Here’s a reminder of 10 things about this season we’ve probably already forgotten!
10: Michael Nelson’s departure
Poor Michael Nelson’s brief Norwich City career never really rose to illustrious heights, but if Norwich had an unsung hero for most of Paul Lambert’s first 75 or so games in charge it had to be the Admiral.
Signed by Bryan Gunn, Nelson was unfortunate to make his debut in the 7-1 loss to Colchester on the first day of last season and then found under Lambert that he was anything but first choice. I remember seeing him at Wycombe in the first game of 2010 and he was quite frankly awful. But let us remember that it was he who got the winner at Charlton last April that gave Norwich promotion, it was he who started this season partnering Elliot Ward in central defence.
Nelson hit a late consolation on the first night against Watford but when Leon Barnett joined on loan from WBA, his time was numbered. Nelson’s scored a crucial goal at home to Sheffield United in December when City had gone 1-0 down in a game he partnered Jens Berthal Askou in central defence.
Towards the end of the January transfer window, he was left the club for Scunthorpe.
His last great moment at Carrow Road came last month when he was part of the Scunthorpe side that lost 6-0 to City.
9: Jake Humphrey presents the Carrow Road derby
Just like Sky’s Simon Thomas, Jake’s often had to hide his understandable glee at City’s rise up the league table while presenting on television, but when Norwich hosted Ipswich on November 28 last year, Jake just couldn’t help showing his allegiance.
Joined in the studio by Steve Claridge, Danny Mills and Matt Holland, Jake did well before the kick off not mentioning the fact he was a City boy at heart, but with Norwich 2-1 up at the break due to a Grant Holt brace, he couldn’t resist but refer to the Carlisle-born striker as “Holty” to the nationwide watching audience.
8: Grant Holt rumoured to be leaving Norwich in January transfer window
He ultimately signed a big new contract in April, but in the days after Christmas it looked like Holt was almost certain to be leaving Carrow Road in the January transfer window. Wigan, West Ham, Bolton and Blackpool were rumoured to want to spend around £2million on the striker. Nothing seemed to come from City that he wasn’t for sale and after the win over QPR on New Year’s Day the transfer window opened and City fans held their breath.
A week later against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup Holt wasn’t in the starting line up which some City fans took as a sign he may be on his way. No need to panic though, half an hour from the end he came on for Aaron Wilbraham which meant he was cup tied. Of course the rest is history.
7: Craig Mackail-Smith almost signs for Norwich
One of the curious near misses for City was in the middle of March when Paul Lambert and co were suddenly locked in a tussle with Barry Fry and co over a transfer fee for Craig Mackail-Smith. Norwich were reported to be one of six clubs to have offers for the striker turned down by the Posh board, but then things turned a little edgy.
Mackail-Smith said he wanted to join Norwich and would be leaving London Road in the summer anyway as his contract was over, Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony demanded £2m up front for the 27-year-old plus a further £1m which was believed to be around £500,000 more than City wanted to offer. Posh boss Darren Ferguson told Paul Lambert to make a serious offer. Lambert voted with his feet and snapped up Sam Vokes and Dani Pacheco on loan instead.
I’m sure the whole City board were thrilled with how this bit of business turned out.
6: Ipswich fan’s astonishing online attack on Norwich City
The internet has done many things good and bad for football fans, but when Ipswich fan ‘IpswichCrazy’ started offering his opinions on all things ITFC this season, us City fans sat up, watched and had a good old laugh.
The highlight of his You Tube rants was when IpswichCrazy excelled himself with a bizarre homophobic rant about City fans and the decided that Grant Holt was actually some kind of villain that needed to be dealt with a trip to hell.
“Norwich City football club are going to hell. The perverted club in Norfolk is accused of employing pervert players and pervert managers and pervert board members and especially a pervert player known as Holt.
“The dirty scumbag Holt dives in the box asking for penalties when he’s a diving toerag cheater. I am fed up of tall these cheaters. Grant Holt of Norwich City, you are going to Hell.
The clip has been viewed online by more than 50,000 people.
5: That amazing FA Cup run!
Give Paul Lambert his dues – he clearly doesn’t like cup competitions getting in the way of pushes for promotion. Despite taking Norwich City from the depths of League One to the Premier League in 99 games, his FA Cup record at Norwich is shocking!
In three games Norwich have twice gone out to League One teams and his only win came at Paulton Rovers in November 2009.
This year, sandwiched between fantastic home results against QPR and Cardiff, City embarrassingly crashed out at home to Leyton Orient.
4. Adam Drury’s goal against Leicester
At the end of September City were still struggling for consistency, and after going a goal down to managerless Leicester after just one minute, it looked like another tough night at Carrow Road.
But City rallied and went 2-1 up early in the second half with a Wes Hoolahan penalty.
Then came one of those rare moments – an Adam Drury goal – and what a goal it was. Hoolahan held the ball up in the middle of the park and slid the ball down the left channel to an onrushing Drury who picked up the ball and chipped the keeper over the advancing goalkeeper. It was his first City goal since the 4-4 draw against Middlesborough in the Premier League season of 2004/05.
The goal was soon forgotten as Leicester made it 3-2 and then Hoolahan himself scored one of the goals of the season with a stunning long distance strike.
3. Grant Holt’s derby day moustache
It’s that man Grant Holt again and that moustache he sported when he scored his derby day treble against Ipswich. The whole Norwich City team supported Movember, an Australian charity initiative to support prostate cancer than involves men growing moustaches for the whole month of November. Signs of growth were reported on Simon Lappin within minutes of November 1 but others, such as Michael Nelson, were not so successful.
Fate would have it that when the BBC cameras arrived to transmit the derby against Ipswich on the 28th of the month, City looked like a team of players from the late 1970s.
Holt hogged the headlines though with his hat-trick, and celebrated the third by lifting up a BBC microphone and placing it over the growth of whiskers above his upper lip.
The ‘tache was clearly proving too much for Holt – he’d shaved it off by the time he came out and spoke to the press for the post match interviews.
2: Lighter gate
When Grant Holt (yes him again) was harshly sent off against Reading in November, Norwich fans outlined Ian Harte as a nasty piece of work. The former Leeds man’s reaction to a Holt tackle lead to the City skipper getting his marching orders although it looked like any contact between the pair has been slight to say the least.
In the lead up to the City v Reading game in February, Norwich fans decided to give Ian Harte a special welcome. Every time he touched the ball he was booed, his name was sung along with a variety of expletives and there was someone in the lower Barclay who wanted to show Harte just what he thought of him.
With 20 minutes to go Harte was preparing to take a throw in right in the corner of the Jarrold Stand/Barclay touchline. An object, was thrown at Harte from the Lower Barclay, clipped him on the shoulder and bounced up and appeared to strike the linesman.Skipper Holt was frustrated, picking up the lighter and throwing it to the floor, before handing it to a steward.While the stewards entered the crowd looking for a culprit, Reading broke down the left, Leon Barnett pulled up with a hamstring injury (which ended his season) and Reading won a corner. For a minute or two Carrow Road went crazy. The stewards were in the bottom of the Barclay hauling out fans, Barnett was in the opposite corner getting treatment, Zak Whitbread was trying to come on and Reading were waiting to take a corner. Thankfully City didn’t concede. Barnett went off, Zak came on, the Barclay calmed down, the lino was fine and the game continued.
(Picture credit: EDP)
1: Grant Holt’s opening day court case
City’s opening match of the season at home to Watford was moved to the Friday night for television coverage and the one big story leading up to the game was that Grant Holt was likely to miss it due to a court appearance.
Holt has denied a charge of failing to give the identity of the driver of a car allegedly caught speeding in Shropshire in 2009 while he was at Shrewbury Town. Magistrates were asked to postpone the case at Market Drayton in Shropshire on the afternoon of the opening day so Holt could play at Carrow Road – but they rejected it.
Stories began to circulate that Holt would prepare for the match by driving 200 miles from Shropshire to Norwich and it was set to be a race against time whether or not the striker would make it.
It turned out to be a load of nonsense – Holt was sentenced in his absence and started the opening game of the season.
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