Wikipedia

1987–88 Norwich City F.C. season

For the 1987–88 season, Norwich City F.C. competed in Football League Division One, as well as the FA Cup, Littlewoods Cup and Simod Cup.

Norwich City
1987–88 season
ChairmanRobert Chase
ManagerKen Brown (until 9 November)
Dave Stringer (from 9 November)
StadiumCarrow Road
First Division14th
FA CupThird round
League CupThird round
Full Members CupFourth round
Player of the YearBryan Gunn
Top goalscorerLeague: Kevin Drinkell (12)
All: Kevin Drinkell (12)
Highest home attendance22,509 v Liverpool
Lowest home attendance11,872 v Wimbledon
Average home league attendance15,759

Overview edit

The previous season had seen Norwich finish fifth in Division One, their highest position to that date,[1] but any hope of a repeat was quickly dashed. By the beginning of November, Norwich had only registered three league wins, and would soon after slip to bottom of the table after only winning one point from five matches. Chairman Robert Chase took drastic action: On 9 November, long-serving manager Ken Brown was sacked. Dave Stringer, who had only become his assistant at the start of the year after previously being reserve team manager, was appointed as his replacement, initially on a caretaker basis and later permanent. Veteran player David Williams was made a player/coach as his assistant.

The trend was not immediately reversed and in December club captain Steve Bruce left the club for Manchester United. His vice-captain Mike Phelan replaced him as captain. With the money from the sale, Norwich acquired Robert Fleck, who would contribute seven goals in the second half of the season and be the club's leading scorer for the next four seasons, as well as buying Andy Linighan as a replacement for Bruce at centre-half. One of the most unfortunate incidents of the year surrounded John O'Neill, who signed for the club in December only to suffer a career-ending knee injury on his debut, after which he never played professionally again.[2]

Norwich made early exits from all three cup competitions but six wins and six draws in the latter half of the season were enough to secure them another season in the top flight as they finished in 14th place, four places and three points clear of the relegation play-offs. Their biggest win of the season was 4–1 against West Ham United and their heaviest defeat was 3–0, which occurred four times. Their highest scoring game was 4–2 which happened twice, a defeat to Arsenal and a victory over Oxford United.[3]

Squad edit

Squad at the end of season (7 May 1988)[4]

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   SCO Bryan Gunn
— GK   ENG Graham Benstead
— GK   ENG Jon Sheffield
— DF   ENG Ian Culverhouse
— DF   ENG Tony Spearing
— DF   ENG Ian Butterworth (vice-captain)
— DF   ENG Andy Linighan
— DF   ENG Shaun Elliott
— DF   ENG Simon Ratcliffe
— DF   ENG Kenny Brown
— DF   NIR John O'Neill
— DF   ENG Andy Fensome
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF   ENG Mike Phelan (captain)
— MF   WAL Mark Bowen
— MF   ENG Trevor Putney
— MF   ENG Ruel Fox
— MF   ENG Ian Crook
— MF   ENG Dale Gordon
— MF   ENG Jeremy Goss
— MF   WAL David Williams
— FW   ENG Kevin Drinkell
— FW   SCO Robert Fleck
— FW   ENG Wayne Biggins
— FW   ENG Robert Rosario

Transfers edit

In edit

Date Pos Name From Fee Reference
16 June 1987 DF Simon Ratcliffe Manchester United £40,000 [5]
23 July 1987 MF Mark Bowen Tottenham Hotspur £90,000 [5]
23 July 1987 DF Paul Wilson Huddersfield Town £30,000 [6]
16 December 1987 DF John O'Neill Queens Park Rangers Unknown [7]
17 December 1987 FW Robert Fleck Rangers £580,000 [5]
4 March 1988 DF Andy Linighan Oldham Athletic £350,000 [5][8]

Out edit

Date Pos Name To Fee Reference
1 June 1987 MF Peter Mendham King's Lynn Free [9]
3 July 1987 FW Mark Barham Huddersfield Town £100,000 [10]
July 1987 FW David Hodgson Jerez Club de Portivo Unknown [11]
18 December 1987 DF Steve Bruce Manchester United £900,000 [12]
December 1987 MF Garry Brooke Groningen Unknown [13]
4 March 1988 FW Paul Clayton Darlington £25,000 [14]
29 March 1988 DF Phil Chapple Cambridge United Free [15][16]

Final table edit

Main article: 1987–88 Football League

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
12 Southampton 40 12 14 14 49 53 −4 50
13 Tottenham Hotspur 40 12 11 17 38 48 −10 47
14 Norwich City 40 12 9 19 40 52 −12 45
15 Derby County 40 10 13 17 35 45 −10 43
16 West Ham United 40 9 15 16 40 52 −12 42
Source: [17]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

Results edit

Division One edit

15 August 1987 (1987-08-15) 1 Everton 1–0 Norwich City Liverpool
Power   35' Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 31,728
Referee: G. Tyson
19 August 1987 (1987-08-19) 2 Norwich City 0–1 Southampton Norwich
Moore   61' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 14,429
Referee: K. Hackett
22 August 1987 (1987-08-22) 3 Norwich City 3–1 Coventry City Norwich
Bruce   20'
Drinkell   54'   84'		 Kilcline   58' (pen.) Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 13,726
Referee: A. Buksh
29 August 1987 (1987-08-29) 4 West Ham United 2–0 Norwich City London
Cottee   51'   65' Stadium: Upton Park
Attendance: 16,394
Referee: M. Reed
1 September 1987 (1987-09-01) 5 Norwich City 1–1 Newcastle United Norwich
Biggins   73' D. Jackson   76' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 16,636
Referee: B. Hill
5 September 1987 (1987-09-05) 6 Watford 0–1 Norwich City Watford
Bruce   48' Stadium: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 11,724
Referee: L. Shapter
12 September 1987 (1987-09-12) 7 Norwich City 1–2 Derby County Norwich
Rosario   78' Davison   50'
Gregory   67' (pen.)		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 14,402
Referee: D. Hedges
19 September 1987 (1987-09-19) 8 Chelsea 1–0 Norwich City London
Dixon   4' Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Attendance: 15,242
Referee: J. Martin
26 September 1987 (1987-09-26) 9 Norwich City 0–2 Nottingham Forest Norwich
Webb   28'   31' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 13,755
Referee: P. Don
3 October 1987 (1987-10-03) 10 Oxford United 3–0 Norwich City Oxford
Slatter   14'
Hill   57'
Foyle   68'		 Stadium: Manor Ground
Attendance: 6,847
Referee: A. Gunn
10 October 1987 (1987-10-10) 11 Norwich City 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur Norwich
Drinkell   23'
Biggins   63'		 Claesen   34' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 18,689
Referee: K. Barrett
17 October 1987 (1987-10-17) 12 Manchester United 2–1 Norwich City Manchester
Davenport   46'
Robson   80'		 Biggins   29' Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 39,345
Referee: G. Alpin
24 October 1987 (1987-10-24) 13 Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 Norwich City Sheffield
Pearson   12' Stadium: Hillsborough
Attendance: 15,861
Referee: M. Peck
31 October 1987 (1987-10-31) 14 Norwich City 1–1 Queens Park Rangers Norwich
Biggins   64' Allen   80' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 14,522
Referee: D. Axcell
7 November 1987 (1987-11-07) 15 Charlton Athletic 2–0 Norwich City London
Bennett   15'
Jones   22'		 Stadium: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 5,044
Referee: J. Ashworth
14 November 1987 (1987-11-14) 16 Norwich City 2–4 Arsenal Norwich
Drinkell   31'   81' Rocastle   49'   54'
Thomas   52'
Groves   61'		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 20,558
Referee: J. Key
21 November 1987 (1987-11-21) 17 Liverpool 0–0 Norwich City Liverpool
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 37,446
Referee: J. Deakin
28 November 1987 (1987-11-28) 18 Norwich City 0–1 Portsmouth Norwich
Horne   36' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 13,099
Referee: T. Holbrook
5 December 1987 (1987-12-05) 19 Luton Town 1–2 Norwich City Luton
Stein   20' Gordon   61'
Crook   88'		 Stadium: Kenilworth Road
Attendance: 7,002
Referee: D. Scott
18 December 1987 (1987-12-18) 20 Wimbledon 1–0 Norwich City London
Fashanu   14' Stadium: Plough Lane
Attendance: 4,026
Referee: A. Seville
26 December 1987 (1987-12-26) 21 Derby County 1–2 Norwich City Derby
Wright   49' Fleck   33'
Gordon   52'		 Stadium: Baseball Ground
Attendance: 15,452
Referee: V. Callow
28 December 1987 (1987-12-28) 22 Norwich City 3–0 Chelsea Norwich
Fox   51'
Goss   71'
Drinkell   76' (pen.)		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 19,668
Referee: K. Morton
1 January 1988 (1988-01-01) 23 Norwich City 4–1 West Ham United Norwich
Gordon   47'
Drinkell   67'
Bowen   79'
Rosario   86'		 Cottee   27' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 20,059
Referee: B. Hall
16 January 1988 (1988-01-16) 24 Norwich City 0–3 Everton Norwich
Sharp   21'   87'
Heath   90'		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 15,750
Referee: S. Lodge
23 January 1988 (1988-01-23) 25 Southampton 0–0 Norwich City Southampton
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 12,002
Referee: R. Lewis
6 February 1988 (1988-02-06) 26 Norwich City 0–0 Watford Norwich
Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 13,318
Referee: M. Bailey
13 February 1988 (1988-02-13) 27 Newcastle United 1–3 Norwich City Newcastle
Gascoigne   34' Fleck   2'   58'
Drinkell   85'		 Stadium: St James' Park
Attendance: 21,068
Referee: A. Flood
20 February 1988 (1988-02-20) 28 Coventry City 0–0 Norwich City Coventry
Elliott   Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 15,577
Referee: E. Parker
5 March 1988 (1988-03-05) 29 Norwich City 1–0 Manchester United Norwich
Fleck   76' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 19,129
Referee: M. Reed
12 March 1988 (1988-03-12) 30 Tottenham Hotspur 1–3 Norwich City London
Claesen   85' Goss   37'
Fleck   67'
Drinkell   75'		 Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 19,322
Referee: G. Tyson
16 March 1988 (1988-03-16) 31 Norwich City 4–2 Oxford United Norwich
Linighan   10'
Fleck   65'   80'
Drinkell   72'		 Bardsley   45'
Hebberd   82'
Phillips  		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 12,280
Referee: K. Miller
19 March 1988 (1988-03-19) 32 Queens Park Rangers 3–0 Norwich City London
Channing   25'
Coney   47'
Fereday   81'		 Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 9,033
Referee: D. Allison
26 March 1988 (1988-03-26) 33 Norwich City 0–3 Sheffield Wednesday Norwich
Sterland   43' (pen.)
Jonsson   75'
Chapman   80'		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 13,280
Referee: D. Hutchinson
2 April 1988 (1988-04-02) 34 Norwich City 2–0 Charlton Athletic Norwich
Fox   50'
Drinkell   58'		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 15,015
Referee: B. Stevens
4 April 1988 (1988-04-04) 35 Arsenal 2–0 Norwich City London
Smith   38'
Groves   59'		 Stadium: Highbury
Attendance: 19,341
Referee: B. Stevens
20 April 1988 (1988-04-20) 36 Norwich City 0–0 Liverpool Norwich
Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 22,509
Referee: R. Hart
23 April 1988 (1988-04-23) 37 Norwich City 2–2 Portsmouth Norwich
Linighan   31'
Biggins   90' (pen.)		 Quinn   59'
Mariner   68'		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 12,762
Referee: P. Don
30 April 1988 (1988-04-30) 38 Norwich City 2–2 Luton Town Norwich
Drinkell   51'
Putney   63'		 Stein   87'
Wilson   98' (pen.)		 Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 12,700
Referee: A. Ward
4 May 1988 (1988-05-04) 39 Nottingham Forest 2–0 Norwich City Nottingham
Webb   9'
Glover   51'		 Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 11,610
Referee: A. Robinson
7 May 1988 (1988-05-07) 40 Norwich City 0–1 Wimbledon Norwich
Gibson   82' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 11,782
Referee: J. Martin

FA Cup edit

9 January 1988 (1988-01-09) Third Round Swindon Town 0–0 Norwich City Swindon
Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 12,807
Referee: K. Walmsley
13 January 1988 (1988-01-13) Third Round Replay Norwich City 0–2 Swindon Town Norwich
Bamber   67'   87' Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 12,501
Referee: J. Moules

Littlewoods Cup edit

22 September 1987 (1987-09-22) Second Round, First Leg Burnley 1–1 Norwich City Burnley
Oghani   7' Biggins   15' Stadium: Turf Moor
Attendance: 7,912
Referee: G. Courtney
7 October 1987 (1987-10-07) Second Round, Second Leg Norwich City 1–0 Burnley Norwich
Bowen   48' Oghani   Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 6,168
Referee: I. Hemley
27 October 1987 (1987-10-27) Third Round Stoke City 2–1 Norwich City Stoke
Daly   14'
Talbot   17'		 Bruce   76' Stadium: Victoria Ground
Attendance: 8,603
Referee: J. Moules

Simod Cup edit

19 January 1988 (1988-01-19) Third Round Millwall 2–3 Norwich City London
Cascarino   18'   60' Fleck   14'   23'
Goss   75'		 Stadium: The Den
Attendance: 4,654
Referee: J. Key
23 February 1988 (1988-02-23) Fourth Round Swindon Town 2–0 Norwich City Swindon
Elliott   64' (og.)
Foley   72'		 Stadium: County Ground
Attendance: 10,491
Referee: K. Barratt

Appearances edit

Pos Player League FA Cup Littlewoods Cup Simod Cup Total
Starts Sub Goals Starts Sub Goals Starts Sub Goals Starts Sub Goals Starts Subs Goals
Goalkeepers
GK Bryan Gunn 38 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 45 0 0
GK Graham Benstead 2 0 0 – – – – – – – – – 2 0 0
Defenders
RB Ian Culverhouse 33 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 40 0 0
LB Tony Spearing 17 1 0 – – – – – – – – – 17 1 0
CB Steve Bruce 19 0 2 – – – 3 0 1 – – – 21 0 3
CB Ian Butterworth 34 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 39 2 0
CB Andy Linighan 12 0 2 – – – – – – – – – 12 0 2
LB Shaun Elliott 14 2 0 – – – 3 0 0 1 1 0 18 3 0
CB Simon Ratcliffe 6 3 0 – – – 2 0 0 – – – 8 3 0
RB Kenny Brown 7 0 0 – – – – – – – – – 7 0 0
CB John O'Neill 1 0 0 – – – – – – – – – 1 0 0
Midfielders
CM Mike Phelan 37 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 44 0 0
DM Mark Bowen 23 1 1 2 0 0 3 0 1 2 0 0 30 1 2
AM Trevor Putney 25 1 1 2 0 0 – – – 1 0 0 28 1 1
AM Ruel Fox 33 1 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 30 1 2
CM Jeremy Goss 20 2 2 2 0 0 – – – 2 0 1 24 2 3
AM Dale Gordon 16 5 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 21 5 3
CM Ian Crook 16 7 1 – – – 1 1 0 0 1 0 17 9 1
DM David Williams 7 2 0 – – – 2 0 0 0 1 0 9 3 0
Forwards
ST Kevin Drinkell 38 0 12 2 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 45 0 12
ST Robert Fleck 18 0 7 0 1 0 – – – 2 0 2 20 1 9
ST Wayne Biggins 15 5 5 – – – 3 0 1 1 0 0 19 5 6
ST Robert Rosario 9 5 2 2 0 0 – – – 0 1 0 11 6 2

Goalscorers edit

Rank Position Player Division One FA Cup Littlewoods Cup Simod Cup Total
1 ST Kevin Drinkell 12 0 0 0 12
2 ST Robert Fleck 7 0 0 2 9
3 ST Wayne Biggins 5 0 1 0 6
4 LW Dale Gordon 3 0 0 0 3
CB Steve Bruce 2 0 1 0 3
CM Jeremy Goss 2 0 0 1 3
5 ST Robert Rosario 2 0 0 0 2
RW Ruel Fox 2 0 0 0 2
CB Andy Linighan 2 0 0 0 2
LB/LW Mark Bowen 1 0 1 0 2
6 LW Trevor Putney 1 0 0 0 1
RW Ian Crook 1 0 0 0 1

References edit

  1. ^ "Norwich City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Flown from the Nest: John O'Neill". ex-canaries.co.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Norwich City match record: 1988". 11v11. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Norwich CITY squad 1987/88". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d 1989 Club Directory p.397
  6. ^ 1993 Club Directory p.263
  7. ^ Canary Citizens p.303
  8. ^ 1993 Club Directory p.22
  9. ^ Canary Citizens p.293
  10. ^ 1989 Club Directory p.277
  11. ^ Canary Citizens p.269
  12. ^ 1989 Club Directory p.353
  13. ^ Canary Citizens p.225
  14. ^ Canary Citizens p.233
  15. ^ 1989 Club Directory p.133
  16. ^ 1993 Club Directory p.134
  17. ^ "League Division One end of season table for 1987-88 season". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  18. ^ Norwich City: The Modern Era p.213-217
  19. ^ a b Norwich City: The Modern Era p.218
  20. ^ a b c 1991 Club Directory p.392–393

Bibliography edit

  • Canary Citizens Centenary Edition: Authors Mike Davage, John Eastwood and Kevan Platt ISBN 0711720207
  • Barclays League Club Directory 1989: Editor Tony Williams ISBN 0-85144-472-5
  • Norwich City: The Modern Era: Author Rob Hadgraft ISBN 978-1-905328-82-6
  • News of the World Football Annual 1988-89 Editors Bill Bateson and Albert Sewell ISBN 0855431458
  • Barclays League Club Directory 1993: Editor Tony Williams ISBN 1-873057-12-1
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