Premier League . . . and Grant Holt is having a laugh during the derby victory at Portman Road. Picture: Paul Chesterton / Focus Images
Why we won’t be watching the clock
David Cuffley
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
10:54 AM
It must be a really difficult time to be an 1p5wich Town fan – so we can afford to show a little understanding to our downtrodden football neighbours.
Bitter blow: Town's Grant Leadbitter after the 5-1 defeat by the Canaries.Norwich City’s rapid elevation to a place among the elite of the English game must have been a bitter pill to swallow south of the border, not least when it was accompanied by the two biggest derby drubbings Town have ever suffered at the hands of the Canaries.
So we should not be surprised that they are Green ’Un with envy, so much so that our friends at the Evening Star have launched their own “relegation countdown” clock on their website homepage.
They tell their online visitors: “‘Off the Boil City’ is a countdown clock recording the days until the Canaries regain their rightful place in the football hierarchy – the Championship.
“And we’re sure that Town fans will be Delia-lighted to pass the old enemy coming up if our new manager takes his Jewells up to the Premiership (sic) next season.”
If only they had talked to us first. We tried it once – and it doesn’t work.
We set the Pink ’Un “Down Town Clock” – nothing to do with Petula Clark – ticking in the 2000-01 season after George Burley had taken Ipswich into the top flight. Their response was to finish fifth and qualify for Europe.
We know, only too recently, how difficult it is to be a whole division below your biggest rivals, but a year looking upwards from League One is relatively painless compared to being stuck in the Championship while your neighbours are heading off to Old Trafford, Anfield and the Emirates Stadium, and entertaining some of the world’s greatest players on home turf.
The plain fact is that nearly every club is where it deserves to be, and the Canaries have earned their place in the Premier League.
After four seasons stumbling from one crisis to the next, City put their house in order, recruited a bright young manager and pulled off arguably the greatest achievement in their 109-year history – back-to-back promotions.
Paul Lambert’s record in 89 league games in charge of Norwich speaks for itself with 52 wins, 22 draws and only 15 defeats.
Compare that to the much-trumpeted appointment of Roy Keane at Portman Road, which brought Town and their invisible owner 28 wins, 25 draws and 28 defeats, a recipe for mid-table mediocrity and fans’ indifference.
Despite that derby humiliation in April, Paul Jewell may make a better job of it, and good luck to him. But that is not our concern – and neither are most Town fans preoccupied with City’s Premier League fortunes, to judge from their reaction to the “relegation countdown”.
According to Kingfisher: “This is exactly the problem with us as a football club – we spend all of our time worrying about Norwich. Look what they have achieved and how they have got to where they are with enthusiasm and team spirit.”
And Bluenproud, a “lifelong Blues fan and season ticket-holder”, admits: “Norwich taught us a lesson twice last season and were a better team all over the park! Take a look at our own team, under performing, lacking heart. Portman Road is like a morgue nowadays.”
Straight from the horse’s mouth – in this case the Suffolk Punch.
Rest assured, we in Norwich will not be clock-watching.
NORWICH CITY - REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
• Status: Premier League
• Championship position 2010-11: 2nd
• Average league attendance 2010-11: 25,386 (highest since 1972-73)
• Season ticket-holders: 21,833 (1,718 on waiting list, May 25)
• Recent highlights: Division One play-off finalists 2002, Nationwide League champions 2004, League One champions 2010, Championship runners-up 2011.
IPSWICH TOWN - REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
• Status: Championship
• Championship position 2010-11: 13th
• Average league attendance 2010-11: 19,614 (below 20,000 for first time this century)
• Season ticket-holders: 13,000 (latest published figure, May 20)
• Highlights in past 10 seasons: Division One play-off semi-finalists 2004, 2005, Carling Cup semi-finalists 2011.
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8 comments
I hope they have a good season and we have a better one - if we can stay in the Prem and they get promotion to it then that would be a great outcome for the next season and then derby games to look forward to again. If we can't stay in the Prem and they get promotion ..... well that would be hard to take!
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LR Series 2A
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Simply classic. Haters will hate!! I love the "Ip5w1ch" part at the very beginning! But dont stoop down to their level, we got to where we are through talent and proffesionalism, dont let the binners bring us down!! NCFC OTBC ILWT & YELLOWARMY!!
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KevBarnbrook
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Great comments NCFCtillidie... I couldn't agree more. Refreshing... very refreshing!
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North-East-Canary
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Great response from the town fans. A lot of reporters really don't have a clue these day and try to come up with gimmicks to get readers. Do some proper reporting for once, tell us what happening in the youth systems etc etc. I'm Norwich through and through, but unlike a lot of people, i also hope other East Anglian Clubs do well. Would love to see Ipswich promoted so the Greatest Derby of them All would be on TV every year. So come on Mr Jewell get some passion into that team and lets show the rest of the country that East Anglia has two of the best clubs in England.
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NCFCtillidie
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
I thought this article was well witten and amusing, but I wish the clock nonsense had just been ignored. I remember the cringing embarrasment of seeing the PinkUn's clock when Ipswich last got promoted. The reaction of Town fans now shows that we don't need to comment, or to be arrogant over the success we're enjoying at the moment.
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MartinL
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
But have you seen what the Ipswich fans have been saying? Check out their comments as they think their paper is stupid too. One states, "Norwich have achieved what all Town Fans want. Promotion to the Premiership. I hope they avoid relegation & make the EADT look stupid. Editor you need to look at your team & make some changes asap." Another writes, "So, you've heard and read the overwhelming wave of opinions aginst this daft idea of yours. Are we now going to remove this offending article or are you going to persist in behaving so badly? Clearly there is strong opposition to this so take it off - it is not something we want or need. Support the Blues in a positive way or don't bother at all. You clearly do not have the mandate of your readership to continue with this ridiculous concept of inciting the downfall of another football club. " Yet another writes, "This is such a stupid idea... Re Norwich... Bullard was the only one of "our" players who would get in their side, so good luck to them." So well done Ipswich fans for putting passion first and stupity and childish tit-for-tat down the toilet where it belongs. And Pink 'Un... take note... Let not our favourite paper dive to the depths of shoddy reporting whatever happens next season. Add your view | Report this comment Lord Bumble Monday, June 20, 2011 .Fendog - you are quite clearly not in the minority! I wonder what the perpetrator(s) of this stupid piece will come up with if Norwich stay up and Ipwich go down. It could happen - I mean, who would have thought that Sheffield would have two teams in the third tier of English football?
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North-East-Canary
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Hahaha the best photos ever!! especially the one with Holt :)
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citycanary
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
This article has 2 of the best photos ever!
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Crazy
Tuesday, June 21, 2011