Norwich City club captain Grant Hanley could be back for the game against Swansea City in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
Head coach David Wagner told BBC Radio Norfolk that he's happy to have the Scottish international back in the mix, the defender has been out of action since early March 2024:
Norwich City head coach David Wagner has been speaking to the media ahead of the Canaries' match against Swansea City in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 GMT). Here are some of the key points:
Grant Hanley could be back in the squad for the Swansea game, he's been out since early March 2024. The head coach says a decision will be made on Friday
Jonathan Rowe had a precautionary scan following the Bristol City draw but has been given the all-clear and is available for Saturday
Wagner says Dimitris Giannoulis should be back in full training soon, but won't be involved against the Swans
The head coach says it's good his team has clarity about what they need to do to ensure they make it to the Championship play-offs. City have two games left
"If a player needs extra motivation for this game on Saturday, he is not from this planet!" Wagner says his players are aware of how important the next game is
On Kenny McLean winning the Player of the Season award, Wagner says the Scotsman would have got his vote too
Image source, Getty ImagesNorwich City midfielder Kenny McLean has been named as the Player of the Season for 2023/24 season.
The Scotland international has started every Championship league game for the Canaries this campaign.
He told the club's official website: "Obviously, I'm really happy with the award and the fact that the fans have voted for me to win it is pretty nice.
"We had a few candidates, which is good and means it's been pretty good, especially recently. It's great, and I appreciate all the support we've had, for me personally, and for the team throughout the season."
Gabriel Sara was second in the voting, with Josh Sargent third.
Image source, Getty ImagesJonathan Rowe has been named as the Canaries' Etty Smith Young Player of the Season for the 2023/24 campaign.
Rowe has had a breakthrough season for the club and scored 12 goals in 30 league appearances so far.
The 20-year-old told the club's official website: "It's a good feeling. I've obviously seen that Liam Gibbs won it last season, and he had a great season. It's an honour to win it. It's named after Delia's mum, and that makes it even more honourable.
"I kind of knew what I was capable of, from previous seasons. It was just about getting that opportunity to show it, and thanks to the manager for believing in me. He's given me the opportunity to showcase myself to the world, and thankfully it's paid off!"
Well done, Jonny!
Image source, Getty ImagesAmerican businessman Mark Attanasio and his group Norfolk FB Holdings are now officially joint majority shareholders at Norwich City.
The EFL have cleared the move and for the first time in over 25 years, Delia Smith and her husband Michael Wynn Jones are not the majority shareholders in their own right.
We want your views on this news.
Are you excited for the future of the football club?
Do you think Attanasio and his group will have a positive effect on the boardroom at Carrow Road?
Are you worried that Smith and Wynn Jones won't have as much influence?
Get in touch here, all opinions welcome.
After months of waiting, Norwich City have confirmed Norfolk FB Holdings, led by American businessman Mark Attanasio, have formally become joint majority shareholders of Norwich City.
The group successfully passed a number of checks by the EFL to secure 40.4 percent of the club’s ordinary shares. That's exactly the same number as Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones.
It's the first time in more than 25 years Delia and Michael are not majority shareholders in their own right.
Shareholders voted in favour of the American increasing his involvement at a general meeting held at Carrow Road back in October 2023.
Joe Dix's parents Phil and Emma Dix have set up a charity to help others whose family members are exploited by drugs gangs
A memorial match for a former Norwich City academy player will take place at Wroxham football club on 6 May 2024.
18-year-old Joe Dix was murdered in January 2022, he had been a youth team player at Carrow Road.
Current player Joe Duffy was friends with Joe Dix and has helped organise the event.
The Scrimmage spoke to former City players Declan Rudd and Ryan Jarvis who will both be involved in the special game:
Gary Gowers, My Football Writer Norwich City, external
It may seem a tad odd to kick off a Norwich City column with a homage to Arsenal but that’s what I’m about to do. Forgive me.
It’s not a huge thank you to the Gunners for delivering us the services of one Ben Knapper, or even a belated one for granting us a brief (but not brief enough) audience with the Brazilian magic of Marquinhos.
Nor am I about to sidle up to a paid-up member of the ‘big six’ – one of that select band who deem the other 86 clubs to be unworthy and who would (I suspect), if the right circumstances prevailed, be off to the European Super League quicker than you could say ‘I’m alright, Jack’.
No, it’s unrelated to all of the above, but Arsenal have got something right, which is to unearth a heart-string-tugging and emotive anthem that, when played just before kick-off, unites The Emirates in a way that under the latter years of Arsene Wenger and, more recently, under Unai Emery, felt a million miles away.
You may have heard it. Said tune is called 'North London Forever' (or, more precisely, 'Norf Landan Forevvver') and is one that they kind of commissioned by a Norf Landan singer/songwriter called Louis Dunford. If you’ve not heard it, I recommend a trip to YouTube.
It ticks all of the boxes: gets the adrenalin flowing, the chests puffed out and brings together all the disparate factions of Islington.
But what’s that got to do with Norwich City?
I’ll go route one - I think we could do with something similar.
"But we already have On the Ball, City."
Well, yes and no.
Yes, we do have On the Ball, City, which is belted out in the same ‘slot’, but those who have read my column(s) will know my thoughts on the ‘oldest and greatest football song in the world’.
I agree it’s probably the oldest but in its current guise, I’m not sure if it’s in the conversation for the greatest – not when it’s sung at a hundred miles an hour and its last line has been virtually erased from history.
It still has its moments of course, and the recent rendition before Norwich 1 Ipswich 0 was something quite special, but I reckon to get the best out of it and for it not to rest on its ‘oldest and greatest’ laurels, it could do with some competition.
So step forward Sons Of Mark – duetting brothers from the fine city who are making their way in the music industry with an indie acoustic sound that lends itself nicely to a footie anthem. And guess what … they’ve delivered one. A corker.
Those who frequented the Lion & Castle on Saturday will have seen the lads perform a Norwich City-themed set, which included their latest offering entitled, appropriately enough, Our Fine City.
Listen to it here, external (external link), external
As mentioned above, I’m not suggesting for a moment it replaces OTBC – nothing really could – but as an accompaniment, I’d say it’s just about perfect.
And if it can work in, of all places, The Emirates, then why can’t a new anthem work in Carrow Road?
Come on Norwich City, let’s make it happen.
Former Norwich City striker Ryan Jarvis was a special guest on The Scrimmage podcast this week.
He was joined by the Canaries' goalkeeper coach Declan Rudd.
Both agreed that forward Ashley Barnes is a vital player for the team.
Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds here.
Rob Butler and Chris Reeve were joined by two former Norwich City players for the Scrimmage podcast this week.
Ryan Jarvis is still playing local football for non-league Leiston, Declan Rudd is now a goalkeeping coach at his former club.
Rudd thinks City's current number one Angus Gunn is the best stopper in the Championship.
You can listen to the full podcast here.
Image source, Getty ImagesSteve Sanders, NCFC Numbers, external
Much of Norwich City’s revival this season has been placed at the feet of Josh Sargent. And fair enough, right? 12 goals in 20 games and a demonstrably transformative impact when he’s on the pitch are enough reason to think that City’s all-American action hero deserves his plaudits.
But, almost by stealth, the team’s improvement at the other end of the pitch has arguably been starker.
It’s easy to forget but, aided and abetted by that game at Home Park (sorry for dredging that one back up), their defensive start to the season was epically bad. Most goals conceded by a Norwich City team in the first 10 games for 17 years. Worst defensive record in the division after 15 games. By the end of November they’d already conceded more away from home than in the entirety of 2020/21. Yeh, grim.
A sports psychologist would advise us not to dwell on previous transgressions though, and these are changed times. The Canaries conceded eight in the three games at Carrow Road that nearly did for David Wagner in the autumn. They’ve recovered to concede the same number in their next 14 at home.
And you might not find a more succinct summation of this crazy season of two halves than this. First 22 games: 39 conceded. The next 22 games? 22 conceded.
Going from shipping goals twice a game to once a game takes some doing, so how did we get here?
A less cavalier approach to the full-back roles, a return to form for Ben Gibson and Jack Stacey in the back four, and the introduction of Marcelino Nunez’s tenacity in midfield have undoubtedly helped.
So too, surely, has the steadying presence of Angus Gunn, who once again showed on Saturday why his pair of hands are reliably safe for Norwich.
It’s difficult to quantify the performances of a keeper, but the excellent FBref, external website does some of the work, using my old friend xG (expected goals) to determine how a goalkeeper has performed based on the quality of the chances they’ve saved and conceded.
Excluding own goals, Angus has let in 43 from an xG of 47.1 in the Championship this season, so has effectively saved the Canaries four goals (4.1 if we’re being pedantic) this season, the third best record in the division. 3.0 of that 4.1 has been since Boxing Day, and these numbers don’t even include his game-changing contribution against Bristol City yet.
The unfortunate Mr Hyde to Gunn’s Dr Jekyll is George Long, who by contrast conceded 2.9 more than the chances he faced. So a very crude statistical conclusion would be that Angus’ involvement has been worth seven goals across the season.
All told it’s now 37 Norwich City clean sheets for Angus, just 136 to go to catch his dad. Norwich City fans of a certain age will know that, to paraphrase John Lennon: happiness is an in-form Gunn.
Image source, Getty ImagesRob Butler and Chris Reeve are back with another Scrimmage on BBC Radio Norfolk (Monday, 18:00 GMT).
Special guests are former Canaries Declan Rudd and Ryan Jarvis.
The panel look ahead to the final two games of the Championship regular season, can City secure their play-off place?
You can subscribe to the podcast version of the show here.
Scrimmage co-host Chris Reeve reflects on a draw for the Canaries against Bristol City and issues a rallying cry ahead of the vital game against Swansea City (Saturday, 15:00 GMT).
Tune into The Scrimmage on BBC Radio Norfolk at 18:00 on Monday or subscribe to the podcast here.
Norwich City goalkeeper Angus Gunn said his team were happy with a point against a tough Bristol City side at Carrow Road in the Championship last Saturday.
The Canaries still have their play-off aspirations in their own hands with two games left. This Saturday they host Swansea (15:00 GMT) before a trip to Birmingham City seven days later (12:30 GMT).
Here are some of your thoughts on the Canaries 1-1 draw with Bristol City in the Championship on Saturday:
Mally - Not quite firing on all cylinders against an impressive Bristol City outfit. No harm done…assuming they get back on the horse next week v Swansea!
Jeremy - A draw wasn't too bad but Norwich City could of made it 2-1 before full time yesterday.
Peter - The gap to the chasers is still maintained with one less game for them to catch us, so not a bad result for the Canaries. Bristol City are a good side and in form so the draw was a reasonable result.
Mick - Lucky to get a draw. Bristol City looked fitter and sharper than us. Substitutions were defensive yet again. Bring back Paul lambert’s attitude.
Victor - With everyone fit, there's no need to go buying forwards and strikers. McLean needs some more midfield support, and so does the defence. Sorry to say it, Gibson does not make the grade for me, and I don't know why it has taken so long for this to be obvious. No new contract then. The Academy has produced good defenders, but then we let them go!
Shaun - It was very evident that the build up play is far too slow, too many passes between centre backs and Nunez dropping too deep, creating a back three which then made it too easy for the opposing team to overrun the midfield. There's too much reliance on Stacey to create the width on the right, hopefully Rowe can offer a bit more width once fully fit.
Now is your chance to ask BBC Radio Norfolk's Chris Goreham and Rob Butler any questions you have about Norwich City as we move towards an exciting end to the Championship season.
Chris is BBC Radio Norfolk's Norwich City commentator, Rob presents Canary Call and they have travelled hundreds of miles over the years covering the club.
Send us your questions about potential play-off opponents.
Or maybe you'd like to know how long Chris spends preparing for a commentary.
What is Rob's most memorable Canary Call? Now is your chance to find out.
Perhaps you'd just like to know how many bags of sweets they scoff on an away trip.
They will be answering your questions on this website at a special location, so stay tuned!
Or email: thescrimmage@bbc.co.uk
Image source, Getty ImagesHere's the answer to our regular quiz question, which is devised by BBC Norfolk's Chris Goreham.
A reminder of the teaser:
What does Bristol City manager Liam Manning have in common with Canary greats Chris Sutton, Grant Holt and John Deehan?
The answer:
He played for non-league Norfolk side Wroxham. Sutton, Holt and Deehan also had spells at Trafford Park.
Manning was born in Norwich and played for the Yachtsmen in 2008, he was also on the books of Ipswich Town earlier in his career.
Well done if you got it right!
Image source, Getty ImagesBorja Sainz scored Norwich's equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Bristol City at Carrow Road on Saturday
Tell us what you thought about Norwich's draw at home to Bristol City in the Championship on Saturday.
Is it two points lost in the Canaries' push for the play-offs?
Or, with other results going their way, is it a point gained?
Will one more win be enough to secure a place?
Or do you think the team need to aim for two wins?
What did you think of the atmosphere at Carrow Road?
So many questions to answer! Get in touch here.
Norwich City stuttered in their push for the Championship play-offs following a 1-1 draw against Bristol City at Carrow Road on Saturday.
The visitors took the lead in the second half through Haydon Roberts, but Borja Sainz equalised just three minutes later. It's the first time City have failed to win at home in the last nine league matches.
Norwich City Women general manager Flo Allen was BBC Radio Norfolk's summariser, here are some of her full time thoughts:
"Bristol City came and executed a very good game plan.
"They are probably one of the better sides we have seen here at Carrow Road this season. They tried to play very nice football. We (Norwich) probably weren't at our best and Bristol have put in some very good performances recently.
"They've (Bristol City) taken points off Leicester City and for us (Norwich) it's another point gained. Yes, it could be seen as two points lost but it's one more point than we had at the start of the day and it does keep the momentum and this unbeaten run at Carrow Road going."
She continued: "We've got a really important game against Swansea next Saturday and then to finish the season away to Birmingham City."
Norwich City will look to continue their superb home form when they host Bristol City at Carrow Road on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
A win would see the Canaries on the brink of confirming their Championship play-off place.
You can listen to full live coverage of the game with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM, DAB and Freeview.
The guest summariser is Norwich City Women general manager and former Bristol City defender Flo Allen.
