Norwich City Football Club is an association football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, and was founded in 1902. The club's first manager, John Bowman, was appointed in 1905. Since then, 43 men have held the job on a permanent basis. Since 18 November 2025, the position has been held by Philippe Clement.

Ken Brown holds the record for most games in charge, with a total of 367 between 1980 and 1987. Excluding caretaker managers, the shortest reigns were those of George Swindin and Jimmy Jewell, who both managed 20 games; Jewell's tenure was ended by the outbreak of the Second World War. Fifteen managers have been named in the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame, some of whom were also former players.

The last Norwich manager to win a major trophy was Ken Brown, who won the League Cup with Norwich in 1985. Norwich have never won the FA Cup, but have reached the FA Cup semi-finals three times – most recently in the 1989 and 1992 competitions, but also the 1958–59 FA Cup, when Archie Macaulay managed the then third-tier club to several giant-killing victories before losing a semi-final replay to Luton Town. Norwich reached the top tier of English football for the first time in 1972, under the leadership of Ron Saunders. The highest league finish Norwich have ever achieved was third in the 1992–93 season, under Mike Walker. The following season, he managed Norwich in their only European campaign to date in the UEFA Cup, when they became the only British club to ever defeat Bayern Munich at their home ground, the Olympic Stadium.

History

Early years Norwich City was founded as an amateur football club in 1902. During the early years of the club's history, there was no manager. Arthur Turner, was the joint secretary of the club, and his wide-ranging role included that of "match secretary": according to John Eastwood, author of Canary Citizens: The Official History Of Norwich City F.C., this meant he would "look after the playing side".Eastwood, p.16 Following an FA Commission of inquiry, the club was informed on the last day of 1904 that they had been deemed a professional organisation and hence ineligible to compete in amateur football.Eastwood, p.22 The FA announced various shortcomings in the club's practices, many of which involved Turner specifically, including: fees ... paid for the use of a gymnasium and also for the training and massage of players. The sum of £8 was also paid to a player when he left the club. Payments were made to players without a receipt being taken. The club advertised for players ... [the] secretary ... spent considerable sums of money in travelling to other towns in East Anglia ... travelling expenses were ... excessive. The club officials, including Turner, had to be removed from office and Norwich were ousted from the amateur game at the end of the season.Eastwood, p.23 The response was swift: at a meeting two days later, it was resolved to find a place in professional football. On 30 May 1905, they were elected to play in the Southern League, in place of Wellingborough. By then the club had secured their first professional manager, John Bowman. Bowman served two years in the role. He also has a place in Norwich City history for making the first recorded link between the team and its nickname "Canaries", although at this time the club nickname was "Citizens".Eastwood p.24 The earliest recorded link between the club and canaries, came in a 1905 newspaper interview with Bowman, quoting him saying: "Well I knew of the City's existence ... I have ... heard of the canaries." At the time, this was a reference to Norwich's link to breeding canaries; the club's canary colours and crest would follow the adoption of the nickname.

The Norwich City player James McEwen was appointed as manager in 1907. Tom Parker was the first Norwich manager to achieve promotion, as the club won the Division Three (South) title in the 1933–34 season, before being relegated in the 1938–39 season by the slimmest of margins – a goal average of 0.05. Norman Low came close to regaining Second Division status in several seasons of the 1950s, but the return of Tom Parker led to ignominy of finishing bottom of the Football League in the 1956–57 season. The poor performance on the field was overshadowed by financial difficulties; the club was rescued from liquidation and reformed, with Archie Macaulay appointed as manager.

Rise to the top division Macaulay oversaw one of Norwich City's greatest achievements: its run to the semi-final of the 1958–59 FA Cup. Competing as a Third Division side, Norwich defeated two First Division opponents along the way, notably a 3–0 win against the Manchester United "Busby Babes". City lost the semi-final only after a replay against another First Division side, Luton Town. The "59 Cup Run" as it is now known locally, "remains as one of the truly great periods in Norwich City's history" according to the club. Norwich were the third-ever Third Division team to reach the FA Cup semi-final.

Macaulay then extended success to the league. In the 1959–60 season, Norwich were promoted to the Second Division after finishing behind league champions Southampton, and achieved a fourth-place finish in the 1960–61 season. From 1960, Norwich spent the next 12 seasons in the second tier, with finishes of fourth in 1961 and sixth in the 1964–65 season being among the most notable.

In 1962, Willie Reid guided Norwich to their first trophy, defeating Rochdale 4–0 on aggregate in a two-legged final to win the League Cup. Norwich finally achieved promotion from Division Two when they finished as champions in the 1971–72 season under Ron Saunders; Norwich City had reached the highest level of English football for the first time.

Saunders capitalised on this success, taking Norwich to their first appearance at Wembley Stadium in 1973, losing the League Cup final 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur. However, following a boardroom row after a 3–1 home defeat to Everton on 17 November 1973, Saunders resigned as manager on the spot. The new manager was John Bond who oversaw the club's relegation that season. A highly successful first season saw promotion back to the First Division and another visit to Wembley, again in the League Cup final, this time losing 1–0 to Aston Villa. Bond managed to keep Norwich in the top-tier of English football for another six seasons. The club finished tenth in the 1975–76 season; at the time their highest ever finish. Under Bond though, the club never managed to qualify for European competitions. He resigned during the 1980–81 season and the club was relegated, but returned to the top tier the following season after finishing third under new manager Ken Brown.

The 1984–85 season was one of mixed fortunes for the club; a fire gutted the old Main Stand on 25 October 1984, but on the pitch, under Brown's management, they reached the final of the League Cup (known at that time as the Milk Cup) at Wembley, having defeated local rivals Ipswich Town in the semi-final. In the final, they beat Sunderland 1–0, but in the league both Norwich and Sunderland were relegated to the second tier of English football. By winning a major trophy, Brown's side qualified for the UEFA Cup, but were denied their first foray into European competition when English club sides were banned, following the Heysel Stadium disaster. City made an immediate return to the top flight by winning the Second Division championship in the 1985–86 season. Brown's success continued into the 1986–87 season, when Norwich finished fifth, but following the departure of his assistant, Mel Machin, the club made a weak start to the following season and Brown was dismissed in November 1987. Dave Stringer, who had made nearly 500 appearances for City as a player, was appointed manager. He kept Norwich in the top tier and the following season the club finished fourth, which, like the 1986–87 season, would have been enough for 1989–90 UEFA Cup qualification, but the ban on English clubs was still in place. Stringer also managed to guide City to the semi-finals of the 1988–89 FA Cup and repeated the feat in the 1991–92 tournament. However, the 1991–92 season saw Norwich flirt with relegation and finished 18th, leading to Stringer's resignation.

Premier League, Europe and club centenary The club's reserve team coach Mike Walker was Stringer's permanent successor. He was promoted to take charge of the first team before the 1992–93 inaugural season of the English Premier League. Media and pundits tipped Norwich for a season of struggle, but the club led the league for much of the season, and eventually finished third. It was the club's highest ever finish and Norwich qualified for European football.

Walker's team played in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, defeating Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem 3–0 in the first round. In the second round, they faced Bayern Munich. Norwich won the tie 3–2 on aggregate; their 2–1 victory in Munich earning Norwich a place in history, as the only English team to beat Bayern Munich in the Olympic Stadium. The win in Munich was described in The Independent as "the pinnacle of Norwich City's history". Reflecting on the result, FourFourTwo wrote "The news that Norwich had gone 2–0 up in the Olympic Stadium seemed frankly surreal." Norwich's cup run was ended by Inter Milan, who defeated them 2–0 over two legs. Walker's success at Norwich attracted attention and, in January 1994, he left the club to take charge of Everton. Walker had commented to the press earlier in his time at Norwich that "to earn a decent salary" from chairman Robert Chase, he'd have to "win the League, FA Cup and Eurovision Song Contest every year."

Walker's replacement was the first team coach John Deehan, assisted by Gary Megson, then still a player. Deehan led the club to 12th place in the 1993–94 season in the Premier League. During the 1994 close season, the club sold the 21-year-old striker Chris Sutton to Blackburn Rovers for a then British record fee of £5 million. By Christmas of the 1994–95 season, Norwich City were seventh in the Premiership and challenging for a return to the UEFA Cup, but, following a serious injury to goalkeeper Bryan Gunn, the club's performance dipped; with just one win in their final twenty Premiership fixtures, Norwich dropped to 20th place and were relegated to the second tier of English football. Deehan resigned just before relegation was confirmed; he was replaced in the summer of 1995 by former Norwich player Martin O'Neill, who had taken Wycombe Wanderers from the Conference to the Second Division with successive promotions.

O'Neill's tenure lasted just six months; he resigned after a dispute with chairman Robert Chase over Chase's refusal to permit O'Neill to spend significant sums on strengthening the squad. According to O'Neill, the tipping point was the refusal of Chase to permit the purchase of Dean Windass. Soon after O'Neill's resignation, Chase stepped down after protests from supporters, who complained that he kept selling the club's best players, refused to reinvest in new players and consequently was to blame for relegation.

Gary Megson was appointed Norwich manager on a temporary basis for the second time in eight months: he had also briefly filled this role after Deehan's departure. Megson remained in charge until the end of the 1995–96 season before leaving the club. Mike Walker, who had struggled at Everton, was re-appointed as the club's manager. He was unable to repeat the success achieved during his first spell and was sacked in the 1997–98 season with Norwich mid-table in the First Division.