A question for Norwich City fans ... who’s your Canaries Cult Hero?

Grant Holt - having another laugh at Ipswich's expense Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd (Image: Focus Images 2011)

Cult hero

Noun: a writer, musician, artist, or other public figure who is greatly admired by a relatively small audience or is influential despite limited commercial success.

If you want to translate that into football terms it might be a player you really like but maybe, just maybe, isn’t the world’s greatest footballer. Personally, I take issue with that: football’s version of “despite limited commercial success” is arguably “you just don’t know how good he is”.

Like Ipswich Town fans who could never, but never accept how brilliant Darren Huckerby was. Was Hucks a cult hero? Did he have cult status?

Kevin Keelan - a legend... and a Cult Hero? Picture: Archant

You don’t have to be a legend to be a cult, but you can be both. Can’t you?.

Anyway, we’re not here to unstitch the football lexicon. We’re here to introduce a new series looking at Norwich City Cult Heroes. The players who fill that notional description, and why. It’s all very well putting a name forward, but there have to be legitimate reason why he has attained Cult Hero status. You can’t just throw names in willy nilly, this is serious business. Industries have been created on less.

According to FourFourTwo magazine, Dagenham and Redbridge’s number one cult hero is Jamie Cureton. But is he Norwich City’s?

That same survey (it was actually just asking one person), City’s cult hero is Grant Holt.

I sort of see that. His attitude, the strut, the laugh, the slow, but sure destruction of Ipswich Town.

But I prefer mine a little below the plimsoll line. Ones who you know, maybe, but are bubbling under.

Anyone remember Robin Friday? he played for Reading and Cardiff in a career that lasted four years in the mid-70s. Smoking, drinking, womanising and drug abuse (not condoning it) pepper his life story. And he was voted Reading’s best ever player three times. He died at the age of 25. That’s the extreme end of Cult Hero status.

Norwich City have a few candidates; Kevin Keelan or Bryan Gunn perhaps. Currently it might well be Tim Krul (what is it about goalkeepers?). But there will be lots. Why? Because, to me, you cannot really put your finger on the reason why your cult hero holds that status. It is something unexplainable. Something perhaps only you know the answer to.

I’ll set the ball rolling on Monday with one of my favourites, Youssef Safri.

But please, tell us, who’s your cult hero, and why? It doesn’t matter how obscure ... within reason! We’ll raid the library for some nice pictures and explore just what makes your player a Cult Hero... just email us at norfolksport@archant.co.uk or pop your thoughts into the comments below...