Carling Cup 1st Round
Tuesday 14th August 2007
Kick Off 7.45pm

Stadium Carrow Road, Norwich NR1 1JE
Telephone 01603 760760
Club Colours Yellow & Green
Nickname The Canaries
Official Club Website www.canaries.premiumtv.co.uk
Key Personnel Manager Peter Grant

Brief Directions By Road
The M11/A11 route through Thetford Forest is a very pleasant drive and a stop for lunch on the way would be most civilised (See below). South of Norwich join the A47 Norwich southern bypass towards Great Yarmouth. Leave the bypass at the A146 junction and follow the signs for Norwich then the ring road which will take you to Carrow Road. The ground is really well signposted and it will take a lot to get lost. If in doubt follow signs for Railway Station

Car Parking
Residents only in the immediate vicinity and my reports are that the local pay and display are expensive (as much as £6.00-£8.00) The Internet Football Ground guide website and indeed the club suggest Norfolk County Hall for parking which is clearly signposted from the ring road approaching the ground. They charge about £3,00

Directions
By Train A London Liverpool Street train should take less than 2 hours to reach Norwich. The ground is very visible from the station and is just a ten minute walk away

Supporters Coaches
Coach travel to away fixtures this season is being organised by the Barnet Football Club Supporters Association. For further details about Supporters coach travel and how to book check out the BFCSA website at www.bfcsa.co.uk.

Eating And Drinking Locally
If you turn right and back on yourself from the station, you'll be going up hill towards a real ale Mecca. A three-minute walk up this hill will bring you to the Coach and Horses, which also houses the award winning Chalk Hill Brewery. The pub offers a great range of food and is only a brisk 10-minute walk from the ground. For the under 21's the new Riverside Complex is where you will find the normal "Asbo Burgers and Fried Hooded Chicken". Although a Wetherspoons (Lloyds) can also be found here. Early arrivers could do worse in seeking out Fat Cat 49 in West End Street. It is a taxi ride from the ground but worth the effort for the brilliant selection of real ales. A pub closer to the ground is the Complete Angler which I found very entertaining in 1997 but allegedly isn't as good as it was - but it's a pub close to the ground for Christsakes!

If you are taking my advice for a stop over on the way, then the Thetford Forest area is your best bet. The Bell Hotel close to the Thetford station comes personally recommended for a nice lunch or try the Duke Of Wellington in Brandon in the heart of the forest for a lighter meal and great real ales - I spent a brilliant birthday party Saturday night in there a couple of years ago.

The Social Club
Scores is a pub attached to the ground which I am led to believe should allow visiting supporters.

The Ground Description
Since our last visit in 1997 the ground has only had one significant stand added and that is the Jarrold South Stand which was completed in 2004 and has room for over 8,000 on a single tiered bank of seating. A section of seating in this stand is made available for visiting fans. I am reliably informed there will be room for only 2,000 of us, which is rather short sighted of Norwich surely?

The Norwich & Peterborough stand to the left was first constructed in 1979 (extensively modified since from an upper seating area with large terrace in front) and now has a thoughtfully designed sister stand at the other called the Barclay Stand end built over 15 years later. All credit to Norwich for trying to keep a unity to the stadium, which somehow holds it all together. Both stands are smaller versions of the North Stand at Villa Park with distinctive "goalpost" floodlights which double up as a roof support. Opposite the Jarrold Stand is the Geoffrey Watling Stand, smaller than all its neighbours but houses the dressing rooms, the Directors box and the press area. It replaced the original main stand which was destroyed by fire in the mid 1980's.

Rivals
Ipswich Town, Ipswich Town and Ipswich Town

Admission Prices & Programme
A programme will set you back £3.00.

Admission on the evening is very reasonable at £10.00 adults £4.00 OAP's and Students with ID and just £1.00 for under 16's.

Our Last Meeting & Memories
We have met Norwich City on two occasions, as a two-legged Coca-Cola Cup-tie in August 1997 (is it really 10 years ago?). There are a few fantastic supporters stories from that away game at Carrow Road that could be told but the editor would certainly edit them out as they are not really for consumption in the programme or on the website. See me in the Pav and buy me a beer and I will divulge all!

As far as the games were concerned the first leg at Norwich saw the debut of Greg Heald who is still Barnet's record signing at £135,000. Barnet, yelled on by a boisterous support, more than held their own in front of nearly 6,000 and were rewarded with a late own goal that left the tie carefully balanced at 2-1. The return leg at Underhill is quite rightly held as one of the greatest ever Bees performances. Norwich led 3-1 on aggregate 10 minutes into the second half until Heald pulled a goal back allowing Sean Devine the limelight to score two brilliant goals. It finished Barnet 4-3 Norwich on aggregate - marvellous.

Overnight Stay Factor
Any evening kick off is always worth an extra couple of points out of 10 for an overnight stay providing you can blag a couple of days off work and Norwich is a city steeped in historical architecture and some quaint little shopping areas for the ladies. Notwithstanding the superb 15th century St Peter Mancroft church, often mistaken for the City's Cathedral, the delightful antique outlets in Elm Street and the museums in Bridewell Alley. Norwich does have its fair share of pubs ("one for everyday of the year" as a city legend boasts) but honestly there will be better "overnighters" on offer later in the season I assure you. Therefore I award 5/10.

Celebrity Watch
Lord Horatio Nelson used to hang around the coffee bars after his night school course on Sailing For Beginners while JJ Coleman used to wander the streets waiting for someone to invent the Hot Dog so he could demonstrate his new creation - mustard. (No everybody Horse Radish is the prefect accompaniment to Roast Beef although mustard is a first reserve; The Norwich Chairperson Delia Smith will confirm this).
Thanks To Phil Everson for his help with this guide especially with the pub info - cheers mate.