What a difference a week on the fields of Colney can make. Wow. Obviously, it’s important to not get too carried away – just three points – but so gloomy and miserable have the last 14 months been, sod it. Let’s dream. It was the type of performance we’d spent the last year and a […]
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MATCH REPORT: PRESTON NE 0, CITY 4
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 […]
CITY v PRESTON NE (A) – THE PREVIEW
David Wagner is set to take charge of his first league outing this weekend as Norwich City’s head coach, facing Ryan Lowe’s Preston North End. After a home defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup in his first competitive game, Wagner will be desperate to begin his league campaign in a more positive fashion, […]
ACADEMY – January report card for the Under-18s and Under-U21s
Despite some setbacks, 2022 was a hugely encouraging year for the young Canaries, with them making it into their first-ever PL2 Division 2 Play-Off campaign and many players committing their futures to the club. However, the most satisfying thing was seeing Jon Rowe, Jon Tomkinson, Tony Springett and Liam Gibbs making their full debuts for […]
The mystery of the medical matchday shirts
What do popular TV historian Neil Oliver, actor and enthusiastic amateur archaeologist Tony Robinson of Blackadder and Time Team fame, and Martin Penney of MFW “I always make sure to blame the Board before it blames me” infamy have in common? We all love a bit of the jolly old British history, that’s what, and discovering the odd long-lost […]
The reset may be underway on the grass, but issues aplenty to address at the top
During Monday’s Colney presser, when David Wagner was formally introduced to the local and national press, Stuart Webber directly answered questions asked of him by Paddy Davitt and Michael Bailey. I’d like to think of it as a sign of a minor thaw in the spat between the Club and the local press. We’ll see. […]
A sea change is on its way in NR1… but City fans shouldn’t expect a smooth ride
Back in the day, when I had a mortgage to service and a couple of dependent youngsters to keep warm, clean and healthy, going to work was a necessity. Always being lucky in that respect, I enjoyed myself at work more than was really strictly allowable. Once or twice I had a little bit too […]
A promising debut from Wagner but old habits die hard in the Class of 2023
So much for the magic of the FA Cup. And so much for footballing fairytales. If David Wagner was under any illusions as to the size of the task that awaits, then he’s not anymore. Under their current guise, and with their current fitness levels, this group is a million miles away from being able […]
FA CUP MATCH REPORT – CITY 0, BLACKBURN 1
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 […]
CITY v BLACKBURN [FA CUP] – THE PREVIEW
It’s hard to know where to begin. I mean, it is the FA Cup Third Round, which for some is the ‘best weekend of the season’, but for Norwich fans that’s been almost lost amid the hullabaloo of a new coach arriving. It may have been the most dragged-out saga since Edward III first invaded […]
For the Wagner reset to have a chance, the Club needs to do four things…
It was Norfolk’s worst-kept secret. David Wagner has finally been named as Norwich City’s new head coach, with Christoph Bühler as his assistant and Andrew Hughes as first-team coach. While his appointment probably won’t set the pulse racing among a lot of City fans, it makes sense and is probably the best option available right […]
Will Wagner be helped in the window? Or another case of as you were?
With the hunt for a new head coach to replace the belatedly-dismissed Dean Smith having finally reached something of a low-key conclusion, any hopes of much transfer activity this January are now even more misplaced, methinks. So far young left-back Saxon Earley has been recalled from his loan at Stevenage specifically to be sold to […]
The David Wagner story … so far
So, while it’s not yet official, the good folk of the EDP and Pink Un are reporting that David Wagner is now in Blighty and will be confirmed as our new head coach once that pesky paperwork has been completed – probably tomorrow. When not if. And so, for me, that’s a strong enough signal […]
Farke a poor man’s Wagner, or Wagner a poor man’s Farke? We’re about to find out
As I write this, the news of David Wagner’s pending appointment has begun to seep out. Hopefully, the intervening hours won’t age this article too quickly… During the World Cup break, I wrote an article about where City as a whole came unstuck. Now, with Dean Smith behind us, we can look at where he went […]
Only two numbers that matter in football?
It was a typical New Year’s catch-up with mates in the pub. Tales of overindulgence, weight gain, and the annual competition to crown the most random Christmas present. My son’s new STATSports tracker vest didn’t claim the dubious accolade, but once we got past the petty sports bra jibes, it did prompt a lengthy discussion […]
No lack of effort against Hornets’ Reserves, but still we get bashed and bullied
It’s hard to believe that it was only on New Year’s morning that my first article of 2023 included Reasons To Be Cheerful in the headline – and this was not merely an excuse to feature one of my favourite Ian Dury songs. Fast forward exactly three days and I feel like we’re back to square one. […]
The new head coach can’t arrive soon enough but won’t right all the wrongs
It was always going to be the toughest of gigs for Allan Russell and Steve Weaver. Two games and not many more training sessions to make a positive impact on a group of players who had underperformed for the first 24 games of the season. And, to be fair, in both games, the players have […]
If it is to be Wagner, then revolution rather than evolution is needed
I wrote my previous MFW article before the David Wagner rumours started circulating in earnest. In that piece, I highlighted my issues with Stuart Webber and made references to Wagner and the promotion he’d earned at Huddersfield. Specifically, I emphasised the fact that Wagner didn’t coach the squad he inherited but that Webber allowed him to sign […]
CITY v WATFORD (H) – THE PREVIEW
If you find yourself on the rota to preview a Norwich-Watford, game, the cardinal rule is “Don’t write it too early”. The usual reason is the likelihood of Watford changing manager in the days before the game. Though it would be rash to discount the possibility of Watford carrying out one of their regular executions […]
Reasons to be cheerful? Or just some temporary, low-level feelgood?
Friday night’s official Carrow Road attendance was promptly announced as 26,218 and by every account I’ve heard, the occasion was very much enjoyed by one and all. Yellows supporters enjoyed the sight of their team getting the ball forward a little earlier than of late, Max Aarons rediscovered his ability to cross the halfway line […]