Norwich City v BORO
23rd August 2025 (ko 3pm) at Carrow Road (The Championship).
It’s August. I am typing this in the early afternoon of Sunday 17th August, just before the Dormo Family starts its annual birthday festival (always good to get them over in one six-day batch!). Outside in my North Yorkshire garden it is 19C with sunny intervals (a blue sky with some fluffy white clouds breaking up the monotony and giving us some respite from what seems recently, apart from a couple of days of serious wind two weeks ago, to have been endless blasting sunshine and heat). A BBQ is planned later today but, for me, doesn’t require “good weather”. There is 0% chance of rain according to the BBC Weather App and there is a gentle 9mph north easterly breeze. Yorkshire has just begun its run-chase against Middlesex in the Metro Bank 50 overs competition. The Sunday Times lays unmolested in the kitchen and there are further little experiments to carry out on the EcoFlow Delta 2 Max (like seeing how long I could run the home refrigerator or the freezer or some other home items on it, before it later starts its off-grid camping life with my caravan).
In the midst of these quintessentially summer activities, it has come to my attention that a Match Preview is required as BORO enters the early stages of its assault on The Championship season 2025-26. Thanks, KP in Spain, for your reminder about the Match Preview Rota, in your post at 9.46pm yesterday in the previous thread! Right! Here goes then…
Norwich City v BORO would, at first sight, seem to be a fixture between two football clubs of similar stature. BORO is a club with a team which would be placed on the fault lines between the top two divisions of English football (at the place where the bottom of the Premier League/old Division One meets the top of the Championship/old Division Two) if there were an “all-time” Football League Table compiling the results and points accrued for more than a century, That table must lean heavily on the decades before my birth in the middle of the 20th Century! Boro must have been better 60 years and more ago. In recent years, Norwich City has been the proverbial yo-yo club whilst Boro has shown itself to be a nailed-on second tier club.
In the 16 years since BORO found itself relegated from the Premier League in May 2009, the club has been promoted only ONCE, to spend only ONE season in the top tier (2016-17) before being relegated immediately to The Championship where the club has languished ever since. However, in those years Norwich City has been on a journey involving more ups and downs than a fiddler’s elbow.
The Canaries (an early Club Chairman bred canaries and it is said changed the club’s colours to yellow and green to match his birds’ plumage) were relegated, like BORO in May 2009. However in the case of Norwich that was not from the Premier League but from The Championship to League One. Paul Lambert was appointed to manage Norwich and he led the Canaries to the League One title in April/May 2010 and then promotion to the Premier League the following season (2010-2011) in a back-to-back promotion recently emulated by their East Anglian neighbours, Ipswich Town (also since relegated back down to “our” level). The Norwich team finished a very creditable 11th in the EPL in May 2012 after which Lambert resigned to take up the manager’s position at Aston Villa, being replaced at Norwich by Chris Hughton. Hughton was sacked with 5 games remaining in the following season, and the club found itself relegated back to The Championship under Neil Adams in May 2014.
Following a poor spell in the 2014-15 Championship season when promotion had been expected Adams resigned, to be replaced by Alex Neil, whose team climbed the table and (as you will all remember) beat BORO in the Play Off Final at Wembley in May 2015 to secure another promotion to the EPL. That Play-Off Final will remain seared in the memory of your correspondent as containing the most deflating opening 15 minutes endured watching a football match, and it represented BORO’s last trip to Wembley. Promotion for the Canaries was again short-lived as Norwich found itself relegated to The Championship AGAIN in May 2016. Then, under Daniel Farke, Norwich was again promoted to the EPL as Champions with goals fired by Teemu Pukki in May 2019. Norwich isn’t a club that favours a stable or boring life, so found itself relegated YET AGAIN in May 2020, after one season – the first team at that stage to have been relegated 5 times from the EPL. In order to continue the fun, the Canaries won the Championship in May 2021 which YET AGAIN found the club promoted. By then managed by Dean Smith, Norwich was once more relegated from the EPL to The Championship, now for a record SIXTH time in May 2022, where the club remains.
What do you want from your football club? Stability? Holding a Life Membership in the Championship and neither SERIOUSLY threatening promotion nor relegation? Maybe winning some games whose results surprised you and losing other games you thought should be won, but not being consistently good enough to be promoted though too good to go down to the third tier (but maybe having a little cup run every now and then)? Or having a feast-or-famine experience represented by the glorious success of automatic promotion or maybe a Championship Play-Off win one season, almost inevitably followed by a season of regular defeats by all and sundry leavened by the occasional plucky draw, resulting in relegation back to The Championship being almost written in stone from December onwards? The football equivalent of bi-polar. I wonder if football supporters in a yoyo club can organise alternate-year season tickets?
So, where are we so far THIS season? Only a couple of weeks into the season and with holidays, cricket (other summer sports are available) and visiting country houses and gardens still prominent in the mind. Well, if we look at BORO we have a mixed bag. Disquiet over a seriously underwhelming finish to the 2024-25 season leading to the inevitable departure of Michael Carrick to be replaced by Rob Edwards. A concern about transfer policy that was being voiced (maybe now sotto voce) both as regards incoming and outgoing players. A pre-season that saw BORO draw every game apart from the 2-0 defeat away to Bradford City – 3 each at Mansfield, 2 each at Rangers and 1 each at Hartlepool, ending with a 1-1 home draw to Deportivo. Speak quietly about it now but the League Cup defeat 4-0 at home to the mighty Doncaster Rovers 2nd team must be considered a low point even if you lived on the shores of the Dead Sea.
AND YET, despite the possibility of gloom enveloping a worried supporting band, on either side of the Doncaster game were wins in the only two league games played so far this season. A 1-0 win at home to a Swansea team that might have been considered peer-rivals to BORO, in a game that contained much that was positive but also a clear lack of cutting edge on both sides. It was, however, enjoyable to watch. And then we come to the 3-0 win away at Millwall on Saturday 16th August! Always a difficult place to go, I’m sure that very few indeed would have predicted that result or the joyous 2nd half performance. Two league games, two wins, four goals scored and two clean sheets. Nosebleeds all round as Boro lies 2nd in the infant league tables. Can we call an end to the season now?
Norwich City, on the other hand, began its season with a 9th August 2-1 home league defeat against the same Millwall team that BORO has just taken to the cleaners, a 12th August 2-1 League Cup win away at Watford and a 16th August 2-1 league victory away to Portsmouth. Josh Sargent has scored 3 for Norwich so far (one in each of the 3 games) whilst Harry Darling scored one in the league win against Portsmouth and Nunez scored one in the League Cup win at Watford.
Norwich has more new signings than my keyboard could possibly keep up with; at least enough to make up a full team and it might take some time for them to fully bed in. Amongst them are THREE goalies: Daniel Grimshaw (signed from Plymouth), Louie Moulden (signed on a free from Palace) and Vladan Kovacevic (from Sporting Lisbon for £2M and who saved a penalty in the League Cup win against Portsmouth). In addition to the previously mentioned Harry Darling (centre-back signed on a free from Swansea) the club has signed Jacob Wright (defensive midfield from ManC u21s for over £2M), Jakov Medic (centre-back from Ajax £1.5M), Mathias Kvistgaarden (£6.5M from Brondby!!), Papa Amadou Diallo (a winger signed from Metz for £4M), Mirko Topic (signed from Familicao for almost £3M, Jovon Makama (Lincoln City for £1.2M) and Jeffrey Schlupp (a free from Palace).
The only major sale by Norwich, so far, has been attacker Borja Sainz to Porto for £14M, which might explain where SOME of the money has come from to be spent on the incoming hordes. However Wolfsburg are said to have been trying to buy Norwich’s top scorer, Harry Sargent. Liam Manning, the new Norwich manager who arrived over the summer, will have his work cut out organising (or delegating to others) arrangements for language classes to allow efficient communications in the dressing room.
There may be more movement at both clubs and particularly at Boro, and those movements may heavily affect the mood for the season which has just begun. Will Hayden Hackney leave this summer, or in the January window or even not at all this season? How much money will be paid for him and how much of that will be made available for recruitment? We have had a 45 minute glimpse of Sontje Hansen and his speed and movement will have whetted the appetite. We are informed BORO is in the throes of negotiating to sign on a season-long loan from Manchester City Sverre Nypan (born on 19.12.06 and therefore only 18 years old). City paid £12.5 M only last month for Nypan but intends to send the player on loan to improve and further develop in a competitive and physical league. He was the youngest player ever to play in the Norwegian Eliteserien when he made his debut at 15 years 322 days and, as a central midfielder, he has made 64 appearances with 14 goals so far. He was the Norwegian Young Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004 and has been said to be one of the best at his age in the world. It sounds almost too good to be true.
Boro is also hopeful of signing Cheikh Sabaly, a 26 year old right winger with French League One club Metz who, last season in the league played 33 times and scored 15 goals. He is 5ft 6 inches tall and has played 4 times for Senegal.
I have to report that Yorkshire has now crushed Middlesex in the cricket. It was good of the team to continue playing as I typed this.
Predicting football has never been easy. If it were, the bookmakers would be bankrupt. Suggesting that Boro would finish 8th, as I did in this season’s Challenge, might have seemed optimistic to some readers of this Blog though. Others have predicted a lower finish than me. But the two league wins! How can we put aside the two clean sheets, the instant effect Hansen had when he came on the field, and the possible new signings? Nypan in particular seems VERY promising. You’ll no doubt compare BORO last season with Doak and the games played without Doak. It's the hope, the hope, that gets you in the end. The start and middle as well!
I have no idea how BORO will do. But a win at Norwich will make people sit up. It would also severely damage my prediction of BORO getting 10 points from the early (ten?) games. I would prefer BORO to win the game than for me to win the prediction contest!
I was going to say Norwich 0-3 BORO. Then I remembered I am not OFB. I’d have been delighted to accept 7 points from the first 3 games of the season and therefore, in an attempt to temper my enthusiasm, I will suggest Norwich 1-1 BORO. But I really hope it turns out to be the OFB score.
Forever Dormo 17th August 2025
FD
Great,I really enjoyed your match preview, afternoon celebrations and other activities. I too enjoyed the afternoon sunshine as I travelled further down into North Yorkshire and too our favourite country village of Helmsley. It was packed with people but still really enjoyable.
Life has taken on a delicious golden glow after yesterday’s result and joint top of the championship sounds good doesn’t it….?
All we can hope for now is that Man Utd who have suffered midfield injuries don’t come knocking for H!
Well you know what forecast I’m coming up with don’t you ?
Norwich O Boro3
thanks again appreciated
Len get well soon !
OFB
Thanks Dormo, well written, entertaining and informative as always. Who knows which Boro will turn up? In last season's 3-3 draw we played brilliantly in the first half, missed a penalty that would have put us 1-4 up, and ended up lucky to hang on for a point, which we only achieved courtesy of a Norwich man being sent off when they had us under the cosh
Thanks for your kind wishes, Bob. I'm getting there, thanks to physio rehab.
A great starter, FD. Can we win at Norwich? Who knows, but it certainly looks more achievable than after the Doncaster result.
We were down in Derbyshire celebrating my mother in law’s 90th birthday on Saturday so only checked the result on the journey home. Quite a shock, but in a good way.
Weather wise, it’s very grey and cloudy here in Sherburn with the novelty of some rain that fell during the night. I’m still missing France, although I did manage to finish writing my holiday Blog yesterday and my mind has turned to next year’s main holiday.
I’ve really enjoyed the air of positivity on the Millwall thread - long may it continue.
Forever Dormo,
Thank you for that article, very good, very good and it keeps the optimism candle burning nicely.
Being a typical Boro supporter I still fear for the other 'Typical Boro' turning up on any Satuday but I do feel that despite a lot of misgivings to start with, like many on here Mr Edwards has the measure of the dressing room in terms of motivation and discipline. Saturday will be interesting as I follow from the wilds of Maidenhead at a family birthday party. I usually go to the Norwich game, allowing for the fact that they aren't having a one season holiday come cameo in the Premiership, but the birthday has been place for sixteen years!
I hate to say it but I'm looking forward to it and I'm a bit nervous and tense too. I'm with your prediction as well but I love OFB's.
Len, good to hear you are progressing well, please keep it up.
ATB and UTB,
John
Thank you, Dormo, for a really interesting and enjoyable starter. I knew Norwich were the archetypal yo-yo club, but I had no idea they’d had so many promotions and (usually) immediate relegations!
You asked the question: would I prefer a yo-yo club like theirs or a stable, relatively boring existence in the Championship, à la PNE? No contest! I definitely want to go up, and the sooner the better, even if that means dropping back down soon afterwards. I want the parachute payments and I really want to see some of the world’s best players strutting their stuff (and being knocked off their stride!) at Fortress Riverside.
Like Martin, I have no idea which Boro will turn up at Carrow Road. I’ll settle for a draw this time.
Ah, the summer! Yorkshire are still doing well in the 50-over competition and I’m just enjoying a short break at our ancient caravan in the Lake District. My wife sent me up this time a) to get rid of me and b) to do some of the cleaning and tidying jobs before she and her friend come up next week. I pinched a few hours off yesterday to go walking in the fells. Blazing, glorious sunshine all day. Bucketloads of sweat. Not a cloud in the sky. Typical Lakes weather! 😉😂
FD
Thanks for the intro.
There is an open training session at the Riverside this morning and Sverre Nypan is in attendance dressed in Boro training kit so looks like signing is imminent.
@mw-in-darwin - GREAT news! He will be very welcome and no doubt will soon be a fans' favourite, if only for one season!
Super Headliner Dormo with the information about Norwich's ups and downs.
Like others, the simple question is always, which Boro will turn up? I still cannot believe how easily Doncaster Reserves turned over a part first team Middlesbrough. That is the big issue we had last season and saw on Tuesday night. Continuous inconsistency.
One can only hope as time goes on, Edwards can stiffen the defence and midfield so that we have a chance of getting a point from the start. Also hopefully we can get a higher number of games out of our major players, like Fry. I won't mention McGree. 🤔
As for Saturday, no prediction from me. I just hope that the real Boro turn up, give it a good go from the off and come away with at least a point.
Seny Dieng spotted in the open training session today as well.
Come on BORO.
Thank you FD for an enjoyable, informative and entertaining starter as always.
The big question is have the inconsistencies of previous seasons been banished or will they reappear at Carrow Road and will typical Boro return.
I hope and have a feeling they won’t, as we are now looking more solid in both defence and midfield.
If we can’t win then don’t lose has to be the new mantra and I will be disappointed if we don’t at least take a point; we have shown we can win at Norwich in the past and could do with making up for last year’s disappointing result. CoB 😎
🚨 | BREAKING: Middlesbrough are set to sign Charlotte FC defender Adilson Malanda.
The centre-back will return to Charlotte on loan, where he'll finish the MLS season.
[Dom Shaw]
He’s 23 and this looks like another clever piece of business with an eye to the future. Apparently he’s a really big guy but great on the ball as well. He can be registered in January which is just about when injuries usually hit us.
UTB
I dropped a note about change of system on the very end of Millwall thread because I was interested to get thoughts from the brains trust. However, peopled moved on to the Norwich section and so I thought that I’d repeat it here.
I feel that we may be overlooking the obvious change which turns Carrickball into Edwards (and others) ball.
Playing a back three gives much more solidity in the middle and so we are less vulnerable to counterattacks which was a continuing problem last year. This switch also frees up Haden and Aidan to push forward as needed and the wingbacks are free to get forward and, even though we might not yet have exactly the right personnel, playing a back three in the Championship could simply be a better option to ensure that we ship fewer goals.
We have at least six senior players - Fry, Jones, Edmundson, Ayling Borges and Lenihan - to fill the three positions and so this area is pretty well covered.
Reading it through again it does also occur to me that a lot of the high end loanees are midfield or wide players and thus playing a twin pivot with a number ten in front and the wingbacks free to join the press is another advantage. With the ball we can be 3-4-3 and that can easily switch to 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 in defence.
UTB
We know it's early days , can't get crazy, but I think the frustration for fans ,and the fact questions were being asked about the direction of the club ,in recent seasons, was most of us could see the squad had talented players,so why the inconsistent play, losing from winning positions, caving in when going behind,
These were questions we all asked,
On reflection, in the end did Carrick curtail their abilities to play their normal game, instead of Silvera taking fullbacks on , encouraging him to go past them , he talked of holding on to the ball and look for options.samevwith other players, go back and start again.
The last couple of seasons the teams that went up, scored goals , attacked with intent.
We have excellent forwards of you give them encouragement to dominate going forward we will be up there ,b that move Whittiker did on that defender for the first goal , was class, took his pants down, Hansen looks the type on the front foot, lets see this new kid,and maybe a new CF, I hope the coaching staff use them the right way.
COB
Many thanks Dormo for an entertaining preamble and conjecture of the merits of glorious inconsistency - though if my recollections of the cheap yo-yos I was gifted as child are anything to go by, then they only ever seemed to go down before becoming entangled and stuck - so my experience actually fits Boro!
Norwich away is perhaps an ideal fixture after than glorious victory at Millwall as no danger that anyone at the club getting carried away and putting a Doncaster style performance.
Hopefully we’ll see Boro fully focused and in confident mood - hard to imagine what another win will do to modest preseason expectations if the transition (continuity?) see us go top of the league.
As alway the Championship is proving to be predictably unpredictable…
@selwynoz I think a few on this blog last season discussed the idea of a “ three at the back system” to try and eliminate the constant shipping of goals.
Of course we also had the problem of playing out from the back and then losing the ball, allied with not scoring sufficient goals once we lost LL and Doak.
Against Millwall, especially during the second half when we had our tails up, we played some lovely football which mirrored the best bits under Carrick.
Possibly, because we have a number of flair players in Azaz, Whittaker and possibly Hansen, a “hybrid compromise” between a pragmatic three at the back and a pure Carrick passing way will suit the squad we look to be assembling.
Edwards has already said he is not stuck on one system, but will be flexible. May be there is some influence from his two assistants.
We also have to hope we have a little more luck on the injury front this season. As you said Selwynoz, we have six CB’s. However from past history, Ayling, Lenahin and Fry are vulnerable to regular layoffs.
The other issue of course, is if we lose Hayden Hackney, would Kante or the new lad be able to replace him. I doubt it.
It was interesting to see at Millwall that initial thoughts on the support given by all the coaches to the players was confirmed.
All the coaches were urging the team on and gesticulating and talking to the lads. Surely thats better than whispering to each other and making subs in the 73rd minute !
OFB
@Dormo Thank you for a nice starte5. Always a pleasure to read your thoughts and happenings at your family. Greetings from Eija, too. Still today and tomorrow in Germany.
It is now official that Sverre Nypan has joined Boro. The new little fella according to Len. We have a lot of new players now, perhaps we need to off-load a couple next. Cannot see Barlaser getting a match if Hackney stays.
All we need now is a striker to push Conway. The next Latte Lath, please.
Up the Boro!
@Dormo Thank you for a nice starte5. Always a pleasure to read your thoughts and happenings at your family. Greetings from Eija, too. Still today and tomorrow in Germany.
It is now official that Sverre Nypan has joined Boro. The new little fella according to Len. We have a lot of new players now, perhaps we need to off-load a couple next. Cannot see Barlaser getting a match if Hackney stays.
All we need now is a striker to push Conway. The next Latte Lath, please.
Up the Boro!
My thanks to Dormo as well for a terrific starter.
Jarkko - great that Nypan has joined. Let's hope's as good as he appears to be. His signing may be the one that allows Hackney to leave but I agree with you that Barlaser has no future for us now.
I'd like to see a big, powerful and mobile striker join the ranks, though they don't grow on trees - most clubs want the same. I wonder if Southampton are overstocked and would entertain a loan move for Ross Stewart? I'd take a prime Uche Ikpeazu at the moment though!
I still think a quality left wingback would be an important addition too, which allows some offloading in that area. Will Lukas Engel come back from his loan at some point?
Hansen has probably completed what we need for the no. 10 positions alongside Azaz, Whittaker, McGree (fingers crossed) and with Hackney able to push up there. Nypan may find himself there too, so the squad should be just about set with a couple more quality additions.
Then it's over to Edwards to find the best combinations and set up. Sounds like it was a good step forward on that front at the weekend.
Pleased about the signing of Nypan. He’s got quite a number of games under his belt for such a young player. I don’t think City sign average young talent and so I’m expecting to see a future star.
So , to complete the signings we just need a decent centre forward and then most of us will be happy.
Bring greedy , the icing on the cake would be Hackney NOT leaving , or leaving in the January transfer window.
Meanwhile, a number of players who don’t appear to have much of a future need to be offloaded.
Suddenly the atmosphere has improved and most of us are getting our enthusiasm back for Boro’s future.
Philip of Huddersfield 👍😁👍
@andy-r Ross Stewart, no thank you Andy. Southampton’s answer to Ryan McGree
Sixteen appearances since he signed for them in 2023.
Philip, as long as he is better the Micah Hamilton. 🤣🤣
The Norwich game is live here in Oz on BeIn so probably not available to all on Boro Live.
On the subject of HH I was interested to see his post-Millwall interview on the MFC website. He was clearly buzzing after the game and delighted that the team had won in such style. As for his goal his comment was that there is nothing better than scoring for your home town club. He also made a couple of comments about future improvements that would keep the team competitive. All in all his enthusiasm for the club and the new season was clear and he didn’t look to me in any way like a player who was angling or pushing for a move.
I think he would move if it was clearly a major step upwards in his career with a club that is competing at the very top level but why move for anything less? So it’s eminently possible that we may keep him at least until January unless of course the club management encourages him to make a move that he may not choose because they need the money.
There's been reports that Ipswich are ready to try a second attempt to sign him and even some that said they were once again in talks with Boro. I really can't see why Hackney would risk a move to Ipswich as they haven't looked like the certs for promotion that was being touted by most pundits before a ball was kicked - which was purely on the strength of them being able to spend big and reprise there promotion season of the season before.
Would Hackney really risk at this stage of his career a move to another Championship club that may ultimately see him not become a PL player or even not look as an effective a player? OK, he would get a pay rise but is an extra million this season worth the long-term risk. Indeed, imagine how gutted he would be if Boro ended up challenging at the top while Ipswich struggled to get their act together!
We might see PL interest if he as another good few games before the window closes as at some point clubs will be feeling pressure to make signings so it's not quite in his or the club's hands until another few weeks...
While it will be hard to replace Hackney if he leaves, I think Nypan may be seen as an option who could play in that role once he's settled in - plus Kante would also be able to add something to the midfield once he's adjusted to the Championship. If Hackney has to be sold to pay the bills then it would be January for me so that those two can be fully up to speed and ready.
Further to OFB’s news, Adilson Malander is a French CB, 6’4” and will be 24 in October, if he is anything like our past French defender (French Frank) it will be a good purchase.🚨 | BREAKING: Middlesbrough are set to sign Charlotte FC defender Adilson Malanda.
The centre-back will return to Charlotte on loan, where he'll finish the MLS season.
[Dom Shaw]
The arrival of Sverre Nypan, although only 18 he has to be one of our registered players as all loan players are, therefore that completes our maximum 25 players. As we still need a striker and a left wing back, it means at least 2/3 players must be moved out either by sales or season long loans 🤔.
Come on BORO.
I agree Werder and apart from a pay rise I can’t see how a move to Ipswich would advance his career in any way. I just hope the club doesn’t push him out.
@andy-r. Yes he did well at Sunderland until the injuries kicked in.
That was why I was surprised Southampton bought him @ 10million if I remember.