The Bermuda Triangle, Roanoke, The Marie Celeste and Donald Trump’s popularity are all huge mysteries of the 20th and 21st centuries. We can now add the question as to why couldn’t Dean Smith impose a good playing style at Norwich City. He was well-loved at Walsall, Brentford, and to a degree at his beloved Villa […]
Column
MATCH REPORT: CITY 1, READING 1
Dean Smith has gone. We are now in the awkward period of caretaker management while we await the appointment of a successor. Steve Weaver and Alan Russell have had barely two days to work with the squad so the question always was going to be what they could do in such a short space of time. […]
An infinitely more buoyant Carrow Road but the same old problems linger
Well, the atmosphere was much improved. I’ll say that much. And there appeared more energy in the team’s performance. But in terms of productivity, the removal of Dean Smith alone was never going to be enough to get a tune out of this group. Renewed effort and vigour can only get you so far. Allan […]
Smith may be the first domino to fall but there is an even bigger problem…
The Dean Smith sacking is an article for others to write. I was an advocate, a big fan. Then I was patient, flirting with the benefit of doubt. Then I was sceptical. Then I was confused. Then I got bored and, eventually, agitated. It was worth a punt, it failed. We move on. I […]
It’s now up to us to turn Carrow Road into the place we know it can be
It’s always easier to highlight problems than offer up solutions. Over recent weeks and countless column inches, we have collectively dissected and debated the factors that led to the departures of Smith and Shakespeare. The more difficult challenge is to identify exactly what should happen next. This a challenge I’ve conveniently sidestepped in recent articles. […]
CITY vs READING (H) – THE PREVIEW
Norwich City play their first game since the inevitable sacking of Dean Smith as they host Reading at Carrow Road tomorrow night. They come into this game off the back of losing to ten-man Luton Town on Boxing Day, while the Royals beat Swansea City 2-1 on Tuesday. The last time we played Reading at […]
Do we actually want to get promoted?
It’s no secret that Norwich City is in crisis. By initially refusing to do the right thing and relieve Dean Smith of his duties, Stuart Webber did nothing but amplify the ridicule and toxicity that clouded the non-existent relationship between the head coach and fanbase. And regardless of the fact that change has finally been […]
So then, the big question. Who’s next?
So, what has felt inevitable for a long time has finally happened. Dean Smith is no more. What at the time seemed a baffling decision has ended as many predicted it would – in disaster. Smith’s record as the Head Coach of Norwich is abysmal, finishing his tenure with an average of 1.09 points per […]
One player, above all others, epitomises our club’s current plight
That player is Ben Gibson. I was delighted when, in September 2020, it was revealed City were going to sign him on loan after he’d endured a tumultuous time at Burnley where, after impressing for Boro, he was the Clarets’ record signing. I also couldn’t have agreed more with the then-head coach, Daniel Farke’s statement: […]
Where do we go from here?
It was clear for some time that the tenure of Dean Smith as head coach of Norwich City was coming to an end. I described us as being in a holding pattern following the Blackburn game where we were simply awaiting the end of his era. It has also been clear that just replacing Dean […]
Farewell, Deano. I’d love to say it’s been a blast…
It was inevitable in the end. The only thing that could have saved Dean Smith was if his prophecy that his team would emerge from the World Cup break a “different animal” had come to fruition. It didn’t. The exact same animal emerged. A muddled, half-hearted, and miserable one. The one that played turgid football, […]
Silence from Carrow Road as a rough patch turns into a crisis
When I was a young lad we had a mobile library that used to stop on the corner of my street once a fortnight. I came across loads of books there but one that particularly impressed me was a hardback with this guy on the cover throwing fireballs at what seemed to be a selection […]
The final straw… and not just for Dean Smith
As I write, Dean Smith (as far as we know) remains in situ. Whether he will be by the time I finish this piece… who knows. But if he is and, more importantly, if he is still here on Friday when we face Reading, then no one wins – unless, of course, you’re a stubborn, […]
CITY v LUTON TOWN (a) – THE PREVIEW
Where to start for this match preview. There’s been a host of excellent MFW content in the aftermath of City’s placid defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers, and the Dean Smith disasterclass that followed in his media interviews. Though, despite the cries from thousands – and the empty seats from others – Dean Smith […]
MyFootballWriter’s… A Christmas Carol
As supporters, we see ourselves as more than just paying customers. The relationship with our football club is completely different to any other business we use. But imagine if it wasn’t. [Gary, cue up the transition to the dream sequence, please]. ____ It’s the weekend before Christmas. After a long week, my wife and I […]
Unrepentant and doubling down. No olive branch from Deano
Oh, Dean, you’ve done it now haven’t you? If the post-match comments after the Blackburn defeat weren’t enough, then the ones he made in his pre-match presser this morning have taken Old Yeller (or should I say Old Yellow?) behind the woodshed and put us out of our misery. Except, the misery remains for Norwich […]
If Deano can turn this around fair play, but who genuinely believes that he can?
I’m slightly reluctant to submit yet another article, focusing on our much-maligned Head Coach and add to the hostile narrative theory. But I’ll try to remove any emotive vitriol and hopefully dispel the notion that those of us calling for change are rabid maniacs, who are out for his blood. So I’ll channel the spirit […]
All about opinions… but is it really a well-run club, managed by good people?
After reading Mick’s piece I thought, “Go on then, I’ll comment”. However, my response was long enough to put together a piece of my own. So here goes… Firstly, Mick was right to say his piece. We expected it and, to be fair, the one-way traffic was… well, one way. But I’m sure he’ll understand […]
If nothing else, dwindling crowds should send a message to NCFC’s Big Four
Famously, Winston Churchill once described Russia as a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. The New York Times put a modern spin on this at the start of the millennium by suggesting that the Churchillian words of 1939 were carefully chosen to speak eloquently of the Western sense of Moscow as the other – an inscrutable and menacing land […]
Why are Norwich fans so fed up?
It’s just not fun anymore, is it? But then it wasn’t exactly a barrel of laughs for much of the time between 1995 and 2008, barring a couple of years under Nigel Worthington. So why, despite sitting fifth in the table – which we’d have killed for in most of those seasons – is it […]