Changing times

Gary Smith, NCISA

So off we go this weekend for yet another away trip in a cup competition, Carlisle away a round trip of just less than six hundred miles for the Yellow Army at a kick-off time of 5.15pm and streamed live on the internet on the fa.com!

No wonder people seem to have lost interest in recent years in this once “holy grail” of cup competitions. I remember as a youngster the third round of the FA cup was one of the highlights of the season, the romance of a big side or a giant killing side playing your team with their first choice eleven on a cold January Saturday at 3pm was what football is all about!

Premier League teams fielding reserve sides and the withdrawal of Manchester United to play in the World Club Championship a few years ago is what's ruining our national game, twin that with the FA and their gimmicks/ridiculous kick off times the competition certainly in my eyes has been devalued and lost some of its glamour.

Wouldn't it be nice if the FA took the bull by the horns or so to speak and made these “big teams” play their first elevens and returned all the games to 3pm on a Saturday and maybe some of this mystique would return to the competition?

On the league front everything currently looks very rosy for the Canaries. The form team in the league and thirty five goals coming from three players and we are yet to reach December, even the defence seems to be able to defend at times and the diamond formation has proved productive and, more importantly for us spectators, a pleasure to watch.

For me, Darel Russell is crucial to the team and has been outstanding this season playing the best football of his career in a yellow shirt and since he has been back in the side it's no coincidence that results have improved.

I would like to welcome to the club the two new loan additions and more than likely permanent deals of Russell Martin and Anthony McNamee. Russell is well known to Paul Lambert from his time at Wycombe and with skippering Peterborough United to promotion last year I am sure he is more than capable. Anthony McNamee is the signing that really interests me though because at long last perhaps we have that magical player that can take on a defender and beat the last man that we have drastically missed since the legend of Hucks.

I know you don't win anything in November and we cannot allow ourselves to get carried away but at least a feel good factor has started to creep back into the club that has long been overdue, strengthening the squad while we are in a strong position and actually expecting win matches once again, changing times indeed.