It’s been tough for the academy throughout the second half of the season, with the U18s and U21s teams both experiencing difficulties. With a rebuild needed on the pitch, one will also now be required behind the scenes after the head of academy development, Steve Weaver, announced he was leaving the club at the end of this season.  Weaver has been in the position for seven seasons and has played an integral part in developing a significant number of players who have made it through into City’s first team. In total, 24 players have made that transition, including Max Aarons, Jamal Lewis, J ..read more

As I mentioned in the comments of Gary’s article on Sunday, the mind-game season is now in full swing. It would surprise no one if, between now and Saturday’s game with Bristol City, both camps bemoan injuries, suspensions, and a raft of other reasons as to why the result might not go their way. Did Ryan Lowe believe the stuff coming out of the club before Saturday’s game, like the fact Josh Sargent was touch-and-go for the game? I very much doubt it. His planning would have been for every eventuality but are these types of comments more for the benefit of the media and supporters? Many articl ..read more

If only there were a Championship table based on a team’s ability to wind up opposition managers. If so, we wouldn’t be stressing about whether or not we can claim a playoff place. We’d be prime Leicester City in early January. Seventeen points clear. Champions in waiting. Ryan Lowe yesterday joined an ever-growing list of head honchos who couldn’t believe his team’s misfortune when faced with the Canaries of Wagner. “We were the better side”, claimed Lowe in his post-match press briefing; the bitter sting of tears strewn all over his face. If our Ryan had delivered the more traditional ‘fairl ..read more

Squeaky bum time. We’re down to the stage where each game changes the picture. On Tuesday, City missed a gilt-edged opportunity to put breathing space between us and other challengers for a playoff spot. But Coventry’s loss eased the pain. On Wednesday, Hull’s failure to win changed the equation again. With so few games remaining, six points behind us with a game in hand sounds a good deal better than four behind with a game in hand. The gainers from the midweek round were Preston, who’ve hauled themselves back into the mix and given Saturday’s game an extra edge. A Preston win will blow the r ..read more

It was a bitterly disappointing defeat at home to Southampton for the U21s last Friday. It meant they have won just once since the turn of the year. This result has dented the Canaries’ playoff qualification hopes, as they now sit in 18th place – two positions below the qualification places and with teams above them having games in hand.  Saints arrived in fine form and with key personnel available to them. Two of those were highly regarded teenagers, Samuel Amo-Ameyaw (17), and Tyler Dibling (18), who both had a big influence on the game, with Dibling, in particular, being influential th ..read more

Bugger. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Especially when armed with a comfortable 2-0 lead and a level of control that should have deemed it game over. But if there’s one thing we’re good at on the road, it’s conjuring up new ways of dropping points from winning positions. I’m sure there are other examples, but just off the top of my head, I give you Watford, QPR, Blackburn, and Leicester. On each occasion, David Wagner has opted for containment when the alternative would have been to remain on the front foot and get another goal to kill the game off. But, away from home, that’s not his style ..read more

So lads, top that then! With the final whistle celebrations still booming in their ears from Saturday, the players have the unenviable task of trying to reinvigorate themselves physically and mentally for that most confusing of appointments, namely Wednesday on a Tuesday. Despite their humble 23rd place in the table, the fact that the Owls have amassed 42 points with five games to go following the start they had, shows just how far they have come. The table feels particularly unforgiving in this regard, as their form since current manager Danny Rohl arrived in October has been sufficient to ha ..read more

Shall we dare to dream? In a weekend that will be long remembered by everyone connected with Norwich City, it was the women’s turn to put the icing on the cherry on the cake after the men’s East Anglian derby heroics on Saturday lunchtime. The feel-good factor is back and is trickling throughout the club. Scott Emmerson’s side travelled to the Abbey Stadium to face Cambridge United buoyed by that frantic, last-minute draw with league leaders AFC Wimbledon last week. With a goal deep into proceedings in South London, this Norwich side doesn’t know when it’s beaten and is fighting tooth and nail ..read more

In all honesty, as a self-avowed neutral with a season ticket, I was not expecting to get emotionally involved. Tribalism that can spill over into violence is not my thing. In fact, tribalism, full stop, is not my thing. But at 2:30 pm on Saturday, I was a sweaty, hoarse, sciatica-ridden, emotionally wrecked, Yellows-screaming old man. I only got to my seat five minutes before kick-off. Partly because the walk down the hill from Sprowston took longer than ever because my back’s been wrecked for over a week, partly because my legs were experiencing a bit of reluctance to go to this game because ..read more

There is frequent talk in football about “wanting it”. Usually, it is total tosh. But … Sixty-seven minutes gone. Kieffer Moore finds himself accidentally in possession inside Norwich City’s penalty area, near the River End goal-line on the City Stand side of the box. There is nobody near him. He looks towards the goal and the region in front of it. He sees goalkeeper Angus Gunn and four home defenders already alert but only one blue shirt: worn by substitute Jeremy Sarmiento. Moore decides to let the ball go out of play. Well, it had arrived at his feet via a ricochet off City left-back Sam M ..read more