Norwich City

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Jovon Makama told BBC Radio Norfolk after his controversial winner against Southampton:

"A goal is a goal. It went in and I ran away and celebrated. I can't quite remember how it went in.

"It (VAR) can stay away for now!

"It has been an incredibly tough start to the season and it's such a nice feeling to come away smiling.

"That's two home wins in a row now and I think we needed it so much just as a team and for the fans as well and the club as a whole.

"They've been in really good form but it just goes to show how good a team we are when we are aggressive, when we go after it and really put our bodies on the line. That's what we did from minute one today.

"You can see just how it means to the boys to give something to cheer about and ourselves something to be happy about.

"As a team we are really getting together and working hard for each other.

"Every performance we are fighting more and more."

Rob Butler
BBC Radio Norfolk Canary Call, presenter

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Norwich City's top goalscorer Josh Sargent will miss the Championship game against Southampton at Carrow Road on Saturday due to concussion protocol.

Sargent, who has scored six league goals so far this season, was withdrawn during Tuesday's 1-1 draw at Sheffield United after suffering a blow to the head.

Canaries head coach Philippe Clement has been speaking to the media before the match with his side five points adrift of safety.

Here are some of the other key points:

• Kenny McLean is "doubtful" for Saturday after he came off at Bramall Lane with a hip problem.

• Forward Mathias Kvistgaarden's knee injury is still being assessed. Clement said he could be involved against Southampton.

• "I cannot ask for more at the moment," Clement said, adding that his players are responding well to his training plans.

• Clement said he's aware that standards need to rise as City look to avoid relegation: "It's raising bars for many people, players and staff."

• The Canaries are on a run of playing the form teams in the division, said Clement, and the Saints will pose a "huge test".

You can listen to full live commentary of Norwich v Southampton with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB. Coverage begins at 14:00 GMT on Saturday, 13 December.

Norwich City will be looking to boost their Championship survival hopes when they welcome an in-form Southampton on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

The Canaries are five points adrift of safety and have just one win in their past 16 matches, but have improved since head coach Philippe Clement took over, with that victory and two draws from his first five league games in charge (L2).

The Saints have won six of their past seven (L1) under Tonda Eckert, climbing from 21st to ninth and are now just within a point of the play-off places.

• Norwich City have won just one of their past six league games against Southampton (D2 L3), a 2-1 win in November 2021.

• Southampton have won one of their past six league visits to Norwich (D2 L3), a 3-0 win in June 2020 in the Premier League.

• Norwich ended an eight game winless league run at Carrow Road with a 3-1 win over QPR in November. They last secured consecutive home league wins in January this year.

• Southampton are on a run of 20 away league games without a clean sheet, last registering one in a 0-0 draw at Fulham in December 2024. They last had a longer stretch without a shutout on the road between March 2009 and February 2010 (21) – which was ended by a 2-0 win at Carrow Road against Norwich.

• Southampton's Adam Armstrong has had a hand in four goals in his three league games against Norwich for the Saints (3 goals, 1 assist), assisting (November 2021) and scoring (January 2024) in his two games at Carrow Road in that run.

Norwich City boss Philippe Clement spoke to BBC Radio Norfolk after his side's 1-1 draw at Sheffield United.

"I think we should have won the game. If you come alone in front of the goalkeeper in the last 10 minutes you need to kill it off and you have a victory," he said.

"You have games where the opponent is better and you struggle and fight and you get a point and yet you are very satisfied. It was not that kind of game.

"I would not say it is two lost points because I am proud of what the players brought but it could have been better.

"I think four or five weeks ago they would have lost this game with losing important players and going behind."

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The FA Cup third round draw was made on Monday evening, with all 24 Championship clubs entering at this stage of the competition.

Ties will take place between Thursday, 8 January and Monday, 12 January.

These are the ties involving Championship clubs:

• Cambridge United v Birmingham City

• Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

• Bristol City v Watford

• Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

• Stoke City v Coventry

• Derby County v Leeds United

• Ipswich Town v Blackpool

• Cheltenham Town v Leicester City

• Fulham v Middlesbrough

• Burnley v Millwall

• Norwich City v Walsall

• MK Dons v Oxford United

• Portsmouth v Arsenal

• Preston North End v Wigan Athletic

• West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers

• Sheffield United v Mansfield Town

• Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

• Doncaster Rovers v Southampton

• Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

• Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

You can see the full draw here.

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Sheffield United will seek to continue their resurgence when second-bottom Norwich visit Bramall Lane on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The Blades have won four straight games, scoring 13 goals and keeping three clean sheets to climb up to 18th, just eight points behind sixth-placed Stoke, whom they beat 4-0 at home on Saturday.

Norwich are now nine points behind them and five short of safety after allowing a lead to slip to a 3-2 defeat at Watford on Saturday and have now taken a single point from their past six away games.

• Sheffield United are unbeaten in their past nine league games against Norwich (W6 D3) since a 1-0 home loss in September 2017.

• Norwich haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their past nine league games against Sheffield United, though they haven't conceded more than twice in any of their past 21 against the Blades.

• Sheffield United have alternated between defeat (2) and victory (2) in their four midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Championship games this season, beating Portsmouth 3-0 last time out.

• Norwich are winless in their past eight midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) Championship games (D3 L5) since a 1-0 win at Luton on New Year's Day.

• Sheffield United's Patrick Bamford has scored three goals in five home league games against Norwich, averaging a goal every 82 minutes at home against the Canaries.

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Former Norwich City defender Leon Barnett believes a manager with a "fear factor" can be a positive thing in a dressing room.

Head coach Philippe Clement has already proven to be a no-nonsense character since his appointment last month and the Canaries achieved their first home win of the season against QPR in his third game in charge.

They remain next to bottom of the Championship though, following Saturday's 3-2 loss at Watford, a game in which they twice held the lead.

"I think that can have an effect on the squad; you want to work hard and you don't want to put a foot wrong. I think that sort of fear factor runs through the whole team and it's probably a nice thing to have," Barnett told BBC Radio Norfolk's Canary Call.

"I remember I had it when Paul Lambert came in and said 'Take your earrings out'. I laughed it off, sat down and thought he was joking.

"He came back to me and said 'what did I tell you?' I felt like a little boy and took my earrings out. It gives you that fear factor and makes you play under a bit of pressure as well.

"I'm not one to argue. If a manager says something I'll try and do it. It was nothing personal and wasn't going to hurt me. There are plenty of things - some managers don't want you wearing hats and gloves when it's cold. If it's the same for everyone, then why not?"

Norwich are away to Sheffield United, who have won their last four games and scored 13 goals in the process, on Tuesday.

Watch the post-Watford episode of Canary Call by clicking here.

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Canaries boss Philippe Clement believes Norwich's uplift since he took charge is being hamstrung by a need to tighten up at the back.

Norwich, who have kept just one clean sheet all season, led twice at Watford only to fall to a 3-2 defeat which leaves them still in deep trouble second from bottom of the Championship.

"We had more chances than Watford so then it's really disappointing that you go home without points," said the Belgian.

"But also with the goals against. Some individual players need to do better in those situations. We gave at least two goals away too easily where we can defend much better.

"As a team and as individuals we need to learn certain principles better."

Clement, who gave Tony Springett his first start for the club in two years in the Canaries' revolving door position of left-back, admitted Norwich's defensive cause is not being helped by their injury list.

"We're missing six or seven defenders so not one team in the world would not struggle with that," he said.

Phil Daley
Sports Editor, BBC Norfolk

Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement has spoken to the media ahead of their trip to Watford in the Championship (12:30 GMT).

Norwich are in the relegation zone, four points adrift of safety despite their first home win of the season, against QPR, last weekend.

Here are some of the key points:

• Jack Stacey will miss the game this weekend after picking up a hamstring injury against QPR, but it does not seem to be a long-term problem.

• Anis Ben Slimane has been back training this week and could return to the bench. More players could return to training next week.

• Clement said it's been good to have a full week to get back to doing what he loves - being out on the training pitch with the players.

• On Declan Rudd's promotion to senior goalkeeping coach: Tony Roberts, who previously had the role, spoke very highly of Rudd and Clement said it's a "logical step."

• Clement met owner Mark Attanasio face-to-face this week for the first time. He said he feels very aligned with the American and they share the same hopes and dreams for the club.

• On Watford away, Clement said he wants to see the desire and fight from his team that he saw last weekend.

• "We need to give something back to the fans and that's our aim," he said.

You can listen to full live commentary of Watford v Norwich City with BBC Radio Norfolk on FM and DAB from 12:00 on Saturday.

Fresh from their first home win of the season, Norwich City are looking for back-to-back league victories for the first time since February as they head to Vicarage Road (12:30 GMT).

Watford are unbeaten in their past six league games at home.

• Watford lost this exact fixture 1-0 in February last season, last losing consecutive home league games against Norwich in November 1995.

• None of the past 16 league games between Watford (W9) and Norwich (W7) have been drawn, with the Canaries winning each of the past three.

• Watford have lost just one of their past 10 home league games (W5 D4) and are unbeaten in six since a 1-0 loss against Blackburn in September (W4 D2).

• After a 13-game winless run in the Championship, Norwich beat QPR 3-1 last time out. They last won consecutive league games in January/February last season, the second of which came against Watford.

• Watford have won more points from losing positions than any other side in the Championship this season (15).

Norwich City board member Richard Ressler says the club will be looking for January reinforcements but suggests the biggest difference makers could lie within the squad they have right now.

The struggling Canaries have 11 first-team squad members absent due to injury, with midfielder Mirko Topic the latest name added to the treatment room list.

"We are [looking at] bringing in the strongest players we can," Ressler said during Norwich's annual general meeting on Wednesday.

"We have some headroom for the January window. What might be the best part of the window will be us getting our players healthy and back on the pitch who are off.

"So we have to rely on what we think is a very strong group of leaders on the pitch and off the pitch behind them to make the best of what we know is a very expensive team that we believe has very strong players in it."

Norwich also experienced several key departures in the summer, including a controversial move for midfielder Marcelino Nunez to rivals Ipswich Town as well as exits for forward Borja Sainz and goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

But majority shareholder Mark Attanasio feels there was nothing the club could do to keep the departing players at Carrow Road.

"We were losing players who were going to leave anyway - [Gabriel] Sara, Borja [Sainz], many of whom we tried to sign [to new deals] and they chose not to," Attanasio said.

Listen to the full round-up from the AGM and more Norwich City content on BBC Sounds.

Gary Gowers
Fan writer

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You'll have to forgive us. We're a little giddy. We admit it.

So much so, we've been accused from all four corners, especially one in deepest, darkest Suffolk, of over-celebrating our weekend win over Queens Park Rangers.

To which we plead guilty. 100%. And, you know what? We couldn't give a monkey's…

Fill your boots, City fans. Let them mock - we deserved that moment.

Seldom has Carrow Road been so pumped after what was, after all, little more than a routine Championship win over a decent team, but who, by their own admission, are no world-beaters.

Except it wasn't routine.

When you have only won twice all season, are 23rd in the table, and have not won a home game since April, nothing is routine. Everything's a struggle.

So, yeah, we went OTT maybe, but it felt good. For once. A feeling we had forgotten.

No longer do we expect to win. Think of the worst-case scenario, and it comes true. The new Norwich way.

At least it was. Things may, just may, be about to change.

Where once we had Liam Manning in the dugout - an experiment that, for lots of reasons, went awry – now we have a big Belgian in charge who, in the space of 15 days, has offered us hope where there was none.

In the death throes of the Manning era, we were done. Gone. Heading only to League One.

Now, under the tutelage of Philippe Clement, we have a head coach who has taken our club by the scruff of its neck (not to mention a few players), shaken it, and given it purpose and direction.

New life has been breathed into a club that had all but flatlined.

Whether the Clement factor will be enough to save us, who knows?

He's now playing a nerve-shredding game of catch-up with high stakes and jeopardy, but at least we now have a sense of unity, and are pulling, most of us at least, in the same direction.

Only time will tell if this truly is Clement-time.

But the fightback is on.

OTBC.

Gary Gowers is an editor for My Football Writer - Norwich City

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Norwich City have named Declan Rudd as their new first-team goalkeeping coach with Tony Roberts leaving the Championship club.

Former Welsh international Roberts, who moved to Carrow Road in September 2024 following a spell coaching at AC Milan, is taking up a new role with an as yet unspecified club.

Rudd spent 18 years as a player at Norwich, working his way through the youth system to eventually make 21 first-team appearances before playing for Charlton and Preston.

The 34-year-old has been the Canaries' lead academy goalkeeping coach since 2022 and will join Philippe Clement's first-team staff with immediate effect.

"In promoting Declan to the first team, we have someone who knows the club and how we operate. He already has some excellent relationships with our current staff and players and absolutely deserves this opportunity," sporting director Ben Knapper told the club's website., external

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Norwich City manager Philippe Clement says the 'synergy' between players and fans is back after his side's impressive 3-1 win over QPR.

The victory was Norwich's first since the end of August and ended a 13-game winless run.

The win was Clement's first since taking over as Canaries' boss after Liam Manning's sacking.

His side remain second-from-bottom of the Championship and are four points from safety.

"It's not about me, that's no so important, and I knew that if we worked hard this moment would come," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"It's more important for the players, for the club and for the fans also.

"What you saw during the game and after the game was the synergy is totally back, it was lost a few weeks ago.

"So it's back now and they see a team fighting, but also a team creating, playing good football and of course we can still improve a lot of things.

"But the mentality of the players is positive to get three deserved points."