Chris Goreham: The Norwich City pundit connection at World Cup

The answer is the one and only Chris Sutton. No stranger to these pages, the former Norwich City striker is part of the BBC Radio commentary team at the World Cup. He learnt his trade at the Canaries’ old training ground 30 years ago.  

Even then the modest surroundings felt rather dated for a top flight football club. Yet one of those Trowse teachings was trotted out in the more illustrious 40,000 capacity Al Thumama Stadium in Doha last week. 

Netherlands and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk had just headed a decent scoring opportunity over the bar against Senegal.  

“You want a ‘good morning vicar’ there,” Sutton pontificated. I was driving at the time and had something to think about while stuck in the rush hour traffic around Norwich.  

After all these years, here was a football term I had never heard before. Thankfully, Sutton’s partner in the commentary box Alistair Bruce-Ball was equally perplexed. “He just can’t get high enough to head that ball down into the floor as we were taught in the Norwich City Academy,” Sutton continued. 

How exciting to have the lid lifted on just a little bit of the genius that was the Canaries youth set-up at the time. Under the stewardship of the great Keith Webb and his coaches Norwich City had a conveyer belt of talent coming through. Whenever a big star in the first team got sold there was always a Dale Gordon, Ruel Fox, Chris Sutton, Darren Eadie or Craig Bellamy to name just a few ready to break through. It’s a formula the club still tries to emulate now. 

Now we know just one of the secrets they were taught. Every time a cross came into the opposition penalty box they had to picture themselves nodding a friendly good morning to the local vicar. Perhaps this explains the career path of Phil Mulryne post-football. He took a different kind of inspiration from that training session and became a priest. 

There has been a lot of focus in Norfolk on Josh Sargent as the Canaries’ only representative at the World Cup but this couldn’t be further from the truth. You can’t move in Qatar at the moment without bumping into someone who has played up front for Norwich City. If Sargent is in any way still haunted by his difficult first season at Carrow Road he could set-up quite a useful support group in Doha. It’s become a lad’s holiday for haunted Norwich number 9’s. 

So far I have heard or seen Sutton, Dion Dublin, Dean Ashton and John Hartson working on the coverage across radio and television. Iwan Roberts is out there for BBC Radio Wales too. Robert Earnshaw has popped up regularly during the tournament on Sky Sports with his thoughts on Robert Page’s team. 

Josh Sargent has got his very own Norwich City support network if he needs it in Qatar (Image: Focus Images)

The Norfolk knowledge doesn’t just come from the strikers. Former City goalkeeper Robert Green is one of the main pundits on 5 Live’s commentary of England matches and Diss’s own Matthew Upson is often alongside him. 

To borrow one classic Canary Call quote “What are they doing in training, Neil?” Well, whatever it was at Trowse or Colney over the years some of it must have stuck. It’s hard to think of many other clubs who can boast that so many of their former players are now considered expert enough to be part of the biggest stage of all. 

Perhaps I should be using this as a selling point for potential summarisers with us on BBC Radio Norfolk. Those hard lessons learnt on the Norwich City training ground can take you all the way to a World Cup, in a broadcasting role at least. 

If you come across any members of the clergy just remember to give them a polite greeting. 

Go get 'em Sarge

Josh Sargent’s rise to a fully-fledged World Cup striker hasn’t just caught the Canary imagination. 

Last week I had the chance to interview two of his former youth coaches in America. Ken Godat and Gavin Cuddy first worked with Sargent when he was 13-years old at the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club. 

They both talked of a player whose work rate caught the eye as much as his raw talent. It will have struck a chord with Norwich City supporters who have watched the fully grown Sargent battle through a tough first season at Carrow Road to become the club’s top scorer. 

Sargent and his USA team mate Tim Ream (who plays for Fulham) have become poster boys for the St. Louis club. So much so that Ken was delighted to share that some of his current young players actually dressed up as Josh Sargent for Halloween last month, He had the pictures to prove it. 

Someone in that part of Missouri has been doing a decent trade in big orange wigs and Norwich City shirts. 

It made me think of how unusual it is to go to a fancy dress party as a real person. Batman, Superman and generic pirate costumes are ten to the dozen. How many players from Norwich City history have a characteristic unique enough to be instantly recognisable? 

I suppose a 90s goalkeeping jersey, some gloves and one of those swimming hats that make you look bald would be a very good Bryan Gunn. Any youngsters currently missing their two front teeth could easily pass as Iwan Roberts and there is the more subtle trait of wearing inside out socks that Mark Bowen used to favour. 

There was a time when Norwich city centre was full of young men who all looked like they’d gone to see their barber while clutching a picture of Darren Huckerby. When he joined permanently on Boxing Day 2004 he bought The Huck Finn to Norfolk with him. 

If Sargent’s pre-World Cup form lasts when he returns to the Canaries next month perhaps we’ll see something similar in the stands at Carrow Road.