Robin Sainty

Strange days are upon us… no football but, doubly disappointing, no Trust foodbank March 15, 2020 - This is a story of being overtaken by life. Last Monday I started writing about football, as I’m unlikely to be doing so for the foreseeable future I might as well publish it anyway: Black and white, night and day, matter and anti-matter. Pick the antonym of your choice but ...
City’s on-field success came faster than the financial rebuild that has now been sorted February 25, 2020 - Other children of the 60s may remember an Australian series called the Magic Boomerang in which said implement when thrown would suspend time for all but the thrower. Apparently a number of Wolves players were carrying one on Sunday judging by their second goal, with three attackers fighting to get ...
Hard times but this remains a long-term project and City are still ahead of schedule November 4, 2019 - To say that being a Norwich City fan is hard at the moment would be an understatement of monumental proportions. As the central defensive carousel turned once again at Brighton due to even more injuries there was plenty of cause for concern before a ball was kicked, but the performance ...
Vive la Webber révolution. The future’s yellow and laden with Under-23 talent July 8, 2019 - It would be difficult to underestimate the influence of Stuart Webber on Norwich City, even though, as I discovered last week, there are still a few people out there desperate to criticise him, however inaccurately. In that particular instance it was an attempt to hold the Sporting Director, who is ...
It’s not all VAR. Other rule changes set to alter the Premier League landscape… May 25, 2019 - While the introduction of VAR on a more comprehensive basis is the obvious change that will give the Premier League a new look next season, it’s important to remember that there are other rule changes to take on board as well. In principle they all make sense, but some may ...
The Class of 2015-16 v the Class of 2018-19 – how does Farke’s XI compare to Alex Neil’s? May 15, 2019 - With no actual football to talk about, the next couple of months will be full of the usual rumours and speculation as we wait to see how City will fare on their return to the top division after three seasons in the Championship. At this point we don’t know who ...
The mayor’s hat… some MD 20/20… and a fine end to the season from a quality player May 11, 2019 - He may be the new Mayor of Norwich but Kenny McLean’s failure to be Moritz Leitner or Mario Vrancic has meant that some City fans were still calling for him to be replaced as the season reached its climax. While I’m a huge fan of both the players that he ...
Webber and O’Hagan light up AGM as the Trust revel in the NCFC feelgood factor March 19, 2019 - Last week’s Canaries Trust AGM carried on the feelgood factor that has surrounded the Club this season. The Trust has had a hugely successful year purchasing a further 426 ordinary shares and five Preference B shares on behalf of the fans as well as receiving a donation of 12 more ...
Unpopular with some, but let’s not underestimate Ed Balls’ impact on this football club December 4, 2018 - From the moment that he was appointed to the role, Ed Balls was always going to be a controversial choice as Norwich City chairman. As a former Labour Shadow Chancellor and Shadow Home Secretary he was always going to attract antipathy from those of a different political persuasion, while the ...
City leading way in safe standing debate after an audience with Minister for Sport October 22, 2018 - The safe standing debate seems to have rumbled on forever with little in the way of resolution but that could be about to change. As most of you will be aware various representatives of the Club and supporter groups went down to Westminster last week for a meeting with Tracey ...
Phase two of the Webberlution is underway, with a clear plan developing July 14, 2018 - Towards the end of City’s humiliating defeat at Hillsborough on the last day of the season, a group of lads in the away end attempted to start up a chant of “We want Webber out”. I’m pleased to say that no-one joined in and a number of people did take ...
A Lynn loosener kicks off 2018/19 for City, with not too many lessons learned July 7, 2018 - The Walks has changed quite a bit since my playing days. In the late 1980s it was getting pretty run down as the club struggled from one financial crisis to another, which would ultimately culminate in a coup de grace from HMRC in 2009 as a result of an unpaid ...
Mo’s finally in the house! With the midfield starting to take shape, now for a striker (or two) June 26, 2018 - There’s still plenty of work to be done in this transfer window and without doubt we’ll all breathe easier when we see some strikers through the in-door, but there was one player in particular whose signature I felt was essential to the success of City’s campaign and that was Moritz ...
Dr Tony may have got it wrong, but he wasn’t the first and he certainly won’t be the last June 7, 2018 - While it’s inevitable that the current mess at Aston Villa has reignited the debate about foreign owners, I would suggest that there is actually a much deeper issue that should be debated more openly. Although it’s increasingly clear that Dr Tony Xia effectively decided to gamble the club’s future on ...
MUSIC WEEK – Dr Feelgood… Led Zep… Hendrix… Portishead… all part of Robin’s journey June 5, 2018 - Football and music have always been constants in my life. Unfortunately, the arrival of my teens coincided with the musical desert of the early 1970s, full of novelty songs and glam rock. Growing up in Lynn there wasn’t much chance of seeing big names in concert either, although I did ...
FAO The Minister for Sport: Before passing judgement on safe standing, understand the issue Ms Crouch April 13, 2018 - Once again, we find ourselves faced with an increasingly acrimonious debate about the issue of safe standing following the decision of the Minister for Sport, Tracey Crouch, to reject West Bromwich Albion’s application to install a safe standing area at the Hawthorns. This is, of course, a major setback for ...
A viable plan is in place, one that’s firmly focused on a return to the Premier League April 1, 2018 - On Thursday, I chaired an informative Q&A session after the Canaries Trust AGM at which Steve Stone and Stuart Webber spoke candidly about the Club’s financial position and transfer policy for the summer. No issue was off limits and only the most dedicated miserabilist would refuse to acknowledge and praise ...
The life and loves of a City diehard – how living through the lows makes the highs so much more intense December 4, 2017 - I can assure you there aren’t many benefits to being 60, but one of them is that it becomes much easier to cope with the rollercoaster ride that is the life of a City fan. My journey started way back in March 1967 when I was ten. City had just ...
Ogogo incident proves we’re not there yet but no let up until racism and discrimination at NCFC are no more October 27, 2017 - Just about the last football club I would expect to appear in the national media in the context of a case of racism is Norwich City, yet, thanks to the efforts of one idiot at the Emirates who thought it okay to racially abuse boxer Anthony Ogogo, apparently on the ...
The sooner the real stuff kicks off the better. We have momentum right now, both on and off the pitch July 19, 2017 - It’s all starting to get that little bit more real. With tickets for the opening Championship match not only going on sale but being snapped up – all 3000 of them – within three hours, it is clear that excitement and expectation are growing among the Yellow Army. Despite the ...
It’s about getting the best from the budget and it’s about acting like grown ups if our favourites depart July 8, 2017 - This week has certainly provided confirmation, if indeed any were needed, that the current version of Norwich City is very different to the one that we have become accustomed to in recent seasons. In the place of the reassuring statements at the start of transfer windows to the effect that ...
No rights and no wrongs in the LeoVegas debate but if the upshot is a better team on the pitch… June 27, 2017 - While the summer so far has been marked by an almost unprecedented level of bonhomie amongst City fans, the announcement of the club’s new shirt sponsorship deal with gambling company LeoVegas has created the first significant ripples in what had been a peaceful pool. A number of fans have made it very ...
Mr Zimmermann arrives, the latest new face to go knock, knock, knockin’ on Colney’s door June 15, 2017 - We all knew that this summer was going to be radically different but looking at some of the reaction on social media it seems that the reality of that is only just starting to sink in. While the arrival of four new faces before the middle of June has been ...
So Farke it is! Another piece of the Canary jigsaw falls into place as Project Webber kicks on apace May 25, 2017 - I won’t spend too much time talking in depth about Daniel Farke because I’m not going to pretend I know very much about him at this point. However from what I gather he is a progressive coach who has done a good job with Dortmund’s under 23 team and knows ...
Stability remains key to any form of success in football and right now it’s something City have in spades October 8, 2016 - What we learnt from our previous visit to the Championship is that there is no such thing as an easy game, but whereas in 2014/15 City were dropping points when they weren’t at their best, this time around they are finding ways to win that are, while not always convincing ...
The Canaries Trust: run by the fans for the fans and there to ensure that the Canary board is held to account July 21, 2016 - The pricing issue in particular has shown us all that working together really can get results if there is co-ordination from a national body such as the FSF, and the £30 cap on away ticket prices in the Premier League is a credit to them and to everyone who took ...
Canos finally in the building, and there’ll be others, but key to a good season will be those we retain July 13, 2016 - There is every sign that the Timm Klose is happy in Norwich and given his limited time in a City shirt so far I would hope that he would give it at least until January before reviewing his future.
Nothing to see here. News of agents, offers, exits and side-swipes from an ex insufficient reasons for panic June 16, 2016 - Two of them, Brady and Redmond, would hardly have required the use of a crystal ball given their international aspirations but the third was Cameron Jerome. Yes, that Cameron Jerome, the one who’s just signed a new three year deal.
The £30 away-day cap is a start but now it’s time for football to start considering its cost to ALL fans April 4, 2016 - At Norwich, the Canaries Trust worked with Forces2Canaries, Proud Canaries and the Barclay End Projekt to get the views of a wider set of fans across in our regular and always constructive discussions with the club, but debate and canvassing was never going to be enough in itself.

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