1992–93 Norwich City F.C. season

During the 1992–93 English football season, Norwich City F.C. competed in the inaugural season of the Premier League. Norwich City led the league for much of the season, having been among the pre-season favourites for relegation, and were eight points clear of the field shortly before Christmas,[1] before faltering in the final weeks to finish third behind the champions, Manchester United, and Aston Villa.[2]

Norwich City
1992–93 season
ChairmanRobert Chase
ManagerMike Walker
StadiumCarrow Road
Premier League3rd
FA CupFourth round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague: Robins (15)
All: Robins (16)
Average home league attendance16,154

On the first day of the Premier League season, achieving an impressive 4–2 away win over an Arsenal side who were among the pre-season title favourites in a race finally won by Manchester United. This was a big surprise not least to the media and pundits who had tipped Norwich for a season of struggle.[3]

Build up to the season

Transfers In

Transfers Out

Season summary

[4]

August

15 August 1992 (1992-08-15) 1 Arsenal 2–4 Norwich City
19 August 1992 (1992-08-19) 2 Norwich City 2–1 Chelsea
22 August 1992 (1992-08-22) 3 Norwich City 1–1 Everton
26 August 1992 (1992-08-26) 4 Manchester City 3–1 Norwich City
29 August 1992 (1992-08-29) 5 Crystal Palace 1–2 Norwich City
31 August 1992 (1992-08-31) 6 Norwich City 3–1 Nottingham Forest

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Norwich had finished 18th the previous season and sold star striker Robert Fleck to Chelsea for a club record fee. This lead many pundits and experts to tip the Canaries to struggle in the new Premier League. In the opening weekend of the season Norwich City faced Arsenal at Highbury. Norwich did little to dispel these early predictions, finding themselves 2-0 behind at half time courtesy of goals from Steve Bould and Kevin Campbell. However the introduction of Mark Robins as a substitute was to set the tone for the rest of season. He quickly reduced the arrears with a diving header from a David Phillips free kick. Phillips, himself draw Norwich level after David Seaman misjudged a straightforward right wing cross. Ruel Fox then gave Norwich the lead from a tight angle before Robins sealed the comeback, pouncing on a mistake by Tony Adams to loft the ball over Seaman into the net.

Gaining points from losing positions was a key feature of Norwich's early season form. Another deft chip from Robins secured victory over Chelsea after falling behind to an early strike from Graham Stuart, while a Ruel Fox header salvaged a point against Everton. Norwich's first defeat of the season inevitably came at Manchester City, a ground they had not won at since 1964. However Norwich quickly bounced back to record a fine victory at Crystal Palace courtesy of a stunning scissor kick from David Phillips. At the end of the month Norwich played host to Nottingham Forest knowing that a win would put them top of the Premier League. In front of the Sky cameras, Ian Crook gave the Canaries the lead with a stunning free kick which was promptly cancelled out by an acute yet precise finish from Nigel Clough (both goals appearing at #11 and #12 on the 'Goals Goals Goals: 101 of the Very Best 1992/93 Premier League Goals' VHS). However Norwich were not to be denied and a defensive mix up allowed Lee Power to restore Norwich's lead. David Phillips sealed victory following a clever layback from Rob Newman.

September

5 September 1992 (1992-09-05) 7 Norwich City 1–0 Southampton
12 September 1992 (1992-09-12) 8 Chelsea 2–3 Norwich City
19 August 1992 (1992-08-19) 9 Norwich City 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday
26 September 1992 (1992-09-26) 10 Coventry City 1–1 Norwich City

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Norwich continued to defy expectations in September. Mark Robins bundled home late on against Southampton to hand Norwich the points despite a fine display from Tim Flowers in the Saints goal. The Canaries then travelled to Stamford Bridge, quickly finding themselves 2 goals behind from strikes by Mick Harford and Andy Townsend. However Norwich worked their way back into the contest thanks to some calamitous goalkeeping from Dave Beasant who allowed Mark Robins' tame effort to creep past him. Beasant was again caught out of position as Robins sidefooted Norwich's equalizer. However things went from bad to worse for Beasant who then allowed David Phillips scuffed shot to somehow squirm through his hands, gifting Norwich the points. Their position at the top of table was further entrenched with victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Carrow Road and a draw against Coventry City at Highfield Road. The Sky Blues were also upsetting the bookies with a fine start to the season of their own. Ian Crook's scything shot was cancelled out by a superb individual effort from Peter Ndlovu (both goals appearing at #22 and #23 on the 'Goals Goals Goals' VHS).

October

3 October 1992 (1992-10-03) 11 Blackburn Rovers 7–1 Norwich City
17 October 1992 (1992-10-17) 12 Norwich City 2–1 QPR
25 October 1992 (1992-10-25) 13 Liverpool 4–1 Norwich City
31 October 1992 (1992-10-31) 14 Norwich City 1–1 Middlesbrough

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The start of the month saw Norwich surrender their lead at the top of the Premiership in spectacular style with a 7-1 thrashing by newly promoted Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. Alan Shearer underlined his status as the most promising young striker in the country with an outstanding display. This result helped to ensure that despite an eventual third-place finish, Norwich had the dubious distinction of finishing the season with a negative goal difference (-7).

Norwich bounced back from their Blackburn disaster by progressing to next of league cup with comfortable home win against Carlisle United. Chris Sutton scoring two identical headers from two identical Ian Culverhouse crosses. However, football was soon to pale into total insignificance as personal tragedy befell Norwich keeper Bryan Gunn. His daughter Francesca losing her brave battle against leukemia. Gunn remarkably played just days later in a 2-1 home success against QPR. Mark Bowen gave Norwich the lead before Chris Sutton powered home a second. Bradley Allen pounced on a poor backpass to set up a tense finish. However, Norwich and most significantly Gunn were not to be denied.

Norwich arrived on Merseyside in confident mood to take on Liverpool. It was a year when the Reds would fall way below their usual high standards. Norwich opened the scoring through Ian Butterworth, but Liverpool struck back to lead 2-1. The game then turned when Mark Bowen blazed widely over from the spot. Liverpool running out comfortable 4-1 winners. Further disappointment was to follow against struggling Middlesbrough. It took a late Daryl Sutch strike to keep Norwich in touch at the top.

November

9 November 1992 (1992-11-09) 15 Oldham Athletic 2–3 Norwich City
21 November 1992 (1992-11-21) 16 Norwich City 2–1 Sheffield United
28 November 1992 (1992-11-28) 17 Aston Villa 2–3 Norwich City

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The start of the month saw Norwich travel to Boundary Park in front of the sky cameras. In a pulsating game, a Mark Robins hat trick put Norwich City back on top of the Premier League after twice being pegged back by Oldham, with Oldham's second equalizer coming from a wonderful chip from outside the box by Ian Marshall. Norwich further stretched their advantage with a home win against Sheffield United. This was trumped by an outstanding 3-2 success at Villa Park. Norwich opened the scoring through David Phillips with Darren Beckford doubling the lead after a mistake from Nigel Spink. Villa leveled the game at 2-2 before Daryl Sutch scored the winner with a fierce drive.

December

5 December 1992 (1992-12-05) 18 Norwich City 2–1 Wimbledon
12 December 1992 (1992-12-12) 19 Manchester United 1–0 Norwich City
21 December 1992 (1992-12-21) 20 Norwich City 0–2 Ipswich
26 December 1992 (1992-12-26) 21 Norwich City 0–0 Tottenham Hotspur
28 December 1992 (1992-12-28) 22 Leeds United 0–0 Norwich City

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David Phillips winner was enough to sink Wimbledon at Carrow Road. This meant that Norwich had now extended their lead at the top of the Premiership to 8 points. Norwich travelled to Old Trafford in confident mood ahead of the game against Manchester United. The game was settled by a goal from Mark Hughes who capitalized on a mistake by Daryl Sutch to fire past Bryan Gunn. It was a watershed moment for the Canaries who were about to embark on a 6 match winless run which would ultimately go a long way towards costing them the title.

Local rivals Ipswich chalked up an emphatic victory at Carrow Road with goals from Steve Thompson and Chris Kywomia. The year ended with disappointing goalless draws against Spurs and Leeds.

January

10 January 1993 (1993-01-10) 23 Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 Norwich City
16 January 1993 (1993-01-16) 24 Norwich City 1–1 Coventry City
27 January 1993 (1993-01-27) 25 Norwich City 4–2 Crystal Palace
30 January 1993 (1993-01-30) 26 Everton 0–1 Norwich City

}} The new year failed to bring a change of fortune as Nigel Worthington's goal was enough for Sheffield Wednesday to secure all 3 points at Hillsborough (he would be manager of the Canaries seven years later). Norwich netted their first goal in almost 8 hours of football against Coventry but were eventually pegged back by a strike from Mick Quinn. Norwich regarded their first win since the start of December with a fine 4-2 success against Crystal Palace. Lee Power capping a fine individual performance with 2 goals. Norwich were further buoyed by a 1-0 success at Goodison Park through Chris Sutton.

February

10 February 1993 (1993-02-10) 27 Southampton 3–0 Norwich City
20 February 1993 (1993-02-20) 28 Norwich City 2–1 Manchester City
28 February 1993 (1993-02-28) 29 Norwich City 0–0 Blackburn Rovers

}} A heavy 3-0 defeat at Southampton was to follow before the Canaries chalked up their first win over Man City in nearly 30 years. This came courtesy of 2 goals in as many minutes. Norwich went some way to wiping away the memories of their disaster at Ewood Park with 0-0 draw at Carrow Road based on a strong defensive performance.

March

3 March 1993 (1993-03-03) 30 Norwich City 1–1 Arsenal
6 March 1993 (1993-03-06) 31 QPR 3–1 Norwich City
10 March 1993 (1993-03-10) 32 Sheffield United 0–1 Norwich City
13 March 1993 (1993-03-13) 33 Norwich City 1–0 Oldham Athletic
17 March 1993 (1993-03-17) 34 Nottingham Forest 0–3 Norwich City
20 March 1993 (1993-03-20) 35 Wimbledon 3–0 Norwich City
24 March 1993 (1993-03-24) 36 Norwich City 1–0 Aston Villa

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April

5 April 1993 (1993-04-05) 37 Norwich City 1–3 Manchester United
9 April 1993 (1993-04-09) 38 Tottenham Hotspur 5–1 Norwich City
14 April 1993 (1993-04-14) 39 Norwich City 4–2 Leeds United
19 April 1993 (1993-04-19) 40 Ipswich Town 3–1 Norwich City

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May

1 May 1993 (1993-05-01) 41 Norwich City 1–0 Liverpool
1 May 1993 (1993-05-01) 42 Middlesbrough 3–3 Norwich City

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Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 42 24 12 6 67 31 +36 84 Qualification for the Champions League first round
2 Aston Villa 42 21 11 10 57 40 +17 74 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
3 Norwich City 42 21 9 12 61 65 4 72
4 Blackburn Rovers 42 20 11 11 68 46 +22 71
5 Queens Park Rangers 42 17 12 13 63 55 +8 63
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. Since League Cup winners Arsenal had qualified for UEFA Cup Winners Cup by also winning the FA Cup, the UEFA Cup berth for the League Cup reverted to the league and was awarded to Norwich City. England was considered for an extra slot for the UEFA Cup after the 1993 Polish football scandal, but another one was given to Scotland, and it seemed excessive to give both two slots to Great Britain, and the extra place was reverted to Hungary.

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  WAL Mark Walton
GK  SCO Bryan Gunn
DF  ENG Ian Butterworth (captain)
DF  ENG Ian Culverhouse
DF  ENG Jason Minett
DF  ENG Robert Newman
DF  ENG John Polston
DF  ENG Daryl Sutch
DF  ENG Robert Ullathorne
DF  ENG Colin Woodthorpe
DF  WAL Mark Bowen (vice-captain)
DF  WAL Mark Peters
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF  ENG Ian Crook
MF  ENG Ruel Fox[notes 1]
MF  ENG Andy Johnson[notes 2]
MF  ENG Gary Megson
MF  ENG David Smith
MF  WAL Jeremy Goss[notes 3]
MF  WAL David Phillips[notes 4]
FW  ENG Darren Beckford
FW  ENG Efan Ekoku[notes 5]
FW  ENG Mark Robins
FW  ENG Chris Sutton
FW  IRL Lee Power[notes 6]

Notes

  1. Fox was born in Norwich, England, and played for the England B team, but also qualified to represent Montserrat internationally and would make his international debut for Montserrat in 2004.
  2. Johnson was born in Bristol, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in 1998.
  3. Goss was born in Oekolia, Cyprus, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in May 1991.
  4. Phillips was born in Wegberg, Germany, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in May 1984.
  5. Ekoku was born in Cheetham, England, but also qualified to represent Nigeria internationally and would make his international debut for Nigeria in 1994.
  6. Power was born in Lewisham, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented them at U-21 and B level.

References

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