Chris Lakey Norwich City have won over some new fans as they prepare for their first pre-season friendly on Saturday - their hosts at Dartford. The Canaries travel to Kent as part of the deal which brought striker Cody McDonald to Carrow Road at the beginning of the year.

Chris Lakey

Norwich City have won over some new fans as they prepare for their first pre-season friendly on Saturday - their hosts at Dartford.

The Canaries travel to Kent as part of the deal which brought striker Cody McDonald to Carrow Road at the beginning of the year.

And Darts chairman Bill Archer says it's been a pleasure doing business with City.

“Norwich have been absolutely excellent with us, helping to arrange things and helping with what we're doing - and that's regarding everything, from the beginning,” he said.

“It's so refreshing to have a nice league football club, it's been really nice. A lot of the time league clubs are arrogant and everything else, that's how we've found a few, but Norwich have been a refreshing change from that. They have been really good, right the way from when they first showed the interest in Cody.

“It has been very professional - lovely people to work with.”

McDonald cost City around �25,000, but the evidence suggests it could prove to be a bargain: the 23-year-old scored on his debut and in one start and six sub appearances rarely looked out of place.

He came to City on the back of 19 goals in 20 appearances for Dartford - and Archer says there was no way the Isthmian League Division One North club were ever going to stand in his way.

“He was excellent for us,” he said. “He was one of these players who if he hadn't gone we would probably have gone up, or at least got into the play-offs. But you can't stand back and stop someone doing something, not something as big as that. We are so pleased he has done so well there. It has obviously been a young footballer's dream come true.

“Cody has got that little something special which with the right training will bring it right out.

“I remember one game we were losing 1-0. It was a cup game and he was on the bench because we were trying to save him. We brought him on and he scored three goals, all individual efforts.

“He has got the skill, he has got the vision to see what's going on around him. There was a goal he scored which came after a defender cleared it straight up in the air. The ball went really high and all the players were standing waiting for it to come down. Only Cody was moving - he knew where it was going and subsequently he tapped the ball into the net.”

Archer believes all parties benefited from the sale.

“You get what you can and it's all very well saying you could have got this or that but we've also got this friendly and a sell-on clause and all we hope is Cody does well - and we then do well from his success,” he said.

“It's going to be great seeing him and Norwich here on Saturday.”

Dartford have sold more than 2,000 tickets, although fans can get in on the day.