The line-up Based on the pre-match press conference, I watched the clock tick over to 2pm with extreme trepidation but then saw Josh Sargent’s name in the starting line-up and Jonny Rowe on the bench, and all was well in the world. Rowe came on with 20 minutes to go and looked as if he’d never been away, immediately winning a couple of corners, snapping into tackles, running at defenders and getting the away end fired up just as the game was drifting towards a 0-0. A substitution that makes us more attacking and likely to score, not less? This could catch on. The atmosphere A massive ..read more

The line-up A Sheffield Wednesday fan posted a thread yesterday which looked at ‘fatigued matches’. “When teams play away fatigued (playing away after a game within the last 3 or 4 days), the away win ratio over the season drops by 15% vs baseline. Norwich have played the most away fatigued games in the champ, 9, they haven’t won any of them.”  The inability to rotate in any meaningful way, other than bringing Batth into the starting line up felt risky and ominous in equal measure and very frustrating. But we were clearly not as frustrated as David Wagner.  The atmosphere Strong show ..read more

The line-up An unchanged team from Emmerson, which was somewhat of a surprise given they’d played only two days prior at the Abbey and rotation had been hinted at. The decision seemed fully justified, as City were two goals to the good in quick fashion, Tomlinson opening the scoring in somewhat bizarre circumstances as her pace allowed her to pick up the scraps from her own long throw, before ghosting past a defender and finishing instinctively. Snelling then scruffily bundled home from a Kennard corner and it was pretty much plain sailing from there. The atmosphere A lower attendance than usu ..read more

Portman Road is the last place you’d expect to see a Norwich fan, but that was where I was, watching Ipswich Town Women take to the pitch against Chatham Town. Sat in the West Stand amid an oppressive sea of blue and Ipswich chants, I asked myself what the eff I was doing there. But truth be told, the idea of watching Ipswich’s first-ever league game at Portman Road intrigued me to no end, and my curiosity was simply impossible to resist. With Norwich City Women in the middle of a promotion push, I wanted to see this supposedly formidable side for myself should we cross swords with them next s ..read more

Don’t kid yourselves – because I almost did – that Norwich can give anyone a game in the playoffs, should they get there.  Well, the issue: they’d have to give their opponent two games – one at home, one away. Since the turn of the year, they’ve got the hang of the former and kept the simmering toxicity at bay. It’s the other half where undeniable proof lies of a desperately needed squad makeover, and a change of head coach. Teams often reflect the character of their manager or head coach One powerful, assertive display at Stoke aside, Norwich City 2023/24 have never looked like a team ..read more

The line-up An unchanged team from last week’s draw with QPR at Carrow Road. The atmosphere It was a shame this highly anticipated top-of-the-table meeting couldn’t be played at Plough Lane, which was unavailable this Easter Sunday due to an egg-shaped sport, but a crowd of 625 turned out in Carshalton including plenty of vocal yellow and green. Hopefully the supporters’ coach put on by the club was deemed a success and it can become a regular thing. Haydon the Womble got the home support going with his bin-banging antics, and the lack of rubbish left on the terraces at full-time showed the Do ..read more

The line-up An unchanged line-up made up of our best available players, who have clicked and are doing the job. Simple as. (How long do we have to keep saying that Sørensen is “playing out of his preferred position”? It doesn’t look as if he is anymore.) The atmosphere Yeah, it was okay. Good noise, but not exactly rocking. Fair play to Argyle fans as ever, especially once they scored their goal and especially for aiming a ‘dirty northern bastards’ chant at the Barclay.  I got to sample the delights of the Lion & Castle for the first time since it opened. Living in Manchester and main ..read more

The line-up You get some, you give some – Megan Todd missed out but Holly Kennard returned to the matchday squad. Against a tough opponent in QPR, Scott Emmerson opted for a solid 3-4-2-1, with Rachel Lawrence and Ellie Smith floating behind Tash Snelling as dual tens. The atmosphere A crowd of just under 6000 turned up at Carrow Road, beating last season’s record. It took some time for the stadium to warm up but when it did, the atmosphere was amazing, especially later on in the second half when we really went for the winner. The players  ..read more

The line-up No major surprises in interim head coach Scott Emmerson’s first starting 11. City have alternated between a three and a four at-the-back this season and a back four was used this time, with the players lining up in the familiar 4-2-3-1. Holly Kennard, who has been a revelation since the restart, was missing and Rachel Lawrence came in at left wing, while Lauren Tomlinson started on the bench. The atmosphere It was a quiet afternoon at the Nest. The weather was rather horrid, and the game coincided with Mother’s Day, which ..read more

The line-up Are you fit? Great, you’re playing! The atmosphere Like a fun day out at a friendly against lower league opposition. Sunshine, drums, songs, beers, wine, Ipswich collapsing in the day’s early kick-off, a goal every 10 minutes in the first half. We haven’t had one of these for a while and it was most pleasant. Things got a bit dull in the second half as Norwich subbed on anyone who can play football, so quite a lot of people popped off to the pub at around 75 minutes, which in a weird way was kind of fair enough. This can’t have been fun for the (very) few Rotherham fans who turned ..read more