Which Norwich City stories made our back pages this week five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago

20 years ago

• Norwich City rolled back the years and threw all the 90's jazz out of the window as the club launched its new kit.

Out went the dizzy patterns and eye-defying checks of an England goalkeeper's top; in came the simple collars and green sleeves of the mid-80s, while the baggy shorts would find Sir Stanley Matthews nodding his head in approval.

Cat-walk king Darren Eadie was won over by the old-style shorts. 'I've always liked my shorts baggy, so I think the new kit will suit me.'

• Canary playmaker Ian Crook kept the door to a Fine City future firmly ajar after a weekend devoted to emotional farewells and thanks for the memories speeches.

Substituted a minute from the end of Saturday's 2-1 home defeat by Watford after his superb 55th minute free-kick had put City in sight of a point, the 33-year-old midfielder was granted a standing ovation by the Carrow Road faithful.

'Everyone reads in the papers that cut-backs have to be made,' said Crook, one of 16 Norwich players out of contract this fraught summer, 'and as I haven't been offered anything new, then you can only look at the situation and think that I must be on my way.

'But if I was offered anything to stay here then I would certainly sit down and think about it. There's no way I'd turn around and say: 'No, I'm definitely going!'

15 years ago

• Norwich City fans would face an unprecedented change in the way they watched their team following the official launch of the ITV Digital channel.

Under the new £300 million deal which secured exclusive rights to the Nationwide League for the next three years, ITV Digital would screen 65 Division One matches live the following season.

Club and industry insiders predicted that the Canaries – assuming they secured first division status in their two remaining games – could be playing live 'a minimum of six, a maximum of 10' times next season.

As for straight cash into the club's hard-pressed coffers, the new deal was expected to be worth £2.3 million – with additional facility fees for staging live games likely to push the final figure ever nearer the £3 million mark.

• Manager Nigel Worthington faced one of the trickiest selection decisions of his short managerial career as Norwich City looked desperately to avoid a frantic final week in the drop zone by beating visitors Sheffield Wednesday.

The choice was quite simple. To keep faith with young keeper Robert Green as Worthington begins to build a team for the future or to recall a fit-again Andy Marshall – in the full and pretty certain knowledge that it will be the out-of-contract keeper's last ever appearance at Carrow Road in a City shirt.

• Andy Marshall picked up the player-of-the-year trophy, kept a clean sheet to ensure Norwich City's First Division survival, and admitted that leaving the Canaries would be the hardest thing he ever does.

The 26-year-old planned to leave Carrow Road on a Bosman free transfer in the summer – and he bid farewell to the supporters in some style.

In one of the closest-run awards for years, Marshall only beat off second-placed Iwan Roberts by 30 votes out of the thousands submitted by supporters.

Marshall admitted: 'My ambition might make me go elsewhere. It will be a wrench to leave. It's been a bit of an emotional day today for me, especially at the end.

'It was great to get the reception I got towards the end; the fans have been fantastic to me this season.'

• With First Division safety finally in the bag following Saturday's 1-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday, City boss Nigel Worthington wasted little time in getting down to business.

Malky Mackay's 17th-minute header proved enough to put the season out of its misery – even if the club's celebrity owner Delia Smith found the odd moment of alarm and agony sat in the midst of her fellow City fans in the Barclay Stand.

'Sure, it's mission accomplished – we're safe for next season – but it should have been accomplished four or five weeks ago. Huddersfield, Gillingham, you can reel them off. We took our foot off the pedal and found ourselves in a dogfight and that's very frustrating from a management and coaching point of view,' said Worthington, due to meet club chairman Bob Cooper to discuss precisely

what room for manouevre he has in the summer.

• City chairman Bob Cooper gave every fed-up fan reason for hope – promising a 'very significant' financial shot in the arm for boss Nigel Worthington as he embarked on his summer rebuilding plans.

In his most bullish performance since becoming Carrow Road chief, Cooper insisted that he was 'no pussycat chairman' and he shared the fans' frustrations at the team's under-achievement over

the past three years.

And after watching the Canaries scrape home to safety via Saturday's 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, he is fiercely determined that the club will never find itself in the same perilous position again.

Rather he wants City to be rubbing shoulders with the likes of West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End – two sides slugging it out for a ticket to the Premiership via the play-off places; two sides with young, ambitious managers in Gary Megson and David Moyes.

10 years ago

• Norwich City will be sponsored by low fares airline Flybe.

The Canaries' deal with Proton and Lotus Cars expired at the end of the current campaign, but the Exeter-based company quickly stepped in to back the best supported club in the Championship.

The company expect to sign a 'multi-million-pound' three-year deal, although details of the kit that Norwich City players will wear in the Championship next season have yet to be revealed.

Flybe, which began operating from Norwich International airport last year, launching services to 15 destinations, planned to fly the first team to matches around the United Kingdom whenever

possible, much in the same way as they currently travel to away games in a Lotus-Proton coach.

• Goalkeeper Robert Green is definitely ruled out of Norwich City's final Coca-Cola Championship match of the season against Wolves.

With the announcement of Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad for Germany less than a fortnight away, City are determined not to risk aggravating the injury and jeopardising Green's chances of selection.

'England are aware of the situation and they're happy with it. He's got to get himself fit and, rather than push him for this Sunday and risk further injury prior to World Cup selection, we want to be sure he's 100 per cent right,' said Nigel Worthington.

• Favourite to get his hands on the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy as player of the year is central defender Gary Doherty.

'Things have gone well for me personally, though it's not been everything we would have hoped for in terms of where we are in the table, with seventh the best we can finish,' said Doherty.

'I have felt sharper this season. It's been important, too, to be able to play regularly in one position, which has been of massive benefit.'

His reliability in a constantly changing side – he has missed just four games this season – has not gone unnoticed by fans and admirers.

• Nigel Worthington issued a firm statement of intent – as well as a back-handed swipe at some of his detractors – as the Canaries finished their season with a disappointing 2-1 home defeat by Wolves and a ninth-place Championship finish.

Having endured a season of frustration and under-achievement which culminated in fans calling for his head, Worthington came out fighting after joining his players for the traditional post-game lap of honour.

But while many expected the Canaries boss to be the target of the boo-boys, it turned out to be just the opposite, as the fans rose to salute the man who has endured the most difficult of his five seasons at the helm.

'I thought the crowd was excellent,' Worthington said. 'On the lap after the game I thought the true supporters were there and showed that exceptionally well, and great credit to them.

Five years ago

• Norwich City's automatic promotion rivals Cardiff City hit out at the Canaries having two extra rest days before their Easter Monday game.

The Canaries host Derby County at Carrow Road four days after thrashing local rivals Ipswich Town 5-1 in the East Anglian derby at Portman Road.

The Welsh club – one point behind the Canaries – travel to Preston just 48 hours after being held to a 2-2 draw by QPR in energy-sapping heat.

Cardiff midfielder Stephen McPhail felt the Football League handed City an unfair advantage, with their opponents Derby also having to play twice in three days.

'We only have a day to recover which is a bit of scandal really because I think Norwich had four days,' he said.

• Simeon Jackson admitted he knew nothing about his match-winning hat-trick goal which kept City firmly in the race for automatic promotion after a 3-2 Carrow Road Championship thriller against Derby.

Jackson bundled home a priceless close range effort five minutes into added on time to help Paul Lambert's men move a huge step closer to the Premier League after Russell Martin's initial strike cannoned back off Alberto Bueno and struck the Canadian.

Jackson's decisive touch sparked wild scenes of celebration on and off the pitch – but the striker admitted luck had played a massive part.

'To tell you the truth I don't know what happened in the box for the winner. I just got lucky,' he said.

• Norwich's on-loan defender Rob Edwards was confident of closing in on a second successive Premier League promotion.

Edwards replaced the injured Zak Whitbread (hip) for the final frenetic 30 minutes of the stunning 3-2 Championship win over Derby at Carrow Road which kept the Canaries in an automatic promotion spot.

The 28-year-old went up with Blackpool through the play-offs last season but believes Paul Lambert's side can go one better with City just two wins from the top flight after Simeon Jackson's memorable hat-trick sunk the Rams.

• Grant Holt was desperate to help Norwich City finish the season as soon as possible – so that he could enjoy a special double celebration.

Holt was set to become a father for the third time, with wife Fay due to give birth on May 26 – just four days before the Championship play-off final.

But the Canaries skipper can avoid a frantic end to the campaign if City can win their next two games to wrap up an automatic promotion place.

The issue could even be settled as soon as Monday – if Cardiff lose at home to Middlesbrough and City win at Portsmouth later in the evening.

'Hopefully these two weeks will get it to bed because she's due on the 26th – it will be very close,' he said.

'More than anyone I want it done and dusted, but it would be a fantastic achievement and it would give us a chance to relax and hopefully see the baby in peace.'

• More than 3,000 Norwich City fans will make their way to Portsmouth for Monday night's potential promotion decider.

The Canaries were down to the last 100 tickets from their allocation of 3,170 for the televised Championship match at Fratton Park, where victory could take them back to the Premier League after an absence of six years.

City's biggest away following of the season was the 3,122 who went to Queens Park Rangers in October, but a sell-out of their Portsmouth allocation would top that figure.

The Canaries' travelling support has been hugely impressive this season, topping the 2,000 mark on 11 occasions and dropping below four figures only once in the Championship, when 850 travelled to the game at Burnley in February.