Norwich City F.C.
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Norwich City Football Club are a
football team based in
Norwich in England. They are known as the "Canaries" due to their yellow strip. From
1995 until
2004 the club played in the
First Division of
the Football League, but after winning the league championship under Nigel Worthington in
2003/04, they will be in the
FA Premier League for the
2004/05 season.
The traditional club colours are yellow shirts and green shorts; the club badge contains a
canary resting on a football, reflecting the heritage of the "Norwich Canary".
History
The club was formed in 1902 and first played at Newmarket Road. In 1908, the club moved to a new home, in a converted disused chalk pit in Rosary Road which became known as "The Nest".
By the 1930s, the ground capacity was proving insufficient for the growing crowds and in 1935 the club moved to its current home in Carrow Road.
One of the club's greatest achievements was its run to the semi-final of the 1958–59 F.A. Cup as a Third division side, defeating First Division sides Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur on the way.
In 1972, under manager Ron Saunders, Norwich City reached the First Division, for the first time in its history. The club won the Milk Cup at Wembley Stadium in 1985 defeating Sunderland 1–0 after a semi-final triumph over its near neighbours and rivals, Ipswich Town.
In 1992–93, the inaugural season of the English Premier League, Norwich City lead the league for most of the season, before faltering in the final weeks to finish third behind the champions, Manchester United, and Aston Villa F.C.. The following season Norwich played in the UEFA Cup, their first time in European competition, defeating Vitesse Arnhem of the Netherlands, and Bayern Munich of Germany, before going down to Inter Milan, 2–0, over two legs.
In 1995, Norwich City were relegated to Division 1 where they remained until 2004.
By the summer of 1996, Norwich City were suffering a financial crisis resulting in the sale of many players, the resignation of popular manager Martin O'Neill and a huge rift in the rapport between fans and the board of directors. The club was rescued by celebrity TV chef Delia Smith and her husband, Michael Wynn Jones, who are now the majority shareholders. A slow process of rebuilding the club's team and finances began, culminating, in 2002, with them narrowly missing promotion back to the Premier League. In the play-off final, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Birmingham City beat Norwich on penalties, after the teams drew 1–1 after extra time.
However the following year the club secured automatic promotion to the Premier League by winning the Division 1 title by 8 points over second placed West Brom.
