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A to Z of Norwich City

Feature by Rick Lamb
Updated Monday, 15th August 2005

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A - Ron Ashman made a staggering 592 League appearances for the Canaries between 1947 and 1963, the most in the club’s history.

B - Bayern Munich were the hosts on the club’s most famous European night (of the six!). City’s complete lack of subsequent achievement has ensured more than a decade of "Oh yeah, Norwich. Jeremy Goss" following the midfielder’s spectacular flying volley to set up an improbable 2-1 victory.

C - Chase Out! Throughout the mid-nineties, Norwich’s traditional "On the Ball City!" song was almost ousted by chants demanding the resignation of Big Fat Robert Chase, who magically turned millions of pounds of transfer revenue into an almost crippling debt. And then there was....

D - Delia Smith. Possibly one of the least likely investors in a football club since Elton John, everybody’s favourite TV Chef and egg-boiling guru has taken her responsibilities seriously. Rumours abound that she has dipped into her personal wealth to sign the likes of Huckerby and Ashton, who many believe are the vital ingredients (sorry) to put Norwich back in the top flight.

E - Eadie, the thinking man’s (or, as it turned out, idiot’s) answer to England’s eternal left-side problem. Until he fell down a ditch jogging near his house and was flogged to Leicester. He could have been a contender.

F - Fleck. Like a painfully slow boomerang, the diminutive Scot landed back at Carrow Road in 1995, three years after Chelsea were duped into paying over 2 million for his services. The third highest goalscorer in Canaries history, his second spell coincided with the post-Europe decline and added a goal about every six games to his 66 in 166 before 1992.

G - Goalies tend to stick around when they get the number one jersey at Norwich. Kevin Keelan held the position for 17 years, handing the gloves over to Chris Woods, who made over 250 appearances before heading to Rangers. Heroic Scotsman Bryan Gunn then came up just short of 500 games and, after that fella who went to Suffolk, England’s finest took the reigns. That’s pretty much 5 keepers in 40 years, United fans.

H - Huckerby, the Premiership’s top dribbler is now the Championship’s top dribbler. Unfortunately this is married to a reluctance to release the ball and willingness to go down. Undeniably talented, Hucks is facing possibly his last chance to prove he could really be the English Christiano Ronaldo.

I - Iwan Roberts. Any striker lacking his front teeth can legitimately be called an ‘old-fashioned centre forward’. Big Iwan’s strength, aerial prowess and tireless running made him a huge fans favourite, as did his admission in his autobiography that he had deliberately nobbled dirty Australian get Kevin Muscat. Roy Keane, eat your heart out.

J - Jeremy Goss, the most famous Norwich player of recent years thanks to his televised UEFA Cup volleying exploits. The curly-haired Welsh midfielder, who spent 12 years at Carrow Road, made the most of his exposure, gaining the ultimate accolade of an appearance on A Question of Sport.

K - Kevin Keelan, the diminutive former Liverpool and England forward, and twice European Footballer of the Year, spent 17 years between the sticks at Norwich, making a record 673 appearances in all competitions. Hang on a minute...

L - League Cup, the only trophy won by Norwich City in their 102 year history. But they have won it twice, first in 1962 when they thumped the mighty Rochdale 4-0 over two legs, and again in 1985, when an Asa Hartford goal was enough to beat Sunderland. They have achieved considerably less success in the FA Cup, failing to reach a single final.

M - Mick Channon. Now better known as a Horse trainer, the former England striker was once more concerned with Canaries, spending three seasons in yellow in the early 80s.

N - Newman and Newsome. Both hefty central defenders, Rob "not the comedian turned author" Newman and Jon Newsome could scarcely have been more different. A lovable son of the west country, Rob is brought to mind when watching Gary Doherty, who is equally ill-at-ease in defence or attack, but not as fat. Newsome was only recently usurped as City’s record signing, a fee which he justified with a series of Bobby Moore-esque performances before Robert Chase turned him back into cash.

O - O’Neill. Big "Keet" looked like a reject from Boyzone but ran like excrement off a gardening implement. He occasionally took the ball with him as well. Moved onto Middlesborough as an Irish International, but has since disappeared from trace.

P - Martin Peters is one of a number of World Cup Winners who have topped off their achievements with a spell at Norwich City. Or the only one, who made it to Carrow Road, nearly a decade after his crowning glory, depending on whether or not you believe ‘statistics’.

Q - Justin Fashanu (you work it out) was a prolific scorer for his first club, famously netting a Goal of the Season effort against Liverpool in 1980. An immensely talented but tortured individual now sadly departed, he was never allowed to fulfil his early promise. Older brother of controversial Gladiators host and reality TV stooge John, who managed a single goal in a handful of appearances for City at the start of his career.

R - Ruel Fox was, until recently, the last opposing player to score a penalty at Old Trafford, more amazing for the fact that Norwich got a penalty anywhere than the fact United went more than a decade without conceding one at the Theatre of Dreams. A nippy winger in the Shaun Wright Phillips mould, Fox talked as he ran, namely as if somebody had speeded the tape up.

S - Sutton, the woeful centre-back turned superstar striker was to become the first £5 million player in English football when he was flogged to Blackburn after a prolific season in 1994. Reasonably expecting a quality replacement, Norwich fans waited expectantly until January 2005, when Dean Ashton arrived.

T - Tractor Boys. Despite being about 40 miles apart, Norwich and Ipswich are fierce local rivals. Since the Suffolk side’s successes of the early 80s under Bobby Robson, the sides have rarely been too far apart, meaning that the rivalry has been regularly updated, with Norwich holding the upper hand after their double two seasons ago. On several occassions during the nineties, Ipswich won courtesy of comical late own goals by Canaries, a derby tactic adopted to similar recent success by Aston Villa.

U - Unlikely title challenge. Preparations for the inaugural Premier League in 1992-93 were not exactly ideal for Norwich. They sold Robert Fleck to Chelsea, replacing him with Manchester United supersub Mark Robins, and appointed Phil Neal as manager only to turn to Mike Walker when Neal refused to up sticks from the North West. Of course, Norwich won at Highbury on the opening day and were eight points clear going into the festive season. Robins’ old club held their nerve to take the title, and have done ok since. City, who finished third with a negative goal difference (surely an achievement in itself), continue to dream of a repeat.

V - Dennis Van Wijk was Norwich’s answer to the success hated local rivals Ipswich had found when they ‘went Dutch’ and brought in Arnold Muhren and Franz Thijssen. Over four seasons he failed to match the FA and UEFA Cup winning success of his more illustrious compatriots. Pity.

W - Worthington, possibly the most unassuming manager in the Premiership last season and holding his own in the Championship in the face of some very far from fierce competition, has worked a minor miracle at Norwich. A shrewd operator, the Ulsterman was far from the fans’ favourite to succeed game show host Bryan Hamilton, but dragged a struggling team up the First Division table and eventually into the promised land, and sadly out again. Time will tell if he can achieve Messiah status by getting them back there again.

X - Is for draw, as in the pools. Norwich have drawn their first three matches of the season 1-1. While an X in the column on Final Score last season was something of an achievement, all concerned would like to see whatever it is that signifies a win in pools language.

Y - Yellow and Green, hence the Canaries, were the colours adopted by Norwich when they turned professional in 1905 and moved to The Nest, appropriately. The nickname is manna from heaven to put-upon headline writers, who put out a constant stream of high-flying or perch-falling quips.

Z - Zema Abbey, the latest in a long line of City forwards to have shown promise only to see their careers in Norfolk decimated by injuries. Zema, at least, has managed to resurrect his career in the Football League, unlike Alex Notman, formerly of Manchester United, who was forced into premature retirement.

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