Proposed return of the East Anglian derby for pre-season shelved
Grant Holt scored the last time Norwich City and Ipswich Town met at Carrow Road, towards the end of 2010. Plans for the two clubs to meet for a pre-season friendly this summer have been scrapped. Picture: James Bass - Credit: Eastern Daily Press © 2010
Plans for a pre-season friendly between Norwich City and Ipswich Town have been scrapped.
The two clubs had been in dialogue since the season finished to put on the first East Anglian derby since Easter 2011.
However, the friendly that was believed to be destined for Carrow Road on July 28 – and had been pitched at raising money for the Canaries' Community Sports Foundation – will not happen.
Neither club nor Norfolk Police were prepared to comment on the matter on Monday.
While it is understood the game had the backing of all parties, some of the renovation work to the Jarrold Stand may have made the fixture unworkable.
Seating in the site of the former South Stand is currently covered in scaffolding as City extend the three separate television camera gantries into one long platform suspended from its roof.
City's chief executive David McNally had used his Twitter account to ask fans what they thought of the possibility of a friendly match against their closest rivals.
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And the reaction from both sides of the Waveney Valley was mixed, with many Canaries fans suggesting Town had not 'earned the right' to play them.
The news means City's three-game pre-season tour to the United States from July 15-26 remains their only confirmed warm-up matches ahead of the new season, which starts on August 17.
However, the Canaries are close to finalising and announcing the rest of what is hoped will be an eye-catching pre-season programme.
