1986–87 Norwich City F.C. season

Norwich City
1986–87 season
Chairman	Robert Chase
Manager	Ken Brown
Stadium	Carrow Road
First Division	5th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Fourth round
Full Members Cup	Semi-final
Player of the Year	Kevin Drinkell
Top goalscorer	League: Kevin Drinkell (16); All: Kevin Drinkell (21)
Highest home attendance	23,489 v Everton
Lowest home attendance	13,610 v Oxford United
Average home league attendance	17,913
Biggest win	Aston Villa 1–4 Norwich City (20 September 1986)
Biggest defeat	Liverpool 6–2 Norwich City (1 November 1986)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1985–86 1987–88 →

For the 1986–87 season, Norwich City F.C. competed in Football League Division One, following their promotion from Division Two the previous season. They also completed in the FA Cup and Littlewoods Cup and, for the first time, the Full Members Cup.

Overview

The previous season had seen Norwich promoted back to the top flight as Second Division champions.^[1] Nevertheless, many expected them to struggle, especially since a number of players, including England internationals Chris Woods and Dave Watson, had departed the club just prior to the season. Instead, Norwich would be unbeaten in their first four games and, after experiencing their first defeat against Watford, would be unbeaten in the next six games, topping the table in October. Although they would subsequently suffer a 6–2 defeat to Liverpool, they would remain in the top half for the rest of the season, eventually securing fifth place and finishing the season with a 2–1 win over fourth-placed Arsenal.^[2] This was Norwich's highest league finish to that point by some distance, beating the tenth-place finish in 1975–76, and would remain so until they finished fourth in 1988–89. However, there would be no European qualification this season, since the ban on English clubs following the Heysel stadium disaster was still in effect.

In addition to the league, Norwich entered three cup competitions but made relatively early exits from both the FA Cup and the Littlewoods Cup. For the first time, they competed in the Full Members Cup, having instead entered the Football League Super Cup the previous season. Here, they reached the semi-finals, one game away from Wembley, only to be eliminated 2–1 by Charlton Athletic after extra-time.

Squad

Squad at the end of season (9 May 1987)^[3]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	SCO	Bryan Gunn
—	GK	ENG	Graham Benstead
—	GK	ENG	Harvey Lim
—	GK	ENG	Jon Sheffield
—	DF	ENG	Ian Culverhouse
—	DF	ENG	Tony Spearing
—	DF	ENG	Steve Bruce (captain)
—	DF	ENG	Ian Butterworth
—	DF	ENG	Shaun Elliott
—	DF	ENG	Kenny Brown
—	DF	ENG	Phil Chapple
—	DF	ENG	Andy Fensome
—	MF	ENG	Mike Phelan
—	MF	ENG	Dale Gordon


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Trevor Putney
—	MF	ENG	Ian Crook
—	MF	WAL	David Williams
—	MF	ENG	Mark Barham
—	MF	ENG	Peter Mendham
—	MF	ENG	Ruel Fox
—	MF	ENG	Jeremy Goss
—	MF	ENG	Garry Brooke
—	FW	ENG	Kevin Drinkell (vice-captain)
—	FW	ENG	Wayne Biggins
—	FW	ENG	Robert Rosario
—	FW	ENG	David Hodgson
—	FW	ENG	Paul Clayton

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee	Reference
13 June 1986	MF	Trevor Putney	Ipswich Town	Exchange	^[4]^[5]
18 June 1986	MF	Ian Crook	Tottenham Hotspur	£80,000	^[6]^[7]
18 July 1986	FW	David Hodgson	Sunderland	Unknown	^[8]
22 August 1986	DF	Shaun Elliott	Sunderland	£150,000	^[6]^[9]
19 September 1986	DF	Ian Butterworth	Nottingham Forest	£160,000	^[6]^[10]
15 October 1986	GK	Bryan Gunn	Aberdeen	Unknown	^[6]^[11]

Out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee	Reference
28 May 1986	FW	John Deehan	Ipswich Town	Exchange	^[4]^[12]
1 July 1986	GK	Chris Woods	Rangers	£600,000	^[13]^[4]
18 August 1986	DF	Dennis van Wijk	Club Brugge	Unknown	^[14]
18 August 1986	DF	Paul Haylock	Gillingham	Free	^[15]^[16]
21 August 1986	DF	Dave Watson	Everton	£900,000	^[17]^[18]

Loans in

Date	Pos	Name	From	Until	Reference
21 November 1986	DF	Mark Seagraves	Liverpool	6 December 1986	^[19]

Final table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
3	Tottenham Hotspur	42	21	8	13	68	43	+25	71	Disqualified from the UEFA Cup
4	Arsenal^[a]	42	20	10	12	58	35	+23	70	Disqualified from the UEFA Cup
5	Norwich City	42	17	17	8	53	51	+2	68
6	Wimbledon	42	19	9	14	57	50	+7	66
7	Luton Town	42	18	12	12	47	45	+2	66

Source: ^[20]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

^ Arsenal would have qualified as League Cup winners.

Results

Division One

23 August 1986 (1986-08-23) 1	Chelsea	0–0	Norwich City	London
				Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 19,867 Referee: A. Gunn

30 August 1986 (1986-08-30) 2	Norwich City	4–3	Southampton	Norwich
	Drinkell 47' Gordn 49' Williams 69' Bruce 82'		Wallace 31' Blake 41' Dennis 80'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 15,205 Referee: K. Barratt

3 September 1986 (1986-09-03) 3	Manchester City	2–2	Norwich City	Manchester
	Christie 6' (pen.) 39'		Barham 10' Elliott 78'	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 19,122 Referee: L. Robinson

6 September 1986 (1986-09-06) 4	Charlton Athletic	1–2	Norwich City	London
	Aizlewood 1'		Drinkell 6' Williams 84'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 5,312 Referee: B. Hill

13 September 1986 (1986-09-13) 5	Norwich City	1–3	Watford	Norwich
	Williams 18'		Richardson 55' Sterling 60' Blissett 88'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 15,487 Referee: D. Reeves

17 September 1986 (1986-09-17) 6	Norwich City	2–1	Leicester City	Norwich
	Barham 33' Biggins 78'		Smith 22'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 14,814 Referee: K. Hackett

20 September 1986 (1986-09-20) 7	Aston Vila	1–4	Norwich City	Birmingham
	Stainrod 88'		Phelan 29' Biggins 44' Gordon 54' Bruce 62'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 12,304 Referee: K. Hackett

27 September 1986 (1986-09-27) 8	Norwich City	2–0	Newcastle United	Norwich
	Drinkell 4' 68'			Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 15,735 Referee: C. Downey

4 October 1986 (1986-10-04) 9	Norwich City	1–0	Queens Park Rangers	Norwich
	Gordon 78'			Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 15,984 Referee: V. Callow

11 October 1986 (1986-10-11) 10	Luton Town	0–0	Norwich City	Luton
				Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 10,022 Referee: J. Ashworth

18 October 1986 (1986-10-18) 11	Norwich City	1–1	West Ham United	Norwich
	Drinkell 58'		Goddard 76'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 22,884 Referee: A. Seville

25 October 1986 (1986-10-25) 12	Wimbledon	2–0	Norwich City	London
	Fashanu 13' Gayle 38'			Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 6,172 Referee: P. Vanes

1 November 1986 (1986-11-01) 13	Liverpool	6–2	Norwich City	Liverpool
	Nicol 16' Walsh 31' 58' 76' Rush 49' 71'		Phelan 72' Hodgson 84'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 36,915 Referee: J. Bray

8 November 1986 (1986-11-08) 14	Norwich City	2–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Norwich
	Crook 59' Elliott 76'		Claesen 72'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 22,139 Referee: K. Baker

15 November 1986 (1986-11-15) 15	Norwich City	0–0	Manchester United	Norwich
				Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 22,684 Referee: J. McAulay

22 November 1986 (1986-11-22) 16	Coventry City	2–1	Norwich City	Coventry
	Phillips 7' 56'		Biggins 19'	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 11,029 Referee: D. Hutchinson

29 November 1986 (1986-11-29) 17	Norwich City	2–1	Oxford United	Norwich
	Drinkell 13' Gordon 22'		Aldridge 35'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 13,610 Referee: D. Phillips

6 December 1986 (1986-12-06) 18	Everton	4–0	Norwich City	Liverpool
	Power 18' Steven 29' (pen.) Pointon 76' Heath 81'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 26,746 Referee: J. Lovatt

13 December 1986 (1986-12-13) 19	Norwich City	1–1	Arsenal	Norwich
	Drinkell 79'		Hayes 55' (pen.)	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 21,409 Referee: T. Mills

19 December 1986 (1986-12-19) 20	Watford	1–1	Norwich City	Watford
	Barnes 2'		Terry 23' (o.g.)	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 12,900 Referee: J. Lloyd

26 December 1986 (1986-12-26) 21	Norwich City	2–1	Nottingham Forest	Norwich
	Crook 75' Rosario 79'		Pearce 64'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 22,131 Referee: J. Ashworth

27 December 1986 (1986-12-27) 22	Manchester United	0–1	Norwich City	Manchester
			Drinkell 80'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 44,610 Referee: T. Simpson

1 January 1987 (1987-01-01) 23	Sheffield Wednesday	1–1	Norwich City	Sheffield
	Shelton 81'		Drinkell 90'	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 20,956 Referee: J. Worrall

3 January 1987 (1987-01-03) 24	Norwich City	1–1	Charlton Athletic	Norwich
	Biggins 74'		Stuart 22'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 16,827 Referee: D. Axcell

24 January 1987 (1987-01-24) 25	Norwich City	2–2	Chelsea	Norwich
	Rosario 30' Drinkell 62'		Bumstead 2' Wicks 46'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 16,562 Referee: J. Moules

7 February 1987 (1987-02-07) 26	Southampton	1–2	Norwich City	Southampton
	Cockerill 69'		Phelan 55' Drinkell 79'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 12,754 Referee: K. Cooper

14 February 1987 (1987-02-14) 27	Norwich City	1–1	Manchester City	Norwich
	Crook 44'		Brightwell 42'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 16,094 Referee: R. Lewis

21 February 1987 (1987-02-21) 28	Leicester City	0–2	Norwich City	Leicester
			Crook 1' Putney 61'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 8,742 Referee: J. Ireland

28 February 1987 (1987-02-28) 29	Norwich City	1–1	Aston Villa	Norwich
	Phelan 72'		Elliott 34'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 15,070 Referee: D. Hedges

7 March 1987 (1987-03-07) 30	Norwich City	0–0	Wimbledon	Norwich
				Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 14,293 Referee: K. Hackett

14 March 1987 (1987-03-14) 31	West Ham United	0–2	Norwich City	London
			Bruce 2' Drinkell 90'	Stadium: Upton Park Attendance: 21,531 Referee: M. Bailey

21 March 1987 (1987-03-21) 32	Norwich City	0–0	Luton Town	Norwich
			Grimes	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 16,440 Referee: M. James

28 March 1987 (1987-03-28) 33	Queens Park Rangers	1–1	Norwich City	London
	Rosenior 40'		Drinkell 20'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 9,834 Referee: L. Shapter

4 April 1987 (1987-04-04) 34	Tottenham Hotspur	3–0	Norwich City	London
	Allen 75' 81' 87'			Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 22,400 Referee: V. Callow

8 April 1987 (1987-04-08) 35	Newcastle United	4–1	Norwich City	Newcastle
	Goddard 40' Gascoigne 62' McDonald 71' (pen.) D. Jackson 90'		Drinkell 17'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 24,534 Referee: D. Allison

11 April 1987 (1987-04-11) 36	Norwich City	2–1	Liverpool	Norwich
	Putney 70' Drinkell 88'		Rush 37'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 22,879 Referee: C. Downey

18 April 1987 (1987-04-18) 37	Norwich City	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Norwich
	Putney 2' Crook 72'		Snodin 72'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 17,024 Referee: A. Buksh

20 April 1987 (1987-04-20) 38	Nottingham Forest	1–1	Norwich City	Nottingham
	Clough 78'		Rosario 62'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 14,446 Referee: N. Butler

25 April 1987 (1987-04-25) 39	Norwich City	1–1	Coventry City	Norwich
	Drinkell 26'		Butterworth 81' (o.g.)	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 14,610 Referee: T. Ward

2 May 1987 (1987-05-02) 40	Oxford United	0–1	Norwich City	Oxford
			Gordon 2'	Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 8,394 Referee: K. Baker

4 May 1987 (1987-05-04) 41	Norwich City	0–1	Everton	Norwich
			Van Den Hauwe 1'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 23,489 Referee: J. Bray

9 May 1987 (1987-05-09) 42	Arsenal	1–2	Norwich City	London
	Merson 61'		Crook 8' Putney 72'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 24,001 Referee: R. Milford

Source:^[21]

FA Cup

10 January 1987 (1987-01-10) Third Round	Norwich City	1–1	Huddersfield Town	Norwich
	Drinkell 87'		Shearer 73'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 11,524 Referee: A. Seville

21 January 1987 (1987-01-21) Third Round Replay	Huddersfield Town	2–4	Norwich City	Huddersfield
	Brown pen.' (13) Cork 78'		Phelan 30' Rosario 45' Drinkell 47' Gordon 50' Biggins	Stadium: Leeds Road Attendance: 8,970 Referee: A. Seville

31 January 1987 (1987-01-31) Fourth Round	Wigan Athletic	1–0	Norwich City	Wigan
	Jewell 78'			Stadium: Springfield Park Attendance: 8,095 Referee: M. Reed

Source:^[22]

Littlewoods Cup

24 September 1986 (1986-09-24) Second Round, First Leg	Peterborough United	0–0	Norwich City	Peterborough
				Stadium: London Road Attendance: 6,956 Referee: G. Napthine

8 October 1986 (1986-10-08) Second Round, Second Leg	Norwich City	1–0	Peterborough United	Norwich
	Biggins 48'			Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 10,027 Referee: M. Scott

29 October 1986 (1986-10-29) Third Round	Norwich City	4–1	Millwall	Norwich
	Hodgson 2' 77' 90' Drinkell 11' (pen.)		Byrne 14'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 10,277 Referee: J. Key

19 November 1986 (1986-11-19) Fourth Round	Norwich City	1–4	Everton	Norwich
	Barham 30'		Sheedy 21' Sharp 35' Steven 78' (pen.) Heath 84'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 17,988 Referee: C. Downey

Source:^[22]

Full Members' Cup

4 November 1986 (1986-11-04) Second Round	Norwich City	2–1	Coventry City	Norwich
	Drinkell 24' 88'		Phillips	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 6,235 Referee: M. James

9 December 1986 (1986-12-09) Third Round	Southampton	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Norwich City	Southampton
	Case 86' (pen.)		Drinkell 48' Rosario 92'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 5,745 Referee: M. Bodenham

25 February 1987 (1987-02-25) Quarter-final	Norwich City	3–1	Portsmouth	Norwich
	Rosario 33' Gordon 77' Biggins 89'		O'Callaghan 62'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 9,204 Referee: J. Moules

10 March 1987 (1987-03-10) Semi-final	Charlton Athletic	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Norwich City	London
	Walsh 90' Butterworth 93' (o.g.)		Rosario 89'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 5,431 Referee: M. Bodenham

Source:^[23]

Appearances

Pos	Player	League			FA Cup			Littlewoods Cup			Full Members Cup			Total
Pos	Player	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Subs	Goals
Goalkeepers
GK	Bryan Gunn	29	0	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0	37	0	0
GK	Graham Benstead	13	0	0	–	–	–	3	0	0	–	–	–	16	0	0
Defenders
RB	Ian Culverhouse	25	0	0	3	0	0	4	0	0	2	0	0	34	0	0
LB	Tony Spearing	39	0	0	3	0	0	4	0	0	3	0	0	49	0	0
CB	Steve Bruce	41	0	3	3	0	0	4	0	0	4	0	0	52	0	3
CB	Ian Butterworth	28	0	0	3	0	0	–	–	–	3	0	0	34	0	0
RB	Kenny Brown	17	1	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	0	0	20	1	0
CB	Shaun Elliott	15	0	2	–	–	–	2	0	0	1	1	0	18	1	2
LB	Mark Seagraves	3	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	0	0
Midfielders
CM	Mike Phelan	40	0	4	3	0	1	4	0	0	3	0	0	50	0	5
CM	Ian Crook	31	2	5	3	0	0	2	1	0	4	0	0	40	3	5
AM	Trevor Putney	20	3	4	–	–	–	1	0	0	3	0	0	24	3	4
AM	Dale Gordon	40	1	5	3	0	1	4	0	0	3	0	1	50	1	7
CM	David Williams	12	0	3	–	–	–	2	0	0	–	–	–	14	0	3
AM	Mark Barham	11	2	2	–	–	–	3	1	1	–	–	–	14	3	3
AM	Peter Mendham	3	0	0	–	–	–	1	1	0	–	–	–	4	1	0
AM	Ruel Fox	1	2	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	0	0	2	2	0
CM	Jeremy Goss	1	0	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	0	0	2	0	0
AM	Garry Brooke	0	1	0	–	–	–	–	–	–	0	1	0	0	2	0
Forwards
ST	Kevin Drinkell	42	0	16	3	0	2	4	0	1	4	0	2	53	0	21
ST	Wayne Biggins	23	8	4	3	0	0	3	0	1	1	2	2	30	10	7
ST	Robert Rosario	25	0	3	2	0	1	1	0	0	3	0	3	31	0	7
ST	David Hodgson	3	3	1	1	0	0	1	0	3	1	0	0	6	3	4

Source:^[23]

Goalscorers

Rank	Position	Player	Division One	FA Cup	Littlewoods Cup	Full Members Cup	Total
1	ST	Kevin Drinkell	16	2	1	2	21
2	LW	Dale Gordon	5	1	0	1	7
	ST	Wayne Biggins	4	0	1	2	7
	ST	Robert Rosario	3	1	0	3	7
3	CM	Ian Crook	5	0	0	0	5
3	CM	Mike Phelan	4	1	0	0	5
4	RW	Trevor Putney	4	0	0	0	4
4	ST	David Hodgson	1	0	3	0	4
5	RW	David Williams	3	0	0	0	3
	CB	Steve Bruce	3	0	0	0	3
	CM	Mark Barham	2	0	1	0	3
6	CB	Shaun Elliott	2	0	0	0	2
Own goals			1	0	0	0	1

Source:^[23]

References

^ "Norwich City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
^ "Norwich City match record: 1987". 11v11. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
^ "Norwich CITY squad 1986/87". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Norwich City: The Modern Era p.38
^ Canary Citizens p.314
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Club Directory 1988 p.397
^ Canary Citizens p.238
^ Canary Citizens p.269
^ Canary Citizens p.250
^ Canary Citizens p.229
^ Canary Citizens p.263
^ Canary Citizens p.242
^ Canary Citizens p.351
^ Canary Citizens p.340
^ Canary Citizens p.266
^ 1988 Club Directory p.245
^ Canary Citizens p.345
^ 1988 Club Directory p.227
^ Canary Citizens p.325
^ "League Division One end of season table for 1986-87 season". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
^ Norwich City: The Modern Era p.208-211
^ ^a ^b Norwich City: The Modern Era p.212
^ ^a ^b ^c 1988 Club Directory p.392–393

Bibliography

Canary Citizens Centenary Edition: Authors Mike Davage, John Eastwood and Kevan Platt ISBN 0711720207
The Football League Club Directory 1988: Editor Tony Williams ISBN 1-869833-05-8
Norwich City: The Modern Era: Author Rob Hadgraft ISBN 978-1-905328-82-6
News of the World Football Annual 1987-88: Editors Bill Bateson and Albert Sewell ISBN 0 85543 100 8

[table_note_ARS0.53822524032473-20] Arsenal would have qualified as League Cup winners.

[1] "Norwich City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 10 September 2023.

[2] "Norwich City match record: 1987". 11v11. Retrieved 10 September 2023.

[3] "Norwich CITY squad 1986/87". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 8 October 2023.

[Exchange-4] Norwich City: The Modern Era p.38

[5] Canary Citizens p.314

[NorwichSquad-6] Club Directory 1988 p.397

[7] Canary Citizens p.238

[8] Canary Citizens p.269

[9] Canary Citizens p.250

[10] Canary Citizens p.229

[11] Canary Citizens p.263

[12] Canary Citizens p.242

[13] Canary Citizens p.351

[14] Canary Citizens p.340

[15] Canary Citizens p.266

[16] 1988 Club Directory p.245

[17] Canary Citizens p.345

[18] 1988 Club Directory p.227

[19] Canary Citizens p.325

[21] "League Division One end of season table for 1986-87 season". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 15 October 2023.

[22] Norwich City: The Modern Era p.208-211

[CupResults-23] Norwich City: The Modern Era p.212

[Fullresults-24] 1988 Club Directory p.392–393

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[a]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]