24 April 2008
Let's steer clear of final day disasters

And so it all comes down to the final 10 days of the season. Or rather, hopefully not.

There can't be a single Norwich supporter who'd relish a trip to Hillsborough on Sunday week if City's survival is still in doubt come the final weekend of the campaign.

Fulham is still only too fresh in the mind. For those of us whose memory stretches back much further the Canaries' history is seemingly littered with disastrous finales.

Actually, that's probably totally unfair, but certain ill-fated final day debacles have left long-lasting scars, like the 3-2 capitulation against an already-relegated Leicester City at Carrow Road many moons ago. Painful. Very painful.

But let's not go down that route. The fact remains Glenn Roeder and his team still have control of their own immediate destiny. Victory against QPR on Saturday and the Canaries are safe. Simple as that.

Given my abject lack of success in the crystal ball stakes this season (again) I'll resist the temptation to make bold predictions about City's ultimate fate, but we can only hope another packed Carrow Road crowd roars its rocks off this weekend in the Canary cause.

For all the ups and downs of recent years, I can't recall a campaign quite like it: the genuine optimism of pre-season, plenty of new faces, Peter Grant's bold statements of intent… QPR away.

Enter Glenn Roeder, quickly turning things round. It even began to look as if we might be on the verge of one the most extraordinary transformations in the club's history. There was talk of the play-offs at one stage - not just by me, I might add.

Then came the Spanish siesta. Something tells me the City boss might privately concede that trip was something of an own goal, given the subsequent downturn in form and results.

Nonetheless, avoid the drop and Roeder will have fulfilled his initial brief, for which we should be hugely grateful.

But what happens then? We approach the final two games of the season with so many unanswered questions. And I'm not just talking about the Darren Huckerby saga.

What about the rest of Roeder's squad? There's talk of wholesale changes; players in, players out.

Who is he likely to bring in… how much will he have to spend?

What about the club's ownership? Delia and Michael have done so much good work over the past few years, but evidently can only go on so long topping up the coffers from their own pockets.

Two or three million pounds barely seems enough to finance a couple of modest signings these days. It's big, big bucks, even in the Championship.

Will the Turners, Andrew and Sharon, emerge as the main players come the start of the new campaign, pumping millions from their own business interests into the club?

Fascinating times, as ever at Carrow Road.

Above all, if the worse comes to the worse against QPR this Saturday can we expect Dave Stringer to grow one of his lucky anti-relegation beards?

I spotted the city stalwart after last weekend's match; he was positively clean shaven. There's confidence for you!

Dave, of course, is still a familiar face (shaven or otherwise) at Carrow Road, just as he will be when he joins a cracking line up of former Canary stars for the Norwich City Greatest Ever event next month.

A whole host of City favourites are heading back on Sunday May 18th for a reunion with a difference, all vying for a place in the supporters' all-time greatest Norwich City XI, from living legends like Kevin Keelan, Martin Peters and 'Super Mac' Ted McDougall to more recent heroes in the shape of Darren Eadie, Malky Mackay and Iwan Roberts.

It sounds like an ideal chance to rub shoulders with several true Canary greats while celebrating, for want of a better word, City's survival in the Championship. Fingers crossed.