As you may have guessed from writing a review on Carrow Road, I am a fan of Norwich City Football Club. A little background into the club might be helpful to start of with, after all, this is the reason you would be sitting here!

~ The Club

Norwich City are currently sitting at the top of Division One. If they manage to stay in that position until mid-May they will gain promotion into the Premiership with the ‘big guns’ eg. Man Utd, Arsenal and the like. I will leave my opinion on our current progress and predictions for future games out of this, as I don’t want to end up disappointed at the end of the season. Fellow ‘canaries’ will understand what I mean if I mention the 2001/02 season when we just lost out to Birmingham on penalties.

The club itself is a family friendly club with has had a rich vein of talent progress from it’s youth squad in the last decade. The latest headline grabber being Craig Bellamy, currently plying his trade (and throwing chairs) at Newcastle. The club was in the Premier League until the mid-nineties when disaster stuck with our then-chairman Robert Chase (boo hiss) selling our best players, which ultimately ended up in relegation. A few years before Norwich had been in Europe (a huge achievement for a small club) where we beat Bayern Munich (one of the best teams at the time) and narrowly losing to Inter Milan (one of the greats).

~Carrow Road (exterior)

So, what’s the ground like? Until recently Carrow Road consisted of three very good stands and a shed as a forth. We may thank Mr Chase for that, as well as the under-soil heating and training facilities, but let’s not get carried away here, he’s not a very liked man. The n
ew stand (South Stand )is in place and makes the place look complete. Behind the goals you have the Barclay Stand, (The ‘in’ stand where the ‘real’ supporters are) and the ‘Norwich and Peterborough Stand’ (Family Area), both stands are two tiers. Opposite the South Stand you have the ‘Geoffrey Watling City Stand’ which is where the Directors Box (Wave at Delia!), the Executive Boxes and generally the older supporters sit. The dug-outs are also this side. Both the South and Watling Stands are single tier, however NCFC have plans with the South Stand. The ground has in-fills at the corners of the four stands, which makes the stadium look more enclosed as opposed to being straight with areas missing. Current attendances are a sell-out, around 24,500. Disabled catered for in the South Stand. Support/Atmosphere is good in the Lower Barclay and the Snakepit Area (corner between the Barclay and Geoffrey Watling). Other areas tend to be on the quiet side.

~Carrow Road (interior)

As most people know, Delia Smith (along with her hubby) have a seat each on the board. A scheme that was suggested and implemented a few seasons ago was the introduction of a new ‘posh’ restaurant and upgraded the current food outlets. I haven’t eaten in the restaurant myself but have been told the food is good and reasonable (you are looking at about £20 a head). Otherwise the half time food is really what you would expect (pies, crisps etc) although I have had some awful food at a couple of away games. Stewards are friendly enough and there is a small police presence. Even derby games against our rivals Ipswich produce little agro from either side.

~The &#
65;rea

Carrow Road is a ten-minute walk from the City Centre. Norwich does operate several park and ride schemes on the outskirts of the city. Coming to car isn’t a problem. The ground is sign posted clearly on A11 (The South) and the A47 (The West). For car parking there is a large car park (The City Council) just around the corner. I believe they only charge a couple of pounds on matchday. The train station is just the other side of the Riverside Complex (more of that in a min) and takes 5 minutes.

Pub wise you have a decent selection, all near the ground. City fans normally come in their droves from the City whereas a lot of the away support drink in the Clarence Harbour. A new development is the Riverside complex. Although obviously the river has always been there, the whole area was a bit nasty. In the last few years the whole area has had an overhaul and now boasts a few bid shops and a decent selection of pubs/bars and clubs. You also have a cinema and a bowling alley to make it a whole day out rather than a few hours.

~Literature

Official matchday programme will set you back two and a half pounds sterling. The fanzine Y’army is a pound as was another by the name of ‘Man Utd are on the telly again’ although I believe that no longer exists although it was a good read.

~Costs

Average for the league and team. Around £20 an adult ticket. Norwich do categorise opponents so certain games are cheaper than others.

~ The Football

As mentioned previously, Norwich are top of the table. The current team looks good with a great manager and a good board behind him. We have had a few shaky performances of late but I hope for myself and the people of Norfolk we can have a team
in the Premiership. (Touch Wood)

~Contacts

NCFC
Carrow Road
Norwich
NR1 1JE

01603 760760 for General Enquires.

0870 444 1902 for Tickets. (1902 The year they were formed - clever, eh?). The club has had stick for introducing this number, first 100 callers get put in a queue, but as far as I can see it makes it more fair as previously it was luck if you got through.

Thanks for reading, and if you get the chance, pop down to Carrow Road.

tbsgt