Ed Couzens-Lake

Match Abandoned (Air Raid): The tale of the last time Carrow Road fell quiet April 8, 2020 - A disappointing crowd of just 10,729 made their way to Portman Road for Norwich City’s Third Division (South) match against Ipswich Town on September 2nd, 1939, a typically rumbustious and end-to-end local derby that ended with honours even in a 1-1 draw. The Norwich scorer on the day, Billy Furness ...
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Not heard of Vasper, Gallego, Dennington & Ronson? Read on… March 31, 2020 - Peter Vasper. It’s a great name isn’t it? It sounds like one belonging to a 1970s TV detective; a man who likes to operate not only outside the law but also, with his unfeasible perm, heavily flared trousers and penchant for the naffest of the naff music of the time ...
ONE FROM THE ARCHIVES: The one where City were stitched up by some hungover Toffees March 13, 2020 - Now, you may have been expecting a preview of City vs. Saints, but given its postponement and the uncertainty over the remainder of the Premier League season (for obvious reasons), an online debate is currently raging around the fairest way to conclude this campaign. Obviously, we all know the only ...
ONE FROM THE ARCHIVES: The one where City played against nine Saints in the Cup! March 11, 2020 - ‘One from the Archives’ is a new feature on MFW, designed specifically to titillate those with a love NCFC nostalgia, and is definitely not a cynical attempt to fill our pages on a day when they would have been free of fresh content (or would have contained content that would ...
Football will eat itself. So, the sooner the big four, five or six clear off the better? January 29, 2020 - I don’t know who coined the phrase about someone being so infested with a sense of self-importance that, if they were made of chocolate, they’d eat themselves. But I’ve always liked it. And it certainly applies to football at the moment. Because the game has become a sporting Mr Creosote, ...
NOSTALGIA: That day when our Flecky (and Andy) put it up ’em at Cold Blow Lane November 21, 2019 - Remember Andy Townsend? That ex-player turned ex-summariser who seems to have trouble remembering he once played in the yellow and green of Norwich City? Well, I have news for him. He did play for City. And I know this because he played in one of my all-time favourite City games. ...
THE VIV BUSBY INTERVIEW – PART THREE: A fallout with Bondy and the road to Stoke October 24, 2019 - In the third and final part of their interview, Viv and Ed talk Bondy, the move to Stoke and beyond. Ed picks it up from Viv being dropped by John Bond after the pair had a massive dressing room bust-up following a 1-1 draw at home with QPR... Four days ...
THE VIV BUSBY INTERVIEW – PART TWO: The route from Craven Cottage to the Carra October 23, 2019 - In part two of the trilogy, Ed picks it up with Viv still enjoying life at Fulham... Life was good for Viv down by the Thames. The culture of the club and the high calibre of teammates he was now playing alongside certainly brought his game on. “I grew up ...
THE VIV BUSBY INTERVIEW – PART ONE: From Luton to a Cottage with Bobby Moore October 22, 2019 - It’s considered ‘good PR’ these days to bury bad news with a slightly more palatable alternative that helps to soften the initial upset felt. A well-trodden path that is referred to as spin-doctoring, a speciality that, amongst others, a certain Alistair Campbell has been seen to excel at. It’s not ...
Club? Country? Both? Join the debate… September 10, 2019 - Here’s a question for you, especially pertinent given we had three of our own strutting their stuff for the England Under-21s last night. Is watching England play, for you, as enjoyable as it used to be - if, indeed, it ever has been? I’m forced to face up to the ...
‘Charlie’ Boyer – The man who ran for Super-Ted. A 1970s tale of a deadly duo September 5, 2019 - Charlie. Now that’s a proper footballers name. Charlie George. The sort of man who wound your dad up. Always a plus in my book. “Why doesn’t he get a bloody haircut? The yobbo”. Great player though. Extroverted and as liable to fall into a bottomless onfield sulk as he was ...
NOSTALGIA: Favourite keeper? Woods, Green, a Gunn? Or the one called The Cat? August 29, 2019 - Here’s a question for you. Answer in your own time. Name a Norwich City goalkeeper. Preferably your favourite one. Ever. The names roll off the tongue like freshly laid summer turf, don’t they? The great and the good, as well as the very good. A yellow and green roll call ...
NOSTALGIA: Anyone for Hockey? A hard man who’d add steel to any soft underbelly August 1, 2019 - Picture the scene if you will. Norwich City are in freefall. After an unexpectedly good start, with sunny Saturday afternoons of football that smiled on England’s sporting greensward, all bright-eyed exuberance and passion, that joyous sense of adventure that you see with any new-born has engaged with reality, met it ...
NOSTALGIA: The days of the twin-striker and City’s classic CrossBone combo July 24, 2019 - I’ve written on this site in the past of the steady disappearance from the game of the traditional striking partnership, once relied upon by clubs to get them the goals that won matches, points, trophies and glory. In fact, in many cases, teams were defined by their front pairing. Back ...
Into the Drink: From a Grimsby unknown to a Canary legend thanks to dear ol’ Ken July 19, 2019 - Ssssh. Let's keep it to ourselves. The Premier League hasn’t cottoned on yet. But we know that we have ourselves a centre-forward with plenty of goals in his boots. Or head, knee, backside, elbow, chest and, dare I say it, groin. A true centre-forward, a goalscoring number nine (or '22’), ...
One from the archives: Reds on the tele again… and Justin stealing their thunder July 3, 2019 - As we prepare to reacquaint ourselves with the Reds of Merseyside, it felt like a good time to delve into the archives and re-post an Ed classic. Also, references to good old-fashioned, bonafide, paper and ink fanzines may just be pertinent 😉 Once upon a time in the not so ...
The John Ryan Interview: Part Three – A final hurrah in Manchester thanks to Bondy June 19, 2019 - In the final part of his trilogy, Ed chats to John about the latter stages of his City career and how, in a final twist in his time as a top-level pro, a surprise phone call took him to one of the English game's 'big boys'... John’s burgeoning development as ...
The John Ryan Interview: Part Two – From Luton to the Fine City thanks to Bondy June 18, 2019 - In part two of his John Ryan trilogy, Ed discusses John's time at Luton and how a certain John Bond spotted more in him than just a steady Eddie full-back... John’s arrival at his new club (Luton) neatly coincided with the end of another journey, albeit one that was a ...
The John Ryan Interview: Part One – Early days at Arsenal and a spell at the Cottage June 17, 2019 - In part one of Ed's three-part interview with City legend of the 1970s John Ryan, they talk about his brush with Billy Wright while at Arsenal, an embarrassing encounter with Johnny Haynes and a close call with Bobby Robson and Ipswich Town. John Bond was never happier as a manager than ...
TV WEEK: Star trekking across the Universe with Picard and our Ed… June 6, 2019 - My name is Ed. And I’m a Trekker. I will, at this point, distinguish between a Trekker, such as myself and a Trekkie. Trekkie’s are devotees of the original Star Trek series, as conceived and written by Gene Roddenberry and made by NBC. And I can take it or leave ...
Farke’s miracle isn’t the first in NR1. The Saunders title win of 1971/72 runs it close May 1, 2019 - Pinch me. On second thoughts, don’t. I might wake up. And I’m in such a nice place at the moment. We’re all in dreamland at the moment, aren’t we? A well-deserved promotion back to the Premier League, our eighth to the top flight of English football since Ron Saunders and ...
The Ghost: Remember that time when City could bring in World Cup winners for £50K? September 12, 2018 - As far as the study and appreciation of Art is concerned, I am, and will forever be the type of person who the artistic cognoscenti would look down their long, thin noses at, regarding me and my simple appraisals of the great works as opinions that matter less, to them, ...
NOSTALGIA: Suggett and see – an understated City legend, identified by Saunders, refined by Bond May 2, 2018 - It’s a footballing fact of life that, every now and again, a young footballing prodigy leaps to the attention of those in the know who immediately, in a flurry of excitement and feverish hyper-ventilating, announce him to be the “next <insert name of footballing legend here>”. The subsequent acres of ...
The cheeky lad from Coventry, who played with a smile on his face and puts smiles on the faces of others… March 23, 2018 - Ah, the 1970s. It was the decade when it was firmly believed we’d all be flying around in hover cars, holidaying on the moon and foregoing conventional meals in favour of tablets that would meet all our nutritional needs as we got on with our days. Days that were mostly ...
Feel the hate. And the feel the disconnection. Football is no longer United March 13, 2018 - How many of us can say that, back in the day, we really did knock on a neighbour’s door or peer at them over a garden fence and ask if we could have our ball back? For me and my football loving friends in Brancaster, if that ball had just ...
The modern football era – defined for some by Sky Sports and a certain Scotsman August 21, 2017 - So, Classic FM. Bear with me. Classic FM. It was, for me, the radio station of choice a few years ago if I wanted some comfortable and relatively easy going listening in the background. Bland voices, familiar music. Background noise to work to. Not anymore. The aforementioned station has, in ...
Drawing the Line. And by line, for Jacob Murphy, that means a figure that is eight digits long June 23, 2017 - Inevitably, as we continue to discuss the ins and outs at Carrow Road this summer, talk drifts, nervously, to the prospect of losing a few players that we’d rather the club looked to keep hold of, brave new economically sound business model or not. Not too many yellow and green ...
Football’s gone home. But what a tangled, dodgy and sometimes shady web it keeps on weaving June 16, 2017 - Question… What would your reaction be if the Canaries announced that their latest close season signing was Liao Lisheng? Never heard of him? No, neither had I before today. Liao plays for Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande. The Chelsea, if that’s possible, of a country that aims to be ...
'Norfolk's' Mark Walton, one of the Class of 1992/93, recalls City’s best ever Premier League season February 10, 2017 - "I remember Lee Power ordering 40 vodka and oranges and bringing them to the tables; Robert Chase’s face was a picture! On some of the away trips, that bus resembled a disco on wheels at times. So yes, we enjoyed ourselves. But we were professional and we kept fit, trained ...
Football. Simple? It was once but that was before agents, financial advisors and image gurus happened January 6, 2017 - The tradition then, of course, was not to have them stood on the pitch holding up a scarf or shirt but, rather, sat at a battered old table, pen in hand and smile on face with the manager and chairman stood behind, gurning away in practiced fashion for the camera.
1976. Bondy's under pressure and fans asking if City have what it takes to survive amongst the elite December 23, 2016 - Dave Stringer and Big Duncan are primed, ready and as good as anyone in the country at dealing with the sort of centre forwards we are used to seeing every week, the likes of Alan Woodward, John Hickton, Mick Jones and Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson, all sinew and elbow, the very ...
Filthy lucre. And now where's the incentive gone? More lessons to be learned from the Class of 1992 December 9, 2016 - Professional footballers, despite what they may say in public, do love to talk about money and the class of 1992 were no different. One of the ex-Canaries I spoke to said he was chatting to some Manchester United players after our first game against them that season and, inevitably, talk ...
Lessons to be learned from the Cubs? Out with the old and in with the 'young and hungry' worked a treat in Chicago November 11, 2016 - I could do a long list of footballers who the Canaries have plucked from either obscurity or near footballing oblivion who have, in time, embraced the opportunity given to them to prove themselves, who have felt wanted and have, in turn, wanted to be here.
Self belief: where to find it, and do City's current crop have enough to drag the club out of this division? November 4, 2016 - “A season of struggle beckons for Norwich...”, reckoned one old sage in whatever old rag I picked up the next day, adding, “... if the Canaries play like that for the rest of this season then Nigel Worthington and his men will be looking forward to trips to the likes ...
Time: A rare commodity in modern football and one that's no longer afforded to mis-firing gaffers October 28, 2016 - Geoffrey Watling had been appointed as the new club chairman in 1957 and had declared that his objective was top flight football. When Norwich appointed Ron Saunders as their new manager in the summer of 1969 it did so with the caveat that he got the club promoted to the ...
Whose product is it anyway? When a thought shower turned into an info cascade and the EFL was born October 14, 2016 - The people in power are too afraid that, for example, thousands of Norwich fans who would normally get themselves along to Carrow Road to see their team play Brentford will all think, as one, “...no, sod that, I’m going to watch Real Madrid against Barcelona on the telly instead”.
Fancy a new Fiat? A look at the lost innocence of football and its fans, and Keith Bertschin in jeans October 7, 2016 - Pitch invasions these days are often instigated and precipitated by violence and provocation. No-one found the actions of the Hibernian fans who invaded the pitch at Hampden Park during last season’s Scottish FA Cup Final delightful. Yes, the Hibs fans were joyful at their win. But they were more content ...
I blame Pep. Where once winning was the be all and end all, entertainment has now entered the football equation September 30, 2016 - I was lucky enough to spend time in the company of Kevin Bond not so long ago. Much of the talk was, naturally enough, about his father. And I wasn’t particularly surprised when he said to me in the course of our conversation, “...we never did much defensive training under ...
With Jo-cob emerging as serious first team material, the faithful can finally rejoice in a Colney job well done September 23, 2016 - Luton paid Norwich a very decent sum for Cameron McGeehan's services last year and, with him now attracting more than serious attention from a number of Championship sides, Norwich will, when he does move on again, benefit again by the sell-on fee that will almost certainly have been included as ...
The other way: If funding allowed would we prefer the Abramovich route or that of a Mr Lansdown? September 16, 2016 - The obvious question that I and, as it turned out, i journalist, Huge Godwin wanted to ask Lansdown was why, or when, he intended to just follow the oligarch lead and buy success - in this case, for his rugby club by also, by definition, for the football club as ...
From Cawston to Jones, via Baker, Hansbury, Lim and Bensead: a rogues gallery of reserve keepers September 9, 2016 - Hansbury, unlike Theoklitos, stuck around and stuck it out, despite his nightmare debut. And it paid off for him. He ended his Norwich career having made 84 senior appearances for the club.
Final window thought: why was Master Naismith's agent unable to seal the deal with the Black Cats? September 2, 2016 - There are plenty of professional footballers out there who dislike the game and the entire industry with a very high degree of passion. They do it because it’s their job and they have been fortunate enough to be rather good at doing it.
The swagger of youth: maybe, just maybe, Tuesday gave us a glimpse into a bright Canary future? August 26, 2016 - No wonder Alex Neil smiles whenever he is asked about him. He knows Godfrey could go on to be a special player, one who already, in his own mind at least, will be convinced he is ready for a run in the Norwich City first-team this season.
Time to stroll down Memory Lane and pay tribute to the oft-forgot man; the first City manager to claim a cup triumph August 18, 2016 - "Whatever else people might have thought of Reid, he is still one of only two managers to have won a major trophy with the Canaries, an achievement that has eluded many of the more famous names that have followed him at the club...
Who will step forward on Saturday and write their way into the history books as the Owls head for Norfolk? August 11, 2016 - Sheffield Wednesday then. A “proper” football club. It’s a term I often use in conversation about the game without really knowing quite what I mean by it. A mix, I suppose, of the club in questions history, their ground and the many and varying other ingredients that make up the ...
Few strikers 'guarantee' goals. Even McCormack doesn't come with 20 goals already in the onion bag August 4, 2016 - McCormack’s overall record at Fulham is 100 appearances with 42 goals scored. An overall record of 2.38 games per goal. Now that’s not bad, not bad at all, but it does reflect these occasional purple patches he has had in his career, notably last season and 2008/09.
Pre-season: what is it good for? Back in the day the Canaries were globe trotters of a very different ilk July 22, 2016 - Norwich’s pre-season campaign had consisted of just one match; a 1-1 draw up at St Mirren on August 4, in the Paisley Charity Cup. We took them on again during pre-season two years later, that game ending in a 0-0 draw with, on both occasions, the trophy being shared between ...
The 'F' word: the curse of football 2016 style, and one that's capable of seizing the great and good July 15, 2016 - Hal Robson-Kanu thrived. The man without a club scored twice and made a real impact for both his country and on the footballing public at large, scoring, against Belgium, one of the best goals of the tournament.
Carrow Road 1973: Time for the joy of promotion to subside and the gritty reality of top flight life to kick in July 8, 2016 - It says a lot for the Norwich board’s opinion of Saunders that little effort seems to have been made to appease him or get him to change his mind. In truth, maybe each knew that they had gone as far with the other as they could, and this sudden break ...
The NCFC striking conundrum (Part 3) – How Bond gambled big to solve his quest for a prolific number 9 July 1, 2016 - Bond was not afraid of big name players, nor those who had a similarly big reputation in the game. He’d already brought Martin Peters to the club as well as signing Peter Osgood on loan as well as having attempts to sign both Alan Ball and Bobby Moore as players ...
The NCFC striking conundrum (Part 2) – How to fill the Supermac void was John Bond's biggest challenge June 29, 2016 - One forward gone, one rumoured to be going? Boyer eventually sign for Southampton albeit a year after Ted had gone the same way. He might have gone earlier had it not been for an injury that meant he missed half of Norwich’s 1976/77 season anyway, the 21 league appearances he ...
The NCFC striking conundrum (Part 1): City of the 1970s had a poacher who only thought of finding the net June 24, 2016 - The Canaries had reached the final of the League Cup in 1973 and 1975 and had only missed out on doing so in the same competition in 1974 by narrowly losing to Wolves in the two legged semi-final. A third Wembley visit in four seasons didn’t seem a particularly unreasonable ...
Does expectation dull the fun? A look back suggests big money and big names equates to pain and angst June 17, 2016 - We all travelled down to witness the FA Cup tie at Paulton Rovers blissfully unaware that the club was as close to going out of existence as it had been at any time in its history.
Wanting it all and wanting it now: the 21st century desire for instancy feeds City fans' need for action June 10, 2016 - You can ring around on a Friday afternoon and have someone in and ready to do just that the following Monday morning. Not quite so easy to do when you’re looking for a new CEO though, especially if there are contracts involved and notice periods to serve.
The youth of yesterday. Can the Murphys, Toffolo and perhaps Morris make their mark next season? June 3, 2016 - With us return to Championship level football again, a lot of hope and expectation is being pinned on some of the leading lights of our FA Youth Cup winning side, not least the Murphy twins.
The drop to the second tier is rotten but imagine the pain of having to apply for re-election to the Football League May 27, 2016 - One thing is for certain and that is, unlike the season just gone, you couldn’t necessarily point a finger at deficiencies in the Canaries defence. We conceded just 76 goals in that campaign.
Tsunamis of optimism nothing new. One swept through the City back in 1930 after club's biggest ever win May 20, 2016 - Britain was still a nation where the notion of ‘Derring-do’ was still in vogue, and, having talked the talk, Pilch set about walking the not inconsiderable walk required to make things happen.
Dark days but interesting times. Boro smiling now and next time we ourselves have to be ready for the PL May 13, 2016 - Do we go all out to get back there by the end of next season? Do we throw money at the objective and do it whatever the cost (like QPR back in 2014), which brings short-term delight at the cost of long term pain?
That day in 1967, when the Red Devils were tamed… again. Oh for a Carrow Road repeat tomorrow May 6, 2016 - No-one could see past the comfortable victory that was being predicted for United who, in response to the Norwich triumvirate of Bryceland, Bolland and Heath offered up Charlton, Law and Best.
Nearly sixty years since Terry Bly led the charge against the Busby Babes and went on to create history April 28, 2016 - Bly, forever etched on the minds of many a Canary fan as one of the clubs all time greats and a player synonymous with the 1959 FA Cup run, went into the fixture against Manchester United as a relative unknown. An unknown amongst many Norwich fans, let alone anyone else.
The day in '75 when Bondy's City conquered the Kop and did a job on Bob Paisley's high flying Reds April 22, 2016 - Liverpool gathered a head of steam for the inevitable reprisals yet Norwich not only weathered the storm, they struck again. Sullivan on the ball, as good a full back as the club has ever had, his perfectly timed ball behind the Liverpool back line finding Peters, always Peters, ghosting into ...
'The Ghost': England’s finest, the complete midfielder, peerless, brave and ‘ten years ahead of his time’ April 15, 2016 - Norwich manager John Bond knew that Peters, ever the professional, needed little to no supervision or management. As far as he was concerned, his new acquisition could have the run of the place, live where he liked, train as hard or as often as he liked and say what he ...
The PL may wish to forget, but Canaries, not Foxes, were the first to shake up Sky TV's brave new football world April 8, 2016 - Indeed, as the advert treacled its way to a conclusion, the viewer might have been confused as to quite who the football coverage is being aimed at, such was the proliferation of scenes in the gym, the changing room, and the shower.
Tis a game of opinions. Be it of Wes in a free role or on Gary Neville 'super pundit' we're all entitled to have our say March 31, 2016 - Players who, when put on the spot about a game they are watching or player they are offering an opinion on, rarely venture further than the “game of two halves” school of punditry.
Man of Steel – Part Three: When Geoffrey stepped down and how, in Arthur, Saunders met his match March 25, 2016 - Watling was another Saunders - fiercely ambitious, driven, single-minded and determined to have only the best for the club he was in charge of. Saunders would have seen in the glint of Watling’s eye a reflection of himself and that was enough for him.
Man of Steel – Part Two: How Geoffrey lured one who wasn't to be messed with to the Fine City March 18, 2016 - It came at a risk. Remember, this was for a man who had been with his previous club for just twelve competitive matches, during which time, his sole achievement had been to narrowly avoid relegation to the Third Division with them. There was no doubt about it. Watling was pushing ...
Faith in a young manager – we've been here before. For Alex Neil read Ron Saunders; one made of steel March 11, 2016 - There was no way Saunders was going to set another standard for Alex Neil to follow by taking Norwich up at the first time of asking. His first game, a 3-0 defeat at Leicester City on August 2, 1969 came five matches into that 1969/70 season, one that saw the ...
The dreaded 'A' word and how we've moved from Cookstown Sausages to a prancing dog March 4, 2016 - Norwich had first worn a kit openly showing the maker of the kit at the beginning of the 1975/76 season when the little double diamond of Umbro adorned the shirt. Admiral took over in 1976 before being succeeded by Adidas in 1981. They, in turn, were supplanted by Hummel in ...
One who thrives on a challenge, who stares down his detractors and who's determined to be the winner February 23, 2016 - He made it a hat-trick last season when, with us, he won promotion in the most glorious fashion, bringing about a wholly unexpected day of joy to the players and fans of a team who were, in early December 2014, in 11th place in the Championship, one win in six ...
Bond, Brown and Peters; all bona fide Hammers who swapped the East End for time in the Fine City February 12, 2016 - Brown went on to win an FA Cup winners medal with the Hammers in 1964 and, a year later, played alongside Moore at the heart of the defence as part of the club’s victorious European Cup Winners Cup side that beat TSV 1860 München 2-0 in the final at Wembley.
Sent from Chelsea, sent to Coventry, and that daft window, designed to prevent players 'moving at will' February 5, 2016 - So... Manchester City. They stockpile players like a Star Wars nerd stockpiles action figures. And, more often than not, Manchester City never bother to open the box either.
"Get stuck in!" A familiar refrain of yesteryear that's now only barked at those ploughing through ProZone January 29, 2016 - Units isn’t the word. Stoke City might have, unlike a leopard, changed their footballing spots a little over the last couple of seasons or so, but it wasn’t so long ago that you looked at them stood there pre-match and it was like looking at eleven massive fridge freezers all ...
Football and money ever more entwined but fine club in the fine city may just buck the 21st century trend January 22, 2016 - The Man Utd website includes options to go to equivalent sites in French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. The sum total of hits on these club websites now well exceeds 60 million per month.
Neither the first or the last, but Redmond is the latest City 'flair player' to be on the receiving end January 15, 2016 - He is, as those that have gone before him, a player who merits his selection on what he can do and the threat that he does offer. He’s a wildcard, a joker in the pack, someone you hope might just turn it on and, in doing so, turn a game.
Open and shut windows. When, back in the day, it took just two to tango and make a transfer happen January 8, 2016 - When Norwich signed Roger Gibbins from Oxford United in the summer of 1976, neither he or his club had absolutely no inkling of John Bond’s interest in him on 1st June. Yet, by teatime on 2nd June, he was a Norwich City player, with the first that I, and most ...
Norfolk born and bred and a bona-fide member of the Y'Army, the new City chairman chats with our Ed December 28, 2015 - "I remember the Millwall game in 2010. We had a vote at the House that night and they wouldn’t let me off attending the vote! I still went to the game though, along with Clive Efford (Labour MP for Eltham and a Millwall fan), we HAD to be back in ...
All Hail Lord Nelson: When City bucked the trend and gave Y'Army a taste what was to come December 18, 2015 - If it had been a triumph for Paul Lambert, then it was also one for Norwich’s centre-half Michael Nelson. His signing had, at the time, symbolised the depths of Norwich’s despair that previous summer, coming, as he did, on a free transfer from Hartlepool United.
When City's very own SuperMac chewed a few Toffees, spat them out and bagged himself another hat-trick December 11, 2015 - He was big, strong, brave and he knew where the goal was. So he should have been embraced by all at a club that was struggling and needed someone like him, not afraid to put boot - or head - in where it hurts and get results by more direct ...
That famous night when Norwich overcame nine Saints to book a place in the FA Cup semi-final December 4, 2015 - The yellow and green carnage was unrelenting. Beckford again, Goss, his infinite supplies of energy making him a more and more prominent figure as fitness levels drop in others then compelled himself forward for an umpteenth time
What price the club's highly prized EPPP? Who will be the first £1 million player to emerge from the ranks? November 26, 2015 - Today’s multi-million pound academy operation at Colney will therefore, for all the changes that have taken place in the game, both in general and at club level, face all of the same issues and problems that its equivalent twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years ago and more would have done. Some ...
One look at the Class of 2009 and you see the transitory nature of football at the highest level November 13, 2015 - Sammy Clingan, remember him? He jumped ship at the first available opportunity in order to sign for Coventry City. Spells at Doncaster Rovers and Kilmarnock, who released him at the end of last season, followed. Sammy is still only 31.
Lost art of the defender. Imagine for a moment Big Dunc surging forward, ball at feet, a latter-day Big Seb November 6, 2015 - Nowadays defenders are expected to support the attack, to overlap their midfield counterparts if necessary in order to make inroads into opposition territory and get their crosses in. Much like a winger.
Made in Leeds, schooled at Bolton but this 59er and Hall of Famer is most definitely one of our own October 30, 2015 - Make no mistake about it. Allcock was hot property; a must have; a 1950s version of Wayne Rooney; a powerful, athletic all-rounder with as a good an eye for a pass or goal as he had for a tackle. A genuine contender - a man, no, a boy, in demand.
Oh for mediocrity! Anyone yearn for the time when little occurred and City just plodded along? October 23, 2015 - I felt for Worthington at the time; a manager who, in this recent era of Lambert and Alex Neil, has seen much of what he did and achieved at Norwich pushed into the shadows of long forgotten footballing rooms.
Tales from the 'Tales From The City' live launch as Gunny, Holty and co delight the Y'Army faithful October 16, 2015 - Fans such as myself and, I am sure, thousands of others who remember Gunny's tenure as both a player and manager will mostly choose to reflect on his time on the pitch rather than off it, time which proved, beyond all reasonable doubt, that he turned out to be one ...
No away-day blues. In the absence of a 'fortress', the answer is to win away, just like Walker's City October 9, 2015 - Norwich had maybe caught a few of their more illustrious opponents out with the speed of the bid, another sign, perhaps, that the Canaries under Walker were singing a different tune.
When mavericks were the norm and when City results arrived courtesy of the long wave dial October 2, 2015 - Take a look through some of the first-team squads from the early to mid-1970s for example. Most teams had their own enigmas in there somewhere, except they simply weren’t regarded as mavericks back then.
John Bond – the man who laid the foundations for a new Norwich City FC. And Ed's greatest ever Canary September 25, 2015 - Peters ended up making 232 League and Cup appearances for Norwich, scoring 50 goals in the process. His form with us was so good that, for a time, he was heavily linked with an England recall. Hardly surprising really.
The greatest Canary ever? Who, above all others, made Norwich City the great football club that it is today? September 18, 2015 - .
Canaries vs country. Why, for Ed, Roy's boys will never evoke the same joy as a Norwich City win September 11, 2015 - Good times. As was watching and celebrating Mark Wright’s goal against Egypt, David Platt’s last minute winner against Belgium and Lineker’s heroics against Cameroon in a game that remains my all-time favourite England match.
Ed meets Rob Newman – Part Two: The telepathic understanding that made the team of the early 90s so special September 5, 2015 - "Gossy was a great player. He’d get the ball, move it on, hit a great ball, to feet and move on, ready for what he had to do next. He was a great runner, an energetic ball winning midfielder. But he could hit a great pass."
Ed talks to the '90s version of Bradley Johnson, who was there for for *that* PL season and *that* UEFA Cup run September 4, 2015 - "That Norwich side, the squad then, we didn’t need Mike Walker or Dixie (John Deehan) shouting at us, or showing us what we had to do. We knew we could do it; we got on and did it. We had a squad of good players, clever and capable players."
Lewis wasn't the first, and surely won't be the last; some even go on to become Canary Hall of Famers August 28, 2015 - Joe Cole didn’t perform a flounce at Villa Park after being told he would be one of Villa's subs against Notts County, whilst Jason Puncheon took the same decision on the chin at Selhurst Park after being left out of Palace’s starting line-up against Shrewsbury. Same stoical approach applied to ...
Sandy Kennon: Ed pays tribute to a true, bona fide Norwich City legend and a member of the Class of 1959 August 21, 2015 - The noise and expectation on the day were so high that Kennon went on to admit that Barry Butler, directly behind him in the Norwich line-up as they ran out for kick-off, had to forcibly shove him onto the pitch.
How can we compete? Aside from relocating Norfolk, how can the Canaries lure the 'big' names? August 14, 2015 - On Planet Football, Norwich is seen as such an unfashionable place to be that you take the first offer to get out and get out while you can. And if the one and only offer at the time comes from Middlesbrough then that’s where you’ll happily end up.
How does the Class of 2016 compare with the Canary heroes who took the first ever Premier League by storm? July 31, 2015 - If Mark Robins was at Manchester United today, do you really think we’d stand a chance of signing him permanently? Or, come to that, manage to persuade him to come here, even on loan? I don’t think we would stand a chance.
Why oh why the hoo-ha about 'brand awareness' from those whose name adorns the Canary shirt? July 24, 2015 - So if placing your gigantic logo on a football shirt so prominently and with little to no regard for neither the aesthetics or the tradition of that shirt ends up annoying 99 per cent of that clubs' support is that still good “brand awareness” regardless?
Johnny Wark, The Walks, Laurie Sivell, a half-eaten ham sandwich and a dearly missed good 'un July 17, 2015 - On one particular Saturday afternoon, Ted MacDougall was being even more sloth than usual, something which was steadily winding up the entire Barclay stand, all of whom were eager to offer him help and guidance in what he should be doing.
Whether you're a 'plastic' or 'tinpot' – both now form part of the everyday Norwich City vernacular July 10, 2015 - For me, anyone who genuinely supports the club is a fan of Norwich City. They can have attended 500 consecutive matches or never been to one.
Maybe time to stop complaining. Because the more football changes, the more it stays just the same June 26, 2015 - During 1971/72, Carrow Road saw an attendance of over 30,000 on four occasions with a staggering 34,914 packing into the ground for the home clash against Bristol City on April 4th. Think of Carrow Road as it is today then add around an extra 8,000 fans.
Russ Martin: A shoo-in for skipper and centre-back, and a valuable member of Alex Neil's inner circle June 12, 2015 - Whilst Alex Neil, a man whose glare is so terrifying it is one of only two things in the known Universe deadly enough to be able to defeat Superman, has made no secret of his admiration for Martin, nor the faith he has in him as a man, player and ...
Christmas 1972: The Wolves are prowling in the Fine City and so too is a certain Ron Saunders December 24, 2014 - Players all have their little habits and rituals to go through in the minutes leading up to kick off. Some are physically sick; others go off for a crafty fag in one of the two cubicles in the changing room. Others sit quietly, heads down, chewing furiously. Jimmy Bone shouts ...
For all the trials and tribulations, compared to some other 'big names' City have actually done OK December 17, 2014 - We’ve all, at varying levels, been lamenting the fact that the Canaries have been struggling to adapt to life in the Championship this time around and that the board’s pre-season vow of intent to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking has, at times, fallen rather ...
Is today's over-crowded bench really a big improvement on the less-crowded version of yesteryear? December 3, 2014 - It’s all about the squad as we are forever told, about every player. Tell us that often enough and we’ll start to believe it. The players certainly seem to have done so as no-one seems to caterwaul about being “on the bench” anymore.
So what is 'the Norwich way'? Tiki-taka football? Pretty triangles? Or just winning football matches? November 26, 2014 - Our reputation as a ‘good footballing side’ was crafted under the management of John Bond, who was himself was ingrained with that philosophy given he was brought up in a West Ham side that included the likes of Bobby Moore and Martin Peters
Mike Phelan it is. An ex-Canary with plenty of gongs and coaching experience. So, what's not to like? November 21, 2014 - you might not be blamed for thinking that Phelan is taking a downward step in coming to us. A lesser role at a smaller club alongside an inexperienced and under pressure manager.
Where has the fun gone in the Fine City? Now it's only a question of the level of venom, angst and vitriol November 19, 2014 - As supporters, we forever seem to be getting het up about something or other now. I feel for Rob Butler and whoever his guest is on Canary Call post-match because, whatever has happened during the game, those that call in will, more likely or not, have an axe to grind ...
Nice or nasty? Are City now just a little too nice off the pitch to be successful on it? November 16, 2014 - We didn't just win the League One title during that first triumphant season under the new boys, pitch and boardroom - we bludgeoned our way to it, sweeping not only opponents aside but detractors and critics as well. We were a mad, bad runaway train with a massive snow plough ...
To loan or not to loan. From Corrigan to Osgood to Parker to Bertrand, all have graced the yellow and green November 6, 2014 - In today’s game it is not unknown for the leading clubs to loan out their most promising young players for a season at a time in order for them to get “playing time” and first team experience, courtesy of another club.
Silverware and relegation. How 30 years ago City went from the highs to the crushing lows October 29, 2014 - The final, played on a day of drizzle and gloom at Wembley, where the highlight of the pre-match entertainment was the sight of one of the RAF’s elite Red Devils parachute team miscalculating his trajectory and crashing into the stadiums roof (he was unhurt) was, for the main, as dour ...
A stuttering start, parallels aplenty with the early days of that Scottish bloke, but nothing's decided in mid-October October 23, 2014 - The Championship is not going to be the cakewalk many thought it would, the one that a few still think it should be. We’re not the only ‘big’ club down there and we’re not the only club that has a strong squad, numbers and quality wise.
Is the Rooney Rule the way ahead? Do we really want 'token' candidate for all the top jobs? October 16, 2014 - Football fans tend to see the game in a very simplistic manner. Clubs, games, players are all the same - they’re either good or bad. There is rarely, if any, middle ground. Look at how that’s reflected with our club at the moment.
Despite being top patience in short supply for some as home wins remain elusive October 8, 2014 - Our performances this season put me in mind of our having just bought a brand new car and driven out of the showroom and on to the open road for the first time. It looked so damned good, stood there, in the sunshine, surrounded by pot plants and posters of ...
Vasper, Gallego, Dennington and Ronson. All tried and failed to make the City 'No 1' shirt their own October 1, 2014 - Vasper was one of a cluster of hopefuls doomed to spend time at the club hoping upon hope that they would, one day, supplant the one and very only Kevin Keelan in both the side and the hearts and minds of Canary fans.
The task to follow Keelan was achieved with real aplomb by Woods, and then, before Gunny, came Benstead September 25, 2014 - For Gunn it was the start of a long and glorious playing career at Carrow Road, the beginnings of a club legend. For Benstead, it was the beginning of the end of his Norwich career. He didn’t feature at all for the Canaries during the remainder of that season, going ...
Ruddy's form has re-triggered the debate: where does he sit in the pantheon of great City keepers? September 18, 2014 - Ruddy is quality, the best keeper in the Championship by some considerable distance. But not only that, he was also, during our three year residency in the Premier League, one of the best goalkeepers in that division as well. But not as good as Ben Foster - then or now ...
Changing Attitudes. Remember the sale of Kevin Reeves? Now we know everyone has a price September 10, 2014 - The howls and anguish at Darren Eadie's departure to Leicester City for £3million in December 1999 weren’t reserved for the fans alone. Eadie didn’t want to go and has said so since on more than one occasion
Shut that bloody window! And while we're at it let's have some perspective when lamenting Adams' Class of 2015 September 3, 2014 - If Redmond did have the “end product” that everyone is looking for he wouldn’t be playing for Norwich and more than likely would either never have signed for us in the first place!
Back in the day City thought little of going toe-to-toe with the big boys and emerging with the three points August 14, 2014 - "We did, we certainly didn’t go down 4-0 every time. We won 2-0 at Old Trafford on the night Gary Pallister made his debut, which was in 1989. We also won 2-1 there the previous season, Micky Phelan and Andy Townsend scored."
From Cloughie to the A47 to the Fine City, and on to a career integral to the club's golden era August 13, 2014 - "I didn’t really know where Norwich was at first! I was travelling down here with Ken Brown and Nigel Pleasants (club secretary at the time), we were going along the A47, and, well, that road - it just goes on forever, doesn’t it?"
Into the Wolves Den. When an opening day trip to the Black Country ended in typical gloom and doom August 6, 2014 - It’s one of those fixtures where the game comes first. Two good clubs. No corporate gilding of the approach or the stadium, no stadium-encompassing murals, no excited footballing tourists taking selfies outside the ground at 2pm and no over-choreographed pre-match activities featuring a cast of thousands.
From pitch to desk to dugout: Gunny gives Ed the story of his time spent holding the Canary reins July 31, 2014 - “But I’m part of the club’s history now, I’ve had the highs and the lows, and, ultimately, I look back, learn, and move on...I can relate both sides of the game to people, doing well at the top of the Premier League and being at the bottom of League One."
Great Gunn. How Fergie played his own small part in creating a real Canary legend July 30, 2014 - “Fergie had said I was a top 6 keeper and I was. In my first season at Norwich we finished fifth in Division One, then, two seasons on from that, we finished fourth under Dave Stringer and then, of course, first season under Mike we ended up finishing third! You ...
The day Flecky came face to face with Gunny and passed up the chance to score past his mate… July 24, 2014 - There is a great clip from the 1990 World Cup finals which features Robert wildly celebrating in the background after a Scotland goal - just as any member of the travelling Tartan Army would have done.
Few Canary heroes have connected with the fans like a certain smiling son of Glasgow July 23, 2014 - When we did meet up, Robert very much looked like the player I remembered from his on-pitch exploits. A common trait among ex-pros!
Nothing can get the tears flowing like football 2014 style. But when and why did the crying begin? July 16, 2014 - Take David Luiz for example: obscenely wealthy because someone, somewhere suddenly realised that emotions are big bucks and that any player who empathises with the fans is going to be a massive favourite.
Back in the big time! When Fratton Park again played host to a Canary promotion celebration July 9, 2014 - Bond had, as per his remit, completely transformed the football club and it continued to show for the rest of the season with the club also reaching the League Cup Final for the second time in three years where promotion rivals, Aston Villa, now managed by Saunders, would be the ...
IWANNN! The eventual legend who offers hope to the latest in City's illustrious list of number 9s July 2, 2014 - Iwan had still scored more goals than one of his Canary colleagues that season. Robert Fleck had, in 27 league appearances, only scored two goals, a poor return by any standards, most of all his own and enough to see him depart for Reading
Old Farm Yarn: Hard to believe, but nearly 30 years since Steve Bruce headed *that* winner June 25, 2014 - Ipswich arrived on the night with characteristic swagger and a manager, in Ferguson, who thought that the team that had won the first-leg was more than good enough to see off the Norwich challenge
Fed up with a staple of Chiles, Tyldesley and Townsend? Back in the day there was a legend… June 18, 2014 - So unprepared, however, were the suits at Carrow Road when this deal was announced, that the only place where the club could install a camera gantry was behind the goal in the River End.
Down at the Den: When Flecky's volley brought joy to Norfolk and despair to those in New Cross June 11, 2014 - The second-half was like being a witness to the Alamo. Millwall breathed fire and brimstone with the Norwich defence almost permanently under siege. Time and time again Gunn came to the rescue
Keeper! Among many who wore the No 1 jersey with distinction was one of Cloughie's finest June 7, 2014 - As good as he was the ambitious Christopher Charles Eric Woods knew that, with Shilton a record signing he was never going to be anything other than cover at The City Ground.
The Old Boys: Adams is not the first, and won't be the last, to make the step up from player to manager June 4, 2014 - Adams, Deehan, Grant, Gunn, Megson, Stringer and O’Neill all made it to the top of the non-playing tree at Carrow Road as First Team manager, with six of the seven enjoying, enduring even, a rich mix of success and frustration along the way.
Déjà vu – lest we forget when a very nice bloke was replaced by a youth team boss and we prospered May 28, 2014 - Once the dust had settled, there seemed no shortage of possibilities as to who might be the next manager of Norwich City. The club were, after all, in the top flight and had, at the time, a very strong and able first-team squad.
Is 'the Norwich way' a lazy and outdated cliché or the legacy of Bond, Brown, Stringer and Walker? May 21, 2014 - If ‘kick the thing and run’ had been the Saunders mantra, then ‘pass and move’ was Bond’s somewhat more cerebral footballing approach; one that his successors, Ken Brown, Dave Stringer and Mike Walker were only too happy to perpetuate
Goodbye Premier League. Hello Football. There's plenty not to love: the MotD derision for starters May 14, 2014 - Yes, there are elements of the Premier League that I won’t miss. The prices, the stupid kick-off times and the fact that the viewer at home’s considerations seem to be regarded as more important than those who actually go to the games.
3-0 at the Arsenal: When City could go toe to toe with the big boys and often emerge the deserved victors April 30, 2014 - He should, without doubt, have been the first Norwich City player to have played for England. The fact that he still wasn’t considered, even when he was winning the FA Cup and reaching a major European final with West Ham is a footballing travesty.
Canaries United: Back in the day when one Louie Donowa turned from useful youngster to first-team goalscorer April 23, 2014 - Who’d be your preference. Darren Fletcher or Ray Wilkins? Nani or Bryan Robson? Danny Welbeck or Frank Stapleton? Paul McGrath or Chris Smalling? Shinji Kagawa or Arnold Muhren?
The cyclical nature of football means the current angst will some time soon be replaced with unconfined joy April 16, 2014 - People who have supported the Canaries for far longer than me will be even more aware of the ups and downs of following our club. Times of celebration and local rejoicing are inevitably followed by those of despair and depression.
On the subject of managerial exits: for Hughton and McNally read Ron Saunders and Sir Arthur South April 9, 2014 - Large numbers of the Norwich crowd jeered at the end and cushions were peremptorily, and with some feeling, thrown onto the pitch from the crowd; an early echo of those yellow clappers that took a similar route on Saturday.
Home and away: there is yet time for the away-day trend to be bucked and for Ricky to shine April 2, 2014 - We’re now on a ‘run’ of six losses from six and have only recorded two away wins all season. Two this season and nine wins altogether (at the time of writing) out of the 54 Premier League fixtures we have played away from home since we returned to the top ...
For 'the beautiful game' read 'the angry game'. Why is today's football ridden with angst and conflict? March 26, 2014 - Football’s modern trend for in-fighting, disagreements and cyber punch ups seem to filter right down to the very lowest levels of the game. They start in those gold plated corridors of FIFA and work their way down to the bottom feeders
Why should we just be thankful to be here? What's so wrong with the City fans aiming for the stars? March 19, 2014 - During the 1988/89 season, in a campaign that, for Norwich, lasted for 38 league games plus an extra nine in the two cup competitions, Dave Stringer called on a total of just 18 different players, eight of which started more than 30 league games.
No war please, we're footballers. Ed turns the City clock back 100 years to the start of the Great War March 12, 2014 - A century ago, rather more prosaic fields of play were occupying the hearts and minds of Englishmen, vast in terms of their scale and significance. And if those mud infested fields had only been green for fleeting seconds, then those who were led to their slaughter in France and Belgium ...
Father's Day: That evening in 1993 when a Polston goal led Norwich City to dream the impossible dream March 5, 2014 - But so it is with us Norwich fans. Knock us down as much as you like. Whoever you are, wherever you come from and whatever your motive. Bring it on. Because we’ll just keep on getting up again and coming back for more
The eye of the Drazen: a tale of Norwich smashing their transfer record only for it to end badly February 26, 2014 - Perhaps the only thing more surprising than the amount of money Norwich invested in him was the fact that then Canaries manager John Bond had never seen him play, relying instead on reports from other parties
Ohh Ricky, Ricky: Will he finally produce? Or is he just another victim of the 'best league in the world'? February 19, 2014 - He has struggled this season. I can’t deny that. But what I will argue is that it is not because he has, or is, finding the standard of football played in the Premier League “too high” for a player of his now perceived limited ability.
Canaries and Hammers: In the absence of 'that lot' games with West Ham are next best thing… February 10, 2014 - John Bond and Ken Brown both had sparkling playing careers with the Hammers before going onto have memorable spells in charge at Norwich. Glenn Roeder has managed both clubs whilst Peter Grant was Alan Pardew’s deputy at Upton Park before joining us for his brief spell at the helm in ...
The transfer window may get Jim White's juices flowing, but I propose it's slam shut… for good February 5, 2014 - The wealthy elite act like the superpowers did during the cold war. The USA and former USSR stockpiled so many nuclear weapons during that time that they both had more than enough in reserve to obliterate life on earth several times over. If one side had 400 H-Bombs, the other ...
From Paddon to Crook to Wes: Number 10s then and now, and why they're on the verge of extinction January 28, 2014 - It must have broken John Bond’s cultured footballing heart to part with Paddon as part of the deal that took Ted MacDougall to Norwich from West Ham in November 1973. Yet it was only a means to an end. Bond needed MacDougall to score goals
Ending the away-day blues: Back in those heady early nineties City away wins were par for the course January 22, 2014 - Walker’s team simply did not give up and would have headed to Goodison confident of another success, ever more so with media and bookies alike predicting a relatively straight forward three points pending for Everton.
For the 'beautiful game' read the 'beautiful business', with entertainment the price to be paid January 15, 2014 - Times have changed. We, the supporters, always used to tell ourselves that we were the most important part of any club, the core of its existence, the loyal and mostly unquestioning army that gave it life. We were, after all, with our attendance every week, “paying the players wages”.
When we were contenders: Ed recalls the heady early nineties when we were top of the tree January 8, 2014 - Step forward Ian Crook. A sublime freekick that was, in all honesty, destined to beat Mark Crossley as soon as he stepped up to take it, let alone struck it. In celebration, Crook wagged a finger at persons unknown
Swashbuckling: The days when football *wasn't* a business and when to entertain meant to win January 1, 2014 - In the yellow and green corner, alongside the virtuoso Peters is the flamboyant Kevin Keelan, doomed to star in English football at a time when the likes of Banks, Shilton and Clemence reigned supreme, else you feel England caps in abundance would have been his.Norwich also had their own version ...
The Days of Canary Christmas Part II – Ed returns to some Yuletide classics of yesteryear December 24, 2013 - The last ever league fixture played by Norwich in Christmas Day fell on this date 57 years ago. Colchester United were our opponents and it was down to the team and support to make the short journey down to Layer Road on the day
The days of Canary Christmas past: Ed takes us back to some footballing festive seasons December 18, 2013 - For Norwich City players and fans alike, this time of the year has had more than its fair share of both highlights and lowlights, some of which I am going to look back on now and over the next couple of weeks as we reflect on days of Canary Christmases ...
Into the Drink: How Ken Brown plucked an unknown from Grimsby and created a City legend December 11, 2013 - There were more than a few murmurings of doubt when Ken Brown signed Drinkell from Grimsby Town in the summer of 1985. But perhaps they were understandable ones...
Amidst a plethora of top notch City keepers, there is one name that resonates louder than all the rest… December 4, 2013 - The names roll off the tongue like freshly laid summer turf don’t they? The great and the good - as well as the very good. A yellow and green roll call of goalkeeping excellence. Kevin Keelan. Chris Woods. Robert Green. Bryan Gunn. Plus, of course, the current man in the ...
Just imagine the Murphys, Toffolo and McGeehan in a 1970s style 'boot camp' – Paul Kent reveals all to our Ed November 27, 2013 - A full-back by footballing trade, Paul was one of the early recruits to the club during the Ron Saunders era. He remembers both those early days after he first arrived at the club - very young, very nervous and very unsure of himself or his place in the greater scheme ...
Four pointers all round back in the day and spare a thought for the Yellow Army of 1956/57 November 19, 2013 - The man who Norwich eventually appointed to replace Young and, in doing so, strive to bring back the air of positivity and progress the club had been making under Parker was Arthur Jewell or Jimmy, as he was more well known
Hot Cross Bone – the early 70s were stellar years for striking duos; the fine city no exception November 13, 2013 - We lucky folk at Norwich started the 1972/73 season with an attacking partnership that featured David Cross and Jimmy Bone. Neither were household names, having arrived at Norwich from Rochdale and Partick Thistle respectively.
Strikers R.I.P. Gone for good appear to be the days of Cross & Bone, MacDougal & Boyer, and Holt & Martin November 6, 2013 - Fans love attacking football, end to end action and goals. As does television and radio. Likewise our embattled press. Football managers, of course, pretend to despise it. But don’t be kidded. They would all rather win 4-3 than 1-0.
Does increased expectation mean some of the fun has been thrashed out of the beautiful game? October 29, 2013 - Maybe the day of the ‘true’ football fan has gone. We’re now seen, after all, as customers, even, and I shudder at the use of the word in this context, ‘consumers’.
Nostalgia – Time to forget it? Or are we right to rejoice in the Norwich City successes of yesteryear? October 23, 2013 - We may be guilty of dwelling a little too self indulgently on our past every now and again, but so does every club. Bar none.But is it a good thing or an exercise in nostalgic futility, a yearning for a perceived golden age in a game that is so relentless ...
What's important? Locking horns with Chelsea and and Man Utd or the comfort and of the second tier? October 14, 2013 - Much was made of the eight changes that Chris Hughton made to his starting XI for the Watford game - but the same number were made by Hornets boss Gianfranco Zola
For those who fret over Ricky's goal drought – never fear, he'll come good, he has history on his side October 9, 2013 - Just two wins in our opening seven games and seven points in all, much talk of a disappointing start to a campaign inevitably surrounded the new man whose presence in the side was beginning to be questioned, as were his footballing abilities.
No more away-day damage limitation; instead let's look to emulate City's class of 1988/89 October 2, 2013 - Our best ever season in the top flight as regards trips away from home was the 1988/89 campaign when, under the leadership of Dave Stringer and Mike Phelan, we won nine out of the nineteen played - a feat that was only bettered by Arsenal and Liverpool who finished in ...
Big Day Out… Ed looks back to City's 1985 Milk Cup win when we bucked footballing trend of the day September 25, 2013 - Norwich’s route to the final that season had also seen wins over two of the above teams, including an unforgettable 3-0 win at Highbury in the last eight, courtesy of a Graham Paddon hat-trick. Never mind the danger? We laughed in its face and tickled its tummy.
Club before country? Can the England ever create the buzz of success nearer to home? September 11, 2013 - A question was once asked. What, given the choice, would you prefer? England to win the next World Cup or for Norwich to win the FA Cup next season? My answer, one that came out before I’d even had time to think about it was instant. FA Cup? Well yes, ...
Terry Bly – How an 'old-fashioned' centre-forward carved himself a niche in Norwich City folklore September 4, 2013 - Norwich’s 3-0 destruction of Busby’s side on that snow strewn Saturday afternoon would have surprised even the Canary supporters amongst the 38,000 present, many of whom attending for the opportunity to see Busby’s star laden side in person. United came into the match on the back of eight consecutive First ...
The Game's New Clothes. How 4-4-2 has morphed into 4-2-3-1 and 4-5-1 amidst the desire not to lose August 28, 2013 - Norwich City fans, in the main, seem to have written off 4-4-2. I noted in the build up to both the Everton and Hull City games that, whenever people were, as we do, jotting down their preferred line up for those matches, those that advocated anything like a 4-4-2 formation ...
City aficionados: Can you name the 'father and sons' who have graced the yellow jersey? August 21, 2013 - Isaac Ryder was a short, stocky but, nonetheless, fast and powerful centre forward, a Norwich man who has the distinction, nay, honour, of being both born and passing away within the confines of our fine city. He was a prolific goalscorer at amateur level.
Ed takes us back to the era of Osgood and ‘Blue is the Colour’ for the game that never was… August 13, 2013 - The League Cup semi-final second leg at Carrow Road, which was played on December 21, turned out to be one of the most remarkable games ever played there - even if it now doesn’t officially exist in any record books! A crowd of 32,000 had turned out that night.
History has deemed Mike Walker's second tenure at the City helm a failure… but was it? August 6, 2013 - The real problem between Walker and Chase had not been funds for players, but a little bit of security for Walker himself. He had, on his appointment as Norwich manager, signed a contract that was, even for the time, a modest one and, in all likelihood, made him one of ...
What a summer! Beneath the new 'names' lies a signal of intent unlike any other seen at Norwich July 30, 2013 - If I was Leroy Fer or Gary Hooper and my new chief executive told me that the club’s ambitions over the next three seasons or so culminated in finishing in the top four of the Premier League, I’d tend to believe him.
For Hooper read 'Le Juge'? This saga smacks of the summer of 2007 when the expectation levels were similarly high July 24, 2013 - Yes, a leading player from the Scottish Premier League was being coveted by both Rangers and Norwich. Sound familiar? OK, the Rangers, in this case, were of the Glasgow variety rather than the Queens Park one.
For the City traditionalist, keepers wear number 'one'; for the City faithful Kevin Keelan remains just that July 17, 2013 - It is, and remains, the most familiar and easily identifiable shirt number in football, forever that of the goalkeeper. We weren’t, after all, singing “England’s number twenty-one” at Fraser Forster whilst he was performing heroics with us during his time at the club.
No room for sentiment in football? Quite the opposite; it's the very lifeblood of the game July 10, 2013 - Think about it. Football and sentiment. The two go together hand in glove, they are inseparable. To suggest that there is no room nor time for sentiment in football, no space for those emotions of the heart to rule the logic of the mind is, quite frankly, preposterous.
Naughty naughty Norwich! When will they learn to accept their place in football's pecking order? July 3, 2013 - In modern football, history means nothing, yet it is the basis of Ipswich's arguments against us. Yes, we are 'Premier League'; yes, we have a superior squad, managerial and coaching set-up and financial stability; yes, we may have Category One Academy status under the new and very strict EPPP regulations ...
As City's three game trip to the US approaches, Ed takes us on some Canary tours of yesteryear June 27, 2013 - A successful 1975 trip to Kenya. Five wins, 23 goals and lot of opportunities for the players to go on safari which, no doubt, they would have done - after all, the opportunities to picture Ted MacDougall with a headline along the lines of “big game hunter” would have been ...
Like father like son; Kevin Bond shares with Ed his thoughts on life in the 21st century Premier League June 20, 2013 - Kevin was a good player, there is no doubt about. Neat and tidy in possession, a tendency to play the ball out of defence rather than kick it and, no mean feat for a defender, pitched in with his fair share of goals - 11 in the 1979/80 season.
Lightning in a Jar – Part II. Those moments that have sent the Yellow Army to Canary heaven June 13, 2013 - In the world of football it matters not what level you play at or the status of your club and players. They may not be as earth as iconic as Tardelli’s goal and moment of complete abandon against West Germany a little over three decades ago but, to the clubs ...
Lightning in a Jar. Those all too rare moments in football when the spine tingles and the adrenalin flows June 12, 2013 - It was Sir Alex Ferguson who memorably said, “Football. Bloody hell” after yet another of one of those moments, their last gasp win against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League Final - “that magical night in Barcelona” as Clive Tyldesley, ever irritatingly, constantly refers to it.
Ed's XI of NCFC 'disappointments' – a rogues gallery of some Canary let downs June 6, 2013 - Raymond De Waard had a reasonable enough career in the top divisions of Dutch football to suggest that Bryan Hamilton might have secured a bargain when he signed him from SC Cambuur in 2000... alas his City career, along with that of fellow Dutchman Fernando Derveld, was of the brief ...
For every Canary hero there are others who have (quite rightly) felt the wrath of the Yellow Army's darker side June 5, 2013 - I don’t think there is such a thing as a bad footballer. We can, and we will, call them all of the names under the proverbial sun, we can dismiss them, question their right to even exist and damn their name and ineptitude to the end of time but, in ...
The sad passing of a true Canary hero: Ron Davies 1942 – 2013 May 29, 2013 - At just 24, he had been the central figure and goalscoring mainstay of a Norwich side that had genuine hopes of securing First Division football for the first time in the clubs history before the end of that decade. Who knows what progress the club might have eventually made had ...
Bowen, Bruce, Huckerby… all feature in City's Dream Team as voted for by the MyFootballWriter readers May 29, 2013 - The number of different players nominated totalled 86! That rather took me aback, but, given the quality of teams and depth of some of the squads that we have had at Carrow Road, should not be too surprising. In historic terms, the furthest back that the poll went was 1947.
Huckerby, Crook, Bellamy and MacDougall; all take their place in our Ed's all-time XI of City legends May 23, 2013 - Every team needs a player who gets supporters off their seats when he is even within touching distance of the ball; Hucks was that for Norwich. Combining searing pace with great touch and a mix of tricks that often befuddled opponents and team mates alike, Hucks was blue touch paper ...
With the close season affording us time to reflect, Ed contemplates his all-time City 'dream team' May 22, 2013 - With the summer now here it seems as good a time as any to review my own choice as to which players would make up that line up – and would be interested in seeing the choice of some of the MFW pundits who follow these pages.
The Saunders' years saw little by way of Carrow Road summer revolution; more a case of 'as you were' in the 70s May 16, 2013 - The Saunders mantra was hard work, application, team work - and then some more hard work. Running up the infamous slopes of Mousehold Heath became a feature of training. If Saunders tired of watching them run - well, then the players hopped up it.
With relegation scraps very much part of the City staple, Ed takes a look back at some of the battles of days gone by May 15, 2013 - The denouement of the 1984/85 season still rankles with a lot of Norwich fans. Following an impressive 2-1 win at a rain soaked Stamford Bridge in our mast game, we were safely sat – or so we thought – in eighteenth place, nine points ahead of Coventry City – and ...
In the money pit that is today's Premier League, Chase saw what was coming… then got it all horribly wrong! May 8, 2013 - David McNally and Alan Bowkett are cut from exactly the same kind of business cloth as Robert Chase. Their brief, their overwhelming directive has been to secure the long-term financial stability of the football club. The business.
For every Canary hero there's a villain; step forward Muscat, Johnson, Wark and… Lambert May 1, 2013 - Following Lambert's confident, confrontational entry into the wolves’ lair, the result was never in doubt. Norwich, their resolve already strong and resolute, feasted from that confidence and, let’s be honest, the Clough-like arrogance of their Manager and tore into their opponents, the eventual 5-0 scoreline doing scant justice to the ...
Darren Eadie joins Ed on a journey through the 90s – all the way from Chippenham to the Fine City April 24, 2013 - "Norwich have always had that reputation. With respect to that, Gordon Bennett was brilliant. I think his title was Youth Development Officer. He helped me a great deal, and not just with regard to the football – he even helped me set up my first bank account, and that’s the ...
John Polston and Ed take us behind the scenes of the legendary Class of 92/93, including THAT night against Vitesse April 17, 2013 - "Vitesse played very well in the first half of that first game, in Norwich. In fact, it was unbelievable, and a real shock to our systems. It was 0—0 at half time and we all came in, sat down, looked at each other and thought, ‘OK, what are we doing ...
As part of the famed Class of '92/93, Mark Walton recalls City's best ever Premier League season April 10, 2013 - "... David Williams was the best coach I ever had the pleasure to work for, or with, and his impact on Norwich City should never be underestimated, as in my eyes, he was the man who should have taken more plaudits for the club's success than anyone.”
With City clinging on to their hard-earned top flight status in 1973 a hard man was needed to add steel to a soft underbelly; Hockey anyone? March 27, 2013 - So picture the scene. A windswept, deserted and barren area of moorland. The land gently rises and falls, the grey skies and howling wind punctuated by the occasional echo of a ravens harsh call as the mist scurries over the peaks of the moor, finding havens to sit in, heavily, ...
The name's Bone… Jimmy Bone. How a rugby-playing Scotsman made it to the Norwich City Hall of Fame March 20, 2013 - The story of Jimmy Bone could have never been told had he acquiesced to the oval ball philosophy of his School. Yet fortune particularly favours the brave hearted of Stirling and Bone found an outlet for his real sporting love with his local boys brigade from where he joined and ...
We can debate the footballing rights and wrongs all day long but, in hindsight, it's best not to use hindsight March 12, 2013 - Hindsight is everywhere you look in football. It is worn underneath every shirt, trodden under every blade of grass and written large into the hopes and dreams of both players and spectators, especially the latter, in prolific abundance. “If only...” – two words that, whenever applied to our national game ...
Anyone remember City's Supermac? A heart-breaker if ever there was one; guaranteed to 'make your day'… March 6, 2013 - Ted was Clint Eastwood swathed in yellow. I could imagine him bearing down on the goal, ball at feet, that bad ass look on his face as he dismissed the fearful goalkeeper obstructing his path to more glory....”I know what you’re thinking: ‘Does he shoot left? Or right? Or straight ...
Moan, moan moan… no, not the River End, but Premier League managers whose teams suffers the ignominy of defeat by the Canaries February 27, 2013 - So what, exactly, leads to experienced and well respected Premier League managers like David Moyes to play that card and seemingly be resolute in their reluctance to give any praise or credit towards us when, as on Saturday, we put on a decent performance and get the reward that the ...
With the paths of City and Everton being intrinsically linked, one name always comes to the fore… Mike Walker February 20, 2013 - When Mike was appointed Norwich Manager in the summer of 1992, weeks before we commenced our first ever season of football as Premier League club, fellow MyFootballWriter columnist Kevin Baldwin astutely commented that, far from being well known, Walker was not even “a household name in his own household”
While some may not like it, the current short term pain will hopefully be worth the long term gain of a City future in the top-tier February 13, 2013 - That 4-4-2 system-and all variants of it since-has rarely employed a winger in the traditional sense (ie) the touchline hugging and fleet of foot maverick whose sole job was to get the ball and run at the opposing full back, his intent being to reach the touchline before delivering a ...
Thanks to one of today's Match of the Day 'experts' we can all fondly recall an iconic MoTD moment of yesteryear February 6, 2013 - That Liverpool team of the late 70’s/early 80’s were indeed welded to the production scheduling of Match Of The Day and The Big Match and, much like the FA Cup obsession that TV producers now have with Manchester United, they have maintained the love-in with that Liverpool side by using ...
The days of transfer window 'bargains' are long gone… oh for a 'Martin Peters' to grace the 2013 Carrow Road January 29, 2013 - Now, regardless of whether either Hooper or Graham are worth that sort of money or not - and time will tell, for whoever the lucky purchasers are - it does strike me that the days of acquiring a bargain, both in the art world and footballing one, are fast drawing ...
Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: How the American love of statistics has spawned a generation of Clive Tyldesleys January 23, 2013 - Most of us will be aware of the important statistics that relate to Norwich City. I won’t reel them off here because you will know them. Record number of appearances made; highest goalscorer; most number of points in a season. But we cherish them. Because they relate to our club. ...
For an example of the grass not being greener, look no further than our own Mike Walker; but is history about to repeat itself? January 16, 2013 - For much of that inaugural Premier League season, Norwich topped the table. At one point we were, and read this slowly, EIGHT points clear at the top. Of the Premier League. Extraordinary. One bloke's even written a book about that crazy season, that one of Fantasy Football when we could, ...
You can keep your statues and 'celebrity fans'; here at City we have proper fans who just happen to be famous January 9, 2013 - The celebrity fan is a must spot for any photographer or TV company covering the game. It seems to be a matter of professional pride for them as to how swiftly they can seek out, focus on and display them for all the world to see. We’re all used, of ...
As City enter the feeding frenzy of the January transfer window, Sky Sports News gears up for its busiest month of the year January 2, 2013 - Confronted with the twice annual transfer window madness and inevitably fielding questions about who Norwich might be signing this month, Chris Hughton has been his usual calm, considered and thoroughly professional self. No prospects for any Sky news teams of intercepting, a’la Harry Redknapp, our Manager in his Range Rover, ...
The Boxing Day visit of Chelsea brings us to game two of our 2012 'fixture pile-up'; a phrase unheard of seventy years ago December 24, 2012 - You can only sympathise with the brief seasonal hardships that some of these wealthy, privileged and hugely popular young professionals have to go through at Christmas. It can’t be easy when the entire population, rather than just you and your mates, are living to excess and enjoying the fruits of ...
A new contract for our little Irish magician further reaffirms his cult status within the Yellow Army December 19, 2012 - Norwich fans have always hung their hats on a hero. The larger than life personality, one who fitted the shirt better than we ever could-and revels in wearing it. Goss, Fleck, Gunn, Roberts-all recent examples.
Times may have changed, but one City legend would have surely been a 2012 Premier League superstar December 10, 2012 - Kevin Keelan in the year 2012 would have been a footballing superstar. Ability-unquestionable. And personality? In an age where players have evolved into a stooped walk, eyes down, ridiculously oversized headphones attached to their ears, Keelan would have stood out by more than a country mile.
A stadium's not a stadium these days without a statue; but should Norwich City follow the crowd? December 5, 2012 - But what about someone like John Bond? He ticks all of the boxes. A memorable seven year tenure at the club in which he dragged us into the twentieth century, introducing the legacy of our reputation for attractive football.
If we're seeing the end of "Little Old Norwich" then it's thanks to the boys at the top, McNally and Bowkett November 27, 2012 - Some of the games noisier pundits even claimed a moral victory as the season opened and the first few rounds of matches were played, with someone called Adrian Durham stating on TalkSport that Norwich City were the “worse side in Premier League history.”
If the rumour mill is to be believed, Robbie Keane could be a short-term fix in our quest for more firepower November 21, 2012 - Grant Holt is just nine months younger than Keane-is anyone going to face up to Holty and tell him his legs have gone? It’s all a moot point of course. The prospect of Keane coming here may be entirely academic and there have never been any plans to sign him. ...
Survival first is the name of the Premier League game for all-too many of us these days; can we not dream the dream like Gossy did? November 14, 2012 - Johnson is being a realist; his assertion seems completely fair and reasonable. How can we expect to compete? The riches in football now - TV deals, sponsorships and the relative wealth of club owners are all figures measured with nine, not six noughts at the end. Norwich City have to ...

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