CanaryChris

Was talking to my Dad the other day about a transfer rumour: one of our old players from Middlesbrough, Johnny something...may be brought back to Norwich. He said "Howson?" I said I dunno, I don't do the transfers.

12, but much of this was due to the fact I had kept a running tab on results and stats this season, so I remembered the final figures. Goals scored by substitutes, our first substitute, the academy player as an unused sub at Wednesday, the best passer, the player with the most minutes and our best player according to WhoScored.com are not captured on my spreadsheet.... 😞

Don't need a speed bump.

Frankely my dear I don't give a damn.

One of my favourite players in a city shirt. Hope this is true and hope to see him on the park more often next year. Class defender.

Remember that season where Leicester spent £100s of millions to win the premier league? Me either Sod off you withered old hammers hag.

can see where you are coming from but do not wholly agree. We have massively over achieved this season and honestly I do not expect much from the Prem next season. Consider it this way: if we ended up where Middlesbrough did this season (with our style of play not theirs) I think most would agree this would have meant great progress on last season. Then if the following season we made playoffs but didnt get promoted, most would agree this represents more progress. Finally, the season after we win promotion either through the playoffs or automatically, most would agree this would be fulfillment of the project with clear progression over time. We just smashed that and I see this shot at the Prem as a bit of a freebie in the scheme of things. Even if we go down then plan properly we can go straight back up in far better shape both financially and in terms of club structure and team culture without missing a beat on the above timeline. Webber has already said that this promotion will finance facility upgrades and finish paying off the mistakes of the past (Wildschut, Jarvis, Naismith, Oliviera, the depressingly long list goes on). I am on board and while I hope we can make a good fist of it in the prem, i feel that this is a much longer term project with better to come on the horizon.

Thanks Han. Must be great to be there!

Thank you for the music First up, I make no apologies for the essay length of this. I do not expect anyone to read it in full, so fine if it’s all TL;DR. I thought I would pen (type) my gratitude to all associated with Norwich City Football Club for the magical season they have brought us. I have identified the main players below, but also want to thank all those in the backroom who work tirelessly to make this great club what it is and have been a huge part of something so special. Each and everyone one of you should be proud of what you have achieved. Your achievements have touched tens, if not hundreds of thousands across the globe. Here in little Adelaide, South Australia, I know of at least a dozen of us who will be getting rather drunk next week end and doubtless many more across my fair country. So to the individuals – let’s start at the top: Delia and Michael – thank you for persevering with a model that many called unworkable at the very beginnings of this season. It would have been so easy to scrap it, without fear of repercussion due to the results. But you knew what you had and for that I thank you. You care deeply for this club, it shows and we are lucky to have owners who do care; none would have been so brave as to rip up the blueprint and start again like you did. Stuart Webber –Genius indeed describes how you have handled the difficult task of getting this club into this amazing situation. Without your vision there is no chance we would be here. We would probably have become Ipswich mark 2 – grubbing in the league for countless years before succumbing to inevitable decline. Thank you for your incredible work and I hope you stick with us for a few more seasons yet, before going on to bigger and brighter (but not better!) things. Daniel Farke – I admit I didn’t believe when we lost 3-0 to Leeds. My faith and patience further eroded in the dull 1-1 draw with L1pswich. It is a good thing I don’t own Norwich City, because I would have made the biggest mistake…You have made a fool of me sir, and I could not be happier. You have found an extraordinary blend of youth, experience and multicultural approach to a league many would say lacks such culture in its football. Thank you, Mr Farke, for a most memorable, wonderful season. May you too, stay with us for many years to come! Daniel Farke’s coaching staff – Sorry I do not know all the names, but I know that without you, Daniel would not be able to execute his plans, nor Stuart his vision. Thank you for your tireless efforts and work over the season. Now to the Team (the main cast) Tim Krul – we had a shaky start there, but you have grown into the role of last line of defence and first line of attack. You have provided excellent cover and your experience has been a massive part of our success. You really look like you have fallen in love with Norwich City, and Norwich has fallen in love with you. All the best in the Premier League and thank you for all those wonderful stops. My personal favourite is the one at Wigan. I genuinely believe that goes in 2-0 and we may not have had the fortitude to go on and draw subsequent games that got us over the line. Jamal Lewis – you burst onto the scene last season and have become even more this year. Pace, intelligence and positional awareness have improved beyond measure this season. You may not have got that league goal, but you provided some of the best assists or were part of some of our best moves. Thank you for your wonderful performances this year. Chrisoph Zimmermann – Captain, my Captain. You have been a bear in defence this year. For me, your revelation came against Arsenal in the League Cup last year. There you showed what you were all about. You have produced an entire season of these performances, brave, gritty and chipping in with the odd goal too, which is vital for an all-round central defender. Calmness and tenacity in equal measure, thank you for you leadership! Ben Godfrey – that you kept out one of my favourite players (Timm Klose) really says it all. A ball playing, fearless, skilful, intelligent centre back is more than we could have ever wished for. I know your career was (may yet still be) in midfield, but you have been a tremendous part of our attack from the back policy. You are always there to receive the pass after a break up in play and drive forward, or to put your body on the line to block a shot or make an important interception. Thank you for your incredible work this season. Max Aarons – you are, for me, the biggest revelation this season; a young, bold, attacking player, with footballing wisdom beyond your years and pace to burn. There are others who have been amazing (and they will get their turn), but since the L1pswich match, you made that position so unattainable for anyone else. A bloody amazing season and I know you still have more to develop, which is, quite frankly, a frightening thought. Thank you, Max, for your insane development this season! Tom Trybull – you are my underrated gem this season. So much of what you do is behind the scenes. Breaking up attacks from the middle, instigating counters, keeping moves going that may otherwise falter. The Defensive Midfield role is a bit of a general on the park, pulling the strings of both the attack and defence. You have done this admirably this season and I look forward to seeing more of your abilities in the Premier League. Thank you for your tremendous work this season. Alex Tettey – you are the longest serving player at our club. You have provided us all with great memories and here you are producing more in another great season. I know you were sidelined for much of the second half of the season, but our promotion owes much to your typically tenacious work in the middle of the park. That wonder-goal against Preston gave us our first win and I do think that without it we may not be here. I know seasons are not all about one moment, but a collection of millions, but to me that was a watershed moment. Thank you, Alex, for all your hard work over the years. Kenny McLean – Injury robbed us of your talents in the first half of the season. I did not know what to expect when you came in for the injured Vrancic, who had been so instrumental for us, but what we saw was a composed, intelligent midfielder with exceptional vision for picking defence splitting passes. Couple that with your excellent aerial ability to win 50/50 balls in the midfield and you were the genesis of many cutting attacks. You were also not shy of finding the goal yourself either through a hammering volley or a deft touch over an onrushing keeper. Thank you for your incisive passing and great footballing vision. Mario Vrancic – Super Mario, a moniker that suits your exploits on the park this season. So instrumental with final balls into the box, but it is your free kicks that I will remember and savour the most. From the opener against Leeds to the dramatic closer against Sheffield Wednesday, your dead ball prowess knows no equal in a City shirt this season. Kept out by a match winning first eleven in the second half of the season, when you were called upon you got in and did what you do best. Thank you for your awesome free kicks and deadly crosses. Moritz Leitner – You are composed, professional and quick thinking; the very definition of a cultured, technical master. I have no doubt your skills will fit right in in the Premier League, as your calm assuredness and unswaying accuracy on the ball are vital components to success. Add in a lethal goal-scoring instinct and you are the complete professional footballer. I do think you were unlucky to be injured when you were and found it hard to get back into a team with so many talented players, but your ability is unquestionable and I look forward to your return in the Premier League. Thank you for your accuracy and technical master class. Onel Henandez – you will be the first Cuban born player in the Premier League, how proud you must be. It could not happen to a better person. Blistering pace, tricky feet, and bullish work on and off the ball, you caused more than your fair share of headaches for any team down our left hand side. Your work rate was excellent and your link-play with Lewis sublime. Your late show against Nottingham Forest stands out for me, what a moment that was. Thank you, Onel, for your tireless work, brilliant trickery and important late goals. Marco Stiepermann – you have been my second biggest revelation of the season. It is fair to say you had a difficult start to life at Norwich, playing as a “utility man” across various positions, with varying success. But in the “number 10” role you have succeeded. Physicality, hold up play and bringing the players around you into the game and attacking moves, not to mention 10 goals with that hammer left foot. Delicate interplay mixed with hard physical presence, you were the epitome of defending from the front. Thank you for your link up play and quirky goal celebrations. Emi Buendia – I can only describe you as a magician. You do magical, inexplicable things on the pitch. To borrow from J.K Rowling: “You’re a wizard, Emi”. And it’s not just with the ball at your feet; you are a terrier without it, hounding opposition players to give it back. You are the biggest jewel in the Webber-Farke crown of recruitment for mine. Absolutely breathtaking, the X-factor player every successful team needs, and one of the most difficult things to find. Thank you, Emi, for the on-field magic. Teemu Pukki – who? That’s what I said the first time I heard your name. You are quite simply the find of the season across all divisions: predatory instincts; check, quick movement; check, lethal finishing long, short and medium range; check – and a great guy to boot. You hound defences without the ball and scare the **** out of them with it. It has been a long time since City have had a striker of your pedigree and there is no way this works without an expert marksman. Thank you, Teemu, for all those wonderful goals. PUKKI PARTY!! Timm Klose – as I said earlier, one of my favourite players in a city shirt, you are a cultured, ball playing centre back. I have heard that you have been instrumental in Ben Godfrey’s rise. A professional through and through as well as a tremendous centre back, I do hope you stay with us for a Premier League assault, as your experience in both that league and with this club is irreplaceable. Thank you for your great defending when called upon, and for your wisdom and support of our younger players. Todd Cantwell – you have come a long way this season, scoring your first league goal for Norwich and becoming an exciting prospect for the future. Daniel’s faith in you was warranted as you have shown some sparks of great ability during the season and I am sure this will only grow as more development opportunities come your way. Thank you Todd for your perseverance in what was sometimes a difficult season with us and I hope you continue to grow and develop with us as a player. Jordan Rhodes – you were going to be our striker, but Mr Pukki had other ideas. Instead of sulking and kicking up a fuss and demanding a return back to your parent club, you got down with the business of supporting this team when asked, and came up with important goals when they mattered. The goals against Aston Villa and WBA stick out for me, as they came at critical times for the club. I hear you like it in Norwich and enjoy the team and culture. From a fan perspective the feeling is mutual, and no matter what your future, thank you, Jordan, for your goals and the part you played in this magical season. Grant Hanley – you are another international centre back who has seen limited time during this season due to the emergence of Christoph and Ben. Again, reports are that you have been extremely supportive of the younger players, passing on your experience and wisdom to them. I do hope you stay with us on our trip to the Premier League, as your support and experience are likely to further our chances of survival. Thank you, Grant, for your support of our younger players and being a part of this great team. To all the other players – Aston Oxborough, Michael McGovern, Felix Passlack, Louis Thompson, Ben Marshall – thank you for your hard work and support of the team this season. It takes an entire squad pulling in the same direction to foster the culture and team spirit that has allowed Norwich to achieve what it has this season. Thank you! Finally, a special mention to Ivo Pinto – a great character, wonderful player and I wish him all the best in the next phase of his career. I do think his marauding ways at right-back paved the way for players like Aarons, and I will miss him. OTBC!

I agree that large swathes of this game were very encouraging and we missed a penalty and Krul dropper a clanger but while the attacking play was great we were defensively all over the place. Last season Farke had the same issue: look good going forward, useless in defense or look solid defensively with a toothless attack. It was the imbalance that he managed to balance after that dreadful August. He got the team selections right and it clicked to showcase what his philosophy was all about. If you saw that in the WBA game well done. I didn't. I only saw the same issues we had last season with our negative goal difference and low points tally. I was wrong and so very happy about it!

This.

Thank you Norwich City. This has been the most second amazing season in my memory. It is shaded by the amazing 3rd in the PL but my word this one comes very very close.

You can bet on it. Got my scare hanging over my desk and my ncfc mug taking pride of place in the middle of my desk. Have also taught my 4 year old daughter the words to on the ball city. Doing all I can 🙂

Yeah Wolfie the weather is not so much a concern for me. It's the rather long commute from Adelaide, Australia that will keep me to watching the stream... But will be a great night in the back drop of the season gone. I was so jealous of all those who got a seat at the Blackburn game. This would be another opportunity to celebrate with the club.

Nothing like predicting the future to make you look like a tw@ in it.

I believe the OP is using statistics in much the same way a drunk uses a lampost. For support rather than illumination...

I believe in the long term plan. Stick with Farke knowing that he gives us the best chance of going back up and with s sustainable model. Many other models particularly the one suggested cost a packet bring in players with limited resale value and at some stage gettin 40-45 points every season with no chance of changing will become unsustainable. See stoke and wba for proof.

After watching that passionate, eloquent vlog entry I could not help but feel deeply sorry for her and indeed all Bolton fans. She is 100% right in practically everything she talks about. There tends to be a heavy handed, resource intensive approach by the league in relatively smaller matters like spygate and FFP regs, yet these macro issues to do with club ownership and the utter financial incompetence shown by some that leads to the destruction of clubs or the least situations such as has befallen thr now moribund Wanderers are not dealt with at all. Unscrupulous ownership and poor administration by the EFL is rife. I mean they were seriously giving Bassini another go? Insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting a different outcome. Ridiculous.

I genuinely do not care if we win the title. If we do that is great - the team definitely deserve it and yes absolutely I would prefer to go up as champions. But if we don't I won't be disappointed. We achieved something that we all thought was next to impossible at the beginning of the season and utterly impossible in September. Yes, the silverware is nice, but we won't be talking about it in years to come - only the promotion. Heck there are threads on here that compare "promotion winning teams" over the last 15 years, which includes a title winning team, an automatic and a playoff - all are talked about in the same breath and so they should be as all were great teams. Also worth pointing out that during that time we won the League 1 title, and nobody talks about that. Summary - nice to win it, hope we win it, no fussed if we don't it does not tarnish the season at all if we don't.

Great stuff - love to see binner stupidity. I was very concerned, as while the games against Brum, Blades and WBA showed some invention, albeit without the desired results, the games against Preston (despite the result, without that Tettey thunderbastard it was looking like a turgid 0-0 all over), Leeds and the Binners we looked hopeless. That along with the very poor back end of the previous season had me wondering if Farke was the right man. Still believed in the system, but my faith waned. Good on you all that kept the faith. Won't make the same mistake next year. Won't be concerned if we struggle week in week out as this is a long term project. We have taken 10 steps forward this year, so no worries if we take 5 steps back next, we are still making progress.

Nothing wrong with a bit of debate, particularly now promotion is secured. Didn't like it being discussed while things were up in the air (say about 4-5 weeks ago) as I think we needed to be behind the team then. Goalkeeping is about confidence. Krul had his shattered when first Toon, then the Seagulls didn't play him as first choice after going through an injury. He was nervous, had very little prep before being thrust into our first team and subsequently made some pretty glaring errors. Since those early days, he has gone from strength to strength. I was watching highlights of our draw to West Brom earlier this year and had totally forgotten how out played we were and how lucky we were to get away with a point (we robbed them IMO). A huge part of that were two brilliant stops from Krul. Since then he has also delivered at Brentford, Millwall, Wigan and against Sheffield Wednesday at Carrow Road. He has Premier League experience and I think is well on his way back, confidence restored and a full pre-season to come. Before his injury he was Netherlands second choice keeper, and he looks like he is getting his mojo back. I do think we need to strengthen competition for that role though. McGovern is probably a good old head to have around, but as a second choice who hasn't played much, not really ideal. A strong second choice is needed, but this doesn't have to cost a bomb.

A world where promotion is king and the Championship title does not mean all that much. My concerns have been about promotion, now that is achieved, it would be "nice" to win it, but not the gut bust for promotion. When even the coach describes it as "a cherry on top", you know the title is hardly the most important thing to him, this team or it's fans. I cannot think of any other situation (barring the leagues below us, I guess), where finishing second is literally as good as finishing first in terms of financial reward, fan excitement and the end goal of any team in this division (i.e. promotion). I would wager few teams in this league start out thinking we have to win the title, they are focused on promotion - top 2.

Voted yes for right price and wages. Would be a good back up (probably number 3) and offers something different. Has better poaching instincts I think than pukki and did a great job for us while pukki was injured late last year.

Doesn't have to bother with it after this week. Won't be needing to say it again in his entire life I bet.

Don't think so. Leeds have a long and unhappy marriage with April fixtures. This is what has done them.