The roots of Norwich City FC date back to 1888 when a local branch of the Church of England Young Men’s Society founded a Football side. Two players from this side formed the breakaway Norwich City FC in June 1902 after a meeting in the Criterion Café in Norwich. City started as an amateur club, however were expelled from the FA Amateur Cup in 1904, when the FA deemed they fit the criteria for a Professional side. Norwich therefore joined the Southern League in 1905, their highest finish being their debut season when they finished in seventh place in 1905/06. When football was suspended during the First World War, Norwich City found themselves with huge debts and went into voluntary liquidation in December 1917, though reformed again in February 1919.

When football resumed that year, the Canaries became founder members of the Third Division and remained there until former Arsenal Captain Tom Parker took over as manager in 1933. In his first season Norwich won the Third Division South title in 1933/34 by a seven points over their nearest rival under a two points for a win system. The growing crowds at Norwich City’s existing ground meant that the Canaries flew the Nest (the actual name of their old ground) in 1935 to a sports ground in Carrow Road owned by the Colman family (they of ‘too much Mustard gets up your nose’ fame), where the Canaries remain until this day.

Parker remained at Carrow Road before moving to Southampton in 1937. The Canaries remained in the Second tier until dropping back down again at the end of the decade after finishing second from bottom. After football resumed after the Second World War, Norwich finished second from bottom of the Third Division South for two seasons in a row, having to seek re-election to the Football League. Arsenal’s first meeting with Norwich came at Carrow Road after the two sides were drawn together in the third round of the FA Cup in January 1952. At the time Arsenal were third in the old First Division, while Norwich were third in the Third Division South. In the event Arsenal won 5-0, with goals from Jimmy Logie, Don Roper, Peter Goring and two for Doug Lishman.

Despite conceding five goals, Norwich goalkeeper Ken Nethercott so impressed Arsenal manager Tom Whittaker that he tried to sign him up, but Nethercott declined to leave Norwich ‘even for Arsenal’. The Gunners’ FA Cup run that year took them to Wembley and a 0-1 defeat to Newcastle in the Final, followed by a League title the following season. By 1953/54 however, the Gunners were on the decline. Arsenal drew Norwich again in the FA Cup that season, this time in the fourth round and at Highbury. At the time, Arsenal were languishing in ninth position, with just one win in six games (losing 1-4 to Sunderland the week before), while Norwich sat in tenth place in the Third Division South.

After two minutes, in front of a crowd of 55,767 fans, Norwich were awarded a penalty. Jack Kelsey however saved Bobby Brennan’s spot kick. There had also been an early fracas between Arsenal’s Alex Forbes and Norwich’s Bobby Brennan, which saw the pair sent off. Tom Whittaker noted that the double sending off had ‘spoilt the game as a spectacle’, but that: ‘Norwich deserve credit for keeping their heads better in the electric atmosphere’. In the second half, Arsenal took the lead through a goal from Jimmy Logie, however Norwich City centre forward Tom Johnston, who had been languishing in the reserves for most of the season, scored twice for the Canaries in rapid succession.

With only ten minutes remaining Arsenal threw everything at the Norwich goal, however the Canaries inflicted an incredible 1-2 defeat on the Gunners. This was the only time ever in which Arsenal lost an FA Cup tie at Highbury to a team outside the top two divisions (although Walsall did repeat their trick of half a century prior in 1983, albeit in the League Cup). Norwich however remained in the Third Division South throughout the rest of the fifties. Tom Parker returned as manager in 1955, however on his watch the Canaries finished bottom of the whole League at the end of 1956/57. That year saw the club in financial crisis, requiring media agency The Norfolk News Company to cover the club’s wage bill, as well as a public appeal raising £20,000 for the club.

The moment that put Norwich on the map however (in a way that ‘Swallow’, Alan Partridge’s idea for a regional detective series about a maverick cop driving over 70 MPH on the motorway if he wants to get somewhere quickly, never could) would be their 1959 FA Cup run. At the time the run commenced at home to Ilford in the first round, the Canaries had failed to win their last five games at Carrow Road. Another home win over Swindon in the second round saw them drawn at home to Matt Busby’s Manchester United, who were Cup finalists for the previous two seasons and though suffering a decline just under one year on from the Munich Air Disaster, they still had the talents of Bobby Charlton, Dennis Viollett, Bill Foulkes, Harry Gregg and Wilf McGuiness within their ranks.

United were actually fourth in the old First Division table at the time, two points behind Arsenal who were top of the table despite already losing nine games, while Norwich were languishing in sixteenth place in the Third tier. Incredibly, Norwich shocked the football world with a stunning 3-0 win over Busby’s side in front of 38,000 fans at Carrow Road, with goals from Errol Crossan and two for Norwich’s Terry Bly (leading to one local newspaper headline of "Bly Bly Babes"). One of the Canaries’ ‘59ers’ Jimmy Hill (not that one) stated that: ‘With the Manchester United game, I think we were very fortunate it was played on snow. They didn't adapt to the conditions at all’. Two weeks later in the fourth round, again at Carrow Road, saw Norwich drawn against Cardiff City, then sitting in sixth place in the second tier.

With the scores at two each Terry Bly popped up again to put Norwich through with a 3-2 win and the reward of a fifth round trip against Bill Nicholson’s Spurs at White Hart Lane on Valentine’s Day. Norwich took the lead at White Hart Lane, but denied Cup romance after succumbing to a late Tottenham equaliser. Norwich however secured a 1-0 win in the replay at Carrow Road four days later. In the Quarter Final, Norwich received an away draw to Sheffield United (conquerors of Arsenal in the previous round) where a 1-1 draw brought the Blades back to Carrow Road. A 3-2 victory took the Canaries through to the Semi Final and back to White Hart Lane for a tie with Luton Town – then in seventeenth position in the top tier.

The Canaries managed a 1-1 draw, to take Luton to a replay at Birmingham’s St. Andrew’s Stadium four days later, where Norwich finally succumbed to a 0-1 defeat which took Luton Town to the 1959 FA Cup Final. Amidst the Cup run, Norwich also went on a sixteen match unbeaten run which meant that they finished in fourth position, though missed out on promotion by four points. The following season Norwich secured promotion to the old Second Division after finishing runners up and in their first post-war season in the second tier achieved an impressive fourth place finish, while their East Anglian ‘Old Farm’ rivals Ipswich under Alf Ramsey finished top of the table and heading for the old first Division.

The two sides were drawn against each other in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1961/62, here playing out a 1-1 draw at Carrow Road, while Norwich won the replay at Portman Road 2-1, though would be eliminated in the next round against Sheffield United. In the Football League Cup however (in only its second season of competition) Norwich would achieve their first taste of glory that season. The Canaries reached a two-legged final against mid-table fourth tier side Rochdale. In the first leg, played away at Spotland, Norwich achieved a 3-0 win. A 1-0 victory back at Carrow Road the following week gave the Canaries their first ever major trophy. However, their rivals Ipswich won the old First Division title one season after promotion. For Norwich however, throughout the 1960s they held on to their place within the second tier.

In February 1965 the Canaries would sign Arsenal protégé Terry Anderson, who would form part of Billy Wright’s youth policy and would be cited here in this ITN interview with the then Arsenal boss as a player for the future alongside Arsenal’s 1971 Double squad member Jon Sammels. As a right sided winger, Anderson would face stiff competition at Highbury from George Armstrong, Johnny MacLeod and Alan Skirton. On moving to Carrow Road, Anderson went on to play 236 times for the Canaries before moving on to Baltimore Comets of the NASL in 1974.

Tragically, Terry Anderson would die at the age of just thirty five after going out for a training run in Great Yarmouth in late January. His body would be found a week later, with the unfortunate Anderson having drowned at some point in the interim. Tragedy would also strike Norwich City in April 1966 when Central Defender Barry Butler would be killed in a road traffic accident after his vehicle collided with a bus late at night in Sprowston in Norfolk. Norwich City’s player of the season award has been named after Billy Butler ever since.

In 1967, Norwich would also be drawn against Matt Busby’s Manchester United again, this time at Old Trafford up against the Holy Trinity of Charlton, Law and Best in the fourth round in front of 63,409 fans. As with eight years earlier, Norwich would cause an upset. Don Heath would give the Canaries the lead midway through the first half, though Denis Law would equalise for United eight minutes later. A Gordon Bolland goal eight minutes later however would give Norwich a 2-1 win over a United side that would go on to win their last league title for twenty six years. Their reward would be a home fixture against Sheffield Wednesday, who were FA Cup Finalists from the season before. The game itself would be captured by the Match of the Day cameras, the Canaries however would suffer a 1-3 defeat.

Norwich City under Ron Saunders would enjoy their first ever promotion to the top flight in 1971/72 after finishing as Champions of the old Second Division, with a slender one point cushion over runners up Birmingham City and just two ahead of Millwall in third. Promotion was clinched with a 2-1 win over Orient. Norwich’s first ever fixture in top flight football came in August 1972, with a 1-1 draw against Everton at Carrow Road.

The Canaries’ first victory in the top flight came three days later against their ‘Old Farm’ rivals Ipswich at Portman Road in a 2-1 win with goals from Terry Anderson and Jimmy Bone. The following Saturday however saw their first defeat in the top flight in a 0-3 loss to Man City at Maine Road, though @01.39 Norwich seemed to have a perfectly good goal from Dave Stringer from a free kick disallowed, denying them an equaliser at 0-1 down. Moments later a Colin Bell goal put Norwich two behind despite a Norwich defender on the line attempting a diving save which, in modern football, had the ball touched him it would have been a straight red card.

Arsenal’s first League meeting with Norwich occurred in Late September 1972 when the Gunners visited Carrow Road. Despite goals for John Radford and Peter Storey, Arsenal slumped to a 2-3 defeat to the Canaries with two goals for Highbury old boy Terry Anderson. Two months later, Arsenal would be drawn at home to Norwich City in the Quarter Final of the League Cup. The Gunners however would slump to a 0-3 defeat, with Graham Paddon bagging a hat-trick for the Canaries in just under thirty five minutes. Norwich went on to face Chelsea in the Semi Final, beating the Blues 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg, while a 1-0 win at Carrow Road gave the Canaries a 3-0 win on aggregate to put them into the Final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Between the two legs, Norwich’s first league visit to Highbury came on Boxing Day 1972. After three straight defeats to Norwich, goals for John Radford and Alan Ball finally gave Arsenal a 2-0 win, giving the Gunners their first victory over the Canaries Norwich for twenty one years. An out of form Norwich would also lose the 1972/73 League Cup Final with a 0-1 defeat to Spurs from a goal by Ralph Coates. A 1-0 win away to fellow strugglers West Brom and a win over Crystal Palace at the end of the season would ensure their safety over that of the Eagles who dropped to the second tier.

The following September, Arsenal bagged their first League win at Carrow Road with a thumping 4-0 win with goals from an Alan Ball penalty, Charlie George, Ray Kennedy and Bob McNab. The Gunners would also return to Carrow Road the following January to knock Norwich out of the FA Cup in the third round with a 1-0 win secured by a goal from Eddie Kelly. A week later back at Highbury, two goals from Alan Ball gave Arsenal a 2-0 win over the Canaries. Norwich finished the 1973/74 season rock bottom of the table, eight points adrift of safety under a two points for a win system. The East Anglian side however also had another good run in the League Cup, reaching the Semi Final, though losing 2-1 on aggregate to that season’s winners Wolves.

While in the second tier in 1974/75, after seeing off ‘Old Farm’ rivals Ipswich with a 2-1 away win in the Quarter Finals, Norwich would be involved in a first regarding the League Cup as all four Semi Finalists – Chester City, Aston Villa, Manchester United and the Canaries – would hail from outside the top tier. Norwich beat Man United 3-2 over two legs in the Semi Final to meet Aston Villa in the final at Wembley. Villa were awarded a penalty nine minutes from time, which Norwich keeper Kevin Keelan got his hands to, but Ray Graydon would slot away the rebound as Villa would inflict a 0-1 defeat on the Canaries.