Being "a neutral" ... is that even possible? Ahead of Fulham versus Norwich (12/4/14)

Three weeks ago today, I went along to watch Norwich City play Sunderland at Carrow Road, as a ‘neutral’. Now, a journey of 110 miles each way might seem like a long old distance for a neutral to venture, from Enfield to Norwich; but I have form in this area, having in my dim and distant past travelled frequently to games meaningless to me but which held far greater significance for a close college buddy, Nick. I had at least four good reasons for heading up to Norfolk:

1) I was invited along by a good friend and former work colleague, Mike. He travelled even further than me – about 170 miles each way, from Farnham, in Surrey - and does so regularly, when family commitments and amassed ‘brownie points’ allow. We had a great day out and a good catch-up on the long round-trip. He shared shock news about leaving his job after more than 20 years with one of the UK’s best known FMCG businesses. I shared less shocking news about leaving my job with one of the least known UK businesses after less than 7 months. In my defence, I do work as an interim manager, though. Until now, Mike has not done so.
2) My son, Callum, is studying medieval something-or-other at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. So I was able to catch up with him over lunch and make sure he had had at least one good meal that week.
3) Both of these teams were sitting in the lower half of the table. It would be interesting to see how each side performed, ahead of the end of season run-in in, so as to assess (more in hope than expectation) their respective chances of ‘avoiding the drop’ - and Fulham's faint ones.
4) I just love football. It is, after all, the beautiful game. As a player of limited capabilities in my younger days, I was known by some as ‘have boots, will travel’. I have played in a large number of different Saturday and Sunday leagues across the South of England – and even watched a fair few games from the side-lines at that level, too. As a spectator I may now be acquiring a similar reputation: ‘have spare time, will travel’. It’s true that I am happy to go and watch just about any team play. This season’s oddest fixture selection so far was probably St. Albans Town FC vs. Mansfield Town, in an early round of the FA Cup. For those interested in such details, it turned into a spanking for the junior, part-time, home side, despite their early go-ahead goal and plucky effort. I’m happy to make these trips when I don’t already have plans to get along to watch either Fulham FC or my local side, Enfield Town FC. Today though, I am pre-booked for more important stuff.

Both of ‘my’ teams are Premier League outfits, of course. The first (whom I've been following since 1976) plays in the Barclay's Premier League; the other (who I've been following for just 3 seasons) plays in the Ryman Isthmian Premier League. At times this year, it has been difficult to tell (on the quality of play) which was the more senior of the two teams, as each has struggled at the foot of their respective league tables. Anyway, back to my Premier League travels.

Norwich City FC 2 - 0 Sunderland AFC
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE, 22/3/2014 15:00
My short match report reads something like this: “Norwich were by far the better side, in an uneven contest”. The game was probably most memorable for a late sending off which could have come much earlier in the match, for the away side and a couple of very well-taken goals. Marcos Alonso was dismissed for a second yellow card offence two minutes into added time. Arguably, he could have ‘walked’ much earlier in the second half, to give Norwich a chance of the proverbial (and more-appropriate-than-usual) “Turkey Shoot”. As it was, Canaries fans had to make do with a tidy Snodgrass finish from 8 yards out, after good and unselfish work by Elmander (yes, that’s right “good and unselfish work” by the often under-performing Swede) and a goal of the season contender from the unsung Alexander Tettey; a volley from 30 yards out, beating a good ‘keeper.

On the same day, Fulham were taking their latest 'right caning', this time at the Etihad; FIVE goals for Man City, taking our ‘Goals Against’ column up to 70, with 7 games still to go. The Carrow Road result had seemed more or less irrelevant. These were two teams with surely too much going for them to be troubled by any relegation worries or to be over-taken by Fulham … weren’t they?

Three weeks on and today (Saturday 12th April) I am preparing myself mentally and physically for the gruelling demands of Norwich City’s visit to Craven Cottage, in what must surely be one of the clearest “6-pointers” of the season. Mike will be bringing Tom, his 7 year-old lad, for his first taste of professional football. Mike’s Carrow Road season ticket buddy and co-conspirator, Giles, will also be joining us. Since I had already made the two adults sit in the Johnny Haynes stand for Norwich’s visit (and comfortable defeat) in the FA Cup replay, back in January, today I have made the concession of getting us tickets in the Neutrals area. Too close to the away fans for my comfort, really and my singing may be frustratingly curtailed; but I'm not planning on being a neutral at THIS Norwich City game.

I am hoping that Felix Magath’s rejuvenated boys keep up their momentum today from last week’s away win at the Villa (our first there in top flight football since 1066, I believe). While I’ll also be looking for Norwich to maintain their poor run of away form (they have lost their last six away league games - and 12 of their 16 away league matches in total, so far this season) under hastily appointed new manager, Neil Adams. The new Canaries boss has already stated his view (to BBC Norfolk) that today’s game is “NOT a decider … It's a massive game and if we win it, we do ourselves no harm at all. But it isn't a must-win because there are four more games."

Does anyone else think Adams is just trying to manage fans’ expectations ahead of a nervous first game in charge; setting the scene for wins against Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea & Arsenal? He is wrong about it not being a decider, of course; but who can blame him for his pre-match diversionary tactics? Perhaps cruelly(?) I’m selfishly hoping that young Tom experiences the bitter taste of Norwich defeat in his first game – and becomes a die-hard Whites fan. If he doesn’t, I’ll probably be enjoying the delights of The Cottage on a wet Wednesday against Brentford, next season.

And now it's time to think about catching that train ...

Post Script:
Ahead of this game, I joked with a US-based buddy, only slightly untruthfully: "It is forecast to be a fine day down by the river ... we never lose when the sun shines and I'm in the stands! A win will put us just 2 points behind Norwich, with a better run-in of games to the end of the season."
And so it turned out. I DID catch that train. It WAS A sunny day, down by the river. We DID see a home win; which was a defeat for Mike, Giles & Tom's Canaries in the latter's first ever live game. All of which suggests I should go along to The Cottage more often; and Fulham should invest in a shaman to try and improve the weather for home games. The result left Fulham sitting just 2 points behind Norwich, salivating at the prospect of their rivals' difficult run-in, against some of the League's strongest teams.
Will it be enough to make Tom a Cottager, though? Only time (and his Dad!) will tell.