Delia Smith steps down at Norwich after 28 years as iconic director and gets new role
Delia Smith will be remembered by football fans for her rallying cry to Norwich fans in 2005 as the team blew a 2-0 lead at home to Manchester City, with the chef storming onto the pitch at half time and asking: ‘Where are you? Let’s be havin’ you!
Iconic Norwich City director Delia Smith and husband Michael Wynn Jones have stepped down after 28 years at Carrow Road, with the pair set to be given a new role as honorary life presidents.
Smith – who made a name for herself as a TV chef – bought her beloved club with Jones in 1996 but handed their majority stake to American firm Norfolk Holdings, headed up by new owner Mark Attanasio, in the summer.
It was reported she “won’t get a penny” from giving up her shares, with the club understood to have debts over up to £59million.
She will be remembered by football fans for her unforgettable rallying cry to Norwich fans in 2005 as the team blew a 2-0 lead at home to Manchester City, with the chef storming onto the pitch at half-time.
Smith was unimpressed with the home support and urged them to make more noise, telling them: “A message for the best football supporters in the world: We need a twelfth man here. Where are you? Where are you? Let’s be havin’ you! Come on!”
Norwich would go on to lose 3-2 – and later relegated that season – but the moment remains one of the most iconic in Premier League history. Smith later revealed she didn’t know Sky Sports cameras were there and admitted she initially wanted to put the rallying cry on a message board – insisting the crowd “were like church mice”.
The club confirmed the news in a statement, writing on Twitter: “After 28 years as directors of Norwich City, Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones have stepped down to become honorary life presidents. It’s not goodbye, it’s just thank you.”
