Norwich City Betting

Although records mention the existence of a Norwich Football Club as early as 1868, the official founding of the current team known as Norwich City F.C. was 1902. It occurred in June that year when a meeting was held at the Criterion Café in White Lion Street. The County Football Association granted the newly formed Club permission to use Newmarket Road, the venue for County Cup Finals, as their home ground, and a place in the Norfolk and Suffolk League was secured.

In September, the amateur group’s first match was played in an FA Cup preliminary round, losing to Lowestoft Town 5-0. They would advance as far as the third round in 1903-04, before turning professional and joining the Southern League as the Norwich City Citizens in 1905.

By 1907, however, the Norwich side was becoming commonly known the “Canaries,” and a decision was taken to adopt a new kit, featuring yellow shirts with green collar and cuffs. The following year at Newmarket Road, City defeated FA Cup holders Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 in the first round of that season’s competition in front of a record crowd of 10,366 spectators.

Although the Canaries never rose higher than seventh on the League table, fan support was growing and more space was required. For the 1908-09 season, a new home was created on Rosary Road by converting an abandoned chalk pit—so-called “Ruymp’s Hole”—into a stadium that would be appropriately nicknamed “The Nest.”

Norwich City held together beyond the War years of 1915-1919 and emerged as one of the original members of the Football League’s new Third Division when the Southern League was absorbed in 1920. Never finishing higher than eighth throughout the next decade, the Canaries suddenly took flight in the 1930s, reaching third in 1932-33, and then taking the Division Championship the following year.

This success put Norwich City on a trajectory for yet another big move, out of the Nest to Carrow Road in 1935. There, the team debuted to a 4-3 win over West Ham United before a record 29,779 fans, who filled the new stadium to capacity. King George VI paid a visit to the facilities in 1938, but just as war broke out again, the yellow-clad lads found themselves relegated back to the Third Division.

The post-War years were not kind to Norwich City. For more than a dozen years, they fought to regain pride of place in the League, but it was not until the early-1950s under manager Norman Low that a modicum of success was achieved. Finally, the 1958-59 season saw City make a real run for the FA Cup, defeating a pair of First Division sides and regaining Second Division status in 1959-60.

Finally, in 1962, the Club’s hard work and the patience of loyal fans were rewards. Their first national trophy came in the form of the Football League Cup, won at the expense of Rochdale in two swift finals victories, 2-0 at Spotland and 1-0 at Carrow Road. The egg had been cracked; now the omelets could be made.

In 1971-72, Norwich City won the Second Division Championship for the first time. In 1973 and 1975, they were runners-up in the League Cup before winning it a second time in 1985. Another Second Division title was theirs in 1985-86, followed by a third in 2003-04. And along the way, they managed their best Football League finish ever, rising to third place in the First Division table at the end of the 1992-93 season.

Although Norwich City are relative strangers to the Premiership, their recent rise to the top tier of British football has been nothing short of meteoric. They escaped the Third Division by winning its championship in 2009-10, and then they rocketed to runners-up in the Second Division in 2010-11 to gain promotion to Level One for the 2011-12 season.

One of the most popular wagers to make on the Canaries is the ongoing Friendship Trophy match against Sunderland, born out of the camaraderie that resulted from their 1985 League Cup final contest. The most recent edition, a Premier League game played in September 2011, was won by City 2-1.