My experience with the Canaries’ humiliation at the hands of Premier League opponents was unusual. I was not at the game. Family obligations required a weekend vacation from radio commentary duties. It is impossible to simply stop caring about your beloved football team. So Saturday was a good reminder of what it’s like to attempt to follow the action when you can’t attend the game. The easiest way to do this, of course (and in case management is reading this), is to listen to the radio coverage. It turns out that this is not always a straightforward task.When there are children to be looked after and other people and things vying for your attention, turning up the radio to drown them all out or popping your earphones in to block them can appear rude at best.

While Norwich City received a reality check on the pitch, I received mine own. It is impossible to expect every listener to hang on every word you say, regardless of what is going on around them. I made a mental note to make sure I give out the score more frequently during games for people who are trying to get whatever parts of commentary they can. It’s much easier to sneak a look at the most recent scores on your phone these days. It’s like one of those computer games from the ZX Spectrum’s heyday, devoid of context. You just have the names of the two teams and their respective scores.

Just as a watched kettle never boils, it is impossible to’refresh’ a goal. Regardless of how many times I logged out and back into the app, the nil next to Norwich City’s name remained same. It reminded me of being at home in the 1990s while the Canaries were playing away. Waiting for Ceefax to reload with news of a Norwich goal made me feel more alive than ever. Again, there was no indication of whether they were playing well or holding on; just the facts. The excitement of seeing ‘Fleck 56’ or ‘Rosario 75′ appear beneath City’s name when their match ultimately went back round was one of the aspects of football fanaticism that captivated this Junior Canary.

The only other snippets you might get were if a player was sent off or, if I recall correctly, if a player had been “stretched off.” Ceefax was fine if you didn’t have any unpleasant or social obligations on a Saturday afternoon. There were earlier times in the pre-internet era when you could be completely disconnected from Norwich City updates. You had no idea whether they were struggling to victory at Oldham or getting thrashed at Manchester City again. And that was before Manchester City became good.

Since On The Ball City was originally chanted from the terraces, there has been a lot of discussion over what a’scrimmage’ is in football. The closest I’ve ever been was outside the window of a TV shop around 4.40pm on a Saturday roughly 30 years ago. Fans who were shopping would compete for the best spot outside stores like Dixons to see Des Lynam ignite Grandstand’s famed vidiprinter. At least there were other supporters on hand to rejoice and commiserate with.

Norwich City fans from previous generations recall nervously waiting outside the local newsagent on Saturday evenings for The Pink Un to appear. The stories about how rapidly genuine physical printed copies became accessible continue to astound me. Given the problems with the cell phone network in some parts of Norfolk, this may still be the quickest way to spread the word by 2025. Saturday reaffirmed my admiration for the many thousands of Norwich City fans who were unable to attend the game. others that do show up deserve a lot of respect, but don’t fall into the trap of being snooty towards others who don’t. They are often going to incredible lengths to keep up with City’s progress.

Plus, and this dawned on me over the weekend, if everyone who was interested went to the game, there would be no reason for radio commentary. So, I have many reasons to be grateful to those who follow from afar. Cup Magic… Norwich City squandered a huge opportunity to create FA Cup history over the weekend. Darren Ferguson, the manager of Peterborough United, faced criticism on Thursday for refusing to contribute to the Cup’s romance. He did, however, name Tyler Young, 18, to the bench for their match against Everton. If Young had played, he would have faced his father, Ashley.

Everton were only 1-0 up until the eighth minute of stoppage time, therefore Ferguson chose not to bring him on. Given that he had only made one first-team appearance, coming on as a substitute in the Football League Trophy, his inclusion would have been motivated by romance rather than football. Ferguson might have cited the game’s move to a Thursday night, making it harder for Posh fans to attend, as evidence of how cup romanticism can be turned on and off depending on who is involved. So that piece of father-son cup history remains elusive. Bryan Gunn can be spotted at almost every City match these days.

Perhaps Johannes Hoff Thorup should have named him alongside Angus as a sub for the Brighton game.

I’m not sure how he would have got two goalkeepers on at the same time but Gunny senior apparently always fancied himself as an outfield player.

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