Lost Opponents : Workington AFC

Norwich City's history against clubs no longer in the Football League or no longer in existence

Workington AFC were a Football League club for twenty six seasons from the early 1950's onwards. Based in the remote coastal area of north west Cumbria, their existence at this level proved to be largely one of struggle. But although their time was spent in divisions lower than Norwich City, the clubs did meet - on just one occasion, in the League Cup of 1964-65. The clash took place on the 4th of November 1964 in the 4th Round of the competition, at Borough Park. At the time the Canaries were enjoying life as a Second Division team, in fourth place in the table, and went into this cup clash off the back of a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United. Workington were also fourth in their league - but a division lower than City. The game, played on a Wednesday night, ended in a 3-0 win to Workington and huge disappointment for Canaries supporters as news filtered back to East Anglia of the cup shock. Norwich had put out a good team that night including the likes of Sandy Kennon, Tommy Bryceland and Gordon Bolland, though they did to their cost rest Kevin Keelan, Barry Butler, Terry Allcock and Ron Davies. Added historical interest comes from the fact that it was the 255th and final time that Sandy Kennon played in goal for the Canaries.

The win took the Reds to the quarter final stage for the second season running, where they were knocked out by Chelsea after a replay. Their league campaign thereafter fell away, and at one time they flirted with relegation before finishing fifteenth in Division Three. 1964-65 was the start of a three season stay at this level for Workington, their peak as far as league status was concerned. Norwich on the other hand recovered from the disappointment of a shock cup exit and spent a long period in third position in Division Two, though they eventually slipped to sixth.

Workington AFC were formed in 1884, long before Norwich City, and were founder members of the Cumberland Association League in 1890. They played in a number of north western competitions but went into voluntary liquidation in 1911, hindered on the financial front by high travelling costs. The club was reformed after World War One, in 1921, and joined the North Eastern League. In 1933-34 they reached the FA Cup 4th Round. Their entry into the Football League came in 1951-52, in Division Three North at the expense of New Brighton. Workington initially found life a struggle - finishing bottom of the table the first year, and only one position higher the next. A major turning point was the appointment of a young Bill Shankly (who had of course turned out for the Canaries during World War Two) as manager, lifting them up to mid table. And Shankly's successor at Borough Park was Norman Low, who managed them briefly after he left the same position at Carrow Road.

In 1958-59 they were placed in the newly formed Division Four where they would stay apart from those three seasons at the third level. A mixture of poor to average seasons were halted briefly with a sixth placed finish in 1971-72. That though, would prove to be their last period with hope. In 1976-77 they had to seek re-election back into the Football League for the fourth consecutive year. With the club struggling to hit four figure home attendances, their fellow members voted them out, with Wimbledon getting the nod to replace them.

They joined the Northern Premier League but slipped further down the pyramid over the next twenty years. That slide was ended in 1998-99 when they remarkably won their last 14 North West Counties League matches to secure the title. The run included an end of season decider with Mossley in front of 2,281 spectators - finishing with 2-1 win and a vital goal from an 18 year old hot shot by the name of Grant Holt, who joined the club as a part timer whilst also working as a tyre fitter.

Workington continue their climb back up the levels, and currently play in the Conference North.

pictured : Workington AFC playing colours during the period they met Norwich City in the League Cup (copyright Historical Football Kits - not to be reproduced without permission of the owners).
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Oh No, They've Scored A Goal ....... Bob Latchford

.....famous footballers who have scored against us - where, when and a short bio - plus a good excuse to acknowledge a few non Canaries I have admired over the years.......... 


scorer : Bob Latchford
on : 31st March 1973
in : Division One
at : Carrow Road
for :  Birmingham City
result : 2-1 defeat

This match was played in City's first ever top flight season and came at a time in the campaign when the Canaries were fighting for their lives in the battle against relegation. No win had been achieved since mid November in the league but the visit of Birmingham City, themselves only just above the drop zone, provided Norwich with a great chance to get two points. Until big Bob Latchford, who was as complete a striker ever to be seen in English league football, netted twice before half time to dispirit the City fans at Carrow Road. Despite a goal from David Stringer after the break, Norwich went down to another vital defeat. Latchford was hugely prolific for the Brummies, and later Everton and Swansea, scoring over 200 league goals. He was great in the air and clever on the ground. He played 12 times for England scoring five goals. Thankfully for City, the final two homes games (against Chelsea and Crystal Palace) were won and safety secured. But poacher Latchford made them sweat just a little longer.

picture source : The Guardian

League Cup - Norwich City Record 1970-1979

1970-71

9 Sep 1970   2nd Round (h)  Chester drew 0-0

16 Sep 1970  Replay (a)  Chester won 2-1

7 Oct 1970   3rd Round (h)  Bristol Rovers drew 1-1

13 Oct 1970  Replay (a)  Bristol Rovers lost 3-1 

1971-72

8 Sep 1971   2nd Round (h)  Brighton & Hove Albion won 2-0

6 Oct 1971   3rd Round (h)  Carlisle United won 4-1

26 Oct 1971  4th Round (a)  Grimsby Town drew 1-1

3 Nov 1971   Replay (h)  Grimsby Town won 3-1

17 Nov 1971  5th Round (h) Chelsea lost 1-0

1972-73

6 Sep 1972   2nd Round (h)  Leicester City won 2-1

3 Oct 1972   3rd Round (a)  Hull City won 2-1

1 Nov 1972  4th Round (a)  Stockport County won 5-1

21 Nov 1972  5th Round (a)  Arsenal  won 3-0

13 Dec 1972  Semi Final 1st Leg (a)  Chelsea won 2-0

3 Jan 1973    Semi Final 2nd Leg (h)  Chelsea won 1-0

3 Mar 1973   Final (n)  Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 *

1973-74

10 Oct 1973  2nd Round (h)  Wrexham won 6-2

30 Oct 1973  3rd Round (a)  Everton won 1-0

21 Nov 1973  4th Round (a)  Southampton won 2-0

19 Dec 1973  5th Round (a)  Millwall drew 1-1

16 Jan 1974   Replay (h)  Millwall won 2-1

23 Jan 1974   Semi Final 1st Leg (h) Wolverhampton Wanderers drew 1-1

26 Jan 1974   Semi Final 2nd Leg (a) Wolverhampton Wanderers lost 1-0

1974-75

10 Sep 1974  2nd Round (a)  Bolton Wanderers drew 0-0

17 Sep 1974  Replay (h)  Bolton Wanderers won 3-1

9 Oct 1974    3rd Round (a)  West Bromwich Albion drew 1-1

16 Oct 1974   Replay (h)  West Bromwich Albion won 2-0 (aet)

12 Nov 1974  4th Round (a)  Sheffield United drew 2-2

27 Nov 1974  Replay (h)  Sheffield United won 2-1

4 Dec 1974    5th Round (h)  Ipswich Town drew 1-1

10 Dec 1974  Replay (a)  Ipswich Town won 2-1

15 Jan 1975   Semi Final 1st Leg (a)  Manchester United drew 2-2

22 Jan 1975   Semi Final 2nd Leg (h)  Manchester United won 1-0

1 Mar 1975    Final (n)  Aston Villa lost 1-0 *

1975-76

10 Sep 1975   2nd Round (h)  Manchester City drew 1-1

17 Sep 1975   Replay (a)  Manchester City drew 2-2

29 Sep 1975   2nd Replay (n)  Manchester City lost 6-1 **

1976-77

31 Aug 1976  2nd Round (a)  Exeter City won 3-1

21 Sep 1976  3rd Round (a)  Aston Villa lost 2-1

1977-78

30 Aug 1977  2nd Round (a)  Burnley lost 3-1

1978-79

29 Aug 1978  2nd Round (a)  Wrexham won 3-1

4 Oct 1978    3rd Round (a)  Chester won 2-0

8 Nov 1978   4th Round (h)  Manchester City lost 3-1

1979-80

28 Aug 1979  2nd Round 1st Leg (a)  Gillingham drew 1-1

5 Sep 1979    2nd Round 2nd Leg (h)  Gillingham won 4-2

26 Sep 1979  3rd Round (h)  Manchester United won 4-1

31 Oct 1979   4th Round (a)  West Bromwich Albion drew 0-0

7 Nov 1979    Replay (h)  West Bromwich Albion won 3-0

5 Dec 1979    5th Round (h)  Liverpool lost 3-1

* played at Wembley Stadium 

** played at Stamford Bridge

24 Points Left On The Table - How Have We Fared In The Past?

Eight games left in this 2010-2011 Championship campaign. And Canary supporters, both young and old, continue to live a daily life of nervous expectancy, shrouded with anticipation and just a little disbelief. Automatic promotion was not part of the script at the start of the season.

Like many other fans I suspect, I had a little go on the BBC predictor yesterday, and even allowing for the odd blip, we finished second in the table after all results were entered. But after digestion of that final table, I decided I was maybe just a little biased towards Norwich City. So instead, I decided to look back in history to see how the Canaries have fared in similar circumstances in the past, on the eight previous occasions they have been promoted, and others when they have missed out.

The best final eight outcome was achieved in 2003-04 by Nigel Worthington's First Division winning team who secured 21 points out of 24, courtesy of seven victories and just one loss. A similar return over the remaining fixtures in the next few weeks would leave Paul Lambert's side on 88 points and almost certain automatic promotion. However the worst return, just 11 points in 1985-86, still resulted in Ken Brown leading the club to the Division Two title - such was their lead at the top going into the final phase. But that would most likely leave the present team short of a top two finish this year - though Reading or Burnley would still need a 21 out of 27 points finish (they both have a game in hand on City) to deny us a play-off place.

In 2001-02, Norwich cultivated 17 points from their last eight games to lift themselves from ninth to sixth and ultimately a play-off final at Cardiff, though that of course ended in penalty misery for the Canaries. Given that the team 'came up on the rails' to almost win a spot back in the top level, disappointment was tempered. Unlike 1932-33 when 8 points (back in the days of two points for a win, so 11 in modern terms) saw City slip from first to third during the Division Three South run in - and only the champions were promoted at that time in history. Likewise in 1950-51, when 10 points (14 in today's money) dropped us from first to second for more anguish.

None of this of course will make the slightest difference over the coming matches. Our fate will rely on form, performance, accuracy measured in inches, nerve, and decisions. Some players have been through it before as recently as twelve months ago. Others will find themselves in new territory. But the analysis does show that Norwich City, as a club, have seen it all before. And supporters have been left smiling more often than not.

Fingers crossed !

Promotion Seasons


2003-2004   Division One
position with 8 games to go : 1st
final position : 1st
points :  21  (W7  D0  L1)

1981-1982  Division Two
position with 8 games to go : 9th
final position : 3rd
points :  18  (W6  D0  L2)

1974-1975  Division Two
position with 8 games to go : 4th
final position : 3rd
points :  16*  (W5  D1  L2)

1971-1972  Division Two
position with 8 games to go : 1st
final position : 1st
points :  15*  (W4  D3  L1)

1959-1960  Division Three South
position with 8 games to go : 2nd
final position : 2nd
points :  15*  (W4  D3  L1)

2009-2010  League One
position with 8 games to go : 1st
final position : 1st
points :  13  (W4  D1  L3)

1933-1934  Division Three South
position with 8 games to go : 1st
final position : 1st
points :  13*  (W3  D4  L1)

1985-1986  Division Two
position with 8 games to go : 1st
final position : 1st
points :  11  (W3  D2  L3)


Non Promotion Seasons


2001-2002  Division One
position with 8 games to go : 9th
final position : 6th (to secure play-off spot)
points :  17  (W5  D2  L1)

1950-1951  Division Three South
position with 8 games to go : 1st
final position : 2nd
points :  14*  (W4  D2  L2)

1932-1933  Division Three South
position with 8 games to go : 1st
final position : 3rd
points : 11*  (W3  D2  L3)


* upgraded from two points to three for a win
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Norwich City 3 Vitesse Arnhem 0 - 1993

Norwich City played their first ever match in European competition on the 15th of September 1993. Qualification had been secured courtesy of a third placed finish in the Premier League the previous season and it gave Canary fans the chance to potentially see City pit their wits against some of the finest names in international club football - Borussia Dortmund, Valencia, Celtic, PSV Eindhoven, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter Milan, and Sporting Lisbon were all in the UEFA Cup for the 1993-94 season.

Reaction to being drawn against Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem was mixed. On one hand it offered the Canaries hope of progression through to Round Two but for some, there was the worry that defeat was possible and the club would miss out on facing a big name. Vitesse, managed at the time by the German Herbert Neumann who was in his first of two spells in charge of the club, had qualified for the UEFA Cup twice before. In 1990-91 they beat Derry City and Dundee United before losing to Sporting Lisbon and then in 1992-93 they achieved wins against Derry City again, and KV Mechelen before going out to Real Madrid. So they were no slouches as far as European football were concerned, but did still offer City a realistic chance of victory.

This first leg game was played at Carrow Road in front of 16,818 supporters, about average for the beginning of that season. Norwich did not go into the game in the greatest of spirits - although their Premier League campaign had been reasonable with wins over Blackburn Rovers, Leeds United and Ipswich Town leaving them in mid table, just four days before this game they had lost 1-0 at home to Wimbledon. Captain Ian Butterworth was absent so the honour of being Norwich City's first European skipper went to John Polston.

The match started out as a tense affair with the Canaries aiming to find their feet at this new level, but as the game progressed, so too did the influence of Ian Crook and Gary Megson in midfield. The deadlock was broken in the second half by Efan Ekoku, making him the club's first scorer in Europe. One goal was never likely to be enough to take to Holland for the second leg but as the match unfolded, City found their rhythm. Jeremy Goss netted the second, again after good work from Ian Crook, and the icing on the cake was provided by John Polston for a final score of 3-0.

It was, in the end, a fine nights work from Mike Walker's men. A very decent lead was achieved - as well as a clean sheet. And the opportunity to introduce 18 year old Darren Eadie to life as a Canary when he came on as a substitute for Gary Megson. City's European baptism was over without any mishaps, and even the most cynical of Canary fans knew there was every chance of securing a Second Round place. And so it proved. The return leg in Arnhem finished as a 0-0 draw, though City did squander chances to extend their aggregate lead. The next round beckoned................and the biggest night in the club's history.

Norwich Team : Bryan Gunn, Ian Culverhouse, Mark Bowen, Rob Newman, John Polston, Ruel Fox, Jeremy Goss, Ian Crook, Gary Megson (Darren Eadie), Chris Sutton (Mark Robins), Efan Ekoku


[This item has been re-published, having first appeared on Sing Up The River End! on the 20th of March 2011]
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Strain The Brain No5

If you have nothing better to do, or feel like burning the candle until the early hours doing a bit of research, see if you can identify these five players. The only clues you get are the clubs they have played for (in order, earliest first, and including loan spells). They can be from any era (and I will help you out by saying which one), and were all Canaries. Some are really easy, others a bit more difficult.  Answers can be found by clicking on the Strain The Brain answer section in the sidebar of the blog. 

Player 1 - Bradford City, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Birmingham City, Sheffield United, Norwich City, Aston Villa, Bradford City, Athlone Town, San Diego Jaws, Las Vegas Quicksilvers, San Jose Earthquakes, Ashton Utd (1960's - 1970's) 

Player 2 - Norwich City, Hearts, Colchester United, King's Lynn (1980's - 1990's) 

Player 3 - Cardiff City, Greenock Morton, West Bromwich Albion, Norwich City, Derby County, Nottingham Forest (1990's - 2000's) 

Player 4 - Bristol City, Norwich City, Wisbech (1940's - 1960's) 

Player 5 - Girondins de Bordeaux, Lille, Norwich City, Ross County, Oriente Petrolero, Cambridge United, King's Lynn, Dereham Town (1990's - 2000's)

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Cooking Up A Story

I always consider myself lucky to have lived through times when finding out information about Norwich City Football Club was about as easy as discovering a gold mine in Ringland Hills. We were, in the seventies at least, restricted to little snippets of news, largely from the local press and occasionally from the national papers, but then had to wait days and sometimes weeks, for anything to develop. Yes, it was tortuous, but life of course was lived differently then and we thought nothing of it.

I am equally lucky to still be around in the days of information technology - and the news sites, football forums and social media networks that now exist. The days and weeks of waiting have now become hours and minutes. And it is starting to become a nightmare for those running football clubs.

On Monday, just hours after another wonderful night of football at Carrow Road, the talk within the NCFC internet community soon moved away from the 3-1 beating of Bristol City and onto the signing of Craig Mackail-Smith, the Peterborough striker. Dion Dublin had announced it was happening on a late night TV football programme. By early Tuesday morning Norwich fans were excited. By lunchtime the bid was rejected, and by the end of the day, Norwich City Chief Executive David McNally was unhappy that a former player had broken news of the negotiations on television.

Exactly what was said by Dion remains a mystery to me. I did not watch the programme, and the good old internet carries conflicting reports of exactly what he said. And therein lies the problem. So much is now being reported by so many people, it is impossible to know exactly what is going on. This is not new in recent months. In the last transfer window, some fans were getting carried away with the idea that Shaun Wright-Phillips was moving to Norwich City on loan. From what I can ascertain it all came from a rumour posted by a fan on a football forum. He had seen a four wheel drive parked (or so he said) at the Little Chef at Swaffham with the initials SWP in it's plate ! For a while it became hot news and carried with it the appeal of an all day breakfast. And many picked up the story and decided there was no smoke without fire So perhaps that all day breakfast was just a bit over cooked. Weeks later, fans continued to believe he was a loan window target (and for all I know, he could have been !).

That story demonstrates though the power of the internet. Dion's TV reporting was clearly built on stronger foundations, but the knock on effect was the same. As was fans' reactions to the approach by Burnley FC for the services of Paul Lambert earlier in the year. In a very short time, the people running Norwich City Football Club found themselves standing in the path of a runaway train.

Situations like these will not however go away. They are part of modern life and the world of media. Football fans are not going to wait a week for developments in any situation. Directors of football clubs realise this and are having to come up with strategies to counter these new problems. Pundits will continue to predict. As they should. That jamboree is a major part of the world of soccer. It adds to the football followers diet - fans cannot be expected to go seven whole days without sustenance. And those same fans will continue to consume news and regurgitate it via their keyboards. Adding the extra egg or rasher of bacon no doubt, but all done because of their fervent and undying love for the club.

The poor old directors have to somehow navigate their way around all of this. In olden times, it would have taken a walk up the road to the nearest phone box to pass a piece of information on. Or a postcard. But it's all different now. History shows that whatever changes in the world, eventually the human race adapts itself. I think it is fair to say that as time goes by, sensible fans will only believe news that comes straight from the club. Current fans have no reason to mistrust the current board. So the only true information will be official information. Supporters need to wait and be patient. But in the meantime, whilst waiting, they will lap up the rumours and enjoy it as part of the game they love and spend money on.

But as supporters, we do need to spare a thought for those running the club. They must increasingly find themselves in a position where they simply don't want to communicate with anyone on anything, for fear of misrepresentation. Player transfer negotiations must always take place in private, unless of course you are prepared to pay over the odds. Increasingly fans are demanding to be 'in the know'. In truth, the only thing they need to know is that the club is in good hands and that decisions are being made for the greater good. I don't remember any advance publicity being given to the signings of Andrew Crofts, Andrew Surman or Elliott Ward in the summer - and what nice surprises they turned out to be.

Patience and understanding on both sides are called for. We find ourselves in a crazy world................and one made even crazier by the existence of a sport called football.
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Life After City

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

Again the curse of the old boy has hurt Norwich City, the most recent occasion being the Championship game against Preston North End when Chris Brown came off the bench and scored in the 1-1 draw. Cody MacDonald, on a season long loan at Gillingham from Norwich, scored on Tuesday against Southend and on Saturday against Accrington. He had previously gone five games without scoring but now brings his tally to 19 in 34 games. Jamie Cureton has also continued to prosper with his new club, Exeter City. Two goals in as many games means he now has 15 goals to his credit this term. Former loanee Alan Gow scored his first goal for his new club Notts County at the weekend, in his twelfth appearance. It came from the penalty spot and was against Sheffield Wednesday, who are now managed by Gary Megson. Since his arrival at Hillsborough, the Owls have secured just two wins in nine games. 

Ashley Ward was a popular Norwich City striker in the mid nineties, achieving a useful final total of 21 Canary goals from 60 appearances, including eight in the 1994-95 Premier League season which left him as the club's top scorer. He didn't retire from playing in the Football League until 2005 with Sheffield United but has been involved in a number of business ventures including a boutique and property development. Last week he emerged as a potential buyer of Wrexham FC, a side he played for back in 1991 when he went there on loan from his parent club Manchester City. The Red Dragons are currently chasing promotion back to the Football League and find themselves in third place in the Conference. It had looked as if ownership of the club would go to a community fan based consortium before Ward stepped in with late interest in taking over the club.

Simon Whaley finished last year on the books of Doncaster Rovers, having struggled to find regular employment following his departure from Carrow Road in February 2010. The closest he came to playing for the Vikings was as an unused substitute and he left the Keepmoat Stadium in January. After an unsuccessful trial with Oldham Athletic he has now signed with League Two side Burton Athletic until the end of the season and made his debut in the 4-1 defeat to Crewe Alexandra last week. 

At this time last year, Stephen Elliott scored an important brace for City at Huddersfield in a 3-1 win that sustained the Canaries League One title push. After his emergency loan spell at Carrow Road ended, he returned to Preston North End before a summer move to Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian. So far he has made 14 starts and another eight appearances from the bench and scored six times. His first goal came in the 2-0 away win over Hibernian in the Edinburgh Derby.

Jim Duffy, former assistant at Carrow Road to manager Peter Grant, is now manager of Scottish Third Division club, Clyde. He took over the reigns at the Cumbernauld based side on the 6th of February but the Bully Wee find themselves currently rock bottom of the Scottish league structure, eight points adrift of nearest rivals, East Stirlingshire.

Michael Theoklotis will forever be remembered in Norwich City history as the man between the posts in the Canaries' horrific 7-1 home defeat to Colchester United at the start of the 2009-10 season. Now back in his native Australia, he played a major role at the weekend in securing a first A-League title for his new club, Brisbane Roar. After a goalless ninety minutes, they found themselves 2-0 down to Central Coast Mariners with only three minutes of extra time left on the clock. Incredibly, Roar produced two goals to send the match to penalties. Theoklitos saved twice in the shootout for a 4-2 win in front of a 50,168 crowd. 

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Norwich City History Against......Bristol City

 

All Competitions

Norwich City 31 wins   Bristol City 20 wins   15 draws

Norwich goals 100   Bristol City goals 84

Football League

Norwich City 30 wins   Bristol City 17 wins   15 draws

Norwich goals 97   Bristol City goals 76

All league games at Norwich

Norwich City 16 wins   Bristol City 5 wins   10 draws

Norwich goals 59   Bristol City goals 33

All league games at Bristol City

Norwich City 14 wins   Bristol City 12 wins   5 draws

Norwich goals 38   Bristol City goals 43

Cup Football

Norwich City 1 win   Bristol City 3 wins   0 draws

Norwich goals 3   Bristol City goals 8 

The first ever game was a FA Cup 3rd Round tie on the 20th of February 1909 which Bristol City won 2-0 (on their way to the Final which they lost to Manchester United). The first Football League meeting was on the 17th of March 1923, a 2-2 draw at The Nest with Norwich goals coming from Reg Wilkinson and a Bristol player who put through his own net. A week later in the return game, Bristol City won 4-0. It took until the seventh match in the series for the Canaries to record their first victory - a second half James Stoakes goal was enough at Ashton Gate on the 29th of August 1925.

Thirty games were played in total in Division Three South up to 1955. In 1933-34, Norwich's title winning season, the sides met in the second match of the campaign and it was a sign of what was to come for the Canaries as they trounced the Robins 7-2. Jack Vinall was the hero with 4 goals, with Scott Thomas, Billy Warnes and Lionel Murphy also contributing. There were other high scoring games during this period - all at Ashton Gate, 6-0 to Bristol City (1947), and better news for the men in yellow 6-1 (1949) and 5-2 (1952) to Norwich.

Bristol City went up to Division Two for the 1955-56 season, but when Norwich made that level in 1960-61, the Robins went in the other direction. It was therefore 1965-66 before matches between the clubs resumed. History was made in the fixture on the 31st of August 1965 when Gordon Bolland was the first ever substitute used by the Canaries. Bristol City reached the top level of English football in 1976-77 for the first time since before the Great War. A series of eight league games took place - Norwich winning five, Bristol two, with one draw. In the last of these, on the 26th of April 1980, Norwich won 3-2 in the west country. It was just three games before the end of the season and strikes from Keith Robson (2) and Martin Peters, drove a huge nail into Bristol City's relegation coffin and they have not reached the first tier since. In fact they became the first English club ever to suffer three consecutive relegations as they found themselves down to Division Four for a couple of years.

In the last thirty years, there have been only eight matches played. Norwich's 3-0 win at Ashton Gate in the 2010-11 Championship season (Simeon Jackson 2 and a Wes Hoolahan penalty) broke a sequence of five consecutive Bristol City victories, including two at Carrow Road. The return match that campaign was also a Norwich win, 3-1 with late goals from Henri Lansbury and Andrew Surman confirming victory after Grant Holt had put away a second minute penalty.

Other than that first ever match, there have been two other FA Cup ties - a Bristol City victory in 1924, and a Norwich win in 1991. The clubs have never been drawn together in the League Cup, but did contest an Anglo Scottish game in 1975 which Bristol City won 4-1.

The club was formed in 1897 when Bristol South End turned professional and changed their name to Bristol City. They immediately joined the Southern League. Significantly they merged with Bedminster (who played at Ashton Gate) in 1900 and this led them to joining the Football League in 1901. By 1904, Bristol City had started playing their games at Bedminster's ground and in 1905-06 they were successful in winning the Division Two title. Their introduction to top flight football led to them being christened 'The Bristol Babies', a name that stuck for thirty years. They finished second in Division One at their first attempt, and reached that FA Cup final of 1909. But it would however prove to be the golden era for Bristol City, and they have never reached those heights again.

Former Canaries with Bristol City connections include Ray Savino, Joe Royle, Jim Brennan and Paul Cheesley.

To see what part Bristol City have played in the history of Norwich City Football Club, just pop their name into the search facility in the sidebar. 

Most recent games
14 Mar 2011  (Championship)  Norwich City 3 Bristol City 1

2 Oct 2010   (Championship)  Bristol City 0  Norwich City 3

7 Feb 2009   (Championship)  Norwich City 1  Bristol City 2

18 Oct 2008  (Championship)  Bristol City 1  Norwich City 0

29 Mar 2008  (Championship)  Bristol City 2  Norwich City 1

20 Oct 2007  (Championship)  Norwich City 1  Bristol City 3

pictured : Canadian born former Norwich defender Jim Brennan, who started his professional career in England with Bristol City

Norwich City & Shrewsbury Town Managers

In the ten year period between 1987 and 1997, Shrewsbury Town FC had five managers. And all of them have connections with Norwich City : 

After his departure from Carrow Road, Ken Brown took charge at Gay Meadow in December 1987 though for just one match, before deciding against taking the job permanently and opting for a break from football. The job instead went to the former Wigan Athletic boss Ian McNeill, who took up the reins until 1990. He was later a scout for Norwich City. His successor was Asa Hartford, a former Canary with a huge historical claim to fame, having scored the winning goal in the 1985 League Cup Final win over Sunderland. His assistant was none other than John Bond, who took over after Asa's departure in 1991. When his time was up with the Shrews in 1993, Fred Davies, who had been a coach at Norwich under Bond, was appointed as the new manager. He led the Shropshire club to the Third Division Championship in 1994 and two years later, a Wembley final in the Football League Trophy. His dismissal at the end of the 1996-97 season brought the sequence of connections to an end. There had been another Shrewsbury Town manager with a history at Norwich City, but way back in the thirties. Stan Ramsay captained the Canaries to the Division Three title in 1933-34, before being made player-manager at Shrewsbury in 1935 whilst they were still a non league side.

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Pressure - The Only Transfer We Need

..............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    

The first week in March is already behind us, and if the results of the Championship fixtures on Saturday are anything to go by, we have entered the wobble part of the season, where the league table standings have little relevance to one off match performances. After what seems like months of solid garnering of points by the top six clubs, the weekend witnessed a strange reversal of fortune for Swansea, Cardiff and Nottingham Forest and a disappointing 'what might have been' day for the Canaries as they were held 1-1 at Carrow Road by bottom placed Preston North End. The whole subject of psychological impact on sports performance has provided a lifetime of fascination for me. Why do teams and individuals crack under pressure? Where exactly does the underdog find that extra ounce of spirit that makes all the difference? I have often felt that much of the pressure comes down to expectation more than anything else, and looking at the clubs that are still in with a realistic chance of winning promotion or a play-off spot, some would appear to be more expectant than others. A number of sides have been bolstered by their ability to pay higher wages (in many cases for loan players who are probably Premier League class). Others are, historically, top tier clubs, and Championship status is just a little bit beneath them. And for some, after years of loitering at the second level, it's about time they achieved something.

It is probably fair to say, Norwich City fall into none of those categories just for the moment. With only eleven matches to go, 2010-11 remains as it started - a consolidation season for the Canaries - one in which the owners, managers and players of the club simply wanted to see the successes of last year built upon. Not necessarily with promotion, but certainly with an end of term report marked 'steady progress made'. But having been in the top six since the end of November, the pressure of expectation at Norwich has been self made. Despite the attempts of Paul Lambert to dampen down any talk of promotion, his stubborn players have refused to drop out of the picture. Wibble wobble weekend or not, the Canaries remain just three points adrift of automatic promotion.

So what to do now, as the final countdown approaches? It is not the time to make any huge changes in structure or tactics. A manager or two is going to panic. Further wobbling awaits them. My own personal wish for Norwich City is 'more of the same'. Yes there have been recent disappointments with points dropped at home, but those set backs have been more than compensated for by our ability to win away games. I do not want to see an expensive loan player brought in who fails to blend with the squad and merely eats up the cash we have put aside for team strengthening in the summer. I do not want to see a re-invention of the wheel of success this current group have achieved. What I want (what I really, really want) is to see us relax a bit. I know that is easier to say than put into practise, but I honestly think it could turn out to be our trump card. In many ways, we are the least prepared club for the pressure cooker temperatures that the final quarter of the season will bring. But I have every confidence that Paul Lambert will have the ability to diffuse some of that pressure. I am not suggesting we adopt the complete underdog mentality, nor a more relaxed approach that sees us failing to compete. But I do anticipate more low key statements emerging from Carrow Road - as they do whenever the 'P' word is mentioned. And hopefully a few clever attempts to transfer a bit of pressure onto our closest rivals.

I would not be surprised to see one or more of the current top six overtaken by a chaser from the pack before the season ends. It happens most years as a wobble turns into outright capitulation. And it might yet turn out to be Norwich City that miss out. But if it is, it will not be because this group of players are not good enough. More truthfully, it will be because they were not quite ready.

Do not underestimate the pressure others will also be under - QPR, Leicester and Cardiff have spent the money, Nottingham Forest went close last year and will be expected to finish the job this season, Burnley and Hull expect a return to the Premier League. Leeds United, maybe like us, over achieving in their first year back in the Championship, have the added burden of being a 'big' club and have not always been able to carry that weight of responsibility successfully. Swansea are standing at the gateway to their biggest day in decades.

Everyone knows that this season will hold many twists and turns before it is over. Throughout the history of football, it has always been so. Games will be decided with unique moments of skill. Unmitigated errors. Dreadful decisions from officials. And the ability to handle......pressure. We coped with it last year, quite comfortably in the end it should be remembered. So maybe we are better equipped than some of those around us. But either way, the final 990 minutes of this Championship campaign is going to be full of tension for Norwich City fans. As will the 33 minutes or so of 'Norwich Time', during which we all know, anything can happen.

It all begins at the Walkers Stadium, Leicester, tonight. It is not going to be good for the faint hearted. But it is for seasons like this, that we all follow football.

Four goals in the last six games moves Grant Holt onto 46 Norwich City goals in 81 appearances. He cost the Canaries what was believed to be £400,000 so thus far, each goal has come at a price of £8,695. It is of course a rather crass assessment, because his contribution to the team and club as a whole goes much deeper than that. But to put it into perspective, Darren Bent, who moved from Sunderland to Aston Villa for a reported £18 million will need to score 2070 goals for his new club to give the same value !!

In a brief internet conversation I had this week, that old chestnut of whether or not you can love more than one club came up. No. You can't. Like yes. Respect yes. Admire yes. But not love. It was interesting because at around the same as this conversation took place, Plymouth Argyle were announcing that they had gone into administration. And they are a club I have always liked. Whilst they have not enjoyed the same levels of success as the Canaries have, they are similar to us in some ways and certainly feature in our history - we visited Plymouth in our first ever Southern League fixture in 1905 (and lost 2-0), and again in our first ever Football League fixture in 1920 (a 1-1 draw). It is always sad for supporters when the club they love hits such bad times - Sing Up The River End! wishes them all the very best for the future.
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Final League Placings 1924-1925

Football League 1924-1925
Division Three South 







Swansea Town  57
Plymouth Argyle  56
Bristol City  53
Swindon Town  51
Millwall  49
Newport County  49
Exeter City  47
Brighton  46
Northampton  46
Southend Utd  43
Watford  43
Norwich City  41
Gillingham  40
Reading  38
Charlton Athletic  38
Luton Town  37
Bristol Rovers  37
Aberdare Athletic  37
QPR  36
Bournemouth  34
Brentford  25
Merthyr Town  21


Full City Record :   P42  W14  D13  L15  F53  A51   PTS 41  Manager : Bert Gosnell


Huddersfield Town were English champions
Sheffield United won the FA Cup



In This Year :  Stanley Baldwin becomes British Prime Minister

First public demonstration of a television is made at Selfridges

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald is published


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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More On Sam Bartram

I recently posted a piece in the City Links section regarding a short film I had found on the internet called Sam Bartram, The Blitz and Beyond. It has some great historical features, including some Norwich City Football Club references.

I received a nice reply from Peter Daniel, the man behind the project, which throws a little bit more light onto the story. Should any readers be involved in education in Norfolk, and feel the material could be used in their school in any way, please contact me (e mail address is at bottom of the blog), and I will put you in touch with Peter. 

'' I came across your blog as I was looking for internet links to pass onto the Project Officer at Bexley so she can write the final project report for Heritage Lottery Fund.

My name is Peter Daniel and I put together the project. Although I'm not of his generation, Sam Bartram was the first footballer I ever heard about. My dad is not a football fan but Sam was such a local hero he was the only footballer my dad could put a name to. I went to my first match in 1976 - I'm 44 - and it was my dad who took me even though he doesn't really like football. The story really was a personal tribute to my dad and the war element was based on stories he told me of growing up in Bexleyheath and being evacuated in WW2.

I was fortunate enough to have worked for Charlton in 2005 to develop a school's project to mark the unveiling of the Sam Bartram statue at the Valley. I came across his archive stuffed in an old suitcase in a cupboard in the West Stand. It was meant to be the start of a club museum but the club's collapse in recent years put a stop to this idea. I suggested that they give it to Greenwich Archives but they turned it down. It ended up with Bexley, where I live and from there the Bartram project idea developed.

A key part of the project was to work with schools. The Norwich link came because I had come across the rodeo pictures about 10 years ago and thought it was a great story. I also know author/illustrator Michael Foreman and knew he supported Norwich when he was a boy.

The schools who were involved were Burnham Market, Walsingham, Hockering and St Johns Primary Schools in Norfolk. They paired with two classes each from Our Lady of the Rosary and St Paulinus CE Primary in Bexley.

The children wrote letters to each other based around evacuation from Bexley to Norfolk and then created a class newspaper reporting on WW2 in their area with of course a sports page on Norwich or Charlton in WW2 depending where they were from.

We are hoping the schools will keep these links going. All of the schools saw a specially written Bartram play. We even performed it for the Norwich schools at Carrow Road.

I did contact some Norwich fan sites to see if they would post up the film but there didn't seem to be much interest. That's why I was so surprised to see your blog. I would be very interested in hearing from any further Norfolk schools who might want to use the resources to link with schools in Bexley.

Thank you once again for your interest ''.

The film can be found here http://canaryseventyninety.blogspot.com/2011/02/city-links-sam-bartram-blitz-and-beyond.html

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Norwich City History Against......Preston North End

 

All Competitions

Norwich City 18 wins   Preston 14 wins   14 draws

Norwich goals 65   Preston goals 58

Football League

Norwich City 12 wins   Preston 14 wins   12 draws

Norwich goals 44   Preston goals 50

All league games at Norwich

Norwich City 8 wins   Preston 4 wins   7 draws

Norwich goals 30   Preston goals 23

All league games at Preston

Norwich City 4 wins   Preston 10 wins   5 draws

Norwich goals 14   Preston goals 27

Cup Football

Norwich City 6 wins   Preston 0 wins   2 draws

Norwich goals 21   Preston goals 8 

During much of the first half of Norwich City's Football League existence, Preston North End were a top flight club, so it was not until 1961 that they met on a football field. The Canaries won 2-0 at Carrow Road with goals from Jim Conway and Terry Allcock, but that scoreline was reversed at Deepdale later in the season. These games were in Division Two, and the clubs met at this level right through to 1972, when Norwich won the title and were promoted to Division One.

In the 1980's and 90's, Preston were playing at third and fourth tiers, so the next fixture did not occur until 2000, when the Lilywhites joined City in Division One. Throughout this decade, the clubs have played every season apart from two - when Norwich went up to the Premier League for a single season, and down to League One for a single season. In 2008-09, the sides drew 2-2 at Carrow Road, and Preston won 1-0 at home. This is the eleventh consecutive year that North End have competed at the second tier of English football. Their last win at Carrow Road was in 2006, with a 3-0 scoreline. In the Championship match of 2010-11, City won 1-0 at Preston with a 62nd minute goal from Grant Holt. The return at Carrow Road saw the points shared, the game finishing 1-1 with Grant Holt equalising just two minutes after Preston had taken the lead.

The clubs have never been drawn together in the FA Cup, but remarkably no less than eight League Cup matches have taken place - all in the eighties and all two legged affairs. Norwich won six of the games with two draws, winning 5-0, 3-2, 9-4, and 4-2 on aggregate respectively. The Second Round second leg tie on the 10th of October 1984 is the highest winning scoreline in the series - Norwich winning 6-1 at home with the goals coming from Asa Hartford (2), Louie Donowa (2), Mick Channon, and Steve Bruce. Norwich of course went on to win the trophy. Preston's biggest win over Norwich was 4-0 in Division One in 2001.

Preston North End were formed in 1862 as a cricket club and were founder members of the Football League in 1888. They will always hold a special place in English football history, being the first ever league champions. They also won the FA Cup that season, without conceding a goal, and in becoming the first 'double' winners that side picked up the nickname of 'The Invincibles'. Preston were also pioneers of professionalism, recruiting players from other areas and especially Scotland. They retained the league title in 1889-90, but this was the only other occasion on which they were crowned English champions.

When City joined the Football League soon after World War One, Preston were a top flight club. They dropped down to Division Two from 1925-26 until 1933-34 when they won promotion. Had they not achieved that success, Norwich would have met them in 1934-35, upon themselves reaching Division Two for the first time, but it was not to be. Preston's only other FA Cup Final win came in 1938 when they beat Huddersfield. The game was refereed by Jimmy Jewell, who soon after became the Canaries manager.

Amongst others with connections with both clubs are Darel Russell, Dickson Etuhu and Alan Taylor.

To see what part Preston have played in the history of Norwich City Football Club, just pop their name into the search facility in the sidebar. 

Most recent games
5 Mar 2011   (Championship)  Norwich City 1 Preston 1

18 Sep 2010  (Championship)  Preston 0 Norwich City 1

14 Feb 2009  (Championship)  Preston 1 Norwich City 0

8 Nov 2008   (Championship)  Norwich City 2 Preston 2

2 Feb 2008    (Championship)  Norwich City 1 Preston 0

11 Aug 2007  (Championship)  Preston 0 Norwich City 0

pictured : Nigerian International Dickson Etuhu who played 134 league games for Preston between 2002 and 2006 before joining Norwich City (picture source : BBC)