No better time for City to salvage some pride

Last updated : 05 December 2008 By John Maiden
Of late it has been one disappointment after another for Canary fans. For example, when the Canaries were trailing the Eagles 2-0 in our last home game, I looked on in eager anticipation as a guard of honour lined up on the pitch at half-time. "Which celebrity or new player could possibly justify such a reception?" I wondered.

Surely, the last time such a scene was was witnessed at Carrow Road was on Boxing Day five years ago, when Darren Huckerby was welcomed onto the pitch after signing a permanent contract with the club he would still like to be playing for. Could it be that Hucks was going to be brought back into the Canary fold, albeit on loan until returning to the States in February?

No such luck, because the VIP turned out to be a new mascot by the name of Aviva Lemur - in honour of the three-year sponsorship deal launched at the start of the season. Now please don't get me wrong, I love mascots as much as the next fan. And, when I was co-ordinating SAFE - Soccer As Family Entertainment - in the Eighties, I loved them even more. On odd occasions, I even carried a life-size, wooden cut-out of 'Roy of the Rovers' with me on visits to league grounds all over the country! How sad is that?

However, at this stage in the current season, signing a 'Lemur' seems a poor substitute for a real-life Roy Race; a Huckerby; or another player of equal quality! It certainly seemed an awful waste of talent for Hucks to be sitting in the stand when he could have been on the bench...

Against Palace he would have been the ideal replacement for David Bell, who faded in the second half when he really needed to be at his best if the Canaries were going to claw their way back into the game.

All credit to Matty Pattison for getting his name on the scoresheet in successive games; and good luck to Jamie Cureton in his quest to regain his 'goalden' touch on loan at Barnsley. It remains to be seen whether or not he will ever score for the Canaries again, but just like Chris Brown at Preston, Curo is sure to start scoring with his new club sooner or later.

As for the players still with Norwich City, they missed the chance to get back to winning ways in a disappointing second half at Hillsborough last Saturday and must now use the visit of the Tractor Boys this Sunday to salvage some pride. But, after being stunned by the Swans; edged out by the Eagles; and out-witted by the Qwls; what are the chances of the Canaries putting one over on their East Anglian neighbours?

Leroy Lita, rather than Aviva Lemur, might hold the answer to that particular question! Leroy regained his scoring touch against Wednesday and must surely be due for another goal or two on home soil, unless, heaven forbid, he gets recalled by the Royals at twenty-four hours notice...