I can still remember having to pinch myself to believe it. The greatest day in our history! Thanks for that Bure!
I got 13 out of 15. Good luck. https://www.givemesport.com/1798621-can-you-name-these-15-obscure-norwich-players-from-the-2000s
In our history we have been promoted as Division Champions on 7 occasions. 4 of those are this century, so we appear to be a much more competitive club than in previous eras. Not much fun supporting the Canaries in the 1950's for instance (apart from a certain cup run). We may moan, some more than others, but we do have more success these days. It is just that our failures are greater than before due to the greater disparity in wealth in the upper reaches of the football pyramid.
The 50's were dire - sending my pocket money to the EDP appeal to save City from going out of business - but then we had the Cup run and promotion to what is now the Championship for the first time ever the following season, In many ways the 60's were even more dire - the football we played was dire and, despite a revolving door for Managers, never improved. Then along came the great Ron Saunders . The big difference between then and now is the attitude of fans. In those days we looked upon Saturdays at Carrow Road as a day out, a bit of entertainment and somewhere to go in the full knowledge that the game was probably going to be crap, Nowadays we lose a few games and the fans get suicidal. In those days there was friendly rivalry with opposing supporters - nowadays it is tribal warfare. Everything is now completely different but when I look at the standard of play and the stadium comforts nowadays can I really yearn for the good old days - certainly not!!
And the state of the pitches the game was played on, Some real mud baths which produced absolutely dire football. Mind, some of our players would have played dire football on a carpet. But as 1950 says, then came Ron Saunders. Some club legends played under his managership.
As you say the game used to be played whatever state the pitch was in. I have often thought over the years that a turning point for the Club was the 58/59 Cup run which really began with our defeat of Man Utd on a pitch that would have been dangerous to ice skate on!!! I wonder where we would have been today if that game had been played on a decent pitch.
My dear old Grandad who took me to my first game at Carrow Road in 1950 proudly spoke about watching the first game in 1902 at Newmarket Road - apparently we were in the same local league as Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Due to old age he had stopped going to games by 1972 when we got promoted but we managed to get him there for our first game against Everton and he was so proud at what they had achieved that he cried. Lovely memories of a lovely man.