Tony Moore

So many happy (and not so happy) memories since my first game in 1959 vs Cardiff in the Cup. Got in after half time when the gates were opened, seeing Terry Bly (RIP) get the winner with a Bly Blockbuster. Other random memories: - At the worst of the troubles a game against Coventry sticks out in my memory when the visiting supporters ran amoke with Stanley knives. -Taking my young brother in law to the infamous Man Utd game and watching it in the Barclay. The BBC had been following the Man U supporters all day and had been winding them up with tragic consequences. One of the few games where you could "feel" the atmosphere. I knew there would be real trouble so I took my brother in law out 15 minutes before the end, thank goodness. -The half time scores at the river end were put up on a large "scoreboard" at the corner of the river end with the South Stand. -At one match (I think away) when someone threw a bottle at Gerry Mannion. He picked it up and threw it back in the crowd!!! -Waiting for the Pink Uns to be delivered to the newsagent at the top of City Road (Strivens I think). - Playing away against Leyton Orient in the Cup when Roger Gibbins got a last minute equaliser. In those days one side of their ground was reserved for visiting supporters. Unfortunately since this was a mid-week game there were plenty of West Ham supporters mixed in with City supporters! We got out quickly at the end only to meet 2-300 West Ham "fans" in the street outside. I''ve never run so fast in my life. -Getting promotion in 1972 when we guaranteed promotion, again at Orient via a Grahem Paddon penalty. Getting a piece of the penalty spot in a nearby pub!! So many more memories so thanks to all from a lifetime supporter. Tony

You watched a different game to the one I saw. He gave the ball away at least 10 times today. Yes, he made some good tackles and covered well in the midfield but his passing is still simply not good enough. Fer made him look like a championship player. There were a few others who''s passing was worse today though.[/quote Out of interest I had a close look at Johnson today. In the first half he passed successfully 18 out of 20 passes, and I think the second half wasn''t a lot different. Don''t let the truth stand in the way of a good prejudice.]

"Wes was superb", Please tell me you''re joking!!!

[quote user="i''m spartacus"][quote user="nutty nigel"] Maybe one of you can answer a question that I''ve asked before on here. It bugs me! Apparently Jed Steer''s dad was also on Norwich''s books as a youth player. I have never found a record of him. Was he also a ''keeper? my work mate who was on citys books as a youngster many years ago and went on to have along career at lowestoft , yarmouth ,wroxham ect can remember him and yes he was also a keeper who ended up kicking around the local leagues... i think he said he was also called jed [/quote] Jed''s mum and dad used to run the Yeast and Feast in Horsford. His dad''s name is Jerry. I thought it might help to give a fact rather than join in the vitriol directed at a promising goalie just because he decides to further his career by going to another club. All a bit sad really.

Norwich City is the most Easterly football club in the football league. (who knows the most northerly, southerly and westerly clubs?)

If Lambert claims we are such brilliant supporters then why didn''t he bother to turn up for the away season ticket party after the Man City game last season? A distinct lack of respect I thought.

A great man who in no small way helped build the foundations of what we have today. One of my lasting memories was watching his side play away to Ips**t, in the cup I think. At half time we were 4-0 down!! I remember that one of John bond''s expressions was "magic", everything was "magic". Anyhow with the teams going off at half time the PA played "Magic" by a group called Pilot. Decidedly mean but rather amusing. RIP John

I remember when they used to open the exit gates shortly after half time so you could get in for nothing. That was when I saw my first match against Cardiff in 1959 and was lucky enough to see Terry Bly''s winner from the main stand. Happy days.

My son and I will be parking at the Screwfix car park on Sir Stanley Matthews Way (PostCode is ST4 8GR). I''m told the best way in and out is M6 onto the A500 (coming off at Junction 15). Then right onto the A34, then left onto the A5035 and finally left onto Sir Stanley Matthews Way. The Screwfix Car Park is on the right hand side. The park operates from 1pm and costs £4. Hope that helps.

Well said PurpleCanary. A well thought-out inciseful piece of work. It''s such a shame that this message board is not graced with more insights such as this. Unfortunately what we seem to have is a pretty infantile collection of individuals who appear to delight in making most posts degenerate into pathetic name-calling,insult trading, and generally disrepectful behaviour. By way of evidence you only have to look at Paul Cluckbert''s intial response, followed by the inevitable point-scoring that spoils so much of this board. Anyhow despite all of that I really do appreciate the good work of people such as you PurpleCanary. Keep it up!! OTBC

Well said Ricardo. I really have to say I''ve read quite a bit of c**p on here it the past few months, but tonight really does take the biscuit. We were well beaten by a team that is way, way ahead of us (and incidentally, way ahead of most of the rest of the division). When will posters realise that this WILL happen this season. We haven''t become a rubbish side overnight, nor are we yet certainties for relegation. Get over it and move (rapidly) on to concentrating on beating Fulham.

Thanks for the helpful replies (not sure about Thetford though!!!). We''re leaving at 7.30am. Our plan (using the AA Route Planner which is quite good) is to leave the M62 at Junction 20, onto the A627(M), onto the A663, then onto the A62. We will probably aim to park somewhere off the A62, before we get to the roundabout onto the A6010.

I''m travelling with my son tomorrow to see City play Man City. This time (we''ve got away season tickets) we''re going via the A47, M62 (since we''re fed up with getting stuck on the M6 with regular accidents). What''s the best place to stop en route after about 1.5 - 2 hours. Tony

I''ve just got my Wolves tickets today but nothing on the Everton game yet. I''ve emailed the box office and am waiting for a reply. Tony

For me one of my most memorable games was when we beat Man U at Old Trafford in 1967 2-1 in the FA Cup. Playing against some of the best players in the country on a mud bath watched by a crowd of 67,000 (I think) made it all a bit special. To see Kevin Keelan take the ball off Dennis Law''s head was a bit tasty. Another game was when we beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at home to avoid relegation. If I remember correctly Dave Stringer got the winner with just minutes left. But to top all of them I think the night we beat Leyton Orient away to guarantee promotion to the top division for the first time in our history, takes some beating (1971 I think). I even got the penalty spot from which Graham Padden got the winner!! So many happy days. Hopefully many more to come. Tony.

Chris Martin. Simples.

Rather an obscure question I''m afraid. I always thought that the last passenger train to leave the City Station (where Halfords is now) was the football special that took supporters to the match against Sheffield Utd on Feb 28, 1959. A friend is adamant that this is not correct. Does anyone out there have the definitive answer (preferably supported by evidence!!) Tony

I''m always amused by the level of scapegoating that goes on, on here. Last season I thought Russell Martin was a real weak link, but this season (based on Newcastle and Watford) I thought he had made real improvement. Admittedly he''s no earth-shaker but sure as hell he was much better than many of his colleagues last night. It does seem that sine The Doc has left we need to find a new scapegoat and that person is,,,,,,,,Russell Martin. I''ve never really understood that mentality, especially when the target is often much better than is given credit for. Just look at last night......Ward and Martin made more mistakes in that one game than The Doc did in the past 3-4 seasons. I really hope R. Martin survives this villification....perhaps then somone more deserving will be targetted. Tony Moore

This has to be because of his wages. Any other reason makes it a crass decision by "god" Lambert. To keep Nelson (limited even in the third division), Askou (injury prone) or Whitbread (far from proven) makes no sense at all. I just hope Lambert makes a pretty special signing to replace Docherty who has been a real special servant to the club; not to mention the pick of the defence this season. As I''ve said repeatedly the main reason he appeared weak in the Championship was because of a goalie who did not inspire confidence and no holding midfielder to cover. All in all this leaves a pretty nasty taste in the mouth.

I would dearly love it to be Orient away. That matches perfectly with the time we got promotion in 71/72. We played away to Orient in a midweek game and I got the penalty spot from which Graham Paddon scored the winner. Happy days. Tony.

I can''t help but feel that most games are won or lost in the top 2%. In other words most clubs put in 98% effort (ignoring quality for the moment) in a game. However it is the other 2% that decides whether a club will win or not. If a club just eases up a bit (ie 2% less effort) then it will be difficult to get much out of a game. It seems to me that since we wiped the floor with Colchester we have tailed off just a bit (say 2%). Fortunately we''ve been able to keep winning quite a bit, although not so convincing as previous. All this makes me think that we could be in for a tough March when we play Huddersfield, Swindon and Leeds (a la Southampton result). As for the quality angle, if your game does indeed tail off "just a bit" then the quality will not show through. By way of evidence, Holt, Martin and Hoolahan all seem to be struggling "just a bit" at the moment. A possible solution? Try to shake the team up a bit; for example give Johnson a run out and put Chris Martin on the bench. It''s all very well having an arrogant streak about you; it''s just that you need to keep delivering to justify it. Getting Spillane back in the starting line up might help also. Tony.

I never fail to be amazed by some of the comments on here re Doc. I suppose when all else fails we should blame him for not being any good in the Premier/Championship. It would be useful to remember one or two relevant points. Firstly we are in the third division; surely we should judge our players on that basis? Secondly, in the past we''ve had a dodgy keeper and a midfield that doesn''t help the back row. Now we''ve got a decent keeper and a holding midfielder in Russell who gives the back row the support they need. All this gives the whole of the back row confidence in themselves and each other. The sad part about all this is that some "supporters" cannot/will not recognise this; they would prefer to castigate Doc at every opportunity for what he does/doesn''t do/could do/should do. It really does seem that the Doc is only one poor game away from a mauling from these supporters. Very sad. Tony.

I''ve always been a great admirer of Docherty - even through the "bleak" days. I''ve never believed most of what people have said about him. I think that for too long he had no decent midfield in front of him, and now, especially with Russell as the holding midfielder in front of him, he has grown in confidence. By the same token he now has a half decent goalie behind him which again has given him confidence. Finally he is now playing alongside a central defender who, whilst not brilliant, complements his style. All in all it''s really pleasing to see. Long may it last (even if Nelson becomes the new scapegoat!) Tony.

How would you deal with the following scenario: Norwich start off badly this season. Editorial independence means that a number of editorial pieces are written about Norwich that are extremely critical. This builds to a crescendo by mid-November with Norwich languishing in the botton three. In an emotive outburst David McNally bans Archant journalists from entering Carrow Road in any official capacity. This rapidly degenerates into a slanging match between the Norwich City Board (?) and Archant''s Sport''s journalists/Editorial. An emergency Board Meeting is called at Carrow Road just before Christmas with Norwich propping up the rest of the Division. David McNally proposes legal recourse against Archant relating to much that has been said in their publications. Stephan, do you then need to declare your conflict of interest with the rest of the Board and withdraw from any further discussion, or do you fight your corner? The question is, which corner do you fight? Tony.

Any seat that doesn''t face the pitch will do.