Gary Field

A Norwich City FC decade… by numbers December 30, 2019 - As the decade finally draws to a close, it’s worth pondering should it really be described as the stereotypical terrible teens? For context, it’s been a decade that started for the Canaries with half a season in League One, has subsequently given us five Championship seasons, plus four and a ...
Time to stop playing the self-funding card? Always a nagging doubt over what’s next July 10, 2019 - We’re frequently reminded that “football isn’t like any other business.” And, judging how some football clubs seem to operate, you could easily be forgiven for thinking that their respective owners, or CEOs, seem to take leave of any business sense they’ve acquired over the years. Of course, as fans, we ...
Final word on AGM: Openness and transparency but difficult decisions ahead for the Board November 25, 2018 - If you’re ever minded to ask the question, when, for a football club, is the best time to hold an AGM, being top of the league, with ‘that lot’ 23 places below you, together with a relatively healthy set of financials in your back pocket, that’s probably just about perfect ...
No seven-goal-thriller, but Jordan’s hat-trick sees City through to next round of the Carabao September 26, 2018 - MFW's go-to guy for midweek away trips, Gary Field, delivers yet again. Here are five things that struck him after his Tuesday night jaunt to Adams Park... Ringing the changes Nine changes (one of the unusual consequences being an increase in the average age of the starting XI – something ...
Two wins on the bounce for buoyant City and some canny game management September 20, 2018 - MFW's Gary Field was one of the heroic 919 at the Madjeski last night. He kindly offered us a few post-match observations... Home grown and club developed... It may have gone unnoticed by many that all but one of City’s previous seven Championship match day squads had contained the absolute minimum ...
A non-descriptive 80 mins followed by a late flurry, but two big questions remain unanswered July 29, 2018 - As away grounds go, Charlton has to be one of my personal favourites (even if the away end is rather basic). The continuous “bowl” wrapping around three sides makes it a proper ground - the product of Premier League dosh and seven consecutive top-flight seasons in the early 2000s. Better ...
Hands up if you know your FSF from your SD or your PL Fans Fund. No? Then read on… July 23, 2018 - Okay footy fans, engage your inner nerd and raise your hands up if you know your FSF from your SD or your PL Fans Fund? Chances are, if given their full names, many football fans will have probably heard of The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) and Supporters Direct (SD) - ...
Self-funding or not self-funding? That it (sort of) the question… May 8, 2018 - To be, or not to be: that is the question: Perhaps it’s overly dramatic, maybe even misguided, to cross-reference Shakespeare’s famous soliloquy, which seeks to get to the core question of human existence, with football. Nevertheless, there’s a debate rumbling around the Canary Nation, as we contemplate a third Championship ...
We know the financial state we’re in (kind of). But what about our competitors? Gary F takes a look… April 4, 2018 - As the 2017-18 Championship season meanders towards a painfully drawn out conclusion, with Norwich City unfortunately destined for a mid-table finish, the prospect of a third consecutive season a second-tier level inevitably beckons. What will make 2018-19 season different to the proceeding two seasons is the loss of the Premier ...
Minus promotion there’s a double whammy on the Canary horizon. Time for the Yellow Army to brace itself November 28, 2017 - It’s that time of year again, isn’t it - where the combinations of a bad run of form, the Club’s annual accounts, together with the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, that’s left many fans questioning the direction in which the Club is going? Many of my fellow writers have already alluded ...
More positivity for the Y’Army faithful as Farke’s City takes another small step en route to August 5 July 26, 2017 - As my train trundled out of London, destined for Charlton, I was afforded a few moments of reflection. A lot has happened since my last visit to the Valley back in February 2015. That particular game was Alex Neil’s sixth in charge and arrived a amidst a sequence of ...
Stand still in football and you’re in danger of going backwards. But with a pot of finite resources… June 28, 2017 - June 2017 has been something of a landmark month for the Canaries. Not only has it been the 115th anniversary of the club, it’s also seen the formal arrival of its first overseas head coach plus his chosen backroom staff, four new players (almost unheard of in these parts in ...
Club’s an absolute mess both on and off the field; the evidence is stacking up and it’s damning March 6, 2017 - The Board have recently said that they’re undertaking their own strategic review – the evidence suggests it’s desperately required. It needs a huge dollop of realism, accompanied with an open and honest debate on the Club’s vision and identity. Whether we get that is another matter.
A closer look at the accounts reveals some unnerving facts. Post-2018 things could get bleak January 3, 2017 - Being “debt free” is, or should I say, was, a snapshot at a moment in time – in our case, taken from our accounts at the end of June. However, by the time the accounts are actually released several months later, they’re already effectively out of date.
Anyone up for a 60% per cent share of City? All yours for a cool 1,000,000 ordinary shares! September 20, 2016 - That would now be more than enough right there to rebuild the City Stand – plus a Ross McCormack if you fancied it – and give the purchaser a 60 per cent controlling interest in the club. The markets have, apparently, been trawled before for potential investors – perhaps, now, ...
Have City let the genie out of the bottle in terms of player wages? Is Alex now paying a very hefty price? August 29, 2016 - Last time we were in this league our wage bill was actually 97 per cent of our total turnover, even having regard to the then relegation clauses and the subsequent promotion bonuses - that’s unsustainable long term without Premier League football.
Can our club grow and progress? Or has Norwich City hit its footballing ‘glass ceiling’? May 17, 2016 - The club’s DNA is currently entwined with a self-funding model, a seemingly old fashioned model of simply spending what we can afford. Many are questioning, as commendable though that is, whether it is actually now sufficient to survive in the Premier League beyond the odd season or three? Whatever your ...
Changes are inevitable, the January window huge, and some big, unpopular decisions needed December 15, 2015 - Our 18 goals have actually been scored by TEN different players, with Nathan Redmond being top-scorer with FOUR goals. Perhaps more telling, our main three strikers – Cameron Jerome, Dieumerci Mbokani and Lewis Grabban - have just FIVE goals between them.
Not long now! But who will fare best out of Neil’s Canaries, Flores’ Hornets and Howe’s Cherries? August 4, 2015 - Alex Neil does have the benefit of a squad with much greater Premier League experience that the two promotion rivals, even if the cynics may suggest, some most part of the relegation team from the season before last.
While City prepare for their fight for Premier League survival, the other Canaries await a very different fight July 13, 2015 - For the past decade the Hitchin Town Supporters Trust has been raising funds each year to help pay the players’ wages. However, that doesn’t go anywhere near telling the whole storey, as the club’s problems are much bigger.
The silly season is upon us, yet still plenty to ponder, including what will 2015/16 bring for our Wesley H? June 23, 2015 - If there’s one thing we’ve all learnt during Alex Neil's brief tenure it’s that he has a meticulous eye for preparatio rarely seen before at Carrow Road. And it’s that which is highly likely to set him apart from his counterparts at Bournemouth and Watford.
How long before the fine ‘one of our own chant’ is redundant? And where next for football’s EPPP? June 15, 2015 - Football is naturally a competitive game and, when your club is completing at the highest level, whether in the Championship or the Premier League, it’s understandable why very few managers are brave enough to risk an inexperienced, academy player, rather than a seasoned old pro. The odds are stacked so ...
In times of all seater stadia and inflated ticket prices, football must revisit the needs of its very own lifeblood April 8, 2015 - Football has changed its image, largely for the better but, in some instances, for the worse. Whether we liked it or not, football suddenly became sanitised. Pre-match entertainment consisted of pre-determined musical play lists.
From Hucks to Mooney. Many an emergency loan has graced the yellow, but an out-dated concept? March 20, 2015 - With the benefit of the present loan system, these clubs can loan out their players to other Premier League, Football League or Conference clubs, supposedly in the name of player development. Chelsea, at one stage earlier this season, actually had twenty six players out on loan!

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