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. 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. 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)

Transfers In DatePosNameFromFeeReference13 June 1986MFTrevor PutneyIpswich TownExchangeNorwich City: The Modern Era p.38Canary Citizens p.31418 June 1986MFIan CrookTottenham Hotspur£80,000Club Directory 1988 p.397Canary Citizens p.23818 July 1986FWDavid HodgsonSunderlandUnknownCanary Citizens p.26922 August 1986DFShaun ElliottSunderland£150,000Canary Citizens p.25019 September 1986DFIan ButterworthNottingham Forest£160,000Canary Citizens p.22915 October 1986GKBryan GunnAberdeenUnknownCanary Citizens p.263

Out DatePosNameToFeeReference28 May 1986FWJohn DeehanIpswich TownExchangeCanary Citizens p.2421 July 1986GKChris WoodsRangers£600,000Canary Citizens p.35118 August 1986DFDennis van WijkClub BruggeUnknownCanary Citizens p.34018 August 1986DFPaul HaylockGillinghamFreeCanary Citizens p.2661988 Club Directory p.24521 August 1986DFDave WatsonEverton£900,000Canary Citizens p.3451988 Club Directory p.227

Loans in DatePosNameFromUntilReference21 November 1986DFMark SeagravesLiverpool6 December 1986Canary Citizens p.325

Final table

Results Division One

Source:Norwich City: The Modern Era p.208-211

FA Cup

Source:Norwich City: The Modern Era p.212

Littlewoods Cup

Source:

Full Members' Cup

Source:1988 Club Directory p.392–393

Appearances Player League FA Cup Littlewoods Cup Full Members Cup Total 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:

Goalscorers Rank Position Player 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 7ST Wayne Biggins 4 0 1 2 7ST Robert Rosario 3 1 0 3 7 3 CM Ian Crook 5 0 0 0 5 CM Mike Phelan 4 1 0 0 5 4 RW Trevor Putney 4 0 0 0 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:

References

Bibliography Canary Citizens Centenary Edition: Authors Mike Davage, John Eastwood and Kevan Platt The Football League Club Directory 1988: Editor Tony Williams Norwich City: The Modern Era: Author Rob Hadgraft News of the World Football Annual 1987-88: Editors Bill Bateson and Albert Sewell