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Videos: Not much this week, no training vids... so here is the goal of the month for February vid - There's no video but there is a gallery of photo's from training which can be found on the official club site. Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Millwall have their own pre match piece here. For away fans still a bit unsure about how to get to the Den, Millwall have a page on their site just for you. Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: No new injury concerns which means Hayden(knee - end of season, hopeful), Dowell(knee - April), Placheta(shin), Byram(hamstring - March) and Sargent(ankle) are all out injured. This game comes too soon for Sargent. Pukki returned to the match day squad last weekend so is in contention to start this week. Marquinhos also made his debut after injury and again, is in contention for this game. Some brighter news is that Rowe played for the U21's last Friday and will play in their next game on Monday as he continues on the comeback trail. Millwall: Saville was rested midweek and could return. Evans could also come back into the starting line up. Burke has recovered from illness and is a further selection option for Rowett, though their manager may wish to go with an unchanged side. A little bit of knowledge: Back in the smoggy days of 1885 Millwall Rovers were formed. They are nicknamed the "lions" after the animal depicted on their badge. They were one of the founding members of the Southern League in 1894, not joining the football league until 1920. Millwall have a long history of football hooliganism that has persisted long after it ceased to become "fashionable" or "popular". Since the millennium the club has tried to change it's image and shift more towards the model of a "family club". I think it's fair to say some of the worst hooliganism scenes in England have been around Millwall games, I can remember one in the 2000's where police horses were bricked, some losing their lives. Millwall's ground is the Den, where they have played since 1993 having moved on from the "old Den". Todays game will see 3,000 Norwich fans fill seats of their 20,146 seater stadium. I think it's fair to say that Millwall are mainly known for bouncing around the divisions with their usual place being somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd tiers of English football. They have fallen further at times, to the 4th tier which they did back in the 1950's. They also did experience a brief run in the top tier of English football after promotion in the 1987-88 season, but were relegated in the 1989-90 season and haven't returned since, therefore never having experienced the top tier as the Premiership or Premier League. The 1988-89 season represented their highest ever league finish of 10th in the top tier. @KiwiScot also brought to my attention this thread on the Millwall forum. Wouldn't it be absolutely awesome if those 3,000 Norwich fans joined with the Millwall fans to pay their respects? They plan to show support to the family in the 8th minute of the game. It was KiwiScot, therefore, that prompted me into posting this match thread earlier than usual in the hope that the word gets out for this one. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation:Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something a little bit extra... This time I thought I would start off with an article from the pinkun about a podcast with Stuart Webber. I know he's not everyone's favourite figure, and no doubt some people will find more fault with him in it, but none the less, something to read on the journey, or in the build up to the game. And because I didn't do this last time so missed this little gem:

Videos: Not much about this week... Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Wigan have their own pre match piece here. Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: Hayden remains out injured having had an operation on his knee. Rowe is back on the grass but with a mid March return slated, remains out of contention. Byram and Placheta are also injured with a similar timescale as Rowe in terms of their return. Gibson returns after the birth of his son and McCallum returns after a minor muscle complain. Meanwhile Marquinhos and Pukki have also joined the injury list.Wigan: Callum Lang and Will Keane likely to return to the starting line up. Sinani is ineligible to play (perhaps why it was a loan and not a sale?) against us as his parent club. A little bit of knowledge:Wigan Athletic Football Club are relatively latecomers to the English football league scene. Founded in 1932, they had to get into the top four tiers the hard way rather than be there from the start. This is why it wasn't until 2005 that they managed to kick a ball for the first time in the top flight of English Football, never having seen it named any other way. By the time they had played in a division with a one in it's title, it was no longer the top tier and also the last time it was called it before becoming the Championship. That made them one of the first two teams to gain automatic promotion from the 2nd tier of English football under it's new rebranded name of "The Championship", finishing in 2nd place. From the 2005-2006 season they managed 8 consecutive seasons of premier league football, all essentially aided by the finances of JJB Sports owner David Whelan. In some ways it is worth noting that Wigan were arguably the first team to model themselves as a "stepping stone" for talent - understanding that their best shot at premier league survival was to position themselves as a platform for players to play in the premier league so they could earn more lucrative deals and contracts at "bigger clubs". This can be seen by the number of players Wigan signed that later went on to play for top 6 clubs in the premier league or elsewhere. In a sense, the opposite to Bolton Wanderers who tended to sign quality players at the end of their careers. Owing to their relative youth in footballing club terms, Wigan have only ever played at two grounds, Springfield Park from 1932-1999 and the current stadium from 1999 to now, which has had two names. Firstly the JJB Stadium until 2009, then the DW Stadium from 2009 onwards. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation:Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something a little bit extra...

Massive, massive call from Wagner. Heres hoping it works out.

Videos: Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Burnley have their own pre match piece here.Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: Hayden remains out injured having had an operation on his knee. Gunn is out injured having picked up an injury on Wednesday. Rowe is back on the grass but like Gunn, end of March return has been mooted. Byram is also out injured still and is also slated for an end of March return. Gibson is on compassionate leave following his partner giving birth to a baby boy. Meanwhile Marquinhos and Tzolis join the squad to become options. Since our last game Hugill and Cantwell have left the club permanently with Sinani leaving on loan with his contract up in the summer. Otherwise no other injuries have been reported.Burnley: Jack Cork is suspended, this being the last of a two-game ban for accumulating ten yellow cards. Harwood-Bellis is out with an ankle injury. Fitness test on Benson will determine whether he has recovered from the injury that took him off Vs West Brom. Burnley have four new signings, Foster and Al-Dakhil made their debuts in the FA Cup Vs that lot down the road. Obafemi and Ekdal are awaiting their debuts.A little bit of knowledge: Those of us born after 1975 will probably have very mixed memories about the level at which Burnley FC usually play their football. Since then, they have mainly bounced around the divisions, dropping as low as the old 4th Division and usually never any better than the old Division 1, now the Championship. However, in the last 10-15 years, they have once again looked to make an impression on the top tier of English football. Champions of the 1920-21 Season It might come as a bit of a surprise then, that prior to 1975, they were mainly known for plying their trade in the top two divisions with a pretty even split. In fact, post WW2, the majority of their time up until 1975 was spent in the top tier of English (and Welsh) football. 1947-1971 in fact. They won the top tier title, when it was the old First Division, two times, 1920-21 and 1959-60 and won the FA Cup in 1913-14. I very much doubt any of their fans will be able to recall two of those events. They were founded in 1882 when the Burnley Rovers Rugby Club changed sport from rugby to football - or so my research tells me. They simply dropped the rugby reference and 'Rovers' and became the Burnley Football Club we all know. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation: Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something a little bit extra... Not done this for a couple of weeks so thought I would catch up on a few things, sorry if you have already seen them, though I will start with the latest so hopefully you haven't with that at least. The first one is moving, so do have a tissue nearby.

Videos: LEST WE FORGET Our players will be wearing strips featuring poppies owing to it being the closest match to Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday - this year, being sandwiched between the two. More on this in a bit. Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here. Middlesbrough have their own pre match piece here.Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: Nunez is set to return. All others that were out for our last game due to injuries continue to be, however there is light at the end of the tunnel. Rowe is already back "on the grass", and Idah, Sorensen, Byram and Omobamidele will all be traveling and be fit to take part in the warm weather training during the world cup period that is to take place in Tampa. Middlesbrough: unable to find any info about injuries at this time.A little bit of kntowledge: I thought I would go with something a little different this week and focus on something a bit closer to home and a bit more poignant. I came across this website called football and the first world war. It had intrigued me because I wondered how many of our boys in green and yellow had also served their country. Of course, at the time, football wasn't nearly as lucrative as it is now and every fit and able man was called up. I knew this, but I didn't know the names of those players. These are those that are listed as having both served and played for Norwich City in two categories "players that served in 1st world war" And former players that served (which is a tad unknown to me as it would appear that former includes those who last played for Norwich, but who also, sadly, never returned). The home page of the site also holds a quote from a general, Of course, we remember those who also served during the 2nd World War too. Though at this time finding a good source of information on that is difficult. I will certainly be thinking of those I knew well in my family and close friends but also those who I have met over my travels and adventures, all of whom are now no longer with us. I'm not sure we will ever know generations quite as great as them. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation:Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun.

Videos: Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here. Rotherham have their own pre match piece here.Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: Firm Outs: Idah, Rowe, Sorensen, Omobamidele - with injuries but expected to be returning to training after the World Cup. Ins: Sargent and Giannoulis return from injury to provide a selection headache. Rotherham: Outs: Cohen is suspended, McCart, Ferguson and Bola look to be out injured. Humphreys is having an injection in a back complaint, and Hall and Peltier look like they are shaking off niggles too - so possibly fitness tests for them. Ins: none that I can see.A little bit of knowledge: Rotherham appears to have been a hot bed of football activity in the latter half of the 19th century and a great deal of names have been loosely linked with Rotherham's roots. There was a mention of a Rotherham FC in 1870 playing on the Doncaster Road, but they don't appear to have hung about. In 1872 there was a Rotherham Wanderers playing on Jarvis's Field on Clifton Lane. It would appear that what most settle on is that the roots of the modern day Rotherham United started with Thornhill Football Club in 1877. A year later Lunar Rovers was founded, the name derived from the many matches played by moonlight... a far cry from the dazzling lights seen at Carrow Road these days. A year later Lunar Rovers changed their name to being simply Rotherham. A few seasons later "Town" was added. Rotherham Wanderers disappeared from the football scene but a Rotherham Swifts appeared and then folded in 1891. Thornhill later added United to their name, played at the Red House Ground and are largely accepted to have been 2nd in the area to Rotherham Town who played at Clifton Lane Cricket Ground and then Clifton Grove. However, poor attendances led to the downfall of Rotherham Town in 1896 which gave Thornhill United the status of the top team in town. There is much more to this story though and without boring you all half to sleep with it, it's suffice to say that Thornhill saw off many local attempts to found teams that could knock them of the top spot locally. Some took on names like Rotherham Town again, Thornhill changed to Rotherham County to trump them. After many trials and tribulations which saw both clubs face extinction in 1925 Rotherham Town and Rotherham County amalgamated to form Rotherham United. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation: Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun.

Videos: Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Stoke have their own pre match piece here.Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: Firm Outs: Idah, Rowe, Sorensen, Omobamidele - with injuries, McLean is serving the last game of a 3 match ban for a red card. Giannoulis has a cracked rib so is also incredibly unlikely. Gibson was waiting for results of a scan on a stiff knee. Byram had/has a hip injury keeping him out of training.Stoke: Nick Powell and Jacob Brown could make the starting line up after making substitute appearances on their way back from injury. There is suggestion Harry Clarke and Liam Delap might come in to the starting 11 too. A little bit of knowledge: I think I have covered Stoke before, so we might go with some more obscure bits of knowledge today. The first piece of knowledge I found dredging the internet takes us back to the 1930's when Stoke could argue they had some of the best teams in the country. With Stan Matthews and Freddie Steele just two of the players in the team in 1939, the club had planned a tour of Poland in the summer in preparation for a title challenge. As we all know now, Hitler put paid to that plan and whilst the tour did not take place, sadly, many of that team, like others around the country, would end up on a tour in Europe of a different kind. Rory Delap, a player well known for incredible throw ins that became almost a signature of Stoke's game for the period he was with them, also holds something else in relation to the club. No other Stoke player, played their last game leaving the club in a better position than when they first stepped out onto the turf for them. Stoke were 21st in the Championship when Rory Delap was called into the starting 11 to Leeds away in October 2006. When he played his last game for them, at Reading in August 2012, they were 6th in the Premier League. According to the info I have, that is a climb of 35 places which is greater than any other Stoke player has recorded previously. Penalties. Stoke are essentially the team that led the way for penalties. In 1891, in an FA Cup fixture against Notts County, Stoke were pushing for an equaliser when Notts defender Jack Hendry punched away a goal-bound shot. Stoke were given a free kick but Notts county bundled all 11 players onto their own goal line and blocked any shot. Referee John Lewis thought this was frightfully unfair so campaigned to introduce the penalty kick when he became a football legislator. Stanley Matthews on drugs. Ever wondered what a really good player would look like whilst on amphetamines? Well, Stanley Matthews knew! in 1946 and away with the England team, he was feeling decidedly groggy and ill with flu. The national team's doctor gave him "pep" pills which had been used by the Luftwaffe... I mean, if that wasn't warning enough?!! It turned out these were amphetamines. Not only did this have the desired effect of enabling him to play for England, but he also managed to put in a man-of-the-match performance just a day later for Stoke. How did he realise something wasn't quite right? That would be when he was unable to sleep, so full of energy that he decided to rake his neighbours leaves in the middle of the night... then he wondered what he had been given! I'll end this bit with a little challenge - can you name two Stoke players who have scored in a league campaign without ever making a league start? Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation:Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun.

Videos: Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Blackpool have their own pre match piece here. Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: Still out are: McCallum(foot, return after WC), Idah(knee - ?), Sorensen(foot - ?), Rowe(shin - ?) all seemingly out for a bit of time or without any indication of how long. Middling news is that although Haydan has had a "set back" it is only for ten days at the moment. The better news is that Giannoulis has made a good recovery and should be returning in the next couple of weeks. Gibbs has trained with the team this week so is back in contention. Hanley and Omobamidele have recovered from their injury concerns and will be back for this game too. Blackpool: James Husband could play against us... something I am sure some would welcome, relish even. I haven't been able to find out much more than that sadly. A little bit of knowledge: The early history of Blackpool FC likely starts with Victoria FC, in 1877, which was founded as a church club. A few years later it folded but several members joined with past students of St. John's School to form Blackpool FC in 1887. Two years after that, another team merged with Blackpool FC, this time it was the turn of South Shore FC. It would appear that during their early days they moved around a little in terms of home grounds, starting at Raikes Hall Gardens from 1886-1897. They then moved to the Athletic Grounds from 1897-99 before returning to Raikes Hall Gardens for seemingly a shortish time in 1899 as also in 1899 they moved to Bloomfield Road where they have remained ever since. In terms of league positions, they were promoted to the old top tier for the first time for the 1930-31 season and then had a period where they spent the majority of the time in the top tier with some visits back to Div 2. After relegation at the end of the 1970-71 season, it is fair to say they then sunk down the leagues and spent much time in the 3rd and 4th divisions, occasionally as high as the 2nd again. This didn't really change with the creation of the Premier League they became stuck in Div 2 which was then the 3rd tier of English football. That trend changed with promotion to the championship at the end of the 2006-07 season. A better run of form has seen them hold a place in the championship for several seasons, promoted to the premier league for a season in 2010-11, before returning to the championship for three seasons and then slipping down to league 2. I think it's fair to say, that despite their one league cup and one FA cup their journey has been as up and down as a fair ride you may hope to find on a holiday to Blackpool. They certainly had a good period in the middle of last century which also saw the likes of Sir Stanley Matthews grace their sides. These days, their stock is perhaps not so great. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation:Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun.

Videos: Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Bristol City have their own pre match piece here. Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: McCallum(foot) is still in a protective boot. Gibbs(ankle) came out of his this week. Giannoulis(ankle) has been out of his for longer. Sorensen (foot) still out too. Idah has had an injury set back. Rowe remains out with a stress fracture. Hayden has been training with the ball, but reading between the lines, no contact at this point, a game behind closed doors has been arranged with him in mind for later this month.Bristol City: Former Canaries CB Klose returns from injury. Something a little extra:

For those Canaries attending the game, BCFC have a guide on how to get to the ground if you need a bit of extra knowledge for that, you can find that here. Videos: Not any relevant this week due to little turn around time (I guess), so here's 'the city view' from the game Vs Sunderland and the highlights of the cup match earlier in the season. Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk don't seem to have one up yet, if I get a chance I will update this part of the post.Birmingham City have their pre match piece on their website here. (worth a cheeky look just to see how they spell Max Aarons). Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: Well, I suppose we were only permitted one game of good news on the injury front. Giannoulis(ankle ligament), McCallum(foot) and Sorensen(foot) have now been joined by Gibbs on the side-lines. His injury is not as bad as first suspected, though he will be out injured for a period of time. Byram did come on so is clearly much closer to match fitness and is joined by Sara who is now said to be ready to contend for a starting position. Pukki is also back and in contention after being one of a triple substitution that swung the game in our favour on Saturday lunchtime at Sunderland. Hayden is also said to be progressing well and soon to be in contention for first team appearances. Hernandez could face the team he was on loan to last season for the 2nd time in a month should he make an appearance in this evening.Birmingham: Placheta is unavailable due to being on loan, Jutkiewicz returns after suspension, Gardner and Bielik were on the bench for their last game having stepped up their return from injury. Former Canary, Ruddy, is likely to start in goal. A little bit of knowledge: Having only done one a little while ago for them I thought I would do a general one on Birmingham as a city instead. As well as being the home of Birmingham City FC, the City has also been the starting point for several famous brands such as Birds Custard, Cadbury Chocolate, Bournville Drinking Chocolate, HP Sauce and Typhoo tea. Many of us will be more than happy with the Forum as our central library but how many people know that Birmingham is home to Europe's largest public library? It would also appear that Brum loves it's food. Not only can it lay claim to being the birthplace of the Balti and have over 100 Balti houses, it is also home to the most Michelin star restaurants in the UK outside of London. If you are traveling away this evening and trying some of the local cuisine you might have to share whether it lives up to that reputation! Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation:Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun.

Videos: Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Sunderland don't appear to have a pre match piece, one assumes it could be due to the news about their manager. Ins, out's, shake em all abouts:Norwich: No new injury concerns. And arguably, probably the first time in a number of weeks that it's looking on the up. Idah and Byram both took part in the league cup defeat, with the former coming off the bench to score a goal. Byram completed the first 45mins. It's unlikely either will be part of the starting line up but could possibly push for a place on the bench. Rowe has a 'stress related injury' with his shin and Smith refuses to be drawn on how long that could take for him to recover from. Hayden is making good progress and going on previous statements will be training etc in around a week. Sara got his first(I think) 90mins under his belt in the cup match so is also now getting to that point of starting to be a genuine starting line up contender. Omobamidele has recovered from an ankle injury and has trained this week. Sorenson (foot) stress fracture keeps him out for "weeks". McCallum has had an operation on a metatarsal injury and is slated to return in December after the world cup. Giannoulis hasn't needed an operation on ankle ligament damage and is said to be around 5 weeks away from a return to training.Sunderland: First bit of news about Sunderland may not be new to you but Alex Neil is set to move to be manager of Stoke. Martin Canning will be taking charge of todays game - he took over at Hamilton when Alex Neil was appointed as Norwich manager. A little bit of knowledge: Sunderland AFC were founded in 1879, in their 143 year history they have been able to call no less than 6 grounds "home". In fairness, 4 of those were before 1900. Groves Field was their home from 1882-83, then Horatio Street from 1883-84, followed by Abbs Field 1884-86. Newcastle Road was the next from 1886-1898. Roker Park became their home in 1898 and saw out almost 100 years, seeing the red and white clad players grace it's grass all of the way through until 1997 when Sunderland moved to the Stadium of Light. It's fair to say that Sunderland's usual place in the English footballing tiers is found to be somewhere between the first tier and second tier. They were incredibly successful in their earlier years and over the course of the club's history have one the top tier title 6 times and the FA cup twice. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation: Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something a little extra: https://youtu.be/5T6LMohkBOs

Videos: Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Huddersfield have their own pre match piece here. Ins, out's, shake em all abouts: Norwich: Sorensen joins McCallum out with broken bones in his foot, this time a stress fracture. Giannoulis remains out with ankle ligament damage. Rowe remains out injured but both Idah and Byram are on the comeback trail, with the latter a very slim outside chance of playing. Pukki was also due to have a precautionary scan on a bruised foot yesterday. Otherwise the rest of the squad is said to be unscathed at this time. Huddersfield: I haven't been able to glean much information this afternoon-evening and ran out of time, sorry. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation:Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something a little extra:

Videos: Articles: The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here.Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here.Hull have their own pre match piece here.The BBC, once more, couldn't care less about non EPL teams in terms of pre match pieces it would seem, I'll not even bother mentioning it anymore after this... Ins, out's, shake em all abouts: Norwich: Byram remains out but is hoped he will return for the Millwall fixture. McCallum is confirmed out until after the World Cup (early/mid December), he's had an operation on a metatarsal injury. Giannoulis remains out with an ankle ligament injury. Precaution was taken over Cantwell and Gibson who both picked up knocks in the previous game against Wigan so rested for the cup match Vs Birmingham and could be set to return. Sara got more minutes in his legs in that game, as did Dowell who made his first appearance coming back from injury. Hull: Hull have a relatively long list of injuries it would seem, Longman remains side-lined with injury along with Docherty, Tyler Smith and with Baxter, Fleming and Sinik continuing to recover from their respective injuries. A little bit of knowledge: I think it's fair to say that Hull are known to court the bizarre at times, either with owners rebranding them or with outlandish claims from chairman. By that I mean in 1984, chairman Don Robinson declared that they would play the first ever football match on the Moon. Somewhat surprisingly, they were unable to find any opposition to travel with them to play against. I think Robinson may have gotten a little carried away after a squad visit to NASA's Cape Canaveral base. Some might say he was aiming a little high... or that maybe he was high. Hull city also took part in England's first ever shoot out, which they lost to Manchester Utd in the semi final of the Watney Cup, which didn't last long as a competition, in 1970. None other than George Best scored the first spot-kick. Denis Law then became the first player to have a penalty saved in a shoot-out whilst Hull keeper McKechnie became the first player to miss when he got the deciding penalty all wrong. Hull City FC was founded in 1904 and first participated in the league in the 1905-1906 season. I think it is fair to say that Hull's traditional place in the footballing pyramid in England is somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd tiers. This has only changed since the millennium when they were promoted to the Premier League, or top tier, for the first time having finished third in the Championship and winning the following play-off's in the 2007-08 season. Since then, they have been in the Premier League for a total of five seasons. They returned to the Championship last season after one season in League One having been relegated at the end of the previous campaign. Lastly, it may be a little early to get too festive, but Hull and Grimsby were the only two teams exempt from playing on Christmas day until the early 1960's, when fixtures on the 25th of December were common. This was because fans in the fishing industry needed to be at work. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation: Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something a little bit extra: HIghlight's from the Birmingham cup match...

Videos: Articles: The Pink'Un has it's usual presser coverage article here. Canaries.co.uk have the clubs official build up piece here. Birmingham City have their own pre match piece here. The BBC, once more, couldn't care less about non EPL teams in terms of pre match pieces it would seem. Ins, outs, shake em all abouts: Norwich: Giannoulis out for minimum 9 weeks due to ankle ligament damage, Aarons came through fine, Byram still not ready to come into contention, Idah is a "maybe", Hanley returns from suspension and Smith has said Sara will start. Ramsey is also available for this fixture having arrived on Friday last week. Will Smith look to get some momentum going or will he switch it up for the cup? Birmingham City: Placheta is ineligible, Gardner, Bielik, Gordon all working their way back from injury. Another familiar face will be Ruddy, should he start in goal for this one. A little bit of knowledge: Birmingham City FC were formed in 1875 by cricketers based at the Holy Trinity Church near to their home ground. They started out as being called Small Heath Alliance and the motivation was to find something to fill their time in the winter months. In 1888 they dropped the 'Alliance' from their name, before in 1905, changing completely to Birmingham Football Club. It wasn't until 1943 that the 'city' was added to their name. They were the first English team in a European final in 1960 where they were out classed by one FC Barcelona with goals from Zoltan Czibor - I know, many of you read the first bit and though Ibrahimovic can't be that old!!! Two years later they repeated the feat but were beaten by AS Roma (who had Fabio Cudicini in goal, father of Carlo). We have the claim to the first £5m player in Chris Sutton, I'm sure that some of you will know that Birmingham have the claim to the first £1m player, or should that be £1.15m player in Trevor Francis. Many would be forgiven in thinking that it would have been more recent than 1979.

Videos: Articles: The club has it's own match preview here. PinkUn has it's report on the pre match presser here. Wigan has it's preview piece here. Ins, out's shake em all abouts: Norwich City: Hanley is suspended for todays game, Byram remains out injured and Idah is deemed not yet ready to return. Sara and Dowell fit to play after not making it after late fitness tests last week. Nunez signed on Tuesday and is also said to be available. Ramsey signed recently but no news whether he will be included or not. Wigan: not really finding much on their status with players injuries. A Little Bit of Knowledge: Wigan Athletic FC is very much a relatively new club in footballing terms having been founded in 1932 which makes it 30years younger than Norwich City FC. Their best ever league position was 10th in 2006 and their biggest trophy win was the FA Cup in 2012-13 beating Manchester City in the final - though, they set a record that season for being the first club to with the FA cup and be relegated in the same season. Realistically, most of their history has been spent between the third and fourth tiers of English football, but they managed an 8 season stay in the Premier league from 2005. Wigan Athletic were first admitted into the football league in 1978 and claim local rivalries with Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City. Rays Funds for the Community Sports FoundationNutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Post game links: Ricardo's Match Report: click here to be taken there.

Videos: Articles: The bbc have their article up here.The Pinkun has it's pre match press conference article here.The club has it's match preview at canaries.co.uk here.Wolves have their own match preview article here. Ins, Outs, Shake em all abouts:Norwich: Idah, Omobamidele and Kabak won't be seen again this season. Joining them it would seem are McLean and Sargent. Zimmermann is out with a groin injury that Smith incorrectly identified as a hip flexor in the lead up to the Villa game. No real change here.Wolves: Saiss, Podence, Kilman and Somedo out injured. A little bit of knowledge:Too little time this week for this segment, apologies to those who enjoy it. Rays Funds for the Community Sports FoundationNutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something Extra:

Videos: Articles: The bbc have their article up here.The Pinkun has it's pre match press conference article here.The club has it's match preview at canaries.co.uk here.West Ham have their own match preview article here. Ins, Outs, Shake em all abouts:Norwich: Idah, Omobamidele and Kabak won't be seen again this season. Joining them it would seem are McLean and Sargent. Zimmermann is out with a groin injury that Smith incorrectly identified as a hip flexor in the lead up to the Villa game.West Ham: Craig Dawson is fit and available for selection again, Noble could start on his 35th Birthday. Referee: Robert Jones. Assistants: Ian Hussin, Wade Smith. Fourth official: Kevin Friend. VAR: Graham Scott. Assistant VAR: Simon Long. A little bit of knowledge: Founded as Thames Ironworks in 1895 and played for five years under that name before becoming West Ham Utd in 1900. West Ham have won the FA Cup three times, 1964, 1975 and 1980 and were first promoted to the top flight in 1923. They won the European Cup in 1965 and were runners up in 1976. They also won the no longer held Intertoto Cup in 1999. They are one of 8 teams to never have fallen below the second tier of English football. Like our beloved Norwich City FC, their highest ever league finish was 3rd in the old First Division (top tier of English football) in the 1985-86 season. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun.

Premier League Away Fixture to Aston Villa at Villa Park, 3pm(GMT) Kick off. Videos: Articles:The bbc have their article up here.The Pinkun has it's pre match press conference article here.The club has it's match preview at canaries.co.uk here.Villa have their own match preview article here.Ins, Outs, Shake em all abouts:Norwich: Idah, Omobamidele and Kabak won't be seen again this season. Zimmermann has a hip injury so is out. Rupp is back in contention as is Sargent. McLean continues to battle on with a fractured toe which requires injections, so may be touch and go.Villa: Lucas Digne, Kortney Hause and Morgan Sanson are all out injured. Bertrand Traore back and in contention. Referee: John Brooks. Assistants: Adam Nunn, Wade Smith. Fourth official: Kevin Friend. VAR: Lee Mason. Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard.A little bit of knowledge:Aston Villa were founded in 1874, their local rivalry with Birmingham City dates back to 1879. In their 148 year history they have won the First Division (top tier) title 7 times the last of which in 1980-81 with the others all falling pre WW1. 1981-82, on the back of their league win, saw them win the European Cup (now Champions League) and the European Super Cup. The top tier feat is repeated with the FA Cup which they have also won 7 times. Once more the last time was the 1956-57 season and bar the 1919-20 season, the others were all pre WW1. They have fared a little less successful in the League Cup, their name only featuring five times on that, though all much more recently, generally speaking from the early 1960's to the mid 1990's. They have also won the Championship/Division 2 (2nd tier) 2 times and the third tier of English football once. Until their relegation to the Championship in recent years, they were one of a few select teams that had been ever-present in the Premier League. Rays Funds for the Community Sports FoundationNutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something Extra:

Videos: Articles: The bbc seems to like us again this week and have their article up here.The Pinkun has it's pre match press conference article here. The club has it's match preview at canaries.co.uk here.Newcastle have their own match preview article here. Ins, Outs, Shake em all abouts:Norwich: Sargent(ankle) remains out for this game though is targeting the game Vs Villa for his return. Rupp(knee) is out though the injury is not serious. Idah and Omorbamidele are out for the rest of the season, as is Kabak who has returned to his parent club for treatment. McLean has a fractured toe but is fit to play, Lees-Melou came off last time out with cramp but is fit to play again today. Williams is available for selection after being ineligible Vs his parent club Man Utd. Newcastle: Isaac Hayden, Ryan Fraser, Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson and Jamal Lewis remain sidelined. Referee: Chris Kavanagh. Assistants: Marc Perry, Matthew Wilkes. Fourth official: James Linington. VAR: Simon Hooper. Assistant VAR: Wade Smith. A little bit of knowledge: Newcastle United were formed in 1892 following the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End - hence the 'united' representing the unification of the two clubs. Their home ground of St. James' Park is believed to be the oldest in England and fixtures were played there prior to the merger of the two clubs in the 1880's. They have historically won the old First Division title four times, three of which came in 1905, 1907 and 1908, the last was in 1927. They also have 6 FA cup titles to their name. In case it needs reminding, Alan Shearer remains their top scorer with 206 goals. Rays Funds for the Community Sports FoundationNutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something extra...

Todays Game is away to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Kick off is 3pm GMT. Also a message for todays away fans: Videos: Articles: Well, it would look like the BBC have got their act together and have an actual article worth of note this week, coincidence that we are playing Man Utd? The Pinkun has it's pre match press conference article here. See above for the pinkun conference vid on youtube. The club has it's match preview at canaries.co.uk here. Man Utd have their own match preview article here. Ins, Outs, Shake em all abouts: Norwich: Sargent remains out (due to return to training next week), as do Idah , Omobamidele and Kabak - all for the rest of the season, the latter of which has returned to his parent club for treatment. Gilmour and Placheta return for selection. Williams is ineligible to play in this fixture against his parent club. Man Utd: Man Utd will be without five players with Shaw pretty much being ruled out for the rest of the season. The others are McTominay, Varane, Cavani and Fred. Referee: Andy MadleyAssistants: Simon Beck, Adrian Holmes.Fourth official: Jonathan Moss.VAR: Mike Dean.Assistant VAR: Scott Ledger. A little bit of knowledge: Manchester United started life as Newton Heath L&YR FC in 1878. All of the players worked at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Depot at Newton Heath, hence their name. In 1892 they dropped the 'L&YR' and became Newton Heath FC. Then, in 1902, just as their very existence was teetering on the edge of the abyss, John Henry Davies took over and renamed the club Manchester United FC. They have amassed 20 league titles, 11 FA cups and 3 European cups and are one of the richest clubs in world football. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something extra... Just in case it's someone's birthday etc and you want to take advantage of a discount... I've linked the image to the club shop.

Videos: Articles:The Pink'Un has it's usual article on the pre match presser here.This week, the bbc doesn't seem to have bothered with it's usual pre match piece... this is the page it should be at... The club has it's own preview of the match here, at canaries.co.uk. Brighton and Hove Albion have their own pre match piece up on their site. In, out's, shaking it all abouts: NORWICH: Aarons is out (hamstring/illness), Kabak potentially out for the season with hamstring injury picked up playing for Turkey. Omobamidele (back) and Idah (knee) remain out injured. Williams (ankle) is touch and go as is Sargent (ankle). Zimmermann, Hanley and Byram are available for selection after missing our last game. BRIGHTON: Caicedo(illness), Webster and Lallana all out with the latter two having returned to training but not yet match fit to be in consideration. Referee: Simon Hooper. Assistants: Scott Ledger, Derek Eaton. Fourth official: Thomas Bramall. VAR: Kevin Friend. Assistant VAR: Simon Beck. A little bit of knowledge: Brighton were the only professional football team in Sussex until 2011 when Crawley Town were promoted to the football league. The club was founded on the 24th June 1901 at the Seven Stars public house and originally called Brighton and Hove United. Their club badge originally features dolphins after the crest of Brighton. The Seagulls were rumoured to later be adopted by a chairman who heard fans at a Palace game chant 'Seagulls' in response to their chants of 'Eagles'. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. Something extra...

Videos: Articles: The BBC have their pre game piece here. The pink'un report on the pre-match presser is here. The club have their game preview piece on canaries.co.uk here. Ins, Outs, shake it all abouts: Norwich - Sargent returns after recovering from illness. Rupp a doubt because of a hamstring tweak. Omobamidele suffered a set-back in training and is injured. Kabak is yet to return to training from being out with illness. Krul remains out injured. Man City - No Jesus or Palmer. A little bit of knowledge: Manchester City Football Club came into existence in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton) before changing Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and then, finally, Manchester City in 1894. The club entered the football league in 1899. The first trophy they won was the FA Cup in 1904 with their first, successful period coming in the late 1960's under the management of Joe Mercer and Malcome Allison winning the league, FA Cup and League Cup. A period of decline followed their appearance in the 1981 FA Cup final, a decline that saw them slip as far as the third tier of English football before a resurgence saw them get back to the premier league and then bought for £210million in 2008 by the current owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group. The rest, most of us know, hundreds of millions of pounds later, side-stepping FFP with a highly controversial "sponsorship", has bought them much success, though arguably, they continue to struggle in Europe. In fact, despite the money, the only European title to their name is the Cup Winners Cup which they won in the 1969-70 season. Rays Funds for the Community Sports Foundation Nutty has his PUPs thread up and running as usual. Please do go and take a look and take part in all of the fun. A Little Something Extra: The club has an article up having spoken to Ashley Ward recently. And for some half term fun:

Videos: Articles: Looks like the BBC have returned to normal and have their usual pre-game article. The pink'Un continues it's long history in being the number one source of presser articles for our games. And lastly, the club has it's pre-game piece on canaries.co.uk which is back with Dean Smith. Ins, Outs, Shake it all abouts... Norwich: Sargent and Kabak remain out with illness. Omobamidele back in training but Palace too soon for him. Rupp is back and fit and available for selection. Krul remains out injured. Palace: Kouyate still absent after playing for Senegal in their African cup of Nations victory. McArthur and Tomkins back in training and available for selection again. A little bit of knowledge... Palace played their home games in the grounds of Crystal Palace until 1914 which lead to their earlier nicknames being the "Glaziers" and the "Crystals" before eventually adopting the nickname they are more widely known for today, the "Eagles, in the 1970's. They are the only team to have been relegated after finishing fourth from bottom of the Premier League which occurred at the end of the 94/95 season when the league was cut from 22 members to 20. Rays Funds for the CSF @Nutty Nigel has the thread up and running again this week - please go join in / enjoy the fun for a good cause. A little something extra... And another article about youngster Saxon Earley who has signed a new contract with the club.

3pm (GMT) KO away to Wolves in the FA Cup at Molineux. Videos: Articles: Unusually, the BBC don't seem to have much build up on their page for this game. So had a look at Wolves' own site for some info on their state of play. The PinkUn pre match presser can be found here. The Canaries.co.uk preview with Tim Spiers from The Athletic. Ins, outs, shake it all abouts: Norwich: Normann and Gilmour both fit and back in contention. Rupp and Omobamidele back in training but too soon for Wolves, more likely to be back in contention for Wednesday against Palace. Sorenson recovery going well and injury not as bad as first thought, not thought to be a long absence. Krul looks like he could miss most of February if not all of it, but is doing some light training. Zimmermann is also back in training having played for the U23's as well I believe. Wolves: Saiss and Jimenez have just returned from international duty and are unlikely to be rushed back. Jonny has been training this week but Lage has said he'll be selecting from the same group as the Brentford fixture. Ruddy is often used in cup games, and the likes of Hoever, Marcal and Trincao may hope for minutes having been benched for the Brentford game. A little bit of Knowledge: Wolves were founder members of the Football League in 1888 and finished 3rd in the inaugural season and lost in the FA Cup final to Preston. Wolves were also the first club to score 7,000 league goals when Seol Ki-Hyeon scored in the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on 10 December, 2006. Around the millennium, Norwich fans came to dislike Wolves quite strongly after a certain, very nasty, Kevin Muscat smashed a young Craig Bellamy leaving him in a heap and a serious injury. Iwan Roberts would later dish out some justice... Rays funds for the CSF: As usual Rays Funds for the CSF with the PUPs has a thread for this week and you certainly all should have a look and consider joining in. Something Extra: