Life After City

...........keeping a beady eye on ex Canaries and those out on loan

this week..................... Peter Crouch found the back of the net for Spurs as they beat Werder Bremen 3-0 in the Champions League. Jamie Cureton scored for Exeter City as they came back from 3-0 behind at Oldham Athletic to get a draw. It was Cureton's eighth goal in eighteen appearance for the west country club in all competitions, since his summer exit from Carrow Road. Robert Green saved a penalty for West Ham United on Saturday as the Hammers gained a precious 3-1 win over relegation rivals Wigan Athletic, with ex loanee Scott Parker bagging one of the goals. Two more former Norwich City loanees in the news - David Mooney scored for Colchester United (from an Ian Henderson cross) in their 1-0 FA Cup win over Swindon Supermarine, and Leroy Lita did the same for Middlesbrough against Hull City in the Championship in a 2-2 draw. In the same competition, Craig Bellamy scored the third goal of his spell at Cardiff City, and collected his third booking, but could not stop his side going down 2-1 to nearest rivals QPR.

Ryan Jarvis has joined Northampton on a three month loan from Leyton Orient. He will join forces there with another Norwich City old boy, Leon McKenzie. And it is not so long ago that the pair were playing together for the Canaries in the Premier League in 2004-05 season............ well, sort of. Whilst they were both at Carrow Road during the same period in history, their actual time on the field together in the top division was somewhat limited. The longest run out was in the December fixture at Middlesbrough. City lost 2-0 with Jarvis playing until he was substituted in the 74th minute, and McKenzie featuring for the whole ninety. They both appeared against Portsmouth away the next month, a 1-1 draw, but not together as Jarvis replaced McKenzie in the 67th minute. Two days later in the 2-1 home defeat against Liverpool, Jarvis came on in the 78th minute, but McKenzie had already been substituted by then. And on the 15th of January 2005 in the 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa, they both came on as substitutes - McKenzie for the second half and Jarvis with just 5 minutes remaining on the clock. So yes, an old Premier League strike partnership renewed, but only a fleeting one it must be said.    

Central defender David Stephens left Carrow Road in July of this year, signing for Scottish Premier League club Hibernian. Still aged only 19, he has yet to make a first team breakthrough - his games at the Leith based club being restricted so far to three substitute appearances in the latter part of matches. 

Also playing at Hibs is former Canary loanee Jonathan Grounds, who had spells with City in 2008 and 2009. He is still a Middlesbrough player and played in their Carling Cup tie against Chesterfield at the start of the season, but has been on loan at Easter Road since the end of August. So far he has made eleven appearances in all competitions for Hibs. His loan contract finishes at the end of January 2011.

Robert Eagle landed at Conference club Grimsby Town in August, signing a two year deal. He played for Norwich City 12 times back in 2006-07. He has been involved in 18 games for the Mariners so far this season, starting thirteen times and coming off the bench in five more. So far he has managed to score five goals, including a brace at Forest Green Rovers in October. He never netted for the Canaries. In between Norwich and Grimsby he played in Scotland for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

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Waiting For The Day

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles  

I really do not like the week leading up to Norwich versus Ipswich games. It's a lot like the last seven days before Christmas. You start out looking forward to it, but by the time it arrives, you really just want to get it over with and out of the way. Undoubtedly, it is good for both clubs that the East Anglian Derby is back on this year. The bragging and verbal skullduggery amongst fans started months ago. The time is nearly here for the real arguments to start - on the pitch. Tomorrow will be a slightly more nervous day than usual, but by Monday, it will all be consigned to history !

With the Reserves side not being in a league competition this season, manager Paul Lambert said very early on in the campaign that some players would be put out on loan in order to get match and development time. Here is a quick summary of exactly how many games (senior appearances in all competitions) these lads have been involved in at their loan clubs :

Owain Tudur Jones - age 26  Yeovil (3rd tier)    16 appearances  1 goal
Cody McDonald - age 24  Gillingham (4th tier)  15 appearances  5 goals
George Francomb - age 19  Barnet (4th tier)   10 appearances  0 goals
Tom Adeyemi - age 19  Bradford City (4th tier)   16 appearances  2 goals

All are being picked regularly as starters when fit.

And finally..................my very last word on the East Anglian Derby before it kicks off. In recent times, Ipswich Town fans have been referred to by their Norwich City counterparts as BINNERS. Sing Up The River End! could never boast complete coverage of the history of the Canaries without the origins of this name being recorded. It emanates from an episode of the TV series Lovejoy, where a refuse collector is seen taking a discarded Ipswich Town football scarf out of a bin, wrapping it around his neck, and wearing it for the rest of the show. It has never been any surprise to Norwich fans that a blue and white scarf should be found in a bin !  

In retaliation, Ipswich fans refer to Canary followers as budgies. Altogether less degrading and certainly less imaginative. In fact, I know a City fan or two who rather quite like it. Roll on Sunday.  

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FA Cup 3rd Round Looming

With more important things on their minds this week, Canary fans may not have remembered that the draw for the 3rd Round of the FA Cup also takes place on Sunday. The ties will be played on the weekend of the 8th and 9th of January 2011. The number Norwich City fans need to listen for as the balls are drawn is 28.

The last ten years have produced mixed fortunes in our annual first outing in the competition :

HOME TIES 4
AWAY TIES 6

WON 3
DRAWN 3
LOST 4

LEVEL OF OPPOSITION    Premier League 3, tier two 4, tier four 1, non league 2

RESULTS
2000-2001  Sheffield Wednesday (a) lost 2-1
2001-2002  Chelsea (h) drew 0-0 lost replay 4-0
2002-2003  Brighton (h) won 3-1
2003-2004  Everton (a) lost 3-1
2004-2005  West Ham United (a) lost 1-0
2005-2006  West Ham United (h) lost 2-1
2006-2007  Tamworth (a) won 4-1
2007-2008  Bury (h) drew 1-1 lost replay 2-1
2008-2009  Charlton Athletic (a) drew 1-1 lost replay 1-0
2009-2010  Paulton Rovers (a) won 7-0

Given that two of the three wins came against non league opposition, and all three replays were lost, Norwich City supporters may well feel that a good cup performance is long overdue. That though will partly depend on who we are paired with on Sunday. Ipswich at home, anyone ?

Update : When the draw was made, Norwich City were duly paired with the winners of the Droylsden (Conference North) versus Leyton Orient (League One) tie. The initial tie, played in Lancashire, was drawn. In the replay, Leyton Orient ran out winners, 8-2 after extra time. 
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East Anglian Derby Debuts

With a growing list of injured midfield players, Norwich City dipped into the loan market this week to secure the services of the young Arsenal prospect, Henri Lansbury. Should he feature in Sunday's East Anglian Derby clash with Ipswich Town, he will become yet another player to make his Canary debut against our arch rivals from Suffolk. I was alerted to this by nicksportsjunkie, a follower of the blog, who pointed out that this has happened on a number of occasions in recent years :



Robert Green played his first Canary match against Ipswich on the 11th of April 1999, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw. He went on to make a further 222 league appearances for City.

Leigh Bromby debuted against Ipswich on the 2nd of March 2003 at Carrow Road. He was on loan from Sheffield Wednesday, and played in five games during his spell. City lost 2-0.

Without doubt, one of the most spectacular and significant debuts in history came on the 21st of December 2003. Norwich won 2-0 at Portman Road with Leon McKenzie scoring both goals as City continued their march to the First Division title. His strike partner, the popular Swede Mathias Svensson, also appeared in a City shirt for the first time that day.

The derby match on the 5th of February 2006 saw two more City debuts. Home fans were buoyed by the signing of Robert Earnshaw from West Bromwich Albion for a record fee. And Zesh Rehman, on loan from Fulham also took his bow (he played in a further four games in his short stay at Norwich). City lost 2-1 at Carrow Road, with their goal coming from another loanee, Jonatan Johansson. The Swede was making his first Norwich start, though his debut came a week earlier when he played in the final 26 minutes of the game at Reading.

Loanee Luke Chadwick had a very mixed day when he made his Canaries debut against Ipswich on the 19th of November 2006. He scored the opening goal of the game in the 26th minute. But Norwich lost the match at Portman Road 3-1, and Chadwick was stretchered off injured.

Martin Taylor arrived at Carrow Road in November 2007 on loan from Birmingham City. He went straight into the first team on the 4th, at home to Ipswich in a 2-2 draw. Some say that 'Tiny' scored on his debut, but his effort took a deflection off a Town player and is recorded as an own goal.

In his communication to me, nicksportsjunkie also noted the impact of loanees getting onto the scoresheet in derby games this century. In addition to Chadwick and Johansson, Ched Evans (2008) and David Mooney (2009) have also found the net against Ipswich.

So, if Henri does get onto the field this weekend, he is in good company, and following the path of a few others that came before him.

[ I was unable to give research into this feature quite as much time as I would normally like, so if I have missed any debutants or scoring loanees, perhaps readers can tell me. nicksportsjunkie has his own blog, which includes NCFC content, and it can be found at http://www.nick-sportsjunkie.blogspot.com/ ]


Update : Henri Lansbury did appear for the first time in the yellow shirt of Norwich City, thereby adding his name to the long list of recent Canaries to debut against Ipswich Town.

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The Origins Of The Local Derby

As we have one coming over hill, I thought it might be interesting to research where the name 'derby' came from. Once I started, I remembered having studied it years before, and being slightly disappointed that there are various claims to the original source of the term.

The widely accepted conclusion is that it came from the horse race we all know as The Derby which was first run in 1780. The race itself was named after the 12th Earl of Derby, Edward Smith-Stanley, and soon turned into a hugely prestigious occasion. It became common for many early sporting events to be called a derby, with or without the element of local rivalry involved but in more recent history the term was only ever applied to contests between teams from the same city or area. In addition to the prestige, this race was also attended each year by huge crowds, with more than half a million people flocking to Epsom Downs to watch. Therefore the word 'derby' became synonymous with big numbers of spectators. As interest in football grew, matches between local sides inevitably drew the bigger audiences, and it is thought the word was therefore appended to such games.

An alternative theory revolves around the game of football itself. From the Middle Ages, a match was contested every Shrovetide in Ashbourne, Derbyshire. The game, which was, in reality, a cross between football and rugby, saw two teams representing parishes trying to score in goals three miles apart. It was a dreadfully rough and disagreeable event, unsporting and without too many rules, and could involve anything up to 1000 villagers. At least one loss of life was recorded, and much damage to countryside property. In 1846, the Mayor successfully managed to put an end to the fixture - though only after the help of the Dragoons and the reading of the Riot Act. From a footballing point of view, this origin of the term would be better, though the horse racing connection remains the favoured and accepted option.

A third possibility is ruled out because dates do not support the story. It is said that 'derby' emanates from the Liverpool versus Everton football fixture. Their two grounds are separated by Stanley Park, owned by the Earl of Derby, and was therefore used by supporters making the short trip to their rivals ground.

In modern times of course, the local derby match for Norwich City has been against Ipswich Town. It is popularly and historically referred to as the East Anglian Derby, though some attempts have been made to apply the name of  'Old Farm Derby'. This is a twist of words (one of the most famous derbies in world football being the Old Firm meeting between Celtic and Rangers in Glasgow) and emanates partly from Ipswich using the nickname of the Tractor Boys in preference to their traditional 'Blues' or 'Town', as well as the rural and agricultural  location of the two clubs. The term is applied more by supporters from elsewhere to mock the fixture, though in truth it is one of the most keenly fought derbies in English football.

Norwich City's original derby opponents came from much closer to home however, in the shape of Norwich CEYMS. The two clubs met in City's first season of existence, 1902, in the Norfolk & Suffolk League. The games are recorded as being fierce and competitive contests, with rivalry further fuelled by the fact that City had been formed by people associated with CEYMS. Early teamsheets also included players who were taken from Church (CEYMS stands for Church Of England Young Men's Society).

In recent times, some attempts have been made to consider games against Colchester United as a second East Anglian Derby. It is understandable that Ipswich may consider it a derby for them, given the small distance between the two clubs, but the idea has not caught on with Norwich City fans, not least because the gap in status has been too wide throughout history to provide many meaningful contests.

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Life After City

...........keeping a beady eye on ex Canaries and those out on loan 

Rhoys Wiggins - The left back left Norwich City in the summer for League One Bournemouth, where he had on two occasions spent time on loan, once as a Canary, and the other time whilst a Crystal Palace player. Now a permanent Cherries player, he has appeared in all their League One fixtures this season and both of their cup games. In September he netted two goals - the first in the 3-0 home win over Dagenham & Redbridge and a week later in a 2-1 defeat at Oldham Athletic. He has also made goals for others with his crosses and is a favourite down at Dean Court where the fans were keen to have him on their books full time. Eddie Howe's side sit in a lofty 4th place in the table and Rhoys Wiggins has played his part in that success.

Colin Woodthorpe - In a Canary Fact File back in July we announced that Colin Woodthorpe had landed at Northern Premier League (The Evo-Stik League) club Colwyn Bay, where he works as assistant to former captain and now manager, Dave Challinor. Despite losing 3-0 on Saturday at Matlock Town, the Seagulls are having a good season. Victory by three goals to one over FC United of Manchester (shock winners recently against Rochdale in the FA Cup) in the previous game, lifted Colwyn Bay up to second spot in the table. The division includes the re-incarnations of Halifax Town and Bradford Park Avenue, both of whom have recently featured in the Lost Opponents series. Colin played 43 league games for Norwich City between 1990 and 1994 - and most famously in the 1993 UEFA Cup clash with Inter Milan.

Former Canary loanee Elvis Hammond is having a busy year. He started 2010 with League Two side Cheltenham Town but left by mutual consent in March. In October he joined Isthmian League side Sutton United, scoring on his debut but by the end of the month had moved on to Woking in the Conference South. Ghanian international Hammond, appeared four times in a City shirt in 2003, on loan from Fulham.
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Monday News Round-Up

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles  

Leon Barnett's 65th minute minute equaliser against Leeds United on Saturday was his first goal for Norwich City, in his 15th appearance for the club. In fact, it is over two and a half years since he scored for anyone. More sensational news emerged about Leon at the weekend too ! It transpires that his auntie, Beverley Trotman, finished 6th in the 2007 series of The X Factor.

As anticipated, the Carrow Road attendance of 26,315 on Saturday was the highest since the ground became all seater. The previous record (25,749) had been set last month when England U21's played Romania in the European Championship play-offs. The highest Norwich City attendance was 25,522 against Manchester United in the Premier League in 2005.

It is believed the record will be broken again on Sunday with the visit of Ipswich Town. Interestingly, the only gates that bettered Norwich City in English football this weekend were at Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

One thing that escaped the radar of Sing Up The River End! was the addition of two new scouts to Ewan Chester's network. Alan Durban won 27 caps for Wales in a playing career covering Cardiff City, Derby County (where he played for the legendary Brian Clough) and Shrewsbury Town. He also managed the first and last of those clubs, plus Sunderland and Stoke City. Stuart McCall, the ex Bradford City manager and player, has also had a long career in football, turning out in 763 league games which also included time at Everton, Rangers and Sheffield United and 40 caps for Scotland.

Finances might be tight at Norwich City but it is good to know we have experienced people out there looking for affordable talent.

And finally............a few ex Canaries in the news this weekend. Cody McDonald scored the only goal of the game as Gillingham won at Oxford United, their first away victory since May 2009. Goalkeeper Joe Lewis was beaten four times as Peterborough lost 4-1 at Southampton. Gary Doherty, who hit some important goals for Norwich City in his time, has yet to find the scoresheet for his new club Charlton. Unfortunately on Saturday he put through his own net allowing Yeovil to draw level at 2-2, but the Addicks were saved by an 85th minute penalty winner. And talking of penalties, Ian Henderson converted a hotly disputed one in the second minute of added time to give Colchester United a 3-2 home win over Hartlepool.
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Strain The Brain No2

If you have nothing better to do, or feel like burning the candle until the early hours doing a bit of research, see if you can identify these five players. The only clues you get are the clubs they have played for (in order, earliest first, and including loan spells). They can be from any era (and I will help you out by saying which one), and were all Canaries. Some are really easy, others a bit more difficult.  Answers can be found by clicking on the Strain The Brain answer section in the sidebar of the blog.   






Player 1 - Halifax Town, Oldham Athletic, Norwich City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Rotherham (1990's - 2000's)

Player 2 - Plymouth Argyle, Manchester City, Coventry City, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield, Lincoln City, Stevenage Borough (1980's - 2000's)

Player 3 - Partick Thistle, Norwich City, Sheffield United, Celtic, Arbroath, St Mirren, Toronto Blizzard, Hong Kong Rangers, Hearts, Arbroath (1960's - 1980's)

Player 4 - Sunderland, Blackpool, Norwich City, Shrewsbury (1920's - 1930's)

Player 5 - Derby County, Stockport County, Wimbledon, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sunderland, Norwich City, Cardiff City, Yeovil Town, Walsall, Tranmere Rovers, Chesterfield, Newport County, Neath (1990's - 2000's)
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Next Six Games Vital For Norwich City Season

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles   

I think all fans do what I am about to do. Take a clump of fixtures, analyse them, and then decide they will shape our season. The problem is, you can play this little game a number of times during a campaign. At the start of August, the first half a dozen matches were of significant importance. Then the batch of fixtures after Bristol City away - because they looked somewhat tougher and would give us a clue as to what this current Norwich City side were really made of.

The reason I am looking at the next six has a little more science attached to it. Our record as it stands now is 26 points from 17 games. In my mind, I tend to think 50 points in the Championship is the absolute minimum to ensure no end of season relegation palpitations. So, adding a couple of comfort points in for good measure, we are half way there. But we are still six shy of the halfway stage in matches played. So in my simple mind, any points we pick up in the next 540 minutes of football we play in will be a bonus. Leeds United, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth all come to Carrow Road, and the Canaries travel to Derby County, Coventry City and Crystal Palace. We don't make predictions here on Sing Up The River End! but on the form of the season so far (and looking at the opposition involved) another 10 points as a minimum would not be a ridiculous return. Which would be 36 at the half way stage, and 72 come the end of term if we could duplicate it in the second half. In 2009-10, that tally would not have meant the end of the season - Blackpool finished on 70 points, won the play-offs and are now in the Premier League.

Football of course, never works out in that way. And a good job too. But playing around with a few figures demonstrates that Norwich City are doing nicely............and it might get even better, depending on results in the next six games !

I see former City player Simon Whaley has signed a short term contract with Championship club Doncaster Rovers, and was on their bench at Portsmouth last Saturday. He played only 6 times for the Canaries in the 2009-10 season and has had difficulty getting a new start since, although he did sign for League 2 Chesterfield at the start of this term.

I don't need to say too much about 'Olivergate' - the fall out from events at Reading on Saturday evening have received much press and internet coverage elsewhere. But once again I turned to my old belief that, on a football field at least, all things even out in the course of a lifetime. The adage has provided me with much sustenance over the years - a means through which I have lifted my spirits during those dark times when nothing seems to go right for Norwich City Football Club. When I came down from the ceiling last weekend, sometime in the middle of Sunday afternoon, I recalled 2004. Reading versus Norwich on a Bank Holiday Monday, a game which we won late, courtesy of a Phil Mulryne goal that was cruelly set up by the referee who guided the ball splendidly into his path. I wasn't there, in fact I was abroad and caught up with the news a day later in a tabloid newspaper whilst laying on my sunbed. It was a moment of guilty pleasure - the victory maintained a good spell of City results and was another giant step towards winning the division. Reading dreams were dealt a bitter blow, their hopes of a play-off spot dented.

I took the result and brushed aside the good fortune. Last Saturday it was Reading's turn. They got even. They used to be called the Biscuitmen, and on this occasion the cookie crumbled in their favour. I mustn't get too upset...............it will all come round again, sometime.

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Two Goals Needed For A Milestone

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles 

I wonder if I have developed the skill to influence the outcome of Norwich City matches ? If I mention a record run in The Canary Chronicles the day before a game, it comes to an end. I reported that City had not been in a 0-0 draw for 50 matches just prior to the QPR  encounter. We all know what happened there. Before Cardiff, I brought to your attention that we had kept three clean sheets in four games. We conceded three goals the next day and there has not been a sniff of a stalemate since ! And last week's post was largely about this current Canary side dealing in wins and losses rather than one pointers. So didn't you just know the Burnley and Millwall contests would both be draws ?

If I have such influence, perhaps I should drop this feature. I feel like a Jonah.

The Reading game is live on Sky television on Saturday evening. In recent times, our appearances on the box have resulted in defeats to Watford, Tranmere Rovers, and Leeds United. We simply never win when we are on the box.

 There, said it. Should do the trick nicely.

I shouldn't let those Burnley and Millwall draws go, without a quick comment. I can't immediately recall the last time when my emotions have been dragged from one end of the scale to the other in consecutive games. The joy of that late, late equaliser in the first game evaporated just three days later, to be replaced by despair and disappointment. Despite saying that draws aren't really a lot of cop in the Championship, I fancy we will look back on these results with a decent amount of satisfaction. The one thing that must be said is that there is hardly ever a dull moment for Canary fans at the moment.

Should we score two goals at Reading, a nice little landmark will be reached. Norwich City have scored 1,998 goals in the second tier of English football - that is to say Division Two that then became Division One that then became the Championship. You may well have read this piece of trivia elsewhere in the news. But as you would expect on Sing Up The River End! we will go the extra mile and tell you those goals have come in 1,454 games and that the first of them came in our opening match at that level on the 25th of August 1934. It was scored by Leicester born Ken Burditt in the 2-1 home defeat at the Nest against Brentford, who, incidentally, finished the season as champions.

Update : Norwich scored three goals at Reading and the second, by captain Grant Holt, was their 2,000th in the second tier of English football.

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Hugh Curran Update

Back on the 22nd of May this year, I published an article here on Sing Up The River End! about my earliest Norwich City hero, Hugh Curran. A few weeks ago I received an e mail from his nephew, saying Hugh was now living in Oxford, was still nutty about football, and had some great stories to tell.

Lawrence Curran has now set up a Facebook page in tribute to his uncle, and it contains more information about this great Norwich City favourite, as well as the SUTRE! piece :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hugh-Curran/168558486488448?v=info

I cannot add anything more to the tribute I did earlier on in this blog. Anyone over the age of fifty will remember his input at Carrow Road, and the sadness and, dare I say it, disgust, when the club sold him. I doubt you could find any Canary fan from that era that had a bad word to say about Hugh Curran. He already appears a number of times on this blog - pop his name into the search for all references.

It is good to see that his career has also been recorded through Facebook and with it the world wide web. It is what the internet should be used for..................and as far as NCFC are concerned we will keep doing our part here on Sing Up The River End!

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Carrow Road - A Memory Factory, For All Seasons

' The big events are the matches of course. But it is the happy memories that count for more. Victories come and go, but you carry the warm thoughts around with you for the rest of your days'. 

And so went a conversation I had recently with a young Canaries fan. Me a fan of forty years. He a mere novice, into his third season at Carrow Road. There was a concerned look on his face, for my health and well being. As a young man he could not reconcile the idea that it was beyond me to remember every single Norwich City match I had ever been to. Nor every result. Scorer. And sequence of goals. He can just about still do that with his Norwich supporting life, but I guaranteed him that the day would come when many things would be a blur, and that would be the time when the little memories would kick in and become something to cherish.

I had many reasons for starting this blog. One was to make sure my recollections were recorded before the blur became terminal. Another was to create a site that followers of Norwich City could go to - for information and nostalgia. You know, whatever era you have lived through, the happy memories you have of Carrow Road are also being carried by thousands of others. The little incidents, the absurdities, the characters on and off the field. The journey to the match. Even the match day smells in and around the ground ! We all remember the same things. But there is nothing finer than a memory jogged, a reminiscence evoked by a fellow yellow and green fan.

On a number of occasions, at least since I realised that Sing Up The River End! was going to survive it's adolescent early months, I have casually invited others to use the site to record their own memories of being a Norwich City fan. Nobody has yet to take me up on the idea. I am not sure why. Most likely finding the time to write things out is an issue. The feeling that the memory is personally precious but of little interest to anyone else perhaps. I have even had the thought that people see SUTRE! as my site, and that I don't really want other people's stories on it.

But I do. I have from day one, though to be honest, I was never really certain that anybody other than me and the proof reader (my wife !) would ever visit the site. But my page view counter tells me there are now a number of viewers returning regularly. So now may be a good time to extend the invitation once more. If you would like your memories recorded, use the site. They do not have to be long articles, nor necessarily dating back donkies yonks (my wife will pick that up and say that word does not really exist !). They do not need to be unique. Do not worry about spelling and grammar. I can tidy things up. They can be submitted anonymously, using a nickname if desired. In fact, the only thing they do have to be are suitable for SUTRE! This is a tribute blog for all things NCFC and for something to be suitable for publication, it would need to be in keeping with the spirit of the rest of the site.

Very shortly I will be adding a new section for reader submissions. Because I have one ! Not from somebody I invited, but from a viewer who wanted to record a few memories of his own after reading something in a post. I am delighted because it adds a new dimension to Sing Up The River End! I know every football forum has numerous memory threads opened, but very soon of course they disappear from view. Here, they will remain for ever, to warm, amuse, and inspire everyone who wants to read them. Placed in a section of their own, but nestled in between the good and the great of Norwich City history.

I don't think anything similar exists in the world of NCFC internet content, and possibly not in the world of any other club either. Over a period of time, reader submissions would enhance the great feelings of pride, and honour, we all share in supporting our club. A few lost souls may even be tempted back into the fold, to see exactly what it is they have been missing.

The invitation is there, as is my e mail address (at the bottom of the blog in 'Site Administration'). The satisfaction I get from working on this project is as high as it was back in January when I started. I will keep adding my facts and figures, memory pieces, player features, and reminiscences of old matches. I have all of that well covered - a list of potential posts that will take at least another two years to exhaust. I will continue, irrespective of any outside submissions that may or may not be made.

And it will always be my site.

But if enough others wanted to add their own little memories there is no reason why it would not become 'our' site - the family of Norwich City Football Club.

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Final League Placings 1920-1921

Football League 1920-1921
Division Three  







Crystal Palace 59
Southampton 54
QPR 53
Swindon 52
Swansea 51
Watford 48
Millwall 47
Merthyr Town 45
Luton Town 44
Bristol Rovers 43
Plymouth Arg 43
Portsmouth 39
Grimsby Town 39
Northampton 38
Newport Co 37
Norwich City 36
Southend Utd 36
Brighton 36
Exeter City 35
Reading 31
Brentford 30
Gillingham 28


Full City Record :  P42 W10 D16 L16 F44 A53 PTS 36  Managers : Charles O'Hagan and Bert Gosnell

Burnley were English champions

Tottenham Hotspur won the FA Cup

In This Year :   Rupert Bear appears in the Daily Express for the first time

The first home radio sets are retailed in the United States

Actors Dirk Bogarde and Peter Ustinov are born 

Final league placings will be posted on a regular basis until every table is listed - click on the label below for years posted so far.

Bouncing Back To Happiness

I do so hate having to mention the horrible dark periods of Norwich City's history, but I have to if I truly intend Sing Up The River End! to be a complete record of the club. But it is possible, sometimes at least, to find a small flicker of hope and pride from even the worst times, and that is what this post sets out to achieve.

All Canary supporters know the club have suffered seven relegations in their long history, and if you have lived through even one of them, you will understand just how horrible and dark they are. I'm afraid to say I have witnessed six.

But it should also be pointed out (and here comes that hope and pride) that on four of those six occasions Norwich have bounced straight back up at the first attempt :

relegated 1973-74 - promoted the following season after finishing third behind Manchester United and Aston Villa.

relegated 1980-81 - promoted the following season after finishing third behind Luton Town and Watford

relegated 1984-85 - promoted the following season as Champions of Division Two

relegated 2008-09 - promoted the following season as Champions of League One

In recording these facts I guess a few things come into my mind. The relegation of my beloved football team has brought dreadful, almost harrowing, moments to my life and whilst my allegiances to Norwich City have never, in the slightest, been under pressure, it hasn't half helped to see wrongs put right so quickly.

More important than my own feelings are the consequences to the club itself. I sometimes ponder with the past. What if John Bond's team had not secured that promotion of 1974-75 ? Would Norwich City have slid back down the pecking order to their previous levels of achievement - somewhere between, in modern currency, mid Championship and mid League One ? It's an interesting thought and thankfully something we will never know the answer to. Some people will correctly remind me that we were too good in those days for that to happen, but we should still I think reflect on a few other clubs over the years who have thought it their right to easily win promotion, and found to their cost that football rarely works out that way.

I don't think I need go into the consequences had the club not achieved promotion at the end of last season. All of the twenty five thousand or more current supporters can work that out for themselves. But it is probably true to say that not many of them would be aware that their club had been in that position a few times before.

Norwich City have showed tremendous rebound ability on a number of critical occasions. We should all be very thankful, and perhaps a little proud, of that.

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Norwich City Not The Draw They Once Were

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles 

The record for the most number of draws in a Football League season is 23. Oddly, the number is exactly the same for Division Three (Hartlepool and Cardiff City) and Division Four (Exeter City). And the old Division One. And that was Norwich City. In 1978-79 to be precise, and it has not been matched at any time in history, not even in the Premier League. Given that City's season consisted of 42 games, whilst the lower divisions played 46, the Canaries can rightly claim the overall record in English football. We didn't exactly complain at the time - it led City to a 16th placed finish and comfortable top flight survival.

But drawing too many games can be dull and disappointing. We all know that feeling on a Saturday night, the one that comes with stalemates. It's a bit similar to finishing your Chinese takeaway, then realising you left the prawn crackers in the bag.

In more recent times, Norwich City have not been draw specialists - only eight last term in a 46 game league campaign. And so far this season only two from the first fourteen matches.

There are of course times when a draw is hugely satisfying, and both games where we have finished on level terms this season fall into that category - away trips to Nottingham Forest and QPR. But generally speaking, a one point return in the Championship is not enough, and most certainly you don't want it too often. The competition is so close, margins of difference so tight. It is not difficult to imagine the wins this year over Scunthorpe, Swansea, and Middlesbrough having all finished as draws (thinking about it Swansea could easily have been a defeat!). A nett difference of six points would see us now on 17 points and 15th place. And to prove my point regarding just how competitive this league is, last Saturday at around 4.20pm, Doncaster Rovers were winning at Reading and up to sixth position in the table. Two late goals conceded, they lost the match and finished the day in 16th.

City need to keep the three pointers coming.

The Burnley game tomorrow puts the 'Paul Lambert has never lost two league games on the trot in the same season' record in danger once more. Norwich's home results this term have been a bit dodgy to say the least. If you compile a table of home results only, we manage only a modest 13th position. Even more worrying for the Canaries is that a table of away performances place Burnley in 19th ! They have yet to win on the road, losing at Swansea and Middlesbrough, and drawing with Ipswich, Crystal Palace, Millwall, Sheffield United and QPR. Which is where my apprehension starts to set in, given our tendency to let teams end a bad run at Carrow Road.

Anyone else fear a Hull City/Crystal Palace moment on the horizon ? For the last home match, against Middlesbrough and billed as another 'must win game', Paul Lambert ditched the diamond for a traditional 4-4-2 formation. It will be interesting to see if he approaches the Burnley challenge with the same pragmatism. Perhaps tomorrow we might have to be happy with a draw come five o'clock, despite what I have already said about draws not really being much cop !

Following the sad death of John Benson this week, the clash of Norwich and Burnley gives both clubs the chance of acknowledging a grand old servant. Tributes throughout the week, the best of which was Michael Bailey's in the Pink Un covering the feelings of John Bond, all carry the same theme - John Benson was a really lovely man. I am sure the club will mark his passing in some way on Saturday, and that Burnley will wish to do likewise.

I hope all current supporters will take a moment to reflect on John Benson's life. Whilst winning or losing (or drawing !)  will be uppermost in the minds of all supporters, spare a minute or two for an old player who contributed to the history of Norwich City Football Club. Without the past we wouldn't have a present.

. The Sing Up The River End! tribute to John Benson can be found at : http://canaryseventyninety.blogspot.com/2010/10/john-benson.html

. The Pink Un article on John Benson can be found at : http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/burnley_clash_ideal_for_tribute_bond_1_716731

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Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup

Whilst the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup was not a competition as such, I have included it in this series as it had a long history and produced some notable days in the Norwich City story. Founded by public subscription in 1903, the annual end of season event raised money for charity. The cup was played for over a single match with City inviting an opposition side to play against them. The games were contested in a sporting atmosphere which the spectators loved, and brought some of the very best sides of the day to Norwich.

Initially the cup was a local affair. In 1904 and the following two seasons it took the form of a Norwich derby - City took on their big, and sometimes bitter rivals, CEYMS. The first ever game was on the 14th of April 1904 and ended 0-0. A replay was arranged for a fortnight later which Norwich City won 2-0. Another replayed game was needed in 1905, and in 1906 City won 5-0, leaving them unbeaten in the series against their fiercest adversaries. It was the last time the two clubs were to meet in a 'competitive' match.

Gates for those early matches varied from between 3,000 and just over 5,000 but interest and excitement grew hugely in 1907 with the visit of Everton to Newmarket Road. They were prize opposition for City, having won the FA Cup the previous season. An attendance of 9,500 watched a 1-1 draw and the charity fund bulged as a result. Because of the distance the Merseyside club had travelled, no attempt to replay the game was made. A medal awarded to Everton in honour of the match is preserved in The David France Collection (a famed collection of memorabilia, also known as The Everton Collection).

The precedent had been set to invite the country's very best to this challenge and the Canaries did their fans proud. In 1910, Newcastle United came to Rosary Road and treated the home supporters by bringing their newly won FA Cup with them. In April 1914, the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup had the honour of witnessing one of the last ever games of Woolwich Arsenal (shortly after they changed name to The Arsenal and finally Arsenal FC in 1919, though it was of course the same club throughout it all). The cup continued to be played for throughout World War One, with City playing sides from the forces.

Other clubs had their own charity games - in 1911 Norwich travelled to Hull City to take part in their equivalent challenge match. Before the days of corporate fund raising of course, these matches were great fun occasions and very much put something back into the local community. Amongst the more celebrated occasions was 1934 when Norwich, champions of Division Three South challenged Grimsby Town, champions of Division Two. A frenzied crowd saw City win 7-2, with Jack Vinall netting five times and Alf Kirchen twice. On the 6th of May 1935, the Silver Jubilee of King George V, English champions Arsenal were the visitors, winning 1-0. It was the very last game that Norwich City ever played at The Nest.

The Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup gave supporters unrivalled opportunities to see the very best sides of the day. In 1923 it was Huddersfield Town, about to embark on three consecutive English championship wins, Liverpool in 1931,1932 and 1933, Tottenham Hotspur in 1947 and 1950 and Manchester United in 1954. Whenever games were drawn, no replays took place and no attempt was made to define a winner, until the last annual game was played in the competition on the 2nd of May 1960 against Southampton. The match ended 0-0, but the trophy was awarded to Norwich City on the toss of a coin.

No further regular challenges for charity took place after this date and the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup itself came to a sad end, lost in the fire at Carrow Road in 1984.

The contest was briefly resurrected in 1989 with a game against Ipswich Town, and again in 1991 against the same opposition.
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Simon Lappin Reaches 100 Appearance Mark

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles 

On Saturday, Simon Lappin made his one hundredth competitive appearance for Norwich City. He signed for the Canaries in January 2007, and made his debut against Leeds United on the 3rd of February, in a 2-1 win in which he was adjudged man of the match. The breakdown of his first 100 games is as follows :

Football League     84 appearances  plus 4 as substitute
FA Cup    3 appearances
League Cup    6 appearances  plus 1 as substitute
Other    2 appearances

It also means Simon has achieved a century of games for both of the professional clubs he has been attached to full time. He was at Saint Mirren between 1999 and 2007, making a total of 178 appearances (158 plus 20 as a substitute).
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