1986/87: Manchester United v Norwich City

The mid-80s had been a topsy-turvy experience for Norwich City fans. Winning the 1985 Milk Cup at Wembley was a joyous occasion, yet soon the experience would turn sour. Relegation at the end of the season, and the European ban placed on English clubs after Heysel, left Norwich in Division Two with their UEFA Cup spot taken away from them.

There would be a couple of crumbs of comfort after these twin disappointments. Ken Brown remained in charge to lead the club to the 1985/86 Second Division title, and with rivals Ipswich passing them on the way down, the club bounced back just as they (and Alan Partridge) regularly do in recent Premier League years.

Yet the 1986/87 Norwich vintage would not go the way of their modern-day counterparts. There would be little danger of Brown's team displaying any of the yo-yo characteristics of the current Canaries. Despite losing two stars, Brown's youngsters were about to embark on a campaign that would see them finish in a club best fifth place.

The departure of goalkeeper Chris Woods and centre back Dave Watson to Rangers and Everton respectively was less than ideal preparation for the return to the top flight. But Brown invested wisely. Bryan Gunn was purchased from Aberdeen and would make his debut in November, with Ian Butterworth initially coming in on loan from Nottingham Forest. 

The £80,000 spent on Tottenham midfielder Ian Crook would prove a bargain, and Trevor Putney arrived from local rivals Ipswich. With Shaun Elliot and Dave Hodgson joining from Sunderland, Brown's squad was taking shape.

Ian Culverhouse, Steve Bruce, David Williams, Mike Phelan, Wayne Biggins, and Kevin Drinkell had all featured heavily in the title winning season, and with the likes of Tony Spearing, Dale Gordon, and Robert Rosario breaking into the team during the 1986/87 campaign, these were exciting times at Carrow Road.

The return to Division One would be beyond the wildest dreams of anyone associated with the club. Losing just once in their opening eleven league matches, the team even topped the table in October, and although there were a couple of bumps in the road - a 6-2 defeat at Anfield and 4-1 home reverse against Everton in the Littlewoods Cup - Brown's young team were earning plaudits for their progress.

"When those two promising internationals [Woods and Watson] departed East Anglia in the summer the critics immediately consigned Norwich to an undignified relegation scrap," Louise Taylor noted in the Observer after a 2-0 win over Newcastle in September. "Ken Brown's men are confounding the doubters."

If Norwich were flying high then Manchester United were taxiing on the runway, seemingly unable to get off the ground in the search of their first championship since 1967. A year earlier, Ron Atkinson's team had started with ten straight wins. At the start of 1986/87 they would win just two of their opening ten.

Atkinson would ultimately pay the price, sacked after a humiliating 4-1 defeat at Southampton in the Littlewoods Cup. The task ahead of new manager Alex Ferguson was made clear when he lost his first match at Oxford, before drawing 0-0 at Norwich, leaving the club in 21st place in the table.

Coming into a club that had a reputation for drinking - United were not alone in that to be fair - Ferguson knew that finding consistency was something Atkinson had failed to address. Capable of raising themselves for the big occasions, United's inability to follow that up against the so-called lesser lights must have been infuriating to their supporters.

Nothing more emphasised this than United's results on December 26 and 27. The 1-0 win at Anfield on Boxing Day was yet another triumph at the home of their great rivals in the 1980s, a Norman Whiteside goal separating the teams and denting Liverpool's title defence. But a little over 24 hours later at Old Trafford, it was a different story.

Norwich came into the match boosted by a fine 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest at Carrow Road on Boxing Day. Late goals from Crook and Rosario pushed the club into the top six, yet even with United's struggles and Norwich's fine form, leaving Old Trafford with three points was far from a given.

History was against Brown's men. In 15 league matches at Old Trafford, United had won ten and drawn five, with Norwich failing to score in twelve of those matches. The Canaries had last scored at the ground in a league match back in 1976. But history was to be created on December 27, 1986.

A recurring Manchester United problem of the 1980s would arise during Norwich's win that day. With a number of injuries in Ferguson's ranks, skipper Bryan Robson had slotted in effortlessly at centre back for the win over Liverpool. But 49 minutes into the Norwich match, Robson would leave the field with yet another injury.

Contesting a ball with Drinkell, Robson knew immediately that he was in trouble. "I just stretched and felt the hamstring go again," Robson later revealed. "It's in a different place than before, so that is one consolation. I can't say how long I will be out." It was a headache Ferguson could do without.

"Losing Robson is more serious than losing to Norwich," Ferguson admitted. "It's a nightmare." Earlier in the match, Robson had gone close with a long range effort and a header. His importance to the team and to a new manager was obvious. Although United did manage to turn their form around in Robson's absence, their FA Cup exit to Coventry was a huge disappointment.

Norwich were not particularly expansive but stayed compact and played an offside trap that left Ferguson frustrated and complaining. Yet with just ten minutes left, Drinkell glanced a header past Gary Walsh from a Culverhouse cross, to send the travelling fans amongst the 44,610 crowd ecstatic.

Gunn, who had recently taken the place of Graham Benstead, would enjoy a fine match, denying both Whiteside and Colin Gibson late on, as United searched for an equaliser. But as the final whistle sounded, Norwich had broken their duck.

"I didn't know we had never won here before in the league until I read it in the programme," Brown informed the press after the match. "We're a young side, I'm the oldest at 26," Drinkell added. "But hopefully this has shown what we are capable of."

The win had demonstrated just how far Norwich had come. Admittedly United were vulnerable, yet the victory that pushed Norwich to fourth highlighted the development of Brown's team. From the relegation and European football despair to the record fifth-place finish at the end of the 1986/87 season, Brown had led the revival.

Amazing to think that by November 1987 Brown would be sacked by Chairman Robert Chase. The team were struggling in the bottom three, with many pondering if the departure of coach Mel Machin to Manchester City was a possible reason for this. But either way, Brown's departure was a shock.

"I loved the club and it will always be a part of me," a tearful Brown commented. "If I've let anyone down, I apologise. I'd like to think I've done more than a reasonable job. I have been highly delighted to be part of the success we have had over the last few years."

There could be no questioning the job that Brown had performed. The circumstances behind their relegation were unfortunate, but Brown put that, and the European exile, to one side to lead the club back to the First Division. And during the next campaign, Norwich would exceed expectations.

The away win in Manchester was just a small part of this and Brown's sterling efforts laid the foundations for Dave Stringer to carry on what he had started. Norwich went from strength to strength, and by the end of the decade, they squeezed in two more wins at Old Trafford. You wait for one win at a famous old ground to come along....