Life After City

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

With the 2010-11 English club season now finished, here is a round up of latest news on some of the people who have been mentioned in previous Life After City articles, or elsewhere on Sing Up the River End! 

Cody McDonald has returned to Carrow Road after his highly successful loan season at League Two Gillingham. Though the Kent club ultimately missed out on promotion, Cody found the net 25 times in 43 appearances and won a house full of trophies in the process - ESPN PFA Fans' Player of the Year for League Two, and Gillingham's Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, Sponsor's Player of the Year, and Goal of the Season ! After making vibes that they would like to sign him permanently for next season, both Gillingham and the player himself appear now to have ruled that out. Most Canary fans believe an exit from Norwich City during the summer is likely, with a League One or Championship club being the ideal final destination for McDonald.

The other Canary we have kept track on throughout the season is Jamie Cureton, who finished the year with 20 goals in all competitions from 47 appearances, helping Exeter City to a highly creditable final position of 8th in League One. Jamie will be thirty six in August, but not surprisingly has been offered a new contract by the Grecians for next season.

Former loanee Michael Rose suffered relegation with Swindon Town from League One, but will personally stay in that division for 2011-12 after signing for Colchester United. Another ex loanee, Alan Gow has been released by Notts County, as has Garry Brady by St Mirren and Rossi Jarvis and ex youth Canary Danny Kelly by Barnet. Michael Nelson's switch to Scunthorpe United was not enough to prevent the Irons dropping out of the Championship. The Admiral played twenty league games for them. Relegation also hit Chris Brown, Darel Russell and Paul Hayes, with Preston North End.

Gary Megson has had a difficult start to his tenure as manager of Sheffield Wednesday, losing half of his twenty games in charge, and winning only six times. Mark Robins has parted company with Barnsley after failing to secure agreement with his Directors regarding playing budgets for next year. Stuart McCall, who had been working as a scout for Norwich before his appointment to manager of Motherwell, led his new club to the Scottish Cup Final, where they lost 3-0 to Celtic, who had former loanee Fraser Forster in goal. Malky Mackay had a good season with Watford in the Championship, and continues to be linked with many a vacancy..........including relegated West Ham United, where Robert Green and Scott Parker lost their Premier League status. Parker though had the consolation of being voted FWA Footballer of the Year. Former Norwich manager Peter Grant had a mixed campaign - winning the League Cup in his position of assistant manager of Birmingham City before losing his Premier League place on the final day of the season. And Jim Duffy's Clyde finished bottom of Scottish Division Three.

A few season statistics for players with recent Norwich City connections : Stephen Elliott - Hearts 31 appearances 8 goals, David Mooney - Colchester United 44 appearances 14 goals,  David Stephens - Hibernian 10 appearances 0 goals, Leroy Lita - Middlesbrough 41 appearances 12 goals, Robert Eagle - Grimsby Town 39 appearances 9 goals Craig Bellamy - Cardiff City 36 appearances 11 goals, Robert Earnshaw - Nottingham Forest 38 appearances 9 goals Rhoys Wiggins - Bournemouth 40 appearances 2 goals, Damon Lathrope - Torquay United 24 appearances 0 goals, Alan Lee - Huddersfield 37 appearances 1 goal. The last five players listed all suffered end of season play-off misery with their respective clubs. Although he missed their play-off final through injury, goalkeeper Joe Lewis made a significant contribution to Peterborough United's promotion to the Championship, with 54 appearances. 

and finally...........after short term deals with Doncaster Rovers and Burton Albion, Simon Whaley again appears to be without a club. Ashley Ward's attempt to purchase Wrexham FC did not work out, Zesh Rehman has so far played eight games for Thailand's Muanthong United, Colin Woodthorpe's first season as assistant manager at Colwyn Bay FC ended in success as they secured promotion to the Conference North, and Elvis Hammond, who was mentioned in the first ever Life After City feature, scored ten Conference South goals for Woking in 21 games. Lee Croft remains at Derby County but played no games for them last season.   

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The Winning Years

1974-1975

Promotion

Division 2

Players

Ted MacDougall  (42 appearances)
Colin Suggett  (41 appearances)
Phil Boyer  (40 appearances)
Peter Morris  (40 appearances)
Tony Powell  (40 appearances)
Duncan Forbes  (39 appearances)
Dave Stringer  (39 appearances)
Kevin Keelan  (38 appearances)
Colin Sullivan  (36 appearances)
Mel Machin  (24 appearances)
Geoff Butler  (18 appearances)
Mick McGuire  (16 appearances)
John Miller  (14 appearances)
Martin Peters  (10 appearances)
John Benson  (10 appearances)
Billy Steele  (9 appearances)
Steve Grapes  (8 appearances)
Roger Hansbury  (4 appearances)
Doug Livermore  (3 appearances)
Steve Goodwin  (2 appearances)

Record

P42  W20  D13  L9  F58  A37  PTS53

Goals

MacDougall 17, Boyer 16, Suggett 6, Machin 3, Miller 3, Powell 2, Stringer 2, McGuire 2, Peters 2, Grapes 2, Forbes 1, Sullivan 1, Butler 1

Manager : John Bond
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Norwich City 3 Ilford 1 - 1958

History is fragile. It is always surrounded by 'if onlys' and 'what ifs'. Had the events of the 15th of November 1958 not unfolded in the way they eventually did, one major and significant chapter in the Norwich City story would never have happened. For this was the day that the Canaries embarked on their glorious FA Cup run of 1958-59, a romantic journey that took the Third Division club to the semi final of the competition, and a place in the hearts of so many neutrals up and around the country.

When the draw for the 1st Round was made, City no doubt would have been delighted at the prospect of playing non league opposition at home. Mind you, memories of two years earlier when they lost in humiliating circumstances to Bedford Town at the same stage would still have been in their minds. And Norwich were not in the greatest form going into this game - Hull City had won 1-0 the previous week at Carrow Road leaving the Canaries in 18th place in the table after only a single victory in the last eight games. And after just 27 minutes of this game, it looked like another miserable Saturday for the majority of the 13,960 people who attended the match. The amateurs of Ilford took the lead.

It was a heavy weather performance by Norwich, and they put more pressure on themselves by failing to get on level terms by half time. An early goal after the break was needed to dodge any talk of another FA Cup disaster for Norwich City. And five minutes after the interval left winger Jimmy Hill obliged, courtesy of the underside of the bar. Within ten minutes Norwich were ahead in the tie for the first time, Bobby Brennan scoring his fifth goal of the season. But any thoughts of an Ilford capitulation were premature - the Isthmian League side stood firm and made Norwich fight all the way. Matt Crowe had a penalty saved, but City finally put the game safe when Brennan netted his second of the afternoon in the 83rd minute.

Home fans went home happy, but had little idea of what laid ahead. They were more concerned that their team had at last found some better form, albeit against opposition from a lower level. It was a start. And thank goodness events turned out the way they did. There have been many proud moments in the history of Norwich City Football Club, but none more so than the 1959 cup run. Without this grafting performance a huge part of our past would be missing.

Norwich Team : Ken Nethercott, Roy McCrohan, Bryan Thurlow, Morgan Hunt, Barry Butler, Matt Crowe, Errol Crossan, Jimmy Moran, Terry Allcock, Jimmy Hill, Bobby Brennan
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The Canary Scotland Club

The following players have all represented Scotland whilst being a Norwich City player :




1972      Jimmy Bone 

1975      Ted MacDougall

1990      Robert Fleck

1990      Bryan Gunn

2002      Gary Holt

2004      Malky Mackay

2009      Stephen Hughes

2011      Russell Martin 
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The Summer Ahead For SUTRE!

Within an hour of the Canaries gaining promotion with their fine win at Fratton Park, I received a message from @nicksportsjunkie on Twitter.

It read : Congratulations mate. You are now the owner of a Premier League blog. 

It wasn't something that had actually crossed my mind at any time during the run in. But in the following forty eight hours, as the implications of a seasons hard toil by Norwich City Football Club slowly sunk in, I did wonder whether I needed to maybe look at adding some new features to Sing Up The River End! to mark our elevation to a higher level - possibly write more about our top flight achievements of the past in order to whet the appetite for what lies ahead. I have a couple of months before the new kick off to kill, and might yet add a few articles of that sort. But I think I will probably just continue in the style that has served me so well, thus far. I like swerving from one decade to another on a daily basis. I think it keeps things interesting for the reader. And current news is going to be covered elsewhere in huge proportions now we are back in the big time. It would be hard to come up with anything original.

The summer months are always something of a struggle for football fans. I remember after the Coventry City match having two thoughts. Firstly, thank the Lord we were not embroiled in the play-offs. And secondly, I need a rest from the tension that comes with being a Norwich City fan ! But with the close season not even properly upon us yet, I am already missing the 2010-11 campaign. As much as I have enjoyed watching the play-off matches across all the divisions, there is a gap in my life that I know will remain for some time yet.

Twelve months ago, I used my time wisely as far as Sing Up River End! was concerned. I was a touch worried that without matches going on around me, I would lose a little bit of desire to keep writing. But instead, I developed a number of new ideas for series that I could add to the site, and looking back it was this work that gave the project the shape and direction that can be seen today.

I have a few challenges for the next ten weeks. Yes I will attempt to build up to the big kick off - the first landmark date is the 17th of June when the Premier League fixture list is announced (and coincidentally the anniversary of the day NCFC were formed back in 1902) and from that point onwards interest will rise sharply.

I have a whole load of new head to heads to research and write - only three of next seasons opponents are currently covered. In fact I intend to make a few changes to all the existing head to heads on SUTRE! - from next season I will add the result into the article immediately after the match, so that whenever the analysis is read, it will be bang up to date. Therefore I also need to go back to the old ones and format them in the same way.

I need to do some site maintenance - basically going back through every article and adding updates where things have changed. SUTRE! is nearly eighteen months old now and as all supporters know, much can change in that time. And it has ! It will be impossible for me to identify everything that has been overtaken by time, but I want to catch as much as I can. I do hate reading stuff on the internet that is way out of date. I have the chance to make this site better than others, and will do that over the next month or two.

Another job in hand is to keep adding information to the NCFC Players section. This is a task very close to my heart - an attempt to name every first team Canary in history in order of debut. But it takes ages to compile !! I will keep going throughout the summer, though I dare not put a completion date on it. I also need to record these debuts in the main body of the blog, as I have discovered that search engines do not pick up information from the page tabs. Therefore a debuts section will soon appear in the sidebar.

I am busy recording all kinds of other statistical information onto spreadsheets things such as dates of death and former clubs for players and managers. This will allow me to bring even more facts and figures to the internet later in the year, presented hopefully in an interesting way.

I have only one new series in the pipeline at the moment, which I am going to call Quote Unquote. I have loads of quotes taken from newspaper articles referring to City, and it might be good to have them on the site. Readers will have seen them before, but it satisfies one of my original goals for this site - to pull all information together into one place.

A few existing series have fallen behind a bit, but with no fixtures and therefore no head to heads until August, these will catch up again. I am determined that throughout the summer I will continue to post daily, even if it is something I can put together quickly (such as the new Quote Unquote, City Firsts, or First And Last items) whilst I complete the site maintenance. I know there are readers who like the fact something new appears on SUTRE! each day and that is something I do not want to let go.

The only other thing I need to do is have a holiday for myself. But worry not, I will schedule articles to appear in my absence.

A million thanks once again to those who follow Sing Up The River End! on a regular basis. The last couple of years have been brilliant for Norwich City, and hopefully some of the work on this site puts it all into perspective.
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The Non Leaguers

I have today finished adding all the names into the NCFC Players section at the top of this page, up to the summer of 1920, in order of their début date. With 223 players now listed, this provides a comprehensive guide to every player that represented the club in the days of non league football. These men really were the pioneers of our great club.
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Strain The Brain No6

Four players or clubs are listed in each question - but find the odd one out. And to narrow your train of thought we have given you a clue to set you off on the right tracks. Answers can be found by clicking on the Strain The Brain answer section in the sidebar of the blog.







1)  Joe Royle     Mike Milligan    Tony Warner    Jon Ostemobor

clue : birthplace


2)  David Marshall    Andy Marshall    Kevin Keelan    Bryan Gunn

clue : officially a fans favourite


3)  Martin Chivers    Ian Culverhouse    Mark Bowen    Ian Crook

clue :  signed from


4)  Notts County    Leeds United    Sheffield Wednesday    Barnsley

clue :  Nigel Worthington


5)  Manchester United    Swindon Town    Portsmouth    Luton Town

clue :  Norwich in the FA Cup
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League Cup - Norwich City Record 1980-1989

1980-81
26 Aug 1980   2nd Round 1st Leg (a)  Shrewsbury Town drew 1-1
3 Sep 1980   2nd Round 2nd Leg (h)  Shrewsbury Town won 2-0 aet
23 Sep 1980   3rd Round (a)  Ipswich Town drew 1-1
8 Oct 1980   Replay (h)  Ipswich Town lost 3-1

1981-82
7 Oct 1981   2nd Round 1st Leg (h)  Charlton Athletic won 1-0
28 Oct 1981   2nd Round 2nd Leg (a)  Charlton Athletic won 1-0
10 Nov 1981   3rd Round (a)   Arsenal lost 1-0

1982-83
6 Oct 1982   2nd Round 1st Leg (h)  Preston North End won 2-1
26 Oct 1982   2nd Round 2nd Leg (a)  Preston North End won 2-1
10 Nov 1982   3rd Round (a)  Sunderland drew 0-0
24 Nov 1982   Replay (h)  Sunderland won 3-1
30 Nov 1982   4th Round (a)  Liverpool lost 2-0

1983-84
4 Oct 1983   2nd Round 1st Leg (a)  Cardiff City drew 0-0
26 Oct 1983   2nd Round 2nd Leg (h)  Cardiff City won 3-0
9 Nov 1983   3rd Round (h)  Sunderland drew 0-0
22 Nov 1983   Replay (a)  Sunderland won 2-1
30 Nov 1983   4th Round (a)  Ipswich Town won 1-0
17 Jan 1984   5th Round (h)  Aston Villa lost 2-0

1984-85
25 Sep 1984   2nd Round 1st Leg (a)  Preston North End drew 3-3
10 Oct 1984   2nd Round 2nd Leg (h)  Preston North End won 6-1
31 Oct 1984   3rd Round (h)  Aldershot drew 0-0
6 Nov 1984   Replay (a)  Aldershot won 4-0
21 Nov 1984   4th Round (h)  Notts County won 3-0
16 Jan 1985   5th Round (a)  Grimsby Town won 1-0
23 Feb 1985   Semi Final 1st Leg (a)  Ipswich Town lost 1-0
6 Mar 1985   Semi Final 2nd Leg (h)  Ipswich Town won 2-0
24 Mar 1985   Final (n)  Sunderland won 1-0 *

1985-86
30 Sep 1985   2nd Round 1st Leg (a)  Preston North End drew 1-1
9 Oct 1985   2nd Round 2nd Leg (h)  Preston North End won 2-1
29 Oct 1985   3rd Round (a)  Luton Town won 2-0
19 Nov 1985   4th Round (a)  Oxford United lost 3-1

1986-87
24 Sep 1986   2nd Round 1st Leg (a)  Peterborough United drew 0-0
8 Oct 1986   2nd Round 2nd Leg (h)  Peterborough United won 1-0
29 Oct 1986   3rd Round (h)  Millwall won 4-1
19 Nov 1986   4th Round (h)  Everton lost 4-1

1987-88
22 Sep 1987   2nd Round 1st Leg (a)  Burnley drew 1-1
7 Oct 1987   2nd Round 2nd Leg (h)  Burnley won 1-0
27 Oct 1987   3rd Round (a)  Stoke City lost 2-1

1988-89
28 Sep 1988   2nd Round 1st Leg (h)  Preston North End won 2-0
11 Oct 1988   2nd Round 2nd Leg (a)  Preston North End won 3-0
2 Nov 1988   3rd Round (a)  Leicester City lost 2-0

1989-90
20 Sep 1989   2nd Round 1st Leg (h)  Rotherham United drew 1-1
3 Oct 1989   2nd Round 2nd Leg (a)  Rotherham United won 2-0
25 Oct 1989   3rd Round (a)  Manchester City lost 3-1

* played at Wembley

Stars Of The Past - Tony Spearing

Anthony 'Tony' Spearing was born in Romford on the 7th of October 1964. He was educated at Kirkley High School and joined Norwich City as an apprentice in May 1981. A very successful youth career followed, during which he captained England youth, and was a member of City's victorious FA Youth Cup winning side of 1983. He made his first team debut on the 5th of May 1984 in a 2-0 away defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Division One and also played in the remaining three fixtures of the season. It was an important breakthrough for the left back, who had an impressive turn of pace and was hard working and tenacious.

1984-85 season saw his continued development. Despite breaking his leg, he gained experience from loan spells at Stoke City and Oxford United. Regular appearances for Norwich were blocked by the presence of Dennis van Wijk in the full back position, and Spearing in fact played only a single game, in the FA Cup 3rd Round replay against Birmingham City in the January. The following season, with the Canaries temporarily back in Division Two, he got his first real run of games, nine in total during September and October, before dropping out of the picture once more.

City were back in the top flight for 1986-87, and Tony made the left back shirt his own, playing in 39 of the 42 league games, as well as all the cup matches for that season. It was a great season for him personally and also for the club - a fifth place finish in the division behind Everton, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal. His early promise was fulfilled and it was good to see a home grown player holding his own in such strong company. He retained his position for 1987-88, playing in all matches up to mid September, but then lost his place to Mark Bowen. A return to first team action did not occur until the final seven games of the campaign, the last of which, a 1-0 home defeat to Wimbledon, marked his farewell appearance for the Canaries. In July 1988 he was sold to Leicester City for £100,000. His final Norwich City tally was 82 matches in all competitions.

He remained with the Foxes until 1991, representing them 79 times, before a shorter spell with Plymouth Argyle (45 appearances). In 1993 he moved to Peterborough United, and played for them on 129 occasions through to 1997. Tony Spearing then pursued a career in non league East Anglian football. He joined King's Lynn in 1997, and took over as player/manager soon after. Though he reverted to being solely a player after a short while, he was a popular Linnet, and took up the managerial reigns again between 2000 and 2002. After his departure from the Walks, he had time with AFC Sudbury, Wisbech Town and Yarmouth Town.

In 2005-06 he was appointed as assistant manager of Conference side Cambridge United, working alongside another former Canary Rob Newman. Since then he has worked as a Senior Scout for Blackburn Rovers, and is currently Head of European Recruitment for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion.
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Norwich City Fan - Simon Thomas

Simon Thomas - Cromer born television presenter, marathon runner and mountain climber, Blue Peter, CBBC, Sky Sports News, lead man for cricket, golf and football coverage on Sky, and life long fan of Norwich City Football Club

To Blog Or Not To Blog ? Now That Is A Question

   

From time to time I get communications from people asking how I go about producing Sing Up The River End! Most enquirers are people who have had no experience of blogging or producing material for the internet. I am always happy to point them in the right direction to help them get started. It really is an easy process, nowhere near as difficult as many imagine.

One person I helped duly started a site - not related to football, but interesting nonetheless. However after a few weeks, the posts diminished, before shortly afterwards fizzling out altogether. I dropped him an e mail asking him why he had stopped writing. His reasons were the same as would apply to almost all other failed bloggers.

Another who picked my brain was put off by the things I told him. It was a shame because his subject matter was to have been Norwich City Football Club. I love seeing as much information as possible about the Canaries on the internet and always try to encourage those of a yellow and green persuasion. He thanked me for my time, but also suggested others who read Sing Up The River End! may be interested in hearing what it takes to run a blog.

So here goes...........a few opinions, that might help hatch a few more City blogs during a long summer break as we ready ourselves for a return to the Premier League.

Subject

It is easy to simply say Norwich City. If you want to post 'all things Carrow Road' this gives you a large list of topics to dive into. But it helps to have some idea at the outset as to how you intend to cover the club. Do you really want to write about everything, because that's a difficult challenge ? Or is there a particular part of football you like more than others ? Some for instance enjoy talking about matches - a build up to each game followed by a report. Others prefer transfer gossip. Latest news. Discussing individual players. Is there a niche not yet covered that will immediately make your venture more interesting ?

Why Do It ?

There can be only one reason. Because you love writing. If you find writing a bore, you will not succeed as a blogger. Also, do not fall into the trap of thinking that you will be bringing earth shattering stories to the world. That doesn't happen often, if ever. You will need to blog for yourself, and certainly in the early days in the knowledge that few other people will even look at your work, let alone say something good about it. The enjoyment comes from sitting down and producing a piece of work you are happy with. Pressing a button to publish it is secondary. When you do get positive feedback it is a huge bonus, but nothing more. Your main satisfaction has to come from your new found hobby as a writer.

Quality

Generally speaking good blogs must be well written. Having said that, if your grammar is a little ropey, there is a clever way around it. Just admit it from the outset, and joke about it often. Readers of these kind of blogs soon put aside spelling mistakes - however, your articles will need to be interesting and pertinent if you are to avoid ridicule.

Originality

Probably the hardest nut to crack. The vast majority of work added to the internet is to some degree or another a regurgitation of something that has already been covered. I include my own work in that...........often I am walking over ground well trodden by others before me. What you must be able to do is be original, and add a new or different slant to a subject. If you fail it will not be interesting. And if you fail big style, it is likely you have simply copied somebody else's work.

Commitment

Two things you need to consider. How much time do you have available for writing ?  Are you able to publish work regularly ?  Obviously all blogs/websites take a differing amount of time to produce. But if you are likely to go weeks without time to write, your project will go stale on you, and become a burden. Believe me, it is easy to pack a blog in as the early motivation you have starts to evaporate. You will need to discipline yourself by allocating time in your life to writing.

For the record, and because I am often asked the question, Sing Up The River End! takes up between 15 and 20 hours a week to produce, with at least half of that time involving research. The head to heads for instance take 3 hours each when first written, Stars Of The Past at least two hours each, the Born This Week series took 30 hours in total to look up all the birth dates and another twenty minutes to write up each week. The NCFC player section will have taken around 75 hours by the time it is completed.

Don't be put off by this - SUTRE! stands and falls by being as accurate as I can possibly make it and often research means double checking my own work. Most sites will take nowhere near as long, but all I am saying is that all projects need commitment - it will need to become a genuine hobby for you.

Reward

In monetary terms, none. In terms of personal satisfaction - huge. Provided you enjoy what you are doing. It goes back to an earlier point I made, you must blog for yourself and for your own entertainment.

Style

You can be be irreverent. You can be analytical. You can be thought provoking. But take on board at a very early stage that you must be consistent and one article must not contradict the next. Also, always remember that your opinions are not always interesting to the wider world. If your site is full of rants and raves it still has a place on the internet - but ultimately is little different to a football forum.

Keeping Up With It All

Once your blog gets a bit of history behind it and you start to get regular followers, you are up and running. But this development adds pressure. You have to continue writing for yourself, but as you do so, you know it will be not only read by others, but also scrutinised. Be ready for what this will do to your head. It is a pressure, believe me. And don't forget, you will need to find inspiration from somewhere for your next article..........

Facts, Fiction And Troubled Waters

Whatever you write, you must always be factually correct if your efforts are to be appreciated. Once a few silly mistakes creep in, lots of what you produce thereafter will be greeted with less admiration. And be aware that once published, you are showing your work to the world. So if you intend to be rude and disrespectful, have a mind on the consequences.

Competition

There isn't any. Bloggers and amateur football writers generally have a bond with one another. Don't write with the mission of trying to outdo others - there is room for everyone to impress and disappoint in equal measures.

Alternatives

If you are full of great ideas, but less confident as a writer, you could always try producing a video and putting it on the net. Or a webcast. There are also football sites (including this one) that welcome well written pieces from fans, so if you can't meet many of the requirements listed above, you can submit occasional articles to them.

Every year there are new Norwich City sites that spring up. Some survive, but many do not. I suspect that the inspiration of the Canaries performances in 2010-11 and the dawn of a Premier League season will lead to a few more fledgling sites over the next month or two. Give it a go. And enjoy yourself.
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Promotions And Summer Strengthening - A Rare Combination

I had a great idea for an article the other day. It happens occasionally. With much talk in the air regarding just how much money Paul Lambert has at his disposal to strengthen his Championship squad now they are in the Premier League, I thought I would take a look at how his predecessors coped in a similar situation. One thing is for certain, none had a war chest as quite as large as that of Lambert - variously quoted at anything between four and forty million pounds. But what fun I thought it would be to search through my debut database, and identify all those great Norwich City summer signings made off the back of promotion campaigns. Wallow in the magnificence of Canary legends brought into the club at times of great hope, expectation and nervousness, ahead of the challenge of football at a higher level.

Casting my mind back to our last promotion before this one was not a problem of course. The close season of 2010 saw a number of new faces, starting in late May with Elliott Ward, and followed by the signings of Andrew Crofts, Andrew Surman, John Ruddy, David Fox, Simeon Jackson and Leon Barnett (initially on loan). Fans were quietly content, though many of the captures were low profile and surrounded with little gossip prior to announcement. But it was undoubtedly a squad strengthening by the boss. As it turned out, the players named all played significant parts in the promotion campaign that followed, and all have the chance to achieve legendary status at Carrow Road.

In 2004, Nigel Worthington also added to his Premier League bound squad, and again I was able to reel off a few names - Mattias Jonson, Simon Charlton, David Bentley on loan, Thomas Helveg. It is fair to say that  this group had a far less successful impact than their 2010 equivalents. In fact the only summer signings to play any major part in Norwich City developments were Gary Doherty, who went on to play over 200 games before his departure to Charlton Athletic last summer, and Youseff Safri who didn't stay so long but was, nonetheless, well respected by the fans.

My next stop was 1986, and a bit more research was required to assist my ailing memory. Ken Brown had to prepare for a return to the top flight after just a single season in Division Two. He raided the North East for Shaun Elliott and David Hodgson from Sunderland, and brought Trevor Putney up from Ipswich. But again, not big name star signings. His most enterprising piece of business that summer was the signature of a young Spurs midfielder for £80,000. His name was Ian Crook. He went on to play over 400 influential games for Norwich City, and without pre-empting the rest of this article, he was our best post promotion signing ever. I can safely say this because as I then looked back further in history, I was able to turn up very few new faces, successful or otherwise.

In 1982, again under Ken Brown and again after just one season out of the top flight, no squad  strengthening was done at all. It must be remembered back then that no financial windfall was available. Yes the club could realistically expect slightly higher crowds and to get away with charging a few extra quid for them to get in. But spending sprees were not part of the game then. A manager had to still largely cope with what resources he already had. In 1975, John Bond again went with the same players (though he did add David Jones in the September), having already spent money during the promotion campaign to ensure his team went up.

The Ron Saunders team of 1972 was largely built on grit and unity, so when Norwich fans faced the prospect of top flight football for the first time, those summer months were also full of anticipation on who would be joining to help the cause. But Saunders chose to stick with the players who had served him so well the previous year. Nobody signed, and his heroes served him so well in the first half of the season. Interestingly, the Canaries survived in that First Division, just, but only after a rebuild in early 1973. So Saunders had merely put off the cost of spending by six months. But comparisons can be made with the Nigel Worthington strategy of some years later, where some loyal servants were left at the entry gates to the big time and discarded. His new team did not survive.

Archie Macaulay's Division Three promotion side of 1960 was largely made up of players who had served the club so well in the 1958-59 FA Cup run. So, yes, you've guessed it, no summer signings were deemed necessary with the manager declaring that no strengthening was needed. The move up to Division Two was a huge step for Macaulay's men, and everyone knew that immediate relegation would likely witness a break up of that fine side. Huge trust was put into the 59'ers. They delivered, and everyone is aware of course that it was fifty years before the club went back down to the third level.

By now I realised that there was no story to be had here. The only remaining promotion for me to look at was way back in the thirties. Surely the club commemorated their first big moment with a little rash spending. Some quick research did lead me to the signing of goalkeeper Harry Dukes in 1934 from Ipswich Town. This was the Canaries first ever promotion summer, and manager Tom Parker bought him as cover, though Harry did go on to play well over 100 first team games. Outside of that one signing it was left to those that had played so well during the season to raise their game - which they did, as Norwich survived comfortably. In fact the club survived in Division Two until just before World War Two. Money made from that first Canaries success was largely spent on moving to Carrow Road.

It would be unfair to use my findings to bash the club over the head and tell them they have always been lacking in ambition. Only in recent decades have the financial rewards of promotion been so huge. Years ago, any increase in revenues were often sunk into ground improvements. There was also more loyalty, both from club to player and player to club. Yes there would be an element of player release each year, but these would often be cancelled out by others getting promotion after proving themselves in the reserves. Nowadays, squad members have barely got off the celebration parade bus before fans are writing them off in terms of suitability for next season at a higher level. No, in years gone by, there was an element of simply having no choice than to retain the players that won promotion in the first place. Partly down to loyalty to existing players. Partly down to the fact that the transfer merry-go-round of today just did not exist years ago. I wonder now what Ron Saunders would have done with a million pounds of TV revenue to splash. Even half a million. He, and many other old City managers would have loved even a small percentage of today's budgets.

I had hoped to come up with a great long list of former Canaries, specifically purchased soon after promotion. Legends and household names to demonstrate how our past successes really moved the club onwards and upwards. I intended to use it to whet the appetite - to anticipate how exciting the next few weeks will be as transfer rumours become reality. I wanted this article to accelerate fan anticipation, to show that promotion summers have been noteworthy for the clever way in which NCFC have invested new found wealth on exciting new talent.

Alas, I can't. Such signings have simply not been part of our long history. Put all the names together and it barely raises a half decent team. Don't get me wrong, another Ian Crook would do very nicely. But the only thing that came from my brainwave of an article was to show that modern day supporters are very lucky, however much Paul Lambert eventually spends in the coming weeks.

Those of an older vintage had no such luxuries to look forward to.

pictured : top - a pensive Paul Lambert, wondering where to spend his millions, and below - a more relaxed Ron Saunders, who had no such choices to ponder
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Norwich City - Trophy/Promotion Winning Managers

At this time last year, Paul Lambert became the 8th manager in Norwich City history to win a trophy or promotion for the club in the professional era. His achievements this season mean he is now only the second manager to win something twice or more.

Here is a breakdown of City's winning managers :

3  -  Ken Brown
1986 - Division Two to Division One
1985 - League Cup
1982 - Division Two to Division One

2  -  Paul Lambert
2011 - Championship to Premier League
2010 - League One to Championship

1  -  Nigel Worthington
2004 - Division One to Premier League

1  -  John Bond
1975 - Division Two to Division One

1  -  Ron Saunders
1972 - Division Two to Division One

1  -  Willie Reid
1962 - League Cup

1  -  Archie Macaulay
1960 - Division Three to Division Two

1  -  Tom Parker
1934 - Division Three South to Division Two
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Final League Placings 1926-1927

Football League 1926-1927
Division Three South  







Bristol City  62
Plymouth Argyle  60
Millwall  56
Brighton 53
Swindon Town  51
Crystal Palace  45
Bournemouth  44
Luton Town  44
Newport County  44
Bristol Rovers  41
Brentford  40
Exeter City  40
Charlton Athletic  40
Queens Park Rangers  39
Coventry City  37
Norwich City  35
Merthyr Town  35
Northampton  35
Southend United  34
Gillingham  32
Watford  32
Aberdare Athletic  25


Full City Record :  P42  W12  D11  L19  F59  A71  PTS 35   Manager : Bert Stansfield and Cecil Potter


Newcastle United were English champions
Cardiff City won the FA Cup



In This Year :  Rudolph Valentino dies at the age of 31

The first transatlantic telephone call is made

Thousands die in Britain as a result of a flu epidemic


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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Soccer USA - Ian Butterworth 1996

Ian Butterworth had a distinguished career at Carrow Road that stretched to very nearly 300 games. A staunch and reliable central defender, he also captained the club during his time as a Canary between 1986 and 1994, but the latter part of his Norwich days were stifled by a recurring knee injury. Eventually, he had no option than to call it a day, though in November 1995 he did attempt a comeback at King's Lynn.

In February 1996, Ian went over to America to play for Colorado Rapids. It was the first season of the Major League Soccer (MLS), and the Rapids, based in College City, Denver and playing at the Mile High Stadium, competed with nine other teams. Managed by ex Fulham and Brighton player Bobby Houghton, they put together a squad of seasoned professionals that included another ex Canary Chris Woods in goal, as well as very good home grown players such as Marcelo Balboa and Roy Wegerle.

The season was not a success however for the Rapids. Playing in the Western Conference they finished as bottom club, ten points adrift of the next franchise San Jose Clash. Butterworth played in seventeen of the thirty two matches as his team went out of the competition at the group stage. As with many British footballers, his time playing in America was limited to just the one season, and by March 1997 he was back in Europe, playing for I K Brage in Sweden, where he went on to have a short spell as manager.

As for Colorado Rapids, they made wholesale changes for their 1997 campaign and won through to the final of the MLS Cup, losing though to DC United 2-1. In 2010 they went one better, this time beating FC Dallas 2-1, and thus becoming MLS champions for the first time in history.
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How Did City Get On ?

I posted a piece recently about Norwich City beating Coventry City in 1934, thereby securing their first major trophy win and promotion to the Second Division. Whilst writing it, my thoughts wandered to just what it would have been like to be a football supporter seventy seven years ago. I do this often, wishing I could somehow capture the era and compare it to modern times.

In particular, I wondered how fans got hold of news and information about the Canaries and just how long it took them. Even in my lifetime things have changed beyond comprehension. But at least I had the comparative luxury of the newspaper industry, television and telephone. Go back forty years before that, and it must have been mighty difficult to get hold of scores. And the ability to look at league tables, analyse the fixtures of opponents still in the promotion chase, and predict final outcomes, would have been almost impossible.

News of Norwich City fortunes needed to be conveyed back to waiting officials at the Nest, by telephone or telegram. But spreading that information to the wider community would have been much more difficult. For most of our history we have been blessed with the existence of the trusty Pink 'Un, which first appeared in 1913. But whilst I was able to get hold of a copy every Saturday night (having missed all of that day's scores because I was standing in the rain at the River End), my counterpart in the 1930's might well have struggled to secure a copy quite so quickly. If at all. So whilst the result of the match may well have spread by word of mouth across the city, actually finding out the nitty gritty of the contest would almost certainly have taken longer.

And it was this detail that was missing for our footballing forefathers. They did not have the ability to gather huge amounts of information, and therefore footballers, both their own heroes and opposition players remained largely anonymous and distant - defined and recorded only by statistics in a newspaper or a photograph or caricature on a cigarette card. Soccer stars were not celebrities. They were ordinary blokes who had risen from the working classes with enough talent to earn a small living by playing the game. Details of their personal lives were very limited - not until the sixties and seventies would stars be featured in Sunday newspapers standing beside flash cars or detached homes.

You can imagine though how gossip may well have prospered on the terraced slopes of the Nest. And how even in those days, the 'know alls' would have had the loudest voices. Whether what they said was entirely accurate we do not know. But we can be certain that no media circus followed the game back in 1934. Basic facts were reported and the ordinary supporter had to scrap for whatever information could be found.

I have images of schoolboys getting hold of a result and cherishing that news as if they were the only ones who knew it. Perhaps Dad had jumped on the tram down to the city, walked to Rosary Road, and hung about outside the ground for word on the events down at Exeter City. 'We won 4-3 !!' said the man in the office. 'And Jack got three of 'em'. A walk home, saving his pennies for a quick pint in The Railway Arms in Oak Street on his way past. 'We're at home next week lad. I'll take you along if you like. Cardiff City. Get a programme at the gate. We can see how high we are in the league. We must be nearly top'.

Fanciful maybe, and regrettably few people still around from 1934 to confirm my best guesses.

All I do know is that it took a damn sight longer to get news of a goal then, than it does now.  In 2011, it is often less than twenty seconds by Twitter !
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Norwich City Review Of The Season

Norwich City 2010-2011

Playing Record : 

Full        P46  W23  D15  L8  F83  A58  PTS 84

Home     P23  W13  D6  L4  F47  A30  PTS 45

Away     P23  W10  D9  L4  F36  A28  PTS 39

Championship Final Position :  2nd
FA Cup :  3rd Round
League Cup :  2nd Round


Most Appearances (all comps) :  Russell Martin 49, Grant Holt 46, John Ruddy 46, Andrew Crofts 44

Most Goals (all comps) :  Grant Holt 23, Simeon Jackson 13, Wes Hoolahan 10

Career Appearances :  Adam Drury 345, Wes Hoolahan 121, Simon Lappin 118, Chris Martin 96

Career Goals :  Grant Holt 53, Chris Martin 34, Wes Hoolahan 26

Player Of The Year :  Grant Holt

Highest Attendance :  26,532 v Ipswich Town 28th November 2010

Biggest Win :  6-0 v Scunthorpe United  Championship  2nd April 2011

Biggest Defeat :  0-3 v Swansea  Championship  9th April 2011

Five Days That Shaped The Season

Saturday 28th August 2010  -  Nottingham Forest 1 Norwich City 1

Though this game was only the fourth match in Norwich City's Championship campaign, I remember it as significant at the time, for the simple reason that it showed very early on that we would not be pushovers away from home. The Canaries fell behind to a penalty at the City Ground after 35 minutes and the worst was feared against a Nottingham Forest side that were amongst the favourites for promotion having lost out in the play-offs the previous season. But an Andrew Crofts goal just before half time secured a point, though of greater importance was a fantastic display against a side many considered to be superior to City. A sign of things to come maybe - though just how big a sign was not appreciated at the time.

Sunday 28th November 2010  -  Norwich City 4 Ipswich Town 1

After a season without an East Anglian Derby, this one was eagerly anticipated by Norwich fans. But with manager Paul Lambert serving a touchline ban and therefore watching from the stands, plus national TV coverage on the BBC, City fans faced a nervous build up to the game. But on the day, it was the team in yellow that rose to the occasion, with skipper and talisman Grant Holt bagging a hat-trick before Wes Hoolahan came on to rub salt into Ipswich wounds. It was the Canaries first win in six games (four of the previous five matches had ended in draws) and significantly moved them up to 5th place in the table. For many Norwich fans, the beating of Ipswich so convincingly ensured it was going to be a happy season, whatever the next six months had in store. But only once more (two weeks later to be exact after a home defeat to Portsmouth) would City be out of the top five. It was a glorious afternoon to be a Canary, and maybe the first time that this campaign had the feel of being just a bit special.

Saturday 1st January 2011  -  Norwich City 1 Queens Park Rangers 0

Few would argue that QPR were a class act for most of the season, and their appearance at Carrow Road on the first day of 2011 gave Norwich City the opportunity to make a statement on their own promotion credentials. It was not the most incident packed match of the campaign - and the season had so many crazy episodes it would almost be churlish to put them into any order of importance. No, this was a tight, absorbing affair, settled unusually for City, by a goal as early as the tenth minute, by Russell Martin. But the win gave further evidence that Norwich were justifiably towards the top of the Championship and given the fact that QPR had also failed to beat them at Loftus Road earlier in the season, City fans knew that on their day, this team of Canaries were as good as any other in the division. In fact, only a Wes Hoolahan penalty miss in the away game prevented a Norwich double.

Thursday 21st April 2011  -  Ipswich Town 1 Norwich City 5

Just four games left, and Norwich now elevated from a mere play-off side and into a genuine contender for automatic promotion. So Portman Road was not the easiest place to have to go to - a local derby, and revenge predicted by a Suffolk team under new management since their November bashing at Carrow Road. And a clutch of clubs feeling confident that this would be the night the Canaries would finally crack, leaving the door slightly ajar for them to sneak through into second spot themselves. Never. Not in a million years. This City side soared to a clinical and majestic performance. Ipswich were disdainfully brushed aside with Norwich netting five times - through Andrew Surman, Simeon Jackson, Russell Martin, Dani Pacheco and an own goal. 5-1 on the night. 9-2 on seasonal aggregate. Rarely had City fans had so much to smile about. Ipswich were left stunned and distraught. And the promotion chasing clubs knew that this was a humdinger of a result at this late stage of the season. Norwich City had their fate firmly in their own hands.

Monday 25th April 2011  -  Norwich City 3 Derby County 2

There were so many sensational moments in 2010-11. Moments that will take their place in Norwich City folklore and legend. The most compelling feature of this particular group of Canaries was their ability to play every minute of every match. 'Norwich Time' - the time added on after the end of ninety minutes - produced equalisers and winners all campaign. But I think Simeon Jackson's 96th minute strike is likely to still be talked about in fifty years time. A good City performance looked likely to be spoilt by a stubborn Derby County team. Anti climax filled the air. Norwich kept going as usual. But no, not today. It could not happen again, and the control of destiny gained at Portman Road looked to be slipping away. The scenes at Carrow Road as Jackson completed his hat-trick and pinched the points have known no equal. The place went mental. Kids looked on open mouthed. Adults shed a tear. Simeon Jackson was in the history books forever. A special player, in a very special season.

and finally...............

the real significance of any season is often not really measurable for a few years to come. But for the Canaries, there need be no such period of assessment. The prize of entry into the English Premier League is said to be worth £90 million. For a club that has been in steady financial decline since the mid nineties, the chance to secure an exceptional future awaits. But putting money aside for a moment, 2010-11 was in itself, a magnificent campaign. For those that got to the games, home or away. For those that live and breathe the affairs of the club from a distance. Because, it was a season to be proud. Not just proud of results, but also the way in which those results were achieved. The players and staff quietly went about their business week after week, heads down in remorseless pursuit of a dream. And throughout it all they gave us more to shout about than could reasonably be expected in half a dozen seasons put together. Everyone involved, including the fans, have done themselves proud. Take a bow, you good people.


.  For reviews of other seasons, click on the label below
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Loose Ends

..............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 

I have a number of loose ends to tie up now the season has finished - things that have appeared on Sing Up The River End! over the last nine months that need revising or deserve further comment, and I will try to do that over the coming days. Firstly, a final look at 'Norwich Time' without which the Canaries would not have secured automatic promotion.

Here is the list of stoppage time goals, in all competitions, and details of where they made a difference to our final points tally :

Michael Nelson v Watford home (Championship)

Chris Martin v Gillingham home (League Cup)

Grant Holt v Scunthorpe away (Championship)

Simeon Jackson v Swansea home (Championship)

Jens Berthel Askou v Blackburn Rovers away (League Cup)

Andrew Crofts v Burnley home (Championship)

Wes Hoolahan v Sheff United home (Championship)

Russell Martin v Cardiff City home (Championship)

Henri Lansbury v Millwall home (Championship)
Grant Holt v Reading home (Championship)
Andrew Surman v Bristol City home (Championship)
Simeon Jackson v Scunthorpe home (Championship)
Dani Pacheco v Ipswich Town (Championship)
Simeon Jackson v Derby County (Championship)

The league goals have secured ten additional points for City - Scunthorpe (2 points), Burnley (1 point), Cardiff City (1 point), Millwall (2 points), Reading (2 points), Derby (2 points)

On March 23rd I posted an item on Norwich City performances in history when chasing promotions. I made no predictions on the final eight games of the season. In fact, I was wary that any mention of promotion might actually put the mockers on it. I am pleased therefore to report that from that time, when 24 points were still left on the table, the Canaries secured 17 of them with five wins, two draws and just a single defeat. City lost just two games (at Burnley and Swansea) in their final 25 Championship games of the season, winning fourteen times and getting nine draws.

Anyone doubting the supremacy of Norwich City over Ipswich Town during the 2010-11 season deserve a visit from the men in white coats. Another point that needs recording is that next season will be the 99th since the two clubs first met, back in 1902. During that time divisional status has been shared 44 times. However next year, it will be the 38th season that we have been the club with the higher standing - something Ipswich can boast of only 17 times.

Having reported yesterday that Grant Holt was the eighth man in history to be voted Player Of The Year twice, here are the other players that have achieved this :

Ken Foggo (1969 and 1971), Kevin Keelan (1973 and 1974), Martin Peters (1976 and 1977), Kevin Drinkell (1986 and 1987), Bryan Gunn (1988 and 1993), Iwan Roberts (1999 and 2000), and Darren Huckerby (2005 and 2007).
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Grant Holt - Player Of The Year 2011

Grant Holt has been awarded the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy after being voted Player Of The Year for 2011. It is the second year running he has received this accolade. The trophy was first awarded in 1967, and he is the eighth player to win it twice.


A full list of winners can be sourced from the index in the sidebar of this blog.

Memorabilia

I have just finished reading Memorabilia, written by Nick Richards who is a Norwich City season ticket holder. This is his first novel and follows the story of Jerry Sands, a man who has had tragedy in his life, lives in the past, and turns to collecting memorabilia for solace and comfort. Or, more pertinently, one particular item of memorabilia that he just has to get hold of. His single mindedness leads him into the path of Alex Taylor, a younger man, who is a professional collector and gambler, and owns the very item Jerry wants.

Memorabilia steers clear of the clichéd image of collectors - the geekiness of young lads gathering coins and stamps before growing up to become train spotters - and instead brings into focus that some chase and ultimately hoard nostalgic items for a much more serious reason. There are few people on this planet who have not collected something at sometime. Before letting the items go. And then regretting at a later time in life that they had not been kept. The generational comparisons drawn in Memorabilia are clever. For the younger man, it is merely business. But as Jerry Sands gets drawn into the madcap wheeling dealing world of Alex the story revolves around which emotion will win through.........personal need or money. Something has to give because neither character collects for a hobby.

Football has long provided much opportunity for the accumulation of memorabilia, whether it be programmes, soccer star stickers from the seventies, or cigarette cards from the very earliest decades of the organised game. For many fans, it is a nice add on to the actual watching of a match - something to hold on to on winters nights or balmy evenings during the close season. Memorabilia the novel will provide reminiscence for people connected with Norwich - the fine city and the football team - both of which provide a large thread of the story. As does the wider East Anglian region, and American football in the shape of the Chicago Bears. And it does leave you questioning the real motives for your own collecting habits. Whatever the subject or interest, your prized items are likely to now be found in cardboard boxes at the bottom of a wardrobe or under the bed. I know mine are, and it has left me thinking.

Memorabilia is an easy read, and ideal for summer holiday, Fathers Day, Mothers Day, birthdays or Christmas. And there is enough in it for non Canary fans to enjoy it too ! Published by Grosvenor House, it is available from Amazon, priced £8.99.

Nick Richards is also the author of the blog nicksportsjunkie, which can be sourced from the 'Links' section in the sidebar. 
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Ian Culverhouse - An Extraordinary Norwich City Career

Within a short time of promotion celebrations starting on the pitch at Fratton Park on Monday night, manager Paul Lambert was acknowledging the contributions of his backroom staff, and in particular Ian Culverhouse and Gary Karsa.

The football career of Ian Culverhouse has corresponded with the most successful times in the modern history of Norwich City. From the very beginning in fact, his arrival at the club saw an immediate improvement in fortunes. The full back signed from Tottenham Hotspur back in October 1985, when they were seriously underachieving in Division Two, having been amongst the favourites for promotion.

Culverhouse made the most unbelievable start to his Canary career however. He played his first league match on the 12th of October 1985 in an impressive 4-0 win over Carlisle United at Brunton Park. And it would be eighteen consecutive games before he would first taste defeat in a league fixture.

The run ended on the 8th of March 1986 with a 2-1 defeat at Wimbledon, by which time he had made the number two shirt his own, chalking up 14 wins and 4 draws. After that setback, City lost only three more Division Two games that season, one of which Ian missed (at Hull City), and won the title by seven points.

His playing career at Norwich lasted until May 1994, during which time he made a mammoth 368 appearances. Apart from that initial season, City were a top flight club during that period. Culverhouse was part of the side that finished 5th in 1986-87, 4th in 1988-89, and 3rd in 1992-93. He played in five of Norwich City's six UEFA Cup matches, missing the final game away to Inter Milan only because of suspension.

He left the club in 1994-95, the year Norwich lost their Premier League status, and did not play in a single game due to a contract dispute. His replacement at the start of that season was Carl Bradshaw.

Ian Culverhouse returned to Carrow Road in August 2009, taking up the role of assistant manager, having worked in trinity with Lambert and Karsa at Colchester United. Nobody needs reminding that he has therefore played a major part in turning around the fortunes of Norwich City for the second time in his life.

Both as a player and now a manager, his quiet but hugely effective contributions have not always received the credit they deserve. It is a fact that he was around at the time Norwich hit their very peak in terms of English league status. Not as a bit part player, but as a major influencer. He re-joined at the lowest ebb the club had known for fifty years - and has helped guide us back to former glories.

More awareness of Ian Culverhouse's impact on the history of Norwich City Football club is needed. He has been part of all that is good over the last twenty five years !
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Norwich City History Against......Coventry City

All Competitions

Norwich City 29 wins   Coventry City 47 wins   32 draws

Norwich goals 133   Coventry goals 161

Football League

Norwich City 25 wins   Coventry City 44 wins   29 draws

Norwich goals 119   Coventry goals 146

All league games at Norwich

Norwich City 21 wins   Coventry City 8 wins   20 draws

Norwich goals 81   Coventry goals 52

All league games at Coventry

Norwich City 4 wins   Coventry City 36 wins   9 draws

Norwich goals 38   Coventry goals 94

Cup Football

Norwich City 4 wins   Coventry City 3 wins   3 draws

Norwich goals 14   Coventry goals 15

The history between the clubs is a long one, Norwich have played only two sides more often than Coventry (QPR 115 times, and Crystal Palace 108). However the results have been sufficiently in the favour of Coventry for Norwich to consider them a bogey side. Formed in 1883 by workers at the Singers cycle factory, they changed their name to Coventry City in 1898. First clashes between the clubs took place in the Southern League (not included in the above figures).

Originally nick-named the Bantams (a name shared with Bradford City and retained until the early sixties), they joined the Second Division of the Football League in 1919, the first season after World War One. They stayed there until 1924-25 when they were relegated down to Division Three North. It was a short stay however, they switched to the South section for the next season and it was at this stage that they first met Norwich City in the league. The initial match was at the Nest on the 6th of November 1926. The Canaries won comfortably 3-0, with a brace from Percy Wigg and one from Jimmy Banks. The return at Highfield Road later in the season ended 1-0 to Coventry.

Honours were generally even in this period, though 1929-30 was to go down in history. Coventry won 3-1 at home in the November, but in the following March (the 15th to be precise), Norwich won by a staggering ten goals to two. It remains our biggest ever win in any competition. For the record, the goals came from Tommy Hunt (5), John Scott (2), Jacky Slicer, Ernest Porter and Doug Lochhead. Ironically, Coventry finished the campaign above Norwich in the final table - 6th, with the Canaries two places behind in 8th.

This run of games ended in 1933-34 when Norwich won the division. Coventry finished as runners up, but in those days only the champions went up. Both clubs had spent the entire year chasing top spot and the destiny of the trophy was finally settled when the clubs met at the Nest on the 21st of April 1934. The Canaries won 3-1 with goals from Jack Vinall, Ken Burditt and Sam Bell. It was the club's first major trophy.

Coventry finished 3rd the next year, before winning it in 1935-36. So, the next time the clubs met was in Division Two - a series of six games took place with Coventry winning four with two draws. The Canaries were relegated back to Division Three South just before World War Two, so there was a break in fixtures until Coventry joined them at that level in 1951-52, until the end of the decade when Norwich were promoted. Once again Coventry had the better of the head to heads - Norwich could manage only three wins out of 14 matches and even lost both the games in their promotion winning season.

Coventry made it up to Division Two in 1964-65 and won the title at the third attempt, thereby gaining top level status for the first time in their history. They were destined to stay there until relegation occurred in 2000-01. The first Division One clash between the clubs was on the 16th of December 1972, with the Sky Blues winning 3-1. A total of 40 top level meetings took place, including the Premier League (of which both clubs were founder members), but Norwich had the worst of the results, winning only 9 games to Coventry's 18, with 13 drawn.

The Sky Blues were involved in a controversial end to the 1984-85 season which saw Norwich City relegated in dubious circumstances. Having won the League Cup earlier in the season, the Canaries slumped down the Division One table and when they completed their final game, giving them 49 points, Coventry City still had three games to play and stood on 41 points. Given that Norwich had the better goal difference, it meant Coventry would need to win all three games, including their final game against treble chasing Everton. In the first of these, they won 1-0 at bottom placed Stoke City, who missed a late penalty, then gained a 1-0 home win over Luton. It was nearly two weeks after Norwich had finished their season before the Everton match took place. That Coventry won 4-1 was something of a surprise, though perhaps not, given that Everton chose to field an understrength side. It led to changes in FA rules regarding sides put out for games and all clubs having to complete their fixtures at the same time irrespective of congestion. The whole episode was hugely unfair on Norwich City Football Club - but the changes came too late to help them as they suffered relegation down to Division Two for a single season.

This century, all fixtures have been at the second level, interrupted only by Norwich's visits to the Premier League and League One for single seasons. The first game in this era was on the 15th of December 2001, which Coventry won 2-1 at home. Norwich appeared for the first time at the Ricoh Arena in 2005, drawing 2-2. Goals came from Calum Davenport (a former Coventry player) and Craig Fleming as Norwich fought  back from the misery of conceding two early goals. The occasion saw a minute silence before kick-off in memory of George Best, who had died the day before.

Coventry won three more recent meetings, the last being a 2-1 victory at Carrow Road on the 28th of February 2009, with Jonathan Grounds getting Norwich's goal. The defeat left the Canaries one from bottom in the table. In the 2010-11 Championship season, Norwich won 2-1 at the Ricoh in the December, through two goals from Grant Holt. The return at Carrow Road (the most recent meeting in the series) ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw on the final day of the season, with the Canaries already guaranteed their ticket back to the Premier League. Grant Holt scored again, with Dani Pacheco getting the other.

Remarkably, Coventry City have not finished in the top six of any division since the 1969-70 season.

Nine games have been played in the FA Cup, three of which have been replays. The first was in 1929, a 3-3 draw at the Nest (Coventry won the replay 2-0), and the last saw the Sky Blues victorious at Carrow Road, 3-1 in 1999. The sides also clashed in the 1986 Full Members Cup, Norwich winning 2-1.

Canaries with connections to both clubs include Dion Dublin, Robert Rosario, Terry Bly and Graham Paddon.

To see what part Coventry 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
7 May 2011   (Championship)  Norwich City 2 Coventry City 2

18 Dec 2010   (Championship)  Coventry City 1 Norwich City 2

28 Feb 2009   (Championship)  Norwich City 1 Coventry City 2

9 Aug 2008   (Championship)  Coventry City 2 Norwich City 0

8 Mar 2008   (Championship)  Coventry City 1 Norwich City 0

24 Nov 2007   (Championship)  Norwich City 2 Coventry City 0 

pictured : Robert Rosario, who appeared 161 times for Norwich City between 1984 and 1991, before he was transferred to Coventry City for £600,000.