A new season, and a new management team – namely Bruce Rioch and Brian Hamilton. In their appointment of a new Canary boss, cookery (but not football) guru Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn-Jones (both are majority shareholders) have plumped for a continental-style approach, with Rioch being made ‘First Team Manager’, and Hamilton’s post described as ‘Director of Football’. Rioch made it clear to his playing staff from the start that things would be different to the previous two years under Mike Walker. Only time will tell whether his strict style can help City up the table.
The season began brightly enough, with a 2–1 win over Crewe to open the season. Further league victories were notched up against Stockport and, albeit controversially, against Q.P.R., a game in which three penalties were awarded, Craig Bellamy converting both of Norwich’s spot-kicks on the way to his first senior hat-trick. Norwich won 4–2. A defeat followed, 2–0 to WBA, in a decidedly lacklustre performance by the men in yellow. Barnsley, relegated last year, were shoved aside in a 3–1 scoreline, before Sky Sports sent their cameras to Carrow Road for the visit of Bury.
Alan Brazil’s attempts to make City sound much worse than his beloved Ipswich at every given opportunity appeared to have some effect, unfortunately, as a 0–0 draw was the result in one of the worst games ever seen at Carrow Road. Since then, a defeat by Sheffield United has left the harshest of critics wondering about the new backroom team.
Further ammunition for the critics has been provided by their poor performances against lower division in the Worthington Cup (formerly the Coca-Cola cup). A 1–1 draw in Wales against Swansea, followed by a goal-less encounter at home, meant that extra-time had to be played. Iwan Roberts settled the game only 30 seconds after coming on to the pitch, in place of a below-par Keith O’Neill, with a well taken goal.
Victory over Wigan Athletic proved a little easier in round two with the Canaries winning only 1–0 in the home leg, but 3–2 in the return trip ‘up north’ (aggregate score 4–2).
One of the down sides this year has yet again been Norwich City’s irritating ability to always have a large number of players on the injured list. As the Grapevine went to press there were still injury problems for the following players: Shaun Carey, Mike Milligan, Keith O’Neill, Kevin Scott, Matt Jackson, Darren Kenton and Tommy Henderson. Another negative point is that Darren Eadie seems to have lost some of the sparkle of previous years; let’s hope that both of these improve for the better soon.
Norwich have had a few money troubles since the departure of Herr Chase; however, it is nice to see that the club can now afford to sign new players. Bruce Rioch paid out £350,000 last week for Celtic defender Malkie Mackay. With Peter Grant here already, and Michael Watt having signed recently, it appears that the Scottish contingent at Carrow Road is growing once again.
Providing that Norwich can avoid their now traditional Christmas slump, they are looking good for a play-off position this season.
There’s nothing a Norwich City supporter likes more than a victory over local rivals Ipswich Town, and on 20th October, that is exactly what they got. Norwich appeared to gel as a unit for the first time this season, which was good to see. Everyone made a fair contribution to the game. Their reward came not long into the second half, when Norwich scored their only goal – which proved to be decisive. Eadie’s pass enabled Norse god Erik Fuglestad to deliver an inch-perfect cross to Craig Bellamy, who promptly scored his tenth goal of the season. City could have been 2–0 up – if only Iwan Roberts had not headed Darren Eadie’s cross past the goal instead of into it. Still, that should shut Alan Brazil up – for a while, anyway…
Unfortunately for City, their recent performances had not been up to the same standard. The team worked well as individuals, but passing was often poor, and sloppy defending made the opposition’s job much easier. Both of these sins were in evidence as Norwich travelled to Selhurst Park to face Terry Venables’ Crystal Palace. Despite Norwich having taken the lead through Iwan Roberts, four goals in twenty minutes by the home side showed that Bruce Rioch and Brian Hamilton still had much work to do. The final result was Palace 5, Norwich 1 – a result that is sure to have pleased the only Crystal Palace ‘fan’ in Norwich, a certain Mr W Croston.
If the victory over Ipswich was good, then a win over league leaders Huddersfield Town can only be described as excellent. The visitors were outclassed as the Canaries produced a tidy performance. Huddersfield’s goal when City were 4–0 up didn’t really bother the fans. Joyful shouts of ‘Can we play you every week?!’ were directed at the away fans. This had also happened the last time this fixture took place at the end of last season, when Norwich won 5–0.
In my last column, I mentioned that Darren Eadie had been rather more subdued than in previous seasons, but since then he has recovered his form; he even scored a goal in the 2-2 draw with Sunderland. His pace and skills are certainly important to both the team and the fans, who worship him. In contrast, Keith O’Neill has not been a favourite with the crowd lately due to his excessive wage demands. £12,000 a week seems a lot, especially when you remember that he only played three full games last season.
O’Neill did score his first goal in fourteen months, though, in extra-time during the Worthington Cup match against Bolton Wanderers last week. An incredibly dull ninety minutes ended with no goals, and the match subsequently went into extra-time. After both teams scored in this period, the game was decided on penalties. Poor finishing meant that Wanderers won 3–1. Still, at least we can concentrate on the league now…
The curse of Sky Sports again struck at Carrow Road, as Norwich had their unbeaten run of seven games halted by a dismal performance against cash-strapped Oxford United. Despite taking the lead after 4 minutes through Craig Bellamy, three goals were gifted to Oxford, a club that had previously never emerged victorious. Only substitutes Adrian Forbes and Darel Russell played quite skillfully. If I were choosing the Man of the Match, I would opt for an Andy Fisher-style ‘No-one deserved it’ decision.
Fans reacted badly to the defeat. ‘I don’t know why I come here every game’ said Norwich supporter Tricky van Poortvliet. Didn’t know you did, Tricky. Even boss Bruce Rioch was critical of the display by his men, saying, ‘It was a very poor performance by our standards.’ I wish to make a plea, on behalf of all Norwich supporters, to Sky Sports: STAY AWAY FROM CARROW ROAD!
The Canaries had been playing well before this disappointment, with a draw against Wolves, in which skipper Matt Jackson received a red card for stamping. He was later cleared of this. He also had his three match ban lifted after video evidence clearly showed that the captain had done nothing wrong. This was a relief to both him and all the fans who saw the incident in the first place. They knew that Matt was innocent.
Other highlights of the November fixture list were: Andy Marshall’s excellent reflex save against Portsmouth. This save kept City in the game and they eventually won 2–1.
Also, Keith O’Neill’s spectacular goal. He curled the ball into the net from 30 yards away, very close to the touchline. This was one of three goals for City against Tranmere Rovers. It was also the first time that Norwich had ever won at Prenton Park, with the final score being 3–1 in Norwich’s favour.
It is unfortunate that Darren Eadie has been ruled out until Christmas, after a cartilage operation. While he will be missed, it is important that the Canaries should continue to play well without him. One man does not make a team, as the old cliché goes. On a happier note, Keith Scott, Daryl Sutch, Shaun Carey and Erik Fuglestad have all started training again after their various injuries. Now that club physiotherapist Tim Sheppard has nearly emptied his treatment room, lets hope that he is not kept too busy in the future.
While Craig Bellamy and Iwan Roberts both have reasonable league goal tallies, with Bellamy having scored 12 league goals and Roberts having scored 7, neither have scored as many as West Bromwich Albion striker Lee Hughes. He has 21 goals for his club. WBA are only 11th in the table, though, which highlights my point that no one man, no matter how good, can bring a team success without support from others.
I, like many, will be keeping my fingers crossed that Norwich can avoid a string of poor performances over Christmas, and that I will be able to write about the Canaries’ promotion charge when 1999 arrives. Finally, I would also like to wish a Happy Christmas to everyone, except for anyone who scores against Norwich, and Eileen Drewery, who is never happy, anyway.
It is a sad but true fact that Norwich City’s Christmas was not a very happy one. Just seven points out of a possible twenty-four does not make for impressive reading. City have slipped to ninth in the Division 1 table, and in their present vein of form are heading for a relegation dog-fight with the likes of Crewe and Port Vale.
It is unfortunate that the slide down the table has coincided with Michael Watt keeping goal for the Canaries. Some of his saves have been excellent, and most (although not all) of the goals conceded were due to slack defending or dreadful errors of judgement by the midfield.
Plenty of supporters were pleased to see the return of Andy Marshall, now back to full fitness, in the recent game against West Bromwich Albion. Marshall could do nothing about the opposition free kick that clipped Lee Marshall’s shoulder on its way past him.
(Lee) Marshall made amends for his earlier mistake, though, with the equaliser. Some highly dubious refereeing decisions and some terrible finishing in a second half dominated by City left the score at 1–1.
A big factor in recent weeks has been the absence of Craig Bellamy, who has been struggling with an injury. He should return in time for the next home game against Stockport County. Other players out with long term injuries include Keith O’Neill and Darren Eadie.
These three absences have left Bruce Rioch and Bryan Hamilton with very few attacking options. I feel that Norwich should invest in another striker, as Iwan Roberts and Adrian Coote are the only out-and-out attackers at the club.
Bellamy can play well in attack, but he is really a midfielder, and Eadie and O’Neill only play well on the flanks. Rioch’s only problem may be finding a striker who suits his style of play and is affordable. I feel a return for Dean Coney is on the cards.
Bruce Rioch has revealed that Keith O’Neill would be happy to stay with the club, but his agent believes that he can get a better deal elsewhere. Will Norwich miss Keith if he leaves? Unlikely, because he’s always injured, anyway. Losing another attacking option, however, would force Delia to part with some of her precious money. Now how many of those cookbooks did she sell?
On the subject of Delia, she braved the wind to actually watch the match against Bristol City from the Barclay Stand, in a plastic chair, with a flask of tea, instead of from behind a sheet of glass, in a comfy chair, sipping brandy. The reason for her unusual behaviour was the great shorts debate. Delia wanted them to stay yellow for next season, but everyone else wanted them changed back to green, as they were in the pre-Delia era.
Sadly, she was outnumbered in the vote by 17,021 to 1, but she seemed to have a good time. She not only signed autographs and kissed people outside the viewing lounge, but was happy to participate in the many shouts of ‘Delia, give us a wave!’ which were directed at her.
I would like to end on a happy note. This stems from the home match against Watford, where Tricky ‘Vibe FM Spot’ Van Poortvliet was spotted at a home match for the first time since November 1991. Many fans left the ground in shock, as if they’d seen a ghost. They probably had…
It would appear that Norwich City’s fortunes have finally lifted, if only slightly. Norfolk’s greatest team did win against Bury. They did keep a second clean sheet in a row, having previously lacked one for three months, and the victory was their first for eight games. However it is not all good news. Firstly, Norwich beat Bury, not the greatest achievement in the world (no disrespect, etc). Secondly, they did so in a match where Bury had a player sent off after only 11 minutes and thirdly, the victory came despite 10-man Bury dominating for large portions of the game.
However, three points in the bag, etc, etc, as Bruce Rioch would point out. It was certainly a boost to those people who were (mis)fortunate enough to witness the men in mustard against WBA, Bolton or Stockport. Of these, the Stockport game was especially dire. Darren Kenton was booed by some of the crowd for mistake after mistake, and he came off after just 39 minutes.
‘This was to avoid hurting him any more,’ according to Bryan Hamilton, who felt that the player might be upset after a barrage of abuse from several plebs in the Barclay Stand and the so-called ‘Snakepit.’ Many people could not face the second half, and watched from the comfort of the Supporters’ Lounge. Many rushed outside when City were awarded a penalty, with enthusiastic warblings such as ‘a goal from Bellamy will see us back on track.’ However, despair set in, as Keith O’Neill stepped up to strike from the spot. As the ‘luck of the Irish’(or as one man remarked afterwards ‘lack of skill from a moron’) would have it, Keith’s penalty lacked any quality or finesse, and it ended up missing the goal completely. Many people were pleased to hear of his latest injury (his 954th since joining the club) after that.
Things did look up (a little) in the match against Barnsley, when the play was much sweeter, but as one supporter remarked, ‘If only we had four Erik Fuglestads in defence.’ Despite only having one, Norwich managed a clean sheet, but then so did Barnsley. This was due to two things; everyone’s finishing, which was described as ‘unfortunate’ by Tricky van Poortvliet of Vibe FM in his post match analysis, and Chris Llewellyn.
However, a boost for Canary fans will be the injury to Peter Grant, who, let’s face it, should be sold to Doncaster Rovers on a free transfer. There were many guffaws when, with five minutes of the game against Bury to go, not only did Grant come off the field, but resident defensive substitute/ bench warmer Malky Mackay came on in attack. Could this be the new Norwich City wonder striker, or Rob Newman mark II?
One certainty, though, is that Norwich will have to improve if they want to emerge favourably from the local derby at Carrow road on April 11. In the words of Delia Smith, ‘mustard is the way forward’(although she did say this in a cookery programme in 1978).
A 3–0 victory over league leaders Sunderland, a resounding 4–1 win over third placed Bradford and a 7–0 thumping of lowly Portsmouth – just right for getting your favourite team back into a play-off position.
Sadly this was not to be the case for Norwich City, as all of the above results are figments of my imagination. The Canaries have managed no victories since the last issue of the Grapevine, instead managing only three draws and three defeats, which were too depressing for me to describe here. Thirteenth position in the table is where Norwich stand, and the statistics don’t look good. One win in fourteen games is not the form of a prospective play-off side; yet again the post-Christmas slump has halted City’s rise up the table.
Bruce Rioch has tried out several ways of altering the team’s fortunes, mainly by swapping the 11 first-team players around with various others. Of course, players like Roberts, Bellamy and the two Marshalls have been consistently present lately. Others have not had an extended run in the team, however, such as wingers Adrian Forbes and Chris Llewellyn. Their luck would now appear to be in, though, with Eadie ruled out for the rest of the season, and the fortunate departure of Keith O’Neill.
How Norwich got such a good deal out of O’Neill’s departure is quite hard to work out. He struggled to get into the first team even when he was fit, which was almost never. ‘He’s at Carrow Road less than I am!’ exclaimed Vibe FM sports writer, Richard ‘expensive tastes’ van Poortvliet. Believe me, that is quite ‘Tricky’… O’Neill will be missed by some people though, mainly because they’ve just lost another person to jeer at.
It is easy to see that Norwich have some excellent talent on their books. Full back Che Wilson and reserve team stalwart Darren Way are just two examples of this. The problem seems to be that Norwich are using their talent in the wrong way. Surely Adrian Coote scoring 16 goals in 18 reserve team starts warrants a first team call-up, even if it does mean that Craig Bellamy has to move back to the midfield where he belongs in order to accommodate this change.
Bruce Rioch seems to be afraid to play players in their proper positions, such as Lee Marshall. He is really a right-back and plays there for the England Under-21 side, but he has spent the entire season in midfield. Russell, Carey and Milligan should all be given several games in which to prove their worth in the centre of the park, not just the odd appearance here and there. Then Marshall could play in his favoured position instead of the ageing Daryl Sutch, who has not been in great form lately. I believe subtle changes like this could have a positive influence on the team, hopefully leading to more successful results.
All the tickets for Norwich City’s derby clash with second placed Ipswich Town have now been sold. The 20,000+ fans who will be at Carrow Road in a fortnight’s time will either see a convincing performance from Norwich – or an Ipswich rout. Either way, the atmosphere of a derby game should provide plenty of entertainment for the supporters. Let’s hope that Norwich can give their season a bit of a lift – even though it is now too late to make the play-offs.
Ninth. In Division One. Not a spectacular finishing position as I am sure many of you will agree, and Bruce Rioch has said that Norwich will find it 'difficult' to reach the Premiership next season. We can look on the bright side, however - Norwich City finished above 63 other teams in the Football League.
Unfortunately Ipswich Town was not one of these teams, but…1-0! We beat the scum 1-0! I forecast defeat for them in the play-offs anyway. They will fail to overcome the might of Bolton Wanderers, who will meet Watford in the Division One final.
Many bright things can be taken from this campaign. Firstly, Bruce and Bryan have taken the Canaries to their highest position since their relegation. This season has also seen the emergence of several men who will be a key to success in the future. Lee Marshall played in 48 games this year and has now been given his chance in the England Under-21 side, and Robert Green has shown us some of his massive potential. In fact, he was said by many to be better than Andy Marshall at the same tender age of 19.
The signing of Phil Mulryne on deadline day was a master stroke by Bruce Rioch. The ex-Manchester United man has breathed new life into the midfield. Mulryne has replaced Neil Adams, now if only Norwich could find replacements for Shaun Carey and Peter Grant, they might have a reasonable set of players in the middle of the park for a change.
Let's also hope that City can keep hold of Cedric Anselin, who has quietened those midfield critics with occasionally breath-taking football. What makes him even more special is that he is not afraid to get stuck in, unlike some others…
The last three games of the season arrived, and Bruce Rioch was aiming for three wins. He steered his team to a 4-2 win at doomed Oxford, then a 2-1 win against Swindon Town at Carrow Road. This was the first home win for Norwich in 4 ½ months.
The final game of the season was at Bristol City. When asked whether he was to attend the game, evil Mercury FM and Vibe FM sports writer and political commentator Tricky 'Tricky Van Poortvliet' Van Poortvliet retorted: 'I wouldn't waste my money.' The hypocritical Dutchman then proceeded to make the 4 hour journey anyway. He and all the other travelling fans were disappointed with what they saw, as Norwich were defeated by a single Bristol City goal, scored by Pina Colada (or something).
Norwich have recently said goodbye to several players. Neil Adams, Alex Allen, Tommy Henderson, Victor Segura and Michael Watt have not had their contracts renewed, and Kevin Scott's contract has been cancelled 'by mutual consent.' These players should be remembered for their small but significant parts in football at Carrow Road. Norwich will play their first game without them on 30th July, when they entertain Borussia Moenchengladbach, who are the opponents for the Daryl Sutch Testimonial.
They regularly pour scorn upon Norwich City, but the Editors of this fine publication cannot claim that their footballing favourites have been hugely successful. Mr. Michael James is a supporter of the only team in England which can boast one fluent speaker of English - and it's Dennis Wise! Not only have Chelsea failed to retain their Cup Winners Cup title, but as I write this, their (slim) title hopes have just faded with a 2-2- draw against Tottenham. Mr. James Kettle is a supporter of regular escapologists Southampton Town, who will seemingly avoid relegation this weekend despite the best efforts of such luminaries as Paul Jones and Ken Monkou to the contrary. I can still laugh about their FA Cup defeat against Division Two opposition, though. HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Despite the mediocre season, supporters of Norwich City do now have something to be happy about. Both French midfield wizard Cedric Anselin and striker Paul (son of Kenny) Dalglish have signed for the club on a permanent basis. These captures are important to the fans, as they show that the Norwich managerial staff are working positively towards the next campaign.
These two players have plenty of talent, as demonstrated during their loan spells. They are also part of manager Bruce Rioch’s plan to have two players for every position. He is adamant that he will not begin next season with four players who could play in one position and none who could play in another, as was the case twelve months ago.
There have been a couple of minor changes at Carrow Road for the new season also. Delia Smith will now be handling the catering, after previous caterers Food East terminated their contract with the club. Let’s hope that the food will be cheaper and tastier (probably wishful thinking).
Bryan Hamilton spent his first season helping Bruce Rioch become accustomed to the running of the club. Now, however, he has taken on a different challenge – taking overall charge of the Football Academy for the Canaries. This was apparently the plan all along.
How will it affect matches? Well, there will be one less ornament on the touchlines of the first division this year…
Most important of all the changes is, of course, the new strip. Again designed by fashion aficionado Bruce Oldfield, the kit (with requested green shorts) is £5 cheaper than last year, and it looks great. As a fashion tip, though, never put your own name on the back of the shirt. This adds to the tackiness rating of your wardrobe. Instead, put ANSELIN 7 on the back of your shirt, and then you can pretend to be in the first team until they change the strip (again…).
Finally, I would like to apologise to Richard ‘Tricky’ Van Poortvliet. He is an avid supporter of Norwich City Football Club and goes to as many games as his tight work schedule allows. You can catch the sounds of Richard’s excellent sports journalism on Mercury fm. Auf Wiedersehen.