A view from outside Carrow Road
Hello. Andrew Fitchett here, this week’s sports desk work experience boy. Since the desk has a distinct yellow and green air to it, I thought I might give an outsider’s view on Norwich and their various ups and downs (and downs, and downs…)
Sorry to start with that bit of sarcasm – wouldn’t want to get off on the wrong foot. Truth be told, Norwich are a club that I have a lot of history with and attachment to.
As a Norfolk boy, born and bred (I grew up in the cosmopolitan town of Thetford), City always loomed large on my footballing horizon as I was surrounded by fans of the county’s biggest club.
To make things more interesting, living on the cusp of the Norfolk/Suffolk divide meant there were always plenty of Ipswich supporters loitering; a mixture that provided great entertainment for a non-partisan viewer like me.
My first ever experience of live football was at Carrow Road – a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Wimbledon – and down the years friends have served as ball boys, mascots and even players.
As if to make up for that Wimbledon shellacking, my first trip to see my beloved Spurs was hijacked by Mike Walker’s City side in a 3-1 win for the Canaries.
Years later, whilst working a summer job as a tiler’s assistant, I had the pleasure of laying a new floor in Chris Sutton’s palatial conservatory.
I never did remind him of the brace in that game which spoilt my first ever day at White Hart Lane – but I’m sure he wouldn’t have had much sympathy!
With plenty of card-carrying Canaries among my friends and family, I’ve never felt too far away from what’s going on at the club, but in all honesty, the last few years have somewhat passed me by.
Oddly enough, last year’s relegation got me back on track with City and it’s great to see the side seemingly on an upwards path with Paul Lambert in charge.
Sure, it is early days, but the new gaffer is making the right noises, the fans are packing out all four corners of the ground (as always) and the results are heading in the right direction.
The incredible thing for me, looking at the side nowadays, is the playing staff. For fans of the club, entrenched as you are in every little detail of what’s going on, things never seem to change as fast.
Personally, my memories of Norwich are of either top quality players such as Chris Sutton or steady, experienced old-heads like Malky Mackay and Dion Dublin.
Now the club lacks those household names, but the crop of promising young players coming through spells good things and a well travelled individual like Lambert can only help their development.
Despite my other blasphemous allegiances, I’d love to see Norwich climb the divisions again. The East Anglian Derby would be a welcome return for starters (although with the way Ipswich are going, the two sides might end up missing each other) and beyond that, having Norwich back in the Premier League would be great for the city.
Dreams of top flight football might be a distant possibility – one step at a time and so on – but with the club on the right path the optimism should start to return.
If they do get there, I’ll certainly be backing them in every game. Apart from two obvious exceptions, of course.