Town’s long-serving PA man Rob Chandler has revealed he will not be behind the Portman Road microphone next season and instead will be joining the ranks of the Blues' season ticket holders.
Chandler, whose day job is presenting the afternoon show on Greatest Hits Radio, broadcasting to Suffolk, Norfolk and North Essex, started the role in the 1996/97 season when he was one of three PA men rotating the role before then-chairman David Sheepshanks gave him the job on his own ahead of the following campaign.
He says hanging up his mic has been something he’s been thinking about since the latter stages of 2019/20.
"At the end of the season before last I missed several games and I was getting a bit disillusioned with it. Not the job so much as the team’s performance really,” he admitted.
"And living up here [in Norwich] as I do, it’s a long way to travel, a long way to travel just to be disappointed, not enjoy the football, the expenditure and all the rest of it.
"With the Covid thing, I said to the guys there that maybe it was a good idea if I sat that the 2020/21 season out because Foz [Stephen Foster] was there on the spot willing to come in and do it voluntarily, not too much pressure really because there wasn’t all the pre-match, the half-time stuff, it was just very basic. Foz was happy, I guess he could see the games and keep his hand in.
"We kind of left the door open really, ‘I’ll take a season out and we’ll see what happens in the future’.
"But then I didn’t have any contact from the club, I know there are more important things than the PA announcer, all these new execs coming in, a new manager, signing new players, that’s top priority, I’m some way down the list of priorities.
"I’ve been thinking about it anyway and I suppose the club didn’t come to me and say ‘do you fancy coming back?’.
"There’s going to be a great atmosphere, big crowds, tickets were selling and I said to the other half, ‘what do you think? Shall we get season tickets, sit with my brother up in the top of the Sir Bobby?’. She said she’d leave it up to me.
"And I thought that there’s a well of euphoria sweeping through the fanbase at the moment, I quite fancy being a part of that.
"I’ll probably sit there thinking that that should be me interviewing Ed Sheeran and announcing all these goals, riding the crest of a wave.
"No regrets, I’ve had a good run, lots of great times, all the play-off failures and then the play-off success, being on the mic at Wembley, the Joe Royle days and all the rest of it.
"I’m just looking forward to it. It’ll be lovely to come on the train, have a meal in town, saunter down to the ground, assuming we’re allowed back in come August, and just enjoying the games. Hopefully enjoy the games anyway.
"And hand the mic over to somebody else. They’ll probably keep Foz, I would think. He knows the job, he knows the club, people know his voice. That’s the way I would imagine it.”
Since his announcement on social media last night, Chandler has received numerous tributes from fans, while a thank-you thread has been posted on the TWTD Forum.
"It’s lovely, I got quite emotional reading a lot of those comments,” he said. "I suppose people remember me not just for the football aspect and a shared passion and all the good games, but some of the laughs we used to have, some of the announcements.
"The Kieron Dyer’s mum announcement, the night when we were calling for some guy to be the fourth official, some fun with the Dutch fans when they came over for that pre-season friendly that time.
"Lots of stuff like that as well, which is equally as pleasing, to be honest with you.
"I’ve always seen myself as a bit of a joker, I do enjoy making people laugh. Standing there on the pitch making a comment and hearing that laughter from the crowd, that gave me as much pleasure as any other aspect of the job. Good times.”