Norwich City

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City begin their FA Cup campaign on Saturday when they host League One Bristol Rovers at Carrow Road (15.00 GMT).

The Canaries have reached the semi-finals on three occasions, the last time was in 1992.

Their most memorable run was in 1959 when they made it to the final four of the competition before losing to Luton Town at St Andrew's in a replay.

What are your stand-out Canary FA Cup memories?

We'd love you to get in touch here to tell us.

You can listen to a special programme about the ‘59 Cup run here.

Norwich City supporters have been discussing the Canaries' tactics in the 1-1 draw with Southampton on New Year's Day.

City played with three central defenders, had limited possession and soaked up the pressure, but they did come away from the game with a Championship point.

The returning Josh Sargent scored Norwich's goal, here's what he had to say about the new system:

Image source, Getty Images

On this day - 4 January 1992

A Robert Fleck penalty gave Norwich a 1-0 win over Barnsley at Carrow Road in the FA Cup third round.

It was the start of a memorable run for the Canaries, which saw them reach their second semi-final in the space of three years.

They were ultimately beaten by Sunderland in the last four at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium.

Here are their results in the tournament that season:

Third round - Barnsley (H) 1-0

Scorer: Fleck

Fourth round - Millwall (H) 2-1

Bowen, Fleck

Fifth round - Notts County (H) 3-0

Sutton 2, Phillips

Sixth round replay (after extra time): Southampton (H) 2-1

Newman, Sutton

Semi-final: Sunderland (N) 0-1

Ashley Barnes has been an important player for Norwich City this season, but he was left out of the squad for the draw against Southampton on New Year's Day.

The 34-year-old striker was taken off during the defeat at Millwall, this appeared to be to avoid him being sent-off following a couple of flare-ups with opposition players.

Defender Shane Duffy was rested for that Millwall match, but was back for the Southampton game at Carrow Road.

Head coach David Wagner has been explaining his decision to rotate the squad:

Image source, Getty Images

On this day - 3 January 2009

Norwich City met fellow Championship strugglers Charlton Athletic in an FA Cup third round tie at The Valley.

Jonjo Shelvey gave the Addicks the lead and City manager Glenn Roeder said he was a player who had a big future:

"I think the lad [Shelvey] has got Premiership class stamped all over him, it was an absolutely fabulous strike, gave Marshy no chance."

Italian striker Arturo Lupoli equalised for Norwich and the replay was set for 14 January.

Norwich lost that game and in the following days Roeder was sacked.

Image source, Getty Images

Gary Gowers, My Football Writer - Norwich City, external

In Russell Martin's eight seasons as a Norwich City player, as well as being a decent right-back, he was also the self-appointed spokesperson: eloquent, to the point, and never afraid to dish out a few home truths. As such, he was always the one handed the poison chalice when someone was needed to go out and explain away a stinker of a performance.

Nowadays, as a manager, he gets even more opportunities to hear his own dulcet tones.

Some of it is just Russ being Russ – super-confident, jabbering away etc – but when, as Southampton's manager, he described Monday's atmosphere at Carrow Road as 'as flat as I've ever seen', it’s fair to say that he meant it and it wasn’t just the result of his bitterness at City taking two points from the buoyant Saints.

City's joint owner, Delia Smith - an open critic of "20 per cent whingers" within the City support - will probably blame the fans for the quiet atmosphere as they watched their team grab a highly unlikely point, but she should probably look a little closer to home. I suggest about 15 rows down from her perch in the directors' box, where stands one David Wagner.

Delia famously (and bizarrely) wishes we were more like Portsmouth supporters who apparently "even sing and chant when they are 6-0 down" but I challenge even Pompey's finest to strike up the 'chimes' if forced to watch what was on offer at Carrow Road on Monday afternoon.

To put it into context, Wagner's setup was so ultra-defensive that it took his players seven (that's seven) minutes to touch the ball in their opponent's half of the pitch; so ultra-defensive that lone striker Hwang Ui-jo needed a mobile phone to communicate with his teammates; and so ultra-defensive and deep-sitting that the front row of the Barclay had Grant Hanley, Shane Duffy, and Kenny McLean for company.

With that in mind, no one will be surprised to hear we had just 25 per cent of the possession, which included Angus Gunn and the three aforementioned centre-backs playing keep-ball for five-minute spells.

It was THE most defensive, dour, unimaginative, and negative performance that many, if not most, City fans had ever seen.

Yes, they earned a point but at what cost?

Russ Martin, like the rest of us, can remember when Carrow Road used to be a fun place. Even though he probably won’t admit it.

Here's some more of your views on the recent happenings at Carrow Road.

The Canaries picked up four points from their four games over the festive period:

Jeremy - It was a fair game but Norwich City could have had a second goal.

Lee - 25% possession at home, I'm tired of watching this Norwich. Manager needs to go. He has been clueless since he walked through the door. We're the Championship Man Utd!

Alex - We don’t pay the most expensive season tickets in The Championship to watch the most defensive and uninspiring performance in decades. Top 6 squad being orchestrated by a manger out of his depth and inept with ideas. Remember the days of loud afternoons and going home with a smile on our faces. Feels like it’s been too long a wait.

Canarylad - Wagner did say this was the way it was going to be, he is trying to keep his job. But I cannot see how long he can do this style, before the crowds really turn. It is bad enough now. With Hanley and Sargent back he may change back, if only he would play Sorenson as a midfielder.

Norwich City striker Josh Sargent returned from long-term injury over the festive period and scored at Carrow Road in the 1-1 draw against Southampton.

The USA international missed 22 games for the Canaries after sustaining a serious ankle injury which required surgery against Huddersfield Town.

He was back in the squad for the game on 29 December at Millwall.

You can listen to BBC Radio Norfolk's full interview with Sargent here.

Image source, Getty Images

On this day - 2 January 2001

Nigel Worthington was appointed as permanent manager of Norwich City, following a spell as caretaker boss.

It proved to be a good move as 'Worthy' led the Canaries to safety in the first division later that year. The following season, the team reached the play-off final at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium where they were beaten by Birmingham City on penalties.

In the 2003/04 campaign, the Canaries won the First Division championship with Worthington at the helm and returned to the Premier League for the first time in 9 years.

We asked for your views on Norwich City's New Year's Day draw with Southampton.

Includes reaction to Saints' manager Russell Martin describing the Carrow Road atmosphere as "flat".

Here's what you had to say:

Tom - As a former player, he is entitled to his point of view. What’s more important is that the atmosphere is down to the football being played and at the moment that is so inconsistent. Fans just don’t know which NCFC team will show up! Time for Wagner to move on!

Richard - Calm down everyone. It’s not a great season, but it’s not the end of the world. We would hope to be fighting for the playoffs, but we’re a bit below that. Are our players better than that position? I honestly don’t know. Changing the manager could make things worse. And the idea that people are queueing up to pour millions into NCFC is delusional.

Paul - Terrible tactics from David Wagner today, set up defensively at home so as not to lose the game and in parts of the game it looked like we weren't even going to attack. Got to be one of the luckiest managers in the league to still have his job!

Jamie - Russ is right, the atmosphere at Carrow road is so dire right now. We can only hope comments from the 'outside' can wake the board up and force them to take action.

Freddie - Happy with a point, but the way in which we went about getting it was poor. This side is capable of so much more than this sort of result and we proved it when we actually went for it at 1-1. To me, that’s a coaching issue. Big games coming up, and I worry about how Wagner will set us up after today.

Jimson - Parking the bus at home to Southampton is flat out embarrassing. They’re decent, no more, it’s hardly vintage Barca pitching up at Carrow Road is it? Utterly pathetic from Wagner who should have been gone about 3 months ago. As the game showed, when we actually attacked their defence was hardly impenetrable. P A T H E T I C

Image source, Chris Goreham/BBC

Norwich City grabbed a hard-earned point at home to Championship high-flyers Southampton.

In his post-match interview, Saints' boss Russell Martin said he thought the atmosphere was flat at Carrow Road.

What do you make of his comments?

Was City head coach David Wagner right to set his team up to be defensive?

Get in touch with your comments here.

Simon Lappin was BBC Radio Norfolk's co-commentator for the home draw against Southampton.

This is what the former Canaries midfielder had to say at full time:

"It was a hard watch, especially the opening exchanges.

"Southampton completely dominated the ball in Norwich's final third, which you would expect them to do. Norwich didn't really have a go until about the 35th minute."

He continued, "Similar story in the second half, they (Norwich) sat in and Southampton got the goal. But a brilliant bit of play by Jonathan Rowe and a brilliant finish from Josh Sargent gets them back into the game."

Lappin thought gaining a point was a good outcome for City:

"Before the game, anybody coming here would never have given Norwich a chance, so we will take a point," he added.

You can listen again to Canary Call with Simon Lappin and Rob Butler here.

Here’s the answer to our quiz.

A reminder of the question set by Chris Goreham:

What did Russell Martin do for Norwich City in 2010 that David Beckham did for Manchester United in 1996?

Answer:

Both scored against goalkeeper Neil Sullivan.

David Beckham’s was the famous lob from the half-way line at Selhurst Park against Wimbledon.

Russell Martin scored on his debut for the Canaries against Sullivan’s Doncaster Rovers.

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City goalkeeper Angus Gunn goes up against his former club Southampton in both team's first fixture of 2024 (15.00 GMT)

The Canaries go into the game on the back of two defeats, most recently on 29 December against Millwall.

Gunn told BBC Radio Norfolk that the recent bad results have been disappointing following a run of eight games with just one defeat:

"We've lost our momentum a little bit now and we're not in a position we'd like to be."

He continued, "The only good thing is that we've got this game (against Southampton) and if we win, the momentum can change again. So, as players it's our job to turn that around."

The Saints are managed by former Norwich captain Russell Martin and he has overseen a 17-match unbeaten run. Gunn said the results have been very impressive:

"They are on a good run and they are a really good team, managed really well. We were on a good run ourselves, not long ago and runs always have to come to an end at some point.

"Hopefully we can go into the game and galvanise ourselves and pull off a big result", Gunn said.

You can listen to full live commentary of Norwich City versus Southampton with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM, DAB and Freeview.

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City have a tough task at Carrow Road where in-form Southampton are the opponents (15.00 GMT).

But who will be the Canaries' first goalscorer of 2024?

Let's take a look at who was on-target first in years gone by for City:

2023 - Teemu Pukki

2022 - Milot Rashica

2021 - Emi Buendia

2020- Todd Cantwell

2019 - Timm Klose

2018 - Tom Trybull

2017 - Nelson Oliveira

2016 - Alex Tettey

2015- Gary Hooper

2014 - Bradley Johnson

Image source, Getty Images

Norwich City host high-flying Southampton (15.00 GMT) for their first Championship fixture of 2024.

You can listen to live coverage on BBC Radio Norfolk with Chris Goreham on commentary duties.

As usual, Chris has come up with a teaser ahead of the game:

What did Russell Martin do for Norwich City in 2010 that David Beckham did for Manchester United in 1996?

Get in touch with your answers here.

Image source, Getty Images

From a famous second round Uefa Cup win for Norwich City against Bayern Munich to playing in front of a packed St James' Park for Newcastle United, Ruel Fox has seen the glamorous highs of the beautiful game.

But fast forward 30 years and you are more likely to find him with a brush in hand touching up paintwork around his beloved but run-down Whitton United in Ipswich, where he is the club chairman.

Fox, now 55, first walked through the gates of Whitton as an eight-year-old and it was to be a love affair that has lasted a lifetime.

But the Ipswich-born winger, who still lives in town, paints an honest picture of life in the Thurlow Nunn First Division North league, where The Greens currently are second from bottom with just four wins in 18 games.

Read the full article here.

Here is some more of your thoughts as the Canaries prepare for the visit of high-flying Southampton in The Championship (Monday - 15.00 GMT):

Chris - It's nothing new, we've seen this since Wagner came in. Still no idea what our identity is, or our style. Signed a load of old players who have all been rubbish. Change it now whilst there is still a chance of a half decent run - that isn't coming under Wagner. Most NCFC fans saw this coming since October, when he should've been sacked.

Paul - IMHO Delia and Michael should go now and take self-funding with them. Thank them, give them life presidencies and move on. Wagner needs to go and the club should appoint a coach willing to use our youngsters and this, in turn, attracts others. The whole club and fanbase has become stale and I dread to think what the reaction will be to our overpriced season tickets.

Lorraine - I have gone past disappointment, anger and now I am apathetic to the whole thing. Approaching 50 years of watching, I am getting to the point where I don't care if I go or not. I have lost the excitement of going. The team selections are baffling, substitutions are even more so. Defense are dreadful, midfield struggle to keep the ball.

Carl - As Spurs have shown this season, footballers need to know what the philosophy of the manager is. Farke did that. “This is how we play - this is our identity.” Wagner doesn’t know how he wants his team to play, leading to confused players and poor performances.

Tom - David Wagner has been given a transfer window, a pre-season and significant time to build a side and this is not being manifested on the pitch. How can he say Rowe is not meeting the standards of performance that he was prior to his injury when he scored twice against Ipswich? When did Onel last score?

Paul - Simply not good enough for this club. If we want to drift around mid table stick with Wagner and co, but if we want to mount a serious challenge to get to and stay in the Prem, a new appointment is necessary. Knapper must tap into his Arsenal connections. The fans deserve better.

Adrian - We are suffering from poor recruitment and a manger who is clueless regarding tactics.

Ross - I've watched Norwich city for 40 years. David Wagner has no idea on setting up our team. He plays the same defensive shape every game, it's like playing with six defenders at times. David Wagner seriously needs to be replaced before it's too late.

Tom - I was in the away end last night and it was the most dejected, apathetic away end I've ever been in. Fans are beyond anger now, just disappointed and a resigned acceptance to our mediocrity.

Rob - To be honest Wagner was the cheap and easy option and in my opinion should have gone at the end of last season. However, the board kept faith with him, but this season has been totally forgettable. Tactics: naive and a real lack of entertainment. I am seriously concerned about the club’s direction.

Steven - It's just apathy ATM. No longer feel much joy at winning, nor anger when losing. Surely this is the exact opposite of what being a football supporter is and was supposed to be. Constantly being blamed by the club owners etc for both on-field and off-field woes is draining. All I've ever done is pour money into the club!

Maz - Time to get rid of Wagner - it’s like he’s going for the sacking?! When you start to drag your best player, there’s something very wrong.

Image source, Getty Images

On this day - 31 December 2017

Norwich City gained a point in a rare New Year's Eve fixture which was against Brentford in The Championship.

The Canaries played the last 15 minutes with 10 men following the sending off of Republic of Ireland international Robbie Brady, the game finished 0-0.

The Bees boss on that day was Dean Smith, who went on to manage Norwich in the 2021/22 campaign.

You can read the full match report here.

We asked for your thoughts on Norwich's defeat at Millwall, here's what you had to say:

Nigel - Norwich will never succeed with the current complacent set-up and need to rebuild around a hungry and ambitious team and back room staff.

The Norfolk Sonic - I can’t think of a year that’s been more depressing as a Norwich fan than 2023. Everything at the club, from the attitude at board-level to the awful performances on the pitch is a mess. Ben Knapper needs to finally do something about it if we want any faint hope of salvaging this forgettable season. It should start with a new head coach ASAP.

Doan - I'm tired of the performances on the pitch, but I don't think sacking Wagner is going to be the solution. His first few games were electric. Some players still have fight. I live in Southampton, but I am a season ticket holder, I am genuinely considering if the journey is worth it.

Martin - Time for Wagner to go. Whilst results may have improved in recent weeks, the performances have not - even against supposedly weaker opposition. He has now been in charge for 12 months and I'm still no clearer on what he is trying to achieve and I don't believe he even knows what his strongest eleven is.

Mark - Another woeful performance. Same patterns of play all the time. Kenny McLean and Sara drop between the centre-backs and we look to play a 40 or 50 yard pass. No penetration at all. Knapper surely has to be looking at replacements.

Matt - With Daniel Farke they were so ruthless in sacking him, yet Wagner has all the time in the world. We all know he’s not the long term choice and we know there’s a change in owners, but nothing is happening. All this uncertainty and delaying just creates stagnation, not progression. Fans will stop attending, especially those future younger ones - be careful NCFC.

Carla - Enough is enough, change is needed. Wagner needs to go, Knapper must prove himself in the January transfer window although what funding will he be given? Testing few weeks ahead.

Josh - Performances have been poor for too long now. Results improved, for a little bit, but the football is still slow, pedestrian and boring. Change is needed. Hopefully Knapper will make the call, I suspect after Southampton. It would give a new manager approx two weeks until the next league game. OTBC

Former Norwich City midfielder Darel Russell was BBC Radio Norfolk's summariser for the defeat at Millwall.

Russell had this to say about the loss:

"Millwall weren't at the races in the first 15 minutes and we (Norwich) did take advantage of it. We managed to find space and opportunities."

He continued, "But once Millwall got themselves up and running, they figured out Norwich's game-plan. It seemed very simple and easy for them to bed-in, pick their moments and look extremely dangerous on the break."

Russell was also disappointed at the Canaries lack of attacking potency:

"We didn't really find any quality in the final third, or deliver anything to feed our forwards in terms of Hwang, Barnes and Sargent. It's just disappointing."

'Rusty' joined Rob Butler for a lively Canary Call which you can listen again to here.