Here at last then is the complete version of Pete Sixsmith‘s account of his visit to Norwich for the Carling Cup game on Monday, a night when several players did their to show Steve Bruce they deserved tio break into the Premier League squad …

Noel Coward once described Norfolk as “very flat”. After our bruising battle with Blackburn, I feared that our performance might echo the words of the Master. Last season, they probably would have done. This season, there was nothing to worry about.

It was a pleasure to re-acquaint myself with the fair city of Norwich. A pleasant drive down (despite the sheer bloody awfulness of the A 17), the B and B found with the minimum of fuss and a pleasant afternoon spent in Norfolk’s only city.

It seemed a city at peace with itself. There have been changes since my last visit in the 80s. Norwich Union has become Aviva, Mackintoshes have shut their chocolate factory and the football club have slid into the third level of English football with barely a whimper. Life is slower here. The accent is gentle and easy going and although the ghosts of the Singing Postman and Sale of The Century reinforce the Partridgeisation of the place, it has a hell of a lot going for it.
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Whether it’s Delia’s cooking, East Anglia beer or the uncommon pleasure of seeing a cup tie in which we were head and shoulders above plucky lower league opposition, Pete Sixsmith isn’t himself today. Despite the best efforts of the tourist office in Cromer, he was able to transmit only a few lines of his reflections on Norwich City 1 Sunderland 4. The road back is a long one so it may be a while before he can remedy matters, so I will fill in a little by sharing with you my former colleague Shane Richmond’s developing thoughts on Facebook, as a Canaries fan, on the match …

Noel Coward once described Norfolk as “very flat”. I feared that after the bruising encounter with Blackburn, our performance might well echo the master’s words. Last year, they would have done. This year we are made of (much) sterner stuff.
It was a delight to visit Norwich for the first time since the early 80s. The drive down was fine (although I had forgotten quite how bloody awful the A17 is), the B and B ….

(I think we can safely assume Pete thought highly of his accommodation (in Unthank Road – not known to be named after the singing North Eastern sisters – great music, shame about the Championship team they support). But that was it, until a further message promised more words to come ….)

Shane’s world:

1946 Watching Norwich v Sunderland on TV. Can we just not get thrashed?

2013 Gary Docherty should play with a sign: XX minutes since last goal given away. (He’s just reset it to 0 mins)

2017 Oh well, game over after 30 minutes. That one was Otsemobor’s fault. At least it’s a premier league side this time

2145 4-1 isn’t a bad result against Premier League cannon fodder Sunderland. If we dump Doherty we look like an ok side

2200 Heh. Believe me, when you’ve been beaten 7-1 by Colchester, 4-1 is practically a moral victory!
2032 Good save by Sunderland’s keeper there, a keeper who is worth more than the entire ncfc team, by the way.