Canary legend Iwan Roberts was back in the building earlier this month, reflecting on the club's 2025/26 season, looking ahead to the next campaign, life in Norfolk after Norwich City and his time in yellow and green.
The Welsh forward joined the Canaries from Wolves in 1997, eventually going on to score 97 goals in 306 appearances; the third most in the club's history.
The striker also collected two Player of the Season awards during the 1998/99 and 1999/2000 campaigns and guided City to the Premier League in his final season at the club.
Read the full interview below.
You’re very much still involved in the club and you'll have watched a lot of the games from last season's campaign, what did you make of the club's season?
Obviously, the start was disappointing and I think there were numerous reasons for that.
My heart went out to Liam Manning, when he left the club because I think he's a good man, he's a good coach.
It was a difficult time for him when he first came here, but then when Philippe (Clement) came in and transformed the club, it was just a shame that the season finished when it did; had there been two, three, four more games, there is no doubt, Norwich would have finished in the top six with the impact that he had.
I wouldn't say it happened straight away, I think was it, three or four wins in his first eleven, but once he got his methods and his philosophy over to the players, they never looked back and it was an incredible transformation from being second from bottom.
I think the club had nine points from their first 18 games or something like that, which would have been relegation form.
He transformed the performances and united the club, if I can say that but you don't usually see that happening in such a short space of time.
From December onwards, Norwich were the best team in that division.
This is now Clement’s first summer in charge. It's difficult to predict, but what would you say we can expect from this Norwich City team?
I don't think you'll settle for anything less than what they've produced under him.
I look at him and I think he's a proper manager and I don't know him, I've never met him but I get the feeling he wants to control everything, which is how it should be, in my opinion.
Pre-season is the most important time. That's when you get all your preparation, all your fitness work.
I think it's going to be a really exciting time for the club; they've got momentum from how last season finished, Hull apart.
I was disappointed on the day because I'm a bit of a Wrexham fan, being from North Wales, and I would love them next time to get into the play-offs, but I think one or two additions, not too many, and absolutely they could be pushing promotion next year.
It's going to be tough with the teams coming down in Wolves, West Ham and Burnley. Have you kept an eye on them much, particularly your former club Wolves, in the last couple of seasons?
Not really. I mean, the problem with Wolves is that you can only keep selling your best players for so long.
They're a good club, a big club.
It'll be tough; you would expect West Ham to be favourites, to bounce straight back up but we don't know what's going to happen at Burnley.
They're looking for a new manager after Scott Parker left them with three or four games to go.
I look at West Ham, they will be firm favourites if they can keep hold of Nuno and the nucleus of the squad that they've got.
They'll lose one or two but that's the nature of the game.
I'm sure he will want to strengthen, he will want to put his own mark on the team because he's only had one transfer window, and that was a successful one, to be fair.
There's no reason why Philippe and the squad he’s got can’t absolutely go one better than this year.
You know what it's like to be part of the side that is pushing for promotion. Just tell us a little bit about some of your highlights as a Canary.
The play-off final back in 2002 was a massive highlight, when I scored after 30 seconds of injury time but then I realised that it wasn't golden goal and the game went to extra time and we lost on penalties.
Because we lost, that doesn't really mean too much to me.
The two goals that I scored at Portman Road to win two nil, I think that was 1998/99 season, and they were going for promotion, that was great.
I also just look back at that whole 2003/2004 season and the group that we had; the dressing room that we had was tight.
It was a really good feeling about the place, because we'd got to the play-offs two seasons before, we were sort of confident that we could finish in the top six, but one Thursday morning in September, we'd started the warm-up and Nigel Worthington walked out ten minutes after we'd started.
He walked out with three new players, three new lads on loan; Kevin Harper, a young Peter Crouch and Darren Huckerby.
Now, no disrespect to Crouchy or to Kev as they were two great lads but as soon as I saw Hucks I was thinking: "Right, we’ve got a proper chance now."
If I'm being honest, without Darren, I don't think we’d have won the league, I don't think we'd have got automatic promotion.
We were a good side and I would have been confident we'd have finished in the top six, but without Hucks - you need that little bit of stardom sort of thing, that X factor.
He was definitely that.
You’ve touched on it a little but what was it about that 2003/04 season; when did you think 'we're winning the league'?
As soon as I saw Darren, because I'd seen him in the previous season; he'd been on loan at Nottingham Forest from Man City.
I remember watching a couple of games live on TV that he was involved in.
I played against him on a couple of occasions but didn’t realise quite how quick and how direct and how good he was.
When did I realise? When we beat Ipswich away at Portman Road, when Leon (McKenzie) scored a brace and we went top of the league.
I thought that could be us up, even though we've still got half the season to go. I thought we had a good shot.
So when he left at the end of his loan, there was no sort of word that the club were going to sign him permanently.
Then we played Nottingham Forest Boxing Day and they had kept it so quiet, but suddenly you hear these whispers and rumours that Norwich had signed Darren Huckerby on a permanent contract, but there was nothing to confirm that.
Before the game, Delia and Michael walked out onto the pitch with Huckerby and broke the news that Darren had signed for us for three and a half years.
From then on, we were really confident that we could win the league.
You’re still around now; what is it about Norwich that makes it so special and what pulled you to sign in the first place?
The city, the county, the people, the supporters, so friendly.
The friendliness of the whole place.
I remember when I first started they took me into Colney and I'd never seen a training ground like that.
I've lived all over, in North London, in West Yorkshire, in the Midlands, down West.
No disrespect to those places but this is by far the nicest, the best, most laid-back place and that's why, there's loads of us that have signed for the club, that loved it and settled here.
And the club's a good club, it's a one city club.
It's one county club and once you've accepted there's no going back sort of thing, I mean, because obviously I've married a Norwich girl.
If you had the chance to sit in front of a couple of the players in the squad now that we're going to have next season, maybe even some of the ones who play in your position, what advice would you give to them?
Never waste a second.
Never waste a training session because you don't know when it can be taken away from you.
I think from a collective point of view, go and achieve something with the club that you can be proud of, your teammates can be proud of, your family can be proud of and just as importantly, what the supports can be proud of.
Something you can look back on in future years, and say ‘I did all right’.
Norwich people, I know these supporters, it doesn't matter how old you are, how old you get; they'll never forget your contribution to the club.
I left the club 20 odd years ago and people still come up to talk to me about certain games and goals that I scored.
It's great, I love it.
People say, ‘Oh, do you mind talking football?’
Actually, I can't talk about anything else really.
So go and sort of make your mark and be a part of the club for years and years to come.
Find out how to get your hands on Iwan's exclusive 2026/27 membership shirt here.