Football club 'has just lost a very big part of its identity'

Football fans and club staff have been paying tribute to Michael Wynn Jones, the husband of TV cook Delia Smith, after his death at the age of 85.

Together with Smith, he was an honorary life president of Norwich City Football Club, where they were majority shareholders for 26 years until 2024.

The club held a minute's silence and opened a book of condolence in the Lion and Castle pub at the Carrow Road stadium, in which people were invited to leave their tributes.

Staff members could be seen in tears, with one writing: "Norwich City has just lost a very big part of its identity. A true gentleman who will be sorely missed."

Speaking to the BBC, lifelong fan William Potter, aged 28, said: "Michael's just been a stalwart of this club my whole life.

"I would look across from my season ticket in the River End and see him sat next to Delia and just knowing that they were a big part of the fabric of everything that went on.

"It was an incredible thing to have actual loyal fans as the owner of your club.

"It's real sadness and it's just a big loss to us Norwich fans and the wider Norwich community because again, the club wouldn't be here in the way it is now if it wasn't for their custodianship."

Norwich supporter Paul Johnson, who had come to Carrow Road after hearing Wynn Jones had passed away, agreed it was a sad day, "especially for Delia".

He said, "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him and Delia, they absolutely saved the club."

His brother, Martin, added: "A massive impact and some absolutely fantastic memories.

"So, I'll remember we got promoted several times, maybe not talk about the Premier League, but it's been an incredible time being a fan with them in charge."

Canaries Trust board member Lorraine Taylor said: "Michael's been such an integral part of this club for a number of years and it's really sad because if it wasn't for Michael and Delia, we probably wouldn't be standing here right now because we might not have had a club."

She added they had received messages of condolence not just from Canary fans but also from derby rivals, Ipswich Town.

"Michael wasn't just an owner of Norwich City, he was a fan first and foremost," she said.

"He really cared a lot about this club and its fans and he'll be missed by so many of us who would walk past the director's entrance on a match day and have a quick chat with him as he's outside having his usual cigarette."

The book of condolence will be available for fans to sign all week before being moved to the South Stand reception at Carrow Road on Saturday and Sunday.

The couple, who lived near Stowmarket in Suffolk, joined the Canaries board in 1996, overseeing several promotions to the Premier League.

Outside of football, Wynn Jones worked as a journalist for titles including the Daily Mirror and The Spectator, before founding his own publishing company.

He attended his first Carrow Road game in April 1955, aged 13, and wrote fondly of the club's unlikely run to the FA Cup semi-final in 1959.

Wynn Jones and Delia were awarded honorary life presidencies after stepping back from majority ownership in 2024.

The club said it would be working on a permanent tribute to Wynn Jones's life and legacy at the stadium, as well as a tribute prior to an upcoming home fixture.

A tribute to Wynn Jones, who died "peacefully in his sleep at home", was also posted on Delia's company website.

It said: "Michael was never someone who sought to be centre stage, but he was always a prominent figure to us all... and although his contribution was often made behind the scenes, his presence was always felt."