for what was quite strangely his first Premier League goal and it arrived in July! Not only was it a beautiful finish but it saved this current squad from creating a very embarrassing record […]
Time for a review – one that goes all the way up to the very top of our football club
There have been warehouse-sized debates everywhere about Norwich City and their way “forward” with the finances of the club in regard to next season. And the inevitable happened. We are Championship. Quelle surprise. This was a nailed-on from the start. No significant investment, key injuries to central defenders, and only Duda and Rupp in January. […]
Back-to-basics for City but still nothing to show for an improved performance
That we’re all slightly chirpier this morning having witnessed an improved City performance says a lot about the level of the current bar. But we are. And it was. It’s hellishly thin gruel though if our spirits are lifted by what was ultimately another error-strewn defeat against some very mediocre relegation rivals. But, there’s no […]
Why Onel has set the tone for the type of wide player City need next season
The Cuban has a completely different skillset to his confreres, and he’s proven he’s exactly what City need going forward. In June 2018, Academy product Josh Murphy was sold to Cardiff City for an estimated £12 million. Six months prior to his departure, Onel Hernandez was recruited form Eintracht Braunschweig for a fifth of the […]
“Your mission, Mr Farke, should you decide to accept it…” And why I hope he does
This season is over, bar the shouting. Or perhaps more accurately, the whimpering. The “little miracle” Farke was seeking at the restart has grown to loaves-and-fishes proportions, and beyond. The really disappointing thing – the main reason for sour feelings among fans, and some unprecedented questioning of Farke’s position – is the appearance of our […]
Each game an arduous torture, another reminder of what might have been
As a Norwich fan, you become hardened to disappointment but I think this season has to be up there as one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had over the years. Coming up we were magic. Unstoppable and unplayable. We had a manager who had embedded a style that was aesthetically sumptuous, and a Sporting Director […]
‘This sadness will go on’ – a clue to Martin P’s three predictions for next season
I’ve long been a believer in the phrase strike while the iron’s hot, so as I begin this article at 14:53 on Saturday knowing it won’t appear in front of you beloved MFW readers until Monday, I thought I’d write it now, get it out of the way and wallow in our collective misery all […]
Another day, another defeat. The Championship beckons for the Canaries
How was your Super Saturday? Even those who were able to resist the call of the pub may have been tempted to turn to drink after City’s latest post-lockdown offering. But let’s forget the performance level for a minute and look at some numbers. *Look away now if you’re of a nervous disposition. One goal […]
Enough already. I cannot wait for this wretched excuse of a season to end
Everyone’s got an Arsenal mate, haven’t they? I’ve got three but strangely didn’t volunteer to communicate with any of them on Wednesday evening. However one of them, Mickey, couldn’t resist, erm, taking the mickey via the gift of Google Mail. There were a few cheap cracks such as had Josip Drmic borrowed his boots from […]
Time to get experimental?
It’s a Catch-22 cliche that young footballers are not ready to play in the Premier League until they’ve played in the Premier League. The experience of playing at the top level is what exposes those so-far-accomplished young bucks to a whole new level of aspiration. It pushes their dreams into the realms of attainability, and […]
An Emirates humbling for the Canaries as Gunners freewheel to an easy win
Remember when they told us one of the drivers behind Project Restart was to boost our morale? Well, how’s your morale this morning? Since that first ball was kicked against Southampton, it’s not just been the stadiums that have been soulless. City’s lack of quality has been laid bare for the watching nation to see […]
ARSENAL PREVIEW…
It’s to an old mate of mine I turned for this one – Mike Smith, a fellow son of the late Waveney District Council. Once a Lowestoftian, this Gooner has long since departed the sunny climes and headed instead to that London to answer the call of Stan Kroenke and co. *** Before we get […]
Alex Tettey: More than a water carrier – he stops it from leaking too
As the years go by, Tettey’s performances become all the more pleasing and our reliance on him grows. But to say he merely carries the water is a disservice to the role that he plays. When considering Alex Tettey’s Norwich City career, for many it ends up in the same bracket as Russell Martin’s and […]
Money, Money, Money – Which City manager has splashed the most cash?
Following City’s brave exit from the FA Cup this week at the hands (or left boot) of Harry Maguire – it occurred to me with some bitterness that it was a player who’d cost £80million who made the difference. Failing miserably to avoid wallowing in self-pity after yet another glorious failure, I decided to check […]
Two hours of football that summed up the Canaries’ season perfectly…
If you wanted our season summed up in two hours, Saturday delivered. Big time. We played our hearts out, took Man U to the brink of a penalty shoot-out but got kicked in the guts three minutes from the end. And had Timm Klose sent off for a professional that I wouldn’t actually argue with […]
Pride restored but a familiar outcome, as the Beeb breathes a massive sigh of relief
In terms of performance level, that was light years ahead of the first two post-lockdown offerings. Against Southampton and Everton there was little to excite and even less to be proud of, but not so last night. Okay, so it may have ended in that glorious, heart-breaking failure in which our club seems to specialise, […]
Callas, Elliot or Webb – take your pick. Time is about to be called on City’s 2019/20
Well the fat lady is singing on full throttle. It could be Maria Callas, Mama Cass Elliot or even better the British original, Janet Webb on the Morecambe and Wise show. It doesn’t matter who assumes this particular mantle – we are well and truly done for. There was more huffing and puffing than against […]
Stripped of the X-factor a bouncing Carra brings, City’s dearth of quality is exposed
The three-month hiatus, during which time football became a virtual irrelevance, played a cruel trick with the collective mind. It convinced us the “little miracle” of which Daniel Farke spoke at length was do-able. And no football – with far more important things going on in the world – meant the agonising and the navel-gazing […]