“6ft 2, eyes of blue, Duncan Forbes is after you.”  

It’s one of the most famous chants in Norwich City history. So much so that it’s been immortalised in the form of a giant mural, visible to anyone who drives past Carrow Road. A fitting tribute to one of the club’s true greats. Except it’s not strictly true.  

The arrival of 18-year-old Brandon Forbes from Dundee United on transfer deadline day has resulted in a fascinating discovery. Without wishing to apply unfair pressure on a young player who is initially joining the Canaries development teams I wondered whether the surname might be a good omen.  

His career is at such a fledgling stage that it’s difficult to find any details online as to whether he’s anywhere close to 6ft 2. His eye colour also remains a mystery.  

So, I took the modern-day approach and asked social media whether its collective mind could take a break from arguing with each other and help.  

Brandon Forbes’ height is a work in progress but there was some surprising news about Duncan Forbes.  

A social media user going by the name of ‘Canaries Caption It’ shared an interview that Duncan had given to something like Shoot magazine in the early 1970s. It’s a great read. One of those quick fire ‘In Focus’ style interviews that help keen young football fans feel like they are getting to know their heroes. It tells us that his Biggest thrill was “Scoring the only goal against QPR in October 1969”, his favourite food is “Scampi or Chinese food” and that he would most like to meet “Sean Connery, who plays James Bond in films.” A good qualifier there in case we thought he meant a plumber called Sean Connery.  

The most shocking line in the entire interview comes in the factfile at the top of the page. Height: 5ft 11. Pardon? How can Duncan Forbes have been under 6ft tall? He certainly had the force of personality to add on several extra inches. One of my BBC Radio Norfolk colleagues, Matthew Gudgin, remembers interviewing Geoff Hurst a few years ago. When asked about playing against the Canaries, England’s World Cup hero’s first memory was of the hard times that Forbes had given him on the pitch.  

It's a fool’s errand to compare footballers across the eras but it is interesting how what we expect from a central defender has changed over the years.  

With Norwich City now favouring a possession approach and trying to play out from the back, big lumbering centre backs are in danger of going out of fashion. The modern preference is for the culture of Callum Doyle over the muscle of Malky Mackay.  

Canaries’ supporters have questioned whether Shane Duffy or Grant Hanley can possibly have long term futures with the club given what Johannes Hoff Thorup wants them to do. Duffy has kept his place in the team in recent weeks and it’s not particularly controversial to suggest that having the ball at his feet, passing out from defensive areas, is not when he looks at his most comfortable.  

However, the Irishman has played a key role in the Norwich City team that’s taken four points from tricky looking games against Sheffield United and Coventry. In the first of those two games he helped limit Kieffer Moore’s impact, just as he did when the 6ft 5inch striker played up front for Ipswich in the last East Anglian derby.  

At Coventry, when Norwich were trying to see out a tense 1-0 win, there were two occasions when Sky Blue attacks were abruptly ended by Duffy launching the ball into Row Z. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t ‘Hoffball’ as we understand it, but it was certainly effective. You could almost sense defenders from the past like Dave Stringer, Craig Fleming or Steve Bruce nodding in approval and muttering “they can’t score from there” to themselves. 

Yes, the game has changed, but sometimes the old-fashioned percentage approach from a big central defender doesn’t half come in handy.  

As for the mural on the side of Carrow Road, it might need replacing. “5ft 11, he’ll teach you a lesson, Duncan Forbes is football heaven.”  

 

You’re the ref... 

We all like to think our grasp on the laws of football is faultless. 

That’s how supporters justify the amount of very vocal feedback they offer to referees each Saturday afternoon.  

Every so often you still see a rule being enforced that you had forgotten all about.  

My knowledge was tested at The Walks on Saturday while commentating on King’s Lynn Town’s 2-0 defeat to Curzon Ashton in National North. The first goal was scored from an indirect free kick, awarded in the Linnets’ penalty area.  

It happened after defender Kyle McFadden fell on top of the ball during a tussle with Curzon forward Jimmy Spencer. A few seconds of chaos followed as players from each side tried to kick the ball out from underneath the former Norwich City youngster. When the ref blew his whistle I first assumed he was coming to McFadden’s rescue and giving a free kick in his favour. Or perhaps the correct decision would be a drop ball?  

Instead the old-fashioned offence of ‘obstruction’ was called, and Curzon were given the chance to set-up a shot at goal from a central position, around 17 yards out. Stefan Mols found the gap in Lynn’s defensive wall and it turned out to be the first step towards a hard-fought win for the Manchester outfit.  

In all the thousands of games I have been to, I can’t recall ever seeing a goal scored in such circumstances. I still need to tick-off a goal direct from a corner and I have never seen a goalkeeper score either.