- City’s viral stadium tour post mocked Ipswich Town’s political blunder.
- Masterclass in football banter: Norwich trolled rival Ipswich online.
- Norwich achieved social media gold by mocking Ipswich’s Farage fiasco.
So, with the season over, we enter awards season. And we start with the best #ncfc tweet of the season.
It was bumhousery of the highest order. A social media flex that even rival fans had to admit was a good one.
On the surface, it was a typical advert on the Norwich City social media channel. But as anyone who knows the full context, the “Stadium Tours Now Available” post was a viral moment up there with Ronnie Pickering, succulent Chinese meal and Ed Balls Day.
Mixing with politics
For those of you unaware of the context Nigel Farage was shown on a stadium tour of Ipswich Town. After he was shown with “Farage 10” printed shirts in the dressing room the club was quick to say “This wasn’t planned in conjunction with the organisations involved”.
Just to be clear this isn’t about how you do or don’t vote or your political viewpoint. What this does highlight is the danger of mixing sport with politics.
The communication from Ipswich Town seemed at odds with the images being presented. If this wasn’t planned with their blessing why did it all seemed perfectly set up.
Whataboutery…
Inevitably the counter to this will be people pointing out how the likes of Liz Truss and Kier Starmer have appeared at Carrow Road. There is also the reasonable point that Ed Balls was on the Norwich City board.
The difference is that if you look at the pictures of these individuals appearing at Carrow Road it doesn’t appear that they have been lined up.
Ed Balls may have been a former minister but his role with Norwich City was not a political one. The Farage Ipswich tour felt like something that had been organised and formalised (despite Ipswich’s protestations).
Another counter has been the story where Norwich City have been fined for not paying minimum wage due to confusion around uniform payment. While this is a valid issue that hopefully will be corrected, it is also fair to look at how Ipswich in administration paid 5p in the pound to their various creditors.
The American burger chain Wendy’s has mastered the art of bantering with rival businesses and even wading into unrelated issues such as Marvel versus DC comics, giving the brand an edge that other companies have tried to ape (with mixed results).
Can the Norwich City social media team keep up this delightful mischief? Here’s hoping we see more of the same in 2026-27.
