1988–89 Norwich City F.C. season

During the 1988–89 English football season, Norwich City competed in the Football League First Division.

Norwich City

1988–89 season
Manager	Dave Stringer
Stadium	Carrow Road
First Division	4th
FA Cup	Semi-final
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Robert Fleck All: Robert Fleck (15)
Home colours
← 1987–88 1989–90 →

Season summary

Norwich were tipped by many to struggle during the season, but shocked the rest of the First Division by going top in September; by the end of October, they held a six-point lead over Arsenal, having played a game more. The lead at the top was maintained until December, finished the season in fourth – until 1993, this was their highest ever league placing. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing to Everton, which had made them unlikely contenders for the double of the league title and FA Cup this season – an accolade which had only previously been achieved five times in a whole century of league football in England.

Norwich's fourth place in the league saw them finish only behind champions Arsenal, runners-up Liverpool and third placed Nottingham Forest. They finished above a number of higher-spending and traditionally better-supported and more successful clubs including Everton, Manchester United and relegated Newcastle United.

Stars of the season included goalkeeper Bryan Gunn, defender Andy Linighan, midfielder Mike Phelan, winger Dale Gordon and striker Robert Fleck. However, it was the last season at Carrow Road for Phelan, who was then sold to Manchester United.

Squad

Squad at end of season^[1]

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 — DF  ENG Ian Butterworth (vice-captain) — DF  ENG Ian Culverhouse — DF  ENG Andy Linighan — DF  WAL Mark Bowen — MF  ENG Paul Cook — MF  ENG Ian Crook — MF  ENG Ruel Fox[2] — MF  ENG Dale Gordon

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Mike Phelan (captain) — MF  ENG Trevor Putney — MF  WAL Jeremy Goss — MF  IRL Andy Townsend[3] — FW  ENG Robert Rosario — FW  WAL Malcolm Allen — FW  SCO Robert Fleck — FW  ENG Dean Coney — GK  ENG Jon Sheffield

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  ENG Alan Taylor (retired)

Reserve team

Youth team

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  ENG Nick Brown — GK  NZL Jason Batty — DF  ENG Daryl Sutch — DF  ENG Adrian Pennock — DF  ENG Robert Ullathorne

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ENG Jason Minett — MF  ENG David Smith — FW  ENG Robert Taylor — FW  ENG Lee Power

Transfers

In

• Andy Townsend – Southampton, £300,000, 31 August 1988
• Malcolm Allen - Watford, £175,000
• Paul Cook - Wigan Athletic, £73,000
• Dean Coney - QPR, £350,000
• Mike Flynn, Oldham Athletic, £100,000

Out

• Kevin Drinkell – Rangers, £500,000
• Wayne Biggins - Man City, £160,000
• Tony Spearing - Leiscester City, £100,000
• Kenny Brown – Plymouth Argyle

Final league table

Main article: 1988–89 Football League § First Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
2	Liverpool[a]	38	22	10	6	65	28	+37	76	Disqualified from the European Cup Winners' Cup[4]
3	Nottingham Forest[b]	38	17	13	8	64	43	+21	64	Disqualified from the UEFA Cup[5]
4	Norwich City	38	17	11	10	48	45	+3	62
5	Derby County	38	17	7	14	40	38	+2	58
6	Tottenham Hotspur	38	15	12	11	60	46	+14	57

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

1. Liverpool would have qualified as FA Cup winners.
2. Nottingham Forest would have qualified as League Cup winners.

Results

First Division

Norwich City v Nottingham Forest

27 August 1988	Norwich City	2–1	Nottingham Forest	Norwich
	Fleck 13' Bowen 15'		Chettle	Stadium: Carrow Road

Middlesbrough v Norwich City

3 September 1988	Middlesbrough	2–3	Norwich City	Middlesbrough
	Mowbray Burke		Rosario Fleck	Stadium: Ayresome Park

Norwich City v Queen's Park Rangers

10 September 1988	Norwich City	1–0	Queen's Park Rangers	Norwich
	Mike Phelan			Stadium: Carrow Road

Newcastle United v Norwich City

17 September 1988	Newcastle United	0–2	Norwich City	Newcastle-upon-Tyne
			Fleck	Stadium: St James' Park

Norwich City v Millwall

24 September 1988	Norwich City	2–2	Millwall	Norwich
	Crook Rosario		Cascarino O'Callaghan	Stadium: Carrow Road

Norwich City v Charlton Athletic

1 October 1988	Norwich City	1–3	Charlton Athletic	Norwich
	Linighan		Williams Mortimer	Stadium: Carrow Road

Derby County v Norwich City

8 October 1988	Derby County	0–1	Norwich City	Derby
			Wright o.g.'	Stadium: Baseball Ground

Norwich City v Tottenham Hotspur

22 October 1988	Norwich City	3–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Norwich
	Rosario Robert Fleck Andy Linighan		Fairclough	Stadium: Carrow Road

Manchester United v Norwich City

26 October 1988	Manchester United	1–2	Norwich City	Manchester
	Hughes 59'		Phelan 85' Townsend 86'	Stadium: Old Trafford

Norwich City v Southampton

29 October 1988	Norwich City	1–1	Southampton	Norwich
	Fleck		Danny Wallace	Stadium: Carrow Road

Wimbledon v Norwich City

5 November 1988	Wimbledon	0–2	Norwich City
			Andy Linighan Malcolm Allen

Norwich City v Sheffield Wednesday

12 November 1988	Norwich City	1–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Norwich
	Trevor Putney		Mel Sterland	Stadium: Carrow Road

Everton v Norwich City

19 November 1988	Everton	1–1	Norwich City
	Steven 74' (pen.)		Allen 62'	Referee: John Penrose

Norwich City v Luton Town

26 November 1988	Norwich City	2–2	Luton Town	Norwich
	Own Goal Dale Gordon		Wegerle	Stadium: Carrow Road

Aston Villa v Norwich City

3 December 1988	Aston Villa	3–1	Norwich City
	Kevin Gage David Platt		Trevor Putney

Norwich City v Arsenal

10 December 1988	Norwich City	0–0	Arsenal	Norwich
				Stadium: Carrow Road

Liverpool v Norwich City

17 December 1988	Liverpool	0–1	Norwich City
			Andy Townsend

Norwich City v West Ham United

27 December 1988	Norwich City	2–1	West Ham United	Norwich
	Dale Gordon 53' Andy Townsend 60'		Ray Stewart 71' (pen.)	Stadium: Carrow Road

Norwich City v Middlesbrough

31 December 1988	Norwich City	0–0	Middlesbrough	Norwich
				Stadium: Carrow Road

Queen's Park Rangers v Norwich City

2 January 1989	Queen's Park Rangers	1–1	Norwich City	London
	Marc Falco		Alan Taylor	Stadium: Loftus Road

Norwich City v Coventry City

14 January 1989	Norwich City	1–2	Coventry City	Norwich
	Dale Gordon		David Speedie 90'	Stadium: Carrow Road

Millwall v Norwich City

22 January 1989	Millwall	2–3	Norwich City
	Cascarino 11' Carter 42'		Butterworth 2' Bowen 7' Fleck 90'

Charlton Athletic v Norwich City

4 February 1989	Charlton Athletic	2–1	Norwich City	Selhurst Park
	Garth Crooks		Malcolm Allen Andy Townsend

Norwich City v Derby County

11 February 1989	Norwich City	1–0	Derby County	Norwich
	Robert Fleck			Stadium: Carrow Road

Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City

21 February 1989	Tottenham Hotspur	2–1	Norwich City
	Paul Gascoigne Chris Waddle		Trevor Putney

Norwich City v Manchester United

25 February 1989	Norwich City	2–1	Manchester United	Norwich
	Butterworth Malcolm Allen		Paul McGrath	Stadium: Carrow Road

Norwich City v Wimbledon

11 March 1989	Norwich City	1–0	Wimbledon	Norwich
	Trevor Putney			Stadium: Carrow Road

Norwich City v Newcastle United

25 March 1989	Norwich City	0–2	Newcastle United	Norwich
			Mirandinha Liam O'Brian	Stadium: Carrow Road

West Ham United v Norwich City

27 March 1989	West Ham United	0–2	Norwich City
			Andy Linighan Malcolm Allen 86'

Norwich City v Liverpool

1 April 1989	Norwich City	0–1	Liverpool	Norwich
			Ronnie Whelan	Stadium: Carrow Road

Nottingham Forest v Norwich City

5 April 1989	Nottingham Forest	2–0	Norwich City	Nottingham
	Nigel Clough Stuart Pearce			Stadium: City Ground

Coventry City v Norwich City

8 April 1989	Coventry City	2–1	Norwich City
	David Phillips 24' David Speedie		Robert Fleck

Southampton v Norwich City

19 April 1989	Southampton	0–0	Norwich City	Southampton
				Stadium: The Dell

Norwich City v Aston Villa

22 April 1989	Norwich City	2–2	Aston Villa	Norwich
	Dean Coney Andy Townsend		Ian Olny McInally	Stadium: Carrow Road

Arsenal v Norwich City

1 May 1989	Arsenal	5–0	Norwich City	London
	Nigel Winterburn Alan Smith Micheal Thomas Alan Smith Paul Rocastle			Stadium: Highbury

Norwich City v Everton

6 May 1989	Norwich City	1–0	Everton	Norwich
	Dale Gordon			Stadium: Carrow Road

Luton Town v Norwich City

13 May 1989	Luton Town	1–0	Norwich City
	Danny Wilson pen.'

Sheffield Wednesday v Norwich City

17 May 1989	Sheffield Wednesday	2–2	Norwich City	Sheffield
	Own Goal Reeves		Robert Rosario Fleck	Stadium: Hillsborough

League Cup

Norwich City v Preston North End

28 September 1988	Norwich City	2–0	Preston North End	Norwich
	Rosario Ian Crook			Stadium: Carrow Road

Preston North End v Norwich City

11 October 1988	Preston North End	0–3	Norwich City
			Fleck Gordon Rosario

Leicester City v Norwich City

2 November 1988

Leicester City

2–0

Norwich City

FA Cup

Port Vale v Norwich City

8 January 1989	Port Vale	1–3	Norwich City
			Townsend Fleck

Norwich City v Sutton United

28 January 1989	Norwich City	8–0	Sutton United	Norwich
	Allen Fleck Putney			Stadium: Carrow Road

Norwich City v Sheffield United

18 February 1989	Norwich City	3–2	Sheffield United	Norwich
	Own Goal Allen pen.' Gordon			Stadium: Carrow Road

West Ham United v Norwich City

18 March 1989

West Ham United

0–0

Norwich City

Norwich City v West Ham United

22 March 1989	Norwich City	3–1	West Ham United	Norwich
	Malcolm Allen Dale Gordon			Stadium: Carrow Road

Everton v Norwich City

15 April 1989	Everton	1–0	Norwich City	Birmingham
				Stadium: Villa Park

Awards

• Barry Butler Memorial Trophy for Norwich City F.C. Player of the Year: Dale Gordon

References

1. "Norwich City » squad 1988/1989". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
2. Fox was born in Ipswich, England, but also qualified to represent Montserrat internationally and would make his international debut for Montserrat in 2004.
3. Townsend was born in Maidstone, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandmother and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in February 1989.
4. English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on until the season 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans.
5. English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on until the season 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans.