Norwich City F.C. Player of the Season

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For a list of all Norwich City players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Norwich City F.C. players. For the current Norwich City first-team squad, see Norwich City F.C. § First-team squad.
Five men standing on a grass football pitch, wearing yellow shirts, green shorts and yellow socks.
Iwan Roberts, who won the award twice.

The Norwich City Player of the Season award is voted for annually by Norwich City's supporters, in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season.[1] As a mark of respect, the trophy is named The Barry Butler memorial trophy after the club captain who was killed in a car accident on 9 April 1966.[2]

This is the more prestigious of just two awards made by Norwich City itself each year to its players, the other being the 'Young Player of the Year' accolade.[3] The 2003–04 winner Craig Fleming made clear just how important this award is to Norwich City players, "It is something you dream of winning... it is such a prestigious award".[4] Other awards available are awarded by other bodies, namely the , and the "Ambassador Club".[5]

Since the inaugural award was made to Terry Allcock, eight players have won the award twice and one three times, Grant Holt in 2010, 2011 and 2012.[6] World Cup winner Martin Peters was the first to win the trophy in consecutive seasons, a feat since emulated by strikers Kevin Drinkell and Iwan Roberts, as well as Holt.[7] Just two winners have gone on to manage the club, Dave Stringer,[8] the 1972 winner, and double-winner Bryan Gunn.

Voting mechanism[]

This award is voted for by the fans of the club. Toward the end of the season, fans are invited to vote, either by submitting a paper slip to the club's Carrow Road offices, or by email or text message, with the winner being the player that polls the most votes.[9] A percentage of the votes from the 'Player of the Month' awards throughout the season also count towards the final votes for Player of the year.[9]

List of winners[]

  Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame inductee[10]
† Player currently on the playing staff of the club

Season Level/Tier[nb 1] Name[11] Position[nb 2] Nationality Caps[nb 3] Notes
1967 2 Terry Allcock Defender[nb 4]  England Inaugural winner.
1968 2 Hugh Curran Striker  Scotland 5
1969 2 Ken Foggo Winger  Scotland
1970 2 Duncan Forbes Defender  Scotland
1971 2 Ken Foggo Winger  Scotland Second award.
1972 2 Dave Stringer Defender  England Went on to manage the club, 1987–1992.[12]
1973 1 Kevin Keelan Goalkeeper  England First goalkeeper to win the award, and retained it the following year.
1974 1 Kevin Keelan Goalkeeper  England[nb 5] Second award.
1975 2 Colin Suggett Midfielder  England
1976 1 Martin Peters Midfielder  England 67
1977 1 Martin Peters Midfielder  England 67 Second award.
1978 1 John Ryan Winger  England
1979 1 Tony Powell Defender  England
1980 1 Kevin Bond Defender  England No voting for award this year
1981 1 Joe Royle Striker  England 6
1982 2 Greg Downs Defender  England
1983 1 Dave Watson Defender  England 12
1984 1 Chris Woods Goalkeeper  England 43
1985 1 Steve Bruce Defender  England Won the award in his first season with Norwich, who were Football League Cup winners but suffered relegation to the Second Division.
1986 2 Kevin Drinkell Striker  England Won the award in his first season with Norwich, who were promoted back to the First Division as Second Division champions.
1987 1 Kevin Drinkell Striker  England Second award. His goals helped newly promoted Norwich finished fifth in the First Division.
1988 1 Bryan Gunn Goalkeeper  Scotland 6
1989 1 Dale Gordon Midfielder  England
1990 1 Mark Bowen Defender  Wales 35
1991 1 Ian Culverhouse Defender  England
1992 1 Robert Fleck Striker  Scotland 4
1993 1 Bryan Gunn Goalkeeper  Scotland 6 Second award.
1994 1 Chris Sutton Striker[nb 6]  England 1
1995 1 Jon Newsome Defender  England
1996 2 Spencer Prior Defender  England
1997 2 Darren Eadie Winger  England
1998 2 Matt Jackson Defender  England
1999 2 Iwan Roberts Striker  Wales 15
2000 2 Iwan Roberts Striker  Wales 15 Second award.
Consecutive wins for first time since 1987.
2001 2 Andy Marshall Goalkeeper  England
2002 2 Gary Holt Midfielder  Scotland 10
2003 2 Adam Drury Defender  England
2004 2 Craig Fleming Defender  England
2005 1 Darren Huckerby Striker / Winger  England
2006 2 Gary Doherty Defender[nb 7]  Republic of Ireland 34 First non–British winner.
2007 2 Darren Huckerby Striker / Winger  England Second award.
2008 2 Dion Dublin Striker / Defender  England 4 The oldest winner at the age of 39; retired at end of season.[13]
2009 2 Lee Croft Midfielder / Winger  England
2010 3 Grant Holt Striker  England Won the award in his first season with Norwich, who sealed promotion to the Championship as League One champions.
2011 2 Grant Holt Striker  England Second award for the player, whose goals helped Norwich reach the Premier League with a second successive promotion as Championship runners–up.
2012 1 Grant Holt Striker  England First player to win the award 3 times. His goals helped Norwich reach their highest league finish for 18 years.
2013 1 Sébastien Bassong Defender  Cameroon 15 First African/ Non European to win the award[14]
2014 1 Robert Snodgrass Winger  Scotland 15 Reserve goalkeeper Carlo Nash actually led the fan poll due to a protest vote.[15]
2015 2 Bradley Johnson Midfielder  England
2016 1 Jonny Howson Midfielder  England
2017 2 Wes Hoolahan Midfielder  Republic of Ireland 37
2018 2 James Maddison Midfielder  England
2019 2 Teemu Pukki Striker  Finland 72 First winner from continental Europe
2020 1 Tim Krul Goalkeeper  Netherlands 8
2021 2 Emiliano Buendía Midfielder / Winger  Argentina First winner from South America

Summary of wins by playing position[]

A man wearing a suit and a man wearing a shirt, tie and trousers, jointly holding a trophy.
Gary Holt's achievements from midfield in 2001–02 were also recognised with the Capital Canaries Player of the Season award
Position[nb 8] Number of winners[nb 9]
Goalkeeper 7
Defender 17
Midfielder 10
Forward[nb 10] 15

Summary of wins by country[]

country Number of winners[nb 9]
 England 33
 Republic of Ireland 2
 Scotland 8
 Wales 3
 Argentina 1
 Cameroon 1
 Finland 1
 Netherlands 1

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ The official "Level" of competition in the structure of the English league system.
  2. ^ For a full description of positions see Football Positions.
  3. ^ If blank, uncapped at full international level.
  4. ^ By this point in his career, the former forward was playing at "half-back".
  5. ^ Keelan was born in India, of English parents.
  6. ^ Played some games in defence, but scored 28 goals in all competitions and was then sold to Blackburn Rovers for a then national record fee of £5million.
  7. ^ Also played some games as a striker.
  8. ^ Doherty has been classed as a defender, Sutton as a striker, Allcock as a defender.
  9. ^ a b Multiple winners are counted multiple times.
  10. ^ Includes strikers and wingers.

References[]

  1. ^ "Player of the Year". canaries.co.uk. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2007.
  2. ^ Eastwood, John; Mike Davage (1986). Canary Citizens. Almeida Books. p. 107. ISBN 0-7117-2020-7. As a mark of permanent respect...
  3. ^ "Roll up for the end of the year show". The Pink 'Un. 5 May 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2007. Top honour, of course, was the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy for player of the year.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "FLEMING HONOURED TO WIN AWARD". canaries.co.uk. 7 November 2004. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2007.
  5. ^ "HUCKS ON A HAT-TRICK". canaries.co.uk. 4 May 2007. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2007.
  6. ^ Grant Holt – My Norwich City achievements will take some time to sink in, Eastern Daily Press, 14 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  7. ^ "Player of the Season – The Barry Butler Memorial Trophy". On The Ball, City. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
  8. ^ "Dave Stringer's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 2 January 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  9. ^ a b "Race is on for Barry Butler trophy". The Pink 'Un. 16 March 2006. Retrieved 3 October 2007.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Canary stats – Norwich City Hall of Fame". Eastern Daily Press. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  11. ^ "Player of the Season 1967–2007". canaries.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  12. ^ "Dave Stringer's managerial career". soccerbase.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2007.
  13. ^ "Tearful Dublin in Carrow farewell". BBC Online. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
  14. ^ "Bassong Named Player of the Season". Norwich City FC. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  15. ^ "Spectator Nash favourite for player gong". Lancashire Telegraph. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2020.

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