Life After City

...........keeping a beady eye on ex Canaries  and those out on loan

yesterday........Cody McDonald scored the first brace of his Football League career in Gillingham's 3-0 win over high flyers Port Vale. It brought his tally to four in four games and means he has now scored twice as many league goals for the Gills as he has the Canaries (eight to four). Ex loanee Leroy Lita also nabbed a brace for Middlesbrough in their relegation battle with Preston North End, where Darel Russell finished on the wrong end of a 3-1 defeat. Lita has now scored twelve goals in 60 games for Boro, although 25 of those appearances have been from the bench. 

A few fans were disappointed by the departure of young defender Michael Spillane from Carrow Road last summer when he made the switch to League One Brentford. The St Helier, Jersey born player had made 34 appearances in all competitions for City since 2006. His new career with the Bees has seen him spend much more time on the field of play - since the start of the season he has already chalked up twenty games. He awaits his first goal (to add to his solitary strike for the Canaries in the 4-0 beating of Leyton Orient in September 2009), though he did convert from the spot in Brentford's League Cup penalty shoot out win over Everton.

Central defender Zesh Rehman played five games for the Canaries back in 2006 during a loan spell from Fulham. The Pakistani international, who was the first British Asian to start a match in the Premier League, has recently been playing for League Two Bradford City, in the same team as another Canary, Tom Adeyemi who is on loan to the Bantams. However, captain Rehman found himself out in the cold with manager Peter Taylor following comments made on a radio programme criticising team selection. Which has led to him moving on, to the other side of the world. Rehman has joined Muangthong United FC who are one of the richest clubs in Thailand, and won the Thai Premier League in 2009 and 2010.

Former Norwich City manager Peter Grant has been first team coach at Birmingham City since July and is said to be happy with life at St Andrews under Jim McLeish. The appointment of Alan Pardew at Newcastle United put the Scot back in the limelight with many believing he might well link up once more with his former boss from West Ham United. Grant also played under Pardew for Reading. However, It now looks as if he will stay put in the West Midlands. Reports on the BBC on Boxing Day suggested that another former Canary, Malky Mackay, could be a surprise appointment to the assistant manager position at Newcastle. His stock is currently high, with his Watford team over performing in the Championship, and Mackay has not, initially at least, ruled out a move to the North East.
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The Southern League

Having spent the first three years of their existence playing regional football in the Norfolk & Suffolk League, Norwich City moved up into a national competition for the 1905-06 season by joining the Southern League. The change was brought about because the Citizens were deemed to be a professional club.

It was during the early part of the 1904-05 season that suspicions were raised that City had been in breach of FA rules regarding payments to players and inducements to others already representing rival football clubs. A Football Association commission was set up to investigate (Lowestoft incidentally were subjected to the same examination) and on the final day of 1904, Norwich City were found to be professional. It was a time of potential turmoil, but the directors came out fighting over the following few days. A meeting was called and it was decided the club should continue as a professional outfit and strive to build a successful team to compete at that level. Lowestoft meantime were also found guilty, but significantly they decided to pay a fine and revert to amateurism.

Whilst the city of Norwich found itself at the centre of some sporting scandal, it should be said there was no great or lasting stigma attached to the event. These were still the pioneer days of organised football in England, but money had been involved in the game for a while. Clubs had to choose between a professional or amateur existence, and there was, inevitably, a period of time when the two paths crossed. The resolve of the City directors is interesting. There is no record that anything other than a move to the paid game was considered. It can reasonably be assumed that this was the plan from day one, but that a good playing base was needed before such a move was viable. It is probable that they knew they were breaking regulations and would be caught sooner or later, the only disappointment perhaps being they would maybe have liked just a little more time getting established before it all came out.

Robert Webster and Joseph Nutchey, the founders of the club, and director Arthur Turner were all immediately suspended for the misdemeanours, and it was left to Robert Collinson to move into the position of Chairman. Thankfully, the Norfolk & Suffolk League did not expel Norwich City from their competition - the Citizens duly completed the campaign, finishing as champions and securing their first ever trophy.

Behind the scenes, it was essential that a new league was found, and it had to be the Southern League if the club was going to progress. It should be stressed that in 1905, the Southern League was not far behind the Football League in terms of standard. But it was certainly no foregone conclusion that Norwich would be accepted into the competition. Geography was an issue - although train travel was widely available, many clubs would not have wanted long trips up to Norfolk. However, there were, thankfully, Southern League committee members who wanted to see their tournament extended into East Anglia, and so a lobbying process began, with Norwich City Football Club keen to sell themselves and the city as a whole in a favourable light. Officials from the league were invited to visit, and they were suitably looked after - wined and dined and invited to attend a friendly at Newmarket Road in April against Woolwich Arsenal, where the City underdogs pulled off a 2-1 victory against their Football League rivals.

A good impression was therefore set, but inclusion into the Southern League could only come about by being elected by the member clubs. The Citizens faced stiff competition as only two places were available in Division One. Luton Town were seeking re-election. Chelsea had long been considered favourites and most suitable for acceptance, given the influence of London sides. However, and thankfully for Norwich, they did not apply, choosing instead to attempt entry into the Football League, which they achieved. Clapton Orient also got into the Football League which meant it was between Luton Town, Norwich City, Crystal Palace, Leyton and Grays United. In the event, Luton were duly re-elected with 31 votes. And Norwich City secured second place with 21. Only one other club received any votes at all - Crystal Palace with 18. The team that dropped out of the league were Wellingborough Redwell, who had finished bottom of the league.

So, on the 30th of May 1905, City were elected to the Southern League as a fully fledged professional team. It was a joyous occasion. Webster, Nutchey and Turner were re-instated and the first ever manager was appointed, John Bowman from Queens Park Rangers (Turner taking on the role of his assistant). A new team was put together, with the club now free to approach players and negotiate wages for the first time. And the expectancy of seeing the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Southampton and Fulham, to name just a few, visiting Newmarket Road was undoubtedly hugely exciting for the growing fanbase.
The first ever Norwich City Southern League fixture was on the 2nd of September 1905 away at Plymouth Argyle. Captained by Jimmy McEwen, they lost 2-0. The first home match came a week later, a 1-1 draw with Southampton. It went on to be a good season for Norwich - they finished seventh out of eighteen teams, the highest they would ever achieve in the competition. A full record of final placings is as follows :

1905-06 - 7th
1906-07 - 8th
1907-08 - 16th
1908-09 - 19th
1909-10 - 17th
1910-11 - 10th
1911-12 - 12th
1912-13 - 18th
1913-14 - 14th
1914-15 - 13th
1919-20 - 12th

overall record :  P424  W135  D124  L165  F558  A610  PTS 394

Whilst it would be fair to say City hardly set the world alight during this period, their time in the Southern League did enable the city to enjoy the very best standard of football available. The club became established and picked up a growing reputation as FA Cup giant killers when they came up against Football League teams. Regrettably, the club ran into financial difficulties during World War One and was wound up, only to be resurrected again soon after the war finished. A single post war season was played in 1919-20, before almost the entire division were invited to form a third division of the Football League. Norwich City's last Southern League appearance as far as the first team was concerned came on the 1st of May 1920, a 1-0 defeat at QPR. Jock Mackenzie played the most games - 186, and Davie Ross scored the most goals - 36.

Norwich did continue to play in the Southern League after 1920 by entering a Reserves side as a number of clubs did once they had joined the Football League. Twice the Canaries finished as champions - in 1932-33 and 1934-35.

The Southern League was formed in 1894, after numerous failed attempts to establish credible competition to the professional Football League which comprised entirely of northern and midland based clubs. The early initiatives largely failed due to the amateur/professional divide (which was much larger in the south than it ever was in the north) and the influence of the London Football Association. In 1890, Charlie Bambrige, who had played football for England, tried to get a venture off the ground. However, many of the organised teams of the day revolved around public schools, and the old boys' network were stoutly against any notion that money should be paid for playing football. Having said that, the vote taken on whether a Southern League should proceed was only narrowly defeated by 47 votes to 46.

Woolwich Arsenal were next to try, in 1891. They had already turned professional by this time and had duly been expelled from the London FA as a result. But again amateur clubs were loathe to be seen mixing with the professionals and feared the same punishment as Woolwich Arsenal, who, once it became obvious that a Southern League was not going to happen, went off to join the Football League instead.

Finally, the time was right for such a venture to be launched, with Millwall Athletic (who we know today as Millwall) the main instigators. The league would include both amateurs and professionals. And so, in 1893, clubs were invited to meetings, and the Southern League was formed for the 1894-95 season. The enthusiasm was such that two divisions had to be made. The first consisted of Chatham, Clapton, Ilford, Luton Town, Millwall Athletic, Reading, Royal Ordnance Factories, Swindon Town, and the 2nd Scots Guards, although they dropped out before a ball was kicked and were replaced with Southampton St Mary's. The teams placed in the Second Division were Bromley, Chesham, Maidenhead, New Brompton (now Gillingham), Old St Stephen's, Sheppey United, and Uxbridge. The first Southern League champions were Millwall Athletic.

By the early twentieth century, Southern League teams were excelling in the FA Cup, Tottenham Hotspur winning it in 1901 and Southampton getting to the finals of 1900 and 1902. In 1907, Yorkshire based Bradford Park Avenue were admitted to the league ! After 1920, the league format changed, firstly into English and Welsh sections, then from 1923-24 eastern and western sections. The Southern League still exists today with a Premier League and two regionalised First Divisions and is placed at levels seven and eight of the English football pyramid. It is presently called the Zamaretto Football League, with the cup competition called the Red Insure Cup. Current league champions are Farnborough.

For details of the Norwich City Reserves championship winning seasons and the final league placings throughout history, click on the Southern League section in Site Navigation, in the sidebar.
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Travelling With Confidence

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles

So, for the second away match on the trot, the Canaries gained three points on their travels against promotion chasing rivals. The Derby County victory was pretty much as good as it gets but to repeat the result at Coventry City on Saturday was exceptional. It is too early of course to start talking about six pointers, and come the end of the season maybe neither of those sides will still be in the chase. But it does say something about the confidence and mentality of this current Norwich City side that they have no respect for home records and go to these matches looking for wins. The match at the Ricoh Arena was particularly interesting as manager Paul Lambert started with three strikers in the team. This approach often brings more than the occasional 4-0 drubbing and certainly leaves midfielders and defenders working overtime. But this week it did the trick nicely. City have now lost just one away game in the last eight, that being at Cardiff in a game where they nonetheless played well, and they have picked up four wins during the run. The thing I have found most pleasing is that every match has involved a different story - the team looks to have the ability to work their way through games and situations and do whatever is needed to come away with a point or three. Gone are the days when I look at the fixture list, knowing, just knowing, we will be lucky to get anything from an away game.

On the 19th of November, just before the Leeds United match, I suggested the next six games were vital for the Norwich City season, a chance to build on an already good start and setting a target of ten points out of eighteen. And the win at Coventry meant that target was hit with a game to spare - Boxing Day's visit to Crystal Palace. Readers will have spent time over the weekend studying the table so know the implications of that. Our next game marks the half way mark in our season, so whatever points we have at full time at Selhurst Park could feasibly be doubled if we think we can do it all over again in the next 23 fixtures. It might prove to be a tall order. But being positive we have players still to return from injury (significantly so as far as Drury and Surman are concerned), the promise of a little squad strengthening, and the hope that we will not lose another four home matches. Double our tally and look to see where that would have left us in previous seasons. A play-off place is still realistic.

I want to make a quick mention of Ralph Coates, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley winger, who passed away last week. He was a very well liked character at both of those clubs and features in the Norwich City history because he scored the goal against us in the 1973 League Cup Final defeat. He came on as a substitute at the start of the second half and in the end proved to be the difference between the two sides. It kick started his White Hart Lane career. He won four caps for England in 1970-71. I will always remember his trickery out wide and the way he pulled fast disappearing strands of hair over his balding head. He may have done some damage to my beloved football club that March afternoon, but Sing Up The River End! would like to pay respects to a great little footballer of his generation.

Should Wes Hoolahan play at Crystal Palace, it will be his 100th appearance for Norwich City. He signed at Carrow Road on the 26th of June 2008 from Blackpool, in a deal taking Matthew Gilks in the other direction. It will be the 218th appearance of his three club career - he also played for Livingston - but Norwich is the first at which he has hit the one hundred mark. He has so far scored 21 goals for City. Hoolahan follows Simon Lappin and Chris Martin, who both recently joined the one hundred club. The man leading the race to join them next is Grant Holt, who currently stands on 67 appearances.

According to the Daily Record yesterday, Scotland manager Craig Levein has Norwich City star Chris Martin on his radar for international honours. The Beccles born striker has a Scottish father. Paul Lambert, the report states, is adding his weight to the idea.
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An Eye To The Future

2010 is fast slipping away. In seven days time the Christmas festivities will be in full flow and somewhere in between it all, Norwich City fans will need to find room for some football. Which hopefully will include, for those who follow Sing Up The River End! on a regular or semi regular basis, a visit to the blog to see what's going on.

I therefore want to announce that during the break, nothing will change here on SUTRE! and it will be business as usual. I already have a post a day lined up between now and the end of the year including, though I say it myself, a couple of particularly interesting ones. Hopefully some visitors will also have a little more time on their hands to dip into the archives as well.

The New Year of course is traditionally a time for reflection and possibly change, and I have thought long and hard about SUTRE! in that respect. My conclusion is that nothing much needs to alter. There was a time when I tinkled with the design of the blog half a dozen times a week. But whilst I enjoyed that a lot, I did eventually realise that the site would benefit from a more constant and recognisable format, so for these last few months it has largely remained the same. So there will be no major makeover for 2011.

I do want to continue developing the content though. I have a few new series in mind, which I will add soon into the new year. The ideas in my head at the moment are :

The Nearly Canaries - the series title may yet change but essentially I want to take a look at people who were very close to joining Norwich City but didn't do so in the end, for one reason or another. It's a hard area to cover because there is not (as far as I know) a list of these players anywhere that I can work from. I have a couple of pretty good stories to kick it off, and after that will need to keep an eye open for others. One reason I want to add this to the blog is to demonstrate how life could have turned out differently for the club had just a few potential deals gone through.

I will also start adding our full FA Cup and League Cup records year by year - they will sit nicely with the Final Placings series. I thought I would add a decade at a time - dates and scores - and it should once finished be a valuable research section for those interested.

The Biography and Stars Of The Past entries are the main player features on SUTRE! The difference between the two is that the biographies are people I specifically and personally remember and admire, whilst the Stars Of The Past cover players with shorter Norwich City careers and those from before my time as a supporter. But that still leaves a sizeable number of Citizens and Canaries who had very fleeting careers with the club - maybe even just a game or two. They should not be missed out and need recording, so I am thinking about listing three or four at a time under a heading of They Wore The Shirt. The information on them will often be brief, to be frank not much is known about many of them, but this series helps me satisfy one of the original missions of SUTRE! - to turn it into a site where you can find everything you ever wanted to know about NCFC.

One of my favourite series is the Lost Opponents feature. I think that dates back to when I was very young and spent hours looking at old league tables, fascinated by the names of teams that no longer existed. I thought it might be nice to do a similar thing about Lost Grounds, because there have been a number of famous old stadiums where Norwich have played but that no longer exist. Thankfully there should be enough resource around for me to turn out some half decent articles.

Finally, there is one existing series that will change, or more accurately, develop. The Head To Heads that I publish a few days before a match do not need to be re-written each time. Once we start playing teams for the second time in a season, I just need to quickly update the figures and re-publish it. This will save me between two and a half to three hours a week. So I will add more statistical information from now on. The first one to fall into this category is Crystal Palace, who we play on Boxing Day. I have updated the post already for re-publication on the 24th of December and think it looks like another step in the right direction.

I would like to thank those that have spent time contacting the blog - either through the comments facility, direct e mail, or Twitter. When Sing Up The River End! was first launched, I was happy to do this project for my own amusement. But it is a very big bonus when I discover others are enjoying it too.

A very Happy Christmas & New Year to everyone !
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Strain The Brain No3

See if you can identify these three players with Norwich City connections. Once you have done that, use their initials to solve the main question (the answer to which is not football related). Answers can be found by clicking on the Strain The Brain answer section in the sidebar of the blog. 

Player one :  I was born in Stoke On Trent, but settled in the Norwich area after I finished playing. Still nice to this day that people take the time to say hello. Who am I ?

Player two :  I share my surname with a former sports personality who also chased treasure on TV. Oh, and I am a former Norwich City Player Of The Year. Who am I ?

Player three : I am now 35 years old and made my Norwich City debut in what was a very historic match for the club. Who am I ?

Using the letters from their initials, find a six letter word that satisfies the following :

Something often found in a church, especially around Christmas time.

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Norwich City Fan ? HRH The Prince Andrew

really?....................well rumoured to be anyway, now or sometime in the past 

His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew, Duke Of York - second son of Queen Elizabeth the Second and Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh - Commander in the Royal Navy, fourth in line to the throne, UK's Special Representative for International Trade & Investment, fan of Norwich City Football Club?

Life After City

...........keeping a beady eye on ex Canaries and those out on loan 

this week......Cody McDonald scored the third of Gillingham's four goals as they won away at Macclesfield. 

Former Norwich City assistant manager Mick Wadsworth has been working as caretaker manager of League One Hartlepool United since August, a position that has now been confirmed through to the end of the season. It is difficult to understand why this does not make him the permanent manager, but either way his task is to ensure the Monkey Hangers survive at that level. After a very good win at Bournemouth on Saturday, Wadsworth sees his side up to 12th place in the table and doing nicely. A single goal was enough, though it was only the 8th they have scored away from home in the league this season. Amongst all of the backroom changes going on at Victoria Park, Wadsworth, who was second in command to Gary Megson at Carrow Road back in 1996,  has successfully held things together on the pitch and will be hoping to see off any late scares in their campaign. Last season Hartlepool were left hanging on to survival right up to the final day due to a three points deduction for fielding an ineligible player. Wadsworth is a determined individual who has spent many years in the dug-out at numerous clubs, including assistant manager spells at Newcastle United and Southampton, and his no nonsense approach seems to be working for cash strapped Hartlepool.

Former central defender Spencer Prior, who played 89 games for Norwich City between 1993 and 1996 now lives in Australia. Born in Southend on Sea, he emigrated down under after retiring from playing in 2007, motivated in part through the desire to raise his children in an environment that is more outdoor based. He has been involved in some soccer coaching, and registered as a player for Newcastle Jets in the Australian A League at the end of 2008. He has also commentated on games for Fox Sports and owns a sports equipment retail business in Sydney called Love Football. Sounds like a nice result for the ex Canary.  

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Family Connections

Canaries who have family connections elsewhere in the world of football 

Ryan Jarvis -  24 year old striker, who appeared 38 times for Norwich City between 2003 and 2008, scoring five times, and is currently at Northampton (on loan from Leyton Orient)    

is the elder brother of

Rossi Jarvis -  who is two years younger, and played 11 times for City as a defender/midfielder between 2005 and 2008, and now plays for Barnet 

and both are cousins of 

Adam Tann - who like the Jarvis boys was born in Fakenham, and has played for Cambridge United, Notts County and Leyton Orient in the Football League

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The Winning Years

1961-1962
WINNERS

FOOTBALL LEAGUE CUP

Players 

Ron Ashman  (8 appearances) 

Sandy Kennon  (8 appearances)

Barry Butler  (7 appearances)

Bryan Thurlow  (6 appearances)

Jimmy Hill  (6 appearances)

Dick Scott  (6 appearances)

Bill Punton  (6 appearances)

Derrick Lythgoe  (5 appearances)

Gerry Mannion  (5 appearances)

Joe Mullett  (5 appearances)

Ollie Burton  (5 appearances)

Terry Allcock  (4 appearances)

Roy McCrohan  (4 appearances)

Jim Conway  (3 appearances)

Matt Crowe  (3 appearances)

Ray Savino  (3 appearances)

George Waites  (2 appearances)

Brian Whitehouse  (2 appearances)

Goals

Hill 4, Lythgoe 4, Allcock 2, Scott 2, Punton 2, Mannion 2, Conway 1, McCrohan 1, Savino 1, Burton 1, own goal 1

Manager :  Willie Reid

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Ton Up For Chris Martin As City Look For A Hat-trick

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles 

Striker Chris Martin is expected to lead the Norwich City attack against Portsmouth tomorrow and should he do so it will be his 100th appearance for the club. His debut was on the 30th of January 2007, when he came on as a 77th minute substitute in the Championship game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. He replaced Andy Hughes who had himself come on as a second half substitute for Jason Shackell. The game was lost 1-0. His first goal for the Canaries was a vital one - it came just a couple of weeks after his debut, in his third appearance in fact, against Blackpool in the 4th Round of the FA Cup. The game was 1-1 at normal time, and after both sides added a second in extra time, Chris grabbed the deciding goal in the 112th minute.

A full breakdown of his games are as follows : League 65 (plus 22 as a substitute), FA Cup 3 (plus 2 as a substitute), League Cup 2 (plus 2 as a substitute), and the Football League Trophy 3.

He has found the net 34 times so far.

With a number of senior players departing Carrow Road in the summer, only Adam Drury remained out of the 'one hundred plus club'. Simon Lappin hit the landmark recently, and the next in line after Chris Martin is Wes Hoolahan who will reach 98 Norwich City games if he plays on Saturday.

Last week's victory at Derby County meant City achieved back to back Championship wins for the third time this season. The other occasions were Scunthorpe United and Swansea, and Leicester City and Bristol City. However, both times, the third game in the run has ended in a draw (Forest the first time, QPR the second).

Since that 0-0 draw at QPR on the 16th of October, City have scored in every one of their last nine games. The only club in the Championship that can boast as good a run is Bristol City, also with nine games. In fact, the last time the Robins failed to score was against..............Norwich City.

Given the above fact, it should also be recorded that Norwich City have not kept a clean sheet for seven games, currently the worst run in the division and a record shared with Cardiff City and Burnley.

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First & Last - Brian Whitehouse

First game : 12th March 1960 versus Newport County away Division Three 1-1 draw

Last game : 10th March 1962 versus Southampton home Division Two 1-1 draw



Signed from : West Bromwich Albion
Next club : Wrexham
Played professionally : until 1968
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Life After City

...........keeping a beady eye on ex Canaries and those out on loan 

To be in the good books with fans, strikers look for a minimum return of a goal every three games. Last week we brought you the news that Jamie Cureton had scored for the 8th time in 18 appearances for League One Exeter City, a ratio of a goal every 2.25 games. His total in English football now stands at 212 goals in 613 matches (all competitions, including part games), a strike every 2.89 games, which is highly creditable. However, that statistic does not tell the full story of Cureton's mercurial career since he first burst onto the scene as a Canary youngster back in 1994, as a club by club analysis shows :

Norwich City (first spell) - Premier League/2nd tier 1994-1996

32 games   6 goals   ratio - goal every 5.33 games

Bristol Rovers - 3rd tier 1996-2000

200 games  78 goals  ratio 2.56

Reading - 3rd tier/2nd tier 2000-03

127 games  55 goals  ratio 2.30

QPR - 3rd tier/2nd tier 2004-05

46 games  7 goals  ratio 6.57

Swindon Town - 3rd tier 2005-06

32 games  7 goals  ratio 4.57

Colchester United 3rd tier/2nd tier 2005-07

56 games  31 goals  ratio 1.80 

Norwich City (second spell) - 2nd tier/3rd tier 2007-10

76 games  18 goals  ratio 4.22

Jamie Cureton also had loans spells at Barnsley, Shrewsbury, and Bournemouth, scoring a total of 2 goals in 26 games.

His returns this year are right up there with the best periods of his career.

Alan Lee had a short spell on loan at Carrow Road in 2008-09 from Crystal Palace, scoring twice in seven matches, though both were in away defeats - at Swansea (2-1) and Charlton (4-2, which meant relegation for Norwich). There were fans around who were keen to see the club make a move for Lee, but he returned to Palace and secured a regular spot in their relegation threatened season of 2009-10, scoring seven times in 48 appearances. At the start of the current season he scored in both of Palace's first two games. But after two further appearances he moved on, dropping down a level to join League One Huddersfield Town. So far he has failed to find the net after 16 appearances for the Terriers in all competitions, and at the end of October was sent off in the home clash against Walsall.

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Final League Placings 1921-1922

Football League 1921-1922
Division Three South 







Southampton  61
Plymouth Argyle  61
Portsmouth  53
Luton Town  52
QPR   49
Swindon Town  45
Aberdare Athletic  44
Watford  44
Brentford  43
Swansea Town  41
Merthyr Town  40
Millwall  38
Reading  38
Bristol Rovers  38
Norwich City  37
Charlton Athletic  37
Northampton Town  37
Gillingham  36
Brighton  35
Newport County  34
Exeter City  34
Southend United  27


Full City Record :  P42 W12 D13 L17 F50 A62 PTS 37  Manager : Bert Gosnell


Liverpool were English champions
Huddersfield Town won the FA Cup


In This Year : Ernest Shackleton undertakes his final expedition to Antartica

Nelson's flagship HMS Victory is dry docked in Portsmouth for restoration

A flu epidemic in Britain claims over 800 lives

Final league placings will be posted on a regular basis until every table is listed - click on the label below for years posted so far.
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Sharing Spades In The Great History Dig

In a recent post, I mentioned Woolwich Arsenal. It was in the article about the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup, and the fact that they contested the trophy at the Nest in 1914 in one of their final games using that name.

The story was picked up and commented on by Tony Attwood, from the website 'The History Of Arsenal FC'. There, he and others concentrate their efforts on the very earliest part of the club's history - the days of 'Woolwich' and, for a short period 'The Arsenal'. It is a project of some endurance I imagine - the days when records were often scratchy, if existent at all. The equivalent for us would be 'The History Of The Citizens' which I can tell you now would be a very hard project.

They are slowly piecing things together on Woolwich Arsenal, but my reference to that Hospital Cup game was slightly contradictory to what they have always believed was their last game using that name. They do know the change in club title came late in the 1913-14 season (as opposed to the start of a new season as you might normally expect), and they had the last match down as the 18th of April 1914, with the first match of The Arsenal being on the 23rd of April 1914.

Our game was played on the 30th of April 1914 and is recorded as Norwich City versus Woolwich Arsenal. I am sure they did not change their name back just for one friendly match ! I have put forward the idea (to the Arsenal historians), that in Norwich, there would have been no attempt to re-bill the match. The game was for charity and our club would have wanted fans to have been in no doubt that the opponents on the day were to be Woolwich Arsenal, as opposed to an Arsenal XI. Interestingly the Arsenal supporters have come back and added that changing the printers plates for any programmes would have been difficult and time consuming in those days, and that might be as big a reason as any for the confusion and contradictions of Woolwich Arsenal's last ninety minutes.

My own source of information was 'Canary Citizens' by John Eastwood and Mike Davage, which I always refer to (and acknowledge at the top of this blog) as the bible of NCFC history. They themselves got many of their factual references from official club records and publications. Certainly at this end, we had it down as Woolwich Arsenal. It would have been the same eleven players, whatever name they played under, but from a historians point of view, and especially those in North London, it is hugely important to get these things right. SUTRE! has now added a little more intrigue to their task in hand.

Of course many Norwich City fans won't be hugely concerned one way or the other. But I wanted to add this post to the blog because it gives me the chance to say that I increasingly come into contact with other football fans who also share an interest in the history of the game. And we all have to help each other out. Sometimes the smallest morsel of information turns into something of relevance for others. The big problem we all have of course, is knowing when we are dealing in hard facts as opposed to assumed 'knowledge'. Many things were simply not recorded in days gone by. And when they were, there is no guarantee that the records have been preserved. I wish there were more internet sites covering football club history - the more doing it, the more likely we are to dig out those hidden gems. Few clubs have any history available on the world wide web other than a basic script.

Good luck to the Arsenal lads in their pursuit of the truth. The barriers of rivalry are always taken down between historians.

Clicking on this link will take you to the Arsenal web site in question http://www.blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/2010/11/02/from-woolwich-arsenal-to-the-arsenal/

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Great City Win, And By More Than A Whisker

..............history isn't just about yesteryear, it's also happening right now, and is brought to you on a regular basis in The Canary Chronicles

There were two major events at Carrow Road this week. The first, and most obvious, was the East Anglian Derby, which ended in glorious triumph for the Canaries. With terrestrial television coverage, it gave this current Norwich City side a chance to get some national recognition, a mission they successfully achieved with a hard, bullying, and ultimately classy performance. Historically, it produced a record home attendance of 26,532, the best since 1984 back in the days before mass plastic seating. It equalled Norwich's best win in the series against Ipswich, and Grant Holt produced the first Canary hat-trick against our biggest rivals since Hugh Curran in 1968. The stickiest problem for Paul Lambert in the following days was keeping a lid on expectations - not with the players, he has that well under control, but with the supporters. Belief amongst the growing City fan base is high. Results like this add to the idea that with a little more strength in the squad, anything could happen between now and next April. And with bragging rights over the blue and whites safely pocketed until Easter at least, fans can get on with the December, Christmas and New Year's fixtures with huge relish.

The second piece of good news surrounded the announcement of financial figures for Norwich City Football Club. Whilst the accounts do not make great reading in the wider sense, the trends show improvement, especially given the fact that last season was spent in League One. The board continue to talk about a seven year plan, during which a return to the Premier League is targeted, and debts have been re-structured through to 2022. But of greater bearing is the promise that money will be made available to improve the playing squad at each transfer window. The guaranteed existence of the club for many generations to come must never be compromised but our leadership also have one eye very steadily placed on events on the pitch. Despite the dark clouds of financial instability hanging over Carrow Road, the last fifteen months have all been about football. With that side of the business very firmly on the up, it now also looks as if the pounds, shillings and pence are also under control. Part of the loss over the last twelve months includes the cost of eradicating things that were clearly wrong at NCFC. An awful shame and waste, but it had to be done. Thank goodness it was.

I did not like the look of our fixture list in November. But five matches later, none of our opponents had managed to beat us. Burnley and Leeds United would have fancied their chances at half time, but were both hanging on for a point come the final whistle. Reading and Millwall could both, for differing reasons, feel themselves just a tad fortuitous to get a share of the spoils. And finally, to use a phrase I seem to hear with increasing frequency of late, the cherry on the icing on the top of the cake was duly delivered in that rousing Sunday baking of Ipswich Town. Superstitious types may think the moustaches sported by Canary players during the month for a charity fund raising effort, should have stayed whilst the unbeaten run remained unbroken. As December progresses we will know the answer to that.

I suspect Norwich 4 Ipswich 1 will get a few more airings on Sing Up The River End! before we are finished. It will be talked about by supporters for many years to come. Thirty, forty, maybe even fifty years. Reminiscence remains a huge part of football culture. There were, I must believe, a few ten year old Canary fans there on Sunday who will be, in 2050..........well, just like me, I guess. Happy to wallow in the nostalgia of a lifetime following their football club.

The match was full of incident. Spicy. No inch given. Much will be recorded and remembered. For me though, the one incident that will enter into Norwich City folklore will be Grant Holt's celebration for the second goal - placing the furry sound effects microphone over his charity tash, and embarking on a celebratory twirl until he realised the wire was curling around his body. That moment will last. It is right up there on the list of great Canary memories.
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