Yesterday was without a doubt a very good team performance by City, even Billy Davies the Nottingham Forest manager admitted that his team was lucky to have got away with a point.  I know that the 2000+ travelling yella army had a dam good day out, but sadly for one of them his day ended in pain from a broken nose, coming from a needless attack and display of thuggery and violence.

The young man in question is a die hard City supporter, season ticket holder in the Barclay, having only just reached 16 his parents have given him a little freedom to go to more away matches, I hope this disgusting incident doesn't put the lad off from going  or stop him wearing his outfit.  I know him personally and couldn't wish to meet a nicer lad, in fact he recently gave up a day to help me move house, I cannot say I have heard him or seen him partake of anything more than the usual freindly banter at matches.
This type of incident has to be stamped out at any football ground,  I have posted a picture of the lad in his outfit, with the hope someone will come forward as a witness to the Police and these absolute gutless cowards can be brought to justice.



 I have been in contact with the family and the lad's dad informed me, The EEN have published a story, The Sun have visted today as well,  Nottingham Forest FC have contced them requesting details,  Police are to take statements plus the good news several fans have come forward as witnesses. Due to see Doctor tomorrow to access injuries

The family would love to pass on their thanks for countless messages of support and best wishes they have recieved.

...Don’t turn around ‘cos you’re not welcome any more.

So goes the words from that Gloria Gaynor number, “I will survive”.

Darel Russell has walked away from Norwich City twice in his career.

The first time was allegedly due to a falling out with Nigel Worthington over disciplinary matters. Although, collecting an injury at about the time he refused a contract, the Club did continue to pay him until he could legally walk away to Stoke City in the end.

The latest saga saw his head turned again by some unknown lure, but money is usually the draw. During the last season he was the engine room in our push to get back to the Championship at the first attempt.

It looked, to all intents and purposes, as though he would be a prime mover for the coming season, but he refused a new contract.

It would be understandable if he went to Preston North End because they offered a three year contract as opposed to a two year deal or less. But no...

Russell is reported to have said: “"It was a no-brainer decision from a footballing point of view.

"It looks like a club that are trying to play in the right way which is a big thing, and they have the right mentality of trying to bring the young lads through and progress that way."

That gives the impression that Russell had a fall out with Lambert. Over who should play? Is the lunatic trying to dictate terms to the asylum superintendant?

As for “the right way”, it is hard to understand what was wrong with a team that refused to accept defeat and steal a victory just as the early leavers were starting their cars in the car park.

One good thing to come out of this, last time Russell ran off, we got promoted to the Premier League very soon after. And how ironic for Russell that, after dumping Stoke City to come back to Carrow Road, they went up. It would seem that Russell is his own destruct button.

He could have chosen to go without firing a parting shout about the “footballing point of view” and “playing the right way”.

Russell was a popular figure here at Carrow Road, but has he said too much and eroded the welcome he would have received?

From where I sit he has...

Never have wanted to watch football on the TV with the volume turned down before, but this World Cup is the first because of those dam hideously sounding horns, (vuvuzelas)  

I see that officials at Cardiff three main stadiums Millennium Stadium,Cardiff City Stadium and the SWALEC Stadium taken the step of banning the things; along with Wimbledon The All England tennis club.

I hope that every football club in the UK follows suit and ban the horrible sounding bits of plastic, I do not want to pay good money watching my team play to go home with a stinking headache caused by the din these things make,  my team can sometimes get me into that state without any other help..

The general animosity to the horn has also seen over quarter of a million people sign up to a petition on Facebook, calling for a ban on the vuvuzela. The web site, www.banvuvuzela.com also shows, at lunchtime on Saturday June 19, 90,703 people in favour of a ban with 9,405 recording their support for the instrument.  Why not cast your vote ?

I have tried my hardest not to comment on our friend at Colchester, but I simply couldn't let it pass with adding my tuppence worth.

I have gone over Cowling's apology several times, and for the life of me I can't work out why he is apologizing and what for. 

Lets take my WHY first:  The email recipient has since sent copies of the emails to a Norwich newspaper, who have today published a story relating to their content.

Had this matter not made it's way to the media, he would no doubt just have got on with things, quite happy he got another few digs at Norwich City and one of their fans. But becuase of the way it has been publicised he has to act and supposedly apologize.

Now the What

I cannot see where he actually says sorry for the very distasteful and insulting Nazi Jibe, all he has said sorry for was allowing himself to be drawn in to a slanging match.
 He says his comments were retaliation for a personal attack,  now this  personal attack was made up of being called a t**thead, and sh*t-stirring. Yet he agreed publicy with the City fans chants at their home game, that was certainly a lot stronger than this. 

Weak excuse really !

I was alittle taken back when I read a heavy-weight national daily had only centred on his Clowns remark, chosing to omit the Nazi jibe.  

I am sure the Germans were overjoyed at Hitler's early successes but I wouldn't want to label your 2 clowns in the same category as Hitler and the Nazis. That would be unfair on our European neighbours.

That would be unfair on our European neighbours. This is the centre of the whole comment which comes straight from the gutter; as it  infers they were worse than the Nazi's. 

Now if you or I had made that comment inside, say Carrow Road with it being over heard I am sure we would soon be labelled a racist and more than likely charged for it; and rightly so. 

Yet this man seemingly is getting away scot free, without actually apologizing or retracting the statement.  He then goes on to say that it doesn't reflect his honest opinions, Shame the FA can,t  actually act.

 I am left to wonder if his honest opinions are even stronger and more insulting ?

He then goes on to say:

 I can't stop being passionate about Colchester United and I will continue to stand my ground when I think I am in the right. I am very quick to defend myself when I believe I am in the right and therefore it is only right that I am just as quick to apologise when I'm in the wrong. Sorry.


Forgive me here, but where the heck is about Colchester, he has already said it was retaliation for a Mild personal attack, nothing to do with Colchester in this particular incident,  he says he will continue to stand his ground when HE believes he is in the right. Now I can't see where this is defending himself, more like an uncalled for violent verbal attack  than anything else.

He finishes off by saying sorry again, but I am still left unsure what he is saying sorry for, for retaliating or being shown up in the media ?   It doesn't look like being for the distasteful comments, to me. 

He could do well to take a leaf out of one of those he chooses to insult.  

Alan Bowkett who said :

 “Oh dear, oh dear. Robbie will be Robbie. It would not be appropriate to say more.”


So we won't

Latest news indicates that Crystal Palace has avoided liquidation because Pricewaterhousecoopers, acting on behalf of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has agreed in principle to sell Selhurst Park, a condition that the purchasing consortium, CPFC 2010, insisted upon before buying the club.

Reading the details of this recent drama reveals that property developers had made a significantly higher bid to buy the stadium. We, as tax payers, have an 84 per cent interest in the RBS. Which means that, as tax payers, Pricewaterhousecoopers has deprived us all of what may well turn out to be a considerable difference in the money made on this deal.

So what? People might argue. This is a football club, and deserves special consideration. Really? Look at the recent major shareholder/owner, Simon Jordan.

Jordan is a successful business entrepreneur who chose to gamble on the possible riches that a successful Premiership football club can make. He didn’t enter into this as a complete novice to the cut and thrust of business. He did, however, enter into it like a well-heeled gambler walks into a casino with every intention to win a lot, even if it cost him a lot in the first place.

He made his play and the ball landed on red instead of black. Like any sore loser he started to dump his holdings in Crystal Palace and still claims that the club still owes him close to £8m, a figure almost laughed at by the club administrators.

Would that my bank of the time had such a sympathetic view when my business went to the wall some years ago. If I had been let off of just a few thousand quid I might have just been able to hold out long enough to start making a profit instead of robbing Peter to pay Paul. My business wasn’t a football club, though, and my loans were called in, which meant that I went bust and my business is a mere memory.

So what is the difference between my tiny little one-man operation and Simon Jordan’s tenure as the owner of Crystal Palace? He knew what he was doing, that’s what. He put in money that he never really had, backed by the security of Palace’s assets and present in the form of huge overdrafts.

There might be an argument that Crystal Palace Football Club should not have to suffer because one man was lured by the sterling symbol. But consider this; without the club could Jordan have gambled?

And who should carry the blame for this whole sorry saga? Simon Jordan will not go away with the stigma of no longer being a “fit and proper person” and barred from buying into another football club. And Crystal Palace, although considerably less well-heeled, will be free, as a business, to start gambling upon success once more.

Somehow this doesn’t sit right with me.

So Norwich City will play Everton in a pre-season friendly. “Friendly” is a term that implies that there is nothing to be gained from the game, apart from raising players’ fitness levels and some extra income for the crowd that a Premier League team might draw.

Because “Friendly” certainly cannot mean a bond of comradeship or mutual appreciation by Norwich City supporters for a Club that once reported the Canaries travelling supporters for racist chants.

Delia Smith once refused to sit in the Everton director’s box when we were promoted to the Premier League, calling Everton a “sad club” when, after a third round FA Cup tie at Goodison Park, the then Public Relations Officer at the Merseyside Club had reported NCFC to the FA for racist chants. (Link to Telgraph report.)

The accusations were made after the referee had booked Nigerian Joseph Yobo for a foul and Wayne Rooney chose to interfere with the booking. Rooney was called a FAT b***ard by Norwich supporters and that, somehow, was misunderstood to have been BLACK b***ard, aimed at Yobo.

The FA did back Everton by saying it was possible that officials may have heard a small minority of Norwich supporters chanting racist remarks, but concluded that audio evidence could not prove that the majority of Norwich fans were guilty.

Despite an online petition that was started by carrowroad dot net, and approaches by former Club Chief Executive, Neil Doncaster, Everton officials stubbornly refused to apologise for labelling every single one of us as being guilty as charged.

Then, in 2009, Everton were accused of racism after allegedly throwing bananas at Blackburn player El Hadji Diouf. This was disproved eventually, although Diouf insisted that he was the target of racial abuse by even the ball boys at Goodison Park.

Perhaps time heals wounds and plenty of water has flowed under the bridge since then, but to many of us innocent people that attended Goodison Park that afternoon, the lack of an apology indicates that Everton football Club and its officers think we are all racist!

A plea to all those in the Snake Pit who are possibly facing bans for encroachment onto the pitch after the Gillingham game - stay put!

It isn’t smart – it isn’t clever, it doesn’t make you look big. Besides there are thousands of us who wish to applaud the players and coaching staff and a few idiotic morons could spoil things for the rest of us.

You could apportion some of the blame to the stewards and police because, according to subsequent assertions, the offenders had previously boasted to the stewards that they planned a pitch invasion. So why did neither the stewards nor the police reinforce the security in that area?

According to the official site, security cameras have identified you all and the Club is letting you get away with it, unless you hurt one of the stewards believing you would be hidden in the crowd. Then the ban stays in force.

The excuse given by the Club is pathetic in comparison to the encroachment when season tickets were thrown at Bryan Gunn. That was another case of a couple acting out what many of us felt like doing.

If I was one of those two I would be asking the Club why they are so rigorous in applying the law to them yet so lax when the Club has a cause to be celebrating.

That is by the by. Yes, you want to shake the players by the hand. So does everyone else. Yes, you want to make your pleasure known, so does everyone else. However, everyone else either follows the rules or is unable to encroach onto the pitch. Thus everyone else shows their thanks and joy by applause.

We will not be granted even that privilege if the pitch is invaded. The Club will not allow the lap of honour if the rules aren’t followed.

Besides, you must all be very young because we didn’t have pitch invasions when we went up into the Premiership, apart from one supporter from the Lower Barclay who hardly spilt a drop of his beer (how did he get that past the stewards?).