British Living Legend: Delia Smith’s 12th Man Football Cry

Posted On 25/02/2025

By Nikki Wordsmith
hello@nikkiwordsmith.com 
WhatsApp: 07905 456704

Twenty years on, the “message to the best football supporters in the world” by Britain’s best known cook, has like a fine wine, just got better with age.

Delia Smith’s classic cri d’cœr football moment, happened during halftime in a Norwich City match against Manchester City.

Her passionate and impromptu plea included brilliant phrases such as — “we need a 12th man here” and “let’s be having you”.

Norwich City, known as The Canaries around the world for their distinctive yellow and green football strip, have played at Carrow Road since 1935.

On this day twenty years ago, the tables were turned and it was their turn to be on the receiving end of a challenging football chant.

Delia Smith roared out her words to around 27,000 fans on the terraces. She was clearly trying to rouse the home supporter who she later described as being as, “quiet as church mice”.

In the same 2023 Desert Island Discs interview, Delia Smith also told Lauren Lavern that she had forgotten Sky Sports cameras were filming that day.

In spite of her remarks being said before the Internet cast its world wide web around the globe, this half-time rousing of the troops is a perennial social media hit.

This is not surprising, to date she has sold more than 21 million books and has broadcasting career that spans more than four decades.

Perhaps more tellingly is when you ask most people in the country about the city of Norwich, they think of Delia Smith giving this speech.

We Need A 12th Man Here!

Why is Delia Smith’s “Let’s be having you!” speech such a memorable moment in football history?

• The Match: It was a Premier League game between Norwich City and Manchester City at Carrow Road on the last day of February 28th, 2005.
• Delia’s Speech: At halftime, with Norwich having blown a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2, Delia Smith, the club’s joint majority shareholder and celebrity chef, took to the pitch with a microphone. She delivered an impassioned plea to the fans to support the team, famously saying “Let’s be having you! Come on!”
• Critics assumed Delia Smith was drunk when she made her half-time outburst. She skillfully defends this by saying in a recent interview in The Mail Online: “The problem is that you are not allowed to have passion in this country. If you live here and you show passion, then you must be drunk.”
• Perhaps even when you have all the power and passion at your fingertips it is still not enough to will the victory you want and stop your team from getting relegated? The Outcome: Despite Delia’s efforts, Manchester City went on to win the match 3-2, with Robbie Fowler scoring the winning goal in injury time.

Delia Smith: The Original Foodie Influencer Who Just Wanted To Help People Cook Better

Perhaps Delia Smith was hoping to utilise her legendary “Delia Effect” on the 23,000 Norwich City fans in the all seater stadium.

According to her Wikipedia entry:

“It has been claimed that Smith’s television series Delia’s How to Cook led to a 10% rise in egg sales in Britain and her use of ingredients such as frozen mash and tinned minced beef and onions, or utensils such as an omelette pan, could cause sell-outs overnight.”

Lately, I needed some “Delia Effect” in my life, so I hunted her out again…

She came into my life in the 1980s via the television show Swap Shop. Like many kids I was enamoured with her tuning fork power to demonstrate simple cooking skills in a caring and concise manner.

As a sensitive and vividly imaginative child growing up in Wales, I also sort of thought she might be my aunty as well. Well we do almost have the same name — I am Nichola Ann Smith, she is Delia Ann Smith.

My first name means goddess of victory (see Nike) and Delia means, well what does Delia mean? It is such as unusual name. All you have to do is say Delia and everyone knows who you are talking about.

So Delia. Delia. Delia. Delia. In Welsh the name means dark, further back, in ancient Wales to the Celts, the name rather fittingly can be traced back to the goddess Brigid – the goddess of fire and poetry.

Over the years, her simple cooking style has helped me no end.

Specifically as a student, she taught me how to cook an egg, hence the blog.

And I seem to have acquired a decent amount her cookbooks.

The wisdom and food photography in these tomes knows no bounds.

Even as I lie here in bed with a bad cold wring this blog almost twenty years on to the day of her Let’s Be Having You speech, Delia Smith’s natural savour-faire spirit still lifts me up.

Her cry ringing out around Carrow Road with such passion and gumption reminds me of another great British human from her neck of the woods in East Anglia — Boadicea, the leader of the Iceni tribe who rose up against the Romans in AD60 ish.

Speaking to Roy Plomley in the 1982 Desert Island Discs show, Delia explains how she discovered that in the 18tj century the British were eating better than the French, and it is from this era she originally took inspiration for her own style of cooking.

Delia Smith is much more that this footballing moment, she is a legend in her own lunchtime.

For me personally she has been and still is, one of the great pegs of people power for me hang my hopes on when the chips are are down.

I have asked Delia to share her thoughts twenty years on this…

For now, as we wait with bated breath for the Undisputed Queen of Britain’s Kitchens to respond, let’s keep rising in the glory of Delia Smith’s rousing rant, like a loaf freshly baked from the oven.

Thank you once again to The Football Historian for their kind permission.

Plus the many cultural sources available in 2025 to a blogalist’s very grateful fingertips:

Listen to Delia Smith not once, but twice (1982 & 2023) on Desert Island Discs.

If you have any old Delia Smith books please do get in touch: hello@nikkiwordsmith.com

Please note no AI was harmed during the creating of this content.

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