R's on the Road To.......... Norwich City.

On New Years Day the R's travel to high flying Norwich in search of a win to kick start the New Year and follow on from the two fantastic results from the busy Xmas schedule.
Here are a few hints and tips for those travelling fans on Saturday.

Club History.



Norwich were formed in 1902 and originally played their home matches at Newmarket Road until 1908 before moving on to Rosary Road which was originally a disused chalk pit until the new home was built there. In 1935 that ground was no longer big enough due to the rising numbers of crowds so their current home at Carrow Road was built and has remained the home of the club.
In 1917, with the First World War meaning that football was suspened, the clubs spiralling debts meant that they entered voluntary liquidation but in 1919 the club was reformed and in 1920 the club re-joined the Football League when the new Third Division was formed.
Norwich’s first trophy came when they won the Third Division in the 1933/34 season, a trophy that they won once again last season on their way back to The Championship.
Norwich have also won The League Cup on two occasions in 1962 and 1985 as well as being Champions in the second tier on three separate occasions, the last success being on their way back to the Premiership in the 2003/04 season.
Norwich were inaugural members of the Premier league in 1992 and lead the league for most of the season but faltered in the final weeks of the season and ended up finishing third behind Champions Man United and Runners Up Aston Villa. This did secure a UEFA Cup place for the club and in the second round of the competition the clubs greatest result in their history was achieved as Norwich defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium. Norwich are still the only English team to beat Bayern Munich at the Olympic Stadium.

The Stadium.

Current capacity – 27,033



The ground has virtually been re-built since the 1980’s as all four sides of the ground have new stands.
Norwich moved into Carrow Road in 1935. The ground was the largest construction job in the City Centre since Norwich Castle and was built miraculously in only 82 days! An aerial photograph from August 1935 shows three sides of open terracing and a covered stand, with a Colman's Mustard advertisement painted on its roof, visible only from the air.
The South Stand was the final piece of the reconstruction puzzle and was completed in 2005. This is where the away fans are housed.
The South Stand holds 8,000 fans with an allocation of 2,500 usually going to the visiting supporters.
The Stand has an unusual feature with having not one, but three TV gantries. The stand is very impressive and the views of the pitch are completely unobstructed.
The atmosphere that is generated is usually pretty good and this will be probably one of the most enjoyable away days of the season.

The History between the teams.

At Norwich City (57)

Norwich 31
QPR 9
Draw 17

Rangers’ have never enjoyed travelling to Norwich much over the years and having won there only 9 times in 57 attempts, the stats definitely confirms this.
The R’s enjoyed their last trip to Carrow road in 2008 when they were 1-0 victors courtesy of a Martin Rowlands goal, despite having been reduced to ten men with just 25 minutes gone as Matt Connolly was sent off for two bookable offences.
Before this victory Rangers’ last success at Carrow Road was in a Premiership fixture in 1994 with the final score being a 4-3 to the Superhoops, my how times change!



How to get there.

By Car: - The postcode for Carrow Road is NR1 1JE.
Leave the M25 at junction 27 and head up the M11. Leave the M11 at junction 9 and merge onto the A11. Continue down the A11 for about 50 miles and then when you get to a roundabout with a junction for the A47. 5 miles up the road at the traffic lights branch left onto the A146. From here the ground is well signposted and you will come across a number of car parks.
The best place to park is the Norfolk County Hall, it is well signposted and is at the bottom of the A146. It costs about £3 to park here. Its advised that you get there for about 1pm to secure a decent parking spot and by 2pm its usually full so get there early to avoid disappointment,

By Train: - The ground is a 5-10 minute walk from the station. From the station turn left and head for the Morrisons supermarket and you should see the ground behind that.


Pubs 'n' Grub.

There are a number of pubs that are situated between the train station and the ground that welcome all fans, in fact you could do a pub crawl before you get to the ground, thats how many pubs there are!
The traditional away fans pub is the ‘Compleat Angler’ pub which is by the river, opposite the train station.
Also there’s a new complex called Riverside that has a number of eating outlets inside as well as having a Wetherspoons inside as well.