Wakey, Wakey

Normally when a side gets a wake up call, they finish the game empty handed. So this morning, the day after our stunning 3-3 comeback draw with Blackburn Rovers, I am content that ours came gift wrapped with a point.

It was the kind of afternoon that had the feel of vulnerability all around it. Until of course, those last ten minutes or so, when the Blackburn manager seemingly felt the game was in the bag and made changes to his side. He committed the cardinal sin of thinking that Norwich were done for - that they would draw a line under the performance and move on to the next match. Clearly he is not a follower of the Football League Show. If he was, he would know that is not the way at Carrow Road under Paul Lambert.

The disappointment of 'only drawing at home to Blackburn' has already led to calls of changes to formation and personnel from fans. But if you step back a little from yesterday's game, and think about it with just a bit more analysis, that late point was still hugely valuable in the context of the season, and came from a performance that contained some great patches of play from City. What was missing was the control we enjoyed over Sunderland or Swansea. Blackburn were far more spirited, scored an exceptional first goal, and greedily took advantage of two bad pieces of defensive play by the Canaries. But it was nonetheless, a cracking match that provided another story for inclusion into the modern history of Norwich City. It was slightly reminiscent of the 4-4 draw with Middlesbrough in our last Premier League season - though significantly we have not had to wait until January this time around.

And that is the lesson that has to be learned. With a quarter of the campaign now gone, and City doing very nicely thank you, the period between now and the New Year will see more contests like the one witnessed yesterday. Teams are now in some kind of a pecking order - the table is starting to mean something. And when you play against those at the bottom end, expect them to fight for their lives. And punish you whenever your standards slip.

There was a slight air of indecision about Norwich yesterday. Perhaps the weight of being favourites for the match played on the minds of some. Certainly John Ruddy was nervy throughout, and whilst it would be unfair to say that spread throughout the team, it contributed to periods when we failed to assert authority. Elliott Bennett was lucky to stay on the pitch after a two footed lunge, and the incident seemed to drain his confidence, especially after he then spurned a great chance to open the scoring. I am not sure Bradley Johnson was fully fit for all of the match, and David Fox and Anthony Pilkington combined moments of great creativity with periods of anonymity.

No, not all was well in the Canary household yesterday, but a point still came our way. It was warning of things to come. We must never switch off to the reality of Premier League football. Nor forget our target of a seventeenth placed finish. That will still be a massive achievement.

I will no doubt, read much over the next 24 hours, about the match. How Blackburn were so desperately unlucky. How the second Norwich goal was a fluke. And the third came from a penalty that never was. I am less likely to see anything about how City suffered a blow to the ribs in stoppage time in the first half. That stunning strike from Hoilett left us hurting and could easily have wrecked our second half performance. Because of the events that followed it, Steve Morison's sensational equaliser might easily be overlooked. As might an under pressure Blackburn defender pushing the ball back to his keeper using a hand (a stonewall penalty if ever I saw one). And how a young and still inexperienced City side fought back magnificently in the closing minutes. No, the press reports will belong to Blackburn over the coming days. And quite rightly too. You have to say that on that performance they will climb up the table in the next few weeks.

For our part we need to put the afternoon down as a lesson learnt. Remember where we were at the start of the season. Come out at Villa with the same fighting attitude, and with our poise back in place.

Finally, what a magnificent penalty by Grant Holt. On a day that had not gone entirely to plan, it could so easily have been blazed over the bar. That it was a perfect spot kick sums the man up.

And indeed the team.

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The Nearly Canaries - Peter Parfitt

a record of men who trialled for Norwich City, were on the books but didn't play in the first team, or so nearly signed to become a Canary


I remember Peter Parfitt as a cricketer of course, rather than a footballer. My interest in the summer game flowered in the early seventies and I recall that in 1972, Parfitt was drafted back into the England side against Australia, and was duly out for a duck. I had no knowledge at the time that earlier in his sporting life, he had in fact played a soccer match for Norwich City Reserves, in 1954-55 as an amateur, scoring a goal too. Parfitt was born at Billingford, near Fakenham and such was his love and ability in most games, a life as a sports master beckoned. However, after a flourishing young career as a cricketer for Norfolk, his talents were spotted by Middlesex. A first class career followed - lasting from 1956 to 1972 - in which Peter Parfitt scored just under 27,000 runs and took 277 wickets. Included in that were 37 Tests for England and an average of 40.91, in an era when England were blessed with many a fine batsman..........Edrich, Cowdrey, Barrington, Graveney, Boycott, D'Oliveira et al. He was also a fine fielder, though he will be best remembered for his power and dash as a left handed batsman.

I should add that in his other three innings in 1972 he scored 46, 51 and 18 against an attack that included Dennis Lillee, so I was, in the end, proud of my Norfolk man. They were also at the end of a very successful career for Peter Parfitt.................a career that may not have happened had things turned out differently for him at Carrow Road.
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Just Thinking..........

One thing that is guaranteed to rankle me as a Canaries fan is any intimation of our club being ' little Norwich '. It always has done. I translate it as meaning we are actually inferior and just making a decent fist of things temporarily. But it is a difficult one. Because in comparison to the Manchester sides, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs, we are little. As is everyone else. But try as hard as I can, I can never interpret the tag as being in some way a compliment. In historical terms, whenever we are somewhere between mid Premier League and mid Championship, we are pretty much doing okay. We have largely been in that area since the early 70's. It is when we start turning over a few apple carts, as we have done recently, that this ' little ' things raises it's head again. I do think Paul Lambert has carefully used the thought to get the best from his squad however. An underdog mentality. But I also know my hated label will not have been uttered once in the dressing room or training ground. And in the grand scheme of things, we are slowly but surely, on and off the field, emerging as one of the 'bigger' clubs outside the top six. Certainly in terms of fanbase and entertainment value. How I would love all this ' little ' nonsense to go away therefore. But I know it won't somehow.
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First & Last - Norman Wharton

First game :  29th August 1931 versus Brighton away Division Three South 2-1 defeat

Last game :  2nd February 1935 versus Manchester United home Division Two 3-2 win




Signed from :  Sheffield United
Next club :  Doncaster Rovers
Played professionally :  until 1939
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Debutants 1913

Here is a list of all players who made their first team débuts for Norwich City Football Club in 1913 :


William Hall    1 March 1913 v West Ham  (Southern League)  (a) lost 2-1
Joe Lansdale    8 March 1913 v Brighton  (Southern League)  (h) lost 1-0
Frank Hill    4 September 1913 v Watford  (Southern League)  (h) won 3-1
James Kennedy    4 September 1913
George MacDonald    4 September 1913
Arthur Wolstenholme    4 September 1913
George Pompey Martin    13 September 1913 v Southend (Southern League) (a) drew 2-2
George Bell    27 September 1913 v Portsmouth  (Southern League)  (a) lost 1-0
Danny Wilson    27 September 1913 
Tommy Valentine    25 October 1913 v Swindon  (Southern League)  (a) lost 2-0
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Soccer USA - Jimmy Bone 1979-1980

Jimmy Bone may not have been a long serving Canary, but he earned near legendary status for the part he played in Norwich City's first ever top flight promotion back in 1971-72. Signed in the March from Partick Thistle, he provided additional pace and aggression in the box, and fans loved that he was always prepared to run with the ball and give defenders something to worry about.

The next season he remained first choice striker, and scored the Canaries first ever Division One goal, but in early 1973, with City heading to Wembley in the League Cup whilst also fighting a hard relegation battle, Jimmy was sold to Sheffield United with Trevor Hockey moving in the other direction. His stay at Bramall Lane was equally as short and in 1974 he returned to his native Scotland. He was still playing there in 1986, but during the intervening years had a few sojourns abroad, including a couple of loan spells with Toronto Blizzard in the North American Soccer League.

Based in Ontario, Canada, Blizzard were formed in 1979, when Global Network Television bought the Toronto Metros-Croatia club. They played in the National Conference Eastern Division and in the two seasons that Jimmy Bone represented them, they finished 3rd on both occasions. The feisty veteran appeared in fifty games, neatly split into twenty five matches in 1979 and the same again in 1980, and he scored three goals in the first campaign and four in the second. Home games were played at the 54,000 seater Exhibition Stadium, located on the shores of Lake Ontario. Blizzard found life hard in those early seasons but by 1983 they had established themselves sufficiently to reach the Soccer Bowl, though they lost 2-0 on the day to Tulsa Roughnecks.

By that time Jimmy was back in Scotland, now with Hearts, having also led the front line for Hong Kong Rangers in between. The original Toronto Blizzard club shut down in 1984 with the demise of the NASL but was re-formed in 1985 and went on to play in the National Soccer League, Canadian Soccer League and American Professional Soccer League until they finally folded in 1993.
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Canary Fact File

New Norwich City signing Gerry Howshall was unveiled at the annual supporters club dinner in October 1967, the first player known to have received such treatment

Dutch defender and ex Canary Jurgen Colin currently plays for Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta FC

City signed goalkeeper Peter Vasper from Guildford City in 1968 but needed to wait a week for his arrival - he had to work notice with his employers, the Bank of England

The Canaries won all of their first six home league matches in 2001-02 season, their best opening performance at Carrow Road since 1954-55

One of the goals scored by Robert Rosario in the 4-4 draw against Southampton in 1989 was so good it won ITV's Goal of the Season competition

When Ipswich Town won the Division Two title in 1968, their first telegram of congratulations came from..........Norwich City. It was traditional in that era for the Canaries board to send their best wishes to all promoted teams, as well as sympathy to those relegated

Quote Unquote

'' Can't believe your team, mate, by the way. You let your manager Bryan Gunn, your ex manager of course, sign eleven players in the summer and you sack him after one defeat. I'm really worried about Norwich. I think you could be in the Second Division within, what, ten months. So keep taking the tablets ''. 



Mark Lawrenson (ex Liverpool) predicting the immediate future of Norwich City Football Club to a Canaries fan on BBC Television in 2009. Last evening, Norwich drew 1-1 with Liverpool in the Premier League.
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Hundred Up For Holty ?

..............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

Anthony Pilkington's quick fire strike against Swansea last Saturday inevitably led to the question of fastest goal ever at Carrow Road. Though fast, it was some way off being the earliest scored by a Canary. In 1946, Ralph 'Ginger' Johnson found the back of the Leyton Orient net after just 10 seconds. And a goal by Keith O'Neill against Stoke City in 1997 is normally credited with the exact same time. It is difficult to know how accurate the measurement would have been on either occasion, especially the one in 1946, so both are generally regarded as the quickest in our history.

We go into the Liverpool match today on 11 points, equalling the figure Derby County managed in their entire 2007-08 Premier League season. That is one record nobody ever wants to beat or equal, and whatever happens at Anfield, I am confident that is one worry Norwich fans will not be facing this year.

Should Grant Holt be on the field of play at any time at Liverpool, he will notch up his 100th appearance as a Canary. He made his début on the 8th August 2009 in the 7-1 home defeat to Colchester United and has scored 54 Norwich City goals since. Another interesting fact about Grant - and directed at those who consider him to be a dirty player - is that he has been shown the yellow card just three times in his last 33 league outings. One in every eleven games would suggest he is not the most ill disciplined footballer in history.

If you have twenty minutes or so to spare and want a little encouragement before the game kicks off this evening, go to the excellent Canary In The Coalmine site, and take a look at this footage from April 1983 and Norwich City beating champions Liverpool 2-0 in their own back yard.
http://citcm.blogspot.com/2011/09/1983-visit-to-new-champions-at-anfield.html


Update :  Grant Holt came on as a substitute and duly slotted goal number 55 in his 100th appearance, earning the Canaries a point with a 1-1 draw. If any side take Derby's record this season, it won't be Norwich who now have 12 points.
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Just Thinking..........

The big news this week has been the nonsense story that some football club owners would like to see relegation from the Premier League scrapped. I am not saying it has not been discussed, nor that the idea would not be cherished in some quarters. But for now the notion should be seen for what it is. Posturing. You see, football is in between a rock and a hard place. FIFA, the FA, the Premier League, the 'big six' English clubs, the next twenty English clubs, the remainder of the Football League. None of them know what to do for the best. Nor the Government who held an inquiry into the state of the game here, and just confirmed what they already knew. Football overall is in such a commercial mess, wrongs cannot be righted without casualties. The only question is where will most blood be spilled - it is always natural to believe that the smaller weaker clubs will come out of any changes in an even worse position. They may well do, but it is at the higher end of the scale that you will find the most head scratching. There is little doubt that the big six are very concerned by the threat from FIFA on debt ratio. And possible Government intervention and legislation. Expect talk of a breakaway European Super League to follow soon. More posturing, and another shot across the bow for all the clubs who are struggling just to survive. It is just the start of a phoney war that will run for some time. Because the rich need to get even richer. And they will, mark my words, by hook or by crook - leaving the rest of football to share what crumbs are left.
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Short And Sweet - Graham Stuart

A quick look at players who had short stays at Carrow Road, before or after a more illustrious career elsewhere..................

Though greatly buoyed by a stirring recovery in a 4-4 draw with Middlesbrough at Carrow Road, Norwich entered the last week of January 2005 with their Premier League status still under serious threat. And as the transfer window was about to close, manager Nigel Worthington dipped into the market, adding veteran midfielder Graham Stuart to his squad. Though clearly entering the final stages of a long career, Stuart carried the reputation of being a one hundred percent player, renowned for his commitment to all the teams he played for. He had not featured at Charlton since late October and with the Addicks performing well at the higher end of the Premier League table, they granted him a free transfer to move to City.

His contract at Carrow Road was only ever likely to be short term, but Worthington thought he could possibly provide an old head to spark a vital change in fortunes for the Canaries. He made his début on the 2nd of February 2005 at Goodison Park against his old club Everton, coming off the bench. City though slumped to yet another away defeat, 1-0, and the optimism generated by the performance of the previous week had largely dissolved. Next up were West Bromwich Albion at home and this game provided Graham Stuart with his first Norwich City start. In a topsy turvy match against another relegation threatened club, he provided the centre, from a corner, that led to Craig Fleming equalising just before half time. The Canaries went on to win 3-2.

Worthington gave Stuart a run in the team over the next five matches but all were lost, though it should be said that the opposition did include Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City. His last contribution to the Canary cause came on the 9th of April 2005, ironically in Norwich's performance of the season, a 2-0 home win over Manchester United. Stuart though was substituted at half time, replaced by another loanee, David Bentley, returning after a three month lay off with a knee injury. He did not feature again in a yellow shirt.

At the end of the season, with Norwich suffering relegation on the final day of the campaign, the club decided not to offer Stuart a further contract. His eight appearances for City were the last he played in professional football, and he retired at the age of 34.

A graduate of the FA School of Excellence, Graham Stuart started his career in his native London with Chelsea in the late eighties/early nineties. It was at Everton however that he made his reputation. A willing and able character with enough skill to produce a cracking goal as well, he became a very respected player on the blue part of Merseyside. In 1994 he secured Everton's place in the Premier League on the last day of the season when he netted a late winning goal against Wimbledon as the Toffees (managed at the time by Mike Walker) came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2. In 1995 it was Stuart's shot that rebounded off the bar for Paul Rideout to score the only goal in the FA Cup final, as Everton beat Manchester United 1-0.

He spent a couple of seasons at Sheffield United in the late nineties before moving to the Valley for a million pounds in 1999. He was outstanding for Charlton in his time there, playing in over 150 games. Since retirement he has worked for Sky Sports and followed one of his other sporting passions, speedway.
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Norwich City Signings By Manager - Peter Grant

an attempt to record all Norwich City signings by the manager who brought them to the club

Jamie Ashdown (loan)
Julien Brellier, Chris Brown
Luke Chadwick (loan to permanent), Jamie Cureton
Mark Fotheringham
Simon Lappin
David Marshall (loan to permanent), Ian Murray
Jon Otsemobor
Darel Russell
Jimmy Smith (loan), David Strihavka  
Tony Warner (loan)


Total Players :  14


Peter Grant was in charge at Norwich City from 16th October 2006 to 9th October 2007


Youth players making the natural progression from the academy are not included. Future articles will take us back through history until all players and managers have been covered. To compare Peter Grant's history with that of Glenn Roeder, Bryan Gunn and Paul Lambert, click on the 'Signings By Manager' label below.
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Paul McVeigh Goal Collection

I have been aware of this super video clip for some time now and think it is well overdue for it to be added to the history of Norwich City Football Club. It showcases the goals of Paul McVeigh and is very well put together. You do not need any explanation as to why Paul was a very popular Canary. He is one of a select band of Norwich players to return to the club for a second spell and certainly during his first stay, he delivered some magnificent moments with his clever skills and trickery. Certainly there have been few City players over the years who could improvise in and around the box quite as well as McVeigh - the result was some highly memorable goals and near misses.

Between 2000 and 2007 he netted 39 times for City in all competitions. He was the kind of player fans love to have in their side. His quick wit made him lethal, especially given the speed he had to get forward into the six yard box. We are truly blessed in this modern age to have Paul McVeigh's talents captured for posterity in this way.

If only I had access to a similar clip for Hugh Curran, Terry Allcock or Ted McDougall in Canary colours. If only.....................




My thanks to You Tube and the contributor who posted it

FA Cup - Norwich City Record 1940-1949

Due to World War Two, no official FA Cup matches were played before 1946

1946 - Transitional Season
5 Jan 1946  3rd Round 1st Leg (h)  Brighton   lost 2-1
9 Jan 1947  3rd Round 2nd Leg (a)  Brighton   lost 4-1

1946-47

30 Nov 1946  1st Round (h)  Brighton   won 7-2

14 Dec 1946  2nd Round (h)  QPR   drew 4-4

18 Dec 1946  Replay (a)  QPR   lost 2-0

1947-48

29 Nov 1947  1st Round (h)  Merthyr Town   won 3-0

13 Dec 1947  2nd Round (h)  Walsall   drew 2-2

20 Dec 1947  Replay  (a)  Walsall   lost 3-2

1948-49

27 Nov 1948  1st Round (h)  Wellington Town   won 1-0

11 Dec 1948  2nd Round (h)  Torquay United   lost 3-1

1949-50

26 Nov 1949  1st Round (a)  Gloucester City   won 3-2

10 Dec 1949  2nd Round (a)  Hartlepools United   drew 1-1

15 Dec 1949  Replay (h)  Hartlepools United   won 5-1

7 Jan 1950  3rd Round (a)  Portsmouth   drew 1-1

12 Jan 1950  Replay (h)  Portsmouth   lost 2-0

Stars Of The Past - Stan Ramsay

Stanley Hunter 'Stan' Ramsay was born on the 10th of August 1904 in Ryton-upon-Tyne and the legacy he left to Norwich City was to captain the club to their very first trophy in the professional era. He operated as either a left back or left half and was a no nonsense type whose style of play left opponents in no doubt as to who was boss.

As a youngster, Stan played for his local team, Ryton FC and at the age of nineteen signed for Sunderland. In those days, the Black Cats were a top three side in English football and the raw Ramsay struggled to hold down a first team place. He stayed at Roker Park until February 1928, playing 23 times and scoring a highly credible fourteen times. His chance of regular football came with a move to struggling Second Division club Blackpool and his purchase was seen as vital to lifting the fortunes of the Seasiders. In his first full season there they won the division, the only time in history Blackpool have won an English league title.

Though they struggled in the top flight, Stan helped them survive for a couple of seasons, playing 105 league games in total for Blackpool. Norwich City manager Jim Kerr identified him as a player to do a similar job for his side and Ramsay arrived at the Nest on the 1st of July 1932. The Canaries were just emerging from a slump. In 1931-32 they finished 10th in Division Three South having been rock bottom at the end of the previous campaign. The now experienced Stan went straight into the first team and debuted on the 27th of August 1932. But it turned out to be a traumatic afternoon for him at City's daunting home ground. In the very first minute of the match against Watford he put through his own net as City crashed to a 2-1 opening day defeat. Though they won at Gillingham the following week, Norwich lost their second home match as well, this time to Cardiff City, though Ramsay did manage to get on the scoresheet at the right end this time in the 4-2 defeat.

Slowly but surely however, he did start to make his mark on the team. At full back he was a stopper - a hard tackler who was guaranteed to leave his mark on wingers. In midfield he showed more creativity and after the stuttering opening to that 1932-33 season, Norwich lost only two more matches up until the end of March. Any ideas of promotion were stifled by the death of Jim Kerr in the February and three defeats in April left City trailing in third place behind Brentford and Exeter City.

Ramsay though was emerging as a leader of men and when captain Tom Williamson had his career finished with an injury sustained in the first match of the 33-34 campaign, manager Tom Parker promoted Stan to captain. It turned out to be a marvellous season for City, their best by some distance since joining the Football League in 1920, and it ended with the lifting of the Division Three South trophy. Ramsay played in 38 of the forty two games, instilling commitment and toughness into his players. Norwich finished seven points clear of Coventry City and were elevated to the second tier of English football for the very first time.

Though the Canaries made a creditable start to life at this higher level, and indeed went on to comfortably achieve mid table security, the ageing Stan Ramsay played in only the first nine games of the campaign, losing his full back place when Sam Bowen was signed from Aston Villa and the captaincy to Tom Halliday. In the summer of 1935, and amongst the upheaval of the move from the Nest to Carrow Road, he left the club to become player-manager of Shrewsbury Town, who were in those days a Birmingham League side. A year later he was back in Norfolk playing for Dereham Town.

Stan Ramsay's final record as a Canary was 83 games and just that single goal. He passed away on the 19th of July 1989 in Chipping Sodbury.

Make no mistake, he was a key figure in the history of Norwich City Football Club, playing a major role in the first success the club enjoyed, and he was duly elected to the Hall of Fame in 2002.
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Just Thinking..........

Dave Stringer is 67 years old today. I am not very good when it comes to deciding 'my favourite player ever' or 'best NCFC XI'. Which is not clever I suppose, me being a blogger and all that. I have too many favourites, too many players I have respected. But if I think for a moment about servants to the club, the men who have given the most over the longest period of time, I can't really see beyond Dave Stringer. As a player he was probably the best organised centre half I ever saw in a yellow shirt of Norwich. As a manager he signed some great players - and nurtured some great youth players as well. He led City from the dug-out during our most sustained period at the top. Today, on his birthday, I reflect that they don't make professional footballers like our man from Great Yarmouth any more.
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Clean Sheets And Avoiding A Hiding

..............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


Many news sites carry statistical information in the run up to games but rarely follow it up with facts. So here is a repeat of things you may have read elsewhere in the last day or two, with a little more meat on the bone :

The last ten Norwich v Swansea encounters at Carrow Road in all competitions have ended in nine wins for the Canaries and just one loss. The defeat came as recently as 2008 (3-2) in the Championship and you have to go back to 1960 and a 0-0 draw in the old Second Division to find the previous occasion the Swans took anything home with them. They have only won two other matches at Carrow Road - 1948 (2-1) and 1936 (1-0), but did win at the Nest in 1923 (4-1). The middle of those games was again in the Second Division and the other two in the Third Division South.

Norwich have lost just one of their last 15 league games at Carrow Road (W9 D5 L1). That defeat was of course to West Bromwich Albion and you have to go back to the 11th of December 2010 for the previous home loss, 2-0 to Portsmouth.

Only one clean sheet has been kept by Norwich in the last 13 league games at Carrow Road. That was on the 2nd of April 2011 in the 6-0 win over Scunthorpe. That game was also the last time that the Canaries kicked off at 3 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon in a home league match. The previous home clean sheet was on New Years Day 2011 when QPR were beaten 1-0.

The ability to keep a clean sheet is of course important, most especially in a division where goals at the other end are hard to come by. But it is also vital not to get a hammering too often. Whilst managers would like to have us believe a line is drawn under every match and that players move on psychologically from one week to another, there is nothing more damaging to morale and confidence than a good old hiding. For the record, since Norwich let in seven against Colchester United in the first game of the 2009-10 season, it has been 98 matches since an opposition side has scored more than three against us in a league fixture.

Update :  Norwich won 3-1 so still no clean sheet, but more importantly the Swans will have to wait until next season at least to secure a league victory at Carrow Road
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Debutants 1912

Here is a list of all players who made their first team débuts for Norwich City Football Club in 1912 :


Walter Turner    16 March 1912 v Plymouth Argyle  (Southern League)  (h) drew 1-1
Bill Bauchop    2 September 1912 v Stoke  (Southern League)  (a)  won 1-0
William Hughes    2 September 1912 
Arthur Woodland    2 September 1912
Jack Houghton    28 September 1912 v Bristol Rovers  (Southern League)  (h) drew 1-1
Aaron Travis    12 October 1912 v Portsmouth  (Southern League)  (h) drew 0-0
Tom Beevers    16 November 1912 v Watford  (Southern League)  (a) lost 2-0
Alf Osborne    21 December 1912 v Reading  (Southern League)  (h) won 3-1
Percy Sutcliffe    21 December 1912
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First Norwich Match In The Top Flight

Norwich City's first ever match in the top flight of English football was played at Carrow Road on the 12th of August 1972 in Division One against Everton. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with Jimmy Bone scoring for the Canaries. It was also the first occasion in history that Norwich had played the Toffees in a competitive match, though the Merseyside giants had appeared in a Norfolk & Norwich Hospital Cup game at the Nest way back in 1907. In fact, as far as competitive soccer was concerned, the Canaries were not the first Norfolk opponents Everton had played - in 1962 King's Lynn went to Goodison Park in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, and despite a 4-0 final scoreline, gave their more illustrious hosts a run for their money.
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Canary Lists - Norwich City Promotion Partners

a list for everything NCFC...........

Norwich City have shared promotions with fourteen different sides in history, and strangely never with the same club twice. In 1934 the Canaries went up with Nobody FC - in those days only the divisional champions made their way to a higher level.

Aston Villa  1975

Birmingham City  1972

Charlton Athletic  1986

Crystal Palace  2004

Leeds United  2010
Luton Town  1982

Manchester United  1975

Millwall  2010

QPR  2011

Southampton  1960

Swansea  2011

Watford  1982

West Brom  2004

Wimbledon  1986

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Stars Of The Past - Louie Donowa

Brian 'Louie' Donowa was born on the 24th of September 1964 in Ipswich, Suffolk. He joined Norwich City in 1980, signed professional forms in 1982 and was a member of the FA Youth Cup winning side of 1983. And soon after, he embarked on a short but notable Canary career which culminated in a dream Wembley win in the 1985 League Cup Final.

A fast and direct left winger/midfielder, Louie had enough power to burn to leave many a good full back standing. He was brash and unpredictable at times, as should be expected in one so young, but got it right often enough to cause panic in opposition defences. He made his début for Norwich on the 24th of November 1982 in a League Cup 3rd Round replay at Carrow Road against Sunderland, coming on as a substitute for Keith Bertschin in a 3-1 win. Louie appeared just one more time that campaign, again as a substitute, in the league defeat at home to Nottingham Forest just before Christmas.

But the following season, 1983-84, manager Ken Brown played him in thirty two games. His first Canaries goal came in the 3-3 draw with Manchester United on the 1st of October 1983, the equaliser after City fantastically came back from 3-0 down with only twenty minutes to play. And he netted again in the next two matches, 3-1 wins over Watford and Leicester City. Very quickly he was a favourite with the fans who loved the fact that he could produce spectacular moments from nowhere. He often just pinned his ears back and ran, but he also had the great talent of being able to cut back inside with defenders left wrong footed. His style was ideal for the way Norwich played at the time, and the next season, with Dale Gordon operating on the other flank, he helped produce some fine goals, some for himself (including a 40 yard screamer past England keeper Peter Shilton) and many more for the experienced strike pairing of John Deehan and Mike Channon.

He made forty four appearances in that 1984-85 season, scoring 11 goals in total, including three in the League Cup (two against Preston and one against Notts County). In 1985 he made three appearances for the England U21 side. The pinnacle of his Norwich career, and probably his entire footballing life, came in the League Cup Final against Sunderland which City won 1-0.

Norwich were however relegated at the end of the season and Donowa made only two substitute appearances in the early part of the 1985-86 Division Two campaign, both away defeats, at Millwall and Portsmouth. As part of the re-building exercise, manager Ken Brown opted for the more thoughtful and balanced approach of David Williams on the wide left, and after a two month loan spell at Stoke City, Donowa was then loaned to Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna, before eventually joining them permanently in February 1986 for £50,000.

He stayed in Spain until 1989, playing 85 league games for the Branquiazuis in the Second Division and netting 20 times. He then had a brief spell with Dutch side Willem II before returning to England with his home town club, Ipswich. His time there was short, as it was with Bristol City in the 1990-91 season, but he then enjoyed a successful and popular life with Birmingham City in the second and third tiers of English football, winning the Second Division title in 1994-95 and the Football League Trophy in 1995.

The second half of the nineties saw Louie lead a nomadic existence, more short spells followed with Peterborough United, Walsall, Ayr United, FC Inter Turku in Finland, Boston United and Tamworth, before retiring in 2000.

His final tally in the yellow shirt of Norwich City was 80 appearances in all competitions, and 15 goals. He will always be fondly remembered by those who loved the Ken Brown era, and the fast attacking style City played in those days. Louie Donowa more than played his part in a very good young team, and it was made all the better by the fact we stole him from under the noses of our arch rivals.
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First & Last - Age Hareide

First game : 6th November 1982 versus Notts County home Division One 2-1 defeat

Last game :  28th April 1984 versus Everton home Division One 1-1 draw





Signed from :  Manchester City
Next club :  Molde
Played professionally :  until 1987
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Norwich City Signings By Manager - Glenn Roeder

an attempt to record all Norwich City signings by the manager who brought them to the club

Matthew Bates (loan), David Bell, Ryan Bertrand (loan)  

Mo Camara (loan), Sammy Clingan, Carl Cort  

Ched Evans (loan) 

Kieran Gibbs (loan), Jonathan Grounds (two loan spells)

James Henry (loan), Wes Hoolahan

John Kennedy (loan), Omar Koroma (loan)

Lita Leroy (loan), Arturo Lupoli (loan)

Elliott Omozusi (loan)  

Matty Pattison (loan to permanent), Alex Pearce (loan)

Maceo Rigters (loan)

Antoine Sibierski (loan), Dejan Stefanovic

Martin Taylor (loan)

Juan Velasco 

Total Players :  23

Glenn Roeder was in charge at Norwich City from 30th October 2007 to 14th January 2009  

* please note that although John Hartson played two of his four Norwich City loan games under Glenn Roeder, he was in fact signed by caretaker boss Jim Duffy

Youth players making the natural progression from the academy are not included. Future articles will take us back through history until all players and managers have been covered. To compare Glenn Roeder's history with that of Bryan Gunn and Paul Lambert, click on the 'Signings By Manager' label below.

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Norwich City Fan - Martin Bell

Martin Bell - former broadcaster and member of parliament, foreign affairs correspondent and war reporter with the BBC, independent MP for Tatton, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, ambassador for UNICEF, confirmed fan of Norwich City Football Club

The Unknown Citizen

This image is well known to those who follow the history of Norwich City Football Club. Whilst not instantly recognisable with anything we see regarding the club today, many people know it to be a picture of a 'Citizens' player, that is to say Norwich City before they had the nickname 'Canaries'. From the time the club were formed in 1902, and until 1908, the team had worn blue and white halved shirts. The image above is from a cigarette card produced in 1907. It was from a series called Football Colours and could be found in a packet of WD & HO Wills Scissors cigarettes. They were made in India and boasted that they were 'Special Army Quality'.

I use the picture as my avatar on Twitter and for that reason it always appears in the sidebar of this blog.

I have been asked which Citizen it is. That is a simple question to answer. He is fictitious.

All fifty cards in the series had faces drawn by artists and they were based on no particular player.
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Football History Links No4

Sing Up The River End! is well established with NCFC facts, figures, and trivia, and now we also bring you more general football history information from all eras. In an occasional series we will select the best links, news stories, sites and videos available on the net for those readers whose interest in the past times of football goes, occasionally, beyond the yellow and green

Here is a video clip from 1912, and I include it as a good example of how football grounds looked nearly one hundred years ago - the terraces packed, allowing only minimal movement even when a goal was scored. This particular match was the FA Cup Final replay and was staged at Bramall Lane, Sheffield. The ground had been used ten years earlier to stage an England v Australia Test match and was chosen here for the re-match of Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion, who had drawn 0-0 four days earlier at Crystal Palace. The match was settled just two minutes from the end of extra time when Harry Tuffnell broke from the half way line, beating the West Brom defender and captain Jesse Pennington before scoring to win the cup for Barnsley, 1-0. It was always thought that had Pennington stuck out a foot to trip the attacker, the match would have been saved. However, Pennington always maintained that he would never have done such a thing - being the gentleman that he was. The following year, Pennington was approached by the notorious criminal Pascoe Bioletti and offered £5 to help fix a league match against Everton. He played along with the idea having reported the matter to the police, and after a 0-0 draw went to collect his money from Bioletti, who was promptly arrested and given a five month prison sentence.

Note also the pitch conditions - the game was played in hot and sunny weather and was hardly conducive to a free flowing passing game! And the players seemed to do a lot of walking rather than running.

There is a small Canary connection with the match too. George Travers was the Barnsley inside forward and after World War One and late in his career, he signed for Norwich and scored the only goal in the game when City recorded their first ever Football League win, over Reading in 1920.

  

This link will take you to a brilliant site showcasing the work of Stuart Clarke. It is called The Homes Of Football and is a must for all fans who believe that the atmosphere and feeling of a football ground is every bit as special as the play on the pitch. There are some beautiful photographs to be seen here. Many encapsulate the joy, excitement and tribalism of the terraces, others the sadness of a dream factory that is allowed to grow old and eventually perish.

Allow yourself plenty of time when you visit this site because there is so much to see. And go back regularly - you won't take it all in first time around. Click on 'browse by category' to get your subject choices.

http://www.homesoffootball.co.uk/

It is believed that the football chant 'Who Ate All The Pies' has origins dating all the way back to 1894. At that time, Sheffield United had a goalkeeper named William 'Fatty' Foulke, who reputedly weighed in at 24 stone during his career. He was also 6ft 4inches tall and alledgedly once broke a crossbar whilst swinging from it. He was though no one-off side show, but in fact a keeper of high repute - during his time with Sheffield United he won two FA Cups and the English League championship playing over 300 games for them, and in 1897 he made one appearance for England. Known for his short temper - which led to him physically lifting players up and throwing them back down again if he was upset - he later played for Chelsea. Whilst at Stamford Bridge, the club would place two small boys either side of the goalposts to make him look even bigger to opposition forwards. They would retrieve the ball when it went out of play and were thought to be the first example of ball boys at football matches. Foulke finished his career at Bradford City and died in 1916 at the age of 42.





pictured : big man 'Fatty' Foulke, who also played four games of first class cricket for Derbyshire

Players By Début Now Complete

If you click on the NCFC Players tab on the top of the blog, you will see what I believe to be a full list of every man to play a senior competitive game for Norwich City Football Club. I have been working on this project for most of 2011 - not every minute of every day of course, but certainly whenever I have had a spare moment. Research, checking, and then adding to the blog has taken in excess of 100 hours in total, and I am fairly confident that this information exists nowhere else.

From my efforts, I believe Daniel Ayala to have been the 1000th Norwich City player, when he came on as a substitute in the match against Stoke City on the 21st of August 2011. I do however, need to be careful in making such a claim. Though I have been meticulous in my efforts, should I have missed a player, the listing order will have to be changed. Hopefully I have been accurate, though I must say it has been something of a minefield to catch everyone, most especially in the age of loan players, a market used far too much by City a few years ago.

If readers spot any errors, please let me know. For the amount of time taken I would like to hope it is correct.

For my own part, I already find the list useful when getting things in historical order in my own mind. I am amazed how many player careers I thought overlapped only to discover my memory has been playing tricks on me and that they missed each other by three or four years !!

Hopefully readers will find it an essential resource when desperately trying to recall the name of a player. Unless of course he isn't there............in which case you can tell me and I will add him !
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Highest Attendances

Here are the biggest crowds that Norwich City have played in front of during their history :


100,000  24th Mar 1985    (Wembley) Sunderland League Cup Final
 
100,000  1st Mar 1975    (Wembley) Aston Villa League Cup Final

100,000  3rd Mar 1973    (Wembley) Tottenham Hotspur League Cup Final

75,514  1st Oct 2011    (Old Trafford) Man Utd Premier League

71,597  12th May 2002    (Cardiff) Birmingham City Div 1 Play-off

67,812  21st Aug 2004    (Old Trafford) Man Utd Premier League

67,633  14th Feb 1959    (White Hart Lane) Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup 5th Rnd

65,125  10th Feb 1951    (Roker Park) Sunderland FA Cup 5th Rnd

63,500  14th Mar 1959    (White Hart Lane) Luton Town FA Cup Semi Final

63,405  18th Feb 1967    (Old Trafford) Man Utd FA Cup 4th Rnd

57,987  17th Feb 1968    (Stamford Bridge) Chelsea FA Cup 4th Rnd

57,000  28th Feb 1959    (Bramall Lane) Sheffield United FA Cup 6th Rnd

56,202  15th Mar 1975    (Old Trafford) Man Utd Division 1

55,767  30th Jan 1954    (Highbury) Arsenal FA Cup 4th Rnd

54,356  23rd Oct 1976    (Old Trafford) Man Utd Division 1

51,574  25th Aug 2004    (St James' Park) Newcastle Premier League

50,587  1st Nov 1975    (Old Trafford) Man Utd Division 1
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Oh No, They've Scored A Goal......Charlie Cooke

.....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 :  Charlie Cooke
on :  17th February 1968
in :  FA Cup 4th Round
at :  Stamford Bridge
for :  Chelsea
result :  1-0 defeat

A plucky Canaries display against a full strength Chelsea side counted for nothing as Charlie Cooke hit home a 20th minute winner off the post following a cross from Peter Osgood. Late pressure nearly took the game to a replay, but a Hugh Curran 'goal' was ruled offside because he had punched the ball into the net. This Chelsea team included many that would go on to be part of the flamboyant Cup winning eleven that lifted the FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in the early seventies. Cooke was a great winger, fast, direct, and with menace that frightened any full back. He played 299 league games in two spells for Chelsea, separated by time at Crystal Palace. He had started his career at Aberdeen, then Dundee, and surprisingly only represented Scotland on sixteen occasions. He finished his days playing in the US and stayed on as a coach.
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Debutants 1911

Here is a list of all players who made their first team débuts for Norwich City Football Club in 1911 :


Albert Kirkman    7 January 1911 v Millwall Athletic  (Southern League)  (a) lost 1-0
Fred Mosley    18 February 1911 v Leyton  (Southern League)  (h) drew 0-0
George Donnelly (aka George Fell)   17 April 1911 v New Brompton  (Southern League)  (h) won 2-1
Arthur Stringfellow    17 April 1911
Henry Holt    18 April 1911 v Brentford  (Southern League)  (h) won 1-0
William Mellor    29 April 1911 v Coventry City  (Southern League)  (a) lost 3-1
Dick Birchall    2 September 1911 v Bristol Rovers  (Southern League)  (h) drew 0-0
Cecil Potter    2 September 1911
Harry Woods    2 September 1911
George Pilch    14 October 1911 v Leyton  (Southern League)  (h) won 2-0
James Peacock    4 November 1911 v Southampton  (Southern League)  (h) drew 0-0
James Henry Pearson    25 November 1911 v Watford  (Southern League)  (a) lost 3-1
John Potts    25 November 1911
Charles Curtin    30 December 1911 v Bristol Rovers  (Southern League)  (a) lost 4-1 
James Valiant    30 December 1911
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Twice As Good As Last Time

..............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

Norwich City have conceded a goal in each of their last 17 Premier League away games, which is the longest run of any team currently in the division. Our last clean sheet in the competition was on the 16th of October 2004 in a goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.

Wins over Bolton and then Sunderland in consecutive matches may give Canary fans hope of a long winning streak. But not only will they need to achieve an unlikely result at Old Trafford in order to maintain that record, they will also have to match something they have not done since 1993. It was then that they last strung three Premier League wins together - beating Everton 5-1 away on the 25th of September, Coventry City 1-0 at home on the 2nd of October, and Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge two weeks later.

After six matches, we have doubled our tally of points compared with our last Premier League season in 2004-05, when we found ourselves in 18th position on four points at the same stage.

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