Glory hunting is not for me
It's been a strange mix of emotions for me over the past few weeks concerning the two sports I love the most.
While I'm still thanking my lucky stars that I've been plunged into the centre of one of the most exciting starts to an F1 season that I can remember, my excitement has been tempered somewhat by my other passion - Norwich City.
And while there's a bit of a break from the racing before we all head to Barcelona for round five, my attention turns to The Valley this Sunday.
You see, I love football and I love that this is a nation so passionate about it. However, I wish it was trendier to support your hometown club.
Born and bred in Peterborough or Torquay, say? Then I genuinely wouldn't understand you gunning for another team.
I know the modern world means people move all over the place and often have heartfelt allegiances based on tenuous connections, and that's fine, but for me, football represents having pride for your original patch.
Who said football was easy? In my mind, that magnetic pull that prevents me chasing glory is so magical.
I didn't choose to support Norwich City, as far as I was concerned there was no choice. I moved there aged nine and that was that.
My hometown, my hometown club, my fellow supporters; all in it together win, lose or draw...and rarely has it been the first one.
I guess it's a reflection of the pride I feel for the city I call home too...as I've travelled the world with Formula 1 over the past month I've loved saying 'I'm a Norwich fan'...it seems most of the east thinks we all support one of the big four!
So, why is this relevant?
Well, mine is a story about the fact that sticking with your hometown club come rain or shine can more often be punctuated with pain than peppered with pride, but that's what makes the relationship so intense and the sweet moments all the sweeter.
However, this weekend forget sweet, think sweat as I'll be one nervous fan!
1995: Defeat at Leeds United, relegated from the Premier League (Christmas 1992 we'd been top). Cue the tears.
2002: Pain at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Birmingham City beat us on play-off penalties to gain promotion.
2005: Final game of the Premier League season. Another defeat. This time even harder. 6-0 to Fulham at Craven Cottage to send us down. Tears once more.
So do forgive my apprehension about this weekend.
Another crunch game, once more away from home, and defeat might just send us into what I still call Division Three.
However, despite what I've written so far, my message to fellow Canaries fans, West Brom supporters, Hereford followers or Luton's loyal band...it's not as bad as you think.
I recall being convinced that relegation from the top flight was the end of the fun for me. But how wrong I was.
I've enjoyed watching my team just as much since 1995, in fact the Premiership struggle of four years ago wasn't half as entertaining as the previous few seasons.
And it's because the club isn't the players who come and go, the managers who inevitably quit or get the boot, or even the standard of the opposition...it's us, the fans.
At times, inside Carrow Road, the wave of unity has swept us to incredible achievements such as the 1959 and 1989 FA Cup semi-finals, top of the Premiership in '92, and our great European run of 1993.
To me, the great team of 50 years ago only exists through stories I've been told, and my own recollection of the rest of our glorious moments are beginning to fade after what has been a very difficult season for Norwich City.
The fans and previous boss Glenn Roeder didn't really see eye-to-eye.
Our top scorer is Leroy Lita, the Reading reserve striker who scored seven while on loan and left months ago.
And here's a laugh, our second top scorer is a certain O.G. You couldn't make it up!
Then there are the loan players.
It seems managers think using five - or in our case sometimes six - loan players in a team of 11 is a great way to 'play the system'.
I am dead against it as it opens the club and the loanees to easy criticism and as for fans, well for me it eats away at the unity between club and players that is so crucial to success.
A club needs a core, a heart, and it won't be found in Celtic's or Wigan's reserves.
It won't be unearthed by asking club legends to return and lay their neck on the line and manage a team at its lowest ebb, and it most definitely won't be created by negativity pouring down from the stands.
When we won the Championship in 2004 there was just one star, a certain Mr Huckerby.
The rest of the team were good honest pros who played for us as much as we sung for them.
Whatever your team, whatever their respective struggles, they need us now more than ever.
If the financial market has caused palpitations at AIG or in the corridors of Roman Abramovich's yachts, think about the impact at Meadow Lane, Sincil Bank or Carrow Road.
I will be so, so nervous at The Valley on Sunday as we keep one eye on Barnsley's game.
But even after the beers have been drunk and the tears have dried I know that if relegation was the end game that I still have my local team, they still have me and another 25,000 besides.
In the end that's all that really matters.
Good luck if you too have a crunch game this weekend and if your side has already succumbed to the inevitable. Don't give up on them now, it could be you that helps put them back where they belong, and we all belong to our local team.
Some of you may know who I am from CBBC, others from The Olympics, Sports Personality or my other BBC Sport presenting work. Now I'm presenting the BBC's F1 coverage and I'll be using this blog to share my experiences of life on the circuit. You can also follow me on 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~45~RS~)
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http://twt.fm/86170 Come on City
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Great post Jake
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As a Forest fan, I feel your pain conerning relegation fights. I was there to pay my respects when we went down last time, and there last year when we came back up on a magical day in May.
Reflecting on your comment about loan players, we have also 'played the system' this year, and at times have had to leave players out because so many were on loan. However, Dexter Blackstock's goals, Ian Turner's penalty save away at Barnsley, and the general contribution of Joel Lynch and Chris Gunter - 3 of the above having only played the last couple of months - has played a big part in keeping us safe.
Therefore I think it's up to the individual players to come in and show their character in that situation, and is by no means always a bad thing. Certainly nobody has questioned whether our loanees were up for the fight to save what isn't strictly 'their club' from relegation.
I've got family in Norwich, so here's hoping you beat the drop!
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I'm afraid I'm one of the countless United fans not to be from Manchester, and while I don't hold that you're not a "proper" football fan unless you support your home town team, football would be a sad shadow of itself if there weren't so many people who do support their local club.
I do try to get to what games I can for my home team (Coventry City) and have been to plenty over the years, but United are my team and have been for about 18 years now and there's no turning away from the fact that they're my team.
I agree with loanees, though. Clubs who use them as a means to an end for a few months rather than genuinely bringing in players who they think they might want to sign don't often get a lot out of it. Having 4 or 5 regulars over a couple of seasons and the rest being a changing cast of various loan deals doesn't do anybody any good.
Good luck to your team, Jake.
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have fun in league 1 while we go up into the prem. BLUE ARMY!
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Suprisingly article Jakey,
Preaching to the converted somewhat here I think - I'm about the same age as you and a lifelong Swansea City season ticket holder... you think YOU'VE had it tough?!
There's a part of me that simply can't really take another football fan's aleigence (sp) totally seriously if they turn out to be a top 4 supporter. For me they've missed one of the fundamental reasons football appeals to me so much. I can enjoy Match Of The Day as much as anyone else - possibly more so - but the idea of supporting any club other than the one I was brought up with seems to defeat the purpose.
My favourite bit is if I try and air an opinion on the Premiership to say, a Liverpool supporter and get dismissed with the old "What would a Swansea fan know about top flight football?" Always though that was a bit rich since it's ME that actually goes to real life games every week while those guys sit and watch "their" boys on Sky Sports!
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Great blog Jake.
100% agree with your sentiments regarding loan players.
We had a huge inlux of them towards the end of last season, which destroyed the team unity and our play off hopes. This season we have had another 12 down at The Valley and now we're heading to league one.
Having two useless managers doesn't help either.
Good luck on Sunday, if Plymouth do their bit i'm sure you'll be fine, Charlton have been really generous to visiting teams this season!
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A very heart felt and honest blog Jake. I'm currently studying up north and hence have many Newcastle United supporting friends. Many of them say that if (and seemingly when) they go down, they woyuldn't be able to stomach relegation, and as hard as it is to believe, say that they won't be watching anymore, because many of them, for so long themselves, have berated lower league sides and ignored ppub conversations with them.
It's refreshing to see a blog like this, fantastic work.
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I am a Manchester united fan, But i so come from Norwich and I watch them every week, though it will hurt me if Norwich do get relagated, I think they will be able to rebuild there squad and hopefully bounce back stronger like Leceiester City have. Even if we do go down, the advantage Norwich have to many teams in the league one we have fantasic support every week from the best supporters in the country, To get behind the lads. Come on City!!!!!!
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I slightly disagree on the hometown club thing because I think there is a case to be made about supporting the same club as your family. I am one of many countless people who follows the same side as his dad. My dad has been a supporter long through the hard years of Arsenal which have been largely forgotten because of our recent success. I was about 6-7 when I was getting my dad to record games for me because I wasn't allowed to stay up to watch those midweek games. I remember a 1-0 defeat to Bolton one year in about '95. The hometown club isn't the only honest route to choose a club but choosing the club of the moment is certainly a route I disagree with. I was outnumbered 20-1 at the pub on wednesday by Man U supporters.
I live in Norwich myself and since I moved here just over a decade ago they have been my second club. The support for Norwich is immense espically at away games. I remember being part of a group of fans who made the stressful journey to Liverpool for an FA cup game v Everton but the fans were amazing. The team deserves to go down but the club doesn't. The fans have been let down badly by a board that has lost its values. No more loan signings, give the kids a chance! Harry Redknapp meantioned that there were a couple of good young goalies in the wings at Norwich so there must be a few outfield playersd who deserve a shot.
For next sunday we need to put all faith into staying up. Come on Norwich!!
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Jake you problems could be solved by taking your allegences on a 44 mile journey down the A140..
Anyway, I'm quite looking forward to having Peterborough as the derby game next season..
Enjoy playing Colchester
KEANO KEANO KEANO
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ITS ONLY A POOR LITTLE BUDGIE..........BLUE ARMY!!!!
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Great blog Jake,
Like you I support my local team but have experienced completly different emotions to you this year following our second promotion in as many years.
Good luck to Norwich on sunday, and hopefully we'll see you at London Road next year!!
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Nice article Jake, I'm a Gashead (Bristol Rovers fan for those not in the know) and I know how relegation to a league you are not familar with is like. In 2001 we got relegated to what is now called League 2 for the first time in our history. It took us 6 years to get back out of that League in to League one where we have been for the last 2 years. At times playing in L2 was horrible but on the other hand I have some good memories especially beating Lincoln 5-3 at Sincil Bank in the play-offs to book a trip to Wembley. It's not all bad as others will tell you.
If Norwich are joining us in L1 next year then at times it will be a bit of a shock to them as some of the grounds you visit will not be what your used too such as ours with our small open terrace or temporary seating stand used to house away fans. Sorry to be mean but Personally I would love it if you came down as i would relish a trip to Carrow Road where i have never been before. Keep up the great job in the F1 you and the team are doing, it's great stuff.
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Great blog Jake. I must admit, I completely agree with pretty much all of this blog. I am a proud Nottingham Forest supporter, and for one reason or another the last 5 from 6 seasons have been mostly pain! It is a sad fall from grace, and I see in Norwich right now what I saw in Forest when we went down. We fought, we battled and after the 2nd season of battling we were relegated, not to be seen for 3 seasons in the abyss of League One. However, sometimes you need to go down to bounce back.
As clubs we have enjoyed alot of historic highs, in fact I get sick about hearing how we used to be. The reality is now, not yesterday. And this is how Norwich need to be. If you go down, swallow it, but come back next season fighting. There is only one way to go.
I mean, look at Leicester. Their fans are champions of the league and going up after one season. A season that saw them run away with the league. This really gives everyone a boost and optimism for next season, something to look forward to a change.
This said, I would not like to see Norwich go down, and if they do I will be deeply sorry for the club and its fans.
Again Jake, I am from Nottingham, therefor I chose my team from Nottingham. Real football fans stay with the club, thick and thin. I mean, was it just me that saw 200% more Chelsea shirts around as soon as Abramovich came along and bought success? That makes me sick. We all seek glory for our teams, but dont just follow a team because it suddenly has glory.
Good luck Norwich anyhow.
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Great blog Jake! I'm a Southend fan and am getting increasingly annoyed by my big four supporting friends who seem to think there is no life outside the Premiership. Football to me is more than just watching highlights of your team every weekend on the TV and I have much more respect for those fans who actually 'follow' their club.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on the loan system. We have pretty much relied on loanees this season and despite our dip in form when the first loanees returned to their parent clubs in January the system has been pretty beneficial to us. In fact if it hadn't of been for the loan signings of Watford's Theo Robinson and Tottenham's Dorian Dervite we wouldn't be the form team in the league and would probably have been looking down rather than reaching towards the playoffs.
I do feel for you, but league one (Division 3 as you call it) isn't the end of the world. There are some fantastic clubs and fantastic fans and you will be warmly welcomed down at Roots Hall and no doubt the other grounds around the country. Chin up and good luck to you! Hopefully for your sake we won't be seeing you next season.
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Danunited99,
Your post really proves one of Jake's points doesn't it? Born in Norwich but supporting ManU.
But here's another thing: I'm an Ipswich supporter but hope Norwich succeed in staying in the Championship on Sunday. I love the rivalry and the derbies.
Good luck Canaries.
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Good blog, but I don't think you should confuse glory fans with fans who simply do not support their local team.
I live on the South Coast but support Leeds United. I hardly think I can be classed as a glory hunter. I make the long (not to mention expensive!) trip up to Elland Road a few times a season to watch League Two football because I love Leeds United, even though I'm not from the city.
Please don't confuse fans like me with those who live hundreds of miles from Manchester and support Man Utd but have never been to a game
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I agree completely with Jake that football, and sport in general, is all about supporting a club you have a local attachment to - whether it be the place you were born, or the area in which you were raised. Fair enough if you are following in one (or both) of your parent's footsteps - but to just pick one of the big four because they are one of the big four seems to defy the whole point of supporting your club. (You might as well support Brazil or Spain or whoever is tipped to win the next World Cup).
I moved to Norwich (or close to it) when I was around 9 from London but I have always supported QPR (unfortunately, some might say). As much as watching Match of the Day, or the Champions League, is one of the highlights of my week, I could never bring myself to support Manchester United (say) just because they are extremely successful.
By the way, I tipped Norwich to go down at the start of the season - there was a (short) spell when I wondered why on earth I had done so, but now I'm afraid to say that many of my friends will almost certainly be watching League One football next season.
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Some of us do support our "hometown" team - every day, into and out of work (I'm a zone 6 Londoner), I go past the Emirates and used to be able to see Highbury from the train. I've been a Gooner since I was 5 and from me that is my hometown team: the only club closer are Barnet and I'll happily spend an afternoon on the Football League's most sloping pitch at Underhill with Bees fans.
For Londoners, hometown takes on a different meaning.
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I first started watching and supporting Norwich City when they were in what was then Division Three. I much enjoyed the games, where good entertaining football was always on show.
Three years on, (this was in the days of two up two down, no poncy play-offs) they got promotion to Division Two as Runners-up to Champions Southampton (there's irony for you) which was of course well worth celebrating, and the old Second Division then also presented many good games.
If League One produces the same level of entertainment as the old Third Division then supporters are still in for some good times - my only worry is that the game has moved on in such a way that this will no longer be the case.
The good old days - Nethercott, Thurlow, Ashman, McCrohan, Butler, Crowe, Crossan, Allcock, Bly, Hill, Brennan - beat Manchester United in the F A Cup.
[end of nostalgic trip LOL]
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I would disagree that you necessarily have to grow up somewhere to support any particular team. My grandfather was a life long norwich supporter, and was even presented with an award at Carrow Road. My dad is a supporter and me and my brother have both supported Norwich since we were young, but neither my brother nor myself have ever lived there. Having grown up in a small rural town in Gloucestershire with no strong footballing side I felt more affility to Norwich than any other side. Does this mean I am a glory hunter with Norwich City ?!?!
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poor old naaaaaaaarwich!!! o when the town!!!
BLUE ARMY!!!
wel never play u again!!!
'going down at portman road!! hahaha
Ipswich all the way!!!
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Great article Jake, I live in Hampshire and my connection to Norwich is through my Dad and Grandad, I asked my Dad to take me to Carrow Road when I was 11 (i'm now 39!)and have been a loyal fan ever since.I love Norwich not because I was born in the City but because of my family connection that goes back generations, by rights I should support Reading where I was born but my love was for Norwich and always will be. I like you will be keeping everything crossed on Sunday and hope and pray we can do it.
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Crewe Alex fan here, feel my pain :) Why you've got a comparatively easy job. After all, you just need to beat the bottom club in your league, and hope one other result goes your way. We have to beat the top club in our league, and have TWO other results go our way!
Ironically, we will also drop into the division I think of as the third division, showing presumably the different points at which we started following football. Good luck anyway, my mates a canary, hope you survive (But not too much. You did steal Dean Ashton of us after all!)!
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I agree. You should support your local-ish team. As a youngster I always wanted to be a bit different, as everyone I knew supported Norwich, I thought I'd go for Ipswich. Didn't really know a great deal about the rivalry as an 8 year old!
It always puzzles me how football rivalry provokes hatred. I don't want to see Norwich get relegated. I want the pleasure of beating them twice in a season (which doesn't happen very often for either teams). It's the one fixture that both teams supporters look for first. A season without this fixture just wouldn't be the same. However, I would gladly sacrifice this fixture to see us in the Premiership! Anyways, support your local team and good luck to Norwich!
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Jake,
Fantastic post, As a Norwich City fan I share your pain, however I also share your passion. We would all love Norwich to be playing Premier League football week in week out....however we are not. With 18,000 season ticket holders already signed up this club will fly the flag high if relegated and NCFC fans will fill away allocations North, South East and West. I will be there as will many many others...will we enjoy it? yes we will. Just the same as we always sell our allocation going to lower league sides in the FA Cup in recent years.People want to go! We will enjoy the day out, we will enjoy the standing, we will enjoy seeing the real football fan sat at the opposite end with his son knowing they are following their team, as I am, and not there for any other big club reason! (got ticket from company etc etc)You have summed up to many the feeling of being a Norwich City fan.....and I am sure many other fans from other sides too.
WE ALL LIVE FOR A YELLOW FOOTBALL TEAM!
ON THE BALL CITY NEVER MIND THE DANGER
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Good article Jake however what annoys me with glory hunting jibes is the forgetting that there are also local fans who get tarred with the same brush.
I'm a United fan and why ... cos I had no choice. Born in Salford, my Dad told me I was a United fan and we walked to the match ... and numerous thousands of us still do it every week...but you only hear about the glory hunters and the travellers.
I was at the Hawthorns in '85 when we got stuffed 5-1, at Meadow Lane in '83 seeing us squander a 2 goal lead and lose 3-2, at Maine Road for the infamous 5-1 drubbing in '89. The list goes on.
So when we went to Rotterdam in '91 and Barcelona in '99 and lifting the league in '93 we had more than earned our time of 'glory'.
So best wishes to all Salford Reds still plodding up and down Trafford Road through wind and rain as well as thick and (fortunately now not so much) thin.
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Great blog Jake.
I am a fellow Canary. Agree with the 'local' concept of supporters, but also think family roots play a part, otherwise I would have torquay as a club rather than norwich where my grandad grew up.
Hoping we can do the business on Sunday against charlton and that plymouth can do the same against barnsley, but the odds have to be pretty much against! especially as you have mentioned, going to london on last day of prem season in driving seat and getting smashed. Although this time it may be a benefit that we have to go all out rather than play for a draw etc.
As for league one, if it does happen, everybody mentions the likes of Leicester, but look at Leeds, still struggling to return, or even worse, Bradford, mid table of League two. Things at the club need to be changed and the youth structure which helped us so much in times gone by needs to be given the opportunity of development once again.
OTBC on Sunday! I will be wearing my yellow and green in a pub watching sky sports news before going to the cardiff blues heineken cup semi final!
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Brilliant blog and has punctuated me to complete my first blog comment!
I agree with the notion of supporting your local team. I supported Liverpool from the age of 7, through the Robbie Fowler days right up until the historic night in Istanbul, however I never felt the "connection" to the club like I do to Yeovil Town. The atsmosphere, whilst not as loud is far less sterile than that at a premiership club and yes that includes Anfield. The lower league fans have much more passion, much more emotion. To us it isn't always about the entertainment factor but the belief that you want those group of lads, who you know wont be there soon due to being snapped up by larger clubs to succeed and achieve the sometimes unachievable. 10 years ago I watched Yeovil Town get promoted from the ICIS league and now I am watching them in League One! It's fantastic! It may seem sad that Norwich may be joining us, but I promise you fans you will enjoy the experience. All the clubs are welcoming and the banter is second to none. At the end of the day we are all in the same boat, no team is bigger than the other!
Just one word of note if you do go down, mention to the bar staff in the ground to stock up on the Cider, us Glovers are fed up of drinking "lager". MKDons specially brought in extra cider for us, would be great if Norwich could do the same. :)
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Nice blog Jake, come on Plymouth!
I feel sorry for the guys from Ipswich on here, they dont see that in 5 years time their team will have been run into the ground and wont exist
KEANO, LMAO, he wont do any better than Magilton, only he'll waste twice as much money and his wages will be considerably higher.
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NEVER MIND THE DANGER,
STEADY ON, NOW'S YOUR CHANCE..
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Anybody who starts or includes any variation on the phrase "I live in Norwich, but I'm a Manchester Fan..." is just purely ridiculous...get a life........
I'm a Man City fan....from Manchester and I love it.....But I strongly believe I had been born and raised somewhere like Leeds, Carlisle, Wrexham etc I would support them.....I couldn't give a toss about the league we play in or overpaid players that play week in week out....half wont be there next year.....But the people around me in my season ticket seat, and the time I get to spend with ma dad, the atmosphere and the love of the game is definatley worth the price....I'm glad Jake is on the right wave length
Danunited99
John_Mandrake_III
beckettitfc (complete timewaster)
you three lads need to have a good hard look at yourselves
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As an Ipswich fan I thought that I'd love to see the Budgies relegated to Div 3, but I take no pleasure in it.
Rivalry is rivalry but Norwich supporters and Ipswich supporters are akin in many ways and I feel for for your plight. It could have easily been us 5 years ago but our fortunes appear to be on an upward trajectory.
Its always fantastic highs and devestating lows supporting "unfashionable" teams like ours and I'm sure you'll be back losing at Portman Road in the not too distant future.
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I agree with you. My hometown team (Southampton) haven't had the greatest of seasons, but i would never even dream of supporting another team. I can like some teams more than others, for example Arsenal because of the way they play and Theo, but would never count myself as a supporter because i have no link with the club. The link with a club is the reason to support it, whether it be by family or living there.
When I talk to people and they say they support a top four club because they kind of liked them when they were younger, they can't count themselves as proper supporters, especially for top four teams.
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btw bobhopebeyondhope = irony bypass
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Surely being a "proper" supporter is less to do with why you support a team, but how you support them? Knowing about the team, having a genuine passion for them, etc.
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While I should feel some sympathy for the fans of Southampton, Charlton and Norwich City, I am afraid they are all either relegated or facing relegation due to the poor running of their respective clubs, and therefore any feelings of sympathy are balanced by the thought that these fans did too little to prevent the demise of their clubs.
Of course I have even less sympathy for Norwich as I am an Ipswich fan.
So where did all these clubs go wrong, that is so simple, too many managers in too short a time. Jim Magilton was recently sacked but even he had almost three seasons to try and get us promoted. No such luxury for the managers of the three teams in the frame for relegation
Charlton - five managers in less than three years
Southampton - five managers in less than three years, an astonishing fourteen in the last ten years.
Norwich - five managers in less than three years, eight in the last ten.
Changing your manager in pursuit of success is one thing, my club has just done this, but not having the patience to allow the managers to build any form of platform for that success is clearly the root of the problem. If the managers were not good enough then surely the board is at fault for choosing the wrong manager. By sacking them or allowing them to resign at the behest of impatient fans or due to poor results or a percieved lack of ambition by either side, clearly reflects on the board being weak.
Money is not the cause either, there are teams that have survived in this seasons championship with far fewer financial resources than any of these three clubs. But, fans of these clubs will say, "our club is skint", "we cannot build a team without money". Very true to a point, but how much money has been squandered settling departed managers contracts, money that could have brought in new blood, developed players through the academy or even just allowed the club to retain their best home grown talent. All three were Premiership clubs recently, why were some of the riches gained then, not set aside for times such as now.
The answer in each case is clear, boards dealing in short-term fixes with absolutely no long term vision and none of the patience that requires. Such lack of insight and vision is why they are being relegated, the teams reflect the lack of quality in their respective boards and the fans suffer.
The new breed of fans, with similar impatience for success, do not help matters. For fans of any team, when you next bay for your manager to be replaced, think, be very careful what you wish for.
It remains to be seen if Roy Keane will have the time to succeed. I fear if he does not get or take that time we shall be following Charlton, Southampton and, I hope, Norwich City into League 1.
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Good to see intelligent input from our backward neighbours down the A140 (i.e. leeder33 and redHuey9).
As a life long City fan, it would be a gutter to see another relegation. But to me it will prove to the world what great, passionate supporters we have. The fact we have 19,500 season ticket sales already for next season speaks volumes for our very under-rated fans.
As already mentioned by by Post 10 - there are certain hoards of fans in black and white stripes in the North East who are classed as the most "passionate" - however, if they are relegated will their gates remain a constant. Absolutely not. And before anyone asks, I have family in Newcastle and know for a fact that many of them will not go next season if they are not in the Premiership. And it's nothing to do with the credit crunch!!!
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Good on you Jake. I heard you on Five Live and was genuinely impressed, more so because ever since your emergence on Children's telly I have pretty much loathed you with a vengeance. It's not fair and it's not rational, but - what the hey - you chose to be a celebrity.
Anyone who saw Norwich a few years back, passing, passing, passing their way to the top of the league has got to love them; a real quality side and I hope they stay up.
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dont worry jake, plymouth will do you a favour im sure of it. Come on the Greens!!!
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Top blog Jake and for all you Binners out there it takes a media hyped appointment of the loose cannon Roy Keane for you lot to crawl from under your stones to support your club where were you most of this season? You only turn out for the OLD FARM derby and you won't have that next season!!!!
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Good blog Jake. I feel your pain even though i have not been in a relagation battle or anywhere near it. As a Manchester United fan from Cardiff i certainly get my fair share of abuse, from all kinds of football fans and even people who do not follow football, as the general assumption is support united, chelsea, liverpool or arsenal you are a glory supporter, and this umbrella term rings in my ears every night before i go to sleep.
Yes i support a team at the moment who are massively successful and have been since i was placed on this fine earth, the reasons i do? are down to my father, who is also from cardiff but a lifelong united fan. He has experienced the ups and downs of the club since the 60s which as of yet i have not. Seeing as i am only 21. However, i could quite happily go on and discuss the history of the club i love. It makes me upset and very anoyed when i see people the same generation of me wearing the united colours when they have no idea about football, or change their team when the local one gets promoted. most of all i dislike the way many people from cardiff support both their home town club and a "big four team". I travel to Manchester as reguarly as possible to see united, most recently spending near £200 to see them play fulham, if that is not dedacation then what is? i dont look forward to the bad times, but inevitably they will come in the future and when they do, i will still be here parading my love for the one club i love, one united!
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Totally agree with your comments Jake, and have always thought that followers of the 'Big 4' who do so with no justification are very shallow.
As an Ipswich fan, I have mixed emotions over the plight of the Budgies.
On one hand - You're getting relegated hehehe
On the other hand - The Pride of Anglia rivalry/banter will be missed. Peterborough! do me a favour
Good luck on Sunday! I think.......?
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Good on you Jake. Glory hunters sicken me just as much, its not proper football, they may know the chants when they come to watch their 'team' in pubs, but the reality is that hardly any of them have ever been to see them play. I'm a lifelong Charlton fan even though I live in Norfolk so i know plenty of Norwich fans and what it means to a lot of people as the only decent football club in the county. I'd never wish Charlton to lose a game, but i'll say good luck!
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Great blog Jake!!!
I have been a longtime reader of all the blogs on the BBC but this is the first one that has actually made me want to create a membership and comment.
I am from Glasgow but am an absolute die hard Partick Thistle supporter. I would hate to support either of Scotland's big two, i think it would be dull. My team have been up and down in the last few years more than Jordan's knickers and there is nothing like it. The euphoria of promotion, the heartbreak of relegation. Thats what supporting your so called smaller teams is all about!!!!
Just to stay on topic i hope Norwich stay up, i remember watching them in 1993 in Europe, i cant remember the name of your midfielder that scored against a German club (Bayern?), and being off my seat when your man scored a volley, ever since then i have always looked to see how they are doing.
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Good luck on Sunday Norwich, a great great club. Being a Forest fan, I hope Barnsley go down, League 1 was made for clubs like Barnsley. That will teach them to grossly over charge away fans!
Enjoy the sour cream with that league 1 pie!!!
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I agree wholeheartedly with Jake's comments about many supporters of the 'big 4'. However, I say that with conditions, as I am a Nottingham Forest supporter with no connection with Nottingham. I began supporting them in the late 70's because of a certain Brian Clough.
For me, the thing that defines somebody as a proper supporter rather than a glory hunter is the efforts that they go to in supporting their team. I live in Hampshire and have a family so can't attend every week, but like BognorRock I attend when I can and cover many miles each season in doing so.
Those so called fans who sit in their armchair watching Sky every week are not proper fans in my book. They would probably claim that they are, but if they ever went to game they would see what a real fan is.
In the end they are the ones missing out. Although they stand and cheer in the pub or living room when their team scores, they don't feel the thrill and passion that a real fan feels when success is achieved. Even more so as a fan of a struggling club. There is no way my Man U or Liverpool supporting friends feel what I felt when Forest got promoted last season. And that is their loss.
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Great post Jake!
My family is from Norfolk and I was brought up there, and am a life long Norwich supporter. My career has taken me away from the county, but I try to get to a few games a year. I could not agree more with your sentiment about supporting your home team, or one with a strong family connection. I remember sports afternoons at a primary school in rural North Norfolk in the 70s. The numbers of Liverpool and Arsenal shirts on the boys used to grate with me, in my canary yellow shirt, even as a 7 year old.
I lived in Manchester for 12 years after university, never once was I tempted to cross over. I did have a soft spot for Man City though, as I felt they were more the 'Manchester team' than United. In fact I remember a survey in the ealy 90s in the Manchester Evening News that showed that there are more City fans than United fans within the city boundary. United's fans are all in Bangkok, London and rural North Norfolk no doubt.
I agree that it is painful sometimes to support City, but I am a Norfolk man and proud of it, and so have no choice, and no regrets.
For you Ipswich fans, you know that "what goes around, comes around"...
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Jake, good post. I support the Mighty Mariners, even though I moved away a few years ago to .... Manchester. I know there are loads of Man U fans in Manchester (more City fans though!). But half of them cannot get to games due to the foreign legions. How many times did you hear Irish and cockney accents in interviews outside OT on Wednesday night ?
Unfortunately with the introduction of all seater stadia and Sky Sports money the gulf between the Premier top 4 and the rest is ever growing.
I worry about this recession, with job losses and industry going down the pan, but I hope one good thing comes of it, and that is that the top clubs can get a feel of the real world for once.
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None of us have any control over where we are born and brought up? Why must people feel the need to impose a rule on everybody that you have to support the local team purely because of an accident of birth? What if nothing has happened in the time since you were born to make you feel anything particularly strong for your local area?
Jake is right about one thing - we do live in an increasingly globalised world where people make connections with places and people based on any number of factors. Like it or not, few things are as global as football and we don't all experience this multi-faceted sport through the same lens anymore. I feel it quite arrogant that some people still claim there is only one correct way to experience football. Maybe there used to be, when the world was smaller, but things are different now. You can't just impose these kinds of rules on people. And it's unfair to just expect people to feel an affinity with the place that, through an accident of birth, happens to be home.
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Nice to read your thoughts Jake. Have to admit I never had you down as a Canary - there are more of us out there than you think!
I'd agree to some extent that you should follow your hometown club, but as many have pointed out it's not always that simple. I myself was born and brought up in Sheffield, but ever since I was small I've been supporting City. It's my dad's fault - his side of the family are from Norfolk (his cousin reports on Norwich for the local paper) and my brother and I were always brought up following the yellow and green. In fact, I still have a kermit the frog toy where the Muppet master is wearring a City kit (no comments please Ipswich fans!). For the last 25 years I have shared the triumph and despair that comes with being a Norwich fan. I've been to see them all over the country (even Torquay, bizarrely) and despite living in Bristol, try and get to matches when I can.
Like all City fans, I'll be depressed come 4.45 on Sunday if the inevitable does happen and we go down. But we need to put it in perspective: it's not the end of the world. No-one has a divine right to be in the Premiership or the Championship (whatever our friends from Suffolk might think), you have to earn that right. Our board and managers have done too many things wrong in recent years, and we deserve to be relegated. The table doesn't lie.
We'll be back. Until then, OTBC!
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You've completely hit the spot. As a fellow Norwich fan I can feel (and share), the emotion in your words.
Thank you for giving a great insight into being a local supporter and Norwich fan. Hopefully the message will spread across the globe, whilst your heart remains in Norfolk.
OTBC
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Nice piece.I have been a city fan for over 40 years and I will always remember my first match going with my uncle walking up the steps at the barcley end and going throu the doors and the greeness of the pitch with the floodlights on hits you and my love affair with NORWICH CITY started and it is still in my heart today.When I was at Sec. Mod in the sixties everyone supported the big ones and laughed at me for supporting city but over the years I have always felt as I had the last laugh.I would not dream of making a big club my club,even now when it looks like we will be going down on sunday my passion for city is still as strong as ever and I will still follow them,and I do think that is one of the problems with the modern game boardrooms have lost touch with the fans.If city go down If it gives the club the chance to rebiuld and come back stronger then it might be the for the best,remember when Man Utd came down in the seventies under Tommy Doc. they went back up and it was the foundations for the club they are today,I am not for one minute saying city will become as big as them but they will bounce back and I will still have yellow and green running trough my vaines no matter what the future holds, CITY TILL I DIE AND BEYOND!!!!!!!!!
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Good article. Amazing number of season tickets sold by Norwich, down here in Plymouth we won't sell half that number despite having a far larger population.
Sorry to tell you that Argyle's home form has been pathetic this season (ten defeats) and I think Barnsley will get at least a point.
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Maybe I'm biased because I'm also a Forest fan, but I have much more respect for Andover_Tree than fans of the big four now who aren't local, simply because in the past lots of teams have had eras of success and fallen from grace: Norwich, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle to name just a few.
To keep supporting them through thick and thin and travel that far is fantastic and it's different to the modern Big 4 because, like Mariner says, the gulf keeps growing. The only way those 4 will ever stop competing at the very top is due to financial collapse, not footballing reasons. Football used to be more exciting when it was more of a level playing field. Nowadays Hull/Villa (before order was restored) is about as unpredictable as it gets. Even a great club like Everton making the cup final was a shock.
I just hope Plymouth really put a shift in this weekend and make it competetive, and if Norwich can't go to Charlton and get a win when you really need it then you've got to wonder why you're in the Championship.
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Theres something you dont see every day, a blog from a Norwich fan. I share your pain Jake, as Im currently on ops in Iraq and footy coverage is patchy at best. Ill be chewing my nails along with many other City fans. I do worry though that if we drop out of the Championship will we ever get back up?
Post 41 by caughtinthebrambles, I agree with every point you make, and on the subject of manager swaps, its no coincidence the most succesful teams in the Premier league have had their managers for over 10 years. You cant build a team in 8 months.
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You're spot on, Jake.
I was born in South Staffordshire in a staunch Wolves-supporting family. However, my Dad left (and he was the big Wolves fan), they had slipped down to Division Four, and my friends at primary school all liked one of the big three at the time (Liverpool, Leeds or Man U). I chose to support Man U, and I remained obsessed with them through most of the 90s. However, as I grew up, I felt the tug of my local team more and more.
I knew my feelings for Manchester United were disappearing when I could barely celebrate their Champions' League win in '99 due to being gutted at Wolves narrowly missing out on the playoffs. I watched more and more intently for the next couple of seasons, until 2002 when I knew for sure that my team were the lads in black and gold. I had watched us slip from certain promotion to 3rd place in a matter of weeks, and I then listened to the play-off semi-final versus your boys on the local radio station - I have never been so angst-ridden by a domestic football match in my life.
I sobbed when we lost - but that day I knew that Wolves were in my heart. I had grown up being actively discouraged from supporting them by my Mum and my peers, and I had just witnessed them throw away a season of success in about six weeks. And yet my heart was pounding, and my head was spinning. That never happened when I followed Man United. Ever since then, I have been 100% a Wolves fan, and extremely proud of it.
I think people who support one of the big teams but aren't from the local area are not proper football fans, at least not in the old-fashioned sense . In the modern age, there are more fans of Manchester United from Shanghai than Salford, so I can't really judge someone from Stevenage that supports them. However, I really don't understand how an adult who considers themselves to be a true football fan could prefer watching a load of overpaid foreigners play attractive posession football for a far-away team on Match of the Day every week, to watching 11 mostly British lads who fight for the badge on their shirt, and who have a bit of loyalty to the team, slug it out for 90 minutes from the terraces of their local club. I really don't.
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Funny how it's only out of town Man United fans who get slated, there are plenty of Liverpool/Leeds fans all over the country many of whom of my age (40) were glory hunting in the 70s. It doesn't mean any of these teams don't have huge local support unless you think 2+2=5. And a glory hunter can live 50 yards, 50 miles or 500 miles from the ground!
Being Scottish and growing up near Glasgow in the 70s we all had English teams (as well as Scottish of course) perhaps helped by the fact that English teams in those days had plenty of Scotsmen playing, many chose Liverpool or Leeds as they were successful and Nottm Forest also became popular in the late 70s, but some of us chose United because they were the valiant underdogs getting the biggest and most passionate crowds despite being in the old 2nd division for a season and were relatively cr@p compared to Liverpool/Leeds. The week before the '77 cup final (UnitedvLiverpool) the kids in the playground split into 2 sides every breaktime chanting at each other and on the Friday before the game had a running battle and thankfully the school nutcases chose United, nobody gave much thought to the Scottish Cup final and that was CelticvRangers! Anyway I moved south 20 years ago and have had a Season Ticket for those 20 years, been all over Europe from Rotterdam '91, Barca '99 to Moscow '08 with numerous other less sexy trips in between. We won't be at the top forever especially if the debts the Glazers put on us start to bite but I'll still be there as will all proper reds many of whom wouldn't mind a return to medicority to help cleanse our club of the fair weather glory hunters some of whom even come from Manchester :)
At the end of the day the bigger the club the bigger the fanbase from the local pub team to the local amateur team to the local professional team to the really big teams with a net even wider it covers the country. It is ironic when fans sing 'We support out local team' despite the fact they don't fill their ground unless they play Man United, no doubt Boro will have a full house tomorrow for a change and sing this little ditty :)
Maybe teams should only have players from their own town/city, that would help encourage only local support more!
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I am a United fan living in Wolverhampton (I know what you're thinking, closer than a lot of other United fans!) and they've been my team for about 16 years now.
I'll admit I picked them as a 6 year old because I was glory hunting, however, I am kinda following a family tradition. My dad picked West Ham as his team after he saw half of their team lift the World Cup with England, my brother picked Liverpool during the 80's when they were the dominant force, so its only right that I chose United really!
As I've grown up with United, and knowing only Ferguson as our manager (He took charge 2 months after I was born) I'd have to say I'm pretty sure I've matured enough now to support them whether they got relegated, went into administration or whatever. Basically what I'm saying is that a lot of people who are in their 20's now may have picked United as their team back in the 90's as a glory hunting primary school child, but now have United running through their veins and would follow them wherever they went, so the term "glory hunter" mainly applies to the 6 and 7 year olds who are doing what I and many others did. Sensible lot, better they support us than Chelski, Liverpool or Arsenal!
I think its a bit harsh to say that just because a lot of "Top 4" fans don't go to see their team play they aren't as much of a fan as those who support teams that aren't in the top 4 and go every week. I don't get to go to many games at Old Trafford simply because of the expense and availability of tickets, but every chance I get to go I will drop everything to get there. I've paid my mate who is a Liverpool fan £30 each way to drive up there and suffer watching us win so I can go.
Anyway that was a bit of a rant. I went to secondary school with a Norwich supporter for a best mate who used to make the trip from Telford down there every home game as well as the away games against Midlands teams and because of him and his enthusiasm for Norwich (This was during the 'glory' days of Marc Libra, Mark Rivers and Zema Abbey) I developed a soft spot for the Canaries and went to see them once or twice with him, so best of luck for your team Jake, I'd much rather see you coming back to the Premiership rather than slipping further away.
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good post Jake. I can completely agree with the tug of a hometown club - I don't really follow domestic rugby in the same way I follow the Wolves (a fan by upbringing - not by choice!) but my mood is still affected when Bath lose or win, and I'm terrified about the upcoming playoffs for the title! I'm at uni in Norwich and I hope you stay up because having a successful team seems to give the city a massive spring in it's step, and it's great to see so many youngsters walking around with their city's shirt on as opposed to a Utd or Chelsea one. The city really does get behind it's team, for that reason alone you deserve it. That and the fact you trashed us at Carrow Road.
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Cracking article Jake.
I'm a Forest season ticket holder, and I know only too well the lengths that some fans go for their teams (I was at QPR in 2004 when we were relegated to League One).
I've travelled the length and bredth of the country to see my team, along with many hundreds and thousands of other like minded fans.
I'm one of the travellers, those who think that sitting on some nondescript station at 7 in the morning, discussing football, with a guy you've never met before, and will never meet again, is the norm.
I'm one of those guys who bears a grudge against our biggest rivals reserve left back, because he once played for our youth team and did the 'unthinkable' in moving to our rivals. I must be one of the only people around who prefers The Championship to The Premier League as its more competetive.
I love football. At any level. But most of all. I love my team.
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ipswich fan in peace
great blog. i support ipswich casue i was born and raised there. i spent many happy and sad days at portman road and even tho i live in reading now, i am still a fully fledged ipswich supporter. i will support my team from the top of the prem to the bottom of the confrence, same as you guys will support ncfc in the same way. we may hate each other with a passion, but i respect you for that. i do hope you guys survive, casue it wont be the same without a derby match.
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Since I was a kid I moved all over the world. However my parents were from Greater Manchester, and my grandparents lived there all their lives so I felt quite justified in being a Manchester United supporter, which I have been ever since I can remember. I am now in my 50's and living in Australia. Because of bigots like you though, I keep it slightly quiet, and if asked tend instead to mention my 2nd team, Ipswich, having spent a decade or so there. I don't suppose that is any more palatable to you as a Norwich fan.
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CaughtInTheBrambles - I believe that you are counting caretaker managers in your totals.
In the last 3 seasons Norwich City have had:
Nigel Worthington, 6 years, 1 playoff final, 1 promotion then 3 years of decline.
Jim Duffy - Caretaker, 3 matches.
Peter Grant - 1 year, quit because he felt he wasn't up to the job.
Glenn Roeder - 1 year, sacked after defeat to Charlton in FA cup.
Bryan Gunn - 3 months and counting....
Of those 5, onl;y 1 I would say was sacked before they were given time (Roeder) and his position was made untenable purely by the contempt he treated the fans with.
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Despite my earlier post, I have friends (here in Australia, is that allowed in your purist view?) who are Norwich City supporters, and I hope Norwich don't get relegated.
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Good article. I'm a Brighton fan, moved down to the South Coast at the age of 1. Recent years have seen me move about to Preston, Sheffield & Rotherham, but I'll always follow the Albion no matter where I am, and try and get to see them as many times as I can in a season. People who support any of the Big 4 from cities other than Manchester, London or Liverpool respectively have managed to miss the point entirely - football is a much better game if you are able to associate with a team that experiences the rough with the smooth. Arsenal fans may bleat about another season without any silverware (Champions League permitting) - cry me a river. I know that I'll probably have no nails left come 5pm tomorrow, but i'll be ecstatic with the joy of survival, or overwhelmed the pain of relegation. And I'll take that any time over a guaranteed top 4 finish.
Support your local teams! They make life so much more interesting than the usual suspects swiping everything.
I'll close by saying good luck Norwich. I'd love to see you stay up albeit for selfish reasons - Barnsley's much easier to get to from Rotherham than Carrow Road!
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Great post Jake. I've never read your blog before to be honest, but when I saw that you were talking about supporting your local team I was intrigued.
I have been watching my hometown team (was actually born in Crewe, but moved when I was 2), the Seals (a.k.a Chester City), play for 14 seasons (I'm only 22 now) down at the Deva stadium. I have definitely been through the highs and lows watching the blues, well mostly lows to be honest. Apart from reaching the Division 3 play offs in the 96-97 season and winning the conference in 2004, supporting Chester has been pretty grim. Regardless though, I still love them. Even if I can't get back home for a game, Chester's is always the 1st score I look for. Many friends of mine have selfishly strayed away from the club as successes have died down, they're the glory supporters, and taken their allegances to Everton, Liverpool and Man United.
On the other hand, through my dad being a lifelong fan I am also a Manchester United fan, so this season I am experiencing the extreme highs and low of being a football fan. Now living in Manchester following university I have regularly attended matches at Old Trafford over the last 3/4 years. My current location has prevented me from going to as many Chester games as I'd like, but I still pop back when I can. Some may call me a glory supporter as I have been fortunate to witness United at their best over the last 15 years, but my support for the club is through family.
When I'm watching live matches though, I feel more emotionally attached to Chester, as it takes me back to being 8 again and attending my 1st live football game with my dad and brother, everytime I go to a game I still get the same buzz. Its difficult to explain this attachment, but I'm sure fans of their local teams will appreciate what I'm saying.
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# 71. Are you having a laugh? All that rubbish about supporting the mighty Seals through thick & thin, you then say this:
'Now living in Manchester following university I have regularly attended matches at Old Trafford over the last 3/4 years. My current location has prevented me from going to as many Chester games as I'd like'
Your current location is a 30 minute train ride from Chester, not that far for a supposedly committed fan! Just admit to yourself that you're a glory hunter like all your mates who you've accused.
Come on City on Saturday, just the 19 goals needed!!
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Spare a thought for us supporters who follow a big team for all the right reasons! If you'd told me aged 10 that I'd be watching Chelsea play Barca in a European Cup semi-final, I'd have rolled about laughing at you. Some of us make the effort to go to games and follow our sides through thick and thin and make a more general effort too (I've been down to Griffin Park a few times this season, well done to the Bees!). We don't have it as bad as you but having your credentials questioned 24/7 gets boring pretty quickly!
I'd be sad to see Norwich go down, watching them do so well in Europe in the early 90s is one of my earliest football memories.
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Good to see that quite a few Ipswich fans want Norwich to stay up, personally I would like to see Leeds back in the Premier league as there's nothing quite like beating your main rivals, nice when they're relegated but if they're in a different league you can't beat them :)
Every MEN survey I've ever seen always has more Reds than Blues in Manchester so not sure which survey someone above was referring to.
I've yet to see a proper survey to back up any of these myths. Back in 2000 during the middle of the September fuel strike United played a home European game that was also live on ITV against Anderlecht, all ABUs were excited that OT would at best be half full to show most United fans couldn't travel to the game backing up their myths, the attendance was 63000 (capacity was 67000 at the time), the next day Chelsea got 19,000 but of course the ABUs didn't comment on the obvious! If Manchester was full of City fans they would get a guaranteed 47K every week especially in this day and age when all top division clubs get bigger crowds than 10 years ago, after all Manchester and the surrounding towns has a huge population. Go back to the 80s and City were regularly getting under 25K, look at an old clip from the Maine Road derby in September 1985 nearly half the ground is Red.
For any "no United fans in Manchester" or "all City fans come from Manchester" myth believers here's a report from a few years ago to read over a pint of bitter ;)
[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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Great Blog Jake i follow your F1 Blog and thought this is a topic id get involved with.
As you can probably tell from my username that im a Newcastle Fan and i am suffering from the demise of my beloved club and the fact we will be playing championship football ourseleves next year if im been honest.Yet remarkabely if we do go down i dont think id look forward to a season more first off ive got my boyhood hero in charge, will have more games nearer me as i live in birmingham but yet some proper fans as well which is the key for me the premiership isnt all its cracked up to be and i think the football league is far better with fanbase etc will we get 52,000 next year no we wont but we arent anyway so id say we would still get 40,000-45,000 but yet i cant complain although a club the size of ours should be challenging for honours ive seen my team play the likes of Barcelona,beat Juventus who boasted the likes of Del Piero and Buffon and also thrash Man Utd 5-0.
i may get accused of my team been bad but i will never ever leave them because you have to take the rough with the smooth.
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Interesting blog, Jake.
Amusingly, I somewhat represent the antithesis of your sentiments here. I was born, bred and still based in the Midlands, but I have been an Ipswich Town fan since July 2002.
However, I do completely agree with the general sentiment against 'glory-hunting', as my decision to start supporting Town in summer 2002 was anything but glory-hunting. This was actually two months after Ipswich had been relegated following their 2 year stay in the Premier League. From my position however, this was what led me to make the decision to support them - as someone who previously wasn't interested in club football, the fortunes of this little team from Suffolk that had wowed everyone by qualifying for Europe in their first Premier League season had captured my interest, only to see them disappear into the second tier one season later. It's since been 7 long years of both heartbreaking proximity and dreary distance from our ultimate goal of returning to the top flight, but my love for the club has only grown stronger, and I get myself to more and more matches every season. I would not say that location should necessarily be what dictates your chosen club. My only feeling is that if you are a decent football fan, you will stick by the club you choose no matter what happens to them. And remember, there's always a club worse off than yours.
There is however an irritating apathy displayed by some Premier League fans - mainly the Big Four - who seem to treat the Football League as if it doesn't exist. This is rather exacerbated by media coverage which often neglects major stories in the lower divisions in favour of, say, dedicating a column to mindgames between Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benitez, or Ashley Cole's musings on the Champions League. I have found myself increasingly uninterested in the Premier League and European competition, seeming such a world away from what my team goes through, and instead more closely following the battle for the League One title or teams bidding to avoid the drop into the Blue Square Premier. We have such a fantastic league in this country, unlike any other in the world, and I feel it is a shame that more fans don't indulge in it.
Regarding Norwich City this weekend - I wouldn't be a Town fan if a part of me didn't want it to all go pear-shaped for you guys this weekend! But at the same time, deep down, there's nothing I would like to see more in a few years time than the mouthwatering prospect of a Premiership East Anglian derby. We shall see what the future holds...
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It seems to me that your biggest fear is third tier football. Don't. Some of the best fans I've met. Now as a Forest fan,three years was a bit long but if you really love your team it matters not one jot what level you play at - only that the players that pull on the shirt really care. I've had a season ticket for 33 years and never considered not having one just because of an relegation or two. My two eldest sons now have season tickets as well - and if anything they are starting to show even stronger ties to our club than me. And don't be confused by Meltonred. We are Nottingham through and through - my three sons all born their. Now I do hope you get out of it as I'm fed up with hearing 15 year old Barnsley fans chant 'scab scab scab' but if you don't - so what, Norwich will still be your team. One final thing though, Mr. Clingan, was swapping us for Norwich really such a good idea. Ah well, must go now to enjoy my pressure free weekend before going to Sunday's game with no worries.
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Norwich are basically a small club and belong in League One or even League Two. The sooner the likes of Bolton, Wigan, Blackburn and Portsmouth join them, the better.
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reference comment#3 I'm sure Norwich are better of without numpties like you. What happened, dropped your ice cream on the floor one day and decided to stamp your feet really hard until your mummy will bought you another. Grow up and face the music, winning is not everything. As a Birmingham City fan since birth I have gone through just as much pain as any football lover but at no time have I ever, and I mean ever considered switching teams. This could only be considered as selling your soul to the highest bidder, and believe you me, Man ure would not be giving you a lot
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Jake - Good post. As a Forest fan I have followed in the footsteps of my Dad, who started supporting the Reds in the late 50s when he lived in Grantham. He's been lucky enough to see us win the top prize club football has to offer (twice) and numerous league cups as well. Being from Birmingham, the split here is much more bias towards the local teams, probably because there are so many to choose from, but there are still a few Forest fans knocking about.
If you do go down, which looks likely, you'll enjoy going to some of the smaller grounds that are usually reserved for away days in the Cup, however the two things that really stand out for me as being the worst part of being in League 1 are the Johnstone Paint Trophy (what is the point, please someone tell me!?) and having to play in R1 and R2 of the FA Cup (and perhaps not even getting through to R3 when the "big" boys join in). That really got to me.
Anyway, enjoy League 1 if you do go down, Yeovil is a great day out, or why not make a weekend of it?
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I've been a Northampton Town fan all my life and, working in London, my colleagues often don't have the faintest idea who we are. They all support the big five teams, I say five so as not to offend the Villa fan I share an office with, yet in most cases they've never been to a game. If things go our way tomorrow and go badly for Norwich on Sunday then I'm sure Jake will get a hearty welcome from the Sixfields faithful if/when we meet next season.
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This link shall now be copied and pasted to all my Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool supporting mates. Who are all born and bred Plymouthians.
COME ON YOU GREENS.
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I'm a Charlton fan and I almost hope we lose and Barnsley lose...
I don't want to see Norwich relegated for so mnay reasons...
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Ref, post #79
When I read post #3 I assumed it was an obvious wind up jest just to give the impression he was what non-United fans like to think is a 'typical' Man Utd fan.
I really hope it was in jest :)
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I can't work out if John_Mandrake_III' s comment at 09:39am on 01 May 2009, was a deeply ironic comment by a true Norwich fan along the same lines as the Norwich fanzine from years ago, LAOTTA [Liverpool Are On The Telly Again] or just a shockingly bad example of the sort of illiteracy with which Britain is nowadays plagued. To save you scrolling back up he wrote and I have left his spelling and punctuation untouched:
"i hope Norwich go down. i live here, but i'm now supporting manchester untied. i support man you becaus theyr the best team in the world and we always beet the rubbish teams like liverpool and fulhamm. COME ON MANCHESTY UNTIED!"
I think I shall continue to refer to them as "Manchesty Untied" - it is sort of catchy isn't it ? I also loved the idea of trying to "beet" the opposition - sounds like a Norfolk sort of thing to do, given the prevalence of the mighty sugar beet in that county. 'If you can't beat them, beet them' could become a new local adage. Perhaps everyone should bring a handful of sugar beet to the game on Sunday !
On the Ball City !
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If Post 78 is a genuine belief...... then that is very sad. Thank god there are still real football fans walking the streets or else we would end up like the Spanish League and have Man U and Liverpool reserves playing in the Championship.
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I totally agree with the point of supporting the team from your place of birth. I also agree with the idea of following your dad and supporting a team that your family has traditionally done. I myself live in Norwich but am a Sheffield United fan , moved here when i was 4. I also had not choice but to support sufc, it was that or change my name and move to another country. As soon as i was old enough to drive i bought a season ticket and make the 2 n half hour journey every weekend to bramall lane and i love it. The thought of supporting any other club is out of the question. I also travel to the majority of away games.
One thing i have learnt about living in Noriwch is that they probably have one of the best sets of fans in the country, and i would never question their loyalty regardless of whatever league they were in. Not many teams fill their ground week in week out.
All the best to the Norwich fans as you derserve to stay up and i will have alot of moody friends if not. Although i believe relegation would not be a major disaster, maybe even what you need clear out all dead wood and start again. As it could be the same old next year if not.
:) UP THE BLADES ( i really hope we get promoted on sunday, i cant take the playoff's)
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On another note, I am going to watch the mighty Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday as they try to win automatic promotion to the league that my dear Norwich City may find themselves playing in next season. I was born in Norwich, but have been living in South Bucks, close to High Wycombe, for much of the last 37 years. Although I continue to trail all over the country watching Norwich City lose with a stoicism that borders on masochism, I have always kept a close eye on the fortunes of my local side and have occasionally turned out to watch them.
Obviously, being fairly close to London (and for a short time living within spitting distance of the Spurs ground), I could have chosen to follow Spurs or Arsenal or (God forbid!) Chelsea, but like most true football fans, my allegiance lies with the Club most local to the place or places I call home.
I went with a friend to Wembley the other week to watch Arsenal and Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final and was frankly appalled by the lack of real passion in the support. Yes, there were a lot of them there - but the songs and chants were so poor. Ooh to be a...ooh to be a gooner - is that really the best they can do ?
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I'll be there too mate. There'll be a few sneaky Norwich fans in the Bugle before the game if you fancy a nerve-settling pint!
OTBC!
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As a Southampton fan I can only sympathise with you.
I don't really care whether Barnsley or Norwich come down with us. I think though Norwich will come down.
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Well its win, win for us..we can't lose..if you get relegated then we will be dancing, drinking and cavorting on Sunday in the Portman Rd sunshine...but if Barnsley do fluff it up and hand you a miracle then we look forward to steam rollering you twice next season on our way to the title...its fun really 'cos it doesn't seem that long ago that you were all sing' top of the league at Portman Rd'..what a difference 5 years make...Maybe that just reward for you all cheering for Barnsley in 2000, ironic don't you think?? Karma, Karma..
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Norwich, great club, great fans, fine city..........Ipswich, good club, mixed fans, awful grot hole of a town. will miss the derby if city go down. Fans deserve better http://soccer-stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/D1/attend.html
anyone whos the age of 25ish and under and support manchester united with no real link to the club are filthy glory hunters, sad, very sad.
p.s jake....good lad
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As a Newcastle United fan. Always have been, i was born their. I can undertand the trials and tribulations of a relegation battle and whilst Norwich seem to have a decent chance of staying up giving the last day fixtures, i believe we are destined for Peterboro and the sort. And i'll look forward to Peterboro away almost (not quite) as much as i looked forward to Man Utd away et al. As soon as the season ticket renewal package comes through my letterbox i'll be sorted for next season. Why? Because no matter what (unless they go bust) your team is always there, through thick and thin, so as a true supporter you have to be their for your team. Good luck against Charlton and hopeful on the Plymouth front, Jake. We need a tad more than luck but nevermind, hopefully, for your sake anyway, we'll be seeing you at Carrow Road next season.
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Good article Jake. Agree with you in principle. I'm an Ipswich fan though, so I hope you get thrashed on Sunday and go down. Blue Army!
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Guys - if you want to read about all sorts of football, read www.goal.com - it covers many different aspects of football.
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I have supported Norwich since I first got into football living in Hong Kong at age 8. I have supported them now for 30 years. Never swayed. Never wavered. My sister moved to Norwich then and for me, that was that.
Since then, I've never been to Norwich. Never watched them play at Carrow Road but it is something I will do soon...and hopefully in the Championship or better!
The question of loyalty should really never be questioned. You don't need to live there. You don't need to be from there. You don't need a reason to justify why you support a club. The only thing you need to do, imho, is be loyal and never waver. No matter how bad things get. Once you pick a team, you NEVER stop. Its in your blood -- its part of your family.
City till I die.
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As a lifelong fan of Norwich City, I can honestly say that I think it is great that Jake Humphrey has written this blog...for me and many others, the country should be proud of clubs like Norwich, where they fill the stadium more than any other club in the country week after week, despite some of the abject displays this year.
Teams come and go, just as success and defeat do. What lasts are the memories of seeing Jerry Goss score 'that' volley against Bayern Munich (we beat them in the Olympic Stadium before any 'big' teams did), Leon McKenzie making the Man Utd defence look like mugs and whipping out his 6-pack in 2005, and all of the other brilliant moments. Jake was right - the contrast of tears and joy makes it more special, not less.
I have no problem with fans of Man Utd, Chelsea or Liverpool, or Ipswich for that matter. It makes me sad that a worrying number of people would prefer to celebrate the size of your club's cheque book or your postcode, rather than an HONEST, DECENT, PASSIONATE club like Norwich.
Relegation or not, we'll still pack out the stadium next year.
OTBC
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Great post! I'm a fellow Norwich fan and I'm pretty pessimistic about or chances of escaping relegation on Sunday.
Couldn't agree with you more about the loan players. They come and go, collect their wages, yet have no strong connection with the club or its fans. Some of our own players with a passion for the club, like Huckerby, are an absolute must, wherever we are playing next season.
Let's hope it goes our way on Sunday (sorry Barnsley fan)! Really looking forward to the Spanish GP next weekend!
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Great blog Jake.
As a Wolves fan, I think, out of all the teams who are fighting off relegation from the Championship this season, Norwich deserve to survive more than the others. I remember when you walloped us 5-2 at Carrow Road, we played poorly, but you were up in our faces and never giving us a moments rest.
As for the 3-3 draw at Molineux, you showed such spirit to never give up. We battered you for most of the second half, but you guys were resilient and determined, and came away with a great Molineux point.
Best of wishes for this Sunday, it'll be a nervy day at every Championship stadium apart from Molineux. Both us and Doncaster have nothing to play for.
Good luck!
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Jake top man spot on. Can I just make one teeny weeny observation which I have found VERY useful - it's always nice to help fans of the "big" four understand things more clearly by explaining to them the difference between us (supporters) and them (fans).
The point is that you can be a - shall we say - Britney Spears fan, but you can't be a Britney Spears supporter. Being a fan just mean that you like something, for whatever reason. The person or team you're a fan of doesn't NEED you, you just identify with them - it's a wistful kind of wish-fulfilment.
Being a supporter is totally different. It's real. It matters. It's about identity. It isn't a matter of choice. It is deep. And ultimately, for the reasons you've expressed, it's fulfilling.
Which would we rather be? Supporters or fans? I think we all know the answer to that...
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Have already posted twice, but wanted to again just to ask a question to other fellow City fans, and Ipswich for that....
It is just me or are a vast number of Ipswich fans more obsessed with Norwich losing than Ipswich winning???
I live in Suffolk and know a lot of Ipswich fans and they genuinely seem more happier in the fact that Norwich are suffering than when they themselves are doing well.
I for one couldn't care less what Ipswich do or don't do - I will always focus my passion on supporting my club, and not wasting my energy on those down the Road.
If Norwich win, that's all I need.
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Great blog Jake. I was born in Norwich in 71, and gradually moved further out until school (Essex) and university (Bristol) and the army took well and truly out of area.
There should be no question of who you support, and if they do go down, then they need us to get them back up! Sadly the signs aren't good. I was in Basra watching the Fulham game in 05, and I am about to go to the other hot place shortly - lets hope there is no link between survival and my operational location and we survive the drop.
Incidentally, do you know Sean Fletcher, fellow presenter? We were at the same school. I dont think he supports Norwich though...
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Ipswich fan.
With regards to Bunny107, I believe recently it's a case of we've had little to play for; Ipswich have been stuck in mid-table mediocracy for most of the past few seasons, going nowhere fast. I'm nigh certain that we never managed to string more than 2 wins on the trot together under Jim. We've had little to cheer about, so we look up the road and take some comfort from the fact we're doing better than our local rivals.
Like a fair few of my fellow Tractor Boys, I have mixed feelings about your situation at the moment. Yes, I'm inclined to look, point and laugh at your potential relegation, but if you did go down then it means no more East Anglian Derby. At the end of the day, a rivalry tends to come from two clubs competing with each other, being fairly close together in the league as well as geographically. Unless you can halt the slide, the recent 3-2 win could possibly be the last (excepting a lucky draw in the cup), and that would be a huge shame.
I guess as an Ipswich fan that I do want Norwich go down, but I hope you bounce back soon as well. Hopefully, you'll follow us into the Premiership, and we can have an East Anglian Derby in the top flight once more.
Up the Town!
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Jake - I hope Norwich stay up, not least because 2 good friends of mine at college were Norwich fans. The last time I was at Carrow Road (I'm a Forest supporter) was a lifetime ago, back in the early 80s; maybe in fact it was 1980. A 3-3 draw (I think Trevor Francis scored 2 of our goals) and a great day out. You have great home support, a very smart stadium and even if you do go down to League One I'm sure you will be back in the CCC in very short order. Good luck for Sunday!
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i am a man u fan but i come from norwich. i want them to stay up, but im not sure they will. there is so much change at the club all the time, and all norwich have needed this season is a reliable goalie, defender, someone who can score goals and a bit of flair. huckerby fits the last 2 roles. that was the biggest mistake of roeder to let him go when he was the best and most committed player. norwich still get crowds of 25000 at the bottom of the championship, so they are a profitable club and if they could get an investor they may be able to get some players permanently. if norwich stay up and can get some money, next season i would sell players like marshall and croft, we could probably get about 3 mil for them and buy a cheap, experienced keeper who doesnt make as many mistakes. foz and patti look like they are gone, maybe for 1-2 mil.
this would be my ideal squad:
not sure about the goalkeeper, a good, experienced one if they could get one und 500,000. rudd as second choice.
shackell, docherty, otsemobor, a lb because bertrand will go back to chelski, liajer, drury, stefanovic
clingan, russell, carney, gow, hoolahan, a couple of good centre mids
lee, macdonald, mooney, cort
a few young players could come through such as renton and daley. i would do anything to get hucks back, and 1 or 2 more midfielders are needed, especially if clingan goes because he is a prem player.
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Surely Peterborough United are nearer Jake's home town than Norwich are.
BY all means support whichever team you like, but don't have a go when you don't support the team from your hometown.
Pot. Kettle.
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Roonaldos, this isn't Championship Manager (or League One Manager). Where is this money coming from. £3m for Croft and Marshall???? It's MAY 1st not April 1st
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It's important to support your local team, whatever they put you through. My team, Altrincham,finished in the relegation zone in 3 succesive seasons only to have a reprieve each time due to other clubs going into administration. This season we finished in a solid 15th place!
Good blog, but sorry I hope Norwich are relegated. (My mums side of the family are from Barnsley...)
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great blog, I hope norwich stay up as I highly respect the clubs amazing fans. If every side in the country had a full house every game it would be amazing and would certainly motivate the teams involved. Im a bristol city season ticket holder and have recentley renewed my seat for next season and would just love it if we could get a rockin full house every week at ashton gate. This season has seen our highest average attendence for a long time (about 16800). But unfortunatley the fickle fans who only bought season tickets because of the chance to go up via the playoff last season will not renew but will jump straight back onto the bandwagon next season when we gain promotion. I would rather be in the conference with 21500 other robins week in week out than the championship getting 5,000 a week tbh and i hope robins everywhere will renew or buy new tickets so we can once again fight for promotion.
come on u city!!!
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Hi Jake,
Excellent blog as per usual. Ever since ~10 years ago I've been kind of following your progress: I saw you once in a pub in Norwich -- I was doing my A-Levels at the time (the Garden House btw :) and thought to myself, oooh that's that famous bloke from children's telly!
Now living and working in south-west london and can honestly say I've never thought about supporting a different team?! Most of all I'm just one of the proud supporters amongst all the other NC fans worldwide. Also, I'm with you on this one. I grew up in Norwich supporting this well loved club and would much prefer to be sitting in the mid/top of the table at this stage of the season... However, if we do go down -- let's face it: it'll be okay.. it will be! The supporters are all in this together and we will be back where we want to be soon enough. In many ways, being relegated could drive out some negative features of this fantastic club, e.g., a billion loan players + parts of the board constantly worrying that the team will not perform brilliantly *instantly*. I'd be more than happy to be in the so-called doldrums for a few years if we were to know that the income to our well supported club was to be invested soundly -- giving managers (with potential) the time to build; ensuring a more fruitful future?! Oh I dunno, maybe this is just the time of season that footy fans worrying about relegation become silly and sentimental... I went to my first city game in 1990 against Exeter, which we won; fantastic winning goal by the way! Watched Oldham v City on a school trip ... Robins scoring a hatrick!!!!, etc., etc.
Am going to be sweating it on Sunday with those results coming in.. comon boys.
ON THE BALL CITY!!
ps. Good work + am envious of your new F1 position: thoroughly deserved! Good stuff :)
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Im a Partick Thistle fan living in the west end of Glasgow, and I couldn't agree more about this blog. As a Thistle fan I know my way around the lower leagues of Scottish Football pretty well, but I can go anywhere in Scotland and meet folk in any random town who 'support' the old firm. Its sad! How many people in Montrose, Elgin, Stranraer, Stenhousmuir, Dingwall, etc etc actually support their home team? Not enough! Fair play to those decent people who do support their local club.
Another thing is, whenever I'm watching football at the pub, I get told by loads of mates mates that as a Thistle fan I dont really know anything about football, and my opinions don't matter! What a joke- I'm only 21 but I've been going to games since I was 4 and have so far been to way over 200 live games! Fools.
If any English person is ever in Glasgow and wants to ENJOY a game of football- come to Firhill. Cant beat it.
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Keep supporting your local team all the way to the conference. I'm hoping for relegation this weekend, followed by administration, points deduction and many years in division 3,4 and the conference.
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Jake
Having moved to New Zealand 18 months ago i still follow my beloved Canaries with interest,win lose or draw (unfortunately too much losing).
I believe that loan players do not have the same desire, motivation and commitment in wearing the shirt of whatever team they are on loan at.
I was on the terraces at Craven Cottage when we capitulated with no passion and desire that day.......... that hurt!!
I belive we will stay up, with luck, and help from Plymouth.
On the ball city!!
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Great post. I agree with you 100% about not picking your team for the glory like all those Man U fans, even if as a Town Fan I will be hoping City go down.
(After all somebody has to go down.)
But I respect you for continuing to support a team who have played sooo badly week in week out. We've had the same problem this season at home, but fortunately not away which is what saved us from your fate.
Now Town have Keano and transformed prospects, it is interesting to note that Town and City's fate reflect the "all is money" state of football. Town have been transformed by external money from a man who has no connection with the Town, the Club or its supporters and for whom the club is an investment. He is a very clever man and we're really grateful don't get me wrong. But no right thinking football fan can be entirely sanguine about the demise of clubs with their roots in the local community. When I first supported Town we were owned by the Cobbolds a local brewing family and now it is Marcus Evans a international conference organiser who lives near Plymouth (when he is in the country).
Still I'm hoping that we don't play another derby for a few years to come and I hope you draw today but still go down so your last defeat in the Championship will have been at Portman Road.
Roy Keane says bounce on to promotion.
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Well said Jake.
I was born and raised in Norfolk, and will bore anyone who asks something stupid about my love for the county, the NW Norfolk coast and my home village, where my family and friends still live and where I will, ultimately,return myself.
Life and work sees me living on the south coast at the moment, Portsmouth are but a short stop away and it would be easy to follow them, be a (relative) glory hunter and bask in Premiership football and FA Cup success last year. Well actually-it WOULDN'T be easy, not only wouldn't I do it, I couldn't do it. Respect to Portsmouth, but support you, even though I live here, no way. You're not my team, my town, my "patch". Forget it. And I'm sure their regular and, lets face it, brilliant fans, wouldn't want people like me turning up there every week either.
For many of us, your local team, the place where you were born, your roots, creep through you and make their indelible mark forever. I am Norfolk, will always be Norfolk, and certainly always be Norwich, no matter what tomorrow or the future brings. I have no problem with people supporting the "big four" -whatever their reasons and residence-and I am sure they will argue their point and say that it brings them lots of pleasure, well, good luck and well done to you ladies and gentlemen, I don't doubt that, but I am not interested in your teams anyway, just as you are not in mine, so lets leave it that way.
I, together with thousands of other Norwich fans enjoy our feeling of "belonging" to something, even though the club is going through a wretched spell at the moment, no purpose, no plan, no leadership, no money and little or no hope unless there are massive, seismic changes from ownership and Boardroom level downwards, But how many other fans and how many other clubs wish that as well? So there is little chance of that happening-so we support our clubs for reasons beyond waiting for the improvement and the success that might come, we support them because they are OUR clubs. And we love it!
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I was taken to Carrow Road as a nipper and that was that. I am proud that I will follow my team until myself or the team dies, which ever comes first.
If we go down this year then I will not stop following the Canaries.
I live in the South West so it may mean a trip to the Memorial Stadium rather than the City Ground. Also possibly St James Park rather than Home Park.
I used to regularly go and watch Arsenal when i lived near London, but I was always just an observer, a neutral. I have never felt swayed by supporting another team. never have, never will.
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Good article Jake,
I have no affiliation with either Norwich or Barnsley, so lets just say the team that stays up after tomorrow is the one that deserves it. Good luck to both.
Just a point on glory hunters. I am a Derby fan, born in London, but support the Rams as my Dad was born in Derby. As you go through life I think you adopt affiliations to teams depending on your location at the time, i.e. I was at university in Crewe, so I look out for the Alex results (good luck today), I spent many years in Hampshire so look out for Pompey and now live in Spain, so am a season ticket holder at Real Zaragoza. None of these affiliations will detract from my passion for Derby County but by looking out for these teams allow for a wider football experience when I cannot get to Pride Park. Therefore I dont see a problem with supporting one of the big four, as long as your first love, through birth or family connection, remains constant.
As a Derby fan I would love to be accused of glory hunting!!!
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Jake, I am a Norwich Season ticket holder, but also fit the category, in some people's minds as a "glory hunter", as my first love, despite being Norfolk born and bred, is Everton.
Now my answer to the tag "glory hunter" is that there has been precious little glory in supporting Everton for the last 31 years (I am now 38) aside from one 3 year golden spell, but I do feel very proud to be from Norfolk and also follow Norwich because they are my local team. It's like supporting England really, I have to support Norwich because they represent me and my locality.
It is a shame though that your comments were not read more closely by the numpty on comment 6 (leeder33). It appears that he thinks Ipswich will be playing in the Premiership next season. I didn't know you could go up for coming 9th !
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Great article. I am a Lincoln fan so no where your coming from (we lost in the playoffs 5 years in a row a few years back). Now living in Norwich and so feel the pain of the supporters!!
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I must admit that I am a little embarrassed by the comments of other Ipswich fans. For me it has been until the events of the last fortnight the only highlight that Norwich have struggled so much. However, when it comes to the crunch, I do not want Norwich to go down. I dream of a day when Ipswich and Norwich can again play derbies in the Premier League. Along with other "proper" clubs like Derby, Forest, Leeds and the Sheffield clubs (Wigan/Fulham/Hull don't belong there).
I live on the Norfolk/Suffolk border and absolutely love going to the pub and having banter with Norwich fans, and after a good result, walking in with my head held high. The problem is, this pub is also populated by Man U and Liverpool fans, and they can't help but patronise Ipswich and Norwich fans as if we are somehow jealous of us. I can tell them honestly that my level of happiness when Ipswich won the play-offs is ten times that felt by them when Liverpool of Man U won the champions league, because I have something invested in my support (not just a SKy and Setanta subscription).
Good luck Norwich, I will be sad if you go down. You are a real club with real fans and deserve better.
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Brilliant blog Jake. Have really enjoyed reading your Formula 1 stuff and now this is great too.
I totally agree with the home town club thing. I have followed Huddersfield Town since the 94-95 season, aged 8, and in that time have "enjoyed" two relegations, two promotions (both via the play-offs)and two play-off defeats. I never ever chose to support them - it just happened because they were my hometown team, there was no option.
In that same time Manchester United have never finished below third place. I cannot believe that it would be more enjoyable to support them. Tottenham for example have finished mid-table every single season that I can remember. Where's the fun in that?
To make Norwich fans feel a bit better, my favourite season following Town was getting promoted from what was then Division 3 in 03/04. If we hadn't been relegated the previous season we would never have experienced that.
An even bigger gripe than people not supporting their hometown club (although it does provide some amusement listening to Man Utd, Liverpool & Arsenal fans explaining their very tenuous link to their club) is when people claim to have two clubs, usually a Premier League team and a lower league team. How is it possible to have two clubs? What if they played each other?
Another annoyance, as I've seen others mention here, is Premier League fans who feel lower league supporters have no right to comment on the Premier League. We all watch Match of the Day and can comment without bias and with the added benefit of actually going to a game of football more than once a season when our mate's cousin's dad isn't using his season ticket.
Good luck to Norwich tomorrow, because I'd love to see Barnsley go down.
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trator_booy
Whilst I thank you for placing my club in the category of proper football clubs, I cannot agree that we deserve our place in the top league more so than say Hull. The beauty of league football is that clubs in turn take their place at the top table and none are more deserving than others. It is more a reflection of how those clubs are managed and run. Yes, Wigan and Hull maybe punching above their historical weight, whilst Norwich and Southampton are falling short, but why not?. Every dog has it´s day and one day it will be Derby and Ipswich again!
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Good yarn Jake. I've lived in Norwich for 18 years, but i'm from Leicester, and am the biggest Foxes fan this side of Peterboro. Never wanting to inflict pain on anyone for amusment, anyone who has any interest in Norwich Citys plight, must agree that rarely has there been a club more deserving at going down. The belief in the city, and at Carrow come 3pm most saturdays is that Norwich are 'too good', that they are a 'Premier leauge side' and even the players are held in such regard that never a foot can be put wrong. Theres alot to say about the 'family club', but one thing that never seems to be mentioned is that, like your family or mine, we stand by them no matter. As perhaps with the Toon Army, the unwilting support for the team on the pitch hampers the sight to the extent when the fundimental flaws just arent seen. Roeder may have been unpopular with the fans, but its not the fans role to take sides with the players, and undermine the manager. The has been no disapline at the club since Mike Walker. The players strole around the city as if they are giveing the key to the city from the moment they sign. Bryan Gunns appointment may of had the fans cooing at the future upturn in fortunes, but all non city fans in Norwich could see it was just a case of the club falling back into its idea that all can always be sorted from within. Never since the day at Fulham back in 2005 has anyone in Norwich ever accepted that maybe, there are just not good enough in the present role as the 'family club'.,,that maybe standing, blindly, beside the ones you love leaves them never thinking they need to, or even want to improve. Stats will alway speak for themselves. Top goalscorer at the club going into the biggest game in their history (and it is..forget about those nights in europe) made up of a collection of own goals!!? Leicester went down this time last year with the best defensive record in the championship... we knew we regroup, get behind the manager and win league 1. Sadly, we all know, appart maybe from 25,000 sick canaries, that once sunday evening comes, the giddy heights of the Premier league, and even the Championship will never be seen again
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Re: post 121 trator_booy
I have to disagree about any one clubs right to be in a particular league. I'm a very disgruntled Norwich City fan at the moment, and having supported them for over twenty years remember the great days of the late eighties/early nineties. However, I would never suggest that Norwich, Ipswich, Derby, Forest, or anyone with a history of top flight football should therefore have any right to be above a team such as Hull or Wigan. These teams have earned the right to be there whereas we have not! If we do go down tomorrow, it may take years for us to come back to The Championship, but I will still support my team.
Excellent post by the way Jake! Most of my mates are Liverpool and Manchester United fans, despite all growing up in the Norwich area. It really sickens me to here them sitting in the pub, taking the mick out of my team when they have no real idea of what it really feels like to be a football supporter. I am a supporter of my team, not just an armchair fan!
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I think it's very easy for football fans who do support their 'local teams' to point and sneer at those that don't, as if it makes them superior in some way. "Yeah, I'm a real fan me..."
Some people are born to parents who have lived in a particular area all their lives, whose parents lived there before they did. I think those people are very lucky to be honest. Personally I'd love to have that feeling of truly belonging to one place, one city, one town.
I have a friend who was born in Newcastle to Geordie parents. He's lived his whole life in Newcastle. He supports Sheffield Wednesday. Why? Because his Wednesday supporting uncle took him to a few games and he loved it. He felt a connection that he never felt with Newcastle United, in spite of them being his 'local team'. Is there anything wrong with that, really?
And yet I bet if I replaced the words 'Sheffield' and 'Wednesday' with 'Manchester' and 'United' you'd be rolling your eyes.
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Hi Jake,
Great blog. Good luck to you this weekend. I grew up in Blackburn and saw my first game in '65, when we were a fixture in the big League (Div 1). If it's any comfort, we had a precipitous decline to end up in old Div 3 within a few years, but that demise only increased my passion for the club & made me appreciate our revival all the more over the next two decades. Keep the faith....I have a soft spot for Norwich since some of my family moved there, often visit that lovely city.
The way the League has evolved, I find myself having a favourite out of the big 4, Liverpool, (I once lived there), because I like to keep an interest in the top of the table, which we sadly are not likely to inhabit too often.
However, when Rovers played Lpool 3 weeks ago, and indeed whenever we play them, it's only blue & white for me. I doubt your remote 'big 4' fan of today will ever know the football joy that was last weekend for me...when all the 'relegation race' results went our way. Our equivalent of winning the Champs League Final. Been walking on air since. Not out of the woods, but can see the clearing!
Best wishes, and no offence to Barnsley who thrilled us all so much in the Cup last year.
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Good Blog Jake, not nice going down to league one but hope you can stay up. NFFC
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
I'll be going to The Valley tomorrow. Can't say I'm looking forward to it. I was there when we were sunk at Fulham on that fateful day and couldn't believe it when we lost against Birmingham after Iwan Roberts' goal looked like securing it. I truly hope it will be different tomorrow but it's all against us now and out of our hands. I just pray the players are up for it and luck's on our side. Come on City.
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Great blog and great to see someone talking about The Mighty(?) Yellows! I'm a born and bred Norwich boy and no matter where my life has taken me my club has always been a major part of my life. My Dad now posts copies of the Pink Un to Oz and I generally have to be up until all hours to listen in to the often depressing commentary coming through the speakers. I cant imagine it any other way!!
I have friends who support Liverpool and Man Utd and yet I've been to Anfield and Old Trafford more often than they have! Sadly the commute from Brisbane is quite tough and so I don't make it to every game (though I do try and schedule my trips to make sure I'm home for as many games as possible).
I'm about to become a father and already have the NCFC baby clothes though I fear I may have to accept that my child may not have the same yellow and green blood that I have. I will at least be trying to make sure that he or she grows up to be a Queensland Roar fan rather than a 'supporter' of one of the big four.
On my travels around the world I have discovered something about the football supporter. If you see a shirt on someone in some far flung country and it's Villa, Southend or any other so-called 'smaller' clubs you'll often strike up a conversation as you know they're a football fan. If you see someone in a Liverpool, United, Arsenal or Chelsea shirt, they could be from anywhere and it's usually just fashion.
Good Luck tomorrow boys, there'll be prayers for you coming from OZ. And to all the Ipswich fans who keep making brainless comments, you'll miss us if we go down because you won't get to see your grotty 'stadium' full next year!! OTBC!!
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Wish all the Boro fans I know thought like this!
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Formula 1 and Footbll together-I love it! best 2 sports in the world.
anyway, as you can probably tell, im an ipswich fan (hence my username), and find myself in a difficult position with the norwich relegation battle situation. half of me will want to have a laugh if norwich go down, half of me will be very saddened. our east anglian derby is usually the pride of both our seasons, its the one we both want to win.
if you do go down, i hope you bounce back and can play us again in a few years, because that will be lovely.
Jake my sympathies go with you as I know all too well relegation is a horrible feeling. and also, good for you for being a proper fan! fed up of all these armchair fans gloryhunting, I support a proper club! Norwich is also a proper club! we should be in the prem, fighting for places in europe! :D
Nice blog jake again.
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As an Ipswich fan there's no compassion from me for the Budgies and their relegation battle. However, I do agree that supporting your boyhood club, although a labour of love, is the right and genuine cause.
I've lived in New York City for 15 years, and the chuckles I get from ex-pats when I tell them I'm a Town fan, as well as the confused look from Americans when I don't say Man Utd is annoying.
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I completely agree with your comments Jake
Supporting you hometown team gives you a feeling you cannot describe...something you don't get from following Man Utd or Arsenal just because "you think they're good". its because the team is in your blood, and it feels better then anything when they succeed.
It also hurts you when they fail, and believe me, being a Derby fan, me and my mates have seen a lot of that. The pain we endured in the Premier League season of 07-08 was dire, and hurt us all. But we never stopped supporting them because that would be like keeling over and dying; just giving up. This was something we weren't willing to do, and so we sold out tickets week after week and thousands flock to away days. Blackburn sticks out; losing 3-1 away whilst our fans danced and sang all match in fancy dress. We had almost half the numbers of the home crowd!
Out of the last 6 seasons, 4 have involved relegation battles. But this is what made the promotion of 07 all the more sweeter. When you aren't used to success, you appreciate the better times so much more, and thats why I could never even think of following a top team unless i come from there. Its not the same and you take everything for granted. You support them because its easy to and puts little stress on you because you always know they'll do well. Of course, I don't mind people living in the shadow of Stamford Bridge or Anfield from supporting Chelsea and Liverpool, but when my mate turns round and says "I'm from Gloucester and support Man Utd because they're good" i can't help but ask "WHY!" Forest Green is the local team so they should be the ONLY option.
I pity Norwich as they have good fans and they don't deserve to be in this miss. I wish them a speedy return to the Championship.
In the mean time....UP THE RAMS!
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Spot on with supporting your local club, Jake, but I would have to disagree about whether it should be where you grew up. You are young enough not to have lived in many places or a long time in another place. If you have moved around in your youth and settled somewhere else when married and have kids, then supporting your local club means taking your kids to watch the local club where you live now.
To me supporting a club is going to watch them live, not watching them on telly. If you no longer live close enough to the team of your youth to make that practical then support the team where you live now. Anything rather than remotely follow (not support) one of the Premier League mercenaries.
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well done jake.
i was there with leicester. it is the worst feeling.
All I can say is...
KEEP THE FAITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I so totally agree with your comments Jake. I spent the first 23 years of my life in Norfolk as a diehard Norwich City Suuporter.
I then moved to Wycombe and have settled there BUT my heart still lies with Norfolk and Norwich City! I have been at the Wycombe Wanderers match (my husbands side) today who were promoted. If the worst comes to the worst Norwich will be playing them next season and I have told my husband that in no circumstances will I be sitting in the Wycombe stands!
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Sorry to barge in the Norwich love-in. But I definitely want to Norwich to get relegated as I support Barnsley. Rest assured that if anyone can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory it is Barnsley, there is still hope for you!
I definitely hear what your saying regarding glory supporting fans however I have plenty of Man Utd and Chelsea "supporting" mates that like to mock Barnsleys current predicament. Why the think they are qualified to pass comment on a team they've never seen play is beyond me. Grrr!
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It's great to see someone remaining loyal to their club through thick and thin. Not many Arsenal fans will understand this blog entry since they have never been relegated. Man Utd fans have nothing else to wish for! Losing to another of the 'big four' is their equivalent of relegation. They never get to experience the real passion and heartache of football. True English football is being played out every week in all three divisions of the Football League.
I do hope Norwich avoid the drop, but then again it would be good to have you come and play at Cuckoo Farm (Colchester) next season.
http://firstcuckoo.wordpress.com
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probably the worse thread in the history of the short life of BBC sport on the internet.
just amazing.
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rhinoswellies, marshall is a 1 mil keeper, croft would go for about 1 mil as well so maybe i was being optimistic. i think all the transfers i mentioned are possible if they can scrap together a bit of money, but we wont be getting hucks i know
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Great post!
It's always been newcastle, it's where everything i'm about is. Visiting back there is like coming home. I was born Newcastle and i'l die Newcastle and although this seasons going to hurt :( with al at the helm i can take it. The phrase glory supporter is such a huge oxymoron, which just underlines how wrong everything about it is. Also good luck to Norwhich for tommorow!
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Great post as a Manchester City fan its also hard to read. We had our honour pride and local roots. Now apparently we can buy anyone and no longer live in the shadow of our mega rich worldwide supported neighbours.
However I am not sure that me love for skint disaster ridden City will stretch to us being an other get rich quick club. I would give it all up for a fixed local academy draft, wage cap, and squad size limit. How about one substitute per game and see how many top strikers stay as one of 6 at old Trafford.
18 years ago I had me stag night over a weekend away game at Norwich, the division...dont remember....the score....think it was a draw.....the day, the laugh, the company unforgettable.
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#92. scousecanary wrote: Ipswich, good club, mixed fans, awful grot hole of a town. Err??? I lived in Ipswich for 13 years. The occasional visits I made to Liverpool made me very pleased when I got back home to beautiful civilized Ipswich.
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Great blog Jake, you say how I feel exactly as a fellow city fan in exile. I too didn,t 'choose' Norwich, I was born there and therefore there can be only one team, the team I followed home and away in the seventies, with the best fans in the world.
On the Ball City!
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This is what football should all be about. Supporting your local side (no matter how bad they are), going week in week out and experiencing the highs and lows.
Sadly though, nowadays it is assumed that you must follow a big club (because most people do) and when I tell someone that I support my local club they seem bemused that I don't support a big club as well.
Supporting a small club is great, not as many people know how s*** my team is, but I do miss the banter sometimes.
I think if more people supported their local team the gap between the big four and everyone else wouldn't be so vast.
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While I kind of understand the anti-everybody Man U fan thing. I am from Shoreham in Kent, with no club unless you count the Sunday one I play in. The closest Saturday club is Sevenoaks but they are amateur and only play other Kent teams. The closest league club is Charlton in London, but I've never been to Charlton, so it wouldn't seem right to support them. Kent only has one league team In Gillingham but I've never been there and its further away than London. I don't consider myself a Londoner but my mum's is from Tottenham in north London, but I've never lived there. My Dad is from Middlesborough but i've never been there either. Is it wrong to not support Sevenoaks, and support Tottenham instead although I born & grew up in Kent?
Would you support a team playing in the Kent League, six divisions below League Two?
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Supporting your hometown club, or your family's favorite, is no different from praying to a god because that's what your parents and community expect. Plain old tribalism glorified.
Glory hunting is pathetic. The opposite is not necessarily great.
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Great blog again Jake!!
Dagenham fan here and was at our play-off battle today :(. Agree on the anti glory-hunting, although I feel there are other ways to get into a team than just local. If I were to support my local team, it would be Tranmere (and I still always see how they're getting on!) but my dad and his whole side of my family grew up in Dagenham and they were the first team my dad took me to see. Since I have got into it more and more as each season goes by, and as a family we regularly travel the 140 mile round trip to see them.
I too see glory-hunting as pathetic, the number of Man Utd fans I saw down the pub for Wednesday's Champions League game that probably heard of the team before the place. So even though I don't support one of 'the big four' I wanted Arsenal to win, I see this as acceptable.
I wish the canaries good luck tomorrow (or today!!), it seems weird to me that teams in the top flight could be two leagues down, Norwich, Soton, Charlton. I'd like to see Sheff Utd back in their rightful place in the prem after the Tevez saga.
Good luck with the F1, am enjoying it so far, if the Barcelona track produces as good as FC Barcelona we're in for a cracker!!
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Nice blog Jake.
I'm a Norwich fan now living in South West London.
Originally from Norfolk, I supported Liverpool for all the wrong reasons. They were the great 'won almost everything' team of the 70's and an easy team to support and brag about in the playground. Then, at the age of 12 I went with a couple of school mates (and one of their Mums!) to a mid-week game at Carrow Road (v Arsenal - my first big live game) and was immediately in love with the team and supporters and I've been hooked ever since (29 years now).
I'm not a believer in jumping ship with teams but felt vindicated as it was for the right reasons. I'd never seen Liverpool beyond TV and Norwich were my local team and I could see them every home game. It all made sense and I felt like I belonged. I fondly remember the huge level of support travelling to Sheffiled Wednesday to see us lose but get promoted in the early 80's. Indeed our away support has matched some of the biggest clubs at times.
We've only got ourselves to blame if we go down today. We've had a few chances to get out of it all and blown it. The club has got itself into real state financially and we've got to sort that out before we can build for the future. On the bright side, we've got some great youth players coming through and should get some of them playing first team football as soon as we can.
Good luck today City, but I'm not expecting much. I've become used to us capitulating when it matters most. So here's to winning a shedload of games in league 1 (Div 3)!
OTBC
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Good luck today Norwich from a very relieved Forest fan. Hope you can do it! Nice article Jake ... just about sums it up for most football fans.
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What a great article from Jake. Like so many Norwich supporters I travel over 200 miles to see their home games and am a season ticketholder. Win or lose today, I am still proud to be a supporter and will continue to go to see them play. I am as nervous as the team at the moment and cannot concentrate on anything at the moment. I have been a supporter for over 55 years and saw them at Wembley beating Sunderland in the old Milk cup many years ago. I also have another cross to bear today - my son is a season ticket holder at Ipswich so you can imagine what stick I go through but I always send my grandchildren home to him in some Norwich gear which I buy regularly for them much to his disgust!! I hope the Board will take our comments seriously about loan players and we can next season which ever league we are in, unite as the great family Norwich deserve. Good luck boys for today, we are all behind you and proud to be called supporters.
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come on charlton send the scum down!!!
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Enjoyed the post, but not the digs about 'big 4 glory hunters'. Like so many other posters here, I have my own reasons for supporting a top 4 team that have nothing to do with glory hunting.
In my case, my father's job meant we relocated every three years, so there is nowhere that I have an attachment to other than London where I lived for so long as an adult. By then I was already a Man Utd fan. When I started supporting Utd we had just been promoted to the first division (as it was then) - how could I have known of the 'glory' that was to come? My Dad supports United, as had my grandfather - really I had no choice. I even tried supporting my 'local' club - Millwall - when I lived in London, but they could not replace Utd in my heart.
In some way - that perhaps you will understand - I envy you supporting a club with real ups and downs. It's true that nothing in my life will ever equal the joy I felt in the Nou Camp the night of the treble in May 1991, but I would swap some of the constant derision and need to 'justify' my support of Utd for some of the tears that supporters of smaller clubs suffer.
Anyway, good luck to Norwich today.
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As an Ipswich fan, I hope the Canaries stay up. I don't know why I feel this, but they shouldn't be in the third level. And I totally respect Jake's commitment; real football needs real fans who like that.
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I follow many clubs (ie look out for their results, generally places I've lived - Shef utd and the toon) but support the one of my hometown, Doncaster. This was at a time when they were relegated from the football league, (losing a record breaking 34 games in the process), and the chairman tried to burn the ground down. Needless to say I was one of the two who supported them at my school. It makes the Championship seem all the sweeter.
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Glory hunting is not for me either. I agree with your comments but i also agree with lots of the comments posted. I am from Edinburgh, support an edinburgh club, (hibs).... in no way whatsoever a glory hunter!!! People call me a skint celtic supporter because i cant afford the train to Glasgow. Not so.... the only good thing ever to come out of glasgow is the M8 heading east.
BUT... i also love with the SAME passion ITFC and its over 400 miles away. Im 40 now but when i was 9, i was in london during 78 cup final week visiting an uncle and aunt.... the town fans were awesome.... fell in love with the colours, the badge and the fact that they won. I've been to a few town games as well including 3 norwich games..... Im yet to see an ipswich win... 2 draws and a defeat!!! (jinx!!)
My point is.... its not always the "glory hunting" thing happening.... sometimes there is a perfectly good reason as to why someone loves a club far away...... I used to live in Geelong, (40 miles south of Melbourne in Oz)... supported the Geelong Cats.... still love them.... and they are the team to beat these days..... But i love them and they are 10,000 miles away!!!! (different sport tho!)
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All very well suggesting you follow your home town team but not everybody has one! I was brought up in Guildford and although we had a (long since bankrupt) Southern League team where we were season ticket holders, it wasn't really an option as a full time calling!
Aldershot was the closest league team, and I suppose the West London sides were next in line, but none of them were local.
Luckily for me I was selected by a higher power to be an Evertonian so I didn't have to go through the process of choosing a team.....I was chosen, as all Evertonians are.
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As much as I can understand the quarms about people "choosing" which club to support, I have one big issue with those who are offended by people who do not support their home town club.
In my case (and I'm sure many others) I started following football when I was about five or six years old. I wasn't brought up in a football loving family, and my peers influenced who I supported rather than my dad and granddad. So, when I was given a Manchester United replica shirt for my sixth birthday by a friend whose older brother hadn't wanted it, I was hooked for life.
As we all know in football, there is nothing worse than changing allegiances. Who am I to argue with that five year old, 16 years later over the merits of his decision to supposedly "glory hunt"?
I do agree, however, that even if they are not your first team, you should show support for your home town club. I was a Bradford City season ticket holder before I went to university, and believe me, there is probably no club in the football league whose fortunes and achievements are further from Manchester United's in the last decade.
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Unlucky Jake. Hope Norwich do well next season.
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its a sad sad day - fancy the job Jake?
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Really good Blog and some excellent feedback. Well footballs not my kind of game really, give each a ball and send them home, that is what I would do. 22 footballs, far cheaper than all them Policemen.
Seriously good stuff and I do hope Norwich win.
All the guys down at the exhaust factory in Whymundum said 'Hi Malcolm' and can they have lots more F1 please.
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"Born and bred in Peterborough or Torquay, say? Then I genuinely wouldn't understand you gunning for another team."
I'm a non-manchester born united fan, but iv been born into a Manchester United mad family on both sides, (my mums side are all mancunions, my dads arent but are all United fans), and while i don't get to as many games as i would like, partly cost, partly availability, i still could never turn my back on them after 16 years, even if i wanted to.
However, that said, there is a part of me wishing i had been brought up to support a local team, and i will occasionally jump on the train and go and watch the nearest football league side (Sheff United).
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Great blog.
Whats happened has happened and a shall still remain a loyal NCFC fan throughout league 1 and whatever may follow.
Glory hunters seriously annoy me more than anything.
All ive got since the result is stick from glory hunters.
I possess more of a hatred for glory hunters than i do of our rivals ipswich, at least theyre supporting their local team and havnt run off to a big team that they have absolutely no connection with.
Come on city lets get out of this mess!
OTBC
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your blog in in f1 and all you talked about was f1.. please move the link so i dont have to be updated on this drivell, i like f1 becasue its not football, itvf1 doesnt throw football in my face thats why they are far superior to the bbc's website
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I fully concur with you. I am not impressed with people who support a glory team over their home town team. I am a Blackpool supporter because I was brought up 5 minutes walk from Bloomfield Road. I suffered 30 years of misery as we languished in the bottom two divisions. Did I stop caring?
No. Eventually, two years ago I was rewarded as we gained promotion to the Championship and have survived (mainly on loan players, mind you). Supporting your home town team is being a real football fan. I now do this from my home in Vancouver, but I will always will be forever Blackpool.
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two points, first Jake if you were born in Peterborough (source wikipedia) howcome you dont follow the POSH instead, because if you moved to norwich around 1987, thats just after theyd won the second division (championship), then finished twice high enough in the 1st division (premiership) to have qualified for the UEFA cup had English teams been allowed in the competition at the time, and then had two FA cup semi finals, all before the 1992-93 season which is by most Norwich city fans counted as the best season ever, so thats not a bad set of seasons for a "non glory hunting" fan. Course if you had a been POSH fan youd be celebrating promotion to the Championship, not relegation from it.
secondly the whole reason Glen Roeder ended up picking so many loan players, and the whole reason you ended up with a corporate guest greeter as a manager for the last part of the season, is Norwich just dont have any money,you didnt have the money to buy players, let alone quality players to stage a run on promotion, so Roeder used the loan market to bolster the team because he had no choice but to use short term fixes, and his fractious relationship with the fans was because none of them seemed to understand that, and he got fed up trying to explain it, then he gets the sack because the board lost their nerve in face of the fans opposition.
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Hey Jake.
I'm the fellow lanky chap who had a chat with you after the Australian Grand Prix. What can i say? Im gutted we've gone down. I was at Brands for the A1GP and i heard the news on the radio and I've never been so miserable. I'm not a pessimist, I thought we could stay up, even till this morning, but we've crumbled again, just like at Fulham.
Anyway, i love the F1 Blogs, really interesting, and this blog has made me a bit happier...
keep up the good work
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irst Jake if you were born in Peterborough (source wikipedia) howcome you dont follow the POSH instead, because if you moved to norwich around 1987, thats just after theyd won the second division (championship), then finished twice high enough in the 1st division (premiership) to have qualified for the UEFA cup had English teams been allowed in the competition at the time, and then had two FA cup semi finals, all before the 1992-93 season which is by most Norwich city fans counted as the best season ever, so thats not a bad set of seasons for a "non glory hunting" fan. Course if you had a been POSH fan youd be celebrating promotion to the Championship, not relegation from it.
great point btw
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don't worry jake there will still be an east anglian derby
(have fun at colchester) :P COME ON YOU BLUES!
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Re: comment no. 78 - You've got to be kidding. What would you have be the determining factor for promotion to the EPL ... Wage bill? Attendance? Wealth of the owners? Debt?
The beauty of the English system is that small clubs can aspire to reach the top flight, and conversely, that no team has a divine right to stay there just because they are "big".
This is where the DRAMA comes from.
If you think otherwise, consider that the top four is now a closed shop with the same 4 clubs qualifying every season. This runs counter to the whole spirit of the league system. Back in the 1960s and 1970s you could have Man Utd winning the European Cup and then six years later finding themselves in the second division. You had Derby, Forest and Villa winning the League, and teams like QPR, Ipswich, Southampton and Watford finishing second.
Those days are gone.
It's not all bad, of course. The days of muddy, unplayable pitches are behind us, and there's some great talent in the top flight, but fans who abandon their home town club in favour of one of the Big Four are just perpetuating the whole thing.
As a West Ham fan since 1973 it annoys me that the Hammers can now never win the league, and are highly unlikely to ever finish in the top 4, no matter how good our manager might be. We're just a feeder club for Man Utd and Chelsea. But just outside the top 4 it's still mighty interesting - let's not make it completely boring by wishing the "small clubs" would go away and find their proper "level" - otherwise where's the excitement? The most interesting story of the early part of the season was surely Hull City and their incredible away form. That won't change if they get relegated, it was still remarkable. Much more interesting than Man Utd winning the title ***YET AGAIN*** ...
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Reading that article has sent me to tears. I am unbeliveably devestated and angry about what happened at the Valley yesterday, yet reading that has reminded me how immensely proud I am to be a canary.
No matter what happens on the pitch, I am so so proud to be from Norwich and wear my yellow and green colours. Norwich is a fine city, with fine people, epitomised by the 25,000 people who pack in to Carrow Road every weekend. It just saddends me that some of the managers and players over the last few years have failed to realise that.
Jake, amazing article, I am proud to be able stand along side you as another Canary.
GREEN ARMY TILL I DIE!
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spot on Jake....through thick and thin city til I die because Norwich are the first and last and "local" team that I support. However we need to protect our youth team from those that would buy up talent and then scrap without a thought, that's our future and we've sold too much of it down the river and that's the problem. Not the board, not Gunny, but the big boys buying us out. Stop the rot and then those like us can compete!
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Good Blog. I am a lifelong Tractor Boy, and whilst I cannot but help a minor gloat at the Budgie's expense, I am actually very sad at City's demise. I've, of course, suffered the ignomy of the biggest defeat since Agincourt, buying Finidi George and hiring Joe Royle, but having dragged through a few seasons of mid-table mediocrity one looks for little sparks of joy. Usually it's the derbies - I've even done a couple up the home end at Carrow road - and they are great matches. The only thing we've got out of this season is, like last year, the fact we finished above Norwich. It's not much, but it's all we've got. We'll miss you. See you in the cup?
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I agree with your sentiments Jake. It is just a pity that your chairperson Delia Smith doesn't follow them - she was an Ipswich supporter until she married!
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This blog was brilliant, Jake. Myself and the husband watched the scores come in on Sunday with our hearts in our mouths. Gutted. I'm all up for us getting Hucks back in the summer for the season in League One. He would be awesome! Wonder how many of us are thinking that? Hopefully the weekend in Spain will take our minds of it a bit!
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hey,jake the blog was cool B)(cool) but,I FANCY YOU!(i know this is not what we are talking about *reads all page* yes norwich rocks,NOT! its manu *crosses arms and looks up* and im rubbish at footy but im very very embarrasing when you get it all wrong.....,cutie.....*blushes*
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Hi Jake,
This is my first comment of the season, and after expecting to read one of your excellent F1 blogs, I come across a subject that's very close to my heart as a sports fan.
As a Leeds United fan living in Leeds I can empathise fully with your plight, as we experienced the pain of relegation from the Championship two years ago. I am also aware, that you don't have to follow your home town team to be a true fan.
One of my best friends lives 5 streets away from me, and he is a Manchester United fan. He was born in Leeds, has never seen a Man Utd game (not surprising considering the measures you have to go through to achieve that), and the closest he has been is taking the stadium tour last year. However he is as enthusiastic, passionate and in love with his team as anybody from Manchester or even a season ticket holder.
Some people do support the 'big four' for a good reason.
However I agree with you that the true football fans are at the lower league levels. This is evidenced for me by my not being able to get tickets for the playoff first leg next week v. Millwall. 40,000 Leeds fans will pack Elland Road for what is essentially a Legue One game, and I'm convinced this will propel us up to the Championship again. It's that support that Norwich will need (and probably get) next year in League One themselves.
As for F1, I'm predicting another win for Brawn this weekend, although I'm not sure who will win for Brawn.
Keep up the great F1 coverage, you're all doing a great job every weekend for us. :)
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Jake,
You can't help who you are, but you can certainly help yourself by keeping quiet.
Bored in Spain were we? Nothing to write about F1 - too much much time on your hands browsing the hotspots in Las Ramblas?
Or are you gunning for another rapid career change into Lineker's hotseat?
I live near QPR but I don't support them.
Flavio and Bernie Enterprise hasn't changed me in supporting them.
I remember Wilko's team demolishing Man Utd 4-1 at Old Trafford on New Year's Day 1992 and I still don't support them.
Kevin Gallen, a hero to QPR fans, went to my secondary school and was in my brother's year and I don't support them.There are other reasons why I don't support them, as well as most other clubs. I do support one, but that would be telling and this blog is just not appropriate - as it's for F1.
I just thought and waste time in letting you know, just as much as you letting me know about the tedium and boredom that is supporting Norwich with a Cook that's your chairman ...C'mon, let's be having you!
Ole!
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Well as newcastle fan im feeling the same as you jake but i believe we'll still stay up.I agree with you totally that supporting a team that doesnt win much (like us!) makes you feel much more close to th club and that winning isnt everything.
COME ON NEWCASTLE!!!!!!!!!
Oliver
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Dear Toon fan,
Your club should be re-named Narnia.
Everything there is just pure fantasy.
You have a football pundit as your saviour - but who's your Manager?
Get relegated - get a reality check.
At least you have the Championship to win next season...
A great club gone to LaLa Land.
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EJ oh EJ, couldn't you just please stick to music only, sorry mate but i just don't think TV is your thing.
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Could you explein to me(and I am sure to thousend of formula1 fans what on heart is realy happen in the formula one this year?How cann name like Ferrari,Maclaren,Renault,and BMW sudently becommen the last of the class in only six months?and Red bull,toyota,and this BrownG.P,(ex Honda)becommen the First? I understand the new modification,but I don`t realy understand HOW?? in six months the best becomm the worst??and viceversa?? it realy dasn`t make sense,I could understad one make of car goig better!!,but three?And could you also analise,what has happen in the Ferrari garage? are they gon all senails?? I can`t remember all this error of jugment in all the years that I have support them.They have made such a lots of mistake to make the name Ferrari like to bee a joker!!I was watching the qualification on saturday,and I say to my son(as Raikynen was in 11 position,and sliding) what are dhey waiting for ?there are only 4minut left,why dasn`t com aut again?but of course he din`t! and so did Massa two wecks before!and the they put the wrong tyres on Raiknen car i Malesia,and today ...they put not enought petrol in Massas car.Has any body a comment an that?? Toni Villa
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No sympathy for Saints fans like me then.....
How does it work for local team in Cornwall then Jake? True Cornish wouldnt support Argyle as they are in DEVON, and here in Cornwall we have no pro teams at all.
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