PM: harry boulders re: 1995 (apologies to Norway)

December '94. Norwich are 6th or 7th in the league. A mate of mine at school (an Arsenal fan) says to me:

"I've read how unhappy Norwich fans are. I don't get it?"

Me: "The chairman's a disgrace and we're not safe. Not at all. We're basically crap, our run-in is horrific and 4 go down this season. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we're relegated".

After Bryan Gunn's season-changing (actually, entire club history-changing) injury at Forest, there followed a precipitous collapse which amazed neutrals, but not that many Norwich fans. It all felt increasingly inevitable. Deehan's treatment of Culverhouse and Robins was a disgrace; we'd not replaced Sutton properly (Ward was a decent striker in good times, not someone to dig us out of an ever-deepening hole; we only really had the useless Akinbiyi other than him); Marshall in goal had talent but no authority or conviction at all; and the writing had actually been on the wall ever since Walker left.

The atmosphere at CR grew more and more poisonous, Norwich snatching draws from the jaws of victory v Man City and, calamitously, at West Ham (a day when the ref sent off the wrong Norwich player and we blew a 2-0 lead). But beating Ipswich 3-0 (in a game when they, one of the worst teams in PL history, had been the better side 11 v 11), convinced Chase we'd be OK. Bloody idiot.

So down we went: many fans now more focused on getting the owner out than anything else. But at Leeds in the penultimate week... God that hurt. Against all expectation, we went 1-0 up. Then the worst penalty I've ever seen awarded against NCFC in my life, given by the atrocious Alan Wilkie after a foul by Leeds on Jon Newsome (I wish I was making that up, but I'm not) knocked the stuffing right out of us. We had to chase a winner, Leeds caught us on the counter in injury time. And that was that.

Had we won, it'd have been Norwich v Villa, winner takes all, on the final day. Imagine that! Instead, down we went with a whimper... but it wouldn't be until December, the awful day MON left for Leicester, that I think we all realised we'd be down there for many years to come.

Posted By: thebigfeller, May 11, 16:14:13