We’re better off without Etuhu

It only seemed like yesterday when we finished our home campaign with a display that could, at best, be described as, “very end of season” against Southampton.

After a three-month summer break, we are back at Carrow Road for the first home league game of this season, and again we are due to play Southampton. No change there from the end last season.

This season, the Capital Canaries are again providing a mascot for a London away match. We hoped to get QPR as it was the first Saturday London fixture, and thanks to Chloe Bowman at Norwich City FC, we were allocated this game. A couple of weeks later we found the game had been re-scheduled for Monday evening, thanks to Sky TV. No change again.

And last season's Carling's Cup draw - the best I could say about our opposition was that a few new grounds were chalked off the list on the way to the legendary “92”. So after a home draw to Barnet, my nearest league club,

normal service has now been resumed, as

we all work out how we are going to get to Rochdale on a Tuesday evening. No change from last season then.

The Capital Canaries have obtained another great deal from our favourite train operator, One Railways. After last year's bargain basement offer, this season's price is still only £10.50 for a Saturday return trip from the capital to Norwich. Anticipating that the home travel officer would be short of 50ps, after having been offered a £10 note and a £1 coin for a £10.50 fare, we have decided to round the fare up to £11.00, so that FONCY (Friends of Norwich City Youth) benefits by 50p for every home travel ticket we sell. So no change there either for the Capital Canaries, as its all going to FONCY.

Although a number of things have not changed and are very much business as usual, the winds of change around Carrow Road can now be measured at gale-force level as Peter Grant has put his stamp on the team over the summer months. Hearing transfer stories in June, getting players in for pre-season, and the pruning of the dead wood in the squad, makes me think that Grant has got what it takes to get Norwich to be a more than competitive Championship side again.

And finally, a word on Dickson Etuhu. Or maybe a word on each of the three different Dicksons that I saw playing for Norwich over the last couple of years. The first Dickson I saw was Quality Dickson. He had pace and power. He scored goals and tackled. He got up and down the pitch. He turned up for one game in five though, but when he did, he

bullied the Chelsea midfield or he scored a Berkamp-esque goal, curling one in from miles out against Cardiff, and really looked the part.

The second Dickson I saw was Dreadful Dickson. He ambled around. He was never there, and he always seemed distracted. He turned up for the games that Quality Dickson did not fancy. Dreadful Dickson stood five yards off David Jones as he equalised for Derby at Carrow Road last season. Dreadful Dickson walked off to sarcastic applause at Luton, and clapped back - thinking we were pleased with his work that evening.

The last Dickson I saw was End-of-Season Dickson. We first caught a glimpse of End-of- Season Dickson in a Preston shirt as he stormed through Iwan's last match at Carrow Road, and as if by magic, he appeared towards the end of last year's campaign. A scout in the stand, a buy-out clause, clubs sniffing around, agents talking to him and the new mega Sky deal just around the corner are just a few of the reasons for the appearance of End-of- Season Dickson at Norwich.

Did Peter Grant get him playing, or was it that huge “Prem Sale” poster? With all due respect to our manager's motivational abilities, my vote goes to that sign in the shop window. Look on the bright side. We got £1.5 million for a player who turned up when he felt like it. End-of-Season Dickson would have soon turned back into Dreadful Dickson, seeing his mates raking in fifteen grand a week and sulking that he had not got his dream move to the Prem.

We are much better off without him.