| Norwich City
FC was formed in 1902 and first played at Newmarket
Road until 1908 when the club moved to a converted
disused chalk pit in Rosary Road, which was known to fans
as "The Nest".
By the 1930s, the club had such a loyal following of supporters
that the Rosary Road ground was no longer big enough to
meet demand and in 1935 Norwich City, or the Canaries as they are affectionately known, moved to its current
home in Carrow Road [map].
Over the years, fans have had plenty to cheer about, including
of the club's 1958/59 FA Cup run, when the
then third division side reached the semi-finals after
beating off top flight teams namely Manchester United
and Tottenham Hotspur.
In 1972, led by Ron Saunders, the Canaries reached
the first division for the first time ever, and in
1985 the club won the League Cup at Wembley, beating
Sunderland 1–0.
During the FA Premier League’s inaugural 1992/93
season, Norwich led the division for most of the season before a few poor games in the last part of the season
saw them finish third behind champions Manchester United
and Aston Villa.
This achievement opened the door to European football
for the first time, and in the following season Norwich
played in the UEFA Cup, beating Vitesse Arnhem of
the Netherlands, and Bayer Munich of Germany, before losing
to Itallian team Inter Milan.
The 1994/95 season was not pretty for the Canaries as
they were relegated to Division One, where they stayed
until the summer of 2004.
By mid-1996, Norwich City FC was at the centre of a
financial crisis, which resulted in the sale of many
top-name players, the resignation of manager Martin O’Neill
and a huge rift between fans and the board of directors.
Luckily TV chef Delia Smith and her husband Michael
Wynn Jones came to the rescue and the couple remain majority
shareholders today.
After beginning the slow process of rebuilding the team,
the club’s luck seemed to be working when it reached
the play-off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff
in 2002/3. However, Norwich narrowly missed promotion
after losing to Birmingham City on penalties.
Fortunately, the Canaries’ luck changed the following
season when they won the Division One championship by eight points over second placed West Bromwich Albion.
The club now plays in the FA Premiership. The club only played in the Premiership for one season and were relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2004/05 season.
|
